|
Central Kansas | Sometimes dogs seem to be slow to eat a new….or changed ration. With noses like they have they seem to detect a difference on occasion. I have owned…and fed….bird dogs for >50 years. Hills science diet was my go to for years…then…something changed. They would not eat all their normal ration or only eat some every other day. Changed to another brand (Eukanuba) and got them back on. This happened several times over the years, there were recalls on various brands. I started to be more mindful of kibble and studied up on which rations (within a brand name) offered the best nutritional hit and with good palatibility. For the last 6 years here is ration:
Maintenance during non hunting/working season: Diamond Naturals all life stages chicken and rice, 24% protein 16% fat. This ration gets 5/5 stars by independent testing lab.
Hunting season, cold weather (dogs in kennel, not inside): Victor Hi-Pro Plus, same 30% protein, 20% as Purina Pro Plan Sport but 5/5 stars instead of Purina’s 3.5 stars. Price for both I use is around $40/40 lb bag.
In shoulder seasons and working up to hunting ration, I mix these two to raise the protein and fat content slowly. High protein kibble to dogs not working/running/hunting can cause liver problems, especially in your older animals.
Now…with your dogs…And with hard hunting or working dogs, they can be too tired at end of day to eat well. The trick is to make a pot of rice, plenty of liquid, and mix in with the dry kibble. They really like that or you can mix a can of cheap wet dogfood and do something similar. I have fed 1X/Day…evening, for over 50 years. 55 lb dog,3 full cups is the ration for the 2 products give. Try some cooked rice, I think you can get them back on track. I appreciate your concern for your dogs. They mean different things to folks of course, like the dog food in the frig with the beer!! | |
|
My dogs won't eat Purina Pro Plan either...
