So I’m a dog lover. I mean, I would not be able to live without one of the little bastards roaming my house, drooling all over my fucking floor, shedding like it was going out of style, shitting all over my fucking yard, and creating free floating hairballs the size of tumbleweeds in my living room. When I come home I love to see my stupid fucker spinning around endlessly chasing his tail while clattering across the kitchen floor trying to get a grip where one cannot be found. I spend my evenings curled up with him on the floor, the couch, or the bed. He goes for rides with me, I buy him toys to chew the shit out of, and we routinely spend time wrestling and growling at each other while he wags his tail incessantly. Basically, I love my dog and I would do absolutely anything for him…
There have been two recent articles (one from the Star Tribune and one from Simple Good and Tasty–a great blog if you’re interested in food related topics) about changing the “traditional” thinking about how you should feed your dog so that they live a long and happy life. This change includes feeding them local and organic ingredients and paying out the fucking ass for it:
From the Simple Good and Tasty blog post:
Twice a day, our two dogs get a cup of kibble made by Fromm’s of Wisconsin; to it, we add another cup of a thick puree made from fresh (and local, whenever possible) meats, vegetables and yogurt. (Last week, it was a pureed salad with tomatoes, carrots, chicken, flax oil and ume plum vinegar, plus plain yogurt and fish oil.) We’ve been doing this for nine years, ever since our holistic vet told us the healthiest things they were eating up to that point were the pizza crusts we shared with them after a visit from Domino’s.
Twice a day my dog gets dog food. Yes, I realize that it’s leftovers from what they won’t feed to people. He’s a fucking dog. If he were out running around in the woods or roaming the fields of Burnsville’s park system, he’d be eating garbage, carrion, and drinking from the toilet. He wouldn’t be eating local organic vegetables and yogurt.
From the Star Tribune article about Thousand Hills’ new dog food:
Todd Churchill’s ranching enterprise, inspired by author Michael Pollan’s account of a steer’s path to market, is rolling out Restoration Raw, a blend of raw grass-fed beef, sprouted grains, trace minerals and vitamins. The product came about after Churchill hired Will Winter, a holistic veterinarian formerly of the Uptown Veterinarian, to be herd health consultant.
[...]
Restoration Raw doesn’t come cheap, selling for about $5 a pound in certain Lunds stores.
I cringe every single fucking time I have shell out $19 for dog food at the grocery store. I bring it home and my dumbass dog is waiting by the door, tail wagging, sniffing at the damn bag just dying to get some. Hell, we don’t even have to buy him dog treats–why? Because he thinks that a handful of the same old dog food he eats twice a day, every day, for the last 5.5 years is treat enough.
Now, some will say but just look at the articles! They claim that dogs have allergy problems because of the food we feed them. They die at a young age! They aren’t happy! Blah blah blah blah blah. Well, you need to come to my house and look at my 7 year old dog. His coat is glossy, he’s happy as can be, and he doesn’t have any skin allergies–not unless I feed him some of those wonderful local organic carrots I picked up two weeks ago from the co-op. Yup, that’s right, my dog is allergic to local, organic carrots. Within a day or so of ingesting a few of the wonderful human treats (the same ones recommended above in the Simple Good and Tasty quote) he’ll develop a red, itchy rash on his underside. But that’s not all. Nope, he’ll sit there and lick and bite at this rash until it becomes infected and filled with nasty puss filled sacs that he continues to lick and irritate until it gets so bad that no matter what we have to take him to the fucking vet and spend ~$250 for treatment, a shot, and oral antibiotics.
Now, I’m all about keeping my dog around for as long as I can. I love that damn thing so much that when he’s gone I am seriously considering immortalizing him on my shoulder with a sweet tat of his head–with his tongue hanging out the side. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to spend as much on his food as I do on my own–if not more. $4.99/lb for dog food (he goes through 40lbs a month) is fucking absolutely insane and when it does nothing for my dog but give him rashes and vet visits/bills, I just don’t see any reason why I should do it.
So, the big question for today is what do you feed your pets and do you believe in the local and organic diet for them? Do you think it’s right to pay, in some cases–depending on your current purchasing habits, more for your dog’s food than you pay for your own? With the evidence I give above, do you think that the vets listed might actually see an uptick in the number of visits and costs of those visits when people switch to a different diet (/tinfoil)? Whatever you think about passing the local/organic diet on to your dog, go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say!
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November 12th, 2009 at 10:46 am
What Do You Feed Your Animals? Organics, Seriously? http://tinyurl.com/yaq7nhw
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November 12th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Would you pay $5/lb for dog food? RT @SouthMetroNews: What Do You Feed Your Animals? Organics, Seriously? http://tinyurl.com/yaq7nhw
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November 12th, 2009 at 10:55 am
RT @SouthMetroNews: What Do You Feed Your Animals? Organics, Seriously? http://tinyurl.com/yaq7nhw – Bones and Raw Food FTW
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November 12th, 2009 at 11:01 am
hell no. I don’t even buy it for myself, much less my pets. to each their own, though.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Being a dog lover myself, owning two wieners and growing up with Golden’s, I can say I’ve never fed any of them organic foods, and they all lived a long happy life of tail wagging and stick chasing.
Our two mini longhair wieners get Eukanuba Doxie blend food. Our newest addition this summer was from a shelter and was fed natural food, and a raw diet. When we got her, her coat looked like she bathed in WD-40, she stunk and looked a little emaciated. Maybe partially from the diet, or the shelter conditions. Within a week of changing food and a few baths, we noticed her coat getting a natural sheen vs. oily, after a few months now, her coat and tail are starting to puff our and drop, like they should.
She is picky about what treats she eats, but the other doxie will eat any treats. The food we’ve stuck with to maintain a consistent diet as to not upset them.
They are both always happy to eat, never leave the bowl empty and aren’t turning their nose up at the dry food. – From time to time, we’ll give them a little scrap of the meat we’re having with supper (steak or chicken) and they both love that.
In the wild, dogs may have a more diverse diet, but garbage and toilet water isn’t really what I call a good meal.
Unless you are that ‘crazy pet person’ on the block with a million cats, you shouldn’t be spending more on their food than your own. You can love your pet, include them as one of the family on trips, events, etc, but I don’t think they need, or can distinguish natural vs. packaged foods.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I am a pretty big fan of my dog. I am willing to spend a little extra for Eukanuba or Science Diet, but thats about the extent of it.
I notice a difference in her waste between feeding Eukanuba and Purina or any of the cheaper food, so we pretty much stick to that. My wife did buy some sort of Rachel Ray dog food, because it was supposedly better, but it all seemed the same to me, so back to Eukanuba we went.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Yeah, I pretty much fall under the “crazy cat lady” umbrella but even I can’t imagine shelling out that much money for pet food. If you have the money and it makes your pets happy, more power to you. Considering the enthusiasm all of my pets show for licking their asses, I’m thinking taste isn’t real high on their list of priorities.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:35 am
i don’t have a dog.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I guess we probably fall somewhere in between. We have 2 cats, and 2 small dogs. All the food we feed the animals is processed organic and hollistic, expect our one dog who is on perscription food which can only be purchased at the vet. We are lucky because our pets are small, they don’t eat much. On average we probably spend $70.00 a month on pet food between the 4 of them. Now if our dogs ate 40lbs of food each month, that dollar amount would much higher per month. We are firm believers that we don’t feed ourselves crappy food, why should the animals who share our lives eat crappy food. The cheaper the food, the more filler, less nutrients. We buy 3 of the pets food at Chuck & Don’s. I don’t tell anyone what they should and should not do with their kids, and I keeps it the same with pets. If your dog is healthy eating Old Roy from Walmart, then keep feeding him that. My personal opinion is if that is all you can afford (Old Roy), then you probably should own a dog because you might not be able to care for them if they need treatment at a vet. I don’t feed our pets any table scraps, or “people†food. From time to time I might give them a piece of apple as a treat, or a carrot, but nothing more. So, I guess I am a little anal about what we feed them, but I don’t go as far as making them an organic meal, or cooking for them. If people have the time and money, and if they think their pet will live longer, then I say do whatever you want.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I guess I can afford to feed him $5/lb food if I really wanted to but I don’t really see the need. Will a 2 to 5 year longer lifespan, of questionable quality of life, really be worth it? I’m happy to take the dog to the vet and get him what he needs but I really just don’t think that the quality of life is improved all that much when you feed them decent food.
JaLurker, you obviously notice something different–so what specifically does this diet do for them other than give you peace of mind? (if that’s all it does, that’s cool too, just wondering).
November 12th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Good topic, Bill!
I am totally a crazy dog lady, but I don’t go super crazy on my dog’s food. I feed our black lab/border collie mix IAMS Naturals with aminos. Our vet, who specializes in bird dogs, said that it is a good mid-level food. It’s a little more expensive than regular IAMS, but not too bad – it’s about $36 per super-sized bag, about once per month at Target. We feed her a variety of all-natural treats, and she gets about a tablespoon of natural peanut butter in her Kong when we leave every day. We have tried cheaper treats, but they all give her the shits. We think that she might be lactose intolerant, and a lot of biscuits contain milk.
My main concern has been dyes, which might be a particular contributor to cancer. A lot of the cheaper foods have dyes in them. My childhood dog ate super-cheap food, and she ended up dying of stomach cancer at age 10 (not that old for a Lab). I know that IAMS isn’t the best that I can do, but it is pretty good for what I can afford, and it seems to treat my pup well. She is very healthy, very active, and has a very pretty coat.
I also think that, like people, a lot can depend on the dog. My parents’ lab has had digestion issues since she was a puppy, and the only food that doesn’t make her immediately sick is (seriously) something akin to gravy train – I don’t know what brand it is, but it is definitely cheap.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Decent food and Old Roy are not the same. Old Roy is by-products from nasty things, similar to what you would probably find in some human processed food. It’s all filler, no nutrients. I do believe if you feed your dog or cat a decent food the coat is healthier, teeth are stronger, and on average they will live a longer life. If you feed your dog cheap food the animal poops more often, and it’s not consistant. If you eat McDonalds (or whatever processed garbage food) and you get the shits, it’s the same concept, that is not to say that some foods that are good for you don’t give you the shits…but it’s the general idea. I guess I just feel better about feeding our animals food that I know is good for them and I am not contibuting to an early death, stomach aches, poor teeth, cancer, or other evils that happen to our beloved pets. Some will argue they fed Rover, Old Roy their whole life and they lived until they were 20. Who knows. We choose to spend a little more on food because we think or hope it will help them live longer healthier lives. We could be completely off, but I hope not. Animals are not kids…but…for some people that is all they have, and I would not feed my kid something that I would not eat myself.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I dont know about making them live longer, but I think its obvious right away the difference between in filler between different foods. The waste that the dog produces goes WAY up when you switch from one of the better dog foods to one of the cheap ones.
Its easy to assume that better food might equate to a longer life, but I guess at least equally important would be brushing teeth, exercising, grooming, etc.
Bill, I will be interested to see how your relationship with your dog changes after your child is born. I know for so many people, even people who treated their animals like kids, that once the child comes along, the dog takes a rapid move down in the pack. Its something I have really worked hard on, continuing to walk our dog daily, spend some time playing each night, and getting the dog and the kid to play together, even from a really young age.
My greatest fear for about 6 months after our child was born was that someone was going to tell us he was/is allergic to dogs. Every runny nose was a sleepless night for me.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Our cats get a measured scoop of Science Diet for Old, Fat, Sedentary Cats (I think they have a more marketable name, but that’s what it is) twice a day. The big bag lasts us a month or two and costs under $30. I tried setting the cats loose in our garage to catch some of the mice that keep eating and sh1tt1ng in my motorcycle helmet, but they were too dumb or lazy to partake of that particular buffet. We also have two guinea pigs that get off-the-shelf guinea pig food and the occasional “yogurt” treat. We also give them fresh fruits and veg once a day, with an emphasis on high vitamin C snacks. I have suggested feeding the g.pigs to the cats, but the kids keep vetoing that idea. Someone needs to show them a nature film every now and then so they know how this whole food chain thing is supposed to work. Jeez
November 12th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Chad,
1. Yeah, the allergy thing is a fear for my wife and I as well.
2. I have made a promise to myself to play with the dog every morning. It’s our routine to “play with socks” every day when I’m getting dressed (this entails hitting him in the face with my socks and watching him run around the house). It’s our time together and I don’t see why that needs to change when we have a child.
Now, as for the rest of the time, well, he’ll have to take a backseat and just wait patiently until bed time when he can cuddle up next to me while I read before falling asleep. I hope he doesn’t mind too much.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Chad, Science Diet is horrible for dogs, that’s what we were told when we adopted ours, anyway. Eukanuba or Iams are the best bets.
We’re only a couple weeks into dog ownership, but we feed Iams at the recommendation of the shelter people. We have discussed making a general move towards organic foods for ourselves, but as of right now, our dog is nowhere near the list of possible recipients.
November 12th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I don’t remember what dry food we fed our beloved mutt Basil for the first dozen or so years of his life, but as he aged we switched to homemade food. It seemed to help him.
Digestion is important to teeth (saliva chemistry), breath, allergies, skin, & coat. We discovered when he was very young that the nutritional supplement The Missing Link took care of all of these things for him, especially an itchy paw problem that he got in the late summers. Along with good quality dry food, The Missing Link is something that I would highly recommend. PetGuard yeast & garlic tablets keep fleas and ticks away without putting poison in or on your dog.
Dogs and babies: Bill, we had a spoiled, hyper dog-as-child when we brought our baby home. We had read up on the subject and had a plan that ended up working beyond our wildest hopes. First you bring home something from the hospital that smells like the baby and give it to the dog. Then, when you bring the baby home, Mom comes in first without the baby and greets the dog. Then Dad brings in the baby and Mom and Dad get down on the dog’s level and “give” the baby to the dog. Let him sniff the critter all over and kiss it anywhere but the face. After we did this, the dog, the baby, and I all took a nap together on the bed. We taught the dog to give the baby kisses on the top of the baby’s head. Initially, we made sure that life was boring for the dog while the baby was sleeping and exciting for the dog while that baby was awake; this was so the dog would associate fun with the presence of the baby.
Dogs don’t understand the concept of baby monitors, so when we would go outside (the dog’s favorite thing to do) while the baby was napping, Basil would glare at us and refuse to leave the baby in the house alone. So we would be outside doing yardwork and the poor dog would be staring out the windows at us because he knew that SOMEONE had to be responsible and watch the kid.
Basil turned out to be a great brother to Alex. It was interesting when Alex got older and had to learn to give orders to the dog – it took a while for the dog to switch gears from protector to taking orders
Basil lived to be 14 1/2 and we still miss him.
November 12th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
BTW, beautifull dog.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
We buy our dog the best food we can afford. If I could afford organic, local food I would. But he is a 114 pound dog. I look around and we couldn’t do it for less than a few hundred dollars a month. That’s not going to happen. But we buy him good food and have been very picky choosing his food. It costs us about $60 a month, plus treats and some organic veggies.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I want a dog again… Can’t in my apartment. :-(
When I was younger, my family had two dogs (at different times).
First dog we had (Duke) we were told was a cross between an Alaskan Wolf Hound and a Siberian Husky (although he didn’t look like either). Was a very ‘outdoor’ dog. He didn’t like the indoors. Was a good dog. Then my little brother came along, born a couple of months premature. When he got old enough to be mobile and outside, Duke adopted him. Followed him around everywhere. When my brother went outside, Duke seemed to know it and would be there.
Second dog (Misty) was a cross between a Collie and a Samoyed. She was a gentle dog, but was a bit of a pain as she had the long hair of the collie and the thick hair of the samoyed which really caused her problems in the summer. Lived in the basement when it got too warm. Misty had the ability to drop a single hair in every 3 inch square of carpeting she walked across.
Both dogs through their life were fed generally cheap dog food and neither really seemed to have a problem with it. Both were fairly active, although Misty more in the winter than in the summer.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Bill, why are the cushions on your couch not in their place?
November 12th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Our vet told us that Purina and some other dog foods are total junk. Same as the others said about them being a lot of filler. We sure as hell don’t buy organic, but we try to buy food that is recommended by our vet. I think our stuff is about $30 for a 35 pound bag. Not bad, even with buying for two of the four legged beasts.
Our dogs have definitely gotten less attention since we had kids, but there is still time to make time for them. The term I heard for that is “pet to pests”. Sometimes that is the case, but we still love our original kids and if anything the dogs and the kids make each other’s existance more fun. They trash things and they drag their asses across our carpet, but I can’t imagine living without them.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
TL, as much as I love my dog and allow him on the couch when I’m home, he isn’t allowed it during the day. By putting the cushions up he stays off the couch and in his dog bed. He ruined one couch already, we didn’t want these to get ruined too.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:35 am
[...] you even reading this post? But, assuming you are not just feeding your latent sadistic tendencies, here’s a kinder (albeit sassy) Lazy Lightening post about the current organic pet food [...]
November 13th, 2009 at 7:14 am
we have two cairn terriers that we feed 1/3 cup of eagle pack dry dog food twice a day. we may stir in some left over squash, green beans or other veggies. no table scraps or other people food.
we feed them in their kennels and they sleep in their kennels. not allowed upstairs and limited space on the first floor.
i also brush their teeth.
bb
November 13th, 2009 at 7:18 am
My Westie gets Canidae dry dog food. We tried feeding him Royal Canine, but it was too rich for him – he ended up with gas and other problems, and we had to switch to a food with more filler. He loves the doggie meatloaf stuff (fresh, refrigerated, comes in a tube), but again, I can only give it to him in small quantities, not as a main food.
Had to laugh about the guinea pigs – I wanted to feed ours to the dog, but he actually sees them as fellow members of the household. He does get jealous when I feed them, though, and wants to make sure he gets a treat at the same time. The dog even started eating lettuce because the pigs do.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I do pick up plain yogurt for my dog on a regular basis. We gave it to the little guy when he was sick (as vet recomended) and it turns out he absolutely LOVES the stuff. So we have two big quart containers of Old Home yogurt in the fridge — the blue (Vanilla) contaner for my wife, and the black (plain) for the dog.
BTW: I have meet Troy, the Thousand Hills Ranch owner, at a number of “green” events, like last weekend’s Go Green Expo. Seems like an nice guy.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:12 am
I have 3 pooches, all rescue dogs. Two are American Eskimo mixes (think white hair everywhere) and a chihuahua (never in a million years did I think I would be the owner of one of those). I work from home and they are my companions. I love them so much. Mine all eat Beneful. After trying different brands that seemed to be what they enjoy the most. I toss in leftover meat, cheese, etc. to spice it up a bit. I do make their dog treats. One of my dogs hates to eat. I have to mix in soft cat food (seafood variety) or regular canned tuna or salmon to get him to eat. He does enjoy eating anything in the backyard. I have to watch him out there. His favorite delight in the winter are poopsicles.
November 13th, 2009 at 8:39 am
I feed my cats Eukanuba. I’ve tried some of the other organic brands and they couldn’t be less interested. They usually yak up the wet food immediately after eating it.
I have some friends who’ve done the BARF diet for their dogs, and it seemed to go well for them, but it seems like a lot of work.
November 13th, 2009 at 9:25 am
We have a nearly 9 year old German Shorthair Pointer and when she was 3 or 4, she developed some irritation on her belly. I happened to read that some dogs are allergic to rice, which is found in nearly every commercial dog food. After scouring the labels I found Kibbles & Chunks didn’t have rice, we switched her and never had that skin irritation come back.
This past May she had some serious stomach/digestive issues and the vet recommended, at least for a few days, to feed her a very bland diet consisting mainly of rice or potatoes.
I had been considering to begin making her food and that was what pushed me over the edge to do it. She’s fed 2x/day and gets a mix of cooked potatoes, macaroni, cooked veggies, cooked beef, cottage cheese, sardines. The potatoes, veggies and beef are purchased at the farmers market when possible, not because it’s such a big deal for it to be organic/sustainable, but because where my food dollars (for me or my mutt) go is very important to me.
November 13th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
November 13th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Our 11 year old lab is now on Science Diet Senior Small Bites. Loves the stuff. We started out on Iams, but several episodes of digestive problems and the vet suggested trying a different food. We went to Science Diet and have had no problems since. We’ve done several different varieties along the way. The dog’s favorite was the lamb and rice, but around 9 years old we switched to the senior food, and the change was noticeable.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:40 am
We feed the mutts Canidae dog food – been pretty happy with that.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I feed my dog Canidae and my cat Wellness canned food.
We used to feed our cat a measured amount of Hill’s Science or Prescription diet in an effort to help her lose weight. She ended up, hungrier, heavier, and developed anal sac issues which required regular vet visits. Switching her to a high quality, grain-free canned food actually helped her lose weight, the anal sac issues disappeared, and her coat looks much healthier.
Science/Prescription diet is pretty much a scam. Vet’s recommend it for the same reason doctors recommend certain prescription drugs. They get a cut. When choosing a vet, the first question that should be asked is what food do you recommend. If it’s Science Diet, move on to the next vet.
November 13th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Sorry I missed yesterday’s question about dogs and their dining habits.
Here is my reaction:
Yesterday I was at my local COSTCO buying a large bag of Purina dog chow
for my loyal pet, Biscuit, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line
when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
What did she think I had an elephant? So since I’m retired and have
little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, I was
starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn’t,
because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I’d lost 50
pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out
of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that
it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply
eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally
complete so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to
mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with
my story.) Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because
the dog food poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff
an Irish Setter’s ass and a car hit us both.
I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was
laughing so hard.
COSTCO won’t let me shop there anymore.
Cheers
Irving
November 13th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Jim – I have a dog that is currently on Science Diet Perscription food because she has in the past had issues with bladder stones. The vet we currently go to, put her on that food because it’s lower in fat, and has the right combination of ingredients to prevent bladder stones in the future. I am not allowed to feed her any treats. She gets that food and that is all. Since I have had her on the food she has not had another stone. Do you think that it’s because I am feeding her a steady diet of the same food, or because this food has worked wonders? Just curious as to your thoughts. The Science Diet food while a little most expensive seems to have cured her problem, so we have kept her on it, and according to him, she should be on it forever. Do you think it’s a scam, or do you think I could get her on another food that meets the requirements at Chuck & Don’s? I would rather pay more for the food (since it’s working), then have to pay for another surgery and after care, etc. Just curious as to what you think.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
JaLurker, I confess to knowing next to nothing about dog food. Our dog likes Eukanuba, we feed it to her. After reading this post, I surfed the web a bit, and as seen above, there are lots of posts and reviews on the web saying Science Diet is not great, its a scam, etc.
I have no idea. My thought is that if your dog likes it, your dog is healthier, and your vet recommends it, well, it cant be all bad.
I did grow up in a small town, with a small vets office. The vet was a nice lady I knew very well. She even stitched my hands up once when I cut them up badly as a kid and there was no doctor in town. She always told my parents that Science Diet was good. She never asked them to buy it from her, and as far as I know she did not get rich recommending it. I think its probably a fact that companies like Hills and Proctor and Gamble spend more on research and donate more to vet schools than the smaller companies. I guess thats a double edged sword.
After reading some reviews online, I think I am going to try to feed my dog something like Innova Evo for a month and see if she acts/looks any difference. I am curious now if it will make a difference.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
My little guy has been on the same food Purina One Large Breed Puppy since he came home from the Humane Society. No digestive problems and he seems to be coming along nicely. If he had digestive/ailments I wouldn’t hesitate to put him on another diet.
I have seen the raw stuff and it looks interesting. My dog a lab/doberman cross is basically a canine garbage disposal…I try my best to keep him out of stuff, but in his short life (1 yr in nov.) he has managed to steal a couple of 1 lbs steaks, a pork chop and a few completely frozen boneless chicken breasts that I had left out to thaw….he has an iron gut and none of those episodes caused any input/output problems.
I say if the little bugger is happy eating what you feed him and is healthy keep right on keepin on!
November 13th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
i have a bunch of wild sled dogs and feed them road kill!
what a joke organic raw meat for dogs? i can see our country has not woken up yet and we still have more room to hit bottom yet with all of the waste and so on. i thought we were close to a fucking economic collapse and here people are feeding that grass fed shit to their dogs.
i agree with bill – this is insane. if people have that kind of money to put into a dog log they shoudl give their extrra money to charity.
whats even more ridiculous is vegan dog food. like ya sure wild dogs or wolves in nature lived on grass and berries.
November 14th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Bitterness about organic and grass fed products as well as industrial food complex crapola, is in the end just bitterness. The “stupid little fuckers” deserve what we afford them. Take quarterback Vick’s hounds for instance. It’s a shit bag tossing contest between those who buy food to save the world and speak out on the evils of industrial food production, versus those who feel offended by such sensitivity and political correctness.
We carry baggies around our urban neighborhoods so we don’t have public health issues (except in Paris), so why not put some high quality warm shit into your hand? Kind of like eating in an over priced restaurant I’d say, and that’s still a strong industry.
Organic as a descriptive term doesn’t really mean that much, unless you believe that the groundwater is healthier with ag chemicals, the farmer’s skin and lungs aren’t really that sensitive or vulnerable, sterile soil that can’t grow anything without chemical intervention is just fine, monoculture GMO cropping is the best way to feed the masses (including FIDO) even with the threat of catastrophic collapse.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:42 am
I guess I don’t really understand the purpose of your comment. Are you trying to say that we should stop buying mass-produced food for our animals because it will stop Big Ag from hurting the environment? If so, that’s an interesting viewpoint but one that gains no traction with me. No matter how many of us eat organic and favor sustainable ag, they’re going to continue doing their thing–because it’s profitable to do so–and people will continue to buy their products b/c it has a short term positive effect on their wallet.
Now, that said, I appreciate the different sort of view than was given in the Simple Good and Tasty post (and even the outlook provided by the Star Tribune on the advertisement for Thousand Hills dog food). I’d rather have someone have a philosophical reason for choosing one type of pet food over another than just doing so because they feel their dog will live longer and have less problems. Thanks for that.