Alternative Dog Food?

Hi everyone,

I have a pretty risky question, recently I posted something about the stuff they put in our food, and it includes dog food! I have a 10 month old mixed breed at home, and I was just wondering if anybody here feeds their pets anything else other than commercialized dog food? Do you make your own? I mean I don’t want to risk my dog’s health but at the same time I can’t really trust these paid “vets” and “scientists” anymore!!! What if they’re all just lying about what you can and cannot give your dogs, I mean dogs were around way before dog food was! (Think hunters since 200 BC til the Victorian Era).

Anyhow… Anyone make their own dog food or feed their dogs something else?

Before my dog (my best friend) died, I fed him organic/holistic dog food and I mixed it with steak, liver, fish, etc... not chicken though (he was allergic to chicken). Sometimes I would add a bit of veggies into the mix, but he wasn't too keen on them lol.

You can google around - a lot of people feed their dogs a 'raw food' diet. I never made it that far, but I only cooked his meats for a couple of minutes tops (they were 'almost' raw). Feeding him steaks and other meats wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be either... a medium sized bag of his holistic dog food was $75... his dog food cost more per month than fresh meats lol.

BTW, there are a lot of 'people' foods that can be dangerous to dogs... there are lists on the internet. If you want to try to make your own food, just make sure you avoid the potentially dangerous ones!

Wow Lulu where did you get the organic/holistic dog food? Sadly my country doesn't really care too much for dogs, save a few non-government independent organizations. My dog eats anything so I will definitey try what you said! I made a mistake once and mixed her dog food with corned beef (cooked it first haha), and she got rashes, the vet told me it's the preservatives in processed meat. Awww. Never did that again so she's been on Pedigree puppy ever since. Both pellet and canned...

P.S. how long were you with your dog for? So sorry bout the loss. I can't imagine my baby Chomp dying :(((

You can only get the 'good stuff' at designated pet supply stores, where I live, at least. I used to mix his food a lot... some of his favourites were Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Innova, Evo, and even some Blue Wlderness. My cats love Wellness, but my dog would always turn his nose up at the Wellness dog food lol. I've since changed my cat's food to Before Grains... they go mental over it!

If you can't find any of those brands, start reading the labels on the foods you can find... try to find ones that have whole meats as the first ingredient... it should just say 'chicken,' 'salmon,' etc. The first ingredient is the most important.

You dog's reaction sounds a lot like my dog when he stole his first piece of chicken lol. I always felt so bad... he loved chicken, but he couldn't eat it... so I gave him a nice serving of turkey, every now and then (especially during the designated turkey holidays lol).

Dogs are all individuals, like people, so you've just got to do some trial and error type things to find what works for her. It did take me a while to find my dog's 'recipe.'

Thank you :) My dog was with me for 14 amazing years. I got him when I was a child... he was only 9 weeks old when he came into my life. He was found abandoned on the side of a country road, along with 3 sisters. We grew up together. I honestly never imagined having to live my life without him. 14 is too young to go. He developed a mass in his stomach and, despite our best efforts to help him, he succumbed to it this past April. He died at home, with me by his side. I miss him so, so much. I just want to give him a hug again :( I have his ashes and a paw print that the crematorium made beside my bed. I want to make a nice little 'dedication' spot for him on one of my shelves, but it's too hard to do it right now. Still kind of in shock right now, you know? Sometimes I still expect to see him on the other side of the door when I come home. It's the worst pain I've ever felt.

Just love them, with all your heart, every second that you're with them. I'm sure your baby girl will have an amazing life with you :)

[norseman]

I have vague memories from the 50's of buying raw horse meat from a Pet Shop for my dog. Quick cook and that was that.

Just as a by-the-way, the regulations covering animal food is more stringent than for human food - preservatives, additives, flavour enhancers, etc.