Need help. Are these foods healthy?

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camickey
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Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by camickey »

Hi. Up to this time I'm still confused and worried if I'm feeding Mochi the right food.
I feed him 2 cups of Beef Pro, 2 cups of Vitality High Energy and a spoon of PEDIGREE® Meaty Ground Dinner With Chunky Beef, Bacon & Cheese 3 times a day. Is that okay? I still don't know for the treats. I just buy them thinking if he will like it. Can you recommend a healthy diet food and treats? I'm afraid that I'm overfeeding him. :|
PCC
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by PCC »

I don't know what the ingredients are for any of the dog foods you are using. Ideally they are made from mostly meat, and no corn. I'm unclear how much you are feeding Mochi. Do you mean 4 cups three times a day, or four cups divided up into three meals? Because 12 cups would definitely be overfeeding!
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Terrina Harris
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by Terrina Harris »

I am not sure about those brands, but we use Nutro-Natural Choice lamb and rice. We give our chows and the rescues 3 and 1/2 cups daily and we also mix in a big fork full of the same brand can food into the kibble. For treats we also use Nutro. Most brands will have a weight guide on the bag on how much to give for the weight.
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camickey
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by camickey »

PCC wrote:I don't know what the ingredients are for any of the dog foods you are using. Ideally they are made from mostly meat, and no corn. I'm unclear how much you are feeding Mochi. Do you mean 4 cups three times a day, or four cups divided up into three meals? Because 12 cups would definitely be overfeeding!
VITALITY High Energy Ingredients:
Australian whole grain cereals (including wheat, corn, rice and/or barley), Australian lamb and beef, premium animal fats, Omega Magic ™ oil blend, salt, complete vitamins and minerals (vitamins A, D3, E, B2, B3, B5, K3, Folic Acid, Copper, Zinc (as oxide), Zinc Chelate, Selenium Iodine), Antioxidants.


Nutrient Profile
Crude Protein min 27%
Crude Fat min 16%
Fibre max 3.5%
Moisture approx. 8%

PEDIGREE® Meaty Ground Dinner With Chunky Beef, Bacon & Cheese ingredients:

Sufficient water for processing, Chicken By-products, Chicken, Meat By-products, Liver, Beef, Bacon, Wheat Gluten, Ground Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Citrus Pectin, Minerals (Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Guar Gum, Cheese, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Carrageenan, Added Color, Dried Yam, Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate, Onion Powder, Vitamins (Vitamin E, A & D3 Supplements, D-calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B], Biotin), Garlic Powder, Sodium Nitrite (for color retention).

Ohmy. What have I done. :( I read most in other sites that they should be fed 2-3 times a day. That's what I'm doing up to this time. The cup is 1 3/4 inch in height and 1 1/2 inch in width. It's 4 cups for each meal. What to do? :? I'm seriously at my wits' end right now.
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PCC
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by PCC »

Those are not foods I would feed my dog, but I can understand how cost can be a factor.

I thought you meant a standard cup, as used for cooking. The cup you are using sounds more like a 1/4 cup, so Mochi is getting about 3 standard cups. That may or may not be too much; it rather depends on the food and his activity level.
kitten1426
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by kitten1426 »

That food doesnt sound all to good...When our chow pups were young we feed them about 2 full cups 3 times a day...We also feed them cooked chicken,beef livers,sweet potatoes,cottage cheese,yogurt,carrots,tomatoes, We use the taste of the wild kibble and pro-plan kibble...and 4 heatlh kibble...we do use a little amount of Pedigree wet food..Oh yeah they get pasta too..lol..we do alot of cooking for our dogs all 4 of them...lol...and we feed our female chow about 3-3.5 cups a day and our Male chow he eats 4 -5 cups a day...Neither of them are over weight..there weight is good our Vet told us...
Our dogs...Kodi Male chow..[Mia Female Chow RB :( :( ]...Bear Male Airedale...Shelby Male Collie...And Moose airedale, New girl chow Merida
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wokman
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by wokman »

Start by first getting a liquid ounce measuring cup, minimum 8 liquid ounces, marked one liquid ounce increments.
Use the food manufactures lowest food amount they suggest for the weight of your dog. The food guide lines were chosen from studies made on dogs in a kennel situation; dogs that were under stress and more active because of their environment. I think it is better to give your dog one type of food twice a day, with fresh water. If your dog has digestive problems or allergies it may be more difficult to find which out of all those ingredients is causing problems. Determine how much food, in liquid ounces your old cup was and adjust that to what manufacture says; making changes, more or less food gradually. :)
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gluesticks
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by gluesticks »

According to my breeder, chow chows are grazers. Puppies can eat as often as 10-15 times a day. I agree. However, if your Mochi is a puppy I don't necessarily agree with this (being as they usually always poop 20-40 minutes after eating food). My breeder also suggested feeding 1/4 of a can of wet food twice a day until he/she is 12 weeks old. How old is your Mochi?

I tend to tell customers to avoid anything that can instigate an allergy later on in life. Or in other words, foods containing corn, wheat, soy, or gluten (these are common allergies among all breeds of dog and items that can cause a developed allergy over time) and anything that contains by-product or preservatives of any kind (these ingredients are the leading causes of cancer and kidney failure in dogs due to their overload on filtration processes of the kidneys and cells of the body). Remember, the first 2-4 ingredients listed on the back of the bag will make up around 90% of the dog food's entirety.

A dog food containing ACTUAL FOOD (ie: Wellness, Taste of the Wild, Natural Balance, Simply Nourish, California Natural, Blue Buffalo, Innova, to name a few...) will mean more nutrients, which will mean that your dog will actually absorb and keep these nutrients, which means overall less stool production (which is a plus). A lot of common named dog food brands, such as Purina, Pedigree, Iams, Science Diet, and Eukanuba contain junk, or fillers(such as by-product, preservatives, corn, wheat, soy, and gluten), therefore your dog absorbs very little, will need to eat more of it, and will produce large quantities of stool.

Whatever brand you chose is entirely up to you. I only ask that you read the ingredients and make the decision for yourself. =)
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Cam Atis
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by Cam Atis »

Giving 4 cups per meal x 3 times a day for a total of 12 cups a day (if youare using the standard cup sold in pet stores)...you are putting unnecessary load on your chow's liver and kidney aside from overfeeding him.

Puppy about his age should be fed between 3 to 4 cups (divided into three meals) a day. There are dogs who will eat and eat. While there are who dont eat everything you give.
Cups of milk should also be counted. Reduce the portion as soon as possible.
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Victory
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by Victory »

gluesticks gives excellant advice. The things you want to avoid are corn, wheat and artificial preservatives, dyes and fillers. Both the Vitality and Pedegree have a lot of all these things in them. Grains should be rice, brown rice, barley or oats only. Corn and Wheat, soy etc are bad. meat should be from direct sources as much as possible, lamb is one of the best, buffalo, duck, are also good. Fat should be preserved if with natural vitamins, vegetables should be carrots, peas, apples, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, natural herbs, a little garlic, (never onions ever, onions cause anemia in dogs)

I like Merrick's blends, dry and canned and their treats, Innova's Red Meat formula, (these two foods are so right for my two that I switch them back and forth, the Merricks one I feed them is sometimes hard to find as it is only produced in small batches) My boy is allergic to poultry of any kind, gives him the runs...ICK. So I stick to red meat formulas. And I've found that these two brands are excellent for both of them. For treats they get Solid Gold lamb tiny tots, (these are so pure lamb jerky that they will rot, as real meat should. So keep them in the frig if you don't feed them often) also they get Merrick's sausage treats and Old Mother Hubbard P-Nuttier treats. These have whole wheat flour in them, but they also have other things and my two don't seem to have an allergy to wheat, at their ages if they did they would show it, (wheat allergies normally cause hot spots) They also don't get them very often. When I look at a dog food, I ask myself could I find those ingredients on the shelves of my local grocery store for the most part and make this food myself, if the answer is yes, then I might buy the food, if the answer is no, then I don't buy it. Also what does it smell like, pet food should smell good to you, that nasty pet food smell is an indication that it has stuff in it that you wouldn't and shouldn't eat, if you can't eat it or wouldn't want to, why feed it to your pet? The whole idea that poet food is supposed to smell bad is wrong. it should smell fresh, and even appetizing to you. When I open a bag of my chows' food it smells good to me, fresh like good stew I might make for myself, their canned food smells even better. That's what you want to look for as well.
Victory, Darkwind, (our angel), Firesong, and Dreamdancer
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weezyfbaby
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by weezyfbaby »

Terrina Harris wrote:I am not sure about those brands, but we use Nutro-Natural Choice lamb and rice. We give our chows and the rescues 3 and 1/2 cups daily and we also mix in a big fork full of the same brand can food into the kibble. For treats we also use Nutro. Most brands will have a weight guide on the bag on how much to give for the weight.

Same here, minus the can food. :D Sometimes I'll throw in a lil shredded chicken or ground turkey into the mix if I'm having it for dinner.
wokman
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by wokman »

Choice of foods is confusing, many dog owners feed what is most convenient for them to prepare. Some owners only prepare their pets food from scratch to avoid those unknown "by-products" and certain grains. I read this week that China has halted import of U.S. rice because of higher than acceptable lead content. Food coloring has been linked to Cancer. Veterinarian prescription food has corn meal and "animal by-products", along with "animal and grain meals". There was a discussion on the Nutrition Forum with names of other Forums "Web sites" for "natural" diets for dogs. I have meet two dog owners that said they feed their fifteen plus year old dogs Old Roy from Walmart their whole lives; Old Roy is a very low priced dog food here in the U.S.. I have been told that the rise in Cancer in dogs is from the main ingredient in heart worm preventative, Ivermectin. Also dogs and cats like people are getting more overweight; contributing to health issues. Maybe the animals can teach us to be healthier. Enough said, time to go and try to work off that belt over hang. :^o
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Rio
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by Rio »

Good quality dog food (no un-necessary additives) are usually fed on a weight to food ratio of 1.2%, ie, dog weighs 10kgs you would feed 120gs per day. Obviously for the lower end spectrum of food the ratio increases as the weight is bulked up by additives and corn.
wokman
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by wokman »

Scratch my post on food confusion Rio. You have taken the guess work out of feeding mathematically.
sanyabajaj
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Re: Need help. Are these foods healthy?

Post by sanyabajaj »

probiotic indian foodsare best for these little munchkins.
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