Dog and cat food *please check this out*

[BrilliantFids]

Ok Ive been doing a TON of research on pet foods, I want them eating the best they can living in captivity. Here is what I now feed my guys, and some facts and reasons why I changed them to this diet.


Here is what my dogs eat:

10-13 brands of NATURAL dry kibble ( Some of my favorites and theirs are Call of the wild, Fromm, Instinct and natural balance) It is always a good idea before you choose a food to do a rating search online, I use this one that breaks down what is in the food and rates it on a scale of 1 to 10. They take points off if by-products are used instead of REAL meat and so on. Infact I found out that a lot of dog food is made with euthanized dogs and cats, roadkill or livestock that died of disease.

They also get food I cook for them and raw meats each day, I do buy them natural canned or pouched foods on occasion as well.

My cats get 1 can/pouch of wet food a day, 1/4 cup of NATURAL dry food (again its a mix of brands) and they get raw and cooked meats each day as well.

You do have to be careful with natural food as well, some are made by menu foods wich is the company that had the huge recall. I Dont feed that as a base EVER...I will occasionally buy them a little of it, but if I can help it I stear clear.

Also for you cat people, did you know that cats should have more wet food than dry? The reason why is simple, cats come from the jungle..the jungle is dry therefor they get most of their water from their prey. A large percentage of household cats are dehydrated without owners ever knowing because they simply dont drink enough water from bowls...yes they drink some but its not enough. Canned food has much more moisture content therefore keeping the cat more hydrated. Also if your cat has issues drinking froma  water bowl, put a sticker in the bottom of the dish! Most cats have terrible depth perception..wich makes the water bowl a scary thing.

Oh and there is a reason I mix the brands and flavors of both my dogs and my cats foods, inside their bodies have different enxymes wich can be good for keeping their tummys strong etc. Well each type of meat takes a differnt one of the enzymes to break it down, say you keep your dog on a chicken based food its whole life, then you notice that after you give them a treat that has beef or some other kind of meat in it their stools are loose...thats why! Its throwing this new enxyme out there and the pets body cant figure out how to come to a balance, wich is why after switching a food if you stick with it the loose stools go a away after a bit. I just mix them all so the enxymes are always there, always working and my dogs can handle just about any good food or treat I toss them!

Anything you can buy at wal-mart, k-mart or any store like that is BAD..stay away from it. you can find a decent selection of natural foods at petco, petsmart or pet food stores. Pedigree is rated I believe a 2 out of 10 stars, so is Iams, science diet, purina etc. You may be thinking well Science diet cant be bought at the grocery store but it can be bought at farm and fleet..same dif. ick bad gross...we strive to feed or fids the best of the best, so why not do the same for out cats and dogs?

You also may be thinking well natural food is just so expensive..but it isnt if you add it up. They eat less, poop less etc when eating a natural diet than when eating crappy food. so it saves $ in the long run on both the cost of food, litter and doggy poo bags!


Im sure there is more that im not thinking of right now, Ill add to this if I think of anything else.

[zimbasmom]

EXCELLANT info Bfids!  AddEmoticons04239

[macawlover2]

One of the managers at work is convincing everyone that Eukenuba is the best type of dog food. Is that true?

[BrilliantFids]

Thanks Zim :)

Em, Eukanuba isnt bad but it certainly is NOT the best.


I should also add that a lot of people wont feed wet food to dogs or cats as it gives themt he runs..think about it like this though..they take in more moisture witht he wet food and if its new to them they will still be drinking just as much water. Well the extra liquid comes out in the form of loose stools, keep with the wet diet and their poo's will get back to normal as they learn to balance the amount of water they take in and the amount of wet food they eat.

[Debz]

great research, there kiddo! thanks! :)

[BrilliantFids]

Thanks Debz

Hopefully I didnt come off as pushy or anything, im not trying to tell you guys what to feed your pets by any means lol. Just wanted to share what ive learned in my research :)

[BPMar]

Great info BF!
I have been feeding Zeus Pro Plan for sensitive stomach/skin for years and as recommended by the vet when he had pancreatitis.  I looked it up quick last night after finding out about Spencer and there is nonr of the bad stuff in it.(BHA or whatever)
Thanks for sharing!

[BuffaloParrot]

Thanks for sharing your research and knowledge with this topic BF! AddEmoticons04239  I will sticky this for importance :)

[BrilliantFids]

Thanks Mar and D  afro.gif

Oh yeah Pro Plan has a few special diet foods that are not bad, if thats what he needs for his skin and tummy by all means dont switch it at all. Each dog is different on what they can tolerate and what they need, I used pro plan for my great dane, ginger, as she had a very sensitive tummy too and she did good on that.

The whole reason I got into this stuff was I felt that losing Roxy was my fault, her blood sugar was always dropping and shed go into sugar shock. When morgan started showing signs of hypoglycemia too I dove head first into the research. I couldnt figure out why neither roxy or morgan could hold weight on and I do not want to lose Morgan like I did Roxy. So I went to a great pet food store we have here and I started talking to the people about higher protein foods and food for very active dogs, I had been feeding Royal Canin wich at the time I thought was the best (its not bad by any means but again not the best) and they pointed me to Fromm puppy gold, well the results were amazing! Morgan doubled in size and hasnt had trouble keeping the weight on since. I then started my own research and decided to mix brands my dogs have never looked better! Now they just need to make a formula for naughty dogs! LOL

[BPMar]

Naughty birds too!!!  evil.gif afro.gif
This really is important stuff to know.  You see alot of changes in a dog if you switch from a say not so good food to a good one....from their coat to stools etc.
I have a Vegan friend who made his own dog food....don't remember all what was in it but I do know there was rice, brewers yeast.....
It is scary what they put into human and pet foods alike!  :o