Pets

[TxCat]

I was looking to ease our puppy into a good food. I guess what I'm wondering, what are the life benefits of a super healthy food?

Since dogs aren't really omnivores, one of the main advantages is in...er...waste (specifically, lack thereof). My dogs typically produce less on a more meat oriented diet. Furthermore, it doesn't stink as much or as long and quickly turns into a white powdery substance which is easier to see and therefore easier to police in their enclosure. For a while, when we could afford it, we had our animals on a semi-raw diet (they got uncooked chicken quarters twice a week and ground beef or lamb and rice with bone meal supplements the rest of the week per our vet).

Your best bet would be to ask your vet for a list of crude protein percentages and absolute nutrients and then be prepared to spend a long time comparing labels. When we found a dry food that met those requirements, it turned out NOT to be one of the more expensive or typically vet recommended brands. It was our local supermarket brand. While it does still have grains and vegetables in it, they're way down on the ingredient list and the ingredients are recognizable as food instead of mechanically separated parts or animal byproducts.

I can't say whether the dogs are healthier or not but their coats look better, they eat less, and they don't barf as much as they did on the other stuff.

[Shona]

Does anyone in this thread happen to feed their Dog or Cat Blue Buffalo, or any high-supplement chow for their pet? I was looking to ease our puppy into a good food. I guess what I'm wondering, what are the life benefits of a super healthy food? In the long run, is it really worth it? Seeing as lots of dogs and cats have lived long and healthy lives on super-grain chow - on the other hand, some develop issues, cancer, etc.

I've also considered making homemade dog and cat food. Anyone feed their cat on a raw diet? Haha, IDK, I guess feel free to discuss your pet feeding habits.

Both of my dogs and my cat get Blue Buffalo food. A friend who is studying to be a vet tech recommended it, and the vet I selected before even getting the animals also said it is a good food. They get wilderness and longevity formula mixed kibble, some buffalo treats, and raw chicken wings every 2-3 days. (raw chicken bones do not splinter like cooked ones, and due to the shape of the wing bones, they are actually very good for cleaning teeth)

When we got our cat, Katana, her previous owner had been feeding her only meow mix and we had to slowly change her over. At first she had usually 3-4 BMs per day, and they were FOUL. Beginning a couple of days of being on only BB food, she usually goes only once, on occasion twice per day and while it is still nasty, it is not as foul.

Both dogs we changed over immediately since their digestion can handle abrupt changes better, and the change in their BMs were noticeable too within a couple of days of a good diet (fewer, and slightly less stinky).

All of my petss also need less food once they were completely on only BB foods Vet does say raw diet would be a bit better, but I am squeamish about handling much meat xD And Buffalo is a very good food.

[ShenziSixaxis]

Glass, we feed our little dogs Nature's Recipe Small Breed and have had no problems with them getting sick or fat from it. It's only a dog food, I believe, has great kibble and canned foods (haven't fed the canned), though it's a little expensive.

Another thing you could do is order raw from here, study it, and then buy your own to make. Either on the Hip Forums or Cornsnakes.com, there was a big thread about people who used to feed their cats or dogs raw. I'll see if I can find it.

[Batty]

I just don't understand how anyone could ever consider these little guys untrainable, unintelligent, or expendable. They've already improved my life so much just by being here.

Wait 'til you see a flock of 5000 wild budgies in flight. It's an awesome site to see.

batty

[TxCat]

Wait 'til you see a flock of 5000 wild budgies in flight. It's an awesome site to see.

I keep hoping to do so some day. I've seen pictures in the budgie care books I have but have not yet had the opportunity to travel to where they live and see them. We do have loose flocks of released or accidental birds here in Florida, but not nearly as many (perhaps 100 or so). It was like watching a living, moving rainbow streaking across the streets of Miami.

The cats pulled their tail feathers out. I need to start using the squirt gun on the cats, I guess. They did that while we were gone for the day. Both birds will now allow themselves to be caught in the hand, though Wobble bites pretty good when you do. Whirr is learning 'step up' and they will both take millet from my hands. One of them --- I can't tell which --- has completed the 'Pretty Bird' intonation, though I still wouldn't call it words.

They need more toys. We went conservative, not wanting to crowd them, but they need more than what we bought.

Pictures coming soon, when I remember what I did with the camera.

[kahara]

Yay a pet thread.. .D.

I love pets, every since I was little. xD I've had so many fish, hamsters, a rat, cat, dog, it's unbelievable. <3

At the moment I've got my cat, Sarge. A male short hair.




<3

He's a lot like me, which makes me think of how animals reflect their owners at times. xD He's lazy, lovable, simply awesome. :3 Although he enjoys licking plastic bags.. still no explanation for that!

[TxCat]

He's a lot like me, which makes me think of how animals reflect their owners at times. xD He's lazy, lovable, simply awesome. :3 Although he enjoys licking plastic bags.. still no explanation for that!

Wow, some beautiful genetics went into the making of that old boy! He's absolutely gorgeous. I haven't wanted to flood the pet thread with my pet pictures but we keep a lot of them now that we have the room. I have four dogs, four cats, two plecostomuses, two betta fish, a rabbit, a mouse, and the budgies are the most recent addition to the household. We also feed a bobcat hybrid who won't come in to live with us but does stick around (he's got a den by the dogs' enclosure outside).

Festus also likes licking plastic and playing with it. When we were wrapping Christmas presents last year, he got into the special bucket in which we keep our wrapping materials and SHREDDED an entire roll of paper. He didn't want to eat any of it, never has. He just apparently likes the sound it makes.

[kahara]

He's a lot like me, which makes me think of how animals reflect their owners at times. xD He's lazy, lovable, simply awesome. :3 Although he enjoys licking plastic bags.. still no explanation for that!

Wow, some beautiful genetics went into the making of that old boy! He's absolutely gorgeous. I haven't wanted to flood the pet thread with my pet pictures but we keep a lot of them now that we have the room. I have four dogs, four cats, two plecostomuses, two betta fish, a rabbit, a mouse, and the budgies are the most recent addition to the household. We also feed a bobcat hybrid who won't come in to live with us but does stick around (he's got a den by the dogs' enclosure outside).

Festus also likes licking plastic and playing with it. When we were wrapping Christmas presents last year, he got into the special bucket in which we keep our wrapping materials and SHREDDED an entire roll of paper. He didn't want to eat any of it, never has. He just apparently likes the sound it makes.

Thank you! ;w; My sisters cat is his brother, both equally gorgeous in my opinion. <3

Oooh, wow, quite a lot of pets. That's pretty awesome, I imagine it's a lot of work, too. o_o Worth it however, I would say. :3

LOL! Sarge did that too, he didn't shred it all up, but he kept taking it at the end and walking off with it, head held high in his accomplishments. xD

[Luca]

Re: Pitbulls

Actually, there is no such breed as "pit bull" (or at least according to the AKC and UKC). It's just a generalization of a group of bully breed dogs. There is, however, an American Pit Bull Terrier, which is included in the pit bull generalization. Other bully breeds included are the American Staffordshire, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Occasionally the Old English Bulldog and American Bulldog are also included, even though they are much smaller.

Anyways, it really irks me when people and the news automatically call a dog a pit bull when they actually have no idea what the dog is. A pit bull is no more likely to bite than a Labrador Retriever or a Lhasa Apso. While some breeds of dogs can be more aloof and can lean towards the aggressive side, as long as the owner takes control of the dog and its training from the beginning, that temperament can usually be controlled. While working at the animal shelter and at the doggy daycare, I've been bitten by more small dogs than large dogs, and I've never been bitten by a bully breed.

Blame the deed, not the breed.

[Imposibibble]

Both of my dogs and my cat get Blue Buffalo food. A friend who is studying to be a vet tech recommended it, and the vet I selected before even getting the animals also said it is a good food. They get wilderness and longevity formula mixed kibble, some buffalo treats, and raw chicken wings every 2-3 days. (raw chicken bones do not splinter like cooked ones, and due to the shape of the wing bones, they are actually very good for cleaning teeth)

About the raw chicken wings, are they safe for cats as well? I'm looking for a more "natural" way to clean teeth. She hates the toothbrush.

My cat is currently on a "varied" diet. Some days she gets only kibble (Innova), other days only canned food (mixed varieties) and sometimes a mix of both (dry in the morning, canned at night). Every once in a while, I give her some partially cooked chicken hearts. I toss them in some boiling water to cook the outside only. And she poops 1-2 times a day. And I like it like that.

I've tried her on Natures Variety raw frozen diet. But she doesn't seem to like it that much. I mean, she'll eat it, but she doesn't clean her bowl like she usually does.