So I am kind of doing better than just kibble - I buy them organic - free range - no hormones chicken breasts and also they get the freeze dried liver and then Royal Canin. But I am really thinking of going raw - yes they go crazy anytime I give them real meat and thats what makes me think I should do it. That is our morning the chicken and we all get back in bed as my legs are always bad in the morning and they I feed it to them by hand one at a time. I love doing it - afterwards Maggie just comes up to me and keeps kissing my mouth as I think she thinks that is where it is coming from and maybe she will get some more. I wish I could find a local farmer or a hunter that I could get their meat from so that I know that one the animal was not tortured and also that they were not fed hormones. Of course who knows what is in the kibble - right? At least I would have some control. So the first step is the grinder. I have saved every email that you wrote on the subject so that I can go back and refer to it. I have a Deanna email folder as your advice is always so well written with a lot of knowledge. We are all so lucky to have you on our group to help us. I really value your opinion very much. Hugs and Licks XOXOXOX Nancy and the Girls
--- On Wed, 11/17/10, Deanna Corey <[email protected]> wrote: From: Deanna Corey <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: One more question deanna To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 11:33 PM Hey Nancy...you wouldn't want to mix the two...kibble and raw. The dogs digest each differently and you may get tummy upset. You really can go cold turkey...no pun inteneded...if you decide to switch to raw...no reason to feed both for transition...they do so well usually with the raw. Cooked is easier mixed with kibble...same values as far as digestion...so your little guys get cooked chicken?? I bet they are happy!!! It might be a nice idea...but sounds like you already do...to separate the cooked meals from the kibble meals. Waggin' Tails in The Dog Park, Deanna and The Dog Park Pack: Nugget, Shuai-Li, Mouse, Myrtle, Mable, and Caleb and honorary non-dog members of The Dog Park: Stella-Macaw, Stanley-Amazon, Miles the cat www.joys4toys.com From: Darcy Jacobs <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, November 17, 2010 10:46:11 PM Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] Re: One more question deanna cooked meats go with kibble NO BONES or raw by its self. you can do both but why would you ? raw is complete... and dont do both in one meal. sorry im not deanna... darcy --- On Thu, 11/18/10, Nancy Lucky <[email protected]> wrote: From: Nancy Lucky <[email protected]> Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: One more question deanna To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 12:12 AM So does it have to be all or nothing, I cook my girls chicken breast and they have it every day plus kibble. Can I give them raw chicken breasts and the kibble to start with? Or does it have to be all or nothing. Nancy --- On Wed, 11/17/10, Kavi <[email protected]> wrote: From: Kavi <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] OK, lets talk Raw Feeding again.. To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 3:21 PM Hey Peggy I did try Ricky on Wellness recently. I did the small breed chicken kibble too along with canned. Yes the wellness kibble was the first he had ever eaten, but now it just sits in the bowl. he never eats it. (money down the drain) and even the freshpet select that I buy, he still eats it but very little and I have been throwing alot away. As far as by-products in dog food, I understand what you are saying. If you do a google on dog food by products you will find out the difference. what goes into dog food is nasty old diseased, road killed, rotten animal parts. With raw feeding, you are giving them fresh wholesome meat from our stores. In the wild, animals do not eat old, rotten, diseased, road killed animals, they kill there food and eat it right then when its concidered fresh. raw bones do not splitter. cooked bones do. bigger dogs can eat the bones raw as they come...but I myself would chop up the bones for my Ricky. I would think it would be cheaper also, if you just have one or 2 small dogs. You can get chicken marked down at the store, chop it up and freeze it. I know for a fact, that I will never ever feed Ricky any food that has by-products or other crap in it. If I dont feed raw, then I will cook human meat for Ricky. The way I look at it now, is: "Would I eat that"? meaning the raw food I would feed Ricky would I eat if I can cook it. Would I eat dog food out of a can? not unless I have not eaten in a month and needed to do it to stay alive. Many dogs do not have a choice between better or raw food, or canned crapy food that they are fed. they can not talk to us and tell us and they can not cook or shop for them selves. (I am being a bit extreme here... but) these are our babies we love so much. part of our family like a child. we spoil them rotten, why not feed them that way? I would just like a simple raw diet for Ricky as I said in my orignal post. Shanna From: Peggy & The Girls <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] OK, lets talk Raw Feeding again.. To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 1:47 PM For any one who can answer my questions to: >From what I understand is that a dog has to be on all raw or on all kibble >diet, I have gotten the impression that you can't mix both. Or maybe I am >wrong? I also understand that if you go raw, they have to have the bones as >well, and in order to avoid splinters from the bones, it Has to be grinded. >Yet someone posted a picture of their dogs eating a whole raw turkey, so I am confused on the grinding issue!! I would think for a dog that doesn't have a lot of teeth like my Gigi (I adopted her that way) that raw wouldn't be a good idea because she can't chew as good as she should. Which also makes me wonder what will raw fed owners do when their Chi's get into their senior years and loose teeth? I am also confused about people saying that the by products of chicken and beef is bad for dogs, yet, if you feed raw, they Are eating the by-products of the animal, so what's the difference? What I also find interesting is that I had two Maltese PM puppies (RIP) that were supposedly never to have made it past the first couple of days that I owned them because they were so sick with being overdosed with Parvo shots, were on a diet of Iams kibble and milk bones for their whole life and never saw a Vet except for their shots, and only had their teeth cleaned once, and never lost any teeth, and yet they both lived to 14 yrs and 16.6 years old, with no health issues. The only people food that they ever had was egg and cheese. I had always kept them on a strict diet of their own food and never gave them the leftovers. It just makes me wonder if all of the controversy over raw and natural kibble diets is really worth it. In fact I look back at all the dogs that I had prior to the Malteses, and they all lived to 14 to over 16 years old and never saw a Vet. None were ever on HW and Flea Spot stuff either. Some never even had Boosters or a Rabies shots either. I some times think that more health issues are related to the shots and flea and HW stuff then their diet. And Iams kibble was the only food I ever fed any of them. They were all different breeds to. It all just makes me wonder.. I'm not a raw feeder, but I wanted to tell you that if Ricky is a picky eater, like my Princess is, then, have you ever tried the Wellness Chicken kibble? Princess has never been big on eating, but now that she has been on the Wellness Chicken, she looks forward to meal time and even ask for seconds, They breed and raise their own chickens and everything is processed in their own plant, so you don't have to worry about cross contamination. It's mostly pure chicken plus veggies and the omegas are added in, no fillers, preservatives,artificial colors etc.. The chicken type is a larger chunk, so for Gigi, I put her portion in the blender and chop it smaller, and I have noticed by doing this that she is not downing the chunks, but now takes her time in eating it. I did not like the turkey and fish blend, which is marked for small breeds because her poop and breath stank. She actually likes the Chicken better.The chicken blend is called Super 5 Complete Health blend and is all natural. I tried other brands and this was an instant hit. Their canned chicken is 95% pure chicken. If you email them, they may send you samples. http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=dog&pid=52&dm=completehealth ♥ Peggy & The Girls ♥ -----Original Message----- From: Kavi <[email protected]> To: Chihuahuas <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Nov 17, 2010 2:54 pm Subject: [Chihuahuas] OK, lets talk Raw Feeding again... Hi everyone I know we have about exhausted the raw feeding talk. I want to start feeding Ricky Raw. He likes our food so much that I am waisting money on dog food. So I would just like a very simple recipe for Ricky. I do not want to grind up food. I just want to mix like raw beef, turkey, or chicken, the livers etc with veggies and whatever else. what about vitamins? He will get all the vitamins he needs in raw? A meat, livers, veggies? and what about the raw bones? can I just put them in a baggie and use a hammer and crush them? I can read about raw feeding online, but who better to ask than the ones who do it here! Thanks shanna
