[Dog_Obsessed]

We talk so much about dog food in general, and many of us rotate foods. I thought it would be cool to have a place where we just talk about what we are currently feeding our dogs, and what treats/chews they’ve had today. I got this idea from the raw food section of the Dogster forums, where there was a similar topic.

Mine: Lily is currently eating Nulo Turkey and Sweet Potato kibble, and we rotate wet food toppers. The current topper is Nulo Lamb and Chickpeas wet food. I’m happy to report that Lily is doing great with rotation. She can change toppers cold turkey with no problem, though I sometimes add a little Perfect Form just in case. We are still being careful with kibble, so we usually give her about a week to transition.

What about you? What did your dog(s) eat today?

[aquariangt]

Dani: Earthborn Primitive Natural with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog
Liesl: Fromm Sm Breed Gold with Lomi Lomi Tiki Dog. Liesl can’t have peas so she eats grain inclusives and gets more topped than Dani does.

They both had a Sam’s Yam when I left for work. I have A bag of Simply Sojos Lamb and The Honest Kitchen Quickies that I’m using for training right now, so they got a couple on their walk, and will again on their next walk. Dani will also get 15ish minutes of some agi practice that will have some treats involved as well. I do a decent amount of training so I use low calorie treats with low fillers.

Dinner will be the same kibble but topped with The Honest Kitchen Embark.

Next bags for each: Fromm Pork and Pea for Dani, and Pork and Applesauce for Liesl

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks for sharing! Lily had about a quarter of a NB “dental” chew in her toy, and the current treats I have are Superior Farms Venison Itty-Bittites, THK Quickies, and freeze-dried lamb treats.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

My girls had NVI Lamb and Salmon kibble topped with Zignature Zssentials canned. The each had a Etta Says duck chew. Next bag on our rotation is Acana Ranchlands.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Nature’s Logic kibble will probably be next on our dry rotation. I emailed the company yesterday asking for samples, but I haven’t heard back yet.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

I have two samples from them of the beef that i haven’t tried yet.

[theBCnut]

Micah had Annamaet Manitok and 1/3 of a large turkey neck, plus some freeze dried turkey treats. Gideon and Angel each had 1/3 of a turkey neck and Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch, plus an Etta Says chew.

I haven’t decided what I’ll give them later yet, other than for Angel, it will be high fiber. One third of a turkey neck is a lot of bone for her, not to mention a good sized meal.

[Hound Dog Mom]

breakfast was nature’s variety chicken – that quick that raw nibblet stuff, it was on sale at agway so i grabbed some – with a raw egg and a dollop of yogurt. for dinner i’ve pulled out some pork necks. treats today were stella & chewy’s freeze dried lamb medallions.

i’ve been picking up those etta says chews too patty. the girls love them, they’re sure not cheap though! i’ve got a couple of the rabbit ones, they might get those as a bedtime snack. 🙂

[Dog_Obsessed]

They’re much cheaper on Petflow then in store. Dogs seem to devour them quickly though. Here is the link to them on Petflow: http://www.petflow.com/explorer?search=etta+says

[theBCnut]

I got 60 of them for $.49 or somewhere around there, when Petflow had them on sale 60% off.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

I got them from that sale too. Looks like they are on sale for 99 cents now. Still a very good deal!

[theBCnut]

That’s not low enough for me.

[Dog_Obsessed]

They’re something like $2.50 (or a little under maybe) at my local store, so to me it’s like magic.

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

If i get them in my local pet store they are almost $10.00 a small bag. I break them in half though. I don’t feed the whole one at once.

[DogFoodie]

I’m off work today and should be wrapping, but I’m not feeling good and my back is going out again so I’m not getting much done. Breakfast was quick today. We’re doing a quick transition right now, Sam from TOTW Sierra Mountain to Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Duck; and Bella from Farmina Chicken to Now Fresh Small Breed. They each had an egg with some fresh, finely chopped spinach and lightly cooked in coconut oil as a topper.

I’m actually not sorry the TOTW didn’t work for Sam, because it goes against my principles. I just have so few foods he can eat and it met the criteria, so I tried it and after a couple of weeks, he got his gunky ears.

They each got a THK Nuzzle earlier, but no other snacks today. Oh wait, they reach begged for a bite of my cheese and I caved.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I call that “hoping,” from the quote “It’s no begging, it’s hoping!”

[Dori]

About the Etta Says chews? No one minds the caramel coloring? Just wondering.

Oh by the way, the girls had THK Zeal for breakfast. Dehydrated apple was the afternoon treat and for dinner they’ll be having Primal Pronto Raw Beef. Probably some dehydrated veggie a little later on after dinner. I don’t normally give them treats too late at night because I like their digestive systems to get a rest before the next days breakfast. I know it’s not really the way one is supposed to fast their dogs but it’s my way and it seems to work okay for them.

[Dog_Obsessed]

While I’m opposed to the idea of coloring, a little non-artificial coloring in treats I only give once and a while (I’ve actually only used them once) doesn’t bother me too much.

And about not giving your dogs food after dinner, there is actually new scientific evidence saying that could be a good idea. I heard about a study saying that rats that were fed high-fat food but only had food put out for them at night, when they were active, didn’t gain weight. However, other rats that were getting the same amount of the same food but always had access to it gained weight and developed health problems.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Here’s a link to the archive: http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/12/05/2014/you-are-when-you-eat.html

[Dori]

Interesting Dog Obsessed. Though I don’t do it for weight issues, I’ve always thought that dogs that were free fed would have a tendency to be over weight or at least the possibility is there. I’ve also always thought that the digestive system for any animal needs a “rest” period so I use the evening and overnight as that for Hannah, Katie and Lola. My girls, in my opinion, are much too small to fast an entire day. After all, Lola only weighs 5 lbs. and that’s on a good day. As I’ve mentioned before, I keep them all on the lean side. They all lost any fat they really had on them when I made the switch to raw. Interesting because most people have the misconception that dogs will gain weight on raw because of the high fat levels. It’s really not true. Raw doesn’t have all the carbs. Anyway, when I made the switch to raw they all lost any excess they had on them and they’ve stayed that way. They very rarely vary from their weight. Lola 5 lbs., Katie 6 lbs. and Hannah 7.3 lbs. I’d be concerned about fasting them for an entire 24 hours and since I don’t give them rmbs to tide them over as some do when they fast their dogs, again because of their size and they are all gulpers, fasting for that long for them could do them more harm than good. I could very well be wrong I don’t really know. It’s just what I’m comfortable with. Another plus about it is that no one needs a potty break in the middle of the night ever. No accidents in the middle of the night either.

I guess caramel coloring once in a while is not too bad compared to all the other garbage that’s out in the marketplace.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I’m also uncomfortable with fasting dogs for 24 hours. With small dogs it seems like they would get too hungry, and with bigger dogs it can increase bloat risk. Lily is also a gulper. I mix water with her wet food to slow her down, and put her dry in an activity toy.

[Dori]

I’m not as concerned with them being hungry though, of course, I care whether they’re hungry or not. I’m more concerned with them not eating anything for an entire 24 hours and then feeding them and having them throw up or diarrhea or some gastrointestinal upset eating on an entirely empty stomach. So I’m assuming if you fast a dog for that long you would then maybe have to introduce the next days meal slowly? I guess you’d have to whether they’re tiny, small or big dogs. Lily’s bigger than my girls but not by much. She’s still a tiny little girl. Anyway, our girls are fine and I strongly believe in the old adage “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It”. Mine ain’t broke. lol 🙂

[Dori]

Wow, Dog Obsessed. How weird. You know how it’s hard to get the smiley faces on the forum side. Well I just thought I’d try at the end of the sentence above to type in the colon key and then the end of parenthesis key. Then I clicked on submit and an actual yellow smiley face came on. Like I’ve said before, the mysteries of Disqus! How weird, huh?

[Dog_Obsessed]

That’s how I normally make smilies. Also, I don’t think the forums are run by Disqus, just the comment site. Or did you do this on the comment site? It doesn’t work for me there.

[Dori]

I don’t have any problems with any character thingy’s on the comment side. Only sometimes on the forum side. Odd cause it’s not always on the forum side just sometimes they’ll come up and other times they don’t. I see them on the forum side when I type them in but when I hit the submit button they just disappear. I didn’t realize the forum side wasn’t part of Disqus. Are you sure about that? Cause a lot of times I get thrown off and told that I have to be logged in and have to go into Disqus’ site and log back in and then I’m good to go on the forums side. Unless maybe I had gotten thrown off the comments side too. Don’t know.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I dunno, but Disqus has an extremely different format. Weird about the login thing.

[theBCnut]

Except for treats, I feed once a day. My dogs don’t usually like to eat twice, except when we have had a really busy day. Then all bets are off. I know someone who feeds his dogs big chunks of meat and only feeds every 3-4 days, that’s what I’m not comfortable with.

The forum is not Disqus. Colon, closed parenthesis has worked here for a long time now, but I haven’t tried colon, capital P, or colon, capital D, or colon, closed parenthesis. I think I’ll try that now. 🙁 Oh, you can also use the dash for a nose, but it still gives you the same smiley, and I don’t know if you can use the semicolon for a wink. 😉 We’ll see.

ETA: Yes, you can.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by theBCnut.

[Dog_Obsessed]

When we first got Lily she was free-fed Iams Pro-active Health Small and Toy Breed. She didn’t like the food much, and it obviously isn’t very healthy, so we switched to TOTW (this is no longer on my rotation because it is a Diamond food). The first thing we did was regulate how much she ate, though she often ate less than we gave her. As much as we tried to get her to eat evenly at both meals, she ate 3/4 of her food at dinner. While she was recovering from spay surgery she often ate almost nothing in the morning. At the vet appointment where she got her stitches out and cone off, they also expressed her anal glands, which weren’t looking too good. She then began to eat better and more consistently, and hasn’t turned back since. She is now a gulper and a food-motivated dog. The vet said that she might become more food-motivated after being spayed, which seems possible, even thought she didn’t eat much during the recovery period. I also think expressing her anal glands may have helped.

Whoa, that got on a serious tangent. But the point I was trying to make was that feeding twice a day doesn’t work for all dogs, and as Dori said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

[Naturella]

Today Bruno had 1/4 + 1/8th cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF Duck and Sweet Potato, with 1/2 of a pouch of some new local food – Have Dogs – as a topper. It is chicken-based, with chicken, fish oil, bone meal, vitamin E, and egg. Normally on Tuesday he gets yoghurt or kefir on his kibble but he really didn’t like the plain non-fat one I got by mistake (I normally get plain full-fat yoghurt), so he wouldn’t eat it at all last week. For dinner he had same Castor & Pollux with 1 tsp. THK Keen. We just got on Castor & Pollux from Back to Basics Open Range, and next kibble up will be Wysong Nurture with Quail. Treats we use right now for training are are Fromm Pork and Pea and TOTW Southwest Canyon from sample baggies, and also Annamaet Manitok and Canidae Pure Bison and Sweet Potato as grand rewards or when he is simply irresistible. He didn’t have any of those today, but he did have 1 chicken heart and a piece of chicken liver as I had bought some and I was portioning them out, so I just HAD to give him some while they were still fresh and not yet frozen up. He gulped them immediately.

Tomorrow Bruno will have same kibble with raw egg as a topper for breakfast and BDN Tripe Supreme as a topper for dinner. Bruno’s menu is pretty predictable and set, written out even to help hubby if I’m not home. I will post a picture of it too. On occasion I do vary it though, like I will for Christmas and like I did on Thanksgiving. And I have several cans that are not penciled in his menu, just so I can spice things up. RMBs for him are usually chicken/pork/beef neck pieces.

[URL=http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/aninova/media/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/aninova/media/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I also, like Dori, feed Bruno nothing after 7pm or 8pm latest. He doesn’t eat breakfast until 9-10am or so. On occasion he fasts himself for 24hrs or so, if he decides he doesn’t like the yoghurt I have gotten, lol, or if he is just too full or something. He is decent with food and always happy to eat, as his meals are controlled so that he’s lean, healthy, and enjoys some variety.

I also have some Etta Says chews laying around, but the deer one gave him diarrhea, so I am cautious and want to be sure his tummy will be fully good when I give him another of the chews. I also only give him 1/2 at a time of those, and 1/2 of the biscuits (Annamaet and Canidae) when he does get them. From the kibble treats (Fromm and TOTW) he gets about 1/8th cup of either one when we do training or play puzzle games, which is about every other day. He can chew on his antler freely anytime, all day if he wants, and I also just got him a stingray tail chew, which may be a bit hard for him to get through as it is thicker than his usual ones, but he has unlimited access to it too. Other things we give on a whim are bully sticks, cow/lamb ears, pig snouts, chicken/duck feet, Himalayan Chews, fish skins, and the like.

[Naturella]

Today Bruno had 1/4 + 1/8th cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF Duck and Sweet Potato, with 1/2 of a pouch of some new local food – Have Dogs – as a topper. It is chicken-based, with chicken, fish oil, bone meal, vitamin E, and egg. Normally on Tuesday he gets yoghurt or kefir on his kibble but he really didn’t like the plain non-fat one I got by mistake (I normally get plain full-fat yoghurt), so he wouldn’t eat it at all last week. For dinner he had same Castor & Pollux with 1 tsp. THK Keen. We just got on Castor & Pollux from Back to Basics Open Range, and next kibble up will be Wysong Nurture with Quail. Treats we use right now for training are are Fromm Pork and Pea and TOTW Southwest Canyon from sample baggies, and also Annamaet Manitok and Canidae Pure Bison and Sweet Potato as grand rewards or when he is simply irresistible. He didn’t have any of those today, but he did have 1 chicken heart and a piece of chicken liver as I had bought some and I was portioning them out, so I just HAD to give him some while they were still fresh and not yet frozen up. He gulped them immediately.

Tomorrow Bruno will have same kibble with raw egg as a topper for breakfast and BDN Tripe Supreme as a topper for dinner. Bruno’s menu is pretty predictable and set, written out even to help hubby if I’m not home. I will post a picture of it too. On occasion I do vary it though, like I will for Christmas and like I did on Thanksgiving. And I have several cans that are not penciled in his menu, just so I can spice things up. RMBs for him are usually chicken/pork/beef neck pieces.

I also, like Dori, feed Bruno nothing after 7pm or 8pm latest. He doesn’t eat breakfast until 9-10am or so. On occasion he fasts himself for 24hrs or so, if he decides he doesn’t like the yoghurt I have gotten, lol, or if he is just too full or something. He is decent with food and always happy to eat, as his meals are controlled so that he’s lean, healthy, and enjoys some variety.

I also have some Etta Says chews laying around, but the deer one gave him diarrhea, so I am cautious and want to be sure his tummy will be fully good when I give him another of the chews. I also only give him 1/2 at a time of those, and 1/2 of the biscuits (Annamaet and Canidae) when he does get them. From the kibble treats (Fromm and TOTW) he gets about 1/8th cup of either one when we do training or play puzzle games, which is about every other day. He can chew on his antler freely anytime, all day if he wants, and I also just got him a stingray tail chew, which may be a bit hard for him to get through as it is thicker than his usual ones, but he has unlimited access to it too. Other things we give on a whim are bully sticks, cow/lamb ears, pig snouts, chicken/duck feet, Himalayan Chews, fish skins, and the like.

[Akari_32]

Oh boy, this’ll be fun lol

Haley and Dweezle: Natural Balance Ultra Small Breed. Only got it because it was $1 a pound after coupons– I’m not very happy with, so after the two bags I have are gone, I’ll not buy it again. However, they like it. But they like anything, regardless of how eatable it is lol They also each get a salmon oil pill in their food. Next will be Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Senior and Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult, mixed 2:1. These dogs are 60 and 130 lbs, btw LOL after that will probably be Ideal Balance puppy, then Wellness Core Puppy and Small Breed mixed, then who knows. I have a good sized stash to chose from. I try to keep it interesting.

Bentley: SSLL mix, with coconut oil (won’t eat the mix plain, the little brat!) and a nice de-boned raw turkey leg. He gets a random pick of turkey or chicken (bought whole and cut up and separated into white meat, dark meat, and bone-in meat), ground pork, or beef or chicken hearts every day.

Ginger: half Wellness Small Breed Simple Salmon and Potato, and half Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight. She’ll be moving to Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility when I have the money in my account to order it, her Wellness Simple was running out, so I’ll put it off a bit longer, so she’s not switching arounf too much. Her stomach just can’t handle it. Nothing Purina is my first choice except for a very select few of the canned cat foods due to cost, but I’m at my wits end at what I can do to help her poor old joints, and not break the bank (not that there’s much of a bank to break at this point…). I can get it less than what the same size bag of Wellness is, so it’s worth a shot. Her treats today was a half of an Amoxicillin pill in the morning and tonight. She eats it like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever tasted, so I just let her think that LOL

Usually they all get some form of Zukes or Pet Botanics treats, but no one got any of those today, except the cat, who did high-fives, shakes, and up’s for his G-Zees treats :p He also got 3oz Wild Kitty raw cat food mix (made with chicken) for breakfast, and a 5.5 oz can of Friskies Ocean Whitefish as a very special treat. I don’t do fish or any other Friskies other than two flavors of Special Diet for him very often, but I’ll grab something fish based every now and then for something that isn’t turkey, chicken or beef. Gotta have something different when your crazy mommy limits you to very specific flavors from very specific brands lol I’ve also been giving Bentley a few pieces of Natures Variety Instinct Raw as a treat a few times a day. He loves to eat the little pieces still frozen. I think he likes the texture, and the fact that it’s red meat, something I can’t afford for his rotation very often. Innova Prime Red Meat used to be his favorite kibble before we realized he had carb allergies and before Innova got bought out.

Just a side note on the Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health forumlas: I’m extremely happy with all of them. Typically, even in the rest of the Wellness line, senior and diet foods are just complete crap, but these are comparable to other puppy and adult grain inclusive foods. They have good protein (close to 30%), and low fat (which is what my three old farts need), and are still high calorie (high 400’s!). Would definitely recommend either of these to anyone with a dog that needs a low fat diet, or to any owner who likes to feed lower fat diet food, small or large breed. It’s pretty decently priced, too, especially if you have coupons 😉

[Dog_Obsessed]

@Naturella OMG you have a chart?! That is more awesomely organized than I would be in a million years. For Lily I just open a new can every few days for toppers. If we have an open can of pumpkin I give her some of that. We’re still using THK samples once and a while, but I’m thinking about getting a box of THK Thrive.

Edit: Wait, BND tripe never expires? How?

@Akari Whoa. You have amazing variety. Nice! Also, what’s a Fruitables chew? You mean the Jerky?

• This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Akari_32]

No, I’m just a retard lol They’re Zukes brand. Don’t know where I got Fruitables from. Must have saw something Fruitables when I bought them. Or maybe because they are same color orange packaging that Fruitables has. Who knows LOL

[Dori]

Naturella. Very impressive. 🙂

[Dog_Obsessed]

Oh okay. Thanks! Zuke’s are definitely on the lesser evil side of the commercial dental chews. I got some Natural Balance dental chews a few weeks ago. They have pretty good ingredients, but seeing how fast she eats them I doubt they really clean her teeth much. Also, I noticed after I bought them that they have no claims of ingredient sourcing on the bag, so that’s probably not good. They do make great Kong stuffers though; a small piece of one in a Kong will keep her busy for 20+ minutes. I probably won’t buy them much, but they were on clearance sale for half off so what was I supposed to do? 😀

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

http://www.fruitablespetfood.com/

Fruitables are made and sourced in the USA! I have them here for my two girls. They love them.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I once got a sample of Fruitables Skinny Minis treats and they were a HUGE hit! I haven’t gotten a full bag because they aren’t grain-free, but Lily doesn’t really have grain issues as far as I know. Their jerky is grain-free, but I don’t use store-bought jerky treats because of the mysterious problems with jerky from China.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I finally took the plunge and bought some THK Thrive today! It was Lily’s favorite sample, and the price is going to go up a little in early January, so I figured “Why not?” and did it.

[Naturella]

Dog_Obsessed, thanks! I did the food list so I can keep track of my big stash and its expiration dates, so that I know what expires when and what I need to keep frozen so it doesn’t spoil before I feed it. Also to keep track of spending. I did the topper chart to help hubs cause he’s so lost without me as I’m the one who usually feeds Bruno and he would just use the same THK for breakfast and dinner till it’s out if it were up to him, lol. As for BDN, I put “NEVER” as an expiration date jokingly, cause there is no date on the package… But I think it will be fine till whenever I’m done with it. I actually put 2tsp in Bruno’s kibble when I use it as a topper, and it’s only a 1-lb baggie. He does only get it once a week though.

Dori, thanks! 🙂

I have also used Fruitables, Bruno loved them! 🙂

• This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by Naturella.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Lol, I have heard that some things, like honey, actually never expire. Also bad kibble that is spiked with propylene glycol and BHA has an almost eternal shelf life. Eek.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Anyone got an opinion on Innova dog food? I want to order some but I wanted to get some opinions on the company first.

[Akari_32]

They’re now owned by Mars. Not too long ago, by P&G. Too bad Natura sold out. I really like the Innova and EVO lines.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks, I saw some things about this on the review comments. I was looking for a grain-free poultry-free fish-free food to use next in my rotation, but if the company is sketchy then I don’t want to use it. Do you have any suggestions?

Just to be clear Lily is not actually allergic to any of the above things as far as I know, but that’s what I want next based on her most recent kibbles and toppers.

[Akari_32]

So a red meat based, grain free food? I’ll see what I can find for you.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Yup! Thanks, I’m also looking right now on the Dog Food Wizard and Chewy.com.

[DogFoodie]

Completely fish free, as in no fish oil either?

[Dog_Obsessed]

No, just no fish in the first few ingredients.

[Akari_32]

Here’s what PetSmart turned up

Nutro Ultra Lamb, Potatoes and Peas
Nutrisca Grain Free Lamb and Chickpea
Natures Variety Beef and Lamb
Natures Variety Rabbit
Nulo Lamb

http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=gsi%2Fwebstore%2FWFS%2FPETNA-PETUS-Site%2Fen_US%2F-%2FUSD%2FViewStandardCatalog-Browse%3FCategoryName%3D100004%26CategoryDomainName%3DPETNA-36%26SearchParameter%3D%2526%2540QueryTerm%253D*%2526CategoryUUIDLevelX%25252FnfoKmUCQmRYAAAFD8RNUeFk3%25252Fat0KmUCQtN8AAAFDODtUeFk3%25252FNs0KmUCQfUQAAAFDxD1UeFk3%253DrjoKmUCQ3UwAAAFDezVUeFk3%2526CategoryUUIDLevelX%253DnfoKmUCQmRYAAAFD8RNUeFk3%2526OnlineFlag%253D1%2526Flavor_Display%253DBeef_or_Lamb%2526Nutritional_Option%253DGrain%252BFree%26PageSize%3D24%26PageNumber%3D0%26SortingAttribute%3DProductSalePrice-asc

[Dog_Obsessed]

Thanks! I will look into these!

[Akari_32]

PetSmart doesn’t work well on my phone, so you’ll have dig into the ingredients to make sure they’re exactly what you want. It’s a start though!

[Author]

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