Food Questions
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:41 pm
Hello everyone!
I've been browsing the best of food, nutrition, and diets specifically the "what brands are you feeding your chows" or whatever th eactual title is and I have a few questions!
Everyone seems to be talking about chow allergies, is it common for a chow to be so sensitive? How do I know if my chow is having an allergic reaction to something?
I also have a question about... for a lack of a better way to say it, bowel movements. What's perfect or desirable BM? When I first got Penelope I was feeding California Natural and her feces were all relatively... small. They were small and kind of mushy looking. Not DIARHEA per se, just a bit wet looking. I switched to large breed puppy royal canin and her poo has gotten significantly larger. She goes #2 twice as often a day and they're larger drier more formed looking poos. I don't think I know which is better? Or if they were both bad and i'm striving for some sort of inbetween. What could also be affecting that is age. Her first week here she was only 9 weeks and settling into a new place settling into new food. Now she's a giant 12ish weeks. She also has a bit of roundworms, I went to the vet today with a stool sample, they checked it out. I'm supposed to deworm her in the next day or two (we wanted to wait to make sure there were no adverse reactions to the vaccinations she just got as well).
Penelope also seems to be a really chow-y eater. Like my sister's chow tsunami she isn't the sort of dog that will devour everything and anythign simply because it's edible. Lately I've been having to coax her to eat her food more, which is fine, because I was planning on a food brand change anyways. She's take 4 or 5 kibble, walk a handful of steps, spit it out, and then chew them one by one. This process repeats itself over and over. If I shake the bowl a handful of times she'll come back and eat some more. Usually I leave the bowl out for an hour or two and if i'm lucky she's eaten the cup I've given. Is this just a sign that she hates her food and the switch i'm planning is even more needed? Or is this simply chow sort of behavior that I'll learn to love? Should I free-feed her throughout the day to help this? Or continue on my 3 times a day puppy schedule?
And now, to the final set of questions: Food brands. I was suggest (by lou and chika, thanks for the advice) to Solid Gold Wolf cub. But I have 2 hesitations that I was hoping someone could address.
First off, it's made of bison meat. They're buffalos! Tatankas! I grew up secretly convinced that if I had a spirit animal it would definately be a buffalo! They're just these incredible, grand, majestic, and all around awesome creatures. I feel just... *wrong* feeding my DOG of all things buffalo! I haven't seen any solid gold large breed puppy beef or lamb or chicken substitutes.
Secondly, I've looked at a bunch of dog food analysis and review sites, and it only gets 4 stars out of 6. I don't mind shelling out a little extra cash for a better dog food but I want to know that I'm REALLY getting my moneys worth. Is the food I'm getting really the best for the price? Or is there a slightly better food for just a dollar or two more per lb.? Should I not bother with the general dog food reviewers because they don't know the chow and its specific needs? Would Solid gold be the best choice of balancing nutritional value vs. economic value? I've also looked into AvoDerm but they don't seemingly have a large breed puppy formula. Has anyone else used this on their puppies and had little to no growth or joint problems? Price wise I hope to stay under the 15 dollar mark for the smaller (4 lb) bag while providing my chowster the best possible nutrients for a better adult life.
I know everytime I post I have SO many detailed questions but I really do appreciate (and so does penelope!) any suggestions. I'm occassionally slow to respond cause our internet out in the boonies isn't completely reliable. I've just spend the last two weeks sans computer!
Thanks again!
I've been browsing the best of food, nutrition, and diets specifically the "what brands are you feeding your chows" or whatever th eactual title is and I have a few questions!
Everyone seems to be talking about chow allergies, is it common for a chow to be so sensitive? How do I know if my chow is having an allergic reaction to something?
I also have a question about... for a lack of a better way to say it, bowel movements. What's perfect or desirable BM? When I first got Penelope I was feeding California Natural and her feces were all relatively... small. They were small and kind of mushy looking. Not DIARHEA per se, just a bit wet looking. I switched to large breed puppy royal canin and her poo has gotten significantly larger. She goes #2 twice as often a day and they're larger drier more formed looking poos. I don't think I know which is better? Or if they were both bad and i'm striving for some sort of inbetween. What could also be affecting that is age. Her first week here she was only 9 weeks and settling into a new place settling into new food. Now she's a giant 12ish weeks. She also has a bit of roundworms, I went to the vet today with a stool sample, they checked it out. I'm supposed to deworm her in the next day or two (we wanted to wait to make sure there were no adverse reactions to the vaccinations she just got as well).
Penelope also seems to be a really chow-y eater. Like my sister's chow tsunami she isn't the sort of dog that will devour everything and anythign simply because it's edible. Lately I've been having to coax her to eat her food more, which is fine, because I was planning on a food brand change anyways. She's take 4 or 5 kibble, walk a handful of steps, spit it out, and then chew them one by one. This process repeats itself over and over. If I shake the bowl a handful of times she'll come back and eat some more. Usually I leave the bowl out for an hour or two and if i'm lucky she's eaten the cup I've given. Is this just a sign that she hates her food and the switch i'm planning is even more needed? Or is this simply chow sort of behavior that I'll learn to love? Should I free-feed her throughout the day to help this? Or continue on my 3 times a day puppy schedule?
And now, to the final set of questions: Food brands. I was suggest (by lou and chika, thanks for the advice) to Solid Gold Wolf cub. But I have 2 hesitations that I was hoping someone could address.
First off, it's made of bison meat. They're buffalos! Tatankas! I grew up secretly convinced that if I had a spirit animal it would definately be a buffalo! They're just these incredible, grand, majestic, and all around awesome creatures. I feel just... *wrong* feeding my DOG of all things buffalo! I haven't seen any solid gold large breed puppy beef or lamb or chicken substitutes.
Secondly, I've looked at a bunch of dog food analysis and review sites, and it only gets 4 stars out of 6. I don't mind shelling out a little extra cash for a better dog food but I want to know that I'm REALLY getting my moneys worth. Is the food I'm getting really the best for the price? Or is there a slightly better food for just a dollar or two more per lb.? Should I not bother with the general dog food reviewers because they don't know the chow and its specific needs? Would Solid gold be the best choice of balancing nutritional value vs. economic value? I've also looked into AvoDerm but they don't seemingly have a large breed puppy formula. Has anyone else used this on their puppies and had little to no growth or joint problems? Price wise I hope to stay under the 15 dollar mark for the smaller (4 lb) bag while providing my chowster the best possible nutrients for a better adult life.
I know everytime I post I have SO many detailed questions but I really do appreciate (and so does penelope!) any suggestions. I'm occassionally slow to respond cause our internet out in the boonies isn't completely reliable. I've just spend the last two weeks sans computer!
Thanks again!