Does anyone make their own dog food?

[FarmersDigest]

With my DH being a butcher, and with the foods having so much crap in them or having to be recalled, I thought we could make our own dog food. It does scare me thought because I want to make sure that my dogs get everything they need. Do you make your own and wouldn't mind sharing? or know where I could look? Thank you and have the best day ever today!

 

[Southern by choice]

We do not make our own but we do feed a good deal of raw in the winter. I have 10 dogs I do not have time. We use a mix of dry and raw. Very little raw in the warm months as they do not eat much.
We feed what we slaughter or hunt. Right now that is a lot of deer, and the deer legs are great for teeth cleaning. When we do chickens we just gather the meat and freeze it in bags, occassionally they get goat. Rabbit, squirrel etc is from what they catch generally.
We do switch our dry feeds every few months.

@PendergrassRanch has good info on raw feeding.

 

[FarmersDigest]

Awesome! Thank you so much. I really appreciate you responding.

 

[mysunwolf]

Like southern, we don't make our own but do feed as much raw or boiled meat and fresh bones as possible. We feed grain-free (meat and potato, or rice, based) dry kibble (our dogs are all under 50# so it is not as expensive to feed them) and supplement with old hen meat, venison, beef bones, sinewy goat, pork scraps, etc.

We have noticed that if dogs are not used to eating raw meat, it's easier to start with small quantities of boiled meat. Otherwise, it can lead to digestive issues during the transition.

There's a whole lot of internet articles out there on a raw diet. It's fairly controversial in many circles, and even raw food advocates argue with one another about the right way to do it.

Homemadedogfood.com has an easy recipe that I may try one of these days, though it has a lot of eggs and processed supplements. Whole-dog-journal.com has a more complicated recipe and includes fruits, veggies, and supplements. Rawlearning.com advocates for a mostly whole meat diet.

 

[FarmersDigest]

Like southern, we don't make our own but do feed as much raw or boiled meat and fresh bones as possible. We feed grain-free (meat and potato, or rice, based) dry kibble (our dogs are all under 50# so it is not as expensive to feed them) and supplement with old hen meat, venison, beef bones, sinewy goat, pork scraps, etc.

We have noticed that if dogs are not used to eating raw meat, it's easier to start with small quantities of boiled meat. Otherwise, it can lead to digestive issues during the transition.

There's a whole lot of internet articles out there on a raw diet. It's fairly controversial in many circles, and even raw food advocates argue with one another about the right way to do it.

Homemadedogfood.com has an easy recipe that I may try one of these days, though it has a lot of eggs and processed supplements. Whole-dog-journal.com has a more complicated recipe and includes fruits, veggies, and supplements. Rawlearning.com advocates for a mostly whole meat diet.

Wow, thank you for all the great info! Yeah we feed a lamb and rice dry food, and then we give raw meat, and bones as well. Again, thank you so much for responding.

 

[Southern by choice]

@mysunwolf is right... wow what a heated issue it can be with raw folks! LOL Most veterinarians HATE raw diets. But there again most vets do not know about LGD's , behavior, or training. Sometimes I wish they'd stick to the medical part and but out of things they don't know.

I use to be a feed snob 25-30 years ago well probably all the way up to a few years ago if I am honest with myself. LOL

With LGD breeds they are so different anyway they don't even eat like other dogs. Very much like a primitive wild dog really.They decide when and if they want to eat and it is not unusual for them to skip a day or days (especially when it is hot). LGD's that are on thousands of acres and in the mountains do not have someone bringing them a bucket of feed. They generally eat what they catch.
Canines are scavengers! They eat what they find, dead or live. LGD's often mimic their livestock... when our goats eat bark, pine cones, branches,hay, the dogs do too. You should see when I put alfalfa/orchard mix out.... the dogs have their head in the feeders too! Big dopes!

Raw eggs can be problematic... I posted about this on another thread... it is brief but thought you might want to know about it.
http://www.backyardherds.com/thread...nupdust-farm-journal.30156/page-3#post-377185

 

[FarmersDigest]

@mysunwolf is right... wow what a heated issue it can be with raw folks! LOL Most veterinarians HATE raw diets. But there again most vets do not know about LGD's , behavior, or training. Sometimes I wish they'd stick to the medical part and but out of things they don't know.

I use to be a feed snob 25-30 years ago well probably all the way up to a few years ago if I am honest with myself. LOL

With LGD breeds they are so different anyway they don't even eat like other dogs. Very much like a primitive wild dog really.They decide when and if they want to eat and it is not unusual for them to skip a day or days (especially when it is hot). LGD's that are on thousands of acres and in the mountains do not have someone bringing them a bucket of feed. They generally eat what they catch.
Canines are scavengers! They eat what they find, dead or live. LGD's often mimic their livestock... when our goats eat bark, pine cones, branches,hay, the dogs do too. You should see when I put alfalfa/orchard mix out.... the dogs have their head in the feeders too! Big dopes!

Raw eggs can be problematic... I posted about this on another thread... it is brief but thought you might want to know about it.
http://www.backyardherds.com/threads/goats-moregoats-kickinupdust-farm-journal.30156/page-3#post-377185

I so agree! What really frustrates me is you have a lot of vets telling you a certain brand of dog food is the best. When in reality, the brand of dog food that they have in their office, paid for their schooling. Well as long as they sell the food in their vet office. Ridiculous, especially when people don't know any better and they want what's best for their dog!

Wow, I didn't know that they did that! Well that's good that they don't depend on humans. Here in Oregon we have a rescue for LGD dogs, and a lot of them come from Texas. They were starved, and abandoned. Very sad. Lol big dopes. Again, so interesting though!

Thank you again for the info! My dogs used to get raw eggs, but I stopped after reading what vets had to say about it.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I would love to be able to feed a raw diet (I'm pretty sure my LGDs would love it too), but I don't have the brain space right now to figure it out. I'm not convinced that they need the complicated mixture of meat/fruits/veggies.

I do give them the legs from sheep we slaughter as well as other bones and raw meat scraps and fat. When they are out on pasture with the sheep they like to catch rabbits.

If I weren't allergic, I'd consider raising rabbits just to feed to the dogs. It would be super easy, I'd just need to kill the rabbit. No need to process it - the dogs eat the entire thing. Usually only a scrap of skin left.

My sister feeds a combination kibble/raw food to her dogs. She came up from NC for a visit a couple weeks ago and she brought her gang with her. Along with the 3 BCs (she left the Puerto Rican Street Rat behind with a friend) she also brought her newest dog, a Pittie. Sweet as could be, but super skinny. The vet in NC was thinking stomach ulcers, but the vet they took her to up here thought it was something else. My sister had just switched the pup onto a completely raw diet because the pup got worse on kibble. Of course the vet gave her a hard time about feeding raw.

My sister and BIL were at our house for a couple days and then they went to BIL's parents for a couple days. When they got back the difference in the Pittie was shocking. In the 2 or 3 days that they had been gone, she had filled out dramatically and was no longer super skinny.

 

[FarmersDigest]

I would love to be able to feed a raw diet (I'm pretty sure my LGDs would love it too), but I don't have the brain space right now to figure it out. I'm not convinced that they need the complicated mixture of meat/fruits/veggies.

I do give them the legs from sheep we slaughter as well as other bones and raw meat scraps and fat. When they are out on pasture with the sheep they like to catch rabbits.

If I weren't allergic, I'd consider raising rabbits just to feed to the dogs. It would be super easy, I'd just need to kill the rabbit. No need to process it - the dogs eat the entire thing. Usually only a scrap of skin left.

My sister feeds a combination kibble/raw food to her dogs. She came up from NC for a visit a couple weeks ago and she brought her gang with her. Along with the 3 BCs (she left the Puerto Rican Street Rat behind with a friend) she also brought her newest dog, a Pittie. Sweet as could be, but super skinny. The vet in NC was thinking stomach ulcers, but the vet they took her to up here thought it was something else. My sister had just switched the pup onto a completely raw diet because the pup got worse on kibble. Of course the vet gave her a hard time about feeding raw.

My sister and BIL were at our house for a couple days and then they went to BIL's parents for a couple days. When they got back the difference in the Pittie was shocking. In the 2 or 3 days that they had been gone, she had filled out dramatically and was no longer super skinny.

I'm no vet, but to me, it makes sense that they need meat, veggies, and fruit. If you look at wolves, they eat all that. I know our dogs aren't wolves, but I do think our kids (dogs) need some of the same thing's.

Wow, that's fast or smart, catching a bunny! Man, they don't let anything go to waste!

Of course the vet would have a problem with that. That's awesome! I know they say to slowly change a dog's food. My sister has a golden retriever who is sensitive and has food allergies. I really think that he could use being on a raw diet. The foods that we feed our dogs I think aren't the quality we would like to think they are. Then the ones that are, are way too expensive. So that's why I thought with my DH being a butcher, we maybe could feed them a raw diet.

My Dad was telling me, when he was growing up, we didn't buy dog food. They had veggies, fruits, and meat scraps from our meals. He said his dogs seemed to live longer than the dogs he has now. It was interesting to think about, that's for sure! Not saying that I am right about any of this, it's just my opinion.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I'm no vet, but to me, it makes sense that they need meat, veggies, and fruit. If you look at wolves, they eat all that. I know our dogs aren't wolves, but I do think our kids (dogs) need some of the same thing's.

Wow, that's fast or smart, catching a bunny! Man, they don't let anything go to waste!

Of course the vet would have a problem with that. That's awesome! I know they say to slowly change a dog's food. My sister has a golden retriever who is sensitive and has food allergies. I really think that he could use being on a raw diet. The foods that we feed our dogs I think aren't the quality we would like to think they are. Then the ones that are, are way too expensive. So that's why I thought with my DH being a butcher, we maybe could feed them a raw diet.

My Dad was telling me, when he was growing up, we didn't buy dog food. They had veggies, fruits, and meat scraps from our meals. He said his dogs seemed to live longer than the dogs he has now. It was interesting to think about, that's for sure! Not saying that I am right about any of this, it's just my opinion.

I'm not disagreeing about them needing fruits and veggies. I just think that people over-complicate the matter and make it into this "dog must eat x lbs of meat, x lbs of leafy greens, x lbs of veggies, etc....to be healthy" thing.

That's why I don't feed just raw. I'm not a nutritional expert and I'm not a scientist. I don't have the time to figure out who's raw diet is best.

From what I've observed, I don't think my Pyrs chase the rabbits. Their hunting method is to lie in wait and basically let the rabbit walk into their mouth.

I recently sold a ram to someone who feeds raw to her 11 year old Great Dane. If you know anything about GDs, that is very old. 7-8 years is old. She does minimal vaccinations and feeds raw and he is going strong. Still goes on long hikes.