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So confused about the best food!

Basenji Feeding
  • Spencer was content with Evo until I had to switch him to a low protein diet. He hates them all. He won't get near Hill's k/d, so I mix a little Wellness Senior with his cooked food (usually chicken, fish or egg, veggies and rice or potato) and consider myself lucky if he doesn't pick out the kibble. Most of the time he will lick the dry bits clean and spit them on the floor. If I try and sneak too many of them in, he won't touch anything in the bowl. He gets lots of vitamins, omegas and other supplements, but I still worry that he isn't getting the right nutritional balance. Somedays, it's all I can do to get him to eat ANYTHING, and I have had to resort to chicken and veggie pizza, fish tacos or spaghetti on occasion to keep him from starving. Sigh.

  • Spencer is lucky you are so inventive! Chicken and veggie pizza sounds delish!

  • OK, busted! I like the chicken pizza, fish tacos and spaghetti and muttballs, too. :)

    But there are nights when I wish he would just eat his kibble out of a bowl like other dogs.

  • so we were using kirkland for a while and decided after reading here to try some dif foods !
    she would hardly eat her food we always had to hop it up with stuff :)

    about 3 months ago we went and picked up Orijen and taste of the wild to compare to the kirkland (this was pre recall)

    decided to let Hana tell us what she liked the most so we did some one kibble in each hand let her sniff it and then backed up ten feet let her come up and decide with our hands about 6 inches apart which hand she prodded :)
    out of 11 tries she picked the orijen each time over the taste of the wild we even swapped hands etc..

    while expensive we seem to be able to feed her less and she is doing well on it :)
    she of course is getting a little picky already again waiting for that fresh chicken etc.. in her meals :) but happy with the Orijen

    after the recall makes me nervous the taste of the wild was on the list !

    their was one other food the pet store brought in that she liked along with the orijen ? forgot the name of it but going to go back and check that out also ?

    OH we picked up both the fish and the meat varieties of each and she did not seem to like either of the fish ones ? only the red meat varieties

  • As you probably already know the Orijen is much higher in protein than the Taste of the wild. We mentioned before we stuck with Evo for our new puppy even though they were sold to P&G. Since the formula and manufacturing plant or process has not changed, we felt it was a safe bet.

    Even so we still investigated other foods. The top three on our list for dry dog food is Evo, Orijen, and Fromms. Evo has better availability than Orijen does. Evo and Orijen are higher in protein than Fromms. All three mentioned contain Dha which we felt was important to us and our puppy.

  • I will say that from personal experience- Oakleys sensative and picky to foods and while High protein seems to trigger loose stools he did well on te Orijen…I still choose Fromms because it is lower protein and because they're family owned and operated and have never been part of a recall. Recently I emailed them because I bought Oakley a bag of food and coincidentally he was sick the same day, I emailed them and thy assured me thy had no recalls and furthermore, they would investigate the batch number to quell my fears... Turned out not to be the food but they were so helpful and transparent that it made me feel I was dealing with an honest company..plus Oakleys coat is as shiny and soft as ever ( he has been blessed with a great short coat anyways). Occasionally I'll rotate in a small bag of the Orijen in the winter but for us its Fromms all the way

  • The people at Fromms are good people. We have spoken with them as well as people at both the other companies mentioned.

    From our experience we know that when you feed a higher protein food, one of the side effects of over feeding can be loose stools. Exercise and hot weather can also cause loose stools.

    When it comes to food, the protein level is only one factor to be concerned with. The digestibility of the protein as well as the digestibility of the whole food are important. For puppies, you need to consider fat levels as well. Fiber and Dha are two other factors for consideration as well,

    So even though the protein in a Fromms food might be lower, if the digestibility of that protein has a higher percentage ratio then it can be just as effective a food as one with much high protein levels and less percentage of digestibility ratio.

  • Does anyone know where I can get Fromm's in either the west coast of Canada or the pacific northwest area of Washington state? I am batting zero trying to find it in the Vancouver lower mainland area.

  • I get Oakleys through doggiefood.com and they do free shipping over 49.99 anywhere in the US…I don't know about Canada though? I get mine quickly ALWAYS, with good expirations and they always respect I don't want packing peanuts in my order...and they substitute the shippin material with no issues! Not to mention it saves me from driving to have to get his food which even the closest location isnt convenient. I really do love Fromms!!

  • Fran, I also pulled this from the frommsfamily.com website:

    **Canada Authorized Distributor
    Tri-Natural Pet Products
    www.trinatural.com
    info@trinatural.com
    1-800-267-6028
    Established in 1991, Tri-Natural Products Inc. is a leading Canadian importer and wholesaler of innovative, premium holistic and wellness products for humans and companion animals.

    Find a Store in Canada Near You

  • @Chealsie508:

    Fran, I also pulled this from the frommsfamily.com website:
    **Canada Authorized Distributor
    Tri-Natural Pet Products
    www.trinatural.com
    info@trinatural.com
    1-800-267-6028
    Established in 1991, Tri-Natural Products Inc. is a leading Canadian importer and wholesaler of innovative, premium holistic and wellness products for humans and companion animals.

    Find a Store in Canada Near You

    Chealsie508, thank you so much. I'll be calling a few stores near me tomorrow to confirm they have it in stock! :)

  • Let me know if kipawa likes it! Oakleys finicky and has no issues at all, even with the "salmon tunalini" ( fish isn't his favorite)

    The Fromms treats are also a hit at our house, Parmesan cheese low fat treats or the cheddar biscuits!

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    Fran, what does BAB after your name stand for?
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    @agilebasenji: If you and your vet are happy with their weight, I would not change the amount you're feeding them. However, my pups need more calories in the winter to maintain their weight. Treats - my pups love sweet potatoes and raw (or cooked) zucchinis. sometimes dogs like green beans or carrots. at my house, tri-ing is really bad about taking the carrots, chewing them up and spitting them out all over the place. Yea, thanks Jet. Otherwise, they also like cheese, waffles, eggs, etc, but given you pup's allergies, you may not want to try the later. LOL…. leave it to the "Tri-ing" to make a mess out of the carrots!!!!
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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.