ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
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Post by ceedee on Nov 21, 2006 11:57:29 GMT -5
My first greyhound was a CKC puppy acquired 12 years ago from a reputable dog breeder. In her information package she listed several commercial dog foods that were tested on greyhounds. Her first choice was Purina Pro-Plan - excellent results, second was President's Choice - very good to excellent results, and Performatrin (Pet Valu). Other results were: Nutro-Max - very good Eukanuba, Iams and Techni-Cal - fair results Science Diet by Hill's - fair to good results. For those with multiple greyhounds, food can become pretty costly. Does more expensive necessarily mean better? I feed Dash Performatrin Ultra holistic food but the recommended amount does not seem enough for him. To satisfy his need to munch more food, I add a cup or two of President's Choice. This really cuts down on cost. My first grey was on Pro-Plan for his first five years and then on President's Choice. He had a beautiful coat all of his life. Just food for thought!
Dash's mom.
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Post by tara on Nov 21, 2006 12:39:17 GMT -5
I don't have multiple greys but I do have multiple dogs (Grey and Lab) both of which have allergies of some sort. My lab was on Hypo allergetic prescription from vet. He is now on Natural Balance which he is doing much better on gained weight, better coat and less bad breath and anal gland problems. This food is $20 less a bag than the prescription so I would say that more expensive doesn't mean better. Less filler (corn meal ect.) would be better. When I looked at the ingredients of the hypo stuff I realized that there was no wheat but lots of corn/corn flour/corn meal which if I understand correctly really does nothing nutrient wise for the dog. Just my humble opinion. However I am still trying to find the right food for Ty (my grey - see chicken in food). Tara
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Post by jiffer on Nov 21, 2006 12:58:28 GMT -5
For us, we tried the very cheapest (Kirkland Lamb Meal and Rice: $22/40lb bag) to the most expensive of foods (Eagle Pack Holistic $55/35lbs bag) to try to get past allergies and big "D".
For my personal preference, I try to avoid foods with a lot of unnecessary fillers.
We feed Technical Lamb Meal and Rice ($39/40lb bag) which is technically Sensible Choice Lamb Meal and Rice (they were bought out last year).
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ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
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Post by ceedee on Nov 21, 2006 13:31:41 GMT -5
I forgot to mention that Purina Dog Chow was rated as poor but that is no surprise. It is so greasy that it gives the toughest of bowels major "D". My brother has always been thrifty when buying dog food for his very large Komondor mix, feeding her 'Ol Roy for the majority of her life. When he can't get to Wal-Mart he buys the no-name brands in the yellow generic bags. His dog is 16 years old, still going strong and has the most beautiful white teeth that would make a three year old envious. He has never fed her any type of people food, and admonishes anyone who tries to. It is hard to believe!
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janis
Grey Puppy
my 4 boys
Posts: 88
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Post by janis on Nov 21, 2006 19:07:05 GMT -5
when the boys first arrived in i fed them a lamb and rice formula that was $48 for 18 kg bag - they loved it but when we started going through 14 - 15 cups of it a day (4 dogs) the bill at the end of the month was out of control - i cut off the label and took it with me shopping - at Zehr's the President's Choice Lamb and Rice label read almost identical - but it costs $24/18kg - i've switched them all over gradually, and i have to admit they don't care for the PC food as much, but i just add something to it, like raw egg, plain yogurt, milk, maybe a bit of grated cheese, or peanut butter that i melt in the microwave - seems to work out well, and no big D - and they all have beautful soft full coats - - - - and i forgot to mention that when the greys have been fed anything else but lamb, we end up with quite a stinky house, car, etc - i'm sure you know what i mean! -
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ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
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Post by ceedee on Nov 21, 2006 22:32:19 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that you are getting great results with the President's Choice. Dash loves the expensive Performatrin Ultra more than the PC brand as well, but he will eat it! I might just wean him off the Performatrin and try the PC lamb and rice alone. I've been buying the PC chicken. There's always the argument that with the more expensive food, they don't need to eat as much of it. But I don't think they feel full and satisfied with less food, regardless of the perceived quality.
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Nov 28, 2006 1:38:57 GMT -5
Our two eat Science Diet Superiour for Seniors. We tried Iams when we first got Tigger, and he refused it. He also refused Pro Plan, Purina One, And Beneful. He loves Pedigree ( it doesn't love him tho). We were using Techincal Lamb and Rice, and they liked it, but were always seeming to be hungry. Science Diet fills them up and They can't get enough. It also has drasically improved Tigger's teeth. They are amazingly white now. He seems to have more energy as well.
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Post by catti on Dec 17, 2006 15:51:17 GMT -5
About three months ago, I switched my guys over to a brand my local pet food shop had just started to carry, called Nutram. I'd never heard of it before, but it's a Canadian-made brand and the price wasn't bad, so I thought I'd try it. Before that I'd been feeding them on TechniCal Chicken and Rice formula. I'd fed my cats on TechniCal for over 10 years with no problems. But with the dogs, I noticed they were taking turns getting big D. Each one would get it two or three times a week. I was starting to get sick of coming home from work to brown "lakes" and being awakened at 3 am on a work night by a dog desperate to go out NOW! (Or, when it was too late... ) So, we started trying different brands. I found that Sting LOVES the cheapest brands, like Kibbles and Bits, No-Name and Beneful. However, both of them pass a lot more bulky stool on these brands (which tells me they contain a lot of undigestible filler that's passing right through) and Eagle gets the big D and either vomits or goes off his food. Nutram's about the same price as TechniCal and they haven't had big D once since they've been on it. Their stool is nice and firm and small, and their coats are great. I use the large breed formula, which has larger-sized kibbles and contains bone and joint supplements. This formula is based on chicken, rice and corn, but they do make other formulas that don't contain these ingredients.
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karen
Junior Grey Lover
[red]Tiger and Fiona's Mom[/red]
Posts: 226
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Post by karen on Dec 27, 2006 14:54:29 GMT -5
Tiger and Fiona eat Costco's Kirkland Chicken and Rice (less then $20 a bag) and seem to like it quite well. Sometimes I get Kirland's Lamb and Rice. Either one is fine with them, although, I think anything would be fine with them.
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Post by ontariogreys on Dec 31, 2006 3:30:15 GMT -5
12 years ago there was very few holistic foods available here in Canada if there were her list might have included less grainy foods, also the last 10 years has seen major research go into dog food nutrition, many foods still out today are based on protein research done of rats not dogs, yes.. rats... non carnivores to determine what the protein needs are for dogs, new research is showing that those protein and fat levels are too low and may very well be the reason so much kidney disease and diabetes is being seen in dogs today, In rats non carnivores high protein diets can cause kidney disease but in dogsd high protein in the source of meat improves filtration flow through the kidney and allows toxins to get filtered out , meat protein is also help in cellular growth and repair, studies are showing senior dogs need almost twice what healthy adults do as their metabolism slows down so they need better quality protein source for repair and to maintain muscle mass.
the breeder I got my CKC registered chinese crested from this year recommended Canidae I told her I was feeding EVO and she was quite happy with my choice, she refuses to guarantee a dogs health if you choose to feed a lower grade food because poor diet does impact health.
Today most reputable breeders demand high quality foods or a raw diet, you would have a hard time finding a reputable breeder that would recommend Science diet today. I am sure if you had food labels from 12 years ago from many of the foods listed you would note ingredient changes and not for the better which would include more grains, substituting whole grains for fragmented and inclusion of grain gluten meals as a protein source
I am feeding the more expensive EVO RM and for me definitely yes there is a definite difference, Grains make Sunny blow up like a balloon, even when going with the lowest calorie corn free diet food at 1 1/2 cups a day he was gaining 1 pound a month, so the EVO is controlling his weight and yes he has been check for thyroid issues
Maya has Lupus, I had a dog 15 years ago with the same I lost him 3 years after diagnosis at that time he was eating Science diet recoimmended by the vet which was basically a premium food then, he progressed rapidly down hill and required prednisone daily, Maya is now 2 years past diagnosis and still not on prednisone she still has a gorgeous coat and lots of energy to burn I do believe the high meat protein in EVO has boosted her immune system so her body is having a tougher time attacking itself she still has flare ups but they are manageable, and have not really worsened and it is a blessing to watch her still behaving like a silly puppy instead of watching her slowly die like Buiddy, and though I have not repeated any blood clotting test on her, I do know she is clotting now she took a wipeout on the sidewalk in the backyard peeling away the skin on leg and foot about a months and a half ago and it was lovely to watch the bleeding stop on its own unlike the pre EVO days where even half an hour spread thinly on a glass slide there was zero clots forming, and the other bonus is I am not running to the vet with her every month or every other week with new health problem cropping up to me very much worth the extra dollars to give her a few extra quality years.
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ceedee
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 187
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Post by ceedee on Dec 31, 2006 10:39:14 GMT -5
Why is it that large stools in dogs indicates an overabundance of undesirable undigestable food, and yet in humans large stools with undigested food indicates lots of "roughage" which is beneficial for optimum colonic health?
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Post by Tigger's Mommy on Dec 31, 2006 21:12:59 GMT -5
on advice from people here we switched Tigger to President's Choice Lamb and Rice. He is picky about it (shocking... this dog eats everything). We add a little water and mix it with some yogourt and he cant tell the difference. He is less gasy, his poops are a lot better, and I can definatly see a difference (not only in health but in price). Hopefully Charlie likes it when we bring him home!
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Post by ontariogreys on Jan 20, 2007 14:39:40 GMT -5
Why is it that large stools in dogs indicates an overabundance of undesirable undigestable food, and yet in humans large stools with undigested food indicates lots of "roughage" which is beneficial for optimum colonic health? Dogs are not humans they have a much shorter digestive tract for the food to pass through so do not need the same amount of fiber, because their digestive tract is much shorter they have a greater need for highly digestible food than we do, otherwise the food simply passes by the large intestine without much of the nutrients being absorbed. A food may contain 26 % protein but if the bulk of it is from grains which are not highly digestible sources like meat, then they may only only be deriving 18% of the 26% crude protein.. Grain protein diets can also cause problems with calcium absorption may explains why so many companion dog suffers from arthritis and hip and spine problems in later years. Studies in humans show that increased red meat consumption can increase healing time of broken bones reduce fractures in seniors and lowers incidences of osteo arthritis. Similiar studies in senior dogs shows they also need increased meat proteins to maintain muscle mass(muscles helped to support joints, so keeps them more mobile) ,and aids in cellular repair. If you look at the wild canids whose diets are based based on meats, berries, roots and grasses they do not have half the health problems that we see in our grain fed dogs.
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janis
Grey Puppy
my 4 boys
Posts: 88
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Post by janis on Jan 22, 2007 10:26:31 GMT -5
hi all! - just thought i'd post a quick note about a new food i tried - i'd earlier mentioned that the boys were doing really well on President's Choice Lamb and Rice - even though they didn't care that much for it unless i added stuff to it - well, i ran out a couple of weeks ago and i had to had to get food asap, so we stopped at sobey's to see what they had (thankfully they're open 24 hours a day!) - and we brought home a bag of Sobey's brand lamb and rice food - bigger chunks, not quite so hard - so far so good - no D, stinkies, etc - and the boys will even eat it without anything on it if they get really hungry - sunny has even started to jump up and down again at meal times! - so - in my experience with these two foods, they do well on both, but much prefer the Sobey's brand -
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