[aquariangt]

Yeah, its a petsmart exclusive

[aquariangt]

…you found simply nourish at a boutique store?

[aquariangt]

that’s a good point sandy made-there are a lot of foods out there that meet your criteria except the fiber options. But there are plenty of ways to supplement that that are easy and affordable

[aquariangt]

Acana Regionals
Simply Nourish Source
Blue Buffalo Wilderness

Acana is great if you wanna spring for it, the other two are available at PetSmart and well priced for 5 stars

[aquariangt]

Good info, thanks

[aquariangt]

@Inkedmarie-

What’s your thought process on going to a 3 star before a 5 star? Is it because of the jump in price, or is there a health benefit from the filler crap to the richer food to take a bag of mid grade in between?

On Topic-

I sorta get the beneful/pedigree/etc people because of the price (don’t agree with them, but understand the thought process) $25 for 30/lb for beneful is still pretty cheap. It’s hard to get people (especially older, retired types) to get into that new mindframe of spending $ on your dog.

The ones that really bug me are the science diet/pro plan/royal canin types, you’re spending a lot of money for a sub par product, because they’re big names. Do some research. I don’t know about you all, but I do a lot of research for basically anything I am going to buy, especially something that is as big an expense as dog food can be.

[aquariangt]

I would try Blue Buffalo (Wilderness is my favorite of their blends, but its also pricey), Fromms, Precise, or Simply Nourish (Source is my favorite of those, still under 50$ a bag)

If you want to spend more, of course you have Acana, Orijen, Wellness…all things that are solid and not made by diamond

[aquariangt]

I don’t believe Merrick is made by Diamond, is it? Blue Buffalo isn’t either-i don’t hate their wilderness blend. Simply Nourish isn’t manufactured by Diamond either, and I actually like them as far as PetSmart options go (its an exclusive for them) the Source is pretty nice, gets 5 stars on this website too.

[aquariangt]

What stores do you have available? There are lots of foods not produced by diamond…

[aquariangt]

They work, but you would have to sort of mash it in there, and be diligent about cleaning it out so there isnt bacteria. I only top with canned in the mornings about every other to every third day and use their regular bowls for that, and the kyjen puzzle bowls in the evenings and other mornings.

Aleksandra-while i like kyjen for the most part, their agility set isn’t great

[aquariangt]

I like the kyjen slo-bowls

http://shop.kyjen.com/slo-bowls/

They’re sturdier than they even looked to me, and they increase the time spent eating. There is also a noticeable calm down from using these guys, especially after the evening meal.

We carry them at them at my work-dog training facility-but i saw them at petco as well.

[aquariangt]

At the moment, no. Wheat, Soy, Corn free, yes, but I’ve got some oatmeal in Dani’s (the sheltie) food, and Brown Rice in the other two. When I swap foods again to get them all on the same, I most likely will. Is there a specific benefit for the joints from being grain free, or do you just mean the all around health?

[aquariangt]

I use Simply Nourish canned stuff for my dogs and my cat. I have trouble getting her to eat wet food, even as a topper. They make Stew style ones that I can mix into the dry food that she’ll still eat

[aquariangt]

thanks Marie. Any opinion on hip and joint supplements? I’m pretty green in the world of supplementing. I just bought some Fish Oil, and am getting some Probiotics, but don’t know much about the hip and joint ones

[aquariangt]

on further research, I do see that it’s made by Ol’ Roy. Something to keep in mind

[aquariangt]

I dont see menadione on the list of ingredients for any of the three varieties on here. The grain free one looks decent though. The non grain free variety has brewers rice which i dont like paying for. Canned looks nice too. I didn’t know walmart carried any food worth anything

[aquariangt]

I use a slow feeder puzzle type bowl for dani’s meals- she does get kongs and such as well, but there are bowls (kyjen makes the one I use) that are designed to slow down and challenge at the same time. I think I saw them at petco recently, similar ones at least. I ordered mine through my local store

[aquariangt]

She could maybe benefit from some group training classes with a solid trainer. Talk to them ahead of time so that they understand what you’re coming in with, but it may do her well to work on some issues in a setting with some distractions. some places offer shy dog workshops that help with anxiety dogs too

My sheltie is a barker too, and can be very up in your business sometimes. When I know I need her to be calmer with our daily activities, I get lots of stimulation for her-use the slow feeder, take a walk, do some agility practice (a great outlet if you have a herder) etc…

[aquariangt]

Before this last year I would have said goldens. I’m pretty obsessed with my sheltie now though, so she may change my mind

[aquariangt]

Check out ikeahackers, they have some cool easy ideas for a separated cat area

[aquariangt]

well, that would explain my difficulty! thanks for responding!

Does anyone else have suggestions for a good agility competition food?

[aquariangt]

Zuke’s is a local treat company here, so they have it in PetSmart. Not sure about the rest of the country. I noticed Cloud Star had their crunchy treats at PetSmart as well, but not the soft training treats, but I use their tricky trainers often for training

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