A Basenji is on my food!

[agilebasenji]

Some of the grain-free dog foods are heavy in protein. That was a concern of mine for my more mature boys. High protein values do NOT cause kidney problems and my holistic vet said that if my dogs do not have a kidney problem the high protein food was fine. (Years ago the thought in vet sciences was that a high protein diet caused kidney problems.) But it is very important for older dogs to have a high quality protein because the quality proteins are more digestable than lower quality proteins. Shoe leather has protein in it, but it's not very usable by a body.

Personally I feed Canidae and Evo, but there are many good quality foods out there right now. Your best bet is learn how to read labels and find a food you're comfortable with and that works for your dogs. I have a friend that feeds her dogs ProPlan. Not the greatest of dogfoods, but her dog had digestive problems, ProPlan works and given her dog's problems she doesn't want to tinker with what works. (She has tried other foods without success.)

One more thing, in the US Eukanuba is not the best thing around, however, I notice the opening poster resides in Norway. I have no idea if the Eukanuba ingredients are better there, but I bet they're different.

[etzbseder]

Yeah, you may have to try several foods to find the right one. Medjai worked really well on Royal Canin, but it's not a very good food so I've been trying a few different grain free ones.

[NerdyDogOwner]

@etzbseder:

Yeah, you may have to try several foods to find the right one. Medjai worked really well on Royal Canin, but it's not a very good food so I've been trying a few different grain free ones.

Yeah, which is why I only bought the small pack of 3Kg. I was not aware that Eukanuba was so "bad". They sold it at my vet/clinic, so I expected it to be the best.

Thanks for the feed back on this, gonna have a look around at other brands.

@agilebasenji, actually Norway has one of the worlds strictest imports laws when it comes to foods. Would be interesting to see it there is a difference in the ingredients compared to the USA.

I'll have to look around and see if I find a 100% natural product. Problem is, we don't have the big selection in this little country compared to USA etc.

[wizard]

Remember too that even though the bag of quality food costs more than an equivalent bag of grainy brands, you don't feed as much and so the cost ends up about the same in the long run.

[tanza]

@NerdyDogOwner:

Yeah, which is why I only bought the small pack of 3Kg. I was not aware that Eukanuba was so "bad". They sold it at my vet/clinic, so I expected it to be the best.

Thanks for the feed back on this, gonna have a look around at other brands.

@agilebasenji, actually Norway has one of the worlds strictest imports laws when it comes to foods. Would be interesting to see it there is a difference in the ingredients compared to the USA.

I'll have to look around and see if I find a 100% natural product. Problem is, we don't have the big selection in this little country compared to USA etc.

Many people consider that if the Vet is selling it, it must be good… big mistake... as many Vets are not well educated in feeding dogs.. As I understand it, they do not get (or at least in the past) instruction in school about feeding....

If you have a bag, you can go on the internet and compare, but I would guess they are the same.

[Janneke]

@agilebasenji:

One more thing, in the US Eukanuba is not the best thing around, however, I notice the opening poster resides in Norway. I have no idea if the Eukanuba ingredients are better there, but I bet they're different.

We call it "jEuk"anuba in the Netherlands. "Jeuk" = Itch. I think that says it all And we have the same bags with the Basenji on it, so I think the ingredients are the same too

If I were you, I would try a raw diet. Or buy something like Orijen. I know they sell that in the Netherlands. Or Farmfood: http://www.farmfood.co.uk/dogfood/premium-quality/natural-holistic/all-life-stage-dog-food.html But I don't know if they sell that in Norway..

[NerdyDogOwner]

Well I went out and had a long talk with a pet supply's store about food. I ended up getting Royal Canin (I bet someone has something bad to say about that one too).

She happened to know a lot about that "Dog Food Reviews" site, and we also talked about the Eukanuba food (which they also sold). The ingredients today are different than what is on the site, the site info is from 2005. And I just confirmed what she said. It is indeed different. I guess its been improved.
She also ensured me that thanks to Norways strict food polices I can feel safe about buying any dog food sold in stores, and often company's have to remove some ingredients to be allowed to sell here.

Anyways, I bet a discussion on "what food is best" can go on forever and everyone would disagree with others. My breeder also said Eukanuba was good. lol, so the head-spinning continues.

[Janneke]

@NerdyDogOwner:

Well I went out and had a long talk with a pet supply's store about food. I ended up getting Royal Canin (I bet someone has something bad to say about that one too).

Anyways, she happened to know a lot about that "Dog Food Reviews" site, and we also talked about the Eukanuba food (which they also sold). The ingredients today are different than what is on the site, the site info is from 2005. And I just confirmed what she said. It is indeed different. I guess its been improved.
She also ensured me that thanks to Norways strict food polices I can feel safe about buying any dog food sold in stores.

Anyways, I bet a discussion on "what food is best" can go on forever and everyone would disagree with others. My breeder also said Eukanuba was good. lol, so the head-spinning continues.

Yes, food discussions can go on forever. Still, RC wouldn't be my choice either. But I started Tillo on ProPlan. Not the best, but that was what the pet store sold me. They do that, because those are the most expensive foods.

Just start reading, maybe there is a Norwegian forum about dogs and dog food? We have a couple of them in the Netherlands and they are really informative! There is a lot to learn about dog food

[tanza]

I would bet that the ingredients in EUK are no different in Norway then in the US… and if you just read the bag, you will see the corn and/or beet pulp.... I believe if I remember correctly, corn is like the 5th ingredient... In IAMS (same company) it is the
2nd.

[nobarkus]

You have to take responsibility and educate yourself with pet food and pet health just like your own diet and health. A lot of vets and medical doctors are just ready to prescribe the drugs instead of "well let's look at the diet".

[mauigirl]

Also, I mean this is kind of a bizarre way to think of it, but how much of the food is used by the body and how much just passes on through?

I find "Evo poo" (I actually call it that) to be very distinctive because it's so itty bitty!

If most of the "food" comes out the other end because it has a lot of cheap filler, aka "fluff" with zilch nutritional value, it's kind of a waste of money, isn't it? I mean it doesn't even get absorbed.
And you're picking up more poo…..

[nobarkus]

@mauigirl:

Also, I mean this is kind of a bizarre way to think of it, but how much of the food is used by the body and how much just passes on through?

I find "Evo poo" (I actually call it that) to be very distinctive because it's so itty bitty!

If most of the "food" comes out the other end because it has a lot of cheap filler, aka "fluff" with zilch nutritional value, it's kind of a waste of money, isn't it? I mean it doesn't even get absorbed.
And you're picking up more poo…..

That's correct. The better the food the less you need to feed the less to pick up.

[NerdyDogOwner]

Well, that's not quite how the production of excrement works. But you can tell by the firmness and smell if what you are feeding your dog is good. If it's firm, and does not stink to high heavens and doesn't activate your gag reflexes then nutrients are getting absorbed. However, if it's very loose, soft, and really stinks then its bad.
This same rule applys to humans as well. So keep an eye on your poo! The amount of poo has nothing to do with it, actually in some cases more is better (like fibers etc doing it's job).

[Capt_Jack_our_Basenji]

Ive seen the Doggie Shampoo at Walmart with a basenji on it! I was SO Impressed!!