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What do you feed?

LOL! Yup, the Evo comes in a 28.something lb. bag, so it means some running since we have to get it in another town. Luckily the Hubby can do it when he's near there for work most of the time.

I remember the days when a large bag of food always meant 50 lbs. Talk about another aspect of downsizing.... :blink:
 
My dogs have always eaten Diamond. Started on Diamond Puppy and then went to Diamond Adult Regular then when I found out Penny was epileptic, actually about 3 months before we found I switched her to the Diamond Maitenance, she lost about 10 lbs and then her seizures started. So we went to the low-fat Diamond and I am about to switch her to EVO Grain -Free. I too have heard about a grain free diet for dogs with epilepsy. A member from PBC suggested it. Canidae makes a grain free but it is brand new and I am not willing to "try" it out on my dog. lol. The boys are now on Diamond Lamb & Rice and they love it. I will always feed Diamond unless it is something special like Penny's epilepsy that makes me switch. :D
 
I try to feed pro plan.......sometimes our feed store is out for weeks at a time......so then we get iams. I wish we lived in a bigger area sometimes! we dont have many choices for buying dog food......the nearest pets stores are over a hours drive.
 
:help::dunno:
So confused on all these foods.....

We started Logan on Nurto Max lamb & rice but he did not like it after about 10 month, plus the gas would blow us out of the room...he had a weird insident where his blood sugar dropped and vet suggested a high protien food so I went to Wellness...he seemed to like it but when I went to get the next bag for some reason I thought we used Candiae...duh (mind is the first to go) he don't like it, plus he has pretty loose stool, so we went to pet store and the manager said to get Chicken soup it's the best food for the value.....ish he don't like it...they said we could bring it back but I just don't know wut to get him. He has a butt problem also where is gland is constantly stickin and we have to go get it squeezed....is there any food that might help with that???? All in all he is in good health age is about 28 month give or take, being a rescue we are not sure the exact age.

Any suggestions on a good food but one that won't break us retired folks;)

Thanks.....
 
Great... you sound like me now. I hope Karma doesnt have this gland problem forever :( I am still doing Natures Recipe, (everybody likes it, and it really controls weight on my italians) but Karma now gets a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin pie filling with it to help keep her stool soft. She is ok with it, but think she liked the canned food mixed with it better :D

Also, has anyone heard anything on the Diamond? I never fed it, but I heard a few people talking about it in my dog class.. I didnt catch what they were saying, but it wasnt positive... almost like they just found out about something to do with it.
 
My 10 week old puppy Zulu is on orijen large breed puppy formula (2 1/2 cups a day over 4 small meals). Its grainless and 70% meat. Pup loves it and he is getting big! Only problem is and its big one... he has the runs. I just got him last week and he had it when we got him , just not sure why. He's getting a stool sample checked out tomorrow, it could also be the shots he got last week. Hmmm.. Any comments are appreciated!
thx
 
Also, has anyone heard anything on the Diamond? I never fed it, but I heard a few people talking about it in my dog class.. I didnt catch what they were saying, but it wasnt positive... almost like they just found out about something to do with it.
Yes, I've heard of some big time problems with Diamond foods, and most people won't go near it. Apparently they have switched to many substandard fillers and the line just isn't good. I don't know all of the details either, but the bottom line I've heard is to stay away from anything made by them.

Dobiegirl, as a rule of thumb, I stay away from anything with too many fillers; especially things like wheat gluten (read avoid at all costs), different grains used as fillers, and meat low on the list of ingredients.
If you go to the link I provided above to pet food analysis, you can read the reviews on some of the 6 star foods to see what they look for, then look at some of the lower rated ones to see what to avoid. I know, it is daunting at best, and with limited availability, it makes it even harder. Out of the ones you named, the Chicken Soup is probably the best one, but if he doesn't like it, that's a whole other poser in itself....

Burly soldier, the Orijen is an excellent food (good for you!) and it may just take him some time to adjust from his old food. It's also not uncommon for new pups to get the runs after being placed in a new home. The traveling, drinking different water, getting used to the new routine, and adjusting to new everything can easily do that to them.
Hopefully your vet will have some suggestions for you when you bring the stool sample in.

Keep us posted.
 
Rah and Berlin are mostly raw fed - on days when I forget to thaw, or when we show for extended periods of time away from home, I usually feed Honest Kitchen dehydrated, which they go crazy for. On emergency, I have EVO in the house which the cats are constantly stealing out of the bin it's locked in, which is fine because the dogs are constantly stealing canned cat food, too. So aside from raw, the dogs also eat a small percentage of canned cat food. And lots and lots of string cheese.
 
Wow you really confused me because you said stay away from food made by Diamond but outta the ones I mentioned you say Chicken soup is the better...but it's made by diamond.....:unsure: yikes.....
I read the page on the ratings and that just makes me more confused on wut to feed....way too many to figure out...guess we will just see how he does on this chicken soup..

Thanks but any advice is always good to hear....

Sally
 
I would say diamond has definatly had there share of problems in the past. Im willing to bet those days are over. They now incorperate a 128 points check after there latest recall scandal a few yrs back.

Id personally be more fearfull of Canidae's recent forumula change. and al the bad press sorounding that deciption.
 
I have been feeding Canidae All Life Stages for the past 8 years. Prior to this I used Royal Canin, but had problems with loose stools in my two boxers. The Canidae was recommended to me as I literally had dogs in all life stages, and I have continued to use it since.
Journey was on Bill Jack when I first got him. He also got vitamin supplements, raw beef, raw egg, yoghurt, etc., etc. I went to my feed store to buy Bill Jack for him, but the store owner recommended against it. She felt that I should put him on the Canidae as well, and that it would not be necessary to supplement with anything. She also recommend Solid Gold if I was to make a change.
I have "felt guilty" about changing Journey from his breeders diet. They've been breeding Champion Dobermans for over thirty years, and know their dogs. With the upset of a new environment and also increased activity I have worried about him dropping a little weight. A veterinarian friend thinks he is in perfect condition.
Journey is my first Doberman, and I want to make sure I do the right thing.

Karine
 
I'm sorry, but I forgot to ask if anyone knew when Canidae changed their formula. Was this on all their formulas? How was it changed? I did look at the feed analysis link, but would have to spend more time reading about it. Today I need to do the job of an artist and not the job of a nutritionist, so if anyone else has done the research it would help me out.
K.
 
I noticed the formula change when the bags went from 40 to 35lbs. It was late summer/early fall,up till then we were very happy with Canadae but when I opened the first 35lb. bag,I noticed the food was a much lighter color brown.I even wondered if somehow I'd gotten some counterfeit Canadae! As soon as I looked on line I found all sorts of people were having bad experiences with the new formula and after 2 of the new bags,Shiloh still have very loose poop and horrible farting so we changed to the Chicken Soup.I am a little nervous with it being made by diamond but there's not to many options for decent food if you have to stay on a reasonable budget and so far so good.I don't know but I presume that most of Canadaes formulas changed since the bad comments online are for different types.It's a very small change and I don't remember exactly what,I don't have any of the bags anymore, but I wonder if it's more in the quality or method of manufacturing or a lowering of quality standards of ingredients? I just know the effect on my dog was dramatic.
 
Wow you really confused me because you said stay away from food made by Diamond but outta the ones I mentioned you say Chicken soup is the better...but it's made by diamond.....:unsure: yikes.....
Oops sorry, I didn't realize that Chicken Soup was a Diamond product too. :eek:
Like VonDoom said, maybe they've improved since all of the recalls, but I've still heard lots of not so good. I agree, it's all very confusing and when you don't have much to choose from in your area (like us too) it really gets hard. I'm just glad we have the Evo within a reasonable distance.

As for the Canidae, VonDoom posted some good info and links on the formula change, so it's well worth the read. :)
http://www.doberman-chat.com/showthread.php?t=16
 
Dont get me wrong i would never presume to know what works best in each household. And i completly understand why some people will never give diamond another chance regardless of there improvements. And as far as Canidae goes, i once considered it the greatest feed available at any price. but after reading everything on it since the formula change. It is not a chance i will take. but if your dogs do well on it i cant see any reason to change. there are only two brands that i completly boycot because of there testing methods and that is Iams and Eukonuba. These two brands i would ask anybody to research there methods of testing and then decide for yourself if this is a company you want to support.
 

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