# How rescues decide what to feed?



## MacknCody (Nov 24, 2007)

I realize this probably differs from rescue to rescue, but normally how does a rescue decide what food to feed? I know people donate dog food and rescues must use that but how do they make sure the dogs have a steady diet? Is it a situation that they are fed whatever and could have one food fed one week and another the next? 

Does this make sense? I don't want to go into details but this is bothering me.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

You have it exactly right, at least for the rescue I foster for. You wouldn't believe how crappy the dog food is that gets donated. We just got donated 2300 cans of Alpo. It kills me to feed this crap, but it's what I get. When I'm fostering puppies, I just can't do it and will go out and personally buy the good stuff for them.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

It depends on the rescue and on the foster home. When I fostered I always either made food for my fosters (I got a lot of special health needs dogs) or I fed them whatever my dogs were eating. I never fed my fosters crappy food, even if it was offered for free. 

I did get some of the good stores I buy food from to give me good food for free though.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

When and if we get a large donation of something decent then I'll feed that - but it has to be a decent food and there has to be enough of it to keep the dogs on it for a long time. This almost never happens. We rarely get food donations at all and on the rare occasion that we do it's rarely enough or good enough quality to justify switching. Currently my large fosters (all GSDs) are eating NB Venison and sweet potato and my small fosters are eating Innova, in both cases what my personal dogs eat. However, the expense is absolutely outrageous. We're spending something like $400 a month on dog food and it's one of several reasons that I'm going to have to take a hiatus from fostering large dogs.







We pay that out of pocket - so it's a personal not a rescue expense and it is killing us.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: pupresqWe're spending something like $400 a month on dog food and it's one of several reasons that I'm going to have to take a hiatus from fostering large dogs.
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I hear you! This is one of the reasons I could never foster more than one dog at a time!


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Yeah, it's unreal. I didn't realize just how much it was until the other day when we were trying to work on our finances and actually tallied it up. Yikes!







We don't have that kind of $!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I have always fed fosters what my dogs eat unless they have issues with that, or have a medical diet that needs to be followed-whatever that may be. I even keep them on my rotation of foods-so every 2-4 months they change kibble and all have been okay with that. 

If the foster home doesn't feed their own dogs good food, of course, that isn't probably a benefit to the foster dog! 

Some people will mix the free food in with the foster dog's better food, but I have not been comfortable doing that. I think in the long run I save money, and save the rescue's money by lowering risks of stomach upset, and strengthening the immune system of dogs with the better food. And once you have one sick dog in a group, it can go to my dogs-so I think I am saving myself money too. That's my theory anyway!


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## mychance (Oct 22, 2007)

SASRA isn't much different from the other replies here. Most of our foster homes feed the rescue dogs what they feed the resident dogs. We do offer our foster homes a small monthly food allowance, but most don't ask for it. 

We've gotten food donations in the past, but the quantity is usually more than we can use and then you have storage and "critter' issues. We usually end up donating the donation to the local SPCA.


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

I feed my fosters the same food as I feed my personal dogs unless they have a health issue that requires something different. I have had to switch from California Natural Lamb & Rice ($40 for 30 lbs) to Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice ($30 for 40 lbs) due to cost. I wish I could afford to feed something a little better, but for right now the Diamond Naturals is a good compromise. It has no corn, no soy and no wheat and the dogs seem to be doing well on it.

I have had a few people donate lower quality food in the past and I thank the person for the donation and then I take it down to my local shelter where they have a pet food bank for people who can not currently afford to feed their pets.


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## BlakeandLiza (Aug 13, 2009)

I have always fed my fosters what my dogs are eating. We try to make sure it is a good quality food to keep everyone healthy.

My newest foster has food allergies, so he is eatting a different food. Our rescue will reimburse us for our food expenses, although I have never asked to be reimbursed until now. With having to buy special food and special treats (which of course cost much more) for just one dog, plus buying my regular food and treats, it is adding up fast.

We occasionally get food donations, although I have never asked to receive any so I'm not sure what they do with it. I guess if it helps then we use it, if it isn't needed, then we probably donate it to someone who does need it.


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## Prinzsalpha (Jul 6, 2005)

Our rescue pays for foster food...the majority feed Fromms. Not all fosters turn in the receipt for reimbursement, but some have multiple fosters and it should not be a burden on the foster people.


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## MacknCody (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm more looking at what rescues feed _at_ the rescue not at what fosters feed. What I don't understand is if the rescue feeds both food they buy and what is donated, how do they keep the diets routine? I know I can't just suddenly change what I'm feeding my dogs, cat, horses, sheep, etc. for health reasons-how do rescues keep everyone's tummies in shape? 

Like I said(not to be aggravating and mysterious) but I don't want to get into details, I'm just curious.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Most GSD rescues rely on foster homes. So there is rarely a situation when "rescue feeds at the rescue". Rescues I know consist of foster homes. So what the rescue feeds is what the foster homes feed. 

What you probably mean by rescue is a shelter with a physical location. The reality is that in a shelter often the diet is not going to be as perfect as what an individual can feed their animals at home - the simple reason is the lack of funds. Some poor and rural shelter are happy to be able to feed the animals any food.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Agreed. If you're talking about no-kill shelters, that's only a small subset of "rescues". Most rescues are foster-based. What no-kill shelters feed varies a lot. Some groups are members of food donation programs - Purina, Science Diet, and others all have them. This allows shelters to feed a consistant diet that maybe isn't the quality we'd like to see on this board but isn't terrible. For other groups it's going to be what they can afford and/or what gets donated - either by private citizens or more frequently via broken bag programs (e.g. Walmart etc.). Changing the diet around a lot isn't ideal and doesn't necessarily keep tummies in optimum shape but may or may not be much of an issue depending on how long the dogs are housed and their individual needs. I think the thing to remember here is that even if being fed a varied sub-optimum diet is less than ideal, it's a lot better than being dead.


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## MacknCody (Nov 24, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: RebelGSDMost GSD rescues rely on foster homes. So there is rarely a situation when "rescue feeds at the rescue". Rescues I know consist of foster homes. So what the rescue feeds is what the foster homes feed.
> 
> What you probably mean by rescue is a shelter with a physical location. The reality is that in a shelter often the diet is not going to be as perfect as what an individual can feed their animals at home - the simple reason is the lack of funds. Some poor and rural shelter are happy to be able to feed the animals any food.


Yes, this is what I meant- ie what the dogs are being fed _at_ the rescue/shelter. And this was just a question about rescues in general not just GSD-specific ones. While there are a lot of rescue orgs that are foster, we still have a lot that have a physcial shelter.


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## MacknCody (Nov 24, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: pupresq Changing the diet around a lot isn't ideal and doesn't necessarily keep tummies in optimum shape but may or may not be much of an issue depending on how long the dogs are housed and their individual needs. I think the thing to remember here is that even if being fed a varied sub-optimum diet is less than ideal, it's a lot better than being dead.


Matter of opinion there. If its a no-kill that keeps dogs for extended periods of time on constantly changing, poor kibble? Dog is probably not in the best of shape. There are worse things than death....


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

Yes, there are worse things than death - physical abuse, no shelter, food or water. I don't think I would put poor quality food in the same category. 

I know several people (not rescues or foster parents, just regular pet owners) who buy their personal dogs what ever is cheapest a the grocery store. My own mother use to be one of these people until I finally convienced her this is why her dog always had runny stool.

I will not argue that better quality food = healthier dog, but I think you are taking a pretty big jump saying that poor quality food = worse than death. I know several people that eat a lot of junk food and don't have the healthies diet, but I am pretty sure they still enjoy life.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

There are very few rescues that have a physical shelter. Animal control facilities that do usually don't keep dogs long enough alive for the food to affect their health. In my area shelter strays are killed after 3 business days.

I agree with jazy's mom. It is quite far fetched to say that death is better than donated food whose brand varies. There are plenty of ordinary pet owners who buy and feed whichever food is on sale in the supermarket.


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