I feed my dogs all kind of raw meat products I can get cheap. Now, it is mainly what became "ripe" in the grocery and should be thrown out; actually it is still quite good, but smells a little. I have a friendly grocery owner, which sets things aside for my dogs. This includes ground beef, USDA choice chunks of beef and chicken parts. I take it home and store in freezer. In the fall, when hunting starts, I have plenty of venison scraps and whole deer, occasionally. A few years ago, I picked up fresh road kills of animals palatable to dogs, deer, beaver, rabbit or groundhog. If it was fresh, it made a good food for the dogs. Of course, you have to soil your hands to use things like this. How healthy and safe was it? I think it was great. My oldest pair of West Siberian Laika died, when they were 17 year old and they died of age. The male caught and killed his last raccoon, when he was 13 years old. Not bad of an old dog. They never needed a vet. So healthy they were through their entire life. Small injuries healed naturally. Of course, I vaccinate my dogs myself. They were bit by copperhead snakes, some were bit multiple times through their lives, and one time they caught sarcoptic mange from a fox they hunted. I fixed it up by giving my dogs IVOMEC with food; they healed in a weak. My other old dogs died at the age of 11-14 years; they were other Laikas and Airedale Terriers. Now, I have one Laika female (8 years old) and two Saluki males and one female. They are thriving on the same diet - all kinds of raw meats and sometimes sea fish (from the grocery). I always have some quality kibbled dog food, which I use, when I run out of meats.
Best dog food
- Thread starter ufimych
- Start date
Thank you for the comment. In fact, my dogs are not strict carnivores. They like raw fruits of different kinds and they like cooked vegetables, such as pumpkin, cabbage and other baked or otherwise prepared vegetables, soups and broths. Raw meat remains their core diet. I am a zoologist by profession and I am accustomed to dissecting and collecting any kinds of creatures. Therefore, I always notice an opportunity, when I see a fresh roadkill; it is the same as hunted or butchered animal, if it is fresh and does not stink and not loaded with maggots. Dogs are natural scavengers and they are experts to find what they like, although it may seem disgusting to a human taste. Here is a sequence of meat:
1) Venison, rabbit, beaver, groundhog; 2) squirrel; 3) raccoon, opossum, skunk, armadillo. (1) is the tastiest, (2) is well eaten and (3) dogs eat, when they are very hungry or after the meat had been boiled in water for a few minutes. These are results of my experiements, do not do it at home, if you are scared. Now I have a kind grocer, who respects my interest to his throwaways. Groceries throw away tons of excellent dog food almost daily!
1) Venison, rabbit, beaver, groundhog; 2) squirrel; 3) raccoon, opossum, skunk, armadillo. (1) is the tastiest, (2) is well eaten and (3) dogs eat, when they are very hungry or after the meat had been boiled in water for a few minutes. These are results of my experiements, do not do it at home, if you are scared. Now I have a kind grocer, who respects my interest to his throwaways. Groceries throw away tons of excellent dog food almost daily!
During free running trips, my dogs pick up winter olives, black berries and they love wild persimmons very much. I like to watch them, when they eat these healthy natural treats. However, they do not run away with game, which they catch or they tree and I shoot. It belongs to me, I feed them later, at home. We keep four goats, a flock of chickens and geese, which my dogs learned to leave alone. They are hunting dog, but they know very well that farm animals are not to be caught and eaten.
Wait a minute....You have laikas and salukis!?!?! Why are there no pictures!?!? Tell us more!
Oh, and if we saw fresh roadkill you can bet I'd give it to Strider. Around here, other people get to it first though. The other day I saw a farmer driving his tractor down the road with the biggest grin on his face. He had a roadkilled deer in his bulldozer scoop.
As it is, when my snakes aren't hungry the dog gets the leftover rats. He loves rats.
ETA: Strider also loves grazing on berries. Oh man, he will do ANYTHING for salal. For some reason, dogs love it. My old boss had a malamute/wolf/something mix dog, and he LOVED salal. We would go for walks in the forest and he would tag along, plucking every berry he could find off with his lips. That dog lived to be 17, pretty good for a 130 lb giant.
Oh, and if we saw fresh roadkill you can bet I'd give it to Strider. Around here, other people get to it first though. The other day I saw a farmer driving his tractor down the road with the biggest grin on his face. He had a roadkilled deer in his bulldozer scoop.
As it is, when my snakes aren't hungry the dog gets the leftover rats. He loves rats.ETA: Strider also loves grazing on berries. Oh man, he will do ANYTHING for salal. For some reason, dogs love it. My old boss had a malamute/wolf/something mix dog, and he LOVED salal. We would go for walks in the forest and he would tag along, plucking every berry he could find off with his lips. That dog lived to be 17, pretty good for a 130 lb giant.
Minpinluvrs, you are so invited to the Snarky B!tch club now. I ROFFLED. *high five*
I was going to respond sarcastically, but my sarcasm meter is broken.
So.
That is all hype. It's absolute nonsense that a different breed of dog needs different nutrients. They are dogs. Poodles don't need more phosphorous, Dobermans don't need more calcium, Boston terriers don't need more Vitamin A, etc.
To the lurkers: If you are buying formulas specifically for your breed, you are being taken because you are gullible.
Suzzie - doubt it's that.. I didn't check the dog sites (I refuse to give them hits), but I don't think that spammer sells food - at least not on that account. It might be a good opportunity for one of his other accounts to pop in and say, "why gosh golly gee! I happen to sell Royal Canin! What a coincidence!"
I was going to respond sarcastically, but my sarcasm meter is broken.
So.
That is all hype. It's absolute nonsense that a different breed of dog needs different nutrients. They are dogs. Poodles don't need more phosphorous, Dobermans don't need more calcium, Boston terriers don't need more Vitamin A, etc.
To the lurkers: If you are buying formulas specifically for your breed, you are being taken because you are gullible.
Suzzie - doubt it's that.. I didn't check the dog sites (I refuse to give them hits), but I don't think that spammer sells food - at least not on that account. It might be a good opportunity for one of his other accounts to pop in and say, "why gosh golly gee! I happen to sell Royal Canin! What a coincidence!"
Oh geesh, don't be sorry. We all enjoyed it. It was perfectly within reason and definitely not flaming, or even particularly rude.
Besides, its one of those topics that pushes my buttons. Different breeds of animals need different types of food like different races of humans do. It's silly. We're all the same things and have, within reason and taking age and health issues into consideration, the same needs.
Besides, its one of those topics that pushes my buttons. Different breeds of animals need different types of food like different races of humans do. It's silly. We're all the same things and have, within reason and taking age and health issues into consideration, the same needs.