Natural Balance v.s. Orijen [4 star to 6 star]

I personally really like fish and find it more appropriate for a dog than a cat, but that's for another discussion .

All I can say is, give it a try. I like the fish formula a lot and have tried it in short rotations (small bag size) because, for the price of the bigger bags, I can do homecooked/raw. I won't feed Natural Balance because, for my dog, I'd like to see meat as the first ingredient, so I cannot comment. The fish/poultry formula of Orijen caused a skin problem with my dog, but a lot of the dogs I've known that eat it do very well on it. They probably don't have much variety yet because this is a new line; it just came out last June/July and later to some places.

Switching foods may or may not help the weight gain. As you said, the carbs may be contributing. But, as with any creature, increasing excersize, decreasing food intake, or both is the best way to prevent weight gain. I don't know what your routine is so I cannot comment on your dog, it's just something to keep in mind.

I don't think high protein kibbles are even appropriate for puppies, are they?  

The dog food analysis site is a horrible site to reference information.  It is entirely biased towards grain-free foods, and the author has no formal training (of any kind) in canine nutrition.  One has to remember that not every dog responds well to grain free.... 

 I agree with the above statement. I always encourage people that come into the store where I work to find things out on their own rather than to trust someone's rating system... even my own. I will lay out what I avoid and what I like, as well as the foods that a lot of dogs seem to do well on and let them form a judgement.  

There is a puppy formula in orijen, although it doesn't come in a fish variety.

It took me about thirty seconds of clicking around the dog food analysis website once to decide it was a complete waste of my time.

I dislike ratings systems.  They seem so arbitrary.  i like dogfoodproject.com  For the most part, just the facts. 

Thanks for the advice!

Considering Kayla loves NB and is doing well I'm going to just stick with it. I may decrease her intake a little bit and decrease the Salmon Oil.

Don't feel like paying for another session with a Nutritionist to "analyze" how she's doing. I've learned a lot from her, plus the forum, plus my job... I know what I need and what to look for now (which is why that specific Orijen formula looked good).

I had no idea about the fish being great for dogs just like cats. I always viewed dogs as the meat lovers and cats as the fish lovers (another steriotypical animal thing) but it's good to know that I shouldn't feel "guilty" feeding my dog a seafood diet.

CARBS are the #1 ingredients in NB plus the Salmon Oil I add... so I do believe that's where the weight gain is from PLUS she just got spayed and ever since then she's put on 1.5lbs (she's now 11lbs).

And I do feel guilty that she can't be the most active dog in the world; but she's an apartment dog, with a mom (me) who works 65 hours a week and a dad who works 40 hours a week... thank god for doggie day care & my BF... soon enough she can come with me to PETCO though (I just don't think she's ready quite yet to be a demo dog)

Personally I love Kayla the way she is (minus the eye discharge a lot lately which could be environmental... not sure) she's a larger set Pom, I think she looks great and feels great, so I don't want to change her. The horrible Vet I was seeing said otherwise but I'm just not going to listen.

I'll leave the 3 - 7 pounds to my new little baby pure bred Pom that's coming this summer.

As for www.dogfoodanalysis.com outside of this forum the world thinks otherwise so that's why I'm glad I asked.

Pom<3

If you are happy with the results of NB, but want to up Kayla's protein a bit, an easy way would be to feed more canned and less kibble. Most canned food has less carbs and is higher in protein than kibble.--the exception would be the NB canned duck formula--it's around 23% protein---the NB canned venison is 33% protein and the NB canned fish is 29% protein.  Just a thought.

Also, if Kayla is a bigger-boned pom, 11 pounds may not be too heavy for her----how does she feel to you?  My guy is a bit "heavier" number-wise, but he's all muscle,and very lean--most people think he looks skinny---- so I don't worry about the weight as a number so much---he's in great condition.

tzu_mom

If you are happy with the results of NB, but want to up Kayla's protein a bit, an easy way would be to feed more canned and less kibble. Most canned food has less carbs and is higher in protein than kibble.--the exception would be the NB canned duck formula--it's around 23% protein---the NB canned venison is 33% protein and the NB canned fish is 29% protein.  Just a thought.

Very good to know! thank you!

tzu_mom

Also, if Kayla is a bigger-boned pom, 11 pounds may not be too heavy for her----how does she feel to you?  My guy is a bit "heavier" number-wise, but he's all muscle,and very lean--most people think he looks skinny---- so I don't worry about the weight as a number so much---he's in great condition.

Yeah I think she looks great! Everyone thinks she's much smaller than she is "oh what is she like 7lbs?" uh no 11... haha. She doesn't look big at all; I felt her body and I can't find anything negative... she feels really good.

I'm switching Vets and hopefully the new one will realize there are larger Poms in the world, it is possible.

As long as she's not overweight, I agree that you should be happy with her. I have a big dog, so I like to keep her thin so as not to cause any undue joint stress.

Just in case you didn't know (which you probably do) you should be able to feel her ribs when she's standing up without applying a lot of pressure (just a little padding under the skin). If you really have to push to feel them, then she's overweight.

pumaward

you should be able to feel her ribs when she's standing up without applying a lot of pressure (just a little padding under the skin). If you really have to push to feel them, then she's overweight.

Yep :o) So I have no worries then.

I'm deff happy with who she is as a doggie individual; I'm probably just going to take that "canned food" advice and add more exercise to see if it makes any difference.

Here is what I decided on:

BREAKFAST - Orijen 6 Fresh Fish (Dry Kibble)

LUNCH - Kong stuffed with Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish (Canned Food & Treats)

DINNER - Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison (Dry Kibble & Canned Food) 1/2 tsp of Salmon Oil

I still have two full kibble bags of Natural Balance Potato & Duck and Sweet Potato & Fish. So for now this is what I'm going to do...

BREAKFAST - Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish (Dry Kibble)

LUNCH - Kong stuffed with Natural Sweet Potato & Fish (Canned Food & Treats)

DINNER - Natural Balance Potato & Duck (Dry Kibble & Canned Food) 1/2 tsp of Salmon Oil