Gyroscopic Investing

Hal wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 3:31 pm I might be hopelessly out of date, but is there a reason you don't feed your pets fresh food?
Or is it that canned food is much better in the US?

My parents always got our dogs dry dogfood, and they hated when we'd feed them other stuff or when they scrounged something wild (our second dog was a much better hunter-gatherer). They both would get diarrhea when they ate a lot of random.

We used to feed the dogs fresh chicken/fish/rabbit or fish mixed in with vegetables.
Believe it or not, the dogs used to jump up and pick fruit off the trees in the orchard, and it was rather funny when they first tried out a lemon

As an aside, our collies coats improved dramatically when we fed them some powdered kelp which is available from farm stock suppliers.

I don't think I'd be feeding a dog fresh chicken breasts, but I suspect if they ate a varied diet all the time, they wouldn't have problems with it.

vnatale wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 4:26 pm

Hal wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 3:31 pm I might be hopelessly out of date, but is there a reason you don't feed your pets fresh food?
Or is it that canned food is much better in the US?

We used to feed the dogs fresh chicken/fish/rabbit or fish mixed in with vegetables.
Believe it or not, the dogs used to jump up and pick fruit off the trees in the orchard, and it was rather funny when they first tried out a lemon

As an aside, our collies coats improved dramatically when we fed them some powdered kelp which is available from farm stock suppliers.

The cats have ZERO interest in the food that I eat! As do probably most people here!

Vinny

As I recall your diet is mostly plant based, right? That could certainly explain it!

Whenever I cook meat, my cats come running to the kitchen and stare right at me as in: hey, give me some of that. I end up cutting off little pieces for them. They love it. It's kind of convenient actually because they get the pieces with gristle and such that I don't much care for.

The commercial raw food ends up being ~$3/day so I guess Friskies wins in that department. However I also feed them supplemented grinds and fresh chicken giblets (get these locally) that are quite a bit cheaper, so that cuts the cost some.

I'll also admit that what I do requires planning and a bit more work than opening a can. On the other hand, I don't have to lug boxes of cans from the mail room or cart them down to the trash room, so maybe it ends up roughly comparable.

I do spend a bit more than you on litter but that's mainly because I want to avoid using clay. It's not so much for environmental as safety reasons - I am not a fan of breathing in clouds of silica dust. That stuff can damage your lungs over time.

WiseOne wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 11:38 am

vnatale wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 4:26 pm

Hal wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 3:31 pm I might be hopelessly out of date, but is there a reason you don't feed your pets fresh food?
Or is it that canned food is much better in the US?

We used to feed the dogs fresh chicken/fish/rabbit or fish mixed in with vegetables.
Believe it or not, the dogs used to jump up and pick fruit off the trees in the orchard, and it was rather funny when they first tried out a lemon

As an aside, our collies coats improved dramatically when we fed them some powdered kelp which is available from farm stock suppliers.

The cats have ZERO interest in the food that I eat! As do probably most people here!

Vinny

As I recall your diet is mostly plant based, right? That could certainly explain it!

Whenever I cook meat, my cats come running to the kitchen and stare right at me as in: hey, give me some of that. I end up cutting off little pieces for them. They love it. It's kind of convenient actually because they get the pieces with gristle and such that I don't much care for.

The commercial raw food ends up being ~$3/day so I guess Friskies wins in that department. However I also feed them supplemented grinds and fresh chicken giblets (get these locally) that are quite a bit cheaper, so that cuts the cost some.

I'll also admit that what I do requires planning and a bit more work than opening a can. On the other hand, I don't have to lug boxes of cans from the mail room or cart them down to the trash room, so maybe it ends up roughly comparable.

I do spend a bit more than you on litter but that's mainly because I want to avoid using clay. It's not so much for environmental as safety reasons - I am not a fan of breathing in clouds of silica dust. That stuff can damage your lungs over time.

You recollections are correct. For the food I buy I am eating vegan in my house. On the rare times when I bring home some leftover pizza (with cheese on it) all three cats are quite interested in that. Two of them have surprised me, though, by being interested in eating peanut butter. I've been a HUGE peanut butter eater my entire life and I think these two are the first ones I've ever seen eat peanut butter.

Those boxes from Amazon get delivered in front of my garage and it's a short distance from there to this room. I do spend, though, a fair amount of time washing them, putting them in bags, and then recycling them But it's been a HUGE time savings to get them delivered direct from Amazon rather than spending all that time buying them at the supermarket.

And, here is what I do with the used litter. I throw it out my front door!

I used to have this huge bush in front of my living room picture window. I removed it several years ago and have not yet replaced it. So, all that used litter goes into that spot. Eventually it breaks down into being quite dirt-like. It's been drilled in me that one is to never use used kitty litter in a food garden. But it seems like it is "free" fertilizer for either planting flowers or, someday, some replacement bush.

Vinny

it’s amazing to me that our cat never begs. Cries for her own meals early, yes, yet never harasses us for people food. We did catch her noisily eating quinoa once, but if she dares to jump on the counter, it’s nearly always to steal twisty ties.
(oop this is the dog thread. Apologies).

Do all dog people know and agree with this?

"Please note: Xylitol should not be given to animals—particularly not dogs. There are many human foods that are dangerous for dogs—grapes, chocolate, and raisins, to name a few. Xylitol is another of these foods, and it’s best kept away from animals."

I'm not sure I was completely aware. What are the foods not named above that are dangerous for dogs?

Vinny

vnatale wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:58 pm Do all dog people know and agree with this?

"Please note: Xylitol should not be given to animals—particularly not dogs. There are many human foods that are dangerous for dogs—grapes, chocolate, and raisins, to name a few. Xylitol is another of these foods, and it’s best kept away from animals."

I'm not sure I was completely aware. What are the foods not named above that are dangerous for dogs?

Vinny

No onions with your dogs steak....

https://phz8.petinsurance.com/pet-healt ... and-onions

https://phz8.petinsurance.com/pet-healt ... EC761&_z=z

MangoMan wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:46 am In what language was that comic strip? It seems vaguely familiar, and yet the words and phrases make no sense....

New Zealand

https://www.footrotflats.com/pongos-pos ... ong-summer

MangoMan wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:46 am In what language was that comic strip? It seems vaguely familiar, and yet the words and phrases make no sense....

And, I thought it was JUST me!

VInny

vnatale wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:02 am

MangoMan wrote: ↑Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:46 am In what language was that comic strip? It seems vaguely familiar, and yet the words and phrases make no sense....

And, I thought it was JUST me!

VInny

Heh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki9PFqtUPdE

Miso getting some belated birthday gifts from another dog owner this weekend.

Cute

Wonder what else Miso gets up to ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n936e073z58

Hal, that is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. Too bad the video quality isn't modern.


Miso got a desk job!

More Miso adventures!

Bathroom time...!

Therapy Collies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr-PhsI8G4Q

vnatale wrote: ↑Sun Jul 26, 2020 3:05 pmCapture.JPG

LOL this is so cute!

Love the expressive face...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvPVQx_Jnt8

This is disturbing...

North Korea: Owners Ordered to Hand Over Pet Dogs Amidst Growing Food Shortages
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... tages.html

My Great Dane