Great Life Nature's Real Dog Food

vacaboxerfan · #1 18th March 2004, 09:11 AM

Hello,

I am very new to Boxerworld, but have owned boxers for about 16 years. In the past I have had as many as three different dog foods for seperate dogs.
In the past year or so we discovered a dog food called Great Life Nature's Real Dog Food along with a couple other products such as digestive enzymes from the same source.

Previously, we battled serious digestive problems, particularily with our boy boxers. They had IBD - intestinal bowel disease - which caused weight loss and other suffering. The boys were prescribed pred by the doctors and that was tough on them.

With this new food and daily enzymes we found our current boxer male is rock solid and as healthy as any 80 pound boxer male can be.

I was wondering if this forum had any input on this food or if anyone has any diet problems that may be helped with this wonder food.

Thanks,

David

Albie · #2 19th March 2004, 07:40 PM

I saw your link to this food in another post. It sounds interesting. Does it look like regular kibble? I don't feed kibble (I feed raw), but it seems like a good one.

vacaboxerfan · #3 22nd March 2004, 08:49 AM

Hi Albie,
Yes, it looks like regular kibble. No odd smell either.
We give our dogs the 1.5 to 2 cups twice a day.
With the enzymes sprinkled on top in the morning feeding.
Then we add a little water and give to them. They eat it up quickly.
We have used both the chicken and beef.
I swear by this food.

We just had Cade at the vet Saturday for his rabies shot and they couldn't believe how great he looks. He is 28 inches and the withers, 78 lbs and has a healthy shiny fawn coat. He looked so good our vet is going to recommend the food to a boxer girl that has stomache problems and allergies.

This stuff really is the best. Do your research and then give it a try. Plus, with the enzymes helping the digestion system - you don't have to feed as much, so the bag of food lasts longer.

Best of luck,

David

Tulsa-Dan · #4 22nd March 2004, 01:51 PM

Here's their website

I've never heard of it before. Sound interesting. I'll read more.

bustermom · #5 22nd March 2004, 02:20 PM

Here's an ingredient list (off their website):

"Raw Food Layered on Wholistic Kibble"
- No Refrigeration Needed
- Organics Inside / USDA Approved Ingredients
- Meets all AAFCO Nutritional Requirements For All Life Stages

Raw Food:
Freeze Dried Beef, Freeze Dried Beef Liver, Bok Choy, Inulin, Green Tripe, Mixed Baby Sprouts, Full Spectrum Chelated Minerals, Coral Calcium + 74 Trace Minerals, Vitamins, Active Probiotics enclosed in Salmon Oil.

Wholistic Kibble:
Beef, Whole Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherals), Kelp, Flaxseed, Flaxseed Oil, Egg, Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Peas, Parsley, Garlic, Artichoke, Fennel, Rosemary.

As far as kibble goes, the ingredient list looks good to me!

Ronin1 · #6 22nd March 2004, 02:29 PM

Wow - I did so much research on "Holistic" foods when we got our guy - but I never heard of this! The ingredients look great - and my guy does have allergies. I think I'll try it!

Thank you for all of the info!

vacaboxerfan · #7 22nd March 2004, 04:13 PM

I'm very happy you found this food info to be of value to you.

In our house we just do the kibble because as business owners my wife & I are too busy to properly store and prepare the raw food. The kibble is kept just like any other dry kibble - we store it in an air tight plastic bucket with a screw-on top.

Best of luck with your healthy boxers...

David

boxer4 · #8 29th March 2004, 02:55 PM

Went to buy dog food Saturday and was talking to the owner of the holistic pet store about this kibble. She was interested and said she would look into it. But did I know that Natures Variety Prairie brand had started coating their kibble too. I had tried it a while ago but our fussy's weren't that keen on it. Well I bought a bag of there new formulas and they love it. I'm not sure if it is the same as the way Great Life does theirs or if Great Life might be better, I know it's more expensive than Natures Variety. Check out the site and let me know what you think, it's on WDJ list of good foods.
Natures Variety

Peg, Jan

Caesar, Brandi, Jake & Maggie

vacaboxerfan · #9 29th March 2004, 05:58 PM

I went to the link you suggested on Nature's Variety. It looks like that food is probably very high quality.

All I know is that Great Life kibble and the enzymes have been the best food we've ever given our dogs. That is saying a lot. We've been down the road with many of the top "quality" brands and several brands you have to get at the vet - like the potato and vennison stuff.

This Great Life food has wonderful contents and eliminates the unnecessary. Plus, the enzymes are what completes the picture.

To me Nature's Variety looks quite similar.

Just try and test out what works best for your dog and then stick to it. The few extra dollars for a quality meal quickly pays for itself in savings at the vet.

I'm happy you are taking so much time to find the right food for your boxer!

Best of luck,

David

boxer4 · #10 29th March 2004, 06:10 PM

I have been though quite a few different foods, MOST premium, sometimes we ran low and the store I used to go to didn't get my food in. I have no problem paying extra for a good food as long as my dogs like the food. If they carried Great Life in a store I would have got that first. But can't run up the charge card right now. I probably will order it and see if the like it better when we get caught up. OR maybe the store i go to will be able to get it...even better

I was starting to go BARF but my Mom came down with an auto immune system problem and Brandi likes to hide some of her food if I don't watch her well. More than once I found a piece of raw meat in my Moms bed or on the couch under a blanket...I know, bad housekeeper

Peg, Jan

Caesar, Brandi, Jake & Maggie