[CeeCee's Mom]

Just read this and wanted to post for everyone to read..........

Pet food could be making kids sick, report says - Health - msnbc.com

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Just another reason to ditch the kibble.

 

[The A Team]

One of these days I'd love to start home cooking for my four.

But in order for me to really do it and stick to it, it needs to be easy. :blush:

Suzan - help me! Tell me what to do. :w00t:

 

[wooflife]

Pat,

Last weekend I called the local ethnic butcher - they are grinding Dr. Becker's bone free meat recipe for me. It has the correct ratio of meat and organ meat. I'm picking it up today and throwing it in a crockpot then adding honest kitchen Premix to it when it's done. Sometimes I use Dr. Harvey's veg to bowl. It is not as good as fresh organic veggies but I'm not at that point yet.

This has been the easiest for me to work with and takes the least amount of time. This way they are getting everything they need with the least amount of work. And it makes enough to feed 3 dogs for about 2 weeks.

Eventually I'll use fresh veg and Dr.Becker's vitamin mix.

 

[Snowbody]

Here was a report on it on ABC News. It appears that in the room where the flavors are sprayed on that there's enough moisture for salmonella to grow. Very scary indeed.
Study Links Salmonella Outbreak to Pet Food - ABC News

 

[Nikki's Mom]

I'm not a Veterinary Nutritionist, so I can't really tell anyone how to home cook for their dog. I can only give my own personal opinions, and my experiences. When I decided to home cook, I paid a veterinarian for a customized recipe, which I later tweaked a bit. You could do that, or use Dr. Becker's book.

I am not a fan of kibble at all, but I understand that not everyone can home cook. Here's some commercial food suggestions.

If I had to feed my dog commercial pet food, I'd feed canned only, this brand: Party Animal Gourmet Organic Pet Food If they don't carry it in your local store, it can be ordered online.

Or I'd feed freeze-dried Grandma Lucy's: Grandma Lucy's Artisan Chicken Grain-Free Dog Food at PETCO

Or I'd feed Dr Harvey's, and add my own meat and oil: Dr. Harvey's - Fine Health Foods for Companion Animals (Grandma Lucy's also now has a pre-mix where you add your own meat. I mgiht try that, too.)

I give the dogs Dr. Harvey's once in a while, and when we go on a road trip, they will get Grandma Lucy's

If I fed a commercial raw, I'd feed Paw Naturaw, or Stella and Chewy's.

Hope this helps

 

[maltlovereileen]

Yes, Pedigree uses the spray on flavoring. I don't believe the high quality kibbles do this.

 

[Chalex]

Grandma Lucy's has garlic pretty high on the ingredients list. I believe it is on the list of things NOT to feed a dog.

 

[poochie2]

Grandma Lucy's has garlic pretty high on the ingredients list. I believe it is on the list of things NOT to feed a dog.

I've been feeding Grandam Lucy's and yes you are right when I prepare it I can smell the garlic....... but my malt has no issues with this food.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Garlic in huge amounts is not good for dogs. It is a blood thinner. The amount of garlic in Grandma Lucy's is small. The reason why you smell it is because it's freeze-dried, which means the smell is more concentrated.

Garlic is one of the most beneficial foods. It's an antiviral, antibacterial, blood-pressure lowering immune booster.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Yes, Pedigree uses the spray on flavoring. I don't believe the high quality kibbles do this.

Kibble that contains "natural flavors" in their ingredient list is usually a sprayed-on flavoring.

 

[harrysmom]

Kibble that contains "natural flavors" in their ingredient list is usually a sprayed-on flavoring.

I feed my lab Merrick and I just looked on the ingredient list. It
says "natural flavors"... does that always mean sprayed-on flavoring?
Should I be looking to switch brands because of this? He's 9 years old
and he's done well on this food for many years, but I'm concerned about
the possibility of salmonella, especially as he gets older. And I worry about
Harry possibly getting salmonella also.

Edited to add: I just checked Blue Buffalo and no added flavors are listed,
so I ordered a bag and I'll be trying to transition him to the new food.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Dogs usually do not get sick from Salmonella. It's more of a threat to humans.

 

[harrysmom]

Dogs usually do not get sick from Salmonella. It's more of a threat to humans.

I didn't realize that.... thanks Suzan. I'm still going to try to switch him,
though... because I've been worried about feeding Merrick for
other reasons as well and this just gives me the push to change.

 

[Hunter's Mom]

Grandma Lucy's has garlic pretty high on the ingredients list. I believe it is on the list of things NOT to feed a dog.

I've been feeding Grandam Lucy's and yes you are right when I prepare it I can smell the garlic....... but my malt has no issues with this food.

Garlic in huge amounts is not good for dogs. It is a blood thinner. The amount of garlic in Grandma Lucy's is small. The reason why you smell it is because it's freeze-dried, which means the smell is more concentrated.

Garlic is one of the most beneficial foods. It's an antiviral, antibacterial, blood-pressure lowering immune booster.

I also feed Grandma Lucy's and its a great food (in my opinion). The garlic is a strong smell but as Suzan said, that's because is freeze-dried. Garlic is also a natural tick repellant so that has been a great bonus to this food since we have annual wars with ticks.

I have found the food to be easy to prepare and as I said in my other post about it, Hunter goes NUTS for it! Hunter may once again get home cooked meals sometime in the future, but until then I am sticking with Grandma Lucy's.

 

[Snowbody]

I was just thinking I never got the sample of Grandma Lucy's that I called about weeks ago.:huh: Anyone else get theirs?

 

[Nikki's Mom]

I ordered a full bag from Petco.com a while ago, and it got here pretty quickly. But maybe the samples take longer? Crystal at Pampered Pet Boutique also sells the 3 lb bags.

 

[poochie2]

I was just thinking I never got the sample of Grandma Lucy's that I called about weeks ago.:huh: Anyone else get theirs?

The pet food is great but the company itself is strange. I have tried calling the toll free number on the bag and it says it is not in service and I have emailed them a question 3X with no response.