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Food switching

Basenji Feeding
  • I highly recommend Honest Kitchens products, my dogs are currently on the Preference food, with their raw meats and bones. The dogs I had in the past were on the Force food and they too, thrived on it. They also have a food called Keen that is more budget friendly.
    http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/keen.shtml

    I have used Blue Buffalo Wilderness for our foster Bana, when we had her, and her fur within two weeks of the switch went from dry and prickly to smooth as silk. I was honestly amazed by the quick result.
    http://www.bluebuff.com/products/dogs/wilderness.shtml

    Good luck in finding a suitable food for Yoshi, it is a very tedious (imo) and personal choice.

  • Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions! I decided to go with Innova Evo Small Bites for the time being, and when I get a little more money together, I'll investigate the Honest Kitchen stuff. I like the idea of feeding raw/fresh/homemade, but with a busy schedule, tight budget, and strict vegetarian roommate (no, she doesn't deprive her dog of meat or anything, but she's a little squeamish about meat preparation in her kitchen), I think I need some pre-fabrication.

  • Glad you found something that works..good luck.

  • The Honest Kitchen stuff would probably be the best if your roommate really has a problem with cooking meat in the apartment. You just add water, wait for it to absorb and then serve.

    I will also say though I first had a bit of sticker shock over its price, when I started to compare how long it took me to get through a box to what I was already feeding, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was saving me money. If there is a store near you that carries it, you may want to see if they have some samples. That is how I first gave it a try.

  • They have coupons online…http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/coupons.shtml

    or better yet check this out..scroll down to the party kit section and enjoy..we did this for my daughters puppy when she turned 1 on July 28th.. we enjoyed the cookies and the frozen pops they sent as well as several of their samples..all they ask for in return is a picture of the party so they can post it on their website/blog…great company indeed. My dogs love the frozen ice pups and their nuzzles cookies, friends enjoyed their samples..they even paid for shipping..
    http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/company/work-for-food.shtml

  • Please let me know if you have any specific questions about food. I work at Purrs and Gurrs pet bakery and holistic food carrier so am quite experienced with food recommendations.

    For our Basenjis' I always, always recommend Innova's EVO. It comes in red meat and white and it's top-quality, NO grain, high-protein, low carb. It's a great food that I personally use and have seen GREAT results on.

    Also, Solid Gold makes a good called Barking at the Moon which is quite similar to EVO.

    Other than these foods here, Blue Buffalo is a good choice too.

    I'd suggest staying away from grains and getting a food with a low carb, high protein breakdown.

    Please let me know if you have questions.

  • @AndrewnShango:

    Please let me know if you have any specific questions about food. I work at Purrs and Gurrs pet bakery and holistic food carrier so am quite experienced with food recommendations.

    For our Basenjis' I always, always recommend Innova's EVO. It comes in red meat and white and it's top-quality, NO grain, high-protein, low carb. It's a great food that I personally use and have seen GREAT results on.

    Also, Solid Gold makes a good called Barking at the Moon which is quite similar to EVO.

    Other than these foods here, Blue Buffalo is a good choice too.

    I'd suggest staying away from grains and getting a food with a low carb, high protein breakdown.

    Please let me know if you have questions.

    Thanks so much for your offer. How much do you recommend feeding per meal? I'm currently doing 3/4 cup per day.

  • I have found that each of my 4 basenjis has a different serving requirement to maintain correct weight. Rio eats about 1 cup to a 1 1/4 cups each day. Nicky is also in that range though he gets up to 1 1/2 cups a day. Sophie and Rally are usually between 3/4 cups to 1 cup a day. I have also noticed that their calorie requirements change with the changing seasons.

  • @Varanus:

    Thanks so much for your offer. How much do you recommend feeding per meal? I'm currently doing 3/4 cup per day.

    With EVO, I'd rec whatever is the suggest amount on the bag. However, if your B acts hungry or paces by her bowl (some reactions customers have reported) you may want to try to increase it a little bit.

    Shango is on EVO right now and is getting a cup a day, 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM. He's at a healthy weight (just went to the vet! :-)) and doesn't act hungry or anything like that so I think it's a safe bet to follow the bag in this case…

    Hope this helps! How's the new food working out?

  • @Varanus:

    So I have Yoshi on Canidae All Life Stages right now, and I don't think it's the food for him. He's doing better on it than on the lower-meat-content Three Dog Bakery food I was using, but it isn't making him as happy and healthy as it could. For various reasons, I don't think I can do a raw diet right now, so I'm interested in kibble recommendations. I'm willing to spend money to get good food for him to thrive on, but I'm also not made of cash. Recommendations?

    B's are funny about there food, I only feed dry food and use Wellness brand, which has been good for my B's, Try a newpaper under the bowl so it wond shift around, that may help.

    If he hungry enough he will eventually eat.

    Good luck.

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    Topper,12; Nicky 10, ; and Eddie 8 all eat a combination of 3/4 EVO by Innova, and 1/4 regular adult Innova. We free feed, dry kibble is down all the time, but I think I put about 3 cups out a day, some days they eat it all but some days I don't add kibble at all. Mine do get a bit of whatever we have for dinner, mostly veges, they love all veges as long as they are cooked, especially broccoli and sweet potatoes. IT acts as an appetizer, as soon as they finish their plates they run to the kibble bowls to finsih their dinner. We used cheaper grocery store foods for many years but I felt my dogs deseerved a better quality food so tried several premium brands and settled on Innova. Then when they came out with EVO, I slowly added that but when I went 100% EVO, their poops were a bit loose, so we re-added the regular Innova and it seems to suit them perfectly. Eddie's coat was very coarse when we rescued him, he is soft and silky now. Even though it costs about twice as much as the cheaper stuff, I know they are getting good nutrition and their coats glow and their teeth are clean, so it is worth every cent to me. We are what we eat, and if we eat 'animal by products' (hooves, bones, feathers and even sawdust in some) sprayed with flavors and dyed with food colorings, we may be saving money now, but inviting health probelms in the future. Just MHO, but strangers compliment my dogs on their gloss and vigor! Anne in Tampa, off the soapbox
  • Homemade food…

    Basenji Feeding 2 Apr 2007, 02:32
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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.