Food stuff

Wrench · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:52 am Post subject: Food stuff

So...Wrench turns 6 months old Monday ( can you believe it?)

I have, I know you all will hate me...been feeding him Nutro as well as large breed puppy...so hate me double.

However I had two dogs before on it and both are about 7 and 10 years old now and still well and alive without seriously ever having a problem since the time they have been on it ( I still keep in touch , with an ex) both are also two very different dog breeds too. One Akita and one German shorthair pointer and border collie mix.

Now...since we have had Wrench he's been on it too. I went with it because I knew it and it had good results for me.

He had allergies problems, hair loss issues and skin issues since we have had them...we often thought about changing food but first wanted to rule out all else before we started switching him around.

Well...he had gotten into ant poison ( tiny bit) he had over and over again been getting into ants. He was having mosquito problems ( damn Texas) and fly problems ( double damn) and we started treating our yard , after a couple of months our yard and insect issue has been controlled and his hair grew back and he doesn't Even have bumps except rarely now ( the not sore kind, just bug bite kind where it raises sorta).

We also started using a shampoo form our vet as well...it helps with his follicale issues or something...anyways...since then...he has looked amazing and done great with his skin! Hair is grown back and real nice too, he seriously couldn't have a better coat.

He looks great, eats enough, is always normal happy and healthy go lucky and all that...energetic but not overly so either...I mean he sleeps well in night and takes a good nap in day but otherwise is up and ready to play anytime.

He has had blood work done, allergy tests....he's allergic to grass..yeah but even so he gets some bumps rarely and they go away in an hour or so instead of stay.

He has thrown up only 3 times since we got him on Easter and each time has been because he happened to eat real fast which is unusual for him because he was extra hungry ( from extra play) and one of those times was too much salt water at the beach...joy.

He has good poops and so on.

I do and always have added in carrots, cucumber, spinach, peaches, apple, banana, ground meat, chicken , yogurt, oatmeal and brown rice among occasional other foods into each meal.

But....after researching so much I really do want to change his food for the better long term.

However, what I lean more towards is something like California natural...so few ingrediants really catches me because it follows a line of what I eat myself when I look at pre-packaged and processed type foods.
I would love organic but not with so many ingrediants.

I will continue to mox food in as well...it's organic, local and so on type stuff...he also gets fish and he gets peanut butter in his kong too.

Now...after research and being on here the dog foods I have listed are

California Natural
Blue organics
Canidae
Eukanuba

I chose these all for various reasons...they are accessible where I live as well. Price is not an issue.

I don't like the number of ingrediants or not knowing what something is in all of the above except the California Natural.

Wrench does NOT have a sensitive stomach either so thats not a worry.

I even feed a partial raw diet but not too big on going fully raw at all at anytime. I will continue with this but want a base kibble food.

So...what are your thoughts, experiences and preferences, etc?

I am researching other places as well but thought I'd of course go here too.

What are the bad ingrediants to look for when looking at dog foods?

Welches · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject:

We have been using California Natural for going on 4 years and absolutely love it!!! All 3 of my dogs are on it and it has done wonders for their skin, coat, pads, teeth, etc. It turned my old man Yukon into a pup again. We also supplement with Fresh Factors and raw meals.

hoochmamas · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:10 am Post subject:

did you see the other thread.. dogs that were eating nutro that suddenly died?! yikes.. i know you can't believe everything you read, but.. i would switch.. now..
hooch is a canidae boy.. like you, i mix in lots of fresh veggies, fruit, chicken, he gets organic yogurt and pb kongs for a treat, etc..
but his poop is firm, he really loves his kibble.. his coat is very shiny and soft. i don't add in any supplements because they are all in the food.
Boo did well on canidae, too.. i guess you go with your gut.. and what works for wrench.