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Best food for my Vizsla pup....

65K views 41 replies 25 participants last post by  Mattie.egg 
#1 ·
My new Vizsla is about 14 weeks old. I have started him on Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice. He absolutly LOVES it but I was wondering if fellow Vizsla parents could tell me if they like/dislike that food. I raised Labs before, Mason is my first Vizsla. I just want to make sure that I am giving good food to my growing Vizsla.
 
#2 ·
We personally have our 8 month old male on Nutro Natural Choice large breed puppy chicken and brown rice formula because he isn't a fan of lamb. Not only does he love it but I like the ingredients in his food and can identify what the first few listed are. I also love that they have a large breed formula, not only for puppy but also for young adult (1-2 years old) and adult that will grow with him. Both our trainer and our vet approve so I know we aren't feeding him something awful.

There's a variety of brands used by different people on the forum but I believe that if your dog is eating it and you can identify what the first few ingredients are (my rule of thumb is that I would eat them myself) then I think that is a good food for your pup.
 
#5 ·
We feed Taste of the Wild but I'm switching Riley over to Canidae Pure Sea because it has a higher protein and fat content (40% and 20% respectively).

This is a GREAT site for researching dog food: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the link to that site, threefsh. I'll definitely be checking it out to see what other food options we may have out there. Despite our boy loving his food he seems to be going through his phase of not being interested in food.
 
#9 ·
Hi

Baxter is now 14 weeks and he has a mix of James Well Beloved kibble and nature diet wet food. I also had him on raw food natures menu but have to limit the amount I mix that with nature diet on the same day because he was going hyper and the vet said it was because of the high protein. You should only give 24% protein.

He is much better on mixing kibble and wet over 3 to 4 meals a day. I don't actually mix in the bowl though, I mean one meal kibble and one meal wet etc.

If I give Baxter the same food for all meals he won't eat. He is a fussy eater and likes variety. But then I think is get bored of eating the same thing all the time ;)
 
#12 ·
SteelCityDozer said:
born36 said:
Best food is Raw diet. :)
Born- have your pups allergies improved on raw?
Yes it has been like night and day. Hardly ever gets any bumps and when he does I am unsure if the are due to allergy or perhaps just little spots from catching sticks/thorns when running through the woods.

He has put on weight and actually grew an inch in the last month. This confirms to me that he wasn't getting the right nutrients from his previous food.
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
Higher protein is not good for growing 'larger' puppies - it can make their bones grow too fast and cause loose stools.
I think this is misleading.

Higher protein, higher fat and low carbs mean that the most of the food will be utilized for growth and development, not passed through as filler and bulk (and junk) added to the food to make the dog feel full.

Think about it - if you feed only ground beef and eggs instead of kibble, you will feed even higher protein yet the stools will be firmer and more solid. That's what raw people never stop talking about.

The reason for soft stools and growth like on steroids is overfeeding the puppy to the brim with food that's already highly concentrated.

I think the waistline should be the gauge as to how well the puppy is developing. It's better to have a lean and skinny puppy that grows slower and ages slower - but to feed high quality food that is going to be fully used for development.

When it comes to kibble, high protein and high fat diet should win hands down over any carbs or "balance" or other marketing weasel words, provided the food quality is good.
 
#15 ·
TexasRed said:
Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets.
Dogs fed raw chicken may therefore be a source of environmental contamination.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC339295/
You calling my boy an environmental contaminate!!!! Well I agree!! He is a litter bugger!!!

I am not going down the debate road on this one again.
 
#16 ·
veifera said:
Higher protein is not good for growing 'larger' puppies - it can make their bones grow too fast and cause loose stools.
I think this is misleading.

Higher protein, higher fat and low carbs mean that the most of the food will be utilized for growth and development, not passed through as filler and bulk (and junk) added to the food to make the dog feel full.

Think about it - if you feed only ground beef and eggs instead of kibble, you will feed even higher protein yet the stools will be firmer and more solid. That's what raw people never stop talking about.

The reason for soft stools and growth like on steroids is overfeeding the puppy to the brim with food that's already highly concentrated.

I think the waistline should be the gauge as to how well the puppy is developing. It's better to have a lean and skinny puppy that grows slower and ages slower - but to feed high quality food that is going to be fully used for development.

When it comes to kibble, high protein and high fat diet should win hands down over any carbs or "balance" or other marketing weasel words, provided the food quality is good.
Very true. Quality is more important than quantity. The new food we just purchased for Riley (Canidae Pure Sea) recommends feeding much less per serving than we were feeding for TOTW because it is so high in calories.
 
#17 ·
I was feeding my boy EVO Chicken and Turkey and raw (kibble at night, raw in the morning). I could never get his stools firm. I know that EVO is an excellent quality and high protein, but he couldn't handle it. I've switched to Pure Vita Grain Free Bison and still feeding raw. He eats way more of the kibble than he ever did with the EVO and his stools are much firmer. I know that the Pure Vita has a high carb ratio, but I'm hoping the raw helps balance this out. At this point I'm just looking to put weight on my little guy...in a healthy way, because he is extremely skinny.
 
#18 ·
Re: Re: Best food for my Vizsla pup....

Oquirrh said:
I was feeding my boy EVO Chicken and Turkey and raw (kibble at night, raw in the morning). I could never get his stools firm. I know that EVO is an excellent quality and high protein, but he couldn't handle it. I've switched to Pure Vita Grain Free Bison and still feeding raw. He eats way more of the kibble than he ever did with the EVO and his stools are much firmer. I know that the Pure Vita has a high carb ratio, but I'm hoping the raw helps balance this out. At this point I'm just looking to put weight on my little guy...in a healthy way, because he is extremely skinny.
You should look into Taste of the Wild, or Blue Wilderness. Higher crude fat and protein. When we rescued Kauzy he was very under weight. The TOTW beefed him up nicely. Both are grain free
 
#19 ·
born36 said:
TexasRed said:
Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets.
Dogs fed raw chicken may therefore be a source of environmental contamination.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC339295/
You calling my boy an environmental contaminate!!!! Well I agree!! He is a litter bugger!!!

I am not going down the debate road on this one again.
We as a forum are a great wealth of information.
I posted it so people can do their own research and decide for themselves.
I believe they need to know both sides of the coin when feeding raw.
My dogs go to a trainer on occasion and would not be allowed to stay if fed a raw diet.
He can't put a whole kennel of dogs in jeopardy. It could cause vet bills, down time on training and the dogs missing hunts test. Then he would have to deal with unhappy customers.
 
#20 ·
I was feeding my boy EVO Chicken and Turkey and raw (kibble at night, raw in the morning).
Thinking out loud here - if you feed the raw portion at night, instead of morning, he'll have plenty of time to digest it and the morning poop would be firm and odorless. That's probably a good thing to test. The other possibility is to mix in things (kibble + raw) and feed the mixture both mornings and nights. Something to think about...

Like most people, I went through loose smelly poops and exercise-induced super-soft poops.

Called my breeder and almost had a screaming argument with her about this. I felt like I wasn't a good dog owner, not caring enough and just downright cruel because my puppy looked so thin to me. The sense of guilt was what drove all of that as well as the cultural expectation that babies are supposed to be chubby.

The breeder told me to cut the amount of kibble well below what's recommended on the package - by a cup!!! (the bag called for 3 cups a day if I remember right).

Then, she told me to mix in raw ground beef splashed with boiling water. And later on, I started adding a little coconut oil to the food and occasionally a scrambled egg.

The second thing the breeder told me to do was to feed based on the waistline. Basically, she wanted to see a puppy that looks like a miniature adult, just ever so slightly fatter - not anywhere near a chubby puppy. Her instructions were to watch the waistline from above and to adjust the amount of food until it was just right (there are many guides on the internet on the waistline).

She raised many many generations of Vizslas and her own experience is that skinnier puppies live longer and healthier lives and the risk of hip dysplasia, allergies and cancers is greatly reduced.

Before this change, I was constantly inventing tricks to entice my dog to eat. We tried everything, from hand-feeding to getting on all fours by the food bowl. If I thought dancing naked on the table would make her eat, I'd do it.

But the breeder kept saying she wasn't eating because she wasn't hungry. So I forced myself to give her method a try. And it really worked for me. My dog became really interested in food, her stools firmed up and got smaller in volume, loose stools stopped and she started to look more graceful and after the addition of coconut oil her hair became shiny and glossy. We're constantly complemented on how good, healthy and happy she looks.

Looking back, I think I was reacting to the eating issue very emotionally. It's the same mechanic when we're crate-training - the screaming turns your insides out and makes you feel like you're hurting the dog. But in the end, it's a human issue not the dog's.

My 2 cents.
 
#21 ·
I have researched this at length and have had similiar worries myself. There are arguments for every side of the coin for kibble and RAW. I personaly think that anything man made cant be as good as what nature provides can it?

Im gonna go for natural instinct hopefully the pup will take to it. If not ill have to reassess my options.

Going off the Natural instinct website they advise portion size and amount be judged off the weight of the dog and pups recieving 4 - 6% of their body weight, spread of 3 - 4 meals a day until about 6 months old. Judged for success by having a natural waist.
 
#22 ·
Colinstab great choice. My 10 month old hasn't looked back since starting on Natural Instinct. I had so much trouble with loose stools on kibble(several brands) and he was very thin. He loves natural instinct and it is so easy to store and use. The staff are really helpful and have helped in sort out an allergy problems. Hope your pup enjoys it. There feeding recommendations worked well for my boy. As the quantities are quite large we continued with three meals until 7-8 months but that was also no problem for us.

Verifera - I was told you should never feed kibble and raw in the same meal as the high moisture content in raw is asorbed into the kibble once in the stomach and can be dangerous. It was suggested that if you want to feed kibble and raw do one in the morning and the other in the evening.
 
#24 ·
colinstab said:
Thanks Hotmischief. I was thinking about going for 3 meals daily and make up the extra with their treats to train him with? Reducing if he started showing signs of becoming overweight.
I too feed Natural Instinct and I will be shocked if your pup doesn't love it. On the feeding guidelines you will have to see what works for your pup. When we first switched Mac he actually lost weight on the recommended amount so we upped it then upped it and then upped it again. He ends up eating nearly a Kilo (one tub) a day of the stuff! So it is expensive but it has sorted his allergies out and he is a much stronger dog with a great coat. He has nice firm low order poo( I am sure you really want to know this!!) and actually grew since the change in height which made me realize he wasn't getting the right nutrition on the kibble.
 
#25 ·
Colinstab - born36 is absolutely right - the guide lines are just that. As you say you will have to see how his waist line goes and adjust accordingly.

We met Born36 at a whizz about 6 weeks ago and I was horrified when he told me he feeds Mac 1Kilo of the Natural Instinct a day!! Mac is smaller, but far from fat, than my 10 month old who now weighs 65lbs, and mine does well on 650gms a day......so you can see how much it can vary from dog to dog.

When are you getting your pup??
 
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