Ingredients safe for dogs and cats

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My SO's son (near 40 YO) had an Alaskan Malamute for 18 years. He fed the dog only human food every day of its life. When I say human food, I'm not talking about table scraps. He cooked a separate meal for the dog every night. If he didn't have time, he'd stop by a restaurant and order it a steak dinner. When he went away, he cooked and froze meals for the dog. Dessert every day was M&Ms. 18 years old when he finally gave up the ghost.

According to some, he did everything wrong. How long do you suppose this dog would have lived if he did all the "right things".

Excellent point. As long as you mix up things and make sure the dog is getting all the right nutrients he will do better on human food than most of the dry dog foods out there. And because human food typically isn't cooked at 600 degrees, it is easier to digest and processed much better by the pet.
Eighteen years though... that's a good long life by any dog's standards.
 
I have a Yorkie, she will only eat a little bit of chix for meat. She loves any and all veggies and fruits, yogurt. Her favs are baby carrots, grean beans, watermelon, grape tomatoes, geen peppers. She isn't a big fan of dog bone treats.
We had a beagle that ate everything and anything, I never knew till this year that onions and grapes were bad for a dog. The beagle would go in the veggie bin and eat my onions till I caught her, and had to move them. I would cut up onions and she would bark for a peice, She passed on 2 years ago @ ripe old age of 14, When my mom saw me give a pc to the yorkie she told me that onions are bad for the dogs. I was surprise after the beagle ate them like apples.
Green beans are good to give to an overweight dog as suposely they fill full. My mother's dachound is very over wieght and she was told about the green bean diet for dog and put her on it and she is down 3 lbs in a lil less then a month.
the yorkie can pick up a scent of any watermelon or cantalope for miles. she will get to where you can't hold on to her. I could make her a chef salad and she would think she died and went to heaven.
 
Onions are like chocolate. They aren't good, but many dogs can handle them in moderation with no ill effect. Probably like people and hot dogs, lol. Grapes (raisins) are a different story. Just a couple grapes can shut down a dog's kidneys. You just never know if it's your dog that could happen to. If I dropped an onion slice or a candy bar and one of my dogs scarfed it up I wouldn't be concerned. If I dropped one grape my fingers would be in their mouth digging it out. But they know better than to charge something I've dropped anyway.
 
I would like to see some good, UNBIASED research on dog food. All I can find is 'research' conducted by dog food companies.

Mine get Purina, supplemented by a raw egg once or twice a week, leftovers, brussels sprouts(!), carrots, apple cores, whole free range bunnies, mice and squirrels, anything I drop on the floor, an Ol Roy dog biscuit for breakfast, etc., etc., etc. I avoid too much of any one thing--like Bola's Max, they can become amazing fartistes, and the three of them can run me out of the house.

They are healthy and happy, rarely have digestive upsets or mistakes in the house. They are country dogs, and get plenty of exercise running my property and the farmland that surrounds me.
 
Add Macadamia nuts to the "do not feed" list for dogs.

We mostly feed our two dogs (a Lab and an Irish Setter) dry food, but every couple of weeks I will make food for them from scratch. Usually this is either ground beef, chicken, or turkey mixed with some cooked brown rice, eggs, and molasses. No fish or pork - we've learned from experience they don't handle those meats very well. I also mix some veggies into the food, but limit it to carrots, peas, green beans, and winter squash. Squash, especially, they seem to love. Herbs, such as basil or mint, is very good as well. Also avoid the temptation to add salt to their food. Just like people, they don't need a lot of it.

Word of warning about feeding your dogs homemade food. They tend to become VERY picky eaters once they've been exposed to the good stuff. ;)
 
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We typically mix our dog's dinner 1/2 his own dry food, 1/4 yogurt and 1/4 veggies from our dinner that night. When we are done eating, he gets what ever meat scraps are left. I have read the many ways you can cook for your dog but using some of his own dry food makes me comfortable that he is getting the right vitamins.

My mom gave us all magnets one year that listed the items to keep away from your dog ... It has a food catagory, medications, plants and household items. Nothing on the food list surprised me ... macadamia nuts, chocolate (although our dog Jack loves M&M's), onion, grapes, raisins (Jack ate a bowl of chocolate covered bridge mix last Christmas which included raisins. Not a fun time.), etc. The one thing that did surprise me though was aspartame. Not that you are going to give your dog sugar-free chewing gum but if your dog likes sweets like ours does, it could be a tempting concern. Apparently it can do some serious damage.
 
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