For all you Solid Gold believers!
 

Well I'm caving in and trying it out for my pup. I checked out their site but I'm not quite sure which one would be best for him. I've been on this forum for several months and a lot of you feed your pups this brand. Which one would work for mine? Albert is a jack russell Mix..he's about 29 pounds..he isn't very active at all. Short of a few walks, if that. He doesn't move too much. He's about 5 years old and a picky eater. He's been on Chicken Soup for the dog lover's soul dry ..and has responded well to it. I mix it with a wet food that my pet supply store makes..it's all natural, no fillers...and he likes it. He doesn't seem to have any allergies..his dry food has tons of different stuff in it..chicken, salmon, turkey, rice, potatoes, etc.
So any suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks!

Chicken soup is pretty good. Why are you switching? That said, if you intend to switch, I'd go for the Just a Wee bit, but feed him less than the recommended amount (less than he's eating now). My dad's Jack eats more than 2 cups of his food a day, which is a huge amount of food to fit into such a little body and were he to switch to Just a wee Bit, he'd probably only need 1 1/4 cups (which is an ok quantity to fit into a Jack).

The just a wee bit is a bit expensive, but since you'll feed less, get shiny fur and probably a bit more energy, it's probably worth it. It should be tasty- it's nearly the same as the Wolf King and Wolf Cub and those are the tastiest foods my doggies have tasted so far... For picky guys, I'd get a sample or the 4lb bag first just in case.;)

Isn't the wee bit for small breeds? Yes albert is part jack russell but he's double the size of a purebred JRT. Right now he's fine on chicken soup dry, i just wanted to try something else. I am happy with the quality and the price (just a few dollars less than solid gold), but I've heard such great stories about how yummy solid gold is..and the only way he'll eat chicken soup is because I mix it with that wet stuff I get at the store.. It's lamb with rice and veggies.

The last time I was at my store they only had the giant bags of solid gold stuff..I think the wee bit was there in a smaller bag. While he isn't very active, he isn't a tiny dog and i want to make sure he gets enough nutrition. Right now he averages about 1 1/4 cups of dry a day mixed with a few tablespoons of wet in his 2 daily servings. My little fatty will sometimes ask for a 3rd serving..and I'll admit..sometimes he gets it...but usually only if we've had a busy day. He is still very picky though so if the solid gold is as yummy as all of you say I'd like for him to try it.

My guess is that Prin suggested the Wee Bit as it is the small dog version of Solid Gold's tastiest food (Wolf Cub / King) and you indicated that Albert is a picky eater.

When planning to switch Harley's food earlier this year, I tried the SG Hundenflocken (sp.), as well as some samples of Wellness and Natural Balance. She hated it, after one nibble she was done and wouldn't touch the stuff again. But still determined to give Solid Gold a try, I gave her some of the Wolf Cub, and she loved it! I think it just has better taste appeal than some of SG's other foods.

The Wolf series is made of bison and salmon, and listed for large breed dogs. My girl is now on the adult formula at a year old, and she only comes in at 48 pounds. The Wee Bit is made from the same tasty stuff, but for small dogs.

The small dog version has nothing special other than it's more dense than regular food. There wouldn't be any problem with feeding it to your 29 lb Jack. The only consequence is that you'll have to feed a bit less than you normally have fed him. And Sungurl was right- the other Solid Gold's are not nearly as tasty as the Bison/Salmon ones and for your picky guy, that would be best.:) (but it's a bit expensive...:eek: )

BTW, my dad's Jack is 25lbs... Apparently, the heavier ones are "Parsons"? I dunno.

Joey has just a weebit and he loves it. Technically I think its for smaller dogs, but I think the Wolfking is for the bigger dogs. So there isnt really a catagory for the big little dogs. He wont it now unless I add the salmon meal to it though. Picky, picky.

Yeah Wolf king is for larger breeds, I have Tucker on lamb and rice formula and his coat has changed dramisticly since I had him on the Iams ( I know the nasty name). I'm 100% sold on the stuff, even my vet commented on how beautiful Tucker's cost is and other people on the street have too.

Harley has done superbly on the Wolf King. Here's a couple of before and after pics. (I've been dying for an excuse to show off my shiny black dog for awhile now, although I'll never be able to beat Prin's furkids!!!)

Before (so dull she looks like an ink blob)

And after.....

Coat color and Wolf King
 

After seeing all these pics of lovely shiny happy puppies, I'm curious. I want to switch to Peaches and Simon to Wolf King, partly because they've been on the same food since forever (and it's a good food) but partly because I've seen such a distinct change in some of these before and after pics. Thing is, Peach is half German Shepherd half Chow (has the Shepherd coat) and Simon's an English Pointer with a white coat. Given the texture and coloring of each, will the same aesthetics apply? I'm going to change regardless but was wondering if anyone had thoughts/suggestions/musings etc :)

I guess in part it would depend on what you're currently feeding them. If you're already feeding a really good food, this could be an interesting experiment to test the effects of Solid Gold on coat condition.

The degree of visible improvement would probably differ on each dog, due to the differences in coat. I would think that dark coats lend themselves a bit better to showing off a sheen (just like black hair on a person tends to look glossier then blond hair). Also, a smooth coat would likely look a bit shinier than a curly coat.


Of course, I'm no expert, so this is just IMHO.

(FYI, I also supplement Harley's food with the SG Sea Meal.)

My Saint's coat is shiny and definitely feels softer since he's been eating Solid Gold.. He's eating the Hundenflocken (lamb) now.

It is harder to see the shine on a light colored dog.. But when Bubba is outside the shine is more noticeable.

Here's Bubba's before and after pics. In the before pic He was eating Science Diet large breed puppy (which the breeder was feeding) and the after pic was just 2 weeks on Solid Gold Wolfcub.

Before (his ears were soft and shiny, but his coat was dull)
[IMG]http://67.18.37.14/95/148/upload/p466248.jpg[/IMG]

After (Shiny everywhere.. lol)
[IMG]http://67.18.37.14/95/148/upload/p466247.jpg[/IMG]

And Bubba now eating Solid Gold Hundenflocken. He's still nice and shiny but harder to compare since he's lost his puppy coat.
[IMG]http://67.18.37.14/95/148/upload/p466249.jpg[/IMG]

I hope these pics are not too big. :fingerscr Just thought I'd post a comparision on a light colored doggy.

Actually that's precisely the evidence I was in search of. Peaches' ears are the softest and have the potential for great shine, as are Simon's (he's got a "Snoopy" head and face). Nice to see the white is also brighter too :) Beautiful pics too!

[QUOTE=RaYne]My Saint's coat is shiny and definitely feels softer since he's been eating Solid Gold.. [/QUOTE]

I also noticed that the texture of Harley's fur improved on the Solid Gold. The hair on her body used to feel really coarse, but it has definitely become much softer. Perfect for snuggles!

RaYne, you have an absolutely gorgeous dog!!! I would love to have a Saint (have a soft spot for all the really big breeds), but I might have a hard time convincing my son that he can't ride the dog! :p

Wysong
 

I have used Solid Gold, but primarily feed Wysong Vitality for my kitties. Does anyone have an opinion of one vs. the other?

Wow Rayne he is gorgeous!!
 

He's the same coloring as my little guy. Like I stated, he does very well on Chicken Soup..I just want to try something that may taste better to him. I spoke with a Solid Gold rep..they suggested I go with Wolf King..the reason being that WeeBit is a lot more calorie dense..you gotta fit as much nutrition as possible into those little bodies! Since Al isn't very active, it is better if I just stick with Wolf King..he'll get the same yummy ingredients, with less protein and fat.

Thank you all for your advice. Al has a great coat as it is..I am curious to see how much better it will look on Solid Gold..I'm sure it will only get better!
I'm picking a bag up this weekend. Honestly, there isn't a huge price difference between it and Chicken Soup, and my doggy is worth it. :D

ooo can I post before and afters too?

Here they are before:
Here they are before. Cute, but not so shiny- especially Boo. I thought dogs with fluffy fur weren't ever shiny, but I was wrong.

And after?

Here's my fluffy, shiny Boo.

another angle, just to show that it's not just the flash..:o

And my shiny Jemma... She got shiny much more quickly than Boo. After just a couple of months on the food, she was like this:

I picked up a bag of Wolf King tonight and will be blending it with their current food (Regal Turkey Rice and Lamb) starting tomorrow :) I can't wait to see what they look like, knowing that even now, Peaches ears are so soft and snuggly that I irritate her by wanting to cuddle her all the time hehehe

I'm not the pro on cat foods, but I'll give the comparison a go...

The main things I didn't like in the Wysong were the corn (it seems that protein-dependent animals can't digest corn... and it's just a filler...), wheat (a lot of animals end up allergic to wheat) and "Poultry fat". Poultry is a very vague term. What kind of bird is it? Why aren't you telling me?:evil: Also, the chicken is not in "meal" form, which means that when they weigh it, the weight includes the water which is removed in the cooking. That means that there is less actual meat then they claim, especially since ALL of the grains are ground, which includes removing the water. So you have more grains than they say and less meats (i.e. the grains move toward the top of the ingredient list and the chicken moves way down.).

Ideally, you want a meat meal as your first ingredient. (But not "meat meal"- you want to know specifically what meat it is- whether it's lamb, chicken, salmon, etc. No vague terms.:thumbs up )

Also all the bacteria they put in the food is useless because you need LIVE good bacteria to help the doggy. Cooking them kills them and the doggy can't use a bunch of bacteria cadavers.;)

[QUOTE=First few Ingredients]Chicken, Chicken Giblets, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols as a source of vitamin E), Ground Wheat, Ground Brown Rice, Ground Corn, Ground Oat Groats, Fish Oil, Salt, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Eggs, Plums, Dried Wheat Grass Powder[/QUOTE]

Here's the Vitality link: [URL="http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WOTTPWS&Product_Code=VITALITY&Category_Code=FD&Product_Count=22"]Wysong Vitality for cats[/URL]

And Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken: [URL="http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=4&code=130"]Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken[/URL]
[QUOTE= All ingredients]Lamb | Chicken Meal | Millet | Brown Rice | Menhaden Fish Meal | Cracked Pearled Barley | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Amaranth | Blueberries | Dried Chicory Root | Taurine | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Copper Proteinate | Manganese Proteinate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid | [/QUOTE]
Ok, the lamb gets bumped down, so the Chicken Meal is the #1 ingredient, which is still not bad. Millet and brown rice are healthier than white rice, corn or wheat (they're higher in protein too, which the animal can actually use). The major difference is the fish meal. That is where Solid Gold helps the fur. It's in the fish.

You could give Omega fatty acid supplements and probably get the same effect though, without the nutrients and protein from the fish. And if you really want all the bacteria, you can give plain yogurt or if you need a real dose, buy them at a health food store (make sure they're in the fridge- they have to be alive).

That's about it.:) I hope that helped.

Well I have to admit it, I've never seen 2 dogs more excited about meals than my two since I started them over to Wolf King. I came in the door tonight, and was greeted by Peach and Simon as usual, only now, instead of running to the leash hook, they ran to the pantry where I keep their food. This isn't the first meal they've done this for, so I'm pretty certain I've got a pair of Solid Gold believers on my hands :D

Oh and Simon does the Happy Happy Pointer Pointer dance (a variation on the Ren and Stimpy theme). He bounces up and down, front legs straight, with both ears up and tongue flapping out the side of his smile. I also no longer have to clean the spot where his tail dusts the floor while sitting patiently (as patiently as a perky, persistent Pointer can)

It's funny eh? You think your dog is excited about food and then you feed this stuff and you see what real food-lovin' looks like. I just hope I don't find out that there's crack in it or something.:D

Like Tim Horton's (which I have brought across the border whenever anyone visits our call center in Toronto or my best bud goes home to Halifax)?? I spent 3 weeks in Halifax and came home with a serious Tim's withdrawl issue, ooft! :p

Just a question, what size bags can you buy WolfKing in, and where is sold? Anyone know?

Solid Gold
 

The large bag weighs 33 pounds and if you go to the [url]www.jollypets.ca[/url] web site you can do a search for a store that sells it.

I have been feeding it to my dogs for a year and love the results.

Yeah, the 33lb bag is $67.99 here. Before you go out to any of the stores on the Jollypet list, make sure you call first (their list isn't up to date).

First time for everything
 

Well, Albert might be the only doggie in the world to not like Solid Gold! Ugh. He's barely touching the stuff right now! It is getting better each day but since I bought it he barely eats once a day. I figure since the SG pellets are bigger than Chicken soup..maybe he doesn't need as much, and he's filling up quicker..We tried feeding less (a cup a day)..not much difference though. We have to mix with wet anyway..he will NOT touch any dry by itself. He is actually eating AROUND the Solid gold! Of course we halt all treats and eventually he's hungry enough where he HAS to eat it. I'm hoping he'll get used to it after a while. Right now his bowels are a bit loose but I know that's common when switching. So it can still go any way at this point. I bought the 18 lb. bag..which will last several months. Maybe I should've bought the smaller one huh? :sad: If it doesn't improve, I'm putting him back on Chicken soup. While he didn't jump for joy over that one either, the pellets were small enough that when I mushed it with the wet he ate everything. Regardless, he's healthy and happy and looks absolutely gorgeous and that's what counts.