What Do You Feed Your Dog?

[elfe]

Ms Figure,

Where did you get that list of good & bad foods from? Is there a website link?

While your information may very well be accurate, you should bear in mind, most of the readers of this forum live in Thailand, where many of those "good" brands may either not be available, or prohibitively expensive. For relatively affluent members who live in areas like BKK, Phuket or other areas with Westernised pet stores/supermarkets, it's very helpful. It could make other members feel guilty though, particularly if one of the "bad" ones is the best they can get in their area.

Well, I'll confess now, the dogs in our center get rice regularly (with meat & veg cooked in it) & a kibble that is far cheaper than many of the "bad" ones you mention (I can categorically state that not one of your "good" ones can be bought here, even if we could afford it). Relying on donations to feed 140 dogs, that's the best we can do. My feeling is that at least they're getting fed as healthily as we can manage, while, sadly, many of their compatriots on the streets are starving.

you cannot compare dogrescue organisations with private pet keeping... i also feed a thai brand kibble, 500 baht per 15kg, my 43 dogs eat one bag per day and instead of buying a 'better' brand which would cost almost 3 times more, i add every day fresh meat, bones, fish, eggs, oils, veggies, fruit and also sometimes cooked rice to mix some ingredients better. this is still much cheaper than buying the premium kibble which sometimes is not much better in some aspects than the other brands... i also tried different kinds of kibble and sometimes change the brand for some days. i also watch my dogs and try to give individually more or less food, supplements etc for each dog if needed. all my dogs are healthy, have shiny hair, clean teeth and are not thin. two of my dogs are a bit thin, so they get more, some are a bit fat so they get less etc. what i found is when i give more kibble and less fresh food for some time, some of the dogs are more prone to ear and skin yeast infections and also some of the dogs lose some hair. maybe this would not be with a premium quality kibble but actually i'm not too sure. i balance with fresh addings and found this the best for my dogs.

november, the dogs in your shelter are not meant to stay there forever, sadly it's so hard to find new good homes for street dogs...

[thaigerd]

thaigerd, your wife seems to be a good dog trainer! with having with many greedy and jealous dogs not so easy

makro opening soon here as well...

Yes, she absolutely is!

Yesterday when I came home after work she has shown me what our newest family member (3months old rotti)

is able to do after 10 days "training":

She walks very good on a leash(the dog, not my wife ) and sits down after a command.

My wife spends many hours every day with them playing and running in the garden.

Gerd

[elfe]

the perfect wife for a dog lover

[November Rain]

Ms Figure,

Where did you get that list of good & bad foods from? Is there a website link?

While your information may very well be accurate, you should bear in mind, most of the readers of this forum live in Thailand, where many of those "good" brands may either not be available, or prohibitively expensive. For relatively affluent members who live in areas like BKK, Phuket or other areas with Westernised pet stores/supermarkets, it's very helpful. It could make other members feel guilty though, particularly if one of the "bad" ones is the best they can get in their area.

Well, I'll confess now, the dogs in our center get rice regularly (with meat & veg cooked in it) & a kibble that is far cheaper than many of the "bad" ones you mention (I can categorically state that not one of your "good" ones can be bought here, even if we could afford it). Relying on donations to feed 140 dogs, that's the best we can do. My feeling is that at least they're getting fed as healthily as we can manage, while, sadly, many of their compatriots on the streets are starving.

you cannot compare dogrescue organisations with private pet keeping... i also feed a thai brand kibble, 500 baht per 15kg, my 43 dogs eat one bag per day and instead of buying a 'better' brand which would cost almost 3 times more, i add every day fresh meat, bones, fish, eggs, oils, veggies, fruit and also sometimes cooked rice to mix some ingredients better. this is still much cheaper than buying the premium kibble which sometimes is not much better in some aspects than the other brands... i also tried different kinds of kibble and sometimes change the brand for some days. i also watch my dogs and try to give individually more or less food, supplements etc for each dog if needed. all my dogs are healthy, have shiny hair, clean teeth and are not thin. two of my dogs are a bit thin, so they get more, some are a bit fat so they get less etc. what i found is when i give more kibble and less fresh food for some time, some of the dogs are more prone to ear and skin yeast infections and also some of the dogs lose some hair. maybe this would not be with a premium quality kibble but actually i'm not too sure. i balance with fresh addings and found this the best for my dogs.

november, the dogs in your shelter are not meant to stay there forever, sadly it's so hard to find new good homes for street dogs...

I realise that elfe & I also realise that people do want to do the best for their dogs, which is commendable. It's very good that TC & thaigerd and others are so committed to giving the best to their dogs. Unfortunately, I also find it sad that "good" & "bad" depend on price you can afford and area you live in. I also find long lists of "good" foods that probably cost as much for one bag as I pay for 4 of my bags, a little disconcerting when there are dogs on the streets dying of starvation & malnutrition.

And, as you are, I am very careful about my dogs' health, weight, energy levels, coats, eyes etc etc. That's the point I was trying to make; just because you are forced to give cheaper brands, does not mean you don't care about their (the dogs') condition.

[elfe]

fortunately most thai street mixes do well on medium quality kibble, but some don't (develop allergies, nutition deficiency) and need extra care. pedigrees are more delicate especially when still growing. i'm not a fan of feeding only kibble, even if it's the best brand on earth, the dogs enjoy different kind of foods and tastes and bones to chew on and play with. that's a very important part of a happy dog's life.

i'm sure with a cheaper diet which is thought of and balanced well and caring for special needs of individuals you can also feed your dogs healthy.

[Tony Clifton]

Kibble for breakfast, a bit for lunch and added one finely chopped BBQed liver stick to her kibble , all gone in a flash. Then spent an hour outside only to come back in an hour later to have a pee and a cr@p on my freshly mopped floor.

I m out to walk her now for 15 minutes at least, decided to do that at least every evening as I need it more than she does and she doesn't mid the leash since yesterday.