Okay, moron question here most probably, but still.
I have this tiny chihuahua-mix(i think?) dog. Technically, it was my mom's, but im taking care of her after she passed away. Shes getting old, I think she just turned 12 this month, but shes still pretty energetic and seems quite healthy.
Anyway, shes been eating pretty much only kibble her whole life. Purina Pro-plan, mostly, since thats what her vet recomments, but im trying to mix it up with other brands so she doesnt get bored. But I just feel sad for her, eating the same fricking dried meme food your whole life, even for a dog, this shit must be depressing... I tried making her food myself a few times, both chicken legs, boiled them, boiled some rice, and some veggies that are okay for dogs to eat(mostly tried with green beans) and she absolutely loved it.
But then, every time I go to the vet, she seethes at me and tells me to never feed her "human" food...
I dont get it, is she actually right or is it some shill trick to make me keep buying expensive dog food from her?
I mean on one hand, I can see it, there are probably plenty of vitamins, minerals and whatever nutrition that the dogs needs that I would probably not incorporate in her homemade food properly, but on the other, dogs existed for millions of years, its not like they were doing bad before kibble was invented, surely.. And its not like I trust all those meme brands to really be "THE BEST FOR THE DOG" as their advertise, they literally put the cheapest garbage meat and veggie leftovers in their production.
I feel the dog knows better what she needs, I can see the difference in the enjoynment she gobbles the homemade slop I make her, or even begs me to give her a bite of whatever Im eating compared to the same boring kibble she eats every day, but i might be just wrong, i dont know
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My dogs have cleaned our plates and eaten the leftovers for a decade now, I'll post again and let you know when they die
>is it some shill trick to make me keep buying expensive dog food from her?
yes. she's not "in on it" as much as you'd think. they get them in vet school. she genuinely believes she's instructing you to do what's in the dog's best interest by feeding it literal trash.
>there are probably plenty of vitamins, minerals and whatever nutrition that the dogs needs that I would probably not incorporate in her homemade food properly,
also correct. there aren't easy answers here. is not insurmountable, just isn't easy.
>yes. she's not "in on it" as much as you'd think. they get them in vet school. she genuinely believes she's instructing you to do what's in the dog's best interest by feeding it literal trash.
Sad but probably true. It’s pretty much up to you to do your own due diligence and find out what’s true or not
Ofcourse your dog love unhealty food but the vet is probably right
If you dont wanna give him the trash dogfood, get the animal waste products food
I buy something called "dog rice" which is a few types of scrap rice from black to white all mixed
I cook it with assorted meats I get from a butcher, I ask for whatever scraps they have including some bones. I also throw in some vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems, whatever veggies I have at home at that moment really, also a bit of salt and olive oil or lard if the meats are low fat. then I freeze it in meal portions
I alternate 1 cooked meal and 1 kibble meal, the kibble I always mix with some water so it has a more natural texture, sometimes a chopped banana
Anon my parents have been feeding their dog homemade food for the past 17 years
Its fine, hes had better values than me for the longest time until he got old and frail, just be warned
1. Dogs are pretty alergic/cant handle certain foods
2. Dogs cant handle the same percentage of fat, carbs etc humans do
So basically, you can feed them stuff you make at home, you cant feed them what youre eating
The oldest dog on earth only ever ate homemade food and scraps.
bobi was a literal scam though
your tinfoil hat sir
prove him wrong
Clickbait aside, watch this for some history background about how kibble came to be, it will help your decision.
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Also your dog is 12 years old. Give it a hearty meal, even if it is going to give her some problems 3 years down the line, I think she'd say it was totally worth it. Make sure to moderate it, so that she doesn't grow fat and to not use spices. My aunt's dog got eye infection from homemade meals supposedly. It's a small york, around 16 years old.
quite the lengthy posts in here
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>Wauf is a smart board!
>but im trying to mix it up with other brands so she doesnt get bored. But I just feel sad for her, eating the same fricking dried meme food your whole life, even for a dog, this shit must be depressing
I hope you at least know how to transition your dog's food. If you just start switching shit up, your dog will have digestion issues to the potentiality of death. Consider instead giving your dog the occasional "healthy treat" such as a carrot, cucumber, corn on the cob, a bit of steam/grilled chicken.
We used to have chihuahuas too. Our male died at 16 years old and our female at 18. They lived on Purina Dog Chow with the occasional treat as aforementioned. Anecdotal, but that's what happened. We've had a Husky since 2016 and she eats the same food the chihuahuas ate.
>I feel the dog knows better what she needs
Keep in mind some dogs eat themselves to death via excess or gastric incompatibility. You are the sapient creature here. You decide what is best for your dog because they lack the consciousness to do so.
If your chihuahua is an applehead, just feed it whatever. They're too dysgenic to have any base level consciousness most animals have. They're akin to insects in regards to consciousness.
>They're akin to insects in regards to consciousness
this, why bother trying to feed well shitty breeds
>enter thread thinking it will be full of raw-food shills
>pleasantly surprised
Yeah so long as your little guy is still active and happy just stick to a high-quality kibble. And yeah, your vet is right to be cautious, she's probably seen lots of dogs become deficient due to morons trying to raw-feed and fricking it up. Good kibble is more than fine for dogs. There are ways to spice it up if you feel like it, but I wouldn't risk drastically changing their diet, especially at this old age.
Good on you OP for caring about your critter. IMO your vet is probably just being cautious - if you feed them human food, especially a tiny dog, there's a non zero chance they'll eat something that could harm them like garlic or onion (including the powdered versions).
I've never seen a dog or even a cat get sick of kibble, but it is a good idea to always use high quality kibble with little or no filler in it. Royal Canin and Science Diet are easy to get and Amazon often sell both cheaper than retail. I think for the common varieties of food from both brands they do often have a few flavours available, so that might be an option to mix it up a bit.
Having said all that, please do still treat your dog. They love it, it makes their otherwise boring days more interesting, and can be helpful to train them. Unseasoned meat, dog treats etc are all good options.
>Purina Pro-plan, mostly, since thats what her vet recomments, but im trying to mix it up with other brands so she doesnt get bored. But I just feel sad for her, eating the same fricking dried meme food your whole life, even for a dog, this shit must be depressing...
I understand your empathy and once shared your concerns, OP, but... They don't care, realize they're like permanent 1 year olds.
I feed my chihuahua mix Eukanuba for small breeds and the guy has always liked it. He's also always been extremely healthy, as evidenced by his very lustrous hair and overall health.
I say keep giving him high quality kibble and you can give him other treats occasionally, such as beef or chicken, maybe when training him. Also realize that some people feed their dogs literal leftovers or garbage-bin kibble and they still live lots of years, so if you're investing in good food you're good to go. God bless you both.
Just get her a high-quality kibble like royal canin. How much does a chihuahua need to eat? It's not “expensive” to feed small dogs because I have large dogs and make it work.
Home-cooked food is almost always never balanced. Long story short, you need more than rice, chicken, and broccoli to sustain a dog. Seek a canine nutritionist to make a balanced diet for you.
Yeah, obviously, Im trying to buy her the the best food I can, price is not really an issue, she eats like a kilo-two a month anyway, its literally the price of a few coffees.
That was my thought too, Im sure i cant make her the perfectly balanced food, but I guess my point is, can i at least give her home made food from time to time? She just seems so much happier and eager to eat it, compared to the boring kibble shes used to her whole life. According to my vet, no, i should avoid ever giving her "human food" and I just dont get why
I co-fed my dogs raw and kibble for a while until I started college. That way I didn't have to worry about balancing it. Maybe you could try that, just calculate their maintenance energy requirement (MER) and substitute up to 50% of however much you want for homemade food. Make sure the calories add up. There's a little calculus on the kibble part but human food is widely pre-calculated with apps for calorie tracking so it's that easy.