we started feeding our dog a "raw" diet.

[vash]

dog food sucks. and is getting expensive.

wife and i decided to experiment on our dog. we started (not exactly a raw diet) baking sweet potatoes, steaming garden veggies, and cooking extra brown rice with our meals. we go to a local asian market and buy boxes of chicken hearts. friggen cheap. we get about a lb for a dollar. he gets some potato, veggie and hearts for meal. it looks like FEAR FACTOR food.

it is saving us money, and Harry is losing weight, full of energy..and crapping like clockwork.

for a snack, he sometimes gets a raw oxtail bone. harry gets excited at dinner time now. i'll keep you posted..

anyone else?

(having a more difficult time transitioning our cats over)

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by vash

it is saving us money, and Harry is losing weight, full of energy..and crapping like clockwork.

Sounds attractive. I may have to work that in to my own diet.

[azasadny]

Our 3 1/2 year old female Golden eats 2 cups of Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice food with a vitamin E capsule in the AM. She eats raw carrots, veggies and ice cubes for snacks and gets one "rawhide" ( pork chomps) a week and she's at a steady 75lbs and VERY healthy!

[Tim Hancock]

The cheapest 40-50 lb dry dog food on sale is what I have fed every dog I have owned for the past 40 years of dog ownership.... Works just fine.... The dog also gets leftovers several times a week. Every dog I have ever owned lived at least 10 years (except for my first which got drilled by a car at maybe 7 years or so).

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by vash

dog food sucks. and is getting expensive.

wife and i decided to experiment on our dog. we started (not exactly a raw diet) baking sweet potatoes, steaming garden veggies, and cooking extra brown rice with our meals. we go to a local asian market and buy boxes of chicken hearts. friggen cheap. we get about a lb for a dollar. he gets some potato, veggie and hearts for meal. it looks like FEAR FACTOR food.

it is saving us money, and Harry is losing weight, full of energy..and crapping like clockwork.

for a snack, he sometimes gets a raw oxtail bone. harry gets excited at dinner time now. i'll keep you posted..

anyone else?

(having a more difficult time transitioning our cats over)

Is that really a healthy diet for a dog? That seems more like a human type diet. In particular, that seems like a lot of starch / carbs that dogs would not normally eat naturally.

I don't know what dogs (or, I guess wolves) eat exactly in nature, but I wouldn't think rice, sweet potato, veggies, etc. is high on the list. Maybe it doesn't matter.

[goat]

Sounds like a great diet!!
I do about the same for my dogs. I sometimes go back to dry when we go camping, but I still try to find ways to spice it up for them. Like caned chicken broth.
I think it really makes a difference. But I do a lot of hunting/ field trials with them.
My cat is getting a raw food purchased from the pet store. $$ though. But it's the wife's cat soooo,,, that is about all I can say..

[masraum]

I don't know where he poos, but if his poo doesn't get picked up, I think you'll find that it isn't around long. It seems to degrade instead of turning into those hard white lumps that regular dog food often cause.

We had a dog years ago that smelled very "doggy". We'd give her a bath at least 3 times every 2 weeks, so every 4 or 5 days, and she still smelled. We changed to raw food and never had to bathe her due to smell every again. THe only time she ever smelled after that was if she'd take a swim in a pond or something.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Is that really a healthy diet for a dog? That seems more like a human type diet. In particular, that seems like a lot of starch / carbs that dogs would not normally eat naturally.

I don't know what dogs (or, I guess wolves) eat exactly in nature, but I wouldn't think rice, sweet potato, veggies, etc. is high on the list. Maybe it doesn't matter.

True. If you want more info about this sort of stuff for pets, you may want to check out ANHC Education Programs He's written a book Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs and Cats. I believe his assertion is that dogs should mostly eat meat with some veggies thrown in. The reason is that in the wild, animals will eat grass, and also often eat herbivores who have veggies in their guts.

[juanbenae]

i met harry last week and he is quite a lil dog. not generally a fan of the small type dogs, but harry is a keeper. no issues with my folks or my labs, even seemed to like the big dog time they spent. good find cliff!

[vash]

tobster, i almost hand delivered that thing to your parents a few days ago...

j/k..the little guy is coming around.

[pirahna]

My Boston terrier has been on a raw diet her entire life, it is the way to go.

Lots of great info here.

[peppy]

Chicken hearts are good, if you fry them. Taste like a gizzard just no gristle.

[syncroid]

I give my dog Snap a scoop of Nature's Recipe lamb & rice, and a half pound slice of "dog log" that we get at Petco. (Twice a day) The log has raw carrots, peas, and rice in it. She loves it! She is 10 years old and has maintained a healthy weight of 78-80 lbs. (Pit / Boxer mix) We also give her broccoli, asparagas, carrots, oranges, water melon, and other assorted fruits and veges when we have them. BTW, she is a cancer survivor now for the last two years. Knock on wood she will be around for a couple more at least.

[Joe Bob]

When my Labs were alive, they enjoyed fruits and veggies. They lean and fit.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by vash

dog food sucks. and is getting expensive.

wife and i decided to experiment on our dog. we started (not exactly a raw diet) baking sweet potatoes, steaming garden veggies, and cooking extra brown rice with our meals. we go to a local asian market and buy boxes of chicken hearts. friggen cheap. we get about a lb for a dollar. he gets some potato, veggie and hearts for meal. it looks like FEAR FACTOR food.

it is saving us money, and Harry is losing weight, full of energy..and crapping like clockwork.

for a snack, he sometimes gets a raw oxtail bone. harry gets excited at dinner time now. i'll keep you posted..

anyone else?

Hey, I'm in. I need to lose some weight and I'd really like to crap like clockwork. Haven't done that since basic, when I had from 4:20 to 4:25 every morning to take care of bidnezz for the day. I'd be happy with, say, 6:00 to 7:00 every other day if you could work that out. Do I have to eat the raw oxtail bone? Because I don't get excited by a lot of stuff, and I'm pretty sure raw oxtail bone isn't one of my turn-ons.

[Neilk]

I bought some broccoli heads last weekend and was pissed when I got home and realized that at least half the weight was the stem. I looked at it for a second as I cleaned it and thought it kind of looked like a dog bone. I cleaned off some of the rough edges and gave them to our dogs, they loved it. I'll give it a try again. They love catching raw carrots too as I am chopping them.

Otherwise, they eat one of Costco's "premium" blends at about $25 per 40lbs bag.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Neilk

I bought some broccoli heads last weekend and was pissed when I got home and realized that at least half the weight was the stem.

The stems are the best part of the broccoli. Just peel off the tough, woody exterior.

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by LeeH

The stems are the best part of the broccoli. Just peel off the tough, woody exterior.

Learn something new everyday. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Sorry dogs. No wonder they loved it.

[Steve Carlton]

I think raw food is a little controversial, but it seems like for the most part highly regarded. I've been feeding my three dogs Nature's Variety raw chicken, lamb, beef, and rabbit. The dogs love it and can't eat it fast enough. Been very healthy so far at 7-9 years of age. I give them the raw in the morning and some high-quality kibble at night. Get the stuff at Wags and Whiskers in Walnut Creek.

[Danny_Ocean]

Is there anything dogs won't eat? Aren't they carnivores?

I remember having a black lab as a kid. Every so often, he'd get a wild hair up his azz and run away for a day or two. We would eagerly await his return because he'd be sick (as a dog) and it was only a matter of time before he barfed up everything he ate from the trash while on the lam. Baby diapers, plastic toy blocks, wood toy blocks, a matchbox car, etc. He was a living pinata. Reminded me of the scene from "Jaws" where they cut open the shark's stomach and pulled out a license plate...