Since there are several newbies here, and I've received a couple of PM's, I thought I'd post my thoughts on food for our fluffs.
Disclaimer: I'm just a cranky old lady who is very picky about what my dog eats. I have no formal schooling in canine nutrition. I have an inquisitive nature and I do a lot of research. The opinions I have are just my opinions, take them or leave them, and please do your own homework. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they should feed their dog.
I am big on home cooking for our dogs. I am just beginning to explore the world of raw feeding, so I don't know too much about that, perhaps others can chime in. Whole Dog Journal is a great magazine that covers food in depth. If you are a newbie, I highly suggest you subscribe.
My thinking is that commercial dog food has all the required vitamins/minerals your dog needs to survive. But let's look beyond that and consider quality of the actual food in the bag or the can. If you aren't concerned about food quality, just vitamins, then any commercial dog food will do because 99% of them are nutritionally complete and balanced. Let's compare that to people food. For example, "Total" brand cereal will give us a 100% balanced breakfast. And we could probably eat it 3X a day and not die. But what is the actual quality of those flakes in that box? Where were those grains grown? Are they genetically modified? Who knows?
So, in order to feed our dogs so that they thrive, not just survive, and don't get allergies, behavioral issues, ear infections, etc. we really should consider a food that has good quality meat and veggies, along with the vitamin mix that goes into every dog food. Grains aren't the best thing for all dogs, and they can be the culprit when an allergy forms. So, a grain-free food is preferable for many dogs. However a dog needs to have adequate water when eating a grain-free dry food as it is usually higher in protein. If you must feed your dog a food that contains grains, please don't feed it gluten grains, like wheat, oats, barley or rye. Gluten grains are highly allergenic, as is corn. Rice is the least allergenic out of all the grains. Millet and Quinoa are other low allergy grains.
Taking that into consideration, if folks would like to home cook for their dog, then there are a couple of ways to go about it.
1. Using a nutrition database, figure out what your dog's vitamin/mineral needs are and do it all yourself. It's time consuming and detailed, but some people like to do this sort of thing.
2. Buy a recipe from a Veterinary Nutritionist, either in person, on the phone, or online. Expensive maybe, but a good investment.
3. Use a book, like Dr. Becker's new book: Welcome to Dogwise.com
4. Use a nutritionally balanced veggie base, and add your own proteins: Dr. Harvey's Veg-to-bowl, or Dr. Harvey's Canine Health.
You can also do the same thing as above, but use raw protein instead of cooked, your choice. Supplementing food with Salmon Oil, Sardines, or another Omega 3 oil, is very beneficial, as is Coconut oil.
If you would like to feed raw, but want something nutritionally balanced that has the vitamins/veggies already in it, Paw Naturaw makes a certified organic raw food, either dehydrated or frozen. It's expensive, but it's convenient and certified pathogen-free. Some people use Stella and Chewy's raw food as well, and seem to like it.
If you don't want to bother with home cooking, then there are a few commercial foods that seem to be good quality, along with being nutritionally balanced. If I had to choose between canned and kibble, I'd choose canned food. Party Animal Organics makes an organic grain-free canned food that I have used in the past, and it appears to be good-quality food. I wouldn't use their kibble, as it contains grains.
If you want to feed your dog kibble, Acana makes some food that seems to be good quality.
There are many other great quality foods out there. Try some and see which one suits yhour dog.
I feed my dog 2X a day. I have never free-fed. When Nikki was a puppy I fed her 3X a day.
It is really up to you. I know that most people have a hectic, busy life and cannot home cook or do research. And many folks are on a limited budget. But IMO, if you do a little homework and feed your dog the best quality food you can possibly afford, you are saving yourself money and time during the dog's lifespan because you won't be in the vet's office with allergies, infections etc. That's not to say that your dog will never get sick if you feed it well, but you will reduce the chances of him/her having an allergic reaction and being sickened by poor quality proteins. Dogs can withstand eating poor food for a long time, but at some point it WILL catch up with them.
Regarding puppies: I didn't start home cooking until Nikki was about 9 months old. If I had to do it again, I'd start home cooking right away, or feed a good quality canned suitable for all ages. But if I home-cooked for a puppy, I'd definitely get some help from a professional.
When I got my recipes from a vet, I had to pay for them. It was a one-time fee, and my recipe allows for rotation of meats/fish and rotation of veggies. So I will continue to use it for a long time. Even though that recipe cost me $50 at the time, it was a great investment.
I hope that this helps. In addition, please go ahead and read through the sticky post regarding home cooking: http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-...ookers-can-you-please-post-what-you-feed.html
I hope this helps. It can get very confusing, and I know that all of us here want to do the best possible things to ensure that our fluffs are happy and healthy. Feeding takes trial and error, and eventually you will find what is perfect for you and your dog.
Disclaimer: I'm just a cranky old lady who is very picky about what my dog eats. I have no formal schooling in canine nutrition. I have an inquisitive nature and I do a lot of research. The opinions I have are just my opinions, take them or leave them, and please do your own homework. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they should feed their dog.
I am big on home cooking for our dogs. I am just beginning to explore the world of raw feeding, so I don't know too much about that, perhaps others can chime in. Whole Dog Journal is a great magazine that covers food in depth. If you are a newbie, I highly suggest you subscribe.
My thinking is that commercial dog food has all the required vitamins/minerals your dog needs to survive. But let's look beyond that and consider quality of the actual food in the bag or the can. If you aren't concerned about food quality, just vitamins, then any commercial dog food will do because 99% of them are nutritionally complete and balanced. Let's compare that to people food. For example, "Total" brand cereal will give us a 100% balanced breakfast. And we could probably eat it 3X a day and not die. But what is the actual quality of those flakes in that box? Where were those grains grown? Are they genetically modified? Who knows?
So, in order to feed our dogs so that they thrive, not just survive, and don't get allergies, behavioral issues, ear infections, etc. we really should consider a food that has good quality meat and veggies, along with the vitamin mix that goes into every dog food. Grains aren't the best thing for all dogs, and they can be the culprit when an allergy forms. So, a grain-free food is preferable for many dogs. However a dog needs to have adequate water when eating a grain-free dry food as it is usually higher in protein. If you must feed your dog a food that contains grains, please don't feed it gluten grains, like wheat, oats, barley or rye. Gluten grains are highly allergenic, as is corn. Rice is the least allergenic out of all the grains. Millet and Quinoa are other low allergy grains.
Taking that into consideration, if folks would like to home cook for their dog, then there are a couple of ways to go about it.
1. Using a nutrition database, figure out what your dog's vitamin/mineral needs are and do it all yourself. It's time consuming and detailed, but some people like to do this sort of thing.
2. Buy a recipe from a Veterinary Nutritionist, either in person, on the phone, or online. Expensive maybe, but a good investment.
3. Use a book, like Dr. Becker's new book: Welcome to Dogwise.com
4. Use a nutritionally balanced veggie base, and add your own proteins: Dr. Harvey's Veg-to-bowl, or Dr. Harvey's Canine Health.
You can also do the same thing as above, but use raw protein instead of cooked, your choice. Supplementing food with Salmon Oil, Sardines, or another Omega 3 oil, is very beneficial, as is Coconut oil.
If you would like to feed raw, but want something nutritionally balanced that has the vitamins/veggies already in it, Paw Naturaw makes a certified organic raw food, either dehydrated or frozen. It's expensive, but it's convenient and certified pathogen-free. Some people use Stella and Chewy's raw food as well, and seem to like it.
If you don't want to bother with home cooking, then there are a few commercial foods that seem to be good quality, along with being nutritionally balanced. If I had to choose between canned and kibble, I'd choose canned food. Party Animal Organics makes an organic grain-free canned food that I have used in the past, and it appears to be good-quality food. I wouldn't use their kibble, as it contains grains.
If you want to feed your dog kibble, Acana makes some food that seems to be good quality.
There are many other great quality foods out there. Try some and see which one suits yhour dog.
I feed my dog 2X a day. I have never free-fed. When Nikki was a puppy I fed her 3X a day.
It is really up to you. I know that most people have a hectic, busy life and cannot home cook or do research. And many folks are on a limited budget. But IMO, if you do a little homework and feed your dog the best quality food you can possibly afford, you are saving yourself money and time during the dog's lifespan because you won't be in the vet's office with allergies, infections etc. That's not to say that your dog will never get sick if you feed it well, but you will reduce the chances of him/her having an allergic reaction and being sickened by poor quality proteins. Dogs can withstand eating poor food for a long time, but at some point it WILL catch up with them.
Regarding puppies: I didn't start home cooking until Nikki was about 9 months old. If I had to do it again, I'd start home cooking right away, or feed a good quality canned suitable for all ages. But if I home-cooked for a puppy, I'd definitely get some help from a professional.
When I got my recipes from a vet, I had to pay for them. It was a one-time fee, and my recipe allows for rotation of meats/fish and rotation of veggies. So I will continue to use it for a long time. Even though that recipe cost me $50 at the time, it was a great investment.
I hope that this helps. In addition, please go ahead and read through the sticky post regarding home cooking: http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-...ookers-can-you-please-post-what-you-feed.html
I hope this helps. It can get very confusing, and I know that all of us here want to do the best possible things to ensure that our fluffs are happy and healthy. Feeding takes trial and error, and eventually you will find what is perfect for you and your dog.