Considering new rotation addition

So I've been looking into incorporating more dry food choices into Uno's rotation and I've been mainly using dogfoodadvisor.com as a reference. I've already tried several 5 star kibbles, including acana, totw, wellness core, orijen, BB wilderness, dogswell, earthborn, NV instinct and pinnacle.

I'm pretty happy with Acana, but I wont be able to get a good discount since leaving work and anything besides the chicken formula, is out of my budget.
So I've come across horizon legacy fish formula on sale at petflow.com http://www.petflow.com/product/horizon/horizon-adult-grain-free-salmon-dry-dog-food

its on sale $50, plus I found an $8 off coupon which came out to $47 for 25 lbs, shipped.

I've tried their chicken formula before and Uno has done pretty well on it, but there's not a lot of retailers that sell it, so I moved onto other brands.
I'm pretty impressed with the ingredient list, its comparable to Acana Pacifica, except that Horizon used pea starch as a binder instead of potatoes. Peas are a low glycemic carb source, so it's a better choice for dogs with ear infections and yeast issues. Uno doesn't have either one, but regardless, if I had to chose, I would pick peas over potatoes.

Ingredients:

Salmon, salmon meal, peas, pea starch, menhadon meal, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fibre, alfalfa, flaxseed, liquid egg product, carrots, apples, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, blueberries, salt, fructooligosaccharides, yucca schidigera extract, glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulphate, dried saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation extract, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, pineapple, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, dried rhizopus oryzae fermentation extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium bifidum fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, biotin, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), ferrous sulphate, iron proteinate, zinc sulphate, zinc proteinate, manganous oxide, manganese proteinate, copper sulphate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, magnesium oxide.

This particular formula is 34% protein, 15% fat and 8.6% ash. 

The company is located in Saskatchewan, Canada and similar to Champion (maker of Oriejen/Acana), they only use locally sourced ingredients. They have their own plant and produce several varieties of dry foods which include grain free and grain inclusive varieties. 

http://www.horizonpetfood.com/index.php?page=about-us

I'll update on this food once Uno is done with this bag of Acana, but I'm hoping that I can keep this in our rotation because it looks like a good choice for us. 

Back from the real world..

So I've had some personal issues these last few weeks and haven't had a chance to post much unfortunately. For good news, I decided to go ahead and officially advertise my pet-sitting business. So I ordered a bunch of business cards and created a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EmbarkPetCare

My goal is to have one of a kind business where I can educate the owners about nutritional aspect of pet care as well as possible alternative means to managing health issues that I often come across such as allergies, hot spots, ear infections, etc. At some point I would like to expand it into in home boarding facility and have a small retail space that specializes in natural foods, supplements, and few other pet care items.

As far as other things I've had on my mind lately is the issues of dental health. I noticed that a lot of people are far more concerned with the outward appearance of their pets (dogs especially) and spend a significant chunk of money on grooming and making their dog look and smell pretty on the outside, with no regard to their internal health. The other day we had a cocker spaniel come for a monthly groom. He was probably around 14 and pretty old, but still alive and kicking. Out of curiosity, I decided to check his teeth and was completely horrified. They were brown and rotting, the gums were so inflamed, they glowed red and the breath was pretty terrible as well.
I don't know if you've ever had a toothache, you know that it hurts, enough to ruin your whole day. Can you imagine walking around with a mouthful of rotten and sore teeth? I cant.
Yet, the owners would rather spend $60 a month on a groom to make their dog look good, then save up for few months and get him a dental that would not only better his quality of life, but extend it as well.

Considering how many options there are out there as far as keeping our pets healthy, there is no excuse. If the dog hates having its teeth brushed, there are dental gels and sprays such as petzlife or leba that work really well for finicky dogs. In addition raw meaty bones are excellent for keeping those chompers nice and clean, plus other hard chew like bully sticks and antlers.
Dentals are not cheap and often, it poses an anesthesia risk to older pets, but thats why its absolutely essential to stay on top when it comes to dental health of your pet. Its easy to put it off , but it will come at a cost later on which can compromise the quality of life for your pet.

I'm pretty hyper vigilant when it comes to Uno's teeth. He gets RMB's every other day and I brush his teeth usually once a week. He also likes his antlers. I am proud to say that he has pretty good teeth for a 6 year old, no plaque build up and gums are pink and healthy. He has a bit of yellow staining which is normal and comes with age, so I'm not worried about it. I know that those few minutes a week can and will greatly improve his life, especially as he ages.

Whats for dinner?

So tonight he's having venison, beef liver, whole egg, salmon oil and this new supplement I just got called Wellytails mighty phytonutrients (greens mix).

So, about this supplement. I've had Uno on solid gold seameal, but I'm not overly happy with ambiguous ingredient list. Which just lists seaweed meal as the first ingredient, and not specifying the type of seaweed.

I found this new supplement while flipping through the new animal wellness magazine. The company is located in canada and I'm impressed not only with the ingredients but also how its processed:

Ingredients: Barley Grass Powder, Ground Whole Chia Seed, Apple, Carrot, Alfalfa Leaf, Green Cabbage, Celery, Red Tomatoes, Sweet Potato, Atlantic Sea Kelp, Microencapsulated Fish Oil (source of EPA & DHA Omega-3), Chicory Inulin, Blueberry, Cranberry, Tart Red Cherry, Broccoli, Pumpkin, Spinach, Vitamin & Mineral Premix Blend

I decided to start adding a greens mix because Uno loves to eat grass and lately he's been very obsessively eating it, especially when we go for walk, he just attacks the grass that grows by the side of the road. And since I dont want him ingesting grass contaminated with exhaust fumes and god knows what else, I'm hoping this is a better option.

Its not cheap, but not extremely expensive, $25 for 45 day supply for a dog Uno's size (60 lbs), I've looked at other green mixes and a lot of them contain brewers yeast which Uno is allergic to along with mystery seaweed.

Overall Uno is pretty healthy with occasionally funky morning breath, so I dont expect any miraculous benefits after adding this supplement, but i'll be happy if he stops craving all that grass.

I myself take a similar supplement called Green Vibrance which is pretty awesome, I noticed that when I take it, I never get sick with a cold or flu and its a great immune booster.

This type of supplement is a good addition to any dogs diet, but particularly those that are immuno-compromised, aging or recovering from or fighting an illness.

I will update on any changes after a month of use, but if you're interested, you can check out the company yourself

http://www.wellytails.com/Mighty-Phytonutrients-plus-Vitamins-Minerals-454-grams_p_18.html

http://www.wellytails.com/Why-Pets-Need-Supplements_ep_43.html

http://www.wellytails.com/Natural-Ingredients-_ep_45.html

Uno approved chew

I was pretty hesitant about trying antlers with Uno due to hearing mixed reviews on them (fracturing teeth, etc). We have these at work and even though they are pricy at $24 a pop, I get a pretty sweet discount, so I got him a jumbo antler for $7. He loves it!

Whats interesting is that when dogs chew on it, the saliva softens the antler, so it becomes almost gummy in texture at the point where its gnawed. So usually it'll keep him busy for 10-15 mins a day and then he gets bored, but its definitely good to have around to keep him out of mischief, which he's very much prone to.

You can buy them in bulk from various online vendors which is cheaper then paying $24 for one piece, but I've noticed that quality varies. I've heard that Antlerz brand is not very good.

Some people buy a whole rack off ebay and cut it up themselves which makes it a good value.

I'll have to get couple for my family's dogs, especially for Indy since he hates having his teeth brushed and his molars need some cleaning.

In preparation for departure..

I'm stocking up on pet food for my family's pets since I'm going to Charlotte in a week for spring break.

So the back story is, my parents (and sister) love their dogs and cats, but they are pretty clueless when it comes to nutrition. I think my sister understands it little better, and tried to buy food with the words natural on the label. But we all know that when it comes to pet food labeling, natural could meat absolutely nothing.

My parents have a dachshund that they adopted from my roommate (he was her foster dog) and they love him to bits. Indy has a bit of a sensitive stomach and he does really well on natures variety instinct, which I get time to time when I find it on sale, but its pretty expensive. I've tried him on taste of the wild and it gave him bad runs and impacted anal glands. Then I had him on canidae and healthwise, hoping to find something that was decent quality but inexpensive for my parents to buy. But it his coat got dull and dry on it (probably due to lack of meat protein). So I bought some Natures Logic Beef, my reasoning is that its not grain free, but its low glycemic and has decent protein levels- 31%

Here are the ingredients:

Beef Meal, Millet, Beef Fat, Brewer's Yeast, Flaxseed, Menhaden Fish Meal, Montmorillonite, Animal Plasma, Pumpkin Seed, Cottage Cheese, Kelp, Alfalfa Meal, Spray Dried Beef Liver, White Fish Meal, Almonds, Avocado Powder, Chicory Root, Tomato Powder, Apple Powder, Apricot Powder, Blueberry Powder, Carrot Powder, Pumpkin Powder, Cranberry Powder, Spinach Powder, Broccoli Powder, Parsley Powder, Natural Preservative, Artichoke Powder, Rosemary Powder, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidium Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Pineapple Extract, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachtium Fermentation Extract, Mixed Tocopherols.

My main concerns is brewers yeast so high up on the list, he's been kind of itchy this winter, but I think it was due to having dry winter skin. So fingers crossed, it wont make him itch, if it doesent work out, it'll go to my sisters dog Juni, who's a garbage disposal and will eat anything.

But for Juni, I got some Rotations food, I found this online deal - $1 for $30 worth of food, so I got 3- 5 lb bags free, but paid $10 for shipping, which was still a nice deal.

It looks like decent enough of a food, no major red flags and comes in salmon, chicken and lamb protein sources.

Salmon (source of DHA), turkey meal (source of glucosamine), rice, whole barley, peas, chicken fat (preserved with citric acid and mixed tocopherols), brewer's yeast, tomato pomace, carrot, salmon meal, natural flavors, dicalcium phosphate, rye, calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, niacin supplement, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, manganous oxide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sodium selenite, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, calcium iodate, folic acid, rosemary extract

Next on the list, the kitty cats. My parents have 2 cats- Chloe and Booger. Chloe is getting up there in years(shes 16) and I"m worried about her health. She still has a good appetite and moved around some, but she's been having some incontinence issue and her teeth arent great. I'm thinking of taking her to the vet but I need to figure out how much it will cost and ask my parents to chip in(I know sounds odd, but I'm also in charge of paying for most medical care stuff for their pets, its mostly been hw meds and flea stuff).

Booger is around 7 and she's a real weirdo, but I still love her. No real health issue aside from being little chunky, though she lost weight since my parents got Indy and he's been chasing her around the yard.

As far as their diet goes, I buy them taste of the wild dry and my mom buys trader joes canned which is the least expensive premium food I found that doesent contain byproducts and other junk. Dry food isnt ideal for cats due to lack of moisture, but they mix dry with canned to help stretch the food bill.

Anyways, at work I was able to special order some new food made by Diamond. While I'm not a huge fan of their reputation, their quality has gone up since the recalls in 2007 and considering that they also make canidae and taste of the wild, I feel mostly good about buying this food. It also only costs me $15 for 24 cans, which is a pretty darn good price.

Chicken, chicken broth, poultry liver, salmon, duck, brown rice flour, fish meal, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, cranberry powder, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, taurine, carrageenan gum, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, and sodium selenite.

Its comparable to higher end brands without the cost, but these cats are pretty picky, so lets hope they eat it.

I also got them a big sample bag of Orijen which should last them few days.

Basically my goal is to keep my family's pets off the junk, My mom will probably compensate me with various delicious human food, so its all worth it ;)

Change in the game plan

So its with a heavy heart I must semi-retire from raw. When we first started, I was able to find some good finds on craigslist/freecycle for cheap and free meats, but the last 2 months we've had zero responses even after multiple posts. When I first began feeding raw, I told myself that this is just an experiment, I will continue to feed it as long as I can afford it. So its come down to this.

I've contacted processing plants, butcher shops, restaurant suppliers without much success, even buying in bulk is just as expensive as buying from a grocery store. I will still have access to free venison during hunting season through a local processing plant.

While Uno has done well on raw, he's always done well on good quality kibble, with couple exceptions. His teeth are cleaner on raw and his poop is smaller. I myself eat a pretty balanced diet, I cook a lot, I try to eat fresh fruits/veggies and occasionally eat processed food. I love my dog but I dont think its a fair that he should be eating better then me. I can continue to feed raw, but if I want to keep it within my budget, he would only be getting, chicken and turkey. I know that from the past, not feeding enough red meat always takes a toll on his coat and energy levels.

So my plan is this:

1) Kibble in the morning (rotate between acana wild prarie, pacifica and grasslands, possibly add some other grain frees but I'm pretty happy with acana as a whole)

2) Raw at night - this will mostly be turkey necks, wings, beef heart, chicken, liver and kidney.

3) Keep the same supplements as I did while on raw- fresh free range eggs, salmon oil and green mix supplement (currently using solid gold seameal, but just ordered this supplement so will update on it later http://www.wellytails.com/Mighty-Phytonutrients-plus-Vitamins-Minerals-454-grams_p_18.html

Another big bonus for me is that I recently started working at a dog bakery and since we carry some holistic foods, I get a pretty good discounts on any food I want and /or supplements.

I understand that some raw feeders will look down on this decision and tell me to just keep feeding chicken/turkey and keep it raw, but I know my dog better then anyone else, so I know exactly whats best for him. That's one of the reasons I don't side with certain raw feeders that are super fanatic about their feeding choices. I've been to that side and while I share the passion, I would never put someone down for feeding their pets commercial food. Raw is not for everyone, and I'd much rather see someone feed a quality kibble then imbalanced raw resulting in severe nutrient deficiencies.

I will keep you updated on his progress and if I noticed any negative changes going back to kibble.

lies and deceptions of canned food

So I've had an opportunity to give a class on pet nutrition today at a local pet food boutique, it went pretty well but it got me to research various aspects of pet food industry that I havent brushed up on in a while. One of those was canned food labeling.

If you are not familiar, pet food companies can get away with using crap in their food by carefully choosing certain key words. There are 4 examples of that:

1) 95% rule- this states that the can of food must be composed of at least 95% of listed ingredients. For example, "chicken and rice" dog food, has to be at least 95% of chicken and rice combined. This is generally what you want to strive for when you purchase canned food

2) 25% rule- this is probably the most frequently observed labeling on canned food, it usually goes by appetizing named like "dinner", "feast" "platter" "entree", this rule states that it must contain 25-95% of named meat protein. My guess is that a lot of low end brands only contain that minimal amount of 25% and the rest if either wheat gluten or textured soy protein which is shaped to resemble morsels of meat.

3) "with" rule- this one states that the food must contain at least 3% of the named meat. One of the examples is the following Alpo top sirloin flavored with angus beef. So you have something thats beef flavored and it has a fraction of beef in it. The wording and the pretty picture makes it sound like you're feeding $50 steak to your dog.

4) Last but not least- flavored rule, this is pretty much self explanatory. When it says beef or chicken flavored it does not have to contain any meat. Gross right?

With that said, don't rely just on those rules when purchasing your pets food, always read the ingredient label, stay away from byproducts, glutens, soy, carageenan, etc.