[Shashwat B]

My 3 year old Labrador- Bubbles, Is always excited to go for a drive. At times, she keeps howling until I open my car door and take her for a short drive-2kms.

And on somedays, a short 2 km drive isn't enough. This is how she tells me, "I want a longer drive !!"

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Pedigree is best avoided, its mostly fillers and stuff that offer little nutrition. Home cooked nonveg diet is the best, but for times when kibble is the only option please use RC or even better N&D Farmina which is almost the same price. I used to prefer RC but now N&D Farmina Low Grain and Grain free is almost the same price as RC so I use that.

Sankar,

We have been feeding kibble (Acana) as breakfast and home cooked food for dinner. Is it better to just give home cooked meals both times?

Conflicting information when it comes to kibble being good/bad for dogs.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Sankar,
Conflicting information when it comes to kibble being good/bad for dogs.

Asking advice on something as generic as food habits will always be. Wrt to the advice given here, while folks do share what their dogs are fed, you don't know the daily regime their dogs go through or the amount of exercise they get or their metabolism. So take it with a pinch of salt. What you should remember is that only you, your family and your vet knows your dog, so decide accordingly among yourselves.

If it helps - one of my cats is a glutton; he used to eat even his brother's share of dry food; at times getting to 1.3-1.4X of his weight. That has happened thrice so far; everytime that happened we would ration the food intake; instead of keeping his bowl full (which he's used to since kitten-hood), we fill only a limited amount and instead increased the frequency of re-filling by one. We made him play/run around a lot more during such times, and slowly he'd come back to his normal weight.

[Prowler]

All animals are inherently gluttons and some are more than others (sorry about the pun related to this - all are equal but some are more equal than others). We raise different breeds of dogs and cats from each other and the general diet advice won't work for all. Your mileage will vary.

Generally large breed of dogs like GSD, Rottweiler, Rajapalayam etc tend to eat more. Ideally their food must contain substantial portion of meat. I have something similar to what Aroy Sir is doing. Instead of vegetables, I add meat.
You can get chicken legs (not thighs) from your local butcher. Cut off the nails, boil them with turmeric and add to the feed. Dogs need plenty of calcium which they need in a naturally available form - bones.
Another thing they need is beef tallow which helps to keep their joints fluid especially when they age (subject to their availability).

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Another thing they need is beef tallow which helps to keep their joints fluid especially when they age (subject to their availability).

Where can you get this?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Very good info. I use a similar kind of recipe but boiled goat heads in place of anchovies.
It is easier with dogs actually, because they are omnivores. With cats, best is always raw. My bengals get 80% raw chicken with bone and 20% pork. Anyway they all eat better than myself

Same here, now they get better stuff than people :-) At this stage they will need all the good food to supplement their growth. Will be starting with meat for the bigger one soon. The bigger one is ready to eat all this smaller one gets starter kibble for a few more weeks, with a bit of home food.

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Sankar,

We have been feeding kibble (Acana) as breakfast and home cooked food for dinner. Is it better to just give home cooked meals both times?

Conflicting information when it comes to kibble being good/bad for dogs.

Yes, when it comes to food choices of dogs (as well as people) there is bound to be conflicting information. But feeding the dogs only kibble is like always eating from a fast food joint. Also be aware of pet food recalls that has happened in the recent past. Main advantage of home cooked food, like everyone says, is we know what goes into the food.

Acana composition is good. If all is OK with the dogs on Acana then alternate between home cooked and Acana as you do now if your vet is OK with it. Here the vet prefers home cooked nonveg food over kibbles. Adjust carb in home cooked meal according to the activity he sees at night, low activity low carb.

Originally Posted by carboy

Where can you get this?

From butcher shop, it is fat.

Small one wasnt feeling good today, she has a small wound on her hind leg and some swelling. So was taking care of her, it's been more than a hour that I'm sitting like this after wound cleaning etc while she's sleeping on my lap.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Sankar,

We have been feeding kibble (Acana) as breakfast and home cooked food for dinner. Is it better to just give home cooked meals both times?

Conflicting information when it comes to kibble being good/bad for dogs.

Originally Posted by Prowler

All animals are inherently gluttons and some are more than others (sorry about the pun related to this - all are equal but some are more equal than others). We raise different breeds of dogs and cats from each other and the general diet advice won't work for all. Your mileage will vary.

Generally large breed of dogs like GSD, Rottweiler, Rajapalayam etc tend to eat more. Ideally their food must contain substantial portion of meat. I have something similar to what Aroy Sir is doing. Instead of vegetables, I add meat.
You can get chicken legs (not thighs) from your local butcher. Cut off the nails, boil them with turmeric and add to the feed. Dogs need plenty of calcium which they need in a naturally available form - bones.
Another thing they need is beef tallow which helps to keep their joints fluid especially when they age (subject to their availability).

Originally Posted by carboy

Where can you get this?

There are a few problems with ready made dog food
. For its nutrition value it is unnecessarily expensive.
. Dry granules will invariably give rise to "Bloat". That is when the dog takes water after eating dry granules, they swell up and tend to twist the intestines. Home cooked food has enough moisture so it does not swell.
. A balanced home cooked diet with carbohydrates, vegetables, fat and protein is much better nutrition wise.
. Add turmeric and garlic to the food for disinfection both internally and externally.

Labradors are famous for their gluttony and if you do not control their intake, can easily consume thrice the optimum quantity day in and day out. The major problem with excessive consumption especially in young dogs, is that the body weight increases faster than the leg muscles develop. This makes the legs weak so that as they age, the legs give up.

For large dogs fat in diet is a must, as their skin is lubricated which keeps them water resistant. With no fat in diet the skin would dry up, resulting in constant scratching and in extreme cases cracks (with resultant infection).

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by carboy

Where can you get this?

It is available with any beef butcher. Usually they will give you meat with plenty of fat. You need to invest in a sharp meat cleaver. Cut the meat along side the grain. Remove the white/yellow part as you cleave them. Set aside these white/yellow part. The color varies from white to yellow depending upon the type. Water buffalo's tallow will be yellow.
At a time, don't use more than 2 part tallow to 4 part meat. This is a recommended ratio for large animals.
It is like body supplements for humans. Every 15 days, change the meat for a week. Substitute chicken liver for beef. Don't over cook. You should still feel the texture of the meat.
I have been making my own feed for the last 40 years. Experimented a lot, boned up on a lot of information on animal nutrition and reached this stage.

You do get some real satisfaction when they lap up the food you took so much of care to prepare.

[aditya.86]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Acana composition is good.

Attachment 1895151

Even i was under the same impression until i noticed this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/u...sease-fda.html

Now this leaves me really confused. I guess i should just stick to home cooked food as it seems to be the only way to be sure of what ingredients goes in.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by self_driven

FAlso, no exercise/running for the dog immediately before or after meals. This is what my local vet told me once.

Actually, that is what might have caused the condition in Sparky and I was told about it much later. That fateful day immediately after food, he ran around the house playfully with my nephew for almost 5-10 minutes and then went to rest. No one realised at that time that it could prove fatal for Sparky just hours later.

But after speaking to the vet, he said that could have been one of the reasons, but there was no way to accurately pin point the reason. He had seen cases where it has happened to resting dogs also. He recently had one case of GDV, where the dog was successfully treated through surgery. But complications arose two days later and that dog passed away.

That morning, Sparky was give a bath by me also. Not sure if small quantity of shampoo went side through his mouth and that caused digestion issues for him. I kept on trying to look for reasons that caused his untimely death, just small normal and otherwise insignificant things that were a part of his daily routine, but after a point it started to hurt to even think about it.

So now for Archie, I have become extremely careful. I make it a point that the only exercise he does after a meal, is a short, slow walk to relieve himself. But the fear of GDV happening to him remains. Even on the internet I searched for causes, none of it has any conclusive information. But one thing they say, is to split meals inte 3-4 small portions throughout the day in 5-6 hours gaps rather than one or two large meals in the day. For the time being, I am following this practice also and adding a two spoons of curd in his meals. Even for his bath, I take extreme care not to even accidentally let shampoo or soap lather get into his mouth or ears.

Originally Posted by Prowler

My deep condolences for your loss. I am terrified after reading your post. I am reminded of a Greek proverb - everytime you bring in a pet, be prepared to dig its grave. It might be harsh as we love our pets.

It is the harsh truth, but somehow in your mind you think that day is far away in the distant future. You never want to imagine that the event would happen in the immediate future.

Originally Posted by Prowler

I read somewhere that GDV is primarily because of the change in the diet of our domesticated dogs. In the wild, they feed only on meat and when we domesticate them - we start feeding them with our own food. Carbs - especially rice and wheat cause bloating.

I know of a relative's 10+ year labrador that has loved on rice based diet for almost all his life but he never had any issues. I suppose it varies from dog to dog. Besides, Sparky was quite comfortable on a rise based diet. Never had any digestive or loose stool issue in those 3-4 years since we started giving him rice.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Shashwat B

My 3 year old Labrador- Bubbles, Is always excited to go for a drive. At times, she keeps howling until I open my car door and take her for a short drive-2kms.

And on somedays, a short 2 km drive isn't enough. This is how she tells me, "I want a longer drive !!"

While our Sparky absolutely adored and enjoyed car rides and never had any issues(just twice in all those years, he had vomitted in the car) , Archie suffers from motion sickness. He vomits every time he takes a car ride. The vet recommended him a tablet to be given 1 hours before the drive, but even that hasn't helped.

[Shashwat B]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

While our Sparky absolutely adored and enjoyed car rides and never had any issues(just twice in all those years, he had vomitted in the car) , Archie suffers from motion sickness. He vomits every time he takes a car ride. The vet recommended him a tablet to be given 1 hours before the drive, but even that hasn't helped.

Oh no! With my previous dog, she used to have the same issue. You can try by taking him on short drives and then gradually increase the distance. I spent about a year slowly increasing the distance of the drives. On my last drive, a super long one - 60kms to and fro, my dog bubbles seemed very tired and just slept. I did stop a few times to let her out of the car. Maybe if I had driven continuously, she too would have vomited.

It's alright. No point in making our dogs uncomfortable. Short drives do just fine

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by aditya.86

Even i was under the same impression until i noticed this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/29/u...sease-fda.html

Now this leaves me really confused. I guess i should just stick to home cooked food as it seems to be the only way to be sure of what ingredients goes in.

The condition is said to have been caused by the grain free dog food, i have read about this before. This is the problem with store bought dog food, only the manufacturer knows what goes in. It is my belief that dog food are engineered products - engineered to provide not just nutrition but also to satisfy certain other requirements. For example poop consistency and volume, poop smell (if its too stinky owners won't like it), shelf life without cold storage and god knows what else. And these are one size fits all kind of product to suit all kinds of dog owners; various people keep dogs for different reasons.

So best is to make a recipe for home cooked meal for the dog in consultation with your vet who knows the dogs and substitute that for the store bought food for whenever its possible. For times when cooking is not possible use store bought food; and do not stick to one brand which is supposedly good but alternate between couple of good brands so the amount of poison intake is not constant. As for me I have four store bought food right now - RC, N&D Low grain and Grain Free, Science Diet. I do not stick to one steady brand, I alternate between all four and home diet.

I have noticed that dogs are attracted to RC more than N&D. So when the RC runs out i am not going to buy RC again. If the dogs are too drawn towards it then there is definitely something that attracts them unnecessarily. Also noticed that one has constipation when on RC but is OK when on home food or N&D. I feed the kibbles wet after making it into porridge consistency.

[Sankar]

All are puppy foods. No1 and No3 are starters (No3 composition is better, price about the same).

No1


No2


No3


No4


From the list No1 and No2 brands will be discontinued.

[promit]

Dear All,

I live in an apartment complex with a few strays around who are quite peaceful. Although, we love all dogs, one stray female is terrorising us. This one is a very well fed plump thing and lives just below my building and sleeps beneath the parked cars usually. She is friendly with most other residents who feed it and pet it except my family especially our 10 year old Labrador Cleo (we don't feed it). There have been a few occasions in the last couple of months where she has growled and shown her teeth at Cleo. About 10 days ago, she attacked our baby Cleo. We have been taking Cleo for multiple rounds of anti rabies shots and go every other day to get the wounds cleaned. They haven't healed yet.

We have spoken to some residents and requested them to feed this dog away from the apartment block. Response has not been favourable. It is hugely impractical to have 2 people with sticks take Cleo for a walk 4 times a day. Its been very stressful to say the least for us as well as Cleo.

What can we possibly do to solve this problem assuming other fellow residents are not bothered? (continue to feed it within the building area and not in a designated spot outside)Since this dog is staying put what options do we have? Can we call an NGO and have the dog rehabilitated/shifted. Happy to bear all costs. Welcome to all suggestions.

Best,
Promit