Honest Food Question.

[AZPops]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but if you know Pops, ... it really don't matter.

However, with all of the health issues / problems dogs seem to be having, which may or may not be cured with the many present dog foods available to us.

How did the dogs (prior to our present time) survive, say a hundred years an beyond, say to the ice age? .... Well may be not as far back as the ice age, but you know what I mean?


Anonymous

[dspencer]

AZPops wrote:
BTW, Calvin wondered why he did get his Jumbone tonight? I told him I FORGOT since I'm getting OLD. And if you keep reminding me, I may never remember again!


OK Calvin, no hard feelings, .... here's your Jumbone ...





Thanks a lot Mr. dspencer! ...



Calvin

If i were you Calvin I would ask for prime rib at the least, well New York strip isn't bad either. Don't worry Calvin i have your back. :B The DW keeps telling me that i have bad hearing and no memory, that's not it at all. I have what they call selective hearing and memory.:W

[AZPops]

[AZPops]

BTW, Calvin wondered why he did get his Jumbone tonight? I told him I FORGOT since I'm getting OLD. And if you keep reminding me, I may never remember again!


OK Calvin, no hard feelings, .... here's your Jumbone ...





Thanks a lot Mr. dspencer! ...



Calvin

[AZPops]

Thanks everybody! So I guess back in the day, if a dog had problems such as stomach, allergy issues. They more or less just suffered with it, unless they were given (if they had it during that time) medications.

In that situation, a dog like Calvin would be, more or less, ... S.O.L.!


Pops, .... I mean Anonymous!


PS dspencer, thanks a bunch fur letting Calvin remind me that I'm getting OLD! ... :B

[xteacher]

When I was a kid, we fed our poodles Gaines Burgers, Gravy Train (proud that we could add warm water to make a Gravy!), and Alpo... Amazingly, they seemingly thrived. The thought of feeding that junk now is unthinkable.

Really, I don't think any of the kibbles on the market today are the optimum food for dogs. They're either full of grains, potatoes, tapioca, or peas... However, I'm not willing to home cook for our dogs and I worry about the proper nutrition percentages, so I try to buy the best I can (a named meat product for at least 2-3 of the first 5 ingredients, and no corn, wheat, soy, or by-products - my dogs actually itch if fed ANY grains...). At least the scraps in the old days were real food!

[Go_Dogs]

shenandoahvalley wrote:
I think the lifespan of most dogs has increased significantly since I was a child. We grew up on a farm in eastern Virginia...the dogs ate table scraps but the average life span was 5 or 6 years. They usually succumbed to diseases like distemper and heart worms. My daughters raise cocker spaniels and I have one that lives with me. He does eat some table food but we also buy him and the German Shepherd 4Health and it seems like we are at the vets constantly.

When I was a kid, I had an Uncle Johnny. He always had a dog. I remember going to visit him and he would ONLY feed his dogs, bones, scraps, etc. He would just open the front door, (he lived in the city-no fence) and let them 'go for a run'. None of them got any vaccinations. He never spent a nickel on veterinarians, because eventually the dogs just never returned from their 'run'. He would just get another one.
I was just a kid, and none of the adults ever thought he did anything wrong. In fact, I remember when my aunt was thinking about getting her first dog. My dad told her to ask Johnny, as he was 'good with dogs'. Thankfully, we have wised up!

[Pawz4me]

When I was growing up my grandparents fed their dogs nothing but table scraps, and they were all long lived. They had a Collie that made it to at least 16, and all of their GSDs lived well into their teens. I think that's why I'm kind of pro home-cooking (or at least not afraid to try it), and why I advocate for giving dogs some fresh, healthy "human" food.

[shenandoahvalle]

I think the lifespan of most dogs has increased significantly since I was a child. We grew up on a farm in eastern Virginia...the dogs ate table scraps but the average life span was 5 or 6 years. They usually succumbed to diseases like distemper and heart worms. My daughters raise cocker spaniels and I have one that lives with me. He does eat some table food but we also buy him and the German Shepherd 4Health and it seems like we are at the vets constantly.

[Broken_Oak]

Way back when they ate what they found or killed.

I feed my Blackmouth Cur grain-less. He was hit by a porcupine and it destroyed

his immune system, so we are very careful. Most dog founds put a bunch of

filler and corn. I did some research and put him on Taste of the Wild.

They have salmon, bison, wild boar and another I can't remember. It contains

real meats and vegetables. Blue Buffalo is another grain-less brand.

The food isn't cheap but my vet bills sure have slowed down.

Good luck,
Carmen

[dspencer]

AZPops wrote:
Not sure if this has been discussed before, but if you know Pops, ... it really don't matter.

However, with all of the health issues / problems dogs seem to be having, which may or may not be cured with the many present dog foods available to us.

How did the dogs (prior to our present time) survive, say a hundred years an beyond, say to the ice age? .... Well may be not as far back as the ice age, but you know what I mean?


Anonymous

Hey Calvin, you should ask Pops, wasn't he around back then? :B

[CA_POPPY]

They only had to live long enough to reproduce and get their offspring weaned. The program was pretty much the same with humans, until advances in medical care allowed us stay around longer.

[Happytraveler]

My parents said when they were growing up they only fed there dogs table scraps and that was it, They also were amazed how often I take the dogs to the veterinarian. I think that's why they don't want a dog now because they see how I am with my dogs and how expensive it is, LOL.

[BCSnob]

The other difference is the level on inbreeding in current dogs is much higher than prior to the Victorian era (period during which most inbreeding started) and many of the food associated health issues likley have a genetic link (for example allergies).

We're likley seeing inbreeding depression; otherwise we would not see hybrid vigor when cross breeding two pure breds.

[tbred]

I think we grossly overfeed our pets, we equate more food /treats with love. So many joint problems caused by obesity and not allowing our puppies to grow at a slow and healthy pace. All the corn and fillers thrown in many commercial diets don't help either.