A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
Again, the only guys that really care about their dogs feed raw..........anything else is just animal cruelty.
How is the view from up on that pedestal???
Call it laziness or lack of caring or whatever you want but I like hundreds of thousands of other people feed my dogs a bagged dog food...........a.k.a. - dry kibble. I was born and raised doing it when the food probably wasn't as good as it is in some cases nowadays and all my dogs and my dad's and uncles dogs all fared quite well over the years. I want you to understand, I'm not knocking anyone who either has the time or chooses to take the time to mix up a raw diet for the dogs..........I think that's great. But I'll be da*%ed if I'm gonna let anyone get down on me for feeding dry and adding in what I need when I need it......I take care of my dogs just as good as anyone else.
And another question................do you really think that raw is better than that $40 per bag dry food??? Or did you switch to raw because it costs you less than buying the GOOD kibble??? Hmmmmm, I wonder.........so preach on brother, it'll fall on deaf ears.
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
The view is nice- thank you. The thing that kept me feeding "good" kibble as long as I did was the price, once I acquired solid sources to buy all my meat in bulk and not over the counter at the grocery store I switched totally and it is cheaper. You should make your own kibble to save money a 70/30 mixture of corn and used fryer grease- not sure about the split though! Makes nice turds for you sort! Kurt
Not afraid to think outside the box or walk outside the crowd.
At least you admit you based your decision on price too. Your price may have been higher but it still makes you a hypocrit
Just out of curiousity do you actually think you are better than everyone else or do you just come across that way unintentionally??? That is if you don't mind conversing with us lowly folks way down here.
And you still didn't answer the question...........how many dogs does your highness keep?? The point was for us lowly people that think feeding kibble is a good way to go it can be quite a task to mix raw for a greater number of dogs. I've tried some of the stuff that you preach about in the past and although I see some differences I have NEVER seen enough of a difference in the dogs performance, endurance or looks to warrant the extra work for myself. Now that doesn't mean they don't get some special things every week but again that doesn't mean that aren't well cared for either. And again I won't bash the way you do it but I will bash you belittling others for not doing it "your" way.
I know that was more than just one sentence but hopefully you can follow it.
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
Before this gets too far I'll apologize for being a smart "you know what" but don't preach to me..........just share the info. It can be done without the condescending tone. Price matters to some of us so we try to find a balance between feeding something good and just trying to save a buck. Can you at least agree with that?
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
I am not trying to preach at all,price matters in no matter what I do,but never as much as "bang for your buck". Ron, How long did it take you to come up with that snappy comeback?, and are you a Grammar teacher by chance?
Not afraid to think outside the box or walk outside the crowd.
Raw diet is superior to "dry kibble" regardless of how much money you spend.
I know a guy pretty well that runs sled dogs. He competes in the big hunts, Iditeron etc....He pays $78 a bag for the best kibble he can buy, but claims its not nearly as good as feeding raw.
He feeds 50 plus hounds and feeding raw is quite a project....
He has a full time dog handler that does all the work.....
Obviously he's a doctor and has the money to pay for all this, but if the question is; What is best....Im convinced RAW is superior to any kibble.
I dont think feeding kibble is animal cruelty? I feed my 4 kids hot dogs and SPAM more than they get steak meat and chicken breasts, but I dont think its child abuse......I think most of us feed the best we can afford which might make it the best for us, but not necessarily the best available........
Mybeagles
Rob’s Ranger Rabbit Hunter (Lefty)
Rose City Quad King’s
DogPatch Fly
I been feeding some of the Pride 26/20 orange bag, it's good food.
Some guys talk'n bout the white and brown bag...well it makes good feed for the catfish.
Your not comparing apples to apples...the dark green bag ain't what it used to be imho...
If i had 4 hounds I could cook for them every day and I kinda like to cook. Raw is good and i mix it in when i can but today after working 16 hrs I'm glad I didn't have to do any cook'n.
Don't know how you guys get scraps from the butcher...I almost had to fight the guy to get the shank and knuckle bones from my own beef i had butchered...and i told him they were for the dogs...
mybeagles wrote:Raw diet is superior to "dry kibble" regardless of how much money you spend.
I know a guy pretty well that runs sled dogs. He competes in the big hunts, Iditeron etc....He pays $78 a bag for the best kibble he can buy, but claims its not nearly as good as feeding raw.
He feeds 50 plus hounds and feeding raw is quite a project....
He has a full time dog handler that does all the work.....
Obviously he's a doctor and has the money to pay for all this, but if the question is; What is best....Im convinced RAW is superior to any kibble.
I dont think feeding kibble is animal cruelty? I feed my 4 kids hot dogs and SPAM more than they get steak meat and chicken breasts, but I dont think its child abuse......I think most of us feed the best we can afford which might make it the best for us, but not necessarily the best available........
Mybeagles
Well put mybeagles..........and Kurt my only point is don't put yourself way up there and start slinging mud at people cause it's a loooooong way down when you finally fall. I may take it a little too personally sometimes but to insinuate that we are doing a great injustice to our hounds by not feeding a raw diet gets me going and is a little off putting........you should be able to recognize that. What you are doing is not always realistic for the rest of us........suppose I can't find a butcher who will supply??? Then what??? And I still didn't get your answer, not that it matters much now, but how many dogs are you feeding? And again not that it matters but my dogs get little raw doggy meatball a couple of days a week in the winter but that's just for some added fat and a little treat and boy they sure go for that.
To each his own...............
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
Read back through my posts and in I think the first one I stated that I am feeding 3 thats three hounds currently. Up until August I fed 5 then dropped to 4 about 2 months ago now 3. I am equipped to house 4 hounds ideally and time allows 3-4 max to get what I consider equal opportunity on all with combined solo and brace time- not much for pack time myself. I would like to get down to a good pair of hounds and then have a pup around through the summer to start and work with to keep me in up-and comers. I also stated somewhere that I stayed mostly with a dry kibble until I put together a good source for raw meats etc. I understand the expense of buying at a local grocery store its not a realistic option to feed a number of dogs that way. I am and will remain completely loyal to feeding this way, if you and all others arguing the point that the dry kibble you are feeding is just fine that is all that matters, but it seems that most guys that feed kibble always put the "price per bag" ahead of what is in the bag.(as with the start of this conflab) I never did this- ever-I went through the ranks on dry kibble and was determined to find the perfect feed- well I didnt- still havent, but am much happier with raw than any dry I have fed. The dry feeds I liked are the Canidae, Eagle Pack holistic, and Timberwolf Organics. You want to get serious about feed go buy a bag of the Timberwolf- probably in the area of 55.00 but when you open the bag the smell should tell you immediately its better! If you really want to get a good idea of the difference go buy a bag of Purina and open them together- the Purina in comparison smells like it has been scraped off the kennel floor mixed with a little bread dough, baked and bagged! If you follow any of the musher(sleddogs) websites there is endless amounts of info on feeds dry, raw, supplements, etc. but the common mark is 99% of those guys around the planet feed raw. Alot of them are "unique" individuals- at least in my area, they would let there children eat kibble before their dogs kind of thing, but they are all very knowledgable about getting the most out of a dog and as I said about all I talk to feed raw. These guys are the reason I started paying as much attention to feeds as I have and ultimately switched to raw. They are after not only top performance out of a dog, but sustaining that performance meaning- longevity or extending the length of years they get out of a good dog and most that I have talked to swear that a raw fed dog will out live its kibble fed counterpart and be a functionable part of the "team" well beyond the point of retirement for the kibble fed dog. This is as important to them when looking for team leaders as finding the best all around rabbit dog is to us. I have only fed a strictly raw diet for 2-3 years now so I have nothing of my own to add here at the moment but hopefully this holds true. I will apologize for ruffling the feathers that I have or being sarcastic and argumentative but I still stand firm that raw is better. Kurt
Not afraid to think outside the box or walk outside the crowd.
This wasn't why I started this post. I had a buddy that fed Pride and I wasn't happy with the results that I was getting from Diamond Chicken and Rice. I have fed it and am happy with the results. That being said I have to chime in here. Kurt clearly stated the number of dogs he was feeding and I don't think his tone was too off base he was just stating an opinion and in my opinion probably the correct one. I don't know any mushers very well but I know a guy with the biggest healthiest pack of Walkers anybody has ever seen and they get nothing but meat. I have a farmer friend that raises and butchers a few beef a year but it was too inconsistant to keep the dogs fed and like I said if I had more freezer space he butchers hundreds of deer a year and I could feed the deer year round if I had freezer space. However I don't want to switch the dogs on and off a raw diet 9 or 10 times a year so I don't. If my wife would just let me spend the small fortune I don't have and build my dream beagle barn with its own fridge and freezer this would have never been posted. I am doing what suits me at the time and I feel that everyone involved is healthy and happy and haven't lost a wink of sleep over what the dogs eat. Happy hunting to all and to all a good hunt!!!
Last thing and then I'll let it go. I never said feeding raw for the performance of any dog was not a better choice than feeding a store bought dry food. But it's obviously not the only choice and for a lot of us going with raw is not a very realistic choice either whether it just be time constraints or availability of ingredients. Those mushers run dogs that endure far more extreme conditions and their bodies are beat on waaaaaay harder than probably the hardest run rabbit dog in the country. They have to go to the extreme with their feed in order to keep their dogs going.........I doubt that's the case with most of our rabbit dogs. I'm not saying it isn't a good thing, just maybe not a necessity.
klrconcrete wrote:You should make your own kibble to save money a 70/30 mixture of corn and used fryer grease- not sure about the split though! Makes nice turds for you sort! Kurt
This may have been in response to my comment about being on a pedestal but just as off putting. It's no better than what I said to you.
Like I said I tend to take things a little too personally at times...........I should quit doing that. But I take darned good care of my hounds and it's not much different than the way it's been done for years. You can go overboard doing all kinds of things and in "my opinion" being adamant about an all raw diet for our beagles is just overkill. So anyway, sorry for ticking anybody off, I can get a little wound up at times.
Bunnyblaster
"You can't change the past but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future."
Bunnyblaster I agree even on a good week where I run the dogs 4 or 5 times they are not getting the work that a well run sled dog will see. I also feel as you do that I take pretty good care of my hounds and I see why you or I would take offense to someone saying there is something better we could be doing with our hunting buddies. However I have said that when I am satisfied I will hang up the leashes and give the dogs away. I will always be looking for ways to improve the breed and the health of the dogs I own WITHIN MY MEANS and I am sure you and many others feel the same way. Shoot if I win the mega millions jackpot the hounds will eat fillet mignon and take the best vitamins in the world with me every day, but until I get some upward economic mobility I will eat macorroni and the dogs will eat kibble. But that won't keep me from talking to butchers and looking for a cheap freezer to keep in the garage as well as buying a lotto ticket once a month. I love that we all get so heated from time to time on here it tells me that we do care about these jolly little hounds.
