Feeding!

Shantara

Shantara

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 August 2009
Messages
7,425
Location
Milton Keynes
Visit site
If there is one thing that baffles me about animals, it's feeding! And annoyingly, you kinda have to do it! :P

It took me ages to figure out what is good for Ned, I have tried all sorts, but he actually has rather simple tastes! Some chaff and a dollop of sugar beet!

Though, I have never had to choose a dog feed before. With Annie, we gave her what the previous people did. A scoop of doggy biscuits and something tasty like chicken or some other meat and that served the purpose for 16 years!

My YO feeds just biscuits - not sure what brand, but another lady swears by the raw diet and will not feed anything else.

Since I don't actually have the dog yet, it's not too much of a worry - I was just wondering what you all feed your doggies! Specifically larger breeds would be most helpful :)
 
30kg Rotti x Lab has James Wellbeloved dry food with Nature Diet wet food. They fed her this at the rescue and it seems to work well (they used tinned dog food in fact but I switched to ND as seemed better). She gets fed twice a day. My previous dog got mixer and a tin of meat once a day plus a handful of Shapes at lunchtime at a quarter of the price and he lived to 15!

Prepare yourself for the change in bedding. My dog had a plastic bed lined with cut up blankets and a sheet on top - all very comfy but 'make-do and mend' - current dog has a bed for every occasion with memory foam, fleece covers, summer covers and even a light something for when she is on the sofa (we have a cold house mind!)
 
35kg Gsd has raw food just under a 950gms split in to 2 meals a mixture of chicken/tripe /lamb/beef and sardines and bones like chicken quarters lamb bones and duck necks.
 
There's a dry and wet food index sticky above. Also look at allaboutdogfood website for honest reviews. My opinion would be nothing from the supermarket, it's all full of cereal, which is the biggest cause of allergic reactions/skin issues and is generally low quality, often containing BHT/BHA as a preservative-they're carcinogenic.

Don't go for the stuff the vet sells, also full of cereals and very little meat content and it's a nonsense to feed breed specific IMO unless you're considering the purine issue in a dally.

Top dry food (IMO) is Orijen or Acana, expensive, but you feed less because it's high in protein. Wainwright's Fishmongers is also good in terms of quality. Good wet food-Wainwright's trays or Nature Diet.

I feed Wainwright's to the older boy and raw to the youngsters. Raw is great in that you see what your dog is getting, but can be daunting if you're not used to it. If you want to check it out, look at the Facebook raw feeding groups. Once you know what you're doing, it's straightforward.

What breed are you getting?
 
Raw is definitely the best way to feed in my opinion.

However it can be tricky if you want to use food as a motivator or training aid, if your dog isn't a gorb, it's not going to work for cheese or hot dog sausages if it knows it's going to get chicken wings at tea time. Gruel vs Caviar!!

I feed James Wellbeloved as a 'base' supplemented by eggs, fish, coconut oil, and whatever I get from the reduced meat section in the supermarket, you can usually get very good deals.
When I fed raw I really rated Natural Instinct, DUCK (although it's hard to come by) and I had a great guy who supplied meat to greyhound trainers who had super quality meat.

Popular wisdom is to not feed raw and dry at the same time because of the difference in digestion periods.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys :)

The lady who feeds raw says she knows someone, who is relatively cheap, but very good quality. Though I'm not sure of the size and how it'd work out cost wise. I don't want to be spending a fortune, as we never did with Annie, but I also don't want to be feeding rubbish! Some nice middle-ground food would be good :) I know the breeder starts them off with Fish4Dogs, and I believe we get a bag of that when we collect the pup, but I'll have to double check.

We're getting a Tamaskan!
My OH wanted a dog for it's looks and I wanted one for company and personality and from what I've gathered from owners/breeders/enthusiasts, you get the best of both worlds with a Tam!
I went to meet the breeder with a friend who was collecting her puppy a few months ago and I was impressed with her dogs and I got to cuddle with a lovely pup while breeder and friend talked. I am in contact with the puppies owner and she is just perfect! Such a calm and collected dog and she's not even 6 months old yet! My friends pup is the same!

On the forum, it seems a pretty even mix as far as feeding goes, some do raw, some do dry and others do dry/wet!
 
Fish for dogs has replaced much of the protein with pea flour and I wouldn't use it. Their treats, however, are fab, stinky and motivating. When out, none of my lot are bothered about food unless they find a nice mouldy rabbit!

As you're Milton Keynes, Scott with the Dog Food Company will deliver to you once a month of you go the raw route. His quality and prices are the best I can find.
http://www.thedogfoodcompany.co.uk/products.html
 
We do raw for our cocker.
She has a lump of natural instinct and either a handful of heart chunks or poultry necks from Nature's Menu for her main meals.
Once a week she'll have a treat of windpipe/whole liver/lamb neck. And she gets a carrot every night for bedtime!
Its really helped her put on weight. She's a bit stressy and full of Spaniel bounce so much so that at one point all her spine and hips were visible despite being fed twice a day and wormed etc. (Although he coat always looked good).
We tried Wainwrights and Arden Grange but she didn't put any weight on with those and although the Nature's Menu all sounded really yummy (so much so I often toy with the idea of buying the nuggets to make a venison and cranberry pie) I didnt like the fact that it had lots of veg added which just passed through her.

2nvuyxd.jpg
 
Thank you! Those prices do seem good! :O

This feels like a stupid question, but can you feed raw and dry? I've only ever heard of people doing wet/dry as a combination.
 
We're back on Fish for Dogs and Nature's menue, as the orijen wasn't working out. She also gets raw meat when it's around.
 
I had to go and look that breed up, very lovely, I hope you like walking!
I believe huskys have quite specific feed needs so wonder if, as this is a sled dog, it may be the same? Blackcob on here has sibes, I think? She might be able to recommend.
 
Clodagh - Hehe I do, I've not been walking as much as I used to since losing my Annie-woof! I'll be taking her to work with me, it's extremely dog friendly - everyone who has one brings it!
And I had to look them up too! My friend told me she was getting a puppy and knew that I would love them too...she was right!

Thank you, I'll look her up :)
 
For an unusual breed like that with specific needs, I would be guided by the breeder.

Our extremely healthy Rottweilers are fed on Butchers tinned meat (tripe) and plain mixer. I am very wary of raw feeding, since my aunt's poodle was having seizures caused by a form of food poisoning, which it is believed she got from raw food. The vet recommended changing to Chappie and managed to cure her with a variety of drugs but it was touch and go.
 
cinnamontoast said:
Is the breeder breeding back to back litters, or is this a different dam? And re there health tests in place? The stats for some related health issues seem rather high.
Click to expand...

Different dam and sire, I know she tests eyes and hips, I can't remember the others! Most people I have spoken to don't seem to have any/many health issues, though I think, especially now, most breeds have some things to watch out for!
 
I feed mine raw. You can get it at Walnut Tree, but theres loads of places that deliver. You could always pop in one day and meet my dogs and I can talk to you about raw if its something your interested in? Mine just look and feel amazing on it, and the change in behaviour when I swapped was dramatic! I know its not for everyone, and I am very pro, but I promise not to ram it down your neck :lol:
 
I've got greyhounds ranging from 21kg to 35kg, they are all fed raw and look fabulous on it as well as generally being very healthy. The big dog gets 2.5lbs (1.13kg) of food a day, the girls get about 1.5lbs (0.68 kg) per day depending on how they are looking. I feed by eye so always adjust as needed daily.

I order mine from Manifold Valley Meats - the best quality IMO - they deliver to your door as well!

ETA - blimey just googled the breed, you are brave taking one of those on :D :D Good luck :)
 
Last edited:
FrankieCob said:
I feed mine raw. You can get it at Walnut Tree, but theres loads of places that deliver. You could always pop in one day and meet my dogs and I can talk to you about raw if its something your interested in? Mine just look and feel amazing on it, and the change in behaviour when I swapped was dramatic! I know its not for everyone, and I am very pro, but I promise not to ram it down your neck :lol:
Click to expand...

That would be fab!! Thank you :D
I really like the idea of raw and a lot of people on the Tam forum feed it and they seem to do well. The dog that belongs to the lady at my yard who feeds it, looks amazing! A great weight, with muscle and a sleek coat. Though, the YOs dogs also look good and they get dry only (I believe).
 
Lévrier;13129499 said:
I've got greyhounds ranging from 21kg to 35kg, they are all fed raw and look fabulous on it as well as generally being very healthy. The big dog gets 2.5lbs (1.13kg) of food a day, the girls get about 1.5lbs (0.68 kg) per day depending on how they are looking. I feed by eye so always adjust as needed daily.

I order mine from Manifold Valley Meats - the best quality IMO - they deliver to your door as well!

ETA - blimey just googled the breed, you are brave taking one of those on :D :D Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Hehe ^^ I love big doggies :D

It seems like I have a lot of good choices when it comes to raw - lots of people deliver, by the looks of it :D which is always nice!
 
Chan said:
That would be fab!! Thank you :D
I really like the idea of raw and a lot of people on the Tam forum feed it and they seem to do well. The dog that belongs to the lady at my yard who feeds it, looks amazing! A great weight, with muscle and a sleek coat. Though, the YOs dogs also look good and they get dry only (I believe).
Click to expand...

Mine literally glow :) FB me and pop over one day and you can be assaulted in the nicest possible way by my two :lol:
 
Overall the Tamaskan breed is healthy with only a few notable health issues, which affect a small percentage of the bloodlines to date. Roughly 10% of males suffer from cryptorchidism: undescended testes. With these cases, usually only one testicle fully descends within the scrotum, while the other testicle remains "hidden" up within the abdominal cavity. Epilepsy has been diagnosed in five dogs, affecting about 1 out of every 100 registered Tamaskan worldwide. Several dogs have been found to be carriers of degenerative myelopathy. As with all large breed dogs, hip dysplasia is a risk.

From Wikipedia, so about as reliable as a chocolate teapot, but high percentages mentioned.
 
cinnamontoast said:
Overall the Tamaskan breed is healthy with only a few notable health issues, which affect a small percentage of the bloodlines to date. Roughly 10% of males suffer from cryptorchidism: undescended testes. With these cases, usually only one testicle fully descends within the scrotum, while the other testicle remains "hidden" up within the abdominal cavity. Epilepsy has been diagnosed in five dogs, affecting about 1 out of every 100 registered Tamaskan worldwide. Several dogs have been found to be carriers of degenerative myelopathy. As with all large breed dogs, hip dysplasia is a risk.

From Wikipedia, so about as reliable as a chocolate teapot, but high percentages mentioned.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, quite a few of the owners of male dogs speak about the hidden testicle, one reason I went for a female (among many others) and know of one with fatal hip dysplasia, they were on the international forum, so not sure where they got their pup from, though on the (mainly) UK forum, nearly everyone seems to have a healthy dog. The parents both seem to be good, healthy dogs with good hips :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top