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Homemade diets vs. Commercial Food

User Name: Hoosier
Parent Forum: Dog Food and Nutrition Forum
Posted: 4/6/2009 5:48 PM

What do all of you pet owners think, is a homemade diet safer than the food you buy at the store? The recent recall of commercial dog food manufactured by Menu Foods and other dog food companies continues to escalate as worried dog parents scurry for alternative, safe dog food choices. To date more than 100 brands of commercial dog food have been recalled after discovery of toxic contaminants that have produced kidney failure and death in dogs nationwide. Intent on protecting the health and safety of their dogs, many dog parents have opted to prepare dog food themselves at home. The question on many a dog nutritionist’s mind these days is whether homemade dog food is dangerous or a safe and nutritious alternative to commercial dog food.

Responses

Snoopy

4/7/2009 12:22 PM
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Total Posts: 42

Reply to Hoosier
I have heard that homemade diets are actually more dangerous because their is huge risk of not providing everything a dog needs to stay healthy. It also seems that before considering choosing a homediet would require knowing what dogs can safely eat, since a lot of food that are safe for humans, can atually be poisionous to dogs. For example macadamia nuts can kill your dog, but peanuts are actually a good snack.
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applejack

4/12/2009 12:15 PM
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Total Posts: 6

Reply to Hoosier
My boy is a very picky eater, and I have tried all diffrent types of commercial food, but sometimes he wont eat certain brands. I have switched him to a homemade diet and he just loves when I cook him food. I will admit that its a little more work, but at least my little guy cleans his plate. I think one of the reason why he only eats homemade food is because the commercial food just does not taste that good.
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sixshibas

8/23/2009 10:13 AM
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Total Posts: 2

Reply to applejack
Homemade food is excellent for your dog. The commercial dog food industry puts out info about it being bad for your dog because it can't sell you any more food! Read on several commercial food bags, they say something like....."food like you would eat....human grade ingredients......." So many folks miss that little bit of info! I feed raw foods to all of my dogs, the rehomes, the puppies, pregnant bitches and everyone. Bones and all. I seldom add veggies, except when I have leftovers from dinner. Read online about bones and raw feeding, it is the way nature intended your dog to eat, really!
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laurak75

2/4/2010 1:09 PM
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Total Posts: 2

Reply to Hoosier
I believe that saying that whole foods are more dangerous to your dog than processed food is like saying that we should all eat frozen dinners because they contain all of the essential food groups we can not possibly be smart enough to think up ourselves. Feeding dogs good, fresh, healthy food is no harder than feeding humans the same. It takes a little research and a little preparation, but the benefits are enormous. Dogs and cats in the wild did not eat a confusing, complicated diet- they killed and ate meat. Dogs consumed more vegetable matter than cats, making them easier to fit into our omnivore lifestyle. Dog and cat food is convenience food, just like processed food for humans. Do a little research and you will find your animals are healthier and you are a happier provider.
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DanaB

4/11/2010 7:15 AM
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Total Posts: 2

Reply to applejack
Hi Applejack, I read ur post and I really liked it. I just bought a shih-tzu puppy he's 9 weeks old. some poeple say it's bad to give dogs ppl food. I'm just not sure if it is or not. I have gave my dog skinless chicken and he loves it. What kind of dogs do you have? I would also like to know what kinds of home made diet u make up for your dogs, If you don't mind me asking. Thanks, I hope to hear from you soon.
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pstropics

5/27/2010 12:28 PM
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Total Posts: 1

Reply to DanaB
Hi, I have three Shit-tzu's. I feed all of them commercial dog food until my 11 year old was diagnosed with congestive heart faliure and kidney failure. I was devistated as you can imagine. I read everything I could and found the biggest problem was diet. I changed to cooking for all the doggies (they don't like raw). A miracle happened! Within 3 weeks all their skin problems, which I was constantly batteling, cleared up just like that! It has been almost two years and my boy still has heart problems but he has improved since he was first diagnosed. Throw away all the commercial dog food is my recommendation. It is enjoyable to cook for the puppies and you can make batches that will last two or three days if you are busy.
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garybedwell

10/9/2010 5:07 AM
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Total Posts: 3

Reply to Snoopy

Sometimes the dog food you buy in stores are not safe and to be on the safe side you will want to feed your dog homemade dog food. Should that ever be the case, all that is required is a simple mix of meat, vegetables and starches.

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http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/Category-180/Royal-Canin-dog-food

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