Feeding the Farm Dogs

"T" asked me about feeding my dogs. Since we provide the bulk of our own food, what do we do about our dogs? Good question! 

Knowing what goes into making commercial pet food, I've been rather cautious what I feed my own dogs. Over the years I've used a variety of commercial dog foods and have had the opportunity to see firsthand how they effect my dogs. And because I used to show dogs, I eventually became a real dog food snob. Then once I learned what was in the meat by-product meal that many dog foods are based on, I became even more particular about which kibble I bought, eventually weaning way back on the use of commercial feed. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against anyone feeding their dog commercial dogfood of any sort. Most dogs will do fine enough on just about anything and everything. But working dogs and show dogs have higher requirements, thus doing better with some foods rather than others. And nowadays that I've moved to being more self sufficient, I've moved toward home produced and local food items. 

These days I use a good quality kibble and cooked brown rice as the basis of the feed. To that I add a soup that is made from products this farm produces one way or another. I have the option to use chicken, eggs, lamb/mutton, goat, pork, fish, turkey, and milk. I have a wide range of vegetables to pick from, often adding to the cook pot-- potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green beans, carrots, peas, pipinolas, and a wide range of greens. Plus I take the dogs' personal tastes into account. While most of the dogs like tomatoes, Crusty won't touch them, not even soups containing them. 

How much kibble/rice I use versus soup all depends upon availability. Usually it's one cup of kibble, 1 cup cooked rice, 2 cups mixed soup. Each dog gets a different amount, depending upon their need. The dogs actually seem to enjoy the crunchies, thus I still add dry kibble. Just like us, they are texture oriented, enjoying a good chew in their meal. 

Could I eliminate store bought kibble altogether? Sure. And use something other than store bought rice? Sure. And perhaps in the future I may need to do that. But for now, this is what my dogs eat. It's not 100% farm sourced, but it's enough to satisfy me.