Kibble/RAW/Homemade....confused please help - Page 1

Congradulations on your pup and may he have a long and healthy life.When dogs are this young its very important to make sure they are getting EXACTLY what they need (calcium percentage and ratio,proper salts,fat,protein etc).I would leave him on the RC30 for now and then go to the RC Large Breed Puppy 32 till the dog is at least 1 yaer old.You could leave him on it till he's 18 months I beleive but you could then perhaps look at different options.For now I cant stress enough,DONT mess with his diet.If its working dont change cause it could cause you other problems.I am NOT a fan of RC lately cause they keep screwing with all these formula changes without the poor dog owner knowing.They make millions of dollars and STILL have to screw with the formulas.Having said that I have to also say that for a young dog I would feel comfortable feeding there food cause they do take a lot of factors into consideration even though there choices of some ingredients suck.They DO have a lot of research though and cause of that I would NOT mess with this young dogs food.As I already said,you can always do different down the road when the dog is past this important developmental stage.Good luck and be prepared for others to jump in and argue what I have stated.

I used to feed kibble, first the Innova line "California Natural" when I had a dog with food allergies, then kicked it up a notch to go grain-free with Innova EVO.  The price of quality kibble kept increasing over the years until it became comparable to feeding raw.  Now I feed a raw diet.  I got set up as a distributor with Oma's Pride and now sell to my club mates - wholesale pricing and buying in bulk (we have 3 freezers)  has made feeding a good raw mix affordable. 

I thought I was doing good when feeding the EVO, my dogs were doing so well I thought it couldn't get any better.  Then switched to raw and I'll never go back.

A good quality kibble is not "bad" for the dogs, but if you're going to feed kibble you might want to think about a grain-free option.  There any several good brands that are grain free.

If you choose to go raw, a little planning and forethought is helpful here to.  If you just show up at the butcher's and say "give me what's cheap and available" you might not get a balanced diet for your dog.  That's why I personally like the "mixes" that we get -  a blend of ground meat, bone, organs, and veggies.  We rotate our dogs through 3 different protein sources (chicken, turkey, and lamb) and all 3 mixes have different veggies. 

This is just my perspective and I know other folks will not agree.  You may try the raw diet on your dog and then make up your own mind.  The very fact that you are asking these questions puts you ahead of most dog owners anyway.  Good for you to be thinking what's best for your dog!

Yvette

Troy,

Your guardian angle will not come down from the heavens and announce what you should feed your dog.

There is no more certainty about what you should feed your dog than there is for what you feed yourself or your children.

We are all just doing the best we can with limited knowlege or limited budget and no certainty.

Many intelligent people reach different conclustions.

I feed Pharaoh chicken quarters, green trip mix, patties of commerrcially prepared raw frozen burgers and occasionally moistened kibble.

Michele

raw

easy to digest, high bioavailability of nutrients, no fillers, no grain, no corn, no chemicals, no crap.  you know exactly what goes into your dog, and you will be overjoyed at the results.  it takes a little time to learn and understand, but it's fairly easy and doesn't take a rocket scientist to feed.

very few vets will recommend it because they end up losing money.  i can refer you to a few vets that recommend raw if you are interested, and then you can hear right from the horses mouth.