Food
This is not a poll- I know there was one earlier in the summer- I'd just like some insight on formulas and products you all would recommend. Thanks Up. |
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| I think you are going to get many different opinions and I really seem to think it is just what does best for your dog. I was originally with Iams. I have heard a lot of good comments on Iam's still and it really seems to do well with their OES's. Mine, however, would have spurts of loose stool. They would be fine for weeks or a couple of months and it would always come back. We changed to Nutro and it has been a few months now without any loose stool, so I can't say for sure that it was because of the food change, but I feel the food change did. If Chelsea is doing well on the food you have now, I might now would change. I am not sure.
Good luck on the food search.  Stormi and co. |
| The changes that were made to the Iams formulas really bothered me too, and I did everything I could to get my pets off their products, trying all kinds of premium and super premium foods, nutro, wellness, diamond products, etc....
It all came down to the fact that my dogs love Iams. They do well on it, they look good, their coats are in fantastic shape, their muscle tone is excellent, and their stools are smaller and firmer on Iams. They don't throw up on it, they don't get diarreah on it, and they actually seem to enjoy eating it. I could care less about the price of it, but that is a nice bonus that it's not 65.00 a bag like Wellness, which I still buy small bags of to use as training treats. So, we're staying with Iams.... |
| I'm sure you already know this Stormi, but I just thought I'd mention it...
Stools can be an excellent indicator of how much the dog is getting to eat. If a dog is fed too much it can result in loose stools, also if a dog is not getting enough to eat it can result in hard, dry stools. |
| We have been using Nutro Natural Choice for about 2 years now (and not just because there is a sheepie on the lamb and rice formula bag), and Em does great on it. our groomer always compliments on how soft she is and great her coat looks. we started out on Eukanuba thinking that because it was so expensive it must be great, well then i realized it was advertising that i was paying for. My aunt who used to breed highly recommends flint river, but for some reason Em wouldn't stop eating when we tried it and it's sooo expensive. when i fostered dogs they always recommended Nutro too.
We always fed the cats Iams until our vet informed us that it's really not a great food anymore, he said it's kind of like eating ground up snickers bars. we've switched them to Purina One recently and as crazy as that sounds they love it and they look great. |
| We've been feeding Chealsea Nutro since almost day one, and yeah, not becuase there is a big OES on the bag, although we think that's kind of cool! She seems okay on it, I've heard things about some of the more holistic foods available through feed stores and boutiques, but I'm not completely sure it's worth the extra bucks. I was not impressed with any of the foods that wouldn't list their ingredients though. I read labels all the time for us two legged critters, looking for trans fats and sodium, etc., it bugged me that lots of brands didn't list what was in the food. I know some one who knows the former owner of Iams and he told me that the formulas were all changed about two years ago- now Iams doesn't list ingredients anymore- I used to be an absolute Iams evangelist 10 years ago. I'm just nervous, I thought I had a sure thing back then and it seems like a whole new world in dog food.
Thanks for all of the comments! Up. |
| without getting into a heated debate, just read this:
http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=1196 |
| We've got Pooh on Science Diet and while he loves it....loves it? He'd eat the carpet if I didn't stop him...it's a bit pricy....$9 for a 5 pound bag.....what are the choices that will still be as good for him/them?
What about Purina 1? |
| stuff that's as good as science diet? kibbles n bits, pedigree, iams, eukanuba (a bit better, not much), any purina...
mid range food would be premium edge, some eagle pack, nutro natural choice, chicken soup... and they're all less expensive too don't pay for advertising, pay for the food. you might even squeeze in royal canin, but it tends to be pricey. |
| jsmarcus- my cats are doing great on purina one, i was a little iffy about it but heard some really good things about it. i use the hairball/ weight control and my cats are actually slimming down (one is 22 lbs down from 26 lbs) and the other with the hairball problem only has a few here and there where as before it was at least one a day. |
| Our cat is on Purina 1 and we've had no problems....she's about 11 pounds, so she's small....so Nutro is better, huh? It's amazing that Science Diet is $9 for a 5 pound bag here....and I've noticed that his stools are somewhat soft...perhaps when this bag goes we'll get him on Nutro... |
| The puppers and all the cats are on Nutro Max cat. I really like it. They have a beautiful coat and seem to love the taste. I have contacted a Nutro rep and they are sending me samples to give out when the kittens go to their new homes.
Since my hubby was having surgery and I didn't want to worry about the heavy lifting we went to Petsmart before the surgery and bought 3 dog foods, 3 cat foods, and 3 cat litters for all of that food was $245. I hope it lasts them for awhile.  |
| I am looking for this type of info. I've had Avalanche on Nutro since we got him in July. The breeder had him on Pedigree and our trainer recommended Nutro. Avalanche wont eat it though, eventually he does when he realizes that's all there is. When he spent the night at the vets after being neutered, he was fed Science Diet. I noticed his stools were dark green and less than with Nutro, firmer too( Nutro makes him poop a lot!!! and sometimes a bit loose, too) Does anyone know what stool color would be consideered "normal" and if dark greenish is bad. He actually likes Science Diet, I started to switch him to that. And does anyone out there like science diet? I'm willing to give it a try since my vet recommended it. It's not as expensive at the Petsmart over here. A 5lb. bag is $7 anyway, any info would help
THANK YOU!!! |
| science diet is evil. they used to put BHA into their dog food. |
| what is BHA? |
| I switched from Science Diet to Prairie a few weeks ago and Belle & Kayli love it! Belle wasn't eating much of the SD H-D prescription food, but she loves the Prairie. It's about $35 for a 30 pound bag but the girls are worth it. They love the Wellness biscuits with yogurt, apples, and bananas and I think they smell yummy, as if that matters, LOL.
Hey Susan, in that previous thread you mentioned food for paw-licking dogs. I could use some advise in that area before that slurpy noise sends me to the funny farm. Jil |
| I have Pepsi on Pedigree complete nutrition with Real Meat, Veggies & Rice Formula. Does anyone use this brand? He still has very soft stools.
I was going to switch him to the Pedigree Lamb & Rice Formula does anyone use it? Are they happy with it? Thanks |
| As far as I know, Pedigree isn't the highest quality food, however, I do know a lot of people who use it and are fine with it. If his stools are too soft, perhaps try very slowly switching to something else? If you do a little research online and ask your vet, it's easy to find out which foods are premium quality foods and which aren't. I recently began switching my girls over to Pro Plan puppy chicken and rice, a premium food, but at the lower end of the premium foods. I wanted to see if it would get Dancer to eat more and put some weight on her. It seems to be doing the trick, however she also has softer stools on this food. It's a recent change though so maybe in another week or so it will get better. |
| ProPlan was what my sister's breeder recommended for her bassets. |
| I had Tyler on Pedigree for a number of years. The whole while Tyler suffered from hot spots in the late summer months. I had tried to move him off of it several times and was unsuccessful till recently. I learned that Pedigree is made from a corn base and dogs can be alergic. Early this year I succesfully changed Tyler to Nutro and he did not have a single hot spot this year. I learned that I would now always feed my furry kids the highest quality that I can afford. I just think it's important. I also try to give them a variety of treats. Tyler feels that carrots and other veggies are big treats so I make sure he gets them when ever I am cooking. In the begining with Kiera, she would turn her nose up at all the veggies, now she craves them too. So you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Anyway, my best advice is to always feel the highest quality feed you can afford. Luck and best wishes |
| Everyone. Thanks for your input. One more question. Pepsi has only been on the new food for about 6 days. How long does it take for them to get used to a new food? |
| Really each dog is very individual. For example, with Kiera, I could change her food weekly and she would not react. Tyler on the other hand has what is called a soft stomach. I had to take him off of the Pedigree all the way. Then I cooked rice and barley and fed him that each day with an egg mixed in along with his wet food. I fed him the rice barley mixture for several weeks prior to adding the Nutro a little at a time to his meals until he was swiched over. As I understand it is not as hard on to change all dogs over to new food, but Tyler was so hard to change. Also, for him I am so glad that I did. His coat seems much better.
Good luck |
| Most dogs, and cats, cannot tolerate an immediate change. Any time someone brings home a new pet it is always a good idea to make sure you buy whatever the animal was eating before, and then very gradually switch to a new food over a period of a week or more. If your pup was just changed from one food to another without any mixing of the two it may take some time for the puppy's digestive system to adapt. If the pup is not adapting to the food then I would switch again, but slowly, mixing what you are feeding now about 3:1 ratio for a few days, then 2:1, then 1:1 etc until it is all the new food. |
| Thanks, Unfortunately Pepsi was at the Local Shelter and the food they were giving him was a bunch of different foods all mixed together.
I am sure the cheapest stuff available. They told me he was getting donated food and they weren't sure what it was. I am going to give the Pedigree a little bit more time. Maybe a week. Then maybe try the Lamb & Rice Formula of Pedigree. My Shepherd Harley also has digestive problems and does great on the Pedigree. When we first got him I tried him on the Natures Recipe and he did awful on it. I tried him on a couple of other expensive foods, IAMS, Eukanuba, but Pedigree has been the best so far. Hopefully Pepsi will adapt to it. I wouldn't mind switching to the Lamb & Rice Formula. It's just that Harley loves the taste of Pedigree. |
| just like emilys mom i feed my boys Nutro and they really soft coats,and their poops are small,so i have had great luck w/ Nutro..... also what is alot of us are wondering what is BHA? |
| I don't worry about BHA I feed a food with no additives or preservatives, we use Solid Gold and Oreo is healthy and has a super coat. |
| Here is a link to explain BHA and BHT.
http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa082101a.htm |
| Well I decided on a different food all together. I am trying the dogs on Authority Lamb & Rice, which is PetSmarts premium food equal to IAMS.
It's supposed to be great. I mixed it with the Pedigree for Pepsi and the other dogs just ate it without being mixed. They seems to really like the taste. The first ingredient being Lamb Meal not corn as in Pedigree. Wish me luck! |
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