The food merry go round-again.

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Oh Tulip, that is wild about the friend with the puppies. What an odd breed combination, I cannot even imagine! Yes the food merry go round is over for now, until the companies switch ingredients again. I guess with less ingredients, you get less switching!

I don't switch foods around very much, mostly because I have a couple of dogs that are more sensitive to the changes. I mix my morning feeding up the night before, and to the big bowl will add canned Solid Gold or Evo, Innova...and soak it. In the morning I put the whole works in the oven and serve it to them hot and they love that. I figure the canned goodies would help make it taste extra good and it seems to, but then one would think I was feeding a herd of little piggies. Feeding time here is interesting to say the least! (noisy).

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

I know I wasn't too clear about that. Both the pit and schnauzers are females and her original dogs. She bred them with two other dogs. In short, she had two large litters of puppies that were about a week apart in age and no experience. Everything from the birthing experiences, who was trying to feed from whom, who decided to hide puppies in which shoe closet, and anything you could imagine was already driving her to the edge.

But as you know, once they get about a month old and started running all about the place, the level of effort increased 10 fold.. I believe the schnauzer had 6 and the pit had 8. So 14 puppies, two moms, and no preparation equals mass chaos. (The pit was always a part time outdoor dog but a small gap in her fence prevented her from letting any of the puppies go outside.)

Some lessons you have to learn the hard way I suppose. So now she is very happy with just the schnauzer and pit.

And yes Ja_Dreamin, I'm very happy she got them fixed too. But I don't think anybody is happier than my friend.

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Ohhh Tulip, I did not realize there were TWO litters! Oh my yes, what a mess. Well, at least she learned her lesson. If a breeder does all the right things, making money doesn't happen! Profit is the last reason a litter should happen!

Well, so far so good on the food switch, whew. It is always scary because of the potential to upset someone's digestive system which is never pretty. Now I am all too aware that there is no one food fits all answer in my house! For now I will keep Paris on the Taste of the Wild along with Rosie. Down the road I may switch her to the Eagle, if only to satisfy my curiosity about the belly licking. It will be a couple of months at least though, first I want to see if the reddish stain grows out after the switch to TOTW.

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

What's the update on the food switch Nanook?

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

It is all going splendidly Tulip! Rosie's hair on her back is all present again, for the first time all winter. I haven't had to bathe her in almost two weeks because of severe itching, but she will get a bath on Sunday night anyway. Thanks to Taste of the Wild. I haven't flipped Paris over to see if her belly hair is coming in white yet this week, but last I looked, it hasn't grown enough to tell.

Little Reggae & Diamond are doing awesome on the Natural Balance Synergy. Reggae's missing hair on her feet is all back in place, and also on her back. It is still thin on her chest but it is coming back. Diamond's missing hair is almost all back and his physique is actually changing. Both of them have much more pep in their step.

The rest who are eating the Eagle Pack, are doing great as well. The couple who were starting to feel frail because they are elderly, feel good again. I'm getting a good deal on 50# breeder bags of the Eagle Pack, about 20 cents a pound cheaper now, so that helps! Especially since I will feed less of this food very soon as everyone starts to catch up from what they were like last month.

The biggest change though, which was pretty much remarkable, is Rosie. She is all filled out again and not looking like a hat rack with missing hair anymore at 11 or 12 years old. whew. And Reggae, who gallops though the house all day long at 12 years old also. Not run or trot, but a gallop, which is pretty funny because sometimes she kind of runs into things because of her age she can't stop as quick once she gets a momentum!

I am halfway through my last case of EVO canned cat food, so now my next decision is what to feed them when that's gone. My silly cats don't much care for canned food, but I had several cases I bought on a store closing sale last Fall so they have been eating it all winter. I will probably switch them to Chicken Soup dry is what I am thinking. Chicken Soup is made by Diamond, who also makes the Taste of the Wild and the Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance.

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Wow, I might have to add Taste of the Wild to the rotation. I'll stay away from the Eagle Pack because Butterfly doesn't need any amping up lol.

That's great. It sounds like things are really going well with the choices you made.

[schultz]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Dottie will be seizure free (knock on wood) 2 year in May on Natural Balance dry and fresh cooked chicken, beef and vegetables. My mom said she wanted to come back as one of my dogs. lol.

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

oh Schultz, that is so great! I was wondering how Dottie is doing and miss the pics of her in her outfits and Henry looking so cute. In her case, it had to definitely be related to the food additives!

Tulip, the Eagle Pack is not making my dogs feel more energetic, it is the Natural Balance, and it is because they feel so much better to be rid of whatever was effectively poisoning them.

Sigh...my main objective now, is once I adjust to the extra dog food costs by feeding Taste of the Wild for my big dogs and Natural Balance for 3 small ones, is to drop the Eagle Pack and go 100% grain free for everyone in the next couple of months. Baby steps because the food costs like gold so a gradual pocketbook change is not so drastic! The truth is, now I am feeling guilty to the dogs eating Eagle and one by one I have been adding the Natural Balance to my older ones.

The way I see it, the cost is going to come out of the pocket either way. Better food, or give it to the vet. This business of procuring the grains used in the dog food from different sources all the time and changing formula's to produce the food by some of these companies is too big of a merry go round for me anymore.

Natural Balance has advised that they will need to start adding peas to the Salmon & Sweet Potato mixture because of the hard time getting enough sweet potatoes. My source tells me this is no worry, but should be noted. Have you heard this from your seller yet Schultz? My girls are on the ball, I kid you not! What I love here, is that natural Balance is forthcoming in telling their customers that they need to make a change! In most cases, you only notice it after something starts to disagree with your dogs digestive system!

OH...BTW! Natural Balance just came out with a program! It is a buy so many bags, get one or something. I will find out tomorrow and come back with a report.

[schultz]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Hey Nooks, I need to take some new photo's of them. I buy those cornish hens and cook in crock pot with fresh carrots & potato's. They cost $2.50 and last 2 dogs 3 days. Just as cheap as canned dog food and much better for them. The NB is kinda dear but I only give my guys 1/3 of a cup per day. They are fat & sassy on what I give them and seem very satisfied. I'm the biggest sucker in the world.....they beg and I give them handouts sometimes. Chicken or fish mostly. Oh yea, they also get those Nat. Balance dog treats. I got a great deal...this store over here went of of business and I bought about 25 bags for 60% off. They are usually 3.99 per bag. I think this regimen saved Dotttie!

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

OK Nanook (for the slow like me), are you recommending Natural Balance?

Butterfly just turned 3 last month. She doesn't have any issues wxcept she can be a finicky eater. That's why I keep the several brands in rotation.

My parents' cocker (Rembrandt) did experience a hair loss issue so I would like to be able to recommend something to them too. Their new dog, Java, looks mostly fine but his coat is not as healthy as it should like for an almost 2 year old. I know it is too much table fiood and junk food snacks but at a minimum, I think a good quality dog food should help balance things.

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Tulip, sorry I missed our question earlier...yes the natural balance is wonderful. But, so is Taste of The Wild. I would venture to say the Natural Balance is a little better, but it is more expensive. TOTW is the least expensive grain free.



TOTW

I am convinced that grain free is the way to go. Rose looks like a million bucks. It is amazing how the food has transformed her,(from a former bone rack aged 11 year old Dobe) and the other dogs on this food are doing so well I have decided to feed it exclusively. At least for now. Life will be so much easier with one food for everyone!

I feed less TOTW to each dog that is eating it, than I would feed say, the Eagle, or any of the foods that contain grain. Nice firm poops (yay, yard cleanup is so much easier that way and there are LESS of them). Shiny healthy coats and nice feel to their bodies. win win.

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

Thanks Nanook. I'll give the Natural Balance a try. Butterfly's food is not inexpensive now but because she's small it's not a burden. If she likes it, I'll add it to the rotation.

I'll recommend TOTW to my parents because I may as well admit Java's dish will always have a majority of table food mixed in. Last time I saw him, his coat still looked a bit off for a dog so young.

[Nanook]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

I am a proponent of adding table food to the dog food, as long as it is done in proportion. Decades ago... when I worked in one of the better restaurants, on Monday's I would lug home all kinds of goodies for my dogs. Leftover prime rib every week for my Doberman, Kaiser von Cupcake. He lived to 14.. Can you say "dinnertime was a riot"! Now I feed less table food, but it is much preferable to tossing food in the garbage. My dogs even like steamed cabbage.

If I could afford it, I would probably have everyone on Natural Balance. I love that if they make a change in the food, they tell the retail persons who sell the food. Hopefully, they are on the ball enough to pass the word on, like my girls do.

This is day 2 of TOTW for everyone, and feeding time is a breeze again!

The reddish hairs on Paris's belly and on her legs has grown out to nice creamy white. All that time I thought it was stain from my red clay, but now come to find out it was stain from her insides coming out! No more ear infections and she is in great weight at only around 3 cups a day.

The biggest worry I had when switching, was when I thought maybe some of the dogs didn't like TOTW. Nice body weights suggested otherwise, though. It is just that they don't need to consume as much of that food so they didn't clean their bowls.

[Tulip]

Re: The food merry go round-again.

I hope I didn't come across like I never mix in some people food. If I lit the grill and never gave Butterfly no meat, then she probably would have her behind turned around to me right now lol.

My parents generation was prior to dog food being manufactured which I from what I have heard was some time in the mid 1900s. They grew up accustomed to feeding dogs table scraps, chicken wings, and chicken backs and what not.

Spending money on dog food when they have good leftovers in the house is not a priority. We did used to give the dogs vitamin supplements though.

I'm not anti, but I do try to have more balance. It took me almost a week to get Butterfly over the hot wings they let her eat when they last visited. Once you get that taste in your mouth for the savory, you know how it goes. Her lil kidneys are too small to be filtering out anything that salty.