What do you think about a varied diet?

[kayla]

I was wondering what people thought about varying a dogs (or cats) diet. Some say you should pick one good food and stick with it, and that switching foods is bad for them. Others claim a varied diet is best, and you should switch foods once and a while. Also, if you vary should you give something a little different each day? Buy a different food each month? Year? How much variation is good? I feel like to put your dog on one type of food for life would be putting a lot of trust into the quality and nutritional makeup of that food. I would love to hear what other people think about this.

[Puppyluv]

I'm a firm believer in keeping food constant. If the food is high quality and balanced, there is no need to change it, and changing only leads to gi disruption. I do however, vary snacks, keeping the same protein-carb balance each time, but switching up what those proteins and carbs are.

[Prin]

I agree with Puppyluv. I don't like to change. I might add some different high quality canned food, and I add Solid Gold Sea Meal. I don't think they need more than that. If I see that either doggy has a craving for a particular nutrient, I'll satisfy that too.

[kayla]

But even if they don't "need" other foods to survive, don't you think they would want it? Sometimes when I add things to Kayla's kibble, like yogurt or tuna, and she gobbles her food down, but if I just put a bowl of dried kibble in front of her she looks like "this again?" and walks away from her food! I feel bad, eating can be such a great part of human life, and yet dogs get the same thing day in day out... What about adding various things but keep the same kibble? I've never used the wet food, is this a necessary part of a good diet? Right now she's on Wellness Fish and Sweet Potatoe, so she's getting food, but I still feel like the same ingredients your entire life could get pretty dull, no matter how good they are...

[Prin]

It's really up to you. The only thing is that you could be creating a very picky doggy. Add-ons are not necessary, but sure the doggy would love it. I put Merrick canned food (this week is "Working Dog Stew" week) but literally a heaping tsp on each bowl of food and that's it. It's loaded with carrots and stuff, but some weeks they don't get anything. Their food is tasty enough for them that they don't mind.

I actually bought the Wellness fishy canned food and they both hated it... It took them at least twice the normal amount of time to empty their bowls... It's merrick or nothing.

[Daizy]

I give my dog a varied diet, I much prefer it; being more in control of what she does & doesn't eat than just giving her the same old kibble all the time. But I do give her food that I have made up for her ... so it's a lot easier to be in control of the quality of the food. She is very happy, healthy & energetic too. It works for me!

[kayla]

Originally Posted by Prin

It's really up to you. The only thing is that you could be creating a very picky doggy.

Kayla has always been a picky dog, ever since she was a puppy. Actually not so much picky as she just doesn't seem to enjoy food at all. It has been hard to train her because of this, she is not very food motivated at all. She will eventually eat her food, but not right when I put it down, and she has always been like this, and I never used to give her yummies in her food at all. It makes me feel bad that eating is such a bore for her, and she is a little on the thin side and very active so I want her to eat more. I started adding the yogurt because she has runny poo and I heard yogurt can help, and noticed it made meal times much more enjoyable for her too. I don't add stuff every meal, maybe one out of three or four meals she will get something (I feed her twice a day). Maybe I should try changing her food again to find a tastier one, I have changed it a couple times, from Medi-cal puppy food to Costco chicken and rice puppy food and now to Wellness, but she doesn't seem to really like any of them

[raingirl]

Prin! We do the same thing! We buy a variety of the canned Merrick, and Odin gets a little with his food sometimes! Other times he gets baby food or veggies or sometimes a little parmesan cheese.

[shannonRN]

Personally, I feel it's best to find a good quality food that works for your dog, then stick with it and add variety to that basic, unchanging diet. You can change it up with canned dog foods, yogurt, pumpkin, fruit, vegetables, a little cheese, some peanut butter. A little bit goes a long way, and I've never thought my dogs were bored with their food just by adding a little here and there of these sorts of foods.

[jessi76]

Originally Posted by kayla

Kayla has always been a picky dog, ever since she was a puppy. Actually not so much picky as she just doesn't seem to enjoy food at all. It has been hard to train her because of this, she is not very food motivated at all.

My pup Tucker is exactly the same. very picky since we got him at 8wks... even our trainer said to me a few wks ago, "I can't believe he won't pay attention to you, especially with those yummy treats you always have" (I'm talking YUMMY - chicken breast meat, cheese, liver biscotti, solid gold jerky treats, etc...) Tucker is a VERY independant dog (basenji-mix) so if he decides he won't pay attention, a baked ham isn't going to change his mind.

We've had good luck with the Chicken Soup for the Soul food, I just add some extras to it - good quality canned food, chicken, steak, yogurt... Thankfully Tucker has always been right on target weight-wise, so I don't worry too much if he won't eat, when he's hungry enough, he will.

[Prin]

Originally Posted by kayla

Maybe I should try changing her food again to find a tastier one, I have changed it a couple times, from Medi-cal puppy food to Costco chicken and rice puppy food and now to Wellness, but she doesn't seem to really like any of them

If she's a lab, you might want to try Wolf King (there I go again...). Seriously, it's tasty. Jemma won't touch wellness, and Boo wasn't crazy about it either and both wolf down the Wolf King. They sell tiny 4lb bags if you want to try it and noboty has samples (though they usually do have samples).

[kayla]

I've never seen Wolf King. Where do you buy it?

[Puppyluv]

Wolf King is a Solid Gold Variety.
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/produ...id=62&code=170
Solid Gold has a store locator:
USA: http://solidgoldhealth.com/stores/
Canada Est: www.jollypet.com
Canada Ouest: www.optimaldog.com

[kayla]

Oh apparently they sell it where I get her Wellness, guess my memory aint top notch these days (all brain power gone into midterms).

[Prin]

Woofers on Sources is where I get it but there are a few places in Montreal. Le Reveil du Maitre, Le Croque en bol, Club K-9 all have it too.

[kayla]

They also sell it at the little pet supplies store in the Atwater Market

[Puppyluv]

Originally Posted by kayla

They also sell it at the little pet supplies store in the Atwater Market

For how much, $200? Sorry.. I always find that everything there costs about twice as much as anywhere else in the city.

[kayla]

I bought a 30lb bag of Wellness for $63, and saw it at another store in Verdun for $66, not sure how much it is supposed to cost though, anyone else buy Wellness and know? Atwater is quite pricey but it's the closest place to me that sells dog food other than Iams or Purina! How much does Wolf King usually cost for a big bag?

[Puppyluv]

Oh ok, that sounds normal, I buy the 30 lb bag of Wellness F&SP for $65 and then get every 10th bag free.
I've never been to the atwater market pet store, I was just thinking of the produce prices.. "sure... I'd love to buy 15 strawberries for $6.99....."
I'm pretty sure that Solid Gold is within $10 of Wellness.

[Prin]

My Wolf King is $67.99 for 33lbs at woofers (plus tax)...