Affordable, Chicken, Organic, Grain/gluten/corn/soy Free Food, Homemad

[Guest AMELIAdetonated]

I have a newly whelped greyhound that's 2 1/2 and I can't figure out what to feed him. I know he enjoys chicken because that's what he's always been fed, and when I tried feeding him turkey food, he didn't enjoy it much. But I'm SUPER health conscious and an avid (sometimes anxious) reader and have read that many dogs are allergic to corn, soy, gluten, and/or grain. AND, I know that if it's not organic, it's pumped with hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, other additives, and SODIUM (the big one for UTIs, which my dog has ALREADY gotten since I got him, feeding him BLUE BUFFALO no less). I even give my pup Brita filtered water to make sure he doesn't get any kind of fluoride or crap in his body, because that's how I eat as well.

 

So, basically, I can't decide if I want to start MAKING him his food, all raw, all organic; or if I can find a kibble/wet food brand that I can trust to be all those things that isn't going to cost me $5 per pound of food (he eats about 1 pound per day, so it can get expensive). I just realized (I know, stupid of someone who claims to be a label-reader) that Blue Buffalo ISN'T organic, so now I'm trying to find the best option for him and my wallet, but mostly him first. If you have any suggestions, tips, research links, or recipes that you'd like to share, it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

Edited June 22, 2012 by AMELIAdetonated

[MaryJane]

I feed my dogs cooked home-made and have for years. They get meat, veggies, and rice/oatmeal every day and seem to do well on it. I buy human grade meat and if it is hamburger, it's the 85 to 90% as greyhounds can have issues with too much fat in their diets. Making home-made gives me better control over the food that they get as one of mine gets seizures (so no preservatives) and the other has kidney issues (needs lowered protein but good protein). But, it can get expensive and take more time to prepare homemade foods.

 

You may want to try one of the commercial kibbles that has beef for a main ingredient rather than chicken or turkey. I've found more greyhounds to be food sensitive to the proteins rather than the "grains" but, that's just my experience.

[NeylasMom]

and have read that many dogs are allergic to corn, soy, gluten, and/or grain.

I don't know that many dogs are allergic to those things, but I do agree that they're not a part of a dog's natural diet and I certainly understand not wanting to feed them (I don't and won't ). You may find that a home cooked diet is your best option as it gives you total control over the ingredients. There are certainly kibble out there that are free of corn, soy, gluten and grain, though they will have another starch instead (potatoes usually) and there are probably a couple that are organic, but they likely aren't going to come cheap and to be honest, not all dogs fare well on those kibbles (they tend to be richer imo). No harm in trying them of course, just transition gradually and give the new food a few weeks to see how he does. But again, cooking a homemade diet may be the same price or less and give you more control.

 

You might also consider a raw diet. That's what I feed and my dogs have done very well on it. I feel very good that they're getting a biologically appropriate diet, our vet costs are lower (no or very irregular dentals for one thing), and they love that they get to tire themselves out chewing on big chunks of raw meaty bones.

[kudzu]

... have read that many dogs are allergic to corn, soy, gluten, and/or grain. AND, I know that if it's not organic, it's pumped with hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, other additives, and SODIUM (the big one for UTIs, which my dog has ALREADY gotten since I got him, feeding him BLUE BUFFALO no less). I even give my pup Brita filtered water to make sure he doesn't get any kind of fluoride or crap in his body, because that's how I eat as well.

I think it is more like corn, soy, gluten & some other grains may be the prime allergens but that doesn't mean many dogs are allergic to them. (Guess that depends on your definition of many though.) Also, bacteria cause UTIs not sodium. Can sodium exacerbate or create conditions making dogs more susceptible to UTIs? Perhaps for certain dogs already prone to UTIs but the sodium itself is not the cause. All that said, I think there are foods out there which rely too much on things like grains & some that add too much sodium to improve palatability.

 

Once upon a time I had a dog who could not drink tap water. It effected his nervous system creating symptoms of cystitis. However, this cystitis did not have an infectious cause. The solution for avoiding that was the use of a Brita or similar filter. I carried water with us to give him when we traveled. For a long time after his departure I continued to use filtered water for my dogs, just because. Eventually, when we got up to 5 dogs, I decided that was a ridiculous waste. Dogs have had not problems at all since switching them back to unfiltered water.

 

You can get meat from animals not given hormones without having to pay extra for organic. "No added hormones" meat is now readily available in almost all of our local groceries.

 

None of the above is meant to discourage you from following this path if that is what you want. Simply adding some info for consideration.

[Remolacha]

I haven't investigated EVERY kibble on the market but I have looked at a lot of them, I have a dog with many food sensitivities, and I doubt you will find a kibble that meets all of your requirements. Home cooked or raw is probably your best bet. You control the ingredients, and as kudzu said, you don't always have to pay the extra expense for organic to get good meat. It takes a little more time, especially at first, but I don't think it is any more expensive that the high-end kibble.

 

If you want to try kibble first, go to some websites and start checking ingredients. All the good ones have them listed.

[Guest AMELIAdetonated]

Thank you to everyone who replied! I have looked into se high-end kibbles but when I'm paying upwards of $2 per pound of kibble, I'd rather spend close or just a bit more to give him a healthy, raw diet. As for the chicken versus steak - which would you consider is better for a greyhound? My boy seems to like chicken, but he also likes pig's ears and seems to enjoy the idea of steak when my dad cooks it. Could I just give him raw steak? And if so, does anyone know any good recipes that are relatively inexpensive (less than $3 per pound) and pretty healthy/balanced?

[MaryJane]

IMHO, you probably want to do beef rather than chicken and you should not get fatty beef as greyhounds do not seem to tolerate too much fat in their diets. The chicken today just gets too much antibiotics along with growth hormone and the processing at the slaughterhouse gets "nasty" bacteria over the chicken and if you decide to feed raw this could be a problem for the dog and for people in the house with the dog. Do beef roasts if you plan to do raw as there is very little chance of contamination if you quickly sear the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, because it is processed in a grinder, should be cooked as there is a danger of E. Coli.

 

If you want to feed raw, I suggest that you start a new topic and "ask for information about raw". There are quite a few on the forum that feed the diet successfully.

[NeylasMom]

IMHO, you probably want to do beef rather than chicken and you should not get fatty beef as greyhounds do not seem to tolerate too much fat in their diets. The chicken today just gets too much antibiotics along with growth hormone and the processing at the slaughterhouse gets "nasty" bacteria over the chicken and if you decide to feed raw this could be a problem for the dog and for people in the house with the dog. Do beef roasts if you plan to do raw as there is very little chance of contamination if you quickly sear the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, because it is processed in a grinder, should be cooked as there is a danger of E. Coli.

 

If you want to feed raw, I suggest that you start a new topic and "ask for information about raw". There are quite a few on the forum that feed the diet successfully.

So much incorrect information in this post. OP, if you want to feed a raw diet, you'll need to do some research. It's not a simple as just feeding chunks of meat. Your dog cannot get all of his nutrients from meat alone, he also requires a certain percentage of bone and organ meat. Large meaty bones are best for dental health and mental stimulation, but you don't always have to feed those.

 

If you want to do homecooked, then typically you would use a recipe that uses cooked meats, vegetables, maybe some starch, and supplements. I'm in no way an expert on home cooked diets, but I do know there are some good resources out there (books that you can use to educate yourself and find recipe) and I personally would want to have at least a few "recipes" on hand that change the ingredients to add variety and make sure my dog is getting a balanced diet.

 

ETA: Lots of good information in this recent thread already to get you started if you want to think about a raw diet. There have been others, I would probably do a search in this forum to see what you can dig up. And another informative thread.

Edited June 25, 2012 by NeylasMom

[Guest BrianRke]

IMHO, you probably want to do beef rather than chicken and you should not get fatty beef as greyhounds do not seem to tolerate too much fat in their diets. The chicken today just gets too much antibiotics along with growth hormone and the processing at the slaughterhouse gets "nasty" bacteria over the chicken and if you decide to feed raw this could be a problem for the dog and for people in the house with the dog. Do beef roasts if you plan to do raw as there is very little chance of contamination if you quickly sear the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, because it is processed in a grinder, should be cooked as there is a danger of E. Coli.

 

If you want to feed raw, I suggest that you start a new topic and "ask for information about raw". There are quite a few on the forum that feed the diet successfully.

So much incorrect information in this post. OP, if you want to feed a raw diet, you'll need to do some research. It's not a simple as just feeding chunks of meat. Your dog cannot get all of his nutrients from meat alone, he also requires a certain percentage of bone and organ meat. Large meaty bones are best for dental health and mental stimulation, but you don't always have to feed those.

 

If you want to do homecooked, then typically you would use a recipe that uses cooked meats, vegetables, maybe some starch, and supplements. I'm in no way an expert on home cooked diets, but I do know there are some good resources out there (books that you can use to educate yourself and find recipe) and I personally would want to have at least a few "recipes" on hand that change the ingredients to add variety and make sure my dog is getting a balanced diet.

 

ETA: Lots of good information in this recent thread already to get you started if you want to think about a raw diet. There have been others, I would probably do a search in this forum to see what you can dig up. And another informative thread.

 

I was just going to say the same thing about a raw diet not being as simple as throwing them chunks of meat. There needs to be a lot of research done to make sure your dog is getting all of his nutritional requirements if you decide on a raw diet. My veterinarian is VERY much against raw diets for dogs because he says it is almost impossible for them to get everything they need. There are many people on this forum that do feed a raw diet and my hat is off to them because it is a lot of work.

[Guest AMELIAdetonated]

IMHO, you probably want to do beef rather than chicken and you should not get fatty beef as greyhounds do not seem to tolerate too much fat in their diets. The chicken today just gets too much antibiotics along with growth hormone and the processing at the slaughterhouse gets "nasty" bacteria over the chicken and if you decide to feed raw this could be a problem for the dog and for people in the house with the dog. Do beef roasts if you plan to do raw as there is very little chance of contamination if you quickly sear the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, because it is processed in a grinder, should be cooked as there is a danger of E. Coli.

 

If you want to feed raw, I suggest that you start a new topic and "ask for information about raw". There are quite a few on the forum that feed the diet successfully.

 

If I were feeding free range chicken (which I absolutely would, because I won't eat anything other than that either), would chicken be overall better than steak? The reasons I ask are: He ate chicken as a racer, or so my organization & foster told me, so he's used to it; it's cheaper than getting free range/no added BS steak; it's easier to keep in the house because we already eat it anyway (we're a steak free house because it makes the whole family ill, physically). But really, I'll make exceptions if the steak would be exponentially better for the pup.

 

IMHO, you probably want to do beef rather than chicken and you should not get fatty beef as greyhounds do not seem to tolerate too much fat in their diets. The chicken today just gets too much antibiotics along with growth hormone and the processing at the slaughterhouse gets "nasty" bacteria over the chicken and if you decide to feed raw this could be a problem for the dog and for people in the house with the dog. Do beef roasts if you plan to do raw as there is very little chance of contamination if you quickly sear the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, because it is processed in a grinder, should be cooked as there is a danger of E. Coli.

 

If you want to feed raw, I suggest that you start a new topic and "ask for information about raw". There are quite a few on the forum that feed the diet successfully.

So much incorrect information in this post. OP, if you want to feed a raw diet, you'll need to do some research. It's not a simple as just feeding chunks of meat. Your dog cannot get all of his nutrients from meat alone, he also requires a certain percentage of bone and organ meat. Large meaty bones are best for dental health and mental stimulation, but you don't always have to feed those.

 

If you want to do homecooked, then typically you would use a recipe that uses cooked meats, vegetables, maybe some starch, and supplements. I'm in no way an expert on home cooked diets, but I do know there are some good resources out there (books that you can use to educate yourself and find recipe) and I personally would want to have at least a few "recipes" on hand that change the ingredients to add variety and make sure my dog is getting a balanced diet.

 

ETA: Lots of good information in this recent thread already to get you started if you want to think about a raw diet. There have been others, I would probably do a search in this forum to see what you can dig up. And another informative thread.

 

Thank you for the links! I feel like I mistyped a bit when I said homecooked, I actually mean like homemade. I would not feed my dog cooked food - even I rarely eat cooked food, I'm one of those crazies that eats mostly live food (sans mashed potatoes & bacon, TOO DELICIOUS!); but I'm definitely going to look into the links, and I have seen a lot of suggestions online about the organ means and stuff - but you'd be surprised how hard it is to find where I am. People keep referring me to Asian stores. As for vegetables, I want to make sure he gets some, but I want to know what kinds are good for greyhounds, because when I look online at raw diets, they're very general and I don't want to make the mistake of seeing my dog as 'regular' in an instance and be wrong.

[Hubcitypam]

I'd almost bet that your dog ate chicken based kibble mixed with ground denatured (not for human consumption) beef along with veggies, pasta, supplements, etc at the track. The bulk of his diet was probably beef and the grains in the kibble.

 

Being in FL you should have no problem finding Hispanic grocers and meat markets. Look up carnecerias in the phone book. We have a large Hispanic chain near me and one can get most organ meat imaginable every day - hearts, lungs, kidneys, unprocessed tripe, chicken feet and backs....

[NeylasMom]

but I want to know what kinds are good for greyhounds, because when I look online at raw diets, they're very general and I don't want to make the mistake of seeing my dog as 'regular' in an instance and be wrong.

Your greyhound is a regular dog, with the same nutritional requirements. A healthy raw diet is based on variety, not a single protein source or cut of meat. If you feed a proper prey model diet, you don't need to feed veggies or carbs. You do need to feed a VARIETY of proteins and cuts of meat, some with bone and some without, as well as organ meat. You also need to base your decisions on what's appropriate for your dog, not what you would feed yourself as your needs are not the same. If you can't get the appropriate cuts of meat (including organ) to feed your dog a balanced raw diet, then you may need to look into cooking food or feeding kibble. There are also premade raw diets that may be an option for you, although they tend to be more expensive than doing it yourself and again, you have less control over the ingredients.

[RedHead]

I can get hormone free, local chicken an a decent price here to feed the pups, but I could never afford organic, unless some of my friends who have hobby farms have extras for me. If you have a good supplier and can afford it though great. I actually prefer to feed quite a bit of red meat if I can (beef heart, stewing chunks, etc.) mixed with chicken and some other meats. Feeding only boney chicken parts will most likely lead to some deficiences. I would HIGHLY recommending reading up if you think you want to switch to homemade. I have a lot of great books, but I just ordered Lew Olson's "Raw and Natural Feeding" and really like it. It has info on raw, cooked, half and half or just recipes for adding fresh toppers to kibble. Easy to read and understand. I could have never switched without having my library