Thanks for sharing @diana.lang and @jacksta. Love hearing about your dogs, they look healthy and happy 
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As it seems to be a slow news day, I thought I might take the opportunity to share the photo of our new puppy my wife is returning home to Cairns with next Monday.
Ours is the light brown one in the foreground.
I feed my two girls minced steak (or chicken), meant for humans. I steer clear of all pet foods. Add some vitamins for pets and you have a nutritious (and often more affordable) meal for your pets.
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We have a burmese - she is now 10 1/2 years old and has had Royal Canin all her life. She is very healthy only goes to the Vet once a year for Vacs. Very happy with the RC. The only snacks she has are steak, lamb or chicken in our hands straight off our plates. Offered anything āsnacksā in her plate she will not touch it!! Royal Canin has dry & wet foods also Over 7 year olds & Indoor which is her meals.
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Have you tried adult vantage natural dry dog food? It is by Earthborn Holistic and my pet loves it.
Do keep in mind mince and vitamins isnāt a complete diet. It misses things like Omega 3s and 6s, Glucosamine and Condroitin (for joints), sufficient fat, fiber, prebiotics etc.
ALWAYS consult with your vet or a qualified animal nutritionist before going home cooked or raw only. You may not notice the difference now but it can result in some awful conditions later down the line (eg Arthritis)
If you do want to go raw there are pre-prepared options that already have all this added
In the interest of full disclosure, I work in part of the pet industry.
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Thank you for your comments tpeter267, Iāve worked in the pet industry too in the past and know fully what goes into commercially prepared pet foods which is why I refuse to feed it to my pets. The vitamins to which I refer contain Omega 3s and 6s and both glucosamine and chondroitin. I also mix in my home made greek style yoghurt and give them treats twice a day (again home made) which provides the fibre. The meals I prepare and serve to my dogs are from a cookbook prepared by a vet, my two girls see the vet regularly and he says they are the healthiest dogs heās ever seenā¦So please do not be concerned as to the health of my pets, they are far healthier than I am. I will also add that Iāve fed this to all of my pets, all rescues, some terribly emaciated when rescued, and all have lived with me until their passing, most well over 15 years after being rescued. My original post didnāt include the full recipes etc because I gave the basic of what I buy, and again if something is marked āunfit for human consumptionā then it is unfit for my pets to consume as well.
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Thatās sounds like an excellent diet for sure. Unfortunately I see a lot of people who literally feed their pets just cooked meat and pasta as their entire diet. Thatās why Iām always so quick to respond like that
If anyone is concerned about whatās in their pet food but doesnāt have time or knowledge to prepare their own meals, I normally direct them to a dry food that is made from human grade meats, or a pre-prepared raw option.
Given recent incidences of pet deaths after consuming a so called high grade dry dog food in Australia, I wouldnāt feed dry food of any kind to my pets either.
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To be fair the issues there are complex. Prior to the issues with Advance Dermocare it was understood that megaesophagus was not caused by food. There still hasnāt been an official link drawn either (the food is obviously the issue, but itās still not been proven). This type of incident is impossible to predict. Human food is frequently recalled due to dangers to consumers too.
The issue is the recall process. Mars took far too long to decide the risks were worth a recall. If it was a human food it would have been immediate as soon as the issue was raised. This speaks volumes about the failure of current regulation to protect people and pets.
There is options for people who are concerned but cannot prepare their own food. Purchasing a US made food is a viable option as the FDA there applies the same rules to pet food as it does to human food. So although their recalls are not legally binding in Australia, youād get notice as soon as an incident occurs rather than months down the line.
At the end of the day no product is totally safe from faults. Strawberries, rockmelons, pet food. Human food is not immune from issues, the process to detect them and control them is just far more rigorous. If you shop around there are pet foods that face the same controls.
Our new puppy will be 5 months old this week. He is 75% Toy Poodle and 25% Shih Tzu.
The breeder was feeding the litter dry puppy food and our vet recommended Hills dry puppy food as a complete diet, however Bailey does not like it very much and generally only eats it once his appetite has been piqued by something tastier.
We also feed him diced cooked chicken thigh fillets with boiled Basmati rice, chopped cheese omelette, small pieces of fresh pear, raw meat offcuts, raw chicken necks and various titbits.
The vet said that he does not appear real, my wifeās hairdresser said that he looks like an Ewok, and others have said that he looks like a teddy bear.
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I feed my cat on dry and moist commercial foods. Far less than the marketers recommend, but heās healthy.
On opening a packet of Whiskaās yesterday, I found a little sachet:
and a card:
Judging by the ingredient list:
itās mostly whateverās cheapest.
As for hand-feeding, my cat objects if Iām too close while heās eating.
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Currently feeding my bully raw Paws and Stay Loyal grain free kibble. Mostly the raw meat. She gets her fibre from the mulberry tree which has gone stupid, and from the ācrunchiesā when I am prepping veggies. The cat gets the same meat and Fussy Cat grain free kibble. Again mostly the meat. The kibble is to stop him demanding food at 5am. I figure that neither has opposable thumbs so nothing cooked.
Choice have a campaign that they are running for safer industry standards for our pet food, so that dogs do not DIE when feed commercial kibble or dry food/wet food. Please circulate this campaign and get everyone that you know to sign it in order to make Pet Food safe and Indgredient lists on pet food accurate. It is totally unfair that Consumers can purchase Premium Dog Food brands to feed their animals and have them DIE due to poor Industry Standards that are not monitored or enforced. Too many Police Dogs and others died this year because of ineffective controls of ingredients.
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Where does one find this campaign please, Iād love to sign and get my friends to sign as well.
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Link from right at the start of this thread:
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jezemeg8 if you have any further hassles finding the site, please let me know 
Cheers Natalie
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There are similar patterns emerging in pets as we see in humans. From my personal experience the main few reasons someoneās dog or cat is overweight include:
- They donāt read the packet and feed their pet as much as double whatās recommended
- They donāt realise a standard adult formula isnāt appropriate for senior pets, inactive pets or certain breeds (eg Dachshunds)
- They continue to feed a puppy food to an adult because they donāt understand how itās different to an adult formula
- The pet gets large amounts of human food and scraps
You can see how these behaviours can be a problem in both owners and pets. Not reading packaging, not identifying what should be an āoccasionalā food and not understanding energy intake vs requirement.
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