[Courtney R]

Thanks so much for the response Aimee!

After a lot of consideration I think I’m leaning towards a dehydrated mix such as THK because I feel it’s the most sustainable for me long term, and it’s something I feel more comfortable with. The boys have a vet appt for blood work just to be safe, besides they’re both due anyway 😊

As far the carbs to protein thing, I was totally thinking of fat instead of protein lol. This is what happens when I get irritated by random people in forums.

[Courtney R]

Being from 1973 doesn’t make it any less valid. Dogs wouldn’t go from not needing starches to needing them in a 40 year period, evolution doesn’t work that quickly.

And the book isnt written by vets, its written National Research Council. It’s used by colleges to educate veterinary nutritionists.

My vet meant exactly what he said ,which is that dogs don’t NEED carbs. Meaning, it’s not harmful to remove them.

If you feed your kibble with toppers and your dog does well, then great! However, I feed my dogs quality kibble and they are not doing great on it so I am looking in to alternatives, one of which is raw. Basically, I’m educating myself in exactly the same way I do when it comes to making food choices for myself. I would never rely solely on what one person says regarding my diet, be it my doctor, my personal trainer or some whackadoo on the internet. Why would I do that for my dog?

[Courtney R]

My comments about carbohydrates?
Well, theres this study on (working) sled dogs:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4734973
That showed that despite their level of rigorous activity they actually perform better on high fat, high protein diets.

Or maybe this educational textbook:
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/10668/nutrient-requirements-of-dogs-and-cats
That states that there’s no requirement of digestible carbohydrates in dogs diets.

And there’s my vet, who explicitly told me there’s no need for dogs to eat carbs, it’s just nearly impossible to make dry kibble without them.

And I’m not decided on anything, I’ve just posted questions regarding feeding raw in a raw forum. Why would I post my questions about preparing cooked food for my dogs in a raw forum, when obviously no one in that forum cooks their food??

[Courtney R]

Lol well in regards to humans I know there is a lot of debate regarding whether or not we need carbs. However, I have found little to no relevant evidence that dogs need them. Can they have them? Sure. But they’re primarily used to add bulk to food. Carbohydrates carry significantly less calories by volume than protein does so a high protein diet obviously less foos, but not necessarily less nutrition.

[Courtney R]

This link is useful, thank you! I’m guessing you’re a different anonymous user as this diet encourages feeding meat raw lol. I obviously haven’t read through all of it thoroughly (I will), but I wonder about carbs. Dogs don’t need them, and they don’t seem to agree with my dogs, so I’m looking to eliminate them. I wonder if I put that 45-55% towards protein if this would no longer be balanced or if I would just be feeding less? I’ll definitely read through this, and thanks again for posting it.

[Courtney R]

I get that there are dangers to feeding raw and I don’t criticize anyone for trying to make others aware of that fact. All I was trying to say is that a lot of the links posted aren’t particularly useful. For example, the recipe posted earlier was basically chicken, rice and a supplement. I feed my dogs chicken and rice (a bland diet) if they have diarrhea, it’s not really something I would consider balanced and even if I added a supplement it’s not something I would want to feed my dogs routinely or long term. Like I said, I’ve also been researching home cooked meals and am open to them, but from everything I’ve been reading it actually seems MORE difficult to ensure dogs are receiving balanced nutrition from home cooked as opposed to raw. I don’t want to end up in an emergency clinic because of what I’m feeding them (cooked or raw) which is why I’m trying to diligently do my homework.

[Courtney R]

I have looked into a veterinary nutritionist, but unfortunately the closest one to me is 3 hours away and doesn’t do consults by email or phone. Seeing as how I don’t own a car or drive I haven’t figured out how I’d manage to get my dogs there. But, I’m still looking in to it, thanks!

[Courtney R]

To whomever the anonymous person is: I see these Skeptvet articles linked in a lot of the raw threads. I’m not in the least opposed to home cooking for my dogs. In fact that was the first thing I looked into after deciding to get them off kibble. I imagine a lot of people do the same. Feeding raweat to my pets is, quite frankly, a little scary.

However, I can’t find much useful information on formulating a home cooked diet. Recipes, sure, but I want something that gives me numbers/formulas/percentages. Maybe I’m weird but I want to just Google recipes and start trying random things. I like that prey model operates on an 80/10/10 and I can sit down and calcute how much meat, bone and organs to feed them. I also like that there’s no starches (potatoes, rice, etc) involved as I am trying to avoid those in their diet.

What I’m getting at is if you know any good sites, books, articles etc that will teach me how to formulate a diet that meets all their nutritional requirements I would love to read it. Im just not finding either of the links you posted particularly informative.

To inkedmarie: So glad I’m not the only one who feels overwhelmed! 😊

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