[clumbaboy]

Hi I have a clumber which is allergic to quite a few feedstuffs beef, lamb pork, dairy (they are the main ones) so searching for food was a nightmare, even the expensive hypersensitive ones only stated meat derivatives or were the wrong compounds for an active working dog. after a fair bit of work found a company called holmedale who only use chicken products in their complete feeds and it is only £11 for 15kg. the dog has been on this for over a year and has had no allergy flare up and is very healthy

[faith0504]

i feed the blocks of raw meat, they come frozen, the dogs have there own freezer, and i defrost them as needed, and feed it raw, the blocks are a complete dog food with crushed bone in them so you can feed these on there own and they are a balanced diet, we also feed natural treats, tripe sticks, chicken wings, and such like

[doganjo]

Have you costed this out faith?

[knightquest]

The information below has been taken from our site to save y'awl clicking on to it. Have a read and see what you think.

A Guide To Feeding BARF

When feeding Bones And Raw Food (BARF) the following guides provide an excellent start to setting out the DAILY amounts of food to give to your dog.

The animal needs 15% to 20% of its body weight in food per week.
This equates to 2% to 3% per day.

The food should be a mixture of bones and meat as a balance. NOT Meat alone.

Below are the weights, and suggested amounts of food per day. They are a GUIDE only and the actual amount of food should be given after assessing the condition and 'shape' of your dog on an ongoing basis. Please contact Ian or Diane at the shop if you are unsure how your dog should look.

Dogs
Weight                 Daily Amount           Typical Dog

5kg                       100g to 150g             Yorkie
10kg                     200g to 300g             Fox Terrier
15kg                     300g to 450g
20kg                     400g to 600g             Spaniel
25kg                     500g to 750g             Staff
30kg                     600g to 900g
35kg                     700g to 1.05kg           Labrador
40kg                     800g to 1.2kg             GSD
45kg                     900g to 1.35kg
50kg                     1kg to 1.5kg
55kg                     1.1kg to 1.65kg           Rottie                    
60kg                     1.2kg to 1.8kg         Irish Wolfhound
65kg                     1.3kg to 1.95kg

Again, as a guide the weekly food intake should be split up as follows.

75% of the food should be Meat and 25% should be Bones. - The bones can be chicken wings, chicken carcasses, lamb ribs, turkey legs/wings etc. The important thing to remember is that all RAW bones are OK.

NEVER GIVE COOKED BONES TO DOGS!!

The meat that was mentioned earlier should be broken down too. Most of the weeks intake should be actual meat such as chicken or lamb. Beef can also be used but beef protein is not as important as the other meats. About a quarter of the meat should be offal. That is to say Tripe or kidneys etc. All is available at the shop.

Vegetables are also good to add to the diet. These can be chopped and added raw or the scraps from an evening meal are good too. About 10% of the weekly food can be vegetables.

Over seven days this regime could be used. Day one, use chicken meat. Day 2 Lamb meat. Day 3 Tripe. Day 4 Beef. Day 5 Chicken. Day 6 Lung, heart etc and day 7 lamb. Bones of some sort each meal of course.

Little Blue - if you work on your dog being 35kgs and feed a block and a half of meat and say 5 chicken wings or a chicken carcass per day then you will be on the right track. If your dog gets too thin then increase the food. If the fat starts to increase then reduce the food level.

It can seem quite daunting but when you start and get used to it, it is really satisfying to see your dog eating naturally.

Ian

[faith0504]

hi ian

do you ever miss a day of food?

[faith0504]

sorry doganjo just read your post, with our 3 dogs it costs about £3.00 a day, it is more expensive than dog complete but its the only diet my old bitch can have, and even with all her digestive problems she looks well and she is 11 in 3 weeks, and they all love it,

[little blue]

thanks Ian.  I did look at the website too 
Sheba's weight seems to fluctuate ... but that is probably because, as I said, she had to be built up slowly then her food cut back abit as she got abit lardy! 
she is a tall dog, but not "big" so I think around 35kg. (though with her coat probably 40kg   just 5 kilo of fluff on her and another 5 on my settee!!)

[princesspiggy]

i used to feed burns (was about £30 sack)when my gsd was a puppy, until she was a bout 3, (now 7yr) she just on a much cheaper mix now and no difference in her health or weight at all really.
when i lived in oz, the vets would tell u to feed raw chicken wings to the pups and dogs. in uk i think people wud be shocked, but never had a problem with the dogs and they loved it.

[littlemisspiggy!]

Our dogs are on the 'breeder pack' complete dog food,have been for 6yrs now,we have a boxer 8yrs,doberman 7yrs,collie 3yrs,and 2 collie x's 1yrs.all on same thing with the odd treat of sunday roast left overs or a bit of gravy in the week with their food!!all dogs have great coats our vets always say how well they look,they are fit and healthy..when we did try more expensive food,their digestive systems didnt seem to like it..we had all manor of probs from runny poop,very smelly too..even down to the collie refusing to eat!so we've stuck to BP and all is well,i think all dogs are different and how they are weaned as pups makes a big impact on the effect of future feeding.x.x.x.

its great so many people have so much knowledge on here to share..never a problem that cant be fixed!!!!!

[doganjo]

Our dogs are on the 'breeder pack' complete dog food,have been for 6yrs now,

Good to hear someone else with good results from Breeder Pack.  I gave my lot raw beef bones a couple of days ago and my whole house stinks with their f4rIs!

[princesspiggy]

ahh our lab was given sprouts on xmas day - not pleasant aroma that night   lol

[robert waddell]

cant be as bad as lillian loves her sprouts

[faith0504]

when i had my pet shop the best selling dog complete was breederpack i sold sacks of it very week, the next best seller was dr john gold, the third best was the burns range, feeding is up the individual dog and its owner, if you find a food that suits your dog stick with it, its a personal thing

[little blue]

when I can afford it, and there's a discount on (!) I get Sheba a sack of Whites - the muesli one.
she loves it ... but it remids me of rabbit food!

[knightquest]

Hello Faith. We only miss a day if we forget to bring food home................ Happens more than you realise DOH!

I agree with feeding what suits your dog AND your pocket. We live and work in a poor area of Birmingham. Our best selling complete dog food is our own brand gluten free, lamb based meal and £26.50 for 15kg. It is a stunning food though and everyone who buys it swears by it (and AT me as it happens, but that's the kind of area we work in   ) It makes my blood boil however when B*kers sell their sh*/e for the money they charge and say that it's good for dogs....................need to calm down. I am in the process of meeting with our local PDSA vets who are giving the most appalling feeding advice to the people who visit them. It bemuses me totally

We also keep our dogs lean too. This is more important than people think but is perhaps a topic for another thread. Good observation is key when looking after all animals so inspecting poo for size and confirmation and quantity is a big part of my life................sad I know but I can usually tell whether a dog is on raw, tinned or dry food from what comes out the back...............(Perhaps I should meet Gillian off celebrity   )

Any information about what food you feed and what happens to your particular dogs would always be appreciated as the more info I get, the more I can help other dog owners so please keep me informed.

Ta ta for now,

Ian