Category: Animal House
Hello all you animal folks! Has anyone tried out the rotation diet or currently feeding their dog this way?
Our pet dog Gladus, 10-pound jack russell Chihuahua, has been informally on this style of eating for nearly five months. Partly, because I haven't landed on a brand of food, partly because she handles it so well, I thought I'd give it a whirl!
Right now, she is eating a grain free kibble, with a lamb based protein. She seems to enjoy it well enough and her body is reacting fine to it, but something tells me, the chicken based was a better option. Her body was a bit more regular on the chicken based diet.
The next option with this line of food is a fish based kibble. *Grin,* that one makes me a bit more nervous. She had some salmon treats, at one time, and they gave her diareah. Lol, we'll definitely ease into the fish one, or go back to the chicken.
Anyway, I'd love to exchange thoughts on this topic. It is something I would have hesitated doing with my old lab guide, his stomach was so sensative, but not my Glad girl! Besides, some readings out there say, the same brand year after year, can contribute to stomach sensativity and alergies. So who knows how my DarbyDoo would have done! He may have loved it!
Looking forward to your response,
Polka Dot Paws
Hmmm! Well, I'd stick with the chicken-based food since Gladys handles it so well, quit rotating the diet, or you'll end up with endless upset stomachs and squits. Not nice for Gladys and especially, not so nice for you, having to follow her round with newspapers, a mop and a bucket. That's basically what we had to do with our retriever on several ocasions during her nearly 14 years with us, lol, since mum changed her tinned dogfood quite a few times. I think she went from Chum, to chappy, to Pal or whatever it's called, back to chum then back on to Chappy. Not good times. You'd be well advised not to change any animal's diet for any reason, unless the food really does disagree with them or they develop an intolerance to it.
Jen.
what is a rotation diet?
there are good arguments for and against rotating foods. Also there is varrying opinions about switching directly or gradually. As far as speed of switch I have found that staying within the same brand or price range, then switching can be done directly... unless one has a dog with a sensitive stomach. however, when switching from a lower quality food to a higher quality of food and vice versa, then switching should be done via gradually mixing the foods.
Our dogs are not on a rotation diet exactly. When we adopted two of them, they had a weight problem. We put them on a weight food. They've now lost the weight. However they are not active enough to keep it off when on a regular food all the time. So we switch back and forth between the weight control food and the regular food to help them maintain.
Here are 2 web pages for further reading on rotating a dog's diet.
For Gladus, so far, it is working very well. I like the fact that her stomach is not very sensative. This gives her some veriety and us some flexability.
When we first adopted her in Jan. 2008, we fed her Harmoney Farms Chicken and brown rice. This worked great, until April 2009, when it became difficult to find.
We moved onto Innova Adult Dry Dog Food - Small Bites, but she was definitely not regular on that kibble. One bowel movement a day, maybe.
After that brief stent, we moved onto Natures Veriety Prairy kibble. Lol, Gladus didn't seem very fond of this kibble. This was a bummer to me, because I liked what I read about it.
So, where we stand now and have, for the last few months is the Acana Grain Free. She really enjoys this kibble and is farely regular. I was a bit nervous going to grain free, but it has worked well, and she gets grains from treats and such.
Lol, it turns out this is one of the more expensive kibbles, but she eats a very small amount and is maintaining her weight. For the most part, the cost all comes out in the wash. Her cheeper kibble, she ate a larger quanity.
The only thing I rotated for Darby's diet, (my old labrador guide,) was his canned food during the last 6 months of his life. I was ever so lucky to discover Merrick pet food. Oh my gall, I had never seen Darby experience such kibble and canned food joy! He loved meal time. Senior Medley kibble and such a wonderful veriety of healthy canned food.
I am undecided, on what I'll do for my next guide. *smile*
*Grin,* I didn't actually post those links. Here ya go!
http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/food_allergies_in_dogs
http://www.naturesvariety.com/rotation
PS. Both of my dog's had degestive enzymes.
that is actualy one of the nice things about feeding a higher quality food - amount of food needed is less and out put is less. lol I used to feed my guide Inovo but it gave him gas. I did feed Wellness for a lot of time. I was always trying diferent high quality foods.
Now with 3 large dogs we are using an intermediate food which I mentioned earlier is being rotated between the regular and weight control formulas. The 2 pets had the weight issue - my guide is a shepherd and has never had a weight problem lol Actually he did get thin for a bit and I fixed that with buying him digestive enzymes.
I tried wellness for a time with my guide, but he didn't do well on it. Now, from what I've read the food has gone through a number of changes in the last 4 years.
IceQueen, what is the brand you are feeding your dogs?
Starting out with Gladus, I was very pleased with harmoney farms. It was what I like to call, middle of the road food. Not ultra helistic and expensive, but not bottom of the barel either. *grin!* Besides, at the time, it was so convenient, right in our Target store.
BTW, not sure if people are fimiliar, but Harmoney Farms and Blue Buffalo are related.
For my next guide, I may consider Merrick; the company has a sweet spot for me. Possibly California Natural, will be another consideration. That is a very bland diet, if I'm concerned about stomach upset.
i use flint river ranch dry food for my dogs. they like it and i think it is great. the school gave my daughter science diet but we are switching over.
My guide dog needs to lose weight. IceQueen what weight control formula food are you feeding your dogs?
NUTRO MAX Dog Food Weight Control - at Petco it is $38 for a 30 pound bag. For one large breed dog that should last 6 weeks give or take. It doesn't meet the standards of the organic and natural brands. But all our dogs love it and it is good on a budget.
Wow, color me surprised!
I just ran over to pet food direct to do a quick price check.
Nutro 30-pounds $38
Merrick Grammies Pot Pie 30-pounds $39
And California Natural 30-pounds $46!
I have no idea California Natural was so expensive!? I wonder if it is because lamb meal is the first ingredient?
Hmmm, I am definitely going to have some thinking to do for my next guide.
PS. I just looked up Hill's Science Diet Adult Lamb Meal & Rice, because from what I understand, this is what guide dog's feed the dogs. It is $44 for a 35-pound bag. I wouldn't call that cheep.
Gall, we could a whole separate topic on just dog food brand and nutrition alone. *smile*
I would never use hills science diet only because I know of some disturbing things. I can't remember the title of the book at this moment. But it discusses dog foods and such - in it, it reveals that at some point science diet actually kept dogs alive while they were cut open so they could watch how the food was digested and such and tweek the formulas etc. Besides that, the quality of the food is not what one would call impressive.
Now if I could aford it, all our pets would be on organic, baked, not extruded food. When I had only my guide, I could do that. But I am not a dog food snob because I realize what it is like to be on a budget. the prices for some of the natural and organic brands can get extremely expensive like in the$50s and $60s for 20 or 30 pound bags. Ouch!
Yes, I have no desire to use hills science diet, it is unfortunate that guide dogs does.
I think something that surprises me about the price point, is plenty of the quote unquote less quality brands, are nearly as pricy as the healthier brands. There is a wide range of quality in that $30-$40 price point. I notice some companies, just like in human food, are making the packages smaller and keeping the price the same.
I don't think I'd buy acana for a guide dog. It is quite an expensive food and a guide tends to eat 2-3 cups aday, depending on quality of food and size of dog. My little Gladus eats less than 1/4 cup; *grin,* I can afford it for her.
Has anyone looked at Natural Balance? It has grabbed my attention in the past, because they do so much for the guide dog community. Unfortunately, it is very expensive!
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
In case anyone wants to read further.
Hmmm, write now, Merrick is winning out, for a future guide. I have a soft spot for the company and they have a fair price point. One of my fave things about their kibble is it is not just kibble in there! You run your hand through and you feel little peas and bits of chicken. If you add some warm water, the peas and chicken come to life. Not to mention, the veriety in their canned food, is such a yummy treat for the dogs.
If Merrick, is the route I go, I'll definitely have to switch the dog very gradually; talk about a big adjustment from Hills to Merrick!
BTW, I meant to say, I've read about Flint River Ranch, I liked what I read!
Hmmm, next we'll have to start a thread about treats! I love discussing this stuff and getting everyone's thoughts!
i love flint river. for this price it is a really good product, which i've used for over seven years. it is baked not extruded which is important. also, don't mean to be gross but the smell off a dog is much better even when they are wet. additionally they use most of what is in the food so the poop factor is reasonable. oh yes, the senior formula is recommended for weight control. my pet dog used that for years and loved it. they also have an arthritis formula which supposedly has glucosamine and condroitin in it. don't know if it works but it isn't harmful.
i forgot to say that nutro is a good food. only reason i never used it is that my pet dog had a corn allergy and there appeared to be more, seven years ago, in it then in the flint. we have switched my daughter's new guide to it with no problem
turricane, has the transition from Science Diet over to Flint River been a smoothe one?
My labrador, one Summer, had a very difficult time making the transition. I think it was he was going from a lesser quality food to a very high quality of food, not to mention, he had a very sensative stomach.
Remind me, is Flint Rive a kibble or is it freezed dried? Not sure if I'm using the correct word. You add water to it and it comes to life. Know what I mean? *smile*
actually the transition has been quite smooth. my daughter started with the kibble as treats and then gradually changed over. last night was the first time she went all the way. so far it has worked well. the trick is to take it slowly and gradually. w had the same thing as you described happen with our kitten. we were trying to transition him but he got in the cat's food and that was all there was. although he got sick he wouldn't go back to the cheap food.
flint river makes both kibbles and a freeze dried food. i have never used it. additionally they make dog treats and jubilee wafers which have the condroitin and glucosamine in them.
A question for polka dots - is the merrick pot pie considered a kibble food or freeze dried? i ask because it seems like it is a kibble but you mentioned that it comes to life the way that freeze dried foods do. We're considering putting my guide on a freeze dried food but have found Honest Kitchen and Ziwi Peak to be very pricey. Then I remembered this thread and the Merrick.
Um,Id say it is a kibble. There ust happens to be peas and bits of chicken included. If that makes sense. I had my guide on the senior medley the last year and a half of his life. He loved it.
If I'm remembering correctly, you mentioned weight management? A senior kibble could be an alternative for you.
Thanks. We ended up starting to switch my guide over to Honest Kitchen's Virve formula. Honest Kitchen makes a variety of dehydrated raw diet foods.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/index.shtml
icequeen, you'll have to share how this turns out.
BTW, what is the food like? Do you add water and it turns into moistened kibble? Can you feel different textures, like the kibble and veggies?
Thaks, I'm curious. *smile*