Left overs?!

Hi people,
Just wondering about this really and wonder if anyone does or has done same and has any problems.
A family member feeds her dogs mostly left overs.
Most of the dogs meals consist of left over veg, pasta/rice, meat from chops or roasts(minus skin, bones and other nasties), tinned meat if there was no meat left, and mixer biscuits to add some texture if it's a bit mushy.
Also sometimes a tiny bit of gravy for flavour.
This would be thier evening meal, and they aldo get suppliments for healthy skin etc.
one of the dogs is a working pet, larged and the other is old a mostly in the house, she preffers sleeping to walking these days.
Anyway, feeding this way is cutting the dog food bill in half but I don't know if would make much difference to the dogs' health?
They are both in good health and the moment, not overwieght or underwieght and as far as I know toilets are normal.
The owner gets a lot of stick from snobby dog owners saying she should only feed them Purina or Iams(nothing against those brands if you can afford it) but could this diet do any harm?

Everyone will have an opinion on this one. Most dogs will do perfectly well on a diet as long as they are getting the correct amount and balance of protein, carbs, fats, minerals etc. I've seen dogs that are fed on the crappiest of diets but because they are young, their digestive systems are working effectively and taking everything that they can get out of the diet. The problems arise when the dogs get to middle age and beyond. Occasionally you have a dog whose system, like ours, start to face difficulties in breaking down some protein sources etc in middle age. So often you will see a middle age dog with poor skin and coat condition and low energy levels, becoming old before its time. Its also very important that they have a good fibre source when they're older. Feeding a dog in the way you have described can throw up all sorts of problems in later life. Many years ago dogs would have just been thrown the scraps and some dog owners will refer to this when justifying this way of feeding but dogs of today have been bred to face different dietary requirements. I can see how these dogs would love this haphazard diet from a palatability point of view but is it providing the right nutritional needs in the long term....I suspect not.

Hi Gemma

If you look through Dogsey, people's opinions on what you should feed a dog vary hugely. Some people swear by raw, others complete, others meat and mixer, the list goes on. The fact is that different people will have different experiences, some dogs will thrive on complete, others will only do well on raw.

Have a look on the Burns pet food website (Burns food was created by vet John Burns), he suggests that if you are giving a homecooked meal, which in essence is similar to what your family member is doing, dogs should have 1/3 meat, 1/3 veg and 1/3 carbohydrate. That is very different from what a lot of raw feeders feed, but this advice comes from a vet so it will not be unsafe to feed this diet. The key is variety, different vegetables and meats, fish and poultry. Brown rice and wholewheat pasta are preferable.

I guess the clue is how healthy the dogs are? If your family member has been feeding this diet for some time and the dogs are in perfect health, I wouldn't worry about what other people seem to think.

So possibly ok in the short term as long as keep a good eye in thier health etc.
I'm currently feeding my puppy on bakers complete with a bit of tinnned meat for flavour.
when he's older I wouldn't mind putting him onto a more natural diet, perhaps not as extreme as raw feeding, but don't like the idea of lining the pockets of the big manufacturers.
Thanks for your reply, I hadn't thought about those things.

thanks I'll have at look at that! I suppose every dog is different as well as every owner, you're definitely right.

Those leftovers sound fine, but too much pasta and not enough exercise can cause obesity (if I am correct in my thinking)

A good complete dry mix is good enough for mine. They sometimes get leftover mince in with their biscuits, sometimes some veg, they do get pasta/rice occasionally with peas and carrots.

Feeding bakers, IS lining the pockets of manufacturers..isn't it. Oh be careful feeding tinned meat and complete dry, I have had to take mine off meat with their dry because it was too much and causing runs. And also most tinned foods are basically sugar and water. I think it's Chappie and Rocko that are better for feeding with dry food.

A good raw diet is brilliant, I know some people on Dogsey will take roadkill home for their dogs, some allow their dogs to catch their own dinner and some just go to the butchers for bits he cannot sell. But as others have said it's up to the individual. Mine are on Shepherds choice, but I am thinking about moving them back to CJS/CSJ (?) in a couple of months - it's what quite a few people feed their dogs on Dogsey.

Bakers is one of the worst dog foods available

Agreed. Also, you ARE lining the pockets of the big manufacturers by feeding Bakers because Bakers is owned by Purina, which are a huge American company.

Well, that`s what dogs used to be fed before the rise of commercial food.

You're right I am currently lining thier pockets but i didn't want to change Milo's food so early on and upset his tummy, i think the move alone did that.
I tried him on the dry food, even soaked it cos I throught it was too hard but he just turned his nose up.
I can't afford to give him fresh meat every day so I bought some tins as a last resort to get him eating regularly, the vet said he was just being fussy.
mixed in just enough to coat the biscuits and hey presto!
luckily no runs, only when he ate some of his rope toy, but do want to get him off the tins.
So hard to find a good food that's not too expensive, that they actually like!
Off cuts from the butchers is a really good idea!