Science Diet

Basenji Feeding

  • Why do vets recommend Science Diet?
    The ingredients are horrid.
    I switched my new adopted girl to Wellness. She eats like she's never had food before! Now, she won't touch the Science Diet.

    What do y'all feed your Basenjis?


  • Blue Buffalo puppy for Lola, Blue Buffalo Wilderness for Booger


  • Innova EVO Small Bites Dog Food

    attachment_p_52045_0_full_evo_dog_smbites.jpg


  • Zippy gets the same as Alex's Chance and Kiya, Evo. Riley gets Innova Puppy and we'll probably transition him to Evo once he's off puppy food. There are lots of threads as well as opinions on dog food…. a search of past threads should turn up a lot.


  • My kids use the Red meat version of the EVO food, I supplliment the kibble with a raw diet a couple times a week. Seems to work great for them. Science Diet funds a large amount of vetrinary training, as such many vets are trained to believe it is a good food. Interestingly enough this is one of the things I look for in a vet. Mine reccomends either Evo or Inova. I like to know that I have a vet who actualy makes up his own mind on food. He made sure I knew when I first got Charlie that he would be quite cross with me if he found that I ever fed Science Diet. ( I think I fell in love with him at that point) :D

    Then of course when he got all excited about me getting Zaire it just reaffirmed for me that he was the right choice. (He was so happy to have a B in his peractice again).


  • I second Daniel - from what I hear from my friends in Vet school.. Science Diet gives major $$ to Universities and up and coming Vets - and you can see how they get paid back in full for it because it's everywhere! Their PR ppl do a great job pitching it as a superior, "vet recommended" food. It's really sad how much it is absorbed by the public - how ppl don't even care to read the back of their dog food labels (then again, most ppl don't read the back of their OWN food labels, so I'll stop there)

    I feed my pup Real Nature, which is pretty ,much the best I have found out here in the land of Swiss. It's does have whole grain brown rice (sigh) in the first four ingredients, but the other three are all meats and no corn (yay!). I am interested to know what the other Euros feed their dogs..

    Perhaps to further extend on food - for those whose dogs are not on the raw diet, do you cycle your dog food every 3 to 4 months as suggested by nutritionists?


  • What a difference when I switched Cami from Science Diet to Wellness. She didn't have the runs or any problems adjusting to the new food. Cami doesn't have gas any more…when she ate Science Diet her stools weren't firm.


  • My breeder recommended Innova (the basic version) and I'll alternate that with Solid Gold.

    There's a website that rates various brands of dog food - I have it at home and will post it this evening.


  • Hollie eats Innova dry dog food and loves it. Sometimes I will give her a spoon of Merricks wet as a treat.


  • @wizard:

    My breeder recommended Innova (the basic version) and I'll alternate that with Solid Gold.

    There's a website that rates various brands of dog food - I have it at home and will post it this evening.

    Do you mean dogfoodanalysis.com?


  • I´ve switched from Precept Plus to Orijen without a hitch their poop amount is incredibly small.I also give them salmopet oil daily ,eggyolks three times a week and marrow bones.
    I wish they´d sell Innova/Innova Evo over here but no such luck.


  • Here's some websites that compare dog foods (I've found the first one particularly helpful since it's more comprehensive) …
    http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
    http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html
    http://www.naturapet.com/tools/comparison.asp
    http://www.iei.net/~ebreeden/kibble.html


  • I feed my little girl Merrick dry & canned. Its the only thing she'll eat.


  • My adult gets Blue Buffalo Wilderness and my girl is transitioning from Innova puppy to Wilderness. I also add a small spoonful of organic yogurt with live cultures and a spoonful of Merricks wet Grammy's pot pie. My girl doesn't get the wet because she needs to watch her weight.


  • Instead of the Merrick cans have you ever tried evangers? My kids love the thighs and "hunk-o-beef". It actually looks like pot roast. YUMM:)


  • @Alex:

    Innova EVO Small Bites Dog Food

    We too also do Innova EVO, we do the red meat and mix it in with the turkey


  • @myran:

    their poop amount is incredibly small

    Isn't that strange? Zippy's poo got noticeably smaller when we switched her from Innova to Evo. It's small, dryer/harder and comes out shaped like distinct marbles (around 5-6 per poo). But now I feel like I'm wasting poo bags because they're too big for her mini poo!
    We also found that she will eat just the kibble without Evo canned so we haven't been adding the canned as consistently any more, it's more like a treat. And that has probably affected her poop too, the food being dryer….


  • Evo is all meat with no filler grains it is total protein… reason for the small poo..... if you were to feed raw diet and things like raw meaty bones, chicken wings, etc.. it is the same was, but white in color....


  • THat is one of the things that I like the best about Innova EVO, the poo is easy to pick up.


  • We have 2 basenjis and have been trying to transition them to Evo Small bites. Lulu is fine on it, but Benga gets chronic diarrhea if it's not mixed with the Hills perscription w/d. It seems to be the only thing that keeps his poops firm, but we don't want to keep him on it, because of the ingredients. What else can we use to make his transition easier and no messiness?

Suggested Topics

  • (Homemade) Canine Reducing Diet

    Basenji Feeding
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    ZandeZ
    @tanza I agree entirely ! I never minded plump puppies - but they need to achieve correct weight and maintain it through maturity and into old age ! I don't make any distinction between 'show weight' and anything else. A Basenji carrying too much weight is putting unnecessary strain on the organs and it is as harmful to them as to humans, for the same reasons. I clouded up and rained all over my puppy people who allowed their Basenjis to put on too much weight. I am still laughing about an incident after I judged in the Czech Republic - after the show I heard one exhibitor tell another 'my dog is not fat ! He is carrying too much weight !' Which is an expression I often use when judging - it conveys the message without offending the handler ! Condition is key - mine run free for miles most days and even my two current oldies are of correct weight and fit as fiddles - they are probably fitter than I am.
  • Changing food to diet

    Basenji Feeding
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    agilebasenjiA
    i should add that, as long as the hips/knees are good or excellent, I don't mind my seniors carrying a few extra pounds. years ago we had a lab who was dysplastic and I was very careful she NEVER carried extra weight. Jet's ideal weight is about 26 and he maybe a few pounds overweight. It's a little more difficult for the seniors to bounce back from any sort of illness and Jet's hips were OFA'd Good, so I don't worry about a little extra. The veggies will add fiber to the dogs' meals and help fill them up. I would not use canned as it tends to be high in sodium. If they don't like the veggies, you may want to try to cook them in a little chicken broth to help the flavor. or you can decide if they aren't hungry enough to eat the veggies, they aren't really hungry. My house is colder in the winter, so I tend to feed the b's 1/3-1/2 a cup 2x a day. And I tend to train more during the nicer days, so Z gets very little at meal time as I have to watch that. (I use lots of treats during training.) But really, I would not switch to a different food just to reduce the weight. For Z I also usually use a puzzle toy for feeding her meals so it lasts longer. For comparison, Zest!'s official measurements (for AKC agility) were 15.88 and 16 inches and I think she looks best at 20 pounds.
  • Is eating Science Diet better than not eating at all?

    Basenji Feeding
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    E
    First, I want to say that my B has liver disease, not kidney…but he is also supposed to be on a low protein diet. He was diagnosed at age 11...he is 15 now! The vet initially suggested Science Diet, and Senji would rather starve to death than eat that, but I digress. To get to the point, I cook for him. Usually boiled chicken or turkey, white meat or legs. The organ meat or red meat stresses his liver. I add rice and vegetables to the broth. He grew up eating mostly Pedigree, but they keep changing the formula. I put a little bit of dry dog food down and then the rice/meat mixture on top. If he doesn't eat the dry dog food, he tends to get runny stools. Throw in any vegetable you think your B will eat, such as carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas, etc. (No mushrooms or onions!)He also likes to eat scrambled egg, cottage cheese or yogurt. Occasionally, he'll eat some white fish or salmon too. His coat looks great and he still runs around like a pup!
  • Raw Diet Extras.

    Basenji Feeding
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    ComicDom1C
    @JazzysMom: Well, yeah, but….. my concern is this: the meat that the wild dogs eat comes straight from the source, and it is a prey source that is natural to their environment -- no bacterial build-up in a dirty butcher shop or barn, you KNOW that they are eating only natural foods and no additives, or fillers {wild animals don't eat hay, oats, etc} that are perfectly matched to their dietary needs, and no dog has as its natural prey domestic cattle and chickens. Raw feeding has always intrigued me, but I'm not ready to make that leap yet. I have been thinking more and more, as I pass our local butcher shop each week, that I am leaning toward occasional treats of raw.....but am just too nervous to jump on in. May wind up being a raw feeder yet, though. :-) I think I will most likely start supplementing Roo's EVO Diet when he is completely switched over, with some Raw vegetables. Since Miranda and I are on the South Beach Diet anyway, we have a lot of fresh veges around so it just makes sense to give what I can to our pets. I do not know about anyone else, but the walks and time I now spend with my Basenji Roo, and my Boston Terrier Bonzo, have really impacted all of our life's in a healthy way. Last week I lost 6 lbs just doing our daily walk and the South Beach. Bonzo has lost the few lbs she needed to and is eating less and differently since we started the walks. Roo is achieving good muscular development and growth and is not Rolly Polly. I really think paying attention to Diet and exercise is really good for all involved. Jason
  • Raw Diet Poop

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    dmcartyD
    If they are too hard - how about adding some Flax Seed - I'm think that more fiber might help. or a small bit of Karo Syrup.
  • Should I change his diet?

    Basenji Feeding
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    tanzaT
    There is also a low fat EVO that is meat and fruit, no grains… I have been slowly changing mine to it and they are doing great... but until you have the intestinal issues under control, I would keep him on that if that is what your Vet is recommending. And for the skin you can get 3V Caps.. they are a great supplement