Pet Mince - Feeding A Pup

[laurajm]

It is interesting. I don't recall telling anyone they were wrong about anything. Maybe you're just overly sensitive.

Or you have a conveniently short memory.

Unfortunately there are plenty on here and elsewhere that don't know what they're doing, don't understand the biology of canines and mix up home brew foods without understanding the importance of balance.

You can feed whatever you want. But hey, don't just take my word for it:

http://www.petfoodre...od/royal-canin/

So the main ingredient in Royal Canin is in fact Maize, which has very low digestibility for canines.

I can feed whatever I want yes. And I feed what a lot of knowledgeable people feed and my dogs do very well on it. There is more than one way to feed a dog a decent balanced diet and it pays to bear that in mind when advising on nutrition.

Royal Canin lists is products by weight after dehydration - a different approach to some other companies. Nonetheless, if people are whelping and raising happy healthy dogs on it, they must be doing something right. And in my breed, that's quite a few people.

Are you breeding and raising sound healthy Bullmastiffs on your preferred diet? If you are then good luck to you - they are not the easiest of breeds to raise sound.

So that post wasn't directed at anyone in particular was it!?

Anyways I try to share my canine nutrition knowledge with people with the best of intent. I have no interest in picking fights or offending. I stand by the above post, there is some diabolically bad advice on nutrition on this and other forums in my opinion.

I'm not a Bullmastiff breeder, I breed Bull Terriers in small numbers. I have a Bullmastiff named Baxter who is a joy to have around.

I don't doubt your dog's are doing fine on Royal Canin. I just firmly believe they could do better. I'm sorry if I offended you.

Sorry to intervene has anyone tried Raw 4 paws (barf) or Canine country barf diets ? I have been looking online both seem to be good quality and reasonable price and they have their nutritional information on their aswell.

Thank you

attached a photo of my pup because she's adorable :)

[BullBreedBoy]

It is interesting. I don't recall telling anyone they were wrong about anything. Maybe you're just overly sensitive.

Or you have a conveniently short memory.

Unfortunately there are plenty on here and elsewhere that don't know what they're doing, don't understand the biology of canines and mix up home brew foods without understanding the importance of balance.

You can feed whatever you want. But hey, don't just take my word for it:

http://www.petfoodre...od/royal-canin/

So the main ingredient in Royal Canin is in fact Maize, which has very low digestibility for canines.

I can feed whatever I want yes. And I feed what a lot of knowledgeable people feed and my dogs do very well on it. There is more than one way to feed a dog a decent balanced diet and it pays to bear that in mind when advising on nutrition.

Royal Canin lists is products by weight after dehydration - a different approach to some other companies. Nonetheless, if people are whelping and raising happy healthy dogs on it, they must be doing something right. And in my breed, that's quite a few people.

Are you breeding and raising sound healthy Bullmastiffs on your preferred diet? If you are then good luck to you - they are not the easiest of breeds to raise sound.

So that post wasn't directed at anyone in particular was it!?

Anyways I try to share my canine nutrition knowledge with people with the best of intent. I have no interest in picking fights or offending. I stand by the above post, there is some diabolically bad advice on nutrition on this and other forums in my opinion.

I'm not a Bullmastiff breeder, I breed Bull Terriers in small numbers. I have a Bullmastiff named Baxter who is a joy to have around.

I don't doubt your dog's are doing fine on Royal Canin. I just firmly believe they could do better. I'm sorry if I offended you.

Sorry to intervene has anyone tried Raw 4 paws (barf) or Canine country barf diets ? I have been looking online both seem to be good quality and reasonable price and they have their nutritional information on their aswell.

Thank you

attached a photo of my pup because she's adorable :)

Hiya, yes you do have an adorable pup there and good on you for looking at alternatives to commercial kibble. Your fur baby will love you for it!

As for the 2 brands of BARF, I can't say I've used them, but a scan of their websites I've noticed that:

raw 4 paws doesn't have a nutritional breakdown, or an ingredients list. This is a red flag for me, and coupled with the lack of ground up bone, calcium and phosphorus levels are a concern. Crushed egg shell appears as the primary calcium source. I suggest you contact them, and ask them for a detailed ingredient list and nutritional breakdown including the ratio of calcium to phosphorus which should be around 1:0.7 If they are unwilling or unable to provide this information then stay away.

With Canine Country the situation is similar, but their Barf appears to contain bones which is a good inclusion. There is still from what I can see on their website a lack of nutritional breakdown and no info re calcium phosphorus ratio. I would contact them and ask exactly the same questions as I've suggested above.

If looking for alternative products I started my raw feeding journey using Big Dog Barf, which I do recommend to anyone that isn't interested in making their own. It's a high quality product, using good ingredients at solid ratios and importantly they publish all ingredients and nutritional info about their food.

Hope this helps, and suggest don't get too stressed about it all, just follow the advice in this post and you will find a food that you are happy with, and that your pup thrives on. Can't stress enough to contact the manufacturers and ask lots of questions, you'll soon work out which company you feel comfortable with.

[laurajm]

Thank you for your help and for putting the effort it !! We decided to try out the canine country but will contact them on their calcium to phosphorus ratio :)

[laurajm]

It is interesting. I don't recall telling anyone they were wrong about anything. Maybe you're just overly sensitive.

Or you have a conveniently short memory.

Unfortunately there are plenty on here and elsewhere that don't know what they're doing, don't understand the biology of canines and mix up home brew foods without understanding the importance of balance.

You can feed whatever you want. But hey, don't just take my word for it:

http://www.petfoodre...od/royal-canin/

So the main ingredient in Royal Canin is in fact Maize, which has very low digestibility for canines.

I can feed whatever I want yes. And I feed what a lot of knowledgeable people feed and my dogs do very well on it. There is more than one way to feed a dog a decent balanced diet and it pays to bear that in mind when advising on nutrition.

Royal Canin lists is products by weight after dehydration - a different approach to some other companies. Nonetheless, if people are whelping and raising happy healthy dogs on it, they must be doing something right. And in my breed, that's quite a few people.

Are you breeding and raising sound healthy Bullmastiffs on your preferred diet? If you are then good luck to you - they are not the easiest of breeds to raise sound.

So that post wasn't directed at anyone in particular was it!?

Anyways I try to share my canine nutrition knowledge with people with the best of intent. I have no interest in picking fights or offending. I stand by the above post, there is some diabolically bad advice on nutrition on this and other forums in my opinion.

I'm not a Bullmastiff breeder, I breed Bull Terriers in small numbers. I have a Bullmastiff named Baxter who is a joy to have around.

I don't doubt your dog's are doing fine on Royal Canin. I just firmly believe they could do better. I'm sorry if I offended you.

Sorry to intervene has anyone tried Raw 4 paws (barf) or Canine country barf diets ? I have been looking online both seem to be good quality and reasonable price and they have their nutritional information on their aswell.

Thank you

attached a photo of my pup because she's adorable :)

Hiya, yes you do have an adorable pup there and good on you for looking at alternatives to commercial kibble. Your fur baby will love you for it!

As for the 2 brands of BARF, I can't say I've used them, but a scan of their websites I've noticed that:

raw 4 paws doesn't have a nutritional breakdown, or an ingredients list. This is a red flag for me, and coupled with the lack of ground up bone, calcium and phosphorus levels are a concern. Crushed egg shell appears as the primary calcium source. I suggest you contact them, and ask them for a detailed ingredient list and nutritional breakdown including the ratio of calcium to phosphorus which should be around 1:0.7 If they are unwilling or unable to provide this information then stay away.

With Canine Country the situation is similar, but their Barf appears to contain bones which is a good inclusion. There is still from what I can see on their website a lack of nutritional breakdown and no info re calcium phosphorus ratio. I would contact them and ask exactly the same questions as I've suggested above.

If looking for alternative products I started my raw feeding journey using Big Dog Barf, which I do recommend to anyone that isn't interested in making their own. It's a high quality product, using good ingredients at solid ratios and importantly they publish all ingredients and nutritional info about their food.

Hope this helps, and suggest don't get too stressed about it all, just follow the advice in this post and you will find a food that you are happy with, and that your pup thrives on. Can't stress enough to contact the manufacturers and ask lots of questions, you'll soon work out which company you feel comfortable with.

Thank you for your help and for putting the effort it !! We decided to try out the canine country but will contact them on their calcium to phosphorus ratio :)

[Dave-o]

As Sandra777 said, proper nutrition in the puppy stage is extremely important for joint health in large breeds.

I agree with sas - excellent dry food recommendations for large breeds.

I was looking into pet mince a few weeks ago, and read some worrying reports - http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/blog/v-i-p-pet-mince-preservative-223/ It can work out cheaper buying human grade mince (I often see it reduced in my local IGA).

As for Royal Canin many dogs do well on it (there's certainly a lot worse foods). Their formulas vary greatly in quality, and when it comes to corn (maize) it's very much down to production quality, and given pet food manufacturers use ingredients such as corn to keep costs down it's often found production quality is poor (cheap).