Pleased to say I fed the hounds Skinners Duck and Rice tonight..

9

{97702}

...
Joined
9 July 2012
Messages
14,849
Visit site
and nothing awful happened :D Islay (who has no teeth at all) attacked her tea with real enthusiasm, almost more than she does with the raw food which she can find quite difficult to get out of the bowl, and after an initial "what on earth is THIS!!" the others ate it well. Apart from Hoover who spent his time bolting it down too fast and then coughing it back up dramatically....sigh.....

So much for all my worrying about feeding them inferior food to their usual raw, they don't seem bothered at all :)
 
Young lab sometimes manages to get two suppers out of her bowl, by hoovering it up, burping it back out again and starting again. Gotta love 'em!
It will be interesting to see if you think they look as good on it as time goes on, the hunt met here Wednesday and I commented to ther hutsman how well they looked and he said they hold their condition much better on flesh. A fox hound works harder than any of our pet dogs, I daresay. I wouldn't want a pet that smelt like a hound, do raw fed dogs always smell?
 
FrankieCob said:
Nope. One of the plus sides for me is that they have no smell at all. Even when wet they dont get that doggy smell :)
Click to expand...

Ditto this, obviously greyhounds don't have a lot of smell anyway but definitely nothing when they are on raw :) I've already noticed they are drinking more tonight, so it will be interesting to see if they hold condition and shinyness :)
 
Hope it all works for you, I am struggling with my new lurcher-I love the traceability of millies wolfheart as a food and the fish based one really suited her, her coat improved as did her skin but she cannot maintain weight on it so I changed her to a fish and lamb one monday night, today we have pussey (I know it is not a word) pustules and it looks like another food related allergy, it first came up when she was on skinners lamb and rice- so she now has another course of antibiotica and we will see if it flares up again when they have finished.
 
Lévrier;13168656 said:
Ditto this, obviously greyhounds don't have a lot of smell anyway but definitely nothing when they are on raw :) I've already noticed they are drinking more tonight, so it will be interesting to see if they hold condition and shinyness :)
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to know how it works out. I am pro raw feeding, but not obsessive about it, so would be good to know I could recommend a decent dry food to the people who ask me about raw but cant/dont want to do it :)
 
I'll try and remember to post an update in a few months - I did have them on Skinners before I changed to raw and I always remember them looking great on it, so fingers crossed.

Twiggy2 that sounds horrible for your poor lurcher, and for you, I hope you can find something that suits her soon
 
Lévrier;13168839 said:
I'll try and remember to post an update in a few months - I did have them on Skinners before I changed to raw and I always remember them looking great on it, so fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

I fed mine on Fish4Dogs back in the day before they changed the formulation and he looked fab. No real difference to how he looks on raw, but hes a spoilt git! He only really likes raw and only having 2 whippet sized dogs I dont have to worry about the cost. Hopefully it will work out the same for yours :)
 
Dogs can look fine externally; it is what a food does to them internally that is important and this is where all processed foods fall down by introducing matter that is not natural to the canine species.
 
Do you soak the D & R Levrier? I feed it dry if they are having it for their small breakfast but always soak it if they are having it as a main meal. It doesn't swell as much as many of the kibbles but I don't feel comfortable feeding it dry with a breed that is prone to Gdv. Even soaked though they do drink more when they have had it.
 
gunnergundog said:
Dogs can look fine externally; it is what a food does to them internally that is important and this is where all processed foods fall down by introducing matter that is not natural to the canine species.
Click to expand...

I think howthey look externally is all any layman can go on. Going on what my labradors hoover up on a daily basis there is little that they don't regard as natural to them.

I don't soak the D&R but they do have it damped down. They usually have some form of leftovers and an egg as well.
 
gunnergundog said:
Dogs can look fine externally; it is what a food does to them internally that is important and this is where all processed foods fall down by introducing matter that is not natural to the canine species.
Click to expand...

Well that is reassuring, when one of them develops some dread internal disease or problem due to me feeding kibble I shall be sure to let you all know as well. Given the proportion of dogs nationally which are fed something other than a 'natural' raw diet, I must admit I won't be anticipating problems...
 
MurphysMinder said:
Do you soak the D & R Levrier? I feed it dry if they are having it for their small breakfast but always soak it if they are having it as a main meal. It doesn't swell as much as many of the kibbles but I don't feel comfortable feeding it dry with a breed that is prone to Gdv. Even soaked though they do drink more when they have had it.
Click to expand...

I don't soak it for long, but I do soak it with warm water every time - I usually only feed once a day, but I think I am going to have to change that on D&R days or I'll be feeding more than the recommended amount each time
 
Lévrier;13169175 said:
Well that is reassuring, when one of them develops some dread internal disease or problem due to me feeding kibble I shall be sure to let you all know as well. Given the proportion of dogs nationally which are fed something other than a 'natural' raw diet, I must admit I won't be anticipating problems...
Click to expand...

Suggest you do some research.

Off the top of my head there was the 2005/6 recall of kibble in USA due to it leading to some kind of toxicosis - something to do with the quality of the grain used. This was well documented at the time so you should be able to find stuff on the internet.

There is also research from Stockholm Uni re the greater levels of periodontal disease in commercially fed dogs AND the effect that the bacteria from such disease has on the other major organs.

There are also several additives/flavourings/preservatives that have been banned in human foodstuffs due to links with kidney problems that are still used in dog foods.

Yes, the whole area needs more research, but based on what is available then I would rather pay a higher price per month for the diet I give my dogs to ensure that I am doing my best for them and not subjecting them to some silent killer.
 
gunnergundog said:
Suggest you do some research.

Off the top of my head there was the 2005/6 recall of kibble in USA due to it leading to some kind of toxicosis - something to do with the quality of the grain used. This was well documented at the time so you should be able to find stuff on the internet.

There is also research from Stockholm Uni re the greater levels of periodontal disease in commercially fed dogs AND the effect that the bacteria from such disease has on the other major organs.

There are also several additives/flavourings/preservatives that have been banned in human foodstuffs due to links with kidney problems that are still used in dog foods.

Yes, the whole area needs more research, but based on what is available then I would rather pay a higher price per month for the diet I give my dogs to ensure that I am doing my best for them and not subjecting them to some silent killer.
Click to expand...

Please don't patronise me, I've had dogs all my life and I don't need to do research - I already know that commercially produced kibble contain elements which are unnatural/undesirable/downright unsuitable for a canine diet.

I also know that, like many others, I cannot sustain a monthly dog food bill of £150-£175 now I have split with my partner. I am very glad for you that you can, I am also not going to apologise for the fact that I now cannot, and I know damn sure that my dogs will not suffer detriment as a result.
 
Gunnerdog - regardless of the supposed health benefits of feeding raw etc etc, I think that branding all commercial dog foods as 'silent killers' is a) extreme and b) *******s. As a vet, a very small percentage of the dogs I see are fed a raw diet. Yet dogs everywhere are living longer and longer, many are now reaching mid-late teens when previously they might only have lived to 10-12. If dog food was really killing our dogs from the inside out then surely dogs would be dying from all sorts of things at earlier ages, rather than the many elderly dogs I see that are happily getting on with life at 14+ with no health problems other than a bit of arthritis. Now obviously I'm not about to start recommending people should be feeding Bakers, but many people don't have the time/space/funds/inclination to feed raw, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I think to criticise Levrier because she can't afford to keep feeding raw is completely unfair. I wouldn't be able to afford that amount on dog food either, my dog has a beautiful coat, bundles of energy and is competing successfully in both flyball and agility so clearly fish4dogs isn't poisoning him too badly yet!
 
Lev I hope you don't think I was getting at you?! it was a genuine question I was just curious, I like to know why people do things for when I finally get a dog (probably when I retire ;) ).
 
ester said:
Lev I hope you don't think I was getting at you?! it was a genuine question I was just curious, I like to know why people do things for when I finally get a dog (probably when I retire ;) ).
Click to expand...

No not at all ester :) :) My lot will now have raw 3 or 4 days a week and Skinners 3 or 4 days a week, it just makes it affordable - never end up single with 4 greyhounds and a horse :D :D :D
 
ester said:
Lev I hope you don't think I was getting at you?! it was a genuine question I was just curious, I like to know why people do things for when I finally get a dog (probably when I retire ;) ).
Click to expand...

I am the same. I don't have a dog and can't imagine when I'll be in a position to get one but I still read all these threads as practice for when that day comes :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top