# Evaluate my dogs Diet



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

I wanted to feed my dogs a more nutritious diet then they were eating (presidents choice extra meaty kibble). After doing a little research, I switched their kibble to Kirklands Signature Chicken, rice, and veg. I also give them; Monday-boiled egg, Tuesday - raw chicken, Wednesday - raw meaty chicken bone, Thursday - boiled egg, Thursday - raw chicken, friday - chicken bone, saturday.... You get the point.
Anyway, they get about 1/4 cup kibble in the morning and then again in the evening, when they have an egg, the get a whole boiled egg chopped up with some shell each, and probably 1/2 cup raw chicken when they get that.
Do you think this is a pretty good diet? Please give me suggestions. Maybe I could get them organ meat, but I don't have a supplier for that, and I dont want to spend all day making their food, so I was hoping their kibble would balance their diet.


----------



## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Kirkland is an ok kibble would you switch it up to a 5 star food?

Kirkland Dog Food | Review and Rating

As for raw that is not my area but others might weigh in on that. One thing you might want to mix up though in the raw is the type of proteins chicken beef etc


----------



## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

If you want to balance it out with a kibble like you are now, I would try Ziwipeak. It is a dehydrated raw food, so it comes in a bag like kibble and you just scoop and serve. I would also try mixing up the proteins and offer other meats if they are doing well with the chicken. I find that the easiest place to find organs is at ethnic markets, I go to my local Asian markets to find organs and meats like goat and rabbit. I think you could also be giving the egg raw if you wanted too as well, they will get the most nutrients out of it that way


----------



## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

I think it sounds like you are covering all your bases! Kirkland is not a bad food, it's not 5 star but it's decent enough especially when you are supplimenting with the other foods as well.

I think it sounds good! Ziwi peak can be prohibitively expensive with a multiple dog household and as far as my experience has been it's not readily found in Canada, you almost always have to order it online, which can be a pain.

OP you are in Canada right?


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

Thank you for the responses! 
Huly - Im trying to keep costs down, and the kirkland brand seems to offer a lot of value for the cost. What brands do you suggest might be a better food for simular cost?
Ruffio n Renais - I am not sure Ziwipeak is available here (canada) but havent looked into it because I figured it would be expensive, but I will give it more consideration since I am reading so much good about it. The closest asian market is really inconvienient and far away for me, but maybe I will make an effort to check it out. The only reason they get boiled egg is because they seem to like it better, is raw egg much better?
Kittyd- Thanks, I know I am feeding them much better then I was, and much much better then they were fed before they came to me (most of them were rescued from deplorable conditions)


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

KittyD said:


> I think it sounds like you are covering all your bases! Kirkland is not a bad food, it's not 5 star but it's decent enough especially when you are supplimenting with the other foods as well.
> 
> I think it sounds good! Ziwi peak can be prohibitively expensive with a multiple dog household and as far as my experience has been it's not readily found in Canada, you almost always have to order it online, which can be a pain.
> 
> OP you are in Canada right?


I responded before you edited 

I am in Canada, so thanks for that additional info!


----------



## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

Amy Q I just checked on the ZP website, and I found a store near me that sells it, I called them out of curiosity and the smaller bag is 40.00 for under a months supply based on one 7 pound dog.

So I guess you can take that and run with it! for price estimation, we often end up paying more here in Canada for things like foods etc.
Kirkland is a decent food though! I know several people who feed it.

My doggies get boiled/cooked eggs too and they LOVE it!


----------



## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

What about Acana? Kirkland isn't a bad food, I'd only be suspicious because of the recalls it has had. Acana has never been recalled and is locally manufactured in Canada. 


Sent from Petguide.com App


----------



## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

Pupluv, my understanding was that the recall was based on the fact that HUMANS had gotten sick from Salmonella from handling the food, no dogs were ill.

Which can happen if you feed raw anyhow? so I think if you're already feeding raw food the risk might be about the same since you're already exposing yourself to potential salmonella in the raw meat and by the dog shedding the bacteria?

I'd have to go back and read about the Kirkland recall but this is what I recall offhand.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

KittyD said:


> Amy Q I just checked on the ZP website, and I found a store near me that sells it, I called them out of curiosity and the smaller bag is 40.00 for under a months supply based on one 7 pound dog.
> 
> So I guess you can take that and run with it! for price estimation, we often end up paying more here in Canada for things like foods etc.
> Kirkland is a decent food though! I know several people who feed it.
> My doggies get boiled/cooked eggs too and they LOVE it!


Thanks for looking up the price for me! With 5 dogs, that would cost exponentially more then I am paying now, yikes!


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

pupluv168 said:


> What about Acana? Kirkland isn't a bad food, I'd only be suspicious because of the recalls it has had. Acana has never been recalled and is locally manufactured in Canada.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


I will look into Acana further, thank you


----------



## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

If you want to start adding in organs, but the asian market is kinda far, if you make a trip but buy like 5 or 7 pounds, that would last you quite awhile if you are only feeding 2 ounces say twice a week. 

I think raw eggs are suppose to be better because when you cook an egg the protien in it denatures, that is why it turns white and solid, so basically the protein lose their function. But im sure cooked eggs still have a benefit. But you could even try putting some raw egg whites on their kibble if you wanted.


----------



## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Most of the nutritional value of an egg is in the yolk, the white is just protein. I feed raw eggs, but only a small amount as they cause loose stools with mine in larger quantities.
I would try offering some red meat as well as the chicken, whatever you can get cheaply. Heart is extremely cheap over here and mine love it, they have ox, lamb, pork and chicken hearts. Lamb heart is £2.99/kg which is 4 or 5 hearts, pigs hearts are even cheaper. Can you get green tripe? Again it is very cheap here in the UK and is pretty much nutritionally complete for dogs, as well as being something they really enjoy.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

Great information on the eggs, I will start adding it raw to their kibble once in a while and see how that goes. As for green tripe, I will have to consult google, because I have no idea what that is!


----------



## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

It is the lining of a ruminant's stomach, usually from cattle. It is green because of the digested grass etc that the animal was eating. It stinks to high heaven, but dogs love the taste and it is so good for them. It is used a lot over here especially in large kennels, but doesn't seem to be as popular in the USA, so I have no idea if you can get it in Canada. I think you can get it in cans (Trippet? Does that sound familiar?) but I have a feeling that would be more expensive. I get mine frozen from the pet shop, but people with lots of big dogs buy it directly from the abbatoir.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

I am going to look into it more, sounds DELICIOUS! Tee hee. I did some googling, and it certainly sounds like something that would be very benificial to add to their diet.


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

After reading this thread specifically about eggs I did some research because I have been feeding Lulu eggs lately due to her possible health issues and my attempt to change her diet. From what I have learned, yes, the white of the egg is where the protein is. Cooked and raw eggs have the same protein content, the difference is the chemical bonds that hold them in place. In raw eggs the bonds are tightly packed together by weak chemical bonds, but even though they are weak they are more difficult to digest making the protein more difficult to absorb. When you heat the egg, the bonds break and the strands separate from each other. This is probably what is referred to as denaturing, but it does not diminish the protein--it makes it more easily digestible and absorbable. At least this is how it works in humans, and to my mind, with dog's system's being shorter, I would think it would be all the better for dogs to absorb the protein of a cooked egg than a raw egg. If you want to check it out google protein difference in cooked and raw eggs.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

lulu'smom said:


> After reading this thread specifically about eggs I did some research because I have been feeding Lulu eggs lately due to her possible health issues and my attempt to change her diet. From what I have learned, yes, the white of the egg is where the protein is. Cooked and raw eggs have the same protein content, the difference is the chemical bonds that hold them in place. In raw eggs the bonds are tightly packed together by weak chemical bonds, but even though they are weak they are more difficult to digest making the protein more difficult to absorb. When you heat the egg, the bonds break and the strands separate from each other. This is probably what is referred to as denaturing, but it does not diminish the protein--it makes it more easily digestible and absorbable. At least this is how it works in humans, and to my mind, with dog's system's being shorter, I would think it would be all the better for dogs to absorb the protein of a cooked egg than a raw egg. If you want to check it out google protein difference in cooked and raw eggs.


This is very interesting, I am going to research this.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

Here is a little slideshow that says raw eggs have an enzyme that prohibits the absorbsion of vitamin B in the digestive track 
Dangerous Foods That Dogs Should Never Eat - WebMD Slideshow
I dont agree with all the 'dangerous foods' (raw meat...) but the vitamin absorbsion is something worth reading more about.


----------



## chaiteahuahua (Jul 2, 2012)

If you want to feed Kirkland, I would upgrade to their Nature's Domain brand-- it's grain free and a 4-star food. I feed that to our non-chi rescue, because feeding a 65lb dog is expensive compared to my little 5lb chi. 
Anyways, I personally prefer Acana for kibble, so you could always switch to that if it's not a money issue.


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

AmyQ said:


> Here is a little slideshow that says raw eggs have an enzyme that prohibits the absorbsion of vitamin B in the digestive track
> Dangerous Foods That Dogs Should Never Eat - WebMD Slideshow
> I dont agree with all the 'dangerous foods' (raw meat...) but the vitamin absorbsion is something worth reading more about.


Thanks. I always scramble Lulu's egg, but I might look into boiling it. I know I won't be doing raw.


----------



## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

AmyQ said:


> Here is a little slideshow that says raw eggs have an enzyme that prohibits the absorbsion of vitamin B in the digestive track
> Dangerous Foods That Dogs Should Never Eat - WebMD Slideshow
> I dont agree with all the 'dangerous foods' (raw meat...) but the vitamin absorption is something worth reading more about.


This issue was discussed on a raw feeding group Im a member of. Apparantly a large quantity of eggs would have to be consumed before it was an issue, and the benefits of feeding the yolk outweigh any negative affect on vitamin absorbtion to most people.
With raw feeding lots of variety is the key, so everything is fed in moderation.


----------



## AmyQ (Feb 6, 2013)

I was reading some articles about raw eggs last night which agreed with you Wicked Pixie. Perhaps I will join a raw food group too.


----------



## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

lulu'smom said:


> After reading this thread specifically about eggs I did some research because I have been feeding Lulu eggs lately due to her possible health issues and my attempt to change her diet. From what I have learned, yes, the white of the egg is where the protein is. Cooked and raw eggs have the same protein content, the difference is the chemical bonds that hold them in place. In raw eggs the bonds are tightly packed together by weak chemical bonds, but even though they are weak they are more difficult to digest making the protein more difficult to absorb. When you heat the egg, the bonds break and the strands separate from each other. This is probably what is referred to as denaturing, but it does not diminish the protein--it makes it more easily digestible and absorbable. At least this is how it works in humans, and to my mind, with dog's system's being shorter, I would think it would be all the better for dogs to absorb the protein of a cooked egg than a raw egg. If you want to check it out google protein difference in cooked and raw eggs.



Very interesting! thanks for posting this, I've never given my dogs raw eggs but now I am even more convinced it's a bad idea! my guys get scrambled and boiled eggies


----------



## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

I think a lot of people who baulk at the price of ZP don't understand how little you need to feed of it. I have 3 dogs and the large bag lasts me 2 months which works out to $1 per day per dog - I spend more than that on coffee per day!


----------

