Changing Food

[BaxtersMommy]

Hi first let me say this is a wonderful site. I have come here often to search threads and it has helped me alot with raising my Boxer. I have a 2yo male fawn named Baxter. We found him roaming the streets when he was a baby. I believe something tramatic happened to him because of his behaviors since we have had him. He has severe seperation anxiety and must be crated when no one is home. anyways he is on Pro Plan large breed and Pro Plan large breed cans (mixed varieties.) He has terrible gas, sometimes bad breath and he burps and hiccups alot. He also poops 3-4 times a day and has gained a few pounds since I put him on this food. I tried Natural Balance and he woudl not touch it before I went to Pro Plan. I also tried a few other foods like Eukaneuba and Iams. Euk. was o rich Iamms made him poop like crazy. I know none of these foods are great for him except Nat. Balance which I can't force hi mto eat. Do you think he would take to Wellness? Is it really flavorful for picky eaters? Also human grade foods do you have to givethem vitamins with it? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Also, other brands of food. I jsut think Wellness would be good for him with the different flavors and all.

Thanks,

Christel & Baxter

 

[br54_9]

Get some samples

I would go to some pet supply stores and ask for samples, I know of one in my area that has samples of wellness. My 20 month old male Max didn't do too well on it. He can be picky but he will eat. How long did you try the Natural Balance? I feed Max two times a day morning and evening and treats in between. When he wouldn't eat, I would take the food up after 15 or 20 minutes. After missing a day of it he would eat. Right now he is on Nutro Lamb and rice, he seems to like it the best.

Good luck.

 

[BaxtersMommy]

I tried the Natural Balance for a week. He did not like it. I have another question. In this wellness food, there is no vitamins really. Like MSM Glucos, or chondrilon. Do you have to give supplements to make sure they have healthy joints and all?

 

[courtney323]

Hi Baxters Mom,

As you probably know already, Boxers are not large breed dogs, and thus should not be fed large breed dog food.

You probably already know that Pro Plan is not a very good quality food (neither is Eukanuba or Iams). There are many many threads on "quality kibbles". Some great kibbles include:

Canidae
Wellness
Solid Gold
Innova
Eagle Pack Holistic
Chicken Soup
Flint River Ranch

Regarding the picky eating, this is more of a behavioral issue.

I would make the switch to a high quality kibble, then implement some strict feeding guidelines. Set his food bowl down in the morning and give him 10 or 15 minutes to eat. If he refuses, pick up his food and put it away until dinner time. At dinner, do the same thing.

Dog's will not starve themselves to death. It really will only take him a short amount of time to realize that he needs to eat whatever you are offering, when you are offering it.

Free-feeding and adding "good tasting" things to his food only encourage picky eating habits.

Good luck

 

[Amber Brown]

Sensitive Stomach

I have been going through the same thing with my two year old. She didn't seem to like the Nutro I had her on, so I tried the Wellness. She LOVED the Wellness, but it gave her incredible gas, loose stools, and put weight on her. The pet store said that I should keep with it, but half way through our second bag, I could no longer take it. I now have her on Nutro Natural Choice for sensitive stomachs. She eats the food well, and the gas and runny stool have cleared up. This is the best that I have found.

Good luck!

 

[BaxtersMommy]

I have switched Baxter over to Wellness Super 5 Chicken Mix. So far I am very pleased with the results. I have noticed a change in his coat and the amount of times he poops. He stopped eating yesterday for some reason but I figured out it was because he was out of the can food I mix with it. I ran to the store to get some today and he gobbled it up. I mix in Neura Meats by OMH and he loves them. Just a few spoonfuls with his dry plus some warm water. My Boxer is already a big boy so if he gains any weight on this I am going to switch him to the new Wellness Lite.

Thanks for all the help!

Christel & Baxter

 

[BaxtersMommy]

Canidae

Hello all. I think Wellness might be to rich for Baxter. He has been real gassy lately and is burping alot. I want to try Canidae but they don't sell it around here. Anyone know the cheapest place to order it online. Everywere I look charges so much for shipping making a 20 lb. bag 35.00. I want to try it out with the 10lb to see if it works good with Baxter. Any input would be great.

Thanks,

Christel & Baxter

 

[armyboot]

Buying food online isn't worth it unless you can get a big shipping discount.

Have you looked into Innova? I'm a big fan of Natura's products, and think Innova is a darn good food.

I'm also a big fan of Solid Gold's Wolf King and Wolf Cub foods.

There are a lot of premium foods out there you cant try.

 

[KCboxer4]

Solid Gold

We also have tried different foods over the years, we did try OMH, wonderful food but lots and lots of runny poops :( We ended up with Solid Gold, and we really are very pleased, the girls love it and they look wonderful!! Shiny coats, no eye gunk, less stools and no more runnnnnnnnnnnzzzzzzzzzzz.
We also feed the solid gold cinna-bones cookies and they love em. I think any premium dog food for us, is a good choice, just depends on what you can get in your area and how each individual pup agrees with it or not. Best of luck !!

PROUDLY OWNED AND OPERATED BY:
Roxie-12yrs white Boxer
Maya- flashy fawn 4yrs
Dylan- watching over us ( we love you Boo)

 

[kit02]

I’m a big fan of Solid Gold but my next rotation I want to try Innova. Both have Taurine in the ingredients which is thought to help the heart. Right now Owen is eating the Solid Gold Mmillennia which is beef based, Innova is chicken and turkey - I personally like to rotate between protein sources if they can handle it. Owen used to be on Chicken Soup which was also good and he loved. but he loves anything, he's easy

I have another question. In this wellness food, there is no vitamins really. Like MSM Glucos, or chondrilon. Do you have to give supplements to make sure they have healthy joints and all?

Those are not vitamins, they are joint supplements. Most foods will not include this. Usually only the large breed formulas have Glucosamine, but Boxers are not a large breed. MSM Glucos, or chondrilon are supplements you can add to the food. But with any supplements like that I personally don’t see a need to add it unless it’s necessary if the dog has a problem. My vet told me that also but if I wanted to give it as a precautionary measure then do it when he’s older. Owen is 9 months with no problems so there is no need IMO.