[Ronald]

I have just adopted a abandon Lab. she is 7 years old, very settled and very gentle, seems to have taken to the wife and I, we have had her for one week now..
Trouble is she ate good the first day, now she just nibbles.
I always thought that Pedigree dry feed was good, but upon reading more I see it is loaded with corn filler..
Can I ask what is a good dry food I can give her..
Another thing she doesn’t eat and veggies or fruit..

My passed dog ate all kinds of veggies and fruit he loved these food products, and I guessed all dogs did, but I’m afraid not so..

Thanks
Ron..

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi, Ron! It is so exciting for you and your new doggie friend to have found each other. As for food recommendations, I would suggest starting with this site and looking at the 4-5 star foods. If you find one (or a few, to rotate with) that you would like to try with your dog then I would see if you can get them locally. Some of us also order foods we can’t get locally from online stores (many have free shipping). I like to buy locally because I like to look at the expiration dates myself before I buy them, but I have bought online, too. Also check out any local feed stores that might be in your area. Tractor Supply has a wonderful, inexpensive house brand, for instance. Also, Costco has some foods people love. Some of the brands I will recommend are (in no particular oder):
Merrick, 4Health grain free, Nature’s Variety, Fromm, Earthborn, Wellness, Holistic Select, Acana, Nutrisource. These are just a few, there are many more. I hope this helps some. I’m sure HDM, InkedMarie, Pattyvaughn, etc. will also have some good suggestions. 🙂

[Ronald]

Thanks for the reply. I have a Pets Supplies Plus store near by, I also have a animal supply near by and two Tractor Supply Stores near by..

My last dog loved the Pedigree so I bought it again.. But Abby doesn’t like it, so I’ll have to try another..

My last dog passed away after 10 years, and we gave all the doggie stuff to a rescue home, never thinking we’d have another dog..

I’ll mark these foods down and look them up..

Thanks Ron..

PS how many postings do I need before I can add a Avatar..

[Mom2Cavs]

I think you can add an Avatar anytime, but I can’t remember how I did it LOL! Somehow through Disqus, if I remember correctly. Sorry I’m not anymore help than that. I did it awhile ago and just don’t remember how. Again, I’m sure some of the other regulars will post and help you out My Avatar is of Laverne. I have another Cavalier, Hazel and a Mixed Breed, Lucy. Pet Suppies Plus has some decent foods. I haven’t been in one for years but I remember they carried some good ones back then. Again, TSC has 4Health grain free, which is around 30.00-35.00 for 30 lbs. of food! It comes in 3 flavors, too. Their canned 4Health (I buy the grain free stews) are .99 a can….fantastic considering other foods go for around 2.70-5.00 a can!! Btw, remember when looking for dog supplies, like collars, leashes, beds, bowls, etc. don’t forget to check out places like Big Lots, TJ Maxx, Dollar Stores, etc. I don’t recommend buying food or treats from there but I’ve gotten some great buys for supplies from those kind of places. The fun is just beginning!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[theBCnut]

You have to go to Gravatar dot com to add an avatar. Melissa suggested some really good foods and I really don’t want to add to that list, but I do want to let you know that NutriSource tends to be a food that is easy for dogs to switch to. Also I wanted to reinforce what Melissa said about picking a few different foods and rotating between them. It really is much healthier for your dog, and while you may have to switch slowly the first few times, as your dogs gut gets healthier, there will be less and less need to transition from food to food until one day you can just switch cold turkey to whatever you want. That is a healthy gut.

[Ronald]

I talked to the girl that has the shelter, she told me Abby was like that when she got her, so she mixed some wet food with the dry food..
I went and got a can of wet food, mixed some with her dry and away she went, just gobbled it down..

But I will switch her to a more healthier diet. PSP has like two or four rows of dog food dry, all different brands and types.. I will also check out TS.. I will check out NutriSource..

Thanks for the help..

[Ronald]

Got my little avatar, thanks for the help..

[pugmomsandy]

She might also have tummy troubles from switching from her previous food to shelter food then to Pedigree in a short amount of time.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Ron,

Congrats on the new pup! That’s awesome you’ve adopted a more “mature” pet! Labs are so great, aren’t they.

I will totally second Patty’s recommendation for NutriSource. It does seem that it’s very easily transitioned to and I know that they carry it at PSP, that’s where I buy mine. By the way, NutriSource also has a loyalty program ~ ask them about it at PSP. Also, you can get coupons all the time from NutriSource by texting the word “Source” to 55678 ~ at the store where I shop, there’s also a really sweet NutriSource rep there frequently and she readily hands out coupons ~ even leaves them sticking out between the various stacks of their product at the store when she leaves.

OK, so I don’t work for Nutri Source and there are definitely other foods I like as well. Do you need to try to stick to a particular budget?

[Ronald]

When it comes to our pets, do we ever stick to a budget..

I just got out of having a total hip replacement, the day I came home my other dog I had for 10 years passed away the night before..Replacement was March 1st. Eddie passed away March 3rd..

He had been sick so we took him to the Vets, found out he had very high sugar put him on the needle. But he was also ill in the upper GI, had medications to help, but he still passed away.
We spent just under $4000. trying to keep him alive..
So I don’t think we follow budgets very good..

I just thought maybe NutriSource might be a good selection, since it is a well known brand..
I am going to take Abby to the Vet’s and will see what he recommends..

[DogFoodie]

Aww, Ron, I’m sorry about Eddie. : (

A lot of us here aren’t crazy about the foods our vets recommend. Vets get very little education in nutrition and what they do get is usually sponsored by the very same brands they usually sell in their clinics and recommend to their patients. I see an integrative vet and love that both she and the vet I see for my pup’s chiropractic care, prefer raw ~ but, they’re both far from the norm in their philosophies. All the vets at the practice where I see my integrative vet are Purdue vets (which, being a Purdue alum myself, I love), but for the most part, it’s traditional veterinary medicine.

Keep asking your questions here and stick around, you’ll learn more than you ever thought imaginable about dog food!

[theBCnut]

Hi Ronald

I’m sorry to hear about Eddie. It’s so hard when we lose them.

[Ronald]

Thanks for the heads up on the Vet. You’d think they would know about diets, oh well as bad as family Doctors..

Thanks for the kind words on eddie.. I still miss the little guy, and it still brings tears even after this long..He was my sidekick for 10 years, I couldn’t even get out of the front door alone..

I have a friend in the UK who lost his Cavalier about a week later..

So I have a Hosting program, so I opened a web forum for Memorials and just talk about our animals..
Ron..

[theBCnut]

Vets have to know about medical problems in a whole host of different species, so they don’t spend much time on what nutrition looks like in a healthy animal.

[DogFoodie]

I know what you mean… I still will never forget the day I had to put down my black lab, Hannah. It was 03/03/2003, and I swear every time I talk about it, it makes my heart ache. It always feels like it was just yesterday. Hannah was the best dog ever (well, one of them).

It wasn’t until 04/29/2011, that I could bring myself to get another dog. That’s when my sunshine, Bella my Cavalier, came into our lives.

[Ronald]

I never had a dog except when I was a kid living with my mom and dad, many, many moons ago..

10 yars ago our outdoor floodlights kept coming on for maybe three or more nights..so I got up one night to check and seen this little red dog outside in the bitter freezing cold..
Went outside to see him, he wanted nothing to do with me, tried a few times to nip my ankle, no way was this guy going to do this..

I made a box for him with blankets, even opened the side door to the garage for him to go inside out of the weather..Nope didn’t want that..

Next morning I asked the wife to make me a small bowl of warm oatmeal..That did it, he ate so fast I gave him a little more plus a nice drink of water..

I still couldn’t get near him, then a day or two he came up to the door and I opened it and in he came..He stayed inside where is was warm and cosy and he got fed very well.. I took him to the vet and had him checked out all the shots..

Kept him in a create for maybe a month, always left the door open so he could come and go..This is when he bonded to me and just tolerated the wife, even though she fed him his daily food..He was a one person dog, and that was me..

He was so protective of the wife and I, no one got near us until they got through him first.. But he had problems, very mad little guy, didn’t tolerated people or other dogs. Once a person was accepted by eddie they were OK with him they could come in the house..

He was like a shadow, where I went he went, good thing I was retired, because he’d never let me out of his site..He was a Vizsla mix, all red, red nose and red eyes, no tail..He also fit the Vizsla, he was a home dog..
He may have had problems, but to the wife and I he was our little guy, and always will be..He is waiting in the Rainbow Bridge..
Sorry I am getting choked up. See you later.

Ron…

[DogFoodie]

Aww, Ron, that’s a very bittersweet story about Eddie.

It sounds like he found the home he needed with you and your wife. Most people would’ve never had the kindness or the patience Eddie deserved.

That explains your avatar, too. : )

I hope that Abby fills that empty space that Eddie left in your heart a bit.

[Ronald]

Thanks…. I believe in commitment. If you take any kind of animal, dog or cat, that is a commitment for the life of that animal..

To many people believe in the throwaway society, easy come, easy go..

Animals are born into our society with no rights, and depend on one of us to care for them..

Ron..

[KarenC]

That’s such a sweet story about your Eddie! He knew he would be safe with you (and have a full tummy!). Dogs always know when they are rescued, don’t they? I hope Abby fills what you’re missing from Eddie.

Someone said above to stick around here and you’ll learn a lot…They aren’t kidding! I’ve always been a kibble feeder (due to budgets and lifestyle constraints), and have always gone for the best I could afford at the moment. Believe me that there were some days when me and all the dogs were sharing a bologna sandwich and can of soup. But reading here and the review comments has taught me so much. Things that now make perfect sense, but I never really thought of before. Rotating being one of them. My dogs never ate one single food for years and years because I tried to improve as I could, but now I know that rotation more often is even better! They’ve also gotten cooked or canned toppers as often as I could, but I never would have considered sardines or other canned fish! There hasn’t been a single question I couldn’t get answered by some of the experienced posters here. Stick around and you’ll learn a ton!

[DogFoodie]

That’s the truth, KarenC! I’ve learned so much here, but unfortunately I’ve also turned into a dog food hoarder as a result! LOL!

I believe, Ron’s story about Eddie and the kinds of things he says about commitment and ours being a throwaway society say a lot about the kind of people he and his wife are. Abby is lucky to have them ~ she’s found a safe, loving home with them. : )

[KarenC]

If I didn’t go through bags of food so fast I’d be a hoarder too! It just so happens that my bags and cans run out right at pay day so I never have much hanging around. Just enough to start on the new while there’s still a day or two of old to mix with. I’ve never really transitioned a food. I always just add to the last of what’s there and go for it! I’ll risk a few days stomach upset, though it’s never really been an issue. Even with the fosters and the who-knows-what they’ve eaten in the last few days.

Abby is extremely lucky! And Ron is right. Too many people consider their pets throw-aways. We get several a year through the rescue just because they don’t like the new puppy. That is the most jaw dropping reason I’ve ever heard. I appreciate people who see their pets as a commitment. So few do. No matter how you acquire your pets, either via shelter, rescue, or breeder, you make a promise to them. Sure, unforseen circumstances happen, but you’ll always see a person’s true character when you watch how they care for their animals.

[Cyndi]

I completely agree Karen. My friend owned my previous dog’s mother and father. When the mom got pregnant, I delivered the whole litter when it came time, which included my doberman Moose. I was holding him when he took his first breath and I was holding him 11 years later when he took his last. I wish I could have had many, many more years with him, but I could never, ever imagine dumping him or abandoning him. & now I have Bailey, who was scared of everything and growled and barked at everyone because of who knows what kind of abuse. She has come so far in the almost 6 months I’ve had her and I made a promise to her that she would never, ever be hurt again.

Oh, and btw, Ron, you are a good man for what you do and for giving Abby a home. We hope you’ll stick around and keep us posted on how she is doing! 🙂

[Ronald]

Thanks for all the good comments.. I’ll be sticking around I like it here, I feel great being surrounded by all these great women, is there any guys posting..

I have a forum I am trying to build up at the same time.. http://pawsandtailsinheaven.com/index.php not only memorials but talking about animals also..Still looking for ideas to add to the board..

I guess we forgot about what we started out for dry dog food.. Doesn’t matter as long as the owner doesn’t holler at us.. I think this is a great forum and very informative Board..

Ron..

[InkedMarie]

Hi Ron,
I’m sorry for the dog you lost but glad you, your wife & Eddie found each other! I think NutriSource would be a great food to try!
Not dog related but how’s your hip doing? My surgeon will replace my right one any time I want.

[bluetichound21]

try Innova fish or lamb exspensive but easy on the dog

[Ronald]

Excuse me for the tears, I am having a beer and a very hot Dearborn sausage. And it is hot..

Inkedmarie the hip is doing fine, takes a long time to completely heal. Been going on almost 5 months and the hip pain is gone in fact the hip replace never gave me any problem, just the shaft part that goes into the thigh bone.. They cut the muscle and it takes time to build it back up.. I walk with a limp because I can’t put my full weight on that leg yet..so I also use a walking cane..

I will look at NutriSource so are so many out there it’s hard the choose from. I lost eddie because of the way we fed him and of course he ate it all no matter what he got..He ended up being a bad diabetic..

Bluetic thanks, I have given Abby some can food containing lamb.. I found out she is not keen on dry food, I ot some canned food and she gobbled it up, still learning her little things, after all she had 7 years with someone else feeding her..
Her little traits are starting to show now. She like people food, but she will get none to very little, she has a excellent memory, I have been walking about four times a day and she knows the times, because she comes to me and makes little groaning noises and gets excited..Can’t put my hat on in front of her that means walk time, I opened the van door she jumped in and refused to get out stood her ground..so she loves car rides..Her traits are starting to show..and she is relaxed now with us..she knows the kids, they stop by just about every day and Sunday is like a restaurant around our place for breakfast..

Ron..

[Author]

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