[Naturella]

Thanks, Chris and Bobby Dog! I guess I will go ahead and feed what I have then.

Bobby Dog, the Weruva cat pouches are all seafood-based, yes. And when I get through this stash, I will check out the cat food thread.

[Naturella]

Ah, I didn’t see the link the first time. But I read the article now. So the Weruva cat food pouches I have do have that thing. Ugh. The Evanger’s cans do not. And the other cat foods I have don’t have it, nor do the dog Weruva pouches or cans. It does say that the big concern comes from continuous, daily consumption, and not sporadic feeding in small amounts… I have about 8 Weruva cat food pouches right now that have it. I will have to think about this one… They will be fed sporadically because I will be alternating them with small Merrick cans and the other cat food without it, and if I finish them up, I won’t buy them again… So I may still feed them… We will see.

As for the 3 Evanger’s cans (Against the Grain), ugh, they sounded so cool! With crab and seaweed and what not… Oh well, off they go…. I will stick to Almo Nature from the cat food pouches and small Merrick cans and crumbled up freeze-dried from Wysong.

[Naturella]

Bobby Dog, yeah, the Nurture kibble by Wysong that I fed was for cats and dogs.

Bobby Dog, I didn’t know that about Against the Grain… I actually only have 3 cans of it… Is it Evanger’s cannery or dry that is bad, or both?

And what is the issue with K3?

[Naturella]

Hm, weird… I actually spoke with them on the phone, come to think of it, maybe they really didn’t have any “samples” anymore, or just stopped doing that and I just lucked out… IDK…

And yeah, I didn’t know that before either about cat food. But it is supposed to be totally fine. Plus, I only use it as toppers, so I am not too worried.

[Naturella]

Oh, and Chris… Orijen told me they won’t send me samples as you can buy their trial sizes from a few places online or in stores that carry Orijen. So if they send you some, let me know!

But I have had luck with Annamaet (samples of the GF foods and a full-size bag of treats – which are formulated almost like the foods themselves, so they are close to complete and balanced, if not that), Wysong (many samples), Canidae (a whole small bag of Pure Sea and a full-size bag of PURE treats), Dr. Tim’s (one Sample), Brothers’ Complete (bought samples from their website, they sent me double the order), Victor (bought samples from sportdogfood.com and ordered 5 of each instead of 3 (the limit), but they still sent them to me), Dr. Tim’s (sent me one sample), and I think this is it.

[Naturella]

Bobby dog, so far I still have access to my email so I think I can keep it for a bit. I don’t use it for my resume though, so no worries there! Now if only these degrees would please land me a job, I would be so happy… LoL.

Anyway, Chris, I have Canidae PURE Sea lined up to feed Bruno. A friend of mine has fed Canidae a few times with no problems. So we will see how it goes.

Also, another idea for healthy toppers are good-quality cat food cans. Complete and balanced cat food is usually higher in protein and is fit for dogs’ consumption, it just has taurine, which cats need, and dogs can eat without issues. So I have stocked up on a bunch of Weruva cat food pouches I found on sale, Almo Nature cat food pouches, Against the Grain cat food cans, and Fussie Cat cans on top of some small Merrick dog cans and Weruva dog cans. For me half of a small can or a pouch is a topper for a meal, so a small can lasts me 2 days. A big Merrick one I got today I will stuff in hooves and Kongs and other stuffable toys because I can’t use it fast enough.

[Naturella]

I see. Like I said in another post, the ones I would wholeheartedly recommend are:

Earthborn Holistic GF
Victor GF
Dr. Tim’s GF & GI
Wysong (Nurture and Epigen are their “best” lines, but they have a lot of other good formulas)
Annamaet GF
Nulo
Farmina GF (even though I have not used it yet)
As well as the Canadian foods Orijen, Acana, NOW! Fresh and GO!

You can even email the above companies or send them a message on social media and ask for samples! I have gotten samples from Victor, Dr. Tim’s, Wysong, Annamaet, and Nulo sent me coupon books. 😉

As for Dogswell, 2 friends have fed it with no issues, and Bruno is currently on the Dogswell LiveFree Salmon one and is doing just fine, and I have fed Nutrisca Chicken & Chickpea (made by Dogswell) in the past and he did just fine on it too. I also fed Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy with no issues but I know other people have had issues with the brand (don’t know which line of food, or all of them). A friend, my roommate, and an aunt have all fed Blue (the aunt still feeds it) with no issues. Questionable companies – sure. But from my experience, and that of others around me, we have personally had no immediate issues with them.

[Naturella]

Chris, that sounds like a good lineup! Don’t sweat it too much, just make sure that the unbalanced additives (sauerkraut, yoghurt, kefir, frozen treats and other unbalanced treats, and unbalanced canned green tripe) altogether do not constitute more than 10% of the dog’s diet. For me, I feed about 1tsp or 1tbs (depending on how generous I feel) of unbalanced toppers, but Bruno only gets those at breakfast Monday-Saturday, for dinner he gets balanced canned as a topper so it’s fine. On Sundays he gets a balanced breakfast of kibble and canned and for dinner he has RMB, and now will be getting some AllProvide raw too! 🙂

And farm-made human and doggie ice-cream sounds great! 🙂

And I love me some free dry and canned samples! A lot of the samples I got are lower-protein – in the 20s %, or up to 31%, but that’s fine by me for sporadic surprise meals or treats, which is what I use samples for too.

[Naturella]

I agree with C4C (btw, @crazy4cats, Akari said that you have her email, so you can/should email her! And how come I don’t have your email? May I have it? My email is aninova@kennesaw.edu, so anyone can feel free to shoot me an email too!).

Also, just wanted to throw in there how much I love where I live at the moment as far as dog boutique-type stores are concerned, because we just had a doggie fest of sorts, with all kinds of adoption agencies and dog food reps present, and we got a whole box of samples from all kinds of people – Primal, Stella and Chewy’s, Open Farms, All Provide (1 lb of raw for free!), Weruva (6 cans, 4 pouches), Bixbi, Hi-Tek Naturals, Pro-Pac and Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Logic, NutriSource and Pure Vita, DoTerra, and so many others. My purse and the freaking box were full! My Bruno is definitely good for a while! I love free samples and with a small dog, those work as full meals and stuff! So yeah. 🙂 I am pretty excited.

[Naturella]

Pitlove, great minds think alike apparently! 🙂

Just one thing – I had posted a while back about feeding Perfect Form continuously and was advised not to because the dog’s stomach can eventually build resistance to the enzymes in it and when it actually needs it, it won’t work for it anymore. You can go to my profile and look at my topics started and find the one on Perfect Form and see what people said. So I just keep it to use as needed for loose stool – works like magic!

Also, I believe that even with probiotics, or any supplements, it is still good to rotate them – for example, do kefir for a while, some good plain yoghurt for a while, and a good probiotic supplement like Swanson’s Soil-Based Organisms for a while, then start over.

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

[Naturella]

Chris, I too prefer to feed high-protein, especially high animal protein foods, and I too prefer to stay in the 30% + protein levels. But just keep an eye on Sparky and see how he’s doing on those foods. Also, I forgot to mention a few more food options.

Wysong is a good company that I really like and they make high-protein kibbles. Wysong Nurture and a few others are more affordable but the highest in animal protein ones are their Epigen series, which are pretty unique as they use no starchy binders. I have fed Wysong Nurture with Quail and it came with freeze-dried quail bits inside.

Other good foods are Nulo (I have fed the Medal Series Lamb) and Farmina GF. Now, they too are not as affordable (Nulo is not terribly pricy), and Farmina is just under the Orijen level I think (of price), but these, as well as the other brands I mentioned above, you can look into and see if you want to try any. Also, the Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF ones are pretty good. C&P is a sub-company of Merrick.

And, if I am not mistaken, they all sport way above 30% protein and high levels of animal protein. So check them out! 🙂

Sorry for any typos, I am typing from my phone.

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

[Naturella]

Chris, my local pet boutique type stores sell trial sizes of Orijen and Acana for $3.99 per baggie and each one is .75 lbs. So you can buy a couple of these to try them out first.

As for mixing, I used to mix foods before. I have mixed up to 3 brands together in the past. Now I rotate with each small bag, but on occasion feed a meal or 2 per week of a different brand and flavor from samples for diversity. So you can do it either way. I have a friend who still mixes 2 brands and flavors at a time, and feeds that, then changes both brands and flavors, but still mixes them. So you can do either way… The only caveat to that is that if for any reason, now or down the road Sparky gets sick (loose stool, vomiting, etc.) you wouldn’t know which food caused it, unless you feed him more of each individually, or you’d have to toss the whole mix. Sometimes it is just a particular bag or batch that doesn’t work, so I would, for example, feed him Merrick for a month, then Orijen or something else for 2 weeks or however long a small bag lasts, then Merrick or something similar and affordable. And here are some good and affordable brands:
Earthborn Holistic GF, Victor GF, Dr. Tim’s both GF and grain-inclusive, Annamaet GF, and, in some areas, NutriSource GF (although it is pretty pricy here in the Atlanta, GA area). So if cost is a concern, you can try those foods instead of or in addition to Merrick and Orijen – they are pretty good.

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

[Naturella]

I second Bobby Dog, I have fed Solid Gold Green Cow Tripe and it is balanced. Glad you didn’t find it to smell that bad. I don’t gag at it or anything, but still smells nasty to me, lol.

[Naturella]

pitlove – I see. Yeah, I try to feed foods with high animal protein too, and high overall protein levels. I was just trying to make note that those even are not for everyone either. But, I do agree that if a dog is healthy and capable of digesting those foods, then they should be tried, if financially feasible. And yes, tripe stinks!!!

Also, I have noted that one can feed less of the richer, more nutritious/calorie-dense foods. I do add toppers, but Bruno gets 1/2 cup of dry for the whole day, split between 2 feedings, with various toppers at each meal. He is at the healthy and lean 14.5-15lbs. So, Chris, you may even end up feeding a bit less of the Orijen (if you get it) or even Merrick, especially if you add coconut oil and tripe to Sparky’s diet.

And wow, Chris, Sparky sure is living the good life! 😀

[Naturella]

I see. I don’t really know what the lump is or what it could be… A small hernia sounds like a good guess, and I don’t think it could be that sudden of an onset of arthritis or back pain (but I am not sure), and obviously it was not a piece of hard stool. At least it is getting smaller and staying soft! Keep it up! My roommate’s dog has a small hernia on her belly that she’s had for a while and it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. He (the roommate) checks on it every once in a while and it seems that it’s still ok.

And yeah, also, just FYI… Canned green tripe, as good as it is, smells (to me) like vomited raw lamb intestines filled with whatever they are supposed to be filled with… So it smells nasty, in a word. But, it is still super good for dogs, and I have heard that they all find it appealing as heck! So Sparky should like it.

And yeah, most of us here totally consider our dogs (and some their cats) our furry children. I call Bruno “my little boy”, and “my dog son”, “my kid”, and so does my husband. I am well aware I didn’t birth him and he is not human, and I have not had any children yet, but I love that dog so much, that I believe I would a small child of mine. Because, to me, he is just that. We also call him Bruno and puppy too, lol.

[Naturella]

Chris, sounds like you’re on the right track! Just keep an eye on stool and the dog’s behavior (signs of tummy pain or discomfort), and should none be present, just do what’s working! 🙂

What is your dog’s name btw?

[Naturella]

Chris, yeah, it is probably the most expensive food out there…

And yeah, stick to Merrick for now, but don’t be too afraid to experiment with other brands and/or flavors within a brand. Variety is the spice of life, and it is important for a dog’s gut (and overall) health in the long run. 🙂

[Naturella]

Chris (and pitlove), although I would agree that Orijen is one of the best dry foods out there (personal opinion), it is also not for everyone. It may be too rich for some dogs, so it is good to always just get a small bag, or a few trial sizes at first (for small dogs, but I think for a beagle a small bag will do), and use that for a couple of weeks first to make sure it would work for your dog.

I have fed trial sizes of the more prominent Canadian companies and my Bruno enjoys their products. I would definitely feed Orijen, Acana, GO and NOW! Fresh in rotations, if I continue to feed kibble in the future. Also, NVI Instinct and a few other kibbles. I would try to transition to raw sometime next year though.

But yeah, just keep in mind that even the “best” does not always work for everyone, and what is the best for your dog is what works well for him/her and keeps them happy and healthy.

[Naturella]

Chris, you are welcome! Anything I can do to help!

Canned green tripe (or raw green tripe for that matter) is infamous for enticing even the pickiest of eaters, so maybe you can try that. Some brands that carry it are Tripett, Petkind, and Solid Gold Green Cow. It is also rich in natural probiotics/enzymes that may help the tummy.

Hooves are pretty cheap and cool, they last Bruno a while, and I would buy the empty ones and stuff them myself. We use cow hooves. They are usually dried, but are also available raw too, I believe.

Fish skins totally helped Bruno shine, literally – I switched him to Blue Buffalo Wilderness back when he was a puppy (before I knew better, but hey, he did great on it) and gave him a fish skin a couple times a week, and a bully stick a couple times a week, and within a month, his skin was much better, his once bare tummy was filling in with hair, and his coat became shiny (I never knew it wasn’t shiny before until it became shiny, lol). So I love the fish skins and he does too.

Try the tripe also for Kongs. It may work. Also, coconut oil mixed with yoghurt or kefir, and/or some plain canned pumpkin puree may be a nice tummy soother and a delicious treat, and coconut oil is super good for humans and pets alike.

[Naturella]

Chris, hi. For my Bruno, I use quite a few things – deer or elk antlers (not the split ones as he can power through them pretty quickly), and stuffed and frozen Kongs and Kong-like toys (like C4C said, they do last a while, and you can stuff them with anything you can think of – from canned food, to wet kibble, to canned pumpkin, yoghurt/kefir, peanut butter, or any mix of the above). Right now I stuff mine with canned green tripe. I have used Himalayan chews when he was a puppy, and even more recently, but the most recent ones would splinter and not last him very long. So I may not get him any more of those, unless I buy a Medium or Large ones (he is a small dog, but the small Himalayan chews don’t put up a fight with him). So for long-lasting, digestible, and beneficial chews, I’d go with antlers.

I think hooves are my second favorites, and they are stuffable too! Bully sticks are my third favorite, as well as fish skins (for the skin and coat benefits), but they don’t last as long. However, all of the natural chews and treats seem to be easily digested by Bruno – tracheas, pig, cow, and lamb ears, tendons, etc. Chicken and duck feet work too but he’s really quick with those. They all seem to digest very well. Tripe swirls and freeze-dried chews/treats work well too.

Also, I think Halo has a pumpkin-based “dental” chew that may be easy on the tummy. Good luck!

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

[Naturella]

Thank you, C4C!!! I am sure your son will be fine and choose something he is passionate about! I have determined that passion is one of the best money-makers. 😉

And I wish!!! But Brian still wants to go to Grad School for Ceramics, so that will be about another 2-3 years, so in about 5 years (estimate, with time for him to find the grad school, complete it, and then we find jobs and stuff and relocate to your area) we will be coming! I can’t wait though!

[Naturella]

C4C, thank you, lol! I just try to give him a lot of variety, and lucky for me, there is plenty out there to choose from for my non-allergic pup! I also like to keep track of the foods I give and if he does exceptionally well, to make note of it.

And I forgot to say that Only Natural Pet’s Power Dry is another he’s had, and I keep samples of it at my in-laws’ place for when we go to visit and Bru has to eat. 🙂

As for me, I’ve been MIA due to school and work – I worked a ton, wrote huge papers, presented them, did finals, graduated with my Master’s Degree, husband got his Bachelor’s, we had a celebratory dinner, and then I fell sick… I just worked myself sick and my immune system crashed with a bad cold/bronchitis, but I am recovering, and back at it little by little. 🙂

And I will relay your message to Akari. 🙂

• This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

I also love feeding a variety of foods to my terrier mix Bruno. Since my husband and I have adopted him in 2013, he’s had, in no particular order of dry foods: Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy, Nutrisca Chicken & Chickpea, Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF, Holistic Health Extension Original, Blue Allergix, and Lamb & Brown Rice, Earthborn Holisitic Coastal Catch, Primitive Naturals, and Great Plains Feast, Back to Basics Open Range, Wysong Nurture with Quail, Nulo Medal Series Lamb & Lentils, Castor & Pollux Ultramix Duck, Victor Salmon, and samples of Fromm, Victor, NutriSource, TOTW, Wysong, Orijen, Acana, Nature’s Variety Instinct (the Rabbit formula he was supposed to eat but it made him very sick, but other samples he did great with), Hi-Tek, Nature’s Logic, and many other foods I can’t recall ATM. Lined up we have Wellness CORE Ocean and Original, more Earthborn, Canidae Pure SEA, Castor & Pollux Organix GF, and right now he just got on Dogswell LiveFree Salmon.

For toppers we used The Honest Kitchen Embark, Force, Keen, and Love, and Big Dog Naturals Green Tripe (air-dried). I have used various canned foods too, like Weruva, Green Cow by Solid Gold, and Green Tripe from Petkind, and also some more dehydrated/air-dried like Sojo’s. Now I use some small Merrick dog cans and some cat food pouches and cans for some of the toppers along with coconut oil, yoghurt, raw egg, canned sardines, and a RMB for his Sunday dinner. I also almost always add extra water to the food when served with a topper so he eats “soup” most of the time. Sometimes I just give him plain kibble as part of a training routine or from a puzzle toy to stimulate his brain. He likes it just the same!

He gets regular treats (Fromm, Canidae, Yummy Chummies, and Think! Alligator and Crawfish Jerky, and also kibble as treats (a different brand and flavor of the main food he is on at the moment), He also has a few natural chews like cow and lamb ears, beef tracheas, bully sticks, pig snouts, fish skins, antlers, hooves, etc.

Sorry for the rant, lol, but yeah, rotations are awesome, and Bruno loves the daily variety, and I love how he looks and feels (shiny and soft). I used to take 10 days or so to transition from one food to the next at first, then about 7 days, then 3, then 0. Now he switches so quickly because he eats a constant variety of foods and treats.

And LM, I guess you can see the replies of a person, but it will be hard to follow an Editor’s Choice topic reply by reply from individual authors. And some topics are EC exclusive.

[Naturella]

I can’t help but wonder if maybe they get a lot of food during the day (dry and canned mixed, AND treats)? I know that some dogs become less motivated to switch back to kibble if they get a lot of food, or the kind of food they are used to (wet vs. just dry). And while I am a huge proponent of feeding moist food all the time, while implementing some of the great advice above, maybe you can think of whether you could find interesting ways to feed just kibble by putting it in a treat-dispensing toy such as a Kong (Wobbler), a Barnacle, or some sort of interactive toy/puzzle for dogs. For my dog, I do this once or twice a week, and sometimes, I just scatter his portion of kibble all over the floor and let him go all over the place to eat it. Lucky for me, he is very food motivated, and would eat just dry from his bowl at feeding time if I served that (I’ve tried). So you can try to introduce some interest by putting kibble in some toys and seeing if it works.

Also, if/when you do training, you can use kibble as treats and feed them their portion, or some of it, during training time. That works for me too.

But do try to stick with wet kibble (even with just water or chicken broth), it is much better for the dogs for the reasons other stated above. 🙂

[Naturella]

Good read! Thanks, Dori!!! 🙂

[Naturella]

Personally I have only fed Back to Basics Open Range or something like that and Victor that contain some pork meal but not as the main ingredient. Bruno has had a pig ear in 3 sittings and a pork sausage wrapped in some other pork dried puff or something like that in 3+ sittings, and small pig snouts 1/sitting. He doesn’t have it very often, but does ok on it. I have fed him a couple of pork neck pieces (raw) after having kept them frozen up a few weeks like BC nut said. He did fine. So from my experience pork is ok in a cautious manner and I would use it in kibble and raw.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

M A, I am also in the (Deep?) South of GA and we have pollen galore… I think it bothers me more than it does my little guy Bruno, but he has started sneezing a bit more these days. He seems to be fine otherwise and the sneezes expel whatever is in his nostrils, so that is good. If he had a similar problem to your beagle, I would probably wash/wipe his face, focusing on the eyes and nose, and wiping the nose may make him sneeze, so that may help expel some more stuff that is inside the nose. By “expel” I don’t mean that mucus comes out, never has with Bruno, just that the force of the sneeze may move the agitating particles out.

I don’t know about the saline solutions and hopefully someone else would chime in on that, but I would try with just water for face (eyes and nose) wiping for a few days (the more natural, the better for me), and then see about the saline and the Benadryl if there is no improvement.

[Naturella]

Weezerweeks, I would probably feed him half a can split in 2 or so. That should be 115 calories so the rest up to 160 will come from the yoghurt, berries, and treats. Just give it a try and see if he loses the weight he needs to. If he loses too much, up the food. You know the drill! 😉

[Naturella]

Kota, hi. I fed Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy to my dog for a few months after we first got him. He did very well, if I must say, but honestly, I would probably not feed it again… Too many other good, more affordable foods out there for me to want to pay for a questionable food like that.

[Naturella]

DFA just decided to randomly check me for being human, so I lost a long-ass post… UGH. Won’t retype, sorry.

Cindy, here are some useful articles and a thread that has a ton of my recommendations about rotational feeding and pictures of Bruno’s (my dog’s) menu for this year.

Good luck, and it really is not that hard. Feel free to ask any questions!

/frequently-asked-questions/how-to-feed-dog/

/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

/forums/topic/spayingneutering-after-maturity-dog-boxes/

[Naturella]

Akari, thanks for updating my suggestions! 🙂

[Naturella]

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

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

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

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

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

[Naturella]

Yay!!! Well, like Bobby Dog, I may just hit you up on that sometime in the near future. Little guy needs to travel more! And who knows, maybe he will be able to get Haley to move around, and get some wild energy out of Bentley and Kitty. 🙂

I also want to take him to Chattanooga with us when we go during Spring Break, for a day trip or something. Ah, I love that city so much!!! 😀

As for the stash – you should be! It’s a piece of art! 😉

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

P.S. I love your stash, Akari!

[Naturella]

OOooh, can we join in??? I am sure Bruno would love to play with Bentley and Haley and Dweezle maybe. I hope he wouldn’t bother Ginger. Or the cat. lol.

[Naturella]

Akari, so good to know! Yeah, I will see where we are with Bruno when his current food supply goes down. I am starting to job-hunt for full-time jobs that start in May, so come May, I am praying for a salary… LoL. Then we have to move with the hubs in June – no more roommate – yay! And once we settle in the new place (soooo hoping for a house, but I may be reaching here, lol) and the budget is redone, I will see when, if, and how we can put doggers on raw. OR… get another doggers!!! I hope these 2 degrees get me good cash moneys! 😀

Sorry for hijacking, Eugene, but I do second Akari’s sentiments that dehydrated still has to be frozen/refrigerated, that dogs don’t necessarily need fruits and veggies found in BARF, and that it will probably indeed take a little less space. So try it out, see how it works out! Make sure you grind the bone really fine though – you don’t want splinters or a choking hazard.

[Naturella]

Akari, sorry to butt in here, but I have really been thinking about switching Bruno to raw next year or so, when his food supply is out… Or when hubs feel like we can “afford” it. I did the math, and he would need just under 3 lbs of meat/bone/organ per week if I am giving 2.75% of his body weight in raw, which is not terrible.

So, my question is, did you stop using a premix? Do you feed just solely raw now?

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

For me too there is a distinction between big box stores like PetCo, PetSmart, PetSupermarket, and PetLand, and small, “boutique”-type stores. My expectations also differ between the 2 categories, similarly to aquariangt’s.

From big box stores I actually would like some knowledge on food rotation and not encouraging customers to stick with ONE food for the lifetime of their pet. Also, to piggy-back off of aquariangt, I feel like they have poor knowledge of different foods’ kibble sizes is because employees themselves stick with one food only so they don’t get to experience what other foods’ size or consistency is like. Knowledge on when their “natural” cow ears, etc. have been chemically treated (bleached) would also be helpful – Bruno got sick on a “natural, non-treated cow ear from PetCo that smelled so chemical and I should’ve trusted my gut than to give it to him… He had like 1/4-1/3 of the ear and vomited it up. Never again have I shopped for natural chews from big box stores. Antlers and healthier chews like bully sticks are severely overpriced also.

Boutique stores – I also hope for up-to-date, more detailed knowledge about manufacturers and ingredients/ingredient sourcing would be much appreciated (I have gotten conflicting info from 2 separate stores on where NVI sources their rabbit from), as well as good knowledge on adequate healthy supplements for whatever issue the client comes in with. Not vet-level knowledge, obviously, but good product knowledge on whatever the store carries, and what it can be used for.

I think that’s about it. Overall, I am pretty happy with the knowledge level of the boutique associates that I have encountered.

[Naturella]

@puppypiles, thanks for the explanation! I did decide not to use it like that, and just keep it for tummy-trouble emergencies.

[Naturella]

@aquariangt, let me know how it works when they are rehydrated/moistened! I am curious! 🙂 Good luck!

[Naturella]

@aquariangt, are you talking about the treats? The Tiny Tidbits treats look like meatballs, although they are not called that. I didn’t see anything titled “Meatballs” on the Grandma Lucy’s website. Maybe they are supposed to be rehydrated like the food? IDK…

***EDIT*** – They do call them “Snack-Size Meatball Treats for Dogs”. But yeah, I’ve never used them, and if they are treats, they shouldn’t NEED to be rehydrated, but maybe it will help if they’re that hard…? And then you could mush them up and stuff them in something, and freeze them instead of giving as a treat? Just an idea.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Naturella.

[Naturella]

Dr. Tim’s RPM Grain Free is within your price range. You can look at the Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF too, but it’s $10 more at chewy.com. Does the food have to grain-free?

Also, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free are 28 lbs for less than $50.

But I would rotate between all Victors and all Earthborns, and the two GF Dr. Tim’s (if it has to be GF) and not stick with just one flavor unless there’s allergies.

[Naturella]

True…

And lol, it’s not that bad! 🙂 I am sure it won’t take you over… Till you buy more food! THEN… it might, lol. If you go missing from FB too, we will come looking for you in the closet! LoL!

[Naturella]

Oh wow! You kind of REALLY don’t like her! LoL!

And hah, I can imagine a pile ceiling-high! LoL

And okie! I shall be looking out for the email! 🙂

[Naturella]

Awwh, well, at least you’re kind enough to let her stay with you guys…

And wow, good job on the transfer!

And no, I haven’t looked through the calendar, but I will happily take anything you generously choose to share with me! You may have an idea of what I feed, but I’m always open to new things too, so whatever it is really. 🙂 And no rush – whenever you get to it, just let me know. Or… If it’s not too much, you could shoot me an email with what you got available. Up to you!

[Naturella]

Awwh, glad you like us too, Akari! 😀

And awwh… Well… At least maybe more money for dog food from the rent? And if you have any closet space, pantry/cabinet space, anything… Just stick a bag here, 2-3 there, it is not ideal, but hey, if you saw my closet and fridge/freezer… LoL.

Anywhoooooo…. Petco, coupons you say…. Mmmmm, looking forward to that email!!! 😀 😉

P.S. You’re an awesome nutjob! 😀

[Naturella]

Zach, yes, just 3 foods really was hard! But fun too, like C4C said!

And C4C, I’m not Zach, but I can remember reading somewhere that an experiment was conducted with people and multivitamin pills vs balanced whole foods and the experiment determined that people get more benefit from the whole foods (vitamin and mineral-wise) than from the pill version. I can try to find the article for reference if someone is interested, but I don’t remember where I read that off the top of my head.

Now, multivitamins are not probiotics and I’m not sure how that will go, and I know Kefir only has like 12-ish strands of probiotic cultures while pills have billions of active dried cultures and what not, but maybe Kefir is more enjoyable to the dog, and it is a natural, real food. But I am curious to see Zach’s response though. This is just my best guess, and I would more often than not try a whole food approach before I resort to pill versions. But I am really interested in the Swanson Soil-Based Organisms though! 😀

[Naturella]

Akari and Dori, yes, we can be stalkers! Akari has been stalking me from a long time ago, lol, as soon as I said something about mailing people unused coupons, LOL! 😉

But I am happy to do it (don’t have coupons available at the moment though), and I am happy to also be friends with y’all (Akari, Dori, and some other regulars) on FB! 🙂

[Naturella]

Woohoo! 🙂

[Naturella]

Girl, you’re on FB? Why didn’t I know this? LoL, probably for a reason – you can hide from us, but we can’t from you, eh? 😛

[Author]

Posts