what kind of dog food

honey612 wrote:when i got honey i DID ask my vet if iiams weight control was good for honey and my vet said that i made a good choice theres my back up.....and i will consider changing her food but my brother also has a rottie mix with german sheppard and my brother feeds her iiams weight control so even if i do decide tochange her food it wont be easy.... i came on this forum to communicate not argue. period end of story i dont wanna hear any more about it if i make my decision when i do its up to me....lets just put this behind us and move on

Your decision and your vet bills.

It's actually very easy to change foods. I just mix equal amounts of the old food with the new food and feed it for about 7 days mixed then switch to the new food on day 8. Very simple and your pug will be healthier with a better quality food.

I don't understand why you asked a question if you didn't want advice and input.

I guess it's time for me to come out of the closet and post my experience. Here is an abbreviated version (introduction only):

How and Why I Raw Feed My Dogs

After eleven years of feeding supposedly high-quality vet-recommended kibble to my pugs, I switched to raw feeding to try to better manage my dog’s extreme allergies and atopical dermatitis which were becoming life-threatening. Kim-Soo had had all the traditional tests, including food screening/elimination (kibble only) and patch tests and it was determined she was allergic to house dust, mites, grass, trees and ragweed, allergens hard for a dog to avoid! For eight years we gave her bi-weekly allergy shots and spent thousands of dollars on vet and specialist visits and medications such as prednisone, antibiotics and cyclosporine. While useful in the very short term, the side effects of some were horrific (that’s another story!), and the allergies persisted.

Within three weeks of switching to raw food, Kimmy’s hot spots and pustules disappeared and her coat became shiny and soft. Within two months, her eye goop had almost disappeared and her chronic ear infections improved dramatically (I finished them off with Blue Powder treatment, a home-made remedy I highly recommend ). Now at 14 years old, she is completely free of allergy symptoms and hasn’t had any medication since she started raw food in the summer of 2005!!! She recently had the best vet checkup results since she was 2 years old.

Since switching, I have done a lot of research and have learned that raw feeding can extend the length and quality of your dog’s life - some say by 30%. I have developed a feeding regimen based and refined on my knowledge to date which I have shared with dozens of people. I am not an expert in nutrition, nor a health professional of any kind, so I urge you to research and experiment for yourself. I just know this works for my dogs. Nevertheless, I have used this feeding regime with my own multiple pugs including fosters and have coached many, many people through the change with excellent results.


My Kimmy is alive today because of raw feeding and because I chose to keep an open mind to the person who suggested it. I hope I can help other puggies in the same way, but cannot emphasize enough that it is important that the reader do their own research. Anyone who is ready to consider this option is welcome to contact me for my full feeding regimen and Breakfast Slop recipe. All free and for the love of the pugs.

honey has never been to the vet other than for her leg issue and for the stuff that she has gotten in to. never for malnutrition. i thought we were all here for the same reason to discuss things about pugs not to gang up on one person.

i was asking what kind of food everyone used not asking for what you thought about what i feed honey.

honey612 wrote: i thought we were all here for the same reason to discuss things about pugs not to gang up on one person.

I thought so too, for the benefit of our pugs and to learn what is healthy for them and not healthy. We're trying to educate you and inform you that the food you are feeding is not the best quality. The rest of us have done our research and not relied on the advice of one or two people. What research have you done?

honey612 wrote:i was asking what kind of food everyone used not asking for what you thought about what i feed honey.

honey612 wrote:feeding your dog raw food is very bad for your dog i just received a web site from one of the members on this forum that tell you all the foods that you should try and keep away from...

I believe you gave your opinion on raw food before anyone gave theirs on what you feed your dog. What's good for the goose ...

honey612 wrote:honey has never been to the vet other than for her leg issue and for the stuff that she has gotten in to. never for malnutrition. i thought we were all here for the same reason to discuss things about pugs not to gang up on one person.

Honey, you have good some REALLY good answers to the question you asked provided by those with a great deal of experience and knowledge. ALL of these responses took time by each poster to write. You know WHY anyone took the time to respond? One reason - everyone on this board loves pugs and wants to see them get the best nutrition, the best care, and have the healthiest life they can.

Feed yourself crap and I won't spend a SECOND writing about it. Feed your pug crap and you will hear about it because education is prevention and, my pug doesn't read.

If you want to hear your vet tell you to feed Science Diet or Iams, pay them a visit - and I do mean PAY. No one is paying me to tell you or anyone else what they want to hear.

honestly i didnt mean for this to escalade and i dont no why i let it go this far but the reason why i said that raw food was very bad for dogs was b/c i thought that everyone meant raw meat....

honey612 wrote:honestly i didnt mean for this to escalade and i dont no why i let it go this far but the reason why i said that raw food was very bad for dogs was b/c i thought that everyone meant raw meat....

It is raw meat. If you don't know what you're doing, it can be bad. That's why it is important to do your research and know what you're doing instead of just going by what someone tells you.

I'll step into this conversation as a person who feeds a very-good-but-not-the-best food to one dog, and a combination of two prescription food to my other. Sammy gets Natural Balance's regular ultra-premium formula in the small bites size. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/UltDog.html This is a food that's been approved for puppies also.

He's an orthopedic nightmare, so good weight control is important for him, but has never had any allergy issues or anything like that. He has, however, had problems with some pretty noxious gas. We experimented with different foods to see what neutralized that issue and made my life more pleasant. In my experience, he's done well on the original Natural Balance formula, but not the duck one. He's done well on the Innova EVO poultry-based formula http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp, but not the red meat one. He got super gassy on Solid Gold's fish-based food, and his stools got very mushy on all the Merrick's flavors that I tried. There are plenty of good brands out there, and it's sometimes a matter of finding the right good brand for your dog. So I usually buy the Natural Balance and buy a bag of EVO every now and then.

Jackson has 2 different medical problems that unfortunately don't have a similar dietary solution. My answer for him has been 2 different prescription diets in rotation. When I look at each individual label, the foods suck! But the end result is a happy healthy pug at a healthy weight with good energy level and good blood work. So I can't complain but so much.

honey612 wrote:when i got honey i DID ask my vet if iiams weight control was good for honey and my vet said that i made a good choice theres my back up.....and i will consider changing her food but my brother also has a rottie mix with german sheppard and my brother feeds her iiams weight control so even if i do decide tochange her food it wont be easy.... i came on this forum to communicate not argue. period end of story i dont wanna hear any more about it if i make my decision when i do its up to me....lets just put this behind us and move on

I agree with everyone else that adjusting portion size is the better option than a weight control food, especialy fora puppy.

Raw meat - in the form of duck, venison, chicken, lamb or beef - is what I feed my dogs. It is prepared with other ingredients in FDA-approved, human-grade facilities then flash frozen. I defrost their meals on a daily basis so it does not spoil.

The other big factor in deciding on food was eliminating those companies that use co-packers and/or were involved in the 2007 pet food contamination that killed many pets.

There is nothing wrong at all with feeding your dog raw meat and other raw foods. It's how they eat in the wild. Their metabolisms are faster so they can digest raw meat and foods without getting sick like humans can get sick. Dogs/wolves were born to eat raw meat, not cooked foods. Humans digest foods differently than dogs. HOWEVER, if you feed a raw diet, the problem is that the human has to be very careful in storing and preparing the raw food. If we don't do it right, we risk getting the dogs sick and also getting us sick.

I would love to feed the pugs a raw diet but we don't do it because I know that my husband and I won't be careful enough to do it safely for everyone. So we did our own research and feed a good quality dry food that we are comfortable with. We're currently feeding California Natural in a single grain and single protein formula because Bruno was starting to have reactions to richer dog foods with lots of ingredients.

thanks gingersnap that what i was exactly looking for in a response...not for people to turn this into a big argument...honey has not gotton any allergies from anything that i have given her

i have another question but i have work in the morning and i have a hard time gettin up as it is so ill talk to everyone tomorrow and hopefully ill have opinions

honey612 wrote:thanks gingersnap that what i was exactly looking for in a response...not for people to turn this into a big argument...honey has not gotton any allergies from anything that i have given her

Well, I'm glad that I can help. Please be aware, though, that some thing that we see in dogs that wouldn't be specifically identified as allergies in humans CAN be a sign of either true allergies or intolerances in dogs. Grains happen to be the most problematic issues. Not all dogs have problems with grains, but many do.

thanks gingersnap have a good night...or morning


i need to get some sleep gnight

smoochieface wrote:. HOWEVER, if you feed a raw diet, the problem is that the human has to be very careful in storing and preparing the raw food. If we don't do it right, we risk getting the dogs sick and also getting us sick.

Kendie, while I agree that you have to be careful about contamination to the humans, it's less of an issue for the dogs as the food goes through their digestive system so fast. The main issue is getting the calcium/phosphorus balance right, but it's really not that hard.

Honey, here's what I feed mine for dinner, each night one of the following: raw chicken (including bones - raw chicken bones, not cooked is fine), raw beef, raw pork (yup), raw turkey, raw duck necks, raw green tripe, frozen sardines (thawed), canned jack mackerel (occasionally, well rinsed of the brine), raw rabbit, raw lamb. I buy most of the stuff at the local grocery store but sometimes go into the city to an ethnic grocery store where they have more variety at cheaper prices. I get the duck necks from the wholesaler who sells whole ducks to supermarkets. I get the green tripe from a farmer who runs a raw food co-op for dogs. For breakfast, I make a "slop" in 3-week batches and defrost each day for each of my 6 pugs. The basis of it is ground chicken bones (looks like hamburger) which I buy in bulk at an abattoir, liver and other organs, pureed veggies (including pumpkin), no-fat yogurt, coconut oil, thawed cranberries, garlic (yes, it's okay in moderation), raw eggs (I'm aware of the salmonella concern but don't worry about it because of the fast rate of digestion), fresh parsley, kelp and apple cider vinegar.

I have researched each ingredient (including which veggies/fruits are good and not good for dogs) and like the fact I know exactly what they are eating. There are no grains, no additives, no chemicals and no road-kill or toxins like pentobarbital (the drug used for euthanasia) like in some commercial dog foods (http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=359).

I simply adjust portion sizes if they are gaining or losing weight. Since my pugs are seriously geriatric (average age of my oldest 5 is 12 1/2) and mostly disabled, I am unable to regulate weight by level of exercise alone.

When I got Penny Lane, a bit over 4 years ago, her coat was very coarse, her eyes were not so good, and she had an almost permanent ear infection. About 3 years ago, I switched her to a grain-free kibble, Orijen Senior. I tried her on raw, and she didn't like it! Such a diva! In June, I switched her to another grain-free, Taste of the Wild fish. Her coat is now black velvet, her eyes (she has pigmentary keratitis) are not getting any worse, and she hasn't had an ear infection in almost two years. What I have found is that if she eats anything with wheat in it, she gets a terrible ear infection. Yeast with bacterial overgrowth. And I also found by trial and error that corn and soy give her gas that would blow out the windows and knock a buzzard off a dump truck. Now she doesn't toot. Much. And when she does, I don't have to open all the doors and windows. So I am a strong proponent of grain-free food for all breeds. It works for me and for everyone else I know who feeds grain-free. Just my two cents.

honey612 wrote:honey has never been to the vet other than for her leg issue and for the stuff that she has gotten in to. never for malnutrition. i thought we were all here for the same reason to discuss things about pugs not to gang up on one person.

Just FYI, if a dog is being fed, but not fed quite right, it takes a long time before they hit malnutrition but doesnt mean it's not happening by being deficient of different things.

Look, you obviously cant see this isnt a "gang up" but a place of concern where people are just asking you to open your mind and read up and learn about foods and know what you're feeding and not just get whatever for her. No one has asked you to go raw or feed this or that, but there is a consensus of care because we all know you can do better for your dog and there are many many options of feeding her better. This IS a discussion. Yes, most of it is directed at you but it is still a discussion to you not an assault. It is a pleading urging of just listening to different views, researching yourself and understanding nutrition for the sake of the betterment of dogs.

Just get passed what your beliefs are just to be open to listen and consider what we are saying.

You are young person and a new pug owner, but that doesn't excuse being close minded or that you dont have the ability to read and think for yourself past what a "professional" tells you. Even my own vet admitted Hills Science Diets wanted to give him profit for selling their food when he first practiced and thats why he chose to go Holistic and not get into this for the money but for the good of dogs. He had to go get a specialty education in pet nutrition because extensive pet nutrition is NOT covered in school. Vets are "general medicine" to dogs like "doctors" are for us- there are many specialist out there. I don't ask my doctor to tell me what to eat (and they have spewed frankly a lot of "brand" bull shit at me) , I go to a specialist a nutritionist for that and get an entirely different answer because its coming from a person educated in the subject.

I am only a few months older than you and I decided to just not pigeon hole my beliefs to what I know about dogs, I was giving a alright kibble (Science Diet) thought it's all the same and its vet recommended and it says so on the bag so I thought food is food..... and then I got curious what other people do and just read....then I realized I can do better. I was 13 when I decided this for my pets! I have had a professional show dog and have taken in exotic animals like sea turtles and monkeys and birds and horses so even though I am as young as you, I have had a world of experience and so has many people here and learned vet care from vet tech and vet friends and family, but that isnt what makes me a good owner that I managed to have animals stay alive and have "experience" having them , it wasnt until I researched that I became a better pet owner.

Pugs are not one of those dogs that is easily and magical to take care of. They come with many many joys but many possible health problems. If we all love our pugs like we say we do, we try to be the best parents to them right?

Give them everything in our power to make sure they are happy and healthy. That is all that has been said over and over and over. Do research. Keep an open mind and see if there is something better out there.

If you still think we're a bunch of ignorant fools, and refuse to even try to think for yourself and learn a thing or two from researching, then I feel sorry that this day has come on PA. We have been drama free and have been changing pugs lives by helping each other be better owners and want people to go forward in education not sit like a rock somewhere or go backwards. Today is the day I was afraid will eventually come that someone just wants us to "leave them alone" cuz were "ganging" on them and not really listening to what we're saying that we are concerned and just hope you try to be a responsible owner who learns to read about dogs and not just wing it by what the vet says. I'm sure you love your pug more than we do, yet we are the ones who want the best for it and are worried about her nutrients because we care? It has perplexed my mind how could that be that we're a holes for being caring people who KNOW there are better foods out there through YEARS of research yet just tell you to please do your own instead of JUST listening to us either. We believe in second opinions, third opinions...13ths opinions before making choices.

My Brother in Law is in advertising and was horrified how bad this
stuff was yet he was given an assignment to twist and sensationalize dog foods to be reliable brands. He turned it down because it was BS that he didn't have the heart to go behind for a fat paycheck just like my Holistic Vet did.

If you don't understand it all, get your mommy to help you. And Im not saying that in an insulting way, my mom is an educated woman in medical and when I don't understand some things I ask. I am your age and even though I have been in accelarated academics/AP/Gate/mensa/ and tested by specialists in IQ blah blah there are some things I still dont get on my own. I am NOT all knowing and not even smart despite what tests say because there is always going to be a topic I am ignorant in. am I an ignorant person? No because difference is I chose not to stay naive about topics I don't know. when they get as complex as raw diets I sometimes am confused at the calculations and what I am reading, I ask my mom to read it with me and explain it to me so that I become as learned as she is. I'm 20 but I'll never stop asking her stuff because I know it just makes me a smarter person to listen to answers. And even then I get second opinions because even my mom admits, she has been out of practice in medical for a long time that she does not know everything and has encouraged me to be smarter than what I know.

There are educated enthusiasts (did you know most of us here are people in rescue, healthy pet food boutique, show owners, vet backgrounds and educated in pet nutrition? Yeah, shocking we arent just some random know nothings ) and they simply just want to share what they know with you as they had with me.

I am a better smarter young owner because I kept an open mind.

What possible hurt can it do to just look and read a few resources and listen to different opinions?

To end up being wrong in this topic can only benefit Honey in the end. To be an educated young person in the wellbeing of pets? I say researching is something to be PROUD of, you are learning and you are doing something for your love of your dog. (I am proud that I am a young girl yet, I show parents and grandparents to research) It's not to be something SCARED or REFUSING of because then we just become ignorant people which is what popular commercial dog foods hope us to be.