Same Old Food

[labman]

I try to buy my dogs quality dogfood.I find one good brand that they seem to love and that has good ingredients.But after several months they start getting tired of it . And I could relate to that because I get tired of the same cereal after about a week...so anybody else find themselves switching dogfood brands every few months .

 

[Dekka]

I sometimes switch it up a bit, but not because my dogs get bored.

 

[Steponme]

You can add different things to the kibble like plain yogurt, eggs, broth, or cooked or raw veggies. There are also foods out there that recommed rotation. Natures Variety, they have chicken, beef, venison, lamb and salmon kibble that is bio coated with raw, raw diets and canned diets and recommed rotation for variety. Another is Eagle Pack Holisic Select. Chicken, duck, lamb and a 3 fish blend that can be rotated when you buy them. There are others out there also. I add a lot to my babies food like mentioned above plus they get a premium canned food mixed in a couple times a week.
Good luck..

 

[oc_spirit]

I rotate between different brands and different formulas, not because my dogs get bored but to vary the protein source and to give them the benefits that different foods have to offer. Doing this rotation (I switch cold turkey when I rotate) also helps strengthen your dog's digestive system so if/when he gets into something it is less likely to give him an upset tummy.

 

[jjsmom]

I rotate kibble formulas (same brand, but different protein sources, etc...), every 2-4 weeks usually. I also rotate "mix-in's" pretty close to every meal. These include:
canned salmon, canned sardines, every evangers formula canned, trippett, timberwolf canned pheasant and I crockpot lamb with apples, chicken or beef. They also get grilled fish, beef or chicken every week depending on what we are eating for dinner that night and yogurt or cottage cheese a few times a week. I think the variety is good for them and since I have fairly picky eaters, they are a lot LESS picky when given more variety.

 

[showpug]

It's actually a good idea to rotate even if your dog doesn't get bored. A lot of people have 2 or 3 brands that they rotate between every few months.

 

[labman]

I rotate between different brands and different formulas, not because my dogs get bored but to vary the protein source and to give them the benefits that different foods have to offer. Doing this rotation (I switch cold turkey when I rotate) also helps strengthen your dog's digestive system so if/when he gets into something it is less likely to give him an upset tummy.

Interesting,so you switch from one brand without mixing?...makes sense to me with them getting more of a variety of protein,can't always go by what you read.
Do you do this at any age or just their first year?

 

[labman]

Wow! jjsmom,your animals eat like kings . I always try to save the heart,liver and tounge from a cow at butchering time and freeze it for them, then divide it up for them raw a little bit at a time.They seemed to do good with that.I used to make salmon stew also for my old chessy,but he developed a skin condition from it i think.

 

[jjsmom]

Labman.. what was in your slamon stew? I am sorry to hear that you had to stop due to possible skin problems. and yes.. my pups are pretty darn spoiled.. they don't have any idea how good they have life... "I" wanna be my dogs!

 

[labman]

jjsmom,when I used to catch alot of salmon I would put all the trimmings and bones and cook it down,i think all i added to it was garlic.I also heard or read later that dogs are allergic to seafood,but cats were not.

 

[jjsmom]

jjsmom,when I used to catch alot of salmon I would put all the trimmings and bones and cook it down,i think all i added to it was garlic.I also heard or read later that dogs are allergic to seafood,but cats were not.

really? huh.. mine eat salmon (fresh and canned) a few times a week and get salmon oil daily so I wonder if it was a allergy specific to your dog maybe? The stew sounds great, especially made with fresh salmon! YUMMY!

 

[FoxyWench]

agree with everyone else...

we use merrick, merrick has multiple "flavors" so we switch between flavours for protein veriety...

 

[oc_spirit]

Interesting,so you switch from one brand without mixing?...makes sense to me with them getting more of a variety of protein,can't always go by what you read.
Do you do this at any age or just their first year?

Yup, no mixing here. When OC was a puppy he had a very sensitive tummy. It was so sensitive that if he got so much as ONE treat that wasnt a regular part of his diet he would get the runs. I spent the first year of his life "toughening" his stomach by exposing him to different fods very slowly and varying a lot. Now, this dog is a garbage can and nothing effects him LOL (although he will get loose stooles if it is very hot out). Ronan when I got him couldnt handle raw beef. I slowly introduced it to him and now raw beef is one of the many meats that is a part of his regular feedings.

Think about it, if you go out for Chinese do you spend the week prior to the outing slowly introducing Chinese food to your diet? No. Why? Because humans vary what the eat a great deal whereas dogs fed the same food often cant handle a sudden chnage since they arent used to it. Make sense?

Very very young puppies (up to 3 months) I say consistant with the kibble the breeder fed since they are going through soooo many changes already, they are more suseptable to uneasy stomachs from sudden switches. After that though, they also get their kibble rotated (providing they can handle it), If they cant handle it then I do what I did with OC, strengthen the system by introducing a variety of foods until the system can handle change.

 

[labman]

That's what I like about this site,there is alot open-minded peaple with alot common sense and GREAT advise .