Author Topic: Lots of questions!  (Read 1974 times)

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Offline MrsFlintstone

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Lots of questions!
« on: June 26, 2021, 09:17:57 AM »
Hello All, I'm in need of some feeding wisdom!

Bonny is now 5 months and has been fed with Harringtons puppy food with a bit of something  mixed in (tuna or cooked mince mainly). She seems really well and is certainly gaining weight appropriately and thriving, she poos about 3x daily, nicely formed but on the softer side.

My issue is that she seems to just not like the kibble, she picks out the good stuff and would never entertain kibble on its own, my concern is that she will start dropping weight as this is fast becoming an issue.  I've read a lot about raw feeding and home cooked food for dogs. I want her to be healthy and happy and am  trying  to work out which way to go.

Raw sounds a bit daunting to a newbie like me and I've been leaning towards the home cooked option, mainly because I'm concerned about giving her an upset tummy from raw.

There is certainly a huge amount of info out there about raw feeding, but what about home cooked food, do any of you use that option?

Or should I persevere with the kibble? I haven't tried wet dog food because of the unpleasant smell but perhaps I should try that first?!

Thank you for reading!

Confused Becky the new cocker owner  :D

Offline Mudmagnets

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2021, 10:09:11 AM »
Hello and welcome to COL, I feed my boys Forthglade adult (1-7 years) grain free wet food, I haven't had any problems with the smell of any of the basic menus, beef, lamb turkey etc., the fish ones are a bit of a challenge on the nostrils - but not unbearable.

They do Turkey and Duck alternatives in the puppy range. Here is a link to the Forthglade shop https://forthglade.com/collections/lifestage-puppy    although it may be cheaper if you can find single trays in pet shops just to try out as you would have to pay postage if ordering less than £30 from Forthglade themselves

If your pup really does not like kibble then this may be a good alternative. I find my boys digest the wet food better than the kibble of any make or description. Never fed raw so cannot comment on that but I know a few members do and their dogs thrive on it.  I never think it's worth making mealtimes a warzone, all dogs are different as are humans so one choice will not suit another.
Remembering Smudge 23/11/2006 - 3/8/2013, and Branston 30/8/14 - 28/10/22 both now at the Bridge.

Offline MrsFlintstone

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2021, 02:38:53 PM »
Thank you Joules, that may just solve the issue. I'll have to give Forthglade a go and see what Miss thinks. I suspect she just gets bored of the same food so it may be worth trying to add a bit more variety, if her tummy can tolerate it of course   :blink:

Thank you for taking the time to reply  :D

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2021, 02:59:14 PM »
Hi! I started feeding raw when Humphrey was still young, he‘d just changed to adult kibble but his coat was dull and dry and the groomer suggested it, she promised I‘d notice a difference in a very short time and within a week to ten days it was looking a lot better. Like you, I was very apprehensive particularly as where  I live, in Germany, there wasn’t a great deal of choice of ready mixes and I had to DIY it and was always worried about getting the balance right but there‘s a much wider choice now which makes life much easier.
Humphrey didn‘t have any problems despite me switching from one day to the next, although it is generally recommended that the changeover be done gradually, especially if the dog has a sensitive tummy. I would suggest starting with only one type of meat and then introduce different types gradually. Most raw food producers are more than happy to advise you and offer information on their websites.
Thankfully there is a good variety of dog foods on the market these days and its all down to choice, I don‘t think there‘s a wrong or right way.  My dog does well on raw, he enjoys it and has no issues with worms or internal parasites on any sort.
(Raw feed dogs develop a stronger digestive system which is able to deal with parasites more easily)
Hope that helps you a bit.

Offline Pearly

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2021, 03:10:51 PM »
We’ve raw fed for years, DIY initially and towards the end moved on to mixes.  Depending on the age of the dog and time of year it was a different brand.  Natures Menu, Natural Instinct and Nutriment were all very good, topped up with coconut oil and vegetables.

In February last year, our home was flooded and we lost all our freezers.  Of course it coincided with the panic buying of food pre-lockdown and we couldn’t get another freezer anywhere!  A friend who Trials dogs suggested a kibble that’s grain free abs we now have 2 of our four on this.  The other two are on a well known working dog food - all are topped up with coconut oil, dried blood and raw carrots plus a weekly bone for teeth cleaning.

We’ll probably keep the dogs on kibble now as we know they are getting the right balance of nutrients.

Dogs are not interested in flavours, if you consider that in the wild they would scavenge for food and will survive on all sorts…. They are more interested in texture of food.  You may find different types of kibble suit better than others, or wet food, raw or cooked whichever you are happy to do for her.  I’m told (but haven’t checked) that dogs have just 400 taste buds compared to our millions - not sure if this is true but may explain why they’ll eat anything!

Offline MrsFlintstone

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2021, 05:08:55 PM »
Thank you so much for replying, you guys are a goldmine of information! I tried her on cooked turkey mince with a bit of brown rice and a few peas at lunch time and she loved that, no faffing around at all. No sign of an upset tummy yet.

I may experiment a bit, it has to be better than her rejecting her kibble and topping up with sausages and cheese all day because she's still hungry.

So sorry to hear about your flood Pearly,  hope you have managed to get back to normal now.  We have a really good raw food specialist shop nearby that I can investigate.

Bizzylizzy, would you recommend the pre mixed raw food rather than DIY?

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2021, 07:28:41 PM »

Bizzylizzy, would you recommend the pre mixed raw food rather than DIY?

To begin with, its enough to just try her with some meat and add a few vegetables and some oil and see how she takes to it. In the longterm however you need to ensure that the balance of nutrients is right which is done by adding tripe, offal, bone (or calcium supplement ) plus vegetables and possibly carbohydrates in the form of rice, potatoes or similar. Its no where near as complicated as some would have you believe but its good to have a grasp of the basics. There is a pin on here about raw feeding which will give you an idea of how to start and how much to feed. I used to buy enough food for a month, a bag of frozen meat, frozen tripe and frozen offal then mix it together and freeze in portions but I find the ready mixes very much easier, they stack far more easily in the freezer for one thing.
If you’re keen to give it go, I would advise having a word with the people at the raw food shop, I’m sure  they’d be happy to help you get started. Lots of people with experience on here too, so don‘t hesitate to ask! 

Offline ejp

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2021, 07:07:10 PM »
Another RAW feeder here, and I buy premixed because it is convenient and I know Daisy is getting what she needs. Certainly worth trying ready made to see how it goes, and then go from there.

Offline MrsFlintstone

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2021, 09:05:37 AM »
Update-

Mudmagnets -Bonny is very happy with the Forthglade, and you are right it doesn't smell at all  :D we have been using the just range and mixing it with brown rice and veg and more recently a bit of kibble; after a break she decided to accept it again. We tried the complete meals but she wasn't so keen  : :huh:

I've also been giving her a  bit of home cooked food from the 'dinners for dogs' book which has gone down a treat. We haven't ventured into raw as yet but no doubt will give it a go at some point.

Interestingly the change in diet has really agreed with her, she used to be very windy particularly at night and that has now gone and her poos are much smaller and better formed .

So a big THANK YOU for sharing your cocker wisdom  : :D

Offline Mudmagnets

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Re: Lots of questions!
« Reply #9 on: July 21, 2021, 09:15:19 AM »
Glad it was helpful  :D
Remembering Smudge 23/11/2006 - 3/8/2013, and Branston 30/8/14 - 28/10/22 both now at the Bridge.