On 4/5/2010 7:48 PM, cshenk wrote:
"Gus Gassmann" wrote

Hi Gus,

Cutting though all the mess of Char, check the labels and you'll find
decent dry foods for dogs. I use eukanaba mostly for mine. I feed mostly
50% wet mixed with dry at night and mostly dry in the morning and a
midday small noshe of broth. He doesn't really need that mid-day except
he has arthritis so we give him bon broth then and it helps him and the
cat.

Yet you can't tell us why kibble is ok to feed nor why it's "decent". A
dog's natural food is very high in water. Kibble is not, which causes
kidney problems. If you spent one tenth the time on actually researching
this instead of posting here you'd be feeding raw.

In reality, canine longevity and quality of life has been decreasing for
many breeds since the advent of processed food. People who remember the
'old days' when dogs were fed raw meaty bones often report their dogs
living well through their late teens. Nowadays it is a "miracle" and a
testament to the "excellent nutriton" the dog must have received, and
vets and pet food companies claim this "miracle" as occurring often
enough to become 'commonplace'. Too bad most of the vets who remember
the good old days have now retired or even moved on. It seems this new
generation of veterinarians will know nothing but kibbled, processed
food and the ailments induced by it.
http://rawfed.com/myths/longevity.html


Unlike cats, there seems to be little health difference for dogs on dry
food if it's a DECENT BRAND. It doesnt have to be the most expesive one.
Purina pro isnt bad. I like to use best I cam afford but I don't get
stupid and get only science diet etc. I think like us, he likes a change
in what he eats and they all have their own flavor.

Thank goodness you feel you can't afford Science Diet! It's one of the
worst ones out there, especially the ones made for special needs dogs.
None of them actually help the pets at all.


Feeding raw food, watch that bones can be a serious health issue.

Actually that is not true at all.
http://rawfed.com/myths/bones.html
Cooked bones are quite dangerous. Cooking changes the structure of the
bone, making it indigestible and easily splinterable. Raw bones rarely
splinter and are fully digestible, even the collagen proteins that some
people claim are "indigestible." It is mostly the byproducts of the
digested bone that form the bulk of a raw-fed animal's feces. Dogs and
cats do not need the fiber from grains and vegetables, and feeding such
foods only results in the big, soft, malodorous stools everyone
complains about.

"Bones from prey are required by wolves as the major source of calcium
and phosphorus for the maintenance of their own skeletons. Bones, in
fact, are a surprisingly well-balanced food for canids" (Mech, L.D.
2003. Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. pg125).


Also,
dogs and cats aren not as salt tolerant as we are.

We aren't salt tolerant either.


Grin, I'm not radical. My dog and cat look at me in disgust as we eat up
all the dark meat off a chicken as they get the cast off white meat.
They eat it and grumble that *they* want some of the good stuff too! Ok,
I give them a little dark meat but mostly it *mine mine mine*!!!!

Last said, char isnt bad people but she has a one view that will not
vary on feeding dogs. She believes only raw food can make them healthy
and will post volumes on raw health sites that support same. She may
have some points but I am the closest one to what she uses here and I am
not her level at all.
Carol

So we finally get a name out of you Carol!

Raw food is species appropriate. Raw food is what dogs were meant to
eat. There is no man made substitution that can do even nearly as well.