Switch to dry dog food?

buta4 wrote:

Pawz4me wrote:
I'll leave the brand suggestions to others.

In general I don't think free feeding is a good idea for dogs. It can work in a single dog household, but I still don't think it's ideal. I think leaving food out is an invitation to pests like ants and roaches. Plus it makes it a bit harder to gauge how much the dog is eating. It also makes it more difficult to keep the dog on a routine potty schedule.

For a dog who is finicky with canned food, I wouldn't be very optimistic that she would eat dry food well. If you want to try I suspect you'll have to take a tough love approach -- pick two set feeding times per day, offer the food for 20 minutes or so and then take it up. Don't offer again until the next feeding time. This relies on the theory that when the dog gets hungry enough he/she will eat. It's not a method I believe in for several reasons, the chief being that some dogs will refuse to eat to the point of causing health issues.

I would never feed a dog nothing but dry kibble. IMO it's incredibly unhealthy.

I agree with your last two lines at the end of your post. Cats and dogs are carnivores, not herbivores..

I NEVER saw a cat or a dog stalk and attack and devour wheat or grass.

On occasion, they may chew on a blade or two of grass to relieve some types of stomach discomfort.

Cats are obligate carnivores.

I don't believe that dogs are carnivores at all. IMO they're omnivores.

I've had multiple dogs of my own who would run into a neighboring cornfield, pull stalks out of the ground, drag them back into the yard and eat the corn. Needless to say their love of fresh corn didn't make the farmer too happy. ;)

But that has nothing to do with the reasons why I wouldn't feed a diet of all dry kibble. My main objections to that are (1) the lack of moisture, and (2) I firmly believe all creatures do best with some fresh, "real" food in their diet.

I stand corrected. Very informative and interesting.

I personally never saw that kind of activity myself, except perhaps occasional nibbling.

But does not "exclusive" NON-meat/fish diet go against the best interests of our pets?

Regards

Ray, I've got to disagree with you.

Cats are carnivores, but there is a misconception about what that means. It does NOT mean that carnivores only eat meat, it means that they have to have meat (to varying degrees by species) to have a complete and balanced diet that has all the essential nutrients. There cannot be complete nutrition in Obligate carnivores with ONLY vegetable material.

Cats and dogs can and do eat vegetable material in the wild and do quite well with diets that contain wheat, corn, soy and any other vegetable material commonly used when there is not a sensitivity or allergy to that foodstuff.

Just to correct the misconception...

Doug, DVM

Pawz4me wrote:
I'll leave the brand suggestions to others.

In general I don't think free feeding is a good idea for dogs. It can work in a single dog household, but I still don't think it's ideal. I think leaving food out is an invitation to pests like ants and roaches. Plus it makes it a bit harder to gauge how much the dog is eating. It also makes it more difficult to keep the dog on a routine potty schedule.

For a dog who is finicky with canned food, I wouldn't be very optimistic that she would eat dry food well. If you want to try I suspect you'll have to take a tough love approach -- pick two set feeding times per day, offer the food for 20 minutes or so and then take it up. Don't offer again until the next feeding time. This relies on the theory that when the dog gets hungry enough he/she will eat. It's not a method I believe in for several reasons, the chief being that some dogs will refuse to eat to the point of causing health issues.

I would never feed a dog nothing but dry kibble. IMO it's incredibly unhealthy.

I agree with your last two lines at the end of your post. Cats and dogs are carnivores, not herbivores..

I NEVER saw a cat or a dog stalk and attack and devour wheat or grass.

On occasion, they may chew on a blade or two of grass to relieve some types of stomach discomfort.

I have a boxer, which has a similar digestive system (can you say GAS???). I've found that a moderate protein level helps, as well as a good brand of kibble. I was a long time Taste of the Wild fan, but recently, my senior boxer was having trouble holding his weight on TOTW Pacific Stream. I'm now transitioning him slowly over to Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato, and the change is already evident. He's pooing a LOT less already, even though I'm only at the 1/3 Acana 2/3 TOTW stage. Poos are still firm (another problem with boxers and other bully breeds). I have not noticed any gas, which is also a good thing. Fingers crossed that this improvement continues.

Another kibble that may work: Acana Singles kibble. There are three different varieties to choose from. I may rotate all of these.

rockhillmanor wrote:

AZPops wrote:
What was the stuff you ad water to it make gravy? I haven't personally tried it, but I heard that suppose to be stuff dogs like to eat, right?Calvin

OMG! Do they still make Gravy Train?!!!!:B:B

LOL! ...:B:B

phillyg wrote:
Most vet's seem to recommend Science Diet but I suspect it's because the company pushes their product. Blue Buffalo appears to be okay.

Hardly. You've drunk the Blue Buffalo kool aid. Check their web site, the people listed for the company are marketing and higher ups. Where is the veterinary nutritionist? Not saying many dogs won't do OK on Blue, it's just not "better" than many of the other brands.

There is nothing wrong with appropriately prepared byproducts, grains and many of the other ingredients they advertise as objectionable. In fact to have a complete and balanced diet, there have to be components in organ meat (byproducts) or similar ingredients.

Hill's (Science Diet) has one of the most comprehensive testing and feeding programs in the industry. They actually test how their diets do in dogs (or how dogs do on their diets), not just feeding trials to see if they will eat the diet.

Nestle-Purina, Royal Canin and even P&G (Iams, Eukanuba) have testing that goes beyond taste testing.

Doug, DVM

I had an English Bulldog for 13 years. Mr. Buster lived a very long (for a Bulldog) life and a very healthy one.

I fed him IAMS EUKANUBA exclusively his whole life. He never experienced the very common skin problems or other Bulldog ailments that are so common.

He was a happy, healthy, active dog and was taken by a stroke in his 13th year.

They are the greatest of dogs and absolutely perfect for the RV Life. They love to sleep, dont bark much and are gentle and very friendly.

As for the finicky part just feed the canned food mixed with ever increasing amounts of the dry until you are feeding all dry. He/She will come around sooner or later and eat it.

I'd love it if you posted a photo.

Good Luck.

On Edit:
I guess they sure do still make this dog food. :C

But certainly not rated as any where's near a good dog food in fact it's rated as the worst. That and the fact that Gravy Train was part of the 2007 melamine recall along with all these companies they own and produce.http://dogfood.guru/gravy-train/

This website IMHO gives a good overall and thorough explanation of the various dog food ingredients to help pet owners decide which dog food is best for them.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/gravy-train-dog-food-dry/

AZPops wrote:
What was the stuff you ad water to it make gravy? I haven't personally tried it, but I heard that suppose to be stuff dogs like to eat, right?Calvin

OMG! Do they still make Gravy Train?!!!!:B:B