[Randelli]

I asked a vendor if dogs could tell the difference in the taste of foods. She said maybe, but it is a good idea to rotate the variety of a particular brand to prevent an allergy to particular protiens. I think they can tell a difference but do not mind a change. I am using Taste of the Wild in various flavors. Try rotating for mild allergies.

[theBCnut]

Try rotating for the gut health of your dog. Feeding the same food all the time supports a limited number of types of probiotics. Feeding a good rotational diet will support more different strains, and probiotics in the gut are a major part of the digestive system.

Also usually within a brand their vitamin/mineral premix usually is the same, so anywhere where that brand has slightly too much or too little of something, your dog will always get that amount. By rotating to different brands you can even out those highs and lows.

Dogs definitely taste the differences in foods. They are are much more sensitive than we are to flavor and I know that mine appriciate a change. One of my dogs would only eat about every day and a half even though I offered food twice a day or when he was smaller 3 times a day. He grew up thinking that feeding time was blah, and he would only eat the absolute minimum. When I read about rotational feeding, I thought it sounded like a great idea for my dog with a sensitive stomach, but it turned out best for my picky dog. He has not missed a single meal in almost a year and a half.

BTW, my sensitve tummy dog doesn’t have a sensitive tummy anymore either! It’s all good!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by theBCnut.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I agree with Patty. When I used to feed kibble I switched to a new brand with a new protein source after each bag (every few weeks) and I rotated canned or fresh food toppers (yogurt, raw eggs, sardines, leftover meat, etc.) daily. Now my dogs eat a homemade diet and get something completely different at every meal.

[FreeholdHound]

It seems that the Natures Logic Beef is totally agreeing with Harry (hooray!) as it contains none of his trigger ingredients. Next time i order I’m going to try the Sardine formula. As far as rotating brands go choices seem limited. It looks like the Zignature brand may be an option as far as their duck or lamb formula. I know he tested okay for Lamb but duck will be a guess. I’m still searching for a third brand to try but haven’t been successful yet.

[Cyndi]

Yay for Harry!! 🙂 I’m so glad he’s doing so well! Have you fed him a turkey neck yet?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Good to hear he’s doing well on Nature’s Logic – it’s a great food. IMO – one of the best kibbles available. My cats eat Nature’s Logic.

[FreeholdHound]

Nope not yet LOL. Im know I’m being a wuss. He’s doing so well on the NL w/raw I’m reveling in the moment – it’s taken a year to get here. The necks look so large to me but he is an 85 lb Greyhound, plus turkey has always been his primary problem kibble ingredient so I figure I better give him a neck on a weekend in case there’s ugly after effects so to speak. So maybe I’ll put my big girl panties on next Saturday 🙂

[DogFoodie]

So glad Harry is doing well on the Nature’s Logic! That’s fantastic! You should share his story with Scott Freeman at Nature’s Logic: [email protected]. I know he’d be really happy to hear of your success. : )

[FreeholdHound]

I will – thanks for the link 🙂

[FreeholdHound]

Sent ! 😉

[Cyndi]

I can’t say I blame you at all. I know what you mean about not wanting to rock the boat. There are so many things that I want Bailey to try, but she’s doing so well right now, I also want to leave well enough alone right now. There’s no hurry for Harry to have a turkey neck. They aren’t going anywhere. Enjoy Harry as he is, doing well on his new food! 🙂

[FreeholdHound]

He’s got to try them sometime as I’ll need the freezer room & I want to give him bones for his teeth.Greyhounds and anesthesia dont mix well & he just had a dental so i want to keep those choppers as clean as possible. He is not a fan of brushing, but he’s getting there slowly.

[EmilyAnn]

Hound Dog Mom, in searching for best foods for my dog, I’m realizing that my cat needs better food, too. I noticed that you said you feed your cats Nature’s Logic. Which variety do you feed, and you you rotate foods with your cats? Right now she is on Blue Buffalo Indoor/Fish. I seriously think she has pica (she eats EVERY little thing she finds) and we have would up in the emergency room more than once. Now I am wondering if it might be linked to poor nutrition..?

[Hound Dog Mom]

I rotate through all varieties of Nature’s Logic and I recently added 4Health grain-free into the rotation. I would actually like to feed a bigger variety of brands (ideally a new brand after each bag), the problem is one of my cats is extremely sensitive. It’s so hard to find a food for her, she pukes up most of the foods I try. She’s been like this since she was a kitten (she’s now almost 12) and we had numerous tests done at several different veterinarians and I’ve tried many different foods (low quality grocery store brands, super high quality natural brands, prescription foods, etc.) and I can’t find any common denominator between the foods that cause her issues. So for now the menu has to cater to her and these are two of the few good quality foods I’ve found that don’t upset her. Pica definitely can be due to nutritional deficiencies, but it can also be behavioral. I’d try a different food and see if it clears up.

[theBCnut]

For a cat, I would not suspect pica if all the things she is eating are of a size to bat around. I would say she is getting carried away with play behavior. In cats, pica often has them gnawing on corners of walls and floorboards or licking things that are not food items and eating dirt.

[EmilyAnn]

Hound dog mom, poor kitty!! Glad you have found something that works. I’m excited for our cat that she’ll get to try new foods, too! She had her head in the dog’s bowl, right next to his, trying to taste-test his new food. Our cat’s “eating disorder” centers mostly around my white iPhone cords (specifically), my jewelry-making cording, and my hair ties. Never any of my boyfriend’s stuff…! Good to know it’s probably not pica 😉 I’m a total hypochondriac when it comes to the animals.

[EmilyAnn]

And thanks for the info, Hound dog mom & Patty!

[theBCnut]

That is definitely a toy disorder!! Be really careful with cats and strings of any kind. If they swallow a piece that is even just a very few inches because of the way the intestines contract, they can saw multiple holes in their gut, a VERY bad way to die.

[Colorado huntress]

If I am using Preference (pre-mix base) w/a variety of game meats that we harvest (which I will rotate), should I rotate base mix brands on a monthly basis?

[theBCnut]

You should definitely rotate premixes. At the end of each box/bag, or after three doesn’t matter. Changing up the premix ensures that your dog doesn’t always get too much of one vitamin or too little of another.

[Colorado huntress]

Thanks, Patty! What do you think about Wendy Volhard’s Grain-free base mix? Can’t remember the name of it, but it has a 2 at the end of the name, lol!

[Colorado huntress]

The name is Natural Diet Formula 2…….anybody use it?

[theBCnut]

For a dog that doesn’t have any issues, it sounds good. I couldn’t use it for 2 of my dogs, too many carbs, and I wouldn’t use it for the third because I don’t like to give him that many carbs either. If it has that much mix added to that little meat, then I wouldn’t consider it to be enough protein. She recommends 1/3 cup of meat for dogs the size of mine. If I was feeding completely raw, I would be giving each of mine at least a pound of meat and only about 3 ounces of other stuff.

[Colorado huntress]

Yeah…I thought the small amounts of protein were odd, too – it has oats in it – not sure how my lab would do with it, but considering she was on Eukanuba, Beyond one, etc! before i got her recently, I think the oats probably wouldn’t hurt her! I like Urban Wolf an a option, but it has white potatoes in it & I am seeing some skin/ear slight sensitivity to itin the Hill’s Ideal balance grain-free, (I know, I know, what was I thinking??)Any other suggestions would be appreciated & THANKS!! Oh….do I need to give any probiotics with any of the pre-mixes? They are both really healthy, but will probably be trying to scarf deer/rabbit/sheep poop when the animals migrate in 🙂

[theBCnut]

Rabbit poop is full of probiotics 😀 If you are feeding tripe or kefir, you don’t need to feed probiotics, otherwise I would use them every few days. Have you looked at See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix?

[Colorado huntress]

No, haven’t looked at that brand yet, but I will now! My cats are goin nuts when i fix the HK (they’re indoor cats – outdoor cats don’t survive out here w/ mountain lion, etc), did I see somewhere that you feed nature’s logic to your cats, or that you recommend it? I don’t know if it is a dry kibble or not – I would feed them raw, but sometimes we’re gone for several days hunting/fishin & I don’t have anyone who can feed them 1 or 2 times/day. They do get raw scraps, so I don’t feel too sorry for them – one of them is too fat anyway, lol! 😉

[Anonymous]

So glad to hear about rotating brands… I always thought it better not to. It seems to me they would enjoy something different and to hear it has medical benefits is even better… thanks!

[InkedMarie]

MaineSusan: where are you in Maine? I’m in central NH

[Anonymous]

Hi Marie… I am in Newfield, ME… southern ME near NH border. I can’t believe how much wonderful info there is in the forums! Have a dog, 10YO lab, that has been diagnosed with an enlarged liver recently and hunting down info. Was directed (thru here) to the Dr Dodd’s info but am still hunting… and learning about much more… probiotics etc… interesting stuff!
Kinda crazy… used to just buy whathaveyou dog food etc and hardly ever had to see the vet except a few vac’s. and had dogs live to old ages. Now we all try to do all this ‘special stuff/precautions’. Like all on this site… my dogs=my family=my heart…

[InkedMarie]

Hi Susan,
I know where Newfield is! If you’ve ever been to the Meadowbrook for a concert or Weirs Beach for tourist stuff or Bike Week, we live 10 min from each.

I know nothing about liver problems so I can’t help. Dr Dodds is awesome. Have you emailed her? She’ll answer if you do! Hope you find some answers.

[Anonymous]

Ha ha… I have been to a concert at the end of Lake Winnapausakee… can’t remember the place but right where the bikers convene.
I just cooked some fish and potatoes as per Dr Dodds recipe. I am reading a book by M Goldstein called The Nature of Animal Healing… very good read and makes me feel much better… a holistic and conventional Dr. A great chapter now ‘the spiritual realm’… I do believe such things and he has gotten me in a better place now… and so will Lily be! Got to stay positive, which I usually am but my dogs ill health is testing me. It occurs to me now the vet visit and Xrays seemed to have made her sicker… sighs…
Thanks for the note and mentioning to email Dr Dodds… I feel I have things under control but may do that anyway. I did email Dr Goldstein but have not heard back as of yet… was just yesterday…

[Author]

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