Hills dry food

[bajoiner]

Linda I did the comparison wizard as you suggested and I hate to say Hill's Science Diet did not fair well. I then went to Fromms site and found that I can order it on the internet (which I fully plan to do as well as some of their low fat liver cranberry treats). You said it was kind of expensive but it is actually no more expensive than the Hill's which I purchase from my vet and the ingredients were much better. I like the calorie content of Fromms also but actually Chicken Soup for the dog lovers soul was the best of the 4 (even better than Fromms) on the comparison wizard. I was not impressed with Hill's ingredients against the other foods or their calorie content. I am definitely going to change foods. Sassy has been on Hill's since I brought her home, but frankly she does not care for it now unless I add something to it, which now she is getting 1 tsp of either tuna, salmon, white meat canned chicken or boiled chicken with carrots and sometimes a tsp of cottage cheese which amazed me she liked it. I have even bought a juicer and made her ice cubes (to replace the ice pops she was getting last summer) with carrot juice, celery juice, veggie stock, chicken or beef broth and she loves them. I don't really understand but she loves celery but would not eat the celery juice cubes unless I add a little carrot or meat stock, maybe they are bitter. I watch the carrot juice cubes though as they are sweet.

Thanks for the tip on the food wizard I really appreciate it.

Oh Sassy is down another pound.

Barbara

[Dillydoodle]

Barbara, you are doing wonderfully with Sassy! and the fact that you are juicing for her is great too.

Linda, it was Cindy who has posted something about pureeing veggies so the dogs could get the benefit of all the nutrients, as their digestive tract is much shorter than humans so they are unable to break down a lot of vegies - thus the reason if you give carrot to your dog in whole form, you often get bits of it out the other end in the same way it went in ...

Michael, the reason for rotating can be best described here: if you fed a person a "well balanced meal" but only fed them that one specific meal day in and day out, while they might get the nutrients they need to survive, they might be missing out on other nutrients they could get if they ate a varying and balanced diet... you could eat a small salad of lettus, carrot, cucumber and broccoli florettes, a chicken breast, brown rice , an apple and a glass of milk and you would be getting all the food groups but if you only ate that day in and day out you would be lacking in other nutrients... why not rotate foods a bit here and there to give some variety of vegies, and proteins and grains so your dog gets a FULL and balanced nutritional diet? I think adding food (canned, fresh, veggies, fruits etc) into your dog's dry food is a great idea...

Emilie

[corgimom]

Barbara,

You are a great dog mom doing so much for her and helping her to lose weight, sometimes I think they eat better than we do; and another pound, that is wonderful. Did you check on the Fromm Website on top(menu) for a product locator? You can check your state and see if you can buy it rather than pay shipping charges.

They also have and added line call "Gold Nutritionals". I think there are a lot of good foods to choose out there and too bad Michael doesn't have all the choices we have.

There are lots of other good foods Barbara and maybe some other people will give you their favorites , and the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul looks very good also.



Michael,

I rotate Cody's food and add other stuff to it also; however, he also loves the dry kibble by itself ; He is healthy, has energy, of good weight, has a nice coat and clean teeth, so I must be doing something right and I am not even feeding him the best food there is(per Nick)

I wonder if Nick knows how much you are using his name to give out advice on what a dog should eat and how much.

[corgimom]

Barbara,

You are a great dog mom doing so much for her and helping her to lose weight, sometimes I think they eat better than we do; and another pound, that is wonderful. Did you check on the Fromm Website on top(menu) for a product locator? You can check your state and see if you can buy it rather than pay shipping charges.

They also have and added line call "Gold Nutritionals". I think there are a lot of good foods to choose out there and too bad Michael doesn't have all the choices we have.

There are lots of other good foods Barbara and maybe some other people will give you their favorites , and the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul looks very good also.



Michael,

I rotate Cody's food and add other stuff to it also; however, he also loves the dry kibble by itself ; He is healthy, has energy, of good weight, has a nice coat and clean teeth, so I must be doing something right and I am not even feeding him the best food there is(per Nick)

Did Nick know when you were interviewing him, that he was going to become the official Go Corgi dietary spokesperson?

[red headed stranger]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

Michael,

As you know, I am not a hills fan, i used to be, i thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, then i started educating myself on pet foods ( after my kitty became a diabetic - incidently while eating nothing BUT hills science diet foods and when i switched her off that food she went from super high blood sugar numbers on a lot of insulin down to barely needing any insulin at all with nearly normal numbers) Yes Hills has TD formula , i used to religiously feed it to Misty, my cat,and yes it did keep her teeth clean however, she ended up becoming diabetic... so that was a big trade off, i can keep my cats and dogs teeth clean by brushing rather than feeding a food that is high in carbohydrates and sugars . Just my opinion..

Hi, As a diabetic, I am curious if your cat lost weight when you switched foods or just responded to a lower sugar content? Some people, and I assume, some animals are more responsive to the sugars than others. Diabetes is one of the most 'individual diseases' such that, what works for one does not always work for another. I went from shooting insulin 4 times per day to totally off all medication in 9 months by losing weight. Needless to say the weight loss was a result of reducing calorie intake below what was being used via exercise.

[bajoiner]

Linda,
Yes it was the Gold Nutritionals that I was looking at for Sassy. I do not know how many calories Sassy should consume but on her diet she is only getting 1/2-3/4 cup of dry food with small amounts of tuna and such I give her. With Fromms that would be only 304 calories in her dry food so I would think with the additives less than 500 calories per day, most days. If she is very active it would be a little more. Do you happen to know the suggested daily calorie consumption?

Barbara

[corgimom]

Originally Posted by bajoiner

Linda,
Yes it was the Gold Nutritionals that I was looking at for Sassy. I do not know how many calories Sassy should consume but on her diet she is only getting 1/2-3/4 cup of dry food with small amounts of tuna and such I give her. With Fromms that would be only 304 calories in her dry food so I would think with the additives less than 500 calories per day, most days. If she is very active it would be a little more. Do you happen to know the suggested daily calorie consumption?

Barbara

Barbara, I am sorry, no I don't. I just looked at the link and it says 405/cup and of course you can see what they recommend cup wise based on weight which all companies do, but we know that is usually too much for our Corgis.


Fromm Family Foods - Adult Gold Holistic Entree

[Dillydoodle]

Red Headed stranger- to answer your question about the feline diabetes... cat's, unlike humans, have a pancreas that is not equipt to handle sugars from grains... some are able to eat grains all their lives and not become diabetic but sadly many have a pancreas that finally just stops working.. this is what happened with misty. The Science diet WD was actually their weight loss formula.. she was a 13 lbs cat for a while and on the WD got down to about 11 lbs but still had unregulated numbers- she was on 3.5 units of insulin ( BCP PZI, and insulin that is most closley related to natural cat insulin) twice a day. Her preshot numbers were between 280 and 320 ( non diabetic cats are below 140 and most really are in the 60-100 range ) When i switched her off the science diet, without my EX-vet's help or approval...but with the support of a feline diabetes medical board on the internet after doing my own research - she became regulated in about 4 days- ( i found a new vet who was supportive and agreed with my logic and reasoning) Misty was down to 1/2 a unit of insulin once to twice a day depending on her preshot numbers... sometimes they were under 150 ( which was the lowest number i would administer insulin to) and more normally the preshot number would be around 175. She was eating well, loved her wellness canned food and i also fed merrick occasionally ( though it had more carbs in it - potato- and that would spike her blood sugar a bit, so it was very occasional that she got that) and wysong 100% beef which had 0% carbs and she did super on that...

She did not lose weight to go into near remission, it was clearly the food - the home testing was also scarey at first but she didnt mind it and it was a tiny prick and let me know if it was safe to give her insulin... so many people blindly give insulin on 12 hour intervals without testing, and in misty's case, her pancreas began to work again, so she could have gone into insulin shock many times based on pre shot numbers had i been blindly shooting her up!!
If anyone here has a cat that becomes diabetic and needs information i am a wealth of it when it comes to diabetes in cats as i lived that life for 5 years with my beloved misty girl... who did pass in December but i proudly say, NOT from diabetes...

It is a wonderful thing that you were able to get off insulin soley by exercise and diet!
Emilie

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by Dillydoodle

I am currently cooking beef liver (PU i hate hate hate that smell! I totall end up gagging when i cook it)for Gus who is slightly anemic - per my vet... He loves it, but oh lord, i cook it up in a big batch ,and cut it up in pieces and put them in small snack baggies measured out in perfect portions and in the freezer it goes...

Emilie

Isn't it the worst?? I cook it for Jackie weekly (we use it for training rewards), and I have to open all the windows in the house and turn on the fan over the stove, and light candles . . . That stuff is nasty, but dogs love it (all the ones in our class, anyway!).


However . . . I have recently discovered that string cheese is mighty popular also . . . . so I may be able to cut down on my liver cooking!

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by bajoiner

Linda I did the comparison wizard as you suggested and I hate to say Hill's Science Diet did not fair well. I then went to Fromms site and found that I can order it on the internet (which I fully plan to do as well as some of their low fat liver cranberry treats). You said it was kind of expensive but it is actually no more expensive than the Hill's which I purchase from my vet and the ingredients were much better. I like the calorie content of Fromms also but actually Chicken Soup for the dog lovers soul was the best of the 4 (even better than Fromms) on the comparison wizard. I was not impressed with Hill's ingredients against the other foods or their calorie content. I am definitely going to change foods. Sassy has been on Hill's since I brought her home, but frankly she does not care for it now unless I add something to it, which now she is getting 1 tsp of either tuna, salmon, white meat canned chicken or boiled chicken with carrots and sometimes a tsp of cottage cheese which amazed me she liked it. I have even bought a juicer and made her ice cubes (to replace the ice pops she was getting last summer) with carrot juice, celery juice, veggie stock, chicken or beef broth and she loves them. I don't really understand but she loves celery but would not eat the celery juice cubes unless I add a little carrot or meat stock, maybe they are bitter. I watch the carrot juice cubes though as they are sweet.

Thanks for the tip on the food wizard I really appreciate it.

Oh Sassy is down another pound.

Barbara

Way to go Barbara & Sassy! You are a very dedicated mom Barbara!

[corgimom]

Originally Posted by Fluffypants

Isn't it the worst?? I cook it for Jackie weekly (we use it for training rewards), and I have to open all the windows in the house and turn on the fan over the stove, and light candles . . . That stuff is nasty, but dogs love it (all the ones in our class, anyway!).

Jessica, when Cody was in puppy class there was a Bernese mountain dog that would not go through the tunnel for the owners. They were throwing in the treats that they brought and he would stick his head in and then back out.
I shared some of my yummy cooked liver I brought with them and when they threw it in the tunnel, in went their dog; it was magic.

[Fluffypants]

Yeah - I have to watch the bigger dogs . . . if I'm not careful, they stick their heads right in my pockets . . . and by the time you get them out, half the liver is gone!