[aquariangt]

But i loved Nathan 🙁

[aquariangt]

If there hasn’t been a problem, great. If you want a chew that is one of those proteins, try salmon skin bones, duck feet or necks. Or try sweet potato chews to avoid the protein altogether.

[aquariangt]

If you’re trying to cut out certain things you wouldn’t want to offer ANYTHING that contained the item. IE, if you’re trying to cut out Beef, no treats with anything beef. Stick to what you’re working on with an elimination diet, find treats and chews that mimic the ingredients you’re trying out.

As far as fish-I believe that would depend on the dog, but maybe someone with Fish allergies (like DogFoodie) can chime in, I know she can’t even use anything with salmon oil.

[aquariangt]

Bobby dog, good call. I’ll try out the ps tubs this week.

And we’ve been pushing mid 60s out here too, weird weather this year but good for the dogs.

I don’t usually stray from worlds best for cat litter

[aquariangt]

@Bobbydog – I’ve fed cat’s in the kitchen. I THINK it was chunky (Shinku hated it of course) but it ma have been shredded, definitely not pate

Shawn A-
Petco has Soulistic which is made by Weruva

Check out BFF also made by weruva, though it all contains tuna. my cat doesn’t eat anything, and she really likes the BFF so I just use it with non fish dry food

I also like Earthborns cans, they come in cases of 24 instead of 12, but the price is good.

Simply Nourish is well priced for what it is, but my cat won’t eat any of them, but they have both pate and shredded, and some casseroles that she pecked at so she may get it again sometime.

Wellness isn’t bad and is often on sale, can get that at PetSmart, PetCo, and most boutiques and online.

I mostly use Tiki and Earthborn, though Tiki can get pricey. Precise isn’t too bad and I use a few of theirs from time to time.

[aquariangt]

I would consider a kong a type of puzzle, when I say that.

There are a lot more things in your life to keep your brain sharp than a dogs. And the biggest mistake I see people make is thinking that daily walks are all their dogs need.

To each his own, there are plenty of people doing totally right by their dogs (including most of the people in this thread) who DONT do that, but I’m interjecting to say that it certainly isn’t “cruel”.

[aquariangt]

I often have my dogs eat out of either slow bowls or various puzzles. It really isn’t cruel, dogs with some toy drive or mental capacity to spare often thrive on doing this. There is plenty of research out there to show that it isn’t a cruel tactic at all, and helps work their brains. What a lot of people forget is dogs (especially dogs that are still closer in their lines to dogs that still work) really enjoy having a job, and to them, that can be part of it. It helps wear them out similar to a good session of obedience work. People are often concerned with feeding dogs similar to their ancestry, which also comes into play-no dog in the wild was ever handed food to eat

Edit: Leaving raw in something all day is asking for problems. I also don’t give them a stuffed thing for them to nibble on all day, as meal time is meal time, and I don’t really approve of free feeding. It needs to be attainable, dogs needs to be setup for success

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by aquariangt.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by aquariangt.

[aquariangt]

sorry, I’ve never heard of too high of protein making dogs thirstier

[aquariangt]

It’s totally unfair. The non dog people of the world make things harder on those of us who are responsible, but sadly, the responsible thing when it comes to dogs is often the let it be attitude. If ya’ll were talking about kids, it’d be a different story 🙂

[aquariangt]

I’m with BobbyDog, I remove my dogs from the situation. I also won’t bring my dogs to situations where there are going to be non dog people (and yes, I totally understand the distinction and use it myself, often) with their dogs because im not interested in attempting to teach people who aren’t paying me to do so. I also have the opposite problem often with Dani, who does NOT like strange dogs up in her business, especially in the face. She will snap to show warning, which usually results in some <insert insult here> trying to tell me how their dog is just being friendly (read: poor mannered a$$) and my dog needs this or that. I just don’t bother anymore. I cross the street if a strange dog is going to cross my path and I can see them straining on the leash meaning they will try to greet my dog, and I skip dog parks because too many people think that’s “socialization”

Now in class, I get to tell people how it works, and the people running in to “save” their puppies from the others they think are bullying because they don’t understand behavior, get a nice lesson on watching dogs and what actions they are making truly do make their dogs uncomfortable. Without fail, almost every puppy class I do has at least one of these people, so it’s easy to work in.

When it comes to family-im lucky I guess because of how we grew up, everyone understands dog play, and we know who to keep away from who (My sister’s giant lug of a great dane/st Bernard mix and Dani) and generally things are fine. I recently got invited to a friend event however that everyone was bringing their dogs, and I opted Dani out of that one. Liesl too, just because I didn’t feel like dealing, but good thing, because a lot of them were untrained and playing rudely. I didn’t say anything, but had it been family, I probably would have. Maybe get some literature to give said uncle and aunt about dog signals so they can see what was actually going on, or opt to skip out on Bruno going with if the Yorkie would be there

[aquariangt]

Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato (I have a pea intolerant girl so Fromm 4star grain inclusive is my go to for protein variety, most things that have a semi acceptable level of protein to me are chicken) it’s still a bit low in protein, but be diligent with toppers.

I’m sure there are some LID diets out there that would also work. I checked NVI which is usually my go to recommendation but they have peas (which I am now remembering why I don’t use it myself)

how big is the dog? canned or dehydrated may be easier to find a rotation with, but can get expensive with a big guy

[aquariangt]

I don’t think it’s terrible not to go to dog parks. I don’t either. I have a general dislike for the majority of the dog owning population, and too many people think its a free for all to let their a**hole dogs behave thusly.

Aimee, I completely agree with the leash statements 🙂

[aquariangt]

I’m watching the game, but I refuse to cheer for either team. And Katy perry doing halftime show, ugh. I’ll be cooking at halftime haha

[aquariangt]

I occasionally try to remind her of that, but in general, she remains hateful of me and the dogs

[aquariangt]

it’s getting a bit ridiculous really. So far the only thing she has eaten consistently is Earthborn’s Monteray Medley. The Harbor Harvest did well in testing, so I got a case, we’ll see how that pans out. My boss has 2 large cats so she gets a lot of filtering from me, lol.

Tiki I guess does well, but everytime I’ve bought anything but the mixed packs, I don’t make it through the case.

[aquariangt]

I’m fairly positive you can get Fromm in Canada. Do Chewy or Petflow deliver there? Amazon is a good place to order as well.

[aquariangt]

Shinku liked those pouches. Until I bought a case of them…

[aquariangt]

Looks like your food is 25.76 cal/oz. To get 166 calories, that’s 6.4 oz of that food. If he’s slightly overweight, you could round down, and do 6 oz a day, so 1/4 of the can AM and PM. Also could try a lower fat can. As usual, keep the extras to 20% or less of the diet, and try for lower fat versions of those if you are very concerned about his weight.

Remember that the calculator is a guideline, but can’t possibly take into account personal dogs metabolism. Liesl actually eats a bit more than recommended, while Dani eats less, because even though she is way more active, she gains weight faster.

[aquariangt]

I use these chicken breast strips

http://www.boulderdogfoodcompany.com/canine-treats/chicken/chicken-breast-strips

They are also pretty high value, so work well for training. The honest kitchen treats are pretty low fat as well, though I don’t particularly like the pecks and smooches-they take my dogs a long time to chew, so ok for an around the house treat, but I don’t like them for training. I love the quickies though! they are super low calorie

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

[aquariangt]

Dani liked that one, but the kibble is a bit big, as with most a acana I’ve used 🙁 liesl hasn’t had any acana in a while.

Dani is on victor Yukon and liesl on from. Salmon a la veg. Both are getting chicken as a topper in the evenings, in the morning today they has some earth born tub (the lamb one, I think it’s lilys)

[aquariangt]

5-6 months is too young for a large breed puppy to change foods. Check out the large and giant breed puppy thread and read through the information there. There is also a list of foods that meet the criteria for a lgp, around page 35.

[aquariangt]

that is what they’re saying, I just thought it was funny that the new commercial omitted the by products portion

[aquariangt]

Take a look at the Editor’s Choice lists, there are plenty out there. It IS true that dogs get sick of food, and I would highly recommend rotation feeding, find a few brands that work, and rotate protein sources and binders etc… get different flavors in there. He may not feel well from that food and think something is wrong which is why he’d avoid, but he also just may be bored.

also, 5 days is a long time, so i’d get him to the vet first

[aquariangt]

It has more to do with how they handles the recall and repeat offenses, in the case of diamond, they have proved to be fairly unreliable on both those points.

[aquariangt]

Yes, in their little “Rufus old food contained poultry by product mean, etc etc” the newest commercial took that out, and names other ingredients instead

[aquariangt]

Speaking of blue. I’m watching top chef, and apparently blue is now a sponser (ugh) but the newest commercial, it’s no longer no by products like the old food- it’s corn, Brewers rice, and corn gluten meal

[aquariangt]

All 4 are nice foods, rotate between them-and switch up protein and binder flavors too!

[aquariangt]

Jumping in, I agree with what everyone says-part of the reason for dry dog food i tend to go towards grain free, is the protein is often higher-which is one of my major points in kibble

[aquariangt]

I would cut out the noon meal now-I usually do it around 6 months.

Technically a dog can be on puppy food forever. All Life Stages foods are the same AAFCO profile as a puppy food, and I tend to like them more in general. Just make sure you are feeding the appropriate calorie intake based on her age and size.

Rotating toppers is fine, I start a rotational diet of toppers and kibble as quickly as possible. With Dani, I bought 2 small bags of what the breeder had her on, and fed the first one, mixed the second, and moved on to rotations right after that, and worked out great.

As far as what is appropriate to top with, if it isn’t a balanced meal (like THK which is, but I usually reduce the amount of dry accordingly with that) like chicken or fruit/veggies, just try to make sure to stay under 20% of total calorie intake as unbalanced toppers. I rarely feed unbalanced toppers because I do so much training, that I count that in for calories as well

[aquariangt]

Thus far, the zukes recipe hasn’t changed and is still being manufactured at their plants they’ve had pre buyout, hopefully that stays

[aquariangt]

I’m not thrilled with those lists either. Pet smart or petco it looks like? Try something made by cloudstar or zukes. Simply nourish at pet smart has some freeze dried liver that would be good and of high value as well.

With treats I like really low calorie, but high value so meat heavy to only meat, that way you can use them to train without too much of a health impact

[aquariangt]

Which is a major reason why the editor’s choice brands don’t include most of those well known companies. The closest thing to a company that size would be wellpet, who are very clear on who manufactures what.

[aquariangt]

@Patricia B
I would say the fact that they use 5 or 6 manufacturers and I don’t know who they are is a bit more sketchy than Purina’s lawsuit. I’m sure Purina used some power that they have as a company with the amount of money they have to figure out which batch to test-good on em. I’ve not trusted BB for a while, and I dislike their marketing tactics. For the record, I don’t use Purina either

[aquariangt]

While I admire your desire for all of that, I will agree with Bcn here. It’s the same as human food, unless you buy it yourself from a place you’ve been, you have no guarantees. Even the “natural” stuff out there is all marketing ploys. We cater for a company that sort of claims all that, large company with a lot of marketing power, and they won’t let us use our compost able products (our standard) they make us by the clear plastic…makes me wonder about the company, and I know some of their other brands and it’s certainly not natural. The same concepts go into pet food, so you somewhat have to pick your battles. If it’s a big concern of yours (good for you-I mean that) then homemade from local farms is the way to go, imo

[aquariangt]

My other 2 thoughts-

1. It’s grass finished and not full grass fed. That’s out there as well
2. Most food service doesn’t quite do that high of a manufacturer markup, but I’m not sure about pet food, but I do know about retail pet food markup and it’s usually closer to 30%. Now, lower margins would be worth it if the contribution were good, but on this one, it wouldn’t be I don’t think. I’m really not positive

[aquariangt]

Based on the ingredient list, most of it is offal- beef parts that aren’t highly desired. Grass fed beef especially doesn’t have a huge market here, and the organ meats in the, are very likely unused. My grocery stores only have the most popular of cuts, and part of the reason grass fed beef is so expensive is because less of it gets used. I get less than 10 requests a year for grass fed beef,and when I get it, it’s usually sirloin or tenderloin. That’s alot of unused beef

I don’t know if all these things are the answer to your question, but it may play a part.

[aquariangt]

Has anyone tried Hound and Gatos? And if so, is it pate or stewish style? And does the website say that and I overlooked it?

[aquariangt]

often the result of a food intolerance of some sort. without looking up the exact ingredient list, I believe it has chicken and rice? Maybe try a grain free poultry free food?

[aquariangt]

No, I saw the reason you got it, I was wondering what it was used for as a whole-what are they marketing it as, what it’s place is and such. If you need a specific item in it, that’s one thing, I was just curious as to what the item was for overall

[aquariangt]

I’m a bit confused as to the point of the item, honestly. Is it similar to Nupro + a digestive aid? What would be the purpose of using this? Actual question, not being facetious 😉

[aquariangt]

@weezerweeks I like Weruva, but I believe 2 of their lines are still canned by evangers, so I wonder if that would disqualify them from editor’s choice

There aren’t any canned only brands on the list though. What about Petropics (tiki)?

[aquariangt]

The first rabies rabies vaccine is a one year vaccine, so if you vaccinated at 4 mos, at 1 yr 4 mos, you’d get the three year booster

[aquariangt]

As far as THK goes-they do offer an employee incentive program of sorts for retail as well. At the shop, when we first started carrying THK, we had to take a little mini online course which explained the process THK uses for making their food, and then they give you vouchers to turn into your distributor for 3 free boxes of the honest kitchen (just 3, and they have an expiration date) so that you can try it on your animals to see how they do, and explain firsthand their benefits. While I did take advantage of this, I had already fed it, so I didn’t need much encouragement on that end. And 3 boxes lasts me a looong time since I use it as a topper, and not as their sole meal. I can only assume they do similar programs for vet offices.

However, that is not the same deal as I understand (also firsthand information) about Hills and the vet clinic my cousin works at. That is a certain rebate percentage off the direct order from hills based on how much of it has sold, which results in higher profits for the clinic, as they aren’t lowering the cost of the food because of this. Not unlike what happens with food purveyors and my company in the food world. The difference is, I order all kinds of food from these purveyors, not just hills 🙂 Vets, like almost any business, still have a certain amount of sales within their position that is asked of them

[aquariangt]

Aimee refuses to believe the vet food issue. I’ve been told firsthand by a family member about kickbacks, but she still is on board with hills and rc. As far as dinner mixes go- there are others out there that many people on here have used successfully for years, so I wouldn’t shy away from them

[aquariangt]

if its a normal manager and not a GM, i would say that we be closer to what you’d be doing helping in the clinic as well. The hourly people at bow wow from what I can tell, are just kennel attendants without much other responsibility

[aquariangt]

look for kennels, and see if you can find something higher than just a kennel attendant. Potentially camp bow wow or the like.

Again, I don’t know min wage or COL in florida, but $19/hr would be a solid wage out in colorado, and we have fairly expensive cost of living

[aquariangt]

check out glassdoor and see if you can find anything on there. Salary dot com may work as well, but you have to sign up for them iirc, which is free, but spamtastic. Hard to say what fair is as I don’t know what cost of living in Florida is compared to Colorado-also my first job in my field was at 16, so I never had to do the completely ground floor thing in a while, my first job out of school was still in food service, just now with more experience and a degree behind it.

[aquariangt]

amazon and sportdogfood both have it, and it seems to be the same price. The only 3 bags that are under 30 lbs that I can find are the Yukon, The Joint Supplement one, and the Hi Pro-all in 5 lb bags. No 15 lb that I can find either

[aquariangt]

I finally caved and ordered a bag of Victor Yukon, even though I usually like to purchase from a store before ordering online, but there is just no one around here that can get it for me (inspecting bag, exp dates, etc). Hope it works! Just for Dani right now, I’ll try a bag of the Hi Pro for Liesl if it goes well. I’d like to try the Ultra Pro, but I would never get through a bag that big

[aquariangt]

Evangers isn’t a great choice. They have a lot of issues, the one that will affect you the most is a history of misreporting on their labels, amongst some other problems. Do you research before diving into that mess

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