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adopting a dog; help wanted
Topic Started: Oct 22 2012, 10:26 AM (1,317 Views)
kady05
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Good advice given so far.

I won't touch foods like Science Diet, Iams, Pedigree, etc. Bleh. Good brands that are reasonably priced would be Earthborn, Nutrisource, Dr. Tim's, TOTW (although I won't feed it anymore due to all the Diamond recalls), and Canidae. There are some others out there, you just have to search for them.

I feed my guys a prey model raw diet.. I pay less than $1.50/lb for everything they eat, which is a lot cheaper per pound than kibble ever was. Piper & Sako do best on this, Wilson doesn't so he still gets some kibble. But raw is a whole different ball game and you need to do your research beforehand.
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WhySoSerious
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I forgot to mention that after the Wellness and before the Taste of The Wild, I fed the LiveSmart food that Smartpak sells. My dogs like it and did well on it, but it was easier to just buy locally, so I switched to the TOTW.
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Trialbyfire
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I think there are lots of good options, and once you get your dog you can play with what will work best for him/her.

I feed Eukanuba Lamb and Rice...have fed it for over a decade and shown my dogs on it and loved their look and overall condition. I switched to Wellness a few months ago, as it has a similar nutritional profile but with *better* ingredients....but my younger dog had explosive diarrhea with it...so I switched back and all is well again... :)
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gunnar
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I continue to feed Angel Kirkland dog food. She and the other 2 dogs thrive on it. Since I now pay for 3 dogs to eat I love the price!
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WhySoSerious
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This is also a good site to check out:
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/
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buryinghill2
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Whatever you decide to feed be sure to find out what your new dog has been eating. Have a bag of that on hand to start and then shift over gradually. Nerves from moving plus a change in diet = trouble for some dogs.
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WhySoSerious
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buryinghill2
Nov 2 2012, 07:13 AM
Whatever you decide to feed be sure to find out what your new dog has been eating. Have a bag of that on hand to start and then shift over gradually. Nerves from moving plus a change in diet = trouble for some dogs.
This is very good advice. Anytime I have switched my dog's food, I mix it together and gradually switch over about a week or so.
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Indy
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buryinghill2
Nov 2 2012, 07:13 AM
Whatever you decide to feed be sure to find out what your new dog has been eating. Have a bag of that on hand to start and then shift over gradually. Nerves from moving plus a change in diet = trouble for some dogs.
Definitely do this if you can. Especially if you're switching to a food with less grain than what the dog is used to. Switching to a new food all at once can lead to dog explosions.
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Twiceshy
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Indy
Nov 2 2012, 07:59 AM
buryinghill2
Nov 2 2012, 07:13 AM
Whatever you decide to feed be sure to find out what your new dog has been eating. Have a bag of that on hand to start and then shift over gradually. Nerves from moving plus a change in diet = trouble for some dogs.
Definitely do this if you can. Especially if you're switching to a food with less grain than what the dog is used to. Switching to a new food all at once can lead to dog explosions.
This it be true. :spew: :rolleyes:
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Trixie
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My dog gets taste of the wild and green beans and yogurt. We do the green beans to add bulk but few calories (he tends to get on the large side if we're not careful) and yogurt because it seems to help his tummy. The combination of all that plus a little white vinegar has really helped his ear infections (which were AWFUL before yogurt and vinegar).

I'm a believer in that a lot of the time, the right dog finds you. Well, at least that's what happened to me. I told some people I was considering a dog and my farrier called me and said "Your dog is here. I'm bringing him over in an hour. If it doesn't work, bring him back." That was some years ago.
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LoriO
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If you have a Tractor Supply store near you, their 4Health brand dog food got very good reviews on dogfoodadvisor.com. Very good quality dog food for the price. The only drawback is that it is made by Diamond which has had some recall issues in the past. Mine get the Chicken and Rice and are doing very well on it.
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WhySoSerious
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LoriO
Nov 4 2012, 11:09 PM
If you have a Tractor Supply store near you, their 4Health brand dog food got very good reviews on dogfoodadvisor.com. Very good quality dog food for the price. The only drawback is that it is made by Diamond which has had some recall issues in the past. Mine get the Chicken and Rice and are doing very well on it.
I decided to switch my dogs to this from the Science Diet. Better ingredients and better value for the same amount of food. I'm in the process of switching to it right now, so I'll update again once I can tell if they truly like it. I got the small bites food, since I have the chihuahua and mini schnauzer. The english setter doesn't seem to mind the small bites either.
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leastrock
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Thanks for the food advice. I'm not sure whether I'm more or less confused now but the help is certainly appreciated. :P

What are y'all's thoughts on changing names? I'm waiting to hear back about a little hound. She sounds like a great fit for my lifestyle. Her name is nice but just doesn't roll off my tongue like a dog's name should (IMHO). She was abused by a previous owner but the rescue/foster family say there are very few (if any) residual effects. I read that it can be good to change a name if there are any bad associations with it. I'm not sure if this little girl had the name before or after the rescue received her but would prefer to change her name. Coming from the horse world, I was always told it was bad luck to change a horse's name. Previously, I thought it was cruel (possibly too strong of a word) to change a dog's name but realized that it is like any other command they respond it. They don't necessarily identify with it the way a human does. Although I contend that our names are little more than what we respond to vs. our identity.

Once again, you guys have been very helpful..thanks.
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Indy
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Unless the dog really responds to its name, I don't think name changing is too much of an issue. Dogs need good "hollering names" in my opinion - a name you won't feel like a fool yelling at a dog park or out your back door.

Riley is on probably his fourth name. Who knows what his abandoners called him, and if they weren't his breeder, then he might have had a name before them too. The rescue we got Riley through called him Adonis (which is humorous...I love my dog dearly and think he's adorable, but not so much Adonis-like), and his foster family called him Chewy, because he makes Chewbaca noises. He came to neither Adonis nor Chewy so we felt fine changing it. Nearly six years later, only on alternate Thursdays does he come to Riley so he might just be slow. You get the same excited waggy tail reaction when you call him Riley, goofy, puppy, Chewy, monkey, or farty...I think it's mostly the "y" sound and intonation that get his attention.
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Twiceshy
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Agreed with Indy - although I've only ever changed a dog's name once, and it was from Runner to Gunner. As long as you don't call them late for dinner ;) I think they respond more to tone, inflection, and body language than anything else.
Edited by Twiceshy, Nov 6 2012, 06:46 AM.
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