[mayhew]

What brand are you feeding and paying 75.00 per bag?

Nutro, lamb and rice large breed formula. Sorry for the edit--hubby responded and only knew that the bag was green.

[dalpal]

And it was 75.00????????????????????????????????????????

check this site out....AND if you look online, you can usually find a 20 percent off coupon/pays for most of your shipping....these guys aren't outageous on shipping costs, however, it does take a couple of weeks to get your order.

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/P...THMUJH7ELM242A

[dalpal]

Did you realize that you can get a 35lb bag of Canidae lamb rice on that site for 38.99???? I think it's a much better food too.

[mayhew]

These are Canadian prices, keep in mind. Even if there isn't a real difference in the US/Canadian dollar, we still pay more for everything than you do. It's just an expensive country in which to live, especially when you consider the 15% sales tax in Ontario. However, a whole chicken is still less than $10 in the grocery store, and if we raise it ourselves, is about $6, once you take the processor's fee into consideration. If we kill them ourselves, we can produce chickens at about $3 a bird.

[mayhew]

And it was 75.00????????????????????????????????????????

check this site out....AND if you look online, you can usually find a 20 percent off coupon/pays for most of your shipping....these guys aren't outageous on shipping costs, however, it does take a couple of weeks to get your order.

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/P...THMUJH7ELM242A

If we order anything from the US, we have to pay heavy fines and duties and taxes. UPS wants a handling fee that would bankrupt any company. You end up paying more for shipping, handling, and taxes than the item is actually worth. And the thing about Canada is that there really isn't enough population to make these kinds of discount companies economically viable. We end up paying the highest price for everything.

[gloriginger]

I feed Countrypet.com - have fed it since my dog was a pup- she wouldn't eat kibble so I started her on this. It's a bit on the pricey side, I supplement with cottage cheese and a 1/4-1/2 cup of honest kitchen.

[LookinSouth]

My golden retriever had severe allergies to absolutely ANY dog food we tried when we got her as a 8 week old puppy. We tried Canidae, Nutro, Wellness, IVD prescription, Pedigree, Canned Chicken with cooked white rice and the list could go on. The vets couldn't figure out what the problem was nor pinpoint the allergy.

Our dog wasn't keeping weight and the affects were stunting her growth considerably

I finally came up with the notion to try ground BEEF and steamed rice. We talked to our vet and they said to supplement with 1/2 of a multi vitamin as well. Initially we cooked the beef and rice, immediately we noticed that our dog was not having the digestive issues/allergy reactions. We then switched to raw ground beef, cooked eggs, cannellini beans (cheap protein source) and chopped broccoli. The raw diets I researched said eggs need to be cooked.

She has been on the diet for 2 years now and is thriving. The vets were amazed and even my equine vet commented on the quality of her coat and her healthy weight and was considering putting her lab on the same diet.

We just recently found a canned dog food by Harmony Farms that is Beef and potato. The ingredients are just beef, potato and broth. We started replacing the beef with the canned food and she has been doing great. We are now slowly introducing the dry food by Harmony farms (which unfortunately includes chicken products, we think she might have been allergic to poultry). So far she has been okay. We think maybe she overcame the food allergy issue as a result of the raw diet.

[Serigraph]

I've been feeding raw for over 10 years now. I have a Dalmatian and a Coonhound mix. My Dal had urinary crystals and back when he was 6 months old, I was told to put him on some special Science Diet formula. It was awful, I went to cooking his food, then feeding raw and never looked back. He's 11 now.

I can get 40lbs of chicken necks for about $12 from a butcher.

[dalpal]

I've been feeding raw for over 10 years now. I have a Dalmatian and a Coonhound mix. My Dal had urinary crystals and back when he was 6 months old, I was told to put him on some special Science Diet formula. It was awful, I went to cooking his food, then feeding raw and never looked back. He's 11 now.

I can get 40lbs of chicken necks for about $12 from a butcher.

That would be the Lovely UD....The vet that I took my stone former to, was actually the owner of his sire.......she told me to only use UD short term, she wouldn't put any dog on that stuff long term. Knock on wood, he was almost 2 when he blocked and has never had a problem since (he'll be 5 in April)

[murphyluv]

I am trying to switch over now- My 2 year old corgi has BAD breath. Teeth are clean, no gum disease, etc, just yucky breath. I was told her breath is too acidic, try raw. I'm going to try it for a while, if it doesn't work, I'll take her for a full work-up. BUT, so far, I've noticed an improvement.
I feed her Canidae Kibble- I like companies with better quality control. I thought I was doing well, but apparently not.
I'm trying to do dehydrated raw in the morning- just figuring out what brand I can use that is most affordable, and kibble at night with a spoonful of EVO canned or Solid Gold Tripe. She is also now getting raw soup bones- she LOVES them and they have made a huge difference.
I like the idea of raw, I think that is what they are supposed to eat, but I don't trust myself to cook for her, nor do I want the hassle when I try to board her or have someone else take care of her. If I don't have to go to raw completely for health reasons, then I'll keep her on some kibble for the convenience.

[silver2]

My dog wont eat raw meat. She will eat lunch meat or raw bacon if you cut it into tiny pieces. Maybe. But she would no more eat a raw chicken wing than sprout wings and fly to the moon. She actually gags if you give her one.

I suggest you check this out before buying a gross of raw chicken wings.

[Bluey]

As we can see, the best is to go to what the dog needs.

That someone feeds their dog what they seem to be doing well with out of all there is out there is great.
Becoming a fanatic about what may work now for the dog we have and expect everyone else now to use that or bashing them for what they choose to use, when their dogs are doing fine with it, is what doesn't make sense, as no two dogs are the same.

For the millions of dogs that have done well over many years on anything from scraps thru commercial kibble of all kinds and quality, there are those few dogs that may have special needs.

As long as what anyone feeds their dog agrees with it, I don't see why some then insist their choice is the best and what all other people should feed their dogs.

[jeano]

Surely someone will turn me in to PETA for this--I have four dogs, two are 6 month old border collie mutts, very active, still growing. Two are geriatric lab mutts, will be ten this year. All four dogs eat a high fat, high protein kibble made primarily from (presumably rendered by-products) pork, and purchased at the local feed store.

This stuff costs under 20 bucks for a 50 pound bag. Old dogs have never had any teeth, skin, or other problems related to diet. Everybody has plenty of energy, good quality fur, no bad breath, no doggies odors, no GI upset, nice sweet calm temperaments and on and on.

Does this mean I'm just lucky in my choice of mutts? Maybe. Does it mean I have found the Most Perfect Dog Food and everyone who doesnt buy it is a moron and Harming Their Dog? Probably not. Does it mean that I am saving myself a lot of trouble and $ by not obsessing over a special expensive food for my pooches? I think so.

[dalpal]

My dog wont eat raw meat. She will eat lunch meat or raw bacon if you cut it into tiny pieces. Maybe. But she would no more eat a raw chicken wing than sprout wings and fly to the moon. She actually gags if you give her one.

I suggest you check this out before buying a gross of raw chicken wings.

One of mine won't take it out of your hand (and she is my biggest hunter)...I have to put her leg quarter in a bowl and walk away.

But primarily, I stick to the ground up chubs....none have ever refused that.

Mine will not touch turkey legs or wings, they look at you like you are crazy if you think they are going to touch that nasty thick skin.

My cats won't touch it either...they won't even touch canned food. So they stay on California Natural dry.

[dalpal]

Surely someone will turn me in to PETA for this--I have four dogs, two are 6 month old border collie mutts, very active, still growing. Two are geriatric lab mutts, will be ten this year. All four dogs eat a high fat, high protein kibble made primarily from (presumably rendered by-products) pork, and purchased at the local feed store.

This stuff costs under 20 bucks for a 50 pound bag. Old dogs have never had any teeth, skin, or other problems related to diet. Everybody has plenty of energy, good quality fur, no bad breath, no doggies odors, no GI upset, nice sweet calm temperaments and on and on.

Does this mean I'm just lucky in my choice of mutts? Maybe. Does it mean I have found the Most Perfect Dog Food and everyone who doesnt buy it is a moron and Harming Their Dog? Probably not. Does it mean that I am saving myself a lot of trouble and $ by not obsessing over a special expensive food for my pooches? I think so.

But some of us actually enjoy "obsessing" over our animals nutrition...LOL!

And Bluey, no offense...but you've been bashing those who are feeding the higher premium...calling people fanatics, etc....Not one single person on this thread has bashed anyone else for feeding kibble. The OP asked about raw, people who feed raw were offering suggestions. People have given their opinions about certain foods, but not one single person has bashed someone else for NOT feeding premium food. Not quite sure why you are so defensive over these topics???????????

[tle]

Funny story... you should have seen the look on my old newfs face when I gave him his first chicken wing. He took it VEEEERY gently, and put it down in front of him (he was laying down ... of course, he's a newf!) and looked up at me as if to say "really? are you sure this is ok?" I reassured him and he started licking it and then put it in his mouth. You could hear the crunch when he bit down the first time, but that's all I remember as I was subsequently rolling on the floor laughing at him. Think crunch immediately followed by this priceless look on his Newfy face that said "OMG!!! I'm so sorry! I think I broke it!!!!"

[Bluey]

But some of us actually enjoy "obsessing" over our animals nutrition...LOL!

And Bluey, no offense...but you've been bashing those who are feeding the higher premium...calling people fanatics, etc....Not one single person on this thread has bashed anyone else for feeding kibble. The OP asked about raw, people who feed raw were offering suggestions. People have given their opinions about certain foods, but not one single person has bashed someone else for NOT feeding premium food. Not quite sure why you are so defensive over these topics???????????

Of course I have not been bashing those that feed any one kind of diet.
Why would I, when my point all along is that people should feed what fits their dog?

I am saying that those that believe their way is the best and all others wrong may not be right.

As our vet nutritionist specialist tells us, there is no way any of us will ever be able to micromanage what our dogs eat any better than their digestive system has evolved to do.
Even at our most careful and studied, the liver alone can do more with what we give it, wherever it comes from, than any of us can possibly manage.

That doesn't mean we don't need to be informed, aware and do our best with what we have and know.

[Serigraph]

Dalpal - Yup that was it. Science Diet UD. I can't stand that stuff. My Dal blew up (and he has a sleek build) and had gas that would just about make the house explode!

[Bluey]

Dalpal - Yup that was it. Science Diet UD. I can't stand that stuff. My Dal blew up (and he has a sleek build) and had gas that would just about make the house explode!

On the other hand, those special diets have saved and prolonged the lives and quality of those lives of many dogs, as that of our toy poodle, that was on a special diet for liver trouble the last good two years of her life.

[grayarabpony]

I fed my dog Purina and Pedigree dog foods, along with a vitamin supplement, and she lived for 20 years.

Of course, genetics have a lot to do with that. Her mom lived to be 16, her grandfather 18, and her father an undetermined very old age.

I can imagine nutritional needs could vary by breed. I was wondering though -- sorry if this has already been addressed -- how can you be sure that feeding the raw meat is safe? Is it irradiated?