Friday, June 19, 2009

Feeding The Queen


I get asked a lot about what I feed Jazz and why. I have friends who think I’m crazy for trying to find different brands of food for the queen and rotating them. After all, I fed my Siberian Husky "Kibbles 'n' Bit 'n' Bits" for 13 years and he was “okay”. I wonder now how much better he would have been or how much longer he would have lived if I had known then what I know now. Most “major” dog foods use ingredients that are not great for your dog. The consumption grade is far below human grade and some of the items shouldn’t be given to dogs at all. Jazz has a grain allergy, so we feed grain free foods. Some day, I’d like to go to a RAW model, but for now, this will have to work.

I am fortunate that I live close enough to Atlanta that I can pick and choose the brands to feed. Most of the brands I use can be found within a 15 minute drive – the rest I have to drive further. I will continue to search for better brands. The cost difference is negligible from one of the “major” brands to these better brands when you figure in the fact that Jazz eats less on the higher quality food.

Jazz’s standard rotation of food looks like this:

Evo’s Small Red Bites - http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1491 – I usually buy the 6.6 lb because of the rotation. Jazz gets ¾ cup of Evo.

Merrick’s Before Grain – http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/bg_dry_dog_food_66.php - Jazz likes the Buffalo and up next is to try the Salmon. Jazz gets ¾ cup of the Buffalo and would get the same amount in the Salmon).

Solid Gold’s Bark at The Moon - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=81&code=120 – Jazz gets ¾ cup of Bark at the Moon. We usually buy the 4lb bag.

Next to Try:
Acana Pacifica Dog - http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/show-product.php?formulation=pfd – Jazz will get ¾ cup on this as well.

Evanger’s – I really wanted Jazz to try this, but I’m waiting on things to clear concerning the recalls.

Ones we’ve tried:
Natural Balance – Jazz likes, but it is not one of her faves – she eats this very slowly. We’ve tried a couple of different varieties. If I have gotten really low on food, I’ll pick this up because it is one of the few I can find in major pet supply stores. Then, the next time I’m in Atlanta I pick up the better food.
Orijen Fish – Jazz loved, but her gas was unbearable
Eukanuba Sensitive Skin – this is what Jazz came to me on – I will not feed her this ever again. Better quality, grain free food has made a massive improvement in her coat.


Supplementals:
Seameal Powder w/Flaxseed Meal - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=36&code=591 – Jazz gets this 3 times a week.

Fish Oil – we buy this from our local discount store in the vitamin section. We give Jazz one, whole capsule.


Best References:
http://theyarewhattheyeat.blogspot.com/
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

2 comments:

  1. Great post! If I ever need to point someone to a rotation expert, they are being sent to you!

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  2. Thanks! It was the forum who gave me the info! I send people to your food blog as a reference all the time!

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