WWA Info Exchange

With so many of you that have shop dogs, what brand of food do you feed and why???
We are feeding IAMS, our son is considering switching to Canidae (sp?)

Vicki

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Whoever said nothing is impossible, never tried slamming a revolving door....

I always used IAMS when we had dogs. Never heard anything bad, so I guess that's good.

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Jeff

If man made it, I can fix it.
If God made it we can pray for it.

Lessons I have learned:
NEVER MAKE ANYTHING OUT OF TEAK
Always remove the zero clearance insert before you tilt the blade DAMHIKT

Purina Pro-1, (lamb and rice). Zoe loves the stuff, and so did Zeke and Pheobe in their day.

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Frank
WWACOAUX#1
"I love the smell of Sawdust in the morning, it smells like, victory."
WWA'ers I've met: Popeye, Ed Avery, Stephen Wolf, Rockfish, Rodedon

My hope is that he takes down a few people so I don't have to buy the stuff

We use Purina Beneful Healthy Weight and Science Diet Canine TD. I think we used Puppy chow when our one dog was a pup but once he stopped growing, the Healthy Weight proved to work well. We have always added a few kibbles of TD to whatever they were eating to help keep their teeth clean and their breath fresh. It seems to have worked since they have the least doggy breath of any dogs I have ever owned even after ten and eleven years.

Look at the back panel. They give the nutritional analysis there. Younger dogs want more fat and carbos, midlife wants less of these, and a good mix of proteins as a source of amino acids. Late life wants less protein and more carbs.

Every breed differs somewhat in its nutritional needs as well. Big bones in a St Bernard want a different growth diet than a pug. Pretty good breakdown by breed at http://home.att.net/~cusickbook/2.pdf

Level of activity determines how much you feed. As does your climate, and whether the dog is provided with heat or has to make his own.

Our German Shepherd is nine, and his schedule is now two smaller feedings, where it was once one large per day. He is supplemented with corn oil for the omega-3 and a good coat. Purina chows have taken him from puppyhood through this stage, but he's definitely a "senior" now.

All that being said, any good commercial manufacturer will provide analysis for age, you provide the portions and supplements. We feed dry, and provide plenty of water with NO Chlorine or Flouride for him to drink. Dry food provides good mechanical action to keep the teeth firm and clean.

When we had dogs with narrow mouths like our Collies and Borzoi, we softened the food so it wouldn't pack against their teeth. Had to brush them once in a while too, though bones or rawhide helped minimize the need to gag them and us.

With the boxer I have now kibbles and bits, she is a really picky eater. I tryed puppy chow when she was a pup wouldn't touch it iams puppy food she would eat. Other than that we always feed purina dealers pride.

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If you don't have time to do it right the first time when are you going to find time to do it again.

Science Diet. 14 to 17 year old dogs. Only 1/3 the Vet visits. Based on 27 dogs over last 33 yrs. 6 to 10 dogs living together all the time.

Jimmy

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Iam's. Speckles was a starved rescue 10 1/2 years ago. Skin and bones, and her hair was so coarse, it felt like sandpaper.

Within a few months, she had filled out (Chance quit laughing ), her coat was soft, and too much of it!!!! For those who have seen her or looked at pictures of her...she looked like she hasn't miss any meals.

Since she has been sick and losing weight this year, the Vet asked me to take her off of Iam's Weight Control, and put her on "normal" Iam's to help her maintain her weight. So, my Vet does recommend Iam's.

Just my observations

Verna

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Verna
Indianapolis, IN

Have you ever considered counseling????????

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Mango
The land some where in the middle
20 47 00N -156 26 00W

Hey Vicki,

This is going to sound rather strange, but my best advice is to trust your nose.

Most commercial dog foods use hydrolyzed meat products to increase the crude protein values on the label. Some are significantly over hydrolyzed, you can easily smell the ones that are. If they don't smell like something you'd want to eat yourself, then give it a pass. The item on the label is meat by-product, if it's one of the first three, then I would also look elsewhere.

I won't recommend any particular brand, but I will say that you don't have to spend a fortune for a nutritionally complete product. I fed my rotwieller what is probably the most widely available brand in the grocery store. The only dietary supplement she got was the occasional can of sardines or kippered herring (she slept outside on those nights).

Tom

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"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi

I have a friend that boils turkey pork and vegi off cuts . grinds it up and serves his dogs. dogs look great.

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Mango
The land some where in the middle
20 47 00N -156 26 00W

I hang out at a sheltie forum and this question goes around in a lot of circles. There are breeders, and show dog owners and agility competitors. One would think there'd be some kind of consensus - but not at all.

You ask 4 different breeders up there on that forum then you WILL get four different answers. Some dogs are real sensitive and some can literally eat anything that falls off the truck. And the dogs aren't necessarily being picky but some foods are disastrous to one dog but fantastic for another.

I can handle garlic just fine - but if you crush a clove of garlic into a lasagna recipe and give a serving to my wife we would have an unmitigated disaster on our hands. It's the same with dogs.

BTW !! We started Chelsea on Canidae and she had a marvelous coat but they got bought out by Diamond and the formula changed. Many many dogs got very sick on Canidae and there was quite a storm over it if you do a search on it you might find some articles. We are weaning her over to T.O.T.W. (Taste of the Wild) and we've had real good results.

I think there's been a lot of good advice here but you're just going to have to try something and see how it (ahem) comes out. Some dogs will eat it just fine but the stools are not healthy.

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Tim Eastman
Lead by example - be an example worth following

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