[MrsNix]

Thanks, Marie (and Hubbman…I didn’t see your post while I was typing this one).

I had not considered that. I only knew that switching foods could (and usually did) cause upset stomach. It never occurred to me that switching would make the digestive system stronger. We’re going to start Cadence (that’s what we’ve named the new coonhound puppy) on Nature’s Variety Large Breed Puppy kibble. I like to use canned pumpkin as a food topper and canned green beans/fresh bell pepper/fresh carrots cut into small pieces as training treats.

I will make sure we have another couple of food brands we approve of to start mixing in/rotating in as the bag gets down to 1/2 or so. I really had not ever even considered switching foods regularly. It makes sense, though. I was reading articles from Google after I posted the above, and from your post, it seems like a very practical idea, as well.

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

[MrsNix]

PattyV – You mentioned rotational feeding. When we were trying the Nature’s Variety Prairie foods with our beagle, we rotated the different flavors, but I’m assuming you mean something different. Would you explain for me how you rotate food properly or give me a link you like that explains?

I’ve never heard of doing this, and I’m interested to learn about it.

[MrsNix]

Oh! I just want to add that I don’t think Pinnacle would necessarily be a good choice for large breed pups. I haven’t looked at the calcium content. I only mentioned that food in reference to our 22-pound adult beagle. Please don’t think I was recommending that brand for big dogs. It might be great, but it might not be. I would have to research it.

[MrsNix]

Hi, Kobe! Somewhere in this long discussion, and I’m sure Hound Dog Mom can tell you more about how she feels about grain inclusive foods, but she mentions that she only included grain-free because that is her preference. She doesn’t believe that a grain inclusive food is a bad choice for everyone, but she prefers to feed her bloodhounds grain free. I’m sure she can expand on that for you.

Our beagle, who is no longer with us, had a severe corn allergy and sensitivity to both rice and wheat. Our first instinct was to just chuck it all and go with a combination of foods I prepared myself and grain free kibble (which was very hard to find in 2007 in Okinawa where we lived). She was not thriving on a totally grain-free diet, and we tried a lot of different things over about a year. She had runny stools; she was not very energetic; and her coat was not as glossy and she shed more than she ever had before. Grain free diets bring out the best in some dogs. They thrive on it and it does amazing things for them. Our little dog did not thrive on a totally grain free diet, so we looked for something else.

I eventually came upon Pinnacle brand foods, which are also 5-star dog foods, but they include quinoa and oats. She did extremely well on the Pinnacle. Within a couple of weeks, her coat looked better and her stools firmed up to normal. She was back to being “on the beagle crack” as we always said when she was her hyper-and-needs-exercise normal self.

I don’t believe that Hound Dog Mom or anyone else with the best interests of all dogs would say that the same diet is best for ALL individuals, but grain-free is helping a lot of dogs who cannot seem to thrive on foods containing grain.

[MrsNix]

My name is Amy, and we have always been hound people. Up until this point, we have been beagle and Basset owners/fosterers, so I don’t have any experience with large breeds. We lost our darling companion, Kioko the Wonder Beagle, last year, and we are just now ready for a new dog. We have chosen a redbone coonhound pup who will come home to us in early October. She will grow to somewhere between 60 and 70 pounds as an adult dog, and that will make her roughly 3.5 times the weight of our previous dogs (except for our foster Bassets, but we never raised any of them through puppyhood). Before she comes home, I wanted to make sure I knew what the different needs would be for a large dog, so I found my way here.

As someone who believes very strongly in getting a dog’s nutrition right (we want them to be healthy and happy with us for as long as we possibly can), I cannot thank you enough–and especially Hound Dog Mom–for this thread. It is a HUGE relief to me to find your .doc list (thank you SO much for putting that together), and this entire conversation has been enlightening.

I haven’t chosen a food for sure, yet, but we are leaning toward the Nature’s Variety Instinct products because they are easy to obtain and, for 5-star foods, well-priced. Anyway, I registered so I could come in and thank you all for this discussion. You’ve helped us tremendously.

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