Natural pet food

[Highsmith]

Anybody have any experience using natural food for their pets? Natural as in homemade.

[Bird]

I can't say we ever "made" pet food, but when I was a kid, we never "bought" any dog or cat food either. They ate whatever table scraps we had and of course, since we had our own milk cow, we always had surplus milk for them. And of course they got lucky and killed a few rodents and rabbits to eat occasionally.

And now we have a very spoiled Chihuahua for whom we buy Science Diet dry dog food, but she also thinks she should get some of anything we happen to be eating, and except for chocolate, she usually does get some of it.

[egon]

Sure do.

The dog gets whatever we are eating minus chocolate and onions. The cat just just fine on raw liver. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Handyman]

I feed mine "Flint River Ranch"

It's a all natural dog fod that uses human grade ingredients, no colors or preservatives.

You buy it over the net, they ship it UPS.
You can also have let's say 20lbs shiped every month automaticly and billed to your CC or some distributors have pay pal.

What I like about the food is that they reduce the fillers and by also using ingredients that are digestible, I've notice an immediate reduction in stool size.

You pay more for it, but you feed the dog less, there for the cost is almost the same or less.

Just google the name and read for yourself. You will be surprized what you see. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Their website certainly makes that Flint River Ranch pet food sound good, but then so does every other manufacturer's website. So I'm not sure how consumers are supposed to know which is best. We used primarily Purina products for all our animals until we got this Chihuahua. The kennel we bought her from gave us a little baggie of dog food to start with and said it was Science Diet, so that's what she's had ever since. All the "experts" warn against letting your dog have human food, but we do and probably always will.

[egon]

Bird, I may not be from the top drawer but I can recall times where nobody even thought about buying pet food. It was scraps from the table and of course for the cats it was a treat to get a squirt of fresh milk. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] The pets all seemed to survive with no problems.

I think maybe there is some Brainwashing on Pet food! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Highsmith]

Egon,

Are you comparing apples to apples? In your day, did your food have all the chemicals on the labels that ours does today? Or did your food even have labels? Probably lots of fresh stuff if your cat is getting a squirt of milk.

As bad as modern food is for people, it is even worse for animals. I think that is why high end foods like Science Diet get so much credit among people who care for their pets. We are actually giving them healthier food than we feed ourselves.

I would think that for those who are committed to eating fresh food that has not been processed, pastereurized, canned or boxed, you could far more easily get away with table scraps for the dogs.

Maybe you are comparing apples to apples. Fresh apples from healthy soil as opposed to fertilized, pesticied apples from exhausted soil.

[egon]

As I recall there weren't any labels on the food. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Veggies from the garden. Meat from the corral. Milk from the barn and darned if it wasn't even pasteurized.

Cat still likes raw Liver.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Handyman]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Poster: Bird
Subject: Re: Natural pet food

Their website certainly makes that Flint River Ranch pet food sound good, but then so does every other manufacturer's website. So I'm not sure how consumers are supposed to know which is best. We used primarily Purina products for all our animals until we got this Chihuahua. The kennel we bought her from gave us a little baggie of dog food to start with and said it was Science Diet, so that's what she's had ever since. All the "experts" warn against letting your dog have human food, but we do and probably always will.


[/ QUOTE ]

Considering the alternitive out there... I think this is the next to best option short of a BARF diet or feeding scraps off the table which is not a option for me since I am on the road so much.

I would suggest Googling, yahoo, ask about... Flint River Ranch. This is a dogg version of health foods.

Here is a link that you might be interested in reading about what really goes into major commercially produced dog foods.
What is in Dog Food

[Pat]

Handyman, An interesting read. Pet food manufacturers wage a good PR campaign, not unlike those ongoing struggles in human food advertising.

Most consumers (pet owners) don't want to know, they just want to feel good about what they feed Fido. If you know then you feel guilty for not doing something about it and doing something isn't convenient.

When as an adult I had a dog I fed Purina and added certain supplements.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]