URGENT Pet food recall

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Osiris

Our Dogs get Royal Canin Mini Dachshund and mini puppy.

How do they like that. We are thinking of switching our 6month old weiner to it. He is a reg. though, so larger and is still on a puppy food.

[michika]

If you are looking for a good non contaminated food I would highly recommend Acana or Orijin. Its made in Morinville, Alberta, so no worries about contamination, it came recommended to us from the Edmonton Humane Society and it was also recommended by our vet.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Thanks Michika, I'll look into that stuff. Sadly there are no Hutterite communities that I am aware of around here and I doubt I'd find a listing in the phone book (joke).

My personal observations with my Whippet are, when I feed a premium food he has about half to a quarter of the stool he has when fed food from Costco/Walmart/Safeway etc... When I fed him raw chicken and a veggie mix in the morning his stool was looser but if I didn't clean it up with in a couple of days it would turn solid and when I did try to pick it up it would crumble into dust. In the summer his stool would be white by the next day and again turn to powder. Even with premium dry food his stool lasts for a long time and it's stinky and messy to clean up.

With my dog being a Whippet he doesn't like the winters, he's not fond of autumn or early spring either. When I feed him raw chicken he likes to play with it a bit, drop it on the ground/floor etc... I can't feed it to him indoors or he'd get raw chicken all over the carpets so I have to feed it to him outside. I'm thinking I'll build him a dog house this spring, maybe he'd take it in there to eat it when the weather turns ugly.

If anyone does want to try the raw food recipes do a google search on alternative dog food or cat food. Raw Meaty Bones (RMB) is another good search. One thing I found is that apple cider vinegar added to the chicken makes the bones rubbery PLUS it is an excellent healthy addition to most dog and cats diets.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvfordogs.html

Of the 22 minerals essential for health, apple cider vinegar contains 19 in exactly the right amounts. *Some* of these minerals are potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, copper, silicon and pectin. ACV also contains natural malic and tartaric acids which are important in fighting body toxins and inhibiting unfriendly bacteria.

Doug

[Keana]

Good posts here..... Making your own food is an excellent idea. You can best trust the quality of the food you produce above all others.

I find that if a dog on raw has consistently loose or very dry stools it is likely the amount of bone/calcium. Loose would need more bone and dry/dust would need less. However it can also be linked to organ meat content.

A basic recipe that works well for dogs or cats is:
Beef roast
Beef liver, kidney, & heart. Green tripe if you can get it.
Fruit & veg puree.
Ground bone, chicken carcass works very well.

For dogs, 75% to 85% Meat (20% to 30% of this volume is organ meats) & 25% to 15% fruit & veg puree.

For cats, 95% to 100% Meat (20% to 30% of this volume is organ meats) & 5% to none fruit & veg puree.

Cut up beef and organs, add 20% to 30% ground bone, appropriate amount of fruit & veg puree. Not hard but can be a little time consuming to do it the proper way. Many types of meats can be used and the wider verity of organ meats the better. If no organ meat is available you need to add other vitamins and such.

Evey animal is an individual and so it is a great idea to make their food for them and learn what works for them and what does not.

Cooked recipes can be found on the net just as easily as many other raw food recipes. Cooked recipes require a lot more additives to replace what is lost in the cooking.

Keana

[BCOrchidGuy]

Keana, one additional note to this thread, some veggies inhibit the uptake of calcium, broccoli is one of the worst and sadly my dog goes nutty over broccoli stalks.

Doug

[EmilyB]

I think you have to be careful when trying to concoct a diet for your dog. This should be left to experts in dog nutrition. I recall being given a recipe from a vet once for a short term homemade dog diet food, and there were several ingredients (vitamins, minerals, etc) that I had to obtain from various sources to ensure this diet was balanced.

I've been using Deli-Fresh for my moist feedings, for a while now, not cheap, but certainly worth having the balancing act done for me. That along with Canidae dry has made an amazing difference in my dog's coat.

[Keana]

Broccoli is toxic to cats and dogs and they should never have it... It is toxic in about the same about as chocolate. To add to that list, garlic, onions, raisins or grapes, or mushrooms.

Bye, Keana

[Ruth]

I have been feeding one of my dogs food from this Canadian manufacturer for about 6 weeks now and am quite pleased with it. http://pets1st.ca/pets1st.asp
My other doggie is on a special diet because she has problem with her liver and has to be monitored quite closely.
I am thinking about switching my 2 cats to the Pets 1st brand as well.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Keana, I'll look into that, I've never heard that garlic or broccoli are toxic, onions grapes and raisins yes ( apple seeds are toxic as well). Thanks, I just have to say there is a ton of good information on this thread.

Doug

[Keana]

The list of what is generally toxic to dogs and cats is long.... Garlic is often given to dogs and cats because people think it helps keep fleas away and has other benefits. From what I have seen it does nothing for fleas but it may well have some other benefits. A healthy dog or cat does not easily get fleas. Fleas will try and host on a sick animal of possible. There are many safe ways to deal with fleas that do not involve garlic. This is why I leave it out of our food.... Broccoli is toxic to dogs and cats in the same amount as chocolate, roughly 10% of animals body weight. Give a dog or cat some broccoli, give them some chocolate, almost the same thing. One of my friends cats Momo loves broccoli...! She still feeds it to him and he is still alive. I don't advocate it but then again I don't advocate feeding overly commercialized and heavily processed dog and cat foods also.... It's a personal decision we make for ourselves and our loved ones. I guess thats all we can do. We make the best choices we can, provide a loving home, care for them when they are sick, baby them like they are our babies. Everyone here clearly loves their companion animals.

Bye, Keana