2 dogs, 1 food for both?

by Diana Williams
(Lenoir, N.C.)

These are my dogs:
Thomas;rat terrier;8 yrs. old; 4 lbs.;couch potato if allowed!;occassionally has to have anal sacs expressed;teeth in poor condition;needs supplements for bones & joints (according to vet);was on Kibbles & Bits with former owner;now on dry Innova Senior Plus for more fiber and bone & joint supplements.
The Innova works great with the exception that he can't chew it as good (larger pieces)

Schatzie;schnauzer;5 yrs. old;22 lbs;moderate exercise (taken for walks daily w/Thomas; allergic to wheat,corn,beef (maybe more); in good health though slightly overweight; Eats Hollistic Selects Fish dry dog food but has to be coaxed cause she doesn't like the taste)

My questions are:

Is there a good, dry, dog food, that in your opinion,can supply all of these needs for both dogs? That is,small bites,bone and joint supplements, extra fiber for anal sacs, no corn,wheat,soy etc.,and that dogs will like the taste of?

I'm apologizing beforehand for all this. I know its a lot of questions.I just want to do what is best for both dogs. They are always trying to get the other's food if I don't watch them every second! If there were 1 food that supplied all this, it would be great!!!

Thank you so much!

Diana


Hi Diana,

That’s OK for all the questions. Better to get them out here and find out what you need to know.

This may be kind of long as there is no simple answer to a proper diet for your dogs. It really depends on how much you can or are willing to do.

It’s going to be tough to get all you need out of one dog food. You will need a couple of supplements if you want them to achieve great health.

Let’s start with Thomas and his Innova. We are currently discontinuing all Innova products out of our store. The company was recently purchased by Proctor and Gamble. We know what happens to good foods bought by this company. They will cheapen the ingredients and add fillers at some point down the road. They also test on live animals so we choose not to be associated with them.

The Kibbles and Bits have wreaked havoc on Thomas. This crappy food has taken a toll on his body I’m sure.

Thomas, like any other dog, should never be on a dry food only diet. This is completely opposite of the way nature intended them to eat and thrive. There is NO moisture in dry food. Dogs are meant to have a high moisture diet from the prey model.

We’ve turned many dogs health around by putting them on a raw food diet. This is the way nature intended them to eat and thrive. There are live nutrients in a raw food diet that are not in a dry processed food diet. The main two are enzymes and probiotics. These are crucial for good health and longevity. Without these nutrients in their diet, dogs are facing all kinds of health problems and diseases.

If you will not or cannot feed a raw or partial raw food diet, there are a couple of dry foods and supplements that can be used.

A good dry food for both your dogs would be one like “The Great Life” and “Instinct” by Natures Variety.

The good thing about these dry foods is that they contain a bio coating on the kibble that contains the much needed enzymes and probiotics. So you would not have to buy a separate supplement for these needed nutrients.

There are other very good premium foods that both dogs can be on like Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Solid Gold, Taste of The Wild, Canadae, and Natural Balance just to name a few. These are all premium foods that contain no wheat, corn, soy, by-products, animal fat, animal digest or chemical preservatives.

With these premium foods you would however need to purchase a separate enzyme and probiotics supplement to sprinkle on their food every meal. DO NOT underestimate the power of these needed nutrients. They can do more for your dog than most anything else.

If you choose to feed a raw diet or partial raw diet, you can learn more about it from our web site or talk to the people who sell you the premium foods and they can help you get started.

We feed a variety. We give our dogs and cats raw foods for about half their meals. The other meals consist of canned, homemade foods with dry food as a base. Variety is very critical as this helps their digestive system stay strong.

For the joint health of Thomas, you will need to purchase a joint supplement to add to his or both of their daily meals. There are many good ones on the market. Again, talk to your local small independent pet food store where you buy your food to pick one up.

For extra fiber, you can add canned pumpkin or sweet potato to his or both of their meals. You can also grind up some mixed vegetables and put in his food. If you fine chop the vegetables, they act as roughage and help to express his glands. If you grind vegetables finely, they can absorb nutrients out of them. You can do a combo to achieve both needs.

For Schatzie, the same goes. The Great Life dog food or Instinct would be good ones. My mom has two mini Schnauzer’s and I give her The Great Life for dry food. She also makes her own wet foods by combining ground turkey or chicken with vegetables and brown rice or oats and cooks it all in a pot. She then places daily meals in containers and freezes them. She creates enough for a weeks worth of meals at a time.

She supplements with salmon oil and a multiple vitamin as well. Occasionally they get a can of tuna or salmon. These would be great supplements occasionally for your guys as well.

With Schatzie being a little overweight, you can give him more ground vegetables and less dry and canned. This will reduce his calories and give him a little fuller feeling with the extra vegetable fiber.

If he does not like the Holistic Fish, I would not give it to him. Some dogs don’t do good on a high fish based dry food. It will make some sick.

The Great Life comes in a chicken or bison based formula. Instinct has chicken, turkey, duck and rabbit formulas. So you can mix their proteins up now and then.

So it all boils down to how much or how little you can or want to work with their diets. You can do everything from scratch or just give them the basics. From raw foods to multiple cooked foods and supplements. You have to be the one to control how much you can do for them.

There are very good raw foods for dogs that are completely balanced nutrition. You would not need any supplements except for the joint formula for Thomas. You just keep some thawed out and stored in a container in the fridge. Pull it out at meal time and spoon some in their bowls.

The non raw routine can be simple with a premium dry and canned that included needed supplements and just add canned, or a completely made from scratch homemade diet. Or like my mom and as we do, a combination of all. I believe this to be the best as they get different nutrition from different sources and this keeps them interested in eating and develops a strong digestive system and that is the heart of the immune system. A strong immune system will keep you dogs thriving for many years.

I hope this information has helped and not overwhelmed you. If I can do anything else, let me know.

Roger