Feeding Raw

[Exo]

The staple ingredient of my dogs' diets is Orijen Six Fresh Fish. I also feed cooked chicken and rice, various veggies (carrots seem to be the favorite), apples, and yogurt. The also get dehydrated chicken breast and dehydrated sweet potatoes as a treat. One of my dogs has severe food allergies: no wheat, corn, soy, beets or rye. It has been challenging to keep up with her diet, but after finding the Orijen food, things have been much less complicated If you are new to feeding raw items, please be cautious about certain fruits and vegetables that are harmful: avocado, onion, garlic, and grapes are at the top of the list.

Garlic never hurt my dogs, I think they even use it as a flea remedy and many dog foods have it in it...

Don't have to worry about onions, all my dogs hated them.

 

[Shell]

Garlic never hurt my dogs, I think they even use it as a flea remedy and many dog foods have it in it...

Don't have to worry about onions, all my dogs hated them.

Having been a vet tech for 7 years, I can confirm that garlic is not actually harmful to dogs (at least not in small quantities, like whats in some foods and homemade recipes.) All the others Ms. X listed are though, as well as tomatoes and a few others.

Garlic is not an effective flea control (may deter them a bit but not actually keep the dog flea free) but it is in many dog foods, and is quite good for the coats. Although one of the homemade diets my lab was on had garlic in it, and it did give him quite a strong odour.

One of the favorite tricks of the vet I used to work for and my new vet is to add a little garlic powder (or just garlic, wahtever is easier) to kibble or homemade foods when a dog is picky. We also used to use a little bit on homemade bland diets for upset stomach just to make it a little more enticing for picky dogs.

I do know that alot of my clients were under the impression that is was bad, and according to my boss it was one of those old wives tales (like a dog dragging it's bum on the floor means worms, when it typically means impacted anal glands.) Anyway, just wanted to give my knowledge on that subject

 

[Ms.X]

Garlic may be fine in smaller amounts, but it still has the potential to cause hemolytic anemia. Cats tend to be more sensitive than dogs, but in larger doses, it is indeed toxic to our canine companions.
www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/c-vetm0805_562-566.pdf

 

[Shell]

Garlic may be fine in smaller amounts, but it still has the potential to cause hemolytic anemia. Cats tend to be more sensitive than dogs, but in larger doses, it is indeed toxic to our canine companions.

Good point about cats, forgot to mention that, and yes large doses aren't healthy for dogs. I should have been more clear on that

I would never advise adding it to a diet without checking with a vet on how much is an appropriate amount for a dog's size, just like any supplements/meds. In small doses many things have benefits, larger doses have the potential for disaster.

 

[Ms.X]

It's not that you weren't clear, I just think that most people don't realize that it would take a larger amount to cause the same symptoms in dogs.

www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/c-vetm0805_562-566.pdf

 

[Shell]

It's not that you weren't clear, I just think that most people don't realize that it would take a larger amount to cause the same symptoms in dogs.

www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/c-vetm0805_562-566.pdf

True and good article. I have a very similar one only in print not on my computer. It's somewhere in my work files lol I think I need to scan all the stuff I have, could come in handy.

 

[Exo]

Now they are saying that tomatoes are poisonous? If so, my dogs would have been dead a million times over...

 

[Ms.X]

Now they are saying that tomatoes are poisonous? If so, my dogs would have been dead a million times over...

Actually, tomatine (an alkaloid related to solanine that can be potentially toxic), is metabolized as the fruit ripens, so ripe tomatoes should not cause any issues.

 

[Exo]

Actually, tomatine (an alkaloid related to solanine that can be potentially toxic), is metabolized as the fruit ripens, so ripe tomatoes should not cause any issues.

Oh, so no fried green tomatoes for the dog, simple enough. The tomatoes I always used have been cherry tomatoes.

 

[Shell]

Now they are saying that tomatoes are poisonous? If so, my dogs would have been dead a million times over...

My old Golden Retriever I had growing up should have died a million times too. I had her long before I was tech and we didn't know that grapes were a no no back then. That dog ate grapes like they were going out of style, and never had an issue. She also got into a whole mess of chocolate once (the quality dark stuff too, which is worse then cheap, crappy chocolate) and never so much as even looked like she felt sick lol.

I just had an afterthought. I think the reason alot of vets will just say "this is bad" (tomatoes for example) is because it's easier then saying this is ok in this amount or only when it's ripe etc. I'm NOT saying that's ok, I always tried to explain things in detail to my clients, even though my bosses didn't always (and I'm sorry for neglecting to explain things really well here.) Although, there are always people who no matter how well you explain things will still do the wrong thing, and I think thats why it's "easier" for a vet to say, just don't feed this, it's not good for them. About the only "bad" one that my bosses would say was ok, was garlic. We always made sure to tell clients how much was ok, and explain the risks of too much though. I think the only reason they ever mentioned that one and didn't just write it off with the rest of them, is because it can be helpful in adding a tiny bit of flavor for really picky dogs.

I find there is a fair bit of confusion over "people foods" and what is ok and what isn't. I know alot of different vets who take the same stance as my former employers, and I know others who do go into detail with every single food out there that can be questionable. It gets a little confusing at times for people to try to decipher why one says one thing and one says another, when really it's a lack of information being passed along, and differing opinions on how to pass along that information. I take it for granted sometimes that I know the do's and don'ts and the how much is ok's.

I hope this makes sense, I worked tonight and should have gone to bed about an hour ago lol

 

[Laceface]

Some stuff I wish people would just not give them. Like alcohol. Everything I read says that if they are sensitive, a very small amount can be incredibly dangerous. Yet, some people giggle and get their animals drunk.

Also, my mom's dog ate a pound of chocolate last year, got horribly sick, but pulled through. Now, they give him bits of chocolate all the time since "he can handle it." Sigh. Why not just not give it to him, since it clearly makes him ill?

 

[Shell]

Some stuff I wish people would just not give them. Like alcohol. Everything I read says that if they are sensitive, a very small amount can be incredibly dangerous. Yet, some people giggle and get their animals drunk.

Also, my mom's dog ate a pound of chocolate last year, got horribly sick, but pulled through. Now, they give him bits of chocolate all the time since "he can handle it." Sigh. Why not just not give it to him, since it clearly makes him ill?

Oh it drives me crazy the people who think giving booze to their dogs is funny :wall:

Also, someone really needs to explain to your mom that while yes he may seemingly be able to "handle" small amounts of chocolate, it's still really not good for him. The thing with chocolate is that there are so many different factors as to whether a dog will get really ill, just a bit of GI upset or nothing. It depends on size/weight of dog, how much chocolate is ingested and the quality of chocolate among other things. No amount of chocolate is good for them, you just won't always have a severely ill dog from it.

 

[Laceface]

I've told her that, she just doesn't seem to understand. She thinks that since he got over it the one time, little bits will be ok. That dog is spoiled- in a very bad way. He doesn't eat dog food anymore- he won't. He gets leftovers, peanut butter sandwiches, whatever they decide to give him. Somehow, he is a very tall, healthy looking dog- with incredibly manners despite it all.