Dry food General Chat

Discussion in 'Akita' started by /Hayden, Apr 24, 2017.

  1. /Hayden

    /Hayden New Member

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    Dry food

    Hi just wondering what food people are using??thanks in advance.
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  3. GsdSlave

    GsdSlave Member

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    Each dog is different and what is good for one may not be for an other, some do good on the "cheap" food, some don't, same goes for the "expensive" food, it depends on what works for your dog at what price you can afford.
  4. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    Agree that the best diet is what suits your dog the best. I feed mine a 100% grain free kibble, with some mixed vegetables and a little raw or tray packed meat. I wouldn't go back to a dog food with wheat or maize, but there are some brands which use rice or oats which I have had dogs do perfectly well on.
    Raw feeding is becoming more popular, but it can be daunting to balance the proportions of muscle, fat, bone and organ meat, and know which supplements to add. Also, not all dogs like their food raw. The ready prepared versions seem to be a good compromise, but are rather expensive.
  5. /Hayden

    /Hayden New Member

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    Thank you.have been recommended to use a food called platinum but it is expensive so thought I would see what people are using.dont mind paying the extra if it is a good food.
  6. CaroleC

    CaroleC Member

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    /Hayden likes this.
    I have been given a fair selection of Platinum samples. Their kibble and the little pots of wet food seem to be excellent quality, and my two wolfed both the lamb and the Iberico varieties, (but there again, they are Beagles!). Platinum are on the dearer side, when compared to brands such as Millie's Wolfheart, but this does appear to be a carefully sourced and appetising product.
  7. Malka

    Malka Member

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    The only product I can recommend is from the US and I do not know if it is available in the UK - http://www.iandloveandyou.com/ - their kibble is rated 5* by http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

    I am a raw feeder [it is easy once you get the hang of what is needed] but I purchased a couple of bags of their "In The Raw" dehydrated raw food for emergencies and both I am Tikva are very happy with it, although as I say it is really only for emergencies such as if she had to go into kennels.
  8. GsdSlave

    GsdSlave Member

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    I think it’s very clever marketing, the meat quoted is fresh meat which means moisture is still in it for the ingredients list, but once it’s cooked surely it will be less than the 70% quoted.
  9. mjfromga

    mjfromga Member

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    Nigredo is fat and it doesn't matter what I feed him as far as dog food goes. He's still fat. He eats Victor Hi Pro Plus. He's tried diet foods and grain free Taste of the Wild and even canned diets. All expensive and none effective.

    I like the concept of raw but not BARF raw where the dogs seem to get as many veggies as meats. I'm a fan of prey model raw but with my dog I cannot afford it. I don't see how people get their dogs to eat veggies like that. None of mine would ever touch them.
  10. Bulldogs4Life

    Bulldogs4Life Member

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    mjfromga likes this.
    I can't remember if you said, has he ever had a thyroid panel done?
    I've used Hi Pro and liked the results a lot. For mine it kept good weight on them, while still having nice muscle tone, stools were firm and didn't smell horrible (like with some kibble). I like a lot of what Victor foods has to offer.

    That is how I feel. I do prey model and don't much see the point of feeding a dog veggies. A lot of people juice it and I guess that works for the dogs to eat it or freeze it into cubes. Some of mine like to snack on a carrot stick or will grab anything you say is a treat, but they spit it out if they find it's not something meaty or sweet.
  11. mjfromga

    mjfromga Member

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    He's had his thyroid tested twice. Nothing was found. I have stopped fretting over it.
  12. Malka

    Malka Member

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    The manufacturers say that the meat and vegetables [or whatever they add] are cooked in their own "juice" therefore the resulting product still has - so they say - 70% meat. Hence the finished meal is slightly moist.[/QUOTE]
    IMO cooking meat and/or vegetables [unless the latter are steamed] destroys some of the vitamins/minerals that were in it in the raw stage. The main reason, apart from use as an emergency food, that I keep a couple of packs of the IandIloveyou dehydrated food is because it is dehydrated and/or air dried meat and vegetables/fruit only. Raw meat and vegetables/not cooked so it keeps all the vitamins and minerals in.
    I cannot get whole raw anything for the prey diet, and that would not be feasible in any case with a small dog, which is why I feed my version of the BARF diet.

    Pereg loved raw vegetables, especially kohlrabi, cucumbers and sweet peppers, although I did lightly steam things like pumpkin and courgettes [zucchini] to mix with her raw [wet] meal, to which I added various supplements - her other meal being a raw bone one. With Tikva being much smaller I buy large packs of diced mixed frozen vegetables, to add a handful to her meat and supplements evening meal - the first being a raw bone meal.

    But raw feeding, be it BARF or Prey, is definitely not for everyone, and does take a bit more time than just putting the contents of a tin or a measured amount of kibble into the dog's bowl.

    And it can be more expensive, especially for a large dog.
  13. Jackie

    Jackie Member

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    Unless a medical problem, dogs as with us are fat due to to much food and not enough exercise, his life is going to be shortened by carrying so much weight, on your video his legs look like they are already struggling under the strain of his weight.

    Regarding the raw/kibble I think you should feed what suits your dogs... I feed Millie`s Wolfheart, but have taken to feeding frozen chicken wings or turkey necks added into his daily diet, mainly for keeping teeth clean.
  14. mjfromga

    mjfromga Member

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    I'm aware of this. We are doing all we can. He will be my last dog and I will endeavor to do what I can for him. His hips were bad from birth and the weight will do nothing but make him worse.. Totally aware of all of this and vets are also totally aware. He's just an early neutered dog with horrible metabolism and frankly nothing has helped over years and years.
  15. Bulldogs4Life

    Bulldogs4Life Member

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    Some dog do eat veggies or whatever else. I am only speaking to my preference in a raw diet. While some people are lucky enough to be able to do an actual whole prey diet, many are not and do a prey model diet consisting of appropriate amount of bone, muscle meat and organ meat. Which is also very possible with a small dog or puppy. I've nothing against giving dogs veggies if you wish and they like it. Though cooking or juicing will give the best nutritional value from it since dogs don't digest most raw vegetables well.
  16. Pork1epe1

    Pork1epe1 Member

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    My two are fed a very varied diet which seems to suit them well. Normally for breakfast they'll have a commercial wet food such as Brit 100% Beef/Lamb or Rabbit True Meat Bits mixed with Acana Grasslands kibble.

    For their evening meal they have home cooked mixed with lightly cooked vegetables, plus SF 50 supplement with either a dollop of kefir or yoghourt on top!

    As neither of them are fond of large bones I give them raw chicken feet, necks or wings instead. Chews of liver, kidney, chicken or whitebait I make myself in my dehydrator.

    I'm lucky with mine as they both enjoy their food irrespective of whatever they're given and even though Georgina my Shar-Pei eats like a horse she's still the same weight as she was two years ago, which can't be bad!
  17. Branjo Snow

    Branjo Snow New Member

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    I'm using Blue Buffalo Large Breed Salmon recipe and a sprinkle of Norwegian Dried Sea Kelp for the iodine content and extra nutrients.

    Then for treats I mix up Greek yogurt, Kefir yogurt, blueberries or strawberries and put them into little plastic cups and freeze them, all three of my dogs love them.

    My Akita loves apples, oranges, watermelon, bell peppers, sweet potatoes basically anything if I'm honest. My Husky just doesn't like any kind of citrus fruit or vegetables at all except for berries he loves any kind of berries.

    For Akita's I think its a good idea to keep fish related stuff high on the food list. Considering Akita is a village in a bay in Japan and a huge fishing industry even today, fish probably would have been the main source of food for the traditional Akita.

    I'm thinking of just giving the dog a rainbow trout that I can get from Costco maybe once a week. Does anyone else give their dog raw (cleaned or whole) fish, and if so does it have any negative effects like fish breath or stuck fish bones?
  18. Malka

    Malka Member

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    Both Pereg and now little Tikva have whole raw fish. Heads, fins, tails, and innards. I buy fresh, open freeze and give them frozen.

    No fishy breath and no stuck fish bones, but then being raw fed and chombling frozen chicken wings and turkey necks [Pereg used to have chicken carcasses but even half of one would be too big for Tikva] I have never worried about stuck bones.

    I alternate so fish is usually every three days.

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