[Naturella]

Ok, so he just got up from a nap and stretched his leg out, and was actually stepping on it (putting some weight on it). He’s still pretty ginger with it, but it is not tucked up like it was before! I am hoping that a good night’s sleep will get him to feel even better. We will still see how he is tomorrow and probably still take him in for a checkup, just to be on the safe side, but it seems like he will be okay!!! 🙂

[Naturella]

Thank you, D_O! He’s a tough little cookie and he will pull through. I am sure of it. 🙂 Of course, I had to cry my eyes out at first, right after I hung up with the emergency vet and when my pup limped into the dark bathroom to lay on one of his beds there, alone… He looked so pitiful! He still does, but at least he’s resting right beside us on his beanbag. Needless to say, he will be carried up and down the 3 flights of stairs of our building when it’s potty time.

[Naturella]

Yay for Smokey! 🙂 And thank you, D_O, we did – had birthday BBQ lunch, then I had work, and he had class, then we went for billiards and drinks with out roommate and another friend. Sunday we will be going to dinner to his parents’ house. 🙂

So… My little baby (Bruno) fell off the couch today and landed onto (kind of) the coffee table. He did not make a sound as he fell. 5 min later we see him and he’s limping and refusing to use his rear left leg. He did not make a sound nor did he exhibit any other signs of pain during the exam we performed on his leg, other than the fact that he was refusing to use it. We can still move his leg through its full range of motion and there is no resistance from the leg or Bruno. He took a treat from me (wasn’t refusing food) and is now sleeping. We immediately called the emergency vet who suggested that we watch him overnight and take him in to our regular vet tomorrow if the limping is still the same, or if he begins to refuse food and water, or starts vomiting/diarrhea-ing. So we will. I just hope my little guy will be okay. Please keep your fingers crossed and I will keep you all posted!

[Naturella]

Dori and BCnut – thank you from him and I! We just had barbecue lunch (Dori, if you and Jim like barbecue, we recommend Big Shanty Smokehouse on Cherokee Str. in Kennesaw) and now he’s off to class and me – off to work, but tonight it’s drinks and billiards or drinks and bowling – we will see. 🙂

[Naturella]

Ahh, I am truly grateful and humbled for all the time and efforts he spent… It is such a blessing to me to just be able to be on my computer, open my email, and click on a link that I want to respond to… And that it actually loads and opens up. So yeah. Dr. Sagman rocks! 🙂 I mean it, Dr. Sagman, please don’t delete this post if you see this! 🙂

Ok, done, don’t want to make him uncomfortable.

Bottom line – I am a happy Naturella with a birthday husband whom I now need to tend to. (Big 3-0! Woot Woot!) 🙂

[Naturella]

I’m back!!! Dr. Sagman is a miracle worker! I don’t know what miracle he did, but he made it so that I can access the forums from my home network and computer again! I am ecstatic! But it took a lot of work! So props to him! 🙂

And BCnut, I am happy the horsy is feeling better! 🙂

[Naturella]

Test

[Naturella]

Hi, all! Omg, it has been a while! I am having trouble connecting to the website from my home wifi so I can only do it from my phone’s data… Dr. Mike’s team is working with me to see if we can resolve the issue. Until then I will be here on and off as I don’t like typing from my phone, or draining my data, but for now it’s all I can do to be on here.

Anyway, Bruno had a beef trachea yesterday for dinner and a bit of a mudbutt (jelly butt) today from it (I think), so today he had some Perfect Form to his Wysong Nurture with Quail breakfast and dinner. For breakfast he had 1/4 cup Wysong, teaspoon of coconut oil, and warm water; then mudbutt happened, so he had a heaping teaspoon of plain yoghurt with 1/2 teaspoon PF as a snack. Dinner was 1/4 cup Wysong with 1 tsp THK something (the GF chicken one) and 1/2 tsp PF in warm water. So far no more mudbutt or poop at all since morning. We’ll see how he is tomorrow.

[Naturella]

Marie, I am so sorry for your loss. Gemma looked adorable and I am sure she knew she was so loved. She will be able to not only walk, but run freely with the other lovely pups over the bridge.

Hang in there…

Much love,
Aleks and Bruno (and Brian – the hubs).

[Naturella]

Sooo, I help a couple of friends shop for dog food and I was with a friend of mine and I advised her to get 3 bags of Earthborn Holistic – Primitive Natural, Great Plains Feast, and Puppy Vantage, and then we went to my fave pet boutique store… I am SO WEAK!!! LoL! They had a sale on Acana and Orijen (the tiny 340-gram bags) for $1.99 instead of the usual $3.99. So I grabbed one of each! I couldn’t help it… argh… However… They are amazing foods, the Orijen one has like 15 meats as the first 15 ingredients… I mean, woah! lol. I can’t wait for Bru to try them! 🙂 Acana Pacifica and Orijen Adult is what I snatched. 🙂 They had Acana Grasslands on sale too, but for $2.99, so I wanted it, but passed on it… Maybe it will be $1.99 if it doesn’t sell in a few days… 😀

But really though, I have got to control myself some around samples… 50%-off or not… lol. I must have about 8lbs of them that need to go through Bruno together with the rest of his foods at some point, soon preferably, and the guy eats like a little over 1/2 cup nowadays, so this will be interesting, lol.

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

[Naturella]

Oddly enough, Bruno, who’d normally eat anything has also become weird about bananas! Unless I make it mushy or break it up in tiny, swallow-able pieces, he wouldn’t eat it and spit it out and look at me like “Break it for me, please!” Silly dog!

Happy Birthday, Haley! Sounds like she had a wonderful feast today! Wishing her many, many more happy and healthy years of life! 🙂

[Naturella]

Peggy, I am all too familiar with the “jelly” (gel/mucus-like) stools… Anytime Bruno eats anything that doesn’t agree with him, it’s jelly. Or puke. Or both. But seriously, I swear by THK Perfect Form and the mush recipe I posted in another thread maybe (cooked brown rice, a bit of coconut oil, boiled chicken breast, canned pumpkin all pureed together and served with THK PF). Now, if Tebow is reacting to the rice, I’d try it with plain bread or pasta instead of rice. Then add the kibble back in. When I did it, I added a simple canned food before the kibble too.

That is for like major tummy upset though. Just for jelly stools, I’d add some THK PF to his food, with some water – he loves the stuff anyway, lol. Just adding the canned pumpkin never worked for Bruno…

[Naturella]

All yummy stuff, everyone!

Bruno’s menu today was 1/8 cup of Castor & Pollux Ultramix GF and 1/8 cup of Wysong Nurture with Quail (transitioning to it now), topped with 1 tsp of Sojo’s Beef – all that was for breakfast, and dinner was a raw chicken neck. Mid-day snack was 1/2 of a six-inch Etta Says deer chew (hoping for no loose stool from it) and a few Wellness CORE puppy kibbles as treats. I took him to the dog park today and he got nice and muddy, so when we got home, he got the full service – pawdicure, brushing, and bath by yours truly. He got the chew as a reward for enduring the “torture” and the kibble-treats for a bit of training. 🙂

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

[Naturella]

D_O, true – that’s why I listed what other companies said to me if they wouldn’t send me samples.

I want to contact for samples:
Farmina
Nature’s Logic
Canine Caviar
Zignature

And I forgot, Champion pet foods, as well as Petcurean (the Canadian companies) don’t send samples either, they have small “sample” bags available for purchase in most stores where their foods are sold.

[Naturella]

I have received samples from the following awesome companies:
Annamaet (samples of the GF formulas plus a full-size bag of treats)
Dr. Tim’s (sample of one formula and literature)
Canidae (a whole bag of PURE Sea plus full-size bag of treats)
Wysong (samples and literature)
Brothers Complete (had to purchase the samples, BUT they doubled my order either by mistake or just because for free)
Victor (had to purchase the samples, I ordered more than the limit, but they honored my order)
Big Dog Natural (had to purchase the sample)

Companies that did not send me samples when I contacted them:
Nulo (sent me coupons instead)
Fromm (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
Merrick/Castor&Pollux/Whole Earth Farms (said they have money-back guarantee, so if I buy it and Bruno doesn’t like it or whatever, I’d get my money back)
TOTW (said my local store should give me samples)

My local store, however, offers free samples ALLLLLL the TIIIIME, and I have obtained samples of Fromm, Victor, Merric, Wild Calling, TOTW, NVI, Stella and Chewy’s (RAW! FREE sample starter bag! WHAT?! 😀 ) and more.

I love all the samples I have as I use them to spice Bruno’s menu up and I use them as training treats. 🙂

[Naturella]

Equine-n-Canine, if you order from http://www.petflow.com or http://www.bestbullysticks.com, you can get better deals on bully sticks. 🙂

But no, haven’t heard of those 2 brands you mention.

[Naturella]

I will honestly admit that in the beginning when we adopted our Bruno, I got on the “grainfree” bandwagon and really did think grain-free is necessary and better. Now I know better thanks to the above ladies and many more, and as far as dry food is concerned, I’d look for high-protein, low-carb foods, with loads of meat as first few ingredients. Many of the foods I have stocked up on happen to be grain-free for this year, but it is not a rule at our household to keep it this way.

I do eventually want to work up to feeding balanced raw though, which I consider the ultimate best/species-appropriate food.

[Naturella]

Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy is what I’d recommend for now. I fed this to my small terrier mix, he did well on it, and it is rated 4.5 stars. You can also check out the “Coupons” thread that has great advice on scouting deals on dog food.
If you would shop online, websites like: http://www.chewy.com , http://www.petflow.com , http://www.wag.com , http://www.sportdogfood.com have great deals on foods. Brands I would look into are Earthborn Holistic, Victor (small kibble size too), NutriSource (affordable in most areas, but not in the Atlanta, GA area apparently), and other brands.
If you shop at Walmart, Pure Balance would be my go-to.
Also, often, stores like PetCo and PetSmart have great deals with their pet rewards points/perks, whatever they are called, and PetCo has this calendar thing, with a TON of coupons for money off of foods, treats, etc.
Rotating the flavors within a brand and switching brands (over time) is also good for your dog AND it allows you to take advantage of all kinds of deals than sticking with one food only.

But yes, I’d also keep him on puppy/all-life-stages/growth foods for now.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

[Naturella]

I’d love to try some menudo! Sounds delicious! 🙂

[Naturella]

Also, when Bruno was kind of quite sick at one point from NVI Rabbit, I made him a mush of brown rice with a tad coconut oil, boiled chicken breast, and pumpkin, all blended together, and with added THK Perfect Form and fed that for 2 days, then slowly introduced canned chicken food, then kibble also. The mush remained for a week while on kibble to make sure he was good to go. THK remained for about 2 more weeks. It all helped stabilize the poor guy who was vomiting a lot and had quite the diarrhea too…

[Naturella]

Just a note – I SWEAR by THK’s Perfect Form! That stuff’s magic! 🙂

[Naturella]

On a side note… I love, love, love me some (people) tripe soup!!! We make ours with lots of oil, paprika, tripe (of course), onion and garlic, and sour cream or milk and egg, and when served, you add a heaping spoonful (if you dare) of a mix of minced garlic in vinegar and red pepper flakes galore. It is a miracle hangover cure (as is sourkraut juice spiced with paprika btw 😉 ) and a great warm-up on a cold night. If you’re Bulgarian or a bread-lover, you’d also need an average-sized sourdough boule to accompany a bowl of said soup. 🙂

[Naturella]

Dori, I really think that in such moments positive thinking is key, so here’s some – your husband’s tests WILL come back GREAT! I am sure that he will be in tip top shape and that means continuously cancer-free! I believe it, and I can’t wait to hear the confirmation from you when you both get the results back! 🙂

Fingers crossed and good vibes from my little family to yours!

Love,
Aleks.

[Naturella]

D_O, I thought so. 🙂 Glad Lily likes it! 🙂

[Naturella]

D_O, I assume the fresh chicken was cooked somehow? And to me it sounds like a good meal, and even if it is not fully-balanced, if you don’t feed it daily, it should be fine. 🙂

Peggy, wow, that’s nice that they liked the fresh meal better! 🙂 Maybe tomorrow they will be more inclined to eat their breakfast if they haven’t eaten much today. That’s how Bruno is usually if he skips a meal – the next one he’s ravenous, but I don’t feed him more than the usual amount. And yes, flax seed is good stuff! 🙂

[Naturella]

Bruno is the same – he would beg to play ALL the time, and bring his rope, or ball, or hoof even and ask me to throw it. If I’m busy, he’d whine a while then start pushing the item off the bed and hurrying to the floor to get it. I wish we had stairs so he could run up and down, but we live in an apartment, so… Yeah. At least we’re on the last floor so every potty time is a mini exercise of going up and down, lol. A very mini one.

Also, go Tebow! Keep it up, Peggy, you will be so happy about it eventually! 🙂

[Naturella]

@Peggy, you’re very welcome! I am not by any means the epitome of healthy dog eating, but I try to keep his diet varied and healthy on a budget! 🙂 Hence the dang near stockpile of kibble in my bathroom cabinets! LoL.

Bruno will eat ANY fruit or vegetable, raw or cooked, lol! Glad your pups at least eat the ones you mentioned cooked. I forgot, peanut butter is also loved by Bruno but he only gets it in homemade doggie treats or doggie ice-cream. 🙂

As for flax seed meal, I would just buy the cheaper one to be honest. I keep mine in a glass jar in the fridge for storage to prolong shelf life.

[Naturella]

Hello here too, guys! 🙂

Ok, so for Peggy, I will post again the pics of Bruno’s menu and additives schedule, maybe she can choose some from there, and also check out the amounts for a 15-ish lb dog.

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/Bruno2014-2015Menu_zps6ccc6e19.jpg

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q644/aninova/BrunoWeeklyToppers_zpsdfd1a9be.jpg

Ok, so I feed the above toppers with the 1/4 cup of kibble as noted. You can use other fresh food toppers, like I see you have – raw or lightly cooked ground meats are great, raw or lightly cooked eggs too, cottage cheese, cooked veggies/leafy greens, some fruits (I give fruits raw), raw meats/raw meaty bones, canned sardines, jack mackerel, or salmon (not tuna – too much mercury I hear), yoghurt/kefir, coconut or fish oil (or both), canned pumpkin is good for fiber as is flaxseed meal (and the latter also gives Omega 3s), etc. There’s a lot to choose from that you can add, but let me recommend that you also add some warm water to the kibble. You may choose to soak it or not, but it does help with hydration and for ease of mixing oils, eggs, yoghurt, dehydrated foods, and just about anything else. It may look gross and soupy in the bowl, but it is so good to our furry friends, and they will slurp it all up nonetheless! At least Bruno does! 🙂

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

[Naturella]

@Dog_Obsessed, yes, I am! 🙂 LoL, I’ve been lurking for a while, lol, getting out of my winter break hiatus slowly.

@Peggy, you’re very welcome. 🙂 I agree with DO, Blue Buffalo is by far not the greatest out there so it’s even better that your pups don’t eat it anymore, BUT my personal experience with it, albeit short (like 5 months) was good. Wilderness Puppy was the second food we fed to Bruno after getting him and he did lovely on it, his coat became shinier, and this is when I became very interested in researching dog foods. So far the roommate’s dog seems fine on it too, and a couple of friends have fed it for a while with no problems. Given the huge variety of dry foods I want to try for Bruno, I may never get to come back to it, lol, and I’m okay with that.
As for LB, great job on the 1lb down! I’d say maybe, if you want to, give her 3/4 cup of dry per feeding plus the 1/2 can of wet food. You can also add some water and stir well so that the canned coats the kibble evenly and more water is always good. This way she will be at 2 cups dry calorie-wise, and see how that goes for her and if she keeps losing weight. Or, you can keep her at the amounts you stated and see if she’s losing like that. 🙂

[Naturella]

Oh, and Peggy, you could do the same for LadyBug as well! My roommate’s dog used to be on Science Diet for a long time, and was about 65-70 lbs or so and she is a lab-mix maybe, or a Carolina Dog (American Dingo) mix. He put her on Nulo and reduced her food intake from 3 cups to either 1.5 or 2 cups of dry/day (he doesn’t add anything to it, except for a couple Yummy Chummies fish-based treats/day). Now she is on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Red Meat something, and she’s looking great! Much better than when she was on the SD. Nulo and BB Wilderness and both better formulas than SD and though the calories were reduced some, she was getting better nutrition. She’s lost some weight, coat looks better, and she overall looks healthier. So, better food in the right amounts does miracles. I believe it! 🙂

[Naturella]

Hello, Peggy! Let me jump in just really quick and say that I also have a small terrier mix named Bruno. We think he is a Jack Russell-Rat Terrier, but who knows… He was found in some bushes near a house, so we sometimes say he’s a Bush Terrier, lol.

Anyway, Bruno is now getting close to 2 years old and at 14.5 lbs as of September. The vet said this is a good weight for him, perhaps up to 15 lbs would be fine, but not much more. In the summer we were both very active and he ate 3/4 cup of dry plus about 1/4 cup of watery (soupy) THK and other various mixers per day. I feed him souped-up dry at all times. The foods he was having in the summer (and now) are all above 400 kcal/cup. Because we were exercising basically twice a day, he ate about a full cup calorie-wise. He burned a lot though.

Now in winter, we are not so active (though we should be, shame on me, shame, shame, shame…) and he is down to 1/2 cup 400-something kcal dry plus the additives at the same amounts. His figure hasn’t changed, I watch for his tummy to stay tucked, and for me to be able to feel his ribs easily. However, in late Fall, I had to figure out that I was supposed to reduce his food because I started noticing his waist getting less visible from above. So I reduced the food some. He did act like he wasn’t getting enough food, but by keeping feeding times as regular as possible, he was never truly starved, he got the nutrition he needed. For me, the hardest was when he would lick his empty food bowl over and over hoping food would magically appear. I would then take his food dish away until dinner time. But now that’s how he sometimes reminds me it’s dinner time, if I slip up and forget to give it on time, lol. I find it adorable.

But for Tebow, I would definitely suggest that you reduce to at most 1/2 cup dry and 1/2 tub wet, split between two feedings. Feed like that for 2 weeks and see how it goes. Don’t cave. It is for his own good, and he will live a longer and happier life with you. Also, for treats, you can give some celery bits – they are almost negative calories. Cucumbers are good too as they are mostly water. This way you won’t have to feel bad taking more kibble away if you give any real treats. Don’t overdo the celery and cucumber either though, lol. And when the weather permits, do the walks. They will also help. Eventually Tebow may get to a point to physically require 3/4 cup or even 1 cup of dry calorie-wise (as Dori said, based on activity level, etc.), but not now.

Another note (sorry for the novel here). I also kind of take care food-wise of the dog of the family I babysit for and that poor Shitzu-Maltese mix was being severely overfed, I mean, they would just put kibble in the bowl all the way up and let her eat however much she wanted. She thankfully doesn’t eat till she throws up but had no limits on food intake, and looked like she could lose some weight herself. I don’t know how much she weighs, but she looks to be about Bruno’s size, and her tummy was pudgy and sagging, and her ribs were there, but harder to feel. So I put her on 1/2 cup of dry (400-something kcal/cup), and a teaspoon of coconut oil/day, with warm water, and she’s been doing great, looking like she’s on her way to being fitter. I am happy and grateful that the family trusts me to do this for their dog and it makes me happy to have switched her to better food and to be working on her health.

So it does work, do not worry about starving your dog. We are also always here to help with any questions you may have! Keep us posted on Tebow’s progress! 🙂

[Naturella]

BCnut, I will take you up on the food idea and see how it goes. Also, what are good eye washes? Do I need a dog-specific one? I know nothing about that, but I’d love to try it! I will change his menu up and report in 2-3 weeks about the food, or sooner, if the eye-wash helps. I will try the food change first. Or should I do the eye-wash? Or just do them together?

[Naturella]

BCnut, it may be the wind, but I would have thought that a particle would exit his eyes by now, and it is both of them pretty uniformly watering. It MAY be the food, not sure, we have about 1/3rd bag left of Castor & Pollux Grain Free duck and other meats, and next up is Wysong Quail. We will see if/what changes.

I won’t use a Q-tip then. I have been using soft bathroom tissue so far, but I can switch to washcloths. I usually go from inside corner out, but I will try both ways. So far he hasn’t exhibited light sensitivity, but I will watch for that. And if it persists after we finish the C&P food, I will take him to be checked out. It doesn’t seem to bother him too much, but he does paw at it when it gets really wet, so I try to keep up with the wiping.

[Naturella]

C4C, thanks!

BCnut, no known to us allergies, maybe I should get him tested? His food has duck now, which is sort of new for him, idk if that may be it?

Also, no blood vessels showing, and it has been kind of windy here in GA but his eyes water a lot even inside. Another thing, Bruno and the roommate’s dog lick each other’s eyes all the time, maybe they put too much bacteria on each other? And maybe my wiping irritates his eyes more, though I try to be super gentle. Maybe I should just dab the corners of his eyes with a Q-tip and let it suck the moisture like that?

[Naturella]

I SO wish I could get that in GA!!! :/

[Naturella]

Anita, you’re welcome. I also knew about the gauze but forgot to say it, lol. Anyway, hope one or more of these methods work for you and your baby! 🙂

[Naturella]

BCnut, that Starwest Blend looks good for me to eat too! 🙂

[Naturella]

You’re welcome, lady, we got you! 😉

Let us know how it goes with Lily! 🙂

[Naturella]

Also, at night, when we walk Bruno, we use flashlight apps on our phones so we can see. I want to be able to pick up after him, see where I’m stepping, and see if he is trying to eat weird stuff.

My complex has 2 nature trails and one of them has chanterelle mushrooms on it – can’t wait for spring/summer/fall when they will grow again, lol! 🙂

[Naturella]

Dog_Obsessed, like the Nut said, it is not one specific kind – it could be any of these, or a combination of them: seaweed, spirulina, alfalfa, chlorella, and others. Just look on amazon for supergreen or green superfood.

[Naturella]

Dog_Obsessed, I would try adding a green superfood to Lily’s Fromm before I scrap it. But that’s just me, I am always trying to salvage food, unless it makes my dog sick for sure, like the NVI Rabbit did. But I will give NVI another chance next year, lol.

[Naturella]

I have noticed Bruno doing this in the summertime, when he was on Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (chicken/poultry based) first, and then Back to Basics Open Range (red meat and organ based). They are both high-quality foods so I was not worried about him not getting good nutrients, and his stool output did not seem abnormally large for me to think that the food was not being absorbed. I just didn’t know what it was, but then I figured, maybe it is because we always did our walks/exercising right before eating, so he was getting hungry by then, and was just picking random grass stalks just cause? Not sure, but I didn’t do anything about it, and now that the grass is all yellow and dry, he doesn’t do it anymore. We don’t exercise like we used to either though, so I don’t know if that is a factor. Can’t wait for the weather to warm up just a bit… I really prefer working out outside rather than in a gym, plus, this way I can work out with my dog! 🙂

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

[Naturella]

Anita, even though your vet said to do that, the kibble size will do nothing to help clean your dog’s teeth. It is like cleaning our molars with large cookies.

What you can do is try to get your dog used to brushing. You can start with putting some coconut oil or dog toothpaste on your finger and let your dog lick it, then slowly get it used to you rubbing it on his/her teeth with your finger, and little by little move to a rubber brush that you put on your finger, or a real dog toothbrush. Since you have to get in the back of the mouth, it won’t be easy, but it’s really the best way to keep their teeth clean, and you need to do it daily, or at least a few times a week.

Another alternative is feeding raw meaty bones, like chicken necks, feet, wings, legs, etc., or pork/beef riblets and neck bone pieces. Always supervise while your dog is eating those and make sure she/he crushes them up well and is not gulping them. You can feed those a couple times a week, but make sure the amount is no more than 20-25% of your dog’s balanced diet. And no cooked bones.

Hope this helps! 🙂

[Naturella]

My friend just told me today that she uses a solution of vinegar and water, but I don’t know the ratio, or the type of vinegar… I can ask her tomorrow.

[Naturella]

Dog_Obsessed, I hope Lily likes it! It is fairly high-cal so you can even feed a bit less. A friend of mine feeds solely the Great Plains Feast and swears by it. (I keep trying to get him to at least rotate between the flavors within the brand, but unless an “all-knowing” store associate or a vet tells him to, he wouldn’t… And that would almost never happen… Oh well, at least his dog eats good food…)

[Naturella]

Let me “third” this, my dog loved and did great on Earthborn Primitive Natural, and on the Coastal Catch one. Next up for us to try is the Great Plains Feast, I really like this food’s profile. Just remember to do a gradual switch. Good luck! 🙂

[Naturella]

Fade, hi.

I will second Marie on her comments:

1. Rotation is great, just make sure you do it over a few days. You can also add some canned/dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried/raw as toppers every once in a while, as well as maybe some coconut oil or fish oil (for Omega 3s), raw or lightly cooked eggs, and canned sardines, salmon, or jack mackerel (not tuna). Those are really good for dogs. For my 15lb terrier mix I feed one raw egg/week, 1/2 small can of sardines, and coconut oil every other day. I also use dehydrated/air-dried/freeze-dried as toppers on every dinner meal. I used to feed yoghurt too, but Bruno decided he’s had enough of it apparently, lol. But if your dog likes it, it is good stuff too. Kefir also.
2. Many dogs self-regulate, and many don’t. As Marie said, the bag directions are just guidelines, and many dogs require less than the recommended amounts. You should gage by body condition: https://dogchow.com/articles/1871/body-condition and adjust food amounts accordingly. My dog is at the caloric intake of 3/4 cups of food total, 1/2 cup dry and 1/4 cup (or so, calorie-wise) additives (“toppers”). This is within the recommended amounts, but when we used to exercise a lot, twice a day in the hot summer Georgia days, he would eat 3/4 cup of dry with similar amounts of additives. He was lean and mean even though he ate more.
3. As I have a small dog, I can’t tell you about good brands for large dogs, but this thread can: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/ Page 15 should have a link to a google doc with all brands written out, how they score, etc. It is an overall great resource for large breed owners.

Good luck, seems like Nala is in good hands! 🙂

[Naturella]

Happy New Year to all! 🙂 May it be better than 2014! I wish you all health and happiness, and the motivation and determination to achieve what you will, and the peace of heart and mind if you do not… For nobody’s perfect, we just do what we deem is our best. 🙂

[Naturella]

Can’t help, but bumping your post up, plus I’d love to learn more about Hare Today’s stuff… I may be able to eventually incorporate it into Bruno’s diet.

[Naturella]

I was going to say, isn’t there a food called AvoDerm that contains lots of avocado in it? Surely it wouldn’t be THAT bad for dogs if a food boasts to contain that particular fruit so much. I would use it too, especially the Trout formula from the Revolving Menu of AvoDerm. 🙂

[Author]

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