karrie Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 puppy food to digest? Reason I ask is Sam is on Iams puppy ( breeder had him on it to start with so I cont.).. Sam ate 2 hours of so before we went for a drive to pick kids up...He was doing Great! He has had car sickness in the past ~mega slobber... but on this day no slobber and he really was enjoying himself...Course Libby was not helping when she blocked his ability to move around behind the seats next thing I know he hurls....Okay... no biggie I clean and soothe the little guy.... he was fine all the way back home. But I noticed the Iams food was still intact not digested... struck me as unusual. Lately Sam has been having gas too... stools are nice and firm so no problem there. Thinking of changing his food. My other dogs have all had Pedigree puppy and did great...But now they have all these new dog foods...I'm curious about the Diamonds and the Chicken for the Soul( I think that is the name). Anyone had experience with them ? Did you noticed how well it digested ( how long in the tummy)? I don't want to just change his foods around... I thought about getting a sample of each and seeing how he did but maybe that would upset his tummy especially going from one to another then another. He gets doggie biscuits as treats no problems there... and none of them were present in the hurl...so atleast they digested. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Kibble takes a LONG time to leave the stomach. Like, hours. Altogether, it can take up to eighteen hours to completely digest (out the other end). So the answer to your question is, no, that's nothing to worry about, that Sam threw up intact kibble after just a couple hours. I've noticed the same with even the most premium feeds, so switching brands won't make a huge difference there. But, Iams is one of the yuckier foods so you may as well if you are thinking about it. I'd rather feed Purina ProPlan or ONE than Iams, frankly, and HAVE. Corn is particuarly hard to digest and so are wheat and soy, so when shopping around look for foods as free as possible from those. I think Chicken Soup is pretty good - it was my emergency food for a long time. Now Merrick has come out with a kibble I really like the looks of - we're testing it out here to see whether it might be a good alternate. 23% protein, 12% fat - hallelujah! And oatmeal, barley and rice are the only grains. It does have flax seed so I'm testing it on Ben, my canary in the mine. We'll see. They get the Merrick for breakfast and their usual raw meat meal for dinner. So far they look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Hey Becca, was just talking to Pam last night and she's starting to feed Merrick as well. Is there a website for this food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/detail.php?c=14&s=20268 I love Merrick canned so we'll give this a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Kennels Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Laura - www.Merrickpetcare.com My wholesale supplier carries it and I ordered a couple of cases of the canned last time - my dogs love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Becca and Kim, What size bags does the kibble come in? I went to the link Becca provided and saw the ingredients and price, but have no idea how much you get for that price! I'm needing to get dog food soon and would consider combining this with their chicken soup but really need to know how much I'm getting for $17+. Oh, never mind--I found it. $17.78 for 5 lbs would break me with 7 dogs. Karrie, Once I had to dose everyone with H2O2 because of a rat poison scare. I feed early in the morning (around 6), and the drenchng took place at something like 11:30 at night. There was still whole kibble in the vomit, and I feed a high-quality food without corn. I was surprised to see whole kibble, but I understand it's not completely unusual. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 What prices do you guys pay for the Merrick? I wonder if my co-op could get it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 http://tinyurl.com/6733w for prices more comparable to what I paid. Wow, $18 for five pounds, where was THAT? I paid $45 for 30 pounds, not great when compared to the CSFDS but I had terrible problems with shedding and gunky teeth on that. We'll see whether the Merrick does better over a short-term run. That's all I want since I just want something for emergencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Kennels Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I pay between 31 to 32 dollars for the 30 lb bag. I order all my stuff by the flat and can mix and match as I like. The canned is around 16 dollars for a 12 case of the 13.2 oz. I have a couple of friends I order for which helps to make sure I am not ordering too much to worry about shelf life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Laura, I would like to talk to you about your co-op.... Becca, The price I quoted was to order directly off the Merrick site, either the link you posted or the one Kim posted. Since I would mix it with Chicken Soup or something else, $45 for 30 pounds isn't quite so bad, though still a bit steep. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karrie Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 thanks! Now I can stop panicking that the little guy isn't getting enough food cause it is taking so long to digest. Thanks for the tip on the grains to watch for... I really want Sam to be nice and healthy. He is a daredevil now so I can really see him going into agility.... so really healthy bones and muscles are very important for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 That price was on the Merrick site, no shipping, but awful pricey. The 30# bags were over $60. I pay $38 (plus tax) for California Natural Lamb and Rice here in WV. I hate paying that much but I like the simple ingredients (lamb meal, brown rice, rice, sunflower oil, and vitamins and minerals), 21% protein and 11% fat. I really like how nice the dogs do on it, with the addition of a tablespoon of bacon grease or beef grease added. The dog with beef allergies does wonderfully on it. All three have great coats (and I attribute part of that at least to the fat I add) and lots of energy. They all eat it very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Kennels Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Laura and Julie - If you can't get your price down to around 32.00 for the 30 lb bag let me know and I'll give you the info to get set up where I buy mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 Thanks Kim, I'm looking to rotate foods right now, but I think I'll try Canidae this time around b/c I can get 40# for $26. My co-op doesn't currently carry Merrick. Just curious for all you food experts out there, what makes a dog lose weight on a particular food? What I feed now is 25-28% protein (yes I know it's high) and 15-18% fat and it's hard to keep weight on my girls. I've heard a lot of dogs gain weight on Canidae, which is why I'm going to try that out next. Julie, I'll email you about the co-op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.