Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello ,
I have a 14 week old border collie and I am looking to switch her to a better quality food than what she is currently on (IAMS) . I considered the BARF diet but after researching it and looking at all sides I don't want to take any risks . I would like to put her on a homecooked diet but I haven't been able to find any recipes . Considering my lifestyle and Heidi's age a quality kibble might be a better choice , so does anyone recommed a quality kibble free of wheat , corn and by-products ? Thank you .

Innova Evo. If you must feed kibble, feed nothing but this. It's grain-free, and all the ingredients are as high-quality as you can get. Also, if you really don't want to feed raw food, you could also try Honest Kitchen's food. Embark is their turkey-based, grain-free variety. It's dehydrated "raw"- it does get hot enough to kill any germs, though. Good stuff. For variety it certainly wouldn't hurt to give your puppy some bones. Raw bones. I feed chicken mostly, but my dogs do love turkey wings, pig neck bones, and pretty much anything I can find. I used to have a pharaoh hound puppy who was weaned onto raw bones with no problem. Both my dogs eat bones every night. Dogs's digestive systems don't allow them to get foodborne illnesses as easily as ours do, and dogs aren't so stupid that they'd swallow a big sharp bone. You said border collie, right? I think the breeds most prone to choking are the brachycephalic (spelling?) breeds like pugs and bulldogs. That said, anything, whether it's raw food or kibble, should never be fed if it's been out too long, obviously. Anyway, if you absolutely don't want raw food, do look into Innova Evo (they have a chicken and turkey based variety as well as a "red meat" variety) and Honest Kitchen (they have the grain-free Embark, and their other two varieties are Verve and Force, which do have some grains but I doubt it's much. They each have different protein sources for variety, and the grains they use are "good" grains, if such a thing exists for dogs. Good luck with feeding.
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Kadee Sedtal
home of old lady Lucy (boxer/lab/garbage disposal), pretty girl Fancy (beagle), and our new rat pack- Gershwin, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Joshua

Prior to feeding raw we fed Natura's California Natural - Chicken and Rice to our Ridgeback mix. We have recently picked up a bag to try with our 1.5 yr old RR pup and found it to work great for him too. Natura - California Natural This food follows the "less is more" principle; it's a minimal ingredient food. The opposite would be Natura's Innova line; it follows the "kitchen sink" principle.

A good place to research kibble is through the Whole Dog Journal

I understand your concerns about raw. We had the same feelings but we were forced to move to raw as one of ours developed an intolerance to processed grains in kibble. We've been feeding raw for about 3.5 years. But, to be honest, have only been fully comfortable with our dogs diet selection for the last 2 years. We now feed a K9 grind and supplements, that's what works for our dogs and us. However, when traveling raw doesn't work so well...

Our Pharaoh Hound girl and our RR mix can eat Innova EVO but it's too rich for our RR boy. And, IMHO, all the grain free kibbles are too rich for any dog for a daily diet. So, since our Pharaoh cannot tolerate processed grains in kibble we will now have both EVO and California Natural as our available options when needed.

IMHO, what you feed is a personal choice. You research what is out there and then have to make a decision about what is best for your dog, you, and your family. Go with that decision, tweak it until you get it figured out, and then one day you'll look back and wonder why you were so worried about it.

Oh, one other thought, you might check with your pups breeder to find out if there are specific meat sources (poultry, bovine, etc...) that work better for that line or that don't typically work well for that line.
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tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

After much research I chose California Natural for my dogs who eat kibble. One of my dogs has many food intolerances...he eats raw food. It's the only food he has eaten that doesn't cause diarrhea. I make his food at home...not by choice. Most of the pre-packaged frozen raw contains ingredients he is unable to eat such as organ meats.Some of them also contain 10% grain.
All three dogs get raw ribs for a special treat.
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Winona

Here is my Lhasa Apso BARF dog eating her breakfast which this morning is a raw meaty beef rib bone with some ground chicken on the side. Snack was a piece of papaya. I must warn you that some dogs like mine once on raw will get diarrhea from cooked foods. Cory was a 4 year old rescue from the human society. I swore I would never get another dog but when I saw the sign "NEEDS SPECIAL DIET" I knew he was coming home with me No way I could walk out of there knowing he would be put on Science Diet all his life!

Valerie
Video of Corey enjoying breakfast

The video was cute! We once took in a stray who my vet was pretty sure was half terrier and half Lhasa Apso.

My dog will always be a special needs boy...I spent the afternoon making dog food.He loves raw ground turkey but cannot eat much of it...diarrhea. The nutritionist thought maybe he needed cod liver oil since he is unable to eat liver...I tried 1/8 tsp for 3 days...I almost have the diarrhea under control now...bad idea. I do worry that his diet may be lacking in vitamin D. I wish I knew the daily vitamin requirement for a 55 lb.dog.Maybe I could give him a supplement.
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Winona