Dog Food

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I lost a beloved std poodle to crap food 1 1/2 years ago. Since, we've rescued 2 labradoodles. 1 from a puppy mill, 1 from shelter. I have been cooking for them & would like to share dinnertime ideas. What do you all feed your dogs? If I try to go back to premade now, they turn up their noses. My 8year old Bijon, who ate crap food for years has no more arthritis or tear stains since "real" food was put into his life. Any ideas or comments, thoughts?

[Marcia Stevens]

Hi Lynn,
Yes, I think the corn is the culprit...and, unfortunately I just bought a 40lb bag of the Royal canin a couple weeks ago.......I like your recommendations and will research all of them....thanks!

[Tamara & Giada]

Our Shih-tzu does this too during certain time of the year. After a while we realized she has seasonal allergies, and switching food does not help at all. We use over the counter Antihisamines--advised by our vet. GL:)

[1v200f3rbrnxk]

I remember last December thru April.......we tried Blue Buffao, Innova, Evo, no more Nutro, even purina sensitive tummy, and a couple others with no success, I was almost committed to keep cooking for Max while consulting with nutritionist and Canidae all life stages was the only one he could digest.
even the Canidae Lamb also the chicken....gave bad Sbd's ...go figure!

LYNNE , I did cook for Max for 4.5mos
one thing: dogs will gain weight faster on homecooked food but i had these results
his coat was shiny, his hair grew back in, he didn't itch, he gained weight, his eyes were white, bright and clear with a spring back into his step and no more flaking skin! i am dead pan serious.

rice is mainly a filler so after a week or so, I replaced it with old fashioned oats/oatmeal
1 teaspoon of pumpin and/or 1/4in slice sweet potatoe
2 papaya enzyme tablets (they're digestive enzymes thus aids in fats/carbs/nutrients being absorbed via intestinal walls and not passing thru as poop)
boiled chicken, venision, lean beef.......all were rinsed in warm water till NO grease appeared
once a week boiled/poached fish
algae/kelp (antioxidant and boosts immune system)
1 Omega 3 fishoil cap 1000mg ....used pin to puncture and squeezed over food
on occasion: 1 teaspoon of cottage cheese or yougurt
1 to 2 teaspoons of pineapple (antioxidant)

My vet was amazed at how quickly Max responded to this diet and his health quickly improved some results seen w/in 12 to 24 hours , others w/in one week.
THEN i slowly introduced Canidae all life stages 1/8 cup for 5 days, then if he had solid ones then 1/4 next 5 days etc ....i think it took 2 weeks to get him on Canidae after 4.5mos of homemade bland diet
he had "sensitive tummy?" as he tested negative to everything!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I have seen the same results with homecooking. Shiny coats, clear eyes, no smelly ears, springy happy dogs, but not the weight gain. I rarely add rice and when I do it is brown or red rice with lentils. I change the main meat and veggies & fruits every week but mostly I use chicken breast and ground turkey. I have been at it now over a year. Recently I started adding Innova Evo, Natural Balance Ultra or other high quality food to my homemade to make mine go farther.

I don't know if I will ever go back to 100% someone else's food. Losing a dog the way we did has made me really leary of the dogfood industry. Even some of the better foods have ingredients that are purchased somewhere else (like China or feed companies). Until laws are changed to prevent this from ever haappening again, I will continue with what I'm doing. I will add some of your ingregients to my list though, so THANKS and best of luck to you too!

[3pg24ttid7d4w]

I've tried 3 foods with Wilson. Eukanuba, Royal Canin & Science Diet.

Eukanuba is what he was fed by the breeder so we naturally continued. But...he began vomitting and would not hold his food down. He also developed a habit of chewing on our walls.

I sprayed some bitter stuff on the walls which kept him from chewing on the walls and switched to Royal Canin which stopped the vomitting. However, it seemed that after 2-3 weeks once the bitter flavor "wore off", he would begin knawing on the sheetrock again.

I switched to Science Diet, and all that stopped; no vomitting and no chewing on sheetrock. Wilson has no other behavior problems (knock on wood) and I'm generally happy with it. I think the only remaining issue is brown stuff in his ears (ear mites?) and I don't know if that's due to a vitamin deficiency or just the heat providing an ideal location. Working to get rid of that now.

I'm no expert...just trying to find out what works for me.

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

I feed the pups Blue Buffalo brand. I was feeding Kirkland lamb and rice but my sisters friends opened an Organic Dog food store so I switched to Timberland brand but all of a sudden my dogs stopped eating it. I gave the left over bag to my sister to give to her friend and Timberland ended up recalling that style of food. Dogs know best!
So now I am on to Blue Buffalo. My dogs seem to like and they are doing well, and I am feeding my cats that brand and my 15y cat is doing really well. Her hair is soft and silky again. The cats were getting Nutro.

[Belinda Stevens]

I have to say I am glad I found this forum a week or so ago. I have been reading all this information here and other Internet sites, as well as talking with my trainer and it all has really opened my eyes. Thanks so much for getting the word out, and I am now trying out Canidae… so far so good!

[jdlv25q841on]

One dog (and cat) food company not mentioned so far is Eagle Pack. They're in Indiana and have a Holistic line that made a major difference in our dog's GI tract. We use the Holistic Chicken & Rice, but there are others to include lamb. duck and fish, with the latter using a single source protein for allergic dogs. It is a dry dog food, though they also have a canned variety as well...most include probiotics and glucosamine. Many of my friends have switched to this brand and often switch from one type to another...eg chicken to fish, as the protein source. I believe that they strictly control their sources for the production of their food. They do have a good website as well.

[diane silver]

I am about to get a mini labradoodle pup (July 26th) and the breeder feeds 1/2 raw and 1/2 Castor & Pollux Organix Puppy food. Has anyone had any experience with this food? I am toying with doing some raw as well, since that's what she's being fed, but probably won't continue with it and want to be sure to feed a quality food. I fed my late poodle Nutro and had good results, but am so nervous about all the commercial dog food.

[Tamara & Giada]

Try Innova EVO--This is an excellent dry food you find at the pet supply store that is equivalent to raw! Any pup that will be under 60 pounds full grown can have it from puppyhood through adulthood!

[2fbh0gfp1tgnd]

I feed my labradoodle Large Breed Eukanuba and haven't had any trouble. He stays trim and at a good weight, no gas or problems of that sort.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Ken & Susan, Eukanuba is made by Menu Foods and was at the center of the Dog Food Recall of last year. Read this forum and check out the FDA listings on this food. Do your research before relying on this food.