# Food recommendation?



## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

Ari does really well on Ziwipeak Beef Air-dried food and she finds it more delicious than any other kibble (And truly, I tried just about every one at the store near where I lived in Maine). I like the Ziwipeak because a 5.5 lb bag lasts Ari about 9 weeks when she free-feeds from it, which comes out to just a little over a dollar per day for her food which is not bad at all. I take out 1/3 of a bag at a time which stays in a vacuum sealed container on my countertop and keep the rest in the freezer.

A lot of brands will pass out mini bags for free or very cheap so you can let Honey taste test foods. You can get free samples from Ziwipeak if you send them an email. I also go a bunch of samples from Fromm. As long as the food has ingredients you approve of and meets AAFCO requirements for all life stages, the rest is up to Honey's taste preference and your pocketbook.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I would try to find a better food! The ingredients in the RC Poodle formula list corn, rice wheat gluten and chicken by-products as the first 4 ingredients! NOT good!


Corn , wheat, & chicken, are some of the worse ingredients for developing allergies! Whatever food you try, make sure the first ingredient is a NAMED PROTEIN!, I personally stay away from corn, wheat, soy, and carrageenan as much as possible!


If you go to Chewy.com (they ship to Canada) you can look at the food ingredients on any food they sell..... also if you google 'Canadian Dog Food Companies' a whole slew of companies you can research, or go to visit, pop up!! good luck!


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Try Open Farm. They are the first Certified Humane dog food. We have tried both the fish and the poultry formulas.

Ethically Raised & Sourced Pet Food | Open Farm


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Sunny is on NOW Fresh senior which is great -- from Canada. Also the Acana varieties are very good. Key is to find one the pup likes, that's convenient to get, and works with your budget. Give Petcurean a try, I have been using for a few years now -- Acana was good but a little too rich for Sunny.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

sophie anne said:


> Ari does really well on Ziwipeak Beef Air-dried food and she finds it more delicious than any other kibble (And truly, I tried just about every one at the store near where I lived in Maine). I like the Ziwipeak because a 5.5 lb bag lasts Ari about 9 weeks when she free-feeds from it, which comes out to just a little over a dollar per day for her food which is not bad at all. I take out 1/3 of a bag at a time which stays in a vacuum sealed container on my countertop and keep the rest in the freezer.
> 
> A lot of brands will pass out mini bags for free or very cheap so you can let Honey taste test foods. You can get free samples from Ziwipeak if you send them an email. I also go a bunch of samples from Fromm. As long as the food has ingredients you approve of and meets AAFCO requirements for all life stages, the rest is up to Honey's taste preference and your pocketbook.


The food is exceptional -- but wow is it expensive!!! I thought some of the raw was up there! How much do you feed daily?


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## oshagcj914 (Jun 12, 2016)

Orijen is a good Canadian brand. Never used Ziwipeak, but I've heard good things about it. I personally feed raw and feel it is the best diet, and for me it's about the same price as a mid-quality kibble, but that depends a lot on local prices.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Champion foods (Orijen and Acana) have always been my favorite. We switched our rescue from Science Diet to Acana Regionals and we saw a world of difference. Brighter, less greasy coat, higher energy level, better mood, no more diarrhea which the last owners claimed to be a housebreaking issue. If you look at the ingredient list for Champion foods, it is all recognizable wholesome ingredients ie blueberries rather than vitamin C and other supplement fillers. Orijen is rather high protein and it takes more time to adjust. 

My cats are on prescription Royal Canine due to UTI disorder. I used to feed them Orijen cat but the UTI persisted. RC doesn't have a great ingredient list but it really helped with the UTI, which can be life threating. So for them I stayed with RC. 

For dental, my pomeranian goes every 6 months because he has really bad genes. We used to take him to the vet annually but frequent anesthesia was worrisome so I go for non-anesthetic dental. It is amazing! I was very doubtful about it at first but my person is an actual human hygienist and does a way better job than the vet techs who usually perform dental cleaning on dogs. My pom's teeth stays clean twice as long as when it is done at the vet's office. Most vets would tell you that the non-anesthetic dental doesn't go underneath the gums but our person does. My experience could be entirely unique because of my very tolerant dog and an actual human hygienist who just loves dogs. 
Best of luck!


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Whichever food works for your pup, I also recommend you add some raw. Buck's chicken necks have been great for his teeth and he never, ever turns them down


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## sophie anne (Feb 17, 2015)

liljaker said:


> The food is exceptional -- but wow is it expensive!!! I thought some of the raw was up there! How much do you feed daily?


It is much less exorbitant from Chewy, ~$75 for 5.5 lbs. For a mini like Ari or a toy that's not bad at all and averages out to $1.20 per day or so based on how long it takes Ari to finish a bag. Per day... she gets 1.5-2 scoops, free fed. This food is much higher calorie than freeze dried raw or regular kibble, so the 5.5 lb bag goes farther than you'd think.

I fed it to my spoo during the last weeks of her life (which was why I tried every food in the store; she was very anorexic at the end) and she rebounded a bit on it before finally declining again which is how I knew it was her time. After she passed, Ari continued eating the food and once I saw how much more slowly she went through it I decided to keep her on it.

Feeding it to a spoo is TRULY exorbitant. Holy moly. But Sophie was worth it and more.

I have a $15 off your first order from Chewy coupon that should still be good if someone wants to try this food (or anything else from Chewy for that matter). I can't use it because I've already ordered from them before. I'll PM you the code if you want to try it.


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## KBMeredith (Nov 1, 2016)

Can you stand a newbie dumb question or two? I thought you were never supposed to give dogs bones..but see posts about giving chicken wings and necks? .They won't choke on those little bones???!! Is feeding some raw really critical? My pup is on science diet at the breeders so I'll keep him on it when I bring him home, but it sounds like I need to gradually switch to another brand. Should I also gradually add raw and or homemade (brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc)? And am I understanding I should switch out brands periodically to try to avoid allergies? Thanks so much; love love loving the forum!!!


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

They can eat raw bones, but not cooked bones, because those can splinter. 

Raw food is the best, if you can learn to do it correctly. There's lots of info on the forum and on Youtube. I just can't deal with the bacteria, as I have total OCD with germs...

Don't know about rotational feeding, so I'll let someone more qualified answer that.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I feed Molly a VERY varied diet and the reason is based on what Dr Karen Becker has to say about allergies... Google; "Dr Karen Becker: How to Control Your Pet's Food Allergies".......
Homecooked, raw, canned, kibble, dehydrated, you name it Molly gets its hahaha! It's mainly about switching proteins that Dr Becker advises.........because an dog can become allergic to a food just by eating it over and over again and can become intolerant.....
Google Dr Karen Becker..............
Also, although dogfoodadvisor is the 'go to' site for rating a food, know that just because a food is highly rated, it doesn't mean it'll agree with your dog's tummy.....DO learn to read labels and what they mean...... Know what your pet is eating. And yes, you will have to become an analyzer of poop ....hahaha!! There a lots and lots of food threads here too!

AND YES! Those raw meaty bones are important, if only to keep teeth clean....Raw chicken legs, wings, necks always raw never ever cooked!
Molly favorite bones are Lamb or Goat neck bones, and beef or pork baby back ribs!!!!


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

I see so many excellent suggestions for you in this thread.  A favorite kibble of mine is the Fromm 4 star line-but it's also going to depend on what is in your budget and what your dogs can tolerate. To be honest, today, Fromm 4 star is not in my budget and I have one dog that can't handle their formulas. It's typically over $60.00 for the large bag on chewy-if not over, it's very close to that.

It' also going to matter what is important to you. Is mail order ok? -www.chewy.com (You won't find a better place to order from!) Do you want something you can pick up local? What resources are available? 

If you want to do real food I recommend something like www.justfoodfordogs.com (you can buy vitamin/mineral mix with recipes or buy frozen meals) or maybe The Honest Kitchen | Dehydrated Cat & Dog Food where you can use a base mix and add your own meat, raw or cooked.


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

Oh wow I just saw that your dog is on science diet currently at the breeder. Let me tell you a bit about my experiences with science diet. I have a five year old Maltese who has had horrible issues with food all his life. 

I have always been a huge dog food nut and if you can name the brand, we have tried it! We did kibble, canned, home cooked, raw, dehydrated and he always had some kind of issue. He had vomiting, loose stool, at times, bloody stool, hair loss even. We spent a rediculous amount of money at the vet/evet on several occasions who was leaning towards IBD.

We bring Addison home and I put her on wellness, she has explosive poo. We do pumpkin, probiotics all that good stuff you do and the best we get is soft serve. We try Acana and have the same results. I tell my husband that I refuse to go down this road again, we are going to try something we never have before.

Everyone is now on science diet and we have not had a single digestive issue since switching. Once Addison is done with her next bag of puppy we are going to their pure balance line.

This is a good dog food, I don't care what anyone has to say about it. This food has research to back it up and the company will let you tour their facilities no problem.

Addy is healthy and Rocky is doing fantastic and has all his hair back. If you want to feed science diet, I think it is also a great option.


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## KBMeredith (Nov 1, 2016)

Thank you. The breeder has impressed me so much, I was honestly shocked to read such vehement responses to science diet...I was surprised she would feed something not good for the dogs. So thanks for sharing your experience. I'm gonna keep him on it for a little while because that's what he started on. If he continues to do well, I won't switch. But I will watch closely and if I see something will get on something else. I paid for the dog food advisor service so I'll see what they say too. Bottom line I guess dogs are different just like people are huh?


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

KBMeredith said:


> Thank you. The breeder has impressed me so much, I was honestly shocked to read such vehement responses to science diet...I was surprised she would feed something not good for the dogs. So thanks for sharing your experience. I'm gonna keep him on it for a little while because that's what he started on. If he continues to do well, I won't switch. But I will watch closely and if I see something will get on something else. I paid for the dog food advisor service so I'll see what they say too. Bottom line I guess dogs are different just like people are huh?


Yes, exactly what you said, just like people they are different and different things work for different dogs


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Check out the ingredients and what dog food advisor says:

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/hills-science-diet-dog-food-adult-dry/

Science Diet is not a good food imo when you consider what dogs are designed to eat. Dogs are somewhat different from one another in how they handle things but they're not so different that some are carnivores and some are herbivores. lol. A diet of cereal is not what dogs are designed to eat. I know dogs have evolved and adapted to be able to handle grain better than they did. But I do not see any evidence that it should be their main course. They still don't have the enzymes needed where they're needed to break down carbohydrates adequately. And there is evidence that their digestive systems have not changed very much at all during evolution.

If your dog is seemingly doing well on it and not on real food, then that's probably because he's not_ use_ to real food. When I started my dogs on raw, they didn't seem to do wonderfully. They had to get_ use_ to it. Their digestive systems seemed to need a little time to adapt to such a change from kibble or other commercial foods that they had become accustomed to. Have you tried a well balanced, well studied raw diet? It's the kind of diet dogs' digestive systems are _designed_ by nature to eat. You hardly ever hear about digestive problems with raw because it's easy to digest food that hasn't been processed and had weird additives put in it. It's easy to digest (generally) because it's pure and simple and what their bodies know _how_ to digest. You hardly hear about allergies or skin problems or other immune system trouble because there isn't any need for grains. Dogs fed a proper raw food diet don't tend to have diabetes because you don't see the glucose spikes you do with grain based foods. 

Science Diet, for another thing doesn't use chelated vitamins and that means they're not able to metabolize those vitamins well. There's no meat in their foods or very little when there is. I know your dog seems to do well because the poops are good. But consider the nutrition too and be careful. I feel a lifetime of being fed something like the ingredient list I see on Science Diet and many other commercial foods is one big reason dogs get so many health issues like diabetes, pancreatitis (sugar spikes) and immune system based problems and shortened life spans. I know a raw meaty bone diet is not for everyone. It's more work. It takes freezer space and lots of creative shopping. It takes cutting and wrapping and cleaning up after. So, I totally get that. So, whatever is best is what you have to do, of course. Just be sure it is the best. I feel that Science Diet is not the best. But that is my opinion. What can I say?:dontknow:

Best wishes!:wink:


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

Look, we are never going to agree about science diet and I don't think you fully understand what I have gone through with my dogs and where I have been. When I say I was a dog food nut I was just like you. I have read the trash talking and selective facts that are put out there and all the articles that tell half the story. I have talked to the companies and read the research reports. Dog food was my religion for years and science diet was the devil.

It is simply not true, the crap that is out there, or it is only partly true. Poop is such a tiny part of it too but I am not going to spend my entire weekend listing for you all the tests and test results and dollars and products we have gone through. Food issues are so much more than poop consistency.

I have also talked with vets who see tons of digestive issues in dogs on premium foods that go away when they go on science diet. There is more to food than the selective articles published here and there and the pretty ingredient panels listed on bags.

I hope you never have to find this out like I have. Science Diet is a good brand and people who feed it are doing just as good by their pets as any other brand. As far as the op, they should pick a brand they like, see the results with their own eyes and go from there.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

blueroan said:


> We have been switching Honey from puppy kibble to adult food. She was on Royal canin puppy and vet recommended we give her Royal canin dental. We're finding it too big for her, but she DOES eat it, and she's picky.
> 
> Any recommendations of a good food in Canada that super tasty for a picky mpoo? We were thinking the poodle one, but wanted to ask you first!!��


My recommendation (to the op) :behindsofa: is not to feed Royal Canin OR Science Diet. (This is about Blueroan's post, not an attack on you Shell)


> I hope you never have to find this out like I have.


 You don't know what I've experienced in my many years of owning dogs. You are not the first...believe me to have dogs with digestive problems. lol. You should have seen my Doberman when he was young. Eee gads! And I am sorry your dog has such issues. And glad something works for him. And I never expected you to spend your entire week end posting test results. I would never ask that of anyone. lol


My recommendation (again for the OP) is to look on the Dog food Advisor's website and this one I highly recommend to find out how dogs foods stack up against each other: The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?

You've been given some good ideas to try. Good luck. 

And I'm out. :vroam:


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

My Doberman had diarrhea ALL THE TIME when he was young and terrible gas. I tried all kinds of things just like you. He saw vets multiple times and was tested for lots of ailments. Finally I heard about **** Van Patten's Natural Balance, single source protein food for sensitive tummies. I put him on that and it did the trick. He was on it for months and months, maybe even a year or more (I forget, it's been a while) and then I tried a premium food again...TOTW, Canidae, things like that. He did fine. It seemed in his case, he needed to mature or something. Does that make Natural Balance a good food? I don't think so. I don't think it is a particularly good food. But it helped with my dog's issues. And I was glad to have it.

The OP, the one this thread this was started about... has a dog that does not have digestive difficulty. At least I don't remember her saying that. He's just a little picky. Even though some of these foods like SD help with certain digestive issues, I don't think it is something that most dogs should be on...in general. I think there are better foods for dogs that don't have digestive problems. (Years ago I put my cat on it when he had a crystal formation problem.) I hope that clears it up a little better. I certainly didn't mean to imply you weren't doing the best for your dog Shell. In your case, you gotta do what ya gotta do. A dog can't go through life having diarrhea all the time. That's worse than anything. So, I'm glad you found something that works. For the OP though...who's dog_ isn't _troubled by high quality proteins etc etc, I'd recommend trying something else.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I am a fan of Champion foods. I feed my dogs Acana. Been doing it for almost 10 years. I just love the difference it made on my rescues. Better coat and energy. Her coat was much shinier and less greasy. Her personality emerged and she was a lot less lethargic. Also got rid of the diarrhea.


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## notquite (Nov 17, 2016)

There's a lot of really great dog food companies out there. There are 2 kibbles my incredibly picky poodle mix has ever eaten willingly - Redpaw Fitness and Farmina. 

Redpaw is pretty cool but very limited in regards to lines. The person who formulated is a scientist if I remember correctly who mushed sled dogs as a hobby. So he formulated something perfect for his dogs and then it expanded from there. 

Farmina is an Italian company that's been around for roughly 60 years. Protein rich and low fat so you're not feeding a lot. 

Personally, my girl is on half Farmina and half freeze-dried. I try to incorporate as much freeze dried and raw as I can without it being obnoxiously expensive or inconvenient. 

For those who don't want to make their own raw diet - which is exceedingly difficult considering the 1400 nutrients they need - it's best to buy premade raw. Vital Essentials, OC Raw Dog, Stella & Chewy's, Steve's etc to name a few. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## aasteapots (Oct 6, 2013)

I don't know if it has been recommended but we feed RAWZ Kibble and Bravo freeze dried. My poodles LOVE IT! I am really pleased with the RAWZ and they are not for profit and donte all the money to help train service dogs and a few other programs.


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