Kibble

[darci]

Darci and Egan get 1 cranberry capsule every morning.

You have to be careful you can also take their urine to alakaline with to much cranberry.

Check your dog foods most of them have cranberries in them.

[corgimom]

Emilie,

Do you know the calorie content per cup for the Wellness versus the Natural Balance Fish and sweet potato? I tried to find the Natural Balance calorie content on the site, but I could not locate it - I really don't know why they don't print it on the bag, unless I am missing it.

[Chip's Mom]

Awhile back I bought Chip a bag of Nutro dog food and he lost weight on it. I am going to switch to a bag of Natural Balance when this bag is finished. I give him a tablespoon of canned dog food with his moistened ProPlan and I switch flavors with each bag.

[Dillydoodle]

Linda,
I checked the wellness bag AND cans and cant find a calorie count on them, so what i did was go online and google it. I found some calorie contents, and for wellness it was specific for the natural balance it was vague. here is what i found:

Wellness lamb and sweet potato CANNED has 407 calories for a 12.5 oz can.
Wellness lamb DRY has 405 calories per cup.

With the Natural balance, all they gave after half hour of research was comparing their "super premium foods" to their "reduced calorie food" They stated that their super premium foods were 485 calories per cup- somehow i dont believe that one cup of fish variety has the same amount of calories as duck or venison ...so I am thinking they found their highest calorie food and put that number in there to make the drop in calories to their reduced calorie food look more impressive...I just know how companies like to market. If you find something more specific, let me know...

I am also going to look for calorie content in timberwolf products as i do like what i have seen so far with that...

Emilie

[corgimom]

Emilie, I called Natural Balance and here is what they told me.

Venison & Brown Rice has 404/cup for Dry and the 13 oz. can has 428

Fish and Sweet potato has 394/cup for Dry and the 13 oz can has approx. 426

Duck and Sweet Potato has 427/cup for Dry and the 13 oz can has 414

She said they are working on putting this information on packaging.

[adkmehrman]

We had quit a few dietary problems with Koda up until about 1 1/2 months ago when we switched him to Natural Balance.

As a puppy we tried feeding him Eukinuba and Iams puppy food. On both of these foods he would often not eat it or not eat very much of it and was vommiting a lot. The vet actually put him on a perscription chicken and rice diet for a coupld of weeks which he loved and ate with glee, with no vommiting.

After that we switched to Natural Balance Duck & Sweet Potato, which he enjoyed and did not vomit up nearly as often as the other two. We did notice that he had a lot of gas on it and his poop was not very good. So we switched to Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice which he loves amd greatly reduced the gas, and made his poop more consistent.

[manymuddypaws]

My dogs are on Wellness Fish and Potato and they are doing great! Sam get 3/4 of a cup, and Wicca gets just over 1/2 a day. They get a tsp of Missing Link Plus! everyday- (it is a skin/joint/digestive supplement) they also get yogurt or cottage cheese in the am, and a tsp of canned Merrick in the evening. I worked in a pet supply store for 5 years and have tried alot of foods and so far, for all my dogs this seems to be working the best.

I have also fed "Acana" which is a premium food made in alberta, canada. It is a pretty good food, and they did really well on it. But the Kilo/Cal are lower so I had to feed more. But for those who don't want to spend 60$ or more on a food- Acana is a good quality for a good price. I am not sure of availability in all areas as it is a Canadian food.


Innova was a great food for putting weight on, but alot of dogs end up with soft stool, and gas, which can lead to anal gland problems- which I know from personal experience....

Eaglepack Holistic Fish- the corgis did great on this, my shepherd was very itchy and lost weight (she is already underweight)


there are more that I have tried over the years but those are the ones that stand out in my mind.
-amanda

[Dillydoodle]

Thanks for posting the calories Linda, I really was curious.
Ok so now dillon eats a cup of food a day plus about 3 tbsp canned food a day and about the same amount of organic low fat plain yogurt and a tablespoon of pumpkin a day as well. And on all this he is not gaining weight...( we dont do a lot of treats but still...)

[darci]

Timberwolf doesnt post Kcals per cup but per bag,I think. But Someone else I know that uses TO said per cup on ocean was aprox. 550. She used a formula she had to figure this. I have no Idea what the formula is.

I am so impressed with you guys and the research yall have done today.

I am in no way an expert in canine nutrition, just love learning more about it, and trying to do the best for my pups.

I am glad to see I am not the only nutrition geek on here... LOL

I love hearing all the feedback that everyone has posted on the foods they've feed.

As far as canned vs dry..... I have read so many pros and cons to both, even in the 5 vet practice that I use there are varying opinions on the subject.
My personal situation with Darci and her crystals I felt adding some canned would benefit her. Now wether it's been bottled water, low ash dry kibble cranberry capsules or the addition of canned that has helped her who knows, but better she is.

MGM- how did she like her (just for her) cranberry juice ? You hubby cracks me up, he's as bad as I am. LOL
After I ready your post I became curious as to how much cranberry is in it ?
The capsules I give have 100 mg Vit.C , 3 IU of Vit.E, 140 mg of cranberry powder.


Another note on the site that provided the 2 calculators roughly reccomends 550-650 calories a day for Darci but she actually only eats about 480 to maintain her wt. Bless her heart her metabolizm is more like mine, sluggish at best. LOL

Every dog is different and will metabolize at a different rate.

[MissGambler'sMommy]

Darci: Miss Gambler loves her juice, we've been giving her orange juice in the morning since she was a puppy. Jamba Juice is a real treat for her, or even sorbet. She'll also eat fruit, apples, bananas, all sorts. (And my husband is worse than me, he just won't admit it. Everyone knows that I short circuit when it comes to Miss Gambler, no hiding that, at least I'm honest, right?

[Chip's Mom]

When it comes to dog food, I have tried several different brands that we have mentioned. However, I have now given up on trying to upgrade his dog food. Chip has not been eating his food good and losing weight again. I switched him back to Pro Plan chicken and now he is cleaning up his plate. I guess he is trying to tell me he wants his ProPlan and nothing else. So far no itchies so I will keep my fingers crossed. I wish he would at least eat the ProPlan Selects but he won't have anything to do with that either. Stubborn Corgi but I love him.

[Michael Romanos]

It is probably no good telling you what dry food is strongly recommended because it is not that Chip wants the best but what he likes the best. But here goes. NZ's only internationallly recognised canine nutrition expert (Nick Cave) says the two most outstanding on the market are Hills at number one and Royal Canin at number two. He rates these as "brilliant." You can't buy Royal Canin in NZ from any vet or any store. They have to be ordered through the internet or by mail. Royal Canin can also be breed specific. So there is a product specifically for Corgis.

[corgimom]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

It is probably no good telling you what dry food is strongly recommended because it is not that Chip wants the best but what he likes the best. But here goes. NZ's only internationallly recognised canine nutrition expert (Nick Cave) says the two most outstanding on the market are Hills at number one and Royal Canin at number two. He rates these as "brilliant." You can't buy Royal Canin in NZ from any vet or any store. They have to be ordered through the internet or by mail. Royal Canin can also be breed specific. So there is a product specifically for Corgis.

The person you mention above, is only one of many nutritional experts out there with their opinions on what is the best food for our pets. I would not say that a kibble with by-products, corn, artificial preservatives and other useless fillers is "brilliant". I don't feed that to any of my 4 pets nor do I plan on ever feeding it, and would only consider it if they could improve on their ingredients.

I looked it up and he wrote his thesis entitled, "The nutritional management of food hypersensitivity in dogs and cats: an assessment of a protein hydrolysate."--- Production of the Hill's protein hydrolysate diet "Z/D" was the culmination of that work(why would he knock Hills Foods?) I did use this food at one time, as suggested by my vet for my cat with allergies, and personally, did not have success with it.

IF I only had the two to choose from, then I would pick the Royal Canin first. Here it can be bought at PetSmart, Petco and other pet stores in the area. It does have some breed specific foods, but they do not make one specifically for Corgis

I am not saying that there may not be a time and place for the prescription veterinarian diets in cases where our pets have illnesses, but I think there are better alternatives out there and if he is saying in general that all Hills products are number one in being best for our pets, you can't sell me on that one.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

It is probably no good telling you what dry food is strongly recommended because it is not that Chip wants the best but what he likes the best. But here goes. NZ's only internationallly recognised canine nutrition expert (Nick Cave) says the two most outstanding on the market are Hills at number one and Royal Canin at number two.

And wasn't Dr. Cave on Hill's payroll working to develop some new formulations or something? Not exactly what I would perceive as an objective opinion myself, but that's just my humble opinion. There are some dogs that thrive on Hills, others one kibble would send them into severe scratching and itching fits because of heavy use of corn in most of its formulations. Now, there is a new lamb & rice formula with a very decent ingredient list. I think there is a chicken one too.

Royal Canin can also be breed specific. So there is a product specifically for Corgis.

Yes, Royal Canin does do some breed specific formulas, but not one for corgis or at least listed in their manual. (One of my local pet supply shops has the very large Royal Canin breed book. It gives basic breed information and recommendations as to which Royal Canin food to feed.) So no corgi specific food yet.

IF the ProPlan is working for Chipster, he's eating it well, his weight is good, coat healthy, stools good ... no problem.

Debbie

[Chip's Mom]

When Chip is eating the ProPlan, his coat is really good, not alot of shedding, it is soft and feels good to the touch and shines. I have noticed lately that his coat didn't look as good as it did and he wasn't eating as much. Only switched back to the ProPlan a few days ago and his coat is looking better. Not sure on the stools as Chip is a very private boy and goes to the back of the yard to his special hiding place to take care of business. I agree Debbie....no problem. Sometimes, we just need to listen to our boys.