paleo diet for dogs

Assuming your feeding your dog things he/she can eat, is there anything wrong with going away from commercial dog food and just feeding your dog say, cooked potatoes and carrots? I want my dog to live a long life, he's already 10 so I just want to do anything so he can live longer.

People DO feed homecooked diets or more often raw, but those are based on meat...dogs are carnivores.

Are you just asking if dogs need grains? If so, NO! Every dog is different but MANY have issues with grains.

Is it safe to go to the store and buy raw steak and feed it to him if he's never had that before?

Technically the short answer is yes, it is safe.

The LONG answer is there is way more to feeding a dog a homemade diet than just grabbing a steak and giving it. You need to research how to balance, what to feed, how to start, etc.

Some dogs can handle many food switched no problem, others get stomach upsets and sick from changes.

I have fed raw for geez, over 12 years now. It IS easy BUT does take research and knowledge first as it definitely can be done wrong.

Thanks, may be a stupid question but does the size of the dog matter? Mine is 10 pounds.

Any suggestions on how to start?

I would be concerned with chicken bones splintering and chocking him. I read this dies not happen with raw chicken bones but just seems like it would, especially the smaer bones like wings.

My suggestion would be to start researching. It depends on if you are looking to do homecooked or raw, BARF, prey model, etc.

Raw chicken bones are rubbery, and break in chunks. The risk is similar to a chunk of kibble scratching he throat. When cooked, bones splinter into sharp edges, and causes issues. It should be supervised to make sure they eat it properly.

With a proper diet balance, you can feed nothing but meat, bone, and organs. Organs are an essential part of the raw diet, in smaller amounts.

In a raw diet, much is learned by watching their poop. Chalky poop means too much bone, liquid poop usually is too much organs, soft poop would be too much meat. You learn to balance the diet based on that, it is a very individual thing.

No, you can not just feed a dog potatoes and carrots.

Dogs require a delicate balance of nutrients. Too much or too little of some nutrients can wreak havoc on their systems, especially their kidneys and liver.

Many people who homecook use a supplement called "Balance It". A recipe from a board certified nutritionist is also advised. Recipes can be obtained online.

Check out http://www.petdiets.com/

If I fed my dog raw chicken and I have a pet bird, (cocktiel) would that make him want to eat the bird?

No.


(Too short)

No more or less than they already want to eat the bird.

I nominate this for Best Thread of 2013.

For healthy and long life a dog, you must feed your dog with proper nutritional diet and homemade food and consult with a Vet in your area which will help you for this. There are lots of supplements and other diets for dog, but depends upon your dog's breeds, feed him according to his breed.

Does the meat have to free range organic or can I buy regular conventional raw meat?

I second this nomination.

opcorn:

Well, if you really want to say you're feeding your dog "paleo" and wave your paleo penis around and tell everybody about how much more paleo you are than them, it has to totally be free range organic. Bonus paleo penis waving points if it's something unusual like buffalo or ostrich.

Otherwise it's really not that big of a deal. Buy the best quality meat you can afford and find.

My love for you is greater than words can describe.

This. So much.

On second thought, I bet we can keep this going and nominate it for 2014.