Big Paws Only Dog Forums
Saint Bernards => Saint Bernard General Discussions => : jules March 17, 2005, 01:12:58 PM
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Help,was wandering what people fed their saint?
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Hello,
Well I know some saint owners do the BARF diet, which consists of all raw meat and vegetables ground up. I on the other hand use Pro Plan adult Beef. I don't know how old your Saint is, but as a puppy you don't want to feed him/her to much food with protien in it. I always look to see what the first ingredient is on the food label, that's what's going to be the most in the food. I hope this helps.
awo
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Here in NZ - People feed their Saint on Proplan also Nutrience large breed puppy and also adult - that we buy them from the pet shop or vet clinic - I am not sure what good dog food in america.
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Feeding can be a lengthy topic - I'm sure many of us have been there. However I havn't heard much about the BARF diet - is it necessary with Saints? How much does it cost a month? How do they like it?
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Actually the BARF diet has been around for a long time, but it's just now coming to be the new thing for dogs. First, the diet doesn't have to be just for saints, it can be for all dogs. People who use the BARF diet, claim that their dogs teeth are cleaner and they have the healthiest looking coats. I would suggest that anyone looking into doing this, do your research first. It depends on how many dogs that you have, it really costs about the same as dog food. If this is something you choose to do, you can make enough portions for a month and just freeze them. You can go online to research for this diet.
awo
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How do the dogs like it?
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Have you ever tasted dog food? If you haven't I suggest you try it, it won't make you sick, but it has no flavor at all and if your dog gets goodies from the table or other treats,what do you think your dog would choose. You can also just try the barf diet and see how your dog likes it first before you decide to do the monthly portions. I hope this helps.
awo
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Here are some links for people who are interested in learning more.
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm
http://touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/index.shtml
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I feed a BARF diet to both of my dogs, my Saint and my Cocker. They love it. But it's not for everyone, and you should research it online as suggested. Use any search engine and type in Barf diet for dogs, you will be amazed at how much info you will find. There are even message boards, like this for the BARF diet.
Lorrie
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For folks living in America a much more cost efficient version of the barf diet is all natural dry kibble. No fat spray ons, no old rotting ingredients. Its all natural and baked over 2 times for easy digestability.
The only dry food bronx would touch without any extra treats(gravy, rice, meat) added to it and its all human grade ingredients. http://www.QualityDogFood.com
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FYI- we feed Solid Gold. It is very healthy and is a recommended food by many vets and breeders because it has no preservatives or fillers in it. It is also supposed to be safe for human consumption, if you wanted to share food with you dog I suppose.
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We use Nutro, which was recommended to us by our breeders. So far it has seemed to work well. His coat is beautiful, and he seems to be growing at a healthy rate. However, he recently developed a urinary tract infection. The vet says this could be due to his diet. We don't feed him people food and we've moved the cat food out of his reach. The only other food he sometimes gets his mits on is rabbit food. Has anyone heard anything about Nutro?
Also, is the raw diet really high maintenance? We would love to do what is best for our dog, but it seems like so much work. I wouldn't even begin to know where to buy food for him. Thanks for the websites, i'll definately look into it!
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Hello,
Yes, I have heard of Nutro, however I don't use it for my saint. The only thing I really have to say about Nutro is the first ingredient listed, which is beef meal. Beef meal can consist of all parts of a cow, including eyelids, eyes and so forth. I use Pro Plan, which I feel has better ingredients, but that is my choice. There may be many reasons other than what your vet said. I hope this kind of helps.
awo
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I feed Neura Wellness the simple food. It is awseome, we feed the venison and rice, one protein and one carbohydrate. It took a long time for me to find the right food. The urinary probs can come from to many veggies also. We fed our rotti, neura wellness fish and sweet potatoe, the sweet potatoe gave him he urinary probs. He has major food allergy issues, the venison and rice is the only food(including barf) that doesnt give him probs, I would love to get my neo on barf, but i am not sure if its the best thing yet. I need to talk to more neo owners first!
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I have fed Proplan for many years
But at the moment
Pediigree Advance
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Ah, the great food debate! I made the mistake of asking about food when we adopted Winston and got a three inch stack of material from the rescue group. In an ideal world, I would like to feed a raw diet, however, I don't have time to cook for myself, let alone the dog. I ended up going with the food his foster family fed, which is Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance. He has done really well on this food until recently, when he developed a hot spot. I'm switching him over to the Natural Balance allergy formula (duck & potato) just in case it was food related.
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That is a good food too. We used it when Bear was a puppy.
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I am the mommy of a 10 month 144 pounds Saint Bernard named Cassie. We have had her since she was 8 weeks old - 17 pounds. We feed Cassie Nutro Natural Choice for large breed puppies, initially we fed the Nutro Natural Choice wet with the kibble. NOW she eats 10 cups a day in split into two feedings with homemade chicken and broth poured over the top (instead of the wet food) We found she is Gassie Cassie with wet food. (that is when she decides to eat) Miss Finicky Eater... She usually skips breakfast 3-4 days a week. We are thinking about just feeding once a day, we shall see.
Cassie has food issues, if we travel or her routine is comprimised in any way she just won't eat. We had to travel to LA for the weekend, and she is an excellent dog when traveling, and she loves the car. The only downside is that she will not eat. If she is fed too late - on the weekends for example her normal breakfast is 6:30am if we feed her at 8:00am forget it...she sniffs and walks away. My husband says she will eat when she gets hungry enough. I have to say after throwing away too many LARGE bowls of food down the disposal.... I do have to agree with my husband. :-*
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I have my boy (130lb Swissy) on BARF. We switched to it after being on ProPlan for 2 years for various reasons. The barf diet can sounds intimidating, but it is no more trouble than adding extras to kibble. I had thought about feeding an all-natural "raw" kibble, but it would end up costing me much more.
I buy my chicken at the grocery store (from 19 cents/lb to 39 cents/lb), and make my own veggie mix (whole eggs, pumpkin, spinach, strawberries, bananas, carrots,collard greens,a little garlic, etc..). I usually mix it with yogurt, a can of fish or ground meat, along with raw oats or rice. One batch of mix costs about $5, takes less than an hour to make, and lasts for about 3-4 months. It costs me roughly 30-40 per month to feed my boy (gets about 2.5 - 4 lbs a day). This is including cod liver oil, coat supplements, kelp, flax seeds, apple cider vinegar, honey, probiotics, and other misc things.
If anyone is interested, Natural Balance does have a raw food out now. It is only currently available in California and Neveda.
Jennie
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Cassie sounds like my Spotakiss.Hes 4 months old now and he doesnt seem to like breakfast.Righ t now we feed him Eukanuba.Why are they so picky I wonder?
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I went to pet smart to look for some of the prior suggested brands of food. They didn't carry any of them. I was wondering where you guys buy the food you mentioned- solid gold, etc.? Pet Smart does carry Iams and Eukenuba. My vet said these were good brands b/c they do a lot of heart research for big dogs. Does anyone know anything about those brands? Like I said, we are currently using Nutro, and looking to change. Thanks!
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Hi. I feed my Saint and Bassett the BARF Diet. They are both exceedingly healthy, and look beautiful. I tried the kibble with my saint when she was a baby, but she slipped past the gates I had setup for my other 2 dogs, and made a beeline for their dinner bowls, which contained chicken wings at the time. Picture this, a 2-1/2 month old saint puppy not letting go of the chicken wing she had clamped in her mouth at the time, and gobbling it up as fast as she could before I was able to get it away from her. So, I decided to switch her over from her kibble diet a little earlier than I had originally planned on. Now, Gertrude is almost 11 months old, and weighs in around 130 some-odd pounds. The only time we've had to go to the vet's office is for her shots....no illnesses in this house.
Cheryl
Gertrude and Caper's Mom