Can't find the perfect diet???

[waterpoloman]

I was wondering if anyone has used Natural Balance.

[BullyVW]

I started off cheap before I got into this forum. Both my pups (APBT and a Boston Terrier) were brought up on Pedigree puppy and pedigree wet food.

Then I started to read. I recently purchased my first bag of Canidae PAWS formula.....and the difference, to me, is amazing. The only problem being that Ralph, who is growing at huge rates, never seems full.

I tried a sample of Wellness......and they didn't seem to like it too much.

For now, I'm sticking with Canidae with some Nutro wet mixed in.

[Maryellen]

what is the canidae paws formula? i never saw that kind.. maybe the regular canidae all life stages would be better for Ralph?? or the Timberwolf Organics?

[BullyVW]

There is nowhere around here to find half of the brands on that list. PAWS is the all stages......it stands for Puppy Adult Working Suppliment or something like that

[Maryellen]

oh duh silly me... i am staring at my canidae bag for hope and it says on the side PAWS.. i am a moron...
how many times does Ralph eat and how much do you give him?

[BullyVW]

Good, while you're staring at the bag, remind me what it stands for.

Well, here's what I do. We feed him twice a day...about a cup each time. Also, he gets about 1 tablespoon of wet food mixed in to coat the dry food.

He grew 11.5 pounds from Dec. 13th to Jan 11th! I know he needs more, but I'm following the bag recommendations.

Any thoughts.

Oh, and my Boston has food issues....not aggressive at all, but she wants whatever Ralph is having. They eat the same damn thing, but she constantly pushed him out of the way and eats from his bowl. He's so gentle he just waits till she's done.

[Maryellen]

never go by what the bag says.. PAWS- Puppies Adults Working Seniors.....PAWS.. Puppies Adults Working Seniors..PAWS...etc

i would up ralphs food to 3-4 cups a day, he is 5 months old right?? rufus at that age was eating 3x a day during the week, and on the weekends i would give him 4x a day on saturdays and sundays... add some other food to his bowl too, he is growing so he needs more food .. after a while he will stop eating one of his meals which will let you know whento cut back.. i would feed both dogs separately.. as when ralph gets older he might not tolerate that from the boston, and you dont want a fight to happen.. either leash the boston while feeding or crate one of them and feed inthe crate. i supervise my 3 when its time to eat as jesse tends to have that wandering bowl syndrome like your boston...

i also add Natural balance to their foood too, it makes mine gain weight quicker.. Hope is getting that with her canidae and she has gained 3lbs in a week so far.. my dogs are all on Timberwolf organics. i had it shipped to my house for the first bag.. you can ask your local place to get it too if you want.. both foods can be ordered online and deliverd to your door.

[BullyVW]

Thanks for the help.

I have very little worries about Ralph going after the Boston. What I failed to mention is that he then switches to eating out of her bowl....the SAME DAMN THING.

It's amusing to watch..they switch on and off for about 10 minutes. The Boston knows when she's full and he'll quietly sit there and finish everything from both bowls.

[satanscheerleader]

I made a thread regarding this and its recieved no attention so Ill try here also. I feed my dog Bil Jac and cottage cheese (couple tablespoons mixed in) with a decent dry food for filler.

I am not a nutritionist in anyway but I thought I would share with you what I read. I read that cottage cheese has an unbalanced calcium/phosphorous ratio. Now I wouldn't hestitate to give a little bit once in a while to my dogs but I wouldn't give it all the time myself. I also read that dogs digest kibble and natural foods a little differently so it is actually better to give the kibble separately from any natural foods. I know a bit about digestion and such because my daughter has cystic fibrosis so this seemed to make sense to me. Just thought I'd share.

[satanscheerleader]

[quote="raiyo"]I feed both of my dogs Science Diet.

Looking for a switch right now. What does FREE LAMB mean?

Just means it has no lamb for those dogs that are allergic to lamb.

[Maryellen]

Bil Jac is not a good food to give the dogs.. there is a food thread here somewhere..

[satanscheerleader]

i feed my 11 year old dog nutro and he likes it a lot. i would def suggust it to anyone.

I have tried Nutro with my dogs and had very weird results. Two of my dogs are prone to dry coat and it, so far, is the only food that competely alleviates it but at the same time it causes all the dogs to have the hair on the top of their heads and on their snout totally thin out! They claim to have a high linoleic acid content so maybe is what is helping their coat. I think the thing with dog food is that every dog is different and no one dog food is good for all dogs.

[satanscheerleader]

Eagle Pack Holistic is good food.
the other Eagle Pack are not worth the price

I don't trust the BARF diet..my friend knew a poodle breeder who lost 14 dogs to salmonella poison while feeding BARF.
just too many risks, imo

Hi AllAmericanPup! How goes it!?

[satanscheerleader]

I definitely feel more comfortable with the more "natural foods" like Canidae, Natural Balance, California Natural, Azmira, Solid Gold, Wellness, etc... but because I believe variety is the key to a healthy diet and no one food can do it all, I have my own method that seems to work well. Since I have 5 dogs I buy a few different kinds and rotate their food. When I open the first bag I start mixing in a measuring cup full of the second bag. By the time the first bag is empty it mostly consists of what was in the second bag. I still have some left of the second bag so I start adding the third kind to that bag. Sort of like what you do when switching to a new food gradually but I do that continuosly. I also have tried the method of buying four different kinds at once and giving them a different one at each meal and they adjusted to that just fine as far as any loose stools and such. In fact it seemed to make their digestive system stronger. I would still do that but I have 1 dog on adult food and 4 on senior so I would have to buy 8 bags at a time instead of four. The way I am doing it now I can buy less at a time. I also feed them natural foods inbetween their kibble meals {they get a morning and evening kibble meal}. The natural food usually consists of any blended combo of fruit, veggies or meat...whatever is left over or I decide to add. I don't give them any grains cause I figure they get enough of that in their kibble.

[Maryellen]

where is the thread where barbponys gave the 3 pages on here for how to find the right food? it was one with barf , one with what not to give from stores, and one for what to look for & not look for,. i have searched for the thread and i cant find it., it was pbf topics that she put in a post..