[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Yes meat does remain an integral part, all I am saying is that since grass is rare nowadays, you need to give some rice/wheat chappati/curd to the dog for digestion, esp when it approaches old age. If you take your dog for a walk in the park, where grass is available, then let it eat grass, and there would be no problems.
Even the big cats which are carnivores eat grass for digestion.

The dog only eats grass when his/her stomach is upset. Dogs eat grass only occasionally, subsequently throwing it up, usually when his stomach is upset. He also appears to do it when he has something stuck in his throat. The end goal of the dog seems to be to throw up.

It's not his/her food..!

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

The dog only eats grass when his/her stomach is upset. Dogs eat grass only occasionally, subsequently throwing it up, usually when his stomach is upset. He also appears to do it when he has something stuck in his throat. The end goal of the dog seems to be to throw up.

.!

+1
Me too observed the same, I am no dog expert

[shankar.balan]

dogs also require bones so that their teeth are kept in good nick. also their chewing on bones helps to clean their teeth of tartar deposits etc.

to clean their teeth and reduce bad breath - a nice way to do it is to gently open their mouths, cut a lime in half and nicely squeeze it and rub it all along their teeth, gums, palate etc. You will also be pleasantly surprised at the kind of shine this imparts to their teeth! They will struggle a bit,if they are not used to it, but if you train them when they are small, they will comply. I do this on average about once in a fortnight.

Its great if you give them curds - curds contain pro-biotic substances which help them digest the protein content better. the dog's kidneys sometimes get overloaded with protein on account of their high carb + high protein diets (rice and meat) - Curd helps to curb that a bit.

If the dog is happy eating Bananas or fruit, its great for roughage for their digestive system.

My two female doggies eat all these things happily. Only my Male Alsatian wont eat veggie things except crisp carrots in his food and luckily he loves chilled curds.

doggies do eat grass whenever their stomachs are upset OR as Ranjan rightly said, if they want to throw up in case something is stuck in their throats. Over the years I ve seen many of my dogs do this.

and e1t1bet - thanks for the toxic substances link. very useful indeed!

Originally Posted by e1t1bet

Shankar, I have always found this bit controversial. Raw meat is certainly preferred over cooked one, because the bones become harder when cooked.
Our dobe in Calcutta is fed raw chicken that is washed thoroughly, mixed with turmeric. But I liked you idea of feeding him cooked meat after removing the bones.

[condor]

+1 to the points by Shankar.

So if the dog / pup ever chews & eats grass, just let him. Some of this grass will also pass through the intestines. That is his natural way of clearing up his digestive system.

I have used lime juice on the pup's tongue to stop him from eating mud in the garden. But I used to brush his teeth, apart from letting him chew on the sticks.

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

dogs also require bones so that their teeth are kept in good nick. also their chewing on bones helps to clean their teeth of tartar deposits etc.

Its great if you give them curds - curds contain pro-biotic substances which help them digest the protein content better. the dog's kidneys sometimes get overloaded with protein on account of their high carb + high protein diets (rice and meat) - Curd helps to curb that a bit.

If the dog is happy eating Bananas or Apples, its great for roughage for their digestive system.

My two female doggies eat all these things happily. Only my Male Alsatian wont eat veggie things except crisp carrots in his food and luckily he loves chilled curds.

Your knowledge shows your interest in Dogs. Very Pleasing.

Few more points I would like to add. These are suggested by the Vet I take my Dogs (GSD) to (Dr. Pawan - Cessna)

- Never feed fruits vegetables which has seeds inside.
- Raw meat is good, but not poultry. Hence boil it thoroughly, don't throw the soup, give it along the meat with Rice, wherein 75% should be rice.
- An Adult Dog only requires 400-500 grams of meat in a day, excessive is of no use, it may harm the dog (Dry Skin) or can effect the lever.
- Curd is really a very good this, but not suitable to all dogs. My Dog faces dehydration after feeding on milk. He throws it all off.
- Give your dog a good de-warming tablet and pills for digestion. Most dogs stop eating because there are worms, or the digestion is not good.
- Ready-made food (Pedigree, Royal Canine, etc...) is VERY VERY important for each dog. It always prevails home made food, because it has all the proteins and vitamins in a balanced composition keeping the Dog's needs and requirements in mind.
- Dont let you dog in dirty areas and dont let them feed on garbage, **** etc. We reduce the immune system of our pets by the love and care, so adult dogs easily get infections.

These points were adviced to me by the Vet. when my dogs were acting in same behaviour, not eating anything t all. There were more points, which I probably forgot.

[motorpsycho]

We've had Indian dogs at our home for very long time, my mum and dad had dogs as pets even before they got married. We always discuss with other pet owner what they feed their dogs, we being a veggie family, have always fed our dogs the same food that we eat. Our dogs have always been healthy. One of our dogs didn't like to eat dog food like pedigree!
So i'd like to know is it necessary to feed meat to dogs?

[Torque123]

All my dogs are now aged around 1 year and 2 months (average). So all dogs are on a 2 meals a day. On their menu they have 4 options which are mentioned below. The menu is on rotational basis so that they do not get bored of eating the same food. The quantity mentioned below is for my saint bernard. The quantity varies for my Golden Retriever, Siberian Husky, English Bull dog and Labrador but the menu remains the same.1. Rice with beef/chicken soup and around 300 gms of boneless beef/chicken pieces per meal.2. 500 gms of Royal Canin (breed specific) with 300 gms of boneless beef/chicken pieces per meal.3. Ragi and rice porridge mixed with beef/chicken soup (Occassionally milk).4. 500 gms of Royal Canin with 6 eggs.5. Once a week the big beef bones for them to chew and play with.I de worm them with Drontral plus tablets (1 tablet a day per dog for 2 days) once in 2 months. Use "Frontline" tick drops once in 2 or 3 months to keep the ticks away from them. Guys. one animal which can really bring a smile on your face anytime and anywhere are dogs. Theyare the greatest stress busters for me. Just love these guys.

[shankar.balan]

@condor - i sometimes brush their teeth and the poor chaps just stand there patiently and let me clean their mouths! they must be wondering what all the fuss is about! the lime business is the easiest way though and seriously has excellent results on bad breath.
@torque- dogs are the best animals god made - my three never fail to bring a big smile to my face because I just love them completely, as I have done all my dogs ever since I was very young. Your suggestion on RAGi is tops! Ragi is indeed excellent for dogs but they need to get used to it from a young age else when they grow older they tend to turn up their noses at it for some reason!.
@ranjan - thanks. Yes, the family has had dogs ever since I can remember and my great grand-dad used to breed our indian breeds - Combai Hounds and Rajapalayams on his farm around a 100 years back, so I guess being a doggy person is genetically hard-wired into my system. Since I grew up on the tea plantations of south India we have always had lots of animals around us, cows, cats, dogs, squirrels, mynahs and even a pet barking deer as pets sometime or other, so in a sense I probably understand animals more than human-kind (or so I feel sometimes). I use RIDD for anti tick treatment by the way - most effective when heavily diluted in water and massaged into the pets skin with the fingers. Your vet's suggestions on pet care are excellent- good for the relatively newer pet owners here with us - very helpful indeed.
@motorpsycho - even I have seen several dogs who are completely veg. However, meat and animal protein are good for their eyes. In both cats and dogs, a certain amount of animal protein is required, especially for their continued good eyesight. However, the dog/cat will get a reasonable amount of such animal protein if one adds at least eggs to their meals as well as good milk. Cats in any case dont depend completely on the home for their grub - they being hunters by nature, tend to catch the odd bird or mouse or lizard etc to supplement their home fed diet. Since dogs largely dont hunt, at least in the cities, it is good to give them half boiled eggs with their meals and/or Cod Liver/Shark Liver Oil capsules in their grub. The half boiled egg prevents salmonella poisoning as I ve mentioned earlier and the liver oil gives them a healthy shine on their coats + some solid animal fat and omega 3 fatty acids, all of which help their health and longevity.

[Ranjan Sharma]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I can remember and my great grand-dad used to breed our indian breeds - Combai Hounds and Rajapalayams on his farm around a 100 years back, so I guess being a doggy person is genetically hard-wired into my system. Since I grew up on the tea plantations of south India we have always had lots of animals around us, cows, cats, dogs, squirrels, mynahs and even a pet barking deer as pets sometime or other,

Wow..! Seriously, keeping a pet is something different, but loving pets.. is very rare indeed. I have seen people buy Dogs as pets out of fancy, but later the Love counts. My bro, is a Dog lover and we always had a dog at home. After coming to Bangalore, I missed my dogs at home, and then decided to keep one.

When in college, was Impossible. Just kept patience. I waited for 4 years, to complete my degree and once I got a Job I had to get a pet for me. Before bringing my 2 babies I was so damn scared if I would be able to take care of them or not, but later decided. This was one thing I was waiting to do since 4 years.

I Agree I had love for pets, but only realised the amount of my love after I got my GSDs. Now I have gone so damn close to them that I cant even think of a life without them. I find Dogs a gift of God to Human beings. I can go on and on and on talking about them

If I am not mistaken, Rajapalayams are only found in South part of India, and most of them have visibility issues?

I always thought this topic is not only about posting your pet's pictures. We should be discussing about them, and posting experiences, just like we do it in the other topic of the forum e.g - "Street experiences"

Now I see it happening, and the thread blooming. Please post in experiences you had with your pets funny/irritating/disheartening etc etc... I can spend the whole day reading them

[Torque123]

Couple of funny/touching moments as starters.

My Saint Bernard hates smoke. When i light up a ciggy, she starts to kind of sneeze. Even if i call her to pet she doesnt come when i am smoking. She sits away from me till i finish my smoke and once am done smoking she will come to me without even me calling her. In a way she has made me reduce smoking when at home.

All my dogs know what time i reach home after work. All of them will be waiting looking at the street corner from where i come. They are damn punctual animals.

[aZa]

All the above points are correct. Too much of bones in the diet leads to problems with liver and calcium deposits in kidneys also dry skin. Chicken bones tend splinter up and "might" cause problems in the digestive tract. My GSD was on non-veg diet most of his life and he did have a lot of digestive issues. My french bulldog who was also on daily non-veg diet recently had stomach aches and digestive problems. The vet advised to reduce the non-veg intake especially bones. Now he get meat once a week and has no problems.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by Ranjan Sharma

I always thought this topic is not only about posting your pet's pictures. We should be discussing about them, and posting experiences, just like we do it in the other topic of the forum e.g - "Street experiences"

Now I see it happening, and the thread blooming. Please post in experiences you had with your pets funny/irritating/disheartening etc etc... I can spend the whole day reading them

I second that and am eagerly waiting for our friends to post their experiences with their pets. The funny antics they do and sometimes the love they show beyond our imagination. All these would be wonderfull to read and I am looking forward to that. I have already posted about my dog. Looking forward for others.

@Shankar.balan - TQ for your comments on my post. As for my love for these four legged creatures, one just can't help. You just have to taste their love and affection once before becoming addicted to it. So returning the same love to them is the least we can do. Even then we would be way below when compared to what they give us.

I appreciate your knowledge of dogs. Though I love them I don't have that much knowledge.

[MuzzledMoose]

Originally Posted by aZa

muzzledmoose : what breed do you have ? and too much of meat/beef will lead to problems reduce the non veg intake. Mix it up with rice etc and slowly reduce the non-veg content.

Its a GSD

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Dogs are omnivorous, and too much chicken is a problem if there is not enough roughage. Dogs out in the open can eat grass, most of dogs nowadays do not have access to grass. Thats the reason the diet should include more veggies.

I do agree that dogs can eat anything. But meat is their food in wild and that will be the most healthy food for them for their longentivity. Grass is eaten when they have stomach issues mostly.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Yes meat does remain an integral part, all I am saying is that since grass is rare nowadays, you need to give some rice/wheat chappati/curd to the dog for digestion, esp when it approaches old age. If you take your dog for a walk in the park, where grass is available, then let it eat grass, and there would be no problems.
Even the big cats which are carnivores eat grass for digestion.

+1 for that

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

@Moose:

Never give raw meat to a domestic pet dog. Raw meat/beef/mutton/chicken here in India can contain all sorts of things like worms, maggot eggs etc.

It needs to be disinfected before you feed the dog. Same with eggs - eggs eaten raw could lead to salmonella poisoning.
Therefore at least half boil the eggs before feeding it to the dog.

When feeding your dog chicken please ensure that the really small bones like the wishbone etc are either further broken or removed, because dogs literally gulp and swallow their food- they do not chew. the last thing you want is for a small, slim chicken bone to get lodged in the trachea - that is terribly painful for the dog and can even lead to death.

Therefore, ideally, you should give the dog the meat/beef/mutton/chicken, cooked along with rice, a few carrots chopped up and a tablespoon of oil added along with a full teaspoon of Turmeric powder. Turmeric acts as a natural disinfectant to the internal digestive system.

The food should be ideally pressure cooked for duration depending on the quantity of food in the cooker - (eg My three dogs food is cooked for them each day in a large 10 litre pressure cooker for about 35 minutes. As I ve written before they get meat, rice, carrots chopped, tablespoon of oil and a full teaspoon of Turmeric powder)

Requesting you to read and think this through, since I m sure your pet means as much to you as ours do to us!

I give her fresh human grade chicken like real good or suguna. So far no issues for 3 months. He will not eat other things that easily. He is so choosy that he did not even eat chicken from local butcher. Since i used to give frozen chicken, he rejected fresh chicken.

Originally Posted by nick17s

an adopted kitten (found near the Delhi Jaipur Highway)

Way to go man.... +1000 for that

Originally Posted by e1t1bet

Shankar, I have always found this bit controversial. Raw meat is certainly preferred over cooked one, because the bones become harder when cooked.
Our dobe in Calcutta is fed raw chicken that is washed thoroughly, mixed with turmeric. But I liked you idea of feeding him cooked meat after removing the bones.

Cooking bones will make them brittle and can choke in the pets throat. Again this is a chance and is not "it will"

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

dogs also require bones so that their teeth are kept in good nick. also their chewing on bones helps to clean their teeth of tartar deposits etc.

to clean their teeth and reduce bad breath - a nice way to do it is to gently open their mouths, cut a lime in half and nicely squeeze it and rub it all along their teeth, gums, palate etc. You will also be pleasantly surprised at the kind of shine this imparts to their teeth! They will struggle a bit,if they are not used to it, but if you train them when they are small, they will comply. I do this on average about once in a fortnight.

Its great if you give them curds - curds contain pro-biotic substances which help them digest the protein content better. the dog's kidneys sometimes get overloaded with protein on account of their high carb + high protein diets (rice and meat) - Curd helps to curb that a bit.

If the dog is happy eating Bananas or fruit, its great for roughage for their digestive system.

My two female doggies eat all these things happily. Only my Male Alsatian wont eat veggie things except crisp carrots in his food and luckily he loves chilled curds.

doggies do eat grass whenever their stomachs are upset OR as Ranjan rightly said, if they want to throw up in case something is stuck in their throats. Over the years I ve seen many of my dogs do this.

and e1t1bet - thanks for the toxic substances link. very useful indeed!

Cleaning teeth is easy with chewsticks made for teeth cleaning. Like dentastix from pedigree

Originally Posted by Torque123

Couple of funny/touching moments as starters.

My Saint Bernard hates smoke. When i light up a ciggy, she starts to kind of sneeze. Even if i call her to pet she doesnt come when i am smoking. She sits away from me till i finish my smoke and once am done smoking she will come to me without even me calling her. In a way she has made me reduce smoking when at home.

All my dogs know what time i reach home after work. All of them will be waiting looking at the street corner from where i come. They are damn punctual animals.

Thats a samajdhar dog--- the Saint Bernard

[wildon]

Originally Posted by wildon

Here is mine. She Joined our family Since 1993. Now she is enjoying her retired life.

On 19th Feb 2010 She passed away. My parents informed me this today morning for obvious reasons. I will definitely miss her, may her soul R.I.P.

[shankar.balan]

@vamsi - the difference is that we humans are selfish. Dogs are not. And they function purely from the "heart" - thats why I love them.
knowledge - my friend - there is PLENTY on this Forum. I think all of us benefit by the various posts on various topics on which collectively, there is a huge fund of knowledge. And anyway what is the use of knowledge/ information if one doesnt discuss with others and share it?

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

@Shankar.balan - TQ for your comments on my post. As for my love for these four legged creatures, one just can't help. You just have to taste their love and affection once before becoming addicted to it. So returning the same love to them is the least we can do. Even then we would be way below when compared to what they give us.

I appreciate your knowledge of dogs. Though I love them I don't have that much knowledge.