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Post by pearl on Feb 6, 2010 22:23:55 GMT 10
g'day tom, see on another thread that you suggest useing a low protein dry food that has a higher carbohydrate level,can you tell me what you would suggest? also do you believe in wheat allergies and this will come into the choice of dry food too won't it?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Feb 7, 2010 14:39:21 GMT 10
Hi Pearl,
As far as a reasonable priced low protein high carb kibble is concerned, either the basic Box1, or Winning Edge are good value.
Out of the two I prefer Winning Edge as a kibble, and then Box1 biscuits to use for a snack between meals.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by pearl on Feb 8, 2010 12:16:08 GMT 10
thanks tom, another question on dry food,what about a dry food for pups,say from 3months old till 12 months old,does it need to be higher in protein than race dogs and what would you suggest?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Feb 10, 2010 6:12:26 GMT 10
I’m sorry Pearl but I do not believe that giving pups a so called “premium” dog food during rearing is of any value.
The problem with high protein dry foods is that the protein they contain is mostly from offal, and to reduce the bacterial content it is cooked and heated several times during the manufacturing process. This has the effect of reducing the amount of “essential” amino acids available from this type of food.
In my honest opinion pups are best reared on fatty beef, a little bit of chicken, a few eggs every now and then, as well as full cream milk. The quantity being bulked out with wholemeal bread to provide sufficient complex carbohydrates in the diet.
To also answer your previous question about wheat allergies: the wheat allergy that is supposed to cause problems for greyhounds is I believe a “furphy”. The only allergy problems I have ever seen with greyhounds that a wheat allergy was blamed for, were in fact caused by “brewers” yeast.
Brewers yeast can and does cause allergies in susceptible greyhounds, as it can have a detrimental effect both on the digestive system and the liver. Keep in mind that yeast is added to most vitamin/mineral mixtures for its vitamin B content, that are sold for use as a dietary additive for racing greyhounds.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by pearl on Feb 10, 2010 10:38:41 GMT 10
thanks tom,much appreciated. sorry to keep asking questions,but do you believe that pasta would be a decent substitute for wholemeal bread?or is the wholemeal bread the best. you said to give eggs on occassions,is that just the yolk or the whole egg[cooked or raw ?]over the years i have heard don't feed bread it's no good[which bartollo's have made a mockery of]and don't feed greyhounds uncooked egg whites because of some bacteria in them,but i am quite happy to have a crack at anything,because if you listened to everyone what you shouldn't feed,the pups would have to live on thin air. in regards to additives should i just stick to the calcium and stockgain,because at the moment they are getting rapidvite amino cal-gb have heard of people feeding livermol,what are your thoughts on all of that? that's enough questions for today,as for premium dry foods i can't say i've seen any benefit in them and i have tried a few of them over the years.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Feb 10, 2010 14:28:51 GMT 10
Hi Pearl,
I have no problems with pasta, other than the fact that the flour is a bit more refined than with wholemeal bread which does supply a bit of roughage that will assist the digestive process.
To me either one is OK, except pasta requires cooking, while bread can just be soaked and mixed in, however in the long term it simply comes down to which of the two you can get at the best price and which is more convenient.
I know of some rearing farms that simply buy bags of bread crumbs to mix in with the meat they feed, and from what I have seen their pups look good.
In regard to eggs, the main reason for not feeding raw eggs is because the white of the egg contains an enzyme called Avidin which stops Thiamine (a B group vitamin) from being absorbed, this just like preservatives can cause severe problems in the long term.
However, poaching or boiling long enough to “set” the white destroys this substance, and eggs do contain some very important essential amino acids, particularly for the development of a good immune system.
As far as additives are concerned, calcium and phosphorous are the main two required for the development of a good bone structure. DCP (di-calcium phosphate) contains roughly the correct proportion of each and unless the particular line suffers from a genetic calcium absorption problem, does the job well enough.
In the past I have added DCP at a rate of one heaped teaspoon for every 500 grams of meat without encountering any problems.
For a general broad based Vitamin/Mineral mixture available at a reasonable price I personally do not think you can go past Stockgain.
Cheers, Tom
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Post by pearl on Feb 10, 2010 15:42:28 GMT 10
thanks very much tom.....
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