What do you feed?

I would like to feed my dog straight raw diet but am always nervous about proper nutrition. So in order to maintain a balanced diet I have worked out this with my vet;
Daily:
2 Cups Innova Large Breed Puppy - in the a.m.
1lb Raw beef patties - Diner time
I use beef as there is less chance of salminella. The patties are quite reasonably priced and can be purchased in a puppy formula as well. I will see if I can get the ingredients list next time I am in to get more.
The basics of this method is about 50% of what dry reccommends and 50% of what B.A.R.F reccommends.
So far she is healthy, has a beautiful coat, and her temperment is great. And the vet approved, as long as I called the raw meat a "High Value Snack". lol....

She also gets raw bones, or sometimes chicken feet(wife hates these) about once or twice a week to keep her teeth clean, and get rid of excess energy!

We feed dry kibble; with treats such as bones, they love piggie ears, and the horse's hoofs after the farrier has been (ugghh!).

We don't accept dogs for boarding who are on a raw meat diet. This changes the faeces in such a way that it doesn't break down easily, and in a situation where there are multiple dogs can cause quite a problem with flies etc. I know my husband could explain it better, maybe he will put some input here???

Thats interesting. Since switching her back to Innova, when the foster dog came we decided it was too much work, I have noticed her poo size has literally tripled and become far more of a pain for cleaning and bugs. Before with the raw it would basically turn to dust in a day or two. When feeding kibble she poo's what seems to be 80% of what she takes in, no matter if its evo, innova or iams. Just seems to me that if she is eating 500grahm and pooing 450 the food must be mostly fillers. And this is the best food I have found next to evo, that she likes.
Would like to know more about what you have siad though... She may be staying on kibble now. Think I will do some research...

Please don't take this as the pure and unadulterated truth but I think the reason that there is less feces on a raw diet is the fact that there is very little roughage. Of course, with some dogs who have problems with such a high protein diet, there may actually be larger, or more frequent eliminations on raw than on kibble. As with anything else, I find that feeding goes on a dog by dog basis. Some dogs do exceptionally well on raw diets. Some dogs need the roughage that is a good part of kibble. A combination of both may be a great way to go if your dog's tummy and gastrointestinal organs can handle high protein content in their diet.

The high protein levels was the reason I have went 50/50 so far. But every Akita breeder I talk to, and book I have read, said to go raw straight from puppy, but never really say why, other than they feel dry food is just bagged crap(not my opinion, as long you are selective about what you buy) that is full of fillers and preservatives..Although I have heard nothing good about dry food from anyone other than vets who are selling you their line of food.
People I have spoke to from the university also have mixed feelings but say the only problem with raw to date is salmenilla, that was my vets opinion as well. So as long as you feed high quality food I can't see it being an issue. They also said that the salmenilla would be more of a danger to the handlers than the dog. I think it only makes sense that raw food would be the most natural food they can eat, and I know I wouldnt want to eat dry food everyday, seems mean almost.
I think either way will work but would really love to see some concrete info although I think that would be like expecting tobacco companies to make their smokes more healthy, basically I think there is so much money in kibble the manufacturers give huge kickbacks to the vets and schools and therefore this debate will always be based on guessing and not hard facts....
Wow, I rambled. Hmm I am going to get the ingredient list on these patties for discussion sake....

Based on what I have heard from veterinarians who have inspected some of the facilities where raw dog food patties are made I would have zero problem feeding my dogs the beef/venison/bison/elk patties but would NEVER feed any of the chicken/quail patties... and trust me, it's not just because of the salmonella potential.

Another way to perk up kibble diets is to add sardines, as the fish oils and Omega fatty acids are helpful to them.

If you have access to hemp seed oil (pure hemp seed oil, btw) then I would strongly suggest adding a teaspoon or so of that to your dog's diet, regardless of what it is. Hemp seed oil contains the world's most balanced Omega fatty acids. It not only improves coat and skin health but is believed in improve heart and digestive health as well.

Thats is basically what my vet said. Stay away from duck, turkey, chicken...Any bird.
I also make sure that when I buy the patties they are using human grade beef, and if I can eat it I am sure my dog can.
Since putting her back on kibble I have notice these things:
- Less energy
- Huge poop's that seem to be hard for her to get out
- Semi wet poo.
- Coat not as shiney
- Ears going blacker again(were getting almost brownsih red on raw diet)

I am going to be switching her back if the wife is ok with it as I found the 50/50 kibble/raw to be superb. Provides a variety in diet, and she seems better in general. I also don't want her taking in any more grains than she has to. I am going to be doing some heavy research but its hard to find any info as the only people paying for studies are the Kibble Corp.'s.
One thing I read that was quit disturbing was that Iams is owned by the Mars corporation and they use all the left over bi products in their dog food. Yuck!
If you want a good read check out the wikipedia article on raw dog food diets...Best I have seen yet!

Iams = bad. Once upon a time they were a decent dog food company but that was before they were sold to their current owner. You can almost bet that anything that's sold in WalMart or equivalent stores is junk.

Good brands include; Evo, Innova, Orijen, Prescription Diet (not Science Diet) and Eukanuba (is alright) among others. Saskatchewan has their own brand of dog food called Horizon that is supposed to be fairly decent. Wellness is also good stuff. Can you tell I spend way too much time with this stuff?

Well as a fairly new owner I am learning that the food I have been feeding her is probably not very good . Where should I go to find a desent food that is not going to cost to much?

I have placed a stick in this section so there is now a link to a website that compares dry dog foods. Its is completely non bias and I think its a great site!
I have heard Horizon is good as well, I believe its made from prairie feed beef...

Personally i feed raw. I feed a mixture of meat that i purchase and premade patties.

i moved onto raw 3 years ago with the help of a friend in the states who is a vet who has fed raw for over 10 years

Things i've noticed

1- my poos are SO much easier to clean up- firm, and crumble into dust after a day or two. (HAH yes this has been much easier with puppies- if we have an OOPS it's easy to clean up)

2-Coat coats- enough that vets have mentioned it especially with Jackson who came to us from the SPCA

3- Teeth- even my 10 year old- his teeth went from Ugh to GREAT in a matter of weeks even on just mostly premade patties

4-increased appetite, my bodi has IBD and allergies (Totally allergic to chicken in kibble- but FINE on raw chicken) and used to go DAYS with out eating. now he can eat up to 2-3 pounds of meat (He is still hard to keep weight on) a day with out issues.

That said i'm NOT anti kibble- worked in the industry for years. Nutro, Innova, Evo, Orijen, Solid gold, are all good brands. Mostly stick away from anything a vet sells, anything you can find at a food store (Superstore etc). Nutrience is OK but not as good as the others. Iams was back in the day the 'premium" as was Eukanuba. Now? with what else is available? they are just a bare step up from grocery store brands.

Yes, I tried moving my Akita back to kibble cause I felt bad feeding kibble to the foster and raw to Andy, didn't seem fair. But the changes have been incredible....
Her ears went from the nice reddish brown to black. Her coat feels much drier. And her energy levels are totally different. She had more energy before the kibble.
I am gonna buy another bag of innova(very very good kibble) and slowly convert her back.

I have been researching this feaces thing since this thread started and I can't seem to find anything that supports it. Everything I have found says that the feaces is far more natural, and decays much quicker as well as carrying less bacteria.
If someone knows more about this I would love to hear it as I am very curious.
Thanks!

hmm, well I know Frank is really against the raw diet; ask him tonight. He used to do it for the Saints

Hey did you ever find out more information on the why no raw at your place? I'm still curious on what his reasons were (with the feces)

No, sorry. I know he has told me in the past, but I'd probably get it wrong. Ask him tomorrow evening if your coming out.

unfortunatly no me tomorrow evening (though i wish i was!) we have the flybal tourny saturday/sunday and i'm photographing it- so gotta be setting up for it.

That sounds like fun; are you entered too or "just" the photographer? Good luck

Just the photographer- but have two dogs 'trianing' (well one just does restrained recalls at 14 weeks not much you can do *L*)

I was feeding raw and may go back to it once we get settled. Hoping I can find a cheap supply of bits and pieces. We plan on getting a chest freezer. Bayley did well on raw and I fed a mix of premade and just cheap bits I could get at the grocery and butcher shop. Her fave is lamb. Right now she's eating Natural Balance kibble and canned, more for convenience than anything else. I still give her lamb shoulder chops and lamb stew meat/bones a couple of times a month.

I do notice a difference in her coat and teeth since going back to kibble though. Her poops still aren't too bad, not huge but bigger than on raw.

I am now feeding Acana lamb and apple. I was previously feeding Orijen 6 fish for a couple of years. Layla has food allergies so I really have to look at the ingredients of every food and every treat she gets!
For treats, her favourite is bully sticks.