[kms]

Pattyvaughn –

Thank you so much! The rotation I’m thinking about is ….Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit, Earthborn Wholistic Catch, Wellness Core Puppy, and I’ll look for one more that is beef or turkey based to maintain the variety.

I do, however, have a big bag of Orijen Large Breed Puppy Left (more than I would need to get through the transition). Should I use the Orijen as treats and/or Kong stuffing? Or can I finish off the Orijen bag before I start the transition by feeding something like half Orijen and half balanced canned food that is low in calcium (to offset the Orijen)? I would have to kinda transition to that mixture though. He seems to have a sensitive stomach/GI tract. He has been pooping a lot since on Orijen (4-5 times per day – some firm, some runny) – might be due to the higher fiber content (6%) of Orijen? Also, he has gas and breath that smell like “fish” (weird, cause Orijen is mostly chicken – herring is 4th on the list). Do you know what this means? Thanks again for all the help.

[MollysPa]

Hi HDM, we recently adopted a now just about 5 month old rottie cross puppy. She was on IAMs puppy when we got her, and I switched to the Orijen LBP food. After reading the LBP thread, I Am in the process of switching to Earthborn Holistoc Meadow Feast. One thing I’m a little confused on is the amount to feed. She is 40 lbs right now, on an acreage, very active.
With a ” All Life Stages” food, such as the EB MF, should we feed her more then the guidelines on the package, which would be for an adult dog? Or are they for all stages? With the Orijen, she was getting 4 cups a day, the EBMF would be 2 cups if following the guidelines. Thanks

[kms]

Hi – I’m new here. I was using DFA to problem-solve and evaluate diets for my 5 mo male Weim (Augie) and ended up on this thread. WOW – what a great source of info! I’ve learned a lot and want to thank HDM and all the others who contributed. Here’s my story and my problem. Any advice would really be appreciated… especially would like input from HDM..…

We brought Augie home at 9 wks and he had soft/runny stool. Vet found roundworms and treated them. After the “all clear”, I thought his stool would get better – but it didn’t. Vet checked his stool again and found very high levels of “Clostridium” and a few other bacteria commonly found in dirt (Augie is a compulsive dirt/mud/rock eater – we’re working on it). Vet put him on Metronidozol and Pro-Pectalin for 20 days (2 rounds) – it did not resolve. Then he put him on SMZ (another antibiotic) and a bland diet for 16 days. During that time, his stool got bright yellow and was still runny all the time. He also stopped gaining weight and lost several lbs (was supposed to be 38-42 lbs, but dropped to 27 lbs). I asked about using a Probiotic and canned pumpkin, but vet didn’t want to introduce anything new to his GI tract. We tested his stool again – and finally all the bacteria levels were normal and no worms. BUT his stool was still soft/runny. He also had developed colitis from the constant diarrhea/soft stool. I started giving him 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal and slowly (over 12 days) I transitioned him from Eukanuba Puppy Growth (the breeders kibble) to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. He has now been on 100% Orijen for 11 days and I’m still giving him the pumpkin. His stool has gotten a little better – it’s formed about 75% of the time and soft about 25%. But the last couple days it has had a slick greasy coating on the outside. What does that mean?

Based on what I learned here, I have a new plan (I think). Much of this is new to me (have never used probiotics or enzymes and have never rotated foods). Also, I’m very interested in going raw (commercially made), but I don’t feel confident enough to pull the trigger yet – especially since his bowels have been so messed up for the last 3 months. What do you think of this plan:

1) Get him off Orijen – calcium is too high – did not know that till I saw HDM’s list.
2) Choose 3-4 high protein kibbles from HDM list and plan to rotate at the end of each bag.
3) Make the next food in the rotation a non-chicken, since the Euk and Orijen were both chicken based.
4) Choose a variety of toppers to be used as 20% of each meal. Use a different topper at each meal.
5) Start giving a probiotic and digestive enzymes with every meal
6) Continue 1 heaping tsp canned pumpkin with each meal
7) Learn more about going raw – would like to start with commercially made and go from there. Maybe start by using a commercial raw (THK, Primal, Darwin’s) as the topper? or is that too hard for a dog to digest (mixing raw with non-raw)?

Do I give a Probiotic and Dig Enzymes at each meal indefinitely – or just during transitions from 1 food to the next?
Do I continue the pumpkin indefinitely?
Should I add fish oil and how much?
He’s up to 32.5 lbs, but still can see hips and ribs a little. What can I do to safely get some weight on him?

I really appreciate what I have learned here and look forward to advice. Thanks!

[RescueDaneMom]

FreeholdHound- you made me LOL! That’s good to know. I’m always looking for good treats. My Dane, Max, loves the Orijen and Stella & Chewy freeze-dried treats. I will try the Vital Essentials next! Is that your greyhound in your avatar?

[Naturella]

Akari,

I also have a similar food list myself, although a lot shorter (for now).
Of your foods, I would feed the grain-free versions of:
Dr. Tim’s, Acana, Wysong, Wellness, Earthborn Holistic and Canidae.

On my list I also have Back to Basics (not the GF versions), and the GF versions of Victor, Orijen, EVO, Innova Prime, amd Timberwolf. Some of those are quite pricy so I would use them as “mixers” to a bigger bag of more affordable food, for example mix a small bag (4-6 lbs) of Back to Basics in a big bag (12-18 lbs) of Wellness Core Wild Game, etc. I would also use Wysong Epigen as a mixer food, the prices I found were … mixer-food-like, lol.

My “maybe” list consists of GF versions of all Dogswell Live Free, Nutrisca, Taste of the Wild, and Blue Buffalo Wilderness (although Bruno is on it right now and seems to be doing great).

But your list looks great too, I may be snatching ideas from it myself! 🙂

[RescueDaneMom]

I am not a fan of TOTW because it it made by Diamond and they have a big recall history. If you shop at the big stores like Petco and Petsmart, I would consider Merrick Grain Free, Wellness Core, and Nature’s Variety Instinct. I fed my Dane a rotation of different foods including: Acana (Grain Free), Earthborn Holistic (Grain Free), Go! Fit & Free (by Petcurean), Horizon Legacy, and Annamaet (Grain Free). My Dane is a picky boy when it comes to kibble so I was somewhat limited. Other brands I like but he didn’t: Fromm (Grain Free), Nature’s Logic (has smaller kibbles), Orijen, Evanger’s (Grain Free), and Zignature (Grain Free). I would recommend going through the 4 and 5 star reviews to see what you like and what may work for them. If you want to try one of the brands that aren’t carried in Petco/Petsmart, I would get it online from chewy.com or petflow.com.

I know you want to get her off TOTW ASAP so you don’t want to gradually mix in another food. The faster you switch the more likely she is to have some GI upset like diarrhea. To try to avoid that, you can add a tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) to her new food- that will help with the diarrhea because of the fiber. I would also get digestive enzymes and probiotics and add them to her food to help with the switch.

On another note, your GD rescue that is 7 months old should still be on a restricted calcium/phosphorous food for slow growth. See this list for large breed puppy appropriate foods: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1
Luckily, the NV LID Turkey is on there.

Good Luck! And please post any other questions you have. Hopefully we can help! 🙂
-Caroline

[RescueDaneMom]

pugmomsandy- I tried the Annamaet Salcha (grain-free poultry formula) awhile back and Max loved it. I didn’t try the other varieties because Max only likes poultry-based kibbles. If I recall, they had a medium size kibble. Not small like Nature’s Logic but not large either like Orijen or Acana. I would recommend it. 🙂

[dzdubz]

Hi,

I have a beautiful 5 month old German Shepherd puppy, that has consistently had very soft stool/diarrhea since I got her. I was feeding her Orijen large breed puppy formula, and recently switched to Acana LBP, with no noticable change to her stool.

I’ve searched for advice but have not found an answer anywhere. My dog walker thinks her diet is too high protein and that Shepherd’s have sensitive stomachs. On her advice I’ve tried adding white rice and carrots, but neither has shown any effect.

Could you please help me with any suggestions for food or some kind of supplements that I can give her? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Dave

[mix123]

Hi All. I have a 4 month old frenchie. When we first got her she was on Acana Puppy so we kept her on that up until about a week ago. We were giving her a cup a day. Her poops were pretty runny and she was pooping alot. Last week they got really bad with lots of gas. So we put her on a bland diet for 2 days of pumpkin, chicken and rice and her stools firmed right back up.

Went to the dog food store and talked to the guy there and he told us that Acana and Orijen is too high in protein for most house dogs and usually only recommends it to people with farm dogs. So he recommended we try something with a little less protein. We went with First Mate All Life Stages BlueBerry and Chicken. We had already started putting her back on the Acana slowly by mixing it into the bland food diet we were feeding her. So we just started giving her a mix of Acana and the new food mixed with pumpkin for a few days. We have now switched her over completely to the First Mate and still mixing it with pumpkin and giving her some yogurt for a treat mid days. Seems to be going good.

http://www.firstmate.com/dog-food/grain-free/chicken-with-blueberries/

Here are my questions…

– The First Mate recommended feeding say feed a dog her size 1/4-1/3cup a day and the guy atthe store recommended the same. We’ve been giving her a cup…. Why do they recommend so low?
– Should we keep feeding her pumpkin?
– Is yogurt a good idea?

Thanks In Advance for the info

[Mom2Cavs]

BRT….Sounds like you have a good plan. Mine don’t seem to like the taste of pumpkin lol. I tried ACV years ago with my 2 mixed breeds and Lucy WOULD NOT take it in any way, so I gave up. Haven’t tried it since. I used to have to give my boy mixed breed, Desi, a joint supp. due to both rear luxating patellas. I gave Springtime Joint Health chews and they worked great for him. I like all Springtime supplements. But, Lucy doesn’t like Longevity at all lol. So I just use their chews and their Omega 3-6-9 (when I use an omega supp., that is). I started adding a little of the Beef Frittata in and so far, ok. But I am so worried it’s not gonna go as well as I hope with the Fromm. They really do well with the Pacific Stream, though I think Lucy is not doing as well as the Cavs with it. It could be the fish protein with her. My cat, Princess, does really well with Earthborn, Fromm, Tiki Cat canned food and loves Instinct, Orijen and/or Acana dry. I just bought a bag of Fromm Gamebird for cats and she is loving it! She is fed canned am and pm and the dry is left out for her to graze on.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[GSDGuy]

Solid gold wolfcub large puppy breed , orijen Large puppy breed , froom Large puppy breed, now fresh grain free large breed puppy food , ease into the transition , mix both foods for about 4 days then fully transition hope it works they are all great foods the best in my opinion for Large breed

[BluesMom]

Hope this hasn’t been posted previously and if I missed it please let me know… I am wondering what opinions are on feeding my dog kibble (acana, nature’s logic, merrick GF, orijen) and RMBs? I can’t afford premade at the moment and am not ready to make the leap to raw so I thought this might be a good place to start.

Is this OK? And when I do this, does the bone count as a meal? He is 45 pounds and active…
Thinking of starting with chicken backs. Would love any advice. Thanks in advanced.

[Oceans11]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are picking up a 10 week old Coton puppy on Friday. He is being fed Orijen Puppy dry kibble. I will probably continue to give that to him for a couple of days then switch him to Nature’s Instinct Raw Medallions. By feeding him a commercial product like this, I don’t have to be concerned with percentages of protein, fat, etc. do I?

[Naturella]

Akari_32 (and everyone),

I am in the same boat – I am operating on a SUPER limited college student with no student loans (due to being an international student, I can only legally work only on campus, and only 20 hours/week, and I have them filled with my Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), which pays $730.00/month) budget, but I want to feed my Rat Terrier-Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix pup only 4-5 star dog food. So far so good – we scout deals on petflow.com, chewy.com, and amazon.com, as well as pet stores, and we have fed him Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (1 small bag), Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy (1 small bag), Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy 11 lbs bag mixed with Vet’s Choice Holistic Health Extensions Original 4 lbs bag (got it for free at PetLand). When my boyfriend and I got him, he was about 4 months and 6 lbs, on Purina something (yuck), but we got him on Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy, which was recommended to us by the PetSmart associate in case of allergies in puppies, and then we put him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy. Toward the end of that first bag, we noticed that his coat had gotten shiny. We kept him on it, and then I discovered this amazing website, and learned about dog food rotation, so we have purchased his next food – Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free 11 lbs, and Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea 4 lbs, which we will mix and feed to him. Now he is about 7.5, almost 8 months, and he is about 11 lbs. Other foods I have on my list are Acana Regionals Grain Free (so expensive!), Back to Basics (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), Victor, Taste of the Wild, Orijen (so expensive!), Wellness Core, EVO (so expensive!), Innova Prime Grain Free, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free, Wysong Epigen 60 and Wysong Epigen 90 (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), and Timberwolf (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), as well as any of the Grain Free 4- and 5-star foods on this website. I also feed him all-natural chews and treats, such as bully sticks, ears, tracheas, gullet strips, fish skins, Himalayan Dog Chews, and homemade treats of berries, pumpkin, peanut butter, and yoghurt. These, I think, also contribute to his beautiful coat and good health. He also gets an average of 1 dental treat/week.

So, the bottom line is, I want to monitor this thread for more ideas on good places (online or offline) to buy affordable high-quality dog food 🙂 .

Also, since I got him, I have been putting in hours/week researching this website and others, and educating myself on dog food nutrition. I was wondering if anyone knows of any dog/pet nutrition classes in GA, USA. I would love to be certified in this area and maybe own my pet food store (that would sell good pet food) one day.

Also, another question – we have our pup on Trifexis, for 5-10 lbs dogs, and recently (this past week) he started itching and scratching a lot. His skin looks good, but I don’t know if he is developing an allergy to something, or it is because his Trifexis effect is wearing off faster now that he is about/over 11 lbs, and they only gave him the 5-10 lbs pill last time at the vet. I have also used the FURminator tool (borrowed from a friend, they are soo expensive) on him twice, once a week for about 10 min, and I bathe him (Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap – Almond, and oatmeal puppy conditioner) once every 2 weeks.

Thank you, all!

[Litminov]

No, they will give the informations.. For example I asked the Taste of the Wilds for percantages of information and they gave me the information. Acana, Orijen and N&D says the percantages on the packages. Mike can contact the pet food companies and learn that informations. Most of 5-star dog foods have very less meat percantages and it means very poor quality but Mike says it 5-star dog food. That’s wrong man..

• This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by Litminov.

[dmmal]

Hello

I am in Ontario and pet value has now Earthborn yeah. For my large puppy it will be grain free Coastal Catch and Meadow Feast correct. If we are looking at food rotation for my large puppy can you tell me if the following kibbles would be ok:
Now Fresh for large puppy
Wellness Core for Puppy
Earthborn Coastal and Meadow Feast any other with that brand
Orijen maybe , he had gas and loose stool with it.

What do you think of:
Go grain free for puppy
Merrick grain free, they have 5 any I should not buy
Horizon Legacy for puppy
From grain free they have 5 any I should not buy.
Acana grain free

Thanks for the help

[GSDGuy]

Orijen puppy large breed or solid gold large breed puppy ? For a gsd 12wks I was thinking orijen

[atavuss]

Hello everyone, I have a 13 y.o. JRT that is in good health, not over weight, he is not very active. Because of large dogs that run loose in the neighborhood he does not get taken for walks, he is a indoor dog and has been since we got him as a rescue when he was five.
He was on Eagle brand lamb kibble from when we got him until about 6 months ago because the local pet stores stopped carrying the Eagle brand. I switched him over to Taste of the Wild Sierra, he will sometimes leave food in his food dish, more so than he did with the Eagle brand. He has gas and smaller and less well formed stools compared to when he was on the Eagle brand. He is constantly chewing his feet and licking since he has been on the Taste of the Wild food and he does this much more than when he was on the Eagle brand.
Should I give him more time to get used to the Taste of the Wild food as it is supposedly a better kibble or should I change him over to something like Orijen’s Senior kibble?
Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

[dmmal]

2 questions: soft stool and gas and rotation
– when can we start rotating food for large puppy. Tienan is 7 months. Introduced new food Now Fresh ,this week in 3 days and no problem He had been on Orijen for 5 months. Can I introduce another food when this bag is almost done?
– on Orijen his stool was softer and we was passing lots of gas. Does this means too much protein for him?

[dmmal]

Thanks Patty for the info.

Questions for Storm Mom
I am in Ottawa can you tell me which puppy food for large breed you would recommended. I have HDM list and not too many she recommend I can find. Some brands we have here and not seeing them reviewed here. My concern is the calcium level and high protein as my puppy is large on the verge of becoming giant! I prefer grain free. I have presently Orijen and Now Fresh both puppy food for large breed.

[dmmal]

Hello from Canada
I am french so my writing english could be not the best so excuse my spelling/ grammar mistakes.
I have read the 43 pages and decided to register. Definitely valuable information. What I have learned and knew nothing about is rotation of food. So now I would like to start my puppy who is 7 months on this new regime of rotation. He has been on Orijen puppy food for large breed since he was 10 weeks. I have bought” Now Fresh” puppy food for large breed. Wondering which other puppy food or all life stages food I could add that are available in Canada. Questions for the ones who are experts in this:
1- how many type of food can I add?
2- how do I do the transition, is one week enough to change from one brand to another one when puppy has been on only one food for the last 5 months?
3- I would like to keep buying the biggest bags. So when there will be one week left of food in the bag can I mix it with another brand of food and when this one is almost empty start the transition again and keep doing this.

Thanks

[DogFoodie]

Some grain free kibbles I have used that are very small and what I feel are quality fish based products are as follows:

Nature’s Logic Sardine (protein 40.2%);
Canine Caviar Wild Ocean (protein 31%);
Pulsar Fish (protein 28%) is small, but not super tiny;
and EVO Herring & Salmon (protein 42.98%).

OK, the EVO I mention is one to use with caution. Yes, EVO did just have a recall (their first in 21 years I understand, but not surprisingly already their first since their acquisition by P&G in 2010) and I don’t know about ingredient sourcing, but I’m using it right now (for my grain and white potato free dog) and we’re having very good luck with it. A shame though, EVO was once a fantastic product with a reputation to match.

I’ve also used Horizon Legacy Adult with amazing success and love it, but I haven’t used their Fish formula (although I’m eager to try it). The Adult kibble isn’t small, but isn’t huge either, and I have no idea what the size of the fish kibble would be.

Orijen Six Fish is great, but probably one of the biggest kibbles.

I don’t know about the size of Earthborn’s Coastal Catch, but they’re a company I trust also.

[Mom2Cavs]

I just started using TOTW about a month ago. I have to say, even though it’s Diamond which made me shy away from it for years, the food is working better than anything I’ve ever, ever fed my dogs over the years. I’m feeding the Pacific Stream. I started feeding it because my dog’s breeder/former owner is using a food I can’t readily get but the Pacific Stream has the most similar ingredients of any other food I’ve found. I have an allergy dog, which made me choose a different food than what I was feeding. I have fed many top of the line foods….Orijen, Acana, Wellness, Zignature, Merrick, Nature’s Variety, premade raws, freeze dried, etc. and this food is top notch for my 3 dogs. My daughter and son-in-law have fed TOTW (at my recommendation some years ago) for their animals for years and still love it. Never any problems. I know all about Diamond’s reputation and history, and I will remain aware, but I am going to feed this food as long as it works.

[pugmomsandy]

If you look at the ingredient lists, they are at the FAR OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum. It’s almost like for someone who hasn’t eaten meat in a long time, and then they eat a big bowl of chili or a big steak. Not saying that Beneful doesn’t have meat, but it’s not anything like the meats and organs and fish in Orijen and now it has a bunch of legumes. A dog has gut flora that adjusts to eating certain foods. Right now, he has the ones most adapted to Beneful. So it might be quite a shock to go to Orijen. Also Orijen has quite a bit more fat. I would put it in the high fat category. This also might possibly cause some digestive upset. But I’m just being cautious! You won’t know how your dog will do until you try it. And also try several foods. A rotational diet is (IMO) best. Find a couple kibbles, some canned foods, some raw foods, etc. Back a few years ago, I weaned mine off Beneful with regular Merrick (the old recipe with gravy) and Blue Wilderness mixed together.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

• This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[pugmomsandy]

How long has he been eating it? Some will say just do a cold turkey switch (that’s what my fosters get), and some will say to do a transition period. It all depends on your dog’s gut health. Things that might help with transition tummy troubles: canned pure pumpkin puree, ground psyllium, probiotics, digestive enzymes.

Also, one suggestion is to go from Beneful to a quality grain-inclusive food before transitioning to a mod-high protein grain free food. I like only gluten free grain foods like Nature’s Logic. Solid Gold Sundancer is like that also. Not sure which manufacturer makes Sundancer though.

I will say that my fosters eat Nutrisource grain free Lamb, Nutrisource Heartland Select, sometimes Nutrisource small/med breed puppy (has rice), Brothers Complete Beef and Turkey, and Nutrisca Lamb. It’s all mixed up together in varying amounts and they get probiotics and psyllium.

Frankly, I wouldn’t go from Beneful to Orijen. But that’s me.

[karink]

Hello everyone, and Hound Dog Mom in particular (I’ve heard you seem to be the expert):

I was just given the link to this forum and I am thrilled to have found it. November 2nd I will be bringing home a purebreed English Labrador Retriever (8 weeks old). In the past, I have been very concious about what food I give to my dogs and have stayed away from any products having anything to do with Diamond, or any that have been recalled for one thing or another. Little by little I came across companies like Orijen, Acana and Nature Variety Limitied Ingredient (for my older dogs). I thought I’d have no problem with my new little guy with any of these foods, until I started reading more about the long term effects of calcium/phosphorus to large breed puppies. The more I read, the more confused I got. Also, I find that the really good quality foods are VERY high in calcium 38%+. At this point I am at a loss as to what to buy. I want a a natural, holistic food, grain-free that kibble that I can feed my little guy without worrying of any long-term negative effects on his health/bones…or kidneys (due to high protein).

Can someone please give me a list of 3-4 different ones (I’ve been reading that a rotating diet is best) that would be available in the Miami area or at least through Amazon.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

[vanyax]

Hi all,
Need some help with picking a puppy food brand… my 5-month old boxer has trouble digesting (loose stool+occasional diarrhea). At 6 weeks of age I put him on Fromm Large Breed Puppy. After a month, decided to switch to Orijen brand, no change. I tried mixing in pumpkin, and recently did white rice diet for a few days, now re-introducing kibble. He is otherwise great, healthy weight of 40lbs at 5 months of age, full of energy, dewormed regularly. I am considering trying Wellness brand next, and Now Fresh. Also thought of doing a limited ingredient feed. It is hard to try different feeds, takes a while to introduce it, then to see if it works, then switch again… what a pain.

I feed him abt 3.5 cups of dry food daily (feeding 3x), which feels right and agrees with the feeding guidelines.

I previously had my dogs on Trader Joe’s feed, Iams etc. and they did great – lived very long and healthy lives. With this puppy I am trying to stick with the best quality, grain-free food everyone is talking about, and doesn’t seem to be working for me!

Any words of wisdom, anyone?
Thank you!!!

[gsdmommy89]

To Sully and Duke:

I used to work at a pet supply store that only carries super premium and premium brand foods (i.e: Fromm, Orijen, Merrick, Nature’s Variety, ZiwiPeak, etc). I did alot of research on every brand we carried because customers have a lot of questions about food, especially people that are switching from grocery brands like Pedigree and Purina since they want to know exactly why they should spend that extra money. I use Nature’s Variety, and I too am very wary of where things come from. As for their rabbit formula, I have used it and I love it. I know it’s sourced from China, but feel confident in it because of the testing they’ve done and also because for a while they did not carry the rabbit formula in the cans or raw. I called, emailed, asked many different representatives in many different ways, and researched as to why this was. I was satisfied to know that they didn’t want to source their rabbit from just anywhere. They’d rather not have any rabbit than to have questionable suppliers. Yes, there are U.S rabbits, but if what they use now is already pricey, could you imagine the price of it if it was U.S supplied? OUCH!! This is my opinion on NV Rabbit ( I’ve used all three varieties: kibble, raw, cans) and I am a huge fan of them. Of course everyone has their own reservations, I just thought it’d be nice to share my experience.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by gsdmommy89.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 5 months ago by gsdmommy89.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sippmanjr –

I personally prefer raw (my dogs eat a homemade raw diet) and in terms of the best – I believe raw is as good as it gets. I would also give preference to dehydrated, canned and freeze-dried foods over kibble. However assuming you’re looking for a kibble, if I had to choose my “top 5” they would probably be (in no particular order): Annamaet (Aqualuk, Salcha or Ultra), Dr. Tim’s Kinesis, Nature’s Variety Instinct (LID Turkey or Rabbit), Wellness CORE Puppy or Earthborn (Coastal Catch or Meadow Feast). I love Orijen foods and their new large breed puppy formula is an improvement over the previous formula (the old formula was way too high in calcium) but it’s still slightly high in calcium for me to recommend. Don’t feel that you need to pick one food and stick with it, rotating is healthier and it’s good to get puppies accustomed to a rotational diet as soon as possible. If you feed kibble, I’d also recommend topping the kibble with a quality raw, canned or dehydrated food or healthy fresh foods (like eggs, tinned sardines, lean meats, or plain yogurt or kefir) as often as possible.

[sippmanjr]

One more thing… How does Orijen large breed puppy formula stack up?

[theBCnut]

Just so you know, Orijen is not 75% protein. It is 75% meat/animal ingredients. Those animal ingredients have fat in them too. And that’s where a lot of the ash content comes from too.

[harp31]

Thanks for the suggestions Olga. I have been feeding Orijin Regional Red which is for all life stages and they are both eating it (although the 4 mo old doesn’t like it as much as the 1 yr old does). I also add a little wet food to the dry (currently Wellness 95% beef, turkey or chicken). I just wonder if the high protein is too much for the little one … Orijen Reg Red is 75% protein plus the wet is high protein but I only add enough to coat the kibble (1/2 tsp or so). I also add a little boiled/chopped chicken breast to the top (1 tablespoon or so). The one year old gobbles it up and eats very well, but the little one is not as fond of it. She eats it just fine when the older one is near “cause she doesn’t want her to get it, though … LOL. We are battling a yeast infection in the little one’s ear right now and she is a little itchy and licking her paws, not sure if it is environmental or food related. Hoping it’s not the food …

[Melissaandcrew]

If you are concerned that the Orijen may be too high protein for him, try the sisterproduct Acana. Its about 31% versus the Orijen 38% and my Iggys love it :

[PiaOnomato]

I took Pico’s clean catch urine sample in on Saturday but somehow, it wasn’t sent to the lab until Monday! I was not happy… at all.
I got some really odd results on Tuesday (yesterday). Pico has a UTI but also has high glucose (100), protein, bilirubin, and fat in his urine!! I am really concerned that some or all of this may be a result of feeding Orijen 6 fish for 6 weeks but I can’t find any literature to support it. I had to do a pretty quick switch to Dr. Tim’s Active Dog kibble but so far, no ill effects.
The vet ordered additional tests on the urine sample (Protein and creatinine) and we will have blood work drawn on 10/1. Thankfully, Pico seems very much himself.
I will update this thread as this is potentially food related…
Dee

[theBCnut]

Weight loss is a matter of feeding less calories than the dog is burning. If you feed the same volume of food on Orijen that you were feeding of Alpo, he will gain weight because Orijen has more calories per cup and is better utilized. If you figure out how many calories you are feeding and make sure you reduce calories, then your dog will lose weight.

[pugmomsandy]

1. Is it better to get a premade mix of raw food online or buy meats from the supermarket or meat market? Or is it better to have a mix?

As a newbie to raw, I think it would be better for you to feed a food that is complete and balanced whether that is commercial frozen raw like Nature’s Variety, Primal, Bravo, Stella & Chewy’s, Darwins, and others, or dehydrated/freeze dried raw (but more expensive) food like Orijen freeze dried, Primal, Stella & Chewy’s. Meat by itself is not a good diet. For beginners, I would buy a commercial raw or use a Premix such as Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer, Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen. You add meat and some oil and that’s usually it. No additional vitamins needed. You can make these in advanced in big batches and freeze in serving sizes or a couple days worth in one bag/container. You can feed up to 20% of an unbalanced food without having to worry about additional vits/minerals. For example, topping kibble with some meat or scrambled egg (but not more than 20% of the meal). As you become more comfortable with raw you can give homemade a try but be sure to use a recipe book.

2. Is ground or whole better? Your dog might like the texture of some chunks, versus ground. But in any case, raw meat has enzymes that also helps keep teeth clean. The ripping of the flesh and tendons from the bone cleans the teeth too. I have small dogs so I use a coarse ground. My dogs don’t have a preference for meat sizes. They eat it all.

3. I keep seeing people talking about feeding bones, including chicken bones… I was always told that chicken bones are dangerous? This is going to be the one that the hardest to get my wife on board with.

Raw bones are edible. The cooked bones are dry and splinter. Also there are recreational bones versus consumable bones. Most small animals can be consumed whole (chicken, rabbit, quail, turkey). But dense, weight bearing bones from larger animals are for gnawing only (marrow bones/leg bones). For heavy chewers, they can break teeth. For instance, my small dogs eat chicken legs, turkey and duck necks and feet and pork baby back ribs. They gnaw on beef/bison rib bones and marrow bones/femur for the enjoyment and it keeps their teeth clean. I feed these outside and don’t worry about cleanup when the weather is nice. You can train your dog to eat bones in the house on a towel, blanket or tarp. This winter, I’ll be feeding my small dogs in a crate or I could feed them on the bathroom tile and mop.

4. Do you need to add supplements to these meals? If so are they included in the premade mixes or am I adding them?

If you use a complete and balanced commercial premix, no additional supplements are necessary. Although there are a lot of people who give whole food supplements like supergreen foods (chlorella, kelp, barley grass, etc), bee pollen, and herbs, a complete vitamin E.

5. What is the best site for ordering?
I’ve heard Chewy.com is good. I’ve always used Petflow and amazon.

6. Does someone have a schedule or process I can literally follow to the letter?
Sorry, I am sure this has been answered over and over again but I would really appreciate the help. I am not too concerned about the cost as Wellness and Core are not cheap, however if I can pre-make these and feed her in the morning because we are often in a rush and it’s so hard to get her to eat kibble before we leave.

At my house, they eat raw if I have it thawed out. If not, they get other foods (kibble, canned, freeze dried). Darwins comes in convenient packaging and serving sizes and most commercial products come in patties or small bite sizes or chubs (which are the least convenient for me). You just have to remember to thaw! You can put 3 days worth out to thaw in the frig. I also use dehydrated foods (The Honest Kitchen, Addiction) where I just add water and let sit. I make some ahead of time and put it in the frig. But these are not raw.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[InkedMarie]

Orijen IS grainfree. I’d have suggested Wellness Core reduced fat but Orijen is a great food, too.

[leftflipper]

Hi

Is Earthborn puppy vantage good for a PUG and a Boston??

They both 13 weeks old, i also feed them Bentlys http://www.bentleyfoods.co.za/

They are both PURE BREED dogs and are perfect.

So now i dont want to ruin anything.

Other good brands in my area, are Orijen, Acana and the big brands. Im in South Africa so i cant get 90% OF THE BRANDS. Orijen and Acana are the only other 5 star foods.

I just read that some are to high in protein for ie the pug etc etc

Please can someone just tell me the real truth

Thank you

[theBCnut]

Wellness was not bought by P&G as far as I last heard, though they do own Iams/Eukanuba and Evo/Innova. If they are doing fine on Orijen and they dark urine is nothing more than very concentrated, maybe you should try adding water to their food to increase the amount of water in their diet.

If you really want a good grain inclusive food, then Dr. Tim’s is good, so is Nature’s Logic.

[PiaOnomato]

Hi,
I’m new here and couldn’t find a Forum Search so if this topic has been covered, I’m sorry!
I am looking for a good quality dry kibble that is more protein/carb balanced than a grain-free for our active, fit, small dog.
Here are the details if you care to read on! I have a 4.5 year old Rescue named Pico. Pico weighs 8.8# and is most likely a Chi/Italian Greyhound mix. He is very active and gets daily 3 mile walks and competes in Agility.
I had Pico and our other rescue (24# ACD/BC mix Gilda) on Wellness CORE. Pico was having some elevated BUN labs so I switched him to Wellness Super5 mix Small Breed.
When Wellness was bought by P&G, I got worried about possible formula changes and recalls so I came back to DogFoodAdvisor and started researching again. This time (I know this won’t make sense), I switched both dogs to Orijen 6 Fish. They both look great and have fantastic energy but Pico has starting having dark, strong smelling urine. Usually when he gets a UTI, he is ill. Now, however he seems fine (I did take a sample in today) and I think it’s from the high protein food.
I am sorry for the long post. Thanks for any and all opinions!
Dee

[Sara10010]

I’m new to the forum and am hoping I might be able to get some advice. My husband and I have a five and a half month old Cardigan Welsh Corgi who is showing signs of pano/elbow dysplasia. We had x-rays taken and there is significant space between his elbow joints (right side is worse). We aren’t sure if this is something he might grow out of or if it is, in fact, dysplasia (we are seeing a specialist this weekend). However, we’ve been feeding him Orijen puppy since we brought him home and I’m concerned the protein content might be too much for him and could be contributing to this. It’s undoubtedly a high quality food and he is growing fast on it. I don’t want the vet to put him on a prescription diet as I don’t believe they are nutritious. From reading this thread, it seems that Wellness Core Puppy might be a good option for us? I am also not sure if we should just switch him to an all life stages food at this point? I would love any recommendations that anyone might have – we want to do right by our little guy and I really thought I was giving him the best with Orijen.

Thanks!

[bodzio]

Thanks. I did read about pumpkin here and already used it. 😉 this morning he got kefir, pumpkin purina and orijen 50/50. We’ll see. I ordered some carcasses from hare and will start him on it next week.
Thank you again.

[theBCnut]

Yes, his GI tract is used to Purina, especially if that is what the mother was fed. Do a gradual transition, but watch his poop. Orijen is a much, much richer food. If it stays firm you can switch a little faster, if it gets soft slow down. Don’t forget that you can add a teaspoon of canned pure pumpkin to each meal to help with stool issues during transition. Those digestive enzymes and probiotics helps a lot too.

[theBCnut]

Orijen puppy is good, so are Nature’s Variety Instinct and Nature’s Logic. Rotating kibbles is a really good idea. I don’t soak my spirulina or kelp, I have some in tablets and some in powder and they just gobble up both so I just throw it in. Mine love frozen berries, we have mostly blueberries, since we are surrounded by organic blueberry farms that turn into you picks after the first harvest. We eat them frozen too.

[bodzio]

Also for kibble I was thinking about Orijen Puppy for now.

[HilaryFarmer]

I have been feeding Orijen Regional Red ($90 per 29#) for about 2 months now and I’m very happy with it, I feel I can trust the company and my dogs are doing well on it, but I cant afford to feed enough of it to my pit mix (60# 2 yr old). He is eating 2 cups (900kcal) plus a half can of EVO (230kcal) wet food and feels a little too bony for me. I was thinking about adding RMB’s like chicken leg quarters to cheaply boost the amount of food he is getting.

My questions is would a leg quarter a day add a substantial amount of calories and is there anything I can add to boost the calories. I only have a small fridge being that I stay with my mom, but I can do things like eggs yoghurt etc along with the meat.

Although I would love to feed raw exclusively to all three of my dogs I work 8-16 hour days 5 days a week and have my younger brother walking and feeding and I dont trust his ability to feed anything other than my pre-set up bowls of kibble/supplements ;)So I would feed the raw meal in the morning before I go to work and he would get his kibble mix in the evening.

I have no problem keeping weight on my neutered dachshunds and they are actually slightly heavier than I like to keep them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[SandyandMila]

My Mila (1 1/2 today) isn’t picky at all and I’ve had her on a lot of variety. Kibble [Canidae, Earthborn, Orijen, Acana, Brothers, Wellness, Fromm, Annamaet, (Chicken Soup, TOTW when I’ve had to)] and canned (Merrick, TOTW, Fromm, Canidae, Dave’s GF, Tripett, Wellness, ATG). Freeze dried and Dehyrated: Stella and Chewy’s, Primal, THK, Grandma Lucy. Premade raw: NV, Primal, Bravo. Raw organ/muscle meat, green tripe. And also RMBs:chicken back, turkey necks, pork necks. The only one I wouldn’t recommend is the Canidae Single Grain Protein Plus, although a 5 star food, because of the multiple protein sources and not grain free. (It was suggested at a pet store before I got Mila) You have received great advice above, stick to a single protein source and try to go grain free. Is it just when the dog has chicken protein that you see these issues? Maybe Sadie has a chicken food allergy? Try other protein sources beef, lamb, turkey, fish and also add a little canned pumpkin and plain yogurt (digestive enzyme and probiotics). And once you find a few that work rotate them, being on one type of food for too long can make it easier to form food allergies. Mila does have sensitive skin especially during spring-summer allergy season, I guess that might be a “pit issue”, so adding omega 3s and coconut oil to her food are a big help, and also bathing often is key. I’m using a medicated antifungal antiseptic shampoo right now because her skin was negatively effected after getting her spayed and vaccinated during allergy season, which is a big no-no. (The main reason I’ve switched to raw) But also like Earthbath or any good teatree oil shampoo. Try not to use a oatmeal based shampoo especially if Sadie’s skin has open sores, red, and irritated.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by SandyandMila.

[InkedMarie]

From what I’ve been able to gather, Boone has an intolerance or allergy to chicken, he ends up with ear infections.

He’s always been a paw licker; I tend to think its behavioral but just guessing.

I’ve kept grains & chicken from him, lately, white potato too.

He does great on Brothers allergy, Orijen six fish, THK Embark & Zeal, NV lid turkey.

[BlackandBlue]

Patty, Betsy, FreeholdHound, and Melissa: You are very generous with your knowledge and time. Thx all!

The allergens (aka intolerances, sensitivities, problems) that I’ve identified are from “ugly trial and error with food.” Ha, ha thx FreeholdHound for that quote. I suspect dog food companies and veterinarians have made mucho bucks off of people like us.

Earthborn Holistics Meadow Feast is going to be on trial next with my dog (thx Betsy). I’ll post updates.

BTW, I have two sisters who each have two dogs. They refuse to consider any other dog food than Iams and Pedigree. I mean refuse!! I’ve offered them bags upon bags of opened dog food that didn’t work out for my allergy dog. Acana, Orijen 6 Fish, Wellness Core, Evangers, Nutrisca, etc., all for free! As a matter of fact I have an unwanted and unopened bag of Dr. Tim’s Kenesis (my dog can’t have chicken). I end up donating most of the opened bags to PetSuppliesPlus. Local animal shelters come and pick up the food from there weekly. The unopened bag will go to PetCo who collects it for low income pet owners.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi there. I have quite a few seniors and none of them get senior food on a regular basis. the one exception isOrijen as its a lower fat level and I can feed it solo if I wish. Other than that, they get a solid quality all life stage food. My crew gets probiotics on occasion and fish oil added, but nothing else(other than various toppers) I personally think the senior formulas as Marie, sandy and Patty said are too low in protein for older dogs. I stick with approx. 30-33 percent in the kibble