Hi all.

I got a question about plain natural yogurt feed to puppy. My boy love yogurt very much, he can eat it plain or even i mix some crush tablet (supplement) he still love it so much. I tried to mix the yogurt with kibbles and he eat everything (even the kibbles he dun eat before). But is that alright to feed your puppy the kibbles with yogurt all the time?

Thanks....

thanx davis for the great info.
made some research on the net and visiting some stores and interested switching to natural balance or royal canine as both fits in my budget of rm 230 permonth. is 15kg bag of food enough for GSD full grown adult ( plz dun shoot as 1st large breed dog owner ). i have considered arcana but its way of my league for now as its like rm330 per 15kg bag. all the sifu's out there is there other brand or dry food that you guys have experience before and produced results. as i read even royal canine as alot crappy fillers in their food. so i'm open for any consideration if it fits into my budget.

price list from some of the shop
1. nutriedge ( lamb and rice) - 25kg - rm245 15kg - rm180
2.royal canine -GSD breed spec - 13kg - rm240
3.natural balance - 15kg - rm223
4.eukanuba - puppy large breed -- 15kg - rm 150
5 arcana - 15kg - rm310

and whats the benefit if i feed lamb, chicken or fish ?? does it provide better coat skin or etc

another thing is potty training. i bought a 5 feet by 5 feet cage for him. its quite big as he is still tiny. how am i to teach him to poop in th garden wen i let him out, coz all the potty training i read they are using crate which i believe is small so the dog not free to poop so it does its bisnez outside. another problem is he poops on irregular timing, even if i feed him on time. he usually poops within 20 min of eating and the once in the cage he will poop again if i leave him inside for 2 hours plus. and its a good size poop. so i'm wondering is the food or age. poop has irregular form ( semi firm shaped to semi watery ). so i need advice on this matter coz need to train him before its too late


thankin in advance


pix taken 7 weeks , now 9 weeks old pup


Attached thumbnail(s)

If you are feeding it everyday, you can reduce the amount given, as it is a high nutrient food.
Quote > "Yogurt contains calcium which is good for the bones of your dog. But overfeeding your dog with calcium supplements is known to cause bone abnormalities in dogs. The quantity of yogurt should be 1 tsp to 1tbsp depending on the size of your dog."
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/yogurt-for-dogs.html

Some dogs are allergic to chicken meat. I personally prefers ocean fish heavy pet food for my furkids.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5085286_home-giv...hiny-coats.html

Potty training is best if you can allocate atleast 2 days to your dog, the smarter the dog, the shorter the training period..
Priority is to train your dog as to where is the correct place to poop.
Praise the pup if it is pooping in the correct location.
If it is on the incorrect location, quickly move it to the correct location once it shows signs of wanting to poop.
http://pets.iloveindia.com/dogs/potty-train-a-puppy.html

This post has been edited by mecharojak: Oct 29 2010, 01:08 PM

[quote=mecharojak,Oct 29 2010, 12:45 PM]
If you are feeding it everyday, you can reduce the amount given, as it is a high nutrient food.
Quote > "Yogurt contains calcium which is good for the bones of your dog. But overfeeding your dog with calcium supplements is known to cause bone abnormalities in dogs. The quantity of yogurt should be 1 tsp to 1tbsp depending on the size of your dog."
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/yogurt-for-dogs.html

Thanks for the information...I am feeding him 1 tsp of yogurt mix with dog kibbles in the morning and another tsp of yogurt mix with kibbles again in the evening. I am not sure 2 tsb of yogurt a day will be too much for my boy.
\

2tsp/day to >5kg pup is OK, IMHO.

This post has been edited by mecharojak: Oct 29 2010, 01:35 PM

Thanks ya....He is 4kg something now...But should be alrite..

'Grats on your new puppy You should have ideally gotten your pup at 8 weeks of age, 7 weeks is a bit early - sadly I find it's the norm for breeders/petshops here to disregard the importance of adequate socialisation of the pup with mom/littermates for up to at least 8 weeks. Anyway, hope there's no harm done, he should be fine if you're a dedicated owner Back to the issues at hand: For toilet training it's best to set aside a few days to basically do nothing but watch over your pup so you can guide him to the potty spot whenever he looks like he's going to go. Basically the idea is to set him up for success (i.e. if you're usually around to show him where to pee/poo then praise, the faster he'll get it), rather than taking him out at allocated times then being disappointed when accidents occur. Of course this isn't always possible if you have work/study commitments (which is why IMO when you get a pup it's a good idea to get it on a Fri night/early Sat so you at least have the weekend to focus on potty training). It's normal for young pups to poo 4-6 times a day so sometimes accidents do occur if you can't be around. As for the poo the food might not suit him if it tends to be watery, or he could just have a sensitive stomach which would make it all the more important to get him on decent food.

Fish is usually recommended for skin/coat benefits but bear in mind just like how some dogs are allergic to chicken, there are dogs who are allergic to fish as well (incidentally, beef is the meat that most commonly triggers allergies in dogs - one of my dogs is in that unhappy majority). So it's up to you as the owner to see how your pup reacts to different types of ingredients. For example I discovered my labrador gets the runs when fed too much potato (sometimes we have extra wedges, chips etc. and I'd give him a small handful - within half an hour there'll be runny poop on the lawn lol), so I keep this in mind when reading the ingredients list of dog food (potato is fine, as long as it doesn't make up a major portion of the ingredients). Grain which makes up the bulk of ingredients of many dog kibbles is not recommended for dogs as it's not a necessary part of their diet, but some dogs have better tolerance of grain than others, plus some grains are better digested than others (most dogs do OK with brown rice, not so much with corn).

If you can find the time to read and learn about dog food in a bit more detail, I highly recommend taking a look at The Dog Food Project. Very comprehensive and a good place to start. In general you want a food that has more meat than grain (my personal preference is grainless) and the meat should be named meat sources (i.e. chicken, fish as opposed to "meat and bone meal" which could well include roadkill and euthanised animals, ick). For a list of ingredients to avoid go here.

As for the list of food you're considering, I can only share what I've seen. I've cared for dogs on Royal Canin food (pet-sitting for other people) and have never seen good results. One beagle came to me overweight, lacklustre coat with runny, goopy-looking stools and mealtimes were difficult as she just wasn't very interested in the food. Owner switched her to Orijen and was impressed with the effect on her coat (softer and shinier) and her stools looked much better. Currently have an Irish setter boarding with me on Royal Canin (this variety) and it has some of the worst ingredients I've ever seen. She's extremely underweight (owner says not interested in food, am not surprised), has excessive mucous-y eye discharge which requires weekly treatment, dry and flaky skin and immediately after she eats, she goes into a scratching frenzy - probably an allergic reaction to the food. The only good thing she has going for her is a shiny coat - which could be attributed more to her cooked chicken meat dinners. Trying to convince the owner to switch to a better food, sigh.

Of the food on your list Acana has the best ingredients which is reflected in the price (yikes, didn't know it cost that much!). Took a look at the Nutri-edge ingredients and they are ok if you're on a budget. Natural Balance - supposed to be among the better range of kibbles but none of my dogs have done well on it (diarrhea) but I've heard of other dogs that have done great with it. As for Eukanuba I'd never buy that brand or IAMS on principle due to their cruel animal testing practices (their kibbles are crap anyway).

As for recs I'm hesitant to push specific brands over others since food can be a very individual thing. There's no magic kibble that will suit all dogs simply because it gets lots of rave reviews etc. A general place to start would be to look at better rated kibbles (try here and here for guides. After that it's basically trial and error - find out what food your dog digests well, if any gives him allergies/diarrhea, observe his skin/coat/breath/muscle tone etc If you're pressed for ideas, there's a GSD owner a few pages back whose dog is on Taste of the Wild with positive results - maybe you can contact him and ask if his dog is still doing well on the food

Been using NutriEdge & Blackwood for my cats. My cats had bad tear stains from Blackwood and my poodle too from NutriEdge. Switching to NutriSource & Premium Edge. After taking nutrisource my cat's tear stains disappeared but too soon to tell for premium edge.

I'm a long time fan of Orijen but too many mouths to feed so I supplement them on raw meat, yogurt & fruits/veg with the current kibbles.

I've been using Natural Balance Limited Ingredients. I think this is Lamb rather than Chicken. It is better for my dog with skin problems.

agree. Blckwood is a unhealthy dog food. can check the rating. blackwood is 2 star dog food. Go for Orijen, nutraal balance, Go!natural. these all are healthy dog food.

---

Added on November 7, 2010, 3:56 amno agree. Blckwood is a unhealthy dog food. can check the rating. blackwood is 2 star dog food. Go for Orijen, nutraal balance, Go!natural. these all are healthy dog food.



This post has been edited by leeannasako: Nov 7 2010, 03:56 AM

I 'an see the ingredient of addiction also not bad... feeding my babe orijen, acana, Artemis and go!natural...
if you read the website 'dog food analysis' then u know that grain is no good for dog... so skip those food that have grain in the top 10 of the ingredient list... corn is bad for dog... try to put any kinda meat in 'meal' for lower too... the ingredient list is rank for portion order, means the higher % portion will be top... try to read the label b4 u buy... that is what we did not do now, but pratice that in the future...

Sorry to disagree slightly, but i feel it is important to think for yourself a little and not simply go by what 'dog food analysis' has to say. At the moment, that site is very pro-grain-free so all their highest rated foods are grain free. I'm not debating that grains are not ideal for dogs, however grain free foods (as has been mentioned quite often in this thread) are very high in protein and i have seen a number of dogs starting to develop hot spots when switching to grain free high protein diets.
dogfoodanalysis.com is a great resource to get an idea of what range of foods are avaliable, but when selecting a brand for your dog you also need to understand a little yourself and choose a food that you think suits your dog.

Also I know some review sites do speak negatively of meat 'meal' ingredients, but actually there is a lot of debate about this. I don't remember the exact reason why it is frowned upon by some people but i do know that i disagree. Named meat 'meal' simply means that the water has been taken out before the meat was added to the food, making the amount of actual meat (rather than water) much higher. If you have turkey meal as a first ingredient for example, there is a lot more turkey meat than if the ingredient was simply 'turkey' or 'fresh turkey'. A lot of good foods use named meat 'meals'.

Finally, it is normally only necessary to look at the top 5 ingredients as these will make up the majority of the food. Again, as far as grain is concerned, it depends on personal opinion as to whether grain free or 'acceptable' grains (rice, barley etc) is best for you and your dog. I know 'grain free' is the latest trendy food and there are a lot of new brands with expensive price tags and fancy packages (plus they taste so much better...) but sometimes it is best to stick to something tried and tested than jump on the newest band wagon (i'm not saying grain free is bad, just not suitable for every dog and not necessarily better than some of the other high quality kibbles).

nice explanation DIVAS.
i'm using acana puppy& junior for the the past week. my dog seems to give positive signs. loves to the food. turns out training is easier. haha

i was confused regarding the protein content for large breed puppies as well. orijen puppy large breed has 70% meat which is really good but it also has 40% protein. i'm not about official research, a lot reviews seems to explain that to much protein is overkill the pup as excessive growth relates to joint and bones problem. on the other hand usually when it comes to joint and bones is the calcium is the one on topic is origen has 1.4% which i think is sustainable. and also it has 1400mg/kg of glucosomine which aids strengthening the joints. and high protein is good if the dog has a active lifestyle. if not could results in kidney problems

so ya , i'm really confused whether should i give orijen large breed puppy a try. and also my pup has to like it in the 1st place. or should i just stick to acana as it has also good ingredients which has 33% protein and so on
( sadly cant find acana large breed puppy so resorted to junior&puppy <-- kibbles to bit small )

all above just my opinion, so i could be wrong. need to decide quick orijen or maintain acana . CONFUSED !!!!

If you have found a dog food which is considered a good food (which Acana is) and your dog likes it.. stick with it. It takes 6 months to fully determine how a dog is reacting to a specific food.
Also if you switch foods quite often your dog will most likely start to become picky and you will keep having to switch foods (this is a problem that a lot of people are facing).

My advice would be to stick where you are. Choosing a good food is great, but constantly switching foods can cause more problems than good.

My advice would be to stick where you are. Choosing a good food is great, but constantly switching foods can cause more problems than good.

[/quote]

ya i guess thats the best solution. coz i don't mind paying bit more for better quality. but then have to suite the dog. but the Acana kibbles are like small. most of it he just swallows. its there so solution to that.


is excess protein in kibbles bad for pups. like i explain before in orijen 43% and acana 33%

tq divas for reply

---

Added on November 15, 2010, 6:10 pmi think i found why my pup was having loose stool. coz the OWNER was too sayang the dog and overfeeds everytime. was feeding almost 3.5-4cups a day. so i guess that was the reason why he poops everytime and loose stools.

so guys just stick to the instructions in the package !!!

This post has been edited by PACIFICO: Nov 15 2010, 06:10 PM

Jo (divas), how can i forget to grab Canidae off you last Saturday!!! urgh. silly silly silly!!! and you did not remind meeeee!

anyway, there was a pet shop near where i had lunch last sunday and i took a quick walk-through in there. the owner caught up with me and we talked a little about dog food. he mentioned something like since Bailey is about 6 years-old, i should NOT be looking at high protein dog kibbles as the older the dog gets, the lesser protein he/she needs. is it true??

he was telling me orijen should totally be out of my list of consideration if i'm ever looking to change because it's protein level is too high for a 6 year-old dog. any truth in the things he's saying? need advice here!

am currently feeding Bailey with Artemis Fresh Mix, but realised her poo has been the stinkiest pieces around!! not too sure if it's because of the food though? which, come to think of it, i should have grabbed a few packet of nutri-edge samples from your shop too Jo so i get to try and see if it's because of Artemis! urgh silly silly silllyyyyy!!!!

Ak I'm sorry, i meant to discuss food with you but totally forgot. One of the things i was going to mention was to stay away from grain free (high protein) stuff.
Because of Bailey's age as well as her medical history, her liver is probably quite worn out already. A high protein kibble makes the liver work harder as it has to filter out all the excess protein so wears down an older liver even faster.
Also as dog's get older they slow down and do less so need less energy so need less protein.

Hopefully the Artemis will last you until next month and then you can grab some samples to test, you should be able to tell if the poop smelliness is because of food in a couple of days.

Hey peeps!

well I have a male Boxer , currently 14 months old. Im feeding him science plan adult large breed and usually ill mix with raw food such as cooked meat, cooked liver , chicken meat boiled in soup and adding canned dog food like pedigrees' with his science plan dog food, what do u guys think?

raw food is not cooked meat.
Kibbles, cooked meat and raw meat&bones all digest at a different rate.
It's best not to mix,....

This post has been edited by mecharojak: Dec 10 2010, 01:29 PM

Hi.
I see a couple of problems with your chosen food plan.

Firstly, as Mecharojak said, COOKED food is not RAW diet. They are 2 totally separate things. What you are actually doing is mixing a "cooked food diet" with a "kibble diet" and a "wet food diet".
Also i agree that you shouldn't mix diets for the same reasons as already mentioned.

Secondly, if you had read even the first page of this thread you would see that most of us who have done our research don't recommend Pedigree for any situation and only suggest Science Plan for dogs with certain severe medical conditions (such as kidney failure).

To put it bluntly i'm sorry to say pretty much everything about your food choices is not what i would recommend. I think you would find it very useful to spend the time to read through (at least some of) this thread to get a better idea about what goes into dog food and what is actually good for your dog. After that, if you have any more questions or something you aren't sure about, feel free to ask.
Also have a look around at other diet options (im quite sure there are dedicated threads for both cooked diet and BARF on here with loads of info about those diet styles) and settle on one that you prefer. Mixing diets can be advantageous in some cases, however you have to be quite knowledgeable in nutrition to get it right so its generally best to stick to one diet style that suits your time-frame and budget as well as your dog's needs.

If you need help choosing the best diet plan for you (after you have researched a bit yourself) i would be happy to help you out .
Don't be discouraged by anything written here, the world of dog food is tricky and filled with advertisements and clever packaging to sway your decision. You have started moving in the right direction just by asking about food, now carry on by doing the research and hopefully getting your dog on a better diet asap.

Don't be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure about anything you have read.