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Cocker Specific Discussion => Feeding => Topic started by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 03:38:57 PM

Title: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandary
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 03:38:57 PM
Well as most folks will know I am a fan of Naturediet and have used it with good results thus far, starting off puppy Minstrel on it and had no problems...however, recently when the amounts to feed per meal went up to what me seemed excessive levels, he has been suffering from sloppy poos. Gave him a week ( on vet rec. advice - she said too much water in food was causing the prob) of home cooked rice with  fish/scrambled egg etc.,with great success and gradually trieda little of the ND back today and have noticed a change in poo, so back to the rice etc. I'm wondering if the contents of batches are different in the mixing!

 I have ordered a small bag of Burns puppy.

It puzzles me - but when I think about it, Smudge had about dessertspoonful on his Burns, he was never fed it as the only food.

Heyho  :embarassed: Have to say Minstrel is not complaining lol
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: JennyBee on November 24, 2013, 03:47:56 PM
What a pity - you know, since I put Brodie onto NatureDiet at the start of the year she has hardly drank out of her bowl at all. It's funny what can upset their stomachs: Brodie can't handle Wainrights (which is almost the same as NatureDiet, ingredient-wise) and even something like too much veg can upset her stomach. My vet said even the slightest difference in the processing can be enough to cause an upset.

Hope he copes with the new food, can be a bit of a challenge finding a food that suits them at times!
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: linda c on November 24, 2013, 03:51:31 PM
I always found it better to use Naturediet with a dried food as I had the same problem. Had to vary the amount with different dogs, but usually ended up with a happy result just putting a small amount in with their dried food and everybody was fine  :blink:
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 04:00:55 PM
Thanks JennyB he was doing really well on ND to start with, it seems to have changed since I upped the amounts, glad you said about the processing - some batches  do seem to be less solid.

I did have some Burns Mixer in stock - so have been mixing a bit of this with the rice etc to make sure he was getting the right minerals & vitamins whilst on his limited diet.

Ahh Linda c, glad I am not the only one  :D
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: linda c on November 24, 2013, 04:46:04 PM
The Naturediet does vary, I've just opened a packet for Blue and it's got a different smell  :huh:
It was well sealed and OH had to open it as I couldn't get it open.
Will watch him tomorrow just in case he has  a sloppy poo  :embarassed:
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Helen on November 24, 2013, 04:50:16 PM
is he teething? 
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Archie bean on November 24, 2013, 04:50:40 PM
How very odd! Archie was on it with no problems until he decided to refuse to eat! We swapped to Wainwrights, again with no problems whatsoever. The main difference I can see between the two foods seems to be that naturediet includes ground bone. Maybe the extra amount Minstrel has been getting has tipped the balance of bone? I think I asked before so sorry if I'm repeating but us he still on the puppy food or the adult? If I remember rightly, the amount of puppy food suggested was huuuuuuge when Archie was on it. I think too much food can cause sloppy poos so maybe he just doesn't need the extra? Archie has about two thirds of the recommended amount of Wainwrights and is absolutely fine with that. I dread to think what size he would be on the full amount, not to mention what it might do to his digestion!  :shades:
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 05:20:15 PM
is he teething? 

Yes he is - I think that does make a difference, but not sure how much of one?
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 05:26:33 PM
How very odd! Archie was on it with no problems until he decided to refuse to eat! We swapped to Wainwrights, again with no problems whatsoever. The main difference I can see between the two foods seems to be that naturediet includes ground bone. Maybe the extra amount Minstrel has been getting has tipped the balance of bone? I think I asked before so sorry if I'm repeating but us he still on the puppy food or the adult? If I remember rightly, the amount of puppy food suggested was huuuuuuge when Archie was on it. I think too much food can cause sloppy poos so maybe he just doesn't need the extra? Archie has about two thirds of the recommended amount of Wainwrights and is absolutely fine with that. I dread to think what size he would be on the full amount, not to mention what it might do to his digestion!  :shades:

He is on the puppy and the amounts are absolutely daft (worked out at nearly 3 packs of 390g a day @ 9kg!!) - I did cut it down myself.
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 05:28:42 PM
The Naturediet does vary, I've just opened a packet for Blue and it's got a different smell  :huh:
It was well sealed and OH had to open it as I couldn't get it open.
Will watch him tomorrow just in case he has  a sloppy poo  :embarassed:

I keep a pair of pliers handy - some are very difficult to open as you say & do have different smells
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: JennyBee on November 24, 2013, 05:29:29 PM
How very odd! Archie was on it with no problems until he decided to refuse to eat! We swapped to Wainwrights, again with no problems whatsoever. The main difference I can see between the two foods seems to be that naturediet includes ground bone. Maybe the extra amount Minstrel has been getting has tipped the balance of bone? I think I asked before so sorry if I'm repeating but us he still on the puppy food or the adult? If I remember rightly, the amount of puppy food suggested was huuuuuuge when Archie was on it. I think too much food can cause sloppy poos so maybe he just doesn't need the extra? Archie has about two thirds of the recommended amount of Wainwrights and is absolutely fine with that. I dread to think what size he would be on the full amount, not to mention what it might do to his digestion!  :shades:

Yes, Brodie has never been fed the recommended amounts of dog food, she gets about two-thirds of a tray of NatureDiet compared to the tray and a quarter that is recommended! I would be stuffed if it suddenly started to cause an upset or she stopped eating it, as she can't seem to tolerate anything else!

The amount of food recommended by NatureDiet for puppies seems excessive to me too; I wonder if, like Archie Bean says, that could be the reason.
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 05:37:10 PM
How very odd! Archie was on it with no problems until he decided to refuse to eat! We swapped to Wainwrights, again with no problems whatsoever. The main difference I can see between the two foods seems to be that naturediet includes ground bone. Maybe the extra amount Minstrel has been getting has tipped the balance of bone? I think I asked before so sorry if I'm repeating but us he still on the puppy food or the adult? If I remember rightly, the amount of puppy food suggested was huuuuuuge when Archie was on it. I think too much food can cause sloppy poos so maybe he just doesn't need the extra? Archie has about two thirds of the recommended amount of Wainwrights and is absolutely fine with that. I dread to think what size he would be on the full amount, not to mention what it might do to his digestion!  :shades:

Yes, Brodie has never been fed the recommended amounts of dog food, she gets about two-thirds of a tray of NatureDiet compared to the tray and a quarter that is recommended! I would be stuffed if it suddenly started to cause an upset or she stopped eating it, as she can't seem to tolerate anything else!

The amount of food recommended by NatureDiet for puppies seems excessive to me too; I wonder if, like Archie Bean says, that could be the reason.

Does make you think doesn't it. Think there was something similar to do with a dried food, quantities had been wrongly printed - but not sure if that is the case here.
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: jennycockerspaniel on November 24, 2013, 05:44:53 PM
I give Penny a oxo size  of Nature diet with her kibble and she is fine also fish ect I find the tray is too big for Penny as it lasts only 2 daysI have some in the freezer Penny eats it and poohs fine
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 05:53:28 PM
I give Penny a oxo size  of Nature diet with her kibble and she is fine also fish ect I find the tray is too big for Penny as it lasts only 2 daysI have some in the freezer Penny eats it and poohs fine

Think what I will do, is keep giving the home diet till the Burns arrives and gradually mix some in, and see how it goes. Thinks it's gonna be trial and error for a while - with as few upsets as possible
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: linda c on November 24, 2013, 06:46:36 PM
I divide one pack into about 9 cubes, wrap them in foil and freeze them  :blink:

Take out 1 per day, just the right amount and saves on money, no wastage  :D
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 07:20:13 PM
I divide one pack into about 9 cubes, wrap them in foil and freeze them  :blink:

Take out 1 per day, just the right amount and saves on money, no wastage  :D

Looks a good plan  ;)  what would we do without COLers aye
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Helen on November 24, 2013, 07:47:55 PM
is he teething? 

Yes he is - I think that does make a difference, but not sure how much of one?

It can really upset their stomachs  ;)

http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5065838_teething-cause-diarrhea-puppies.html (http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5065838_teething-cause-diarrhea-puppies.html)
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on November 24, 2013, 08:11:50 PM
is he teething?  

Yes he is - I think that does make a difference, but not sure how much of one?

It can really upset their stomachs  ;)

http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5065838_teething-cause-diarrhea-puppies.html (http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5065838_teething-cause-diarrhea-puppies.html)

ooh thanks for the link - will have a read up

update: That was really helpful - thank you   :D

Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry. UPDATE
Post by: Mudmagnets on December 03, 2013, 08:49:00 PM
Well have been sort of winning with this, at the moment I am feeding home cooked rice with different foods, lamb, fish, egg etc and  a small amount of Burns (25g) and he does ok, but not sure he is getting the proper nutriments that come with the correct amount of Burns and have been trying to raise the percentage of it - whilst I am doing this can anyone tell me on average how much food he should be getting per meal (fed 3 times a day) atm he is getting about 100g per meal ...is this ok? or too much/little...thanks everso.

Just to add because he is teething I am pre-softening the Burns.
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on December 11, 2013, 12:26:13 PM
Been to vets this morning because the little man had itchy ear, and once that was sorted went on to explain the probs with his poos.

To cut a long story short - the vet said to go back to Naturediet and add a spoonful? of Bonemeal (which apparently there are more than one kind of-I have always used it in the garden  :huh: ) and it will help bind him up

Not to worry - vet has put me on the right way  :D
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: JennyBee on December 12, 2013, 11:35:20 AM
Glad to hear you may have a solution! I could probably be wrong, as it was over five years ago, but I believe Brodie got bone meal as a young pup. It seems familiar, but I've long lost her feeding instructions.

Fingers crossed it works for him and hope his ear isn't being too much of a bother :luv:
Title: Re: Naturediet - in a bit of a quandry
Post by: Mudmagnets on December 12, 2013, 01:04:11 PM
Glad to hear you may have a solution! I could probably be wrong, as it was over five years ago, but I believe Brodie got bone meal as a young pup. It seems familiar, but I've long lost her feeding instructions.

Fingers crossed it works for him and hope his ear isn't being too much of a bother :luv:

Thanks  for getting back. I pestered the vet a little on the phone yesterday after he had prescribed it - as to which I should get before ordering, and he found me Trixie brand from a company thro Amazon, till it comes I am giving him small amounts (100gr) of naturediet with 50grs of rice, because rice has formed base of diet at the moment seemed a good idea to use it. 3 times a day.

He is quite good at letting me put the drops in, poor lad, the vet likened it to athletes foot, which I know from personal experience can be really itchy.