[Krista B]

Hi,

For the people that feed a rotational diet, how many brands do you use? I was thinking 2-4 is good. So far I’m thinking of using Acana and Fromm grain free and maybe one or two more. My dog has done really well on these so far. What are your thoughts?

[pugmomsandy]

I use around ten brands which includes canned, kibble and raw and premixes.

[Krista B]

Oh wow ok! Good to know. There’s quite a few I like so I will just use more then. That’s fine then I’m assuming right? Do you buy them one at a time or do you buy a few at a time. It takes my dog one month to go through a small bag so the most I could see buying is maybe two. That way it stays fresher.

[Krista B]

Is it ok to use two brands in one day?

[Krista B]

Also what brands do you use? That would be interesting to know. Thanks.

[Lisa O]

I have been using acana for years. I’ve only switched products within the brand. Eg. Puppy to adult to lean and fit. I only switch up the fresh food I supplement with.

[Krista B]

Yes I defiantly love Acana!

[pugmomsandy]

Well, the past week or so I’ve been feeding Instinct kibble with tripe+Sojo’s in one meal. The week before, I was feeding canned (Tiki, Weruva, or Nutrisource) with Primal raw frozen in one meal. For treats I was giving Stewart freeze dried raw and Nature’s Logic dried lung and Merrick Backcountry freeze dried raw. My next shopping cart will have some Wellness cans and Nutrisource kibble or Nature’s Logic kibble. I have fed Wellness Core, Zignature, Pro Pac Ultimates, Fromm, Grandma Lucy’s, Vital Essentials.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Krista B]

Those all sound like fantastic brands. Is it ok to feed 38% protein to a dog that probably Only needs about 30% max? I’m assuming this since she is not very active. I wanted to try natures logic but it’s pretty high on protein. Do you think this will be ok?

[pugmomsandy]

Since it is in a rotation or for part of a day’s ration, it should be fine. Some things I feed have as low as 25% protein. Sometimes I use Primal grinds (no veg) so it’s really high protein. But part of the reason to rotate is to get varying amounts of protein, fat, and carbs besides just getting different ingredients. I currently have a 12 yr old and two 9 yr old indoor dogs. My oldest foster was 16.

[Krista B]

Ok yes that’s what I thought too. So is it ok to feed two different brands in one day? That’s what I’m doing now. I’m feeding Fromm and Acana. Do you do that or just use one brand at a time?

[pugmomsandy]

I feed more than one brand at the same time.

[Krista B]

Do you feed like two at the same time? I would only be able to feed two at the same time because one 4/4.5 pound bag lasts my dog a month. So it would be fresher if I just used two at a time.

[pugmomsandy]

For one meal, I use one kibble and one other form of food. Sometimes I do have two kibbles open and feed one for breakfast and the other for dinner. But I had many dogs earlier this year since I was fostering so I was able to have 2 kibble bags open regularly.

Sometimes when I’m changing kibble, I mix the two together.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Krista B]

Ok sounds good, thanks. Do you think its better to feed two brands vs. just one? I wanted to try honest kitchen but the fiber content is so high on some of them. Have you tried this before? What do you think? Doesn’t high fiber cause loose stools?

[Krista B]

Thanks so much for chatting with me, you are very helpful!

[Kenneth N]

I agree with rotational diet as not every dog food has what is needed, plus how boring it would be to eat the same thing day after day. A new concern growing among many is the “sugar” contents in foods. I am finding out that many kibble foods contain close to if most more than 50% sugars. Starches are needed to keep the kibble together like glue. Many are aware that cancer needs sugar to survive, so does diabetes and yeast infections. It seem like there is no kibble on the market that has a greatly reduced sugar content.

[pitlove]

Hi Krista-

Myself and many others have had similar experiences when feeding the Honest Kitchen. Undigested food in the stool. That and the fact that my dogs did not want to eat it after a few meals has led me not to revisit the food.

[Krista B]

I agree with you, I think rotating brands is great for almost any healthy dog. Have you heard of Orijen? They only have 20% starch. My dog has done well on this food, I think it’s great. The Acana lines are also great. They have about 25-30% carbs. I think no food should have more then 50% carbs and preferably lower (about 35% max) I like Fromm a lot too! There are many great brands out there.

[Krista B]

Thanks pitlove for telling me that. I don’t think I will not try it then. That’s what I assumed might happen. I usually get concerned when I see fiber content above 4-6%

[InkedMarie]

I’ve fed The Honest Kitchen off & on for over a dozen years. Some dogs had frequent stools, never saw undigested food but every dog I’ve had has loved the stuff.

[Krista B]

Perhaps I will try it then. If I do I will buy the smallest box. It’s worth a try I guess. Thanks!

[InkedMarie]

Krista: currently, my three are all raw fed but I use it as a kong stuffer and my brittany gets an occasional THK meal. if you;re looking for a food to add water to, have you looked at Grandma Lucy’s? Mine love that too.

[Krista B]

I think raw is great! My dog was fed a homade raw for a year but it was very time consuming and expensive. I would grind up supplements from dr Karen backers book. And then I would also grind up fruit/veggies along with ground meat. My dog did fantastic on it. I just use high quality kibble along with the occasional meal of dehydrated raw or canned. My dog also does very well on this. I will defiantly look into grandma Lucy’s dehydrated raw!

[InkedMarie]

Krista: I’m a prey model raw feeder so I dont use produce. Two sometimes get a mix of some greens & other stuff; my oldest dog dos not. I buy my grinds because I won’t take the time to grind up beef, turkey, goat, rabbit, pig etc which they all get. It’s not time consuming; I put the bowl on the scale, tare it, scoop food in, add the few supplements they get and it’s a meal.

Grandma Lucy’s is technically freeze dried (I think) but not raw.

[Krista B]

I was going through a supplier called reel raw. Their ground party’s are pretty pricey. I was also using prey model guidelines but then adding in produce and supplements. It was time consuming for me because I would have to grind all the supplements and produce. It would take several hours plus clean up time. I was feeding 3 small dogs, one of them was mine. So it would last several months. But it also took up freezer space which was a hassle. Plus I’m starting school soon so I didn’t want to have to much on my hands. I just decided feeding commercially prepared foods was a little easier for me.

But I defiantly agree it can be pretty cost effective in some cases and its a great way to feed dogs. If I have more time (and money) I would defiantly be willing to feed it again.

[InkedMarie]

I used to use Reel Raw. With grinds, it was cheaper for me to buy from Hare Today even with RR’s free shipping to me.

What supplements were you using that had to be ground? I use salmon oil (just throw the pill in), Bug Off Garlic, condition specific (my senior gets a joint supp, my girl gets a urinary supp).

[Krista B]

About 10 different supplements that dr. Karen Becker recommend in her homemade book. I believe the didn’t necessarily need it to be balanced but I felt better adding it in. I also used (and still use) fish oil, a joint supplement and currently a multivitamin. I just purcahsed a small box of honest kitchen today. I’m excited to try it tomorrow! Looks like a wonderful food. As far as fiber I talked to the people at the store and they said it shouldn’t be a problem which is good. It’s a little more pricey then kibble but well worth it!

[Kenneth N]

Off topic.. I am new here. How do you insert a pic above your name ? Thanks..

[crazy4cats]

Hi Kenneth-
Check out the feedback and suggestions tab. There is a yellow highlighted stickie thread written by Dr. Mike with instructions on how to make a custom avatar. It will instruct you how to go to gravatar dot com to do it. Good luck!

[Krista B]

Hi Kenneth, I was going to reply but I see
crazy4cats has already answered your question.

[Krista B]

So if I were to use to to ten brands would I see loose stool? I talked to a vet and they said I should only use 1-2 brands otherwise I might see loose stool. Would this be the case? I favor quite a few brands and would love to try them out but I don’t want to cause loose stool. What’s your thoughts on this?

[Krista B]

Does it just depend on the dog? My dog in general doesn’t have any sensitives and has so far been on 15 different brands in the four years I got her. I only had a problem with one in particular. Other than that she has done well. I would of course narrow my number down to 10 or less total brands. I think 15 might be a bit excessive. Are there benefits to just sticking to one brand though?

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