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Post by krissy on Jan 18, 2011 21:18:07 GMT -5
You've had Summer for awhile so not sure this will help (because I assume it's a different issue), but when we got Summit he was super finicky about his food. I mean, he essentially didn't eat his breakfast and he'd leave about half his dinner. And this was in spite of my removing food after half an hour if he hadn't finished. He just didn't seem to care. One day I mixed some sardines in with his dinner and he finished it all. Ever since that day I have had no problems with his appetite. He greedily sucks down everything in his bowl. Maybe it was a coincidence, I have no idea. Have you considered getting liver powder to put on her food? Or sardine/tuna juice to mix in?
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monique
Hound Nut
That's Leo in the red!
Posts: 1,318
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Post by monique on Jan 19, 2011 0:26:08 GMT -5
I wish Summer would eat the Kirkland food. I tried it but she absolutely refused. She wouldn't eat Acana, either. She's now on Taste Of The Wild but this last bag, she's really fussy about. I remember another thread about dog kibble (here? Greytalk?) and I actually wrote to the vet for the company and asked about the coloration and size differences from bag to bag. My guess with this current bag is that there is sufficient fat baked into the kibble so that the company didn't need to spray as much on the outside to meet the requirement, hence she doesn't find it as appealing. Sigh. I'm tempted to try ProPlan and just say the heck with it. Have you tried mixing in some canned dog food with the kibble? With Leo I just add a couple of tablespoons of canned food, you could add a bit more than that, maybe 1/4 can, and add a bit of water and mix it all up. Krissy had good suggestions with sardines and liver powder too.
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Post by lotsoffreetime on Jan 19, 2011 11:32:41 GMT -5
the food debate is always one I find interesting. We have been feeding Proplan Lamb and Rice all along, mainly because Kasie needed a Lamb based food for her stomach, and Rio also seems to have a bit of a delicate stomach. Bill recommended Proplan and our vet says it is a good food. But, I am tempted by Kirkland because of the cost savings, especially now that we have 4 of them! On the rating sites people have indicated, Kirkland's foods come out way above the Proplan...in fact, Proplan doesn't seem to come out very well at all. Very confusing! I am tempted to make the switch to Kirkland...Rio's poops are not all that great on Proplan, and Merlin is not settled on a food yet with us anyway...decisions decisions...
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sugarsmomma
Grey Lover
Maelle captured by the fantastic Leslie Town
Posts: 551
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Post by sugarsmomma on Jan 19, 2011 12:05:37 GMT -5
I'm happy to report that Maelle is doing well on the Kirkland Lamb and rice. It's only been since Sunday and even though we've been mixing it in with her old food we had a few runny poops at first but now it's all good. We're quite happy so far. So is my wallet.
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Post by hammertown on Jan 19, 2011 14:19:53 GMT -5
I don't want to start a storm here.Just want to throw out my information and my interpretation.
Dogs on the track get 'hot' feed.It might not be recognizable as human food,but it is somewhat or a whole lot varied,depending on the trainer.They all have their own ideas about fueling racers.IMHO only..racer fuel appears to be a purpose specific BARF type diet.
It doesn't shock me to hear of a retiree being indifferent,picky, bored or sick on commercial kibble only diets.As the RAW and BARF feeders can tell you,racers do enjoy human food because they have had plenty of it,all their lives.Trainers have been into specialized diets long before the pet crowd got internet.
With our own greys human food recognition is surprising.You would not want to be alone in a room with raw meat and a veg salad side with Checks.Same goes for Herb and apples.Neither learned it here.They came that way.I'm sure both would eat a bowl of dirt if it contained a teaspoon of hamburger or apple sauce.Both also regularly encounter stuff they don't recognize.Travis and Gypsy are completely different from them.They have familiar preferences too,but it's different from Checks and Herb.Keep in mind Gypsy and Travis are litter-mates,from the same trainer/kennel.Until retired they had always been together.It shows with what they will eat.All four tolerate variety very well.
I had wanted to go kibble only with our greys.Cheaper and less hassle day to day.In the past we always used home style BARF with a kibble.Had good results with it.More than one dog can be expensive.We thought it would be too rich for the greys and our pocketbook.We were wrong.Ours are doing well with it.Price hasn't been prohibitive for us.
So,with my own information,yours might be different granted,if your racer appears off somehow,with a commercial feed only diet ,the racer probably is.Throw in adjusting to a household and newness,it's no wonder to me,diet becomes a 'poke your eyeballs out with needles' experience for so many retiree homes.
Our dogs don't have gas or weird poo.No bad breathe.They can eat anything without issue.We can use any kibble.Changing doesn't have any ill affect on them.They don't chase us for our plates.Their own are more interesting and enjoyable to them.Kibble only meals are still eaten by them.Sometimes we get busy and they are never demanding about it.Two squares a day,8 and 4 sharp,is how they like to roll.We just go with it.
I came back to clarify some info about my dog feeding.I don't use a true RAW or BARF diet.We don't use raw meats etc..I don't know anything about these feeding methods.
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OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
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Post by OwnedBySummer on Jan 19, 2011 22:20:26 GMT -5
I've fed sardines, I've sprinkled with liver powder, I've added shredded cheese, I've added canned dog food and I've made a homemade beef/rice/lentil/yogurt thing and stirred it in. If she doesn't like the kibble, nothing helps. So last night I bought a small bag of ProPlan Selects Salmon & Brown Rice. I hand fed her a handful and she loved it. So this morning, I gave her 3/4 of her kibble ration as ProPlan and 1/4 as the TOTW. LOL! -- she picked the ProPlan out and ate it. Left all the TOTW and whatever ProPlan was apparently too contaminated by the TOTW! Good thing I've never been a proponent of the slow introduction method of switching kibble!
Well, I'll take comfort in the fact that my previous dog (non-grey) was also picky and weird to feed, so I'm at least used to it.
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xtrawld
Grey Lover
Both thirsty....can't wait for their turn....
Posts: 625
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Post by xtrawld on Jan 19, 2011 22:24:38 GMT -5
Happy to report that Ryder is doing well on the Kirkland Chicken! Yay. Needless to say, until this thread, I always walked by the dog food in Costco thinking "oh that stuff must be crap - look how cheap it is" (in cost). I never bothered to flip the bag over to read the ingredients.
Kasey is doing well on the new lamb version called Holistic Blend (apparently it's on his allergy free list!) YAY. But after seeing how good the Kirkland is for Ryder (oh and I must add the gas so far is kept to a minimum) we may consider changing Kasey's Holistic Lamb to the Kirkland Lamb. What a price savings!
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monique
Hound Nut
That's Leo in the red!
Posts: 1,318
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Post by monique on Jan 20, 2011 9:00:09 GMT -5
Well, so far Leo's poops haven't been good on the Kirkland Lamb & Rice. It hasn't been long and he's just getting about 1/2 Kirkland and 1/2 Acana Pacifica so I'll wait a few days.
As far as his poop goes, it was best when he was eating a bag of Pro Plan Selects salmon I think it's called; it has better ingredients than the regular Pro Plan and I had a PetSmart gift card so I bought a bag of that since it was the best I could find at PetSmart that was most similar to what he had been eating (Orijen fish/Acana Paficia). In fact, towards the middle of the big bag, I posted about Leo's poop being TOO hard (one time he actually yelped while pooping)! That only lasted a couple of days though.
So far, no matter the brand, Leo seems to do best on fish-based food. I think someone mentioned that Kirkland has a fish-based food in the US? If so, I hope it comes up to Canada!
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sugarsmomma
Grey Lover
Maelle captured by the fantastic Leslie Town
Posts: 551
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Post by sugarsmomma on Jan 20, 2011 9:56:43 GMT -5
Needless to say, until this thread, I always walked by the dog food in Costco thinking "oh that stuff must be crap - look how cheap it is" (in cost). I never bothered to flip the bag over to read the ingredients. That's exactly what I did. Because all of the other foods that are considered natural or holistic with no fillers, corn, etc. are so expensive I just assumed Kirkland was a "crap" food based on the price. Maelle is ok on it so far, so hopefully there will be no changes.
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Post by angelollie on Jan 20, 2011 19:54:02 GMT -5
My four also seem to be doing well on the Kirkland Lamb and Rice. I'm still mixing their other food (Performatrin Ultra) with the Kirkland but have now decreased the Performatrin substantially and have increased the Kirkland with good results. I also add sardines to their kibble usually on the weekends (Omega fish oil other times), the rest of the time I add a couple of tablespoons of a good quality canned dog food/a little boiled hamburg. So far, I am pleased with the results.
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Post by hammertown on Jan 20, 2011 22:26:55 GMT -5
I ran across a blog with a memorial page for Dodgem By Design.The blog is kept by a grey breeder about his farm.He was buying for his broods.
He went in person to meet DBD and his keepers.The most important questions he had were about feeding.No shocker owning greys ourselves,eh? DBD was eating high-end kibble for seniors and anything else his keepers thought he needed or might like.No running,small turn out area and lots of leash walks.
DBD ate pet food!I'd have thought they would keep him like a unicorn or such.No...DBD was a dog all his life.
So there you have it.Dog food and treats is good enough for the Hall of Fame.
Mine are definitely going to be trying the Kirklands.
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OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
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Post by OwnedBySummer on Jan 21, 2011 9:11:27 GMT -5
Monique, I've had zero reaction from Summer on the new Proplan Selects Salmon and, like Leo's on this food, her poops are gorgeous. And she looooooves it! So... we're both very happy!
Hammertown, I love your report on DBD. I had a chuckle at the unicorn remark. Thanks!
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monique
Hound Nut
That's Leo in the red!
Posts: 1,318
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Post by monique on Jan 21, 2011 9:45:10 GMT -5
I ran across a blog with a memorial page for Dodgem By Design.The blog is kept by a grey breeder about his farm.He was buying for his broods. He went in person to meet DBD and his keepers.The most important questions he had were about feeding.No shocker owning greys ourselves,eh? DBD was eating high-end kibble for seniors and anything else his keepers thought he needed or might like.No running,small turn out area and lots of leash walks. DBD ate pet food!I'd have thought they would keep him like a unicorn or such.No...DBD was a dog all his life. So there you have it.Dog food and treats is good enough for the Hall of Fame. Mine are definitely going to be trying the Kirklands. Interesting information and I like the unicorn comment as well! I did read somewhere that although some trainers feed just a bunch of meat, that's not the best thing for racing athletes because they need the carbs for energy to race.
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Post by luvastorm on Feb 8, 2011 12:05:09 GMT -5
After trying the completely RAW diet, then some of the expensive kibbles because of Sunny's tummy problems, (which turned out to be caused by hookworm), we're back to good, old Kirkland Lamb and Rice plus a spoonful or two of a Meat Only dog food from Giant Tiger and home-made "dog muffins" which contain some carbs. The greyhounds do perfectly well on this - plus whatever people food we give them now and then (NO onions). Our only picky feeder now is Yoda, but because of the many, many health problems he has, we're not surprised. He's being hand fed mostly now, just to keep his strenth up as much as we can.
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Post by krissy on Feb 8, 2011 12:30:11 GMT -5
After trying the completely RAW diet, then some of the expensive kibbles because of Sunny's tummy problems, (which turned out to be caused by hookworm), we're back to good, old Kirkland Lamb and Rice plus a spoonful or two of a Meat Only dog food from Giant Tiger and home-made "dog muffins" which contain some carbs. The greyhounds do perfectly well on this - plus whatever people food we give them now and then (NO onions). Our only picky feeder now is Yoda, but because of the many, many health problems he has, we're not surprised. He's being hand fed mostly now, just to keep his strenth up as much as we can. I don't know if this might help for you to try, but this is my personal recipe for picky dogs in hospital. I've got a great track record with it, and many happy doctors for testimonial after finally seeing their patient eat. Go to your vet and pick up a can of Hill's A/D. It's a high calorie and high fat food that we feed to anorexic animals to get the maximum number of calories in even if they don't eat much of it. Some will gobble that down on it's own no problem. For even pickier eaters cook some ground beef and mix in a little bit of cheese whiz when it's almost done. Then mix some of the cooked beef with some of the A/D. I had dogs that refused to eat for days just GOBBLE this stuff down. Not every dog, but like I said, I had a pretty good track record with it. May not be the best diet for a dog with medical issues such that he shouldn't be getting a high fat diet, but otherwise (or if you're at that stage where you don't care and it's more important that he eat SOMETHING as opposed to something healthy) it works well.
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