oreilly76

I would love to hear what people feed their Basset. We asked at Petsmart for a Recommendation and they recommended Royal Canin Puppy. Then when we went to adult they recommended Eukanuba (can't remember the formula). She started to shed horrendously. I thought it could be related to the food. So we now have her on Royal Canin Bulldog. I would love feed her a more natural diet. IE: One I cook myself.
I would love some info on what people here do to feed their dogs!

Thanks!!

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Miss. Daisy
Born Thanksgiving 2007

byron dog

We started all 5 hounds on EVO red meat large bites, they all seem to like the taste
and are doing very well on this food. Not the cheapest but worth it so far

emmasmom

Emma has allergies....so in the beginning we had to keep trying different food. But for the past several years, we've fed her Nature's Recipe Fish and Potato. With a dollup of pumpkin for her anal sacs

oreilly76

Thank you both!
Pumpkin? What does this do? We had a family dog while I was growing up (Cocker Spaniel) and she had terrible problems with her anal sac.
Thanks!!!

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Miss. Daisy
Born Thanksgiving 2007

emmasmom

Well, in addition to it being some low-calorie filler (Emma's a little overweight), it's fiber that is supposed to help her anal glands drain better. She doesn't have the best luck with that....she'll start barking at her butt or doing the "boot scootin' boogie" across the floor and then I have to manually drain them for her. It's pretty funny though, cause I'll say "Do you need a butt squeeze?" and she will stop dead in her tracks, looking straight ahead, waiting for the "procedure"

AmyB

I've fed Spencer Nutro Lamb and Rice for his whole life (until recently). For the past couple years he was on the senior version of it. He now eats Nutro Venison and Brown Rice. He was doing quite a bit more itching & the vet wanted to put him on some outrageously priced prescription food. We tried the Nutro Venison & Brown Rice instead & so far, he is doing well. My only complaint with it is the kibble is kind of big compared to the senior food he was on previously. He has several loose teeth, making it hard for him to chew it. I have to put it in my mini chopper to make the kibble smaller.

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Amy, mom to
Sadie (ATB, 6/9/06) & Spencer (ATB, 8/19/10) - always in my heart
and Clifford (gotcha date 7/2/11).

Mikey T

It increases stool volume which in turn is supose to put more pressure on the anal gand when the dog deficates. However it also softens the stool at the same time so I am a bit sceptacle. As noted in another reply everyone that I know that swears it works still has to manual excise the anal gands which also makes me wonder just how much it actual helps the problem, but it does no harm.

Mikey T

keep in mind the individual difference betweend dogs is much greater that the similarties of individuals of a particuler breed. That is using info on what other feed is not likely to be very benefital for your dog. Diferent activity levels, genetics, metobolic rate, health concerns. etc play a more important roll than breed.

How soon after the change over did the shedding increase. Immeadiate, 1-2 weeks, more? It takes at least a week for any change in nutrition to manifest itself. For most dogs for something to show up due to a nutritional change is more on the order of 6-12 weeks. Couple that with entering a seasonal shedding period for many dogs based on where they live it is more likely the increased shedding and the change in food are unrelated. But we humans like to make link were none actual exist. If you are interested in proving eukanuba as the cause of the shedding begin taking measurments of how much hair you remove each day brushing the dog for the next 6 weeks. Then switch back to the eukanuba and do the same and compare.

When it comes to feeding I am less interested in brand name than in ingredients and nutrional profiles. I have working dogs and as such I feed a High protein >30% high fat > 20% diet. It is not a diet for every dog. It is high in caloric density so you have to feed less. High protein diets have been loosely linked to some aggressive behavior in dogs. Fat however is a much better source of energy, calories than carbohydrates. This is much different than the human model in which high fat diet lead to disease. Dogs are better equipt to use fat as an energy source than carbohydrates. High protein diets are shown to reduce the risk of soft tissue injuries in dogs. High protein, low carbohydrate diets are better for weight loss than more moderate protein diets in dogs, yet you look at 90% of the weight control diets on the market and they are lower protein and higher in carbohydrates than the regualar food. Same for senior formulas which are general lower in protein when in fact older dogs need more protein in the diet not less to maintain lean muscle mass as compared to younger dogs. Thesre just a few of the more recent, ( last 10-15 years} discoveries in basic canine nutrition that stood conventional wisdom on its ear. I do not feed one brand exclusively. I believe with as little as we actually know about canine nutrition, complete and balanced is a dog food myth. Logic woud dictate if given the uncertaintess in human nutrition variety of food is recomended to minimize the risks cause by the lack of knowledge then in dogs which we know even less about nutritionally variety should be paramount.

The best advice I have seen on the web about feed dogs Dog Foods - Help in making the choice easier

Mikey T

keep in mind the individual difference betweend dogs is much greater that the similarties of individuals of a particuler breed. That is using info on what other feed is not likely to be very benefital for your dog. Diferent activity levels, genetics, metobolic rate, health concerns. etc play a more important roll than breed.

How soon after the change over did the shedding increase. Immeadiate, 1-2 weeks, more? It takes at least a week for any change in nutrition to manifest itself. For most dogs for something to show up due to a nutritional change is more on the order of 6-12 weeks. Couple that with entering a seasonal shedding period for many dogs based on where they live it is more likely the increased shedding and the change in food are unrelated. But we humans like to make link were none actual exist. If you are interested in proving eukanuba as the cause of the shedding begin taking measurments of how much hair you remove each day brushing the dog for the next 6 weeks. Then switch back to the eukanuba and do the same and compare.

When it comes to feeding I am less interested in brand name than in ingredients and nutrional profiles. I have working dogs and as such I feed a High protein >30% high fat > 20% diet. It is not a diet for every dog. It is high in caloric density so you have to feed less. High protein diets have been loosely linked to some aggressive behavior in dogs. Fat however is a much better source of energy, calories than carbohydrates. This is much different than the human model in which high fat diet lead to disease. Dogs are better equipt to use fat as an energy source than carbohydrates. High protein diets are shown to reduce the risk of soft tissue injuries in dogs. High protein, low carbohydrate diets are better for weight loss than more moderate protein diets in dogs, yet you look at 90% of the weight control diets on the market and they are lower protein and higher in carbohydrates than the regualar food. Same for senior formulas which are general lower in protein when in fact older dogs need more protein in the diet not less to maintain lean muscle mass as compared to younger dogs. Thesre just a few of the more recent, ( last 10-15 years} discoveries in basic canine nutrition that stood conventional wisdom on its ear. I do not feed one brand exclusively. I believe with as little as we actually know about canine nutrition, complete and balanced is a dog food myth. Logic woud dictate if given the uncertaintess in human nutrition variety of food is recomended to minimize the risks cause by the lack of knowledge then in dogs which we know even less about nutritionally variety should be paramount.

The best advice I have seen on the web about feed dogs Dog Foods - Help in making the choice easier

BubbaLeroy

Bogie Carter eats 1/2 cup of Innova Reduced Fat Adult Dry Kibble plus a couple of tablespoons of Innova Adult canned food morning and night. He then gets 1/4 cup of the dry kibble before bedtime to prevent empty tummy syndrome of throwing up around 4 AM. Our vet recommended 1 TBS of unflavored coarse milled metamucil for his anal glands with each meal. We also have him on GLC 1000 glucosamin with chondroitin for his bones and joints.
He has a beautiful coat, but does still shed quiet a bit. The vet also suggested trying "Missing Link" for extra vitamins, supplements, and fiber. Not sure if that has made any difference or not, since we just started that before our move, and pit bull attack. Since then he's been on antibiotics and dermaxx for pain and inflamation, so at this point can't tell if the "Missing Link" has helped or not.

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You don't own a Basset, a Basset owns you!!
Aroooooos from Bogie !! - Trumbull's Who's Teasin Bogart CGC- Born April 21, 2005
ATB: Bubba - (Trumbull's Surley It's Stormin Norman) Sept. 8, 1998 - Dec. 20, 2005