Home made dog food vs. store bought

[tx_cowgirl]

Great advice Snooks. Like her, I don't add salt either because they also get commercial kibble. Yay, glad the fish is working well with her tummy. ^^ Let's hope she continues to improve. Keep up the good work with her Barby. A big get well from myself, Mud, and the boys!

 

[xsara]

You have no idea how much you've helped me with all these information, big thanks to both of you!

However, I'm far from being a perfect owner (by the way, I never refer to myself as her "owner", but that's another discussion), she's my first dog and I'm sure I make mistakes. And if anyone is lucky to have crossed paths, it's definitely me because she is really the sweetest little girl, inside and out. I can't believe how sappy I sound when I talk about her, but she makes me talk in superlatives all the time

Anyway, she certainly doesn't need any supplements for taste only, she will eat anything, like any healthy beagle :msngiggle: But I did add a little bit of salt today for sodium and chloride, as you said. Otherwise I haven't been using any.

I'm not so sure about bones because she's not used to them. I never gave bones to her before she got sick eather. Once she found a bone when we were visiting an aunt (well, she stole her dog's bone). She had bloody diarrhea after that. My vet says that dogs who are not used to bones from the beginning often have problems if they try them as adults. As you have noted, her case is very special so what is usually best, might not work for us. But I'm sure we'll find a balanced diet that will suit her. I might however keep asking questions on this forum until we do.

Another funny thing, since this is a dog tricks society. A while ago I taught her to bring me her bowl after her meals. It's a very useful trick, I think. But now she started hiding her bowl and when she feels like having a refill, she starts throwing it on the floor and making a LOT of noise with it. It's very funny, so I let her do it (bad bad owner).

 

[snooks]

\Just to be clear I'm not suggesting whole bones but ground meal. I believe some suppliers sell it already ground with no additives and frozen. Either that or you can buy a grinder and do it yourself which would be the ultimate ingredient control. It is certainly a risk unless monitored that a dog not used to bones may chew too hard and get slivers off the bone. For that reason if I give bones I give only whole knuckles too large to fit between the crushing back teeth. I use raw not sterilized or smoked or processed b/c they are less brittle. I also don't use long bones or weight bearing bones because they are brittle and usually fit between those teeth.

I use them for 2-3 days then throw them away after digging the marrow out b/c they dry out and get brittle too. A dog raw raised tends to be much softer while a novice dog may just go all out. And I always supervise to pick up ships should there be any. I really want them to concentrate on the connective tissue, marrow, and chewing the large surfaces where their teeth only graze not crush. Hope that helps clear up the issue

Glad you found this helpful. I do hope for all the best with your pup. BTW if beef is off the menu consider soy yogurt, goat milk, sheep milk etc. I'm sure there are endless possibilities around the world on yogurt. You can start today by doing every other time. Your pup may surprise you. Give a shot and let us know. I would love to hear. :dogcool:

 

[xsara]

We finally have some good news We tried out all sorts of cheese and she's totally fine with it so we're finally doing tricks normally, for cheese cubes. One trick even got her on billboards here in Slovenia (she pretends to be a male dog peeing on some door for the poster), and it's really exciting seing her everywhere across the country. 3 days ago we switched her food to Nature Diet (I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it's something between home prepared and canned food) and for now she doesn't have any problems with it eather (we're trying out their "Sensitive" formula). Half of her meals are still home prepared. She hasn't thrown up for about a month I hope she will continue to feel like this!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Yay!! Glad to hear she's made improvements, and congrats on the billboards! Lol. Has the vet checked her out since the most recent food switch? I would assume if she's holding it all down and there's no diarrhea then her intestines are on the mend as well. Glad you've found a food that Xsara's tummy is happy with. Hope she continues to improve!

 

[xsara]

Yes, we had a vet appointment and they said she looks great. But it's too soon to tell anything concrete about this food switch, it's only been 3 days. It looks promissing, but only time will tell.

 

[snooks]

I sure hope this works. Please let us know. I have fingers X's for you guys.