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.
Best food for my Vizsla pup....
1 reading
suzQ19c
21 - 40 of 42 Posts
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.
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.
Joined
·
1,498 Posts
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.
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.
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.colinstab said:
Joined
·
1,498 Posts
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??
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??
Be very careful with the Lamb and Rice from any brand. Our girl Sophie was eating Avoderm Lamb and Rice for several years. Avoderm Lamb and Rice was recalled September 11 2012. Our Sophie passed away November 2 2012 from damage to her liver. Our Sophie was a healthy dog until she took ill in September.We believe it was from her food and have filed an investigation with the FDA. Avoderm is a product of Breaders Choice. Since Sophie died we are now finding out that there have been relatively current recalls of Lamb and Rice, one specificity from Diamond Foods, who label it differently for several brands on the market.
Please be vigilant.
Rob L
Please be vigilant.
Rob L
Thank u everyone...i hope whatever u feed ur v's it is the best for u!!!! We all hav the same CRAZY LOVE for pur pups, lets realize that. Mason and I appreciate every piece of info that u give 
WHAT A CUTIE!!!!! RIIIIIGHT?
WHAT A CUTIE!!!!! RIIIIIGHT?
Attachments
Joined
·
45 Posts
After reading all these comments, now I am not too sure if I am doing the right thing feeding my 4.5 puppy. I feed him Fromm Gold puppy food (the bright pink bag). In the morning, I would put down a bowl of 1.5 cups of the Fromm. He usually eats about one cup of it. I set it aside in a ziplock bag and save it for dinner. For dinner, I would add the Fromm dog food to the bowl to make it a total of 1.5 cups and then I would boil organic chicken breast (cut in half) and then cut it into smaller pieces and mix it up with the Fromm food. He loves it and always finishes the whole bowl in minutes. Does this sound good? I read that you should never mix raw with kibble. I am confused on what is the best thing to do!
Joined
·
45 Posts
and when you guys say raw food, do you mean literally uncooked chicken/beef or cooked chicken/beef?
I do not claim to be a pet food expert, but will tell you (after 25+ years with labs) that we were frustrated with our V's eating habits early on. He is now 11-months old and doing fantastic. Well balanced and looks very healthy weight wise.
He is very much a self regulating eater and we now simply feed him in the AM and whatever he doesn't eat gets reincorporated in his evening meals so we do not waste food. He typically eats 2-3 cups per day. And we do supplement with a can of tuna, some lightly cooked fresh eggs or healthy meats if we have leftovers.
To that end, I am seriously considering a Raw Food diet. I am in the process of doing homework on it right now and all indications are that we will slowly switch him over this month.
Btw: as you can see by some my posts, I am huge proponent of Annamaet line of foods. They now have a new puppy food: http://www.annamaet.com/products/Annamaet_Ohana . They are family owned and not a "big box" corporate brand. Simply read about them, they are awesome and saved my lab back 8+ years ago with significant food allergies.
I hope this helps.......
He is very much a self regulating eater and we now simply feed him in the AM and whatever he doesn't eat gets reincorporated in his evening meals so we do not waste food. He typically eats 2-3 cups per day. And we do supplement with a can of tuna, some lightly cooked fresh eggs or healthy meats if we have leftovers.
To that end, I am seriously considering a Raw Food diet. I am in the process of doing homework on it right now and all indications are that we will slowly switch him over this month.
Btw: as you can see by some my posts, I am huge proponent of Annamaet line of foods. They now have a new puppy food: http://www.annamaet.com/products/Annamaet_Ohana . They are family owned and not a "big box" corporate brand. Simply read about them, they are awesome and saved my lab back 8+ years ago with significant food allergies.
I hope this helps.......
Hi. Our pup is 4 months old and we are having a heck of a time with diet. She has such inconsistent poo. From perfect to soft to nothing but water coming out of her butt, which could happen all in one day. The breeder had her on puppy chow, our vet put her on gastrol puppy when she was 11 weeks old and she has had 3 different kinds of medication. Including deworming. She has been strictly on a raw diet for a month. She doesn’t get any treats. We are running out of ideas. Anyone have any thoughts?? Thanks
Joined
·
1,514 Posts
Raw goat milk from the pet store. (No pasteurized one!) Primal has worked for us even when we had some GI imbalance (i.e. too much cucumber eaten or too much pool water swallowed).
New puppy (15 weeks now) gets Goats Milk Esbilac powder sprinkled over his kibble from day 1 and other than the first day when we brought him home he has not even had the usual cream cheese puppy poop. His is as firm as the adult one`s. No treats (as u mentioned too), other than organic baby carrots and antlers or himalaya chew.
Keeping the pup quiet at least an hour before and after eating is important. If they have running diarrhea skip a meal or two and just give the goat milk. Pick up right after pooping, especially if u had worm issues. And anyways, poop attracts all sorts of nasty stuff.
Filtered, good quality water only and be consistent, even changing water can cause upset stomach.
We wash food bowl after each feeding, meaning 3 times a day. We also get their crates wiped at least once a day and wash crate pads or whatever we use at least ever other day, using hypoallergenic wash pods and add vinegar.
Hope this all helps, with high energy sporting dogs tummy can be a challenge, it took us a while to figure it too with the first one too.
New puppy (15 weeks now) gets Goats Milk Esbilac powder sprinkled over his kibble from day 1 and other than the first day when we brought him home he has not even had the usual cream cheese puppy poop. His is as firm as the adult one`s. No treats (as u mentioned too), other than organic baby carrots and antlers or himalaya chew.
Keeping the pup quiet at least an hour before and after eating is important. If they have running diarrhea skip a meal or two and just give the goat milk. Pick up right after pooping, especially if u had worm issues. And anyways, poop attracts all sorts of nasty stuff.
Filtered, good quality water only and be consistent, even changing water can cause upset stomach.
We wash food bowl after each feeding, meaning 3 times a day. We also get their crates wiped at least once a day and wash crate pads or whatever we use at least ever other day, using hypoallergenic wash pods and add vinegar.
Hope this all helps, with high energy sporting dogs tummy can be a challenge, it took us a while to figure it too with the first one too.
Joined
·
14 Posts
We are proponents of raw feeding, supplemented with Omega 3s/Vitamin E and a homemade veggie/fruit puree. Her digestion is perfect, you can tell her body is absorbing all of the nutrients from the food rather than passing out a bunch of junk.
This is my opinion only, but the BARF study done on 10 dogs that was quoted earlier is done by the Canadian Vet Journal- in other words, take the study with a grain of salt. Canadian vet schools are completely backed and sponsored by kibble companies. Vets are drilled in school about how commercial, mass produced food is the only way to feed pets. There's a reason why Science Diet crap is all that's sold at the vets. Why aren't there substantial Vet-backed studies on kibble?
This is my opinion only, but the BARF study done on 10 dogs that was quoted earlier is done by the Canadian Vet Journal- in other words, take the study with a grain of salt. Canadian vet schools are completely backed and sponsored by kibble companies. Vets are drilled in school about how commercial, mass produced food is the only way to feed pets. There's a reason why Science Diet crap is all that's sold at the vets. Why aren't there substantial Vet-backed studies on kibble?
Joined
·
53 Posts
We started our Tucker on Diamond Brand Natural puppy food.....he does great on Diamond brand. He is now 13 months are we are about to start mixing his puppy food with Diamond brand all natural adult food.
Attachments
Joined
·
12 Posts
usually the puppies are all okay, so you don't have to tailor the dog food for his breed.
Joined
·
10,011 Posts
I will tell you, not all pups/dogs are okay with the same food.
I have 4 different bags of dog food right now.
June is a less active senior. So her food has less calories.
Odi was on the same food as Shine.
His poo not as firm as I would like to see it, even with probitoics. Rescue sent him different food, and that made it worse.
Put him on a fish based food, and his stomach is now normal.
A stray dog, that I can't catch. Is now eating the food sent from the rescue.
Be sure to rule out treats as the problem, for upset stomach. Also drop a stool sample off at your vets.
These are my indicators for the correct food.
Firm stool
Nice skin, and coat.
Not chewing on feet, or ongoing ear infections.
Eyes look clear, and not drainage.
Pup has energy to burn.
I have 4 different bags of dog food right now.
June is a less active senior. So her food has less calories.
Odi was on the same food as Shine.
His poo not as firm as I would like to see it, even with probitoics. Rescue sent him different food, and that made it worse.
Put him on a fish based food, and his stomach is now normal.
A stray dog, that I can't catch. Is now eating the food sent from the rescue.
Be sure to rule out treats as the problem, for upset stomach. Also drop a stool sample off at your vets.
These are my indicators for the correct food.
Firm stool
Nice skin, and coat.
Not chewing on feet, or ongoing ear infections.
Eyes look clear, and not drainage.
Pup has energy to burn.
Joined
·
9 Posts
We are neophyte vizsla owners but ‘all-in’ is our general m.o. and Bronwyn (9m female ) is no exception. Reading all these posts and plenty of other info has us at a a loss still. She’s tried Fromm gold (breeder started her on that) and a variety of flavors of TOTW, and she generally just isn’t interested in more than one meal a day most days, and that not until lunch time or so...and even if we find a tasty additive like olive oil or liver powder or whatever that induces a prompt eating session, she’s over it soon Now she will attempt to snag any and all human food possible, which we work hard to prevent...
Other than travel or interruptions to normal life that might cause her to skip meals and drop a tad of weight, she actually looks great. Tons of energy that we work hard to work off
Should we assume that she’s just getting enough and not worry about it? I’m tempted to shop around and sleuth out a food she wants more but maybe just eating to hunger means she’s getting enough with 1-2 meals at best a day?
She does get grain free 3kcal training treats for our daily trading practice but that can’t add up to that much can it? Sorry for the ramble. We are just curious because that seems so far outside the general guidelines... thanks!!
Now she will attempt to snag any and all human food possible, which we work hard to prevent... Other than travel or interruptions to normal life that might cause her to skip meals and drop a tad of weight, she actually looks great. Tons of energy that we work hard to work off
Should we assume that she’s just getting enough and not worry about it? I’m tempted to shop around and sleuth out a food she wants more but maybe just eating to hunger means she’s getting enough with 1-2 meals at best a day?
She does get grain free 3kcal training treats for our daily trading practice but that can’t add up to that much can it? Sorry for the ramble. We are just curious because that seems so far outside the general guidelines... thanks!!
21 - 40 of 42 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
