Any Thoughts Or Opinions On These Dog Foods?

[tigerlily46514]

That is clever way to help trim your dog's food down!! well done! it's haaaaarrrrrd to get weight off of dogs!! I once inherited a fat dog, and wow, it was a lot of work. I was surprised how slowly the dog lost weight...i had no idea it'd be that hard.

I learned, that "diet" dog foods are great way to ruin their coat or give them skin problems. Your way of just cutting back their normal food, and adding in veggies, is brilliant. i wish i had thought of that back when i had a fat dog.

One reason so many ppl in my country get chubby dogs is,
that dog food bags almost always say to feed the dog more than the dog actually needs. And then ppl get in their minds that their dog needs 6 cups of food per day, and so on.


that 'Rotations' sounds like a good dog food: (but ya kinda hate to see brewer's yeast in there, i'm surprised this site doesn't make the brewer's yeast show up in "red")

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/rotations-dog-food/

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Thanks, they love the veggies in their dinners. Xena thinks pumpkin is the best thing ever!!!

I did notice that my dogs get far less food then what the bag says to give them. I guess thats just a way to get us to buy their product more often. It's really hard to find a really good dog food product. Being a dietitian, I am always concerned with feeding them something healthy. I cut up pieces of banana and apple to give them as treats or just little snacks if Levi starts acting like hes hungy. If I had the time and freezer space, I would make my own dog food but some days I don't even have time to cook my own dinner, lol.

Tigerlily - I saw your liver treat posting. What a great idea. love the veggies in there. I's definitely gonna try those. after you cook them, are they soft or crunchy?

 

[Amateur]

" If your dog is too fat, You are not getting enough exercise "

 

[Dogster]

That is GREAT, ingenious, how you helped Levi lose weight!!!! Maybe I should try that on my cat....
My dog also eats less food than the bag says (Sara's advide)

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Thanks Dogster, It's really quick and easy too. I just fill a gallon sized ziplock bag with frozen (non-starchy) veggies. My dogs love green beans and carrots the best. That way they thaw while sittin in the fridge and I just get what I need for their meal. Then I add the kibble and a large spoon of the pumpkin. (Just have to make sure you get 100% pumpkin and not the canned pumpkin pie mix, cuz it has all the added sugar)
Also, I think the frozen veggies is cheaper then dog food...so another little bonus.

 

[Dogster]

I'll do that!!!! Thanks!!!! I'll let you know if my cat likes it....

 

[sara]

Tigerlily, Brewers Yeast is a good dietary supplement, Brewers RICE, is what needs to be avoided. You can actually buy brewers yeast to supplement your dog, and people sometimes take it, but I honestly cant remember the benefits of it atm.

Rotations is a decent food for sure!

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Brewers yeast is high in the essential B vitamins and zinc, which are good for healthy coat and skin and help control shedding in dogs. Supposedly, yeast also is a natural flea remedy. I have heard a lot of people say that and I have read it but I've never seen any research to back it up. (I'll stick to my trifexis for now... fleas in texas are no joke. I need all the ammunition I can get lol)

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

I thought rotations seemed cool because it's 3 very different foods. I know I can't eat the same thing everyday, I would think my dogs would get bored of it too. Plus, nutritionally, we (and our dogs) benefit from getting different foods because different foods provide us with different nutrients. It just seemed to make sense to me.

 

[Dogster]

Sara and I (I don't know if anyone else does this) feed our dogs completely different foods (different companies too) every day (every meal.) We also agree that our dogs can't eat the same thing every day (and Shivon WON'T eat the same thing every day ) Sara's been doing it for a while, so she knows more about it.

 

[sara]

Rotations food is what started me thinking about changing up dog foods actually

As to the fleas in Texas, Oliver can agree with that! He came from Houston, and was deaf when rescued, but by the time he got here, his hearing was coming back... my vet figures he's allergic to fleas, so as his skin healed, so did his hearing.

Oliver will never have to deal with fleas again! as we dont have them here

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Wow... I'm sure he is very happy to be up there with you.

I am orginally from Michigan, up there we had fleas but only had to medicate for them for 6 months out of the year. Here it is a year long battle. I found trifexis and that stuff is awesome. One pill for both heart worm and fleas... can't get easier then that. With 2 cats and 2 dogs, I'm always worried I will get fleas in the house.

You are in canada right? Those good hard freezes in the winter are great to keep the fleas away, but I have to say, I am glad I can be outside all year long. I guess it's worth battling the fleas down here.

 

[sara]

Other parts of Canada get fleas, but we dont have heartworm or fleas in Central Alberta. I dont have to give my dogs anything preventative.

And I can be outside year round to... just depends on how much clothing I put on! LOL

Besides, you dont get pics like this

Honestly, I LOVE the snow! As does my poor Texas transplant! LOL The day he flew here, it was 85F in Houston, and -21C here! and he was seriously stoked to see snow!

This was taken the day after he got here

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Sara, Those are great pics. Oliver looks like he was born to play in the snow.

I didn't mind the snow when I could layer up and go out an play in it. It was the tryin to drive and get to work in it I didn't enjoy. Plus I'm not a big fan of being cold. Last night I was out fishing with my boyfriend and as soon as the sun went down it was about 70 degrees and I was putting on a sweatshirt and saying brrr. I think I was just made for hot weather.

I'm sure Levi would love the snow too. I was thinking, I should go back to visit my family in the winter some time so I could take him and let him have fun in the snow. I'm sure he would be thrilled!!!

 

[sara]

It was 7C here yesterday (that would be just in the 40's I do believe) and I thought it was so nice and warm! LOL

I could definately do without the 40 below stuff, though. However we had probably the warmest winter I've ever seen this year! It was crazy. It never once hit -40 and I dont think there was more than 2 weeks all year that didn't get above freezing at least one day... It was nuts! We didn't have any snow for 7 weeks between Christmas and mid Feb. We had one week of cold in November, and one week of cold in Feb, and that was it!

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

It was a very warm winter here also. Had the A/C running for most of it. We had a lot of rain but it was well needed here. It's been a beautiful spring here. Love all the sunshiney days we have had.

 

[Dogster]

Yeah, Alberta just had a HUGE dump of snow!!!! (I saw video on the news, WOW) Ontario has had a very mild winter. There was barely any snow. down there in Texas, it must be warm, eh??? Nothing like our 12-15 degree weather here....

 

[Dogster]

Shivon l0ves the snow too (that was like the only time the snow stuck around this winter):

 

[Dogster]

By the way, LOOOOOVE the pics, Sara!!!!!

 

[sara]

Yeah, Alberta just had a HUGE dump of snow!!!! (I saw video on the news, WOW) Ontario has had a very mild winter. There was barely any snow. down there in Texas, it must be warm, eh??? Nothing like our 12-15 degree weather here....

That HUGE dump of snow? it was gone the next day! LOL. though that morning was a nasty slippery mess! We got about 6" all told, in approx 12 hours.