[deapee]

Well my little guy has never really been the best eater.  Some days he'll eat half of what he should, some days he'll eat it all, some days he eats nothing.  He's always been able to clear a room with his farts...and he poos a lot.  So I took some recommendations from the forums here and researched and today just brought back the Purina to the store and picked up some Nutro lamb and rice formula.

See, last night, he finally ate a 'normal' amount of Purina (this last week had been especially bad with his eating)...but this morning, he puked it all up.  Then he didn't touch his bowl all day.  Once I got back from the store and filled his bowl up with the Nutro, he dug right in.

I'm curious to see if he will eat more regularly now...what happens with his farts...and see if he can actually put on those 3-4 pounds I've been wanting him to.

I should know tonight about the fart thing.

 

[Sadiesmomma]

Glad to hear you found a food that Ares likes, I hope it helps him gain the wait and stop farting so much  :lol:

 

[deapee]

Thanks...well it seems like he's good, he went back for seconds and ate about 3 1/2 cups in total (they recommend 4 cups)...He's such a finicky eater that it's tough.  I tried doing the whole 2-a-day thing...but he'd just let his morning stuff sit there till later in the day anyway.  Then I tried just leaving it out for an hour, then putting it up, then putting out just the other half, but then at that point he still wouldn't eat in the morning and just eat half of what he should in the afternoon...

He's never been treat-oriented (meaning he does tricks for a "good boy" and a little love), but you could waive a milkbone in his face and he doesn't care.  Beggin strips are another story, but I think they make him sick as well.

I don't mean to make it sound like he's sickly or something, but he's just really weird with food...I had him checked at the vet and they say he's good, just a picky eater.  I have stomach problems myself, so we relate on that level.

Anyway, we'll see how cleaning up his diet goes with these natural ingredients.  Like I said, I'd like for him to put on a few pounds...although he is probably one of the most active boxers on the forums, so I'm sure he's healthy.

 

[Sadiesmomma]

Have you tried mixing a little wet food in with the dry to try and entice him to eat? I find when there's wet food mixed in, Sadie eats that much faster (she needs to slow down more than anything tho!) But for Ares, this may help? You can get pretty much any high grade food, in wet as well.

 

[boxerlove]

Our Teaki is like that.  Took us about 5 years to find a food she would actually eat and keep down.  Good luck with your little guy!

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

Good luck with the new food.  It seems that the natural foods work the best.

 

[Zhanna]

We use Nutro lamb and rice.  Henry gets 1 1/2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening.  He's never not been an eater though.  But the gas has gotten better since the switch.  We were feeding the Nutro large breed puppy, then switched to the regular Nutro adult food, made him puke.  The lamb and rice is working really well.  Hope it works for you too. :wink:

 

[deapee]

Thanks...I'm a little confused as to which one I got actually.

It says "Nutro lamb and rice formula" -- it's in a green bag.  But then on the back it says something about "large breed formula" for dogs over 50 pounds.  These pieces of food are smaller than the pieces in the Purina One were.  Maybe that's a good thing...maybe smaller pieces mean less air, less gas, less upset stomach, etc.  I wonder if I should have gotten the large breed or this one.  I thought it was odd that it only came in a 20 LB bag.

--

Also, I was looking at the wet food and am still considering mixing some in.  I've tried breaking up a beggin strip in his Purina before and he will seriously pick the beggin strips out of it one by one.

One thing I noticed for sure that is different is he took a poo this morning...and it was a lot lighter in color than most of his poos have been.  So I guess that's a good thing.

 

[samsonsmom]

I was feeding mine Nutro Lamb & Rice, but just wanted something a bit better so switched to Chicken Soup...The pieces of Nutro are small, which kinda surprised me, but it makes it easier for Samson to chew actually...Have you tried adding a scrambled egg into Ares' food or some sardines packed in oil? Mine go nutz over stuff like that in their kibble...Yogurt is good for gas as well, a teaspoon of plain, low fat is great  

 

[deapee]

No, I haven't tried adding anything into his food.  I've actually never even given him anything other than what is bought at the pet store.  Not even a piece of ham...oh, I did fill his KONG up with peanut butter a few times, that's right.

Well, as for an update, he ate ALL his food tonight!  I'm happy.  His breath has been smelling better too.  He didn't have "bad breath" but it didn't smell good either.  Now it kind of smells like a horse's breath or something.  He's been drinking more water too it seems anyway.

He hasn't farted all day...but I just talked with my brother and he said that he was giving Ranger, his Great Dane lamb and rice formula all his life...and I remember him clearing rooms out, so I'm sure the gas will return.  Other than that, everything seems good.  So the 37.5 lb bag of Purina was $16.99 and the 20 pounder of the Nutro is $24.99, but that's not a big deal, still cheap in the scheme of things, especially if it's better for him.

 

[Ky_IsisnOnyxsMama]

i have the 35 pound bag of nutro max lamb & rice for big breeds & it was 19.99....i know they have the 20 also..thats what i always feed them..ive tried others and this one they like, and dont throw it up..

i will add either an egg or fat free low sodium chicken broth to it..

 

[Bubbaboy]

This is the food Luther LOVES... Innova...  It is great food and has never been recalled.   I thought Nutro was recalled awhile back?? I could be wrong..

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp

 

[Bubbaboy]

Menu Foods Recall Product List

Update as of May 2, 2007: Menu Foods has announced an expansion of the pet food recall to include certain products that do not contain ChemNutra wheat gluten, but that were manufactured at Menu Foods' facilities during the period in which ChemNutra wheat gluten was being used.  

Menu Foods has expressed concerns of possible cross-contamination of certain products that were processed during the same timeframe as contaminated products. Three Nutro wet canned cat foods are included in this expanded recall even though these products do not contain wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate.

A number of samples of these foods produced both during and after the time period referenced by Menu Foods (December 6, 2006 to January 24, 2007) were sent to an independent laboratory for analysis and no melamine was detected in any of these samples.   However, out of an abundance of caution, Nutro is voluntarily participating in the recall of these three products.

The newly added products from Nutro include the 3 oz canned wet cat foods highlighted in red below.  
Nutro is voluntarily participating in the Menu Foods recall. The following items are being recalled:

Cat Canned Products - 3 oz.  
Product Name Size UPC Code
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten Tuna & Chicken
3 oz.  79105 35204 8  
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten Beef & Chicken 3 oz.  79105 35203 1  
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten Chicken & Lamb 3 oz.  79105 35202 4
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Kitten Chicken & Oceanfish 3 oz.  79105 38101 7  
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Chicken Cacciatore  3 oz.  79105 35205 5
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Orlean's Seafood Jambalaya  3 oz.  79105 35206 2
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Beef Ragout  3 oz.  79105 35207 9
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Alaskan Halibut & Rice 3 oz.  79105 35221 5
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics California Chicken Supreme  3 oz.  79105 30011 7
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Lamb & Turkey Cutlets  3 oz.  79105 30014 8
Nutro Max Cat Gourmet Classics Salmon & Whitefish Entr

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

I think a lot of different foods have been recalled at one time or another.

 

[deapee]

Yeah I'm not sure what to make of the whole recall thing.  It's just like ground beef getting recalled at Giant Eagle the other day...expiration dates were like Oct. 19-21...which means these meats should have already been eaten (unless frozen)...but I dunno, buy what is good and hope for the best I suppose.  There is only so much you can do...worrying about recalls just makes it more difficult, so I try not to.  Heck, I'd feed him $10.00 steaks every day from the butcher if I thought that would be better for him.

I'm going to look into the egg thing...and yogurt, I've been meaning to look into for a while.  Any links on the subject or more information would be appreciated.

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

Yeah, like the peanut butter.  I still eat it...

 

[mblogsd]

I put Willy on the Lamb and Rice; he loves it.  He eats it as soon as I put it down usually, and it also makes his coat shiny and the poop a lot easier to deal with because it's smaller.  I have nothing but good things to say about it.  Hope it works for you as well as it did for me.

 

[Bubbaboy]

I would not take the recall thing lightly.  By buddies dog died from Kidney failure do to this recall.

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

I don't think recalls should be taken lightly, however do feel that every food has the possibility of a recall and that if a food is recalled in the past does not mean it is necessarily a bad food now.  Usually after recalls they are much more cautious....

 

[Bubbaboy]

very true, good point.