Really unless you go out of your way to gather exotic diets there will always be something made of meat your dog can eat as a novel protein. Mice and guinea pigs are at the top of my list if I ever need a "novel" around here. There are also a few diets on the market that use stuff from other continents like the Addiction product line.

Ok in my defense! lol my husband wanted me to post "will it eat my birds?" He is under this mad impression if you feed a dog pigs blood he turns into a mean "agressive" dog. he needs to be on here to read these forums!!!! But lol that is my defense.. I understand raw can be cheaper and healthier for the dogs but bear with me.. I will eventually get there.. but the raw diet is something I need to invest alot of time into before it even goes near my dog. No offense the last thing I want to do is hurt my poor pup by misfeeding it because then not only am I a bad handler but I am a bad owner. IMO.


So, we are on the right track with atleast a quality dog food, and if the pup develops an allergy we can always go to either canidae (vet recommends) or TOTW. My hubby liked the TOTW because it had venison in it. He said if he can handle it he can have the scraps for a treat. I am working on him with the raw. We will get there eventually I promise. I just right now have to get over the new-puppy-nerves!

I got his crate packed: 2- 1/2 cups of his food, blanket (to rub on mom) in zip lock bag, old towel on top of a puppy pad (incase he gets car sick) leash, collar, steel bowls, bottled water, and poo bags..they are even scented and in a duckie dispenser (left over from my kids lol).

On that note thank you to everyone for the imput! I will be haunting you all up probably again before Friday because I am seriously spazing..almost like I am preggo and about to pop in the next week or so its getting this bad. Hubby (Brad) just sits back and laughs.. men.

Mary

Mary, One of the many "myths" about feeding raw is that it makes the animal blood crazy... it doesn't. A hunk o' meat in a bowl looks nothing like a bird in the field, so no need to worry on that front. On a similar vein, I feed my chickens hard boiled eggs and crushed egg shells for the protein and calcium, and have NO issues with hens eating their own eggs!

 Quote: Mary McKeever

but the raw diet is something I need to invest alot of time into before it even goes near my dog. No offense the last thing I want to do is hurt my poor pup by misfeeding it because then not only am I a bad handler but I am a bad owner. IMO.

You would really have to mess up to hurt your dog, but I am all for researching before you jump in to it.

It is so much easier to tackle once you have a basic understanding.

All my knowledge of the foods you listed are second and third hand.

I've heard good things about Orijen and Taste of the Wild.

Heard of a lot of people that had problems with Canidae because of a formula change.

Haven't heard of the other.

Quick question along this topic:

If we plan on feeding him his kibble by hand the first few day-2 weeks to get the basic basic level of pack down (so he knows where his food is coming from) my daughters are old enough to do this (2 and 3) Hubby and I are trying to figure out ways for them to be gently involved with pup. Helping mom or dad groom him, playing with him (no brainer), and helping give his food (oldest to put into dish and both to help give him the kibble by hand) is this a bad idea or no. Suggestions, advice, and personal experience truely welcomed!


Mary

I think it's a very good idea.

But I'd also suggest that this is going to be a great training opportunity for your kids too (not just for the pup.)

One of the rules is that even puppies have personal boundaries, and it's not nice to invade their space when they are eating or napping.

And playing with the puppy should be supervised by an adult and probably should not include "rough housing." Puppy teeth are like needles, and 2-year olds are pretty squishy.

But you are IMO definitely on the right track integrating the new puppy with every family member as is appropriate for their ages.

Good luck! What fun you're in for!

Just my style, but I never mess with my dogs food, not even as puppies. From the time they come home, they get their own space to eat and are always shown that I will leave them in peace to eat their dinner, and I expect the same from them

As for getting the kids invloved: My son is 4, he dishes out all the meals into the bowls if it is a kibble night, and he puts the dishes in the crate most nights, even raw nights. I don't let him prepare the raw meals for obvious reasons.

When we go for walks, I hook a few leashes up to his "kid" quad and the dogs pace alongside his quad so he can "walk" them. The older ones that know their leash manners he can hold the leash and actually just walk, the 5 month old Shepherd is not there yet, so I hold one leash and he holds the other.

We play fetch on the property, he stands in front of me, throws the ball or stick, the dog(s) bring it back and drop it at our feet, I pick it up, pass it to him and away he goes again.

I bring one dog at a time with him to the local parks (Kid parks not dog) and I tether the dog to me then I go about playing on the equipment with my son and my dog follows suit.

I guess my point is that you are foremost the handler of the dog. I love that my dogs are uber-respectful of my son, but there is nothing done without my supervision and any tug games or rough-housing is a big no-no. I have had 5 dogs chasing sticks in the yard and my son sitting beside me building rock roads or sand castles and he has never so much as received a swish from a tail. They never jump on him or invade his space, and that is the way it should be. Again JMO.

I don't mess with their food either, but I will pet pups gently while they eat and maybe sit by them. I also do lots of short upbeat training so they get a lot of treats from my hand.

I also work on teaching them to trade me a toy or some other high value object for treats very early so they learn I am fair and are more apt to give me whatever is it I need to take from them.

 Quote: Mary McKeever

So, we are on the right track with at least a quality dog food, and if the pup develops an allergy we can always go to either canidae (vet recommends) or TOTW.

Just to make sure you're understanding this...

If you feed the dog a kibble that contains chicken, even once, if the dog later develops allergy issues, you'll have to find a food that does not contain chicken AT ALL to do an elimination diet.

Its not a matter of switching kibbles.
Its a matter of finding a food the dog has never, ever eaten before. For kibble, this means finding a kibble that contains none of the same animal ingredients as any of the others.

I'm only emphasizing this, because it looked like you were saying you could just switch to a new kibble, and it isn't quite that simple.

Aaron, Oh no.

I was trying to find out a kibble that was as close as I could to raw. I understand the allergy part. You technically dont know exactly what the dog is allergic to in food A. So you assume the dog is allergic to all of the ingredients when you get him introduced to food B. I hope I have this concept down correctly, if not please let me know where my brain isnt picking up the info right.

Mary


Thanks for the tips about getting the kids involved. I am sure I will have more questions and more tips are always welcomed!!