Sankari Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hi, I am wondering what people's ideas are of what is the best food brand. My 3yr Golden Retriever is currently on Vivace but she doesn't seem to have enough fat on her for my liking. Going BARF is completely out of the question as she cant tolerate raw meat or bones (has runs for 3 days straight). She is highly energetic so tends to burn it off. The food is excellent for her coat etc but i just am concerned that she is needing more fat since she is burning it off easily. What foods would you guys suggest to try her with? She has been on Eagle Pack Power which she did very well with maintaining the weight but when there was a price increase, i found at the time i had 2 dogs one on prescription diet which was costing a fortune, and Charlotte staying on EP would be well and truly out of the budget so switched to Vivace. Any ideas appreciated. I will welcome any suggestions for a premium brand food that has good reviews. I guess what i would be after is something that is good for dogs who are energetic and is also good for the coat, teeth etc. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 What about Bonnie Working Dog? Not premium I know but I used to feed Bonnie Light (along with raw, eggs and sardines) to my first Goldie and he flourished on it. He went from this: To this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 What is it that you are feeding RAW that doesn't agree with her? What exactly have you tried. Some dogs can't tolerate kangaroo because it is to rich whilst others have problems with the amount of fat that is on some chicken necks. If you feed to many sardines this can also cause stomach upsets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Royal Canin does the trick I find, the large breed adult seems to keep weight on well. Yes what did you feed in the BARF? have you tried just one meat or something like carcasses, lamb flaps, beef brisket etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 (edited) thanks for suggestions. When i tried RAW it was from the day i got her, August last year. Apparently she had been fed on chicken mince and pedigree pal which i absolutely hate. Anyway i have tried chicken mince, carcasses, wings, also tried those big beef marrowbones, lamb flaps. The chicken i bought was human grade from La Ionica. I tried her on just plain dry food and she never had the runs again. So is it possible some dogs just dont do well on raw and bones? I have tried giving her different things now and then not all at the same time of course and the effect it has had has been very violent runs for 3 days in a row. When she has been sick i have boiled chicken strips and rice and given to her and she doesnt have any ill effects with it. I'll look into the Bonnie Working dog and also the Royal Canin large breed adult. Edited December 15, 2008 by LucyCharzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I saw Artemis have a Power Formula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 be wary of power formulas. THey are not just high fat they are actually high fast metabolizable energy. A couple of reps have told me that if weight gain is the primary concern to mix foods or try something different as the power formulas can hype them up further. I put my Malinois on teh EP power once she was buzzing round the yard like a ferret on speed how thin is your dog though? Is his spine, ribs and hips protruding? is he under muscled? if not then I wouldnt bother a slightly under weight dog is always better then a chubby one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 She's not too underweight, but i would like to see her at about 28 or 29kg at least seeing as she does burn off alot. Some trainers at obedience where i go have also told me she could do with more muscle. She's not a small goldie, so i might just mix two foods together. The place where i get her current food deliver it for us but the problem with that is they are always ringing me up asking when i want more. I buy it by the big bag so it lasts ages for one dog. It gets annoying when they ring every week or so asking. Charlotte has been on a power formula in the past, and it didnt make her any more energetic I changed purely because i couldnt afford it as well as my other dog's expensive food who was also on medications. I will look up more foods and see what is going to be best for her. This is the typical analysis of Charlotte's current food. Protein 20.0% Digestable Protein 19.0% Fat 11.0% Ash 5.0% Fibre 6.0% Moisture 10.0% Calcium 2.0% Sodium 0.49% Iron 69.9 I.U./kg Vitamin A 5,545 I.U./kg Vitamin D 445 I.U./kg Vitamin E 75 I.U./kg Ingredients i took off another thread here mixed meats including lamb and kangaroo, whole grain rice, vegetables, natural fats and oils, yeast, garlic, kelp, vitamins A, D3, E, K, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothermic acid, folacin, biotin and natural organic acids, plus minerals calcium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and iodine. Also contains Yuccs shidigera extract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 The marrowbones are more then likely what gave her the runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 The chicken did too as they werent given at the same time, the chicken is what was given first. then about a month later i got the marrowbone for her birthday last year. The chicken reacted immediately for 3 days straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Are you sure that she didn't react because you gave her to much to quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 (edited) Nicole - if her coat is fine and the only prob is you want her to put on weight, then feed bones only found in here diet. mixed meats including lamb and kangaroo, whole grain rice, vegetables, natural fats and oils, yeast, garlic, kelp, vitamins A, D3, E, K, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothermic acid, folacin, biotin and natural organic acids, plus minerals calcium, phosphorus, sodium, copper, zinc, iron, manganese and iodine. Also contains Yuccs shidigera extract. So keep up the same number of cups of dry daily and give her one lamb flap or a small shank a day. Her poos will return to normal after 5 days. Edited December 16, 2008 by First Time Puppy Owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Thanks heaps for that FTPO. I'll start introducing some lamb shanks/flaps and hopefully it will help her a little. I guess i could have given too much chicken at once causing the runs and probably freaked out since it was all over the dog beds and kitchen floor for three days and boy did it stink! There was slimely fat in it. Does anyone know what the kindest meat on a dogs stomach is? I really hope i dont witness another episode of the runs when i try it. Got a shank in the fridge as we're having roast lamb tonight and i cut it off for her. Crossing fingers she goes ok... nearly forgot to add FTPO, her coat is usually good on just about anything, her poos arent that hard pretty soft. Only reason i know is every night on our walk she always does one on someone's front lawn and i pick it up and they are squishy. Will raw help that? Sorry for the graphic explanation! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Try fresh Kangaroo tails if she is doing well on roo meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 Thanks for help. I have decided to change Charlotte to Bonnie Working dog. It has kangaroo in it and seems to look pretty good for her. Charlotte is fine on any dry food, it is raw food which i have my concerns. She has tolerated small amounts so far. I will be slowly increasing the amount so that it is slowly introduced to her rather than being half raw half dry food just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddieFinnRicky Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Is Chicken Wings - the whole thing safe? Ricky ate a couple raw and then had trouble pooping and squealed, I think the little bits of bone in his pooh had scratched is bottom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointernuts Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Is Chicken Wings - the whole thing safe?Ricky ate a couple raw and then had trouble pooping and squealed, I think the little bits of bone in his pooh had scratched is bottom We feed chicken wings to our Pointee's 3 or 4 times a week, but they are a bigger dog, and they crunch them up very well, may be chicken necks, might be a better idea for smaller dogs. Dry food, I have asked this question to lots of people, we use Pro Plan, but some people say that their dogs, big, small, Show or pets do really well on the cheaper brands, I don't want to try it as the Pointee's are doing really well on the variety of foods that they get now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddieFinnRicky Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I would like to give them chicken necks again but a little scared due to Madison swallowing the whole thing whole without chewing and she couldn't breath - silly me though, she was too young to have it. I think Ricky got so excited over the chicken wings that he scoffing it and not chewing properly. Thanks, I think it's time to try chicken necks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) I agree, maybe your small dogs may be ok with necks. Charlotte had around a year away from all raw as i thought she would react to it. She has been ok the last few nights, no runs or anything so i think she'll be ok. I am a bit jubious about wings, last year when i gave them Charlotte only did one chomp and swallowed, so I dont think i will be getting wings ever. I gave a tiny bit of chicken mince tonight and no reaction, she usually reacts pretty quickly and its nearly 4 hours since she's had it. I'll slowly introduce it over a period of time to ensure she gets used to it slowly to not cause any stomach upsets. Edited December 18, 2008 by LucyCharzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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