# Holistic or Regular?



## Walia (Apr 11, 2005)

Have you guys tried oatmeal? 
Cook it and it becomes soft as rice, then mix it with meat and vegetables to form this meat-veggie-grain mush and your golden will love it.
You can get pretty good results with oats and amaranth, also barley.
Don't forget - smaller the grain is - more digestible it is.


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

Buying food for your dog can be a very difficult thing. Lots of research is needed. First, I've never come across a food in a Grocery Store that is any good. Spend the extra money on Premium Grade Food from a Feed Store or Pet Store. 

Any change you make in your dogs diet should be done over several weeks. Start by slowly adding the new food in with the old and gradually add more and more of the new replaciing the old.

The diference is the grade of meat used. You want the first ingredient to be a meat protein. Beef, Chicken, Lamb, etc.. Stay away from by-products. Meat Meal (Chicken meal, Beef meal, etc.) means it has been processed before being formed into kibble. Meat (Chicken, Beef, Lamb, etc.) hasn't been processed yet so when they do process it loses weight from water loss and even though it appears first on the list of ingredients, it may actually be less.

How the food is preserved, if any antioxidants are added, food colouring are all just a few things that can affect the quality of you food.

I have some good resources for comparing food ingredients and Proteins. What food are you feeding or considering feeding now?


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## Vierka (Apr 10, 2005)

Thank you for the great tips here.
I've tried Science Diet and Wellness.
When I was in the pet food store they had a couple of holistic and premium brand foods (sorry, can't remember the names of all the choices) and they differed in prices among themselves as well. 

Do you guys have a tip for a great food brand? If yes - where could I get it?
There's a Pet Value around, but no other specialty pet store. I'd much rather try something that other Golden owners had good experiences with rather than just randomly trying all of them...


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## Liss (Apr 18, 2005)

*Feeding*

Hi All,

I have always cooked my own food for my dogs.

Before I got my golden, 5 months ago, I used to feed my silky terrier home cooked meals as she has a skin disorder which flares up when certain preservatives are added to her diet.

I wasn't too sure how my golden, Daniel, would take to a new diet as he was used to the store bought puppy formulas/mush.

For the first few weeks I fed him with a mix of store bought and home made and then gradually decreased the store feed and increased the home made. He hasn't looked back since.

I usually spend one afternoon a fortnight preparing the meals and I just freeze them in daily portions.

My recipe is:

4 kg of premium beef mince - cooked
2 kg of coarse lamb mince - uncooked
3 cups of coarse grated carrot
2 cups of peas or beans
2 cups corn kernels
2 cups of cooked/soaked barley
1.5 litres of stock (beef or chicken)
1kg cottage cheese
Dog vitamin supplement available from vet or rural store.

I firstly cook the beef mince in a large stock pot. Once cooked add all of the vegies and the barley. Cook for 3-5 mins and then add the stock and simmer for about 10 mins. Once reduced add cottage cheese. Allow to cool and then add the lamb mince and divide into portions and freeze.

I also feed a good quality dry biscuit formula every morning and add some fresh bones to their daily wet food portion.

Alissa


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

I've heard Wellness is good. Eagle Pack is one I've used and was very pleased with. The Eagle Pack Holistic, pricey but good ingredients. Never thought much of Science Diet. Heard many who have had ear problems and coat problems on it.


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## Vierka (Apr 10, 2005)

I can recommend Eagle Pack as well. That's what we're feeding Kia right now and she seems to really like it. It is quite interesting though, that one of the Eagle Pack flavors is not agreeing with her (she has diarrhea). I guess this is pretty much individual.

We haven't had good experience with Science Diet. I don't know if it just wasn't individual, but she really didn't want to eat it when she was small and from the canned food she also got diarrhea . And this is the food that the vet was actually trying to sell us on.


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## Vierka (Apr 10, 2005)

Hi Alissa, 
that food sounds yummy and quite nutritious as well!
How many daily portions does that big recipe come to (for Daniel)?
How long does it take to unfreeze the daily portion? (I'm always worried about things going either too long or too short in the unfreezing process .)
Sorry, many questions, but I think this could be good approach to feeding your Golden really good stuff - you know exactly what's going in it, right?
The only thing is to know that he's getting all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and overall nutrition...


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## Liss (Apr 18, 2005)

*Holistic or regular*

Hi,

I divide the mixture into 10 meals which lasts the fortnight. I also just freeze them into packs for the two dogs, not just Daniel. The other 4 meals are made up of chicken necks, pre cooked rolls and freshly diced roo meat. Gives them a bit of variety. I also failed to mention that they get cooked brown rice or whole grain pasta with the meals. I just cook this as needed.

When I freeze the packs I place it in freezer bags and flatten them down to about an inch thick. They store easier and also defrost at a more even rate.
I always defrost them in the fridge. I put them out the night before.

There are so many variations to the recipe too. Sometimes I take out one ingredient and replace it with a different one. Eg, last fortnight I took out the corn and added grated apples. I have added cauliflower, cabbage, swede, potato, I usually chase whatever is on special.

Alissa


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## Walia (Apr 11, 2005)

Alissa, thank you so much, I will definitely try this.
Walia


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