[lady amanda]

I am in the process of switching Lady's food...what I thought was a pretty good food wasn't awesome
It wasn't the worst stuff out there but there sure is better. She was on pet smarts Authority. my husband and me were talking about switching to a better food and before I knew it he was out at the pet store buying something for her. Man how he loves her. We are switching her to Inovo or trying to, I will have to see if she likes it.
our local shop doesn't carry Orijen, but I will order it online if she doesn't take to the Inovo (sp?) But I have heard it is a great food.
Anyone on here use it with their pups?

 

[Enneirda.]

I haven't used Orijen yet (the price lol) but I've heard more then enough rave reviews to know I want to give it a shot one day!

 

[wilfiboy]

Just catching up with threads... I swapped mine to Orijens and they've probably been on it 6 weeks ???? might be wrong, because of all the great write ups and recommendations, however I cant say that they were anymore thrilled with it than my previous brand (barking heads... think its a uk brand) . So when it came to re- ordering I had to make a decision... so I bought Applaws pouches of meat and veg and have ordered the meat with bone and veg that helen uses for Dylan ... its being delivered tomorrow ... the way they tucked into the Applaws and how they love their daily chicken wing just thought id give it a try and hopefully they'll love it x

 

[lady amanda]

Wow, let me know how it goes...I don't think I have the stomach for raw myself...the chicken wing thing scares me a little...lol. I am a wimp

 

[wilfiboy]

I dare you

 

[lady amanda]

LOL!!! my husband would probably love it! haha me on the other hand

 

[embee]

have ordered the meat with bone and veg that helen uses for Dylan ... its being delivered tomorrow

Oh let me know how you get on with Natural Instinct as I shall probably switch when I get to the end of the Origen bag. I was talking to my friend who runs kennels today and she said there was a noticeable difference in any dogs coming in who are fed raw, they have 'nicer' poos, the dogs didn't smell etc.. Helen or Karen, if you give raw chicken wing as a meal would you give 1 or 2 wings?

 

[wilfiboy]

I just give one .. cos I used to feed two which the barf book said but Wilf was getting chunky so i cut it down to one, i give them less than the lowest suggested amount of food and then one chicken wing at tea time ... this on its own makes a big difference to poo... makes it drier cos of the bone no sloppy messes x

 

[Dylansmum]

Helen or Karen, if you give raw chicken wing as a meal would you give 1 or 2 wings?

Personally I give 2. Actually Dylan has not been that keen on chicken wings. I've tried him a few times and he looks at me as if to say "what's that doing in my food bowl??". He loves big bones for treats though and knows that I'm going to go out when I've given it to him so doesn't even bother to follow me to the door.
One of the reasons that I like Natural Instinct is that Barf is quite controversial and a lot of people worry about a choking risk with chicken wings. Personally I'm ok with that, but I have had dogs occasionally throwing up a wing that they haven't chewed well enough. I also used to worry about whether the diet was balanced enough and should I be giving supplements etc. So now I don't have any of those problems - the veg and supplements are all included and it is all ground up so they get the nutrition of the bones without any risk or mess. And the big bones that I give keep Dylan's teeth gleaming. It's also regarded as less cranky by vets etc. If there is a down side to the diet, it's that Dylan gets quite ill when people give him ordinary dog food, like if he steals it when he's at someone's house. He gets a bad tum for days afterwards.

 

[embee]

Would be interested to know what the texture of Natural Instinct is like. Is it like minced meat with bone ground down so much you don't see it or is it more like chunks of meat with small pieces of bone they have to chew on?

 

[embee]

And the big bones that I give keep Dylan's teeth gleaming.

How often does he get a big bone and what do you give him. Does it count as a meal?

 

[Dylansmum]

Its just like mince. You can't really see the bones and veg unless you look closely. Largest piece would be maybe a few mm.

 

[Dylansmum]

How often does he get a big bone and what do you give him. Does it count as a meal?

It varies - usually when I have to go out for a while and leave him. Maybe 3 a week on average. I get it from the local butcher, so whatever they have - beef, lamb or pork. I don't count it as a meal but I have had to cut down his food lately as he put on weight. He's just gone down a half kilo though, so now he's fine.

 

[Dylansmum]

How often does he get a big bone and what do you give him. Does it count as a meal?

It varies - usually when I have to go out for a while and leave him. Maybe 3 a week on average. I get it from the local butcher, so whatever they have - beef, lamb or pork. I don't count it as a meal but I have had to cut down his food lately as he put on weight. He's just gone down a half kilo though, so now he's fine.

 

[embee]

It varies - usually when I have to go out for a while and leave him. Maybe 3 a week on average. I get it from the local butcher, so whatever they have - beef, lamb or pork. I don't count it as a meal but I have had to cut down his food lately as he put on weight. He's just gone down a half kilo though, so now he's fine.

More questions about bones...

So I plucked up the courage to go in a 'real' butcher shop - being veggie and also buying all my meat from supermarkets quite an alien place - and asked if they had any bones for Flo. He produced a tray of quite large, frozen bones so I've just taken the too smallest which I would say are both too big to give her in one 'sitting'. Help! Now what do I do? Do I defrost a bone (he said 2 hours to defrost) then let her have it a while then take it away and keep it in the fridge. Can I give it to her frozen?

They were a bargain by the way compared to the sterilised, hollowed out, yuck filled bones you get in Pets at Home just 90p for 2 large marrow bones (look like the knuckle bit). I'm sure I could get them cheaper elsewhere but they are a really 'posh' butcher next door to a Waitrose and I just dashed in on the spur of the moment.

Have switched on Flo's small chest freezer and just about to order Natural Instinct.

How's that for a veggie mum

Persuaded by all of Dylansmum's info and encouragement to take the BARF route but also a chat with my friend, who runs a kennel swung it. Now she runs a kennel she says she is a 'poo expert'. She says she has 4 BARF fed gundogs in who are odourless, in perfect condition and who have very small, non smelly 'nice' poos.

 

[lady amanda]

Wow Mandy that is very impressive! I am not a veggie myself...and I cant bare to do the chicken wing thing.

 

[Dylansmum]

The bones sound fine. Dylan loves the really big marrow bones. You can give them frozen or defrosted - they don't seem to mind and I never remember to defrost them
Don't worry about the size as there is probably very little meat on them, they just use them for amusement and teeth cleaning. Dylan even manages to carry the huge ones around the house - hilarious! I leave them around for days as they don't seem to go off - once the meat is all gone they just dry out. Dylan has them lying around all over the house and when he's bored he just starts working on one - sometimes he'll gnaw away all afternoon. If there is a lot of meat on them then just miss out a meal.
Just one word of warning - Dylan has a horrible habit of walking around with a bone in his mouth whining endlessly. No idea why he does it - just seems to be a thing of his. He might do that for an hour before he actually shuts up and munches on it - really annoying. So if Flo does that, dont worry.
Hope the Natural Instinct goes well x

 

[embee]

The bones sound fine. Dylan loves the really big marrow bones. You can give them frozen or defrosted - they don't seem to mind and I never remember to defrost them
Don't worry about the size as there is probably very little meat on them, they just use them for amusement and teeth cleaning. Dylan even manages to carry the huge ones around the house - hilarious! I leave them around for days as they don't seem to go off - once the meat is all gone they just dry out. Dylan has them lying around all over the house and when he's bored he just starts working on one - sometimes he'll gnaw away all afternoon. If there is a lot of meat on them then just miss out a meal.
Just one word of warning - Dylan has a horrible habit of walking around with a bone in his mouth whining endlessly. No idea why he does it - just seems to be a thing of his. He might do that for an hour before he actually shuts up and munches on it - really annoying. So if Flo does that, dont worry.
Hope the Natural Instinct goes well x

You'll get so bored with all these BARF and bone questions soon but it's all so new to me and I imagined I'd only ever give Flo kibble and nylabones but they actually eat all the bone in the end? When I gave Flo the bone out of a leg of lamb a few weeks back she ate the lot within an hour meat, marrow and bone.

 

[Dylansmum]

Some of them virtually disappear but the really big ones won't. They are too hard. But Dylan loves working on them over a few days. Beware of bone shards and bare feet - they don't go together comfortably!

 

[caradunne]

I have now ordered the Natural Instinct and it will arrive Tuesday. Like Amanda I am a bit squeamish about the whole thing, but you all think it will be better for Izzy and she is the end user not me! I like the idea of small non smelly poos! I am not sure about the chicken wing thing, is that instead of a meal? More bone questions - don't the bones mess up your house or is Dylan good at not climbing on furniture? Are the bones essential in keeping the teeth clean? Izzy loves Kelties, which are Burns biscuits. Am I right in thinking that she can't have those once we have switched? I am following the NI web advice and making the transition over a week and I did give the friend to friend info, but as I only ordered 5ks I won't benefit until I order 10Ks. I would need to buy an additional freezer to take that amount and I want to try it first. I'm looking forward to Izzy loving it. xx