Dog Community

Taste of the Wild Pacific

Posted : 12/23/2008 8:23:12 AM

Does anyone feed this and what are your results? Dogs coats look good? How is stool? I bought a large bag of it and already put it in my dog food storage container, but I have about 3 weeks left of PetGuard to finish up before they transition onto Pacific. I'm concerned now because I've read that a fish diet fed too long will alkalize the urine and cause UTIs and stones. I have 2 bichons and a minpin, and one of the bichons had 2 very bad bladder infections/crystals in her past (both times after having been on wellness food). Should I worry? I already threw the bag away, so there's no returning it. Or should I just give it a try? One large bag for us lasts about 3 months...

brookcove

Posted : 12/23/2008 8:42:38 AM

There are many dogs who can't eat much else besides fish (Ben for instance). This food was one Ben was able to eat with no problem, so I can attest to the quality control. I''ve never heard the thing about fish and urine. To be honest, no one actually knows for sure what effect various foods have on increasing or decreasing urine pH. So I'd doubt this is more than anecdotal.

KarissaKS

Posted : 12/23/2008 8:47:21 AM

I grab a fish-based protein food every other bag or so -- the dogs love it and do very well on it. So far the only Taste of the Wild food we've tried is the Bison & Venison version and they did super on that (firm bowel movements, etc.). I was planning on trying the fish version for this next bag but saw the bag of Natural Balance duck first last night. I tend to grab whatever grain-free food I see first. lol The dogs love the variety.

shamrockmommy

Posted : 12/23/2008 9:01:35 AM

Thanks Brookcove and Karissa. I am trying to not freak out about everything I read on the internet LOL! Anyway, I've read that a lot of people have good results- I hope GAS is not a problem though LOL ETA: I have fed them PetGuard Lifespan for a long time, and all 3 do wonderfully on it... it's just that they've been on it a LONG time, so I thought it might be ok to give something else a try. And as they get older, they tolerate less and less changes, which is a bit of a worry. Shamrockmommy

Anonymous

Posted : 12/23/2008 10:48:24 AM

I feed my dog all 3 varities of TOTW. They love them all. I havent had any problems with any of the TOTW. I've actually been feeding that the longest of all the foods I have tried in the past year!

papillon806

Posted : 12/23/2008 11:38:27 AM

TOTW Pacifc is a great food.

With that said, the reason it has been hypothesized to "alkalize" the urine and cause stones is because of the magnesium levels that are increased because of the fish. Do you know what the magnesium content is?

DogPark

Posted : 12/23/2008 11:44:57 AM

Another TOTW fan here! No one food is perfect for all dogs so if you really have a concern get in touch with a nutritionist about what's best for dogs. But if it was just a few things you read online that had you concerned, I think you should give the food a try. A lot of people have had great success with all of Taste of the Wild's formulas. Mosby definitely likes them :)

jettababy

Posted : 12/23/2008 3:05:51 PM

I currently have my bichon on this same food right now! Her stools are good, no itchies, she likes the taste, and her skin and coat are great (which is saying something since she usually gets dry and itchy in the winter time). It also has not caused her eyes to tear either, which is a plus.

stormyknight

Posted : 12/23/2008 7:07:14 PM

I've fed all three varieties of TOTW and my dogs have done great on it. It seems very palatable and they didn't have any stomach upset while switching over. I wish I could find it more locally around here, but many private places won't carry it because it is made by Diamond...

shamrockmommy

Posted : 12/24/2008 10:13:43 AM

I emailed Totw and asked for the nutritional profile. On an as fed basis magnesium is .12%. I don't know if that's low/high or just right... not my area of expertise. Jettababy, it's good to hear from another bichon owner! My girls do have slight tear stains, so I'm eager to see if that will change. I've started mixing petguard and totw now, will take about 3 weeks for a full transition. I'll update in a while once they're on it for a few weeks. THanks everyone!

JoAnnDe

Posted : 12/24/2008 11:32:50 AM

thats about the same level of magnesium in Wellness Core reduced fat (.13%) which is not fish based. Its also about the same as many of the Wellness canned diets on a dry matter basis. so I don't think thats a high magnesium content (but I could be wrong !)

I used the TOTW Pacific Stream for Prancers last bag of fish based food (every other bag is fish based). She really liked it. I'm "experimenting" with Core Reduced Fat right now - not sure if I'm going to stay on the higher protein food or not long term but I thought I'd give it a try at least for one bag.

grab01

Posted : 12/24/2008 11:55:28 AM

I've never tried the fish variety (I can't stand the smell of fish) but I've fed the Wetlands variety to three of my dogs for quite some time. Obviously not every food works for every dog, but my boys have had excellent results. Jules, who gets dry skin on some foods, has great skin and a shiny coat. And his yorkie eye crusts are gone. The Chow boys have great skin and look great. It also put weight back on Legend after he lost a ton of weight due to his illness. He's a normal weight now :)

shamrockmommy

Posted : 12/24/2008 1:02:54 PM

it's great to hear everyone's reports on Pacific, Thanks! I won't worry much about the mag. level then :)

papillon806

Posted : 12/24/2008 2:14:49 PM

The % is a little hard to judge because it depends on the % of the other nutrient values, and the dry weight of the total kibble in the bag. You really need to know mg/kg of magnesium before you can determine if it's too high or not. Even though CORE RF has the same %, it doesn't mean it's the same mg amount. Smile

RidgebackGermansShep

Posted : 12/24/2008 2:29:58 PM

Ive been feeding it for probably 2 months now, and everything seems great.