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01-03-2014, 10:07 PM | #1 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| BalanceIT questions I'm looking into using BalanceIT for Lola, hopefully she'll actually it eat it. I'm going to try some of their recipes for a week or so to see how she does. Here are my questions 1- Every recipe I've looked at has more calories than they say Lola needs, for example one says she needs 201 calories and the recipe contains 274. If it were one or two recipes I wouldn't think anything of it, but every one of the 6 I've looked at has had at least 30 more calories than she needs. Do I need to cut back the amount a bit? Especially on the big difference ones, 70 calories is a huge difference for a tiny dog. 2- Has anyone had their dog snub the supplement? On their website it says you can return the unused portions, but I'm still nervous. I wish they gave out or sold samples. 3- If you're cooking a batch do you add the supplement to the batch or right before feeding it? |
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01-03-2014, 10:18 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Garner, NC
Posts: 1,485
| If you are planning on reheating the food, you would want to add the supplement right before serving once the food has cooled. Heat will degrade the components of the supplement. I believe the website says you can refrigerate the supplement so you could probably mix that in ahead of time if you didn't plan on reheating the food. And I have the same problems with the recipes for Toki with the recommendations being too high so I'm definitely scaling back the food amount to reflect the correct calories that I know she will maintain her weight on and seeing how she does. |
01-03-2014, 10:54 PM | #3 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Thanks, it's crazy that their recipes have too many calories for the entered weight. I edited Lola's weight from 5.75lbs to 5lbs and the calories are now ok for her actual weight. She needs to gain a little weight so I'll go with the higher calorie counts for now and scale it back when she's ready. |
01-04-2014, 10:09 AM | #4 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: NJ
Posts: 2,194
| I have a super duper picky dog so I feel your pain. I did use BalanceIt for a while & I was crazy nervous that Yoshi wouldn't eat it after investing so much time in planning and preparing the recipes. Hopefully I can help regarding the palatability... BalanceIt is a fine white powder. It doesn't have much of a smell. There's definitely not a liver and/or seaweed smell like most other supplements. So it won't overpower the taste of the actual food...which is my issue with other supplements that I've purchased. It almost smells sweet. But it's a very faint sweetness. I noticed that when added to food, it can give the food a somewhat grainy texture. That bothered me a little. I tried pureeing the veggies with the BalanceIt & a little chicken stock in my Cuisinart mini prep. That helped a little. But it ended up being too much trouble for 3 dogs with 3 different recipes. I'm now feeding raw. Not because I'm a big raw supporter...but honestly, it's the only thing Yoshi will eat on a consistent basis. He won't even eat pre-made frozen raw consistently. He only likes "real" raw (PMR) that I make with the 80/10/10 meat/bone/organ ratio. My other dogs will eat whatever I feed them. Yoshi's the problem child. He got bored with BalanceIt after about a week. Maybe I didn't offer enough variety in the meals? The recipes are a little boring to me. Anyway...I would say that out of all of the complete meal supplements out there (and I've tried them ALL), BalanceIt is by far the best for the picky eaters. I'm not sure how you feel about raw, some people just won't go that way. Trust me, I wouldn't be feeding it if I didn't have to. But raw might be something you could consider. If you're open to it. Good luck with the BalanceIt!
__________________ Teresa, Yoshi, Momo & Prima |
01-04-2014, 10:21 AM | #5 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Thanks, I'm sorry you're going through the same thing. I won't feed Lola raw, I have medical problems and I don't want to be exposed to the bacteria. |
01-04-2014, 10:33 AM | #6 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: USA
Posts: 4,285
| Have you considered a special diet by Dr Rebecca Remillard? You could discuss the calorie needs of the diet with her and she could come up with what you need. And yes to confirm - you cannot heat BalanceIt. I sprinkle it on just as I'm putting her food down and it has never been an issue for is.
__________________ . Cali , and Cali's keeper and staff, Jay No, not a "mini" Yorkie - She loves to motor in her Mini Cooper car |
01-04-2014, 10:43 AM | #7 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 5,891
| BalanceIti s a bit gritty, but I mix is with a very small amount of ricotta cheese or fresh mozzarella, and Katie eats it. They have a few formulas that are used when cooking the food, but that's more of the vitamins, so that some can be lost to cooking. You could also get a recipe from a vet nutritionist. Dr. Remillard will give you a recipe that uses BalanceIt as a supplement. The cost is explained below that I copied from her website. If your pup has medical issues, she consults with your vet, and the fee is much higher, but still very reasonable. "The first diet is $25. All subsequent diets ordered for the same species, e.g., same cat or dog, cost $12 each. To receive this reduced rate, you must purchase all the diets in the same transaction. If you would like more than one diet, select the "continue shopping" button." https://www.petdiets.com/Homemade-Diets
__________________ Lisa and Katie Ashley 6/10, Gracie 2/04, Kiwi 10/03, and Jolie 7/93 . |
01-04-2014, 10:46 AM | #8 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| Thanks everyone, I think I'll try recipes from BalanceIt for a week or so, if she eats them I'll order the supplement. If I continue to have problems I'll try Dr. Remillard. |
01-06-2014, 10:12 AM | #9 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: NJ
Posts: 1,354
| I don't think balanceit is going to work for Lola. I made her the high protein chicken and sweet potato recipe today and gave her half. She likes it, but it's sooo much food!! She ate about 1/3 of it. (Since she needs to gain weight I made the whole 270 calorie version) |
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