What do you feed your boxer?

[karens]

Julie, you can prepare BARF for two weeks at a time?? I have to admit, I have not done much reading into it. My spouse and I only make it to the grocery store to feed ouselves once every three weeks!

I started looking into it, but it seemed so complicated. I always feel like there are just not enough hours in the day... do you have some links or info you could post about what you do? I would be interested in learning more..

If it is just something you have come up with yourself, that's ok, no need to type up a bundle. I will have to start checking into BARF posts more frequently.

One of the issues I have is that I take my dogs just about everywhere I can. I also fear that a BARF diet would be way to much in packing and preparing for all of our little excursions, or our hosts would not appreciate my guys gagging down a raw chicken.

.. the more you learn, the less you know!

 

[buddy'smom]

Kailee is on a holistic blend kibble, the name being Holistic Blend (go figure!) It is a Canadian made food, and my vet and I researched it together along with other kibbles. This one contains no preservatives but has some of the goodies in it like flax seed, sunflower oil, garlic, brewers yeast etc. It is Lamb based and the meat is from New Zealand, which was important to me to find this out. She has been on it now for just over 3 months and is doing sooo well.
She also gets egg once a week, sardines on Fridays, yogurt at breaky. I try to make as many of her treats as I can, using liver and garlic in them. I know Liver is Yucky! but she likes it!

Jean

 

[Boo]

My puppies get yogurt for brekky and sardines once a week too (Wednesdays here). They also get a bone occassionally. I was worried at first. But they both seem to handle them wonderfully.

I would need a much bigger freezer in order to feed my dogs BARF. Hubby is totally against it, though. I figure the homecooking is the middle path.

Adele

 

[JulieM]

Nikki, sorry, I missed your post the other day!

Julie, you can prepare BARF for two weeks at a time?? I have to admit, I have not done much reading into it. My spouse and I only make it to the grocery store to feed ouselves once every three weeks!

Actually, it is better to prepare veggie meals ahead of time becuase freezing (and then thawing before feeding) after pulping makes the nutrients from the veggies much more available than pulping alone. If I had the freezer space, I would set aside one day a month and do all my shopping and food preparation for the next 4-6 weeks. Since I'm limited in freezer space for now, I have to settle with a week or two at a time And remember, that's an hour for 5 dogs - for one or two dogs an hour would get you a month's worth of food!

I started looking into it, but it seemed so complicated. I always feel like there are just not enough hours in the day... do you have some links or info you could post about what you do? I would be interested in learning more..

It does seem very complicated....it's really not. There are several good sites, most of which I lost from my bookmark files when my hard drive crashed :( But, www.barfers.com has lots of good information and is the seat of the BARF webring, which you should surf to get loads of good information and practical application of the diet. Riveriene has a great site (it's on the webring, you can List Sites to find it). Caberfeidh Deerhounds has some good info on starting a raw diet as well, www.caberfeidh.com - it's in the Holistic section. Another fairly thorough explanation is at http://newcastle.falcin.com/diet.shtml - and www.njboxers.com has a Top 50 FAQ that is very helpful.

Also, there are several books to read, so that you not only understand how to feed the diet, but *why* to feed it and why to feed each part of it. (These titles may not be exact but they'll get you to the right place!)

Give Your Dog A Bone - and - Grow Your Pups with Bones by Dr. Ian Billinghurst
The Ultimate Diet by Kymthy Schultze
Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard
Herbal Handbook for Dogs and Cats by Juliette de Baraclai Levy
Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Dr. Richard Pitcairn
Switching to Raw (don't remember the author, Pam somebody maybe? - it's a new book and is available through www.rawsetters.com)

Books (except maybe the last one) are available at dogwise.com and/or sitstay.com and/or amazon.com

Also visit the BARF Forum and search the archives for more information there.

One of the issues I have is that I take my dogs just about everywhere I can. I also fear that a BARF diet would be way to much in packing and preparing for all of our little excursions, or our hosts would not appreciate my guys gagging down a raw chicken.

You could grind the chicken, or schedule a veggie meal for those days you'll be visiting - it's pretty flexible. Or you can purchase some of the prepared raw diet for extended travel - that's what we'll be doing with our boy when we send him out with the handler. I certainly don't want her to have to worry about him choking on a chicken back (she's not a raw feeder), and the prepared is packaged to stay frozen/chilled longer than anything I could make (since fridge space in her rig is limited).

 

[karens]

Thanks so much for the info. I will def look into the information you posted. I had to laugh, when you addressed me as Nikki, as that is my dog's name, and the visual of her sitting at the computer while I was at work cracked me up!

 

[JulieM]

Sorry! :o I was reading your sig as "Nikki, mom of Emma & Spencer" and totally missed the "Karen" part!!!

 

[RyNTysMom]

I feed Marlee the Innova Puppy kibble and she seems to be doing really well on that. I also mix in other goodies (depending on what I have) like cottage cheese, various hard cheeses, hamburger, cooked chicken or steak, applesauce, yogurt, eggs, and I also use baby food in a jar to make a tasty gravy. She loves the baby food meats and veggies (green beans, sweet potatoes) mixed with some warm water and poured over her kibble.

 

[Dave]

Food

G'day
We have been feeding Arlie a reciepe given to us by a breeder since, She was a couple of months ,

500 gm's Pasta
500 gm's mixed vege's
1 bottle of pasta sauce
1 tablespoon of ginger / garlic
Boil pasta until near soft , then add rest of ingredients, let rest then seperate into Chinese containers and freeze, remove when needed defrost , and add to appx' 400gm's of raw mince ,
I.E.- chicken / Roo / lean , from pet food supplies, add small amount of boiling water , mix together , let them enjoy.

She's also fed 4 raw chickens necks a day as a treat .
These also can be frozen and are ideal treats in summer ( 1 big ice block ).
But if you look at her some might say she is skinny , I know she isn't under fed , just well dieted and well exercised , and nothing but a ball of " muscule ".

She loves fried eggs ( sunny side up ) , left over cat food , and the odd can of sardines.

We also add cheese to her meals every now and then .

Pigs ears to chew on .
beef / roo jerky as treats when training her .

 

[fernanernie]

Dog diet

I feed Enzo Purina Dog Chow only, he will occasionally feed himself the last slice of pizza off of the counter. I heard that feeding them table scraps causes them to be finicky and not to mention healh problems. Am I wrong for not tossing him some of my steak that I know he wants?

 

[Astoreen]

We feed Wellness with yogurt, fresh fruit, steamed veggies with garlic, rice, eggs, cheese, or some various meats all at different times, of course. We've also been using some Steve's, when available, in her diet at dinner. She's :D and healthy!