# Malinois Diet - What are y'all feeding your Mals?



## Pete Perfetti

I am new to the Malinois breed and interested in knowing what others are feeding their Mal's. My Mal is 7 months old and in protection training. We are hoping to add more running to our training and our joint workouts. Our breeder had recommended Eagle brand food, which I can't locate in the DFW area. Currently she's eating Innova, and some meat leftovers.


----------



## keith shimada

Evo Salmon herring.
Don't run the pup to much. His bones haven't developed yet. I'd wait till he's at least 18 months before doing any long dist running with him.


----------



## Lee H Sternberg

Costco - Kirkland


----------



## Jehane Michael Le Grange

Beggars, postmen, salesmen, hawkers all welcome at my place....dog food is far too expensive and my Malinois loves the variety!!:lol:


----------



## leslie cassian

Orijen fish. Expensive, but still the cheapest kibble I can find that doesn't make him drop weight.


----------



## Nicole Stark

Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Merrick (canned), tripe, whole fish.


----------



## Kadi Thingvall

Right now it's Costco, Kirkland for some and Nature's Domain for others. But I've also used various other brands with success, Diamond, Taste of the Wild, Canidea, Solid Gold and others. In addition they have some raw meals each week, and "extras". Lots of raw meaty bones. They eat a lot of oranges this time of year, maybe 3-4 per week each, and zucchini. Also other fruits and veggies. If I'm not careful my garden, fruit trees, and berry bushes become a full service salad bar. Enough so I consider it part of their diet, it's not just the once a month theft. Plus I feed them a lot of the excess, can only eat so much zucchini.


----------



## Tim Connell

Holistic Select Lamb.

This food is fed to several Mals and GSD's. I've tried many other foods, and I've had the best luck with Holistic Select for general health, digestion, keeping weight on, and consistency.

I've had great luck with any of the foods made by Wellness, but in my opinion it is a great food, at a mid range food price.


----------



## kerry engels

RAW diet, best move I ever made.


----------



## Ralph Tough

I have fed most Dry foods to my mals, and found no matter what dry food you feed they are all CRAP!!](*,) People have told me to try Royal Canin, and that to I found was not good enough. Probs like I had to double feed it to put some weight on my dogs. .. Now I have found a dry dog food called Black Hawk and it suits my dogs. :-D http://www.blackhawkpetcare.com.au/dog-food/ so there is not one food that suits all our dogs, all dogs are diffrent what suits one does not mean it will suit the other. ;-) I may have to try RAW one day.


----------



## Peter Cavallaro

Ralph stop being lazy, get educated on RAW and feed it properly.


----------



## Christopher Smith

EVO Chicken and Turkey 
Raw meat (what ever is on sale)
tablescraps


----------



## Maren Bell Jones

Adult male: trying out California Natural Chicken Meal Grain Free (pretty high calorie and moderately high protein, limited ingredient with no rice or potato)
Adult female: California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato
6 month old female pup (mix): Innova Large Breed Puppy


----------



## Jehane Michael Le Grange

I am quite surprised that there is so much raw feeding overseas. It is almost non existent here in South Africa. Most top breeders feed royal canin, hills or eukanuba.


----------



## chad paquin

Jehane Michael Le Grange said:


> I am quite surprised that there is so much raw feeding overseas. It is almost non existent here in South Africa. Most top breeders feed royal canin, hills or eukanuba.


Then most top breeders arent doing the best for there dogs.
Seems to be alot of people feeding innova cal-nat or evo. Have you seen any change in the food since PG took over the company? Makes me nervice like feeding any foods made in adiamond factory. Try to stay away if I can. Tend to go with food made in Canada..


----------



## Pete Perfetti

Thanks to everyone who responded so far. Seems like there's plenty of choices. I look forward to more information, so keep the responses coming.

To clarify a point in my original post regarding running: I realize that a pup's bones and muscles are not fully developed. Thank you for pointing that fact out. So I am not intending to rush right out and start marathon running with her. To the contrary, I am very conscious of my pup's health and I should have articulated that better. 

Feeding requirements change in a dog's life over time, so please clarify if in responses - which some have done - male vs, female, or pup vs adult, etc.

Background

I have had three Akitas during my adult life. From that experience (including breed clubs, handlers, breeders, etc too) I learned about the potential health issues that can arise from too much stress work (e.g. long distance running) and and an insufficient diet.

Malinois being far more active in general than any of my Akitas ever were, prompted me to inquire as to what others are having success with.


----------



## Jen Henriksen

We feed raw here to a 2.5 yr old male and a 15 month old female. Been feeding it for about a year and couldn't be happier!


----------



## Ryan Venables

Raw... Will never give another dog kibble. We also add in The Honest Kitchen - Preference. THK is a Dehydrated raw. I feed their Embark formula when I travel as carting around raw meat is a pain in the arse


----------



## Mario Fernandez

I feed Abady. It is the closest thing to Raw and don't have to feed a lot of it compared to normal kibble. I feed raw (chicken qtrs, organ meat, beef) as well. Give abady in the am and raw in the evening. Always have a bag of Healthwise handy as my emergency food just in case I run out or forget to pull something out of the freezer.


----------



## rick smith

Hi Pete
can't imagine why anyone would actually go out and buy a new dog food because someone else used it for "their" dog, and i'll bet a lot of brands mentioned aren't even available where you live 

once you are really up to speed on canine nutrition rqmnts and learn how to read labels you can make your own decisions based on what is available and within your budget if you're gonna feed store bought
..don't know of a true "breed specific" dog food that is uniquely formulated for a specific breed cause i don't know of a breed that has unique nutritional requirements ...mostly it's just what you use the dog for that might require some adjustment or tweaking

fwiw, i've known a lot of akita owners here and convinced a few to switch to raw and all the dogs did better .... the ones here seem strong in the endurance and stamina dept, but don't know any akita owners who are serious runners ... are you ?


----------



## Maren Bell Jones

chad paquin said:


> Seems to be alot of people feeding innova cal-nat or evo. Have you seen any change in the food since PG took over the company? Makes me nervice like feeding any foods made in adiamond factory. Try to stay away if I can. Tend to go with food made in Canada..


I have not noticed a drop in quality. My understanding is that since P&G purchased them, but didn't replace any of the staff at their plant in Nebraska except the people at the very very top when it changed hands and it's pretty much been business as usual. I think they still only make Natura products at their Nebraska plant because when I visited it several years ago, they were nearly at capacity only making Natura products.


----------



## Kara Fitzpatrick

I feed Acana and I love it.  
Orijen can be too rich and cause the runs with my dogs.


----------



## Lindsay Janes

Don't have a malinois, but I used to have one. All of my dogs are on Raw. I spent five years trying different kibbles, but wasn't happy until I was introduced to Raw. It was the best thing that ever happen to my dogs. I am very happy with my dogs' weight than I did when they were on kibble.


----------



## Thomas Barriano

Raw feeders are almost like Vegans.
True believers out to spread the gospel according to them.
I feed my dogs Dutch Shepherd, GSD and Dobermanns all
Sams Club Simply Right complete nutrition $20/50# mixed
50/50 with Exceed $30/40# bag. The dog feeding business is a big scam with pet owners being convinced to spend more money on their dogs then they do on their kids food :-(


----------



## Michael McClure

Raw all the way..... I have had my dogs on raw for over a year and we all love it wouldn't think of changing!!!!


----------



## Britney Pelletier

Raw :mrgreen: wouldn't have it any other way!

I do supplement with Nupro and Salmon Oil, and they get a little kibble here and there to keep it easier on them for when we travel and have to feed it.. when they get kibble it is usually Precise Grain Free or Earthborn Holistic Grain Free.


----------



## James Downey

I feen my dog dead animals, a few greens, McDonalds on occasion, natural balance for treats....They share my ham sammich for lunch somtimes... They eat the left over waffles from the kids everymorning. They eat grass, and from looking at thier shit apparently styrofoam and something that looks like sillystring except it's stronger. Sometimes they get my oatmeal. 

I feed everything except food that has been processed for canine consumption.


----------



## Nicole Stark

A bit of Soylent Green too eh?


----------



## Tim Connell

Nicole Stark said:


> A bit of Soylent Green too eh?




Good one!!!


----------



## Christina Kennedy

We feed raw and Acana. Acana has been the best dry food for us so far and the only dry food that all the dogs do well on. I personally prefer 100% raw but sometimes I am lazy and it is also hard to travel with. My young puppies are normally 100% on dry because they work for their meals and it is just easier that way.


----------



## kristin tresidder

i'm sure it's socially unacceptable to say that i feed diamond right now, but i've fed the dutchies and the stafs the diamond natural extreme athlete for years, and always been happy with it. i've never had trouble with it through any of the recalls & the dogs muscle tone & coats always look top notch.

i've also fed raw, and really liked it - but it's a lot of work, and no matter what anyone says, it is expensive to do right. when lo started eating almost 5# per day by himself, i bowed out of that venture. 

whatever you feed, i would look for something high calorie, high fat/protein, and no corn. you'll feed less food that way.


----------



## Guest

kristin tresidder said:


> i'm sure it's socially unacceptable to say that i feed diamond right now, but i've fed the dutchies and the stafs the diamond natural extreme athlete for years, and always been happy with it. i've never had trouble with it through any of the recalls & the dogs muscle tone & coats always look top notch.
> 
> i've also fed raw, and really liked it - but it's a lot of work, and no matter what anyone says, it is expensive to do right. when lo started eating almost 5# per day by himself, i bowed out of that venture.
> 
> whatever you feed, i would look for something high calorie, high fat/protein, and no corn. you'll feed less food that way.


 
Hey Stranger!! Its been a while.  

Sounds simple, I like. Too many trying to pick it apart at times.


----------



## Bart Karmich

I raised the puppy on raw (a wide variety of meaty bones from the butcher, primarily consisting of chickens, but also pork and beef bones, organ meat etc.), and I fed supplements like salmon oil and E.
Sometime before he turned 2 years old he started to hack up chunks of bones in the middle of the night. I believe it's normal to vomit the larger chunks with some stomach fluid for lubrication rather than pass them, which would sometimes irritate the intestines and cause the puppy to have a lot of mucous in the stool or diarreah. So I wasn't so much concerned about the bone vomiting for his health, but he's a house dog and sleeps in the house every night. It was becoming routine that he would wake me up banging on the back door to let him out. If I didn't get there in time, he'd leave it on the back door mat. He's too big for a doggy door - I might as well just leave the door open.

So I figured I could either get a meat grinder and grind my own dog food - already I was quartering about four whole chickens a week, or try some kibble. I figured kibble would bring some consistency to the stool, which I would never get with a wide variety of raw foods.

_Dog Foods I've tried besides Raw_

I've fed Embark - it is mostly plant-based and it produces huge stools. I don't like to feed all that alfalfa. But I did just buy a 10lb box of Love. I expect to feed it intermittently.

I've fed Orijen - the regional red meat one produces a foul smelling flatulence (otherwise the 30lb bag went well). The regular Adult formula worked well with no problems. The six fish worked great. I actually used the six fish before I even switched to mostly kibble because in the raw diet I could not afford any other kind of fish protein. I've fed three 30lb bags of six-fish and they've gone well. The dog's coat looks as good as ever and he has good energy.

I've also fed EVO salmon and herring. I prefer this to Orijen because it doesn't have all the potatoes -- just some pea fiber. It is the only kibble with no grains or cereal of any kind, no potatoes, no sweet potatoes and no alfalfa. It's just about 50% protein on a dry-matter basis, and has enough fat for active dogs. I've gone through about four 30lb bags and it's worked great.

All the other EVO formulas have potatoes, and in that case I would rather feed Orijen.

_Weight dropped on kibbles_

I can tell you that my dog seems to have lost about 10 lbs switching from raw to the kibbles. These kibbles are about 500 calories per cup and I feed about 4 1/2 cups a day but he doesn't maintain the weight he had when fed what was probably quite a few less calories raw. His body condition is maybe 2.5 at best.

I still feed some raw like chicken wings, chicken ribs, and big soup bones for teeth. It was mostly the drumsticks and thighs he was vomiting, but whole chickens are the only raw staple that's practically affordable to me.

I also feed all our table scraps. They have a high value for him and work great in training somethings that don't need interactive reward delivery. For interactive training treats I feed hot dogs or one of the meat rolls.

_Caloric Intake_

I figure his intake is at least 2500 calories a day and sometimes 3000. Based on his urine, he's getting plenty of protein. His activity level is basically either on or off. He spends all night and most hours of the day sleeping on the floor, but will explode with activity whenever I take him somewhere or do something with him. So either he's burning all those calories in just a few hours of activity every day or they're not being absorbed very well. I figure he could probably use some more fat intake for additional fuel. I'm happy that he's not overweight but I'm a little concerned about atrophy. He has plenty of energy, speed and power, but I'd like to see more muscle mass - not body builder stuff, but just so he doesn't look like I starve him.


----------



## Katie Finlay

Thomas Barriano said:


> Raw feeders are almost like Vegans.
> True believers out to spread the gospel according to them.
> I feed my dogs Dutch Shepherd, GSD and Dobermanns all
> Sams Club Simply Right complete nutrition $20/50# mixed
> 50/50 with Exceed $30/40# bag. The dog feeding business is a big scam with pet owners being convinced to spend more money on their dogs then they do on their kids food :-(


I don't think I've ever tried talking anyone into raw feeding. I've only given out information about its benefits if I was asked to. I generally just try and steer everyone away from grains. But if it's working I don't care what anyone feeds.


----------



## Marta Wajngarten

leslie cassian said:


> Orijen fish. Expensive, but still the cheapest kibble I can find that doesn't make him drop weight.


Have you tried Go! Chicken? I think we had this chat before... Haus couldn't keep weight on Orijen Fish, he did much better on Go Chicken and gets less of it (it's also cheaper then Orijen, triple win!). The only other high calory food I have found (in fact highest) was Evo chicken and turkey, although I haven't tried it as it's more expensive then the Orijen. I might consider mixing in a bag once in a while. 


My guys are on raw for the most part, when we travel or when I run out of raw they get a combination or one of Orijen Fish and/or Go Chicken.


----------



## Gina Pasieka

Currently feeding Nature's Variety Instinct kibble and Raw. I was feeding Abady, but I kept dealing with some foul diarrhea.


----------



## Debbie Skinner

We feed raw to our malinois and pups except when pinched for time or run out and then fall back on EVO. Raw for us is cheaper to purchase initially than grain-free. However there is the extra time, purchasing and running freezers, more clean up of bones, packing away the raw in the freezers, rationing and feeding the raw... At the kennel..much more labor intensive cleaning (steam cleaning grease off concrete). 

The boarding dogs get EVO for the grain sensitive ones (board a lot of rescue dogs and pitties..blues have skin issues). The rest get StrongPoint which is a great kennel food in my experience. I've been trying the StrongPoint for about 8 months now. The kennel dogs get raw bones and raw meat as well depending on the particular dogs. 

One of my malinois female that was returned this year @ 5 years old and was always very thin with the owner. I tried straight raw and I tried Evo free fed. What finally has worked for her is free fed Strongpoint and a lot of raw. Different strokes for different dogs. It's a kibble that has rice, millet, sorghum as the grain and beef for the meat.

Made my run to Henco (feed warehouse) on Tuesday to buy feed. There may be changes coming as far as distribution as they were dropped as a distributor 2 weeks ago, and the staff thinks P&G will be soon offering EVO at the big chains..Petsmart.. Was told this is the same move they made with IAMS many years back...dropping the IAMS distributors off and putting IAMS in the super stores. The food is still made at the same plant and so far I have no news of the quality changing.


----------



## Vic Harter

I feed Nutri-Source Grain Free Chicken. My dogs love it and it seems to be the only Kibble that my dogs don't loose weight on. 

I've tryed Innova, Diamond, 4 health and all of my dogs lost weight and even had break outs of diarrhea :-/


----------



## Britney Pelletier

Katie Finlay said:


> I don't think I've ever tried talking anyone into raw feeding. I've only given out information about its benefits if I was asked to. I generally just try and steer everyone away from grains. But if it's working I don't care what anyone feeds.


Exactly! and I've been feeding raw for 10+ years.. 

If people are having serious skin, coat or digestive issues with their dogs, I will certainly suggest it, but it's not the only thing I would suggest. I think it's also important to bear in mind that there are some "issues" our dogs have that are completely intolerable by some people and they will seek an immediate remedy to fix it, and other people may not even notice or address it as an issue. 

For me personally, this is a larger factor in my decision to feed raw or high quality kibbles. I've seen what my own dogs were like on low-quality foods and it just does not meet my standards. It's really not a conspiracy at all, people just like to cast stones because it's an easy way to excuse yourself from getting educated and then making a decision.

I don't judge people for feeding Ol' Roy, but it is not for my dogs and I know their condition on it would never meet my approval.


----------



## Katie Finlay

Britney Pelletier said:


> Exactly! and I've been feeding raw for 10+ years..
> 
> If people are having serious skin, coat or digestive issues with their dogs, I will certainly suggest it, but it's not the only thing I would suggest. I think it's also important to bear in mind that there are some "issues" our dogs have that are completely intolerable by some people and they will seek an immediate remedy to fix it, and other people may not even notice or address it as an issue.
> 
> For me personally, this is a larger factor in my decision to feed raw or high quality kibbles. I've seen what my own dogs were like on low-quality foods and it just does not meet my standards. It's really not a conspiracy at all, people just like to cast stones because it's an easy way to excuse yourself from getting educated and then making a decision.
> 
> I don't judge people for feeding Ol' Roy, but it is not for my dogs and I know their condition on it would never meet my approval.


Agreed. If I didn't have my co-op, I wouldn't feed raw. I know it's expensive, especially with multiple dogs. And I don't feed all organic, pastured, grass fed, etc. I certainly try to and would prefer to, but I have to get what I can afford.

I also use Natural Balance food rolls and Zuke's Mini Naturals for training. So I don't know if I'm even a 100% raw feeder in that sense. But the dogs do fine with them so I don't stress about it.

As far as travel goes, I just use THK. I get THK $10-20 cheaper through my co-op, which is wonderful. I have an IBD dog that will vomit all bones and have diarrhea with everything but THK with a little muscle meat added. So since I'm already buying it, it's not that big a hassle to use it while I travel. I also use that to add veggies. None of that processing and blending. I don't have time for that, lol

I'm pretty stoked right now. I got THK Zeal for $86 instead of the normal $105 in the local pet supplies. And a box lasts me 1 - 1 & 1/2 month(s).


----------



## Bart Karmich

Zeal is very low fat, 8.5%. Do you have a dog on just Zeal?


----------



## Lee H Sternberg

Thomas Barriano said:


> Raw feeders are almost like Vegans.
> True believers out to spread the gospel according to them.
> I feed my dogs Dutch Shepherd, GSD and Dobermanns all
> Sams Club Simply Right complete nutrition $20/50# mixed
> 50/50 with Exceed $30/40# bag. The dog feeding business is a big scam with pet owners being convinced to spend more money on their dogs then they do on their kids food :-(


It's like a "come to Jesus" religious experience for many of them, isn't it.


----------



## Britney Pelletier

Lee H Sternberg said:


> It's like a "come to Jesus" religious experience for many of them, isn't it.


I guess so.. since for one of my dogs, it was a matter of life and death for him.


----------



## Laura Bollschweiler

Lee H Sternberg said:


> It's like a "come to Jesus" religious experience for many of them, isn't it.


BARF = Born Again Raw Feeder

Makes me crazy. I've never tried to talk anybody into it. When I first started feeding raw, I didn't really tell anybody because I didn't know too many people doing it at the time. 1999, as a matter of fact. 

Laura


----------



## Lee H Sternberg

Go ahead and beat me up. I knew I was going to get roughed up when I posted. I deserve it. My motto is anything for a laugh!\\/


----------



## Katie Finlay

Bart Karmich said:


> Zeal is very low fat, 8.5%. Do you have a dog on just Zeal?


Nope. I use THK as a base for the IBD dog and feed raw muscle meat of various kinds and throw in a cup or three a week for the shepherd's veggies.

I don't like to tell anyone I feed raw either! Especially since I'm a vet tech. I'd be shunned! Raw fed AND intact dogs?! :O


----------



## rick smith

Lee
keep em coming !!!!
raw ... it aint all it's cracked up to be ... i even tried it myself many years ago in SERE school when i was treated like a dog ... didn't always taste like chicken and if you woulda seen the trail i left "behind" you'd know it wasn't easy to digest either ... no little easter egg poops for me 
,,,,, and did make me a lot more aggressive !!


----------



## Debbie Skinner

Laura Bollschweiler said:


> BARF = Born Again Raw Feeder
> 
> Makes me crazy. I've never tried to talk anybody into it. When I first started feeding raw, I didn't really tell anybody because I didn't know too many people doing it at the time. 1999, as a matter of fact.
> 
> Laura


I know what you mean..I started feeding raw in the late 80s..fed the prey model to the extreme I suppose as we raised rabbits. Back then we got a lot of compliments on the dogs coats and condition as even the premium kibbles fed by most were pretty bad. We didn't tell most people as it was considered bizarre then. The rabbits were not strictly for the dogs..they were for us and for sale and for the dogs.


----------



## jim stevens

Mine had a scoop of Science Diet food, plus a chunk of deer meat, plus a leg of something dead for a while she drug up out of the pasture today.


----------



## Lee H Sternberg

rick smith said:


> Lee
> keep em coming !!!!
> raw ... it aint all it's cracked up to be ... i even tried it myself many years ago in SERE school when i was treated like a dog ... didn't always taste like chicken and if you woulda seen the trail i left "behind" you'd know it wasn't easy to digest either ... no little easter egg poops for me
> ,,,,, and did make me a lot more aggressive !!


Yeah but I heard from raw feeder disciples the shit just blows away in the wind like a good fart.


----------



## Britney Pelletier

Laura Bollschweiler said:


> BARF = Born Again Raw Feeder
> 
> Makes me crazy. I've never tried to talk anybody into it. When I first started feeding raw, I didn't really tell anybody because I didn't know too many people doing it at the time. 1999, as a matter of fact.
> 
> Laura



There are extremists on both sides of the fence.. for as many raw feeding zealots there are out there, there are just as many people who criticize it as an excuse to feed cheap, shitty dog food because their dogs "do great on it!"

I have never tried to coerce anyone into feeding raw since I started feeding it in 2000.


----------



## Britney Pelletier

Katie Finlay said:


> Raw fed AND intact dogs?! :O



LOL.. that is quite the heinous crime in your profession!


----------



## Katie Finlay

Lee H Sternberg said:


> Yeah but I heard from raw feeder disciples the shit just blows away in the wind like a good fart.


For the most part my dog's just crumbles. What there is of it anyway. She hardly poops. Except when given THK. I've never seen a dog poop as much as mine do on THK. Ever.

I don't even think my coworkers know my bitch is intact. Or the vet I work for. They know I feed raw though. They think I'm crazy.


----------



## Pete Perfetti

Thanks to all. Here are a few replies to some specific responders.

To Rick:

You mentioned my Akitas and running - no I don't know many akita owners who run. But the Mal loves to run and we use running for survival, chasing bad guys, etc. You also mentioned understanding the nutritional requirements. I was thinking the same thing. It's nice to know of the brands and type of food, but I was looking to know more about how much protein, calories, etc a Mal needs.

To Kristin:

You mentioned high calorie. high fat/protein, no corn, etc. I would like to learn more about how much on average is considered the minimums or range I should be looking in. Would you or anyone else know what the requirements actually are?

All:

For raw, how much quantity do you feed your dog? I travel a lot with the dog, so I need to have some dry food on hand that won't spoil so easily in the heat. It's good to know more about the actual requirements and apply that to both raw and dry/kibble. Thoughts?


----------



## rick smith

Pete i suggest you dig deeper into performance dog nutritional requirements rather than just read labels on brands, even tho you need to know what the "code words" really mean 
... there are tables available for calorie/protein and other nutritional requirements, but it's still highly dependent on environmental factors that can change drastically from day to day and week to week.

btw, i just posted an old MWD link that went into this in great detail ... dated info for sure, but most of the the principles are still valid ... aint easy to find the right "formula" 

...mwd's deploy worldwide and are performance dogs for SURE, so what do these highly trained warriors defending our country get ?
...... different rations of science diet mostly :-( 
...how many working dog owners swear by that brand ??
and what does that tell you ?? (don't answer) 

sled dogs racers may be the heaviest regarding performance dog nutrition, and maybe the same for the greyhound racer crowd ???

btw, you and the dog chasing bad guys on foot on the city streets or in the desert, riding around in an ATV, or inserted by helo ? ... sorry, couldn't resist


----------



## Lee H Sternberg

rick smith said:


> Pete i suggest you dig deeper into performance dog nutritional requirements rather than just read labels on brands, even tho you need to know what the "code words" really mean
> ... there are tables available for calorie/protein and other nutritional requirements, but it's still highly dependent on environmental factors that can change drastically from day to day and week to week.
> 
> btw, i just posted an old MWD link that went into this in great detail ... dated info for sure, but most of the the principles are still valid ... aint easy to find the right "formula"
> 
> ...mwd's deploy worldwide and are performance dogs for SURE, so what do these highly trained warriors defending our country get ?
> ...... different rations of science diet mostly :-(
> ...how many working dog owners swear by that brand ??
> and what does that tell you ?? (don't answer)
> 
> sled dogs racers may be the heaviest regarding performance dog nutrition, and maybe the same for the greyhound racer crowd ???
> 
> btw, you and the dog chasing bad guys on foot on the city streets or in the desert, riding around in an ATV, or inserted by helo ? ... sorry, couldn't resist



Yeah, but are their coats shiny and does the wind blow away their shit?


----------



## Katie Finlay

I feed 2% of their body weight for adults, generally. It depends on how much food I'm using in training and what we're doing. If I'm traveling, I'm probably training (though not always) so I don't bring as much.


----------



## Connie Sutherland

Katie Finlay said:


> I feed 2% of their body weight for adults, generally. It depends on how much food I'm using in training and what we're doing. If I'm traveling, I'm probably training (though not always) so I don't bring as much.


Pete, of course this percent applies to raw only.... not kibble.


----------



## Katie Finlay

Connie Sutherland said:


> Pete, of course this percent applies to raw only.... not kibble.


Yes. I think Connie follows me around on web boards making sure I'm clear and concise.


----------



## Connie Sutherland

Pete Perfetti said:


> Thanks to all. Here are a few replies to some specific responders.
> 
> To Rick:
> 
> You mentioned my Akitas and running - no I don't know many akita owners who run. But the Mal loves to run and we use running for survival, chasing bad guys, etc. You also mentioned understanding the nutritional requirements. I was thinking the same thing. It's nice to know of the brands and type of food, but I was looking to know more about how much protein, calories, etc a Mal needs.
> 
> To Kristin:
> 
> You mentioned high calorie. high fat/protein, no corn, etc. I would like to learn more about how much on average is considered the minimums or range I should be looking in. Would you or anyone else know what the requirements actually are?
> 
> All:
> 
> For raw, how much quantity do you feed your dog? I travel a lot with the dog, so I need to have some dry food on hand that won't spoil so easily in the heat. It's good to know more about the actual requirements and apply that to both raw and dry/kibble. Thoughts?


_
"I was looking to know more about how much protein, calories, etc a Mal needs."_

Food for dogs is not breed-specific. 


rick smith said:


> ..don't know of a true "breed specific" dog food that is uniquely formulated for a specific breed cause i don't know of a breed that has unique nutritional requirements ...


I think that realizing this will eliminate some of your questions. 


There is also no across-the-board answer to "how much raw" (or "how much kibble") to feed. 


That said, for adult dogs, many (even most) dogs need, as Katie mentioned, about 2 to 2.5% (a few up to 3%) of their body weight in raw food per day. _This does not apply to growing puppies. _ (Sled dogs, etc., also don't fall into this general percentage.)

Dehydrated food like THK can be a good travel base, with RMBs purchased as needed and added.

"How many calories a Mal (or a GSD or a Rotty or a Pit or a Collie ..... ) needs" is a function of the dog's size, activity level, and metabolism.

Are you mainly looking for a good kibble? Or deciding between raw and kibble? Or .... ?


----------



## Connie Sutherland

Katie Finlay said:


> Yes. I think Connie follows me around on web boards making sure I'm clear and concise.


:lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## Pete Perfetti

My goal is to learn as much as I can or need to know, to find the appropriate balance between nutritional needs (assumed to be variable based on age, activity levels, etc.) to maintain good health; and some other variables such as traveling or wilderness tracking. For example, raw may not be a good idea to bring on a multiple day desert trip, of if backpacking for a few days.


----------



## Pete Perfetti

rick smith said:


> btw, you and the dog chasing bad guys on foot on the city streets or in the desert, riding around in an ATV, or inserted by helo ? ... sorry, couldn't resist


Rick,

She is predominantly a personal protection dog for me, and eventually for use in Executive Protection to clients where certain scenarios may require the dog to accompany us on a detail, clear a building or series of rooms (urban), or clear or patrol a piece of property (suburban, rural, atv) - all under handler control (me). If we can get the work, I would like her to do detection work too. So I have a lot to learn about the dog's health, and training her for these types of scenarios.

I've discussed the use of various types of vehicle insertions with the the dog and told her she can ride in the helo, but she can't jump out into the water. That bit of fun is reserved for me. She was sad to hear that, because she really loves water; and Mals love to jump into, out of, over, or through just about anything.


----------



## rick smith

Pete 
i got a dehydrator (Excalibur model) and it has been great 

i cut up raw chicken and beef pieces that last a LONG time when dried out. it's in the 30's w/ 90% humidity here now ... u could def do some backpacking with raw food that way.....most pack food is dehydrated anyway, right ?


----------



## Zakia Days

Haven't read through all the posts. Just answering the original. Currently feeding raw w/ Robert Abady to one dog and Eagle Pack Lamb n' Rice supplemented w/ raw to the others. I've tried different kibbles throughout their lives. I presently like what I see now, so... I also add Urban Wolf to my raw feeds. I've fed and liked Red Paw, Acana/Orijen, k9 kravings, and a few others I can't recall right now. Someone mentioned rotating in kibble to raw feeds, so that there's no issues w/ feeding it during travel. I've found that to be beneficial also. Good luck w/ ur nutrition plans. Hope it all goes well.


----------

