Changing my dogs diet, any tips????

Okay, so I posted a few weeks ago; my mom got really ill a few weeks ago and almost died from a hiatal hernia pushing into her lungs. She is doing better now but has to have a dangerous operation soon. In the meantime, I'm caring for our family dog. He is a 85lb husky/lab mix, 9 years old he just turned. I love this dog to death, he's like a brother to me. But, my mother always fed him and took care of him for the most part (I did take him to the vet and things and paid for most of hist stuff but she fed and bathed him). And she got him on what I call a "people food" diet, lol.

For dinner, she makes him a home cooked meal every; a hamburger in the skillet (without the bun), green beans, and yams. I don't know WHERE she got this idea from. She's been cooking him this for many years, almost all his life. And 3~ weeks into her being sick; I'm tired of cooking this food for him in her place. I love this dog, but I think he needs to eat DOG food. Not to mention, this cooking takes a lot of time, washing dishes, standing on my feet, and spending a lot of money. I have a job, priorities, things I have to do to be cooking special home cooked meals for the dog!

Does anyone else here cook for their dog or heard of such a ridiculous thing? I think my mother heard on the news some dog foods were bad and "poisoness", the came from China and are bad for dogs. I know she's going to fight with me over it. But last night, I bought him a small bag of Purina chicken and rice at Wal Mart. She said he refused to eat dog when he was a puppy and that is how he got started on home cooked meals. Honestly, I don't remember that at all, I don't remember her ever trying different brands of dog food and things. I gave him a little handful of Purina last night to try it, he ate it! I was thinking of weening him off the home cooked burgers and into the Purina gradually (I heard it's not good to just immediately/instantly change their diet).

Any suggestions/advice on this? Is Purina a good/safe brand for my dog? I love my dog, but I don't feel like cooking him a home cooked meal day after day and dealing with the dishes and clean up.

A long time family friend of mine actually did this for a while - it was either plain cooked beef and rice or chicken (plain, cooked breast) and rice for her dog. Her dog at the time was suffering with a pretty severe allergy to some food ingredients. Until the vet was able to work it out and they could narrow down the source, this is what she did because that's all the dog could eat without getting sick or getting his face all puffy and swollen. Eventually, they found that he was allergic to a few ingredients and they found a good dog food for him that didn't have these ingredients and now he eats that and he's fine.

Some people do cook food for their dogs or give them raw, fresh food. Like you though, I don't have time to do that. My cat eats high quality, high protein prescription food to help her lose weight and it's dry and portioned out. I frankly don't have the time nor money to buy meat for her and cook it everyday. If you are concerned about finding a good quality dog food, I would check with a vet. Just call up his vet (if he has one) and ask.

Honestly, you're doing your mom a favor by taking care of the dog while she's sick. As long as you gradually progress with the new diet and he's happy, it's fine. If she wants to switch back when she is better, that's fine and it's her business, but I don't think it's your obligation to follow her idiosyncrasies if the dog is not sick and is happy eating the food you give him and it's reasonably healthy while sacrificing your time and money.

No Purina is not safe.

Basically, introducing a new diet at his age can be tricky. So you will have to do it very gradually and carefully. For dog food brands, I like Merrick. Be sure that you are choosing dog food that states clearly that is Grain Free. Also, your dog has tastes and preferences just like you do, so you may have to find flavors he likes best. Personally I mix the dry food with meat for my dogs. Expect that he won't really take to dog food. Other than that, you can make it easy for yourself. No need to be cooking every night. If I don't have time, I'll just grab a plain rotisserie chicken and mix pieces of that with the dry dog food. Over the weekend when I have time I might just roast a chunk of meat of some kind so it will last a long time and it's low effort type "cooking". I love the crock pot too. Dump meat in, avoid spices, it's done when it's done and I don't need to even think about it.

My mother cooks a chicken, rice and yams for her dog. The dog has health issues.

Blue Buffalo is supposed to be good food, if you don't want to cook. I would never use Purina.

Acana and Orijen set the standards for dry dog foods. They start at 50% meat, and go up to 85%. Dogfoodadvisor.com is a good resource.

Agree. The human diet that is making people fat and sick is now making pets fat and sick. There are cats and dogs with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. Yes they are family, but honest loving pet owners realize they are animals, not humans.

I think he needs to eat DOG food.

Rice (White), and boiled chopped carrots and chicken - make a big vat once a week! Done! Take care of her furbaby! Think of it this way, do you really want your mom coming home to a sick dog from eating cheap food.

But if you are too lazy to cook once a week, if you do plan on moving to kibble, do some slowly. So you mix real food with 1/4 portion of kibble for 3 days. Then 1/2 portion with kibble for another 3 days. Then 3/4 for 3 days. Then kibble. And if you do, may I suggest, Hill's Ideal Balance. It use to be Hill's Nature's Best which was a clinically proven formula.

Blue Buffalo - enough recalls on that product - I would never consider it.

Purina is the devil - don't be a jerk with giving the dog that.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not going to give my dog the Purina after all the advice here plus things I have read online. My mother agreed today that if I were to get something approved by the vet and gradually introduced to him she would approve of it.

There are some very healthy and clean dog foods out there, just do your research. My daughter is very picky about her dog's food. When I am watching him, I will feed him 1/2 of his clean dog food, plus some organic non-seasoned chicken, beef or salmon. Plain sweet potatoes/yams are also very healthy for dogs. I also make him a cage-free organic scrambled egg on top of his dog food for breakfast We are in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago - and we use the pet store Kriser's. The food is $100/bag (large bag) but very healthy. I would never, ever use Purina or any of those grocery store dog/pet food brands. Invest in your pet's health, whether it be time money or both. A very healthy and clean diet can save hundreds of dollars in health costs, later. Good luck! And I hope your mom is back to tip-top shape soon!

Purina is one of the worst brands to give your dog. Years ago they used to be one of the top, but the company changed their formula so that they dog food can be sold for a cheaper price. I had a neighbor who owned two collies he was trying to breed, fed them the dog food, and they both DIED. He ended up filing a lawsuit.

Don't buy dog food or treats from Walmart. Ever. Within the last year, my local Walmart store had to pull dog food and treats off their shelves TWICE because of toxic ingredients were found. And many of their pet products did come from China. I only use Walmart to buy doggie waste bags or toys because they are cheaper.

I highly recommend the Blue Buffalo brand. You can only buy this at Petco or Petsmart. They are expensive, but they are completely grain free and do not include fillers that are unhealthy for your dog. Unfortunately with having a large dog, yosu pay more in terms of feeding it (I got a friend who owns a Saint Bernard, and that thing gobbled $600 of dog food PER MONTH). If you want to want to get something that will manage your dog's weight, get the a rocky Road Blue Blue Buffalo.

Just like people, Dogs get bored eating the same food everyday- especially if it's dry dog food. That doesn't meal you have to cook a gourmet meal for your dog. It can be simple as mixing it with some left over chicken or steak (make sure they are not cooked with onions!!). Natures Selection and Blue Buffalo also sell dog food toppers that are under $2 per pouch- one pouch can be used 4 times.

My mother agreed today that if I were to get something approved by the vet and gradually introduced to him she would approve of it.

Careful with this. Vets are NOT dietitians for dogs. Some are paid to advertise certain dog food brands. My mom was seeing a vet who was advocating Beneful brand. one of the Beneful bags my mom picked up listed Advocado as one of their ingredients, and Advocado is extremely toxic to pets (a friend of mine killed her parrot by feeding her Advocado).

Do independent research on dog food. Pay close attention to the ingredients that are in your dog food. I strongly recommend My first vet recommended me this website to use when choosing my dog's food, was straight up honest that I need to do some research on my own, and told me the top 5 brands that her clients use that I could consider.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not going to give my dog the Purina after all the advice here plus things I have read online. My mother agreed today that if I were to get something approved by the vet and gradually introduced to him she would approve of it.

Do not take the vet's recommendation unless you see a holistic vet. They will recommend Science Diet or Iams which are well marketed crap! Orijen or Acana are the best but expensive (you do have to feed much less of it). Fromm or Merrick are good. If you're looking for affordable, Costco has some good food they sell. It's made by Diamond though which has a lot if recalls.

I feed my dogs raw. Its a mix of 80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% other organs. This is based on a natural diet of prey that is eaten by wild dogs. They love it, do great on it, and I pay less than kibble (I feed 2 Danes and a small terrier). I don't have poop to pick up either. It mostly dissolves in the rain because they're not pooping out all the unnecessary filler.

Wow, I've never heard of so many problems with Purina! When you guys say Purina, do you mean all varieties? I've always fed my dogs Purina One. For years with no problems. Currently, I have a 14 year old dog that's been on prescription food but the other eats Purina One. It's just what I've always gotten at Petco and my vet said it was a good food. What's in it that is so bad?