Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
09-24-2005, 11:47 AM
#23
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 1,148
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
Don't forget the fiber content. Generally speaking, if it does not have at least 4% crude fiber, there will be more softer messy stools. When you get above 4% and into the 6% range, the increased fiber binds the stools better and you get nice hardstool that is easy to pick up and keep the kennel clean.
Up here, the Royal Canin stuff is just outrageously expensive. Well over $1 per pound. Purina ProPlan is just as expensive. Eagle Pack and Natural Choice are around .$75 per pound. The Nutro products and Diamond are about $.45 per pound.
Up here, the Royal Canin stuff is just outrageously expensive. Well over $1 per pound. Purina ProPlan is just as expensive. Eagle Pack and Natural Choice are around .$75 per pound. The Nutro products and Diamond are about $.45 per pound.
09-24-2005, 11:10 PM
#24
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the Great Plains
Posts: 351
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
I have put forth a lot of effort on this topic and tried several things. First off, my male adult Mtn. Cur got the runs on diamond feed as a pup, so I put him on a Diamond manufactured brand called Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul...sounds dumb, but it was a great feed. It was fine as puppy feed, but it would get too expensive to feed him that all the time as an adult dog. Main ingredients were turkey and chicken and it had other good stuff like fish and omega 6 and 3 and all the good stuff. Way too expensive as a maintanance feed and really too expensive as a seasonal feed, too, but great as a puppy feed.
I tried Diamond maintenance later on and it still gave my dog the runs, so I just switched to the cheap Pedigree for a while. This is probably an enefficient feed for hunting season, but for some reason it gets a dog to look great. Slick, muscular and healthy. However, if you take them to the field, I think you might not get the performance you want.
I also used Diamond High Performance, which is 24% protein/ 20% fat. This type of diamond feed didn't give my dog the runs, but my dog burnt it up too fast and got real skinny and poor looking. His metabolism was too fast for that feed with that kind of content, I guess.
Now just recently I put him on Purina One Lamb and Rice formula. It has lamb as a main ingredient, and has a 26/16 guaranteed analysis. It is also relatively affordable. So far I like it. I think I will ride this squirrel season out on this feed and see how it works.A treedog can really burn up the woods so it will be a good test.
Now for my new puppy, I am just now getting her switched over to Diamond Puppy because it does not give her the runs. I would feed diamond all the time to my male, too, because it's cheap and has a good label reading, but his system just doesn't mix with it. My pup seems fine on it.
I tried Diamond maintenance later on and it still gave my dog the runs, so I just switched to the cheap Pedigree for a while. This is probably an enefficient feed for hunting season, but for some reason it gets a dog to look great. Slick, muscular and healthy. However, if you take them to the field, I think you might not get the performance you want.
I also used Diamond High Performance, which is 24% protein/ 20% fat. This type of diamond feed didn't give my dog the runs, but my dog burnt it up too fast and got real skinny and poor looking. His metabolism was too fast for that feed with that kind of content, I guess.
Now just recently I put him on Purina One Lamb and Rice formula. It has lamb as a main ingredient, and has a 26/16 guaranteed analysis. It is also relatively affordable. So far I like it. I think I will ride this squirrel season out on this feed and see how it works.A treedog can really burn up the woods so it will be a good test.
Now for my new puppy, I am just now getting her switched over to Diamond Puppy because it does not give her the runs. I would feed diamond all the time to my male, too, because it's cheap and has a good label reading, but his system just doesn't mix with it. My pup seems fine on it.
09-25-2005, 07:34 PM
#25
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location:
Posts: 510
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
Mike, If your dog was skinny on a food with 20% fat, I can't see switching to one with 20% fewer calories. I assume you keep him wormed and their is no other condition that might make him thin and are feeding him an adequate amount.
A hard-running dog will have a difficult time maitaining weight with anything less than 20% fat. You might want to consider giving him some sort of extra calories. Maybe something as simple as some bacon fat drizzled over his food. Lamb and rice is good for dogs with digestive problems and I think Maxx Nut at WalMart has one that is 20% fat.
Maybe it will cool off enough soon for you to run some bushytails.
A hard-running dog will have a difficult time maitaining weight with anything less than 20% fat. You might want to consider giving him some sort of extra calories. Maybe something as simple as some bacon fat drizzled over his food. Lamb and rice is good for dogs with digestive problems and I think Maxx Nut at WalMart has one that is 20% fat.
Maybe it will cool off enough soon for you to run some bushytails.
09-25-2005, 11:06 PM
#26
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the Great Plains
Posts: 351
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
Underdog,
I don't know a whole lot about the science of it all, I just knew I had to find something that works. LOL...
He was wormed sufficiently when I used the diamond high energy, but he just got really skinny and dull-coated and just plain boney. I fed him the recommended amount, maybe more would have been better.All I can guess is that hismetabolism just burnt that food right up.I usually like 26/18 if I can get it as a running feed, but I couldn't find any that worked well for my pup, besides the Chicken Soup, but it is near $30 a bag for like 18 pounds. He did great on it lastseason. I have checked out that Max Nutrition and it seemed like a decent feed. May try it before it's all over, too. Underdog, it's a tough guess to find the right feed sometimes, isn't it? I mean who would have thought that the Pedigree I used got my pup to looking the best he's ever looked? Yet it is a corn meal based feed with a terrible guaranteed analysis for a hunting dog. He looked great on it but seemed to wear out quick, of course. I spent the summer trying to decide what I will use as a running feed, but am giving this Purina One a whirl and it is workin' out so far.I have been giving him some bacon grease, too. I will keep an eye on him in the woods to see if it seems to be sufficient. I may try that Max Nutrition, too. I noticed it was really high in protien...The performance formula was like 30% on protien. Good luck to ya this season.
I don't know a whole lot about the science of it all, I just knew I had to find something that works. LOL...
He was wormed sufficiently when I used the diamond high energy, but he just got really skinny and dull-coated and just plain boney. I fed him the recommended amount, maybe more would have been better.All I can guess is that hismetabolism just burnt that food right up.I usually like 26/18 if I can get it as a running feed, but I couldn't find any that worked well for my pup, besides the Chicken Soup, but it is near $30 a bag for like 18 pounds. He did great on it lastseason. I have checked out that Max Nutrition and it seemed like a decent feed. May try it before it's all over, too. Underdog, it's a tough guess to find the right feed sometimes, isn't it? I mean who would have thought that the Pedigree I used got my pup to looking the best he's ever looked? Yet it is a corn meal based feed with a terrible guaranteed analysis for a hunting dog. He looked great on it but seemed to wear out quick, of course. I spent the summer trying to decide what I will use as a running feed, but am giving this Purina One a whirl and it is workin' out so far.I have been giving him some bacon grease, too. I will keep an eye on him in the woods to see if it seems to be sufficient. I may try that Max Nutrition, too. I noticed it was really high in protien...The performance formula was like 30% on protien. Good luck to ya this season.
09-26-2005, 04:35 AM
#27
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location:
Posts: 510
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
I think the most common mistake made on selecting a food for a working dog is being too focused on the protein content and not enough on the fat content. As humans we seem to have been brainwashed that fat is bad nutrionally, but with sporting dogs, fat is where it's at!
If you're concerned about protein an egg or two over a dog's feed will take care of that.
If you're concerned about protein an egg or two over a dog's feed will take care of that.
09-26-2005, 08:15 AM
#28
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: WC FL
Posts: 26,323
RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
TOPICS FOR NUTRITION
Body Condition
Choosing a Dog Food
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Nutrition For Adult Dogs
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Nutrition For Puppies
Nutrition for Senior Dogs
Pet Food Labels
Refusal to Eat
Treats in a Balanced Diet
Water
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Body Condition
Choosing a Dog Food
Dog Supplements
Finicky Eating
Nutrition For Adult Dogs
Nutrition for Hardworking Dogs
Nutrition for Inactive Dogs
Nutrition for Pregnant Dogs
Nutrition For Puppies
Nutrition for Senior Dogs
Pet Food Labels
Refusal to Eat
Treats in a Balanced Diet
Water
Weight Gain
