The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Raw Food Diet
Posted by Suzanne (Southeast, Michigan) on 04/27/2008
My 9 yr old lab mix and my two bichons have been on a raw meaty bones/raw food diet for two years now. Because they're eating raw bones, their stools are harder because there's no filler in the food like there is in dry food; harder poop clears out the anal glands. They also have no more skin allergies, super clean teeth, healthier gums, skin and coats, way lower volume of poop, the list goes on. The book Raw Meaty Bones is a good place to start. Commercial dog foods are awful for dogs.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Posted by Pat (New Albany, Mississippi) on 04/26/2008
I had a dog that nearly died from what I thought was a premium commercial food. After that I started making my own home made recipe and they are thriving on it. In a large turkey fry pot, I put in one bag of chicken quarters 8~10 quarters costs about $5 at Wal Mart. After they boil about two hours on medium i pull them out and clean the meat off the bone and set aside. Next in the broth I cook 1 med bag of black beans and 1 med bag of red kidney beans. As the beans near ready I add a medium bag of brown rice and let it cook. As the rice is close to done I add 2 small bags mixed frozen vegetables and two cans chopped spinach. After about 10 more minutes I add 1 small box of oatmeal. You have to play with the water level but by the time you add the oatmeal and it cooks you want most of the water absorbed. After all this is ready mix in the chopped up chicken back in. Buy some small reusable plastic bowls and freeze what you won't use in a day or two. The other needs to be refrigerated until ready. Lightly warm in microwave and serve. They love it!
Intestinal Problems
Posted by Julie (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 04/18/2008
My cat was vomiting all the time. A lady told me about Royal Canin cat food; they have a formula Special 33, which is for intestinal problems. It worked!
Reader Feedback
Posted by Tim (Virgina) on 06/03/2007
I think a great deal more dog food is bad than is being reported. I've known several people at work who have had young dogs die unexpectedly. The food they had wasn't on the list. Stick with organic, human grade food, or human food.
Reader Feedback
Posted by Dina (newnan, Georgia) on 06/26/2007
I saw on your page about other dog food may be bad! And dogs passing away out of the blue. I just fell upon your site and felt that I should tell you my story. I had a Weim. Female. She would have been 3 on Aug.10, but she never made it. She was very healthy. She was in the back yard with water and a big dog house with a fan in it. She never touched her water. But when I got home I Thought she was Sleeping when I went out there to check her she had already passed! I have no clue what happend, I called the vet and he said that It may have been Blot. I really dont know she was Fine when I left, I am heart broken I hope this helps. I was feeding her Purina one Large Breed adult. I also have a male Weim. he is 5mo. old and I have done alot of research and as of today he is on a RAW diet, I dont want to take any chances. Good Luck
Reader Feedback
Posted by Judith-Ann (Woodend, VIC, AUSTRALIA) on 07/12/2007
A great deal of dog food has ingrediants in it that is sourced from off shore. I cannot comment on the Whole Foods supplied commercial dog food, but would recommend serious study of "raw feeding" - it's healthier & cheaper than anything out of a can or a bag. If you are in No. America, one good on-line supplier & advisor (biochemist with years of experienc in canine nutrition) is www.k9rawdiets.com or buy the book "Raw Meaty Bones" by vet author, Tom Lonsdale. Another good resource site is http://b-naturals.com/email.php Here's to healthy animals!
Barf Diet
Posted by Judy (Fairfax, VA) on 07/25/2007
I started my two adopted dogs (12lbs each) on BARF right after the dog food scare. Initially I was mixing, cutting, measuring. I found Aunt Jeni's at a local feed store (frozen). My younger adoptee eats all RAW. My senior eats a mix of healthier canned and raw. Harley LOVES raw chicken wings. Eating the chewing has cleaned his teeth and breath. Buddy won't touch raw chicken but loves chunks of organic beef and lamb. Side affect: weight gain. I have yet to "draw the line" on how much food and treats to give. But I believe they are much healthier. Also I feed Harley blue-green algae and he loves it.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Posted by Michele (Phoenix, Arizona) on 07/28/2007
I was appalled when the news about unsafe dog and cat food started breaking. I feel there is probably more to it than what we are being told. I wanted to switch my dog to something that would be healthy yet safe. I am leery of the RAW diet because I feel there are many risks involved with it as well. So I started home cooking for my dog. I found a recipe online that includes meat (cooked), vegetables, and grain. However, I started to worry that it might not include all the vitamins and minerals she needs. So now I feed half home cooked and half a supposedly very high quality commercial food. I also give her a dog vitamin and a flax oil capsule daily. At this point in time I feel we are all taking a gamble with our pets no matter what we choose to feed. And if toxic ingredients are in pet food, I have a sneaking suspicion they are in human food as well.
Reader Feedback
Posted by Lana (Mishmar HaEmek, Israel) on 07/30/2007
My 6-1/2 year old dog started vomiting daily. This went on for months, though she didn't seem to be suffering in any way. Every vet I consulted said there was nothing wrong with her and that I needed to buy her a better grade of food, so I did, but she continued vomiting. Finally I decided to get her a dry food for senior dogs, even though she wasn't strictly a senior yet - and it worked instantly! The higher quality regular brands were just too rich for her to digest. Maybe this will work for others too.
Reader Feedback
Posted by Donna (Indianapolis, IN) on 08/04/2007
It shocks me that people blindly went about feeding their dogs garbage from discount stores and grocery stores and were then shocked to find out what was in that food. We had only to pick up the package and look. It was all there to see...corn, wheat, soy...all the things that cause terrible skin, eye, ear and even mouth allergies and chimcals that cause cancer and other problems. Feeding the same food day after day, year after year will hurt your dog. That packaged food in dicount and grocery stores is like feeding your dogs big macs every day..they taste great but will kill them. There's very little nutrition in them and it usually shows up on the skin..hot spots, sores, odor, needing frequent baths. Runny eyes, smeely ears that have problems. Then, cancer or some other disease. It's easy to feed them right, feed them like you eat. Mine get whatever I'm having, minus certain things that are bad for them, like onions, chocolate, grapes, etc., but they gets lot of veggies, meat, raw and cooked, chicken, pasta, eggs, yogurt (they love fruit flavored, all this and a very high quality kibble that uses nothing but human grade bison and lamb and fish. Mine love sardines, although now I worry about where the come from (China?) and salmon and all kinds of fish. Feeding a dog is exactly like feeding yourself. Mix it up and give them a big variety. Cats too...cats are bigger carnivores than dogs and the perfect diet for a cat is mice. Literally. Meat..not fish. Read the ingredients, never buy anything with corn, wheat or soy or "flavorings" or anyting that comes from the grocery store or discount store. Most independent dog food stores and some health food stores carry good dog food. Buy that and then feed your dog all the things that are good for you and mix it all up in their food. They will live long happy lives and their skin problems will go away. I always supplement with flax see oil or fish oil, I do not use extra vitamins becuase the food I buy is so high quality it has all that in it. Just do your homework. And stay away from vaccines after age 1.
Reader Feedback
Posted by Michele (Phoenix, Arizona) on 08/04/2007
I wanted to reply to a couple of the comments that Donna made. She mentioned odor as one of the problems dogs can have from commercial foods. Wow! I can sure attest to that with our dog. Prior to home cooking she had terrible doggie odor. A bath a week, which isn't really good for most breeds, wasn't enough. Now that she is eating home cooked, supplemented with a high quality commercial kibble, she doesn't have an odor problem.
Donna also mentioned that she is shocked that people could blindly feed their dogs commercial foods. Well I feel that over the years the public has been brainwashed into believing commercial foods are the healthiest way to feed our pets. A lot of money is spent on advertising in order to get their point across that "people" food is bad for pets. I think the tainted pet food problem was a good wakeup call for a lot of us, myself included.
Like Donna says, we need to do our homework to insure that we our feeding our pets what is best for them. That can vary tremendously from breed to breed. So that is something to consider and research. There are websites that provide valuable information on this subject.
Reader Feedback
Posted by D (Atlanta, GA) on 09/08/2007
Many, many thanks to Archie from West Covina, Cal for writing in about
molasses for aging/sad dogs. I had just bought organic molasses (regular, not blackstrap) at the grocery store for myself and decided after reading Archie's email that I would also give it to my two dogs. One of my dogs is a 13 years old, 55 pound shepard mutt who has a rough time walking up hills when we go on our daily walks. I added molasses to both dogs meals today (good quality kibble, slightly undercooked ground turkey, and 1/2 teaspoon of molasses that I watered down with hot water) and OMG!! I cannot believe the difference in just one day! On our walk tonight, my elderly dog walked at a fast clip the entire walk, even on the hills. No problem whatsoever. WOW! Molasses should be a must for all aging dogs. I will write in again after they've been on it longer with another update. My dog won't touch apple cider vinegar or any other supplement I try to give him, so this remedy is a God send. My finicky boy dog actually likes the taste of molasses!
P.S. I am slowly going to increase the amount of molasses I give the dogs. I am starting slowly because I don't want them to get the runs!
Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Posted by Jesse Smith (Jacksonville, Fl) on 09/09/2007
Since the pet food scare, I started making my own pet food. everything I use is organic. the base is chicken, Beef, Fish(salmon) ,veal or Lamb. I then mix in brown rice which is made from the broth of the meat. I then add peas, corn, carrots,and soy beans. My dogs just love it. I generally make enough to freeze so I have plenty on hand. My cats get almost the same except for the brown rice. they don't seem to like it. I have found that it is much cheaper to make my own. I just have to give up some of my time on Sundays to keep my pets happy.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Posted by Cindy (Bushnell, Florida, USA) on 09/19/2007
I have changed my 4 dogs diet since the scare with great help from a holistic DVM here in Florida. I have 3 Jack Russells (yes I have a horse farm) a Chihuahua. Ages range from 6 to 13. They are now eating a raw food diet (comes frozen, I slice and rebag) with veggies, missing link suppliment and Flint River. The change in these dogs is amazing. They don't smell like dogs...beter breath, super coats and overall better health and happiness. They love raw bones. I freeze the bones for 48 hours then thaw. No more dental problems! God Bless Earth Clinic! Cindy in Florida
Raw Food Diet
Posted by Lisa (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca) on 10/26/2007
Right before the big recall I had mostly cut all kibble from my two italian greyhound's diets. After the recall I stopped with kibble all together. I now feed a combination of raw (some pre made, and sometimes whole chicken, including bone) and other days cooked chicken or salmon with avacado, pumpkin, flaxseed oil, and acidophilus. My girls have done WONDERFUL on this diet. Their teeth look amazing from eating the raw bone and their coats are extremely shiny. This is great being that they are both 'show dogs'. Its always nice when someone is impressed with their condition and wants information on what I feed. Prior to feeding raw my 2 year old was having a lot of stomach upsets. Even with feeding just home made cooked food she was still having some issues (although better than on kibble). After introducing raw a couple times a week, her stomach problems are completely gone.
