More Pet Food Recalls!

[MarkR]

Hmmm! I wonder if they'll ship to me. It's got to be less to ship from there than from Pittsburg (where I've been ordering).

Mark

 

[Betsy]

My family feeds the holistic brand of dog food, Canidae, to our dog and the feline version, Felidae, to our indoor cat. Our dog is very large shepherd/lab mix and his health dramatically improved when we started feeding Candiae. Our indoor cat also improved in health as well. I love it that I can read the ingredient list and understand precisely what's in it, unlike many brands of pet food where most of the ingredients don't seem like real food.
If I could afford it, I would feed my pets a homemade diet, though. No matter what, food is best for you-and pets-as close to the way God made it as possible. All this stuff about not feeding your pets homemade meals is nonsense as packaged pet food has been around less than one hundred years and pets got along just fine without it.
Anyway..I highly recommend Candiae and Felidae pet food if you can't feed a homemade diet. It's expensive, but lasts longer since the pets don't need to eat as much.

 

[Frizzledhen]

I am surprised we have no raw feeders on the group. Maybe? Someone other than me? I won't knock cooking for your animals too much because that is how I started out. It saved my 6 mo old chihuahua. After 6 mos. of feeding perscription food from the vet and numerous medications he still almost died. I finally threw away all the crap in a bag and all medications and started feeding home cooked. Knowing this was not a complete diet, I started researching on the internet and found the "Raw Fed Yahoo Group". I have been feeding raw for almost a year now and the dogs and cats not only love it but they are thriving on it. Dogs are carnivores and can not digest the vegetables, although feeding veggies won't hurt your dogs and make a better treat than most doggie cookies. Feeding raw is easy and the most natural way to feed your dogs and cats and even ferrets. I am feeding 13 chihuahuas and 1 sheltie raw and even my vet, who as most other vets doesn't agree with, has to admit that my dogs are a picture of health. The raw fed group has over 7000 members of which many are veterinarians. This last recall is very scary and has killed many beloved pets. It has happened in the past and it WILL happen again. I really like having control of what my animals eat.
Gayle
Chi lady in Michigan

 

[MarkR]

Gayle,

Dogs, like bears and humans, are omnivores. Cats, now, are carnivores and shouldn't eat vegatables or fruit (though one of mine will take your arm off to get a chunk of canteloupe). Dogs can eat, but only as a small part of their diet, a variety of different grains, fruits (though not grapes, interestingly enough, they contain the same thing that makes chocolate so toxic to them) and vegatables. They do in the wild, they can at home.

Now that I'm able to get good pasture raised meat, I'm willing to consider a raw food diet for the animals, but I wouldn't recommend anyone feed their pets raw meat from the grocery store. . . . not even Whole Foods. Just because it says organic on the label, doesn't mean it's healthy. I've visited one of the "organic" feed lots that "organic" beef comes from. There isn't a blade of grass to be found. They're fed organic grains, but are still kept in very close quarters. As you know from all the avian disease vectors, crowding is an invitation for a disaster. So sure, they eat better food, and are marginally taken better care of. It's still not the way we should be raising our food.

Ah geez! There I go again. Sorry. I'll go back to my corner.

Mark

 

[Jillylam]

Mark, don't go back to your corner. I am enjoying reading about all these views on pet foods. I too head out to the garden for needed stress breaks! And going out to the chicken yard helps too. I'm thinking of changing my dog food so it's great to hear what everyone is using. I am currently feeding Nutro's Natural Choice Lamb & Rice with Glucosamine & Chondroitin. The dry chunks weren't on the recall list but I still think it's time for a change. It's so sad hearing about all those poor pets that have died or gotten sick.

 

[Frizzledhen]

Mark,
Please don't go back to your corner. I like your input. But, I disagree, dogs are carnivors not omnivores. I do agree that buying meat from the grocery store is not the best raw food. I do buy organic which Meijers has alot of in their store. If I were younger, I would raise all my own dog meat but it is all I can handle raising chickens. I have thought of getting a few goats and a couple of pigglets but I don't know if I could feed them to the dogs when the time came. I tend to make pets out of all my animals. Anyway, feeding raw IS better than feeding tainted commercial dog and cat food even if one has to buy it from the market.

As far as the contiversy on carnivore or omnivore, go to the raw fed yahoo goup. It is an ongoing topic. The goup says dogs are carnivores and will make a believer out of the most obstinate disbeliever.

I hope you try feeding raw. It is the best thing you can do for your pets especially if you can get good pasture raised meat.

Gayle
Chi lady in Michigan

 

[Sherry]

I feed my dogs a dry dog food called Nature's Recipe. It is also venison based. I get it at my local pet store. In addition I will feed them deer steaks and green beans, though I don't feed it raw I actually grill it for them

 

[MarkR]

Sorry, didn't go to my corner, fell asleep. Sorry about that. I was up all night with a sick kid. Anyway, Gayle, I completely respect what you're saying about raw food, and I'll give it a try at some point. Otherwise I'll have to agree to disagree about the carnivore/omnivore thing. I just have to much of a science background to see dogs as carnivores. Every kind of wild dog eats some kind of plant material. Granted it's less than other ominivores, but still. But like I said, I'll respectfully disagree with you.

Mark

 

[hencackle]

A wild dog will obtain some plant material just by eating the intestines/stomach of an herbivore.
Stephanie

 

[Frizzledhen]

Mark,
I hope your child is better tonight and you get some rest. I got the following off the Raw Fed group. I don't think the chicken group is the place to debate this subject but maybe someone will become interested enough to join the group. They love nothing better than to convince others that raw feeding our carnivores (domesticated wolves) is the best thing we can do for them.

The domestic dog and the wolf are one and the same. Dogs are not
omnivores, as some have claimed. Dogs are carnivores, exactly like
wild wolves. Geneticist Dr. Robert K. Wayne at UCLA has conclusively
proven that the domestic dog is a subspecies of the wolf. Subsequent studies
have verified this conclusion.

Next, it must be understood what wolves actually eat in the wild,
especially when they are not pressed by loss of habitat and human
intervention. Contrary to some claims, wolves do not eat the stomach
contents of their prey nor do wolves consume much vegetable matter.
The preferred food of the wild wolf is the meat, bones, and organs of large
hooved Mammals. In times of scarcity, desperate wolves will try to eat a variety of
food items, just as would any starving creature, but they strongly prefer to eat
meat, organ, and bone. Dr. L. David Mech has been studying
wolves for decades, and has published many books and articles on
wolves and their diets.


Dr. Wayne's website:
http://www.eeb.ucla.edu/indivfaculty.php?FacultyKey=501

Dr. Mech's website:
http://www.davemech.org/biography.html

Respectfully,
Gayle
Chi lady in Michigan