Holistic/Natural/Homecooked..experiences esp with GSD types

SaharaS

SaharaS

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 October 2011
Messages
2,479
Visit site
Hello...its All About Dogs turn for my epic this eve..sorry! In dec for my birthday, I got a book, Natural Dog, By Dr Dheva Khalsa...basically a holistic approach complete with recipes. Previously(currently) fed Autarky (a holistic feed salmon dry adult complete feed with no rubbish) but my boy was lacking enthusiasm although he has been a slow picky eater since he arrived (rescued june 2011) He was fed according to his weight & where I would like him to be weight wise as he is very nervy & we are out doing horses etc most of the day so was splitting the amount between 3 smaller more manageable meals.if I had salmon or chicken, I would use a bit sometimes (no salt etc) as a topper to encourage him, tho I think he always seemed keener with something added ...my last dog Max, I had from 8 wks to 15 years & he had a diet of rice, veg & freshly cooked chicken daily...so happy to cook and feed all home made or part autarky. I just wondered if any of you home cook, particularly if any of you with GSD's/Belgians/Swiss White Shepherd etc & how you are getting on?..anyone gone back to complete dry? He is digesting everything fine, tho poos are smaller, dont seem to smell more..I'm very careful to let him pick the herbs before i add them & no salt etc he absolutely adores taking broccoli carrots or cauliflower stalks to gnaw and happily tucks in. I'm conscious these particular breeds are prone to sensitive stomachs and equally that all dogs like us have allergies etc & prefer some things, ofcourse the author will rave about it but nice to have owners opinions too. The recipes are all fully explained with good & bad foods & how to prepare so they are dog safe..I'm conscious tho of seeing clips of Its Me or The Dog where she was fine about feeding rice carrots(l-tryptophan) but turned her nose up at pasta/bread potatoes/tomatoes/grains -it was Victoria helping Jillyjohnson I think and her danes..they home cooked...yes ok they fed it as a human style dish on plates, I use his bowl & stand...just something niggling me that although no obvious repercussions yet & all seems good & a marked improvement on keenness to eat up, I worry if anything might be not happy inside incase i've just fallen into a fad...max did wonderfully on simple boiled chicken & veg etc so yes I could do that, but these recipes seem more interesting & good enough to eat..is the constant difference every meal going to do him harm, more than the intake of rubbish & fillers that are even added to holistic feeds...? I hope this doesn't seem too rambly & make sense..just curious to know how you have got on. He is a nice weight but I don't think he would be an easy dog to get fat..lots of energy & nervous energy plus separation anxiety from previous owners...so he's a nervous worrier rather than a couch potato..I am just keen to do the very best for him as I know he was fed take aways & home cooked food from 8 weeks till 18 months when he came to me, on his assessment form spag bol being his quoted favourite & curry:eek::eek::eek: so I'm conscious there might have been alot of unnecessary 'strain' on his tummy/system then & don't want to get it wrong then realise hindsight would have been marvellous. Coat currently glossy & shiney, good clear skin & eyes bright tho condition seems to have improved even in the 10 days we've been doing this...congrats if you made it this far..:D
 
Most of the German and Belgian shepherds I know do really well on a raw diet.
It's not called holistic and it's not got any gimmicks attached, there is no cooking involved, it is just raw meat and bones.
My own young dog gets chicken carcasses and tripe and bones and hearts and allsorts.

Both Belgian and German breeds are prone to allergies and gastric problems and I appreciate not all dogs can adapt to a raw diet. GSDs particularly are prone to bloat and torsion - but this is much less likely to happen on a raw diet. JMO :)

ETA - you seem to have a lot of emotional purchase in your dog and you seem to rely on each other - please do not take this the wrong way, but I think if you look at things objectively, you will see that his emotional and behaviour issues will improve vastly if you start looking at him like a dog, not like a patient or a friend. Feel free to tell me to bog off and mind my own business.
 
Last edited:
Also, look up the original herbal books for the dog, by Juliette de Baïracli Levy, they may be out of print, but she was talking about raw and herbal and holistic diets decades ago, this is not a new way of thinking x
 
I feed my dog 'thenaturaldogfoodcompany' (google it). This is holistic, and not full of fillers if you want to try another dried food.... Although realise that's not what your asking.
 
CaveCanem said:
Also, look up the original herbal books for the dog, by Juliette de Baïracli Levy, they may be out of print, but she was talking about raw and herbal and holistic diets decades ago, this is not a new way of thinking x
Click to expand...

Buy one get one free :D only joking CC...my main prob is he isn't as straightforward baggage wise. plus I've lost 14 animals over a year & a half and 2 horses pts a year before...so am slightly more neurotic than usual! Before I get shot to bits..I didn't kill them..goat comitted suicide aged 13..thanks to occasional groom cutting corners while I had massive food poisoning..dog attacks on my flock of sheep on SEVERAL occasions in different fields..2 attempts to steal my two colts, despite being disturbed by an upset vicar, they came back...lost a 7yr old TB to what we now believe to have been equine atypical myeopathy,then lost my dog (15) and have a very crap boyfriend who suffers from terminal cancellitis and over mother control (the outlaw) yep...aged 39!I'm 29 plus vat(35)& still single been thru alot of **** with my health,(see other sagas) and 2 break ins. I've had to cope with this all on my own and so now I've got a best friend,my dog,who's totally loyal so I just want to get everything right, but knowing he had a crap start & more plus him being underweight till recently & picky feeding, I don't want to mess him up even more...

So I'm interested in experience sharing...as I'm sure you'll know even with horses there are varied diets and then you get the articles that advise against things..garlic for example on here the other day? makes you question everything! Oh and just forgot to mention ONE really important thing...he doesn't do raw!so has to be cooked. I tried him with raw toppers very gradually of course but he was sick almost every time, plus I'm not good with cooked meat let alone actual dead looking meat(raw!) tho i did try... ;-)
 
Last edited:
millimoo said:
I feed my dog 'thenaturaldogfoodcompany' (google it). This is holistic, and not full of fillers if you want to try another dried food.... Although realise that's not what your asking.
Click to expand...

thank you for this...happy to try an alternative as may help him with variety etc
 
I have "The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable" & The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and had them for years. Both bought from Amazon and her method of Natural rearing and feeding were years ahead of the Barf diet and is worth a read and one of the few books that I wouldnt be without.
 
Thanks for taking my comments with grace SS :)
And sorry to hear about all your troubles.

What I meant to say in a less cackhanded way, and having had experience of it myself, some dogs cannot deal with being placed in certain positions, like defender, like protector, like top of the tree, like leader, lots GSDs, when given any sort of ambiguity will feel forced to slot into a role they just are not emotionally able to handle even if you did not mean them to, it puts a lot of stress on them and this can lead to the stress being expressed in the form of frustration/acting up.
Some dogs prefer to be backroom/technical support if that makes sense!!

I am fine with dogs having small amounts of garlic!

Right, off for a very non-holistic Maccy Dees :o
 
CaveCanem said:
Thanks for taking my comments with grace SS :)
And sorry to hear about all your troubles.

What I meant to say in a less cackhanded way, and having had experience of it myself, some dogs cannot deal with being placed in certain positions, like defender, like protector, like top of the tree, like leader, lots GSDs, when given any sort of ambiguity will feel forced to slot into a role they just are not emotionally able to handle even if you did not mean them to, it puts a lot of stress on them and this can lead to the stress being expressed in the form of frustration/acting up.
Some dogs prefer to be backroom/technical support if that makes sense!!

I am fine with dogs having small amounts of garlic!

Right, off for a very non-holistic Maccy Dees :o
Click to expand...

Damn you for mentioning maccy d's I'd have to drive MILES to get one:-(now I am going to be highly grumpy....yes I know its not real meat...but what ever is in the big mac sauce is highly addictive...and I like the taste of cardboard steaks..(no innocent boxes were harmed in the making of that statement!) Totally get what you mean about that with the roles they play/want to/can't cope with etc...my mare is technical support in disguise as ! but with my lad, genuinely the problems he has he came with & don't seem to be frustration or acting up so to speak, just pure fear meltdowns (picture scoobie doo) bit more extreme in that he literally stress sheds fur if he gets upset...he's just basically terrified by new men/people/dogs/noises & being separated from me(I know at some point he has been hurt by men/and also in a confined space...plus left daily for 12 hours in last home..I've had a massive step forward recently and we have definitely made huge progress since he came ) He is very much below me in the pack and we are gradually finding ways to deal with his problems..the key to him i'm gradually finding is gradual desensitizing. had a moment when a man passed my house this week with 3 loose dogs.he went into a fear frenzie so I ran after the man & asked if we could stalk him on his walk...he seemed more than happy to so i went & got my boy & long story short, 3 exhausting hours later, we had done a lap of the village!!! BUT he was suddenly accepted into a pack of 3 new dogs,2 gsd's and a staffy...who then came home with us & free ran in my garden with him..he slept very well in between urgent dashes to garden to see if they were still there! Turns out he used to take on 'death row' dogs that rescues had written off & turned them around. All these three dogs had once sadly been used in the ring but now have the good life they deserve & are helping other dogs..he agreed that he doesn't even fall into the fear aggression territory, its just pure fear...which in a way is a VERY good thing in comparison to other 'behaviours' and which I really had believed from day one..he just needs a bit of time & alot of doggy visitors! The best thing for me was how gentle he was with the others & was very respectful of their body language...big relief...anyway I'm starving to death here while you are happily munching away...thank you again for your comments... :-)
 
Dobiegirl said:
I have "The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm And Stable" & The Complete Herbal Handbook For The Dog And Cat" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy and had them for years. Both bought from Amazon and her method of Natural rearing and feeding were years ahead of the Barf diet and is worth a read and one of the few books that I wouldnt be without.
Click to expand...

Just emerged from lovely Amazon shopping..thank you:-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top