Must ask... What are you all feeding these days?

[Dee1230]

My Lilly is only 8weeks old She was started on Purina One Puppy. Just today I switched to Blue Buffalo small breed puppy natural chicken & oatmeal recipe.I am gradually adding this to her old food. Only two feedings and she seems to like it better.I read alot about different food brands and decided on this, so far no loose stool problems.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by kionini

I'm feeding Orijen (fish). It's also the only kibble Nini will eat voluntarily without wet food mixing. Both mine are having diahrrea and Nini was vomiting on Wednesday.

I gave them half a chicken bone (raw) last week and they seemed constipated right after. On Monday I gave them about an inch of raw steak. They seemed fine until Wedsday

How do you rotate their food? I'd like to give them the raw patties, but I'm scared. How do you do it?

I am just seeing this! Food, I just buy a new brand/flavor every bag. It's been Orijen, Acana and Go! for the past year or so.

The raw pre-made patties are SUPER easy. I'd probably feed them 24/7 if it weren't a matter of convenience and cost. Jackson is traveling with me a lot so kibble is just easier. But I just put 2 patties in the fridge to thaw out over night, and then give them to him the next morning. He eats them up super fast and I find he poops less when I feed more of it.

Originally Posted by MCRoberts

I wanted to point out how Handsome is Jackson! he is so cute and smart.

Awwww, thanks!

[Britster]

I'm doing the whole food debate all over again. I've got probably a weeks worth of Orijen Regional Red left and it's so odd... he has a PERFECT stool in the morning but like, when we go on our walk today (around 4:30pm-5:30pm) he stopped 3x to poop (which he never does until this past month) and each time it was just a little bit.... it was really tiny but just soft and mushy. Ugh, I'm thinking whatever formula change they did messed him up a bit. *sigh* Then again, these runny poos only occur on our walks... can walking make that happen? I dunno. Yesterday, for example, he had Orijen RR and had two solid poops but he did not get to go on his walk yesterday. It's definitely not the raw because he hasn't had it in over a week.

I'm either going back to Acana or trying something else. Orijen RR is too expensive now anyhow. He did really like the NB samples we got (particularly the "Alpha" formula) and I fed it for a few days (used two sample bags worth) and his poop was a lot different on that food. It was solid but there was a lot of it... lol. Not to be gross, but like he had much bigger 'logs' than ever before and they were pretty smelly. But they were completely solid (even on our walk). And I only fed it for 3 days or so... so it may have needed more time to get in his system but I noticed an immediate change in stool.

I think I just think too much about it.... LoL. It also doesn't help that he's picky and prefers larger kibbles. NB (regular sized kibbles) and Orijen/Acana are his favorite, he likes to crunch, I guess. Smaller kibbles, like Go! and NV Instinct, he won't just eat by themselves. So I try to look for larger kibbles. Arghhhh. I guess it wouldn't hurt to buy a bag of NB and try it out. I wanted to try Instinct again, kibble is small-ish, but might have to make do. He did really well on that food if I remember correctly.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Question regarding canned food - Do any of you having success using a canned food? If so what brand? Alice hasn't been eating well since I got her (about a month ago) and the last 4 days have been especially hard - she hasn't wanted any of her dog food (I've resorted to Cheerios, these holistic peanut butter and bluberry treats that she loves and when I was cooking ground beef yesterday I gave her a bit of it raw and she eat it). Last night I took her to a friend's house who mixes Purina Alpo canned in with her dogs' dry food. We gave a bit of it to Alice just to see what she would do and she ate it like I've yet to see this dog eat! It was like the best thing in the world to her! So my friend gave me a can to take home and I put a tbs. of it in her bowl next to her Verus kibble and same thing - she completely devoured it and ate the kibble that had touched it! So, I do NOT want to or plan on giving her this low grade food so I need a holistic high quality canned food that will be similar in texture and I guess smell and taste. It's "filet minon" flavor and really mushy. Since she also liked the ground beef I gave her yesterday I'm thinking maybe she likes beef and not chicken (she doesn't even want the ground up fresh chicken breast I cooked for her). Any ideas? I'm thinking I'm going to get a bag of dry food that's beef based (all the others I've tried are chicken), I have a coupon for Nature's Variety and I know they make a beef kibble so gonna try that. Does anyone use their canned food? Is the texture mushy and do you're pups like it? I've noticed that most holistic brand canned foods have kind of a firm texture even if you mash it up.

[Britster]

Yep, I use NV Instinct canned food all the time. I rotate and buy a bunch of different cans, ranging from Canidae, to NV, to Wellness, to Natural Balance, etc. I've always mixed canned food with Jackson's kibble.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Originally Posted by Britster

Yep, I use NV Instinct canned food all the time. I rotate and buy a bunch of different cans, ranging from Canidae, to NV, to Wellness, to Natural Balance, etc. I've always mixed canned food with Jackson's kibble.

Thanks I'll pick up some Instinct cans and she how she likes that first. I was horrified when she woofed down that Alpo lol but at least it gave me a clue as to what she might like.

[Britster]

Just an update - we're just going back to Acana. Not that we ever really "went off" it anyways... we were just doing our rotation of Acana, Go and then Orijen. Since Jackson hasn't had it in over a month, he seems to love it again LOL. I'm sure he will do fantastic on this as he always has. Since the Orijen change, I'm thinking the Regional Red was just too rich for him now unfortunately. I couldn't get myself to feed the Natural Balance, even though he loved it. The Bison formula he liked only had bison in the ingredients... NO other meat! It kind of freaked me out. ha

[kionini]

Originally Posted by Britster

Just an update - we're just going back to Acana. Not that we ever really "went off" it anyways... we were just doing our rotation of Acana, Go and then Orijen. Since Jackson hasn't had it in over a month, he seems to love it again LOL. I'm sure he will do fantastic on this as he always has. Since the Orijen change, I'm thinking the Regional Red was just too rich for him now unfortunately. I couldn't get myself to feed the Natural Balance, even though he loved it. The Bison formula he liked only had bison in the ingredients... NO other meat! It kind of freaked me out. ha

I'm going to try the patties I think Orijin is too rich for mine too, so I'm switching them to Blue Basics (for now).

When you rotate, do you do the 3/4 old food with 1/4 new food? Then keep adding more new food to the old until their bellies adjust to the new food? Or can you just switch it 'cold turkey'?

Thanks and sorry, so many questions I'm desperate

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by kionini

I'm going to try the patties I think Orijin is too rich for mine too, so I'm switching them to Blue Basics (for now).

When you rotate, do you do the 3/4 old food with 1/4 new food? Then keep adding more new food to the old until their bellies adjust to the new food? Or can you just switch it 'cold turkey'?

Thanks and sorry, so many questions I'm desperate

Brit switches cold turkey, and so do I, but I think you have to know your dog and the foods you are feeding. I wouldn't have done it when my boys were under a year old. The foods I feed are sort of similar and I know my boys do well on them.

Some dogs do well with wholesale changes, others don't.

[Princess10]

I recently switched to Acana and tried the "Wild Prairie" & "Grasslands". I'll be buying a full-sized bag this weekend and will be getting the "Wild Prairie". It was amazing when Princess was on that....her poop was a lot smaller and "unscented", plus Ms. Picky actually ate it! With the "Grasslands" it is super stinky and her breath is horrible!! That's enough to scare me off!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Brit switches cold turkey, and so do I, but I think you have to know your dog and the foods you are feeding. I wouldn't have done it when my boys were under a year old. The foods I feed are sort of similar and I know my boys do well on them.

Some dogs do well with wholesale changes, others don't.

He's never really had any major problems with doing this... but he's got a pretty iron stomach and can handle a lot most of the time.

Originally Posted by Princess10

I recently switched to Acana and tried the "Wild Prairie" & "Grasslands". I'll be buying a full-sized bag this weekend and will be getting the "Wild Prairie". It was amazing when Princess was on that....her poop was a lot smaller and "unscented", plus Ms. Picky actually ate it! With the "Grasslands" it is super stinky and her breath is horrible!! That's enough to scare me off!

Really?? Jackson's breath was never smelly nor was his poo (well, as un-smelly as poo can be) on Grasslands. But we are also feeding Prairie as we haven't fed that formula in a while... next bag I'll buy Grasslands again.

[BodieBears]

Bodie has been on TOTW and we have tried three flavors. The bison has been his favorite, by far. He is a SUPER picky guy when it comes to dry kibble. He will eat the cat's food like crazy, so the salmon wasn't a bad idea. You can't really smell it on him, except a little in his beard if he drinks a lot before eating.

Have you told your vet that you're feeding TOTW? I told mine a few weeks ago and he seemed concerned about the high protein levels being bad for the kidneys. I'd hate to switch, because he likes it so much. But I want him to be healthy. Has anyone else heard this?

[helenprieto]

I have a puppy who gets Blue Bufallo for puppies and a slightly overweight adult who get Blue Buffalo Lite for adults. They both love their food.

[chattiesmom]

I have been feeding Taste of the Wild for well over two years -- yorkies from 3 weeks (they get theirs ground up and mixed with diluted canned goat's milk) to 7 years plus our elderly Boxer, Boo, who has a very sensitive stomach. I feel all four varieties and they seem to like them equally well, except for the Pacific Stream which they don't like as well as the others.

[kionini]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Brit switches cold turkey, and so do I, but I think you have to know your dog and the foods you are feeding. I wouldn't have done it when my boys were under a year old. The foods I feed are sort of similar and I know my boys do well on them.

Some dogs do well with wholesale changes, others don't.

Hummm, yeah, Nicky's pretty sensitive, so I'll go very easy. Thank you