Here's the rub. I know of a great dog food that does everything I want it to do. It's high energy, low stool volume, super for the coat and the dogs attack the dry kibble. The problem is the price. I pay $46/37.5# bag. I can drive 50 miles and pay $36, but if I'm going to feed this product, I will buy it at my local feed store. I've tried Loyal Performance, by Nutrena. The price is better, the dogs love it and the energy level is high, but their coats are dull. I tried Black Gold. Price is good and the dogs like it, but the stool volume is large and the quantity to feed is much more than the premium feed.
So, I went to the Internet and Googled "the best dog food"..wow, that was a lesson! Every brand had a DVM testifying to the greatness of the product. Every page had do's and don't's in feeding dogs. Every site said to beware of all the other guys! Chicken meal ain't real chicken, only diseased animal innards are sent to dog food, dogs need meat and offal and... fresh is best!
C'mon my friends, in all the vet schools we have in this country, someone has researched the best way to feed hunting dogs. What is the answer? I guess the fact that it is a multi-Billion dollar industry doesn't help the flow of useable information......
What do you feed? Are you happy with it? Would you recommend it?
What do you feed? Are you happy with it? Would you recommend it?
17 comments:
Enhance hunters edge. Dogs like it, I think they changed the formula so I need to check that.
Iams seems to do a pretty good job for me, especially the senior formula.
Thanks, Mark. Iams is a good premium feed, too.
During the hunting season I feed Eukanuba. The rest of the year I use Iams. I can see a huge difference in my dogs smelling ability and energy level when I switch to Eukanuba. I wrote a blog post about this, check it out. http://ericoutside.blogspot.com/2009/04/dreaming-pink.html
Great info, Eric! I visited your BLOG and really enjoyed your enthusiasm! If you don't mind, I will list it on my bloglist.
I have an Irish Red Setter and have tried many different foods. After doing my research on the brands that are available at my location Iams seems to be the best choice. High energy and low stool output, but the dog doesn't take to it too much. Currently I am using Kibbles n' bits savory chicken. I do not like this food as the dog is fickle about eating it at times and other times he devours it, but it also causes lots of stool movements. I'm talking about 5-6 times within an hour. I am limited on choices of food, mostly big name brand. Any suggestions?
You know, I do have a recommendation. I don't know where you live, but, if you can find IAMS, you should be able to find Purina ProPlan Performance or Eukanuba (see Eric, above). I am now feeding ProPlan Performance (30/20) with a cup of BilJac (http://www.bil-jac.com) thrown in and mixed. My dogs tear in to it and lick the bowls. They don't come off their feed on hunting trips anymore, either. So far, so good. Hope it works out for you.
I feed Purina. Puppy chow until (1) year old then the green bag. It has 23 vitamins and minerals including antioxidants.
I have used Purina ProPlan for a few years, but switched back to the Green Bag. I find that if you feed twice a day the dogs respond very good with a regular stools routine.
Ingredients are the key for me. I run hard runnin GSP's and never seen them run out of gas.
Crude Protein (Min) 21.0%
Crude Fat (Min) 10.0%
Crude Fiber (Max) 4.5%
Moisture (Max) 12.0%
Linoleic Acid (Min) 1.5%
Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.0%
Phosphorus (P) (Min) 0.8%
Vitamin A (Min) 10,000 IU/kg
Gunner
I haven't heard of the Green Bag. I will look it up. The fat level seems low to me, but your dogs obviously do very well with it. However, we know GSP's are a tough crowd.....
I posted the first anonymous post and I finally created an account also. I am a Soldier stationed overseas and its a little difficult at times to acquire the appropriate food, as were are limited to the choices overseas. I am going to the commissary today and probably pick up the IAMS. He used to eat it when he was a pup but then he smelled a friends dog food and then never touched again. So I am going to try it again. When we do start hunting do you recommend to change his food? Also when dressing your birds after the hunt is it ok to give the dog some of the birds innards? Just a question I've been pondering. Thank you for the tips.
Hello, Brian! IAMS is a good feed. What kind did your friend have? If your dog likes it and it's good stuff, you may want to stay with that. Bottom line is: Will it keep the weight on him, does he stay healthy, is his stool small and not too soft or hard, are you not having to feed too much (more than 3.5 cups a day for 50# dog) based on the recommendation on the bag. I do not change the feed while hunting. On long trips (weeks), I may add an egg. But if he is still attacking the dry kibble, I would increase the volume a little, but not change the feed. changing feed will sometimes cause gastric distress in a dog. There are different schools of thought about feeding the guts or head or whatever, to the dog. My school of thought is no!
Randy, Thank you for your response. I was feeding my dog Kibbles n' Bits savory chicken and beef. Today I went out and bought large breed IAMS. Being stationed overseas we have a extremely limited variety of feed. My basic thought process behind the leftovers after the birds are dressed is not wanting to waste any valuable nutrients in some of the innards. However, I don't want my dog to associate the bird with feeding time. When you add an egg to your dogs kibble to you cook it (ie. boil) or do you crack a raw one over his kibble?
I just crack a raw egg and stir it in. dogs love it.
Brian,
I've been training bird dogs for years. I have seen people/ hunters that give there dogs parts of the bird in the field. I have also witnessed the same dogs retain a hard mouth from these bad habits.
Hunting birds with dogs, Dog Points/ Flushes, Hunter Shoots bird, Dog retrieves bird and dog gets praised by owner is the total picture. By giving the dog parts of the bird teaches them to be hard mouthed, meaning they will start chomping or handling game too harshly.
So if you choose to give your dog parts of the bird in the field, don’t be too surprised when the dog retrieves a bird one day that is tenderized beyond recognition. Remember it’s not the dogs fault, the only one to blame is owner who taught the dog it’s Okay to eat birds!
I do not recommend changing dog food during hunting season as it can cause digestive irritations. Just increase the amount of food to keep the proper weight on your dog. I like too feed my dogs twice a day. (1) It’s more quality time with your dog (2) It allows you to adjust amount of food based on recent activity level
One last thing about feeding working/ hunting dogs. There have been several studies done that show if you feed dogs within 15-30 minutes after hunting, recovery time and absorption of critical minerals and vitamins that aid in muscle recovery is much better for the dog.
Semper Fi
Gunner
I concur with all of that, Gunner! I am hearing more and more about it being optimum to feed/re-hydrate with minerals, vitamins within 30 minutes of hard exercise. I know some military handlers who habitually feed their dogs soon after they get out of the field, too. Might be worth some thought.
Randy,
I cannot stress the importance of the benifits in feeding and hydrating as soon as possable. Athelets have been doing it for decades. When it comes right down to it, our hunting dogs are just four legged athelets. If I walk 5-6 miles a day huntin, the dogs are doing 15-20 miles a day. I'm a snacker, when I get back to the truck I'm lookin for a candy bar, energy drink. Dogs are no difference, If you want fast recovering dogs that can hunt hard every day it's a must.
Gunner
I have a re-hydration drink for dogs that I can mix up for them. I'm going to take a closer look at that. You are right, in fact, it's probably more important for dogs than humans.
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