Foodies - your opinion is requested!

Comments

• brandon_w

  May 2009 edited November -1

  Nemo seems to do the best on fish potein based, grain free kibble. However he also does really well on beef and salmon mix (Braking at the Moon) and turkey and duck based (Nature's Variety Raw Instinct).
  
  Why he does well on these, I don't know. His stomach does not like chicken protien based foods, it's not like he has explosive diarhea on it, but he is never as solid as he could be, and who wants runny poop all the time? I'm guessing if I continued him longer on a diet with chicken, other issues would pop up.
  
  He always did ok on food with grains but would get eye boogers all the time on them, on grain free he does not have that issue.
  
  I have never tried fully raw or home cooked diets.
• KFontaine04

  May 2009 edited November -1

  Both my dogs do best on grain-free kibble. Miso is very sensitive and every time I have tried RAW, or cooked he has a major loose stool explosion, even if it is just a small amount of RAW or cooked.
  
  They ate Orijen 6 fish and loved it, except for the gas which got better over time, but then we found out it might contain some sort of corn stalk or corn silk so we are just on EVO small red meat bites. They do really well on that.
• Calia

  May 2009 edited November -1

  Haven't had my guys long enough to really experiment with their foods, but from what I've experienced is that Tetsu can't handle wet foods (he used to steal bites every morning when my mother was feeding the chihuahua). Runny poop that smelled exactly like the food, so he had been a poop eater until we worked on a better eating/going out regime.
• tsukitsune

  May 2009 edited November -1

  thank you thank you!
  
  Keep them coming! I'm trying to get a general idea of what types of food today's generations of shibas have predisposed aversions to, what they thrive on, what thrive means (coat, dental, allergy control)...
  
  All your input helps!
• KFontaine04

  May 2009 edited November -1

  Jen, you should also mention suppliments (i.e. fish oil, garlic, probiotics, etc) since they are such an important part of a lot of the shiba's diets around here.
• Darwin67

  May 2009 edited November -1

  I've read so many conflicting things on garlic...How much raw garlic is okay to feed a dog?? how often do people feed garlic?? I'd really like to add that to Kahlo's diet to help w/ repelling fleas...this is going to be a VERY bad year for them.
• ShibaGirl55

  May 2009 edited November -1

  1. Grain Free (kibble, home cooked)
  -My two love the grain free, but they seem to get constipated if we don't mix it with something with grains
  
  2. Fish Protein Based (kibble)
  - I would have to say they prefer fish based food over any other food!! Tey also seem to get the best coats when we feed them Cali Natural Herring & sweet potato or Fromm's fish formula
  
  3. Red Meat Protein Based (kibble)
  - I just started them on a red meat based diet and so far so good.
  
  4. Natural non-kibble diet (raw, homecooked)
  - Oso & Roxy love raw but my checkbook does not
  
  
  I have to be very careful about what kibble we feed Oso because he gets red armpits from food that contains chicken and/or turkey.
• tsukitsune

  May 2009 edited November -1

  thanks so much!
• Tsheehan

  May 2009 edited November -1

  I changed ours to the Wellness Super 5 Mix Lamb, Barley & Salmon Meal Recipe and Wellness Wet food, Salmon 95% pure that we add a big spoon full to their dry food at the evening feeding. Their coats are much shinier than they were on the Ultra, plus I am not scared of the whole Nutro recall issue.
• tsukitsune

  May 2009 edited November -1

  yay tabitha! I'm delighted its working for you!
  
  
  p.s. Acana - has anyone tried the grain free fish formula? I asked for a sample via mail. I like the ingredients and analysis.
• lindsayt

  May 2009 edited November -1

  First started Beebe on Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken and Hundenflocken, Ike was on Nature's Variety Prairie (soft stools). Beebe began showing signs of her immune deficiency at about 3-4 months of age, so this is when I began researching other foods.
  
  Switched both to Ziwi Peak Venison and Hoki fish after they had consistently soft stools on the grain/lamb diets. They both developed MAJOR gas and diarrhea on Ziwi Peak, even though it was fish based, I am guessing due to the tripe, and that the Venison is a cloven hoofed ruminant, and similar to beef and lamb in protein structure.
  
  Went to cooked, veggies, sweet potatoes, eggs, bones and raw. Worked great for about 1 month, poops were great, but, well, kibbles were easier and I wasn't satisfied with the quality of meat I could get. When I fed straight lamb, bison or venison meat from the butcher, the gas and diarrhea returned with a vengence. It's just not for the Shibas as a staple protein. I would need to do maybe rabbit (but this is a ruminant, right), or do all organic fish for Beebe anyways. Ike could make do with chicken/turkey. I would just want to make certain it was wholesome and not from a crappy Tyson factory.
  
  I began looking into more only fish protein based foods (would like to stay as close as possible to a "native diet"-fresh fish and veg would be optimal I believe) that were grain free, and found Orijen. Ike rotates between the chicken and fish, Beebe gets fish only. Have experienced the best results with both dogs for a kibbled diet. I supplement with mega doses of fish oils and Missing Link or Seameal. I think Ike can eat pretty much anything, Beebe just gets wicked vomiting/diarrhea and itching/chewing when she strays from her diet.
• lindsayt

  May 2009 edited November -1

  Oh, I like the kibbled foods that have seaweed in them, it strikes me as being very Japanese in nature. I don't know if this is optimal for Shiba, but I have been adding it for the last 6 months to both their foods. Beebe was able to go completely off her allergy pills for several weeks this winter, which was big for her. She usually takes them twice a day.
• tsukitsune

  May 2009 edited November -1

  I agree, Lindsay! I'm so glad that some of the better commercial kibbles realize the benefit of sea vegetation in the canine diet!
  
  Thanks for the feedback, it's awesome!