Food switching

[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?

[lvoss]

I can definately relate trying to feed the best foods without breaking the bank. What I am currently doing is feeding a grain free kibble ( I rotate Evo, Orijen, and Instinct) as the morning meal and a homemade diet for dinner. I started the homemade route using Happy Dog which is very easy to prepare and then I would portion out and freeze in batches that would last several days and then just pull out and thaw periodically. Since then I started researching homemade diets using Whole Dog Journal and the Halo food website and am making my own for even less than the Happy Dog.

If you don't have freezer space for the homemade food another route to look into is Sojourner Farms or Honest Kitchen which you can rehydrate as you use it but they are more expensive. Though I still found them to be cheaper to feed than supplementing with canned food.

[lvoss]

I realized you may want websites to look at the foods I mentioned above.

Honest Kitchen - http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.shtml
Happy Dog - http://www.happydogfood.com/
Sojourner Farms - http://www.sojos.com/

Grain Free Kibbles

Evo - http://www.evopet.com/
Orijen - http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/
Instinct - http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_dog

[nobarkus]

I've been using the frozen raw, canned pumpkin and a little kibble. I add in Salmon oil and probiotic from capsules. He has a lot of energy and his coat looks good. No itching or scratching.

[mauigirl]

We feed Evo as well as Wellness Core Grain Free and Origen. Our dogs have done well on all three.

A word about Evo, it is calorie dense so if switching to Evo from a different food you want to compare the calorie count. Carrie, a forum member and close friend of mine has 2 basenji girls and started feeding them Evo recently. Both girls put on a little weight being fed the same amount of Evo (1 cup a day) as their previous food. After the girls slim down that's good news for Carrie b/c the Evo will last longer. I think she was feeding Blue Buffalo. I did some quick research for her and found out that Evo has something like 200 more kcal per cup than Blue Buffalo :eek:

[tanza]

I agree, people need to learn to read the packages and compare calorie counts… cause it can add up fast... also, the recommended amount on any package is always too high.. feed your dog the recommended amount and you will for sure have a too heavy dog.....

[MacPack]

The grain free foods were too rich for my guys alone (mushy poops, even after very slow change) so we feed about 1/2 Evo or Orijen and 1/2 Innova kibble, that works for them.

I like the idea of the grain-free, but we can't do it 100%. There are quite a few very good kibbles out there and you need to find one that agrees with your dog, if you are not able to do raw or home made. One of these days we will go raw!

[nobarkus]

I just picked up 3 cans of a new product from Wellness called CORE. It's grain free. I like to through in a little change. I don't feed him the same thing every week.

http://alpha-nutrition.stores.yahoo.net/wecogrdi.html?gclid=CIjXza-htpwCFR5HagodwQLYnw

[Basenjimamma]

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.

[Varanus]

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.

[Basenjimamma]

Glad you found something that works..good luck.

[lvoss]

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.

[Basenjimamma]

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

[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.

[Varanus]

@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.

[lvoss]

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.

[AndrewnShango]

@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?

[CrazyBasenjiMom]

@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.