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What dry food is best?


KillilovesBC
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Not trying to hijack the tread. But to those feeding TOTW and or orijen. Has any of your dogs been itchier then normal?

 

Was feeding TOTW and orijen in the am and raw at night earlier this year... no problem

April I switches over to just dry food TOTW and orijens.

Aug-oct both of my dogs were extremely itchy. Roommates dogs were fine.

Switch back to raw and both been less itchy to not itchy at all.

 

Talking with other TOTW feeder it seem as if a lot were saying their dogs were itchier then normal. Just curious is all...

 

To the op. Normally I would say TOTW or orijen but after this last incident I don't know anymore.

 

 

I didn't see this till today.. sorry for the delayed reply.

 

I haven't noticed any "extra" itching from the 3 here that eat TOTW. The OES has been on several diff kinds of food and between them all I haven't noticed any real changes with her. The BC's have only been subjected to TOTW and Diamond extreme athlete. And between those 2 I haven't noticed any skin probs.

 

I have noticed it doesnt "look" as meaty as it did at begining of year. If you know what I mean.. seems to be a duller shade of brown(I feed High Prarie). I have been tempted to switch over to the salmon one lately tho for a bit of extra omega oils. Might just start mixing bags.. ugggh. Could it have been a treat or something you were feeding? I stopped feeding mine chicken jerky early last year and I started making my own treats or using BilJac. Too many treats these days come from China and I try to make sure I don't let them have anything that comes from there.

 

And yes there was a price increase in TOTW here. Bout 3 bucks more now.

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Has anybody used the Costco Kirkland Signature Super Premium Puppy Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Formula?

 

If so, your thoughts please.

 

Item Description:

 

Kirkland Puppy Food

 

We've fed Cerb Kirkland for the last 17 months and he's doing very well. Beautiful coat, lots of energy, great weight and firm stool.

P1010745.JPG?gl=US

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not trying to hijack the tread. But to those feeding TOTW and or orijen. Has any of your dogs been itchier then normal?

 

Was feeding TOTW and orijen in the am and raw at night earlier this year... no problem

April I switches over to just dry food TOTW and orijens.

Aug-oct both of my dogs were extremely itchy. Roommates dogs were fine.

Switch back to raw and both been less itchy to not itchy at all.

 

Talking with other TOTW feeder it seem as if a lot were saying their dogs were itchier then normal. Just curious is all...

 

To the op. Normally I would say TOTW or orijen but after this last incident I don't know anymore.

 

You know now that you say that, I switched from orijen to totw and I was wondering why he was itchy... Not a lot but enough for me to notice... Since then I switched to acana and no more itch.... Hmm interesting....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Our 12 week old BC started out on Wellness For Puppies and was doing great. Due to an astronomical price hike from Wellness we have had her on TOW Wetlands Formula with Roasted Fowl.

 

She seems to be doing great with it, some soft stools for the first week-ten days but now very stable firm stools, no real abnormal itching and energy to beat the band. She also poops much less frequently than when on the Wellness, but I'm thinking that is just her little body going through change.

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I just switched back to totw and yes I have been wondering about them being itchy right now. I chalked it off to the strange winter weather were having. I'm not through my first bag and coats look much better but they are all itchyer than normal. Can't we just get a good food that doesn't break the bank and stays the same? I'm using salmon but I usually switch around flavors. My young dog gets a bit constipated on the salmon. And I was wondering if they can get to much fish oil as I usually give a fish oil cap daily with breakfast.

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my house is no drier than it was a month ago probably even 2 months ago but the weather is crazy, going from 60 to 20 in less than 2 days. I was thinking they might be already blowing their winter coats.

 

No one is itching enough for me to switch to something new yet but again, if dog foods could remain true to how the start out i think it would be eaiser.

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Yeah, I had the opposite problem. After feeding TOTW for a long time, a month ago, I tried a bag of the Chicken Soup stuff, trying to see if I could save a few bucks. One bag of that, and two of mine starting really itching, so back to TOTW for us. The itching has stopped.

 

I second the suggestion of the Dog Food Project website. Very informative.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Our new pup Maggie is scary when she eats her TOW meals. (2X a day about 3/4 cup each meal)

 

I have never seen a dog wolf/vacuum down food like she does.

 

She gets into a near frenzy and inhales the kibble without any chewing - All gone in less than 30 seconds.

 

She's about 14 weeks old and surprisingly today is the first time she puked it all up after about 20 mins. Not one kibble was chewed at all.

 

She is very healthy with lots of energy and good vet check ups. Her stools are very good.

 

I don't see how there is anything we can do to stop this.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this, suggestions, etc.

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I nearly lost a dog who ate like that. Nothing I ever did slowed her down, so I managed the problem.

 

First of all, at 14 weeks she should have still been eating 3 to 4 times a day. She is probably wolfing down her food because she got too hungry between meals!

 

You can soak her food for at least an hour in a lot of water to make it very soft. That seems to slow down some dogs.

 

For other dogs you need to scatter their kibble across the kitchen floor. This bowl works well for some.

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You do not necessarily 'get what you pay for'. There are ridiculously expensive brands out there for people who have more money than common sense...and usually only one dog. I would suggest going for a mid-range priced kibble with chicken meal as the first ingredient. When they list just 'chicken' you can be paying for a high moisture content that is gone after processing. The first 5 or so ingredients are what make up the bulk of the food...everything listed just before the 'fat' of which 'chicken fat' is best. All the stuff listed after can amount to less than 5 or 10% if that, of the actual content. Chicken meal seems to be the best protein source for being least allergenic. I do not use 'puppy' brand either. Mine did just fine on 'adult' food. Too much protein in young dogs can cause too fast growth or pano or possibly OCD issues. Stay clear of corn and any gluten ingredients; they are cheaper for the manufacturer but not the best for dogs' indigestion.

I supplement mine with a variety of home made chicken soup stock, yogurt, eggs, sardines, and leftovers at times. I have a huge salmon in my freezer that is waiting to get cooked and mixed up with veggies&rice to also be added to their kibble on occasion. As well as some frozen lamb & turkey giblets.

I have 4 BCs and a Chi to feed. My cost is about $100/month for the kibble.

cheers Lani

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My bcs have been on Purina Pro Plan Selects salmon and rice and doing very well; healthy, happy, and shiny coats.

 

My new puppy is on Pro Plan Selects puppy food. She loves is and is also doing well.

 

Purina has a good track record. I feel good that they do a lot of research into nutrition and have not had recalls where other brands have.

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For other dogs you need to scatter their kibble across the kitchen floor. This bowl works well for some.

 

If your dog is not prone to chewing on them or flinging them across the floor, putting a few good size rocks in a large dog bowl can slow them down. Same idea as the bowl in the link, but rocks are free. My old dog would fling the rocks around the floor to get to her food faster, though. Feeding her in a muffin tin worked- even if she flipped it, her food just got scattered around the floor so she had to search for it.

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Chicken meal seems to be the best protein source for being least allergenic.

 

Actually, chicken is the number one food allergy for dogs.

 

I do not use 'puppy' brand either. Mine did just fine on 'adult' food. Too much protein in young dogs can cause too fast growth or pano or possibly OCD issues.

 

No, it's calcium and too many calories that cause problems, not protein. Puppy food is just fine when fed in moderation (keep the pup thin). I personally feed an "all life stages" food because I want everyone on the same formula (I buy in bulk). You can absolutely make a pup fat and increase the odds of HD, OCD, etc by feeding an adult formula.

 

Stay clear of corn and any gluten ingredients; they are cheaper for the manufacturer but not the best for dogs' indigestion.

 

Corn is not evil, but for some dogs it's a bad choice (if they are allergic, for example). Sure, crappy foods use it as a cheap source of calories and protein, but there are some excellent foods out there that use it as a carb source (which some working dogs need). Eg: Eagle Power Pack, Red Paw.

 

I do agree that there is NO reason to add in corn gluten. That is added to artificially elevate the guaranteed crude protein on the analysis.

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Has anybody used the Costco Kirkland Signature Super Premium Puppy Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Formula?

 

If so, your thoughts please.

 

I wasn't feeding the puppy formula, but my dogs were doing really well on Kirkland until last summer when their coats got really dry and the dogs were very itchy. I always heard that Kirkland was Diamond, so I switched to one of Diamond's premium varieties and we are back to non-itchy, soft-coated dogs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had asked on here about thoughts on slowing down a pup that was just destroying her food in a feeding frenzy. Lots of great advice was received including a special bowl to slow her down.

 

We found such a bowl at a local pet store and it has definitely slowed her down. Maggie still attacks just as voraciously, but the lugs in the bowl force her to work much harder to pick the kibble up,slowing her down considerably.

 

This particular bowl is made by J.W. Pet Supplies.

 

Thanks for all the help!!!!

 

My link

 

Blue%20Jumbo%20Bowl.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

I'm new to all this but my dog Zorro already had a healthy shiny coat when I got him from his foster home. She was feeding him Diamond. On the other hand, he needs to gain a few pounds, so it may or may not be a great food. So I switched him to Merrick on day 1 (didn't have any diamond around me and she didn't give us any), and ordered ToTW right away from Amazon. He likes the high plains kibble a lot, but prefers to eat it out of his treat ball (will ignore it in the bowl). We discovered that mixing in the pacific stream wet stuff actually turned him off of the food, and he wouldn't eat it unless he was really starving! We ordered a ToTW wet variety pack and now serve it separate for breakfast, kibble only for dinner, and he loves it (except the pacific stream)....but see second response below...

 

 

PRICE LEAP!!!!

Well, our 9 week old BC got one bag of Wellness For Puppies in her and was doing great on it.

I paid 11.99 for the bag about 2 weeks ago.

Went to get another bag and it had jumped to $17.99!

Back to the drawing board and dogfoodadvisor.com to find a new brand.....

 

Try amazon.com. I've been getting ToTW online for way less for inferior brands at Petco.

 

 

 

Our new pup Maggie is scary when she eats her TOW meals. (2X a day about 3/4 cup each meal)

I have never seen a dog wolf/vacuum down food like she does.

She gets into a near frenzy and inhales the kibble without any chewing - All gone in less than 30 seconds.

She's about 14 weeks old and surprisingly today is the first time she puked it all up after about 20 mins. Not one kibble was chewed at all.

She is very healthy with lots of energy and good vet check ups. Her stools are very good.

I don't see how there is anything we can do to stop this.

Does anyone have any experience with this, suggestions, etc.

 

I know this has been answered already, but my dog got a little itchy after switching his wet food, but both old and new are ToTW, so I don't think it's the brand. We are still playing with which one he enjoys but doesn't itch.

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How would you expect a dog food manufacturer to test its products if not on animals? It's not like they're testing cosmetics or cleaning products.

 

Am I missing something here?

 

"i got an idea, let's see if this meat byproduct upsets the dogs' stomachs, it's way cheaper than that other stuff that we know they like"

 

"sure, but don't give it to fido#23, he's still got the runs from that weird egg mixture we got last week..."

 

I'm just guessing here, but I would bet that it's not like the happy taste tests on the commercials. And where do the animals come from? dogs are expensive to keep, maybe the ingredients are tested on other animals? There is simply not a need to "test on animals" if you use good, wholesome ingredients.

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Hmmmm...if feeding studies (testing on animals) haven't been done, what animals do you suppose the "testing" is being done on? That's right, YOUR dog, because if you buy feed that's never been tested on an animal in a feeding study, then your dog is, in effect, the guinea pig.

 

As Liz says, it's not like the tests involve shoving chemicals in a rabbit's eye; but determining whether an animal will thrive on a particular diet does sort of require feeding animals that diet and seeing how they do. If it's not being done with lab animals, then your own animal is the one being experimented on.

 

J.

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Excellent point ^^^, Julie. Just because an ingredient is believed to be 'healthy', until tested, one can not truly know what concentrations are optimal or how it may interact with other ingredients.

 

Regarding the dog eating too fast --- buy one of the food bowls on the market that are designed to make it harder for dogs to eat their food. I have seen many different designs out there, but have not used one so can not recommend one.

 

Jovi

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