Feeding my chow

Topics, guidelines and tips for feeding Chow Chows.

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cocomini
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Feeding my chow

Post by cocomini »

I'm new here, just found this site, just acquired a chow from people that didn't want her after 3 years, bad behavior, strong minded all that and more. Mostly wrong diet!! Coco was always itchy, scratching, repeat, repeat. I went searching for answers, now this is what I've learned. Chows are allergic to beef, chicken, pork, lamb, wheat(bread, pizza crust, crackers, most dog foods contain wheat), and corn. So I started feeding her rice (the largest portion of her meal), quinoa, buckwheat, sorgum (these cook up like a hot cereal), she LOVES pumpkin, squash, zucchini, carrots, green bell peppers, turnips and the raw turnip greens, apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries (I buy the last 4 frozen in a bag together at aldi's). Add boiled egg, some plain yogurt, or fish and yogurt as 2 proteins digest easier than one.
Yes being a protein sensitive dog feeding her chicken, beef or pork or lamb really, really makes her a gassy stinky dog. I've been feeding her only boiled eggs, plain yogurt, or frozen fish, about 20% of her diet, no more smelly dog, happy me and I'm certain happy her. I was feeding her sardines and jack mackerel from a can, but I think the salt was too much for her and thus aggravating her allergy like condition. She also likes tomatoes.
I also supplement with flax seed oil, coconut oil (organic), and olive oil. I am about to purchase some hempseed oil (organic) also.

When I got her this year January, she was very skinny, twitchy, ADD, full of excitotoxins which is put into human food and dog food. Since feeding her the above diet Coco has went from a skinny, itchy/scratchy, twitchy, ADD dog, to a nicely shaped - so nice and soft hair- well mannered-very smart-looks you in the face when you talk, tries so very hard to understand what I say-put on over 20 pounds of muscle( she was mostly skin and bones when I got her) in the 3 months I've been feeding her this diet.
Her previous owners are amazed and cant understand the rice/ raw veggie/ fruit / eggs, plain yogurt, frozen or fresh fish/ different oils at different meals thing, but they can understand just how amazing she looks, even commenting on how calm she was on our last visit, also noticing how she listens to me when I speak in normal tones as they always had to "yell" at her to get her to do anything.
I am now a first time dog owner, and its a chow. Coco keeps a close watch over me, and really enjoys guarding me when I cook anything on the stove. I thot she was only going to be with me a short time but it seems I've gained a permanent resident.
I hope this can help more Chows out there,
Shawn.
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Merlin
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Merlin »

This is another joke conversation right? Can't be real... just can't be real.
NEVER Support Back Yard Breeders & Puppy Mills
Contact Your local Chow Chow Association to find your Breeder of Merit!
Better Yet ! Adopt!
Rory's Dad
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Rory's Dad »

Sadly, i am afraid that it isn't a joke...

Protein free dogs that improve based on a vegetable oil diet and fruit salad. Why didnt dogs in the wild figure this out for themselves?

Certainly it had nothing to do with being with people that didnt want her.

I would love to know where these answers came from....
Chows are allergic to beef, chicken, pork, lamb, wheat(bread, pizza crust, crackers, most dog foods contain wheat), and corn.
sugimoto
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by sugimoto »

Shawn, good for you for finding a diet Coco could digest properly. Extremely allergic dogs have it tough when they are fed commercial dog food. Takes a while to eliminate what is causing the problem. If you want to ease up on the cooking, there are fish based commercial kibble out there. My friend who had a chow fed his senior chow Solid Gold Holistique when it was found she was allergic to chicken and beef. His chow lived to be 16!

And, welcome to the site!
cocomini
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by cocomini »

I never said protein free diet, read slower.
Many body builders and nutricianalist prefer eggs, plain yogurt, and fish because of the higher bioavalibility of the protien, more easy to digest, ie; more gets to your muscles before it gets eliminated from your body. You can feed a dog 4oz of red meat, but before the dogs digestion breaks it ALL down its shat out, the dogs body getting only 3/4 oz worth of protien. The other 3 and1/4 oz wasted.
Coco eats up to 5 different grains, almost all veggies (mostly raw), and fruit (raw and frozen), if anyone does not know about organic coconut oil PLEASE look it up on the computer( coconut oil for dogs), and of course, the three different proteins I mentioned above--eggs,fish(fresh or frozen), plain yogurt.
Also, please read the ingredients lable on your bag of dog food. Hmm? Grains-yep, veggies-yep, fruit-maybe in some, type of protein? variable.
Same thing thats in dog food but without :, preservatives, colors, conditioners, no propylene glycol (commonly referred to as antifreeze), food that is not processed--baked, boiled, strained, re-constituted, re-hydrated and "conditioned" with preservatives to sit on your shelf for months without spoiling.
All as fresh as fresh can be.
Course, ya'll probly knew all that already.
Happy dog, Coco. Very happy girl indeed.
Hope that helps,
Again thanks, Shawn.
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Seed homer »

Shawn, I 'm fascinated with your post. I have a 10 month old who developed severe itching in the past month. I had been cooking his food, mostly chicken and vegetables (kale, turnip greens, cauliflower, broccoli) with some coconut oil, flax oil, rice, eggs, maybe cheese, and this winter he loved oven roasted root vegetables (squash, turnip, parsnip, carrots, garlic, a little beet, a little potatoes)with meat -- but also the occasional sushi, pizza once a month, grilled cheese sandwich - I know, bad, right?
So before seeing your post, I switched to a raw hamburg, hard boiled egg, with shells, plus a sprinkle of chlorella, spiralina, diatomaceous earth (food grade), plus the oils and kale and turnip greens. And also cottage cheese as a snack. I also added a pinch of Dino-vote and their fish oil supplement. It's been over a week. The itching turned to hot spots so I've given him benedryl the last 2 days, and that helped a bit. But now I'm wondering if this is all a protein overload from all the meat.
I'm heading to the store now to look for sorghum, quinoa, buckwheat, rice to make a porridge. I am sick at heart to think I may have hurt my dog with the foods I gave him. There is so much conflicting advice. Some people have had excellent results with raw meats, others with high-grade kibble. I just want what's best for Leo, I want a healthy, calm, smart chow like yours. Thank you, and all the posters here for all the valuable info. Donna
cocomini
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by cocomini »

Donna hi, sorry to hear about your chow, I'm sure thins will get better eventually.
I read so many different conflicting things on how to feed a chow, you almost have to read between the lines. Consider some web-sites say chows are allergic to beef, chichen, pork and lamb. You read also some say they throw a slab of beef down for their chow. The only real way to figure the truth..who wrote the article, are they trying to sell something, or even do they get a kick back for directing you to a product? Or are they a regular joe trying to pass on the good news?
Consider the jaw structure of a chow, teeth, and neck also. Down load pictures. Now compare them to the pictures of a wolfs jaw, teeth, neck. Quite a difference. One animal IS a hunting meat eater, the other not. One web-site suggested 20% protein only for chows, thats what I went by. When Coco wants extra pc of fish or egg, she tells me. If she bugs me after a meal, I'll give her another carrot (raw), one of her favorites, if she leaves it on the floor I know more egg, fish or yogurt; usually she does this only when in heat????
I havent tried parsnip yet wanted to research that first, but root veggies are important, a good way for an animal to get trace minerals and nutrients without buying a potentially harmful supplement.
Diatomaceous earth? I understand it kills fleas and unwanted pest in the garden, but taken internally (????), I would like to know more..
And yes those soulful looks while you are eating pizza are hard to ignore, so to ease my guilt, I make sure she is fed before I eat, and when I eat I remind her "my supper", not your supper. At that she usually goes to the door wanting out, or lays by the door looking out totally ignoring me by completely turning her back to me without even the possibility of looking at me. Remember, pizza is loaded with every thing a 140lb human is not supposed to have (onion, olives[brine], and the many nitrates in pepperoni), just think the havoc on a 50lb chow. Well I hope you get it all figured out, keep trying Shawn
cocomini
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by cocomini »

Donna, forgot to mention, you dont have to cook the veggies. tho, Coco does prefer the greens to be cooked.
I read only the organic coconut oil works, not the $4.00 chemically processed type. You should google the difference, I did.
What is Dino-vote??
My sister has many mini-ausies, and one rat dog.....all started losing their hair and getting scabby on the back. I told her to cut out the dog treats, pig ears, and start feeding organic coconut oil. Noticed a change in 3 days, started to supplement plain rice, raw veggies as snacks instead. 2 weaks later almost all dogs are healed. ALL dog act like they are 4 again, running, jumping , bouncing while waalking/running, just plain happy. No more signs of bad hips, sore toes, itchy, etc. Everyone comments Normans breath no longer stinks at all!!
Remember, just like humans, a skin problem is the result of a gut problem. Your skin is the largest organ your body has, it is directly related to the condition of your guts/bowls/intestines. It must have a constant supply of alive raw veggies to function properly.
Gotta go,I'm done for now, HTH, Shawn.
cocomini
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by cocomini »

Donna, just read some things about chows on the Wikipedia web site. Wikipedia did say chows were one of the first primitive breeds to originate from the grey wolf in northern china, used for hunting, herding, and home protection. But it also says, the black tounge Chow was bred for human consumption (much like we raise cows and sheep for our consumption).
Also says chows cannot be fed a lot of meat (13).
So I say look at the difference of the black tounge chow teeth etc, then back at the wolf teeth etc. Sorry for confusion.
Shawn.
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Seed homer »

I was going to post an update last week, but he seemed to get even worse with the itching and biting himself, but now after two weeks on the raw meat, hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, and rice, I'm very happy to say the itching is almost gone. He still does scratch a little, but the incessant scratching and biting himself has stopped and his hair on the back of his rear legs is starting to grow back. I feel he is finally on the mend, and I'm so thankful for all the advice I've gotten from everyone, and especially Shawn for this new diet.
Some changes I made though, with the rice. He ddn't like the plain rice as much. So in the last 5 minutes of cooking it I add chopped kale, turnip greens, broccoli, and cauliflower, and let them cook up a bit in the rice. I also added olive oil, and a pat of butter since it was on the counter. I put it in containers in fridge or freezer and give him a scoop with his meal, and I add just a couple chopped frozen berry mix (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry). And blue and black berries are the favorites.
To the hamburger, I buy a 5 lb package, and added 5 hard boiled eggs with the shell, which I ground in the blender (with 3 cloves of garlic, and a generous splash of apple cider vinegar (with the mother), some kelp flakes, a spoon of food grade diatomaeceous earth, a spoon each of spirulina and chlorella, and a small can of anchovies). He did not like salmon, sardines, or mackarel. It smells really good, surprisingly, although the green color is a little off-putting if you're not used to spirulina. I measure out 1 cup of burger mixture, and package it between wax paper, and I get about 14 patties. Right now he's eating about one and a quarter per day, and that might be part of the healing process. Maybe that will increase or decrease as he fully recovers. That's along with the rice ball, cottage cheese, a hard boiled egg sliced, topped with a little coconut oil or flax oil. He does not like fish oil. No treats, he doesn't even seem to want any, so I guess he's getting enough nutrition. He eats half a patty twice a day, late morning, and late afternoon, but wants a little more before bed (that is when he gets a quarter more).
Now I just need to put myself on a diet!
Thanks so much. It is such a blessing to have my happy playful pup back.
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Seed homer »

Oh yes, organic coconut oil, we love it, and I eat it every day too.
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Re: Feeding my chow

Post by Sarahloo »

Shawn, your posts are very interesting. Loo is allergic to most of the things you listed above. Unfortunately, he is also allergic to rice, so that can't be the main part of his meal either. :( It took me years to find a food he could stomach AND that he would eat (he used to be a very picky eater, although these days he's a little less picky), and still there are bad days when his stomach grumbles and/or he really stinks up the joint.
Things were so bad at one point that the vet asked me if Loo could have found his way to RAT POISON. That's when we did the allergy test and it turns out he can't really eat anything. :(
It is still a struggle, and it is sad to read that many Chows go through it. It makes me worry about the general health of the breed sometimes.
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