Dog Food Questions - merged

Emmy_L

I guess it depends on how "tolerant" your dogs are to different types of food!
I tried the Smartpricedog food when I had my mums Yorkshire Terrier for several months and it gave him really bad diarrea (sp?) so I went back to a complete dog food.I made sure he wasn't sick or anything...I think the food just didn't agree with him.
Sorry I can't help better.

Sagz_2

My dogs eat anything so didn't mind the change to Smartpriced - but I went back to a better quality complete food as the amount of ''by product'' my dogs were producing was AMAZING!!!!
Any money I saved on dog food was spent on poop scoop bags :rotfl:

Raksha

cheap foods do tend to be bulked up with 'fillers' like cereal, different dogs tolerate it in different ways - most just push it out of the back end..... Why spend your money on something your dog isn't going to benefit from? Added to that most contain colours so the owner thinks they are getting something appetising, but many dogs are adversly affected behaviour wise by these colours.....

Emmy_L

Norbertsmum wrote: »

My dogs eat anything so didn't mind the change to Smartpriced - but I went back to a better quality complete food as the amount of ''by product'' my dogs were producing was AMAZING!!!!
Any money I saved on dog food was spent on poop scoop bags :rotfl:

LOL
Yeah,I can see how it would defeat the money saving object really:rolleyes:

poppycracker

James Wellbeloved for the last few months after a frantic chase around to find something that my nearly 12 y-o collie would a) eat and b) not get the runs from eating.

Since we switched, she is a lot less itchy, no diarrhoea and wolfs down two meals a day! (before she wouldn't even finish one bowl-ful).

Fruball

We ran out of complete dog food yesterday so the dog just had toast and tinned meat, which he loved btw Through the day I put our leftovers in a bowl (very MS i thought) and he has them with his evening meal, along with complete food and tinned.

But it got me thinking about whether or not it would be possible/good enough to make him mixer food/complete food/biscuits etc.

I know there are websites with dog biscuit recipes on them but wondered if anyone here made their own dog's food and had any recipes to share ?

Pink.

Hi Frugal,

There are quite a few threads on making homemade dog food on the Pets and Pet Care board, so as you should get more help there, I'll move your thread across.

Pink

Fruball

Thanks PW I hadn't come across the pets board before ! Will take a look now

Pink.

Hi Frugal,

As you haven't had any replies yet, I've had a look back and found some threads that might interest you:

Homemade liver treats

Ideas please for homemade dog treats

HM dog food

Old Style Cruelty free dog food ideas

Great Feed, House and Treat Your Pets For Less Hunt

Pink

rhonda_jean

I have two Airedale Terriers - Rosie, 12, and Alice, 10. Since they were puppies, I've fed them on homemade dog food. They've only ever been to the vet a couple of times - usually for tick bites, but the vet always asks me what I feed them as they're so healthy. I recently added these biscuits to their diet and they love them.

I'll post the recipe for my dog food later today.

Homemade dog biscuits/treats
2 cups water mixed with 2 tablespoons Vegemite OR two cups beef or chicken stock. This can be homemade or from stock powder.
1 cup bread flour or plain/all-purpose flour
2 cups wholemeal or rye flour
1 cup rolled oats or instant oats
½ cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon yeast

Please note: The biscuits will get their flavour from the liquid you use. If your dog likes vegemite, use that, if your dog likes beef or chicken, use the stock option.

Please note: The amount of liquid you add will depend entirely on your flour, oats and how much humidity is in the air. Start with 2 cups, but you might need to add another cup - in small portions until the dough feels right.
You can make this in your bread machine or by hand. If using the bread machine, use the dough setting and add the ingredients in the order listed above. Feel the dough after it's been mixed to make sure it feels smooth and not too dry.

If making by hand, put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead for five minutes or until the dough is tender and smooth. It makes a lovely dough.

When the dough is ready, roll it out with a rolling pin and cut it into the shapes you like. Here I've used hearts, stars and a loaf shape. The loaf shape being the easiest. I can break the loaves up into pieces by making a knife cut into half the loaf thickness. Don't cut right through.

Place on a greased or paper lined baking sheet and allow to rise slightly for about 30 minutes. Bake in a slow oven at 170º C (325 º F) one hour. When all are baked, turn off oven and leave them in the oven overnight to cool. Then store in a container or the freezer.