Need food suggestion

sasmeow · #1 19th February 2011, 08:15 PM

I have been feeding Izzy Innova and Gus EVO for a while now. I had them on seperate foods because on the EVO Izzy gained some weight and she doesn't need to, she is at a perfect weight, and Gus has a hard time keeping weight on. He recently hit 71 pounds (27 inches at the withers), but I think he lost a few pounds now. This past week, Gus started not wanting his food. I thought he was having one of his days where he didn't want to eat, but he kept refusing his food. He was acting fine and drinking fine. He would eat chicken noodle soup, pasta, veggies, treats, etc. Now, Izzy doesn't want her food either!! Sometimes they will eat each others food but today, I went down and both bowls were still full! (I usually watch them eat so I know who is eating what) And Gus' bowl was pushed over by the water bowl and had a hand towel by it, like he "burried" his food.

Do dogs just get tired of the same food? They act totally fine, have lots of energy, so I don't think they are sick. I was going to switch them to another food. I want to give a 6 star food, even 5 is okay. Anyone have any suggestions that their boxers love? I was thinking maybe Wellness CORE. I just want something they like, and that will keep weight on Gus. Izzy was always a picky eater, and Gus was sometimes, so it has to be something really yummy, LOL!

Gus has a liver disease (copper storage disease) but he doesn't have any restrictions right now since he his on his medication. Once he comes off that and is just on zinc acetate, I will probably cook for him since there are no dry foods with low copper amounts.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Caney Creek · #2 19th February 2011, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasmeow

Do dogs just get tired of the same food?

They sure do

and that's exactly what it sounds like is happening with Izzy and Gus. There are several good quality foods to choose from that you could try, you just might have to adjust their daily portions according to the protein and fat content of the new food.

Wellness CORE for example has 34% protein. Since Gus is doing well on EVO which is 42% protein, he will likely need to eat more of the Wellness CORE in order to maintain his weight. And for Izzy, a switch to Wellness CORE would mean that she'd need to eat less to maintain her weight (since the food she's currently on - Innova - has only 26% protein).

So just keep those things in mind, watch their waistlines and adjust portions accordingly

BxrMommieNAZ · #3 19th February 2011, 10:39 PM

My guys like Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. We bounce between that, Kirkland's Chicken and Rice, and Natural Balance Sweet potato and Bison.

TimCryBoxer · #4 21st February 2011, 10:43 AM

My dogs LOVE Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. I add veggies everyday to their meal, sometimes carrots, or broccoli, or even potatos.

BxrMommieNAZ · #5 21st February 2011, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimCryBoxer

My dogs LOVE Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. I add veggies everyday to their meal, sometimes carrots, or broccoli, or even potatos.

I'd recommend adding meat over veggies. And potatoes, like for humans, aren't very healthy for them (just a starch which turns into sugar in the body). It's great you want to add things, but if you're doing it for health purposes you'd be better off adding meat since dogs are carnivores versus veggies (and I'd skip the potatoes all together even if you continue to add veggies).

sasmeow · #6 21st February 2011, 07:39 PM

I got them Instinct today. They LOVE it. I think they like it because it's something different and its smaller pieces. The cats even tried it. I got them the duck and turkey formula, which is 35% protein, 22% fat. I added it to their food tonight and they ate it all.

Is it okay to switch between the different flavors on the same brand? Instinct has a chicken formula and a rabbit formula. I was going to rotate or even mix flavors next time to keep it new and yummy. The chicken is 42% protein, 22% fat, and the rabbit is 35% protein and 22% fat. I would like to keep Izzy and Gus on the same food, but if I need to put Gus on the higher protein I will.

Its good to see them finally like their food!

Caney Creek · #7 21st February 2011, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasmeow

I got them Instinct today. They LOVE it. I think they like it because it's something different and its smaller pieces. The cats even tried it. I got them the duck and turkey formula, which is 35% protein, 22% fat. I added it to their food tonight and they ate it all.

Is it okay to switch between the different flavors on the same brand? Instinct has a chicken formula and a rabbit formula. I was going to rotate or even mix flavors next time to keep it new and yummy. The chicken is 42% protein, 22% fat, and the rabbit is 35% protein and 22% fat. I would like to keep Izzy and Gus on the same food, but if I need to put Gus on the higher protein I will.

Its good to see them finally like their food!

You should be able to keep them on the same food, however you might have to increase Gus's portions. Pretty simple fix.

It's just fine to rotate flavors of the same brand, but I'd also recommend rotating brands every once in a while too, for maximum variety.

sasmeow · #8 21st February 2011, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caney Creek

You should be able to keep them on the same food, however you might have to increase Gus's portions. Pretty simple fix.

It's just fine to rotate flavors of the same brand, but I'd also recommend rotating brands every once in a while too, for maximum variety.

Thanks! I think I will! I would get really, really tired of eating the same stuff all the time too!

I was thinking about adding some lean ground beef for Gus or some baked chicken. But of course Izzy would need some too, hehe.

dsmit · #9 22nd February 2011, 06:29 PM

I have my boy on Orijen regional red. I rotate between that flavor and the 6 fish. I was considering Instinct Rabbit or Acana Grasslands to add to my rotation.

TimCryBoxer · #10 23rd February 2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

I'd recommend adding meat over veggies. And potatoes, like for humans, aren't very healthy for them (just a starch which turns into sugar in the body). It's great you want to add things, but if you're doing it for health purposes you'd be better off adding meat since dogs are carnivores versus veggies (and I'd skip the potatoes all together even if you continue to add veggies).

I asked my vet and she said that it was perfectly fine. I dont give them a lot, approx 1/4 or less of it.

BxrMommieNAZ · #11 23rd February 2011, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimCryBoxer

I asked my vet and she said that it was perfectly fine. I dont give them a lot, approx 1/4 or less of it.

Just an FYI, vets know NOTHING about nutrition unless they are also a certified nutritionist (I've yet to meet any that are). So I wouldn't take feeding advice from your vet (if they did they wouldn't sell garbage like Science Diet and Eukanuba). The fact of the matter is that dogs do not utilize most of the nutrients in vegetables, they do not help them really in anyway (unless they simply like the taste of them) and there are some toxic ones as well (such as onions). Potatoes raise blood sugar, and pack on pounds and have basically zero nutritional value for dogs. MEAT on the other hand builds muscle, lean body mass, and is the food that they were made to eat (they're not omnivores like humans, they're carnivores). Only time I ever recommend veggies for dogs is as a training treat (if they like them) or as a filler if a dog is trying to lose weight and you're replacing part of their food with veggies to fill them up without the calories. Otherwise it's useless to them. Not that they're BAD per se (although I'd consider potatoes bad), but they're useless where as meat is actually helpful and nutritious for them.

So back to my original statement of, if you're going to supplement or add to kibble that's GREAT, but it's a better idea to add some meat (such as boiled chicken or ground beef) rather than vegetables.

griffdiz · #12 24th February 2011, 03:57 PM

I have also read that unless you puree the vegetables dogs get no nutrition from them because their carnivores and their teeth cannot break down the cellulose fibers or something in the vegtables in order to get the nutrional value. Instead they will just pass them. So if you were trying to fill up a dog but not add calories then veggies (besides potatoes) are basically just fiber. Am I saying that right? Maybe someone else can say it better.