Hi Guys,

I am hearing that an all natural diet is suposed to be the best way to go, but can I mix an egg or two in with the Eukanuba I'm feeding my 3 month German Shepherd, and would there be any benefit to it? What about some occasional chicken wings or nects, or other meats along with the Eukanuba. I read the suggested all natural daily menu. Where do you get all those things you're suppose to feed,and where do you store it? Thanks for your help. I'm very new to this thing of having a puppy in the house.

John

Would you put broccoli on a "meat lovers" pizza and then say it was healthier?

Eukanuba is not a GOOD food. If you must absolutely feed kibble, try one of the "human grade" kibbles like Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold, Flint River Ranch, etc. Mixing cooked(kibble) and raw in the same meal doesn't help the dog, it actually causes more harm then good because of the different rates of digestion. Pick up a copy of the book Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs, and look on yahoo groups for a Raw feeding list in your area. Most will be more than helpful to tell you their sources for meats.

Man! And I thought Rodney King got his butt kicked...I'll get the book...*smile*

One morning, Chance woke me up with a blast of "Eukanuba Breath". I used to feed Eukanuba. It is marketed as a premium brand. Compared to what other garbage sold as dog food, it probably is.

About an hour I went looking for a new food. If his breath smelled that bad, the food couldn't be good for him. I finally settled on Innova from the local health food store. Chance really preferred the taste of Innova. To me, the kibble just smelled better than the Eukanuba.

A friend had her Shepherd on Eukanuba Sr. blend. Dallas was getting sores in the corner of her mouth and on her belly. I pushed the switch to Innova for Dallas as well as Glucosamine tablets. The sores are gone. Now, Dallas is bouncing around like a young dog. Stairs aren't much of an issue any more. At a recent party, guests were amazed that Dallas was 9. I can't swear to it, but it seems she has less gray on her muzzle. Probably just my imagination.

Amazing the difference a change in diet will make.

I should eat as well as my dog.

This link to the Innova site provides a description of what the ingredients in the various dog foods.

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=ingr-wiz

I just started feeding my dog the BARF diet. I was looking for a place to buy raw meat when I came across a website that troubled me. Check out secondchanceranch.org/rawmeat.html and tell me what you think

You can find as many anti-barf sites on the internet as you can pro, maybe more if you want to look for them. My vet backs my decision. Of all the dogs in the club with "ailments" only one is a raw dog and his owner doesn't balance her diet very well(which I am working on)..

If that page was enough to scare you, visit a slaughterhouse... Better yet, visit a dog food manufacturer...

Kim,
Hey I went to that secondchance ranch site. I thought you were talking about maybe some horse place that "recycled" used up horses for dog food-which I am not totally against. Boy was I surprised! What a bunch of baloney that page was promoting!
As for that gal talking about vets being against feeding raw food-my own opinion is that vets (mostly)live in the pockets of pet food manufacturers anymore. The last few years I have taken my dogs or cats to the vet-for any reason- I have had various pet foods (amazingly, all prescription only, available ONLY from my vet) pushed on me. Going for shots? hey, my pooch should be on a diet for healthy skin. My dog needs frontline-hey she also needed food for sensitive tummies...it goes on and on.
I prefered to have my horse vet take care of my house pets anymore-they never try to unload diets on me. Stick 'em and give me my tag and license, that's it. Now that I have to go to a vet in town, I choose the one who doesn't behave like some salesman for High Dollar Nasty Pet Food, Inc.
As for the stuff about wild dogs dying because they eat raw meat...wow. And how she has never seen a wild dog eat a diet mostly of raw meat...wow again.
I have some good pics of my 150 pound beef calf before and after "wild dogs" (coyotes) ate him up. I also have great pics of that same pack chasing down rabbits. I don't think they meant to hold them hostage to get the location of the vegatable stores. Should I send them to her? For educational purposes?
Wow.

An important thing to remember when asking a vet about nutritional information is that most vets receive little, if any, nutrition training. Several vet schools have dropped their nutrition courses and now just offer a few lectures on nutrition during the entire degree program. Additionally, a lot of the public press books published on animal nutrition are also written by people with very little education in animal nutrition. Two good sources for basic, accurate and truthfull information on animal nutrition, would be Nutritional physiology textbooks and the extention faculty of your nearest Land-grant University.

I totally understand about vets and their lack of nutrition education. Besides, don't they most/all sell the high priced stuff ie. Science Diet, etc.?
When the vet asks what I feed my pup, and I tell him, he looks like he's laughing at me. Frankly, I don't care. My pup looks great!