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Best Puppy Food

Basenji Feeding
  • Hello - I'm new to the forum and have a 3 month old tri. We are currently feeding her Diamond brand Chicken and Rice Puppy (this was what the breeder was feeding her). She doesn't eat very much food - maybe a cup a day. Her weight is good (12 lbs) and she is very energetic. She also is very itchy which I suspect could be caused by her food. I would appreciate any suggestions about a better brand of food.

  • There are many good quality foods…. Diamond brands use lots of fillers (corn/beet pulp) and very easily could be causing allergy problems. I would go to a totally grain free or something like Natural Balance Potato and Duck....

    Who did you get your girl from? And welcome to the Forums, would love to see pictures

  • Here is a good link to check out the quality of dog foods. They are ranked from 6 star (best) to 1 star (worst). Kipawa is on Taste of the Wild Bison with a little Taste of the Wild Salmon mixed in to keep his coat in good shape. I also add in 1 tsp. of olive oil. for his skin/coat as well.http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

  • I'm feeding Orijen Puppy Forumla…it's one of the 6-star rated foods at the website to which Fran gave the link.

  • It is also important to consider the breed of your dog when choosing the food. Larger dog breeds will always require higher levels of nutrients that prevent bone issues and other health problems later in life. Discuss nutrition with your veterinarian if you aren’t sure about the levels of protein your puppy might need.I would recommend Nature's Variety, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, and Solid Gold.

  • It is also important to consider the breed of your dog when choosing the food. Larger dog breeds will always require higher levels of nutrients that prevent bone issues and other health problems later in life. Discuss nutrition with your veterinarian if you aren’t sure about the levels of protein your puppy might need.I would recommend Nature's Variety, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, and Solid Gold.

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    For those who have asked if I am keeping a puppy, the final answer is no. The reason, you might ask?…. In 2000 I placed a puppy bitch with a great home.. we showed her to her Dual Championship and Ann (Mom) showed/trained her to her Obedience and Rally titles.. it is a home to die for.... A week and 1/2 ago, we lost Crystal to unexpected kidney failure. Mom, Ann made the hard decision that life was not good for her and let her go over the Rainbow Bridge. Ann still has Kobey that we co-own and he has been really missing his older house sister, so I offered Ann my pick puppy. She has decided to accept and take her home. I could not be more pleased.... as Ann and her family are my family and the best of friends. As you all know, I have two bitches that get along like bread and butter or as another friend put it, Peas and Carrots! While I was set to keep a puppy, I did worry that 3 is a crowd and I do not and do not want to have "packs"... we all live together... as a family... so my fear in keeping a puppy was that I would break up the bond between C-Me and Franie... now that problem doesn't exist. We will visit with or Ann will come up her every weekend.. and hopefully they will all continue to bond and be friends and the boy dog, Kobey too, but I don't have much fear about the boy dog... (not always the case with Mom's and bitches when they are not in the same house).... So all the homes have been decided... the exact placement of the pups will be decided tomorrow after we grade the litter, but I am pretty sure who is going where.... will soon announce on the my website who is going where!
  • Raw food

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    We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
  • Best Food?

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    @Patty: Interesting that you had a problem with loose stools, Pat, because I had exactly the same but with a puppy who was eventually discovered to have Giardia. It did take us a very long time though and in the meantime the pup was suffering. It also happened to a friend of mine herself who for years had a stomach problem that finally was discovered to be a Giardia infection. Because of my experience with the puppy, I had jokingly suggested the problem to her as well. Yes… Giardia "hides" very well..... Many Vets will write it off to a sensitive digestive system when in fact it is not. Like I said with my OJ, once it was cleared up, he could eat anything...
  • Changing food

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    I would highly recommend the fish oil. As I stated before in a previous post, I put Zak on a grain free diet and added fish oil pills daily and a Cosequin DS (glucosamine & chondroitin) capsule sprinkled on his food each day for arthritis and he has not had a problem with arthritis since. There are foods with these supplements included, however, it is my understanding that they are just sprayed on the food. My vet had in the past suggested for my senior dogs at least 1000mg fish oil daily for cognitive health and the arthritis. For Zak and some early kidney disease he is showing she is recommending, and I have also read on line, 100mg fish oil per 10 lbs. of body weight (2500 mg daily). I don't think you're going to find the best level of fish oil supplement in a kibble. Oh, and his coat this year is sooooooooo soft! :)
  • Best possible dry food??

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    I went with one of the solid golds.. and mix with the Wellness 95% salmon, chicken, turkey, or beef.. I really like those Wellness mixers! My dogs love them and I think they have really improved the dogs coats..
  • Homemade food…

    Basenji Feeding
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    I have now switched from Blue Buffalo food to Merricks wet and dry. The Blue Buffalo was hard to get, I had to buy it out of town. I get Merricks locally, and Sahara absoutely eats it better than all the rest. She is a picky eater and doesn't have a big appetite, but man oh man is she waiting when it is meal time now. She cleans her dish, a new thing for her. I am very happy, I use the dry also with about 1/4 cup of wet mixed in. I add alittle warm water to the dry (it makes it's own gravy) heat the wet alittle and add to the dry. Yes, I know Sahara is spoiled b/c I heat her wet food but what the heck, she is worth it, only takes a few seconds. Merricks is pricey $2 per can but I make it last for about 4-5 meals. Anyways, if you read the can and bag of the dry you will see what I mean, it is very good dog food and the family that has the company has been in business for 3 decades.