Food questions

[K9skennel]

i have seen in some other posts, reference to pumpkin. whats it for? do you feed it raw or cooked? ( we have been overtaken by pumpkin plants and will have lots of pumpkins! this fall)
we have been feeding Iams for 15 yrs ( give or take) with no problems.
Sanka is a little overweight, and i hope walking will take some of that. i'm hoping to get him to lose about 5 lbs. i put him on the weight control Iams.
is there something better- that we can get 'commercially' or from the vet, at a reasonable price? Petsmart is 2 hrs away and not really an option. There are independant pet stores about an hour away, but thats the closest.
how is Science Diet? i'd like to have something they can all eat, as they are different breeds, ages and weights.
thanks.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by K9skennel

i have seen in some other posts, reference to pumpkin. whats it for?

Plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) is a "wonder" <VBG> supplement. Seriously, the fiber in the pumpkin helps to firm up stools if a dog has diarrhea. IF a dog is constipated or suffers from hard stools, the fiber in the pumpkin helps get things moving. For weight loss programs, canned pumpkin makes a healthy, good low calorie filler to add to the meal to help the dog feel full.

do you feed it raw or cooked? ( we have been overtaken by pumpkin plants and will have lots of pumpkins! this fall)

Lucky you! I use the plain canned pumpkin from the grocery stores. However, one could feed it either cooked or raw or dehydrated. Cook up some and freeze for later. Sweet potato or yam dehydrated "chips" are a very popular dog treat (Sam's Yams - maybe?); pumpkin would work too. Raw would make a good treat too.

we have been feeding Iams for 15 yrs ( give or take) with no problems.
Sanka is a little overweight, and i hope walking will take some of that. i'm hoping to get him to lose about 5 lbs. i put him on the weight control Iams.
is there something better- that we can get 'commercially' or from the vet, at a reasonable price? Petsmart is 2 hrs away and not really an option. There are independant pet stores about an hour away, but thats the closest.
how is Science Diet? i'd like to have something they can all eat, as they are different breeds, ages and weights.
thanks.

IF the IAMS is working for you - stay with that. Unless there is a specific medical need issue, I don't recommend Science Diet. I almost never use "diet" formulas if I am taking weight off an overweight rescue. (Almost never, sometimes a dog will come in with its own food and it will be a diet formula - after it is gone, the dog will go on my regular food.) How much are you feeding Sanka now? Increase the exercise like you are doing with the walks and scale back on the amount of kibble you are giving him by 1/4 cup to begin with. Don't see the results you want, then scale back by approximately 1/3 cup. To help fill him up, replace the kibble amount with the canned pumpkin, green beans (fresh raw off the vine or canned no-salt or frozen), squash, zucchini, tomatoes - any vegetables except onions.
That's my basic weight loss regime.

Debbie

[K9skennel]

if we cut back his food, he steals the other dogs- and if that doesnt work, he goes dumpster diving. jerk. like he doesnt have land to live on...
will he eat veggies? i know he wont eat bananas. ( dont ask) we wont have 'fresh' pumpkin til fall. want some?
do we feed him the green beans frozen or cooked frozen?
its good to know we dont need to change his food, tho, thanks.

here's todays punkin plants. they have taken over- and its only July. if anyone wants 'organic' - no pesticides, no fertilizer, no help growing or planting punkins, let me know

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by K9skennel

if we cut back his food, he steals the other dogs- and if that doesnt work, he goes dumpster diving. jerk. like he doesnt have land to live on...

Feed the dogs sepretatly. Mine eat in their crates. That way I know how much each one gets and know they don't get someone else's food. (And it prevents fights over food.)

As for the garbage, put it somewhere where he can't get to it. My garbage can is under my sink behind a cupboard door. WITH a baby lock on the door. (I have some dogs who can open cupboard doors.)

will he eat veggies? i know he wont eat bananas. ( dont ask) we wont have 'fresh' pumpkin til fall. want some?
do we feed him the green beans frozen or cooked frozen?

You can feed them frozen if you want or thawed. No need to cook them for him though.

Peggy

[K9skennel]

thats how he got so food aggressive, was we fed him in his crate. he doesnt eat it, he buries it (he's' weird) then got all - forgive my french- pissy if any one came near HIS food. i will get him some frozen green beans- do i mix them in his food or as a 'snack'? he'll probably LOVE them frozen.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by K9skennel

thats how he got so food aggressive, was we fed him in his crate. he doesnt eat it, he buries it (he's' weird) then got all - forgive my french- pissy if any one came near HIS food. i will get him some frozen green beans- do i mix them in his food or as a 'snack'? he'll probably LOVE them frozen.

Well, if he were at my house and did that he'd lose his dinner. Meaning he'd attempt to bury it and I'd take it away. He'd get it back the next night and no treats or snacks till then. You CAN teach a dog to eat what, where, and when you want.

Put the green beans on his dinner. If you take away a half a cup of food put in a half cup of green beans.

Peggy

[gogogiraffes]

I used steamfresh green beans for Gizmo as a treat in class. He loves them! And when we did heel, I'd need him to keep watching me, so I'd put a few in my mouth, and have a snack myself!

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by K9skennel

thats how he got so food aggressive, was we fed him in his crate. he doesnt eat it, he buries it (he's' weird) then got all - forgive my french- pissy if any one came near HIS food.

No he isn't weird, a number of dogs will do that. My Bruin will throw those kind of tantrums if another dog looks at his food - the "maaaaa, he/she's look at my food and can't have it." He's more reactive in an open/wire crate, so he has a plastic "dining room" crate too and he gets corrected. It is only with the dogs though - I can take food, bones or whatever away anytime I want. He's calling the shots and setting boundaries - he needs to learn you control the resources and that means his food too.

i will get him some frozen green beans- do i mix them in his food or as a 'snack'? he'll probably LOVE them frozen.

You can do both, they make a great lo-cal treat too.

Debbie

[Booski59]

A little off the original topic here but wanted to say the boys are doing good on their Blue Buffalo food. They even like the little vitamin kibbles..some don't I've heard. I did some more research though and found that it is not on the 6 or 5 star food list (one of the links on here to compare food). Well darn, thought I got the best. Bummer is it takes a good week to get here from the warehouse.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Booski59

A little off the original topic here but wanted to say the boys are doing good on their Blue Buffalo food. They even like the little vitamin kibbles..some don't I've heard. I did some more research though and found that it is not on the 6 or 5 star food list (one of the links on here to compare food). Well darn, thought I got the best. Bummer is it takes a good week to get here from the warehouse.

The rating site isn't complete or foolproof. It's just people who want to rate a food. Could be no one who's feeding Blue Buffalo has visited the site or hasn't wanted to participate.

It IS a good food, and a lack of rating on a site like this is IMO, not a big deal.

Peggy

[Booski59]

cool, cause the boys just love it. I just ordered them a new bag of adult chicken and brown rice.

[Dillydoodle]

I agree, Blue Buffalo is a good food with quality ingredients. I liked what i saw when I was looking into their food and honestly the only reason that I dont feed it to my corgis is that one of my two gets gas from it... But they did better on that than on the highly touted innova (too rich for them apparently and both got the runs) so you just never know... the best rated food in the world is worth a hill of beans if YOUR dog cannot digest it properly and every dog is different. So the fact that the ingredient list on Blue buffalo is very good and that your two are doing well on it... makes it a great food for you!!

Emilie

[gogogiraffes]

I was told blue buffalo is to rich for a lot of dogs. But I was given a bag for free from another dog owner. I mixed it in, and the first couple days he was kinda runny, but he cleaned up. He too loves the vitamin bites as well.