Orijen Puppy vs. Nature's Variety Instinct?

[Chealsie508]

Everyone's input is food for thought-especially regarding the "need" for puppy food-I will surely keep that in mind. Funny enough, I was reading alot of your postings Tanza; about how you mix foods- I like that idea a lot- do you make sure the ingredients are similar?? What I mean is if I want to use venison as the main ingredient in one kibble can I use fish in another?? Lastly, I have been researching ingredients and funny enough, I am thinking of changing my mind to mixing Taste of the Wild with Canidae… Lots to think about and cram with ony a few weeks til the puppy comes home!!!!:D

[starrlamia]

@Chealsie508:

Everyone's input is food for thought-especially regarding the "need" for puppy food-I will surely keep that in mind. Funny enough, I was reading alot of your postings Tanza; about how you mix foods- I like that idea a lot- do you make sure the ingredients are similar?? What I mean is if I want to use venison as the main ingredient in one kibble can I use fish in another?? Lastly, I have been researching ingredients and funny enough, I am thinking of changing my mind to mixing Taste of the Wild with Canidae… Lots to think about and cram with ony a few weeks til the puppy comes home!!!!:D

There is no nutrional reason to mix foods, kibble is formulated to contain the nutrients needed by dogs (unfortunately they can contain alot of crap too), we used to mix my dogs food mostly because he liked a variety lol, my other dog couldnt care less about what the food is, she will eat anything.
Fruits and veggies are not a required part of a dog's diet, and they arent worth adding unless you take the time to blended them well, as dogs cannot digest cellulose and need it to be pre-digested/mixed up, they also do not have the jaw structure to chew them properly to break down the cellulose themselves.

[tanza]

@Chealsie508:

Everyone's input is food for thought-especially regarding the "need" for puppy food-I will surely keep that in mind. Funny enough, I was reading alot of your postings Tanza; about how you mix foods- I like that idea a lot- do you make sure the ingredients are similar?? What I mean is if I want to use venison as the main ingredient in one kibble can I use fish in another?? Lastly, I have been researching ingredients and funny enough, I am thinking of changing my mind to mixing Taste of the Wild with Canidae… Lots to think about and cram with ony a few weeks til the puppy comes home!!!!:D

The meat source is the important one… and yes, I have mixed meat like venison with fish...

And I do not do it so that I never have to worry about changing to different foods... so I also use freeze dried mixes along with many other things. While some may not think that fruits and/or veggies are important, I feel that they are... but again, feeding is a personal choice... just use a high quality food.

[starrlamia]

@tanza:

The meat source is the important one… and yes, I have mixed meat like venison with fish...

And I do not do it so that I never have to worry about changing to different foods... so I also use freeze dried mixes along with many other things. While some may not think that fruits and/or veggies are important, I feel that they are... but again, feeding is a personal choice... just use a high quality food.

to each their own, but as I posted above, fruits and veggies are not beneficial unless they are served blended, as dogs cannot properly digest them whole, or chew them enough to break up the cellulose.

[Chealsie508]

Thanks so much- can't wait to get all the kinks worked out and have my baby here with me- I am sure I will pick everyone's brains a lot more.

[Nemo]

@starrlamia:

your pups wont neccessarily do badly on a food that doesnt meet the requirements but that doesnt mean it is optimal either, I do agree that food is very personal however!

http://www.dognutrition.com/puppy-vs-adult-dogfood.html

Based on this table then I would feed adult food to a puppy and not puppy food. If that "growth and reproduction" composition is the determination of what would provide the optimal health of a puppy then most if not all high quality grain-free adult pet foods would meet the minimum requirements noted in the table (no maximum stated).

But as said before, to each their own.

[Chealsie508]

I agree- I'm not going to end up feeding puppy food, I don't think it's necessary and probably not the best thing for me to be feeding the puppy- I also plan on doing meals every one in a while from scratch as I get more comfortable with all the "rules" lol

[starrlamia]

@Nemo:

Based on this table then I would feed adult food to a puppy and not puppy food. If that "growth and reproduction" composition is the determination of what would provide the optimal health of a puppy then most if not all high quality grain-free adult pet foods would meet the minimum requirements noted in the table (no maximum stated).

But as said before, to each their own.

Yes some will cross over for sure esp grain free foods as all of the energy your dog would get would be from the high fat and protein contents and not from carbs and grains. However lower quality foods need to be scrutinized to ensure that the puppy is actually getting the higher requirements listed.

[Nemo]

@starrlamia:

Im not familiar with Pat Hastings but puppy food is supposed to be higher in fat! What you are looking for in relation to growth rate and conformation issues is the phosphorus/calcium ratio and not the fat content. Generally you really only have to worrk about phos/cal content if you are raising a large breed dog.

Pat Hastings has a method for evaluating puppies that I find really interesting and I believe several breeders on this forum may use at least some version of her methods or have at least referenced her. Her "Puppy Puzzle" DVD is interesting to watch if you find conformation evaluation interesting, lol. I'd have to rewatch the video to catch her exact comments around food, but they were more observational on her part I believe not nutritional studies.

[Chealsie508]

Nemo- I am interested in ANYTHING Basenji- lol! I have heard a lot lately about that video so I am going to have to watch it. I don't know why but as I get closer to the "pick up" date I keep getting more and more nervous I'm not going to have my ducks in a row :rolleyes: I feel like my b puppy is going to start quizzing me and I won't be prepared!!

[starrlamia]

@Nemo:

Pat Hastings has a method for evaluating puppies that I find really interesting and I believe several breeders on this forum may use at least some version of her methods or have at least referenced her. Her "Puppy Puzzle" DVD is interesting to watch if you find conformation evaluation interesting, lol. I'd have to rewatch the video to catch her exact comments around food, but they were more observational on her part I believe not nutritional studies.

Thanks I will take a look into her work!

[Nemo]

@Chealsie508:

Nemo- I am interested in ANYTHING Basenji- lol! I have heard a lot lately about that video so I am going to have to watch it. I don't know why but as I get closer to the "pick up" date I keep getting more and more nervous I'm not going to have my ducks in a row :rolleyes: I feel like my b puppy is going to start quizzing me and I won't be prepared!!

No basenjis in the video, unfortunately. It's more for breeders but I found it useful to learn about dog structure.

[Chealsie508]

Anything I can use as a training tool for myself will be helpful.lol

[bryson72]

I used Orijen for a few months. Our boy seemed to like it, but sometimes he would skip a meal. But then we switched to Nature's Variety and he seems to like it even better, hasn't missed a meal in over a year! Both great dog foods though!