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Home cooking / Re: Cookable raw dog food products

« Last post by gemma on Yesterday at 14:05 »

These seem excellent, but, as with other expensive food, their feeding guide seems on the low side. For an 8kg dog they recommend 168g/day, whereas the calculator here for their mighty mince says 301g - which seems much more accurate.  I've emailed them about this and also asked them to provide percentages for the rest of the ingredients, as they only give this for the meat content and, for complete transparency, I like to know everything.

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Feeding dogs with health problems / Re: Still trying to find the right food!

« Last post by Dottie on Yesterday at 08:00 »

There are lots of natural products for flea and tick prevention so it's worth doing some research. They are preventive treatments so in the event of an animal becoming infested, veterinary preparations will be needed.

Karla Pearson recently did a video about this on Facebook - Natural Flea and Tick Prevention. She talks about the dangers of toxic products such as Bravecto. Also she mentions various natural alternatives - there are quite a few.

Natural Flea and Worming Treatments (My Pet Nutritionist]
Green’s Don’t Bug Me Spray Their Amber Collars look interesting.
Worm Count.com
Green’s Worm Kit - Lungworm
Green’s Worm Egg Count Kit

Some more suggestions:
Using Neem Oil in Dogs
Ruggle-It
Billy No Mates

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Feeding dogs with health problems / Re: Still trying to find the right food!

« Last post by vivann on Apr 16, 2021, 13:15 »

At least she doesn't roll in the excrement!  I did have a puppy that  used to do that

No Dottie, I haven't tried natural products to get rid of fleas, mites and ticks.  I don't have a lot of confidence that they would work, but I could be wrong.  She didn't have her annual jabs in November on the grounds that the basic ones last three years, nor did she get  the Lepto2 or 4.  The vet asked if she swims or goes into ditches, which she didn't, so he said no need for it.  Since then the little mare has gone into ditches a few times - I could strangle her!

I have got some Thornit powder and rubbed some around the inside of her ears, I believe that gets rid of mites that cause grotty ears, hers are ok but a bit of residue around - that has gone after a few  applications of Thornit.  I have tried rubbing some into her skin (when I can find some under her thick hair) I think it does help but it isn't easy to apply on her and she doesn't believe in co-operating.

I will have a look at natural flea products - can you recommend any?

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Feeding dogs with health problems / Re: Still trying to find the right food!

« Last post by Dottie on Apr 16, 2021, 11:39 »

I admire your ability to do those calculations - well done. I can’t help but feel that this depraved appetite may have something to do with her health issues. I’ve known other dogs that are similar to yours. It’s a nightmare trying to stop them eating poo etc once they have started.

Re the parasite treatments - I assume you’ve tried natural ones? When dogs have skin problems it’s important to keep parasites at bay but worrying because the products contain strong chemicals.

I can see why you are being advised to feed raw. Dogs like yours sometimes respond well to it. I’ve been advising a friend who has an itchy Labrador and it’s helped enormously. However, as you say, it needs freezer space unless you have a pet supplies shop close by. The thing about raw is that it is low in carbs and high in fat. These may be important reasons why it often works for dogs who have itchy skin.

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General discussion / Re: Food analysis/nutrients - confused

« Last post by Dottie on Apr 16, 2021, 11:25 »

Thank you David - that is useful information for us pet owners.

Reggie - I am not in a position to cook for my dogs so I use a commercial cooked fresh food product. One of the dogs can’t tolerate lentils so I feed Different Dog. I choose the lower fat options because she had raised liver enzymes and skin problems. Thankfully both have responded to diet and the last few bloods have been normal. IIRC the fat is above average on two of my choices, average on one but the company has a fish option which is low in fat. I haven’t compared fat levels with raw products.  The drawback is that it is expensive. The food contains turmeric which has anti inflammatory properties. 

As David says, you could try ticking the raw box and setting the fat slider to your required parameter. If you want to home cook, I would suggest you do it in batches and freeze. Recipes can be obtained from nutritionists and they should be able to tailor make them for your dog’s issues. More information in the home cooking section of the forum.

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Feeding dogs with health problems / Re: Still trying to find the right food!

« Last post by vivann on Apr 16, 2021, 11:09 »

Out of interest, I have just looked up the amount of Pure Vegi plus needed for my dog, then worked out the amount of calories my dog would get if I fed 1.5 scoops of Pure Vegi Plus with 60-80g protein per day, as recommended.

I have worked out that the k/cal of 1.5 scoops of vegi plus would be 168.8 per day.  Now to the addition of the protein - I assume that is say, a piece of raw chicken breast, I have looked this up on Sainsburys website and there is 30.6 g protein per 100g meat cooked as per instructions, in this case they say oven cooked - no mention of added oil etc.  I would boil it for my dog.  So working on these figures 168.8 k/cal for the Vegi plus with 60-80g protein would work out at between 251 - 278.4 k/cal per day.  My dog apparently needs around 409 k/cal per day according to the pmfa.org.uk adult dog calorie calculator.

It also begs the question, what is meant by 60-80g protein?  I did ask that question when I was considering this product a while back - if it did indeed mean exactly that then I would have to provide  200g - 260g of raw chicken per day.  Bumping up the calories to 442.8 - 525 k/cal.  I believe the answer to my question was 60-80 g piece of meat (or fish).

80g cold pressed is so much easier or 70g with added tasty topper of homecooked meat or fish.

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General discussion / Re: Food analysis/nutrients - confused

« Last post by David on Apr 16, 2021, 10:56 »

My 11 year old retriever has recently had some pre-op bloods which have thrown up a few concerning figures, leading me to assess what she is eating - cholesterol is too high for one. She is fed commercially prepared raw and I try to favour the lower fat meats - however, when I look at the Food directory and the composition and analysis, I don't fully understand the dials (dry food analysis). In most cases regardless of fat % on packet, it is showing in the dry food analysis as above average in fat. Which should I be taking notice of? I will happily switch her to different type of food - cooked or cold pressed - if that would be better for her.

Hi Reggie and thanks for your question. The dials indicate how each foods' macronutrient levels stack up against the industry average. Most dog owners will never have to consider this information but for owners like yourself that are specifically looking for a certain nutriment profile, they can be quite useful.

They deal with the dry matter nutrient levels (as opposed to the as-fed ones displayed on the pack) since they are the best way to compare foods with differing moisture levels. You can find more information on how dry matter nutrient levels are calculated and why they are useful here.

You can also use the 'nutrient level' filters on the directory to remove foods with too high fat from your search results.

I hope that helps.

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Feeding dogs with health problems / Re: Still trying to find the right food!

« Last post by vivann on Apr 16, 2021, 10:24 »

Thanks for your input Dottie.  I find it frustrating that there is no obvious cause for Mia to be scratching like she does, she does seem to have dry skin but no sores, bites or rashes on the skin itself.  I have noticed that it is worse when she has been outside and nosing around grass, plants and shrubs so maybe a different spot-on flea treatment is called for - a different active that kills on contact.  Trouble is, they don't generally kill ticks and the groomer has found a tick on her muzzle in the past.  I see that Advantix does kill ticks but that has to be prescribed by a vet.  I am changing vets so I will discuss getting an allergy test done for her.  Her stomach seems much better now, just wish she wouldn't keep eating animal poo, it was deer (I think) poop a couple of days ago.  Just let her into the garden as she asked to go out - she wandered about sniffing and liking and chewing what she had picked up - pigeon poop I suspect, cannot stop birds landing in the garden!!

Was speaking with her breeders friend yesterday, she says the breeder would say feed raw and all the problems would be solved.  I would prefer not to feed raw as I do not have the facilities nor space to provide another fridge/freezer.  I had considered the veg version of Pure as I do cook meat and veg to add to her cold pressed food but I notice the pieces (rather than powder) in the food go straight through so assume undigested.  I will stick with the home-cooked additions to her cold pressed.  I currently add some Pooch and Mut Bionitic Biotic to her food.

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General discussion / Re: Food analysis/nutrients - confused

« Last post by Reggie on Apr 16, 2021, 08:56 »

I will look into the prepared cooked food. She will eat absolutely anything so fussiness is not an issue! Fat content being above average in most of the raw is a concern -  so if cooked has less then I can always try it. Is this what you feed yours? Do you add anything in the way of supplements?

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Home cooking / Re: Cookable raw food products

« Last post by Dottie on Apr 16, 2021, 08:39 »

Another cookable raw food product from Poppy’s Picnic - Might Mince.

From the website: MIGHTY MINCE is a complete enhanced recipe for pet dogs, super-boosted with oils, seeds and botanicals. These no-bone recipes are safe to cook, giving built-in flexibility. This can be ideal for switching fussy dogs to raw, or for poorly dogs who temporarily need a cooked diet. The bone has been replaced with alternative, natural sources of calcium. Available in 4 varieties: Chicken, Beef, Lamb and Wild Boar.