Hi Tanata There are lots of different dog food types out there, and you may find your choice is dictated by what's available in your country. Lots of people prefer RAW food, but it is not as convenient as store bought dog food. Take a look at this article on Dogsey, hopefully it will help: http://www.dogsey.com/dog-food.htm
My GSD as a cast iron stomach and a ganit can and will eat literally anything you can feed raw one meal complete the next, his main food is Skinners Duck/Rice with some Forthglade tray meat added
I feed my GSDs on a half kibble and half raw (when I can get it) diet. They are on grain-free kibble (http://www.simpsonspremium.com/sensitive-dog-food) in the evenings and usually have a meal of raw in a morning along with a raw egg. I tend to lightly boil some mince in the evening and put that over their kibble. They are very spoiled
I think many dogs do well on a raw diet. If I were to feed completely raw I would want to gain as much information as possible to make sure my dogs were getting everything necessary before embarking on it.
I have tried giving Kodi raw meat, he just has the runs, it seems too rich for him. When i think back, all my GSD's have had sensitive tum's. I feed Kodi on 500gms a day of Ardern Grange Chicken and Rice Kibble, which is hypoallergenic and he is really happy on it. I also give him a 'special breakfast' of basmati white rice, mixed with Greek Style Yogurt and runny honey on top. He loves it. Twice a week he gets sardines in sunflower oil mixed with rice, yum to that too. I also give him random raw carrots, chopped apple, tuna fish etc. so he has a varied diet. This is an interesting article on pet food: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ood-killing-dog-feeding-parsnips-yoghurt.html
Hannah can eat anything & everything & I have fed her just raw but it has not suited any of my rescue males. Think if you are going to feed it you need to start early & not at the ten plus years my males have been.
I fed my GSD Zara on Chappie as it was the only food she would eat, it must of suited her as she lived for 18 years
All of mine are raw fed and I've not seen a dodgy poo from day one. My Pugs went fully raw the day they came home as pups, It suits all of them. I think you should feed whatever food you feel happiest feeding and your dogs enjoy. I do think too many people go into raw without fully understanding it and end up just feeding minces because they worry about feeding bones. If you can't commit to doing it properly then feed something else. I could live on chocolate digestives but it wouldn't exactly be good for me.
Interesting article, funny enough a friend went to a health seminar at the weekend and diet was on the agenda, the vet giving giving the talk was not a fan of raw feeding, as it points out in the above article, raw food contains salmonella , so not a good diet for our dogs. He acknowledged he was going to upset a lot of people there, due to their belief raw is best.
The way I see it is most of us believe vets know very little about nutrition and ignore their advice to feed whatever kibble they are promoting so why would we take their advice on raw feeding. Yes lots of vets are anti raw feeding but a growing number are in favour of it now. Mine is pretty neutral on the subject, he sees the dogs have nothing wrong with them that can be attributed to diet, so concedes it's doing no harm. Did you know pigs ears are also a source of salmonella, and salmonella has been responsible for several recalls of complete food too. Dogs don't have the same digestive system we do and generally deal with bacteria differently. That doesn't mean no dog ever suffers with salmonella but those that do usually have a compromised immune system. As for humans handling food getting salmonella all you have to do is adopt best hygiene regime and get used to washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, just as you should when handling human food. If you don't want to feed raw I have no problem with that and certainly wouldn't be upset by a vets opinion on something I have researched thoroughly and am happy with. After all I don't blindly follow advice given by doctors on my own health, I listen, research and evaluate and have proven them wrong time and time again.
For the most part I agree with you regarding what general vets know, but one assumes when you talk to a specialist , they may know a little about what they specialise in,
Well I have no clue who you're referring to and it doesn't matter anyway as there are plenty of vets now advocating raw feeding. There are also plenty of people in all walks of life claiming to be specialists, you need to do your homework on everything and everyone. How many behaviorists don't know their a**e from their elbow for example. Doesn't the holistic vet Nick Thompson do talks and seminars advocating raw feeding? http://holisticvet.co.uk/index.php/nutrition/ So I think you'll always be able to find an expert to support your views whatever those views may be.
Auto immune conditions are genetic nothing to do with food, the only dog I have ever had with severe adverse reactions to food was one raised and fed raw, he developed the condition at the age of 2 yrs nothing to do with the raw diet he was on as I had fed that way for over 15 yrs at the time, but he had to be switched to a commercial food after running out of raw options. That was in 2007 I switched to commercial food and stuck with it, dogs are healthy no health, skin or gastric problems, only a small amount of feaces produced so they obviously absorb the nutrients appropriately. The specialist Jackie is referring to is Dr Chandler in the link to the article I posted: Dr Marge Chandler is a Consultant in Small Animal Nutrition and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Edinburgh. After qualifying from Colorado State University she was in general practice for 4 years before returning to do a double residency in small animal internal medicine and clinical nutrition at Colorado State University and Massey University in New Zealand.
I agree there are many " specialists " proclaiming themselves in all works of life, but you would hope if you have been referred to a veterinary specialist.,they do know their ares from their elbow . I am not bothered either way what people feed their dogs, I only commented on this due to the nature of the thread and the connection to the seminar ( by a team of veterinary specialists) my friend attended.
I'm confused, I read the link you put up Pam but doubt it's the same persons seminar Jackie's friend attended at the weekend