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Wolfman
05-05-2008, 09:54 AM
Hey all.

I was wondering what you dog owners are feeding your pups?

I have started my Goldie/Chessie on this stuff I got from Tisol called 'Evo'. this stuff has no preservatives, no filler and is made from high end red meat protein. Koda totally loves it and seems to be getting real big and solid as a result. A bit pricey, but worth it I think.


Wolfman

bighornbob
05-05-2008, 10:43 AM
I feed my pup Orijen Large Breed Puppy. The vet has said to put him on regular food at around 6 months. Then I will probably switch to Canidae (all life stages).

Here is a link to a great site on got here a while back on different dog foods.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Heres a pic of the little at about 3 months, he's a Kuvasz/ Black and Tan cross

http://www.myfishingpictures.com/data/500/Picture_024.jpg

Wolfman
05-05-2008, 10:49 AM
What a BEAUTY he is!!

Better watch out for dog-nappers ;-)

Thanks for that rating link by the way. I see my dog food scores high on that!

Wolfman

Steeleco
05-05-2008, 11:11 AM
Raw meat for breakfast and kibble for dinner. The meat comes from Surrey meats and is purpose made for dogs.

Wolfman
05-05-2008, 11:28 AM
Raw meat for breakfast and kibble for dinner. The meat comes from Surrey meats and is purpose made for dogs.

Steelco;

Do you mean RED meat or chicken? I had my vet recently going into this latest raw chicken thing that's apparently so popular.

Not really gung ho about having raw chicken lying round.

Wolfman

Steeleco
05-05-2008, 12:09 PM
Wolfman, I used Chicken but the store has lamb and other meats. More specifically the stuff we use is chicken and veg, bone included. It comes in small or large quantities, frozen into easy to handle cubes. We take out on block and thaw overnight. It lasts two days, then we do it all over again. Clean tidy and GONE in minutes!!!!

Wolfman
05-05-2008, 02:53 PM
I'm thinking more and more about adding more red meat too. Lean stuff mind you. I think that meat - real meat in a dog's diet is what nature intended so we should supplement that if we can.

Wolfman

Steeleco
05-05-2008, 04:07 PM
Well there's a bear hanging in my shed and my Rottie is waiting for the scraps.
She gets all the scraps and the major bones when I'm fortunate to get an animal.

hotload
05-05-2008, 06:34 PM
Wolfman, When you get to know your dog real good you can tell, loves to eat it, clear eyes, great coat, fur loss at appropriate times of the year, spunky, proper weight gain for the type of dog you have. Little tougher to tell when you have a cross for proper weight gain, but Chessies are beauties, broad and tough, try to figure out which your dog takes after most and go from there. Ya got a great mix for size, strength and personality. Hope ya hunt with it or pack it. amazing how they come into there own when they think they are an intregal working part of the family.

Marc
05-05-2008, 07:02 PM
Been feeding Marshall Innova puppy until he was 5 months then switched him over to Adult Evo. He's been doing extremely well on it as you can see. It's costing me about $67 every two weeks to feed him this way. I'm hoping by the end of the month to have him totally switched over to a raw diet. It's a little cheaper to feed and better for him.

Wolfman
05-05-2008, 07:19 PM
Wolfman, When you get to know your dog real good you can tell, loves to eat it, clear eyes, great coat, fur loss at appropriate times of the year, spunky, proper weight gain for the type of dog you have. Little tougher to tell when you have a cross for proper weight gain, but Chessies are beauties, broad and tough, try to figure out which your dog takes after most and go from there. Ya got a great mix for size, strength and personality. Hope ya hunt with it or pack it. amazing how they come into there own when they think they are an intregal working part of the family.

Hey Hotload:

Yeah, I do plan on getting him out into the bush for more than just the runs I take him for now. Hiking & fishing this summer and hopefully, hunting this Fall.

Wolfman

Iron Glove
05-08-2008, 08:34 AM
Our Toller has been on BARF (raw food) most of her life. The breeder raised her on it. Except when ill and on the Vet's instructions, she has never had kibble.
Watching a puppy scarf down a whole chicken back is kinda neat. :razz:
She developed an itch and we had her checked for allergies and found that she is allergic to certain white fish - lot of that in dog food and brown rice, amongst other things.
She now is on mainly buffalo - Jake and Daiseys. The Vet looked at the ingredients and said it was pretty good stuff.
If you go Barf, make sure you include veggies and vitamins and stuff, a diet exclusivly of meat will result in a sick or dead dog.
We make our own treats from venison that I hunt and bought beef. Cut thin and dehydrated. Lots of recreational bones too.
One nice aspect of the barf diet is the compact turds that lack the nice aroma and mess that accompanies kibble and canned food.
Careful with bear meat - most BARFers do not suggest this as bears and dogs share similiar traits and diseases.

dumprat
06-18-2008, 09:06 PM
I used to feed my mastif everything. Ever seen a dog eat half a frozen beaver carcas?

Marc
06-18-2008, 09:32 PM
Marshall is on a raw diet and just finished his championship this past weekend. It used to cost me $67 every two weeks for kibble, now it's costing me around $70 including supplements for a month on Raw.

All 3 dogs are now on it and the older dogs have actually slimmed down quite a bit where I can actually feel the ribs on my 11 1/2 year old lab again. I even bought a second deep freeze to buy the raw in bulk to save on the cost. I figure the freezer will pay for itself in 6 months fromthe savings from buying kibble. So now I pick up 3-4 hundred lbs of raw at a time . 3 dogs (2 old 1 pup) go through about 120 lbs a month.

Hard to believe this puppy just turned 9 months old on the 16th.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Marshall_Rowan_on_the_move_.JPG

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/marshall_dog_show.JPG

houndogger
06-18-2008, 09:38 PM
Marc where are you getting your raw from in bulk?

Marc
06-18-2008, 09:54 PM
This is where I'm getting it from. It's costing me a day and a ferry ride but it's a hell of a lot cheaper then trying to find it on the Island.

http://surreymeatpackersltd.com/petfood.html

houndogger
06-21-2008, 09:29 AM
Marc thanks for the link. I switched the dogs back over to kibble about a year and a half ago. Was amazed how hard it was to get them in shape for spring bear season. Even nearing the end of the season they couldn't run as hard as when on the raw diet.

It says they come in 50 pounds. Can you reach in the box and break out a meal or two to thaw at a time?
Thanks Dave

Marc
06-21-2008, 10:36 AM
Dave it's frozen then cut on a ban saw so it comes in roughly 1 lb blocks. I just take them out before going to bed and they're thawed by morning. Sometimes I feed them frozen to the dogs and they seem to enjoy their meatsicles. :biggrin:

Marc.

houndogger
06-21-2008, 10:44 AM
Wow that makes it easy Marc. I will send you a pm later on some more info. Feeding 5 dogs right now so I would be buying 4 or 500 pounds at a time. Have you looked into the price to have it shipped to the island frozen? Is it cheaper to go get it yourself?

I know my oldtimer has gone down hill fast since going back to the kibble. He has lots of heart but his body ain't allowing him to go anymore. He don't like staying at home and I wouldn't mind him starting some of these new pups this winter8-)

Marc
06-21-2008, 10:52 AM
Marshall's breeder lives in Surrey so I also plan to go in there for a visit with the dog so I don't mind making the trip over.

Actually the last time I was over I hooked up with a few of the boys for lunch.

I'm not sure how much it would be to have it shipped across the ferry but I'm guessing it would be more then the ferry crossing. The next time I cross if I've got room I can bring some back for you if you want to meet me in Duncan. The more I bring with me the cheaper it gets. I brought 100 lbs over for a breeder in Coble Hill and she gave me a bit extra for gas / ferry.

Marc.

houndogger
06-21-2008, 11:57 AM
I would be up for that for sure. I would split the trip expenses with ya.;)

brotherjack
06-22-2008, 08:14 AM
We feed ours red meat (deer/elk/whatever we shot last year) with Actr1um brand kibble on top. Dogs don't get much bigger or healthier than mine, so I'm assuming it must be good for them. :)

Deadeye
06-23-2008, 10:51 AM
Wow, I had no idea that so many people were using a raw food diet. Do you guys find dogs on raw food any more or less prone to coprophaegia (eating feces) ? I'm thinking about the 'secondary digestion' aspect of coprophaegia. I'm guessing it would also be better for older dogs' joints than giving them glucosamine ?

I work in a kennel of 40-50 adults and we use human grade kibble like those above. The kennel's owner was originally a dog food wholesaler, so it's been a bit of an education for me.

Our 'standard' kibble is made by Taplow (in N. Van I think). I'm not sure what it's marketed as on retail shelves (we buy by the ton), Extreme Diet maybe ? The oil content is so high it actually leaves a heavy film on the inside of the bag.

We use Nutro's Lamb and Rice for dogs that are on meds or develop any irritations, as lamb is apparently hypoallergenic for dogs.

Nutram Puppy Choice is what we give the pups up to a year old. It's one of the controlled-growth foods and it's actually a stipulation in our standard sales contract that the owner continue feeding with it for a certain length of time (I don't deal with the business side of it too much, so I'm not sure exactly how long)

Generally, raw chicken is around 80% water so chicken MEAL actually has a higher protein content than just chicken because the water is extracted during processing.

I think it's kind of funny that foods are marketed as 'human grade' but the bags are always labelled 'not for human consumption'. It's just a regulatory issue but it's still a chuckle.

My own dog (Shep/Elkhound) gets a salmon and sweet potato mix with flaxseed, canola and salmon oils. The last batch I got was packaged in retail bags, so I noticed it was endorsed by Dick van Patten. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not...lol

On a final note, we've started giving the dogs a couple teaspoons of unpasteurized yogurt in their food. Because our kennels are essentially fenced parks rather than traditional pens, sometimes they get into stuff they shouldn't and their digestive systems get kinda messed up for a few days. The probiotic qualities of the yogurt seem to combat that pretty well. Dairy producers aren't legally allowed to sell unpastuerized yogurt for human consumption, so you won't find it in the grocery store. We get it right from the farm.

While it would be a fraction of the cost to give the dogs a common bulk feed, you can definitely see the difference in the dogs' health. Given the numbers of dogs we have, health problems are really rare and a solid diet can only help. Healthy happy dogs make strong healthy pups.

newhunterette
06-23-2008, 12:03 PM
The farm Breanne works on is owned by a gentleman who has created a line of organic suppliments and foods for animals as well as for humans. There is 2 St Bernards and 1 Bull Mastiff that Breanne cares for and - Cleo is about 14 years old (St Bernard) and has had lots of hip trouble - she has been given this organic suppliment mixed with her food and she runs and frolics and plays with the other 2 dogs and it takes her less effort to get up and down

We are in the process of getting some for our Blue Heeler as she had CCL surgery last year and even though she recoevered amazingly from the surgery, we want to see if this suppliment will keep her at her energetic pace as she keeps our black lab in line and with Hunter's (lab) energy, Sissy needs all the help she can get lol (Sissy is approx. 12 years old - a pound puppy so not exactly sure of her birthdate)

Marc
06-23-2008, 12:17 PM
I have a female lab who used to follow my male around the yard to get a second meal. Now with the raw she doesn't do it that I've noticed. The scat dries out pretty quick and turns white. They love the raw diet and scarf it down as soon as i put the bowl on the ground. I still add some recovery to the older dogs food as my 11 1/2 male has hip displasia and the female 9 1/2 has some arthritis problems. The thing I've noticed the most is they've all slimmed down. I'll be curious to see how much weight the labs lost since their last visit to the vet at 94 lbs a piece. I'm guessing that they're more in the ball park of 80 lbs now.

newhunterette
06-23-2008, 12:42 PM
Hunter weighed in at the vet 2 weeks ago 82 lbs and he says she has to lose 12 more pounds - she used to be 102 pounds - we have put her on Nutro natural choice light for overweight and less active dogs - she is definetly not less active but this was what has been reccomended as well as Sissy gets nutro natural choice for senior dogs as she has broken all her canine teeth through the years and needs smaller bites and we will be adding the Udo oil and powder suppliments to both their foods as it great for stabilizing orthro troubles in older dogs and active dogs.

Azshia has been authorized and certified as an animal nutrition coach with her veterinary assistant classes from Hill's Pet Food - Hills w/d is for weight control and g/d for nutritional management of older dogs - r/d for severely overweight dogs - p/d for large breed puppies for managment of growth disorders for large breed dogs as if they develope to quickly they can suffer bone disorders

Another type of food is Royal Canin/Medical but it is costly. The have Low Fat food for prevention of digestive disease and Weight Control/Mature for the less active older dog - Development for puppies and Adolescent for puppies of large breeds to control growth weight - Fibre/Calorie Control for the overweight dog - Mobility Support for dogs with arthritis and this is clinically proven to releive signs of arthritis.

Most of these come in wet or dry type of foods

Doe Eyes
06-24-2008, 08:55 PM
Marc,
My Alaskan Malamute pup is 3 months old...40 lbs.
I would like to switch her over to a raw food diet also....I have absolutely no idea about how much to feed her.
Right now she is eating 4.5 cups of Orijan Puppy which is approx: $70 per bag...but I think I would prefer a raw diet.

How did you calculate how much to feed your dogs?

Marc
06-24-2008, 09:48 PM
Marc,
My Alaskan Malamute pup is 3 months old...40 lbs.
I would like to switch her over to a raw food diet also....I have absolutely no idea about how much to feed her.
Right now she is eating 4.5 cups of Orijan Puppy which is approx: $70 per bag...but I think I would prefer a raw diet.

How did you calculate how much to feed your dogs?

I've been lucky that the breeder also feeds her dogs on raw so I've been getting guidance from here.

I did a bit of research on the net and I found that roughly 2-3% of the dogs body weight. So for example Marshall at his fighting weight is sitting around 80 lbs. so 2% of 80 would be 1.6 lbs. This changes from dog to dog and also age of the dog. I've been feed Marshall roughly 2 lbs per day or two frozen blocks but as his energy requirements increase so will the portions. My older labs who don't need as much energy have a half block each twice per day. It's going to be one of those feel as you go checking to see if you can still feel his ribs or not and go from there.


I've also been giving my dogs an omega 3-6-9 capsule a day as well as a dog multivitamin twice per day.

I'll try and get a picture of all 3 of the again to compare them to a few months back so you can see the difference in the dogs since they were switched over.

Wolfman
06-25-2008, 12:11 AM
My dogs do really well on the EVO diet. Koda is growing like stink on it.

Wolfman

HighTideChessies
06-25-2008, 03:51 PM
Thought I'd chime in on the RAW food diet thing. Here are some guidelines we follow from our vet for calculations etc.

Easy conversion - for Adult dogs - adjust for activity level - 80 pound dog gets 800grams/day, 70 pound dog gets 700 grams/day .. etc. Our vet recommends feeding only once per day after the dog is 8 or 9 months old.

70% raw meat and raw bone, carcasses, etc. -- all previously frozen! Chicken, turkey (necks, or ground up as the bones are pretty hard), duck, lamb, etc. (we generally avoid beef, buffalo, etc.)

20 - 25% veggies - sweet potato, yams, greens (avoiding broccoli, cabbage, that sort of thing)

5% organ meat - kidney, liver, tripe, all the fun stuff :)

We supplement with omega 3,6,9; canine plus multivitamin, kelp & alfalfa powder, probiotic or goat's yogurt.

Once a week or so we give cooked fish - salmon, sardines, etc.

When we don't have time to prepare our own meals for our dogs we buy it in bulk from the same place Marc mentioned. They have a great selection of premixed or meat and bone only (if you want to add your own veggies etc.) It's amazing how well the dogs do on it! The bricks from store are great and they like the meatsicles in the summer :)

Cheers,
HighTide Chesapeakes
www.HighTideChessies.com

Wolfman
06-25-2008, 11:07 PM
My pup also enjoys vegetables and fish -particularly salmon. I just can't get my wife to go along with the raw diet, so I'll stick with the EVO - the kibble and the canned soft food.

Wolfman

anglo-saxon
06-26-2008, 01:38 AM
I raised a bunch of litters on my place in AB. I fed 'em basic puppy chow, plus endless table scraps. Plus every time we cleaned out the fridge they ate hearty, too! Healthy pups for sure!

Wolfman
06-26-2008, 12:31 PM
Well, dogs ARE omnivores. I try to keep what I give mine healthy and natural as possible.

Wolfman