Raw and Cold Pressed Dog Food

Choosing the 'right' food is a minefield full of contradictory advice and false advertising claims. When I got my present dog, a welsh terrier, 2 years ago I read several books on feeding and researched many sites. I found the best advice and reviews of dog foods came from this site https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
As much as I fancied the raw food it was pretty much not a good idea when travelling abroard for long periods. I found a local dog food supplier in Wigan, Simpsons. who were highly rated on the above site and went for a dried food but mix a small amount of wet food with this to add variety to the taste. This tinned food includes Kangaroo, Ostrich, Wild Boar and Venison. Prices for these are a lot lower when I visit the nearby warehouse and negotiate the price.
 
we feed ours Natures menu which comes in blocks which are frozen and available from "pets that Moan" or cheaperr if bought in bulk from the supplier. We can normally get about 10 in the motorhome freezer and we give them 1 between 2 and mix with some dry food. I think you would be est speaking with Carol @drago35uk as she is a bit of a guru on raw food feeding her girls the most disgusting concoctions of meat that I've ever smelt!!!
 
@Jim Not being a dog owner I'm no expert. But why cant you buy all the raw ingredients and mix and cook them yourself so you know exactly what goes in. That way you can kill the dangerous bacteria found on the meat which would make it safer for everyone.
 
Hi Jim, as you know our girls are raw fed and feeding 3 large ones when we're off is sometimes difficult. We pack the freezer full and also take some frozen in a cool bag wrapped in frozen gel and double bagged and keep it in the bottom of the fridge so you get a couple of days there. We also take tinned sardines to make it go further and Chappie and Butchers Tripe. Use just a bit of these a day mixed in frozen food. We also use Akela Whole Prey which is meant to mimic raw and again we mix it all about. Some of my Bernese friends dehydrate their normal dog food. - so make little meat balls, dehydrate and this keeps for ages and just needs water adding when off. We managed just over 2 weeks off and 3 big dogs in Switzerland but it was pushing it.

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jezport said:
@Jim Not being a dog owner I'm no expert. But why cant you buy all the raw ingredients and mix and cook them yourself so you know exactly what goes in. That way you can kill the dangerous bacteria found on the meat which would make it safer for everyone.
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You can, but you need a gas mask and a preparation shed... the stuff stinks like you would not believe!!!!!
 
Also the very nature of BARF feeding is nothing is cooked and no grain or bulking agents like dog food brands use,which dogs cannot digest.
So more food digested and less out the rear end.
 
We've been concerned about feeding our two little dogs properly as well. We don't do raw food but we do prepare their food ourselves. We have a Wonderbag and we cook a casserole of cheap cuts of meat, vegetables (including the bits we don't eat ourselves e.g. ends of carrots, stalks of broccoli) and a handful of brown rice. We try to vary what goes in as feeding the same thing day after day is an invitation for food sensitivities to arise. After boiling it hard for a few minutes on the stove top with the lid on the pan you put the pan in the bag, fasten it up and leave it for several hours. We add healthy oils to the mixture and they love it. We make enough for three days at a time and keep it in the fridge. The difference, of course, is that our two weight 8 kg and 10kg so they don't need as much food as a big mutt.
Incidentally we also use the Wonderbag to cook our own stuff - no energy required after the initial boil up on the stove top.
Mags
 
Our two get raw, we're back onto frozen chubs of Nutriment now after trying a different brand, we can get enough in the freezer for almost a month away if we supplement it with sardines and butchers meat.
When Blue was very poorly in the summer, we found the only thing he would eat was raw chicken wings and I've since met someone who buys wholesale chicken carcasses from a local poultry processor for her labrador and he was the slimmest, fittest looking lab I've seen in a while.
We dehydrated liver strips in the kitchen oven, just hung it from the wire shelves and set it at 30°C, the defrost setting, for 4 to 6 hours as treats for Blue.
 
Tried the lot over years was a big fan of green raw tripe for our Shepard's and previous Border Collie
they loved it (So did the Flys) The garage freezer we kept it in was removed by two guys in Hazkem suits Phewwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Highly recommend "That'll Do" Dried food these days, very popular easy on the pocket too, very easy for MoHo use.
The vet often passes comment on Jaffa's health and Coat
claiming all the glory, till i point out he spends 99.9% with me ;) But he did recommend the food

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jezport said:
@Jim Not being a dog owner I'm no expert. But why cant you buy all the raw ingredients and mix and cook them yourself so you know exactly what goes in. That way you can kill the dangerous bacteria found on the meat which would make it safer for everyone.
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It's the cooking that isn't necessary. Without opposable thumbs and access to matches their natural instinct is to eat uncooked food.:D
 
tonyidle said:
It's the cooking that isn't necessary. Without opposable thumbs and access to matches their natural instinct is to eat uncooked food.:D
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In my experience their nature instinct is to each ANY food .... cooked or not! :D2
 
Dogs are natures scavengers in their natural habitat. they are used to a varied diet. By eating the same old same old every day, a dog gets bored. We fed all our poocheekins a different thing every day no two days were the same.
Our Shepard loved Chicken mince and rice for instance, our Beagle cross and Collie cross had frozen Chicken Wings or frozen Goat ribs as a starter every morning as they were put in their run, we never ever gave them dried dog food (biscuits) It was always Pasta, Rice or Veggies with their meat.
Beagle lived to 15, Shepard till 13, the Collie was still working at 16.
 
Jim said:
Jazz loves chicken wings straight out of the freezer. Turkey necks too
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Yep, Izzy loves a frozen chicken wing too, also chicken feet.

We feed her raw food and have done for a few years. Of course it's a bit easier when your dog only eats 200g of meat a day. I split this over two meals a day, mixed with a couple of table spoons of raw oats, raw veg such as carrots, broccoli, swede, green beans, sweet potatoes, sprouts, peas etc. Twice a week she has a tin of pilchards or sardines in oil and thr odd frozen chicken wing or foot.

I buy any cheap meat from supermarkets and butchers, portion it out into 100g and freeze it, leaving enough unfrozen for the next two or three meals.

@Jim I know Carol and Mike @drago35uk feed their Bernese dogs raw food, might be worth asking them how they manage when away in the van.

Before we started spending so much time abroad we used to feed her this range https://www.naturesmenu.co.uk and still would if I could get it out here.
 
Ours have home cooked with a mix of meats and veg. We tend to just allow time for shopping while away and cook a fresh batch every 2 days. Having a small van we only have a small fridge freezer so tend to set off with meals ready for the first 2 days and enough fresh/frozen meat for the next 4.

We’ve had visitors when I’ve been cooking it who have commented how nice it smells and have decided they are coming back in the next life as one of our dogs !!
 
Jim said:
Jazz loves chicken wings straight out of the freezer. Turkey necks too
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They are a great treat for your furry person, just like giving a kid a lolly.
We gave them to ours as they were put in their run for the day while we went to work. By the time they realised we were up the right of way and well on the way to work, they had a full belly so slept, no barking to annoy the neighbours, really well behaved.

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Our Portuguese Water Dog has kibble from Fish4Dogs as his main meals - a compromise, but better quality than a lot of the kibble out there - he loves it, and it’s very easy to travel with a sack of it in the locker!
(Obviously supplemented with bits of raw carrot, leftover broccoli, cabbage, cheese, and whatever other scraps he can persuade us to part with!)
He also loves their sea jerky skinny strips - basically crunchy dried fish skin... This may not be the best diet for those who don’t like the smell of fish!! ;)

White fish variety:
Composition:
Ocean White Fish (27%), Potato (23%), Pea Flour (21%), Salmon Meal (12%), Salmon Oil (8.7%), Beet Pulp, Brewers Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Minerals

Sardine variety - has sweet potato instead of potato:
Composition:
Sardine (26%), Sweet Potato (23%), Salmon Meal (19%), Pea Flour (19%), Beet Pulp, Salmon Oil, Brewers Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Minerals
 
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I have known for years that you should never feed fresh mince or meat to dogs without freezing it first as it can cause neosporisis which affects the brain and spine ..If you buy fresh the fresh pet mince from your local butcher or have it delivered fresh from an abbattoir etc always freeze it first. Neosporosis is terrble and can be fatal...

Silvia
 
Frozen Food like Benyfit natural is all classed as human grade and is licensed by DEFRA.
 
poki said:
I have known for years that you should never feed fresh mince or meat to dogs without freezing it first as it can cause neosporisis which affects the brain and spine ..If you buy fresh the fresh pet mince from your local butcher or have it delivered fresh from an abbattoir etc always freeze it first. Neosporosis is terrble and can be fatal...

Silvia
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I don't have a dog, but remember that my mother who showed dogs and was very involved with them used Laughing Dog which was delivered in large bags, and since it's so long ago I was surprised to see it's a favourite on Amazon...
 
You are so right Poki, best advice for feeding raw meat, freeze it first every time, I have used Arden Grange or Burns for years, when my nine and a half Boxer had to be operated on for torsion, I feared the worst as their estimated life span was ten/eleven years, the vet said to feed her with very sloppy food, Arden Grange advised I soaked a cup of their Prestige and feed twice a day, it absorbed the water very quickly and this she had for another three and three quarter years, I think that without their help she would have had a recurrence, as it was she died peacefully of old age.
Cancer plagues dogs and humans, just can't pass blame to the food.
 
We have started feeding the boys guru, they seem to love it and it seems to agree with them.
They do a trial pack if you go on their web page
 
Ninovan said:
Had you thought about Hill's Scientific Diet? Usually seen in vets, but should be able to order on line.
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Yes its a common food found for sale at Vets. You'd think the vet would be more interested in pet health than profit wouldn't you? Just look at the rubbish in that food. IMO they sell it because it gives them a good markup and that it ensures they get to see the dog often.

Ingredients: Chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, pork meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, whole grain sorghum, corn gluten meal, pork fat, chicken liver flavor, dried beet pulp, fish oil, flaxseed, lactic acid, pork flavor, soybean oil, dicalcium phosphate, iodized salt, potassium chloride, l-lysine, choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, biotin, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement), minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, oat fiber, mixed tocopherols for freshness, natural flavors, beta-carotene, apples, broccoli, carrots, cranberries, green peas

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1.7%

Red items indicate controversial ingredients

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