Feeding

[NE_courser 411]

What you lads think on the best thing to feed a pup? Something about 5 6 month and above? I no everyone has there different opinion but would be nice to see what other lads think.... Any input would be appreciated atb.

[Chid 6,493]

Barf

[the big chief 3,099]

Minced chicken boil it up and dry food but put hot water on the dry then mix it up that's what mine get and there bob on

[sandymere 8,263]

 

Very short answer, just use common sense and give a good complete or meat, carb like pasta, biscuits etc along with veg. Personally I do a bit of both using a complete as a base with the addition of meat, in the form of game and butchers waste fed raw, along with table scraps etc.

A better reply to the perennial forum question “what’s the best food for my dog/pup?” posted. (http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/327660-best-food-for-a-pat-pup/?hl=%2Bbest+%2Bfood&do=findComment&comment=3734684 )

 

This will usually be answered in a variety of ways depending on the preferences of the posters rather than any real evidence. One of the commonest themes will be raw meat based on the assumption it’s the natural diet of dogs. Any questions that posters raise as to balance will be countered by the naturalistic gambit whilst worries about bacterial contamination will be met with erroneous claims about dog’s stomachs being able to destroy all bacteria. (1 & 4 ) These will be backed up by anecdotal stories about pups thriving and adult’s undergoing miraculous improvements in condition! ( 2 ) Alas if only it was so simple meat is good food but it’s not a perfect diet on its own and meat that is heavily contaminated with bacteria, or even lightly contaminated with certain bacteria, is never going to be a healthy choice. Perhaps a better call would be to quality of ingredients rather than some appeal to nature or naturalistic fallacy ( 3 ) and within this meat has its place. So meat is a good basis and if cooked or taken from a good quality source is likely to carry little harmful bacteria so can be mixed with appropriate carbs/vegetable sources to create a home made balanced diet. Then there’s completes, in the main these give a reasonable balanced nutrition with very low bacterial contamination and can be used to create a diet that has been successfully used by millions for many years. Personally I walk the middle path using a complete along with meat, veg etc.

 

 

 

Basically the idea of a “natural” diet for dogs is simplistic; their ancestors likely ate a variety of diets determined by whatever they could get dependent on where they lived, time of year etc, so it would be pretty difficult to feed as we don’t actually know what the ancestor of the dogs ate. All we have are vestigial remnants of wolves in the original areas that likely live very different lives from their ancestors. Plus the fact that today’s plants and animals have been drastically altered by selective breeding. Then arguments that they should eat what they evolved to eat are undercut by three facts: one they have continued to evolve since domestication (increased ability to utilize carbs is one of many examples), two they like their human counterparts have evolved to be adaptable and to thrive on a wide variety of dietary intakes; and lastly we evolved to have the survival advantage of intelligence and inventiveness to develop technology to improve our and so their access to food, cooking being a prime example. In other words, technology is “natural” for humans and so their domestic partners and eating in a variety of ways is natural too. If their and our ancestors had been less adaptable and if there was a single healthy diet, the human/dog partnership could not have spread to new continents or survived the multiple changes of lifestyle, environment and climate they have surmounted.

 

So in conclusion science hasn’t found a single healthiest way to eat for man or dog, but does suggest there is no perfect diet rather that dogs and humans thrive on a variety of diets. Adaptability is the hallmark of dog and man as eaters so many diets are good, none perfect. There are a few basic principles such as improved performance when fed a mixture of the three food groups balanced to suit the individual’s lifestyle but in general using balanced amounts of decent ingredients, either home made or in the form of a decent complete, at appropriate intervals should do the job.

 

Evidence

(1) http://www.nature.com/news/1998/981015/full/news981015-6.html

(2) http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/17_9/features/Your-dog-and-the-placebo-effect_21039-1.html

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature

(4) http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/55/9/1265.full

Edited November 7, 2014 by sandymere

[snappeer 464]

A quick reply to the perennial forum question “what’s the best food for my dog/pup?” posted. (http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/327660-best-food-for-a-pat-pup/?hl=%2Bbest+%2Bfood&do=findComment&comment=3734684 )

 

 

This will usually be answered in a variety of ways depending on the preferences of the posters rather than any real evidence. One of the commonest themes will be raw meat based on the assumption it’s the natural diet of dogs. Any questions that posters raise as to balance will be countered by the naturalistic gambit whilst worries about bacterial contamination will be met with erroneous claims about dog’s stomachs being able to destroy all bacteria. (1 & 4 ) These will be backed up by anecdotal stories about pups thriving and adult’s undergoing miraculous improvements in condition! ( 2 ) Alas if only it was so simple meat is good food but it’s not a perfect diet on its own and meat that is heavily contaminated with bacteria, or even lightly contaminated with certain bacteria, is never going to be a healthy choice. Perhaps a better call would be to quality of ingredients rather than some appeal to nature or naturalistic fallacy ( 3 ) and within this meat has its place. So meat is a good basis and if cooked or taken from a good quality source is likely to carry little harmful bacteria so can be mixed with appropriate carbs/vegetable sources to create a home made balanced diet. Then there’s completes, in the main these give a reasonable balanced nutrition with very low bacterial contamination and can be used to create a diet that has been successfully used by millions for many years. Personally I walk the middle path using a complete along with meat, veg etc.

 

Basically the idea of a “natural” diet for dogs is simplistic; their ancestors likely ate a variety of diets determined by whatever they could get dependent on where they lived, time of year etc, so it would be pretty difficult to feed as we don’t actually know what the ancestor of the dogs ate. All we have are vestigial remnants of wolves in the original areas that likely live very different lives from their ancestors. Plus the fact that today’s plants and animals have been drastically altered by selective breeding. Then arguments that they should eat what they evolved to eat are undercut by three facts: one they have continued to evolve since domestication (increased ability to utilize carbs is one of many examples), two they like their human counterparts have evolved to be adaptable and to thrive on a wide variety of dietary intakes; and lastly we evolved to have the survival advantage of intelligence and inventiveness to develop technology to improve our and so their access to food, cooking being a prime example. In other words, technology is “natural” for humans and so their domestic partners and eating in a variety of ways is natural too. If their and our ancestors had been less adaptable and if there was a single healthy diet, the human/dog partnership could not have spread to new continents or survived the multiple changes of lifestyle, environment and climate they have surmounted.

 

So in conclusion science hasn’t found a single healthiest way to eat for man or dog, but does suggest there is no perfect diet rather that dogs and humans thrive on a variety of diets. Adaptability is the hallmark of dog and man as eaters so many diets are good, none perfect. There are a few basic principles such as improved performance when fed a mixture of the three food groups balanced to suit the individual’s lifestyle but in general using balanced amounts of decent ingredients, either home made or in the form of a decent complete, at appropriate intervals should do the job.

 

Evidence

(1) http://www.nature.com/news/1998/981015/full/news981015-6.html

(2) http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/17_9/features/Your-dog-and-the-placebo-effect_21039-1.html

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature

(4) http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/55/9/1265.full

jesus christ

[slip lead 862]

Bet you wished you never ask lol.

[NE_courser 411]

Lolol always open to taking in new info maybe not that much.... Nice to no lads are willing to help though

[snappeer 464]

Beef mince brown bread sardines whole egg with shell tin tomatoe switch the beef mince to chicken I go to aldi you get big tray off chicken 3 pound or mince 250

[jcm 2,327]

Gain kibble with a raw meat weather it be chicken beef fish then he gets pasta then sometimes tin of chopped tomatoes and plenty water to go with it

[zandy01 3,575]

Don't know where abouts you are in North East fell but I feed Raw chicken/minced carcasses, raw green tripe, raw minced red meat etc and all the above mentioned - fish, veg, raw egg, pasta, rice etc mixed with kibble...

 

I get my raw food from Halls Tripe factory in Sunderland or you could try Durham Animal Feeds depending on how close you live although DAF do deliver but I prefer Halls tbh

[D Lloyd 2,790]

the best meat you can aford or get your hands on chicken venisen beef lamb rabbit and pleanty of it my pups about 5 months now so hes looking ok on it.

[Moorside 642]

Jesus christ theres some boring self righteous people on here, just do like d lloyd said the best meat etc you can afford. If you want to micro manage youre lurchers diet like its a f***ing million pound racehorse crack on

[forest 137]

Rabbit and dry meal you shouldn't have to by much meat this time of the year but in the summer mine get chicken in replacement of rabbit

[krawnden 1,036]

Raw, raw and more raw.

[mick81 275]

Jesus christ theres some boring self righteous people on here, just do like d lloyd said the best meat etc you can afford. If you want to micro manage youre lurchers diet like its a f***ing million pound racehorse crack on

 

 

Hahahaha , I liked that hahahaha