Does anyone feed 2 or more food brands mixed?

[luvmybabies]

Originally Posted by Sherry Lynn

Thanks for clarifying.. And I agree... I am picky because I want what is best for my pets. THAT is what this board is all about!

Peace out!

You know, what it all boils down too, is, if I save one baby by posting about pancreatitis, then it is well worth my time, no matter who gets mad! Everyone does not know everything and I sure don't! Am always trying to learn what is best for our "furkids"!

[puppylove17]

Originally Posted by luvmybabies

You know, what it all boils down too, is, if I save one baby by posting about pancreatitis, then it is well worth my time, no matter who gets mad! Everyone does not know everything and I sure don't! Am always trying to learn what is best for our "furkids"!

I would like to extend my sympathy for your loss. I also think it admirable for you to warn others of what can happen. Thank you for posting and again you have my sympathy.

[Brookef18]

Originally Posted by luvmybabies

A Very Important Post
This was posted here last year. I have read so much in the last month, on forums, about yorkies vomiting and diarrhea. I copied the following post so every new mommy and daddy could read it.
I know most of the folks don't feed their babies table scraps, but I am sure there are still plenty of people that do not know any better.
So FYI:

Yorkie Pancreatitis - PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is been my month so far......On July 2nd we woke and our 6 1/2 year old Precious, 4.8 lbs, had thrown up her dog food in our bed. (All sleep with us)..All cleaned up and then she seemed fine all day Sat and Sun. The morning of the 4th, I woke to diarrea on my pillow and she was still laying there. ...All cleaned up again and she acted ok but like she just had upset tummy or didn't feel really perky. That was about 8 am and approx 3 pm we left to go for a ride and have dinner. When we arrived home about 7 she was GONE! No explanation from our vet, said we could get an autopsy but often they did not show the real cause of death for sure. We didn't want that anyway as the pain was already unbearable for my husband and I. We had her cremated and she sits in my office in her little urn.
On the evening at 2 in the am of the 10th, our other yorkie, vomited. I was still up and saw this. Watched her til about 3 and she kinda spit up again. By 8 that morning my husband had her at the hospital. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis. She was touch and go and in ICU for two days.
Thank God Sassi is home and much better but our sweet baby girl Precious is gone forever, til we meet at the bridge!
This disease runs in yorkies. As a matter of fact they are the #2 most suceptible. (sp?)
PLEASE do not feed your babies table scraps or anything with fat! I beg you to pay attention if your yorkie starts vomiting and get her to a Dr IMMEDIATELY!
Don't want others to go thru what we have been through the last 13 days and certainly do not want any babies to suffer cause you may not know this!
__________________
LuvMyBabies

Thank you for this post... I had just gotten my baby at 12 weeks... he is a very picky eater... gave him a tiny amount of bacon sprinkled on his food. Then i found this board and saw this very same post and almost died! I had no idea that I was giving anything harmful to my yorkie. Only because I found this board and saw this post was I informed. Chewy is now 5 months old, and he only gets dog food... Hopefuly new mommies will learn from this as I did and understand the inportance of not feeding people food to thier furbabies...

[chelbuddy]

Buddy is now eating the Nature's Variety "Raw Instinct" dry kibble (which stopped his diarrhea!) mixed with the Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier food (which he loves, but seems to give him bad breath when that's all he eats) and I mix it all in with Evangers "Super Premium" 100% Rabbit - when Buddy's "grandma" was visiting she would throw it in the microwave for like 7 seconds and make it a little warm for him and he loves it and eats it all up!

I have been really careful not to ever feed him from the table so he does not beg - I only offer him stuff he doesn't like - you should see what he does when I offer him a banana! He backs up and barks at it!

[furby2000]

My deepest condolences for your loss. I cannot begin to phathom the pain you had to go thru. Thank you so much for sharing this info. As a new puppy owner I cannot tell you how important was to read your post. I do mix dry food with Pedigree (as advised by the seller) but are currently looking for a better/healthier option for my little one.

[yorkieusa]

Our latest mix is Chicken Soup, Natural Balance, Royal Canin, Wellness, and Canadae. I've always mixed foods and I will throughout their lives. Wellness is a new one I recently added in place of another, but the pieces are big and I'm not sure if that is why she will leave it or if she doesn't like it. I'm going to smash a few into one of her meals and see if it is the size or the taste.

[Tiger's Mom]

I feed both my furbabies the Innova kibble puppy food mixed with merrick wet food. In the mornings though I add yogurt to it. I normally add cut-up fruits in the afternoon meals but have not done so since I got back from vacation . . .bad mommy

[RLC12345678]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

Our latest mix is Chicken Soup, Natural Balance, Royal Canin, Wellness, and Canadae. I've always mixed foods and I will throughout their lives. Wellness is a new one I recently added in place of another, but the pieces are big and I'm not sure if that is why she will leave it or if she doesn't like it. I'm going to smash a few into one of her meals and see if it is the size or the taste.

Wow. I did not realize that Wellness was large kibbles. I'm glad you told me that. My babies are so teeny tiny and they won't touch anything too big. That is why I LOVE Chicken Soup Puppy. The kibbles are tiny and they LOVE it.

[JCarlson2004]

I use to always mix different brands together and thought it was healthy and the best thing to do until recently. I read an article from the Dog Journal and it's lists all the top dog foods for overall health and wellness. In addition, it lists the food we should definitely avoid. But what I found really interesting was that we should "Switch, But Don't Mix" food. I will type out just word for word a small part of what I read:

Article Title: Switch, But Don't Mix - Why You Shouldn't Seek A Sole, "Perfect" Food For Your Dog

"I suggest that they give their dogs one food for 2-4 months, and then switch to another food, and then another. Ideally, the foods are made by a few different manufacturers and contain completely different protein sources, too."

"To prevent nutrient toxicity, deficiency, or imbalance, the simple solution is to feed a variety of high-quality foods - perhaps three or four foods over the course of a year."

"There are other reasons to change a dog's food every few months or so. Switching from one source of protein to another occassionally can help prevent the development of food allergies or intollerances. It can also prevent a dog from developing a stubborn preference for just one kind of food, which can be highly inconvenient."

"Other than when you are switcing from one food to another, it's not a good idea to feed different foods at the same time. Your dog might enjoy a mix of half this and half that, but if he suddenly exhibits a digestive problem, it will be harder to track down the offending ingredient."

I wish I could copy and paste the article for everyone to read -- it's an AMAZING article and so informative -- but it's scanned on my computer as a PDF and I don't know how to convert is to text so that I can copy and paste it here. But if anyone would like me to forward them a copy of the article, just PM me your e-mail address and I will be glad to! I learned so much from it and I'd be happy to share it!!

PS - It also gives a detailed description of dog food ingredients, who approves the food and who is reputable and not reputable, nutritional profiles, feeding trials, canned foods NOT recommended, approved healthy canned foods, commonly used canned food additives (a real eye opener), how to calculate "dry matter" or actual nutrient levels, not recommend hard food, how to pick the right food for YOUR dog, a list of approved healthy hard food, recognizing good and bad ingredients, organic products, etc. and much more!!

So if you want me to e-mail you this article, just PM me!

[RLC12345678]

That is great information. Thanks so much for sharing. I just have one quick question....Is the ONLY reason they say NOT to mix foods is so you can track down the offending ingridient if a digestive problem arises?

Originally Posted by JCarlson2004

I use to always mix different brands together and thought it was healthy and the best thing to do until recently. I read an article from the Dog Journal and it's lists all the top dog foods for overall health and wellness. In addition, it lists the food we should definitely avoid. But what I found really interesting was that we should "Switch, But Don't Mix" food. I will type out just word for word a small part of what I read:

Article Title: Switch, But Don't Mix - Why You Shouldn't Seek A Sole, "Perfect" Food For Your Dog

"I suggest that they give their dogs one food for 2-4 months, and then switch to another food, and then another. Ideally, the foods are made by a few different manufacturers and contain completely different protein sources, too."

"To prevent nutrient toxicity, deficiency, or imbalance, the simple solution is to feed a variety of high-quality foods - perhaps three or four foods over the course of a year."

"There are other reasons to change a dog's food every few months or so. Switching from one source of protein to another occassionally can help prevent the development of food allergies or intollerances. It can also prevent a dog from developing a stubborn preference for just one kind of food, which can be highly inconvenient."

"Other than when you are switcing from one food to another, it's not a good idea to feed different foods at the same time. Your dog might enjoy a mix of half this and half that, but if he suddenly exhibits a digestive problem, it will be harder to track down the offending ingredient."

I wish I could copy and paste the article for everyone to read -- it's an AMAZING article and so informative -- but it's scanned on my computer as a PDF and I don't know how to convert is to text so that I can copy and paste it here. But if anyone would like me to forward them a copy of the article, just PM me your e-mail address and I will be glad to! I learned so much from it and I'd be happy to share it!!

PS - It also gives a detailed description of dog food ingredients, who approves the food and who is reputable and not reputable, nutritional profiles, feeding trials, canned foods NOT recommended, approved healthy canned foods, commonly used canned food additives (a real eye opener), how to calculate "dry matter" or actual nutrient levels, not recommend hard food, how to pick the right food for YOUR dog, a list of approved healthy hard food, recognizing good and bad ingredients, organic products, etc. and much more!!

So if you want me to e-mail you this article, just PM me!

[JCarlson2004]

Originally Posted by RLC12345678

That is great information. Thanks so much for sharing. I just have one quick question....Is the ONLY reason they say NOT to mix foods is so you can track down the offending ingridient if a digestive problem arises?

You're welcome. No they list more reasons -- it's just a lot of info to type and I'm lazy. That's why I offered to e-mail the entire article to anyone who would like to read it.

[JCarlson2004]

Originally Posted by RLC12345678

Wow. I did not realize that Wellness was large kibbles. I'm glad you told me that. My babies are so teeny tiny and they won't touch anything too big. That is why I LOVE Chicken Soup Puppy. The kibbles are tiny and they LOVE it.

Wellness is large kibble? Aww that stinks ... I was hoping to try that next!!

[RLC12345678]

Originally Posted by JCarlson2004

You're welcome. No they list more reasons -- it's just a lot of info to type and I'm lazy. That's why I offered to e-mail the entire article to anyone who would like to read it.

I would love to read it. Would you mind emailing it to me?

rcdonnellan@gmail.com

I was also disappointed in hearing Wellness is large. I wanted to try it, too. Oh well.

[JCarlson2004]

Originally Posted by RLC12345678

I would love to read it. Would you mind emailing it to me?

rcdonnellan@gmail.com

I was also disappointed in hearing Wellness is large. I wanted to try it, too. Oh well.

I just sent it! I apologize in advance for the article being a little dark -- it's easier to read if you print it. But that was the only way for me to get it on to the computer to send to people.

[RLC12345678]

Originally Posted by JCarlson2004

I just sent it! I apologize in advance for the article being a little dark -- it's easier to read if you print it. But that was the only way for me to get it on to the computer to send to people.

I got it! Thank you SO much for the information. I know it will be helpful.