I'd be making my own dog food...
But for this sweet girl...why not??
This is Ginger and she is our new first family dog.
We picked her up from my in-law's ranch and had to treat her for fleas...they were everywhere; poor girl. Even in between her toes :(
Then a couple days later she got Parvo. Guess what...If a property ever has a dog with Parvo on it all your future dogs will get it to. It stays in the land forever! Crazy right?!
Just in case you have a puppy that comes down with this...Pray! And then keep her fed and hydrated. Dogs don't die from the virus but from starvation or dehydration. Ginger lived on Nutri-Cal, milk, and watered down gaterade. She lost a bit of wieght but she's alive and thriving.
Shortly after this I ran into a neighbor and she said that I should look into the cons of feeding your dog corn meal. So I went home did a bit of googling and found these two links that were very helpful...
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Food_and_Nutrition/thread/330428
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=myths
Here's the jist of it (from the first link)...
The digestive systems of dogs (and cats) are made to digest meat better than anything else. Corn is used in dog food as a source of protein that's much cheaper than meat is. Some dogs have problems digesting corn, and even if they can digest it, it's usually not fully digested (which is often why dogs tend to have smaller poops on a corn-free food than when they ate food with corn in it). Also, corn is a common allergen for many dogs.
That said, if meat is the first ingredient in the food and corn is relatively far down on the ingredient list, then it's more likely that it's there for a little extra protein, as opposed to making it the sole protein source of the food. The problems happen when corn is the first ingredient, or there are a couple of different corn products in the list (called ingredient splitting: if meat is first and then three different types of corn are next, there's most likely more corn than meat in the food). Corn is considered a filler--something that bulks up the food for not much nutritional value, and little cost.
Protein from meat is much more bio-available to dogs than protein from corn (or other grains), meaning they can use the protein more easily. So even if you get a food with (for example) 22% protein with corn as the main protein source, there's actually more usable protein in a food with 22% protein with meat as the main protein source.
So I priced the 'Right' dog food and decided we couldn't afford $60+ to feed our puppy. Then I found out you can make your own...duh...and that dogs need a diet that consists of 40 percent meat, 30 percent vegetables and 30 percent starch.
I have a whole bag of Boots and Barkly dog food so I'm mixing 1/2 and 1/2 to keep costs down. Ginger was still recovering from the Parvo virus and would play for a bit but then her energy would sputter out. So I fed Ginger her new food yesterday morning and within 30 mins she was playful and running around like crazy having a good ol' time. Her energy didn't fall out like it had before. From this I was sold...I can't feed her perfectly but I can do my best for her and hope she doesn't develop any arthritis, blindness, or sickness in her later years due to her food.
You can do it too! Today I mixed up 2 big chicken thighs (cooked), 5oz tuna, 1 lb peas/ carrots mix (mashed a bit), and 2 cups brown rice (2cps measured dry). Costs were about $5...and this will last a week.
Next week I'll do 1-1 1/2lb ground beef (cooked), 1lb peas/ carrot mix (mashed a bit), and 2 cups macaroni pasta (2cups measured dry). Costs will be about $5 for a week.
Meat can be: Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Tuna, Salmon
Veggies can be: Anything I think...Carrots and peas seem to be the most common. No onions and only tiny bits of garlic.
Starch can be: Oatmeal, Potatoes, Rice, Pasta
You can also throw in plain yogurt, cottage cheese, and/or eggs.
Make sure they get plenty of exercise of course and enjoy your new dog...she'll thank you I'm sure {Grin}
