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A while back Jade, my cat, had a thyroid tumor that was causing her to produce too much Thyroid hormone which hosed up her metabolism. She ended up losing half her bodyweight in a very, very short time. I got the tumor treated and life is good again. In an effort to bring her bodyweight back up to the normal I started feeding her Nature's Variety Instinct from the OP. It worked too well. She has become tubby. Which is cute and cuddly but not healthy to have a fatass cat. Before the tumor I had her on Chicken Soup for the cat Lover adult lite formula. I'm wondering if there's a better 'lite' formula cat food that is recommended. I've tried multiple times to switch her to wet food but she's always been really finicky about it and at best eats like, half a can of wet food before losing interest and once she's lost interest she won't eat any more.
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Oct 26, 2015 16:46
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I'd like some advice on my overweight cat. Newt's a 5 y/o spayed female, and we've had her a little less than a month. She's currently 14.25 lbs and the vet says she should be around 12. Body condition-wise, she seems to be about a 4 (sagging belly, can feel ribs, but barely). Until very recently she was very inactive due to pain from an infected tooth. We had it treated last week and now that the tooth is gone she's...only mostly inactive.  She's getting more active every day though, and is becoming much more interested in climbing and exploring, so I have a feeling that will continue to improve as she recovers.Food-wise, she's on a mix of wet and dry food. She gets a can of Nutro wet food in the morning, and half a cup of Nutro Grain Free adult kibble in the afternoon. This is the amount Nutro recommends for a 12-pound cat, but according to the OP it might be too much? We exercise her in the evening for as long as she can stand it, which right now isn't very long 10 minutes is the record, and if we don't give her catnip beforehand she won't play at all. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks! ETA: I've also contacted her vet to see if they have any suggestions. Izzy fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Oct 28, 2015 |
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Oct 28, 2015 18:57
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My vet said that "almost all cat food has enough protein" and that high protein stuff is a marketing gimmick. Then she said that my current high-protein dry food brand was too high calorie (Petcurean Go Fit+ Free) and recommended a different brand in the low quality section listed here....that has a grand total of 5 calories less a cup . On one hand, she's a licensed vet. On the other hand, that pretty much contradicts everything I've read online from vet sites and other assorted sources. I mean she did tell me that I should get more wet food in their diet to prevent urinary tract/kidney issues down the line so at least she's got the consensus agreement on that one.
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Oct 29, 2015 19:09
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I found someone at the dog park who had a rescued GSD who looked mini because the foster found a vet who neutered him at 5 weeks (not sure if it was with or without the rescue's blessing). There are bad vets. Given that, there are goons who will advocate exactly that regarding food.
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Oct 29, 2015 19:37
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attackmole posted:My vet said that "almost all cat food has enough protein" and that high protein stuff is a marketing gimmick. Then she said that my current high-protein dry food brand was too high calorie (Petcurean Go Fit+ Free) and recommended a different brand in the low quality section listed here....that has a grand total of 5 calories less a cup . What was the vet trying to sell you on?
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Oct 30, 2015 00:59
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Honestly, nothing special in particular. She just recommended we put him back on eating the cheap poo poo (performatrin) he was eating when we adopted him two months ago until his diarrhea settles down (which is a good idea to be fair, might as well remove any variables), but gave a vaguely disgruntled look when she looked at the nutritional info for the Go.. Kitty' had worms. He's on a round of dewormers and stomach meds at the moment. I actually haven't even gotten him all the way back to the performatrin yet, I'm mixing it half and half with with the Go and he's already seeming to be doing better (or at least the litter box is looking less like a mudpit today). He's had a dose of dewormer and has been on stomach meds for the last three days now. So who knows if it was the food or the worms, although my money's on the worms.
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Oct 31, 2015 04:50
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attackmole posted:My vet said that "almost all cat food has enough protein" and that high protein stuff is a marketing gimmick. Then she said that my current high-protein dry food brand was too high calorie (Petcurean Go Fit+ Free) and recommended a different brand in the low quality section listed here....that has a grand total of 5 calories less a cup . I think you said it well yourself. I personally disagree with her nutrition philosophy. When it comes to cat food, I try to go for the highest protein I can. Yes, cat foods will have "enough" protein, but they're obligate carnivores, they do well on protein. And as you said yourself, the old food is only 5 calories less per cup. I think if your cat is doing well on the current food, there's no need to switch.
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Oct 31, 2015 05:59
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So I recently read online that grain free dry food is actually bad for (specifically) male cats, long term. Something about how it unbalances their urine pH and leads to UTIs and such? How true is this? edit: Also, I see that Authority's dry food is in poo poo tier, but what about their grain-free version? quote:Ingredients: Any danger of UTIs from a grain-free dry food if it's just meant to supplement a mostly-wet diet? edit edit: also, last question, I'm sorry: half the stuff I find online says that pea protein in cat food is the coming of the dark lord satan and the other half says it's no big deal. Even wellness core has pea protein. Is it actually terrible? Daily Forecast fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Nov 5, 2015 |
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Nov 5, 2015 19:38
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Cats rarely ever get UTIs, especially male cats. I don't think there's been a study associating the two.
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Nov 6, 2015 04:39
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I hope to hell that grain free isnt bad for male cats, because my male cat is grain intolerant! We're been feeding them Applaws Its all Good 50, which is 50% meat, but we've got a new one we're going to try soon- Black Hawk. Its an Australian owned and made food so we're keen to support them. Will be interesting to see if it plays nicely with Isaacs guts. http://www.blackhawkpetcare.com.au/grain-free-cat/grain-free-chicken-dry-food-for-cats Tho the spastic is trying to eat a pipe cleaner at the moment, so diet might be a moot point
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Nov 8, 2015 23:55
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Is pet dental hygiene a close enough topic to go here? Looking for tips on good products to use on my Corgi's teeth to keep them healthy, or at least make his breath non-lethal. I've been brushing his teeth when I remember, and giving him hard toys like rawhide to chew on since I've read that doing so can help a dog's teeth out, but if there's any Goon-Approved products I should know about I'd love to hear.
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Nov 15, 2015 23:56
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Brushing is the #1 best thing you can do, but you have to do it every day. It only takes 48-72 hours for the plaque to harden to the point where brushing won't remove it, so at least if you aim for every day and forget and skip a day once in a while, it doesn't matter. It's really best to aim for every day.
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Nov 16, 2015 00:48
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C-Euro posted:Is pet dental hygiene a close enough topic to go here? Looking for tips on good products to use on my Corgi's teeth to keep them healthy, or at least make his breath non-lethal. I've been brushing his teeth when I remember, and giving him hard toys like rawhide to chew on since I've read that doing so can help a dog's teeth out, but if there's any Goon-Approved products I should know about I'd love to hear. The dental specialist who worked on my dog recommended daily brushing using an extra soft baby toothbrush and Maxi-Guard, along with an AVA approved water additive and using dental food as treats.
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Nov 16, 2015 03:07
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Nothing beats tooth brushing, those dental treats like greenies and dentastix are the dog equivalent of handing them a piece of gum. If your dog's breath is consistently horrific there's a chance they've got a bad tooth that needs to come out. If you're concerned about your dog's dental health find a canine dentist and get a good cleaning then start a tooth brushing regimen after all the built up crap has been scraped off by the dentist. I have a dog who had hosed up teeth when we adopted him and we've spent literal thousands of dollars on getting his teeth fixed up including pulling 7 of them over the past 3 years. If your dog has decent teeth now for god's sake brush them and keep them nice to save your future self a ton of money.
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Nov 16, 2015 04:42
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One of my cats was recently diagnosed with crystals. However, he seems to be allergic to something in both the Hill's C/D and Royal Canin SO, as they both make him scratch like crazy. My vet now wants to switch him to Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein dry food. She said the protein in it is soy protein, and while I guess that's good for ruling out what he's allergic to, is it ok to feed a cat soy protein? I thought cats only got nutrients from meat protein. Please help me, Internet, I can't find anything on it besides crazy cat ladies going on about raw food diets.
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Nov 24, 2015 00:59
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Not a vet or anything but my friend's cat has been on hydrolyzed protein food for over 5 years now because he shits blood when he eats any non-hydrolyzed protein and he's totally fine and healthy now. The prescription diets available seem well researched and meet all nutritional requirements even if their ingredients aren't something I would feed if I didn't need a prescription food.
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Nov 24, 2015 03:45
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Not a vet or anything but my friend's cat has been on hydrolyzed protein food for over 5 years now because he shits blood when he eats any non-hydrolyzed protein and he's totally fine and healthy now. The prescription diets available seem well researched and meet all nutritional requirements even if their ingredients aren't something I would feed if I didn't need a prescription food. Ok, that's good to hear, thanks.  I have another question about urinary food. My other cat has been on Royal Canin SO for the last year or so, also due to crystals (lucky me). She likes the dry food, but generally only picks at the wet food and I have to both smush it down and mix in dry food to get her to even eat it at all. I've (with vet recommendation) tried Hills C/D and S/D and SO, both pate and chunky, with no luck. Are there other any canned foods that might be good for her? She loves canned food, just not the prescription ones. She doesn't drink a lot of water, so it'd be nice to get her more of it.
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Nov 24, 2015 16:55
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Our cat loving looooves dry food, but we've found he really likes the petco Soulistic wet food. He has the urinary crystal issue as well, and finding a wet food he likes has been tough, since he's so drat picky. Combining the non-prescription wet food and dry food seems to work very well for him, we haven't had any issues since we started doing that. He gets wet food as a separate meal (his breakfast) and dry food later in the day. I also add warm water to his wet food, which he seems to enjoy. I think it's generally ok to have non-prescription food, as long as the prescription is most of their diet, but hey, I'm not a vet and I can only speak of my experience with this one specific animal. Also, with the water drinking, do you offer her water in different parts of the house? Our cat really loves drinking water in my bedroom, but in other rooms he doesn't care for it. I could not possibly tell you why. Maybe try putting multiple water bowls around the house and see where she prefers drinking.
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Nov 28, 2015 09:54
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Yes, we have several bowls of water scattered around the house plus a pet fountain. She seems to mainly drink from the fountain. Being a cat though, of course, if you come upon her drinking, you have to not move and look the other way or she runs off.  I'll give the brand you suggested a try though.
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Nov 28, 2015 17:45
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My cat has a history of urinary tract issues and I feed him a mix of dry food + non-prescription wet food with added water, for what it's worth. You should call and ask your vet since they've examined your animal, but I am my cat's vet and my opinion with him is that the moisture is the most important part.
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Nov 28, 2015 20:38
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My dog gets super hyper after eating. We feed him 3 times a day, once in the morning, once around lunch when I come back from work, and once in the evening after his last walk. He has been eating the Kirkland brand chicken kibble. He will be relatively calm prior to eating, eat his food, get the loving hype. Jumping, barking, generally wanting to wrassle. Is it the food? Is there too much sugar, and he's just having a sugar rush all the time then crashing 30 minutes later? A picture of the young hooligan when he was relatively calm. http://imgur.com/8NUdFre
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Dec 3, 2015 08:19
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Just wanted to note that I've been feeding my dogs raw for the last year. They had not been to the vet in 11 months. When my vet asked for an update about their diet he was y vet was confused and concerned about feeding raw and surprised at the results: "Did you get their teeth cleaned? How did they get so clean?" "Do you make it yourself?" "Is this the pre-made raw stuff from a pet store?" "Do they get vegetables and vitamin supplements?" Also my 7yo beagle has always had worrying results from blood tests -- usually liver enzyme issues. It would bounce from slightly elevated to REALLY elevated and concerning. Changing dog food would sometimes improve it a little, sometimes a lot, but it was never normalized. I let him do another blood test because my dog has not been on his suggested medication for nearly 18 months. Results? Total bilirubin: normal Cholesterol: normal Albumin: normal Blood glucose: normal GGT: normal He was gobsmacked. If you're curious, their diet is mainly chicken leg quarters (thigh and leg attached) and pork neck bones. Occasionally they get fish. No vegetables or other filler and no offal (organ meat) as wild dogs don't eat that either -- they consume meat and bone except small prey they may eat whole (rabbits, mice, etc). Keep in mind that dogs are not humans: they have not lost the ability to manufacture their own vitamin needs. Cats, however, need taurine or they will die. Dog breath? gone. Teeth? Shiny white and clean! Anal gland issues? gone. Constitution? normal (giant schnauzers have digestion issues -- well documented, but he's been perfect since going raw) Water intake? normal. no more gorging on water after feeding, and they stay well hydrated as muscle tissue is 70% water Energy levels? Fantastic! I've never seen so much energy in them, and my 7yo beagle acts like a puppy again! Cost: cheap, but you have to know where to source your food. Buy in bulk (40lb cases, or 10lb bags) and look for deals. Look where a restaurant would buy. You'd be surprised how much overhead there is on meat! I routinely get chicken leg quarters for $0.39/lb - $0.79/lb and pork neck bones from $0.89/lb - $1.09/lb. I feed ~3lbs a day. I fast them once or twice a week. This is normal and healthy. They don't need food every day. Fasting is hugely beneficial for the immune system. I used to feed Acana/Orijen back when I could get it around $75 and the dogs would go through a bag in 3 weeks, so roughly $100/mo. Dog dental treats ~$10/mo. Dental cleanings were ~$300/dog and once a year, so that's about $50/mo averaged over the year. Add that up and it's about $160/mo. Even at $1.09/lb I'm still under $100/mo, but I'm usually on the low end at $40-$50. Feeding raw is not expensive. tl;dr processed dog food is garbage. "let food be thy medicine" I'm not going to argue on the internet about this and try to make you all converts or you'll quickly dry up my sources of raw food. But if you're skeptical, consider this scenario: "My that's a nice pet snake you have there. It would be a lot healthier if you fed it this new biologically complete snake kibble." Yeah, sounds like a load of horse poo poo doesn't it?  bye for now and keep posting cute dog and cat pictures
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Dec 4, 2015 00:36
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feld posted:Just wanted to note that I've been feeding my dogs raw for the last year. They had not been to the vet in 11 months. When my vet asked for an update about their diet he was y vet was confused and concerned about feeding raw and surprised at the results: That's a cute anecdote. https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/raw-meat-and-bone-diets-for-dogs-its-enough-to-make-you-barf/
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Dec 4, 2015 00:43
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Dienes posted:That's a cute anecdote. That article is full of so much FUD I could take it apart line by line, but helpfully they gave me a paragraph at the end that is much less effort: GOVT SCIENCE MAN SAYS posted:The risks of raw meat based diets, however, are well-documented. Homemade diets and commercial BARF diets are often demonstrable unbalanced and have severe nutritional deficiencies or excesses.16-18 I'm not feeding a "homemade" diet and it's not a commercial BARF diet. Follow the research back to what the study was actually about. Their definition of "homemade" is where people are doing it very, very wrong. GOVT SCIENCE MAN SAYS posted:Dogs have been shown to acquire and shed parasitic organisms and potentially lethal infectious diseases associated with raw meat, including pathogenic strains of E. coli and Salmonella.25-27 Not in human grade meat, which the study wasn't referencing. Plus, it's scary! FUD FUD FUD GOVT SCIENCE MAN SAYS posted:Many other pathogens have been identified in raw diets or raw meat ingredients, and these represent a risk not only to the dogs fed these diets but to their owners, particularly children and people with compromised immune systems.29-30 This is some scary words! You probably shouldn't cook at home either because what if handling meat contaminated your kitchen and you got sick and died? Everyone should just eat at McDonalds or Olive Garden to be safe. GOVT SCIENCE MAN SAYS posted:The bones often included in such diets can cause fractured teeth and gastrointestinal diseases, including obstructed or perforated intestines, and the FDA recently warned pet owners against feeding bones to their canine companions. You never ever feed weight bearing bones. This bad thing happens when dumb owners give their dumb animal something they don't understand. Dogs who grow up eating raw actually avoid the inedible hard bones. GOVT SCIENCE MAN SAYS posted:So with a dodgy theory behind it, no sound evidence of benefits, and clear risks, there is no justification for recommending raw meat based diets for dogs. As always, I remain open to the possibility that new evidence may emerge to document benefits from such diets that might justify the risks they present, but for now this feeding approach appears to be simply another form of CAM mythology supported only by anecdote and unsound logic. "So now that I've out-scienced the general population you can go back to buying more dog food"
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Dec 4, 2015 01:03
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Don't have any studies to back yourself up, eh?
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Dec 4, 2015 01:26
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I think it's great your dog is doing so well on the new diet, but a diet of chicken quarters without other supplementation isn't balanced, so I hope you're giving other things too. Dogs can for the most part make a lot of things for themselves, but just a couple weeks ago I saw a dog die of heart disease secondary to taurine deficiency. Probably won't happen with you because you feed meat but it happens.
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Dec 4, 2015 18:03
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Do captive wolves really live longer on dog food? If so that's hilarious.
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Dec 4, 2015 21:11
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Bananaquiter posted:Do captive wolves really live longer on dog food? If so that's hilarious. There's a big :citation needed: here. It doesn't even say what they were attempting to feed. Dienes posted:Don't have any studies to back yourself up, eh? That entire article was written by Brennen McKenzie who is a Veterinary Chiropractor. If that's not a load of snake oil I don't know what is. But attacking his profession isn't a glorious rebuttal. What is clear is that this guy has no idea what the difference is between BARF and the RMB diet and seems to attack BARF while also mentioning Lonsdale in a footnote. I'm not feeding BARF. http://rawmeatybones.com/petowners/RMB-whynotbarf.pdf The claim that dogs are omnivores is so laughable. Dogs do not produce amylase. They cannot digest plant matter. What is this guy smoking? quote:Dr. Billinghurst goes on to describe the wolf diet. Except no, they don't offal. Billinghurst is wrong about this specific point. Lonsdale has recommended some offal as a supplement due to the chance that they might inadvertently eat some while consuming the rest of the carcass, but I'm not feeding my dog grass and soil either because wolves accidentally consume some of that too. The hardest working dogs out there are sled dogs, and only the morons feed their dogs kibble. Why? Because they bleed from their anus and many die from hemorrhages. I don't know why this isn't more widely known, but it's terrible abuse.  If you want more scientific studies behind this you'll have to buy the RMB book or wait until I can get my hands on a digital copy because I'm not going to type out 100s of his source material by hand. Braki posted:I think it's great your dog is doing so well on the new diet, but a diet of chicken quarters without other supplementation isn't balanced, so I hope you're giving other things too. Dogs can for the most part make a lot of things for themselves, but just a couple weeks ago I saw a dog die of heart disease secondary to taurine deficiency. Probably won't happen with you because you feed meat but it happens. Dark meat on birds/fowl is full of taurine, yes. The question is why do people keep throwing around "balanced" without defining what that is? (hint: it's just hand waving) It's like how people throw around the word "toxins" when speaking of cleanses. If dog kibble was balanced then why are there so many kinds? You can't claim to have a line of dog food that is "perfectly formulated for your pet's health!" and then have a dozen other variants claiming to help with certain ailments. If the first one is fully balanced you wouldn't need to make the others. Listen, your dog/cat probably isn't going to roll over and die because of what you're feeding it. But what does slowly kill your pet is periodontal disease which affects 60% by 2 years of age and 85% by 3 years of age. It affects their entire body. Never neglect their health of their mouth. For me, the easiest way to guarantee this is taken care of is giving them RMB which thoroughly cleans while they eat. If you have the ability to do so as well I encourage it. Your pet will love it, and early research shows there are far less vet bills throughout their life as well.  The point I want to make here is that dropping a random URL to try to start an internet argument about your  opinion on pet nutrition is non-productive and trolling at best.
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Dec 4, 2015 22:14
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feld posted:The claim that dogs are omnivores is so laughable. Dogs do not produce amylase. They cannot digest plant matter. What is this guy smoking? You're mistaken about amylase. Dogs don't produce it in their saliva, true, but it is produced in their pancreas. It's an important adaption for domesticated dogs. As for offal, what's your source on this? Wild canines absolutely eat offal. And before you leap to conclusions about me, I've been feeding my dogs a variation on RMB for years(edit: including leafy greens) , and my breeder has done so for decades. beefnoodle fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Dec 4, 2015 |
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Dec 4, 2015 22:52
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I was about to say when my parents dog nail a rabbit or a possum about the only thing left on the lawn is clump of fur and the intestines!
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Dec 4, 2015 22:58
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feld posted:Dark meat on birds/fowl is full of taurine, yes. The question is why do people keep throwing around "balanced" without defining what that is? (hint: it's just hand waving) It's like how people throw around the word "toxins" when speaking of cleanses. "Balanced" isn't handwaving. To most people it'll mean that it's either formulated or has gone through a diet trial to meet AAFCO standards. I'm personally ok with meeting either AAFCO or NRC standards. feld posted:If dog kibble was balanced then why are there so many kinds? You can't claim to have a line of dog food that is "perfectly formulated for your pet's health!" and then have a dozen other variants claiming to help with certain ailments. If the first one is fully balanced you wouldn't need to make the others. This is a ridiculous argument. There's a lot of different kinds of kibble because of marketing and companies that want to make money selling dog food. Diets can also be balanced while catering to different markets (see: grocery store pet food vs. grain-free, prescription diets, etc.). There's different types and brands of raw food too; it doesn't really mean anything. Why make more than one type of any item ever? Also, it's not non-sensical to have foods for different ailments. A balanced diet doesn't mean that your animal will never develop kidney disease, or allergies, or arthritis, or heart disease. feld posted:Listen, your dog/cat probably isn't going to roll over and die because of what you're feeding it. But what does slowly kill your pet is periodontal disease which affects 60% by 2 years of age and 85% by 3 years of age. It affects their entire body. Never neglect their health of their mouth. I agree; dental health is very important. But just because teeth look good from the outside doesn't mean there's no periodontal disease. You need dental radiographs to prove that. Braki fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Dec 4, 2015 |
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Dec 4, 2015 23:47
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So lets say this, I am a owner of Giant Schnauzers. I have owned them for ages. BIAS ALERT BIAS ALERT!! Feld is personal friend we discuss raw diet and the benefits of it. My vet is a Cornell Graduate, She has been involved in my life since 2003 when she did a emergency surgery on canine bloat. My dog recovered and lived to be 16 years old before leaving this earth. She has been involved in my dogs healthcare since I left Washington and advised me what to do when vets were being shitlords. Works with worldvets, does travel teaching vets how to do surgery and the list goes on. The advice from this vet is by far more of a gold standard by comparison to some chiropractor witch doctor vet. Having said this I have sent her photos of my friends dog poo poo and mine compared. The question is why does the dogfood behave like roundup where as raw does not? Even personal friend refuses to comment other than "stop sending me photos of poop". Lets get to meat now. Meat and no veg (neutered). Godzilla Samson Mouth http://imgur.com/8UKEkOh Samson is almost 2 years old now in 2 months. He has not had one dental cleaning and has been on raw since he was weaned from his mother. 60% of dogs have dental disorders by two years old and 85% by three. Query posted to my vet in text. "Would these teeth require radiographs to show any periodontal disease? Or lacking gingivitis and tartar be enough? Just curious and would you be able to do one for me just so I can see?" Response? "99% of time dont need rads.. Very rarely I need rads to check the questionable root of the multirooted tooth..." Samson eats nothing but knucklebones and chicken leg quarters. His energy levels, his blood work, his entire being is in normal limits. His muscular growth is beyond comprehension by comparison to dog food fed Giant Schnauzer. Simon my first Giant was dog food fed and the developmental cycle of his body is dramatically different. Can I say I am 100% correct? I cannot say that. Can I say that I would spare no expense for his health? Absolutely. Yes its dramatic cheaper to feed raw, no its not gross. He eats on his bed that is a mop blanket. Do I keep it immaculate? Not really, do I worry about pathogens? I am not really concerned. Does he get his schnauzenbeard in my face with raw chicken on it? Likely. I have yet to poo poo my guts out or be sick in anyway. Could I be wrong? YES. However I look at the facts, I look at the digestion, I look at the poop and urine. I see the effects of blood work. I trust SCIENCE not a label. Ask yourself this as a Human Being. If you ate something and it was known to give rampaging diarrhea would you continue to eat it? Previous two schnauzers I had have painted walls with poo poo, painted carpet, painted the world. They have exploded at 3am, poo poo mushy logs, crapped their guts so hard that they whine. Unable to do anything for 5 plus mins just making GBS threads nothing as their guts are so twisted. This is high quality foods such as EVO, Instinct, Orjin etc. Experience with raw? Diarrhea Not even Once! This is my experience, this is my interpretation. I will know more as he gets older but for now its working well. Besides if he lives to 12 instead of 14 is his quality of life really that different? I would say yes. Life is not about maximum possible number but the quality of life to that number, lets make it count and make the dogs lives better. Train them, love them and be there for them. I just see this as my best way to do so till some better information comes along.
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Dec 6, 2015 04:33
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Guys his vet went to cornell soo
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Dec 6, 2015 05:24
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SlicerDicer posted:Query posted to my vet in text. I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about anymore but as I said earlier, that's great that your dog is doing well on this diet. A diet that consists solely of knucklebones and chicken leg quarters though is unlikely to be balanced, so again, I hope you're adding something else in there. I'm going to address that quote by saying basically... I disagree. I didn't really understand the value of dental radiographs until I actually took a dental rotation during vet school with a veterinary dentist and learned firsthand that what you see on the surface doesn't reflect what occurs below the gumline. In fact, our veterinary dentist had to bring in her own dog for a dental due to a tooth fracture. The dog's teeth looked immaculate. After they took rads, they discovered the dog needed 7 extractions. I think you would be extremely hard pressed to find a vet who specializes in dentistry who will agree with your friend's statement. I don't think you're going to believe a single word I say though, you're pretty entrenched in your own stuff, so this is probably the last I'm going to say on this.
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Dec 6, 2015 06:07
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I would love for you to break down your definition of "balanced" and explain exactly what you think is required in a dog's diet. edit: Just the specific macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc that you are certain that dogs' must get strictly from their diet. "how much" is a different discussion. feld fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Dec 7, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 22:09
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I'd appreciate some advice on feeding my dog. He's a 16-year-old Belgian Shepherd Chow mix that we rescued from a dump as a puppy. Lately (the past two months), it's been harder to convince him to eat his dry food (Nutro Natural Choice), so we have tried mixing in some other foods to varied success. He'll eat half of the bowl if we put chicken, mashed potatoes, or tuna in there, but seems very reluctant to eat otherwise. Are there any other foods we could try, or is this just him beginning to pass away? If the latter is true, is there anything we could feed him to make it easier on him?
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Dec 8, 2015 18:23
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Vernatio posted:I'd appreciate some advice on feeding my dog. He's a 16-year-old Belgian Shepherd Chow mix that we rescued from a dump as a puppy. Lately (the past two months), it's been harder to convince him to eat his dry food (Nutro Natural Choice), so we have tried mixing in some other foods to varied success. He'll eat half of the bowl if we put chicken, mashed potatoes, or tuna in there, but seems very reluctant to eat otherwise. Are there any other foods we could try, or is this just him beginning to pass away? If the latter is true, is there anything we could feed him to make it easier on him? When's the last time he went in for a dental exam/cleaning? He might be avoiding eating if it's painful for him. A checkup would be a good idea anyway in his case.
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Dec 8, 2015 19:21
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What's the resolution / latest thinking on Kirkland brand dog foods, especially for puppies / dogs you are new to? I've read every page of this thread and the relevant DogAdvisor page, but it's still not clear to me if it is considered a high/moderate/low quality food, or what people's experiences have been. Looking at it because it's less expensive, but also because I already buy all my own food from Costco, so I could do grocery shopping for my (not-yet-gotten-but-still-in-planning-stages) dog at the same time as me.
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Dec 9, 2015 19:12
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Vernatio posted:I'd appreciate some advice on feeding my dog. He's a 16-year-old Belgian Shepherd Chow mix that we rescued from a dump as a puppy. Lately (the past two months), it's been harder to convince him to eat his dry food (Nutro Natural Choice), so we have tried mixing in some other foods to varied success. He'll eat half of the bowl if we put chicken, mashed potatoes, or tuna in there, but seems very reluctant to eat otherwise. Are there any other foods we could try, or is this just him beginning to pass away? If the latter is true, is there anything we could feed him to make it easier on him? I could only get my dog to eat Honest Kitchen when he was anorexic, it's a dehydrated food that you add water too (I tried numerous brands of wet and dry with no success). You can try some samples for a couple bucks http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/starters-and-samples Well, that and the natty balance food logs.
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Dec 9, 2015 19:19
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| # ? May 13, 2024 22:08 |
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Vernatio posted:I'd appreciate some advice on feeding my dog. He's a 16-year-old Belgian Shepherd Chow mix that we rescued from a dump as a puppy. Lately (the past two months), it's been harder to convince him to eat his dry food (Nutro Natural Choice), so we have tried mixing in some other foods to varied success. He'll eat half of the bowl if we put chicken, mashed potatoes, or tuna in there, but seems very reluctant to eat otherwise. Are there any other foods we could try, or is this just him beginning to pass away? If the latter is true, is there anything we could feed him to make it easier on him? Seconding him bringing him to the vet. Dogs don't usually just stop eating for no reason. His teeth may be bothering him or there might be something else going on.
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Dec 10, 2015 02:20
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