Barf / Kibble

[SPARKP]

I may get blasted for this but here goes. Rosco is 4 months now and very healthy with a beautiful coat. I am feeding him Nutros Ultra Adult kibble for his morning and afternoon meals ( mixed with a raw egg twice a week ). For his evening meal I usually feed him chicken necks / backs ( without the skin ). About once a week I will feed him Mackerel instead, he loves that. I also mix in some offal about twice a week. Every night for dessert I give him a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese. He also gets RMB's to chew on ( or eat ) about 5 days a week.

What are your opinions on this diet, am I missing something or is this okay?BTW, I feed the kibble mainly for the convenience.

Looking forward to your replies ( I think ).
Thanks,
Steve

 

[gmacleod]

Well, I think that sounds OK. It's very good that he's getting offal on a regular basis, and also the fish. I wonder if he'd benefit from some different meat sources than chicken though (the kibble you're using is also mainly chicken isn't it?), so if you could add some muscle meat and RMBs (consumable, not just for chewing on) that come from a different source every so often, I think that would be an improvement

 

[Venus]

Sparkp

I believe that raw egg is not a good option, if you're only feeding the yolk part of the egg then it's fine, but if you're also including the white then apparently it isn't such a good idea as the white destroys biotin, a necessary vitamin, I would suggest that you either boil the eggs or simply separate the yolk from the white....I also include the Vit. B range every 2nd day, and fish oil capsules 2-3 times weekly - I give them human range vitamins though as I am abit sus when it comes to certain pet products. Being from Australia, I am not familiar with the brand of dry food you use, but as a rule I can guarantee that alot of top shelf premium dry foods are a no no as they contain poisonous preservatives and additives.....

 

[Checkers]

Two (maybe three) eggs a week is fine. That is good for your dog. Something like an egg every day is not reccommended, I believe it makes your dogs hair fall out.

 

[boxer]

I believe that raw egg is not a good option, if you're only feeding the yolk part of the egg then it's fine, but if you're also including the white then apparently it isn't such a good idea as the white destroys biotin, a necessary vitamin, I would suggest that you either boil the eggs or simply separate the yolk from the white....

:rolleyes: There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding raw eggs, as long as you do so in moderation. Like so many things in life, a little is very beneficial, a lot is harmful and eggs are no exception. Raw is better than cooked, since the cooking process destroys vitamins and nutrients.

It is avidin in egg white that can bind to biotin and cause a deficiency - but note that egg yolk contains biotin, so largely balances things out. Deficiencies occur *only* if you feed an excessive amount. Here is a previous post that explains the process somewhat more fully: http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=613846&postcount=8

Being from Australia, I am not familiar with the brand of dry food you use, but as a rule I can guarantee that alot of top shelf premium dry foods are a no no as they contain poisonous preservatives and additives.....

Depends on what you're calling "top shelf premium foods", I think! I certainly wouldn't include anything that uses chemical preservatives as a "premium" food. And there are plenty of foods available that do not use these chemicals at all. Simply choose something that uses naturally occuring preservatives such as tocopherols, ascorbic acid, or even citric acid - avoid those low end foods that use carcinogenic chemicals such as BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin. Nutro Ultra, incidentally uses tocopherols and ascorbic acid. So no issues there.

 

[SPARKP]

GMACLEOD,

What would you recommend for the beef feedings?

 

[gmacleod]

Beef brisket (sternum) is an excellent cut for dogs - that's the short ends of ribs, in case you don't see it advertised as brisket. What's nice about that cut is that the rib ends are relatively soft so the dog is able to chew right through and consume the bones, getting an unbeatable teeth cleansing in the process. There's a reasonable amount of meat there too.

Ox tail is also good, but usually ridiculously expensive (since people like it for making soup).

But really, just about any cut is fine, as long as it contains some bone but not the big weight bearing bones (beef is a pretty big animal).