if you dont mind,please share what food you feed and why

[Aimee]

i am soo confused the more i research into the food topic, the more confused i get about what to feed my baby. i have just switched her to nutro choice. who feeds this? i have been looking into orijen and man it has some good ingredients, who feeds this and why? im really just trying to get some chow specific experience with food, rather than an all breed opinion. thank you and cant wait to hear everyones thoughts aND experiences!

[Jeff&Peks]

I feed Nutro Natural Choice, I switch between Lamb and rice and senior, allways have always will. Why? Because she will be 12 soon and still alive. She's never been to the vet for anything serious in her life except yearly Physicals, Got Cancer two years ago and had enough strength to get threw that now she is going on 12 and still chasing cats and arguing with me about who's in Control.

[JH]

I have always fed our dogs both of the Costco brands, Kirkland Lamb & Rice formula and alternatively Nutra Nuggets which you can also find at Smart & Final. They have always been healthy and none have experienced any serious physical problems. Our male lived to the age of 14, and our female is 11 now and still going strong. Our new puppy's breeder was feeding him the Kirkland, but when I got him home, he seemed to prefer the Nutra Nuggets, so we are sticking to that now. They are good quality foods, do not contain corn (which can't be digested, and is in so much of the bargain type supermarket brands) and provide all of the correct balances that they need. They are also much better value than the brands that they carry at the major chains like Petco or Petsmart. A few times when they have had a stubborn hot-spot, I've used AvoDerm which always seemed to help them heal quickly. If you're dealing with serious skin problems, and you need a food that is low in allergens, AvoDerm is a winner. Obviously, it is much more expensive that the aforementioned products.

[Chow Chow Mama]

I was feeding Holden Iams until I started reading up on food here. Now I am in the process of switching him over to Natural Choice. He LOVES it! It has been 2 weeks and he is still putting most of the old food on the floor so that he only has the new.

[Zhuyos mom]

There's a sticky on the top of this section titled "brands of food our chows eat" or something like that.

[Grab]

I feed Solid gold Wolf King. Legend loves it and it's the first food that he's gone through an entire large bag of without ever leaving any food in the bowl after the meal. I've also fed Avoderm before, with good results.

[sengeoz]

Aimee,

As I said in the other post to you about hot spots & food, I am a dyed in the wool raw feeder. I have been in dogs for over 50 years and come from a family of dog breeders (not Chows tho') and my grandfather who was a breeder for over 50 years himself only ever fed raw and table scraps.

My uncle, who was a vet and a breeder for well over 50 years, was only ever a raw and table scraps feeder. Same for my mother.

They all viewed commercial dog food with great distain and thought I was nuts some 30 years ago when I got into Chows and got into the best commercial food money could buy - waste of good money they said.

Then I had a girl with really bad skin problems and other immune problems, much of which was either resolved or managed by putting her on a raw diet (along with the rest of the Chows).

Result, happy and well fed Chows. It costs me about $35 per week to feed a crew of 7 adults and includes raw meaty bones, meat, offal & organ meat, fruit & veg puree and some supplements. Works for us.

However, if you want to go into a raw food model, please do your research first. Try getting ahold of a copy of a booklet entitled "Switching to Raw" by Susan K Johnson. Not sure where you can get it, but if you check http://www.k9rawdiets.com, they may carry it and if not they can tell you where to get it.

As for the hot spot - use a bit of original formula Listerine to clean it, then dry it and apply whatever the topical cream is the vet gave you.

Cheers,

[Rowlee]

I feed Wilbur raw food. Very cheap, very healthy and very easy and good poohs!!
Sabina

[Aimee]

I feed Wilbur raw food. Very cheap, very healthy and very easy and good poohs!!
Sabina

what is your raw diet made up of?

[Layla]

I've recently moved to raw & have to saw I'm happy with it. I'm not completely comfy with it yet so I feed NV frozen raw & also make lots of fish based meals. They LOVE it I used to feed Timberwolf ocean blue or SG wolfcub with tinned foods mixed in & they ate it. It was me wanting to make a change for them.

None of mine have ever had hot spots. Alf was itching SO bad when he got here, that's gone They go in the lake / sea to play frequently, have good poohs, have lovely shiny coats & heaps of energy.

Works for us

[coleywoley]

We feed the natural choice. I like it becuase it's helped with Bel's skin (he's not a chow though).

[Rowlee]

I feed Wilbur raw food. Very cheap, very healthy and very easy and good poohs!!
Sabina

what is your raw diet made up of?

raw meats such as chicken mince, liver, ox cheek, heart, sardines, kangaroo meat. Have a look at the following website (this is Wilbur's breeder's website): http://www.geocities.com/sengechow/chowdiet.html This will explain it to you.

It really is very easy and cheap.

Sabina

[Aimee]

I feed Wilbur raw food. Very cheap, very healthy and very easy and good poohs!!
Sabina

what is your raw diet made up of?

raw meats such as chicken mince, liver, ox cheek, heart, sardines, kangaroo meat. Have a look at the following website (this is Wilbur's breeder's website): http://www.geocities.com/sengechow/chowdiet.html This will explain it to you.

It really is very easy and cheap.



Sabina

i have started rylee on her new (plus some old as we are weening her off her old food) raw food diet! she loves it and i feel great feeding it to her. thankyou so much for your advice and the website really explained it to me. Thankyou and rylee loves u 2 xx

[Rowlee]

i have started rylee on her new (plus some old as we are weening her off her old food) raw food diet! she loves it and i feel great feeding it to her. thankyou so much for your advice and the website really explained it to me. Thankyou and rylee loves u 2 xx[/quote]

Oh Aimee, I am so glad she likes it. I too feel very happy feeding Wilbur a raw diet. I feel I am giving him the best food I can.

Sabina & Wilbur

[puddinglove]

I've been feeding Pudding Solid Gold Wolf Cub since one week after bringing her home, and have also been adding raw meats, veggies and eggs to her kibble.

Since reading natural pet care books and hearing other members' comments on the results of raw diets, I am tempted to give it a go. I have a question and a couple of concerns holding me back, which I couldn't find the answers to reading the Nutrition section, or using the search engine.

Question:
1) Some sites and owners say that turkey, pork and beef are not appropriate for chows. Some highly recommend these proteins. In my neck of the woods, these are some of the most affordable and available meats. Should I see if Pudding does well on them, and rotate different meats?

Concerns:
1) Cost. I know many owners have said that feeding raw was very cost-effective compared to premium, natural dog kibble, but is the meat being used free of antibiotics, hormones, etc? The natural foods store I shop at sells chicken backs at $0.99 a pound, and turkey giblets at $0.69 a lb! I haven't done detailed calculations yet, but I think that would be more expensive than SG...
2) Travelling. Not too worried when Pudding is travelling with us, but more about when someone else watches her at home while we're away for the weekend. Supplements, thawing, no cooking... Raw feeders: what arrangements/instructions do you leave?? And do neighbors/friends understand etc?

[Rowlee]

I've been feeding Pudding Solid Gold Wolf Cub since one week after bringing her home, and have also been adding raw meats, veggies and eggs to her kibble.

Since reading natural pet care books and hearing other members' comments on the results of raw diets, I am tempted to give it a go. I have a question and a couple of concerns holding me back, which I couldn't find the answers to reading the Nutrition section, or using the search engine.

Question:
1) Some sites and owners say that turkey, pork and beef are not appropriate for chows. Some highly recommend these proteins. In my neck of the woods, these are some of the most affordable and available meats. Should I see if Pudding does well on them, and rotate different meats?

Concerns:
1) Cost. I know many owners have said that feeding raw was very cost-effective compared to premium, natural dog kibble, but is the meat being used free of antibiotics, hormones, etc? The natural foods store I shop at sells chicken backs at $0.99 a pound, and turkey giblets at $0.69 a lb! I haven't done detailed calculations yet, but I think that would be more expensive than SG...
2) Travelling. Not too worried when Pudding is travelling with us, but more about when someone else watches her at home while we're away for the weekend. Supplements, thawing, no cooking... Raw feeders: what arrangements/instructions do you leave?? And do neighbors/friends understand etc?

Puddinglove,
Have a look at the website I referred Aimee to (this is Wilbur's breeder's website who has been a raw feeder for years): http://www.geocities.com/sengechow/chowdiet.html

I will also ask Judith-Ann to add to this post for you. She doesn't recommend you feed them turkey and pork.

I make up Wilbur's "mush meals" (see the website and this will explain a mush meal) and freeze them in portions because for one dog it is not worth me making them fresh every night. I do add supplements as well. He has a chicken carcass or lamb neck or something similar for his breakfast, which I buy at my butcher and are cheap and then a mush meal at night. I use different meats in the mush meals and rotate so he has something different every night.

Sabina

[sengeoz]

Feeding turkey & pork in a raw diet…

Both turkey and pork can be fed to dogs on a raw diet, although even if cheap and easy to get, I would urge caution in making those two the only meats the dog gets. Any muscle meat is good. However, it is raw meaty bones that should make up the bulk of any raw diet. A turkey frame would probably be good for 3-4 meals, but you will have to go some distance I would imagine to find a reliable source of turkey frames.

The reason I don’t generally recommend turkey is for these reasons: (1) turkey is higher in fat than chicken or duck and any dog that develops problems needs to stay away from turkey; (2)) the skin is very hard to digest and tends to hold more of the hormones etc. given to the bird while alive and (3) turkey contains an enzyme (name of which currently eludes me) that affects many dogs and many humans. Also, in Australia, Turkey is outrageously expensive.

The reason I don’t generally recommend pork is because it tends to carry a number of parasites in the meat. If you intend to feed raw pork to your dog, you would need to ensure that it has been solidly frozen for about 3-4 weeks before using as a food source to ensure that all the parasites have been killed.

Since you live in Austin, then I would recommend that you check around and find who does the slaughtering for all the game hunters. Deer meat should be readily available during hunting season, as well as quail, rabbit, squirrel and so on. These meats are more likely to be chemical and hormone free than anything you buy commercially.

As for the natural foods supermarket (Whole Foods?) that sells the organic and/or free range meat and bones, do keep in mind they are in the business of making a profit, but try asking them what they would sell you this for in bulk. Also check up, in Austin there are bound to be any number of food co-ops – ask them where you can buy organic meats in bulk.

Alternatively, a quick look at the Yahoo Groups turned up two Austin regional raw feeding co-ops – I’ve copied their information below.

So yes, if you buy in bulk and make use of a good spacious freezer, your costs, both in terms of food and vet care will dramatically take a nose dive.

texasraw http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/texasraw/
46 Members, Archives: Public
We are a group of animal folks who believe in feeding a natural diet. We do not trust conventional pet foods and have formed this group to support and educate raw feeding in Texas. We have started a raw feeders co-op here in Austin called Texas Raw Co-op. Please visit our site on the web at http://www.texasraw.org. ...(more)

ARFCoop http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ARFCoop/
82 Members, Archives: Membership required
The Austin Raw Feeders Co-op is an established ordering co-op for people in Austin, Texas who feed their pets a natural, fresh foods diet. Many of our members feed a raw meat and bones-based diet, but we welcome anyone interested in healthy, home-prepared food for their companion animals. We order from six suppliers (both wholly organic and human-grade) on a regular basis, hold member socials and teach community outreach classes on raw feeding and other home-prepared diets for cats and dogs. ...(more)


Cheers,

[chris]

Nutro - Because Jeff said so...

Nutro Max Mini Chunck - because that is what Steel and Roxi prefer!

[puddinglove]

Thank you so much, Sabina and Judith Ann. The sengechow website is actually one that I referenced while researching, and I had been reading a lot about what Wilbur's been fed on too.

Yes, I shop at Whole Foods and I think I'll be checking out the game processing places. I called several local butcher shops today and most of them didn't even know what I meant by natural meat... quite disturbing...

[Rowlee]

Thank you so much, Sabina and Judith Ann. The sengechow website is actually one that I referenced while researching, and I had been reading a lot about what Wilbur's been fed on too.

Yes, I shop at Whole Foods and I think I'll be checking out the game processing places. I called several local butcher shops today and most of them didn't even know what I meant by natural meat... quite disturbing...

Puddinglove,

If you want to know more, feel free to PM me. I have an excellent butcher who I have shopped at for years who only sells hormone free meat, it's not organic, which is very hard to find here, but it is HORMONE FREE!! So I think that's pretty good. Also as J-A suggested if you can find someone who slaughters game, quail etc then that is going to be a good source of "organic" meat.

As I said I am very, very happy raw feeding Wilbur. I never raw feed our previous chow, it was never something I considered. However since I met J-A and listened to her views on it, I then went and researched it myself and decided it was something I very much wanted to do for Wilbur. I don't find it a hassle in actual fact I quite enjoy making up his mush meals. I chuck it all in the food processor!

Sabina

[puddinglove]

I'll be calling more butchers, co-ops and game processing places today. My main concerns are hormones and anti-biotics in the meat products.

Thanks for all your encouragement and info!! I'm going to start easing Pudding and myself into the raw diet, as we find better sources.

Hannah

[Rowlee]

Made mush meals for the boy tonight. Chicken mince, zucchini, spinach, carrot, bit of cabbage, strawberries, banana and kiwi fruit with yogurt, apple cider vinegar and olive oil - yummo!!