Dog food (simple question that will probably start WW3)

phill99

I have 2 border collies. 1 I had as a puppy, the other from 18 months from Dogs Trust. The Dogs Trust gave me 6 tins of meat and a bag of mixer for him. This is what they evidently feed most dogs in their care. He still enjoys this type of food. However, both dogs get leftovers or surf that is beyond its best. When I peel potatoes, I bake off the peelings in the oven for them with sunflower oil. They get left over takeaways, bread, etc etc. food doesn't go to waste because they eat it. They even enjoy an ice cream from Mr whippy.

They don't get chicken or lamb Bones as they can splinter in their throats, but that's the only thing that is off limits ( and chocolate obviously).

Both have excellent coats, are the correct weight, glassy eyes and very healthy.

The reason most dog owners are fussy about what they eat is that they have bought in to the marketing clap trap put out by Purina et al.

pawsies

My dogs get scraps off us, still get dog food but not as often. I couldn't imagine eating just dog food! They're healthy and love it

I also regularly get reduced meat for them from the local ASDA (at like 2/5/10p!) as a treat. Spoilt

I hate food waste and try and do my bit by giving them some. They've never had upset tummies (probably because they've always had a variety) and I sometimes change dog food brand to add more variety (again, doesn't affect them).

elsien

Although if you hark back long enough, my grandmother also recalls the days when vets were for farm animals in an emergency, in her part of the world you'd never have dreamt of taking a pet dog to the vet. Times change. Then again that was also pre NHS days when unless your leg was dropping off it'd be take a paracetamol and you'll be fine.

It's all down to advertising, isn't it. We used to feed our dogs when I was a kid with a bit of tinned dog food and biscuits, topped up with whatever we were having. I remember my mother feeling so guilty she'd forgotten to save the dog some spag bol that she cooked some more specially for him.
Mutt has dry food because of colitis, but it's also easy just to chuck a load in a bowl and let her get on with it. I think I'd happily give leftovers and scraps otherwise, although I'd have to be careful with the salt.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

elsien wrote: »

Although if you hark back long enough, my grandmother also recalls the days when vets were for farm animals in an emergency, in her part of the world you'd never have dreamt of taking a pet dog to the vet. Times change. Then again that was also pre NHS days when unless your leg was dropping it'd be take a paracetamol and you'll be fine.

It's all down to advertising, isn't it. We used to feed our dogs when I was a kid with a bit of tinned dog food and biscuits, topped up with whatever we were having. I remember my mother feeling so guilty she'd forgotten to save the dog some spag bol that she cooked some more specially for him.
Mutt has dry food because of colitis, but it's also easy just to chuck a load in a bowl and let her get on with it. I think I'd happily give leftovers and scraps otherwise, although I'd have to be careful with the salt.

Although I think you would agree that Mutt's little dietary extras aren't ideal - the dining room suite, front door frame and three seatbelts spring immediately to mind here....

Sally_A

I never knew about onions JoJo, mine loved all things garlic based which is from the same veg family.

I had a Lab-X female that would crack walnuts for a pastime - each shell was cleaned out really well, an earlier dog of ours had a thing for hazelnuts with no ill effect. Guess a lot can depend on the breed, for which I blame pedigree in breeding - a mate's dog a Jack Russell (diabetic) died after eating a bag of raisins:(.

Chilli con carne leftovers were saved until a Friday or Saturday, so I was here just in case of a desperate need to go outside.....but it never happened.

What did dog owners do before tinned food was invented? Basically it was 100% left overs, bones and eating grass.

Sally_A

What tickles me are the ones that are on a strict dried diet because they are game/hunting dogs, and then they come back with a half eaten manky maggoty pheasant/rabbit corpse.

NewKittenHelp

Sally_A wrote: »

I never knew about onions JoJo, mine loved all things garlic based which is from the same veg family.

I had a Lab-X female that would crack walnuts for a pastime - each shell was cleaned out really well, an earlier dog of ours had a thing for hazelnuts with no ill effect. Guess a lot can depend on the breed, for which I blame pedigree in breeding - a mate's dog a Jack Russell (diabetic) died after eating a bag of raisins:(.

Chilli con carne leftovers were saved until a Friday or Saturday, so I was here just in case of a desperate need to go outside.....but it never happened.

What did dog owners do before tinned food was invented? Basically it was 100% left overs, bones and eating grass.

And people used to eat diets that led them to have a life expectancy of 50 years if they were lucky. Something being done before is not an excuse for doing it now when far better alternatives are available.

Sally_A

....and on my crap diet for dogs they have lived to 16 years + with very few vet visits.

Perhaps the need for pedigrees has brought this about, whereas I've always gone for the older ugly bogger at the dogs home with a GSOH (and yes, some dogs do have a GSOH!).

alyssa_liss

my dog eats meat and bones , however he is fed RAW
so he has chicken tripe, beef, liver, heart, kidneys, bone , chiken thighs, chiken wings .

he does have the occasional left over chicken generally when we have a BBQ (without cooked bones though)

Sally_A

Thanks all, phew it never set off into WW3 after all.

Seems that dogs will still eat most things (within reason) without side effects, and marketing companies are twisting the brains of many.

After all, what is Christmas without a special roast dinner for the dog?:)