Perceval said:
Hey Z, what do you, or did you, feed your dog(s) on a daily basis?
Huh, I guess this cannot be answered in one sentence :)
I feed my dogs BARF ( biologically appropriate raw food) meaning raw meat, organs and bones and some vegetables (20 % and usually less in the summer), this is their staple diet. Sometimes sardines, and eggs as supplemental treat. Butter - whenever I prepare food for myself which includes butter they line up in the kitchen waiting for their chunk.
Occasionally I give them kefir which I produce myself from unpasteurized goat milk.
In winter I give them small quantities of sour craut mixed with their meat.
I also occasionally add to their meals Golden paste ( turmeric cooked in coconut oil).
I give them daily 1 capsule of omega 3 - holland and berret with 500 mg of DHA and EPA, and I occasionally give Milk Thistle powder, especially few days before and after I treat for worms or external parasites.
As far as the meat goes there is an excellent food on the local market called Barf Menu which is deep frozen and contains human consumption grade quality meat from Germany ( venison, lamb, turkey, duck- there is also beef and green tripe but i find these too rich - causing loose stools so I avoid them). This food is perfectly balanced as it contains 40% meat, 20% ground bones and cartilage (mostly sternum and ribs), 20%organs (liver, heart, kidneys) and 20% vegetables. It is usually thawed in the fridge 24 h and then left on the room temperature for few hours. It smells and looks delicious so much so that even I am tempted sometimes.
The only problem with BARF menu is - it is pretty pricey. 1 kg pack costs 6.5 euros and this is what I basically need per day as I have two dogs, 25 and 13 kg of BW. This is usually served as evening meal, in the morning bigger dog gets 2 raw chicken wings ( in summer one as he is super lazy in the heat) or 250 grams of chicken necks, while the little one gets half of the same.
because of the price I usually feed this food 15-20 days a month. On other days I feed either chicken mince @ 1€ per kg ( obtained from local eco friendly farmer) which includes bones and organs or pork mince for dogs @70c perk kg from local butcher but these are not ideal as they are usually too rich in bones in case of chicken ( which will cause very hard stools) or in organs in case of pork which causes very soft stools.
Also one day a week they get to fast and they dont seem to mind at all. On a day of the fast I give them ( or rather shove it down their throat) Aloe vera gel, from freshly peeled leaf for colonic cleanse. It is also supposed to be rich in all sorts of microelements, minerals and vitaminsHalf of a big leaf for each dog.
FWIW I might add personal observation here:
My second addition Jojo(Mojo) AKA Serjoga AKA Srećko was pretty unattractive and scrawny looking jack russel/fox terrier mix when I first got him, his previous owners fed exclusively Hills dry food. After few months on my "cousine" Jojo blossomed into very attractive lean and mean power machine, he is pure muscle now. The biggest surprise is that his legs grew longer and funnily enough even his snout is now longer. He was 3 years old when I got him so this is not about normal growth. This transformation was so profound and obvious that his previous owners are gobsmacked every time they see him and they decided to switch their dogs to raw. When I first got him he would never make eye contact, and his owners told me that he was always like that, now he is constantly making eye contact.
For me Jojo's transformation was most vivid example how important the food is in order for a dog to reach its full physical potential and gene expression. And now I look at every dog on kibbles I meet with different eyes, I see what they are and what they could be.
Dogs are resilient and highly adaptable creatures they will survive on anything including dry food, cardboard, even wood but for how long and in what form that's entirely different question.
