Regalis
Notable member
That's actually one of the big reasons I feed earthborn. No recalls to date and well within budget.
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Intestinal Blockage??
- Thread starter Apollo's Dobermom
- Start date
That's actually one of the big reasons I feed earthborn. No recalls to date and well within budget.
Apollo's Dobermom
Member
Thank you all so much for the honest opinions and insight on things. I'm a first time owner so I am definitely a newbie to all of this. Sounds like aside from feeding raw, Taste of the Wild is the way to go! Right? Should I feed him a specific flavor or version (puppy version?). I will slowly transition him off Pro Plan and get him on TOTW. 
Apollo's Dobermom
Member
It might also be better for his coat too...his coat has been so dull and flakey. I hear coconut oil or fish oil capsules help make their coats shiny? How much do I give? He recently had a bacterial infection which he is on meds for now and he is losing patches of fur.
I started with taste of the wild high prairie it's a all life stages food so you don't need a puppy version. I switch protein sources even with kibble because I like them to have variety. Right now she's on pacific stream.
Mine get krill oil and coconut oil.
You can put a tablespoon once a day on his kibble of coconut oil and how ever many pumps for the fish oil that the bottle recommends. I personally prefer krill oil
Apollo's Dobermom
Member
Thank you!!! Ahh, I will do exactly that. I'm just so happy that he ate today even if it was with all the extra yummy stuff! He reaaally enjoyed the bone broth. I plan on making more!I started with taste of the wild high prairie it's a all life stages food so you don't need a puppy version. I switch protein sources even with kibble because I like them to have variety. Right now she's on pacific stream.
Mine get krill oil and coconut oil.
You can put a tablespoon once a day on his kibble of coconut oil and how ever many pumps for the fish oil that the bottle recommends. I personally prefer krill oil
Apollo's Dobermom
Member
We watched the sunset together yesterday on the patio
bomary
Hot Topics Subscriber
Oh, he's looking like a big boy! Very handsome!
Archer
Hot Topics Subscriber
Bone broth is suppsed to be cooked for 24 hours and everything is supposed to be taken out of the broth and then you strain the broth into a container and refrigerate. then once cooled you take off the fat that floats to the top and congeals. The broth should not be soup like. It should be like jello if you made it right. You need to use bones with higher levels of nutrients like marrow bones, chicken feet or wing bones, not beef soup bones.The bones don't dissolve. Also, if your broth isnt jello like you didn't use enough ACV. I use 6-10 Tb per my crock pot. Also has to be Braggs with the mother or it doesn't set right. When I give my dogs bone broth I scoop about 1T of it and plop in on their food. That is all they need.
The fatty content of the broth you made may cause him to have diarrhea. Just watch him to be sure the fat from the broth doesn't upset his tummy
Archer
Hot Topics Subscriber
I would get him off of the Purina. It's not a good food. My breeder used to feed it too, but switched after it caused her stud dog to bloat and go into torsion. There have been three other documented cases of this happening with purina. Plus, they have had recalls for worms and maggots showing up out of certain plants. It is a poor quality food full of fillers and poor quality protiens. I feed Fromm and love it. Used to feed Orijen but the quality decreased when they started producing it in the US. Try www.dogfoodadvisor.com and look into the 4-5 star foods. Chewy.com is a great place to buy brands that aren't physically available in your area too. Looks like you are looking into TOTW. It's a good food
I want to relay something I experienced feeding TOTW, although I am sure it could apply to other quality kibble. With both of my Dobermans, after about a month on the same 30 lb. bag of food they would not eat as readily. After another week they would not eat it at all. I had transferred the food to a storage container which was not air-tight. Even though it looked fine and I could not smell any difference I believe the food was starting to go bad. I changed to an air-tight container and only buy the 15 lb bags now (1 dog). I also fully empty it and clean it before adding another batch of food. In years past with other dogs and other foods I had never noticed this. I assume either the dogs were less picky or the cheaper foods contained more preservatives.
strykerdobe
Hot Topics Subscriber
AresMyDobie is correct. The bones will not dissolve. But the Apple Cider Vinegar helps draw out the minerals from the bones.
Also like Omega 3 Fish oils Ones that are made with smaller fish like Sardines, Mackerel and Anchovies. We use Animal Essentials Omega 3.
Look for a fish oil that is Soy free. Look at where it says Other Ingredients: Or Also contains:
Have to remember not all supplements are created equal. A lot of them don't have the correct amounts of MG's of what they say is in them. Research them!
Also like Omega 3 Fish oils Ones that are made with smaller fish like Sardines, Mackerel and Anchovies. We use Animal Essentials Omega 3.
Look for a fish oil that is Soy free. Look at where it says Other Ingredients: Or Also contains:
Have to remember not all supplements are created equal. A lot of them don't have the correct amounts of MG's of what they say is in them. Research them!
I find the "grains aren't natural diet" to be suspicious. Not saying I disagree about Purina products, I don't even like their horse line.
But... Dogs in nature, or wolves, tend to prefer animals to eat, but when they eat those animals they usually eat the guts first. In the guts of most prey animals are grains, grasses, fruits etc. And a hungry dog will eat just about anything including corn, oatmeal, etc. I've read reviews that say wheat middlings are just filler, but also that they are a byproduct that contain nutritional value, I believed they were filler but I tried an ADM grain for my horses that had wheat middlings as the first ingredient. They did far superior on that grain than they did others, especially Purina.
Granted dogs aren't horses so I don't like to see wheatmids in my dog food, but back to topic: I personally don't feel grains are all bad, it has to do with source and quality, and quantity in the food.
Budget is a consideration for many of us. So, I like diamond naturals (not plain diamond). It didn't score well, only two stars, on the dog food review forum due to their source of fish and that the company can't swear what kind of preservative their source uses. So the site said. (And I'm sure more, but hey). So I guess people just need to do the best they can within their budget and be conscious of what ingredients they're getting.
But... Dogs in nature, or wolves, tend to prefer animals to eat, but when they eat those animals they usually eat the guts first. In the guts of most prey animals are grains, grasses, fruits etc. And a hungry dog will eat just about anything including corn, oatmeal, etc. I've read reviews that say wheat middlings are just filler, but also that they are a byproduct that contain nutritional value, I believed they were filler but I tried an ADM grain for my horses that had wheat middlings as the first ingredient. They did far superior on that grain than they did others, especially Purina.
Granted dogs aren't horses so I don't like to see wheatmids in my dog food, but back to topic: I personally don't feel grains are all bad, it has to do with source and quality, and quantity in the food.
Budget is a consideration for many of us. So, I like diamond naturals (not plain diamond). It didn't score well, only two stars, on the dog food review forum due to their source of fish and that the company can't swear what kind of preservative their source uses. So the site said. (And I'm sure more, but hey). So I guess people just need to do the best they can within their budget and be conscious of what ingredients they're getting.
Regalis
Notable member
Budget constraints are a big issue for many people.
However, things to keep in mind with a quality grain free food - you will feed less and likely see fewer vet bills over the lifetime of your pet. You can feed a decent food without breaking the bank. I've found its actually cheaper to feed a better food simply because of how much less my dogs eat. They eat 4-6 cups a day on quality food to stay at a healthy weight. With a cheaper food that is mostly corn, I could expect to have to feed double that.
Yes, type and quantity of grain are important as well as where things are sourced from.
However, things to keep in mind with a quality grain free food - you will feed less and likely see fewer vet bills over the lifetime of your pet. You can feed a decent food without breaking the bank. I've found its actually cheaper to feed a better food simply because of how much less my dogs eat. They eat 4-6 cups a day on quality food to stay at a healthy weight. With a cheaper food that is mostly corn, I could expect to have to feed double that.
Yes, type and quantity of grain are important as well as where things are sourced from.
Good points. I'm not sure on quantity, I will check my bag but I tend to just give huge bowls in the evening and they eat what they want, there is always left over the next evening but I also usually have to pick it up because my kids will eat it. 6c for 2 big dogs and 3/4c for my little dog= a lot of food but I just don't worry too much about it. If they want more they get more but I'm guessing they eat about 4-5c a day. Sometimes I wonder if it's even that much but Neegan is fat and Congo is healthy, and MyMy is obese.
Regalis
Notable member
What the bag *says* and reality are often different. According to the bag, my dogs are both eating more than they should. But they are both high drive dogs that get a lot of running in and are young (3 years and 9 months).
There are many reasons to do a structured feeding schedule - weight control is just one. It also is important with large, deep chested dogs as any rigorous activity should be at least an hour after eating to help prevent bloat. Keeping off the extra pounds is rather important to a dogs long term health. Extra weight puts them at an increased risk of heart, hip and joint issues. Knowing when and how much your dog eats is also important should a medical emergency come up.
I've never had food aggression issues in my dogs beyond a brief phase with a puppy or a rescue that was quickly and easily corrected.
There are many reasons to do a structured feeding schedule - weight control is just one. It also is important with large, deep chested dogs as any rigorous activity should be at least an hour after eating to help prevent bloat. Keeping off the extra pounds is rather important to a dogs long term health. Extra weight puts them at an increased risk of heart, hip and joint issues. Knowing when and how much your dog eats is also important should a medical emergency come up.
I've never had food aggression issues in my dogs beyond a brief phase with a puppy or a rescue that was quickly and easily corrected.
Not to post bomb, but this is the ingredients on the chicken and rice. I'm not crazy about the chicken meal, but is what is, and this food is $27-$35 for 40#.
I've been happy and my dogs are happy. The ingredients are: chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, peas, cracked pealed barley, pea flour, chicken fat, dried beat pulp, egg product, natural flavor, fish meal, flaxseed, salmon oil, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kale, chicory seed, pumpkin, blueberries, oranges, quinoa, dried kelp, coconut, spinach, carrots, papaya, yucca schidigera extract, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animal fermentation product, dried lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, and then on into trace minerals and vitamins.
I'm not saying it's an a+ food, but I'm not ashamed I feed it. I'm sure the more knowledgeable people here could pick it apart, but I'm feeding an OEB and dobe and min pin.
Amounts are 60-80# 3 1/4 to 4 and 80-100# 4 to 4 1/2
I've been happy and my dogs are happy. The ingredients are: chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, peas, cracked pealed barley, pea flour, chicken fat, dried beat pulp, egg product, natural flavor, fish meal, flaxseed, salmon oil, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kale, chicory seed, pumpkin, blueberries, oranges, quinoa, dried kelp, coconut, spinach, carrots, papaya, yucca schidigera extract, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium animal fermentation product, dried lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, and then on into trace minerals and vitamins.
I'm not saying it's an a+ food, but I'm not ashamed I feed it. I'm sure the more knowledgeable people here could pick it apart, but I'm feeding an OEB and dobe and min pin.
Amounts are 60-80# 3 1/4 to 4 and 80-100# 4 to 4 1/2
But my guess was accurate, they get about 4-5 cups a day. Neegan is fat to me, most would say he's a good weight. I don't care for fat dogs. Most would call Congo lean, I call him a good weight.
When they feed free choice they don't gobble down 3-5 cups of food and then gonplay hard. They eat a mouthful here and there throughout the day, and in my (very dated) experience that can help prevent bloat. I've had older dogs die of bloat, so I do understand it's causes and consequences.
At that time they did suggest many smallheeals or free choice. My grandmother's saint Bernard died of bloat (he was 8-9 I think, oldish for a St), my first show Akita/Jr handling dog died of bloat (she's was 11, so oldish for an Akita), and a standard poodle at a kennel I worked for had a 9-10 year old bitch die of bloat. I also took care of great Danes and showed great Danes, and do know the breeder I worked for had 3+ stories of dogs who had to have surgery, and I worked for a vet emergency hospital that had 2-3 cases of bloat while I was there. It's a sad scary issue.
This is what I'm calling "fat" he's not fat by any vet I've used standards, but to me he's not lean and trim. Probably because he has puppy fat rolly skin still.
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