This may be of interest?

I've been searching for information about dog food and i came across this very useful website which has shed a different light on those supposedly 'good' dog foods.
This is what i found: still think these are the better foods myself!
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...uct=1148&cat=5
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...duct=362&cat=5
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...uct=1912&cat=5


Theres lots more:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/8
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/3
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/5
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/6
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/7

Do we really know whats good for dogs?
I'm feeding mine wagg at the minute but i'm seriously thinking about feeding more of a barf diet but i haven't got a clue how or where to start?? Any advice??

i'm trying out barfing, but do also give complete at times. there are some good books about, but i found them heavy going. and i mostly feed them frozen, cos it lasts longer, there is a website called landywoods which deliver barf, but tend to get mine locally, you need a good butcher, and i dont forget the veg, fruit etc.
sure someone who knows more about it will help

I'm going to try out barfing too

I'm scared of feeding them chicken wings And i have to be careful with feeding them bones because Blue gets really protective over his so i will have to split them up

Thats really interesting cheers. Mine only have a very small amount of dried now mainly on raw and thriving on it.

yeh mine tend to split themselves up, one goes in crate- the other disappears outside lol why arent you keen on chicken wings?
the problem i have is i hate handling raw meat, esp chicken lol it goes through me, so its a fingertip job

This site worries me slightly. In any independent survey I`d like to see their own analysis for a start. It also makes statements that are not backed up anywhere so I can`t check to see if they`re true. I looked at the first one and it`s Arden Grange Adult, and criticises it for having a low protein content. The company themselves say it doesn`t have a high protein content (as with their Premium or Prestige) as it`s meant for pet not working dogs.
If you want to see some real horror stories, try the independent analysis of some other dogfoods where scientists have found the drugs used to euthanise pet animals!

Hi
We are researching the barf diet as we are in the process into looking to give a malamute pup a home one day the book a couple of breeders have reccomended is: Give your dog a bone by Aussie vet Ian Billinghurst, isbn 0646160281.

I am reading it now and it gives a complete guide on why a natural diet is so much healthier, and have seen some healthy beautiful dogs who only receive the barf diet, I know thats the route we will go when a pup arrives.


Bones

Personally I don't like the BARF diet. Imo, it's too high in bone and has unnecessary additives to compensate.

Billinghurst was a big supporter of Tom Lonsdales and the diet he recommends up untill Billinghurst decided to make changes to the diet which coincided with him marketing his own range of barf products. That in itself leaves me rather dubious as to his motives.

If you are interested, I feed the prey model diet.
I'd recommend reading Tom Lonsdales books; "Raw Meaty Bones" and "Work Wonders".

There's also a "rawfeeding" yahoo group with lots of helpful members with years of experiance feeding raw. Some more links of interest;
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/FAQlist
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

I'm not condeming anyone that does feed barf, just that newbies often think that it's the only way to feed raw, when there are a few different ways out there. The very best thing to do is lots of reading and research into all the various methods, learning about dogs digestion etc and then make an educated choice as to what to feed your dog.

It can seem daunting at the start, but once you've all that under your belt feeding becomes a sinch.

Hope this of some help to you.

I wouldn't bother with BARF either. After reading some articles on it (like the ones Evie posted) it seemed that Billingshurst was only in it for the money he could make, not for the well being of dogs (just like the other pet food companies). He recommends feeding all these different supplements which are just unnesecary and very expensive.

I spent ages (weeks and weeks) researching raw diets before starting. I wanted to make sure I had as much info as possible about the ratios, how to feed, what to feed etc. Like Evie says, read as much as you can before you start then you have an idea of how to get started.

I feed my dog prey model too and right now I get all his food from either the butcher or the supermarket. It's all stuff I'd happily cook and eat myself (only he gets it raw ).

Depending on the size of your dog, chicken wings are fine to give. The bones are pliable when raw so are easily digestible. My dog's been eating them for a year now with no problems. Although you don't need to give very many or their poop gets too hard.

Thanks for all of your advice.
I'm still researching on