Hi there everybody wanting to change Maya and Dakota's food for something better than I am giving them.  Right now I have them both on the iam proactive chicken flavor,  they both seem to like it but there bowel movements differ.  One day it will be normal solids, and the next day may be diherea.   My choices are Walmart, tractor supply.  I see TS carries diamond, would that be a good alternative?  They also carry TOTW which I see many people here you and recommend.  Would it be ok to try the diamond or should I just go with the recommended?  Want to give them what is best but I also want to be able to feed myself lol.  The diamond is similar in price to the iams.  TOTW is about 15 bucks more which is fine if I will notice the difference.  I seen that diamond has a recall for salmonella, is that something to worry about.  Im pretty sure iams just had one too.  Tractor supply has other brands as well.  Could you owners that shop there give me some guidance please.   I see that amazon offers free shipping on most dog foods some if there is any online buyers who can help.  Also worried about them not liking the nee food, would hate to spend 30-50 on food they won't eat.  I will be mixing in the new with the old and gradually be done with the old.  Thanks!

Iams is a really low quality food and huskies tend to have a lot of grain intolerances. I would definitely make the switch to TOTW or Diamond. They are made by the same company I think.

I would definitely go with something grain free.

Yea I'm realizing that after joining the group. If I wouldnt have found this forum I would have just kept on neglecting them and not even knowing it. I feel bad now, they are healthy don't get me wrong but its a shame that the other food companies make you think your getting great food when in reality its garbage.

You could contact the company for which ever food your going to try and usually get samples mailed to you. I dont know nearly as much as others but I dont think the pure balance food at walmart is too bad. Or at least its in stores around here I know each one will differ sometimes. I've noticed many people like taste of the wild here and a cheaper alternative to that is the natures domain at costco if you have that store somewhere not to far. I fed my two diamond extreme athlete at first but found out they have a history of adding corn or wheat but it should be fine if you watch the recalls.

TSC also carries 4Health dog food in case that might also be in your price range. Honestly all those foods (Diamond, TOTW, and 4Health) would be better than Iams and you won't know if your dogs will do well on Diamond unless you try it. Perhaps start with a small bag at first to see how your dogs fare before investing in the largest bags. Diamond and TOTW are both manufactured by Diamond, just an FYI.

Excellent info,thanks for the help. I will trya a small bag of diamond like you said and go from there, TOTW will be second. I'm sure if my girls don't like it I can find somebody local that uses either brand. I do not have a Costco local but I will check into their food. If our dogs like it may buy two bags at a time and then the 60 + miles drive won't be so bad. Just pick it up on pur trips to places near there. I did see diamond made TOTW. Hopefully the dogs will love us even more when theiy get on a more nutritional diet. Would love the raw diet but I don't think my girlfriend would be on board. And I would need much more research bfore diving into something that big. Once again thanks:)

Ok I went with diamond naturals. No wheat, corn, or soy. I mixed about a handful into a bowl of iams. New problem, they literally picked out the diamond and left a majority of the iams. Is this normal. They grab a mouth full, drop it on the floor, then pick out the good stuff. I have never measured food. I fill the bowl each morning, guessing 7-8 cups maybe and let them feed as they see fit. There is always food left, so Id say maybe 2 1/2 - 3 cups each a day. The food agrresion is gone so I just feed them together. They almost always ear together as well. Will hear them drink water seperate. So I guess my question is, will they eat the iams or continue to pick out the new? If not how am I suppose to transition them? Am sure going straight to the diamond may upset their tummys. If they will only eat the diamond now is there any serious issues or is just the upset stomach the main problem. Maybe they will eventaully eat it but I don't want them under eating. Thanks so far for the time and help...

My dogs always do this while transitioning food, but I still continue to put their old food in just in case and sometimes they end up eating and sometimes they don't. Don't worry that they are doing that cause you won't be able to stop it anyway. 7-8 cups  thats a lot! My dogs are still a little chunky and they don't even get 2 cups a day so I would definitely lower the food content quite a bit and monitor their weight and find the correct portions from there.

Yes, it's normal for dogs to pick out a new food. If you're just filling one large bowl for both dogs then there's no way to know who's eating how much of what which is why I am a fan of scheduled and measured feeds, but to each his own. There's not much you can do but wait them out to finish the food to know that they're eating both foods. Again though, you won't know who's eating what or how much so transitioning in your case will be harder.

I could try schedualed feeding.  I do see the point about knowing how much each dog is eating.  How would I go about this if they don't want to eat when offered?  That's why I just have food all day.  I could do 1 1/2 inthe morning and the same in late afternoon..  I'm just not sure Maya the older one will take to that well.  But I won't know till I try.   Was wondering about bones as well.  Could I goto the butcher and just get any raw bone from say a cow or pig or animals of the such?  This is one way to give Maya a break from Dakota.  They lay together and enjoy.   And do you think the new diamond food will help with maya's teeth and breath?  I had her teeth done by the vet last year as they were pretty full of plaque or tarter.  And her breath is always bad for some reason.  We have used enzymatic tooth paste with our much luck, maybe we were not getting her back teeth well enough.  But I felt bad having her put under for her cleaning, and it was almost 300 dollars.  The vet said a few months ago that her teeth Wernt that bad.  Also said some dogs just have bad teeth.  I'm so confused.  It smells like she sleeps with turds in her mouth, its bad most of the time.  And ideas on how to help this?

No kibble or wet food is going to help with their teeth. What does your dental care routine consist of for the dogs currently?  None of my dogs, past or present have ever needed a dental. I use and recommend Petzlife Oral Care Spray or Proden PlaqueOff. We have threads on each if you do a quick forum search, if you care to read them. Proper oral hygiene will take care of the build up and odor.

Raw marrow bones are good for cleaning teeth, close monitoring is important though. Even raw chicken bones are beneficial for teeth cleaning if you so choose.  I wouldn't give them one to share though, I'd make sure they each have their own.

There are so many benefits to scheduled feeding, I honestly don't know why people still free feed unless there's a medical reason for it. That's just me though, no disrespect to those that free feed. Anyway, none of mine really liked being put on scheduled feeding at first, all my dogs were free fed before coming to me. It generally took a week or two to get each individual consistently eating what I offered, when I offered it, i.e. on a schedule. No they weren't happy about it but I wasn't asking them what they wanted, and yes it required plenty of tough love and the ability to watch them choose to miss meals. Us humans in general eat at regular times, most of us don't graze on food all day long. At least everyone I know eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner at pretty consistent times. I know I do and my toddler does as well, there's no reason my dogs can't do the same. It always comes down to who is more stubborn when it comes to switching to a scheduled feed, I have never lost that battle although some dogs do hold out surprisingly longer than others. Overfeeding can make this more difficult in that it allows a dog to hold out longer. For an adult sibe, 3 cups a day is a lot of food. Mine only eats 1.25 cups a day for dinner, and a few treats for breakfast and lunch.

I will definitely do some forum searching. Am sure I could answer most of my questions. I think once Friday comes ill start to do a morning and evening meal. I work 3rd shift so on the evenings I'm usually sleeping. But I can have my girlfriend feed them around 5 ish and ill do the same around 730 am. Friday I should be home and awake for both meals. I will have no issues with them missing a meal but she will probably lose her mind lol. I will check the food and see what they recommend for their weights. That sounds so little to me but coming from a person her free feeds that's probably a normal reaction. At that rate I could buy $100 bag of dog food haha will last way longer than how I am feeding now. As for the bones I do give seperate sorry, they just lay near each other. Next trip to the butcher and ill see what they have or offer and go from there.

Bear in mind also that unless you have highly active, working dogs who need lots of calories, you can almost certainly feed less than the recommendation on the bag.

coming in late here but i feed nature domain from costco, its the costco brand of TOTW, its $33 for a 30lb bag, so the trip to the store would be worth it if they like it. how much do your dogs weigh right now? jack at 57lbs gets 2 cups of food, sierra at 46lbs gets 1 3/4cups of food a day. that was the same with them on TOTW as well with ND, they also get treats and fresh veggies/fruit a day. we do a breakfast and dinner feeding, Jack skips breakfast often but i then feed him his breakfast for dinner i dont double up his food on days he skips. good luck with the food!

When Maya got her shots a few months ago she was 61.5, and Dakota was 33 two weeks ago. I ask the vet everytime if Maya is over weight and she says no. She is rather tall, one of the biggest the vet has seen. She may be a few lbs over but she's not obese, will see if I can get an overhead pic and you guys tell me what ya think.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100552819@N03/9555205933/

Let me know if the picture doesn't work and ill do it grimly pc instead of my phone.  Just weighed her, 61.6lbs... Don't mind the 70s flooring lol. Keeping it retro haha, Jk just too broke to upgrade it.

jbealer wrote:

coming in late here but i feed nature domain from costco, its the costco brand of TOTW, its $33 for a 30lb bag, so the trip to the store would be worth it if they like it. how much do your dogs weigh right now? jack at 57lbs gets 2 cups of food, sierra at 46lbs gets 1 3/4cups of food a day. that was the same with them on TOTW as well with ND, they also get treats and fresh veggies/fruit a day. we do a breakfast and dinner feeding, Jack skips breakfast often but i then feed him his breakfast for dinner i dont double up his food on days he skips. good luck with the food!

That's amazing, I feed Dakota 1.25 cups a day of ND Turkey and he's been gaining weight over the summer. I had to cut him back to 1 cup/day because he jumped up to 56 lbs from 50 lbs while eating 1.25 cups. Come winter when he burns more calories to keep warm I'll up him back to 1.25 cups again.

maya-n-dakota wrote:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100552819@N03/9555205933/

Let me know if the picture doesn't work and ill do it grimly pc instead of my phone.  Just weighed her, 61.6lbs... Don't mind the 70s flooring lol. Keeping it retro haha, Jk just too broke to upgrade it.

Maya looks fine in that picture.

Ok good. Is that a normal weight though? She is much bigger than most females I've seen. The pic was just taken as well so thats 61.6lbs from above. Must jut be because she is tall. I will be reading up on the site though. If 1 or 1.25 cups is best for her that's what she will get. Thank you so much so far. Can't believe I never found you fellow husky lovers before!

What does the feeding guideline on the bag say for her size? I always start with the bag recommendation and subtract a little off of that. Then monitor the dogs weight and adjust feeding amount as needed.

That is above breed standard for her weight but plenty of dogs are over breed standard. How tall is she? My adult male sibe is at the top of the breed standard for males, he's 22" tall and typically weighs 50 lbs (but he's on a diet at the moment since he jumped up to 56 lbs this summer  ).

I just tried to get a quick measurement, looks to be just over 23. So I guess she's not that tall lol. Must have a bunch of vertically challenged huskies around here. For Dakota it calls for 2 to 2 1/2, an and Maya's weight says 3 1/4 to 4 cups

I just looked up that foods feeding guidelines. I would go off of the 40-60 range for Maya since she's so close and even then I'd start with the lower end of the range at 2.5 cups/day.

How old is your Dakota?

Huskyluv wrote:

jbealer wrote:

coming in late here but i feed nature domain from costco, its the costco brand of TOTW, its $33 for a 30lb bag, so the trip to the store would be worth it if they like it. how much do your dogs weigh right now? jack at 57lbs gets 2 cups of food, sierra at 46lbs gets 1 3/4cups of food a day. that was the same with them on TOTW as well with ND, they also get treats and fresh veggies/fruit a day. we do a breakfast and dinner feeding, Jack skips breakfast often but i then feed him his breakfast for dinner i dont double up his food on days he skips. good luck with the food!

That's amazing, I feed Dakota 1.25 cups a day of ND Turkey and he's been gaining weight over the summer.  I had to cut him back to 1 cup/day because he jumped up to 56 lbs from 50 lbs while eating 1.25 cups.  Come winter when he burns more calories to keep warm I'll up him back to 1.25 cups again.

Jack is solid muscle, i freaked that he gained 1lb but we cant figure out where it is, maybe muscle! and since he is such a on again off again eater i know we are not over feeding him, the hiking is a huge help in workouts as well.... is Dakota getting lots of toddler food:lol!:  oh and we feed the salmon ND they did not care for the turkey

jbealer wrote:

Jack is solid muscle, i freaked that he gained 1lb but we cant figure out where it is, maybe muscle! and since he is such a on again off again eater i know we are not over feeding him, the hiking is a huge help in workouts as well.... is Dakota getting lots of toddler food:lol!:   oh and we feed the salmon ND they did not care for the turkey

I think with Dakota it's also in part due to the lack of walks. With Isabella I am not able to get out early enough in the morning to beat the heat. That coupled with my growing belly has made it hard to exercise him as much as I normally would. Plus you are correct, Isabella has been feeding him her food on a regular basis despite how hard I try to prevent her from doing so.  

Dakota can't tolerate fish so turkey is our only option when it comes to ND.

It's funny how they all differ. Bode is just under 50# and he gets around 2.5-3 cups of ND Beef a day. He may skip breakfast and then just eat that for dinner and he hasn't gained any significant amount of weight since roughly 8 months old!

Val, does your Costco carry the new beef formula? Bo's poops have been better than ever on it and he loves it, he was on the turkey before.