Natures Variety: Instinct

[CharlieDog]

I love it! So far, it's the only food that's gotten rid of Ozzy's DeathGas. Seriously, it's a really good food for Oz, and we have tried him on just about everything.

[ihartgonzo]

Overall, I think it's a good food. What matters most is that your pups are doing well!

Nolu was saying some things about the ingredients in Instinct that got me thinking, in another thread... it is very odd that Pumpkinseeds are so high up on the list. I'm also not a fan of "flavorings". I'm also a little bit wary of the Tapioca. I'm not saying it's a horrible ingredient, but it's unconventional, and I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding it.

I have been staying away from high protein foods, and sticking to foods with protein that is in the range of actual raw meat (20-30%), with really good results. I've been feeding Honest Kitchen exclusively, with raw, and everything is perfect with my boys. That is just my personal opinion/experience, of course.

[SizzleDog]

The feed store by us (basically the largest quality food supplier in Iowa) can't get anything but the chicken variety, due to ingredient shortages.

Ingredient-wise, Instinct is great - if my dogs did well on it (which for some curse-the-heavens reason they don't), I'd have no qualms feeding it. Unfortunately, the food they do the best on has crap for ingredients... thems the breaks I guess.

[Bahamutt99]

Instinct is a very rich food, kinda like Innova EVO. I know people who are conditioning their dogs for ADBA shows (which means getting them in the leanest possible shape while toning up at the same time) feed foods like that. It's not the kind of thing I'd feed my dogs all the time because they just don't require that much nutritiony goodness, but for a dog that works/plays hard, I'd say it's top-notch.

[noludoru]

Originally Posted by ihartgonzo

Nolu was saying some things about the ingredients in Instinct that got me thinking, in another thread... it is very odd that Pumpkinseeds are so high up on the list. I'm also not a fan of "flavorings". I'm also a little bit wary of the Tapioca. I'm not saying it's a horrible ingredient, but it's unconventional, and I wouldn't feel comfortable feeding it.

I'd have to do more research, but as far as I know tapioca is fine. (Obviously it's only as good as your dog does on it, lol.) As long as it's something they do well on I'd ignore the pumpkin seeds, but I would not feed it for a longer period than 3 months, I think. That many pumpkin seed as a staple in a dog's diet just weird me out, far more than the tapioca does.

[Brattina88]

Well, that works out well, bceause I usually I rotate foods every 2-3mos

Originally Posted by noludoru

As long as it's something they do well on I'd ignore the pumpkin seeds, but I would not feed it for a longer period than 3 months, I think. That many pumpkin seed as a staple in a dog's diet just weird me out, far more than the tapioca does.

And, excuse my ignorance, but Why is pumpkin seeds such an issue?