Switching food

[Tiga's_mom]

I know this has been talked about ad naseum, but I just discovered that I have some options on what to feed Tiga. He has a ton of alleriges which include: wheat, yeast, corn, peas, tomatoe pumice, fish meal and many environmental. We are currently feeding him Royal Canin Hypoallergenic which he seems to tolerate well. I found a store today that actually has some options of food to feed him. I can't really afford to spend much more then I am spending right now. We spend about $80 for a bad of food that last us almost 2 months.

 

So that being said, here are the options that I have.

 

Raw patties that have meat and veggies etc in them. Kind of expensive though. It's about $15 for 4 lbs which would only last 4 days.

 

Urban Wolf which is dehydrated food that you add meat to. It's $21 for 20 cups + the cost of meat.

 

If I were to go either of these routes then I'd be more inclined to go and buy my own raw but I'm just not sure it will be any cheaper and I don't have a lot of time to prep food for him.

 

There are 2 kinds of kibble that they have.

 

Go! Naturel and California Naturel. They both have protein meal as the first ingrediant. The "meal" part makes me leary and I'm not sure why. Other then that, it's all ingredients that he can eat and very simple formulas. Both of these options are less then what I'm paying for the Royal Canin.

 

The last option is Sojo's which is a dehydrated food that you just add water to. Again it's all ingredients that Tiga can eat and it seems very simple and cheap to me. I think I'm leaning towards this but I'm not sure. Here's the info on it:

 

Guaranteed Analysis: crude protein 22.0% min., crude fat 8.0% min., crude fiber 5.1% max., moisture 12.3% max. Calories per cup = 480.8 Kcals

 

SOJOS COMPLETE DOG FOOD MIX is a wholesome GRAIN-FREE pre-mix that you simply combine with water to create your own fresh, homemade pet food. Made with USDA freeze-dried raw Turkey and other all-natural ingredients:

 

sweet potatoes, USDA turkey, whole egg, broccoli, celery, apples, flax meal, pecans, tricalcium phosphate, pumpkin, cranberries, basil, dried alfalfa, ginger root, dried kelp, zinc sulfate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin D2

 

1 lb. of SOJOS COMPLETE makes approximately 5 lbs. of fresh, raw dog food.

 

This would also be much cheaper then what I'm currently feeding.

 

Any thoughts?

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

GO! and NOW! are both good foods. Have you checked out the varieties that ACANA and Orijen offer. I think they have a version Tiga should be able to eat.

 

Personally, I think if you're going to go through the expense to purchase Raw patties, why don't you just feed raw? I think that would be a way cheaper alternative and then you know there aren't any allergens in his food. (I don't feed raw, but if I had a dog with extreme allergies, I likely would)

[Tiga's_mom]

The store that I found all these at does also carry the Acana but he can't eat any of them. Most of them have peas or some kind of fish. He's also allergic to fish meal and I'm not sure exactly what kind of fish so we try to avoid that as well.

 

I'm pretty sure we will not be feeding the patties. As you said, if I'm going to do that then I'd rather just buy it myself. I was just looking for other options. That's why I kind of like the last option, the Sojo's. It's a raw diet but easier to deal with for us. I don't really have the kitchen/fridge/freezer space or time to deal with feeding a raw diet. Plus it kind of grosses me out to deal with all that raw meat. I don't really eat meat myself.

 

The only thing about the Sojo's that made me question it was that they list potatoes as the first ingredient. I'd rather see a protein there.

 

I do like the ingredients in Go! I'm just happy to finally have some options, all of which seem to be cheaper then what we're currently feeding.

 

One of the receptionists at the vet also recommended EVO. I've looked at those ingredients and it seems ok except there's herring, so it looks like our options are raw, Go! Naturel, Caliornia Naturel and the Sojo's. It's kind of overwhelming to have to choose. I guess all we can do it try. I was hoping someone had tried the Sojo's but maybe I'll try the Go!

 

It's always something with him.

 

On the plus side, he's doing well since his knee surgery. It's still a slow process but most days you can't even tell that he had surgery except that the fur is a little shorter on that side. He's adjusted well to the new place and being confined for so long. He's getting more freedom back all the time and he's starting to get back to his old self.

[Brad]

so it looks like our options are raw, Go! Naturel, Caliornia Naturel and the Sojo's. It's kind of overwhelming to have to choose. I guess all we can do it try. I was hoping someone had tried the Sojo's but maybe I'll try the Go!

 

I've seen it recommended often that you switch kibbles a few times a year, to ensure variety. Maybe give each of these a go for 4 month cycles?

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

The only thing about the Sojo's that made me question it was that they list potatoes as the first ingredient. I'd rather see a protein there.

 

I'd question that too. I know quite a few people feeding GO! and have not heard any complaints. I had one of my dogs on it for a stint, but now, with 2 dogs, I've switched to Kirkland Signature (costco brand) to save some $$. It's also a good food, but I don't think it has ingredients your boy can handle.

[Flamincomet]

Sojos also has flax meal, which can cause allergy problems with some dogs. I looked into them a while ago, but not enough meat for my liking.

 

I looked into a lot of premade raw and dehydrated diets, but just decided to go with my own custom prey model raw diet. It really doesn't take up as much time as you would think. I feed one of my cats The Honest Kitchen Prowl (because she won't eat organ meats) and the other one a prey model diet. If I start feeding them at the same time, it usually takes long to prepare and feed the dehydrated. I have to measure out and microwave the water until it's warm, measure out the mix, stir it together in a bowl, and wait 10 minutes for it to be ready. Where as with my other cat, all I do is plunk a chicken drumstick/wing, chunk of beef heart or organ on the towel, and he starts eating right away. It takes a little bit to get started and comfortable with the amount to feed, but really that's nothing. I ration out meals and organs about once a month, then just feed frozen meals straight from the fridge. (Except for the cats, they are picky, lol)

 

My teen border collie is even a self regulator, meaning I can plop down a whole frozen chicken, and he stops when he's full. So I just put it back in the fridge, and feed again the next day. (With organs you can't do that though)

 

If you're set on a pre-made diet though, I would recommend The Honest Kitchen over Sojos. They have many different recipes, but these are the grain free ones:

 

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/force (Also has flaxseed, but more meat)

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/preference (You add meat)

 

Autumn

[Guest maya's mom]

Not sure if this is an issue for you or not, but the company that makes California Natural was sold to Proctor & Gamble. We had been feeding Maya this food since day one, but recently switched to Orijen because of the sale. I am sure that they will probably change the formula and/or use lesser quality ingredients, so I just felt better switching. Orijen is no grain, and she has been doing very well on it. Good luck!

[Tiga's_mom]

Thank you everyone for your input. I think I'm going to start with the Go! and see how he does on that. It's fairly cheap compared to what we are feeding. If we have no luck with that then I think it may be time to consider a full raw diet. The more I think about Sojo's the more I don't like it as an option.

 

Thanks again!