What kind of dog food should I buy my pomeranian?

The raw diet, like life, has many different successful routes. I have tried to detail some of the basic questions that you may have which will hopefully get you onto the raw diet track.

People have different ideas about the raw diet and my suggestion if you become confused, is NOT to go back to commercial foods, but start thinking about what is best for your dog (or cat).

Start with the basics - a range of different raw meaty bones, or preferably whole items, such as chicken, quail, fish, eggs. For the majority of raw feeders - chicken is the base of the majority of their dogs meals. However, if chicken is not available readily, use what is available locally - raw meaty - lamb, beef, venison, duck, rabbit, kangaroo, pig, raw whole fish. You get the picture.

Where possible you want to avoid using items that have been raised inappropriately. For example, avoid beef that was raised in feedlots. Preferably the food should be as organic and natural as possible.

Please note: Dogs do not have the digestive system to cope with grains. Grains are one of the biggest sources of allergies in dogs. Grains make up the majority of dog food company food sources. Many people find when they switch to an all natural diet, the allergies their dogs had disappear. This is common.

Not only is feeding raw cheaper to feed than commercial dog foods, but there are enormous savings to be made by not having all those vet visits to fix your dogs' allergies. Are you asking yourself yet, "why hasn't my vet recommended this?" Yes, I would ask that of them too. Unfortunately most vets receive NO education at university on dog diet other than what the commercial dog food company reps tell them! (yes, this is the education they PAY to get - unbelievable. Luckily, some universities are realizing this mistake and are making amends).

So much for objective information! ... the Australian Vet Association's principal sponsor is a pet food company.

Check out whether your vet can give out objective information on a raw diet, or have they (like most vets) received their education sponsored by a pet food company?

A raw diet provides a range of benefits that commercial dog diets can never hope to even closely match.

These benefits include:

no doggy odour

naturally cleans teeth - no need for toothbrushes, de-scaling jobs, or gum disease

the time it takes for a dog to chew a raw meaty bones give their stomach adequate time to get the acids moving

much less stools produced - and they are firm, and turn chalky after a couple of days

decreased or non-existant vet bills (your dogs are healthier!)

less cost for dog food - commercial dog foods are ludicriously expensive

mirrors what a dog would be getting in the wild - and certainly even the modern day dog has a digestive tract exactly the same as a wolf

puppies develop at a more appropriate rate - and quick growth spurts are avoided. A GOOD breeder will want to stop fast growth in any pup.

the ripping and chewing involved in eating raw meaty bones develops the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles of the dog. Commercial dog foods will never assist in this important muscle development.

People who have switched their dogs to a raw diet from commercial dog foods have found the following:

dogs who were previously un-energetic, and sluggish become completely new dogs once the raw diet feeding begins

allergies their dogs previously had on commercial foods, disappear once they start with the raw diet

arthritis has significantly reduced or disappeared in some dogs switched to raw

better weight control

no more doggy odour!

their dogs are living longer on a raw diet than what their other dogs previously had survived on commercial dog foods

that their bitches managed their pregnancies better

better weight and survival figures in puppies

Why is commercial dog food not good for my dog?

There are a range of problems with commercial dog foods. I will provide some links below, but in summary:

a dog's food should never be cooked. It should be fed in a raw natural state like nature intended. Cooking a dog's food ruins most of the nutritional value.

dogs should have access to raw meaty bones. These clean their teeth, work and develop their neck and jaw muscles, and the chewing action prepares their stomach for the incoming food mass. Chewing bones also slows down the eating process considerably, making it far harder for a dog to over eat.

dog foods have as their main ingredient cereals - the main ingredient your dog should be eating is raw meaty bones. And it is these very cereals that cause a range of problems such as allergies.

commercial dog foods are laden with preservatives, colors (dyes), and salt. They have additives to make the food taste better so that the dogs will overeat.

the vast majority of commercial dog foods have far too much carbohydrates in them. High levels of carbohydrates are linked to over-eating, diabetes, weight gain, and numerous other problems. Dogs should eat a diet with only a small amount of carbs.

there is no substitute for a raw diet.

and most scarey of all:

your vet is most probably recommending a commercial diet because of financial inducements and a lack of independent learning.

Join a raw group list. I feed my dog a prey model diet and he does so well on it. His breeder feeds only raw as well.

Do what is best for your babies do some research find out what is Realy in teh Kibble crap you are feeding and make an informed dacision.

All the best

Christine

1

Any dog food that you find a walmart won't be very healthy for dogs. You'll find the good stuff at one of your local pet stores though. Pet Valu is where I get my dog food from.

You can simply phone around and ask the stores what type of food they would recommend for your poms, I however would suggest for you Wellness Puppy Formula. You can feed both of your dogs this food until your youngest puppy is old enough to switch to the dog formula. The puppy food will be fine to food to your older dog.

Innova is another good food, however I can't help you with this food as I have no experience with it... but I've heard only great things about it.

Are you worried about the cost of a higher quality dog food? In all honestly, it's cheaper! Yes, you might have to pay more for the bag, but it will last much longer. You will notice your dog eating less on a high quality food such as Wellness or Innova then they would if eating Iams or Puppy Chow.

I don't support Iams, as they do harmful testing on animals... often killing them... see on this site:

http://www.iamscruelty.com/notTested.asp

Will feeding puppy chow harm your dog? Yes, it's like you eating McDonald's every day. You gain weight, arent getting any nutrience, and your appearance will not be so appealling. So, in the long run it will decrease your dogs life expectancy.

I hope this was helpful information!

Purina Puppy Chow, Iams and other foods that are sold in grocery stores and retail stores like Walmart, should be avoided. I feed all my Chihuahuas, Canidae All Life Stages! It is all natural, human grade, naturally preserved, is reasonably priced, has no corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions, fillers, preservatives or dyes in it! It is also made for all stages of a dogs life, from puppies to adults, so you don't have to worry about switching to an adult food, when you puppy becomes and adult! You can stay with the Canidae All Life Stages!They also don't eat as much food but still get all the nutrition that they need, so you end up saving money, because the food lasts longer, and they also poop less! Just remember, that any time you switch foods, do it gradually! You can find it here. Go to this site:

http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.ht...

Go to the Store Locator Link:

http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html

Type the city you live in, in the space provided, and it will bring up all the stores in your area, that carry Canidae!

Pomeranian Diet

The more expensive brands like Innova and all those actually end up not costing you as much as you might think. Since the protein and nutrients in those foods are more dense than in other foods (those others like Pedigree are mostly filler like corn and wheat), your dog will need less of the food to be full and he'll end up eating less of the food in any given week. He'll also poop less =) So if you feed a better food, it will take him longer to get through a 15 pound bag than it would for him to eat a 15 pound bag of Pedigree or Purina. The Innova bag would cost more, but it would last you longer too. I just checked the Petsmart website and they carry a whole bunch of brands, including Innova, Wellness, and Blue Buffalo. Those 3 are all really great foods, and a 15 pound bag of Blue Buffalo for small-breed adult dogs is only like $29. Petco I know for sure carries Wellness, those big pet stores are all starting to carry more of the better pet foods since more and more people like you are asking for them =) Good luck in your search!

Good quality dog food isn't sold at Walmart. The main ingredient need to be protein (meat), so look for a food that lists meat as the first ingredient. If it has meat by products in it, it's not good quality. If it has a lot of corn, that's just filler and has no nutritional value, so no good. Canidae is a good option as it's not as expensive as others, as are the other brands you mentioned. You'll need to go to a pet store for it. Iams is not a high quality food.

No Iams Some dog food company's put bad stuff in dog food that dogs can not digest and will cause skin and allergies problems..No corn wheat soy by-products animal fat animal digest dyes fillers....Walmart dose not sell good dog food you need to go to a pet supply store..If all else fails you can order your dog food..List of good foods..Wellness Merrick Natures Variety Innova Raw Diet is the best you may want to look into that.

Yes those three that you think are good are all good foods. My dogs coats and more importantly health are fabulous on Innova. Iams is not too great of food, but is better than Puppy Chow. No way will you find any quality food at Walmart. You will have to go to a specialty pet store to get the good foods. Go to www.naturapet.com and use their store locator function to find a store that sells the good food.

Look at www.dogfoodanalysis.com

They list foods by 6 star (best) down to 1 star (not so good). Any food at walmart wouldn't even be 1 star. If you don't have any pet food stores nearby, you can order a good food only from petfooddirect.com--they have the 3 good foods you listed there.

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What kind of dog food should I buy my pomeranian?

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