dog feeding?

mymo

Hi, I have 2 dogs, one just a year and other 10 weeks.
I had been feeding older dog Royal canin junior and occasionally adding scraps, veg and bits of meat. He's not a big eater and was told by vet he was a bit thin, although not dangerously. Still very lively.
I recently bought a cheap chicken, put it in stock pot with water added some bits of veg and brown rice at the end and removed all the bones. It was about equal amount of chicken to veg and rice mix. I mixed about 1/3 this to 2/3 of the nuts and he loves it. I don't give it every day, but he has put on a little weight already. (It lasted about 3 weeks)
When I told someone this is what I'd been doing they were horrified, insisted i should only give the dog food, that it's the best thing for dogs and people food isn't good.
I just wondered others opinions on this, I thought it was great and cheap.
Haven't tried pup yet as only have her 2 days.
Sorry for long post, just baffled by reaction I got from a "doggy person"

andreac

A lot of people feed a BARF diet which consists of raw meat and bones. There is nothing worng with feeding chicken, but their diet would need to be varied as they wouldnt get all their nutrients etc from just chicken.

Dogs can get very fussy and it can be hard to get them back onto dry food when they are getting really tasy things like chicken and stuff like that.
It really does depend on wther you want to switch from dry food to raw/meat etc.

If the chicken is only a treat every now and again then there is absol no problem feeding it.

You say your doggie needed weight on him and this has helped which is good so i wouldnt see a problem feeding the chicken, but as i say, as long as hes not getting just chicken everyday as that wouldnt be good for him.

mymo

Thanks for reply, I am a bit wary of raw food as i have a daughter and lots of kids around the dogs.
I was thinking of trying other cuts of meat in similar way, I only give it about 3-4 times a week and as i said mixed in with 2/3 the Royal canin.
Did try other dry foods and wet(mostly even more expensive than the royal canin) and ended up mostly in the bin. He always ate the R.c dry, just not much of it. I leave it down for 1/2 hour then take it up, put it down again in evening.
I also found the chicken mix great in the kongs, froze 2 filled and he was still at one when i got home after 5 hours.
Vet said to keep him on puppy food for next while to help keep weight on. I'll be back to him with pup tomorrow so ask his advice.

LisaO

I would have thought chicken with rice & veg prepared from scratch would do no harm at all. The advice not to feed dogs "human food" is more aimed at stopping people feeding their dogs on pizza, burgers & all the other processed foods that can make up a large part of some humans diet. As Andreac said, some owners feed their dogs on an all-raw diet - would imagine this needs a bit of research & planning to ensure you are giving the right balance of nutrients but people who do so swear by it. You are already using a premium dry food for your dog in Royal Canin. I know they produce a mind-boggling range of varieties - have you checked that the one you are using is the most appropriate for his current stage of growth?

Personally, I find feeding a good complete dry food & giving treats of raw meat & bones, such as chicken wings or drumsticks, rib bones, etc & raw veg & fruit works well for my 2 dogs.

convert

Don't worry about it - it won't do the dog any harm at all, especially the way you are feeding it. Like previous posters have mentioned, just try to vary the diet slightly with other meat, etc.

That said, just be careful that you don't overfeed the dog on too rich a diet or you could find that the dog goes from being underweight to being overweight!

Munster Gal

Maybe they were concerned that your dog wasn't getting a balanced diet. As you know, the dry foods are a complete food and contain everything the dog needs if given in the right quantity. As you're only giving 1/3 chicken mix to nuts the odd time I wouldn't see this as a problem and your dog seems to be doing well on it.
BTW, have you weighed your dog to make sure he's getting enough nuts? Like Lisa said RC are bewildering in the range of foods they have so if it suits your dog maybe there's another one which would suit him better?
If you talk to 20 'dog people' you'll probably get 20 different answers but you know your dog better than any of them!

ecaf

We got a 3 year old bitch last year and was under weight too, could see ribs a bit. She's a pointer and as a working dog during the working season (Nov-Feb), it was initially very hard to keep weight on her.
On advise from the vet we put her onto Burns dog food, 'Canine Extra' which is for nursing bitches, as it has higher protein levels (which would be similar to feeding her puppy food - as recommended by another vet). We started feeding her twice a day, and they recommended the amount to feed her, which could be reduced as she gained weight. It is also cheaper than the royal canin brands which was better for us too, with having two dogs.

After researching brands available in pet stores, and comparing them with nutritional information on the Burns packet, I have now moved her onto red mills 'adult supreme' which is also high in protein but is cheaper again to Burns and is more readily available in large pet stores, compared to Burns which was only available at selected vets that promote it.

My point is that although I do feed our dogs on scraps of meat, vegetables and potato skins, they are just a small portion of their daily / weekly intake. With an older dog especially you need to be sure that they are getting the correct amount of nutrients, which is done for you with the various brands of dog food available in pet stores. I did find that my other dog was hard to get back onto dry dog food after a stay at the in-laws where she came accustomed to the scraps for the cats and large quantities of milk (that swelled her belly) when she accidentally got into the shed. This isn't good if you rely on mainly dry food to provide your dog with a balanced diet!

mymo

Thanks for replies, he's on right Rc for his size and energy levels and I give him plenty of it but he won't eat, the bag says it's 16 days food, lasts about a month, even the chicken mix in it he only eats bit more than usual. Just not interested in food.
He is very hairy so couldn't see ribs, but could feel them and his spine and other bones. Now at least the bones aren't as prominent, his breed tend not to get overweight and are not big eaters. Vet said before it wasn't a serious issue as he was very healthy and lively, just to keep eye on it.
I tried several foods but he had no interest.

He's a house dog, but walked about 4 times a day.

Ronan|Raven

Burns dog foods are good. If he/she wont eat it then who knows.