@DebraDownSouth I was surprised when I called around & no place had the Blue's alligator meat! TFS said they had no idea of the alligator meat but are going to check about getting some in!
@tanza I forget at times that dogs do like veggies! I know that I need to get stocked up on some veggies & more on green veggies as my triglycerides are touching the clouds! I bet my little fella' would eat some veggies! Very good reason for me to get & eat veggies' .... because he needs some too! If it were just for me, I don't really care if I have them or not (I like them!) I know when I walk him, when we walk by this one fence line, there's several raw (& rotten) carrots that I've had to tell him to leave it. I have to admit, I was sort of curious as to whether or not he'd eat any of a raw carrot or not but I'll get some carrots to try for him. I don't trust something laying outside of someone's fence line! But I remember a little tidbit that I read once: If a dog eats onions, it keeps them from being able to digest their food for about 3 days!!
I have had several dogs that enjoyed carrots, starting with our family Sheltie when I was growing up. My last Basenji loved carrots and I could use them as a reward for learning new things. Most of my dogs have enjoyed vegetables, some favourites being green peppers and tomatoes, but also broccoli and cauliflower, green beans, etc. Also most fruits, including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and my girls also liked oranges!
Dogs historically were fed leftovers from the table, and before that whatever they could scavenge around a human's camp. Probably still eat that way in villages in Africa. Feed companies have implied that you need a degree in nutrition to nourish a dog properly. Funny, children don't get that much consideration! Junk food would seem to suffice for them....
@eeeefarm I used to think about how dogs were fed years & years ago! You're absolutely right about being a nutrition expert, with a degree to make dog food! I know I would never feed my dog anything labeled Nunn Better. I know what's in that food as filler & it's 100% pure trash! I'd bet my life that you're right as to how b's eat in Africa to this day too! I can't blame the African people for not wanting to sell any of their b's to us ~ they love them as much as we do! I sure am going to start getting some veggies & try this fella' on some of them! I'm just not big at all on oranges & apples but I do like pears! I love cauliflower & broccoli, especially with cheese sauce on it ~ Swiss Cheese is my favorite!
One caveat with fruit, although my dogs all liked peaches, you want to make sure they don't get hold of the pits. Same applies to corncobs. If you do catch them ingesting either substance, make sure you make them vomit it up! (hydrogen peroxide works well in a pinch).
@Nancy-Berry said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
my triglycerides are touching the clouds!
But I remember a little tidbit that I read once: If a dog eats onions, it keeps them from being able to digest their food for about 3 days!!
Nancy, onions are bad for dogs. It won't keep them from digesting their food, but can cause other problems. My rule is.. if a lot is dangerous, don't give a little either.
Onions contain an ingredient called thiosulphate which is toxic to cats and dogs. The ingestion of onions causes a condition called hemolytic anemia, which is characterized by damage to the red blood cells. Onion toxicity can cause the red blood cells circulating through your pet's body to burst.<<
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets
My triglycerides have been 300 to 500 since I was in my early 20s. About 7 mos ago I read a research paper saying that for fish oil to be effective, you need about 3000 mg a day . I had tried fish oil in the past.. didn't help my triglyceride level at all, but the most I had taken was about 1200. So I went on 3000. My results since have been between 120 to 125. My doctor just gave me a script for the RX version. To say she and I are happy would be putting it mildly since I cannot take any of the meds for high triglyceride levels.
@Nancy-Berry said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
@Baba-Bamidele I hate that we're having this problem with the stools & R.Rays food but I am glad that it's not just me! Well, the 4 leggers. I've noticed that if I reach into his bowl & get some of the food in my hand, it's greasy! Really greasy & I don't think that's good at all. Does yours feel greasy too? To the point that you can see the grease on your hand?
I picked up a piece when I fed Cosette this morning, and it does indeed greasy! I wonder if that's part of the problem?
@eeeefarm said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
Dogs historically were fed leftovers from the table, and before that whatever they could scavenge around a human's camp. Probably still eat that way in villages in Africa. Feed companies have implied that you need a degree in nutrition to nourish a dog properly. Funny, children don't get that much consideration! Junk food would seem to suffice for them....
This is absolutely true! The dogs where we got Cosette were free-ranging, and they ate from trash piles by day and got table scraps at night. People thought my wife and I were crazy for buying French dog food in the big city...
@eeeefarm said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
One caveat with fruit, although my dogs all liked peaches, you want to make sure they don't get hold of the pits. Same applies to corncobs. If you do catch them ingesting either substance, make sure you make them vomit it up! (hydrogen peroxide works well in a pinch).
A tablespoon of salt also will induce almost immediate vomiting.
@eeeefarm said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
Dogs historically were fed leftovers from the table, and before that whatever they could scavenge around a human's camp. Probably still eat that way in villages in Africa. Feed companies have implied that you need a degree in nutrition to nourish a dog properly. Funny, children don't get that much consideration! Junk food would seem to suffice for them....
My child got that much consideration... for the record. Looking at the US obesity rate in children and huge increase in diabetes, we need to pay a lot more attention.
As for dogs eating scavenged food, sure they did, and were malnourished and died young. What makes me insane is the idea that raw is bad, when it takes thousands of years to change a mammal on a molecular basis and they sure ate mostly raw until the last 200 yrs. As for needing a degree... have known many people trying to make their own dog food and ended up with very sick dogs. I don't think it takes a degree, but some basic knowledge and common sense. Someone suggested using Real Meat Co. I nearly had a stroke... about $100 for 5 pounds of food? Are they INSANE? And the "OH MY G-D YOU FEED YOUR DOG TABLE SCRAPS?" Get real. My dogs always get some of everything I eat that isn't toxic or too yummy (lobster for example 
) . I read a vet article once and he said not only is it okay to give them a few bites of whatever you are eating, but considering their taste ability far exceeds ours, it enriches their lives. That might be a little much, but I basically agree. Variety. Dogs that can ONLY eat one food without getting sick are created by people who only ever give them one food. Yeah rambling... sorry.
@DebraDownSouth Eating A LOT of green veggies helps bring down high triglycerides too! I've done it & it does help a lot! Of course, if I'd watch how many pizza's I eat...that would help some too! I only get chicken on my pizza, not sausage or pepperoni. Personally, I don't care what or when I eat. I might skip days before eating because I'm just not hungry. But I've been doing better on eating more greens & of course, I could do a whole lot better. Doesn't taking all that fish oil leave a "heavy'" feeling in your stomach? I belch a lot at times...wouldn't I taste that fishy oil?? Yuckooh!!
@Baba-Bamidele I know if I make myself eat something that's almost dripping in grease, it's not going to have a good "end" result! I think it's pretty much the same way with dogs!
@DebraDownSouth The dogs in Benin weren't malnourished, not the ones that had owners, at least. And people have been cooking far longer than 200 years, so dogs have likely been eating cooked food for much longer than that. Dogs that died young in West Africa were usually killed by cars or motorcycles.
@DebraDownSouth said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
I read a vet article once and he said not only is it okay to give them a few bites of whatever you are eating, but considering their taste ability far exceeds ours, it enriches their lives.
A dog's taste ability does NOT far exceed ours, they have only about 17% of the number of tastebuds we do. Their scenting ability is what far exceeds, so they certainly can smell our food very well, but taste, not so much.
Joanne
@Nancy-Berry said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
Doesn't taking all that fish oil leave a "heavy'" feeling in your stomach? I belch a lot at times...wouldn't I taste that fishy oil?? Yuckooh!!
If you get high quality fish oil, not at all. I keep the fishoil in the fridge and take with food. The Rx is to be left unrefrigerated... not burping or taste either. I always eat plenty of veggies... never helped. TRY THE FISH OIL!
@DebraDownSouth I'll have to talk that over with my Dr. due to all the other meds I take. But I don't always eat everyday either! But I'll check with my Dr.
@Baba-Bamidele said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
@DebraDownSouth The dogs in Benin weren't malnourished, not the ones that had owners, at least. And people have been cooking far longer than 200 years, so dogs have likely been eating cooked food for much longer than that.
You cannot look at a dog and know if malnourished... they can be fat and not getting the right nutrition. But I was talking about the ones living pretty much wild, not owned. Many cultures around the world care for their pets.. I hope you didn't think I meant owners neglected them. 
That wasn't my intention at all. The comment was about dogs scavenging for food... that typically isn't an owned dog who is being fed.
Yes, people cooking far longer than 200 yrs, but dogs were still hunting and eating raw/dead things, and of course some or a lot of table scraps. Research has shown parasites were a bigger killer than most problems, but dogs and people can live a long life and have terrible nutrition.
@giza1 said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
A dog's taste ability does NOT far exceed ours, they have only about 17% of the number of tastebuds we do. Their scenting ability is what far exceeds, so they certainly can smell our food very well, but taste, not so much.
Joanne
Joanne, I knew less taste buds, but I assumed, like humans, that their sense of smell enhanced it. Thanks for the correction! I like when I learn, and your post led me to this article. It explains why I've never had a dog who cared about those sprays to stop chewing. They probably chewed a good bit of damage before tasting it.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201104/how-good-is-your-dogs-sense-taste
Too tired to check how accurate, but interesting read. I guess growing up in Appalachia where most dogs were farm dogs for my grandparents age... I think about them hunting a lot. Obviously not true everywhere.
http://www.neatorama.com/pet/2013/05/20/Kibble-Me-This-The-History-of-Dog-Food/
@DebraDownSouth said in NEW BRAND of DOG FOOD??:
You cannot look at a dog and know if malnourished... they can be fat and not getting the right nutrition. But I was talking about the ones living pretty much wild, not owned. Many cultures around the world care for their pets.. I hope you didn't think I meant owners neglected them.
Yes, people cooking far longer than 200 yrs, but dogs were still hunting and eating raw/dead things, and of course some or a lot of table scraps. Research has shown parasites were a bigger killer than most problems, but dogs and people can live a long life and have terrible nutrition.
Gotcha. I was just making sure were were on the same page, and it looks like we are. One small proviso: The West African dogs were both scavengers and pets, so their diet came from a combination of both food found in communal refuse piles (from which pigs, goats, chickens, and sheep also were fed), and from the owners' table scraps. It's a very communal system, with refuse piles containing so much organic matter from cooking that it's not as inhumane as it might seem at first blush. But, yeah, this is a far cry from pariah dogs that have no owner to speak of.
Parasites and vaccines were indeed another issue. There was a vet in town who handled that sort of thing, but most dog owners only used him for emergencies, I suspect. 
