Posted on 03/31/2007 9:49:22 AM PDT by girlangler
I think we need a thread on making our own dog/cat food, in light of the current recalls of pet food.
While there are several threads on these recalls, these threads become bogged down with posts that go off in so many directions it is confusing.
Since reading all these threads I have decided to start feeding my animals homemade food. I have clicked on several links in posts and read a great deal about what is in pet food, and have come to the conclusion I won't be feeding my animals this horrific stuff anymore, even if it is not on a recall list.
I think this thread should be an educational one on the diet needs of cats and dogs, and hopefully any freeper veterinarians will offer some advice. Also, freepers can share links to legitimate sources of info on diet needs for various pets.
I am sure pets, like humans, have different diet needs related to various health problems, so this will enable us to share our personal experiences with our pets needs, and success/failure stories.
I also will consult with my vet, because I think that is important, since he knows my dogs/cat's health history. But I do think we can all benefit from such a thread.
What do you freepers think?
Kill a moose. Cut and wrap it. Save scraps. Put scraps in a large kettle with water and cook. Hint: A turkey fryer filled with water works very well. Pack in freezer bags and freeze. Use as needed.
Oh, and GREAT IDEA, girlangler! Can't wait to read more comments. :)
Thanks Chena. LOL, it would be WAY too costly for me to go to a state where they have moose, buy a hunting license, pay for lodging, try to hit one with my lousy shooting skills, and then proceed . . .
However, there is a large sheep farm near here, and my uncle raises cows, maybe I can work something similar out.
..actually, on a more serious note, DO NOT give a dog Lamb bones.. they don't hold up to chewing like a Turkey or Beef bone and will fragment into a lot of small razor sharp pieces and you don't want to know what happens next.
I have all 5 of my dogs on the BARF diet. 3 of them have never been on anything else. There is a lot of information on the web about BARF ( Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods). For freepers who do not have time to read up on the diet, which is really quite simple and inexpensive, I recommend Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance foods. They can be ordered from Jeffers.
www.1800jeffers.com. Full information on ingredients can be seen on the Jeffers website.
Our dogs on the BARF diet have no obesity problems, no orthopedic problems, great teeth, no bad breath, lots of energy, and beautiful coats. The only drawback is that the chicken necks sometimes give them horrendous flatulance but heck that is why God gave us the outdoors.
We call our kitchen garbage can the Dog's Buffett.
My vet suggested cottage cheese with a teaspoon of flaxseed oil so they get a little bit of that every night. My dogs get steamed veggies (minus onions or garlic) a couple of times a week. I also give them bread and meats.
Thanks. I checked out the BARF diet on another website on the suggestion of a freeper on another thread. I think I'll try it.
That's why I think this thread can be helpful. One of my dogs has allergies, another is old and not as active. So, I am personally curious about how to tailor their diets.
I am now regretting selling my freezer. However, we have frequent power outages here, so I may try canning meat. I like canned deer myself. For years I canned my own vegetables, and I have the canners and jars to do so (haven't canned the past few years, except last year I canned some beets).
I may try to get several pet owner friends nearby to get together and have a canning effort. It can be a lot of work, but, in the olden days I remember all the women in a family, or neighbors, getting together to can when certain veggies (like green beans) came in.
Girl the foods are dogs get on the BARF diet are
Chicken necks, Chicken Backs, fresh or frozen Fish, sardines, Pork neck bones and Beef neck bones. The also get organ meats and what is called glop. Glop usually is made up of. Ground turkey, oil, greens, carrots, whole egg ( shell and all), green vegetable such as peas ( no broccolli or cabbage too gassy), pumpkin, apples or other fruit ( we usually add this when we have stuff getting soft in the fridge) and yogurt.
They usually get the boney foods 4 days a week and glop twice a week. They get organ meats about once a week. I think the proper ratio of boney foods to the glop/organ meats is about 70-30 or 60-40.
The diet is actually quiet easy to follow and compared to commercial foods quite inexpensive.
Temporary because it lacks the necessary vitamins and amino acids needed it their diets.
I'll give you one from my child-hood.
For some reason, for leaving in the country, we feed our dogs canned dog food. I guess it was better than allowing them to eat the chickens. Every now and then we would run out.
My mother would fix a large pot of oatmeal, heat up and add some of the bacon grease she had been saving, then throw in some of the table scraps.
Watching the dogs eat this feast showed they really preferred it to the regular canned chow they ate cold.
As far as I can tell, regular Science diet dry is okay. We feed our dogs a small bowl of Science diet dry in the evening but in the morning we feed them raw chicken quarters. We also buy and feed them marrow bones and knuckle bones when we can find them. We never feed them cooked bones. I don't feed raw lamb bones because I prefer to cook them and chew on them myself. We don't feed them raw port although they say that if you freeze pork for six weeks you can feed it to them. I don't do raw turkey, it is too tough.
And for treats they get sweet potato skins which they love. We eat sweet potatos two or three times a week and cook extra so the skins are often mostly potato.
They also like cooked asparagas. Our vet says they have the best teeth she's seen. And their weight and coats are great. OK, the cow dog is a tiny bit fluffy but he's on a diet... not non-veggie table scraps... OK, maybe the occasional bite of pizza... but no anchovies because although he loves them, they make him throw up.
Because my cat's smell and taste ended up being affected by the cancer, he wasn't interested in the stuff she recommended, so I figured I'd make his last weeks as happy as possible and provided him with mostly store bought canned tuna. It was about the only thing he could smell that stimulated his appetite. Canned tuna in itself is not good for cats as a regular diet, as it causes certain problems with their skin I believe, but at this point in his life, it was quality and not quantity that I was looking for.
Purina just announced a voluntary recall on Alpo canned food.
Shoot neighborhood cats. Grind. Bake.
That's the kind of info we can share to prevent problems.
I was always told not to feed dogs chicken bones. Anybody know if this is dangerous? And aren't chicken and turkey bones the same?
You forgot to mention that a barf diet also results in smaller poops which quickly break down and leave little piles of what looks like ashes instead of huge piles of cow dung.
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