And rice is often one of the main ingredients in the high end, high priced dog foods..... Marsha
----- Original Message ----- From: KLL To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2007 2:50 PM Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: Hi : Food I am with you Marsha. I have fed cottage cheese added to food with no problems. Another thing I read lately was not to give rice. I have read for years to give boiled chicken and rice to babies with upset stomachs. I think information found on the Internet is often contradictory and we need to view it that way. Linda, Lucon and Lucy marsha wrote: Every vet I have ever talked to, as well as ever breeder I know (of any breed) have recommended cottage cheese for dogs with upset stomachs. I have used it with great success for my Pepper who suffers from occasional stomach problems. This is the first time, in all my years of experience, I have ever heard of any vet saying cottage cheese is a no no. Marsha ----- Original Message ----- From: fudwmn To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2007 10:57 AM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: Hi : Food We recently had a vet come speak to our club. Cottage cheese is a no- no according to her, except in VERY small quantities on very rare occassions. The reason is that dogs need to get a very specific balance of calcium and phosphorus or they will have problems. Because it is easy to find calcium rich foods versus phosphorus rich foods, they can easily get out of balance. As far as raw, she said that if you have time to make it balanced overall, go for it. But she said that most folks do not have that kind of time, so find foods without artificial preservatives, and obviously if your dog has food allergies, avoid the allergens (most common are wheat, corn, etc). My kids get a tablespoon or 2 in the AM of Nutro canned foods with their Missing Link Plus vitamins. One dog is very skinny and the other tends to gain weight easily, so I adjust accordingly. In the afternoon, they get 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Natural Balance (venison and rice) or Natures Recipe (Toy breed) dry kibble mixed with 1/4 a can of green beans and juice. They get the 1/2 cup if they haven't trained that day and 1/4 cup if they have. Training treats are high value when it comes to nutrition, so I reduce their food accordingly. The green beans are for added fiber to help them feel more full. My male will eat constantly, so I need to help him feel full. Then they will occassionally get a Kong filled with goodies or a bone of some sort in the evening before bed.

