Can I join the doghouse? Advice on food please

[whostolethesocks]

Getting a one year old Lab and want advice on what training treats to get and advice on food to get.

[AnEcumenicalMatter]

Food - depends where the dog is coming from and what it is being fed now. Is it from a rescue? Or being rehomed privately? Labs tend not to be fussy but if it has been used to one brand of food, a sudden change can cause upset stomach. In which case, continue to feed the usual brand and gradually introduce the food that you want to use.

I'm afraid I can't really advise on foods as I haven't fed commercial dog food for many years so am out of touch with what is available.

Regarding treats, I use liver, cheese, chicken, sausages etc cut up into tiny morsels. If using a lot of training treats, remember to reduce meal amounts accordingly.

[Avantia]

Treat wise - cheese is a favourite with my lab, as well as hotdogs - cut into small pieces .

[BehindLockNumberNine]

AnEcumenicalMatter what food do you feed your dog? Do you homecook or feed raw?

[AnEcumenicalMatter]

My dogs are fed on raw meat and bones.

In the rare event that we cannot feed raw (eg, travelling with no storage facility), I will feed them on Naturediet as its the closest thing to an unprocessed diet that is readily available.

[BehindLockNumberNine]

I want to move to raw for my whippety lurcher (my previous dog, a cocker spaniel) was fed raw.
But my whippety lurcher is suffering from inflammatory bowel and the vet is not happy with raw feeding full stop.
I have researched it and am finding conflicting advice regarding inflammatory bowel disease and raw. What are your feelings on it?

[AnEcumenicalMatter]

No expert on inflammatory bowel disease at all but, anecdotally, I know of two dogs that have had serious digestive problems on commercial foods that have thrived on raw.

I am lucky in that our vets are more enlightened when it comes to raw feeding and are actually in favour of it in many instances. Our main vet retired recently at well beyond retirement age and was in practice long before commercial, processed diets were the norm. He maintained that some conditions became more prevalent as processed foods became more common. Luckily, vets that trained under him have adopted his open minded attitude towards feeding.

I switched to raw because one of my dogs had skin problems that I suspected were being exacerbated by processed food. It appears I was correct as she was much, much better within a week or 2 of switching. Previous to that we were reliant on antibiotics and steroid creams to control the symptoms which were no longer required once we changed her diet.

In your position, I'd trial a raw diet but introduce meats one at a time so that you can pinpoint any that may aggravate the bowel. However, as I say, I'm no expert and can only tell you what I would do (and have done).

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Thank you En, you are echoing what may people have said so I think I will wait until the vet discharges us (currently on weekly checkups whilst weaning off steroids) and Whippety One is stable and then will introduce it very very gradually...

[AnEcumenicalMatter]

Good luck with it, Behind. I hope you see the results my friends have with their dogs with stomach issues. Worst case scenario, you see no difference but you'll have ticked another possibility of your list and you'll be no worse off than before you tried.