[Peggy]

Dori, you’re right. I’m driving myself nuts with this. I guess it takes my mind off other issues I have. I’m in NE Ohio, eastern standard time here as well.

My other dog is a lab/shepherd mix, LadyBug. She weighs about 60 lbs and is probably a bit overweight as well.
Tebow weighs 26 lbs.

[Peggy]

I think I hijacked another thread, so moving my inquiries back to my thread.

My husband is of the opinion that we should feed Tebow (the JRT) healthy cooked food with the dry, rather than canned food. He says it is less expensive.

Comparing what we spend on can food to what we spend on fresh ground turkey and chicken, and canned salmon – I can see his point. He says add carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and they got it made.

Men!

[Peggy]

I just now looked at the date. I’m not all here today apparently.
You would think I’d know all this stuff, as I’m 55 yrs old and have had dogs since I was 4 yrs old. 🙁

[Peggy]

Thank you!

[Peggy]

Thank you for that advice Dori.
The Jack Russell terrier site that I am a member of says this:

“Feed your Jack Russell Terrier a diet that is at least 50 percent dry kibble. The crunchy texture of this type of food will reduce buildup of plaque and tartar on the teeth. Buildup of plaque and tartar can cause dental problems for small breeds like the Jack Russell. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations about how much to feed your dog daily, based on your pet’s weight or desired weight. Divide the daily ration into at least two meals; three is even better for your pet. This is because the Jack Russell’s small stomach can only hold so much food at once. Dividing the daily ration into two or three meals per day allows for proper digestion of the food.”

[Peggy]

BTW, out of curiosity, is there ever a time when you should feed your dog ONLY dry food and leave the wet out?

[Peggy]

Honestly I’ve been feeding him poor food (Purina, Pedigree) for the entire 5 yrs I’ve had him. He’s gained weight only in the past 8-10 months. I think that’s when I became busy and he has been less active.

I’ll be glad when the snow goes away so we can get back to walking!

[Peggy]

I found the Salmon & Pea calories. 355 per cup.
The adult chicken can is 300 calories.

The poor dog is going to get next to nothing per meal!

[Peggy]

I do not know where my head was/is. And I can’t find the calorie count for the Salmon & Pea dry food which is what they eat.
I’ll keep digging.

[Peggy]

YIKES! Back to the drawing board. 🙁

[Peggy]

Bah I didn’t even think to look for the calories on the Walmart site. Thank you very much!

On the bags, it says to feed him 1 cup per day, and 2 – 2 1/2 cups for LadyBug.
So I will reduce him to 3/4 cup total of dry. I hesitate to reduce the can food any.
A couple of times last week, in place of the can food, I broiled some ground turkey and added cooked broccoli and carrots. Added that to the dry food and they both ate that up. Another night I did Turkey and scrambled eggs. WOW they had gas that night. I had to run them out of the bedroom and close the door. Whewee! 😛

I’m sure it will help tremendously when this SNOW goes away so I can resume our daily walks!

[Peggy]

He hasn’t lost much yet. Probably because the Wellness Core Reduced fat didn’t work out, so We’re trying Pure Balance, and we’re going from a once-per-day feeding to twice per day, and I’m having a difficult time trying to figure out how much to feed both of them. I know that sounds silly, but I’ve always fed them both the same amount, for whatever dumb reason, which probably contributed to his weight gain and her still feeling hungry.

I could kick myself. 🙁

[Peggy]

This morning my Jrt (Tebow) got a 1/4 cup of Pure Balance Salmon & Peas dry food, a 1/4 cup of Chicken & Brown Rice recipe dry (total 1/2 cup dry), and a small tub of Chicken & Veggies w/ gravy stew.

My Lab/Shephard (LadyBug) got 1/2 cup of Salmon & Peas dry, 1/2 cup of Chicken & Brown Rice dry (total 1 cup dry), and a can of Chicken (not stew).

Tebow ate all of his, as usual.
LadyBug ate everything but the chicken dry food. She just doesn’t like it, so she picks through and leaves that behind. ha.

[Peggy]

I have a lab/shepard mix – about 40-50 lbs, and a JRT, about 26 lbs and on a diet.

[Peggy]

Ok so, new question –

There is an Amish Marketplace here in town, most everything is home made, and I mean everything!

They have a meat dept where we get all of our chicken, lamb chops, pork steaks, bacon, etc. So, I’m going to ask if I can buy some bones for my dogs.

What should I ask for? I’ve never purchased raw bones before.

[Peggy]

I see your point, Bobby_dog.

Obviously you are comfortable feeding your dogs the PB can/tub food, correct? And my dogs seem to love it (except the beef and veggies stew). And there’s never been a recall that I can find. And DFA gives PB an excellent rating.

So why am I leading myself to a mini-breakdown over this issue?
ugh

[Peggy]

I’m on the Simmonspetfood.com sight now. Funny how they don’t tell you ANY of the companies that they manufacture food for. 🙁

[Peggy]

I will definitely look further into this, thank you Bobby_dog.

I didn’t find Simmons anywhere on my 4 hour search this morning.
I will dig into that as well. 🙂

[Peggy]

Well was a stupid move by Walmart.

I just finished searching the bag of PB Grain-free Salmon & Pea Formula, and the Buffalo & Veggies grain-free bag, and Ol’ Roy is nowhere to be found on these bags now.

I’m betting they experienced some backlash and had it removed.

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

[Peggy]

Thank you BC

[Peggy]

Anyone?

[Peggy]

I agree with you Marie.

Much of what I can understand of this post, I do not agree with.

I adopted at 7 month old JRT from a local shelter 5 yrs ago. BEST thing I ever did. No I didn’t read up on them before adopting. NO I wasn’t prepared for the energetic, hyper, high-strung little buggar that he was/is. One ADJUSTS to their new addition, and help them adjust to you. It’s a transition for you BOTH. I did find that training our JRT was much more difficult than any other dog I’ve ever had, and I’ve had plenty of different breeds and mutts. BUT, he was and is well worth the work I’ve invested in him. Yes he is still high-strung and stubborn – always will be, that’s the breed.
But he’s my baby and I love him to pieces. I would gladly adopt another Jack Russell.

I also disagree that JRT’s are euthanized more than any other breed. That’s ridiculous. I’d like to see where you got those statistics from.

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

[Peggy]

No I did not do that.

[Peggy]

Update on the Pure Balance.

LadyBug and Tebow are both still lovers of Pure Balance Salmon & Peas grain-free dry and all varieties of PB canned and tub.

Thinking I’d see if they’d like the Bison/Veggies grain-free, when I was at Walmart a couple of days ago, I purchased a small bag of the Bison and Veggies dry food.

I fed that (PB Bison & veggies) to them that night (Thursday night), again with 1/2 tub each of wet PB. LadyBug does NOT like the Bison. She ate the little bit of tub food and walked away from the dry. I tried it again Friday morning and evening. Tebow ate it, but vomited it up in the middle of the night.

Did I give them something different too soon? Or is Bison just going to be out of the question? Thoughts?

[Peggy]

LOL yes it does.

This morning I ventured to the Walmart in the next town where I found the tub variety of Pure Balance. Much to my surprise (I have NO idea why I didn’t look before) they also carry several different varieties (5) of the Pure Balance dry food, and 2 of them are grain free!
I purchased a small bag of the Salmon & Peas grain free. The other grain free is Bison & Veggies. I will rotate them with that one when the time comes. I just purchased the small bag to see if they’re going to like it, because I’m so disappointed that LadyBug does not like the Wellness Core which was $57!

Well! Got home, gave them a 1/2 cup each of the PB kibble and 1/2 tub of the PB wet, mixed it up and LO & BEHOLD my LadyBug, the picky dry food eater, ate every little morsel! 😀

I am a happy pet mama.

[Peggy]

I have never heard of this Jo. I will definitely try it.

Akari, you mention giving them raw necks, wings, thighs, legs…….. I always thought these bones were too brittle to give a dog?

[Peggy]

🙁 🙁

[Peggy]

My dogs like both the Dream Bones and the Busy Bones. Especially my JRT,
He’s a chewer and if I have to keep bones, chew toys, etc around the house for him.
My LadyBug could not care less about toys, but likes her chew bone every morning.

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

[Peggy]

What happened to that Like button? Did they remove it? 🙁

[Peggy]

Yuck! If I wouldn’t eat it, I won’t give it to them.
Thanks D_O

[Peggy]

Thanks crazy4cats. I may try that a few times per week.
I sometimes broil up some fresh ground turkey and scramble 1 egg each, and mix that with their dry food. They’ll eat the dry food to get to the fresh turkey, they love it so much, lol.
Occasionally, I boil fresh broccoli, cauliflower and carrots to mix in.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s not cheaper to feed them like this rather than buying all this can food. Get’s expensive!

[Peggy]

Thanks to you both.

Petflow.com has a pretty decent sale going on right now.
I came across this. How do y’all feel about it?
http://www.petflow.com/product/pet-botanics/pet-botanics-whole-grain-beef-bacon-roll

[Peggy]

I see a lot of talk about ‘food rotation’.
Do you rotate their food every day? Every week?”
Is this for variety? Or what purpose?

Note: For some reason, my LadyBug (lab/shepard mix) seems to like turkey more than any other meet. I know this by trial and error. Once in a while I’ll grind up and cook fresh chicken or turkey to serve with their dry food, and she much prefers turkey.

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

[Peggy]

ooohh I’m glad I found this thread.
Currently my 2 babies are eating Wellness Core Grain Free Reduced Fat dry food. I top it with Pure Balance tub food – 1/2 tub each.

I’ll admit that both myself and they are having difficulty with the switch to using wet meat as just a topper, as they are used to a 1/2 can each mixed in with their dry food.
Also, to be honest, neither one is liking the Wellness Core food. My LadyBug will NOT eat is by itself. As soon as the meat is gone, so is she.
My JRT will eat some of it after the meat is gone, but not much.

And we’re not even 1/4 of the way through a 26 lb bag! 🙁

[Peggy]

Lots to look for at PetSmart. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Peggy]

Lou B. Pure Balance is fairly inexpensive, and you can get it at Walmart. It has a good rating on this site.

[Peggy]

Thanks for the help both of you. I don’t know why I didn’t google it. Google is my best friend for everything else.

We’re leaving BB behind. Our bag of Wellness Core should be delivered tomorrow. Leaving Pedigree behind after Christmas as well.
I’m a bit surprised that the Wellness Core Reduced Fat has that many calories.

[Peggy]

I have tried to. Unfortunately neither the can of Pedigree nor the bag of Blue Basics tells you how many calories there are.

My JRT currently weighs pretty close to 30 lbs – approx 10 lbs overweight.

[Peggy]

Dog_Obsessed, you use the Furminator deshedding tool?
I’ve wanted to use it but was told it would hurt my dogs, so never bought one.
Both of my dogs – but especially the JRT – shed like nothing I’ve ever seen.

[Peggy]

I, too, have always used Johnson’s Baby shampoo. It’s never caused skin irritations on any of my dogs.

[Peggy]

Thanks for this great advice. I looked on the MilkBone box and found that they have 40 calories per biscuit. Doesn’t sound like much to me, but since dogs are so much smaller than humans, I’m guessing it’s a huge amount for them.

[Peggy]

Another question… do you feed your dog(s) treats? Ours have come to expect one every time they go outside to do their business. I’m not sure how we got into this habit but I’m sure it has contributed to weight gain as well.

We usually treat them with a Milk Bone.
Also they love those Busy Bones.

[Peggy]

Hi DogFoodie, I purchased the Wellness Core grain-free weight loss formula, on your advice and waiting for it to be delivered. It was cheaper to buy at Amazon.com and got free delivery. I noticed it gets 5 stars here at DFA.

I think after that is finished we’ll decide on whether to stay with it or switch to Pure Balance. Dog_Obsessed, which dry food to you feed your dogs?

Previously I had been walking each dog once a week, twice at the most. This past week I’ve taken them out every day. One at a time. The JRT is not used to walking on a leash so we’re working on it. LadyBug however, I’m sure was a leash walker with her previous owner as she loves it and all I have to do is say “walk” and she’s at the door, haha.
The next few days will be very busy so may not be able to walk them but we’ll get back on it after Christmas.

Tebow is a toy dog. Meaning, he loves toys. Squeakies, stuffed, rubber, balls of any kind, etc. His favorite indoor activity is for me to toss the ball UP the stairs to the second floor and he’ll run up the steps (12 steps total), retrieve it, run back down, drop it at my feet, sit and look up at me as if to say “Ok, ready!”. This happens at least 15 times before he stops bringing it back. That’s his way of saying “I need a rest now. Thank you”. 😀

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

[Peggy]

Dog_Obsessed, I looked for Pure Balance wet food at my Walmart and they don’t have it, so I will have to go to the next town to get it. Dog Food Advisor gives it 4.5 stars. I’m impressed.

If Pure Balance had a weight loss formula I would buy it too, as the dry food has 4 stars.
They have a grain free formula, but not weight loss. 🙁

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

[Peggy]

It did. yay! lol

[Peggy]

HEY! There’s a smiley. I guess you have to type the right stuff to get it to show up. 😛

[Peggy]

Hey Marie, if your post above was meant for me, I sincerely apologize if my reply to you came across as snippy or mean, it was not intended that way at all.
A few different people commented on my post about the vets contacting me, and I was actually teasing in that post. The problem with this forum is that it does not give you the option of using emoticons/smileys, which I always use so people know if I’m being sarcastic, or teasing, etc.
Anyway, your reply had me looking all over the forum to see if there was indeed another avenue for communication! I didn’t find one….. 🙁

[Peggy]

Today was my dog’s last day on BB Basics. He’s been gaining weight like crazy, although I will accept part of the blame with lack of exercise and feeding practices.

We switched to Wellness Core.

[Peggy]

Hi Susan, thanks for your reply.
I’ve googled canine pancreatitis today and called my own vet.
Most of the symptoms I found, and our vet gave me, Tebow does not have.

Fever – no
Vomiting – no
Diarrhea – no
Loss of appetite (anorexia) – definitely Not!
Weight loss – no.
Dehydration – no
Fatigue and sluggishness – probably as much as any overweight dog, or human for that matter.
Mild to severe abdominal pain – I was brushing him today and while he was on his back I pushed on his tummy and felt around. He made no sounds at all that would lead one to believe he’s in pain. In fact, his legs got going because he was being tickled, haha.
Depression – not at all.
Increased heart rate – none that I can tell.
Difficulty breathing – again, as much as you would expect from an overweight dog or human. Plus he’s been snoring.

I ordered Wellness Core Grain-Free Reduced Fat Dry food today from Amazon.com – $6 less than PetSmart, and free shipping. Should be here Monday. I took him for a walk in the snow today – walking has not been a regular activity for us. It will be from now on.

Thank you to everyone for your help!

[Peggy]

DogFoodie, I wish I could take him earlier, but I have to wait for my check to come in on the 3rd of Jan. I am currently googling the symptoms of pancreatitis to see if he has any symptoms other than being overweight.

BTW, I just took him out for a walk and he was very energetic and lively.
LOVED it.

[Author]

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