Dog food

[bugaboo76]

As some of you know, I'm new to this pet thing. Well, I was reading alot of posts about the different stuff that you guys are feeding your dogs. I thought that I was told not to give Cookie (3month old Yorkie) anything but his dog food. Is that wrong? Can he have people food, but fresh only? Anyone got any tips?

[RSbunny]

What type of dog food are you feeding your dog? If you are feeding your dog a high quailty pet food, then technically they are getting everything they need and don't have to have anything else. It would be a good idea to get him something for him to clean his own teeth with. Whether it is commercial or not they need to clean their teeth, and he will need it for teething right now!
There are human foods that aren't good for dogs, and it's probably easier for breeder's to send their puppies off to new homes saying 'only feed dog food' to avoid people feeding them biscuits, cooked bones, chocolate etc.
If you want to look at what natural foods you can feed your dog look up either kong recipes (there are some available in another thread started by formula86) or BARF diet in a google search. You don't have to take on their way of feeding but if you find sites from Dr. Ian Billinghurst, it will give you ideas of things you can use for treats possibly, or at least food that is okay to feed your dog.

[pitbulliest]

Feeding a dog dog food for the rest of its life is like me eating cheeseburgers every single day forever and ever more...Mmm..just doesn't sound right huh?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding your dog fresh food. My dog gets a regular dose of cooked meats with brown rice and an assortment of raw veggies whenever I have time to prepare it. The only catch is, if you're planning on feeding home cooked meals to your dog on a regular basis, I would check with a few sources. Get some books on home cooked diets since its very important and not always easy to keep them balanced. You have to consider protein amounts, carb amounts, fat amounts, Ph to Ca ratios, etc etc etc. Its quite a bit of homework but it sure beats feeding commercial food. Just remember, no matter how good the quality of dog food you buy, its still just that: dog food.

With that being said, I don't know any single person that has time to cook for their dogs every day..you can look into other options such as raw, which I'm not very familiar with (BARF), but I'm sure other people will have some suggestions about that...or there are the high quality dog foods...here are some of my recommendations:

Wellness
Solid Gold
Urban Wolf (you just mix this in with raw or cooked meat, its great!)
Essex Cottage Farms
Timberwolf Organics

If you need any websites, I will be happy to provide. Good luck

[RSbunny]

actually feeding your dog a high quality dog food is not like eating a cheeseburger for the rest of your life. I feed the BARF diet and not commercial food but that is not a fair statement to make.
As for the cooked meat and brown rice. Grains should only be about 10% of your dog's diet and the meat should also be raw. It's great that you are feeding a natural diet but if you aren't feeding them any commercial food and that is their whole food source then I think you need to make the full switch to the BARF diet. If you have a look on some sites or get yourself one of the books that are out you'll see why. By cooking meat for your dog you are stripping it of all the nutrients that the dog needs to live a healthy life. If your dog looks fine and healthy, and you don't want to make the switch then organise to have some urine samples tested by your vet every few months to make sure that all the levels are where they are supposed to be!

[Formula86]

i have a yorkie, too.

mine loves apples (no seeds or stem, etc). you could try that.

ck out the thread here in the dogs sections titled "meal supplements" that i started. everyone had great suggestions there.

oh btw - i've heard that if you give peanut butter, only give commercial peanut butter. do not make your own cause dogs are allergic to peanuts. (i think commercial brands use very little).