Food fit for the Dogs ... and their owners, too!

Monica Eng interviews Dick van Patten as he introduces Eatables, "Dog food that is supposed to be so delish that owners will want to scarf down a few bites before calling Fido."

skip Dick's dog food. His Natural Balance brand (sold at Petco - where i don't shop) is actually produced by Diamond Food... Diamond also sells generic brands of Costco/Kirkland Signature food. I'm trying Costco/Kirkland food for the first time this month. The 2 big paw breeds ate about 40 lbs in less than a month so...

Cathy2 wrote:Monica Eng interviews Dick van Patten as he introduces Eatables, "Dog food that is supposed to be so delish that owners will want to scarf down a few bites before calling Fido."

Why would someone make a dog food and the owner is going to WANT to get into first? Though from the sounds of the article that it is not likely.

Here’s a link to Ann Hodgman’s memorable article on dog food, originally published in Spy Magazine over ten years ago. “How does dog food taste? There’s only one way to find out, and it doesn’t involve a talking dog.”

Hi,

I feed my cat IAMS dry cat food and Fancy Feast in those single serving cans twice a day. When I am shopping for her catfood, I am often chiding myself for how the food is marketed to appeal to me: Grilled Beef, Turkey & Giblets, Chicken with Liver Pate (or something close to that).

While I have never tasted her Fancy Feast, I did once sample her dry cat food. Knowing cats have a dry tongue, I imagine it tastes better to her. To me and my moist mouth it was like eating minerals. Yuck.

Regards,

Our elderly cat suddenly decided this summer that he would no longer eat the Science Diet kibble he's eaten with relish for at least a decade. He'd only eat it if I mixed in some tuna. This coincided with the manufacturer changing the packaging from paper to plastic, so I wondered if it was that, but he wouldn't eat any other brand of dry food either. Some of it he wouldn't eat even mixed with tuna.

It got so he was losing weight, so we took him to the vet, who prescribed Pepcid AC for acid stomach and said that sometimes old cats just get finicky. He's also in the very early stages of kidney failure, so the vet wasn't keen on feeding him much tuna or other human food. (Too bad, because this is a cat who's been known to enjoy watermelon and ratatouille, among other things.)

So now we're feeding him some goopy "mature cat" stuff that comes in a pouch, and I have to say it smells awful to me, and what he doesn't eat quickly becomes pretty gross. But he acts anxious to get it and at least he'll eat some of it. (He laps up the "gravy" first.)

It's hideously expensive as well as bad smelling. We're used to buying a bag of dry food for about $7 that lasts several weeks; this stuff is 89 cents a pouch and, in theory, he ought to have four or five of them a day. (I can't get him to eat that much, though.) And it only seems to come in chicken flavor.

I wonder whether he's losing his sense of taste. Although he acts hungry, perhaps the actual taste of the food is so disappointing that he gives up on it.

Since humans lose their sense of taste as they age, too, it's a scary thought.

Max, who enjoys knocking things down and making nests in them

I have to admit that I don't just purchase food for my dogs that sounds appealing to me, but I actually feed my dogs human food - but raw. I feed them meat meals derived from ground beef and/or turkey mixed with ground vegetables. So, if you formed it into a patty, threw it into a pan and fried it, you'd probably have a pretty tasty burger.

I don't "do" supermarket pet foods or even the so-called "upmarket" processed foods (like IAMS and Science Diet) because they are made partially from meat which often is rendered from euthanized animals, at worst, or diseased and dying animals designated as unfit for human consumption, at best. Also, I don't feed them processed dry foods because I liken it to humans eating a bowl of cereal as their primary meal daily - I don't think it would be too healthy. The reason for my soapbox diatribe is to explain why I do this as I am sure there are those out there who would be surprised to find out that people would actually prepare their pets' food from human food. But, I assure you, there is a growing community of pet owners who do this. May this is where Van Patten is going, but with a convenience twist.

I'm not sure it would surprise all of us. Jeffrey Steingarten had a column a while back, that made it into one of his books, talking about the meals he was cooking for his golden retriever, Sky.

He actually cooked the food, serving Sky whatever he ate, but generally blander and cooler. He'd put far less salt and spice into it, and let it cool down to about 105? degrees -- whatever the body temperature of a freshly killed rabbit is.

I do believe he also took care to not include those vegetables etc toxic to dogs in the servings he gave sky, like large quantities of onion.

-ed

I don't know about dogs, but you can't feed cats only human food -- it doesn't contain enough taurine and they go blind. I suppose there are supplements, but if I get any more practiced at ramming pills down my cat's throat I might as well get some ducks and learn gavage.

HI,

Our cat Kitty came to us via a Wisconsin Dells weekend cottage. He was a mouser who was expected to keep the area clean of rodents. He also got used to eating people food via handouts and garbage. While I did cook for him chicken livers and few other things, he was openly more interested in our food than his cat food. Sometimes dinner was spent keeping the cat away from our dinner, which didn't make him too popular.

After Kitty went to the heavens, we acquired Katy who was less than 8 weeks old. I fed her cat food only to the extent she is not interested in our food. She does like a few tablespoons of milk and an occasional bit of bread, but otherwise she is content with her IAMS and Fancy Feast. She will occasionally obtain kitty-sushi by hunting something in the neighborhood.

While we loved both cats, we really prefer their believing their food is for them and leaving ours well enough alone.

Regards,

I think that, strangely, or not so strangely, my dogs think that they get the better food. They're really not interested in my foods, even those junk foods like burgers and pizza. But give them a raw egg in their dish and they go crazy! I guess, as with everything, it's based partly upon what you're used to. For instance, the Scandinavians love their herring - not so much for us Americans (no offense to the herring-lovers out there. )

aschie30 wrote:I have to admit that I don't just purchase food for my dogs that sounds appealing to me, but I actually feed my dogs human food - but raw. I feed them meat meals derived from ground beef and/or turkey mixed with ground vegetables. So, if you formed it into a patty, threw it into a pan and fried it, you'd probably have a pretty tasty burger.

I don't "do" supermarket pet foods or even the so-called "upmarket" processed foods (like IAMS and Science Diet) because they are made partially from meat which often is rendered from euthanized animals, at worst, or diseased and dying animals designated as unfit for human consumption, at best. Also, I don't feed them processed dry foods because I liken it to humans eating a bowl of cereal as their primary meal daily - I don't think it would be too healthy. The reason for my soapbox diatribe is to explain why I do this as I am sure there are those out there who would be surprised to find out that people would actually prepare their pets' food from human food. But, I assure you, there is a growing community of pet owners who do this. May this is where Van Patten is going, but with a convenience twist.

Aschie30, does your dog still eat 100% raw food (i.e. no "dog food")? Is the food always ground? If you have to leave your dog with a friend or at a kennel, does the dog still get raw food?

Darren72 wrote:

aschie30 wrote:I have to admit that I don't just purchase food for my dogs that sounds appealing to me, but I actually feed my dogs human food - but raw. I feed them meat meals derived from ground beef and/or turkey mixed with ground vegetables. So, if you formed it into a patty, threw it into a pan and fried it, you'd probably have a pretty tasty burger.

I don't "do" supermarket pet foods or even the so-called "upmarket" processed foods (like IAMS and Science Diet) because they are made partially from meat which often is rendered from euthanized animals, at worst, or diseased and dying animals designated as unfit for human consumption, at best. Also, I don't feed them processed dry foods because I liken it to humans eating a bowl of cereal as their primary meal daily - I don't think it would be too healthy. The reason for my soapbox diatribe is to explain why I do this as I am sure there are those out there who would be surprised to find out that people would actually prepare their pets' food from human food. But, I assure you, there is a growing community of pet owners who do this. May this is where Van Patten is going, but with a convenience twist.

Aschie30, does your dog still eat 100% raw food (i.e. no "dog food")? Is the food always ground? If you have to leave your dog with a friend or at a kennel, does the dog still get raw food?

Yes - still on the raw diet (going on 6 years now). Doing great with it. For him, it's always ground, although his meals are supplemented with various dinner scraps, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese (the stinkier, the better, for my dog), etc. I know many people who also feed their dogs raw meaty bones such as chicken wings, drumsticks, etc., as it promotes good teeth health as well as provides the right calcium:phosphorus ratio in their diets. (Raw bones are OK, cooked bones are not as they can splinter in the digestive process.) My dog can't handle bones only because he was a stray when I got him and his teeth are bad due to prolonged poor nutrition, and eating things he shouldn't, like rocks, while he was "on the street."

If he boards or stays with someone else, I prepare and portion out his meals ahead of time in labeled baggies so that for each meal, the person taking care of him just doles out what's in the baggie. I just ask either the boarders or my friend to keep his food in the refrigerator which is usually not an issue as there is generally one on the premises.

Do you grind the bone into the food or supplement with a calcium powder?

I used to feed one of my cats raw, but he stopped eating it. He now eats kibble and wet food. Orijen dry, and other high quality wet foods (Wellness, Merrick, Innova).

The dog eats Orijen, Solid Gold, or Nature's Variety. All the grain free versions. There are good dry kibbles out there and quite a few of them. The Whole Dog Journal put out their approved list for the year in their February Issue.

brandon_w wrote:Do you grind the bone into the food or supplement with a calcium powder?

I supplement my dog's ground food with commercial bone meal powder (available at Whole Foods) every other day. But those who give the raw meaty bones do not supplement with a calcium powder or grind them up, they given them out whole. I have a friend whose dogs are nutty for the raw meaty bones -- I guess, like with humans, it's an individual thing. You can also supplement their diets with offal, which I do, from time to time when I get a whole chicken with gizzards.

I used to subscribe to Whole Dog Journal and would feed Solid Gold to my dog and it's head and shoulders above a lot of dry dog kibble (especially IAMS and Science Diet which are not good). However, my feelings about feeding exclusively kibble, even high end kibble, are expressed above: it's like giving them a bowl of cereal everyday and I think that a diet that contains more actual meat is a closer approximation to what a dog's diet would be in the wild.

I agree that fresh meat is the way to go if you can afford it, and if you have the knowledge to make sure your dog is getting the proper nutrients and amount of food. I also cook up the gizzards for my dog. Someday I would like to go to RAW or a home cooked diet, but it's a little out of my budget right now, and I don't have the freezer space to buy in bulk just for my dog.

I would never feed my dog IAMS or Science Diet.

Hi,

I was using IAMS until there was the pet food fiasco. I was paying premium, though I wasn't convinced it was premium any longer. I now buy the Kirkland dried food, which is the default food always available.

Once a day, there is the much adored Fancy Feast. I buy four cans of each flavor, then I mix them up because the cat doesn't like getting the same selection too often. I buy about 120 cans only when they are on sale, which is every other month.

Regards,

brandon_w wrote:I don't have the freezer space to buy in bulk just for my dog.

Well, there's that. I don't have a particularly large freezer, but at least 1/2 of it is devoted to dog food. Oh well! As for the cost, it's not that much more expensive, if I buy strategically (meat at Peoria or Chicago Meat and veggies at Stanley's). Also, I subscribe to a CSA and in the summer, my box will inevitably provide me with leftover veggies that go into the dog's food, or even parts of veggies (veggie offal) that I won't likely consume, such as beet greens, radish greens or kohlrabi greens that go into the food.

Darren-

I just realized that part of my response to you didn't make it through, but I had added that if I'm going away for more than a few days, say, a week - 10 days, I freeze the food packets for the latter part of the week and then deliver the caretaker a mix of fresh and frozen baggies, figuring that by the time the frozen ones were needed, they will have defrosted in the refrigerator. Hope this makes sense, feel free to PM me with any other questions.

aschie30 wrote: Hope this makes sense, feel free to PM me with any other questions.

I hope the discussion may continue here, because there is always someone who benefits from it.

Regards,

I feed my dogs raw. I don't grind anything or cook anything for them - no sense in creating extra work where none is needed. The diet has proved to be cheaper than their previous diets, because both were on expensive, crappy prescription food to deal with various issues (UTIs, IBS, allergies) that cleared up once they went to meat. They eat a lot of organ meats and things that average about $.39/lb at Peoria Packing, as opposed to the $1.99/lb or whatever it was that the prescription food cost. Plus, on the occasions I run out of food, it's a snap to get more - I can just run out to the corner butcher rather than drive to Petsmart and show them my prescription card.

I tried to get the cat to eat raw, and that was no go. Nothing but the finest California Natural kibble (chicken flavor only, please) will pass her lips.

When we go away, we adjust the dogs' diets depending upon the tolerance and fridge space of the babysitter. Thos who are grossed out by raw can deal with a mixture of canned raw and frozen raw patties, which are too pricey for daily feeding but certainly convenient. If they don't mind the meat, we portion out meals in ziplocs so they can just dump it in the bowls, no touching required.

Edited to add: it does take a lot of freezer space. Ours, which is small, is filled up entirely with two weeks' worth of meals. This helped to lead us to eating mostly fresh foods, and now have no need for freezer space. So there you go - the dogs' diets are good for us too!

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:If they don't mind the meat, we portion out meals in ziplocs so they can just dump it in the bowls, no touching required.

Suzy-yes exactly. You put it better than I did, that's exactly what I do. (Having trouble communicating today... need more coffee. . .)

SuzyCreamcheese wrote:Edited to add: it does take a lot of freezer space. Ours, which is small, is filled up entirely with two weeks' worth of meals. This helped to lead us to eating mostly fresh foods, and now have no need for freezer space. So there you go - the dogs' diets are good for us too!

Exactly right again! Every time I'm tempted to buy something that takes up freezer space, I have to remind myself no-can-do, which is only good in the end. Consequently, my freezer contains: 50% dog food, 15% ice, and 35% nuts, frozen celery (for stockmaking), some frozen berries and the occasional Trader Joe's truffle flatbread.

Dogs are supposedly creatures of habit, but our Taylor Fuzzball recently went off dry food (Iams) entirely, and is only interested in canned food. Odd, but I guess I don't mind. Shop around and you can regularly get cans of good dog food for less than $1. Whenever I can I give her lean meat as well - cooked, not raw. Garden Fresh Markets sometimes sells chicken pieces for as low as 49 cents a pound. Fuzzball will also eat rice, peas, and carrots if mixed up with dog food, though not necessarily straight.

But let this not lead you to think Fuzzball's tastes are limited to dog food and a few bland sides. As I told Mhays recently, I could write a very long kick-off post if I started a thread entitled "Things That My Dog Will Eat With Me That My Husband Won't."

I guess in that regard, I'm with Jeffery Steingarten.

We recently started making cat food a few months ago - there's a great recipe online for raw.

We make cooked. Typically grind chicken (dark preferable to white), heart (pork, beef), liver (pork, beef), organic egg (just cause that's what we've got), some flax, cooked oatmeal. Not only is it better for that the cat (I believe), but it's less expensive than canned food and significantly better. He LOVES it. We could probably eat the "meatloaf" we make as well, maybe sans egg shell. He gets the odd chicken bones - I don't have a grinder to handle bone meal just yet. Supposedly dark meat chicken and heart will contain enough taurine to stave off blindness. The flax provides some Vit E and omega 3's. The oatmeal's for some fiber. He doesn't get veges though... except what he steals off our plates. He gets the occasional fish meal from scraps.

Dry kibble is really nasty stuff... even though we'd been feeding him the Kirkland brand which has higher percentages of "meat" vs by-product or carbohydrates. If I'd have known, I'd have been making him food all his life. It's not inconvenient - we make 2-3wks worth at a time. It's inexpensive. It's healthier for him.

A friend of ours whose late husband was a vet recently gave me a tip for wet cat food. Our cat is getting older and is puking more, especially when she gets chased by the dog right after she eats. My friend suggested adding a little hot water to the wet food and mixing in just to make the consistency smoother and get rid of any lumps. We have an instant hot water dispenser so this is really easy to do. It has seemed to cut down on the vomiting.

Our cats and dog are all on Wellness. When we got our dog she was very sick with hookworms and Parvo, and had large areas of skin with no hair from malnutrition and sleeping on concrete. After all her health problems cleared up, we had her on over-the-counter food for a month or two with absolutely no hair growth. We switched to Wellness on the advice of a friend and suddenly her hair started growing in like crazy. I have no idea if it was actually the switch in food that did the trick, but that was enough for us. She's doublecoated, so now we have all the dog hair we could ever want, especially around this time of year.

Grits - if you want, you can save it up and there are people you can pay to spin it into yarn (if you don't spin yourself). It doesn't work well for single-coated dogs, the hair is usually too slippery.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I feed my dogs raw. I don't grind anything or cook anything for them - no sense in creating extra work where none is needed. The diet has proved to be cheaper than their previous diets, because both were on expensive, crappy prescription food to deal with various issues (UTIs, IBS, allergies) that cleared up once they went to meat. They eat a lot of organ meats and things that average about $.39/lb at Peoria Packing, as opposed to the $1.99/lb or whatever it was that the prescription food cost. Plus, on the occasions I run out of food, it's a snap to get more - I can just run out to the corner butcher rather than drive to Petsmart and show them my prescription card.

I tried to get the cat to eat raw, and that was no go. Nothing but the finest California Natural kibble (chicken flavor only, please) will pass her lips.

When we go away, we adjust the dogs' diets depending upon the tolerance and fridge space of the babysitter. Thos who are grossed out by raw can deal with a mixture of canned raw and frozen raw patties, which are too pricey for daily feeding but certainly convenient. If they don't mind the meat, we portion out meals in ziplocs so they can just dump it in the bowls, no touching required.

Edited to add: it does take a lot of freezer space. Ours, which is small, is filled up entirely with two weeks' worth of meals. This helped to lead us to eating mostly fresh foods, and now have no need for freezer space. So there you go - the dogs' diets are good for us too!

We went to a raw diet with our dogs because of health issues - specifically chronic allergies with our pug. His chronic, gross, smelly ear infections cleared up in two weeks and never came back for the rest of his life. I shopped the ethnic markets, fed them the "weird" bits that were cheap, ground veggies and froze them in serving size blobs. My dogs were never healthier or happier. I never did an out and out cost analysis, but having him healthy with clean ears, no obsessive licking and off all allergy meds and steriods was worth any small inconvenience. We luckily had a sliding door off the kitchen into the back yard so dinnertime was often open door, throw chicken leg into yard, watch dog chase it.

There's a really good yahoo group if you want more info. They also organize group buys from a variety of sources, some local, some not so local. I think it's BARFChicago (Bones And Raw Foods).

leek wrote:Grits - if you want, you can save it up and there are people you can pay to spin it into yarn (if you don't spin yourself). It doesn't work well for single-coated dogs, the hair is usually too slippery.

Actually we brush outside so we can enjoy watching the birds rushing to pick up the hair. I'm assuming the squirrels take it too because it's usually gone the next day. That's good stuff for nesting.

It would make some nice yarn, though.

Where can I buy raw bones for my greyhound? I asked the butcher at Jewel, and he said they weren't allowed to sell them??

s4shon wrote:Where can I buy raw bones for my greyhound? I asked the butcher at Jewel, and he said they weren't allowed to sell them??

What? That doesn't make sense.

I buy my bones at Peoria Packing, because they have big meaty pork necks for $.59/pound. You can find pork neck at just about any market, but you have to be careful to not get bones that are either too small or have sharp edges. Turkey necks are also good, and cheap. Avoid beef bones because they tend to be too hard.

Keep forgetting to post this - devour.tv has an entire series on this subject.