And to address this whole domestication issue...We've domesticated cats and dogs in two ways and two ways only.We've altered the way they look (different breeds). And we've altered the way they think (so they don't eat us, but rather depend on us). THAT'S IT.Through however many thousands of years it took to get cats and dogs as they are today, no one was concerned with altering their digestive systems, their renal physiology, cardiac health. Dogs work the same way physiologically as wolves work. And cats work the same way as the wild cats work. Using mitochondrial mapping it has been shown that dogs, although domesticated, are more genetically related to wolves than previously believed. Furthermore, are surprisingly even more similar to wolves than coyotes.
3/6/2008 9:44:55 AM
so what dry dog foods are theoretically the best to feed a dog? mine is 7 years old with no allergies or digestive issues.i feed my dog healthy weight purina beneful right now, and she never has had any problems with it. i just looked up the ingredients though, and the first several listed don't seem to be that great based on what people are saying here.
3/6/2008 9:56:12 AM
I've talked to 2 board certified pet nutritionists, there are only I think 36 or 38 in the country. Both remarked that Innova Evo was the only species-specific formulated dog/cat food on the market at this point. And both were really excited about it.It is basically the dry form of feeding RAW. That's what I would reccommend.Here's the ingredient list if you're interested.http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1485
3/6/2008 10:03:42 AM
so why are you trying the raw medallions?
3/6/2008 10:08:14 AM
3/6/2008 10:13:51 AM
I think EVO is a good alternative (the only alternative) for people that are uncomfortable handling raw meat. Salmonella is more harmful for us than it is for our pets, and I think that makes people squeamish. I prefer to feed raw, because it's more natural. There is still a tad bit of processing that has to go into making EVO, you can't have a kibble without something to hold it together (so it has a very minor amount of grain, carb) For cats, I think RAW is best, you have more leeway with dogs. Since I'm in school though and we get all these breaks, I feed both so that when I get a pet-sitter, she's not forced to handle the RAW food if she doesn't want to. Plus it's more labor-intensive since it's frozen and I'd have to pay her to come over twice a day vs. every other day if all she has to do is throw dry food in the bowls.
3/6/2008 10:15:05 AM
^^I will agree that vet's could know more about nutrition. Do I think it needs to be offered in the curriculum at vet schools, not necessarily. I am surprised though that so many veterinarians are still vouching for Science Diet. In my opinion it's probably as bad as Ol' Roy. But veterinarians are doctors. And they are the experts when it comes to taking care of the health of your animal. Not all veterinarians are created equal just as not all doctors are. But to say you'd take the opinion and advice of a breeder (who in my opinion are most definately also making a buck off their animals) and trainers over a highly educated doctor is irresponsible. It's ok to be slightly jaded, but don't make silly decisions because of it. Breeder and Trainer does not equal Veterinarian, and neither will ever be an adequate replacement.
3/6/2008 10:24:14 AM
So how do you thaw your medallions?
3/6/2008 10:27:39 AM
Oh sorry, I thought I PMed you, guess it didn't work. I just pull however many I'm going to feed that morning out the night before, stick 'em in a ziploc and put them in my butter drawer. By morning they are usually defrosted. I might zap them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to make it easier to mash up. And then I do the same thing that morning for what I'll feed at night.They don't have to be frozen at all times. They just keep better if you put what you're not using in the freezer.
3/6/2008 10:33:15 AM
The microwaves are gonna give your animals cancer.
3/6/2008 10:41:27 AM
Fumbler i think you're lostyour thread is here: message_topic.aspx?topic=503107 ]
3/6/2008 10:47:58 AM
3/6/2008 11:07:32 AM
since breeding and showing has gone so well with dogs, how do you explain all of the hip dysplasia, allergies, and the fucked up shit they did to the rear legs of german shepherds to make them stand pretty? what about the fact that bulldogs can't birth puppies naturally? show breeding is done to produce pretty dogs that win competitions.do you really believe that all vets are out to make money off your dog? that's sad. you need to find a new vet. my vet cares.[Edited on March 6, 2008 at 11:22 AM. Reason : ]
3/6/2008 11:17:51 AM
ldwoods - do you also use those chinese footpad things to get rid of the toxins in your soul?
3/6/2008 11:26:36 AM
Well you're in luck, because there is certainly a trend, at least in my class, of more and more vet students interested in taking an osteopathic and holistic approach with their medicine. I'll agree, old (and maybe not so old) veterinarians have old habits. But practicing entirely Eastern medicine is not a cure-all. Medicine works optimally when both methods are combined. However, in concerning the knowledge level of pet enthusiasts on animal healthcare. Sure, you can learn a great deal through continuing education. And it's really respectable that trainers and some breeders go to such lengths to educate themselves. Oftentimes a lot of their knowledge comes from having a close relationship with their veterinarian and picking his/her brain.But, again, there is no substitute for the level of education and expertise that comes with going through veterinary school. The first two years are purely all the -ology's. Physiology, histology, neurology, morphology, pathology, immunology, parasitology...the list goes on. I mean you've gotta known how it all works before you develop this personalized East meets West method of treatment. Veterinary medicine is a constantly evolving science. Eastern and Western medicine was developed out of trial and error. Medicine is an imperfect science practiced by imperfect people. However, the level of training a doctor has in this imperfect science is incredibly invaluable and more often than not far surpasses enthusiasts. Like I said, there is no substitution for that knowledge.
3/6/2008 11:39:08 AM
3/6/2008 11:39:10 AM
3/6/2008 11:39:29 AM
How can one think that veterinarians are only in it for the money? When I worked at a vet hospital, none of the vets there were wealthy by any means. It's not like they get paid the same amount to do a surgery on a dog that a human doctor would get after doing a similar procedure.
3/6/2008 11:40:15 AM
shit, sorry
3/6/2008 11:41:22 AM
3/6/2008 11:45:37 AM
3/6/2008 11:52:57 AM
3/6/2008 11:57:47 AM
3/6/2008 12:00:50 PM
^^you're obviously crazy so i'm not going to continue this. you can't go back and be like oh i was joking, i'm not really that stupid. it's too late.[Edited on March 6, 2008 at 12:01 PM. Reason : ]
3/6/2008 12:01:13 PM
sorry, you minored in communication, didn't you?
3/6/2008 12:05:05 PM
Hah, well you didn't include that little caveat. Interesting how you've done it after the fact. Your friend that is a vet AND a breeder, is a vet first, period. Thus this also makes your argument trash. You were leading us to believe it was just because he was a breeder that he'd magically gained all of this information that you trust so much, and because of such was far superior than pet docs. And it's apparent that you're using a singular example to apply to all. I can assure you of all the breeders I've come across, none were as competent in animal health as the veterinarian that they regularly saw.Additionally having a PhD is great, although you don't specify in what. I am taught on a daily basis by a number of PhD holders, and unfortunately they are not as up on their animal -ologies as you suggest. Similar priniciples are there, but the details are vastly different. I would like to point out that when we are taught by a DVM, very rarely are there discrepancies in what applies to animal health vs. what is the norm. in human health. I hope you're following.And now, to your beloved breeders "that must be doing something right." I'll agree there are some great people out there who are in it solely for the perpetuation of wonderful, healthy animals. But I know you realize that it is the breeders who for centuries have perpetuated the innumberable health disorders that plague purebred dogs. Inbreeding, genetic disease proliferation...You seem to be partial to German Shepherds, so I'm sure you're already aware of many of these, but for the benefit of everyone else here are just a few of the genetic diseases that German Shepherds are predisposed to.Cancer-systemic histocytosis, mastosarcomaMegaesophagusHypothyroidismVestibular DiseaseHemophiliaDilated CardiomyopathyVentricular ArrythmiasAutoimmune hemolytic anemiaIdiopathic thrombocytopeniaEpilepsyBone CystsHip DysplasiaIntervertebral Disc DiseaseWobbler's CystitisBelieve me that's not exhaustive.And after all of this purebred genetic garbage is produced, guess who's expected to fix it.VETERINARIANS
3/6/2008 12:34:31 PM
3/6/2008 1:07:17 PM
3/6/2008 1:31:56 PM
just a reminder, the topic of this thead is:
3/6/2008 1:46:25 PM
Just going to address this and that's all:
3/6/2008 2:43:47 PM
3/6/2008 7:46:38 PM
I feed my dog pedigree, but to the OP, I've seen the best success with patients who tried Eukanuba Fish and Potatoes:Great food and very similar to the duck and potatoes your dog is on currently. Its also not expensive like some of the science diet varieties. /another Animal Science-Nutrition student
3/6/2008 8:56:46 PM
There's a trend of animal science student/graduates who feed their animals dry food. They have no financial incentive to do that either....that should tell you something.Anyway, like I said, our dog is allergic to corn.Since your dog does well with the duck and potato then why switch?If you do switch then maybe you could try a high quality lamb and rice. That's what our dog gets.She might not be allergic to all grains.
3/6/2008 10:42:50 PM
3/6/2008 11:34:35 PM
I thought the contamination issue was from Chinese ingredients.
3/7/2008 12:21:34 AM
it was.
3/7/2008 8:02:30 AM
this is what i feed my dog. i dont know exactly what it is in this brand that fixed my dogs skin irritations and constant itching, but it worked. and i tried a hanfull of different dog foods.http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=81&code=123
3/7/2008 9:41:59 PM
when we first got our dog from the shelter last May, we tried to feed her some Purina crap. She basically didn't eat for 2 weeks and when she did, she would barf it back up. We tried mixing in wet food, adding cheese, everything we could think of. We got really worried and called the vet, which of course wanted us to bring her in for Xrays, labs, etc. I wanted to try changing her food first, even though the vet said that was ridiculous "If she was hungry, she would eat..." We definately didn't get her the very best there was, but decided on Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice. It is about $25 for a 20lb bag, but she only needed to eat about half as much as the Purina. As soon as we brought it home, she scarfed the whole bowl. It had no by products, Lamb meal as the first ingredient, rice instead of corn, and it didn't cost more to feed her than ourselves. About a week later, we noticed how much her coat changed, it was really soft and shiny, she had really small poop compared to before and never had any anorexic/bulemic problems again
3/8/2008 7:14:07 AM
3/8/2008 10:49:27 AM
3/8/2008 11:29:08 AM
I'm going to start feeding my dog raw soon. Is there any sort of age you should wait till before you start feeding raw?? She's like 11 weeks old now... Maybe I should break up the chicken bones and stuff more for her to begin with, I dunno...suggestions?
3/8/2008 1:15:34 PM
3/8/2008 3:31:29 PM
I fed her a raw chicken wing earlier just to see how she'd react to it and she has been following me around wanting more ever since. So, I think she's going to love it.Thanks for the link, I was actually reading through that same page earlier...
3/8/2008 3:38:55 PM
Are you going to be making your own food? What recipes/formula have you decided on? What breed is your pup?
3/8/2008 5:07:34 PM
Yeah, another thing that page reminded me of is jack mackerel. My dog went nuts over the stuff but OMG it smelled so awful I'd only open the can outside. Since it has bones in it and lots of omega 3s it's pretty good for them, but do be warned if you ever try it. Or maybe I'm just too sensitive to fish smell, but it's definitely stronger than canned salmon.Another thing I'd do is when I'd feed her meat without bones (cooked ground beef when her stomach was upset, thanks to the botched bloat surgery) is to give her egg shells. I'd just let them dry on the counter after using the eggs, and I'll never understand why they are so appealing, but if there were egg shells and scrambled eggs on the counter she'd steal the eggshells and leave the eggs.
3/8/2008 5:52:58 PM
all eggshells are is about 90some percent calcium carbonate, maybe you have a calcium defieciency on your hands
3/9/2008 11:36:33 AM
3/9/2008 3:17:51 PM
I feed my dog Disney brand food.JAYKAY.Canidae but I'll probably switch to Eaglepack cause his breath stinks like butt and his teeth suck.
3/9/2008 6:10:12 PM
I was about to get the California Natural herring and sweet potato stuff, but its only $21% protein and isn't grain free. maybe i'll try the barking at the moon stuff since I really want high protein
3/10/2008 8:12:12 AM
its worked very well for my dog.especially with the dry skin issue.i also use this supplement every other day[Edited on March 11, 2008 at 9:28 AM. Reason : .]
3/11/2008 9:27:45 AM