I agree. Feed'em raw! Meat and bones!
Kibble recommendations?
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@eeeefarm I can totally understand wanting to avoid using kibble, but why do you recommend moistening it? I thought that eating kibble that was not mushy was good for their teeth (sort of like brushing them). My last dog died at 18.5 with every tooth intact, white, and sharp and I attributed that to his hard kibble (and veg, of course!) diet. Thanks for your thoughts!
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@tanza Yes, she's perfectly healthy I'm not worried that anything is wrong. I haven't had a puppy before and I expected a little more enthusiasm about eating since she's playing and growing so much. I'll check out Fromm's and Natural Balance small bites. She's been getting 1/3 - 1/2 cup dry kibble for each meal, but has never eaten it all in one go so I wasn't too concerned about her getting too much. Often times her breakfast is her snack and ends up being part of her dinner too...
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@elbrant It's funny that you say that--she won't touch her dinner until my family sits down at the table to eat our dinner. Then she starts picking though her dish. We try to mix up the fresh fruits and veggies or treats that she gets daily.
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@kittenishkat Thank you! I'll check and see if my local feed store carries that brand too! She does love plain yogurt but isn't so keen on sweet potato. Trying to expose her to many flavors so I'll definitely give it to her again
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@isabob Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!
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I would never give just dry kibble of any brand. Mix it with a portion of a good canned dog food and a very little water. Mine get a good quality grain free kibble mixed with the meat and have done for years. No point in naming them, different brands in different countries.
Puppies get whatever the breeder gave, I would expect you to have been given a supply for the first couple of days. Then a gradual changeover to the food of your choice. Or to a more adult menu.
It can be a mistake to continue with puppy food for too long. By 16 weeks mine have all been on the two meals a day routine which continues all their lives and on an adult diet
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Our 8 month old is still fed 4 x per day, which I time with our family meals. She prefers tinned and I either mix in a little kibble or save it for training sessions in between. I sometimes replace a meal with something we are eating if it's suitable for her to have i.e. a whole food without any additives or salt. To discourage begging we never give left overs directly from the table or kitchen.
Jane
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@jkent That is too often ! A dog is not like a human in its food requirements or its digestive system.
Many people feed their dogs just once a day. Not that many years ago it was the norm. I have always fed twice because then it is easier to control their weight.
I would worry that you are over feeding your 8 month old, and are heading towards a very over weight Basenji. Which on its own will cause problems for the animal.
Give him time to digest between meals and let his stomach rest. At 8 months old he should only be on 2 meals, probably 8 am and 6 pm or whatever suits you, but remember, he is a dog, not a human.
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@milena said in Kibble recommendations?:
@eeeefarm I can totally understand wanting to avoid using kibble, but why do you recommend moistening it? I thought that eating kibble that was not mushy was good for their teeth (sort of like brushing them). My last dog died at 18.5 with every tooth intact, white, and sharp and I attributed that to his hard kibble (and veg, of course!) diet. Thanks for your thoughts!
That's a fallacy as far as kibble being good for teeth. Bones, OTOH, will keep their teeth clean but the downside is that vigorous chewers can crack or break teeth on them. Your dog with the excellent teeth may well have benefitted from genetics. My niece had a cat with bad teeth. Fed exactly the same as her other cats, this one had perpetual problems.
Fresh food is best for their teeth, and of course these days we brush our dog's teeth. Interestingly, my two that lived the longest never saw a tooth brush and never had any extractions or mouth problems, despite having tartar build up. The ones I fussed over had whiter teeth but shorter lives. Go figure....
"In order to get along with a Basenji, you have to be at least half as smart as the dog!"
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@eeeefarm Kibble is a generic term, meaning dry food for dogs, as I understand it. All kinds of different shapes, sizes, hardness etc. All called kibble.
Mixing kibble with meat already gives it a bit of gravy and therefore flavour and will soften it, but kibble with just water ?? surely not.
You are absolutely right there is nothing in kibble for the teeth - But a good brushing can help.
Mine get fresh beef bones every Friday from the butcher and the Vets never stop remarking on how pristine their teeth are. Gums are fresh and healthy right up to the end.
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@zande she is normal weight at the moment and we monitor it. She seemed to weigh less than she should a couple of months ago so we increased her calories and will continue to monitor.
I find less frequent feedings result in her bringing up bile in the mornings, although this is getting less as her digestive system matures.
What sort of beef bones are suitable for older puppies. I gave her raw chicken wings a couple of times for teeth cleaning, but she swallowed them whole, which concerned me and defeated the point.
Jane
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@milena - Teeth brushing not kibble to keep the teeth and gums heathly.... I brush my Basenjis teeth about 3 to 4 times a week and also I give them Plaque Off, it is a powder that you put on their food. It is just a small amount. Has worked great. You don't really need to use a toothpaste (for dogs) to brush, just wet the brush.
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Hi Milena!
So I get the picky eater thing, my first basenji was very picky and if he didn't like it he wouldn't eat it. He also had a very touchy stomach so if I changed what I fed him, it would take forever for him not to have loose stool (sometimes he never adjusted). After many failed trials I ended up keeping him on the same food/portions because changing was bad. Also, being an only dog he didn't have to eat right away because no one was stealing it so from my experience its not too surprising that your pup is acting this way.For my two that I have now, I have a girl with a touchy stomach (she's the niece of my first one and just like him!) and one who has had bladder stones and cannot have a lot of foods because of the ingredients so they both stay on a consistent diet. I use a kibble brand called First Mate Australian Lamb. You can get it from Chewy. Its a high quality kibble with limited ingredients. I feed this to both and for my girl I mix in a tablespoon of wet food (with sweet potato, it seems to keep her belly happy) and for my boy I mix in a packet of Core Simply Shreds. The shreds come in 4 flavors, is limited ingredients, not a ton of calories and he loves it! I'm really happy with that combo. Its easy, and combines fresh and kibble. Because of the stones we like his food pretty wet to help with that. Since I've had him on this combo we have had no stone issues at all (and I test often to make sure). They both have great weight, coats and energy so I have been very happy with the results so far! Oh! I also feed twice a day and monitor, (with two I have to
but I find it keeps their weight right where I want them better and I can see if there are any problems easier (if something changes I know there could be a problem).I like the idea for changing things up but for me it just hasn't worked because of how my two are. I have found that a consistent kibble and subtle change with the wet food (same brand variety of flavor) keeps them interested but problem free.
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@jkent Her weight is not as important as her regime and her diet. Although overweight is never good.
From what you say, you are anthropomorphising the dog. Giving her a human regime of 4 meals which are not good for her. And feeding her things cooked for humans instead of dog food.
Didn't your breeder give you ANY instructions on feeding correctly ? You have already set abnormalities in train, bringing up bile in the mornings. Have you not considered this is because of her diet and her poor over worked digestive system ?
Chicken bones splinter and are a no-no for Basenjis for that reason and don't help with teeth
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My dogs get beef bones, either huge haunch bones that I remove fat from and saw up into manageable pieces, or flat rib bones. Raw, of course.Puppies and adults are healthier and fitter on a proper dog regime and proper diet. Frankly, I wonder what other problems may already have started for the poor wee thing.
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Feeding schedules.....mine always were fed twice a day. I found that once a day resulted in vomiting bile, as someone mentioned. Even with 2 feedings my boy Perry would sometimes vomit bile in the morning if I didn't give him breakfast soon enough, so being empty definitely had an effect.
I also tended to find a food I liked and kept with it, but my dogs always did indulge in vegetables as well as their regular meal, so got a taste of whatever I was preparing for our meals as well. Fruit was usually a hit, most kinds including oranges, apples, berries of all sorts, and before I knew better, even grapes and raisins, which are toxic, but apparently I never gave enough to cause a problem, as the dog I gave them to survived to 16 years of age and never had kidney issues.
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@zande - I think that jkent said she was feeding raw chicken wings... I have never had issues with those, but chicken necks are better. My Basenjis have always had 2 meals a day, one at about 6am (used to be 5am when I was working) and 5:30pm. Then at bed time they got a very small snack and that worked find to save off bile barfing, 99% of the time. Have done this for all 35+ yrs in the breed along with raising my litters (of course they got more feedings depending on age) but when sent home at 10wks it was 3 meals a day (not increased food, just broken up to 3 meal) till they were 4 months then 2 meals. Also I have never used puppy food, I have always fed my Basenjis and their pups adult kibble same as the adults eat. If you use good quality kibble you are just spending more money on puppy food, it is no better for them. And remember when you take a pup home and it is the only Dog in the home, many times because they no longer have that competition for food like with their litter mates, they can get an additude on eating. That is why I always recommend that you put the bowl down for no more than 10 minutes and if they do not eat you take it away until the next feeding. Believe me they will not stave themselves! They will learn to eat when given to them... no different that human children, IMO. Also mine get from a very early age veggies and fruits (watermelon is a total favorite!) raw or steamed. My Basenjis love root veggies (squash, all kinds is a favorite), lettuce, cucumbers, etc and get those (different every day) with their evening meal with their kibble. In the morning they get their kibble with wet mixed in... during the day they get a spoon full of plain yogurt. When first giving them veggies they may play with it first but then they acquire a taste for it....
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@tanza Basically we do the same, and have done over similar lengths of time ! We've grown old with the Breed !
Two meals a day, regular dog food and maybe left over veggies. Its the frequency of the meals that disturbs me. And no, I never feed chicken bones. Nor have I ever cleaned teeth
or had one needing dental treatment.Adult food at once, ground fine, perhaps when they are tiny, for the home bred ones. These last two have been moved over to adult a.s.a.p. !
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@eeeefarm Thanks! I never looked it up, I've just heard it mentioned before (and my own anecdote, of course). This thread certainly makes me feel better about continuing to give wet food to my girl. We are really big on giving her fresh food too.
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@aprilk Thank you for the recommendations! I'll add them to my list. I think I'll try several mentioned here and those will be among them. So far no touchy stomach, but I'll keep your experiences in mind!
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@tanza Thanks, I'll look into Plaque Off. I talked with my vet about brushing and she said if you don't do it EVERY day, it won't make a difference. We've still got nearly all puppy teeth right now anyway. I've got her a toothbrush too.
