Food!

[LibertyBelle]

Hey All,

I'm rather new to the forum as I am getting a male BT puppy in two weeks. I was just wondering what everone fed their BT's and why? I'm going to feed him whatever the breeder had him eating for a while, but wanted to know, what's good in the world of dog food for BT's. Thanks all, and if you could be rather specific with the brand/type it would help in my search!

-Libby

[El Snorto]

There are a ton of threads on here about food. Have a look around, and check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com as well.

We feed Uma Orijen and she does great on it.

[Trish]

We feed three different brands - Innova EVO, Orijen, and Taste of the Wild.

[Trumansmom]

Whew. Can of worms!! So to go down the list of what's BEST and what's COMMON. Dogs are Opportunistic Carnivores. They can eat grains and veggies, but they cannot digest them well. it won't kill them, but it will shorten their lifespan and can cause issues in old age. Dogs do BEST on 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs (all raw). GIven that combination, they get all the nutrients they need.

Now I recognize that people can be squeamish and not want to do raw feeding. But you did ask what was best, and that's it. Next, you can find a good quality canned food (that is, if you don't want to cook for your dog) where meat is the main ingredient. That's the next best thing digestibility-wise for your dog.

Last is kibble. It's the hardest to digest, but the most commonly fed item. dogfoodanalysis is a decent site to get information about how to read labels and such. You want to feed grain free kibble--I see no need for grain in a dog's diet other than as a temporary add-in for a bland diet after about with a tummy issue. When I feed kibble, I feed Orijen mostly. I'm trying Taste of the Wild, but the only formula they have without chicken in it is their fish formula which my two hate! And I noticed that Peggy Sue's teeth are getting tartar after just a month on kibble. I'll be going back to raw!

A great resource for nutrition is http://www.thewholedog.org/id9.html#nutrition You can learn more about how dogs are designed and what they need. It's a great site for summarizing everything I've read over the year.

HTH!

[LibertyBelle]

You guys rock...thanks for the info!

[russ2yall]

I feed my guys "A Taste of The Wild". Makes their farts smell like roasted duck!

[Trish]

Whew. Can of worms!! So to go down the list of what's BEST and what's COMMON. Dogs are Opportunistic Carnivores. They can eat grains and veggies, but they cannot digest them well. it won't kill them, but it will shorten their lifespan and can cause issues in old age. Dogs do BEST on 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% organs (all raw). GIven that combination, they get all the nutrients they need.

Now I recognize that people can be squeamish and not want to do raw feeding. But you did ask what was best, and that's it. Next, you can find a good quality canned food (that is, if you don't want to cook for your dog) where meat is the main ingredient. That's the next best thing digestibility-wise for your dog.

Last is kibble. It's the hardest to digest, but the most commonly fed item. dogfoodanalysis is a decent site to get information about how to read labels and such. You want to feed grain free kibble--I see no need for grain in a dog's diet other than as a temporary add-in for a bland diet after about with a tummy issue. When I feed kibble, I feed Orijen mostly. I'm trying Taste of the Wild, but the only formula they have without chicken in it is their fish formula which my two hate! And I noticed that Peggy Sue's teeth are getting tartar after just a month on kibble. I'll be going back to raw!

A great resource for nutrition is http://www.thewholedog.org/id9.html#nutrition You can learn more about how dogs are designed and what they need. It's a great site for summarizing everything I've read over the year.

HTH!

Raw is a good diet for those that can afford it (commercial raw is expensive) and dogs that can actually thrive on it. There's many debates on raw vs. kibble and we did try a raw diet with Louie, and it simply does not work for him. Throws his stomach all out of whack, he digests it too quickly, developed acid reflux, and requires a very large amount to be able to be at a good weight. He weighs 27 lbs. and was having to eat 16-18 oz. a day to maintain his weight, which is a lot. It was costing us around $180 a month just to feed only him, and he was also having to be given 1/2 tablet of Prilosec twice a day to keep his acid under control.

My dogs all eat grain-free kibble, have nice shiny coats, white shiny teeth (ZERO tartar), and are all at a perfect weight. At their check-ups my vet always tells me they're in top notch shape. The condition of a dog's teeth aren't all about what they eat, genetics also plays a role in it as well. Mine all get plenty of bones to chew on, to keep their teeth clean. Louie had the most foul awful breath on raw - the smells that came out of him smelled like a dead rotting carcass - I'm serious!

Having said all that - he does occasionally get raw in the AM, because he does like it, and is a picky eater, but if he eats it any more than once a day, he'll start vomiting bile and burping up rotten smells.

[Trumansmom]

It can definitely be pricey for commercial raw--I found it to be closer to $90/month for my two eating mixes from Green Tripe--I got it online in bulk (2.5 month supply is around $250 delivered). They eat about a pound daily, Truman about 1.5lbs to keep the weight on. I know others who spend $25/month to feed raw for larger dogs, but it takes work to portion out carcasses and such, and that's feeding regular grocery store meat--something I refuse to do (we go organic and grass fed). Or they are hunters--I wish! I live in a city...There are also raw co-ops where you can access better meats a lot cheaper. It's all in the amount of footwork you want to do.

I don't recommend most commercial raw like Nature's Variety as it has way too many ingredients in it! Not to mention bone meal. I like it to have meat, organs and green tripe in it, something that is hard to find in stores. Online has a great selection of small farms who offer raw stuff, though!

Raw isn't for everyone, but in an ideal world with an ideal dog, it's the best. Truman is off and on raw as I have to change his food up pretty much every meal to keep him from getting red. Right now, we're headed back that way as his time on Orijen has him worse than he's ever been, chewing his paws off and scratching his poor little eyes! He can tolerate if for a short time, and I think it's a great food, but he's been on it too long with this move we just completed. Now I can offer more raw meaty bones and change things up like I did before.

[Howie]

I feed Howie Fromm (a few different flavours but none of the fish ones as he has a bad reaction to them). I tried a few different things but that's been the best one for him. My old guy (who is not a BT) eats Wellness canned only the venison flavour (he's a picky picky eater and it's all he will eat) and he also eats the Fromm.

[BostonBellaButton]

We have had Bella on Natura products pretty much since we got her about eight months ago. She started on Innova puppy food and we just recently switched her to California Naturals which is the same formula as the Innova without a lot of added fruits and veggies. We now do this ourselves by adding a small mix of peas and carrots to her meals. The reason for the switch is that although the Innova is a fantastic and been keeping her coat great and her muscles tone and everything healthy, the excessive amounts of fruits and veggies as compared to other foods adds to even more gas than Bostons normally have plus the possibility of acid reflux. Also, she is a little itchy sometimes and the california naturals is hypoallergenic. If you're looking at other products Orijen is pretty good but they have had a few problems in the past so read up. Just make sure you read the labels. Stay away from corn, wheat, and soy as well as other filler products in most grocery store dog foods. Also, watch out for brands like Eukanuba and Science Diet. They may seem healthy and well-balanced but there are not much due to cost cutting when the original companies were bought out as well as other factors. The most important thing to remember when getting food or anything for that matter for your puppy or dog is to do a lot of research, read ingredients, read labels, and know your dog. Good luck with your new little puppy!