Suggestions?

[scottmk]

Hi everyone. Buster (8.5 mo old) has been doing really well on Natural Balance Duck & Potato. He's been on it for almost 3 mos and its the first food he's done well on. He tried Nutro Ultra first (not too bad), Chicken Soup (also not too bad), and Wellness (the worst) before arriving at NB. I know I switched too much, but I still think that he would never do well on Wellness (haha). It was just too rich for him. By doing well, I mean how much he liked it and how much it agreed with his stomach. He likes his NB, especially when i put the beef roll on it. I also have been using those dehydrated discs from Nature's Variety to crumble on his food. He loves those!!

Anyway, I'll get to the point. Does anyone have any suggestions for when I decide to switch (probably not for another couple months). I need something that is known to be easy on stomachs and high in meat content. I don't think he likes the food that smells fishy like Wellness. Thanks for any advice.

 

[magoo's_mama]

just curious why you'd need to switch, sounds like it's agreeing with him.
BTW- the picture in your gallery is hilarious, your boxer is very cute!

 

[gmacleod]

Lots of people feel it is best to rotate through two or three different food brands on a reasonably regular basis. No single food has everything, and if there is anything missing in the diet, it will most likely be picked up by rotating foods That is especially true with protein sources - dogs would never have eaten a single protein source all their lives on a natural diet (quite the reverse - dogs were scavengers as well as hunters so would have consumed quite a variety), so it makes sense to ensure that they get a little variety in kibble diets. Think about it in human terms - you'd never get a dietician/nutritionist recommended that you only ate chicken (for example) as a protein source for the whole of your life. So even if you don't want to change brands, changing varieties within a brand is still good sense.

There are plenty of other good kibbles out there left for you to try. How about Canidae? That's a pretty popular food amongst members here, and most (not all, of course) dogs do pretty well on it.

 

[scottmk]

Thanks for the compliment on Buster. Through my readings and discussions with vets, I have been led to beleive that putting your dog on a rotation of different foods will benefit them. Given that NB Duck and potato doesn't have many ingredients, I think this is especially true. I'm not looking to go crazy, just about 3 different foods that I can rotate per year.

 

[BeckyNC]

What's the suggested way to rotate kibbles? Three months on one, switch to a new kibble for three months, etc?

 

[gmacleod]

Sure, that'd work fine. It depends a bit on your individual dog. Some with no real 'sensitive tummy' issues change at the end of every bag, others switch every 3-4 months. Just whatever works best for you and your dog, really

 

[BXR BUS]

I rotate my boys food ALL the time, but I keep ONE food as the main food.
They really like the NB ultra prem food so that is what they get every day, I then buy a big bag of Innova, Wellness, or Solid Gold and mix with the NB, but the NB is always in the feedings.
They really seem to enjoy it and I dont get bored with it either LOL we seem to have less feet chewing too.