What's the best feed for an older hound? He's making 13 this year and I decided to put him inside with the family. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks..
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What's the best feed for an older hound? He's making 13 this year and I decided to put him inside with the family. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks..
A good balanced raw diet is very good for an old dog.
Feeding raw and some cooked fish and sweet potato helped my 14 yr old bulldog live longer, until cancer got her in the end. Feeding raw to one old dog is not that expensive and it is really much better for them. I fed raw ground venison & bone, and raw ground quail since she could not eat chicken.
I also supplemented with lots of salmon oil and some coconut oil. I did give her some canned jack mackerel and cooked sweet potato which were easy for her to digest. But the raw meat was the bulk of her diet.
You can buy the frozen Nature's Variety raw in most areas and it is a good food. I used the Blue Ridge Beef frozen raw because I can buy it for less than $2 a pound locally.
If you don't want to feed raw, a high quality kibble like Fromm with some canned fish and/or cooked meats is better than just kibble. Older dogs don't need the high protein that is in many foods so you'd want to feed one with is 24% protein or less. Add the oils no matter what diet you feed.
What's he eating now? And how is his health?
He's eating a 24/20 high protein kibble with the rest of the yard. I was thinking of trying a grain free kibble. He's real health at the time. Just drop two litters of six pups. I was thinking about a better natural kibble.
Well that is good that he is healthy. At that age it might be worth have your vet run a blood panel to see if there is anything hiddin that would show up, like a liver problem, etc.
Feeding a high quality kibble is good but feeding a raw diet is better. Even just supplementing with raw is a benefit to a dog's health.
I used to feed my old dog a raw chicken thigh, bone in, in the morning and a half scoop of good kibble at night and she did excellent on that diet for years. I did add the oils too and she had a few table scraps at times.
Here is a useful site about grading dog foods --
http://www.reviews.com/dog-food/
It gives a good run down on the foods with more meat in them and made by companies that had not had a lot of recalls.
I have been feeding Earthborn and Fromm to my new pup and both are high quality kibbles. I also feed her some of the Blue Ridge Beef raw Puppy Mix which is an excellent raw food.
So you might consider added some raw meats to his diet and trying a better quality kibble, and adding the salmon oil and coconut oil, both of which are very helpful to an older dog.
The BEST food for your dog is the raw food as SGC stated.
You keep talking "kibble" ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooster
The term "best food" and "kibble" are mutually-exclusive.
The best you can do is NOT kibble, because kibble is NOT the best.
Understand This basic Fact: Little, dry, brown pellets will never constitute "the best" in canine nutrition :idea:
If you actually think little, dry, brown pellets are "as nutritious" as the natural, raw ingredients they were before being cooked down to little dry, brown pellets ... then you're NOT thinking at all.
The entire point of feeding raw is NOT to cook all of the nutrients out of the feed, but to keep all of the subtle micro-nutrients intact, by feeding the best food items in their most nutritious form: RAW.
That is how nature intended dogs to eat :idea:
I have videos and articles all over this website, and have painstakingly written (and videoed) the differences ... explaining "why" ... but I can't make you read the articles, I can't make you watch the videos, and I can't make you follow the recommendations ...
That part is on you.
Jack
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I didn't come here to get bashed on. But thanks for the replies SGC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooster
Who bashed you?
You asked what the best food was, you were told what the best food was, and you went back to asking about "kibble."
Show me one word where you were "bashed" :rolleyes:
I merely tried to shake the fog out of your head, so you could see straight.
If you want the BEST food, forget kibble, stop asking about kibble, and learn about raw.
This isn't "bashing" you, it is simply a reality you need to accept.
If this hurts your feelings, you are overly-sensitive.
Jack
I think its funny how sensitive alot of these members are.This is the best board out there because bullshit is not allowed.No kids arguing over stuff they cant back up.Site would be alot better with more people adding quality posts,but most people just cant take an objective opinion unless you go out of your way to sugar coat your questions or criticisms.An honest objective opinion is hard to come by in this world today especially with the overly sensitive people that make up this world.You would think people would appreciate the opinion of knowledgeable dogmen especially when you know that on this board Jack is strongly opinionated and does not sugar coat his responses.Instead you see responses like" you didn't have to come at me like that" or "I didn't come here to be bashed" when someone took the time to type a response telling you where to get info on best feed for your old dog.We need Evo back and others to add positive as well as negative knowledable responses to this board.
True, and thank you for your comments.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Another thing people have to understand is I have been over this same stuff 10,000x, and one same theme is forever the same:
People are PROGRAMMED to think "dog food = kibble" ~X(
So when you tell people "Dogfood = Raw, Whole Animals" ... they reject this TRUTH ... and go back to asking about "kibble" :-w
The reason why I am so emphatic is *not* to "bash" a person, but to make them THINK, to get the thought of "kibble" OUT of their head, which is a very tough thing to do.
It takes people YEARS to finally get it through their heads that kibble is NOT the best food for their dogs ... I know, because it took me years also.
The quicker a person learns to just SHUT UP about kibble, and start feeding raw, the quicker they will go to saying, "Thank you for shutting me up about kibble and turning me on to feeding raw" ... just like people have here :lol:
Kmsl delete me
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Rooster
Raw is the only thing you can possibly do to extend the dogs life outside of other supplementation. But IMO you use supplements after you fix the diet, not as a band aid for a poor diet. A dog that old, eating kibble for that long... Complete diet turn around is really the only thing that could possibly extend his life.
Yes, that is pretty much where I was going with my posts...Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Hand
I have seen this first hand with my own old dog, and I know for a fact that the raw food did extend her life by a couple of years.
Considering so many of these dogs do not live to see their 2nd birthday, having one get to 12 or 13 yrs means one should try to improve their lives and good food is the best thing for any dog.
Raw feeding is the best but even supplementing with raw will help. And the oils will benefit any diet.
Basically (and this goes for our own food too) eating foods that are fresh is a huge improvement over foods full of chemicals, additives, and highly processed. I find I go into a grocery store and there is maybe only 5% of their foods that I would eat myself, i.e. fresh produce and fresh meats, etc.
No matter how "good" the kibble is, it is still a processed food and raw is a far more natural food for any dog. Easier to digest, and they get more nutrition from it.
Sure it costs more and takes more time but if you want to feed your dog the best, raw is the best...
Perfectly said, SGC
I doubted the difference that raw made to the health of a dog so I did a 60 day trial , and the difference was amazing there coat quality , overall appearance , zest , and energy was measureable . I had been feeding a high quality grain free kibble at the time of my switch .