This Thursday 9pm on chn 5 what is in dog food. Will you be watching?

[InTheRedCorner]

I'm really looking forward to watching the programme as a new dog owner and a raw feeder I'm hoping the programme reflects the benifit a of raw feeding and exactly what is put in dry and wet dog food.

After researching dry dog food ingredients I'm horrified that I used to eat dog biscuits when I was little!

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

I doubt it will even mention raw feeding as there is no money to be made from that by any big companies. will probably record and watch as am interested to see who is doing the study, who is financing it and how in depth they go. I've sat down to a show where they basically picked 3 brands and rated them out of 10 for taste (they let the dogs off a lead and declared the one they ate first the highest scorer!) content and price. was bollocks really. still will watch out of curiosity.

[InTheRedCorner]

Very true. Apparently they dropped the raw feeding of a chicken wing but have kept a small part in.

I just hope at least one dog owner watches it and looks into changing to raw.

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

I tried raw but really struggled with it due to lack of freezer and finding anything other than bone scraps from butcher without paying a lot more than I was willing to. I settled (my conscience) by feeding fish4dogs which I am really happy with. sometimes I run out (I order in bulk from the website and sometime leave it too late to re order) and when I do I feed butchers dry food. I have tried other dried foods and butchers and fish4dogs are the only ones where I cant smell his farts at all which to me suggests it agrees with his insides. there is one I got recently which he looked really good on but I cant remember the name of it. I know I got it in asda which surprised me. (not an asda brand)

[yesyestisme]

I have had my dog just under a year but never heard of raw feeding. What is it?

I'm not sure about watching this because he loves his food and I don't want to see horrible things then feel bad for him!!

[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight]

I might watch it. I drive miles to pick up my dogs food, chudleys chunks, tried raw, he looked at me like I'd gone nuts lol

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I will watch it but have already heard that us raw feeders may be disappointed. Apparently, as you say, they cut important scenes. We shall see.

yesyestisme It is as it sounds...raw food. Meat and bones.

[yesyestisme]

Thanks fan, I thought it might be that but had to check!

Do they not get upset stomachs from raw food? I need to do some research I think!!

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

yesyes- you have to introduce raw food gradually- just like changing from one dry food to the other- you are supposed to wean them off the first one onto the second one by starting with small amounts of raw mixed with current food and gradually increasing the amount whilst decreasing amount of current food.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

My experience has been quite the opposite. I came accross raw as I had terrible trouble with runs with my pup. He came on Eukanuba, always had soft poo. We tried to switch (slowly 10g at a time) to JWB but he was pooing water Back to Eukanuba. Tried wainrights (squitty) and then Arden Grange which was better but still often soft.

I had read about raw but also read that it is advised not to mix feed so was scared. I went for it, bought a chickrn quarter and sent him outside with it. The next day he did his first perfect poo . It was enough to convince me it was exactly what his digestive system was made for.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

That isn't the case at all you'rebeingaSillyBilly. Raw and kibble are digested differently. Raw at about 4 hours and kibble at around 14 hours. Mix feeding can result in the raw hanging around in the gut too long which is where bacterial risk comes in.

Rawfeeding UK on facebook is a great resource for anyone interested in just learning more. They recommend a straight switch.

[yesyestisme]

Thank you both for the info. I'm going to read some more about it.

Although he does good poos and is regular everyday almost to the minute so it could be bad to change?

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

That is something only you can decide! Read about and watch the programme and see what you think

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

admittedly it was 5 years ago that i did my research on raw feeding, then referred to as BARF although i think that has changed recently? so i guess feeding guidelines may have changed too in that time. apologies for misinformation. it was the most up to date i had

[yesyestisme]

I will do fan!

at BARF

[YoureBeingASillyBilly]

yep- Bones And Raw Feeding= B.A.R.F

[Butterflylovers]

There aren’t the same kind of regulations in pet food as there are in human food.
Manufacturers get away with misleading information regarding labelling.
The chemicals, additives, flavouring, fillers are often missed out or called something else.
Are your pets thriving or surviving on the food they are given?

You will be shocked to find out what kind of meats go into a rendering plant!!!!

[YourHandInMyHand]

Hmm I will watch if I remember. ShyDog is on warrington's dried kibble at the minute. Her trumps are horrendous and but her poos aren't too bad. She loves raw bones but I am not organised nor have enough freezer space but I should consider it really.

She has a massive dry food storage box on top of my tumble drier, maybe I could swap it for a counter top freezer.

[LavenderFox]

Lavenderhund eats Millies Wolfheart which should be top of the range dry kibble as in it actually contains mainly meat and no rubbish to bulk it up. I don't think it is bad for dogs as such to eat scraps of animals that human wouldn't eat such as skin and cartiladge etc, butbulking up dog food with soy or grain to save money certainly sounds rubbish. To be honest our dog is a walking trash can that eats just about anything, and his poos and farts have been pretty good on lower quality dry kibble as well but once you start reading up on it it is impossible to go back to the old ways.

One thing I definitely would not feed him ever again is those big 'treat' bones you buy from pet shops because it messed up his digestion several times before we worked out the connection. One night he was so bad, panting and clearly in pain I was about to take him to the emergency vet until he passed a poo very much the consistency of cement.

[InTheRedCorner]

I can store one weeks worth of fed in one section of my freezer and I'm feeding a big dog 5.5 stone which is costing me £56 a month plus treats like liver cake and marrow bone.

I didn't mix feed I just fed kibble the evening before and thn have her minced chicken in the morning.

I also feed her eggs and oily fish a couple of times a week and I'm currently reading about the benefits of tumiric and coconut oil.

The best part is no farts

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

At the opposite end of the scale I have an 8kg terrier and get a months worth in one drawer i feed eggs and sardines too.

[InTheRedCorner]

I spend longer preparing dog food then I do cooking the Sunday roast! Luckily I have found a local supplier and my butcher has been helpful with the odd bones and liver, heart and kidney.

[Butterflylovers]

A good large food processor helps. I just cut the meat and veg into medium sized chunks and then chuck it all in.

[bakewelltartandcustard]

£56 a month is more than it costs to feed a human.

[LtEveDallas]

Mutt is mix fed. When we got her she was really poorly and ended up on a strict boiled chicken and rice diet. When she was stronger we started introducing dry food (JWB or Arden Grange) and she was fine, but when we upped the dry after a few months she started getting bad again.

We went back to mixed for a few months, tried again and the same happened. So we have stuck to half and half dried and raw with a couple of bones a week.

She gets a mug of JWB and a mug of either raw chicken, mince, liver or kidney (I have to partially cook the liver and kidney as I can't cope with the mess otherwise ). Oh and for a treat she has tuna and sweetcorn.

She's thriving (but still stinky!)

[InTheRedCorner]

Not in this house bake and don't forget I'm feeding on weight, large dogs are expensive to feed.