Good food and a good deal
This post isn’t about puppies but it is interesting, to me at least. Did you know there is a dog food out there that is reasonably priced (actually, competitively priced) that also delivers to your home? I didn’t. It’s called Nature’s Select and I just ordered my first 50 pound bag, delivered, for $53.45 (that’s including a $5.00 discount since a friend referred me). That is a really good price and the food looks to be a really good food. I did some searching and found it in the same category as the other foods we’re feeding our dogs, Canidae and Blue Buffalo. So am I excited or what? And they were able to deliver within days of my order. AND I called at 7 am on a Monday and someone actually answered to take my order! It was Joseph, the Sales Manager, and we had a long chat about where they get the ingredients for their food (USA) where it’s manufactured (Texas) and why it’s so cheap (good business). I liked him a lot.
Anyway, I didn’t receive anything “free” for writing this post, I just feel it is a good deal and I want to share it with you all. My dogs have only been eating it for a few days now so the impact on their health is unclear. But they did finish it off immediately upon putting it into the bowls. I actually had a few bowls of the new food (Nature’s Select) and a few of the old laid out and they finished off the Nature’s Select first – so that’s a sign that this food may be a winner. We will see. I will keep you posted.
For more information about their company and the foods they offer, check out Nature’s Select Chicago. Or call them at 847-852-1700. Ask for Joseph and tell them you were referred by me, Kristin Anderson, or the CanineFostering site and get $5.00 off too! And let me know about your experiences with the food in the comments below:
Choosing your dog food
I was sent this email from a friend who trains at my club, the Fox Valley Dog Training Club. It is helpful information and something to be aware of. Personally, I feed my dogs either Canidae or Blue Buffalo – just fyi.
Subject: Feeding Healthwise, Innova, EVO, Karma or California Natural to pets? Read this…
Ken and I just learned that in early June, Natura (makers of Healthwise, Innova, EVO, Karma and California Natural) were purchased by Proctor and Gamble. And at about the same time the plant where the foods are manufactured has been expanded. Google news only reveals 2 articles on this, so it wasn’t widely publicized.
Now there are many fine P&G products in our home right now: soaps; toothpaste; dish washing liquid; etc. But we spent a lot of time and energy selecting a dog food that we felt would meet our dogs’ nutritional demands. We’re worried that as P&G clearly plans to expand the distribution of these products, quality control may not remain intact, ingredients may suffer…or both.
If you’re happy with your food, don’t mind the change and plan to continue feeding these products, I’d watch the ingredient labels closely for changes, should fillers and chemicals start to creep in over time.
We’ve decided that we’ll either seek out another brand or cook for them ourselves.
Feel free to share the heads up with your friends feeding these products.
Barb
What to feed puppies
Ash likes water
The puppy appointments went well today! I really liked all the people I met (thank goodness!) and feel good about them. The puppies had a full day of outside time meeting everyone. I also introduced them to water (a small pool) and no one was very interested in it…except Ash. He sort of took to it. If someone out there is interested in a water loving dog, he’d be the best shot in this group…and what a sweetie. Anyone??
Here’s a question I got from one of my new families and my response:
1. I’m reading so many different things about what to feed puppies and I wanted to get your opinion. Soft, hard, mixed? what brand?
In terms of feeding – I like feeding dry (hard) food as it is the most cost effective and it helps clean the teeth better than wet food. I am also a big fan of brushing your dog’s teeth (with dog toothpaste only, but a human tooth brush is fine – get an “enzymatic” toothpaste either from a pet superstore or the vet.) Brands vary so educate yourself…stay away from “by products” or “animal fat”…if you don’t know what it is you shouldn’t be feeding it to your dog!
I feed my dogs Canidae and if I didn’t feed that I’d feed Natural Balance – both good foods. Nutro makes a good brand, but one of my dog’s has an allergic (skin) reaction to it. Stay away from “puppy chow”” or anything you can buy in the grocery store…unfortunately. You will pay more for the good stuff but you will feed smaller portions (compare feeding portions – they vary wildly…a poor quality food will require up to 7 cups to get the same nutritional value as 2 cups of a high quality food.) In addition, feeding smaller portions means a smaller stool size – something to really shoot for with the big dogs!
Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food 35 lb. Bag
Natural Balance Potato & Duck Dog Food Allergy Formula 17 lb. Bag
