Beth G Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Well they did OK on Nutro all Natural Lamb and Rice, but it constipated them to the point of bleeding and they needed more weight on them. They did better on the Dog Lover's Gold with gaining weight and not having poop issues but it gave them eye boogers. So I guess it's on to the Canidae and hope this is the last stop...lol. Anyone else having these many food issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpups Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I had problems with Taj that disappeared virtually overnight when I started feeding him raw. After a vet visit a few days ago and being railroaded into thinking that I wasn't feeding my puppy a balanced diet by feeding raw, I re-introduced a small amoount of premium kibble into his raw diet. Guess what? The gastro problems have come back so I will stick to a variety of raw food from now on. If you havn't tried it, I definitely recommend it (I have also virtually eliminated m,y Shar-Peis gastro problems by switching to raw food. Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I feed Canidae and am very happy with it. That said, I have an older Boxer with irritable bowel, and sometimes he has stomach pain/issues, brought on by changes in routine. When these episodes came on before I fed Canidae, it took a long time and home cooking for him to return to normal. On Canidae, he can stay on it, and return to normal much faster. I noticed the price went up some though. That bugs me. I wish there was some way all of us Eastern states Canidae feeders could form a consortium, and order/have delivered our stocks at reduced costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SincereArtisan Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Has anyone heard of this 'Tatse of the Wild' food that just came out? I switched my cat to it first....BAD mistake. We clean the 3 litter boxes around the house maybe once every three days or so, because one cat doesn't really fill them up or soil them all. We kinds just clean whats needed. Well, there is SO much protien in this food, after the 2nd dayof being fully switched to it, it smelled like something had been lying dead in our house for a week. Thereafter, every poo she made caused the house to smell rotten. I own 26 snakes, and even on clean-out day they don't stink a fraction of what this did, and they're all in one room. Needless to say,as good as my cat loved the food, I had to switch her back to something else. We really couldn't cope with that... However, looking at the dog food, it looks fairly good. I'm thinking of switching Rune to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SincereArtisan Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Ah, here it is: http://alpha-nutrition.stores.yahoo.net/ta...CFQINgQodAVwKug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I had the same sort of trouble with Dean and did end up going with raw for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Has anyone heard of this 'Tatse of the Wild' food that just came out? I am currently feeding it (the fish-based one) to Boy and Twist and they are both doing great on it I think. No gastro issues or anything like that. It's grain-free, which is good for Boy and doesn't hurt Twist, who tends to porkiness.... With your cat, you simply may not have allowed enough time for him to adjust to the new diet. Michelle, My dogs do get some raw (Lark gets it one meal a day--she's the only one of my dogs who eats twice a day), but they also eat premium kibble. Now that it's deer season, they will be getting more raw, but still kibble will be the main part of their diet. If you are concerned about a raw diet not providing all the necessary nutrients (my main concern with it), why not at a vitamin/mineral supplement to Taj's diet? Beth G, FWIW, whenever this discussion comes up, I think it's necessary to point out that every dog is an individual and will respond to food choices as such. My dogs did well on Canidae but had giant poops. Boy lost weight on Timberwolf Organics, and although I think it's a great food, it just apparently wasn't right *for him* (although he does well on Pinnacle, Nature's Variety Prairie, Wellness, and Eagle Pack, and now maybe Taste of the Wild, although he has been a bit itchy lately too, so next time around I may switch back to one of the others and see if the itchiness goes away). I had to go through a number of (small) bags of kibble to find a brand Lark would even consider eating (she eats Merrick). So unfortunately there's no magic answer--you just have to keep trying until you find the one that works. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLLt3cK Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Both of my dogs get 1 cup of California Natural (Herring & Sweet Potato ((their favorite))) in the morning and another cup + 1/2 can at night. Both are doing excellent on it and it put weight on my younger pup after I adopted her. I highly recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie_Girl Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I must be really lucky. I have 5 dogs here. Two working bred BCs, two (suspected)ACK bred BCs, and a (suspected)sheltieX, they are free fed and I only have to fill their bowls once a day. They get 8 scoops of Purina Lamb and Rice. They also get raw at least once a week. And they are all doing fine. No gastro probs. No poop probs. Could it be genetic? Or just blind luck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Beth, if the Nutro was working well for your dogs you could just try feeding that along with some extra fat (I'd start with a teaspoon and work up to a tablespoon) and a tablespoon of canned pumpkin. Linda, my Missy seems to have an iron stomach. After some initial gastro upset when I started adding raw to her diet, she can now eat just about anything and switch back and forth between a couple different kinds of kibble and a variety of raw meats with no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Great idea! Yeah aside from the constipation issues, they do ok on it I just wanted them on something higher end and so was switching for that reason and to get some more weight on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffTopic Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 I saw some of that Taste of the Wild food while I was shopping today, but the price scared me too much to look at the ingredient list. I've been feeding Blackwood 5000 Catfish and Potato(no corn, no soy, no wheat), but I'm thinking of trying out Blue Buffalo. I picked up a few of the canned Venison dinners today to mix in with the Blackwood kibble and the ingredients look pretty good. The ingredients listed for the kibble on the website look pretty good, too. No corn, no wheat, no soy....whole grains, human grade meats, probiotics. Worth a shot. Although it's pretty spendy, too. Finn (BC) still doesn't look great (super skinny rescue dog/was a stray/we've had him for almost a month and he was fostered for about 2 weeks), but he does look better. He's gained 4 pounds (was 36 last month) on the Blackwood plus added oils and no longer looks like a skeleton. I think 40 is about as high as he needs to go, though. His coat is still not as glossy as I'd like to see, but it's coming around. I've been trying to make sure he gets plenty of protein (Wellness Venison Jerky, Smokehouse Duck Jerky) as treats instead of regular milkbone type treats and I'm starting to see better, er, poop results. He was pooping Great Dane/Shetland Pony sized mounds. Several times a day. Never seen anything like it from such a small dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Some dogs/cats will have GI upset when first switched to a higher quality food, because the body will often go through a detox period. Of course this isn't always the case and I have known people who have made a switch without a problem but each dog/cat is different. And w/ all the different foods out there some do better with certain ones and not other ones. I stopped buying commerical food years ago as I prefer my dogs to eat fresh whole foods. Plus I can tailor the diet to their own personal needs, offer more variety, and I control the ingredients. And they all dance around for their food. I had one pup who never wanted to eat commerical food, and would turn her nose up to it. She taught me a lot about food and when I started making my own she was always so excited to eat and would dance and dance around with joy. Had another one w/ runny eyes and gas. His problems all went away when I threw out the kibble. Their coats and eyes became shiny, and they all have beautiful teeth. Riley(our bc) wasn't that interested in food either until we switched her over from the canidae kibble that her foster mom was feeding. Now she lets out low cries of excitement when her food is almost ready, and I rarely hear a peep out of her during the course of the dog. She's so quite usually that when I hear a bark out of her it sounds funny. Anyway I was just sharing my experience w/ food, and here's hoping that your food issues end soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpups Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Julie I am just about to start researching supplements that are available here...I was thinking human consumption fish oil plus I think I read that needs to be balanced with something (EPO?) from what I was reading a few weeks back, but have no idea on how frequently or how much. I asked the vet who could not advise what supplements to add as he could only recommend the prescription diets which they sell. Yes I am looking for a new vet. I do believe that a raw diet can be balanced (especially for adult dogs and if fed organic) but I am having trouble getting anything but human consumption organ meats (heart, liver kidneys only) and I can really only get tinned fish as fresh and frozen is very expensive so would not be a weekly meal. Given the degradation of most farms, vit/min supplements are probably the way to go at least during puppyhood. It probably wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't a little bit concerned about Taj's coat not being as shiny as I would like to see it, although he was a week late getting his 12 week worming tablet (husband in hospital for surgery to insert plate and 7 screws in a smashed clavivle, then I was in hospital with pool chlorine chemical burns in my eye), and I have only just started him on fish (sardines) this morning (unable to deal with cannon butt should it occur, until now). Beth, sorry I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I did want to add that Taj put on weight really quickly with raw lamb in particular, maybe a combination of raw and commercial would give a good balance for the gastro issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 I bought a bag of the Taste of the Wild food but haven't tried it yet. It looks very good and have heard a lot of good things about it. But at $25 for a 15 lb bag it's pretty darn expensive. Has anyone else tried it before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 I bought a bag of the Taste of the Wild food but haven't tried it yet. It looks very good and have heard a lot of good things about it. But at $25 for a 15 lb bag it's pretty darn expensive. Has anyone else tried it before? Um, see my reply at the beginning of this thread.... FWIW, most of the premium foods are expensive. My dogs eat better than I do. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Julie I am just about to start researching supplements that are available here...I was thinking human consumption fish oil plus I think I read that needs to be balanced with something (EPO?) from what I was reading a few weeks back, but have no idea on how frequently or how much. It's advised to give Vitamin E with fish oil. Where are you located? There may be a local raw-feeders' co-op that could be a resource, especially for odering more expensive foods in bulk to save on costs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted November 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Beth, sorry I didn't mean to hijack your thread, but I did want to add that Taj put on weight really quickly with raw lamb in particular, maybe a combination of raw and commercial would give a good balance for the gastro issues? It's OK. Don't worry about it. I love listening to the discussions. I learn so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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