Pet parents like to exchange ideas just like child parents. No one size fits all, but by exchanging information people can pick and choose what works for them. We continue to tune our feeding and this is an update. Items that impact my strategy and tactics are the following:
- I prefer freeze-dried raw food. It contains 98% of the nutrients without worry about spoilage and contamination.
- I think variety is good. Feeding the same thing day after day encourages allergies. Also, when the dogs get older, they sometimes get finicky. If they are used to a variety of food I think it is more likely they will find something they prefer eating.
- I work hard to manage weight varying quantity as their exercise changes.
- I mix in nutrients to supplement the ‘simple food project’ based diet.
- I am concerned about digestion. In addition to the canned pumpkin below, I will mix in sushi-style rice, pineapple, broth to help maintain good quality poops.
The base diet we feed them at this point is food from the Simple Food Project. Here are the options and I usually get all of them and mix them together:
Then from time-to-time I will add other food, breaking it up by hand:
I will frequently add freeze-dried veggies and/or fermented veggies to the bowl. The above freeze-dried food is generally very calorie-dense, so if I give more than half the recommended amount, my pups gain weight. So I give a small portion and add veggies to fill up their stomach with low-calorie density food.
Instead of veggies, sometimes I will add extra protein. These are relatively low calorie and can be helpful for health especially when combined with exercise:
I will add water and/or low-salt broth to their food bowls. There is a concern that freeze-dried food will dehydrate the pups. Here is the broth I prefer:
If they are having digestion problems I will add sushi rice, extra broth, or dollops of pumpkin:
While the broth or water is soaking in the bowl, I will give them some nutrients. These are my favorite:
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