Dry Diet

[samoyedman]

I was at the Million Paws Walk today and got my dog weighed at the Hills Science Diet stall.

The lady asked me what I normally feed my dog to which I answered raw chicken frames minced, Royal Canin kibble and fresh veges all combined.

She suggested to me this could be protein-overload and all I needed to give him was a super premium biscuit and nothing else. Further, she said giving him the food combination I was could counteract the benefits of the super premium biscuits.

Now obviously shes there to push Hills and I'm wary of salesperson speak. But in fairness she wasnt pushing Hills and seemed quiet genuine in voicing her opinions about the diet I was feeding my dog.

So I was curious, does anyone here do dry-only? Is this lady generally right in what she is saying about protein overload with my dog?

I could happily feed him dry every day, but wouldn't that get boring for him after a while?

Any feedback appreciated.

Edited May 15, 2011 by samoyedman

[aussielover]

I thought the people at the hills stall were useless.

Firstly they insisted my purebred labrador was a lab cross and then they said she was 1kg underweight- err no, she is just what a healthy labrador should be.

Personally I would never feed my dog dry only. I like to give bones and oily fish as i think bones are good for their teeth and fish is good for their coat. Dogs can certianly survive on dry only but in my opinion it would get boring for them.

I am sure some dogs do better on dry only diets, but if you are happy with the condition of your dog I see no reason to change.

The only time I would be more carfel and feed a mainly dry diet is if I had a giant breed puppy.

There is no way that the "extras" you are giving him can "counteract" the benefits of kibble. And your dog is unlikely to be getting protein overload.

Edited May 15, 2011 by aussielover

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

I have eight dogs here ranging in age from 11 months-13.5 years.

The four oldest were fed Nutro excusively for some years, with NO issues at all- i.e. stools,coat etc etc. When the US Nutro product was pulled from the market we tried various other dry kibbles which didn't suit them.

In mid 2009 (by then we had x2 another two aged 9 months) we switched to a home-made diet which worked well for almost a year- minced chicken frames with pasta, natural yoghurt, V8 Vege juice etc but for some reason mid 2010 we had problems with upset tummies etc etc. and went back to dry food. We have another two coming up a year old in June and have been feeding Black Hawk holistic with NO problems.

We show some of ours and the others participate in sheep herding, so all have to be in tip top condition wich they are on Black Hawk.

They all enjoy their food, and haven't had any complaints yet.

The Birman cat enjoys his Black Hawk as well.

[Staranais]

What were the qualifications of the lady at the Hill's stall?

[samoyedman]

What were the qualifications of the lady at the Hill's stall?

I dont know. But everyone in the stall working for Hills was referring people to her.

Thanks for feedback so far.

[Guest Ams]

I give the dogs here predominantly kibble but twice a week their meal is replaced by chicken frames and often I'll put eggs, yoghut or sardines or fish tablets in.

Hasn't done them any harm that I can tell.

I think the important thing is to remember to reduce the amount of kibble when adding something else so the meal remains the same calorie intake.

[Zombie Bait]

We feed Royal Canin giant breed adult day in day out to our 2. They get a bone once or twice a fortnight and occasional sardines.

They love the royal canin and seem to be doing very well on it - nice shiny coats, firm stools, maintaining weight etc.

[poodlefan]

She suggested to me this could be protein-overload and all I needed to give him was a super premium biscuit and nothing else. Further, she said giving him the food combination I was could counteract the benefits of the super premium biscuits.

Riiiiight. And she didn't have a vested interest in that statement.

I'd like to see a single independent study that supported any of it.

Using scare tactics on pet dog owners - classy.

Edited May 15, 2011 by poodlefan

[anniek]

A balanced "complete" kibble has a % mark whereby once you replace more that the % with other food you are disturbing the balance.

For example if SD has a factor of 20%, if you replace 30% of the kibble with raw meat, then you have unbalanced the whole balance of the meal - does that make any sense?

and hey - I just heard it somewhere but it does sort of ring true doesn't it?

Edited May 15, 2011 by anniek

[aussielover]

What were the qualifications of the lady at the Hill's stall?

I think they were just sales reps.

I almost had a an argument with them though- they didn't seem to be very well informed or "doggy" people. Fancy not even knowing what a labrador looks like :rolleyes:

[poodlefan]

A balanced "complete" kibble has a % mark whereby once you replace more that the % with other food you are disturbing the balance.

For example if SD has a factor of 20%, if you replace 30% of the kibble with raw meat, then you have unbalanced the whole balance of the meal - does that make any sense?

and hey - I just heard it somewhere but it does sort of ring true doesn't it?

A factor of what?

If you're talking about the cal/phos ratio, meat on the bone (as the OP is feeding) is balanced. I fail to see how supplementing kibble with appropriate raw foods is going to create issues.

[sas]

Dry only here unless it's a kibble that allows for a percentage of something else i.e. Eukanuba I think allows for 20% mince.

You do whatever is best for your dogs.

Edited May 15, 2011 by MEH

[Rebanne]

I have always heard, over the years, that when feeding a complete dry food, then any extra's added to it can unbalance the diet/upset the ratio's and that feeding raw and dry together is a no no cause they are digested at different rates. Is any of this true, I have no idea, I have fed dry and raw together but usually used to feed it as seperate meals.

I feed only dry now, with the occasional marrow bone during the week. Sometimes they get an egg or some sardines added to the dry but it's usually just dry food and now it's colder, with hot water poured over it.

[samoyedman]

What were the qualifications of the lady at the Hill's stall?

I think they were just sales reps.

I almost had a an argument with them though- they didn't seem to be very well informed or "doggy" people. Fancy not even knowing what a labrador looks like :rolleyes:

I noticed a couple had American accents? Probably backpackers or something working casually for Hills.

[OSoSwift]

I feed mine mainly dry, but they get meat, vegies, bones, sardines, cottage cheese, yoghurt etc. I actually trialled feeding them only dry food for a set period of time and they looked exactly the same. However I do think they need bones for their teeth and jaws, and the other stuff for some variety.

[Staranais]

Was it a university open day? At our uni, Hills sponsor a couple of vet students to promote their food & their free stuff to all the other students. They get their claws into us early, LOL. So perhaps they were the people on the stall?

So far as I'm aware, feeding a high protein diet won't hurt a healthy dog (if it's already got kidney problems, or liver problems, that might be a different matter).

Adding extra stuff to a formulated kibble can upset the balance of nutrients, if what you're adding isn't itself balanced.

[mumtoshelley]

I feed Shelley and Rascal dry food mainly, sometimes they get some mince but if they do i give less of the kibble to accommodate for the mince. So my Shelley normally gets 1 and half cup of food a day, If i'm giving mince or anything else i give 1 cup of dry food then half cup of mince or anyother food i want to feed. I also give them bones once a week or fortnightly, and a egg once a week.

[Rappie]

My own dogs are fed dry food only, but I don't have a specific issue with other diets so long as they are balanced and the dog does well on them. Broadly speaking, I'd allow about 25-30% of "other" added to a dry food before I started to get too concerned. Neither of them have EVER refused food, but the few times they have taken longer than a minute to finish there has been a medical reason behind it. So I don't think boredom with food will ever be an issue with them.

I feed one Eukanuba Premium Performance, the other gets either Euk Small Breed Maintenance, Royal Canin Small Breed Adult or Optimum Small Breed Adult (depends on whether I remember to order food, pick it up from work, or have completely run out).

They rarely get bones because they both super food motivated and even when separated it will keep tensions high for hours. They both love chews and one adores her solid Nylabone.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Rappie

[sparkycat]

I was told to only feed dry at Puppy School but it was by the Hills rep of course. I then asked my vet and they said a mix of dry, meat, bones and vegies was the best.

IMO if your dog is happy, healthy, the correct weight and does nice poos then a mixed diet is fine.

I really don't like the idea of dry only diet for dogs or cats.

My Lappie likes to supplement with the occassional morsel from the cat tray

[Nekhbet]

wow sounds like they've been learning from the Pro Plan reps

Majority of reps for dog food companies have no idea. I end up teaching them most of the time.