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Thinking of going TOTW from EVO

Posted : 9/11/2009 10:20:42 AM

I've been feeding Cairo EVO for probably 4 years now...and he's doing very well on it with one exception (and I don't know if this is food related or what) but his poops never seem to be consistent. It's very frustrating because sometimes they are totally normal, but it seems that when he gets a lot of exercise, they go soft. If it's been rainy for a while (and he tends to hold it in more then) his poops will be perfect. But if we're doing a lot of running around outside he'll start with a somewhat normal poop and then proceed to do 2 or 3 progressively softer ones throughout the day and then end with a little spurt of uber-soft (haha sorry!). I noticed this while I was in school too...my parents never exercised him and his poops were always fine until a few days after I got home and I presume it was the extra exercise that made his poo go soft again. I was hoping it would even out eventually now that he's living with me full time, but it's not. I honestly do not know if it's food related or not, but sometimes he gets whole meals of raw if I have it or I've given him whole tripe meals too and nothing seems to make a huge difference.

But anyway, my bosses breed/raise goldens and have the vast majority of their dogs on TOTW Ocean Blue (though they add stuff - salmon oil, kelp, tripe I think and maybe some other canned mix) and are suggesting I switch to that because they have had great success with it and it's a little cheaper than EVO. I've inspected the bags and the main thing I'm concerned about is the lower protein content... I don't know how that's going to affect Cairo if at all. Will he have to eat more? He's currently eating 1 cup/day on EVO (haven't weighed him in a while but I would guess he's 30-35lbs) and maintaining a pretty healthy weight.

I guess I'm just worried that a switch to TOTW would mean I need to feed more (so maybe it won't even be cheaper in that sense) and I'm also pretty happy with his coat/muscle tone on EVO so I'm wary of losing some of that. But the poop thing is a big issue still so I dunno...

Thoughts?

Anonymous

Posted : 9/11/2009 10:34:51 AM

I love TOTW. There are a lot of idoggers that also use it and feel the same way.

Does Cairo have any allergies? If not the High Prairie canine has 32% protein 18% fat. I use that with Lillie and Fynn who weigh 55lbs and 70lbs and they eat 4 cups a day.

I use the Pacific Stream canine with Joker because he is allergic to anything with wings. He's 45lbs and eats 3 cups a day. I do wish it had more protein but cant complain since no more breakouts for Joker.

Good luck!

Nikkiburr

Posted : 9/11/2009 11:00:18 AM

kle1986
Does Cairo have any allergies?

Not that I know of. Unless the weird poo thing is allergy related, but I kind of doubt it. I feel like allergies would be a more consistent problem and not one that seems to come and go.

The salmon Pacific Stream has even less protein than the High Prairie, right? I think that's what I remember reading on the packaging. I'd probably try High Prairie if I do attempt it then. He's currently getting 43% protein with the EVO so dropping to 32% seems like an awful lot to me... So if he's eating 1 c on EVO I might have to jump up to 1.5 or 2 even on TOTW it sounds like which would mean buying food 2x as often so it might even be more expensive.

Thanks for the input!

If anyone has any other suggestions for a different high-protein food I'd love to hear em, though I'm pretty content buying food from work because I get a decent discount (it's either 10 or 20%). My options there (if I'm remembering correctly) are EVO, Innova, TOTW, Chicken Soup, Canidae and Canidae grain free and I think they have Honest Kitchen too but last time I checked that was WAY too pricey.

I am feeding Neo (cat) TOTW and Wellness grain-free canned and he's doing pretty well and his coat's great but that might also be the salmon oil he gets.

ETA: I'm dying to try Orijen but it's just so pricey and I don't know where to get it locally :| The company looks fantastic though and I'd love to support them, but alas. If I remember correctly TOTW is a Diamond food, right? Which had the Recall. Also why I'm wary.

Anonymous

Posted : 9/11/2009 12:29:46 PM

Yes the Pacific has horribly low protein. Before I figured out Joker was allergic to chicken I was feeding him 2 cups of the High Prairie food. Now feeding him the lower Pacific kind I had to up his food an extra cup. TOTW is $43 for a 30lb bag.

I recently switched Lillie and Fynn to Earthborn Holistic. I've only had them on it a week and a half so I cant tell you the results yet. Here's the formula Im feeding them. It's the same price as TOTW. I got mine at Feeder's Supply. You have one of those?

Primitive Natural ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, Cottage Cheese, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, Beta-Carotene, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Manganese Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Products.

Crude Protein, not less than	38.00%
Crude Fat, not less than	20.00%
Crude Fiber, not more than	2.50%
Moisture, not more than	10.00%
Vitamin E, not less than	200 IU/kg
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), not less than	0.10%*
Omega-6 Fatty Acids, not less than	3.30%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, not less than	0.55%*
L-Carnitine, not less than	15 mg/kg*

I am also thinking of switching Joker to the Orijen 6 fish food. It is pricey but I'm gonna give it a try.

AgileGSD

Posted : 9/13/2009 10:16:34 AM

Nikkiburr
ETA: I'm dying to try Orijen but it's just so pricey and I don't know where to get it locally :| The company looks fantastic though and I'd love to support them, but alas. If I remember correctly TOTW is a Diamond food, right? Which had the Recall. Also why I'm wary.

FWIW Innova had a recall (I think in the late 90s or early 00) for the same issue Diamond did - toxic grain mold.

I feed raw but ususally use TOTW when traveling and I have been so far happy with it, although it is different when you are feeding the same exact thing day in, day out.