[InkedMarie]

IMO, Nutro is a so-so food. How long has she been picky with her food? If it’s a recent thing, listen to your dog and stop feeding it. If you want to change the food, choose any 4 or 5 star food, ideally one with no recall history. Brands I like are Farmina, Nature’s Logic, Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s…..other people speak highly of Victor.

[InkedMarie]

Not coupons but SportDogFood is having a sale on some Farmina (maybe Victor too)….click the “sale” link on their website. I got four of the 5.5lb bags for $42 & change.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Cathy M-

It sounds like switching foods would be a great idea for multiple reasons. Here is a link about a diet rotation: /frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

I feed my lab/retriever mix dogs a couple of different kibbles with either canned, fresh or frozen mixed in every meal.

So far our favorite kibbles are Victor grain free, California Natural, and Eagle Pack. Since it sounds like you have been feeding the same food for a while, you will need to do a slow transition to the new so make sure you start it before the bag of Blue gets too low!

Which flavor of Blue Wilderness are you feeding her currently?

[Dotsy M]

I would be most interested in an in-depth analysis of the Victor Grain Free dry dog food. You have rated it 5-star, but I would like to see sourcing & manufacturing information.
Thanks

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Andrea, everyone has given you really good advice. 😀 I would just like to add that my dogs do great on Victor kibble as well. If you can buy it locally, it’s a really good price. http://www.victordogfood.com click on their find a dealer button, for stores in your area. I add canned foods to their meals too. With 3 dogs, I go through 2 cans per day. One is a Dachshund and only gets like 2 spoonfuls. The other 2 get 1/2 can per meal. I use 4 and 5 star canned foods. Nature’s Domain (Costco) $20 for a case of 24 cans. Pure Balance Stews $1.19/can (Walmart) And Tractor Supply has 4health @ $1 per can.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Andrea-
Hope your dog is recovering well from her surgery. I agree with everything that BDog recommended above. One of the foods she noted was Victor. I’d like to also second the recommendation for Victor. I feed my two large dogs the grain free joint health recipe just about every other bag. I think it is very similar to TOTW that you are currently feeding. The price for it varies greatly depending on where you live. Their website has a store locator button. I believe it is a little higher in calories than TOTW so you may need to feed a little less to avoid weight gain.
I also mix in either canned, fresh or Raw into my dogs’ kibble. If you don’t want to mess with cans, you could always try Fresh Pet Select. It comes in a roll and has to be refrigerated. It just needs to be sliced. It can be found in multiple grocery and pet food stores. I haven’t fed it for a while due to its cost, but my dogs do love it when i buy it. That would probably entice her to eat a little better. Plus it’s very healthy to add less processed food to the meals in my opinion. Let us know what works for you!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Andrea:
People do mix different recipes/brands of food together. I am not a fan of it because if your dog does not like the food or doesn’t do well eating it you really don’t know which food is causing issues. I also do not feed or recommend any Diamond or Diamond manufactured product due to their recall history. Their last recall was within the past few years for cat food which is not noted on DFA; you can find their recall history here:
/?s=diamond

IMO you should reconsider your view of adding canned to her diet. The added moisture is so healthy for your dog. I don’t blame her for not wanting to eat just dry kibble! I feed kibble for most meals with a topper of canned, fresh foods, or commercial raw. Here’s some info on the benefits of adding wet food:
/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

Healthy leftovers would also be a good addition to her diet. Here’s a download that includes a menu of adding fresh foods such as eggs, lean meats, sardines, fresh vegetables & fruits to any quality of kibble according to the size of your dog. You can feed fresh foods as a meal or use them as toppers over a few days:
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

Consider feeding a rotational diet. My dog does really well eating a variety:
/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

Some brands my dog does well on are Wellness, Nutrisource, Precise, Fromm, Annamaet, EVO, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Grandma Mae’s. Some others often recommended on DFA are Eagle Pack, Pro Pac, California Natural, Dr. Tim’s, Hi Tek, Victor’s, Merrick, Whole Earth Farms, and Holistic Select.

[Sharon N]

I was wondering if you have checked into the quality of Cahoots store brand dog and puppy foods. I am curious to find out how they compare. The salesperson says there products are made in the Victor plants

[crazy4cats]

Hi Oceans11-
Have you tried any of the “toppers” mixed in to the kibble that are recommended by Steve Brown yet? You can certainly still mix in some chicken into the kibble if that will help. I mix something into all of my dogs’ kibble meals. Such as an egg, beef heart, sardines, canned food, left over vegetables or lean meat. In my opinion, kibble regardless of the amount of stars it has is still kibble and is much healthier and appetizing with something fresh or canned added. My two favorite brands of kibble are Victor and California Natural. Good luck to you!

[C4D]

Hi Trevorpup,
Having 2 Labs myself it does seem hard to believe there is such a thing as a fussy Lab! LOL!
Labs & C4C have given you some great advice. Victor and Earthborn are both reasonably priced dog foods. Have you tried adding just a bit of wet (canned) food mixed into the food. That might make it more enticing since he loved the raw food. Anything that tastes more like real food will usually attract a fussy dog. I have 2 Labs and fosters on a regular basis so I need everyone to eat all their food and bowls are cleared. I always mix some canned food and warm water into the kibble. It allows the kibble to absorb the flavor of the canned food and it’s always been a success for me.
Congratulations on your pup and thanks for rescuing! From a foster point of view, it allows another one to be saved! 🙂

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Trevor, here’s a list of foods that are appropriate for large breed puppies. I have had great results with Victor and Earthborn. Check the list for specific formulas. https://docs.google.com/a/dogfoodadvisor.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

[Kayla M]

So I know this sounds weird but I have two dogs and they need a grain free dog food. We’ve been feeding them victor and we love it… It’s just the protein content is so high they don’t need a lot of it as our dogs are not very active (even lower servings of Victor give them crazy amounts of energy which for a dog on meds for anxiety is not the best thing, and we do exercise them over an hour each a day) so are there any food that are grain free but not as high in protein?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Madelon-
My pups had a rough start also. They both had a terrible case of giardia that was extremely difficult to get rid of. Is that what your pup had? They had several treatments to get rid of it and I believe due to that they developed either a leaky gut or colitis.

I don’t think that RC is a terrible food. But I do think it is too expensive for what it is. Also, most that frequent this site believe that there is no perfect food and it is best to feed a variety. You don’t have to give up the RC, you can keep it in your rotation. So far, after my pup’s rough start, Victor grain free joint health, California Natural pork and peas and Merrick grain free duck have worked the best with their sensitive tummies. The Victor is budget friendly while the others need to be on sale for me to purchase!

Where do you typically buy your food? You could alway print off the list of 4 and 5 star food lists from the review side of this website and take it with you to the store or have it by you when you search for a food on the computer.

Once you get set on your kibble, I feel it is best to add a more species appropriate food to it, such as, canned or fresh foods that are less processed. I feed canned, eggs, sardines and lightly cooked meats to my dogs’ meals.

Good luck!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by crazy4cats.

[crazy4cats]

Hey-
Welcome to the club! Pretty much everyone on here is obsessed! I don’t really feel qualified to comment much on protein levels for a dog with a health condition. There are others on this site with some actual education in the field that may be more helpful. Generally speaking, however, a healthy senior dog is recommended to be fed a higher more quality protein level because they start to lose the ability to process it as well. Just like us humans. But as far as feeding the same brands of dry and wet together, it is not necessary. I feed mine all different brands of canned. Mostly Kirkland, 4Health, and Pure Balance Stews. I buy Wellness if I have a coupon! I mostly feed Victor kibble and they don’t make canned food. Welcome to DFA!

[Sam Koch]

I will look at Victor dog food as well, it looks great. Thanks!

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Sam, I have had good results with Victor dog food. My 3 do awesome on it. Here’s their site. http://www.victordogfood.com/

[crazy4cats]

Hi Dawn R- I am very sorry to hear about your struggles with Bella. My dogs had a similar start. First of all, I’m pretty sure you have done this, but I just have to ask. Has she been retested for Giardia? It is a difficult parasite to get rid of at times and I’m wondering if it is active again. Have you wormed her lately? If not, I’d try either Panacur or Drontal Plus in case she had some dormant giardia lurking.

My pups had a bad case and struggled with diarrhea off and on for a few years. I think the parasites and the over use of antibiotics caused them to have a leaky gut or some form of colitis. Check out this site for some great info: http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html

My dogs are having issues right now because I think I got too confident in their tummies being better and they are not. I am feeding them the Merrick Classic Chicken formula and it is not going too well. However, when I fed them the Merrick grain free duck and turkey they did fine. My suspicion is maybe there are just too many ingredients in the classic formula. My dogs do fine with peas, sweet potatoes, and rice as a binder. I’m now suspicious of rye and barley as no no’s.

So far, my best kibbles for them have been Victor grain free and California Natural Pork and Peas. I try to add some fresh, frozen or canned to their kibble every meal. Your best is to try to keep their kibble as simple as possible. Shoot for just one protein and one carb with low fat and slightly higher fiber. I think the California Natural Pork formula might be a food one for you. I ordered it from Pet Flow when it was 30% off to give it a try!

The supplements that I have used with success are:
Seacure, Phytomucil, Vetri Pro BD, Gastriplex, Perfect Form and Pro Flora probiotic
chews. I still rotate them.

Oh, and also, plain canned pumpkin doesn’t work wonders for us either. But the Fruitables Pumpkin digestive canned supplement does. It has a few other goodies in it that seem helpful. Of course, it costs at least twice as much as the plain pumpkin.

Please write back if you have anymore questions!

[Lori]

Katlhleen, Yes, the carb level is high, I think most weight management food will be. Right now I’m alternating between Victor’s Grain Free Salmon and Northwest Naturals Salmon, which is a raw that my pet store gave me to try out. It’s the nugget kind so easy to pour into bowl and thaws out pretty quick. This would, however, be too expensive to feed my dogs regularly. I think the price here was about $35 or so (under $40) for 6 pounds. My dogs love it and had no trouble with digesting it or with their output. I was told feeding raw would take the weight off quicker than kibble, which I believe, but again, it’s to pricey for me to do full time. I’m on the fence about raw still also.

[aquariangt]

Budget friendly is somewhat relative. From a quick glance at the list DogFoodie linked (which I would absolutely pick something from that list, and read a few of the articles linked in that thread as well to familiarize yourself) Ones that I consider fairly budget friendly:

Dr Tims
Fromm Gold
Earthborn
Victor
Zignature

[Naturella]

Hi, Cindy! Living in an RV and doing lots of traveling sounds like so much fun!

I second theBCnut’s suggestion – it is very important for your dog to be able to transition quickly and easily, and preferable “cold turkey” from bag to bag and from brand to brand. If you need help beginning and maintaining a transition, let us know.

But because you asked for food brands that are widely available, here is what I would look for if I were you:
Pure Balance (all varieties) – Walmart
Rachael Ray Zero Grain – Walmart and most other grocery stores
Wellness (all varieties) – Petco and Petsmart, and some small boutique-type stores
Castor and Pollux (all varieties) – Petco and Petsmart, and some small boutique-type stores
Merrick (all varieties) – Petco and Petsmart, and some small boutique-type stores
Whole Earth Farms (all varieties) – Petco and Petsmart, and some small boutique-type stores
Nulo (all varieties) – Petsmart only
Nutro Ultra and Natural Choice (all varieties) – Petco and Petsmart
FreshPet (all varieties, refrigerated food) – Petsmart (maybe Petco too), and many grocery stores (not Walmart though, at least not the 2 I frequent)

In order of preference, I would shoot for Wellness, Merrick/Castor&Pollux/Whole Earth Farms, FreshPet, Nulo, and then Pure Balance, the Nutros, and Rachael Ray Zero Grain.

If you do get to a pet boutique, look for Victor, Earthborn Holistic, and NutriSource (all varieties within each are good). My personal preference are the grain free recipes (in all brands I recommended), due to higher protein usually, but those are all good brands anyway.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi furever21, I wouldn’t use either one of those. Check out Victor dog food. http://www.victordogfood.com Their Foods are rated 4 and 5 stars over on the review side of dfa. My 3 do great on Victor.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Rosy, I have a two year old 16lb Dachshund named Blue. I have two large dogs as well. All 3 do great on Victor dog food, I use the grain free formulas. Here’s Victor’s site- http://www.victordogfood.com/ They have a “Find a dealer” for stores in your area. Great food, great price. Victor is about half the cost of Blue. Great price for 5 star food! 😀

[pugmomsandy]

Some of the Victor dog foods come in 50 lb bags. Also, Flint River Ranch comes in 10 or 20 lb bags but you can buy a larger quantity for a less. The fats in kibble can start to go rancid once a bag is opened if not stored properly so using a bag up within a month or less of opening can be a good idea.

[Erin M]

Hi, I’m new to the forums here, though I’m at DFA almost every week.

I currently feed my hound mix rescues Victor and add about 4 oz. wet (pure balance in the morning and kirkland turkey wet in the evening). I’m wondering about the other victor grain free blends to give my dogs some variety. They love the all stages kibble (and so do I as a teacher on a budget who wants to feed my dogs well).

Any recs for other high-q dry foods that are in the $45-50 range for a 30lb bag? I go through about 2 bags per month, (my dogs are high activity!

Thanks,
t_t

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Natalie, welcome to DFA. 😀 My favorite kibble is Victor. It’s a 5 star grain free food, without the usual 5 star price. I buy it locally, it’s just under $45 for 30lbs. The food is available in small bags too. Here’s Victor’s site. Click on their “Find a dealer” for stores in your area. http://www.victordogfood.com/ I recommend a rotational diet. Pick several different foods to try, different foods/manufacturers. Then rotate through different proteins- Chicken, Beef, Salmon, Turkey, Lamb, ect. Explore other options as well. Since you only have 1 small breed dog, you might want to feed canned food. Canned is more species appropriate then kibble. Because canned food is moisture rich and the food is closer to it’s original state, it’s much less processed than kibble, and uses no preservatives. Also, with just 1 small dog you could feed a human grade canned food. 😀 My 3 love Merrick canned once in a while for a treat. It smells and looks so good, I’m tempted to try it myself. lol. 🙂 Unfortunately I cannot feed Merrick exclusively as I have 3 dogs so I have to go with more budget friendly canned foods. If you’re interested Merrick is sold at Petco. I hope your puppy does well on the foods you try. Good luck! 😀

[Meghan M]

Oops, sorry I worded that wrong! I will definitely try a lot of these brands and rotate them as long as she doesn’t get sick on them, or I notice any negative side effects. I just got some of the Victor dog food, so fingers crossed!

Also – very random side note – I had ordered 3 smaller bags of dog food online at Chewy, and decided I didn’t want 2 of them, so I asked if I could return them (unopened), the employee there credited my account, but said not to even worry about returning the food, that they just ask that I give it to a local shelter. I thought that was so awesome! I’m really impressed with their company.

[Meghan M]

To second GSDsForever, I emailed Sammy Snacks asking about ethoxyquin and here is the response I got:

“Thank you for your interest in our products. We pride ourselves on providing the highest quality of pet food and treats available on the market at an affordable price. As part of that we hold all of our mills to higher standard than most brands. We provide all of them with clear and concise list of what ingredients are not allowed in our products (of which ethoxyquin is one). We also provide them with a list of suppliers that we don’t allow to sell them ingredient that are included in our products. All of them must agree to these requirements or they would no longer make our products. I also don’t trust anyone else when it comes to the Sammy Snacks and Ancestry brand, that is why we order tests on all of our product. One of the many things that is tested for is ethoxyquin. All of our proteins and fats are preserved with vitamin E (sometimes called tocopherols).

I hope this helps and please feel free to contact us with any more questions.

Thanks,
Matt Frey
CEO
Sammy Snacks Inc.”

I may eventually add this food to my rotation. The only issue I had is the amount of Omega 3s listed. Her current food (Infinia) has a minimum of 0.3%, while the Ancestry has only 0.4%. I’m not sure if that makes it a lower-quality food compared to some of the others, but I did note the other brands had much higher levels: Zignature at 1.0%, Wellness CORE at 0.8%, Victor at 0.7%, and Legacy at 1.4%.

I also looked up Timberwolf’s dog food, and really liked the Wilderness Elk Platinum, the Black Forest Platinum Grain Free, the Ocean Blue Platinum Grain Free, and the Lamb & Apples Platinum Grain Free. I hadn’t heard of this brand before, so I’m glad I was introduced to it!

I found a store nearby that sells Victor, so I think I will start with this food based on the recommendations, along with the fact that it is the lowest protein level out of my top 3 favorites. As long as my dog does well on this for awhile, I’ll see how she does with Wellness CORE, Legacy, and possibly Zignature.

I did have a question, either specifically for GSDsForever, or for anyone who can provide input. You talked earlier about how processing is imperative for digestibility and nutrient preservation. Do you know of any dog foods (either that I have already listed, or outside brands we haven’t discussed) that have good processing techniques and gentle cooking methods?

Again, thank you all so much for your input! I feel a lot more confident about my choices – it is still overwhelming though, because there are so many options! I’m just glad that I’ve narrowed the options down to a few, and I guess now it is just a process of elimination to see how she reacts with some foods versus others.

[dana i]

Thanks!
The feed store by my house has the victor– I got the joint formula for $45 for a 40 pound bag and introduced it to the dogs today.

I read to mix the new food with the old food to introduce it to them without upsetting their tummies and slowly phasse them into the new food, but the dogs are somehow picking through the food and eating all the Victor and ignoring the regular/old food. Like dogfood ninjas. LOL

They both have a bit of gas, but I know that is from switching food. I’ll keep them on this for a while and see how it goes.

Once their tummies are settled, I’ll see about adding toppers, and maybe eventually alternating food like ya’ll suggested.
Thanks!

[Mom2Cavs]

Even though I’m not a fan of Evanger’s I’d go back to it for now if it was working so well due to her being shown. I used to feed Evanger’s a lot (and so did the breeder I got my dogs from). I still like the way their food looks on paper, but after the owners’ dubious activities I’ve not used them on principle. I am a firm believer in feeding what works, though, and monitoring the dog for clues that the food should be changed. I do also like Victor dog food. Currently, I feed either Wellness, Nature’s Variety or Fromm, along with Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried. Good luck!

[JANIS F]

I’ve started my 5 english setters on Victor about 1 month ago. Gradually weened them from Evangers (which they did marvelous on) The two senior dogs (15 1/2 and 11 1/2) on senior food, are doing well, however, the others are different. I’m still doing 1/2 and 1/2 of both foods for the others. The 8 and 5 year old are fine, but the 3 year old that is actively showing and in great coat, has to be enticed to eat food, (I put a little bit of can food on top) and now has diarrhea often. I have them on the 5 star Hi-Pro. Any advise? Should I go back to Evanger’s for her? She’s in the top ranking of English Setters (#1 Owner Handler and #12 in breed standing at only 3) I don’t want her condition to change!! She’s never turned her nose up at food before, she’s not in season or anywhere near going into season. HELP!!

[crazy4cats]

I’d take “human” food over kibble any day too! Lol! My dogs will pretty much eat anything. And I mean anything. But.. My cats are very picky and it is frustrating to throw away expensive food.
There have been other posters expressing that their dogs have recently shown disinterest in Blue as well. And they are in the middle of a lawsuit accusing them of misrepresenting their ingredients. And I believe have been proven guilty of having by-products in their food when they advertise that they don’t use any.
All that aside, we need to get your dogs to eat! I regularly feed Victor grain free kibble and mix in canned, human or dehydrated food in every meal. Have you tried adding lightly cooked eggs, lean meats, veggies or fish (sardines or salmon) to their meals? Those are appropriate to add and might help entice them to eat it. Do you add warm water to the kibble? As long as you keep the add ins at 20% or less of their total calories, they are a great way to up the nutritional value of their meals.
I hope you find the right combination!

[crazy4cats]

Hi-
I also have two lab mix dogs. Both about 80lbs. They are brothers. My favorite budget friendly kibble for them so far is Victor grain free joint health formula. I cannot get it quite as cheap as some. But I found a store that I can order a 50lb bag for $75. However, it’s two main protein sources are beef and chicken. They do have a lamb and rice formula as well, but I have not tried it. I then rotate with something I can find on sale. Right now it is California Natural Pork and Sweet Potato. It was 30% off on PetFlow a few weeks ago.
Like Naturella said, if you start registering on websites, you will get many promotional deals! Most of my emails anymore are from somebody wanting me to buy pet food. Lol! I also have 4 cats.
I always mix in (top) something canned, fresh, dehydrated or freeze dried in their kibble every meal as I don’t think kibble is all that great on its own regardless of the brand or quality.
Neither one of my dogs have allergy symptoms, but have had some digestive issues. So if you need to keep feeding what you already are, maybe you could add some toppers to their meals to bump up the nutritional value such as eggs, sardines, and beef heart.
Good luck!

[Naturella]

Hey, Dana, and welcome to DFA.

First off, I really think that getting your dogs off of the Science Diet is a wonderful decision! I also know what shopping on a budget is like, so what I can recommend is emailing/facebooking companies to ask for coupons (Nulo would send you some, it is a brand sold at Petsmart and online too), and sign up for coupons from Merrick/Castor and Pollux/Wellness. They will send you coupons as well. And if you order online, websites such as chewy.com , petflow.com , wag.com are great places to look for deals on.

Also, feeding a rotational diet will help with scooping out deals and sales – basically you will be able to rotate to different foods that are at a good price at the time of purchase.

Now, I can recommend you several brands that are mostly affordable (without coupons), and are available online. Earthborn Holistic, Dr. Tim’s, Annamaet, probably NutriSource (not affordable in my area though), Victor (available at sportdogfood.com), and if you don’t mind Diamond as a manufacturing company (lots of recalls, not handled well), Taste of the Wild and Canidae Grain Free Pure would be good options.

Most of these foods are pretty calorie-dense so you would also feed less and possibly have smaller stool. And I can actually give you an almost-personal example – my roommate used to feed the same Science Diet formula as you, and he fed it for almost 5 years to his dog (except he did feed her the puppy version when she was a pup). Then he switched to Nulo Lamb and Lentils (a grain-free, high-animal-protein food) and his dog lost weight, actually enjoyed eating her food, and her coat looks a lot better. I am not sure about stool size though. And now she eats Blue Buffalo Wilderness Red Meat. She seems to be doing well although many report issues with Blue so I wouldn’t really recommend it. Plus, it is pricy as heck.

Now, I can’t really help with the gas issues. Maybe someone else can give you direction with that and you can see what food matches others’ recommendations from the brands I suggested, and other brands others may suggest. Good luck!

[Naturella]

Meghan (and everyone),

Welcome to DFA!

I second everyone’s recommendations, and I can attest to the quality of Wellness CORE (I have the Ocean formula lined up to feed in the next few months), and I have fed Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch and Victor Yukon Salmon with great success – my Bruno was full of energy, shiny smooth coat, etc. If your dog is allergic to poultry, try adding some variety as much as you can. Many of Victor’s foods are beef-based. Earthborn also has a bison and lamb meal-based formula, but it may or may not have chicken fat in it, not sure. Dr. Tim’s (another affordable option) has a pork and salmon-based formula as well.

As a fellow college (does Grad school count?) student on a budget, I understand your struggle, but it is possible to feed good food for less – just try to find online and in-store sales and coupons and see what happens! Wellness often emails coupons once you sign up for their mailing list.

[InkedMarie]

I honestly don’t know of anything good in that price range. Dr Tim’s has a couple formulas in 40 and 44 pound bags but the cost is more than what you pay. Since you live rural, order online, like alot of us here do. Chewy.com is the best place to order a new food: their return policy is great (don’t worry, you don;t have to actually return it, they refund you). Once you find a food you like, look at other online places: PetFlow, Wag.com and SportDogFood are other places. SDF is great, they carry Victor & Dr Tim’s but the shipping isn’t free to all states like it is with the other places.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Meghan, My 3 dogs do very well on Victor dog food. It gets a 5 star rating on DFA. If you can buy it locally, it’s a great food at a great price. I pay under $45 for 30lbs of Yukon River. Here’s Victor’s site. Click their find a dealer for stores in your area. 😀 http://www.victordogfood.com/

[Naturella]

Hi, Dawn, and welcome to DFA! I commend you for the decision to switch your babies from Beneful – it is really one of the worst foods out there, along with other popular brands.

What I would recommend is switching your dogs gradually over 1-2 weeks to a mid-grade dog food at first, because switching directly to a 4-5-star food may really upset their tummies. I have a couple of recommendations. You can use Rachael Ray from Walmart, Nutro Natural Choice, or Authority (a PetSmart brand) as your mid-grade food. Look on this website for foods that are around 3 stars to begin with. Once you have transitioned to such a food and your dogs’ stool is good, and they are ok on it (keep them on it for about a month), I recommend Pure Balance (a Walmart store brand dog food, but it’s actually pretty decent) grain-inclusive and grain-free, Rachael Ray Zero Grain, Nulo (a Petsmart brand), Earthborn Holistic, Dr. Tim’s, Annamaet, and Victor are all pretty good, reliable foods in the 4-5-star range. I have fed many of these foods to my dog and have some lined up to feed for the future as well. Many of these you won’t find in big box stores like Petsmart and Petco so shopping online would be the way to go. Websites like petflow.com , chewy.com , wag.com often have deals on many of these good foods. Victor you can get from sportdogfood.com The kibbles are nice and small so even the chiweenie can eat it, and such is the case with most of these foods except Dr. Tim’s – the kibble is a tad bigger, but not huge at all.

Also, feel free to try all of the above brands – rotation of foods is essential for the dog’s health and you can learn more about that here: /frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes!

[Stephen P]

I know this thread is over a year old, but wanted to share some info… I have a 10 1/2 year old Male English Springer Spaniel who has been fed Eukanuba since 10 weeks old. Last December, the vet removed (with clean margins) a perfectly round tumor from his neck the size of a half-dollar. The lab stated it was not malignant. He has others as well developing on his belly and chest. His appetite started dropping off two weeks ago and what he did eat, he threw it up. Went to vet and they suspected pancreatitus – ran test and came back positive. Vet wanted to take radiographs (x-ray) of the pancreas for safety’s sake. After the x-ray, vet came in the exam room and stated that the pancreas looked normal, but showed me shots of the spleen. My dog’s spleen has a mass so heavy, it pulled the spleen down just below the stomach. An appointment was set for Monday for a specialist and surgeon. I also have a 6 year old female English Springer Spaniel (non related to the male) who has been on a Royal Canine Urinary S O diet since she was two. We went for her bi-annual checkup yesterday to discover 3 palpable round nodules on her chest. The vet wants her back in 3 weeks to recheck blood because her ALT/SGPT (ALT) levels are above normal along with going to run tests of the round nodules.

SO I have 2 dogs who eat 2 different dog foods. The only thing they share is the same type of dog toothpaste made by Arm & Hammer, water, HartGuard heart worm meds, First Shield Trio (topical flea prevention), and they both are inside dogs.

A dog nutritionist told me today that the nickname for the palpable round nodules/tumors are called “Round Up Tumors” and are caused from commercial dog food companies using “Round-Up” (chemical) products of their GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) grown corn and grains. What made my heart drop is he asked if I feed them Eukanuba…. I told him yes for my male and Royal Canine for the female. He stated Royal Canine is on the list using the chemicals and GMOs. I switched foods today. Placing the male on Victory dog food and my female on FROMM (one with a low PH).

Wont know if the tumor on spleen is malignant or not until next Monday…

[InkedMarie]

Does your dog need to lose weight? If yes, I generally recommend Wellness Core reduced fat and Annamaet Lean. Unfortunately, almost any good food is going to look expensive compared to Purina. If money is an issue, I’d look for Victor or Dr Tim’s. You may have to order online.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Janie-
While I have no experience with dogs with gallbladder issues. In fact, I didn’t know they could have them! I ended up having my gallbladder removed a few years ago. I had about 5 or 6 “attacks” and couldn’t deal with it anymore. It is so painful. Does your dog have stones as well? My issues started after a fairly significant weight loss and then a VERY fatty meal one night. My best guess would be to keep the fat at a minimum with your dog and avoid any type of quick weight loss. I would definitely cut back on the salmon oil. Check the labels on the canned food before you feed. Many of them are packed with fat! I also would feed the prescription food and give the gallbladder a rest for a bit. Like Susan mentioned above, there are 3 or four brands of prescription dog foods that you could check out and work with your vet to choose the best one. And then maybe slooowly transition to a regular dog food, sticking with a low fat variety.

I tend to use lower fat foods as well as I have two large neutered male labs that tend to get chubby. I have fed Nutrisource senior, California Natural grain free pork, and there is also a weight management/senior Victor food that I may try that are all lower fat while maintaining a decent amount of protein.

Good luck with your dog. Let us know how it turns out. Poor thing!

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, we have the same dog puzzle at home! Bruno loves it! 😀 And she is just adorable. She’s not huge, but probably still can be classified as a “large breed”? Idk… Sorry. We got just a small guy, and the roommate’s dog is about 55-60 lbs, but she doesn’t look too big either. I think the medium bags of each food should be lasting her about a month, no? How long does each of the large EB bags last her? Also, on sportdogfood.com all of the GF Victor bags come only in 30-lb bags, just FYI. But it’s still a great food, and even if all the other bags you feed are mediums, it’s fine if the Victor are the large ones.

Anyway, as for the tripling the toppers – I highly recommend buying this e-book: http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK – it is just under $3.00 but very informative about adding fresh toppers (such as eggs, canned sardines, raw or cooked meat) and in what proportions based on the dog’s weight. You won’t necessarily have to triple the toppers just because she weighs 3 times more than Bruno – maybe double them, the book will tell you, particularly about the eggs and sardines. But, for example, Bruno used to eat 1/2 of what Casey (our roommate’s dog) eats, and she ate 2 cups of food/day, at 55-60 lbs. He ate 1 cup ever since we got him at under 10 lbs or so,
and a little pup. When I began introducing toppers, I put him on 3/4 cups of dry/day, and then added toppers and treats, and that was when we were exercising very vigorously in the summer. I think then he was getting a bit more than 1 cup dry calorie-wise, but he was burning it off and his body needed the extra boost. Now he’s at 1/2 cup dry with toppers (we’re not getting as much exercise :/ ), so calorie-wise he’s still at around 3/4-1 cup per day, and then the occasional treat. I watch more his body condition than weight, and speaking of, here is a good link for that too: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CDMQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.unc.edu%2Ffiles%2F2012%2F11%2FCCM3_032387.pdf&ei=M5jjVJCwLYOuggSfnoSwAw&usg=AFQjCNHtVxv9oSG6wDJy-eYgbHFmyKag_Q&sig2=T1KHIfunn_GiCqOKGXYcfg&bvm=bv.85970519,d.eXY 4-5 is ideal, so that’s what we strive to keep Bruno at. That’s what I should strive for myself, lol!

And lol! Well, whatever works for you, your fam, and Luci! LoL. And good, glad we’ll be having you around! 🙂

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, Lucille looks so cute in your pic! 🙂 But the link you posted says I don’t have permission to view it or something…

Yes, I would probably have her stay overnight. She won’t hate you, I promise. And yeah, I would say she is about medium… I think large breeds are the ones 50+ lbs when adults.

And awwh, you’re welcome! I hope it helps! I really tried to make it as diverse and balanced at possible. I would say that for a start, 4 brands are fine to rotate between. By the time you finish the suggested schedule, you can decide whether to repeat it or add more to the mix. I personally always add more, cause there are so many foods I want to try on Bruno, but many of the pros here stick to just a few brands and rotate between them and the flavors. I think 4 brands is a good start.

If Luci doesn’t have a grain allergy, it won’t hurt her to have grains again. It is only 2 formulas with grains anyway, and if you notice her reacting to them, just keep alternating between the Kinesis and RPM GFs.

Eggs: dogs’ digestive tracts are much shorter than ours, so the probability of them getting salmonella is much lower. They were meant to eat raw food. If it bugs you though, you can totally lightly or fully cook the whole egg and give it to her. You can use coconut or olive oil to cook it in, or no oil if you’re poaching it. It is, in fact, recommended that you lightly cook the egg white, and not cook the yolk at all, because there is an enzyme (I believe) in the egg white that could mess with the dog’s body properly absorbing the biotin in the yolk. If you cook the yolk, some of the biotin goes away too, is my understanding. So cook the egg white lightly. BTW, for Luci, I would probably give her 2 eggs together when I do give eggs, and a whole 3.5-oz can of sardines if I were to give her any. She is 3 times Bruno’s size after all. 🙂

Now, for food storage and rotation. As long as you keep it in a dark, cool, dry place, as long as you use it up by the BEST BY date, you should be fine. I personally have a bit of a stocking-up (NOT hoarding… Not yet, hopefully not ever!) problem with dog food because of amazing deals, so I basically stocked up enough food to last Bru till the end of this year. Luckily, I will be able to use it by or close to the BEST BY dates. But for the future, I would probably still get 3-4 months’ worth at a time, depending on deals, because in case a food doesn’t work out for him and I have to scrap it, I don’t want him to be foodless till I order or buy the next bag. So, what you can do, is stock up with say, the first line of medium-sized bags of EB, Dr Tim’s, Nulo, and Victor (medium-sized should be good, just so you see how she’s taking it) and start going through them and when you get to the Nulo, order the next line. This way you will always have about 4-5 bags at a time in case something goes wrong. Plus, at all times there will be an EB there if she can’t or won’t eat any of the other foods. But I hope she likes them!

As for the keeping track – make sure your family doesn’t feel like Big Brother is watching, lol. It is mostly important for feeding to keep track of times, amounts, and toppers, etc., as well as making sure no treats are given till she learns to eat her food quickly when put down. It shouldn’t take her too long. After that, still make sure she’s not getting too many treats to make her skip her next meal. And that’s about it. Exercising with a dog can be fun, so I’m sure someone will do something with daily, it doesn’t have to be super tracked, but you can do it if you want. I probably will track everything one day when we have kids and another dog though, lol! But that’s still far in the future.

One last thing that I’m sure you probably know, but I will just throw out there – all the foods in Luci’s future rotation, including EB, are pretty calorie-dense (Especially Dr. Tim’s Momentum). So keep track of how much she is being fed also, because she may just be one of those dogs that can self-regulate and between possibly too much food and too many treats, she is skipping meals. Use the bag feeding guidelines as a guideline only, not as a rule, and just adjust accordingly. She should have a waist when looked at from above, and her ribs should be easily-felt.

I am happy if I have been able to help with anything. Please do stay around in the forums, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions! 🙂

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, I will answer a couple of the questions you had to Dori, if both of you don’t mind – dogs can eat plain yoghurt, plain Greek yoghurt, and plain kefir. None of the fruity stuff – just too much sugar and other additives. Pumpkin doesn’t necessarily help with digestion per se, but it provides a lot of fiber, which helps calm the tummy, balance the stool and the bowel movements, and is overall a pretty good tummy additive when switching foods if problems occur. We tend to use canned plain pumpkin from the grocery store as it is already conveniently cooked and pureed in a can, but if you want to go through the trouble of peeling pumpkin, boiling/baking it, and pureeing/mushing it up, you also can. At the grocery store make sure you get plain (100%) pumpkin (and not pumpkin pie filling) cans.

Ok, now to my questions, lol:
When my roommate’s dog had her spaying surgery, he also lived in an apartment and his dog (Casey) was already pretty big, but for the day of the surgery he carried her up and down 3 floors for her to go potty. He didn’t want her stretching and pulling stitches and what not. I don’t know how feasible that will be with Lucille… Or if it’s even necessary, that’s just what he did. You may want to talk to the vet about that and see if she can stay overnight at least for the first day so that she doesn’t have to go up and down steps so much. We also carried Bruno on his surgery day, but he was small (still is), and by the next day he just ran out the door, perky and happy like he didn’t just lose his balls, lol. But talk to the vet about that, or maybe some of the pros will be able to answer. When she is healed, you can exercise her as normal, but not while healing.

Hm, I will look at chewy.com for small Dr. Tim’s – I have fed Kinesis GF, but I really wanted to try Momentum, Pursuit, and RPM… Haven’t seen them in small bags though.

Lucille is a German Shepherd, right? I would probably rotate her every large (not medium) bag for now, just to let her tummy get used to switching slowly, i.e. – you do the rotation, then she has a good amount of time to get used to the new food, then you rotate again, time of “rest” from the switch. If in a few bags all rotations go well, just rotate as you prefer – you can start rotating every medium bag, or just keep it at every large bag. It really is up to you how often you want to rotate, and how she’s taking it. I like to switch up every month or so, and luckily, a small bag lasts us just the right amount of time for that. I have, however, used larger bags even for Bruno (yes, that’s him in the picture, my cutie patootie) – 15 lb Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF and 3 14-lb bags of Earthborn Holistic GF (Coastal Catch, Great Plains Feast, Primitive Natural), but after Coastal Catch, which lasted like 3 months, I decided to half them and put a different food in between them, as you can see from Bruno’s menu list, lol. Your rotation plan sounds good, I would also switch up the protein with every bag, for example:

EB CC – Dr. Tim’s Momentum – Nulo FS Lamb – Victor High Pro GF –
EB PN – Dr. Tim’s RPM GF – Nulo FS Turkey – Victor Yukon Salmon GF –
EB GPF – Dr. Tim’s Pursuit – Nulo FS Trim Cod – Victor Joint Health –
EB MF – Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF – Nulo FS Salmon – Victor Ultra Pro – repeat!

*** EDIT *** – Don’t forget that Dr. Tim’s formulas Momentum and Pursuit are not GF! Everything else is. So you can switch between RPM and Kinesis GF to keep it all GF. Does Lucille have a grain allergy, or do you just like the idea of a food being GF? I used to think GF was better until I learned that dogs/wolves in the wild do consume a bit of the stomach content of the prey they kill, which is, often times, grains, fruits, vegetables, and greens, hence those foods contain those ingredients as well. But it is the meat content that matters most, so I still think that Dr. Tim’s grain-inclusive foods are a really good choice. The grain-inclusive Kinesis is the the only one rated 4 stars, all the rest are 5 stars. But you can use the GF Kinesis instead of the GI one. 🙂

This schedule provides diverse recipes and protein sources and if you choose to use bags that last Lucille about a month each, she will be set for about 16 months before a single recipe is repeated! Or 12 months, if you don’t use Victor. Feel free to use the above “meal plan” if you want, I hope it helps in giving you an idea of meal rotation and protein diversification. Or, you can switch the list up, or not use it at all, whatever works for your dog. 🙂

As for my lists, lol, thank you! Feel free to use them as templates anytime, lol, they are NOT proprietary information, lol! I made them for hubby’s ease in feeding Bru when/if I’m gone. And it did take me about an hour to look at all my foods, their expiration dates, and sort them out by dates and also by protein variety, which warranted the freezing of some foods and refrigeration of others… I did scrap some papers in the process, lol, but eventually made it work! So yeah. The toppers were easier to figure out as I only put a bit of each, and they are things I normally have around the house, except for the THK stuff – I mean, I do have it in the house, but it’s not like people-food. Eggs, yoghurt, coconut oil, sardines, and RMBs are though, so yeah.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, you are on the right track and in good hands with the pros of this forum! 🙂

So, about exercising – obviously not while she’s recovering from the surgery, but anytime she’s well, appropriate exercise depending on health conditions (joint and bone health, any other underlying conditions, etc.) – usually good long walks/jogs/runs, depending on what Lucille can physically do/endure will be good. Fetch sessions, swims, etc. are other ways to exercise that seem like a game.

Yes, Dr. Tim’s does have big bags! Unfortunately, only big bags… I really wish he packaged in 4-5 lb bags cause I have fed 15-lb bag of his Kinesis GF, but it lasts a while, and I like to rotate more often. One day when we get another dog in addition to Bruno, I will so get 15-lb bags and be cool with it! 🙂 Victor has 30-lb bags of the GF formulas and 40-lb bags of the grain-inclusive formulas.

I am very happy with using THK as a topper and would continue to use it! It makes it so easy to make my dog flavorful, nutritious, extra-hydrating “soups”. I probably would do one topper at a time, so either EB’s tub, or some THK, etc. Treats are still ok to be given, but I’ll get to that in a second. I usually still add a tiny bit of water even when I add canned. IDK about the EB tubs’ consistency, but I like pate style canned, so when I add water, it becomes nice and mushy with the kibble. But that’s just me. Like Dori said, you don’t have to ALWAYS add water, I just choose to do so and Bruno doesn’t seem to mind at all. And he still drinks his water from the water bowl too. Also, once you get Lucille accustomed to rotation, you can totally mix brands, for example using Victor or Annamaet kibble with Earthborn tubs, or Nulo canned, etc. Nulo is also pretty good, and if you email/Facebook the company, they will send you coupons for it. Annamaet sent me samples, and so did Dr. Tim’s. At sportdogfood.com you used to be able to purchase Victor samples for 33 cents/piece, and get up to 3 samples per recipe. So you can totally try them out first before buying, but I really think that all of these are high-quality foods.

Now, I second Dori on everything – free feeding is not a great practice, nor is treat “overloading” while trying to establish good eating habits. So do as she recommends, if you want – cut treats out, pick up food after 20min if not eaten. Try again at the next meal time. I have a feeling though, that once you start rotating and adding toppers, she will be pretty excited to eat her varying meals.

Also, like Dori said – most fruits and veggies are just fine, EXCEPT for onions, grapes, and raisins. I feed Bruno the same things Dori listed, and more, and he’s doing fine. Again, no seeds or pits cause they may be toxic. If you read the ingredient lists of many of those foods, they include a wide array of fruits and veggies that are safe for doggies to eat. So don’t stress it TOO much, but if you ever decide to add broth instead of water to Lucille’s meals, just make sure it has no onions in it.

Ok, so below you will find Bruno’s meal setup for the year – food lineup and toppers per meal. I am now out of the Sojo’s for the weekend toppers, but have a few cans laying around, so that will be the topper/meal instead of Sojo’s. We are currently on the second food in the food list – Wysong.

[Naturella]

Welcome to DFA! It can be overwhelming, yes, but sometimes the best way to learn is just by trying some of the different ideas people post that appeal to you, see how it works with your dogs, and tweak the thing or choose something else.

I just posted the below info for someone else, lol, but it is altered to fit your questions. I am not a professional or anything, I can just tell you what I think and do:

I think that no single dog food is perfect, and different foods have varying amounts of protein, carbs, and fat, but Victor is a high-quality food and all the flavors within it seem pretty good to me. If you want, you can also rotate both within a brand (basically switch up the Victor flavors), or rotate the Victor brand with other good foods, like Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Holistic, and Annamaet, among others – this will offer your dogs a variety in the formulas, tastes, vitamins, etc. The kibble sizes in most of these foods are pretty viable for a Chihuahua to handle, but I am not sure about Dr. Tim’s – the kibbles may be a bit big for a 4-lb dog.

If you choose to rotate brands, give it at least 10-14 days, adding a little bit of new food to the old at a time, and watching the stool – if stool is good for 2 days or so, add more new food, take more old food out, and so on. If stool is not good, back down the amount of new food, up the old food. When they get used to rotating, you can switch brands with every big bag (what I do, but with small bags, lol). For now, you can switch to a brand, then exhaust most of the flavors within the brand just so they don’t have too many changes at once, then go to another brand. Also, you can add canned plain pumpkin to aid their digestion in the process, or a supplement called Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen (THK). I swear up and down by it – anytime my Bruno has an upset tummy, it tightens him back up in a snap! But don’t overuse the Perfect Form – use it only as needed, and the amounts to feed are on the package, as well as on THK’s website. Which leads me to…

… if feeding Perfect Form with kibble, you will need to add some water to it. It will look like a greenish soup of kibble, lol. But, with that said, extra moisture added to dry kibble is always good for the dog. You can add plain lukewarm water, yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil and water, or canned food (and water). Any mix of kibble and canned is fine as long as the dog’s tummy is ok with it and as long as you adjust the amount you add and remove the appropriate amount of kibble so that the caloric intake stays about the same. So introduce the canned slowly, and not while transitioning between brands. You can also add dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried foods and water to kibble as toppers too, canned sardines (no salt added, in water only), fresh vegetables and meats, some fruits, and the above suggestions. Make sure you add NO onions or any grape products (grapes, raisins), some mushrooms.

For my 15-lb terrier mix I feed 1/4 cup of dry kibble twice/day, each time with some different topper from the ones mentioned above. I use coconut oil (twice/week), raw egg (once/week), The Honest Kitchen dehydrated foods (4 recipes, each one once/week), Big Dog Natural air-dried food (once/week), yoghurt/kefir (twice/week), 1/2 of a 3.5-oz can of sardines (once/week), 1/2 of a small can of dog food (right now either Weruva or Wellness, twice/week, no kibble at said meal), and a raw meaty bone once/week. All toppers minus the egg, sardines, can of dog food and the RMB I give a teaspoon of. And I add warm water to the mix in all meals. The dehydrated/air-dried foods kind of require it, lol. Bruno loves his “soups” (that’s what kibble and water and toppers look like) and he is slim, but muscular – his body condition is great, his coat is great, and he loves meal time.

So you can implement some, all, or none of the suggestions, or tweak them to fit your dogs’ needs. Good luck, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions. 🙂

[Naturella]

Oleanderz, thank you for the kind words! You are such an eager-to-learn doggie mommy, it is awesome! 🙂

Ok, let me first say that I completely second Dori’s suggestion to NOT start rotating foods before she is well recovered from the surgery and back to normal, stool included. Sometimes stress, or the pain meds, can affect the stool, so if you had just started introducing a new brand of food, you wouldn’t know what’s causing the stool change.

But, after she has fully recovered from her surgery, you can start introducing and transitioning her to a new food of your choice. I think that no single dog food is perfect, and they do have varying amounts of protein, carbs, and fat, but all 4 brands are high-quality foods and will offer her a variety in the formulas, tastes, vitamins, etc. Like Dori said, if she’s gaining weight, feed her less, exercise her more; if she’s losing weight, feed her more, and still exercise her – she will be gaining muscle mass, which is healthy.

Now, for the rotation – it really depends on how her tummy’s taking it. Give it at least 10-14 days, adding a little bit of new food to the old at a time, and watching the stool – if stool is good for 2 days or so, add more new food, take more old food out, and so on. If stool is not good, back down the amount of new food, up the old food. When she gets used to rotating, you can switch brands with every big bag (what I do, but with small bags, lol). For now, you can switch to a brand, then exhaust most of the flavors within the brand just so she doesn’t have too many changes at once, then go to another brand. Also, you can add canned plain pumpkin to aid her digestion in the process, or a supplement called Perfect Form from The Honest Kitchen (THK). I swear up and down by it – anytime my Bruno has an upset tummy, it tightens him back up in a snap! But don’t overuse the Perfect Form – use it only as needed, and the amounts to feed are on the package, as well as on THK’s website. Which leads me to…

… if feeding Perfect Form with kibble, you will need to add some water to it. It will look like a greenish soup of kibble, lol. But, with that said, extra moisture added to dry kibble is always good for the dog. You can add plain lukewarm water, yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil and water, or canned food (and water). Any mix of kibble and canned is fine as long as the dog’s tummy is ok with it. So introduce the canned slowly, and not while transitioning between brands. You can also add dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried foods and water to kibble as toppers too, canned sardines (no salt added, in water only), fresh vegetables and meats, some fruits, and the above suggestions. Make sure you add NO onions or any grape products (grapes, raisins), some mushrooms.

Finally, where to find Victor dog food: sportdogfood.com Victor GF and Farmina N&D GF are the best options, but Farmina is on the pricy side. Victor is pretty affordable.

Oh, and for the boxes – hope she gets some flying discs in her BarkBox or whatever other boxes she gets! 🙂

Ok, sorry for the novel… Good luck, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions! 🙂

[l0vx3]

So I’ve been reading Dog Food Advisor for awhile now and reading peoples’ comments and suggestions, but there are just too many options for me. I have two dogs: a 2 year old 60 pound pitbull and a 7 month old 4 pound chihuahua.

I’ve been feeding them Victor Dog Food. It’s sold right by my house and it’s a great price for the quality. I have SOO many questions I’d love to ask. But I’ll try to keep it to a minimum lol.

For my two dogs, which Victor foods specifically would be best for each of them? I do not show, breed, or exercise either of them intensely. The chihuahua obviously has more energy than the pitbull, but the pitbull has amazing stamina.

Could someone who knows a lot about each compare and contrast each of them or the best ones? I’m confused about “atwater figures” so is one better than the other in terms of protein/fat/carb ratios? I’m not even sure how much of each a dog is supposed to have?

Also, after comparing and choosing the best ones, should I rotate some of them? Is water added to dry kibble? Is there any best way to feed dry kibble? Should it be mixed with canned food? If so, how much? AHHhh please just tell me as much as you can haha. Thank you!

[Oleanderz]

Melissa- Good idea, I didn’t consider what the negatives were for leaving her unspayed in the long term. Thank you!

Dog Obsessed- That definitely is another good reason to as well. The reason why I was able to get Luci that easily at my age is because her mother wasn’t spayed and their owners dealt with two litters of puppies beforehand thanks to the tresspassing neighbors’ dogs. They couldn’t keep a majority of her litter, so they just handed the puppies to the SPCA. The last litter was a litter of 7 but they only sold 3 and my Luci was the last one because she was polydactyl –or has an extra dew claw on each back paw.
Thanks for the facts!

Naturella- Thanks! Back when I got my first job it was really hard for me to find this brand!! and a good enough one to keep her regulated and energetic. Before Earthborn my mom and I would actually buy her Beneful–cause of the cost. Never again, I fed that to my long since deceased Chow-mix King and it did nothing for him in the long run.
Thank you for the rotation suggestions!(You’re so thoughtful! Thank you for remaining GF with them too!!) They would all be safe enough to switch out from Earthborn; also how often should they be switched? For the past few years, I’ve been switching between every 28 lb bag for a different flavor of Earthborn. Another question, I don’t see the Victor brand food on Chewy.com, but I fould it on Dogfoodadvisor. Where do you happen to buy it, if you don’t mind me asking?
Earthborn has the most protein, Annamaet has the most carbs and they’re all relatively similar with the amount of fat. Do you think I should switch to one with a lower protein content since Luci only gets 3 walks a day? Sorry for the barrage of questions! I appreciate any and all help!!
Yeah, boxes are awesome, I just figured there was some sort of catch to them or something for how cheap I pay for them every month. Also how I found out Luci likes flying Discs. That must be the reason why BarkBox is all over youtube. I’ll check it out!

Dori- Yeah, it was rather weird for me to wrap my head around the idea of them too. Sounded like an easy way to scam me or harm my dog. Last thing I need.
Really? Thank goodness, I appreciate the reassurance. How did he feel afterward, like they have to put him to sleep or give him pain medicine? And how long would she have to wear that cone? I really don’t want her to hate me, dislike going to the vet, or be in any sort of discomfort. I don’t know how she’d be without me there if she needed help walking and where I am now I’d be a nervous wreck! Also would I need to put her in a cage afterwards? She’s hasn’t been in one of those since she was boarded during a move at her vet hospital.

Thanks for all the help!!!

[Barbara]

naturella sorry i just reread my post that i had posted in the middle of the night when i was in pain and could not sleep…i did not mean to sound like you or anyone else who collects coupons are wasting their time. i just can’t believe that you had to go through that hassle the clerks gave you! i forget that not everyone has big dogs like i have and orders 2 30# bags every 3 weeks! i just find it easier to order on chewy.com where for the last 2 months i have been ordering 30# bags of castor and pollux grain free ultramix duck for only 49.99 and their grain and poultry free ultramix salmon for 47.99. compared to other on-line sites and dog food stores like petco and petsmart these prices are very good because i need to get the large bags and i don’t have to carry 30# bags to my car all the time! i do rotate their dry kibble and have ordered other brands from chewy that have good ratings on dfa and are grain free…i think i have been ordering from chewy now for at least 3 years… i also occasionally drive a ways to a county feed store to get victor dog food especially their grain free joint health which has beef in it so they do get a variety of kibble along with lightly cooked meats and veggies. my 14 yr old border collie/flat coat mix also gets kirkland’s natures domain canned turkey and peas from costco rated 5 star and only 20 dollars for 24 cans! i do realize that coupons are good when you have the time to search for them and need smaller size bags then i do…so do take care and happy coupon hunting and thanks for sharing them with others! 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Barbara.

[Naturella]

Oleanderz – I think it is great that you still care so much about your pup’s health, even while away at college. Earthborn Holistic GF are great foods, good choice on that one. You can also have your mom rotate foods and this will allow you to take advantage of online deals for other great foods such as Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s, Victor – all very affordable also.

As for dog boxes, I have not tried them myself, but they look like a fun thing, full of surprises, and new things she can try! As long as she doesn’t have any food allergies, then dog boxes are a great way to experiment with new treats and toys! I think the BarkBox has allergy-friendly options too.