She’ s went from 7.2-7.8 pounds on 1/4c-1/2c(dry/can/people food as a topper)to 7.0 pounds since starting(1/8cup daily) currently switching up Acana Grasslands & Nature’s Variety Instinct Beef & Lamb.We are trying to get her down to 6.5 at the lowest but if she loses more than that I will up her dry food accordingly.So,for the past week Lacey has been eating dry dog food in her crate at night.She now goes in there after all the humans go to bed & automatically goes to her crate without being asked.Took her a while to go on her own but she did it!She’s been on 1/8 cup of dry dog food(Acana/Orijen/Nature’s Variety Instinct)switched up nightly and weight is good.. So,we are very pleased that she’s accepting dry food a lot better even Nature’s Variety Instinct because it has ACV which is/was the reason she refused Primal Frozen Raw was she didn’t like the taste/smell;but has gotten used to it over the past few months.Tear stains are actually becoming a lot more crummy on the whiskers/sometimes doesn’t have any at all!So,Lacey’s only been getting 1/8 cup of dry food a day & she’s starting to eat her food nightly in her crate..But she won’t eat unless she HAS to!Overall,so far weight’s been better.I don’t plan on cutting her back anymore.With her eating an 1/8-1/4 cup(can food only) every Saturday,there’s really not much use for can food although Brownie does help too.When Lace gets can food so does Brownie(1/4c+1/4 dry-Earthborn Adult Vantage)For her an 1/8 cup of can food with one can having about 12-14 servings that’ll easily last her over 3 months straight.She’s getting less exercise about 30-1 hour daily or she will be barky like when she was a puppy,on dry food from 1hour to 3 hours on 1/4cup-1/2 cup of dry/can food.
Tag Archives: dry dog food
Trying to transition Lacey to Nature’s Variety Instinct Beef & Lamb
It’s been roughly a month since she started Acana Grasslands so now we’re transitioning her to Nature’s Variety Instinct Beef & Lamb.I offered it to her with 1/8c dry +1/8 cup can.At first she took to it somewhat then went back a few times so I made her the Acana Grasslands with can food(1/4c dry + 1/4 c can)..she ate some but ate the Nature’s Variety more which is good because we are trying to rotate between the two formulas on a month to month basis.When she ate 1/8 cup of Nature’s Variety by itself(dry) her bowels were decent so with 1/8 cup dry + 1/8 cup can we’re not sure how it will turn out..If it’s soft we will pick up some pumpkin to add to it over a few days and see if we can up it to 1/4 cup dry + 1/4 cup can eventually.Otherwise we’ll try the transition slowly by trying to mix the two formulas with can food(not to equal more than 1/2 cup) & possibly add pumpkin to it..Think she’ll take it eventually but we’ll try it and see..Hopefully this one(Nature’s Variety)doesn’t need to go to Brownie…
Check back for an update:Lacey does good on it by itself on an 1/8cup but together with can food we need to add pumpkin & add twice the people food topper than usual..We’ll probably end up using Nature’s Variety every now and then but not on a regular basis.
Evangers Can Food Review
Terrible rating from Lacey & her owner.For Lacey she would sniff it but won’t even lick it.For her owner,not all cans have the kcal listed so there is no way a owner can figure out exactly how many calories their dog is getting.It depends on the type of Evangers Can Food.It takes a lot more can food just to get a 1/4cup flat.So in a 12oz can(Evangers@$3.05 per can there is maybe about 14 servings if you calculate at 1/8cup for a toy breed),a 13.2oz can such as Merricks has about 20 servings at about $2.30 a can.They always have calories listed therefore making it easier knowing how many kcal a dog is getting.We’re never purchasing Evangers Dog Food again.
Switching to Blue Buffalo
So I have been doing a little thinking on Lacey’s dry food.And I came across the thought that Lacey could not have fishy food so I searched back on her site & found that it was on of one of the WellnessSuper5Mix Dry Food I had given her that caused soft stools.I checked the ingredients in it and did seems to have a “good” amount of fish but I didn’t try her on any other brand for fish.On the Wellness Dry Food she’d always gets soft stools so I am not even going to try her on the Wellness Core or the Simple Solutions.I might try her on another fishy food with a different brand such as TOTW Pacific or something similar to that.
On Blue Buffalo,doing some research I have found that a lot of poodles do good on the Small Breed which most of the Blue Buffalo dog food that does have grains,usually have 3,being which MOST poodles are doing good on.I am going to slowly transition her over to Blue Buffalo and see how she is medically in the upcoming months.Otherwise it’s going to be mostly grain free for her.So far for her diet,we will be using Blue Buffalo as the primary diet(even if it’s only grain free),TOTW & possibly Earthborn.Can Food:Merricks,Party Animal.Raw:Stella & Chewy Freeze Dried Chicken or Duck(alternating)When the NOW!dog food comes to Hawaii we’ll probably stop the Earthborn if not before that and try the NOW! dog food by PetCurean.So far I am pleased with their customer service on facebook & looking forward to try their products for Lacey..Still looking at other options but that’s where we are for now…
Update May 11 2010:It seems that Lacey can’t handle Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw food.She can handle the chicken & beef with good bowels but can not handle the lamb,duck/goose both resulting in soft stools.The beef she doesn’t care for it too much so we will discontinue that…If sometime later a new brand comes out for freeze dried or she will accept ACV in treats if it’s ever used in treats we may get her to eat Primal Frozen but right now it will be the raw treats from Stella & Chewy & Primal for raw treats…
As far as dry food goes Lacey is obviously giving us a very difficult time on transitioning to new food whether it be Blue Buffalo,Earthborn,Taste of the Wild,Nature’s Variety or whatever she’s just not eating…In turn I have cut out most of her treats & table food until she does eat something.I have been giving her an 1/8 cup of Merricks or Party Animal daily(can food) so she’s got something in her tummy.I doubt 1/8 cup of can food will fill her up though.I am waiting for her to eat a few kibble before she gets treats/table food and see what she responds to first..At this point as much as I’d LOVE to feed her high quality dry food I am just trying to get her to eat something whether it’s high quality or cheap.Yes,cheap will cut her years earlier but at least she will be eating.If we try most brands and she won’t respond after sometime I guess we MAY be forced to go back to Halo’s….We will try different brands for the time being ranging from high quality to medium quality to the absolute worst of dry food brands.If she responds to none….back to Halo’s we’ll go..IF ALL ELSE FAILS!
Dry Food,Raw Food,and can food…the list never seems to end…
So on dry food food Lacey obviously can’t have corn,by products,artificial colors/syrups/dyes etc..it can’t have beet/beet pulp if possible due to small breeds tear stains,she can’t have a lot of fish in any formula due to sensitivity causing soft bowels,she can’t have a lot of carob even though it’s not chocolate because it causes her to have soft bowels..kibble has to be small or she won’t touch it,ingredient list should have a good variety of meat,fruit,veggies…those with limited ingredients such as Natural Balance Can Food she will refuse it all…absolute no food with apple cider vinegar she will refuse it all…
Addiction is out because one formula has brewer’s yeast,other reasons are “limited ingredients” not enough variety for her taste but the dry food might be ok.
Sojo is out because some formulas contain carob and she’s got sensitive issues with too much carob in her diet.
Something like The Honest Kitchen Preference
We’re going to see if Nature’s Variety freeze dried is still being sold at Naturally Pet.I have seen the dry food,can food & treats but not the freeze dried since the NV Recall.If they don’t have that we’ll have to go with Primal Pet since more stores in town have it than Nature’s Variety.I’d like to use them because it’s still freeze dried till she will accept it more on a regular basis.I will look into a few others but we may end up getting one of these brands Sojo Complete Dog Food,Addiction La Porchetta or Salmon Bleu or Viva La Vension of the dry foods that they have,The Honest Kitchen Verve or Thrive or Preference,Primal(any flavor),Nature’s Variety Freeze Dried Lamb or Vension-depending how Lacey does on the lamb maybe we could try the frozen lamb if Naturally Pet still sells NV Raw Food…If they do we might even try Frozen Bison,Lamb and maybe Rabbit from Nature’s Variety.It’s really what her tummy can handle & how her stools are that will help me decide what to give her.After the end of March we’ll look for a new brand for her.Depending how she reacts to the freeze dried then the frozen we might even try the kibble but the can food is out since she tried both brands & didn’t like it for the can food anyways..I am also considering a Solid Gold Grain Free Barking at the moon but if she likes the NV freeze dried/frozen/maybe kibble we might be able to try one of the grain free kibbles they have to offer….We’ll have to ask around for other dog owner’s opinions before any decisions are made on that…
Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon
Lacey has just given Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon her maltipoo approval on how she likes the “new” food!We just got it in the mail this morning and when I took it out of the box for her to try she wouldn’t take it but when my dad tried she did eat one kibble.I tried to hand feed it to her but she wouldn’t have it.So,I did it the other way where I place her food in her bottle to introduce her to the “new” food.After I did that she ate one whole 1/8 cup of Wild Salmon!She also took a bit of it in her crate tray too!At least we know that Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon has gotten her approval!A few more flavors if Halo’s should ever introduce you can bet that we will defiantly give it a try for Lacey!Whatever flavor it is Wholesome Chicken or Wild Salmon she will most likely eat it!Thank Goodness we found Halo’s!Now we switch up her proteins almost every meal every day.We start out with Halo’s Wholesome Chicken,then SG Just a Wee Bit (Bison)MIXED with Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural(Turkey),then we give her Halo’s Wild Salmon.Once a week she gets Merricks Can Food(any flavor)on Saturdays.Mean while,we also use Stella & Chewy as a supplement with any of her dry foods.I break up a small amount into her kibble and she will usually eat that as well.Lacey’s review on Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon for finicky eaters…Give it a try!Your dog(if finicky) might thank you!
Prices at Whole Foods Market
Wellness $~21.00
Castor & Pollux $16.95
Newman’s Own ~$14.95
Happy Hips ~$16.95
Halo’s Spot’s Stew ~$12.49 for a 4 pound bag of Wholesome Chicken w/tax in HI it came to $13.60.A 4 pound bag of Halo’s considering she eats one meal a day holds us for a little over 3 months.
Finally chose Lacey’s diet!
I finally figured out Lacey’s diet after debating for some time.It was a tough decision with so many recalls and although many owners still feed certain companies I don’t feel I have enough trust once a company has recalled even if it is voluntarily.Much of my decision was dealing with recalls,issues of trust in many dog food companies(both commercial/holistic/organic dog food companies),the issue with beet pulp(due to small dogs have tear stains) & the menadion(Vitamin K3 supplement) not to mention the size of the kibble & a lot of the food particulary dry food is mostly chicken,very few brands have beef,lamb and vension dry food lines.It’s very important to me that Lacey does not just stick with Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken but that there are other protein sources in her diet such as lamb,duck,vension,goose,beef etc.And so I spoke to my parents that next time we go to Whole Foods to pick up Halo’s I am going to start her on more freeze dried raw food(over dehydrated & it does cost more than freeze dried from comparing prices),continuing with Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken & feeding her some canned food.We probably won’t buy any more Merrick’s or Nature’s Variety due to recalls but we might use other canned food brand such as Solid Gold,Wellness,Halo’s and a few others but we are steering away from a lot of the dry food.I decided to feed raw not because most people say that’s the way to go but a lot has to do with the issues of what food she can have that’s healthy and not filled with “junk”.Prices are definatly going to be more expensive than what it was for dry food but that’s the route we got to take.IF more raw food does recall we’ll then look at homemade cooking for the remainder of her life & any other dogs I may own in the future as well.Majority of the dry food at that point will be out of the question with the exception of Halo’s.
****Before we do this,I have found out that feeding cat food will not necessarily harm Lacey but I should watch for any urine issues & once this occurs if it should though to be safe I will probably give her less of that and the rest will be raw so it should not be as much of a problem but if it DOES occur we’ll donate the rest to a shelter & just do Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken for Dogs,Canned Food by various brands as mentioned above & freeze dried raw.However among consideration with my parents we don’t feel like we want to risk Lacey to getting stones from the cat food from Halo’s but if Halo’s happens to come out with a new protein for the dry food for dogs we’ll defiantly give it a try.We’ll probably go with Primal Pet Food instead of Stella & Chewy’s due to price & amount inside a package****
Wellness Super5Mix Complete Wholesome Meal Chicken flavor
Since Lacey is off of her medicine for now I took up her Halo’s and placed 20 pieces of the Wellness Super5Mix Wholesome Meal Chicken flavored in her two bottles for her to try.I am trying to see if she will also have sensitivity to this one or if it’s only the Small Breed due to the amount of fish.If she does our next bet will be that she “won’t be able to handle any of the Wellness dry except canned”,although we could ask for trial bags of a few other options that Wellness has to offer or/and we will order a Castor & Pollux dry food(3 pound bag)online.If we can not find any that will work for her as options are very limited in Hawaii we’ll either do dehydrated raw or do completely homemade cooking which I will have to read up on.I’d hate to take that route but if it must be done as a last resort we’ll look into it.We’ll defiantly see if we can find a good dry food for her.What makes it harder is that majority of the dry food has beet pulp which can cause tear stains in smaller breeds.
Narrowed down list of dry dog foods & raw I’m willing to try for Lacey
After about a 2-3 hour of researching each brand I’ve came up with this list that I feel would be appropiate for Lacey.
Dry:
Merricks Grammy Pot Pie
Before Grain:Chicken
Addiction:Viva La Vension
Castor & Pollux:Oragnix Adult Canine
Nature’s Variety:’Beef Meal & Barley Medley
Chicken Meat & Brown Rice Medley
(Of course,we’ll always stick with Halo’s Spot’s Stew as well.It’s a winner for Lacey!)
Raw:
The Honest Kitchen:
Verve,Thrive or Embark
Stella & Chewy’s:
Super Beef or Chicken
I won’t go with any of these brands due to issues of garlic,beet,beet pulp,no L.acid,corn,sugar such as dextrose but everyone can decide for themselves.It depends what you’re looking for and your pet dog or cat’s individual needs.This is just my personal opinion based on Lacey’s needs.This is only based on the decision of dry food.It does not include decisions for can food.I will make a list of that later.
Artemis
Azmira
Bil Jac
Blackwood
Blue Buffalo
Blue Seal
Pinnacle
Active Care
Advanced Pet Diets
Healthfood for Dogs
California Natural
Canidae
Canine Cavior
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
Dad’s
Dogswell
Dr Harvey
Dynamic
Eagle Pack
Evangers
Evolve
Evo
Healthwise
Inova
iVet
Karma
Life4k9
Life Abundance
Morgin’s
Munster Milling
Natural Balance
Natural Choice
Nature’s Logic
Newman’s Own Organic Pet Line
Nutram
Ultra
Pet Promise
Pinnacle
