What do you feed your dog and why?

Autarky for ours - very economical £21.99 for 15kg which lasts about a month with 3 cockers.

They're working dogs, have fab coats, lots of energy (well they are cockers!) and it must be highly digestible as very little comes out the other end!

The youngest had autarky puppy food when she was little, together with any meat scraps going, tripe, and lots of fish (OH has unlimited supplies of fish as has a fishing boat) - she likes plaice best, then cod and mackerel. Not so fussed with coley or pollack
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All 3 have stomachs of iron so I could feed them anything but this seems to suit and the ingredient label reads well
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Species appropriate diet of bones and raw meat for the past 12 years.

When my lovely little mutt died of bowel cancer I did my research into the pet food industry and was horrified at what I had potentially done to her with my choice of diet!

I do out of curiosity read the labels on commercial dog food and remain amazed at the continued lack of detail on ingredients, the prevalence of unnatural cereals etc as bulk and the lack of regulation as to what can be put into pet food without declaration.

Personally I cannot imagine what it would be like as a carnivore to eat the same dry boring biscuit for your entire life! Mine's diet is varied interesting, healthy and appropriate. This diet is easy to feed and cheap. Would I go back? Never!
 
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I want your lurcher RobinHood, he is gorgeous

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Aw thank you
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. Unfortunately for him my mum's lurcher is very beautiful (whippet bedlington saluki collie cross) so the rest of my family call ped the pikey lurcher
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. He's going through a gangly stage at the moment, always a bit too skinny and covered in injuries from running into fences, putting his nose through the cat flap at work or trying to play with the guard dogs, hopefully he'll learn
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. Next time he does something disgraceful like eating my car gear stick I'll post him to you!
 
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They were both on the raw diet until a couple of months ago when Ronnie started having neurological problems and in his bloods showed he had a dormant condition which is caused by raw food which can cause neurological problems
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I was told they couldn't get any problems from it
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Must admit I know a lot of people who have fed raw for a very long time including veterinary surgeons and have never heard this, what is the name of the condition? Do you know how it was diagnosed and how it has been linked specifically to raw diet in this case as opposed to any other food or cause?
 
JWB - lamb and rice senior/light. Changed to this from their turkey and rice adult when my dog developed some digestive problems which I now attribute to her aging system and ingredients in Turkey flavour. She was fed on Bakers when I first got her but I decided to investigate the best food for her when I upped her exercise and the JWB suited her best. She also gets a small amount of wet food mixed in - but that's usually just co-op own brand.
 
I can't remember it off hand. It was in the toxicology of his blood and found after extensive blood testing to discover why he was having fits and losing sensation in his back legs. It isn't down as the cause of his problems but apparently can cause similar such problems. I had never heard about it either. Will ask vet when we go back in when the results come through.

Just had a look back through notes I made. The raw food made him more susceptible due to it simply being raw. Something in raw meat can trigger it. I'm sorry I don't have much more detail than that, have tried to research on the internet but don't have full name of condition. Due to Ronnie's condition I chose to air on the side of caution and take him off it. Vet is high up in the field so completely trust his opinion but hope for research on such things in the future.

Sorry that wasn't much help
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Elle
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Thanks for that Elle

Had a good poke around and found out that it's a Parasite whose primary host is the Cat!!. The infection route is cat faeces, which of course dogs love! From eating infected meat or when passed on from mother to foetus.

Apparently up to 1/3 of human beings are carriers of the parasite and in most symptoms are very mild or none at all, but in a few people/dogs that have compromised immune systems (like those humans with HIV) it becomes a problem, so unfortunately your Ronnie was really unlucky.
Things like this are probably the reason Ian Billinghurst recommends feeding Human Grade food to help avoid such problems, I suspect especially when introducing raw to a commercially fed born and bred dog. Kymythy Schultze in her work on species appropriate diet, suggests that it takes 3 generations of raw feeding before the whole benefit is seen, such is the influence of overcooking added artificial nutrients and inappropriate ingredients.

I guess like with all things you have to weigh the pros and cons and for me the pros of raw feeding that I have seen and experienced over the years far outweigh the cons of commercial food and the problems that feeding it brings. Though I might adjust my introduction in the future I always have rescues that have probably got sub standard immune systems from their previous commercial diet; it might be worth considering introducing a home cooked diet to help their immune systems adjust for a while before going raw.

Though I still think that a home cooked diet like Prose uses is a far better compromise for those worried about raw than resorting to commercial food with it's current lack of regulation.
 
Another for Skinners F&T - but the maintenance version as only 18% protein. Blue being a non working BC does not need anymore ;o)

He looks absolutely amazing on it, perfect weight and lovely coat - and it suits his delicate tummy lol
 
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