Quote: Kyle Brearley

I'm not sure that going raw is always the right choice for everyone. .... it takes time and thought. ..... If you go about it half-assed, the dog suffers.

Absolutely correct. Good post.

Oma's Pride is raw, right? It looks like you have done your research and chosen a good route that works for you and your dog.

I do see seriously unbalanced diets sometimes, coming out of the recalls this year; people got so frightened that they plunged into raw feeding without researching the very basic and simple nutritional requirements. For example (and this is the most common one, IME), people feed their dogs meat with no bone, completely oblivious to the calcium requirement.

Dogs have different requirements from people. While it's no more difficult to fulfill them than it is to fulfill our own, and it's clear (to me) that fresh wholesome food has packaged processed food trumped, you are absolutely correct that if it's not done with some thought and research, then it can be a very Bad Thing.

Also, you are definitely correct about some commercial dog food companies doing a good job.

This last week or so i have spoken to six Breeding kennels regards there feeding of Dogs here in Belgium, I asked them if they fed there Dogs a Raw diet and each time the answer was No'
The reasons given was the time and preparation, and most of all the availablitiy of getting it. then freezing it if it could be got in Bulk, The answer was they did not have facilities to store it or the means of getting the Diet on a long term basis
I also spoke to the G.S Dog owners at our Club they too thought the same way
Belgium is a small country you could put it in a big city in the USA only a few hundred kilometers long and wide
I know by experince of living here that you cannot even get a lot of Foods for humans that we could get in England
We have to eat the same as the Belgians, foods we like are few and far between But that is the Culture and we have to live by it,
What would i give to have a good Steak in front of me with the fat running through the grain of the meat and a nice bit on the outsdide to cook the meat in its own juices
Plus a nice joint of Pork with The Rind on so i can make a bit of Crackling, Plus a nice Tasty Bacon Sandwich
Not had any of these for over three years. So the chance of feeding Dogs Raw and a Reasonable Price is low

Steve, if you can't get a juicy, well marbled steak, it's time to move.

Anything, when not done right, has the potential to cause damage. That's a given. I have an entire bookshelf devoted to dog books, I tend to do more research than may be necessary.

 Quote: Kyle Brearley

I personally would never feed my dog Puppy Chow or any of those other cheap quality ingredient dog foods. My dog's vet, whose been practicing veterinary medicine for over 35 years, is quick to point out that he's seen more old, healthy and happy dogs than he can count, that were raised on Puppy Chow. He's not advocating for it, simply pointing out a known fact.

-KYLE

I think it really depends on the dog. There are people that eat junk, smoke and drink alcohol and live long, healthy lives. Then there are those that eat healthy, don't indulge in smoking or alcohol and are always sick and drop over dead at a early age. I think it is the same with dogs. I sometimes think it is in the genes, similar to people. All the vets around here recommend Science Diet & Purina, 2 of the worst foods around. IMO. Vets only have a few weeks of nutrition in their schooling and think about it, most of them have been practicing vet medicine for years. So if they don't keep up on nutrition, they only believe what the dog food companies are teaching them, and of course they get a kick back of any food they sell. I would say there is more knowledge about feeding on this board than there are vets that really know about good nutrition for dogs. I hear the same things over & over from my grooming clients. What can I do about my dogs allergies, flaky,dry coat, oily skin,tearing eyes?I always ask, what do you feed your dog. Most of them feed junk, Ol Roy is a biggy down here. I tell them start by feeding them a high quality diet and go from there. But they just don't get it.Even the Vets will give them a shot for allergies before recommending changing the food.

'Ol Roy is pure junk. My neighbors feed their dogs that, or maybe it’s called “Dad’s” or something, they all look the same to me. You can never even read the names because it’s dwarfed in comparison to the GIGANTIC “33% More Free!” label they put on the top of the bag to capture people’s attention. Every time they go out of town and ask me to feed their dogs I can tell the dogs don't like the stuff, you put their bowls down and they smell it and they look so disinterested and sad, usually they walk away, not eating it immediately. But my neighbors buy it because it's like $6.99 for a 30lb bag. That should be the first sign to run away!! Try finding 30lbs of food YOU’D eat for $6.99!! But they'll spend $100 on themselves and go out to one fancy dinner every other week.

I think on paper, raw diet is absolutely the way to go, but it must be done with lots of forethought and preparation. I’m a single father to 4 children, all under the age of 8, so time is hardly something I have a lot of. My happy compromise is a mixed diet of both Innova Evo and Oma’s Pride raw. The Oma’s Pride comes in 10lb frozen tubes (or less if you like) for $16.99. The actual thawing of the 10lb tubes is the real hassle, because as they thaw the tubes almost always leak massive amounts of blood, so I put them in a big basting pan as they thaw, which usually takes overnight, then I flush all the blood down the toilet. I feed my 2y.o. GSD about 5 cups of Innova Evo daily, 3 cups in the morning, then during his second feeding I give him the remaining 2 cups combined with about 1 heaping cup of (8-10oz) the Oma’s Pride. He loves the raw meat/veggie/fruit mix so much that I put that in first and dump the dry on top, kind of force him to eat his way to the raw. He has no health problems, his ears are never dirty, his coat is shiny and soft, his stools are solid consistency and healthy looking, and his overall size/weight is perfect. Not to mention he genuinely loves eating it, always. He always jumps right in and starts chowing down. Not like my neighbor’s dogs who would rather eat dirt than Ol’ Roy. Poor guys…I genuinely feel bad for them. I learned a long time ago that I can’t save ‘em all though.

-Kyle


OMA's PRIDE Mixes: (I feed my dog the "Poultry/Turkey" mix, all meat is USDA inspected)

The ingredients and ingredient ratios in the "mixes" are:
Poultry: 70% meat/bone
10% organ meats (liver/hearts/gizzards)
20% vegetables chicken-(butternut squash/broccoli/kale) turkey- (green been, yellow squash ,okra)

Beef: 70% Ground beef / bone
10% organ meats (heart/liver/kidney)
20% vegetables (butternut squash/broccoli/kale)

Lamb: 80% meat/bone
20% vegetables (zucchini, olewo carrots, parsley)

After starting on Raw feeding with my pup in which i was very happy to do, I got let down getting the meat supplies i needed, The only alternative was to travel near on to the other side of Belgium to a slaughter house, but that was not cost effective because i do not have the Freezer room to store much
So' after speaking to Connie i decided to send away for Orijen Dry Kibble, a Canadian company
It contains 70% meat and Fish plus 30% vegetables and Fruit or a diet of 70% fish and 30% Fruit and Vegtables
It contains no Fillers or Grains and is human grade meat, I buy it onLine and it is here in a few days carriage free
Fred looks great on it, his energy is fantastic and his coat is beautiful and i am pleased , A very good Substitute for Raw.
According to the charts on Dry Kibble it is 6 Star the same as Innova is but we cannot get that brand over here
anyone still feeding Kibble then i recommend this brand

Edited by Steve Patrick (09/12/2007 02:04 AM)
Edit reason: added text

Steve,

Glad to hear that Fred is doing well on the Orijen. I will be needing to leave Lucy with the mother-in-law for a few trips I have coming up. Instead of hassling her about preparing the raw food or even mixing up the THK I decided to purchase a bag of the Orijen.
It was highly recommended by a pet store in the area that is a big advocate of the raw diet. I was very impressed with the ingredients list.

Hopefully Lucy does as well on it as your Fred.

 Quote: Kyle Brearley

I feed my 2y.o. GSD about 5 cups of Innova Evo daily, 3 cups in the morning, then during his second feeding I give him the remaining 2 cups combined with about 1 heaping cup of (8-10oz) the Oma’s Pride. He loves the raw meat/veggie/fruit mix so much that I put that in first and dump the dry on top, kind of force him to eat his way to the raw.

-Kyle

If I am reading this correctly, you are feeding both kibble and raw in the same meal? My understanding is that this is a big NO-NO??????????????

Keith
You will not have any worries with feeding Orijen, I would prefer to feed Fred on Raw, but at this time its not feasable
But i think that Orijen is the best Kibble i have ever used, I do not think what is in the food like i did with other kibble, i fed the Dogs on until Connie put me on to this Plus Mike also told me about it

 Quote: Kyle Brearley

The actual thawing of the 10lb tubes is the real hassle, because as they thaw the tubes almost always leak massive amounts of blood, so I put them in a big basting pan as they thaw, which usually takes overnight, then I flush all the blood down the toilet.

I always feed my dogs the juice that drains from the meat. They love it and I'm sure it has valuable nutrients. It can't be actual 'blood' because blood clots or bleeds out of the carcass pretty quickly after slaughter and doesn't run out of the meat later.
If you're worried about messy dog chin you could put the dry kibble in the pan to soak up the juice.