food?

dajagadajaga
edited December 2008 in Shiba Inu (柴犬)
i know there are prolly a lot of posts on this matter. right now i dont havve much time on my hands.
any ways is there that much of a difference between say a 4 star and a 6 star canned or dry food. i mean i wont skimp on the quality of food to save a few $. because i sure as hell wont eat shitty food for my meals so why should a dog.

2. if i was going to do a raw diet only is there any thing else i should give the shiba or is the meat enough. also if i was feeding it fish what about the small bones will they be able to eat em or do i have to take em out,

3. also about chicken. can salmonella effect dogs.

4. what do you do about messy eaters. like if im feeding a shiba raw and it decides to get it all over itself.

thanks.
when i get some free time this coming week i will look in to it a bit more

Comments

  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    edited November -1
    Hi welcome, this thread link below will be a great starting off point for you.

    http://www.nihonken.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=1665
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    regarding raw - you MUST do research before jumping into the diet. The most basic way to put the concept is that you feed a dog raw meat but doing the research will enable you to answer the more difficult questions because just plain ol' meat is not enough. Raw requires you to make balance sheets to help determine if you need supplements (ESPECIALLY for a growing puppy) because all nutrients (vitamins/minerals) need to be accounted for and at healthy levels. The raw diet is a balanced diet when done correctly.
    Can you find a holistic veterinarian? They can help you create a balanced diet. Also do some online research and check out Dogster.com's raw forum - there are fantastic and highly educated RAW people there.

    Until you do that research, perhaps you can look into feeding something like Nature's Variety medallions because they are already balanced with meat, organs, bone, minerals and vitamins.

    If you decide to do kibble, check out dogfoodproject.com. From my own limited experience only, I've found that a grain free fish protein based food is the best for my shiba inus. There are a lot of food types out there, and only doing research will help you determine what is best for your dog.
  • KaddyKaddy
    edited December 2008
    I actually looked up the holistic vet in town and their website had recipes... I was kind of surprised to find that most recipes were grain based (oats, rice, bread, couscous and 'generic kibble' as bases for recipes). I'm assuming this is unusual, and we're not in the right place to consider going raw at this point anyway, but just thought I would mention it.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    About the holsitic vet diet, I am going to assume (probably not true for some here), that most people see holistic vets after being referred to them for some illness and don't usually go there as a starting point (would see a regualr vet first for routine or acute care). Many of the illnesses I know at my clinic we would maybe refer someone to a holisitc vet for, would be renal failure, liver disease and immune deficiencies as examples. These conditions, aside from cancers, are usually best treated diet wise with low protein diets or single source protein, so that's my guess why that particular holistic vet has lots of grain based diets.
  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    edited November -1
    My regular vet sent me to a holistic vet to help expedite Piglets recovery post knee surgery. I now continue to see her for both my dogs for overall wellness maintenance. I continue to see my regular vet for shots, emergencies, and surgery.

    My holistic vet is 100% opposed to grain in canine diets. But I would assume that just like in the standard veterinary practices there are going to be differing philosophies.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    I guess I took for granted that [the two i saw] holistic vets were *open* to if not pro-raw/homebased/organic/grain free diets.

    There are canine nutritionists as well than can help formulate a balanced diet and may even do online consultations.
    So check out dogfoodproject.com to get a better idea about that.
  • TeamLaikaTeamLaika
    edited November -1
    dajaga:
    1. Probably depends on who is handing out the stars.

    2. Please do not feed your dog solely meat.

    3. Dogs are not immune to food borne illness. Read this about a recent recall from Bravo http://www.bravorawdiet.com/recallinfo.html

    4. Most people I know that feed raw (or supplement with recreational bones like myself), feed in crates, on linoleum, or outside.

    Please read this
    http://www.petdiets.com/homemade/problems.asp

    There are many commercially available raw diets. Eg. Nature's Variety

    If you wish to make your own, this is a decent starting point.
    Note that you need to get and feed the supplement!
    http://balanceit.com/
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