LETSGOBROWNIES Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 5:34 PM, D82 said: Finally got Hurry's results back from her OFA radiographs. Excellent Hips/Normal elbows! So I’m no expert on German shepherds, but my understand is that OFA excellent hips are sort of a big deal for that breed, no? I mean, obviously it’s a big deal for any breeding program, but hips are a particularly noteworthy concern for GSD’s, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D82 Posted December 24, 2022 Author Share Posted December 24, 2022 12 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said: So I’m no expert on German shepherds, but my understand is that OFA excellent hips are sort of a big deal for that breed, no? I mean, obviously it’s a big deal for any breeding program, but hips are a particularly noteworthy concern for GSD’s, correct? GSDs are certainly a breed prone to hip dyplasia...but according to OFA statistics the breed is 41st or so. So we're getting better. OFA Excellent hips are certainly a big deal. Her dam was OFA Excellent as well, so it's something I hope to keep up with in my lines going forward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D82 Posted December 31, 2022 Author Share Posted December 31, 2022 Got the kennel runs set up today. Dogs were happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyPhil1781 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Anyone cook their dog's food? Looking into doing it but want to ensure my seniorish dog is getting all the vitamins and nutrients she needs. Been giving her Glycoflex for many years and give her fish oil but not sure what would be needed if I cooked her food. Been reading a lot of recipes that have beef, eggs, carrots, brown rice, spinach and pumpkin puree. Would that be enough? Basically just making meatloaf for the week and freezing the second half of the week's food to keep it fresh. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D82 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 29 minutes ago, BobbyPhil1781 said: Anyone cook their dog's food? Looking into doing it but want to ensure my seniorish dog is getting all the vitamins and nutrients she needs. Been giving her Glycoflex for many years and give her fish oil but not sure what would be needed if I cooked her food. Been reading a lot of recipes that have beef, eggs, carrots, brown rice, spinach and pumpkin puree. Would that be enough? Basically just making meatloaf for the week and freezing the second half of the week's food to keep it fresh. Thoughts? I don't. My guys get Purina Pro Plan and Royal Canin and do just fine. But, feed what works for your dog. This is a pretty good article on homemade diets. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/homemade-dog-food-recipes-choosing-balanced-ingredients/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D82 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 We've been looking at houses...the one I really like is on 2 acres and has a barndominium with a huge area I could put indoor/outdoor kennels and also includes an apartment with kitchen, bedroom, shower, etc. that I could use to store my dog stuff and use for when I have litters. If we get something like that...I'm seriously considering getting in shape again and trying to start handling/boarding dogs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyPhil1781 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 20 minutes ago, D82 said: I don't. My guys get Purina Pro Plan and Royal Canin and do just fine. But, feed what works for your dog. This is a pretty good article on homemade diets. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/homemade-dog-food-recipes-choosing-balanced-ingredients/ My dog tends to throw up kibble so I feed her FreshPet but it's so expensive so I'm thinking of just making it Thanks for the article. Don't think I've seen that one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D82 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 4 minutes ago, BobbyPhil1781 said: My dog tends to throw up kibble so I feed her FreshPet but it's so expensive so I'm thinking of just making it Thanks for the article. Don't think I've seen that one I've added FreshPet to my guys food now and then just for a fun topper. You're right, it's expensive...would not want to feed that consistently. Although I just paid $150 for two bags of food for my guys so...🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyPhil1781 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, D82 said: I've added FreshPet to my guys food now and then just for a fun topper. You're right, it's expensive...would not want to feed that consistently. Although I just paid $150 for two bags of food for my guys so...🤣 Before I moved on from kibble, I was paying $70 per bag so I get it lol. It was baked food and she loved that but man, cleaning up after her was..... well, if you've never fed your dog baked food, you're lucky lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PARROTHEAD Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 22 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said: My dog tends to throw up kibble so I feed her FreshPet but it's so expensive so I'm thinking of just making it Thanks for the article. Don't think I've seen that one Dont know what region you live. But Im in a rural area. And theres a couple different farms that produce dogfood. Heard one of the Amish owners of a cheese factory has branched out into making it as well. Id ask around at produce stands or farmers markets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonStark Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 23 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said: Anyone cook their dog's food? Looking into doing it but want to ensure my seniorish dog is getting all the vitamins and nutrients she needs. Been giving her Glycoflex for many years and give her fish oil but not sure what would be needed if I cooked her food. Been reading a lot of recipes that have beef, eggs, carrots, brown rice, spinach and pumpkin puree. Would that be enough? Basically just making meatloaf for the week and freezing the second half of the week's food to keep it fresh. Thoughts? This definitely isn't for everyone, but we switched all of ours to a raw diet a few years ago and our senior lab mix (11 at the time) has really seemed to feel a lot better. She has a ton more energy and her allergies seem to be better. Just make sure if you go that route you either buy the pre-mixed stuff or take the time to calculate the percentages correctly (between like organ, bone, etc). The first method is more expensive but a lot easier. I don't know much about the cooking aspect but I feel like that would take a lot of the nutrients out as you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyPhil1781 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 1 hour ago, PARROTHEAD said: Dont know what region you live. But Im in a rural area. And theres a couple different farms that produce dogfood. Heard one of the Amish owners of a cheese factory has branched out into making it as well. Id ask around at produce stands or farmers markets. I live in rural Ohio. This is something I've never considered nor thought about. I'm going to look into this. Thanks!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyPhil1781 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 33 minutes ago, JonStark said: This definitely isn't for everyone, but we switched all of ours to a raw diet a few years ago and our senior lab mix (11 at the time) has really seemed to feel a lot better. She has a ton more energy and her allergies seem to be better. Just make sure if you go that route you either buy the pre-mixed stuff or take the time to calculate the percentages correctly (between like organ, bone, etc). The first method is more expensive but a lot easier. I don't know much about the cooking aspect but I feel like that would take a lot of the nutrients out as you said. Definitely thought about starting a raw diet. My pup also showed a major difference once we switched to fresh food. Lost weight, coat got better (and for a half husky, that might not be a good thing lol), poop was much better, and her energy levels are still through the roof. I'm not sure I'd be able to feed raw though. I think it's the notion that I can't get raw food being bad for humans out of my head lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PARROTHEAD Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Just now, BobbyPhil1781 said: I live in rural Ohio. This is something I've never considered nor thought about. I'm going to look into this. Thanks!! lol. One ended up being this old man I spot at the gas station every so often. Spoken a friendly "hey, hows the family?" and such for years. With it being made in a place I pass all the time, 4 miles away. Never knew. For a long time I thought he sold seed and worked on his farm equipment there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonStark Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 6 hours ago, BobbyPhil1781 said: Definitely thought about starting a raw diet. My pup also showed a major difference once we switched to fresh food. Lost weight, coat got better (and for a half husky, that might not be a good thing lol), poop was much better, and her energy levels are still through the roof. I'm not sure I'd be able to feed raw though. I think it's the notion that I can't get raw food being bad for humans out of my head lol. I was the same way at first lol Dogs stomachs can handle a lot more than humans, so the stuff that affects us negatively doesn't really hurt them. Definitely have to ease them into it if you're going from processed food and wash the bowls every time, but it was the best decision we ever made for the senior. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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