How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

Wilbur

Full Member

Posts: 129

How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« on: December 09, 2007, 09:49:16 AM »

Hi all :
I was just wondering as we learn more everyday, (regarding the feeding of our pets) how much or how many times or switches have you made since the recalls of last Spring??

My feeding has evolved:::::

Since March when all the problems started with the recalls I have evolved from

Blue Buffalo lamb and rice to
Innova to
Evangers canned to
TWO Ocean Blue to
Orijen and now
to The Honest Kitchen and home cooked.... 1/2 meals just Honest Kitchen and 1/2 home cooked...

Just like many of you I've spent tens of hours researching and reading and educating myself with different forums and web sites....

I will now ( hopefully ) not have as much anxiety about feeding my dog as I do not feel that I can do any better than I now do.....

I want my buddy to live as long as possible and as healthy as possible as I love him so much....
DON'T WE ALL WISH THIS FOR OUR BUDDIES? Huh

Best Wishes
Ken and Wilbur


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carolo

Sr. Member

Posts: 413

Jake-the-pup

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2007, 12:56:32 PM »

The list of specific brands and varieties we evolved thru for Jake is honestly too long to post and at least in part too complex to be certain of my accuracy! I know we had settled on rotating between "flavors" of one major brand only to have abandon it. We then launched into home cooking when the recalls kept coming and later added an entirely different brand of commercial to the home cooked. There was and still is nothing wrong w/ that second brand of food but Jake must be allergic to something it contains. . I'm still doing alot of studying on canine nutrition and still serving some home cooked which we do in batches and store in individual servings in the freezer. However, we've gone from total home cooked to 1/2 home cooked, although we do usually add some of our own freshly steamed veggies finely minced and whatever else we have that is good for him such as baked yam along w/ his kibble when not serving from the home cooked batch. At first I worried about throwing off ratio of this and that w/ adding a small amount of our own dinner to his kibble, but the variety is such that it must even out in the end, because his blood work is fine, his coat is gorgeous.

As far as the commercial part of the diet Jake now eats Orijen Adult and Orijen Six Fish. He gets wild salmon oil and E.

What works for one dog doesn't necessarily work for the next. Right now Jake is doing very well on this routine, and we have members of this forum to thank for helping us navigate thru the commercial food crisis as well as thru Jake's terrible itching, scratching, biting problems. (His coat had been coming out in chunks of dead hair for the better part of a year.)

One major thing that has changed with us in addition to learning how to do a proper home cooked recipe is that we "listen" to our dog, finding that if he refuses to eat from a newly opened bag or can of food we need to take this seriously. We now would not begin to think of "doctoring up" the food or otherwise coaxing him to eat something he turned away from. Once he literally ran from the kitchen when food from a newly opened can was put down for him. Later we learned why!

We choose carefully. We stay open minded and do as much reading and research as we can. I think we've evolved into this being a permanent way of life.


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Carol
http://jacobskeeper.blogspot.com/

karvskitties

Long-Standing Member
Hero Member

Posts: 964

Speak for Me... I like life.

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2007, 01:50:13 PM »

Two kibble addicts - males (Siberia the worst), and one female kitty.

Started out with Chicken Soup for the Soul Adult Dry.

Then thought of adding Canned Food - Eagle Pack Hollistic (which they weren't that enthusiastic about - but it was their first canned food).

As to coaxing - with the canned foods - the kibble addicts needed to be coaxed, there is plenty of information on the internet about transitioning cats to wet foods. So one must "doctor it up" in order to get them to eat it. Baby Girl didn't need any of that (and had only kibble for several years).

Bought Felidae Adult canned to go with the Eagle Pack Hollistic - only Baby Girl would eat it. Received coupons from Innova for dry and canned food. Also learned Innova canned at different plant than the recalls (Eagle Pack uses menu because they ship the food back prior to distribution). Mixed the Felidae in batches with the Innova, and all the cats ate it (different proportions for the males and female).

After last recall from Chicken Soup - switched to Innova Dry Sample, a Sample bag of Chicken Soup Adult dry for Baby Girl, and later Wellness Core Sample. Had coupons for Wellness Canned from the Sample Bag.

Dropped the Eagle Pack Hollistic and Felidae Canned (cause couldn't get them at the same store). Stuck with Innova, and started Wellness Grainfree. Last Dry Food purchased was Innova (and the store clerk questioned me about it - guess it was during all the uproar about the Senior/Puppy? formula dry with problems).

Had purchased Innova Adult and Wellness Grainfree chicken by the case. When ran out of dry food in October - just switched the kittes over to wet food.

Now - we are getting ready to switch off the Innova canned (they are very inconsistent - and one can Baby Girl didn't want to eat - BIG warning for me, cause she never qualmed at any canned food, she's a little piggy. Started me on a quest of ingredient quality - and researching brought out the careful wording used on the site to indicate that they switch ingredients around due to seasons - and obviously to help their pocket book.)

So my next purchases will be Wellness Grainfree Turkey, Chicken and Turkey/Salmon. One can per day for the boys, one can can last 2 days for Baby Girl.

Now - if something goes wrong with the Wellness - oh well, I'm running out of options.


« Last Edit: December 09, 2007, 01:51:47 PM by karvskitties »	Logged

Karen V

http://futureinsightstoo.blogspot.com/

Proud Mom of 3 Kitties (and many, many more over the Rainbow).

lesliek

Hero Member

Posts: 5802

Trooper,Remy & Fragile

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2007, 04:47:54 PM »

We used to do dry only for the dogs;Purina 1 or Pro Plan,Hills SD & Iams.The same brands of dry for the cats with Pur 1,SD or FF cans. After the recalls started we tried;Canidae,Felidae,TW & Serengeti,Cal Nat,Evo,Wellness, Evangers & Natures Logic.After having problems with each or hearing about problems with them we went to all homemade.Right now we use Zukes treats occasionally,& the cats get about 5 pieces of Natures Logic every few days.Everything else is homecooked with occasional raw.I don't see myself ever feeling confident enough in commercial to change back. Also all 5 are so much healthier on real food.


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"the world's most inept extortionist"

Katie

Sr. Member

Posts: 240

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2007, 01:26:30 PM »

We used to use only commercial dry dog food and treats too. We had medical problems when the recalls came and started home cooking. The dogs became healthier and happier. I'll admit there were a few times I thought about going back to commercial food, maybe an organic. But each time I picked up a bag, I couldn't bring it home knowing what bad food had done to my dogs and just could not take a chance. So I am still home cooking. 8 months now. I prepare two weeks amount and freeze in daily portions. My dogs are happy, healthy, coats look great, no itchy ears or skin, no bad breath or body odor! it's great! I did break down and buy some organic treats; Wet Noses dog biscuits for an occasional treat instead of home made. I decided last month to never go back to commercial.

Katie


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kaffe

Guest

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2007, 04:00:59 PM »

Before the recalls in March, my two cats were on: (1) Cans: Iams Weight Control; Eukenuba; Solid Gold; Friskies; Natural Balance; (2) Dry: Castor and Pollux Ultra Mix Indoor and Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken.

Fortunately, none of the commercial cat food were in the batches of recalled food, but I could NEVER take this lightly... returned ALL the unused food I had in stock and began to buy cat food from a specialty pet store: (1) Cans: Evo; Innova; Evangers; Felidae (2) Commercial Raw: Nature's Variety Medallions; (3) Dry: Innova; Serrengetti; Felidae.

But by April, I knew that the only way I can be sure about what my cats are eating is to make their food myself. I studied. I researched. I did not sleep.

The problem was the transition stage from commercial to home-prepared... I still had to trust the commercial cat food I did bring home, mixing these into the home-prepared raw to transition my cats... sometimes I felt so frustrated becuase the transition was going so slow... but we got there! And now, the cats are on 80% home-prepared raw food; 10% home-prepared cooked food; 10% commercial canned cat food (Nature's Variety Instincts; Felidae; Solid Gold) and dry food (Nature's Variety Freeze dry; Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Sould - this is mostly for Cato).

I am aiming for total 100% home-prepared for the cats eventually.


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Barbaracva

Newbie

Posts: 1

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2007, 11:30:21 PM »

Quote from: Wilbur on December 09, 2007, 09:49:16 AM

Hi all :
I was just wondering as we learn more everyday, (regarding the feeding of our pets) how much or how many times or switches have you made since the recalls of last Spring??

My feeding has evolved:::::

In March we were feeding Nutro holistic Ultra kibble and canned to my 4 Cockers, when the canned was recalled we stopped.This was a food recommended by Whole dog Journal and called holistic by Nutro, what a joke, I was mad to find the canned was made with much cheaper foods at MENU foods and those chunks of meat were nothing more than wheat gluten. II had the girls tested at the vets no one got sick from it but I immediately switched to
Natural Balance organic, then worried about the rice gluten scare.
then switched to non grain Natura EVO , too high protein for them.
Next was Natura Innova (no grains) that made them itchy and coats seem dull.
Next tried Merrick's grammy pot pie (no grains) that also made them itchy and coats still dull.
These were all kibble based I home cooked for wet mixed in with kibble, brown rice, veggies and ground turkey to add to their kibble the last 8 months but was afraid it was not balanced.
I just switched to the Honest Kitchen the Force formula and preference formula so I can add some different meats to the preference for variety. Too early to tell if coats and itching will improve but the dogs love it and is so easy to fix now and I know it is balanced. Only been on it for 5 days so too early to see changes.
Have to say they did great on the Nutro Ultra for years I hope the Honest Kitchen works because I am running out of choices and ideas.

Barbara


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petslave

Global Moderator
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Posts: 4232

Re: How has your pet food choice evolved since recalls

« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2007, 11:57:58 PM »

At start of recall, I was feeding the cats Wellness canned & the various no-grain dry foods, including an occasional bag of NB pea & venison. A month before NB recalled that formula, I fed them a bag. A month after the recall my smallest kitty was diagnosed CRF--who knows if she was affected from the food.

Dogs were on various grainless dry, eating NB venison & brown rice at time of recalls. I freaked out & everyone went on Canidae/Felidae & home cooked. Lots of diarrhea as a result till they acclimated. Now doing Farmore raw, some canned (Wellness & Canidae) & home cooked for the dogs & Wellness canned for the cats. May feed the big dogs some Timberwolf organics dry to reduce costs. So I guess I'm back to putting my trust in 2 producers that had recalls, even though those particular food brands were never recalled. I don't really like that I'm doing that, a combo of complacency, laziness, & trust that everthing will all be OK I guess.


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