1. What do you feed your dogs?
We rotate kibble on a 1-2 week basis without sticking to any particular brand or formula. Last week they had Innova Evo, this week they are on Timberwolf Organics Wild, next rotation they will be on Orijen Original Formula (not the fishy one), after that they will be on Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken and after that back to Innova Evo as those are the 4 types of kibble we have right now. Next time I purchase kibble who knows what I will pick up. I do try to go for grain-free foods though but now and then I may pick up a small bag of kibble with grain in it (like California Natural) just for a few rotations as something different.
Along with kibble I also supplement with raw meat (muscle and organs and bones) of varying animals. I will also give them raw eggs and every now and then I might get a few canned foods with a very high protein percentage to add to their kibble.
2. Have you always fed this? If not, what changes did you see after switching? (coat, stools, skin, weight, teeth, breath, etc.)
No. OC was started on Eukanuba (what the breeder fed) and was switched to Nutro. From there we switched to Royal Canin Holistic followed by Wellness Super 5 to what we are feeding now. With every kibble change I noticed a healthier shinier coat with less shedding as well as more energy and a faster recooperation time. While on the Wellness after they changed their formulas OC would get very loose stooles during the summer. With the feeding regime we have now we have very nice solid poops and due to him being so used to change it takes him getting into somehting VERY bad before it upsets his tummy whereas when he was a puppy, if he got so much as one dog biscuit that was not a part of his normal diet he would get the runs.
I have no idea what Ronan all ate before I owned him but I do know that he came with a 1/2 finished bag of a corn-based crap kibble. His coat was nasty. He is supposed to have a soft fluffy coat like OC's but his was dry and brittle and felt like you were touching the coat of a wire-soated breed rather than a Husky. It was also very thin and burnt by the sun. I switched him to Wellness and noticed some improvements but the big improvements came when i started feeding him the diet I have him and OC on now which I explained above.
3. What are some foods vets commonly recommend that aren't very good quality, and why do they do this?
I hear of a lot of vets recommending Iams and Hills Science Diet. My vet carries and recommends Medi-cal which is a kibble made by Techni-cal which isnt much better in comparison to Hills or Iams. Vets do this because they often get PAID by the food companies to endorse their food. Soemtimes its simply because they see other vets they respect carrying and recommending the food so assume it is the correct thing to do without actually doing any of their own research.
4. Name a couple of food brands you would consider high-quality.
Innova, Orijen, California Natural, Timberwolf Organics, Solid Gold, Nature's VAriety, Canidae
5. What are the health benefits of feeding high quality food?
Better skin, better coat, better digestive tracts, better energy, better endurance, better recooperating time, better immune system, stronger bones and joints, faster healing time
6. Milo has dry skin and possibly allergies, he's ALWAYS scratching himself or rubbing on something. How likely is it that this is caused by the food he eats?
EXTREMELY high
7. I know Kerri's Dekka is the same breed, age, and roughly the same size as Milo. She eats Orijen, and the combined wet and dry food she eats is literally 1/8 of what Milo eats solely in kibble.
Yes, the higher quality of food you feed the less of it you have to feed which also means less poop to clean up which is always a bonus! When Ronan would come visit before I owned him and had full control over what he ate, he would poop up to 5 times in an 8 hour visit. And they were the same size poops as what OC did except that OC only pooped 2 times a day. Now that they are both eating better quality stuff, they both only poop 1-2 times a day and its not much at all!
We rotate kibble on a 1-2 week basis without sticking to any particular brand or formula. Last week they had Innova Evo, this week they are on Timberwolf Organics Wild, next rotation they will be on Orijen Original Formula (not the fishy one), after that they will be on Nature's Variety Instinct Chicken and after that back to Innova Evo as those are the 4 types of kibble we have right now. Next time I purchase kibble who knows what I will pick up. I do try to go for grain-free foods though but now and then I may pick up a small bag of kibble with grain in it (like California Natural) just for a few rotations as something different.
Along with kibble I also supplement with raw meat (muscle and organs and bones) of varying animals. I will also give them raw eggs and every now and then I might get a few canned foods with a very high protein percentage to add to their kibble.
2. Have you always fed this? If not, what changes did you see after switching? (coat, stools, skin, weight, teeth, breath, etc.)
No. OC was started on Eukanuba (what the breeder fed) and was switched to Nutro. From there we switched to Royal Canin Holistic followed by Wellness Super 5 to what we are feeding now. With every kibble change I noticed a healthier shinier coat with less shedding as well as more energy and a faster recooperation time. While on the Wellness after they changed their formulas OC would get very loose stooles during the summer. With the feeding regime we have now we have very nice solid poops and due to him being so used to change it takes him getting into somehting VERY bad before it upsets his tummy whereas when he was a puppy, if he got so much as one dog biscuit that was not a part of his normal diet he would get the runs.
I have no idea what Ronan all ate before I owned him but I do know that he came with a 1/2 finished bag of a corn-based crap kibble. His coat was nasty. He is supposed to have a soft fluffy coat like OC's but his was dry and brittle and felt like you were touching the coat of a wire-soated breed rather than a Husky. It was also very thin and burnt by the sun. I switched him to Wellness and noticed some improvements but the big improvements came when i started feeding him the diet I have him and OC on now which I explained above.
3. What are some foods vets commonly recommend that aren't very good quality, and why do they do this?
I hear of a lot of vets recommending Iams and Hills Science Diet. My vet carries and recommends Medi-cal which is a kibble made by Techni-cal which isnt much better in comparison to Hills or Iams. Vets do this because they often get PAID by the food companies to endorse their food. Soemtimes its simply because they see other vets they respect carrying and recommending the food so assume it is the correct thing to do without actually doing any of their own research.
4. Name a couple of food brands you would consider high-quality.
Innova, Orijen, California Natural, Timberwolf Organics, Solid Gold, Nature's VAriety, Canidae
5. What are the health benefits of feeding high quality food?
Better skin, better coat, better digestive tracts, better energy, better endurance, better recooperating time, better immune system, stronger bones and joints, faster healing time
6. Milo has dry skin and possibly allergies, he's ALWAYS scratching himself or rubbing on something. How likely is it that this is caused by the food he eats?
EXTREMELY high
7. I know Kerri's Dekka is the same breed, age, and roughly the same size as Milo. She eats Orijen, and the combined wet and dry food she eats is literally 1/8 of what Milo eats solely in kibble.
Yes, the higher quality of food you feed the less of it you have to feed which also means less poop to clean up which is always a bonus! When Ronan would come visit before I owned him and had full control over what he ate, he would poop up to 5 times in an 8 hour visit. And they were the same size poops as what OC did except that OC only pooped 2 times a day. Now that they are both eating better quality stuff, they both only poop 1-2 times a day and its not much at all!