About Rotation Diet
Experienced dog owners: Foods?I asked earlier but just got a few responses. I thought I'd try again now that more people may be on. Don't worry, I won't keep asking this same question after this attempt. 1. Should I use a rotation diet? Admittedly I have not researched this thoroughly and only know that I would need to slowly introduce the foods during rotation. (Saw someone say it reduces toxins... what are pros and cons?) 2. Puppy foods: (Ones I have researched and like.) * Blue Buffalo * Simply Nourish * Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (I would only use the puppy food --in a adulthood I would not use this food as there is no toy formula yet.) * Nutro Natural Choice 3. My favorite food that I have thoroughly researched has been Blue Buffalo. However, I keep reading reviews that while the dogs are doing well, they seem gassy and have loose stool. Do you have any opinions/experience with this food? 4. What do you think of the food Wellness Core? It's very expensive but as it is considered a "five star food" and the others I listed are "four star foods," I'm wondering if I should suck it up and pay extra or if it won't make that much of a difference. Also, if you know of any foods you prefer over all these, please let me know what they are so I can see if I can easily get them and if I like their quality/ingredients. Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy questions!
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Experienced dog owners: Foods?
Hello, me again. The girl (woman? 22.) getting the Pomeranian puppy in two months. This time I'd like to ask about dog food. I have narrowed it down to four foods and have many questions if anyone has the patience to offer me their opinions and experience. 1. Should I use a rotation diet? Admittedly I have not researched this thoroughly and only know that I would need to slowly introduce the foods during rotation. (Saw someone say it reduces toxins... what are pros and cons?) 2. Puppy foods: The four foods I can locally purchase are * Blue Buffalo (I would probably use the puppy formula, then the toy breed formula in her adulthood. The price for the Wilderness variety is a little high, but I can do the Freedom and other varieties.) * Simply Nourish * Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (I would only use the puppy food --in a adulthood I would not use this food as there is no toy formula yet.) * Nutro Natural Choice 3. My favorite food that I have thoroughly researched has been Blue Buffalo. However, I keep reading reviews that while the dogs are doing well, they seem gassy and have loose stool. Do you have any opinions/experience with this food? 4. What do you think of the food Wellness Core? It's very expensive but as it is considered a "five star food" and the others I listed are "four star foods," I'm wondering if I should suck it up and pay extra or if it won't make that much of a difference. Also, if you know of any foods you prefer over all these, please let me know what they are so I can see if I can easily get them and if I like their quality/ingredients. Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy questions! Wow. :) Don't worry, I will spend the appropriate amount of money to care for my dog. I know poms eat little, but would like to get the most "bang for my buck" when it comes to foods. That should be understandable. And I'm sorry if I misread your response, Labman, but I just can't get behind foods like Old Roy. I don't wish to argue about whether or not it makes a difference, and I can see where you are coming from, but I'm of the opinion there are high quality and low quality foods out there. Thank you everyone for your responses so far, very informative! Steven - Thank you for your informative review. Since you think so highly of Wilderness and have had a great experience with it, I may try it out despite the price. Tobi - I have thought about it some --I didn't think about it very long, I must admit, because I am not very fond of cooking, especially touching meat. On the other hand I have heard positives and negatives about this sort of feeding. If it is very preferable to dog food, I would be willing to do it. I'll keep researching it --just want to be sure my dog gets all the nutrients she needs. Thanks for your links as well!
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Need help with feeding raw? And a "Rotation" diet?
I'm unsure how I should feed raw? I'm getting a new puppy, is it safe for puppies? What type of meat? Should I just cut up a few pieces and put it in his food? (I'm thinking about doing taste of wild or orijen) And is it literally raw? like you buy it from the store and use that? I'm really unsure about all of this!? Because I was thinking that I was just going to get a kibble type food like Taste Of Wild, and then people started talking about feeding raw and a "Rotation Diet" ? Help!? I'll give best answer! To Mescudi : But, if my dog has bones in the raw meat, won't he choke
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Orijen Cat & Kitten, Wellness CORE, or Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kittens?
Orijen Cat & Kitten, Wellness CORE Fish & Fowl for Cats & Kittens, or Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kittens? Theyre all great choices, but I'm still not sure about the quality of each brand. They've all been involved in small recalls of unrelated products in the past, but they all have reputations for being the best. They all have protein levels between 40 and 45. They all have fat levels between 18-20. Fiber between 2.5 and 3.5. They have Taurine .2 and .5. They have phosphorus between 1 and 1.5. They have calcium between 1 and 1.8. Omega 6 is 3.5 for each. OMega 3 is between .5 and 1.2. They're all $20-$25 for 5-5.5. lbs. Help me decide? Should I put her on a rotation diet and just slowly change over to each one when I run out? Should I use a rotation diet and get her used to all of them slowly and then give her a different one every week or so? Also, I plan to add the wet food for each of these brands to her diet with the dry food.
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Why does my dog have bad breath...?
...when she is on a grain-free diet? Any ideas why????? She is allergic to everything!!! We used to feed her a rotation diet of Wellness Core, Acana, TOTW, Orijen and Natural Balance (according to how much money we had that month). I've tried Prey Model for several months as well (she only does well on red meat, poultry gives her poops cept for quail). We usually keep her on a food for about 4 months at a time to see if anything improves. She has been to the vet for a full check up. Teeth are great. Stool sample was fine. Vet suggested we check her diet. I just laughed. He said to try putting her on something that has high quality grains in it because her was worried she was having problems with potatoes as the carb. I didn't want to do that because grains are bad, right? She had a skin test and is highly allergic to grass. I live in rural NC. There is a LOT of unavoidable grass here. We got a second opinion from a pet nutritionist because we know how clueless vets can be about pet diets. She was quite shocked that my dogs breath was so bad when we brought her in. She said the same thing the vet told me. When we adopted our dog she had a very bad ear infection and it wouldn't go away (even with antibiotics). The grain-free was supposed to help with this but she maintains an ear infection for 6 months out of a year (yes we clean them daily). We put her on Canidae ALS three nights ago and the bad breath is gone. She poops twice a day now (only once previously). Her ear is getting very bad again. I'm not sure what to do. We keep trading one problem for another. The breath is SOOOO bad that it can't continue. Likewise with the ear infections. I grew up in a house with 8 dogs and have never had any issues to match this one. My vet is out of ideas. Our nutritionist is stumped too. Our girl is a Jack Russell if that makes a difference. Anybody out there have any "useful" ideas? I should add she just had an exam. She's 8 and the vet said her teeth look like she is a 2 year-old. If the smell is coming from her mouth it isn't coming from anything visible. We are quite sure it is in her digestive track and it only happens when she has potatoes in her diet. It goes away as soon as we replace potatoes as a carbohydrate with rice as the main carb. The ear thing seems to be due to lack of air reaching inner ear (floppy ears keep canal closed). Wife just brought her back from vet a few minutes ago. So am I stuck feeding her a grainy food? =( Our vet seems to think so if we don't want nasty breath. I just don't like all the carbs.
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