[Akari_32]

I’ve been bitten by fire ants and been left with dime to nickel sized welts. Then again, when I’m bitten by mosquitoes, they swell up to quarter sized. So maybe I’m the one allergic bug bites… lol

But anyways, we’ll take baby steps, to see whats really causing the itching, rather than taking all the factors away at once like last time, like a genius. I’ll start with grass, since thats the easiest, and we’ll treat the yard next weekend (mom works out of town during the week, and other people have planned our weekend this week– how nice). I’ll also be looking into a homemade flea repellant to help keep the fleas from getting on him in the first place, with out interfering or adversely reacting to the Trifexis. Both of those should yield pretty immediate results, correct?

Have you tried the Wellness CORE Wild Game, or know anyone who does?

[Akari_32]

Make a photobucket account and use the IMG or direct link codes. That’s what I do for other forums.

[Akari_32]

I’ve used TOTW a few times in the last with no troubles. Bought the small bags for Bentley for the longest time while we were trying to figure out his allergies, and then bought two large bags of the orange puppy one back to back not too long ago. The first bag Bentley liked, but the second he hated. The other dogs were fine on it , so I think it was the fish one in the wrong bag (he hates fish LOL). So, we’ve had like 6-7 bags with no real problems.

Wow, good job Aleksandria! I don’t think you’ll ever have to buy dog food again XD

BB isn’t made by Diamond? I thought they were….

[Akari_32]

So I went into Pet Supermarket and talked to the manager about their Diamond foods. The only carry chicken, beef, and lamb adult formulas, as well as the lamb large breed. I asked if he could get any of the puppy foods, or the grain free and he said he’s only allowed to order what the chain as a whole carries. I asked him if he had anything similar and he pointed me to the Canidae ALS.

Since he didn’t have either of the two I was looking for, I didn’t ask him if he knew which plant they got the food from. I decided to wait and look into them and see if I liked any before going any further. Anyone have a reccomendation out of these? (None of the above is also an option lol).

[Akari_32]

I wonder if I can talk to the management at Pet Supermarket and see if they get all their Diamond products (TOTW, BB, Canidae, Solid Gold, and whatever else) from the SC plant or not, and if they do, if I can talk them into getting it from another one. Where are is the next closest plant?

Also, is there a way to look anywhere on the bag to see where the food is manufactured? Like lot number, UPC, fine print, or anything?

[Akari_32]

Where would I find that out? Being in Florida, my chances don’t look good.

[Akari_32]

So the grain free Nutrisource is cheaper (by a few cents) at the LPS, and the Super Performance is $60 for the 40 lb bag, which is $5 MORE than PetFlow…. Hmmm…. I may order that one online every now and then, and stick with the grain free for when I buy in store. I did some math and its only a few cents cheaper per meal, going by how much they’re eating now, for the Super Performance compared to the grain free ones.

On that note, I’m also seriously considering trying Diamond Naturals, the two that get 5 stars on here. Provided Pet Supermarket caries them, that is. I know they have a few flavors, but I’ve never fully investigated. I’m kind of weirded out by Diamond products, but I’ve used Kirkland and TOTW a few times with no problems, and my grandma used Kirkland for a while as well (but the bags were too big for her two small dogs lol). At the same time, its still Diamond, and we all know how they are. Yet people use all their foods every day for years with no problems. It would greatly reduce my feed bills, and I’d check for recalls before I bought any. Thoughts?

Side note: went to Publix today and scored on three pounds of turkey gizzards for 59 cents a pound! Dogs will have some yummies for a few days. Whoop whoop! 😀

[Akari_32]

It looks like they’ve removed the Prime line from their website, so I would say they just changed the name. It does look very similar. That one does have tons of peas though! Wholly wow. Going off the other foods, 8% of its protein comes from the peas. Geesh.

I visited the site before the contract ended, and its changed drastically. Used to be very simple, and to the point, and listed the sources of all their ingredients. Now its all flowery and “ooh look how awesome we are!” Yuck! I’ll not be going back to them after seeing this.

[Akari_32]

Haha, for some extra calories. They’re all beef. She isn’t big on straight dry food (her old tummy can’t handle it anymore, hence the wet mixed in), and isn’t a big eater to begin with, so the hot dogs add 120 easy to eat, yummy calories.

[Akari_32]

Another update 🙂

I’ve introduced the Purina One Beyond to Haley’s diet, one of the small bags to the rest of her food. Totals about 15 pounds of food– it did, anyways. Its been a few days, and I *think* Dweezle got into it, because I don’t think I’ve used half of all that food since I added it! He’s not been wanting to sleep in the bed room, and I heard him snooping around in the kitchen the other night… Plus he’s looking a bit pudgy lol

I also added the last bag of the Wellness CORE Ocean Fish to the mix. Anyways, she’s doing good on the One Beyond, so I’ll add the other small bag soon, and when thats done, she’ll be on half Wellness CORE Original, and half One Beyond. I may actually do more like 60/40, CORE and One Beyond. I’m still weary about out last experience with One Beyond… I dunno yet.

I’m also back to walking her several times a week, with no extra feeding, and no problems at all. Yay! As for as weight goes, she’s keeping steady at just under (visually– I haven’t actually weighed her) an “ideal” weight. Honestly, I think I’m going to keep her there. Her hips have been giving her some troubles with this colder weather, and I don’t want to bother them more by putting more weight on them (she’s tripped a few times on uneven ground on walks, and gone down butt-first, otherwise its usually just a little stiffness after laying down for long periods). She’s a little lean, but she certainly doesn’t look or act starved, and has been super perky. She’s eating about 2.5 cups of dry food, right now, plus half a can of Pro Plan, an egg (sometimes whole, sometimes just the insides), and a hot dog almost every night. Plus her vitamins, glucosamine, and fish oil, which I’ve dropped to one every night or so, since she’s on fish-based food. She’s do for shots soon, so I’ll see what the vet says about her weight.

[Akari_32]

Nooooo! My guys loved the Zukes Hip Action treats, and I could get them really cheap off PetMountain 🙁 I guess I wont be buying them anymore.

[Akari_32]

I’m about to be giving Nutrisource Super Performance a try here soon. It’s about $45 for 33 pounds, and has my 130 pound dog eating just 3.5 cups (and he’ll probably eat less than that because he’s lazy), according to the calculator in the review section of the site. Or if you have a Tractor Supply, they have 4Health which is pretty cheap, and ranks well. The last one I can really think of is Walmart has Pure Balance and Purina One Beyond, both or which are 3 stars.

Hey, that’s my thread :p

[Akari_32]

Hey guys!

I’m in the homestretch of food (got about a month or two worths left). In the mean time, I’ll be saving up to try my first round of Nutrisource Super Performance. If they do well on that, I’ll start going between my * and ** foods listed above (money provided), and whatever goodies I can get with coupons. My LPS sells NutriSouce grain free for the same price (more or less, as their prices vary with each flavor) as PetFlow. I also asked if they could order the Super Performance, and they said they likely could. If they can’t, then I’ve always got the grain free options. 🙂

[Akari_32]

Which would you go for? The LID or the Wholesome Essentials?

Wholesome Essentials Puppy:
http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/wholesome-essentials-puppy-food.aspx

-27% Protein
-16% Fat
-384 calories/cup

LID Puppy:
http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/lid-puppy-food-lamb-and-rice.aspx

-26% Protein
-15% Fat
-393 calories/cup

Its either more fat and protein, and less calories, or less fat and protein and more calories. I think I’d rather go with the first, though. The calories aren’t that much different (neither really are the fat and protein, but you know)… What I really want is the Small Breed Puppy, but the largest bag it comes in is 8 pounds, and the rebate calls for 15 pound bags. Poo 🙁 http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/small-breed-puppy-food.aspx

[Akari_32]

Yeah, it’s weird. It’s not SUPER low calorie, more like average for lower brands, but it’s low for what they claim it to be. Here’s the link:

http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/high-energy-endurance.aspx

The LIDs are all lamb (I guess they don’t want to branch out unless the package says fish or otherwise). The others listed are chicken. My guys get both often.

[Akari_32]

The Just 6 uses Lamb Meal, but it’s only like 20 or 24% protein or something crazy low like that. I use it on occation for something different, but I wouldn’t use it all the time unless a medical need dictated you do so.

The Zero Grain uses both turkey and chicken. This is also pretty low in protein (26%), and extremely low in calories (313 per cup). It’s not a bad food though. I’ve been fighting to get weight back on my oldest dog after being on this food for an extended period of time. Others have reported weight gain, as well. It’s very potatoe-y, and some dogs just can’t handle that. My grandma’s old toy breeds are doing really well on it, though.

Definitely see about issues with turkey or chicken, or potatoes even, since the Just 6 uses sweet potatoes, I think.

[Akari_32]

Just curious, since I have Haley on a fish based food right now, should I maybe cut back on giving her fish oil? The mix is maybe 1/3 CORE Ocean Fish. I usually give her 2 fish oil pills a day (can’t find the dose on the bottle for the life of me! The directions say, for an adult human, three daily, one with each meal). Some times I don’t ive her any vitamins because I don’t want to deal with it, but she gets all her vitamins at least 3 times a week. She doing really good with her weight, so I don’t worry too much with the vitamins any more.

But I did walk her the other day since she’s been doing so well, the first time in a month or so. It wasn’t a fast walk or anything (not fast for me, anyways, but the dogs had a good trot going most of the time), but it was pretty long, 20-30 minutes, which is our usual length. I fed her how much food she’s been getting, which has been keeping her weight steady, just to what would happen, and she did loose some weight after that. In fact, I noticed a difference before and after our walk. I’ll try about like 1/2 cup more next time and see what happens. But any thoughts on that?

[Akari_32]

I went with the original CORE. The prices in the store were higher than the website said. They did have the puppy forumla, but it was like $2 more. In the end, I got 4x 4 pound bags, $7.83 a piece. I got lamb for the One BeyOnd, so that’ll switch things up a bit (the lamb was actually higher in calories). The food she’s on right now is a mix of fish, chicken, lamb, and turkey. I think turkey, anyways… Plus the hot dogs, and whatever leftovers they’ve been getting. So that adds beef and pork. And then the eggs. The canned foods are varied as well, and i have them in the cabinet so that they get a different protein type every meal. I think I’ve got my bases pretty well covered 🙂

[Akari_32]

I dunno, Patty. He’s had such good impulse control that he’d be a terrible hunting dog. The Maltese is too strong in him LOL And every dog he meets is either jumping all over their face trying get all their love, or he’s chasing them down to hump them (what can I say, he’s naughty! It’s the only thing he *can’t* control -_-). He seems agitated when he dreams, gets all tense and what not. I wonder if he dreams about something he experienced before we got him. We got him from a lady going through a divorce, so him, his parents, his litter mates (he was the last to go) and their larger dog friend were living in a large two story house alone, with someone coming by in the morning and at night to let them out and feed them. Anything could have happened, you know?

Ha! I would love to see such a large dog sleep like that LOL My 130 pound rott mix isn’t allowed on the bed because he gets up there and just sprawls out. He’ll push you off if he has to! Brat… He also has a habit of sleeping in the middle of walk ways. It’s a good thing he doesn’t dream like Bentley does!

[Akari_32]

Got the One BeyOnd a couple days ago, and went ahead and just mixed all the Wellness in the Purina One (The Wellness was still in the bag in the kitchen floor– mom’s favorite place for dog food *rolls eyes*) half and half into the container, as that seems to be working really well for her.

I plan on buying at least 3 more bags of Wellness within the next few days (hopefully today), but I’m still unsure which to get in the case they don’t have the puppy formula. She’s been on the fish bad for a few days and seems fine with it, though. I may just go with the original one… Thoughts?

I also found out that my LPS sells NutriSource now! I’m super excited about that! I’ll investigate further once I get her weight thing figured out, which is going awesome, btw. I’ve not given her a hot dog in like 3 days (though they have steak Christmas dinner leftovers and various other dog-friendly leftovers in place of their wet food mixer, so who’s really to say how the lack of hot dogs is working out LOL). Any recommendations on the NutriSource? I’m loving the sounds of 500+ calories per cup in the Super Performance, but I’m open to other suggestions.

Oh, back to the One BeyOnd, I bought a 14 pound bag and two small bags (3 pounds, maybe?). Got out got for 10 bucks, and I had a Visa gift card from my aunt, so free dog for me! The Wellness will also be paid for with a PetSupermarket gift card. Score! Every little bit helps! 🙂 My car should be paid off the end of next year, and then I’ll have more money to get the dogs on track with good food all the time, rather than just some of the time when I find a good a deal…

[Akari_32]

Have some awesome $5.15 off any Purina food, any size, as well as that free any Purina 4 lb bag, and then got a $25 gift card for Pet Supermarket for Christmas. I plan on hitting WalMart for the One BeyOnd, and Pet Supermarket for wellness. However, for the Wellness, they don’t seem to carry the CORE Puppy! This is just looking online, however, and their website sucks, but just in case they really don’t have it, I need a back up. As far as grain free goes, the site shows

-CORE Small Breed
-CORE Wild Game
-CORE Large Breed
-CORE Original
-CORE Ocean Fish
-CORE Reduced Fat
-Simple Turkey and Potato
-Simple Salmon and Potato

[Akari_32]

Good news! My local fish/pet store just started carying NutriSource! They only have grain free right now, but I asked the guy (known them for years– been buying fish from them for 15+ years) if they could get the Super Preformance and he said yes. However, I’d probably have to buy the whole case. I’ll have to work that out LOL

Anyways, the 30 pounders are $30-40 depending on the flavor, and I scored one of each flavor of the grain free samples, and a couple $2 off 15 pounds and larger coupons. Whoop whoop! When I actually need dog food, I’ll investigate further. I can also take advantage of their frequent buyer program (buy 12 get 13th free). I’m pretty psyched to try this food out on the dogs! Can’t wait till I start to run low on the Purina One 🙂

[Akari_32]

Will do. It was thick, brown vomit, just minutes after eating. No kibbles, just very thick goo. She was on some medications at the time, as well. Can’t recall what, though. But she was fine on her normal diet, which I thought was strange.

[Akari_32]

I’ve got two bags of puppy and two bags of fish, so she’ll be getting fish soon. I was going to mix the rest of the RR and the Purina together (they are in seperate containers right now), but then she’d getting some of the RR, which I think is the cause of her weight problem.

I’ve got a free bag coupon for any Purina brand pet food, and I was wondering how the One beyOnd looked? She does good on Pro Plan, too, but I’m not sure which looks better. I know the Pro Plan Natural Shedded Chicken and Rice gets 3.5 stars, or something like that, which isn’t bad. Or I could get the puppy, which I think is the same rating (don’t remember). I bought her a bag of the One beyOnd once, fed her one cup of it out of a four cup meal (how I always changed foods– 1/4 for a few days, 1/2 for a few days, and so on), and just a few minutes after she puked all over the kitchen, so I took it back. I told PetSmart that, so they could report it, but I didn’t personally say anything. It could have just been a bad batch, or she could have had a negative reaction to something in the food. Not really sure which. But anyways, I’d like to use my coupon. It’s for any thing Purina, so maybe there’s something better than Pro Plan? It’s just for a small bag.

[Akari_32]

Just an update. Still doing 1/2 and 1/2 with a hot dog on top, and she’s doing really great. I’ve got her down to a scoop and half of Wellness and a scoop and half of Purina One (cut the RR out of her diet completely). A scoop is like a cup a half or so. Been like this for two days and she still looks likes she’s gained some weight. I don’t want her gain weight too quickly, which is why I lowered her feeding. Right now, she’s probably less than a half pound from where she should be, but it looks like it could just toned-muscle weight, and I don’t expect a dog her age to really put on any muscle. I’ll keep it the same for now, and see how she looks in a week or so and go from there.

I wonder if, in her old age, she can’t handle foods so high in starch any more, or maybe it’s a protein thing? On just Wellness, she eats like… 2 1/2 cups? 3 if she’s offered it. I’ll be saving up some money, and will be buying more Wellness when the time comes. Just about through the first bag, now. Got maybe two or three meals left. Should I look into the Reduced Fat formula (for the higher protein), or do you guys think I should stick with the puppy, or what?

[Akari_32]

Sounds like mold to me!

[Akari_32]

Chicken flavor is said to not bother allergies, so it should be fine.

I used Innova (prime and regular) almost exclusively for several months until they had that crazy recall. They may have figured themselves out, I’m not sure. I’m not thrilled about P&G buying the company, personally, but it may not be bad now. I have yet to look into the indregients and see if they’ve changed at all, though. Some googling should find you a better answer.

As for TOTW, I’ve used it here and there. No real issues yet. I once bought a bag of the High Prairie, and one of the dogs wouldn’t touch it. I suspect it was a case of a mislabeled forumula, though, as that particular dog absolutely hates fish, and the other dogs loved it.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Akari_32.

[Akari_32]

Just picking out PetSmarts grain free foods off the top of my head…

Innova Prime
Natures Recipe (only a few are grain free, but I don’t recall if any have chicken or not– I know one is salmon, though some brands use chicken meal to boost the protein content of their novelty foods)
Blue Buffalo (this makes up most of their grain free selection)
Pro Plan (just came out, and my store doesn’t have it yet, so I haven’t gotten to investigate. Probably has chicken, but should it do well, more proteins are likely to become available– something you might look into for future use should it rank well on DFA)

I really think that’s it, other than Authority, which is chicken, and Simply Nourish, which you already use. Royal Canin and Hill’s have some grain free foods, but those are just… Those are just no…

[Akari_32]

If he’s constantly begging and sniffing around the kitchen and dining area, then I’d say he’s hungry. If not, he just really likes his food. Once he gets used to it, and realizes he’ll be seeing more of it, he’ll slow down. You could try increasing the mount of food by a small amount and see if it helps satisfy him.

[Akari_32]

Tonight she got half wellness and half etc dog food (totaling about 4-4.5 cups), some canned pro plan, her vitamins, and a hot dog. The hot dog only adds 140 calories, but it’s something, and it’s easier for her to eat than more dry food is. She pretty much inhaled it! Lol I’ve got some canned pumpkin I might aught to add tomorrow or she’ll belly-aching and grumbling at me.

I spent about 20 minutes pulling that rotisserie chicken off the bone the other night. It’s not a fun job at all!

She loves turkey backs, but I haven’t seen any lately. Any raw treats they’ve gotten in the last two months has been liver or gizzards because there are no necks and backs floating around! What are some other cheap cuts of meat I give them?

[Akari_32]

Proctor and Gamble is a chemical company, also known as P&G. You may also know them as the makers of Iam’s.

[Akari_32]

I will look for that this coming week when I’m off work for Christmas week. I’ll also get the Wellness out and feed her half and half (half wellness, half RR/Purina mix) starting with 5 cups. However, I’ve got a small, like 3.5 pound, bag of Pedigree Complete Puppy. Should I use that instead of the RR and Purina? It’ll at least have more calories…

For the Wellness BTW, I’ve got two 4 pound bags of CORE Ocean Fish and two 4 pound bags of CORE Puppy. I’ll start with the Puppy.

For the record, I’ll not be dealing with the RR foods for any length of time any more! And if I do, Haley will not be participating. Her system just isn’t what it used to be!

Last night her and Dweezle got almost a whole rotisserie chicken for dinner. That thing was huge! They were super happy. She handled that really well, so I may try and find some good deals on chickens and look into some home made meals now that the semesters over for winter, just some some extra goodness next to the dog food…

[Akari_32]

I’m personally still mad at them. The recall lasted for months and covered so many products that I can’t bring my self to go back to them. Plus, it just happened to be recalled right after their contract to keep the formula the same expired.

That’s just me, though. Perhaps ask around to your patrons and see what brands they’d like to see you start carrying. Don’t mention any brand in particular, and just see what they say.

[Akari_32]

I don’t see why that would be a problem. We made something with ground beef a few weeks ago and I poured all the grease (maybe a 1/2 cup) over her and Dweezles food. I figured as a treat it wouldn’t hurt anything, and they sure were happy. And she did gain a bit if weight over night. I certainly don’t do that all the time. But a healthier fat wouldn’t be a bad idea. And what about coconut oil? That would work, as well, right? Both of those I could probably buy a huge container of at Sam’s. How much should I start off with? Any certain kinds of either I should get?

[Akari_32]

By “some” I meant the set, sorry lol But if you’re friends with your neighbors you can always use their addresses and have them give them to you.

[Akari_32]

Oh cool, I’ll have to see how much it is here. Still haven’t gotten it yet, as she seems to be doin good on vitamins, fish oil and probiotics. Don’t want to do too much to her at once as she tends to have tummy troubles. And I just remembered, she sometimes has problems with dairy… Maybe kefir isn’t the best idea for her?

[Akari_32]

I’ll get the dry Pro Plan every now and then. They send out great coupons for it, up to $5 off. And then PetCo usually has $3-5 off coupons on it as well. Combine with a sale, and you get it SUPER cheap! The trick is buying small bags, instead of bigger ones.

Reptiles really are much cheaper and a better quality at shows. I would only buy from shows, but I made a joke about a cute lizard I wanted at PetSmart (Rex) for Christmas, and my parents got him for me LOL Thus, I started into reptiles with one of the worst starter reptiles on the planet XD But I love him and don’t mind dumping all my money on his UV bulbs and crap. Two years after I got him, I got my first leopard gecko, a female Dreamsickle I named Amelia, and then this year, I got my second in my march, a male Snow named Rowen, and another male in September at the FirExpo (where I also got Amelia), a tangerine lavender, Raven. Love my “yizards” to death :3

I just tried to use one of those cricket coupons yesterday LOL I didn’t realize it had expired on the 1st. Whoops! I’ve actually started breeding my own meal worms for my guys staple, and then I’ll still by crickets, supers, roaches and waxworms as a treat. I’m spending so much on feeders that I don’t have money money left at the end of the week for, you know, bills and gas and stuff? LOL

Most companies don’t check if you’ve gotten a coupon before or not, except by tracking your ip address, so you can print multiple coupons on various computers, and then you can also email them and ask for one in the mail. Did you get that BB $5 off any bag, $1 off any can, and $0.50/$1 off any treats thing in the mail? I’ve got some of those I need to use, as they expire at the end of the year….

Because I tend to buy several months worth of dog food over a week or so period, I only print the coupons out a few times a year, 10 at a time. But I’m pretty sure they are reset monthly. Just try every couple weeks, doesn’t hurt! 🙂

[Akari_32]

The only reason it’s in the garage is because it’s cooler out right now. It’s usually in the pantry, but it’s full of human food ATM (for once LOL). Since I buy small bags, it’s usually fits right in the cabinet over top the human food.

Hey, another FL person! That’s good you guys get a discount! I wish we got one at Publix lol I would go with Core over BB, personally. But as I said earlier in the thread, Core is my favorite grain free food. But I like to switch it up, so I do try most everything. I’ve not used the dry BB, but I’ve used some of the cans. The dogs seem to like Pro Plan cans best, plus I get them free, so that’s what they mainly get for canned mixers, but I like to have fun with my dry food purchases.

Seems we’ve got a similar line up of pets! I’ve got the three dogs, a Mali Uromastyx, three leopard geckos, about two dozen goldfish (I have a goldfish problem… I have a 150+ gallon tank in the works for my 6 indoor fancies LOL), and several tropicals. Between the fish, I have almost 400 gallon of water worth of ponds and aquariums.

What kind of Uro do you have? Did you get yours at PetSmart or a show? We got Rex about 4 years ago at our local PetSmart. My Leos all came from breeders at various Repticon conventions :p Are you near the Pinellas County type area? I buy all my feeder inscects at White Hot Dragons, in (what I call, but may not actually be) St Pete. They are super cheap, and have better quality bugs, as well as a variety 🙂

Use those coupons, girl! Save some money! 😉 I bought $25 worth of etcetera for $8 today at PetSmart Lol

[Akari_32]

I’ve got about 20 pounds out for use right now (hurray for garbage cans!) and twice that or more in the garage. Safe to say we’ve got plenty for a while LOL

[Akari_32]

So I figured out why Haley is loosing weight after switching off the Wellness. The RR Zero Grain is only 313 calories per cup. Wholy cow!! I can’t possibly shove any more food down this poor dogs throat, she just can’t eat that much. The fish oil, doggy vitamins, and probiotic (expired in July, but I figure they can’t hurt) mix seems to be helping though. At least the Purina One and Pedigree are in the mid to high 400’s calorie per cup. Maybe I should get over myself and get a higher concentration of them into that RR. They’ve been on much worse when my parents were in charge of their food…

Side note, 4 pound bags of Vets Choice on sale on PetFlow for 3.99 right now! I was tempted, but I’d rather make a large order and get the free shipping. I’m in a financially tight spot at the moment– food and gas only! No play money :/ As much as I love jumping on deals, I don’t need dog food. And mom would probably murder me if I ordered crap tons of dog food online right now anyways LOL

[Akari_32]

I love Core, quite honestly. It’s just sooooo expensive! The other Wellness foods are crap compared to Core, IMO. I don’t know why I think that, but I do! Lol I’m really liking the Nutrisource Super Preformance. It has 500-something calories per cup!! I about flipped a lid when I saw that LOL We’ll see how it makes the list after I’ve tried the dogs on it. I’m still kinda weird about Canidae, but I’ll give it a try. I’ll treat it like I do TOTW, and go at it carefully. With out much digging, I’m still unsure which of the Canidae foods are made by Diamond and which aren’t.

Bentley went through a state of eating less than a cup one day, more than a cup the next. Just over all really all over the place in how much he would eat. We seem to have finally settled, now that he’s done growing, on 3/4-1 cup, depending on his treat intake and activity for the day. See if you can find a mix that gets you under a cup. It’s a pretty fun challenge LOL

[Akari_32]

Sure thing!

I think if I were to pick three foods off this list, I’d pick

Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb

Ok thats four, but whatever LOL

For your guy, I think I’d aim for less than 3/4 of a cup. I don’t really know how much a dog that size is actually supposed to eat, though, because less face it, my Bentley eats like a freaking pig. Stupid dog and his crazy eating habits >.<

[Akari_32]

YES (those on this list are definite options)
California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy
*Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Pursuit Active
Eagle Pack Puppy (yellow bag)
Eagle Pack Pork Meal and Chicken Meal (large and small bites)
Eagle Pack Power
Earthborn Puppy Vantage
Earthborn Small Breed
Earthborn Costal Catch
Earthborn Great Plains Feast
Earthborn Primitive Natural
Fromm Gold Small Breed Adult
Fromm Gold Puppy
Holist Select Radiant Adult Health Lamb Meal
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Adult
Merrick Classic Real Lamb, Brown Rice and Apple Adult
*Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Large Breed
Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
Nature’s Variety Prairie Kibble Chicken and Brown Rice
Nature’s Variety Prairie Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
**Nutrisource Performance
**Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Small and Medium Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Grain Free Heartland Select w/ Bison
Nutrisource Grain Free Seafood Select w/ Salmon
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken
**Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken Large Breed
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb Large Breed
Precise Endurance Formula
Precise Natural Grain Free Chicken
Vets Choice Health Extension Little Bites
Vets Choice Health Extension Original

MAYBE (foods on this list are more for sale watches or when I have a bit more money to spend)
By Nature—Pork
Castor and Pollux Beef and Barley
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Large Breed Puppy
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Puppy
Eagle Pack Original Lamb Meal
Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Adult
Earth Born Vantage Adult
Earthborn Ocean Fusion
Earthborn Meadow Feast
Fromm Gold Adult
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken Meal and Rice
Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Adult
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
Merrick Classics Beef, Whole Barley and Carrot Adult
Natural Balance Ultra
Nutricource Adult Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Adult Lamb and Rice
Precise Sensicare Lamb Meal and Rice
Precise Chicken Meal and Rice Foundation
Premium Edge Weight Reduction
Wellness Complete Health Chicken
Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato

NEED MORE INFO (these need more digging to find calorie counts)
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Fish Meal and Potato
Nature’s Recipe Large Breed
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Chicken Meal, Rice, and Barley
Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison Meal and Rice
PetGuard LifeSpan

* Just over 4 cups for Dweezle
** Less than 4 cups for Dweezle

[Akari_32]

Will do! Wellness goes on sale quite often. Also, PetSmart will price match any competitor non-sale price (for example, Pet Supermarkets small bags of Original Core are $13.99, where PetSmart’s are $16.99. Bring in your smart phone or printed web page, and PetSmart will match it at the register).

Just a little update– I’m absolutely head over heals for Nutrisource right now. Like, you have no idea. Especially the Super Performance and Grain Free’s. I’ve started a new system where I bold anything that keeps me under 4 cups :p Gotta go back and do it with the top part of my list, though. OMG kill me -_- LOL

[Akari_32]

Yes, I’m using a combination of PetFlow, manufacturer websites, and DFA’s Dog Food Calculator to determine whats available, how many calories per cup it is, and how many cups it’d take to feed 130 pound, fixed, senior, lazy bones Dweedle-weedle. Him and Haley have the same activity level (almost negative :p) and Bentley’s one-ish cup a day doesn’t really add up to much compared to them, and I barely even notice any extra in the food bills (taking into account my couponing, as well).

The Wellness sale ended about a week ago, I think. The ProPlan sale at PetCo ended on the 23rd.

Good luck with your new food mix 🙂 My guys tend to not care, as long as its just a tiny bit eatable LOL

[Akari_32]

I’ve actually got two lists going. One for definite yes’s (up to 4.5 cups for Dweezle), and one for maybe’s (4.5-5 cups for Dweezle). Only have 7 foods total. I’ve sure got a long way to go! >.<

[Akari_32]

So I think I’m going to go through my list and narrow my options down to foods that have me feeding Dweezle less than 4 cups. I don’t envy myself AT ALL, but I think it will, over all, help me cut down my feeding costs even more. I’ll post my updated list later… If I never come back, its because the task killed me @.@

[Akari_32]

Not sure if its all of the flavors, but Nutrisource advertises non-GMO.

[Akari_32]

A little update…

The last few days I’ve been sooo busy! I haven’t mixed their food in several days (just been giving them straight dry), and a few times I’ve even forgotten to give Haley her doggy vitamins >.<

BUT! We’re back on track, and I’ve started Haley on the fish oil pills. The bottle says 3 daily (one with each meal), but this for an adult human, so I figured I’d start with two a day and see how it goes. Thoughts?

I’ve also opted to use just the fish oil at this point in time. I with the holidays coming up, I don’t have the time to screw around with the doses and balancing them out with other vitamins and whatever. So I kept the zink and C for my self and sent the rest to my grandpa. He can use them. I do still have proper apple cider vinegar on my list, I just have to rememeber to get it after work. You’d think working in a grocery store would help with that, but really I just want to clock out and run when i get off LOL

[Akari_32]

I come with 365 gallons worth of aquariums and ponds, 3 leopard geckos, a Mali Uromastyx (google it!), and two very large dogs LOL

My brother and his family live in Kingsland, btw!

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