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Inadvertent promotion for raw feeding

Basenji Feeding
  • If ever there was a video that did more to promote feeding your dog high quality kibble, if not raw, here's one…

    I guess it's from a Discovery Channel program about how stuff is made:

    How Pet Food Is Made

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqp4Rm1LuBo

    Some highlights:

    "It's the stuff of sophisticated nutritional science…"

    "Wanna bet some dogs and cats eat healthier than their owners?"

    "... but the basic ingredients that factories grind up to make dog and cat food are generally similar. First, CORN KERNELS."

    "As the continuous stream of shaped mixture exits the die, a spinning knife cuts it into pieces."

    "Once the pieces exit the dryer, they enter a revolving drum where they're sprayed with fat and flavoring. The fat is designed to add food energy, while the flavoring gives the bland pieces an appetizing odor and taste."

    … Something seems to be missing from this kibble (rated at 2 stars on dogfoodanalysis.com, FWIW). That is... where's the meat?? I guess it's sprayed on or something?

  • Heh, I come from a culinary tradition where fish heads, chicken heads, and chicken feet are considered fit for human consumption (I've eaten my share of the first, but never developed a taste for the latter two). But the point is taken – the definition of "meat" contained in dog food is also highly dubious!

    So again... where's the meat? ;)

  • Im so glad I feed my dogs a raw diet, I know exactly what they are getting!

  • I use either high quality grain-free kibble or Raw for Kananga. Usually 1 meal of each, per day.

    I would never give him anything of lesser quality. Makes me happy knowing he very well may live to be a bit older by having quality meals. :)

  • I also give my girls high quality dry food, and raw veggies and meats, but it makes me wonder sometimes how come when we were little, our family dogs basically ate what we did, leftover of course, and managed long, healthy lives…....

  • I once bought a book, 'The Food Dogs Die For' - after page 1 I stopped reading it was very revealing about manufactured feeds - a bit too much for me!

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  • Raw feeding programs

    Basenji Feeding
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    R
    we still have "butchers" here in Australia. these are usually local shops, that sell meat. After they have cut up the large sides of beef, they are left with some bones. The bones you are after are the breast bone, which is usually discarded as waste, but is good for dogs. Get them to cut the bone (which is about 1 metre (about 1 yard) long), into the size that is good (mine are cut into chunks about 7.5cm (about 3 inches)) or whatever size you want. The cutting is done on a bandsaw so no effort on their behalf. The advantage is that there is no debris left for the motor mower to fling at your windows, or for insects to settle on. Even at the supermarkets there are some to be had, but find out from the meat section when they get deliveries. You will pay more at the supermarkets, but you should not pay more than necessary.
  • How much to feed a puppy?

    Basenji Feeding
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    TimesthemythT
    http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/ is really good for breaking down ingredients…..I mean they categorize tons of different brands fairly well and explain how they came to that conclusion. Costco has some cheap "good" options so I hear. It really is worth it to invest in a high protein (and high fiber) food; I only feed my 37 lb. dog a little less than half a cup of taste of the wild twice a day, and my 21 lb. dog gets 1/4 cup x 2 times a day. My little dog had ribs showing until I switched her from the corn based diet her breeder had her on to TOTW. Not to mention she was crapping like a million times a day, and had absolutely disgusting skin. Corn is absolutely terrible - goes right through them and they end up looking really skinny but real 'grain's are notorious for causing allergies. ...... With just my 37 lb. dog and a 30ish lb bag of taste of the wild ($ 55 dollars here in Alaska, so cheaper elsewhere) lasted well into the third month. So, that's about maybe 22 bucks a month [overestimation] spent on food for one dog…..which is pretty affordable really. And, of course, most brands are cheaper in the lower states anyways, possible to find even cheaper brands that are healthier than Eukanuba.
  • 0 Votes
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    dmeyD
    every time I hear things like that about raw feeding I ask myself the same questions.. what about Prime rib? what about steak served rare?. what about carpaccio, steak tartare, sushi,. and all kinds of meat and vegetables we eat raw..and like you mention. what about everyday handling of meat by.. uh everyone?
  • Raw food

    Basenji Feeding
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    L
    We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
  • Hints on Feeding

    Basenji Feeding
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    DebraDownSouthD
    Nom, if you buy in bulk and freeze, raw isn't really expensive. I can get chicken backs at about 29 cents a pound!
  • Raw bones

    Basenji Feeding
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    NerdyDogOwnerN
    Gizmo is loving his raw bone from the butchers experience. He has had 2 so far. The rib bone goes down nicely, and I have not seen it break into any sharp shards at all. But I still take it away once it is down to a small enough size so that he has the whole thing in his mouth and is chewing at it with is head up high. I don't want him to get too over excited and try to swallow it. Today I was going to mix it up by giving him a rawhide bone instead…he just sniffed it and looked at me as if saying "Where is the good stuff!?!" :D