Feeding - home cooked, Raw? Anything except canned cr*p!

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Bounty

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Advice/opinions wanted please.

We are considering moving away from commercially available dog feeds, having become really queasy at the thought of what drugs are potentially pumped into animals before they go to slaughter (bute etc in the case of horses). I don't want to be feeding this to our dogs anymore
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So, tell me more about feeding raw, or preparing meals ourselves, or any other alternatives!
I don't mind cooking up anything as long as it can be done in bulk and then frozen in portions.

Pro, cons and costs wanted please
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This is what goes into my dog's home-cooked food, which is made by our local pet shop. We also feed freeze-dried venison patties every third meal:

Organic turkey breast, ginger, garlic, parsley, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, apple cider vinegar, omega 3 fish oil, flax seed, sea meal, slippery elm powder, blue/green algae, dried cranberry, taurine, bone meal, zinc, vitamin E, scorbate C, bee pollen, grapefruit seed extract, trace minerals, digestive enzymes, lecithin.

Stella's poops are small, she has loads of energy, and her coat positively glistens. I can't think of a downside. The cost isn't even too bad, actually.
 
All in one dried dog food! Mine have been on it for years, and they are always in fantastic condition, the right weight, gleaming coats etc
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Of course that could just be down to me being a superb dog owner
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(JOKE everyone!!!!)
 
We have taken our boxer puppy off the dried food he just wasnt interested in it. We feed naturediet, which is supposed to be quite a good "wet" food and also add some raw.

We use the "prize choice" raw packs that come frozen and you can defrost as much as you need as keep the rest frozen till you need it.

Alfie then still gets the necessary vits etc from the naturediet and also the added enjoyment of raw, he loves it and instead of walking to his food and turning his nose up at it he actually legs it to his mat where he is fed now!!

pro's - he actually loves his food and i dont feel like im feeding him crap!
Cons - Can be slightly expensive
 
We feed raw and I really like it. My dogs coats feel really silky and look glossy, they are fit and well and their poo's are much smaller, less smelly and are a lot nicer to pick up!!!

We use Landywoods to buy bulk raw food for them. An order (£40 ish usually lasts about 6 weeks for two dogs). They sell 425g packs of meat, offal, meat and veg, meat and bone plus we also buy meaty rib bones, chicken wings and marrow bones. Our dogs get one each for dinner and a quarter pack for breakfast. The only downside is it can be a bit messy. We defrost the packs as we need them but some of them are quite bloody when they defrost so you have to be careful not to drip it across the kitchen!!! the tripe ones I use gloves for cos it makes your hands stink!!! that is the only downside i can think of. Oh and you need a big freezer!

Once you get the hang of it it doesn't take at all long to prepare. We get meat out of the freezer each night when we are making dinner to defrost for the following night. We also do our own fruit/veg mixes. We buy a few different things from the supermarket and then blend it up and freeze it in a bag. Then when its frozen we break if up and feed a small bit each every morning. We get that out with the meat every night to defrost although one of our dogs also loves the ice cube's as well so he'll occasionally get a frozen cube as a snack!

We also feed pilchards in tomato sauce twice a week for breakfast. A tin is about 45p and all the supermarkets do it (Glenryck's 425g).

They also get leftovers if we have any - anything really that they are allowed. I also occasionally do rabbit stews for them (the only thing so far they don't like raw). I get them from the local butcher who cuts them in four pieces for me so I can fit them in the slow cooker, i remove the bones once they are cooked as it's easier to remove the meat and makes the stock nicer.
 
I feed mine raw everything.

He has chicken wings, whole fish - mince left over meat etc from the butchers, heart once a week.

Did a lot of reading up about feeding when I got my dog - he has been fed raw from when we brought him home and is doing really well. There are some really useful websites to read. Can't remember the names but if you search for "feeding dogs raw" you should find something.

It's much cheaper, a big pack of chicken wings is only about £1.20 - because it's all the meat not everyone wants.
 
I feed our 6 raw
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The collies were very hard to feed on kibble/complete dry food as they really did not like it and just didn't eat.
I get lamb rib bones/vertebrae parts and chicken wings from the butcher, they get the lamb bones for breakfast and a couple of chicken wings each plus some other bits for dinner. Once a week they get an offal meal liver/kidney/heart, once a week sardines in oil, and twice a week a veggie mix I make up with mainly carrots and Freeflow mince (make 4 big boxes once a month and so get one out each week. Fruit is meant to be beneficial but haven't quite worked out how to add that in yet!

I can't remember what sites to look at off hand, if you google brit barf there is a good forum with helpful people
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I do have a load of info saved on my computer somewhere about what to feed and amounts for weights of dog will have a look for it if you'd like
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In terms of cost MUCH MUCH cheaper for me with 6 dogs, especially as 4 of them used to be on active/working premium complete food and that cost a fortune and to top it off they love it!!
 
Thankyou so much everyone
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I am off to the butchers tomorrow to see what I can get hold of, so I can price it up against Landywoods.

At the moment they are having Butchers biscuits alongside the canned food, but none of them are wild about them so they will pick at the biscuits over a period over several hours - and two of the dogs end up eating more than their share whilst the older dog loses out
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MarleyandDarcy - any info you can dig out for me would be fab
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all in one dry- we tried the raw mince and it just got a bit messy. personally i just don't like having raw meat hanging round the kitchen and it seemed to be ending up quite expensive as well as the freezer always being full up with dog food instead of ppl food
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we've never had a prob with 'All in one'. order online and always arrives next day, dogs love it and are looking great on it. also low protein and oils if you have hyper dogs that react manically to anything you buy in the shops.
 
I feed my 3 raw meat and bones too, I also use Landywoods, they take some beating. If you struggle to house all the food (as with the landywoods order) get some of your like minded friends to come in with you and share the £40 minimum order as I have done and one of my friends can feed his dog (Shar Pei) for around £4 per week now.
My dogs have never been better since on raw food and their teeth are gleaming, Oz
 
If you want to give it a try before you commit to a larger order, some pet stores (Pets At Home for one) carry frozen meat as well. They have large bags of mince and blocks of various meats although from what I can tell dogs aren't likely to be picky about any kind of meat! A good option for someone with limited freezer storage although it does work out to more ££s.

Mine gets a kibble (dry food) which he "self feeds" and then a meal of meat mixed with veg, rice etc. twice a day (he's just on a year so still eating on an adolescent schedule and is a sighthound so small meals are recommended). He also gets bones as his second meat meal if we have them but we have limited freezer space so it's not always possible to have stock and storage at the same time. He also gets oil and a supplement. People literally stop me to say how good he looks.
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I also make his training treats out of one of the frozen meat packages (mixed with veg, a bit of flour, egg etc.) so a) he's not eating junk and b) as he's not always a great eater (gets distracted) I count his treats as part of his diet, not extra.

To be honest I don't find it any more trouble than canned food and this way I know what he's eating and I know it's all "food" rather than "filler".
 
I have been feeding species appropriate since 1998 (although I find it hard to get kangaroo over here !!!!) and no commercial dog food passes my dogs lips! I would not go back having seen the benefits over many years.

I started with Ian Billinghurst’s book, “Give your dog a bone” though I do not agree with everything he suggests feeding and mine steer clear of dairy and any form of grain, and I tend to avoid this for the horses as well.

There is a also a book by Kymythy Schultz Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats and here is a link to species appropriate guide 1st hand
http://members.aol.com/brushbow/index1.htm There are also raw feeding forums but I tend to do my own thing.

To bulk buy and get the best price you need a garage freezer and the other essential is a DIY axe, with a sharp kitchen knife.

Basically I can feed two adult male cattle dogs the majority of their diet for £5 per month. The secret is to befriend a local butcher who has to pay for all his leftovers to be taken away. But patrolling the reduced section at the supermarket can also pay dividends. I often buy chickens and take the crown off for me and the dogs have the rest. Morrison’s also do a stock pack of lamb bones for less than £1 and chicken wings are usually very cheap as well.

The bulk of the diet for my two is chicken carcasses (1 each if there is a fair bit of meat still left) and chicken wings (5-6 each) as these give the best meat to bone ratio for maintenance when feeding raw (80% bone to 20% meat). Mine are fed once a day but get treats in the morning.

They also get lamb bones and I favour one side of a ribcage with meat in between the bones is a meal for one of mine.

Occasional Pigs trotters, but they are a bit rich, and of course turkey carcasses around xmas though the bones on these can be quite hard. I help my self to deer bits from the game butcher across the road, though again deer bones are hard! Mine are not overly keen on game, but love rabbit I prefer to give it to them with the fur on if possible, though rabbit ribs can be quite sharp.

They sometimes get tripe from the petshop but I always read the label as some companies put grain in with theirs! Though all the rest I feed is human grade. Mine are ok with liver but hate kidney.

They have mince once a week and into that goes some liquidised raw veg and they get eggs as well as treats or in with a soft meal.

The only cooked they get is pilchards in tomato sauce and they will get the odd table scraps. I do sometimes mix a bit of whitebait in, sometimes I lightly cook fish and they will then eat it but these two don’t like it raw.

Really it’s a case of reading a bit and giving it a good try, be prepared for a detox period where a dog might itch etc as the old feeding regime leaves the system, but basically if you aim to feed mostly raw meat and bones (Bones are essential) then you can’t go far wrong.

Obviously when they get old you have to take more care and an axe can help by braking up the bones a bit for oldies, and when they get really old well then they can have whatever they will eat. Basically to gain weight feed more muscle meat and too loose weight more bone.

Word of warning NEVER feed kibble at the same time or after you feed raw particularly bones as they travel much slower through the gut and you risk impaction.
I have never changed over gradually I have changed diet full stop as I figure the sooner they are off the unsuitable food the better.

Oh and be prepared for negativity on the part of your vet though a growing number are more receptive as they start to see the benefits, politley ask how long their training on dog nutrition was, who gave them the training and what dog food company they worked for, the answer will usually make you chuckle!!!!

Hope that helps
 
I have been feeding my dog a home prepared/raw diet for nearly a year and my dog really loves it. I dont feed a strictly barf diet, the proportions aren't exact, the veg sometimes isnt raw and she does sometimes get rice or quinoa. Her menu is a mixture of raw meat or fish, different fruits or veg, chicken wings, bones from the butcher, and any suitable leftovers from our meals which may include rice, pasta, quinoa, beans, lentils, cooked meat(never pork or cooked bones), gravy, potato, herbs etc etc.

When I did reading on dog nutrition I found a lot of experts saying you shouldn't feed a home prepared diet unless you are very knowledgeable and know exactly what is what.

Some knowledge is important and do your research especially so you know what NOT to feed but I personally think any reasonably well put together human food is ten times better than cheap supermarket rubbish.
 
Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to reply - in so much depth as well! You have all really helped me, and made the raw/barf thing seem so much more doable than I first thought.

I'm sure my doggies will all be very appreciative!
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Just to add - like Karyn, we've been feeding dogs & cats raw food now for years - 9 years to be exact. In fact it was Karyn all those years ago who opened my eyes to it, and I'm glad she did, and we've never looked back.

Landywoods are very good if time is short, they do take the hassle out of feeding. We also pick up bargains where we can tho. And the dog has developed the habit of catching her own - which helps! Lol!

I must be doing something right - I lost my old dog last year at 17 years old, and my two old cats are now rolling on towards being 18 years old.

I wouldn't go back to commercial food for anything.
 
I'm debating putting Jack on raw meat. He has bakers complete to pick at during the day but I've discovered a 'natural' mostly meat dog food which I've fed today but his farts stink!!!!
 
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