[Guest]

ON Opinion Is kibble better to feed than "real food"

Please explain your reason for your answer..

I am considerong switching to made meals for my dogs and want opinions..

 

[JeepKuntry]

When you say "real food", I assume you are talking about RAW feeding.  You'll get alot of different opinions.  #1 thing is to feed food that your dogs stomachs can handle while giving them the best of quality.  Personally I feed our two Solid Gold for the time being.  I will be switching soon because I think there quality is going down.  My preference is kibble, mainly due to simplicity.

 

[tootsie]

My opinion.....I think it all depends on what you are comfortable with feeding. You can feed kibble, home cooking, or raw. I tend to stay with the kibble, basically just for the ease of it. I have a hard time cooking for the family, let alone the dog! I would like to try raw, but I have 2 little skin kids in the house and I am not comfortable with the idea of bacteria or salmenella germs from raw meat on my dog or around the house with the kids. So...for now, it's kibble!  :wink:

 

[Guest]

Thats good. My financial budget just ook a dump and I dont want to substitute good food for no name kibble if RAW as it is called is better

 

[HannaBanana]

You can get answers all over the board on this topic.  Nutrition IMO is like religion.  Everyone follows their own beliefs and not belief one is entirely wrong.

I feed RAW however to do it right you have to know what you are doing.   So kibble is more convient to some.   I always say that you need to do research, research and research, read everything there is out there on all topics.  Then base your theory on what you have read.  

There are also factors involved such as availabilitiy, alergies, price and what not.

 

[Kate]

I agree with Heather - all kinds of ideas and plans out there to choose from.  Just pick what you are comfortable with and what works for your dog(s).

 

[Barbs2Ks]

If I had the time, I would like to try raw but as things are now I prefer kibble.

 

[Guest]

OK... Maybe someone can tell me a good source for information on what exactly a boxer needs to survivr and be healthy as far as nutrients go... Any resources or recomended reading is helpful at this point

 

[HannaBanana]

-why dont we start with what you are feeding now or have fed?   Its a good starting point.   What are the qualities you like about the food, and what made you chose it.

From there we can see what you need to to to make it better or if it is fine and does not need any tweaking but what you can add to it to make it better.

 

[HannaBanana]

Or you can PM me what you are feeding and I can look at it off thread    :lol:

 

[Guest]

Anyone else jumping in ? I DID PM YOU BTW

 

[sully]

I feed my dog a steady diet of Doritoes.  He's as big as a house!

(We've had a million threads about this, search the archives)

 

[Guest]

I am doing that now... Finding the right one is the battle

 

[sully]

Raw is probably the best thing for them but I'm just not ready to store raw food and have it in contact with bowls, on the floor, on the carpet, and my dogs mouth and paws.  I have a hard enough time cleaning up after myself without having to worry about food poisoning.  

Luckily all kibble is not created equally so a human-grade kibble is a decent alternative.  

But yeah, just logically, raw food is most likely the most natural and healthy food.

 

[HannaBanana]

Just got home from the office will reply to your PM in 2 minutes!

 

[Isabella]

In my opinion kibble is ok if you feed a premium kibble & add fresh meat & veggies...I feed kibble that way and it works well for my dog. Fresh food will always beat out a bag of kibble that was made in a plant somewhere, but it is still more conveinant then cooking meals!  Kibble is higher in carbs due to grains used to actually make the kibble to. If your dog is sensitive to certain grains "grain free' versions of kibble such as Orijen & Evo are available.  They use potato starch to hold thier kibble together. My friend uses Orijen and LOVES it..and so does her dog!

I know alot of folks who cook meals for their dogs  (following a balanced recipe of course) using fresh foods.  Others use base mixes such as Dr. Harveys Canine Health Or Sojos and just add fresh meat (makes life a little easier!)


Raw is also very popular and is considered one of (if not the healthiest) way to feed your dog. Primal makes it very easywith patties, nuggets & chubs. all you do is defrost it and feed. Bravo is also a good one, just make sure you add some salmon oil to it.

Feeding raw can be even easier (but a little more costly!) by using dehydrated raw food....no trying to find room in your freezer (or remembering to actually defrost the meat!!) Honest Kitchen, Wysong have good ones...

Honestly I say whatever works well for your dog is what is the correct way of feeding.

 

[Catosmommy]

I think both way is good. However if you are going to feed kibble, you should choose a brand with natural ingredients. For puppies do not go over 27 % protein. For adult dogs, you should choose one with high protein and not alot of grain ( No corn). Some of the brands you can choose from: EVO and Orijen. There is another thread about ingredients and percentages and stuff. You should go check it out.

 

[Nexu]

I'm perfectly comfortable with my feeding plan which is probably 90% kibble and 10% "human food", although I rarely feed anything raw.  Typically once (maybe twice) per week she'll get something like a can of mackeral or sardines, a lightly scrambled egg, some ham/turkey or chicken breast, liver, she actually likes bananas & apples & carrots so she gets those as snacks, etc...