Timberwolf Organics
Hi I am new to this forum. I'm Jessica. I have a 16 month old Shiba Inu named Moto (the love of my life). His name is short for Masaharu Morimoto, not the phone.
Anyway when we rescued him (from a way negligent guy) it was during the beginnings of the big food recall. I had been feeding him Natural Balance. He really didn't like it, and then it was one of the brands listed so I was done.
I currently have him eating Castor and Pollux Organix. He really seems to like it, and it seems alright. However I have heard a few raves about Timberwolf Organics. I looked at their website and was pretty impressed.
Does anyone feed their dog Timberwolf? I am curious as to how much you feed? They are very adamant about not overfeeding. They also say that you will need to feed them less food. Now I am concerned about what is the appropriate amount. (Mind you I haven't even purchased the food yet)
I know that I should transition him slowly. And that they suggest transitioning extra slow with this brand.
Help me out here please. Moto is my first Shiba. All my dogs in the past were rescued pits, and shepards (and back then I couldn't afford food like Timberwolf if I HAD known about it).
Comments
Welcome to the forum Jessica! Glad you found us!
We did feed Timberwolf, it is a really great food. When we feed kibble we only feed grain-free kibble - dogs don't digest grain so there is no reason to give it to them. It is true that with a quality kibble, specifically a grain free one, you feed less - because the dogs need less - because they digest more of it.
We feed mostly RAW to our dogs but we use kibble as a "filler" because it gets crazy expensive when you have 4 dogs (and one is an Akita puppy) to only feed RAW.
We have switched to Orjen kibble, but we still give Timberwolf as well. Our pups are spoiled rotten, so they get sick of the same food quickly. We like to rotate our kibble out to help combat the dogs getting bored - and I think it helps give the pups a better nutritional diversity.
For our Shibas we feed:
Maui - 18# - 4.5 year old male: 1/2 cup kibble or 6.4 oz of RAW. Maui stays very thin on this diet but will not eat anymore if we give it to him.
Kaia - 16# - 5 year old female: 1/2 cup kibble or 6.4 oz of Raw. Kaia is getting a bit chubby on this diet, we have started to feed her a bit less. She REALLY likes food, and she is a good bit smaller than Maui, she should probably be closer to 14#. Kaia was a rescue too.
As puppies our Shibas got double that amount of food.
We also fast our dogs (except the puppies - Hilo and Ahi) once a week. We will fast Ahi and Hilo when they get to there adult age. Ahi will be there next month!
Wow, Brad, Tojo eats twice as much Orijen as your guys! I think he's just really high metabolism because Loki eats the same as Tojo, but Loki weighs three times as much as him and Tojo's still rather slender. Plus, he runs like crazy on his daily walk whereas Loki just sort of putters along unless he needs to catch up. Oh yeah, and Loki's almost 8 years old whereas Tojo is almost 2.
I'm thinking of fasting the pups once a week, too. I hear it's good for them!
Thanks!
One day I will just give in and go raw. It is just a tough one to grapple with. Not so much financially (while I am not rich, I will spoil my dog before I would feed myself), but I'm vegan.
I know Moto is a hunter and a carnivore by nature and that it would not be right to impose my lifestyle on my dog. But raw meat is just so...raw...and...meat...and frankly I'm a wuss. My husband still has to always feed our snake because I cry every time.
I am glad to hear Timberwolf gets such a good report card.
What are the benefits of fasting your dogs?
All of our dogs get at least a 30 minute walk a day - usually it's a pretty active hike... But the Shibas just don't seem to need anymore food than that. Huku, the Shiba we are puppy sitting right now, eats as much as Ahi does and isn't fat... So I dunno... Maybe it's the age difference, Maui and Kaia are more than twice Tojo's age.
I think the fasting helps the pups metabolize all the supplements we give them... And We found that they would end up not eating one day even if we gave it to them each day.
That is part of why I think I need to change Moto's food. He is perpetually ravenous. I feed him half a cup of food twice a day. Presently he is having a little intestinal distress (he got into the trash overnight) and so I am mixing some brown rice and enzymes in with his food. He gets a minimum of five miles of running or walking (depending on heat and parental laziness) plus two addtional half hour walks daily.
I feel like his food just isn't cutting it. He is beginning to blow his summer coat and I want his winter coat to be as full and dense as possible.
This is why I don't have children. If I am this neurotic about my dogs health and diet, I would implode with a child!
On a side note, everything I read about shibas talks about aggressiveness and being territorial amongst children and other dogs of the same sex. Mine? Adores all kids and will let them do anything to him (although I would never leave any child unattended with any dog regardless of what anyone might say), he gets on famously with all dogs, and he and our chinchilla and hedgehog hang out. I socialized the hell out of him the moment I got him, but how lucky am I? Just needed to have a proud mom moment.
Yea - that is great he is so good with other dogs. It's all about socialization and confidence. A confident, mentally stable Shiba w/ the proper socialization will do great with any other dogs.
Fish Oils goes a long way in helping to insure a really nice coat - you may want to consider adding that to Moto's food.
Jessica-
My Shiba is the same with with other dogs and kids (besides her hyper mine mine mine attitude and claims the kids as hers and jumps on them...we are working on that but I am learning about the shiba wanna attitude...doesnt matter what you wanna but what she wanna's)
So looking at the prices of the foods and how little they will eat you may even save money (right right right?), trying to get my argument ready for my husband.
Would my fattie rottie lose weight??
I think you would probably break even - but I guess it's possible you could save some $.
Weight loss all comes down to caloric intake and the rate at which the dog (or person) burns calories (metabolism)... I don't think the food switch by it's self would help Sasha lose weight, but switching to a better food, and following the food's feeding instructions would probably help give her the correct number of calories.
Sasha is a nervous dog, so she probably has a very high metabolism (like Maui). She probably always acts hungry because she is not getting a food she can fully digest - so she is always hungry. If you feed her a food she can digest easier she will get more from her feeding and may not act hungry - then you will not feel like you need to feed her more - then she will loose weight.
Jessica,
Personally, I'd go Orijen over Timberwolf. My only complaint with TO is that they refuse to disclose where their food is made. Makes me wonder. My two didn't flip for it when I did try it. What they both flipped for is my second choice in grain free - EVO rm formula. Orijen if my first choice in kibble.
If he's haveing stomach issues, give him the same probiotic you might take. Yogurt alone doesn't get into the intestinal wall as well as a capsule form from what I understand. Tasha has to have one every night or she belches a lot and eats grass.
Thank you! He has been eating grass lately too. I will pick some probiotics tomorrow. It's official, Jay (my husband) and I are switching to Orijen.
I hate the switching over process. Especially when I know I am switching my little guy to something better for him. I want to just go straight to the new food. But I know that would wreak havoc on his tummy.
Thank you for all your advice!
You don't have to go as slow as you might think - you can fully switch him over in a week, especially if you are giving probiotics. I switched Ronan in three days without a problem, although I watched him like a hawk and his stool did get slightly loose. I'd go with the week.
And I don't know about the dogs, but I can vouch that probiotics really do help. I have colitis, and probiotics have helped me tremendously.
Heidi-
I have read that too. What mostly concerns me with it, is that people put all sorts of hideous chemicals on their lawns and not everyone is responsible enough to post warnings about treating their lawns.
I just began the switch over to Orijen. I ended up buying the 6 Wild Fish formula. when I opened the bag he was so excited to smell it. I mixed a small portion on the new food with his old. He paused sniffed and then devoured it licking the bowl and looking at me like "That's it?"
I wish I could just switch him. But I don't want to upset his tummy. I just know he is going to be happier on the new food once we switch fully.
Thanks everyone for the advice.
Kaia always has eat grass religiously - she freaking loves it. She eats well and never has soft poo... So I guess it's fine for her.
Every dog I have had does it.
It just concerns me. The little tree-hugging hippy that lives inside is so afraid of pesticides and cancer.
I admit it I am unwilling to acknowledge my pets mortality and I totally want him to live forever.
It's not just the concern about chemicals - Tasha yarks every time she eats it.
When I give her probiotics, she doesn't eat the grass. I think without the probiotics, grass makes her puke and settles her stomach. Occasionally, I feed her canned, salt-free green beans. Seems to satisfy her craving for greens. I probably should buy her fresh green beans though. Tasha loves veggies. Ronan looks at me like, "I'm a carnivore, you freak!" Although he'll eat watermelon, carrots, yams, and green beans, too. Ronan doesn't eat grass. Jack never did unless his stomach was upset.