What should you do to keep your dogs skin healthy?

[STITCH]

Everyone says research so im researching.....

[damienApbt]

food is a good start as you probably know.

and if your pooch has certain problems than there are a variety of different suppliments to help according to what the prob is.

dont over bathe. be careful what shampoo you're using. sun screne on the white pitties or on exposed white patches.

[STITCH]

and the "best" food is..

[damienApbt]

thoughts may vary on this..

but i use fish and sweet potato...from wellness. it has helped with my boys skin. then again i havent really tried much else.

im looking into a raw food diet that can help him out. find out what raw foods would be best, then mix his food myself.

[STITCH]

so should i use a quality dry food and mix some raw meat in to it?

[damienApbt]

so should i use a quality dry food and mix some raw meat in to it?

no...
one or the other. for starters i would find a good quality dry food that works for you. while your pup is on that do some research on the rawfood diet that would best for him/her then go with that.

[damienApbt]

im not saying throw him some burgers or filets...there is actually a whole diet based on raw. with bones and all..RAW.. not cooked bones (very dangerous).

[barbponys]

Starting with a good quality kibble will make all the difference in the world. If you choose to do raw as part of his diet that works well too, I do half and half with two of my dogs and my cat. Kibble and raw need to be fed in separate meals, I do dry in the morning and raw at night. That's just due to time constraints, getting out the door to work is easier that way. As far as which dry is best.........the depends on what you are willing to spend and what's available. Go through some of the food posts to see what's been said.

There seem to be two main philosphies on raw, the B.A.R.F. diet which stands for bones and raw food. A lot of it is ground, veggies are used quite a bit and so is grain. The Raw Feeders however believe in the use of carcasses, feeding as close to how a wolf eats as possible, very little veggies and no grain. I do a combination though the only thing ground is the veggies. I don't believe in the use of grain in a raw diet since, to me, the whole point of raw is the exclusion of grain.

I do use pre-made commercial raw diets with one of my dogs and it follows the B.A.R.F. philosophy with the exception of grain. The bone is ground and added to the meat/veggies. I am kinda forced to take adavantage of her product since emu/ostrich isn't readily available.........and her prices are decent. A months supply cost me about 30 bucks.

If your dog doesn't have allergy concerns then make the raw part fun, try different stuff. It's not hard to do, as a rule they do well on it. The only hard rules I use are, no pork.........can't guarantee a clean source so you risk trichinosis, and no raw salmon. There's the potential of a fluke in salmon that will destroy the liver. Raw bones are important regardless of what philosphy makes sense to you. They are essential for clean teeth and the kids love them. I have beef femur bones cut in half and about 4-6 inches long available most of the time. They get fresh bones twice a week. When they get new ones they aren't fed one meal that day, I make sure there's lots of meat on the bones.

That's a rough sketch.............. if you have questions feel free to ask. We want your pup as healthy as possible

[STITCH]

Ive seen alot of you say "NO COOKED BONES" why no cooked and do you consider the smoked ones in the pet stores to be cooked also?

[barbponys]

Cooked bones are brittle, they shatter and can cause a lot of problems. Plus they are not digestable and can actually leach minerals from your dogs body. Smoked is cooked, anything that introduces heat is cooked. Even microwaving to warm them up is bad.

[STITCH]

O.k. no heat so... how long should i let my pup chew on an uncooked bone? wont they get "funky" pretty quick?

[damienApbt]

I do half and half with two of my dogs and my cat.

son of a gun....

i always thought that mixing the two defieats the purpose of feeding a raw diet.

like i said i always hear many different opinions on this matter.

[barbponys]

STITCH,
They can and depending on how much the dog chews..... will. I usually throw them out and give them new ones twice a week. Otherwise they can get funky..........the ones they take outside stay out there.

Yes, I suppose it does Damien. Definitely when feeding a straight raw diet it is defeated by adding grain.

I am also of the opinion that some is better than none. It makes a huge difference just getting the raw into them even though some dry is still fed. I would much rather feed my dogs and cat straight raw. It's just not feasible.

Most folks I know with multiple animals can't really afford to feed just a raw diet. I would be going through about 4# of meat a day, maybe a little more, even with feeding whole chickens............it adds up fast. Those folks with one dog, I'm speaking in reference to people that come through the store, have an easier time making the switch financially to straight raw from dry. Somtimes the dog won't eat dry anymore so they just do the switch.

[PittyLuvers]

I do the BARF diet with my dogs - pit and pit/mix. Their coats are shiny and healthy. I've seen two belgian Malinois pups, same litter, one barf, the other non-barf. The barf diet pup had shinier, fuller hair that was a richer red color. In a blender I add alfalfa tabs, olive oil and a handful of mixed organic greens plus whatever ripe fruit, etc. I have around. Then I add water (egg once or twice a week) and blend the goop into a "soup". I toss in raw chicken (under 6 mo.) with bones -wings or carcass (good for starting out or smaller dogs) into the "soup" - similar to the stomach contents wild/domestic dogs would eat after capturing deer or rabbit. When I can find long beef shin bones I let them chew them in their cages for jaw and neck excercise - seems to satisfy a need.