Author Topic: I'm going to have to change something....  (Read 2152 times)

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Offline DeeDee

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I'm going to have to change something....
« on: April 04, 2013, 02:03:27 PM »
I'm just not at all sure what to change though. Our biggest issues with emergencies that might strand us somewhere when RVing:

1. Barkly doesn't like canned--it will sit there and ruin before he eats it--and a lot of time Danny scarfed it up the second I turned my back while I'm trying to catch Barkly to make him go back to his bowl.     
    Mushy, freeze-dried/dehydrated foods fall into this category of wet too. Barkly seems to have some kind of texture-issues or something like that the way I've seen little kids have.

2. Barkly likes only 2 kinds of grain-free kibble--Halo Spots Stew or Nature's Variety Instinct--and NOT the salmon formulas of those either. I don't like either of those, but it seems to not matter what I like at all.

I've been giving their kibble each day midday/afternoon with their snack which is always fruit of some sort--this keeps them willing to eat kibble. They both REALLY love fruit, so I don't want to make them give up THAT! But now I'm worried about feeding it with any amount of kibble at all.

I was reading an article on preventing bloat naturally http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/prevent-bloat-in-dogs-naturally/ though, and it says never give fruit with protein meals. Well Kibble has protein.

That disturbs me even though Vlad gets only a little under 1/2 cup kibble & Barkly gets about 3/16s of a cup--I've got weird measuring scoops for them that have a ridge in it about 1/4 inch below the top of each--and I always give them the "drink" command after they eat. (Yes it helps to teach "drink" when RVing since you can't drive all day and have a water-bowl loose. They have to learn to drink when you're stopped for breaks whether they want it right then or not.)

I'm not sure at all what to do about keeping them eating kibble. Seems I can't feed ANYTHING else with it. Maybe I should just start giving it at 10 p.m., 5 hours after their dinner, after they've had their last walk w/nothing else. I'm not sure Barkly will eat it then though, or even eat it without fruit.

I just know if I ever quit feeding Barkly any kibble at all, he'll never eat it again--and Vlad's liable to do that too. People that I know that went raw have dogs that have done that, and then they've had problems going to weekend-long shows that are very far away. We're gone for over a week sometimes.

*sigh*



"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pookie

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Re: I'm going to have to change something....
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2013, 04:53:43 PM »
Ok, this is just my  2cents, but I'm thinking you're okay to feed the fruit with the kibble.  Most of the protein in the kibble is plant-based (it has to be in order to make the kibble), so I would think you're fine.

Again, just my thoughts.  I could be waaaaay off . . .
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Offline DeeDee

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Re: I'm going to have to change something....
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2013, 06:05:06 PM »
TT, Pookie!

With the NV Instinct, I'm not sure it is. But knowing where they source their ingredients (except for rabbit from China that I won't buy) makes me feel safer with this one than the Halo Spot's Stew. I still don't understand why he'll eat THIS formula since it has salmon in it but he won't eat the Salmon formula!



That's my problem with deciding what to do.

The ingredients of the Duck Formula he likes most:

Quote
Ingredients
Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal, Tapioca, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tomato Pomace, Pumpkinseeds, Herring Meal, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Flavor, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Carotene, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Potassium Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide), Salt, Dried Kelp, Peas, Cranberries, Blueberries, Inulin, Rosemary Extract, Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae), Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Freeze Dried Turkey, Freeze Dried Turkey Liver, Freeze Dried Turkey Heart, Freeze Dried Ground Turkey Bone. Visit the Ingredient Glossary to learn about each ingredient.

All of that turkey part at the end is the freeze-dried, raw coating they put on it.

You may be right though, since it's got fruit in it already.

I wouldn't be so freaky over him eating any if it weren't for the fact that we've been called to park-storm-shelters 2x when being on the road. (I grabbed their bag of food & took both times.) But the thought of being stuck somewhere without ANYTHING left for them if a tornado hits just freaks me out.

I can deal with nothing but water for a few days--wouldn't like it, but I can deal. I don't want my babies getting hungry though...you know? They don't have the ability to understand situations like we do.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

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