Mixing foods

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

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Hey everyone,

I haven't been on for a while, apologies!

I have a food question, I've been wanting to switch to a better food recently and have been looking at different ones (spent a lot of time on allaboutdogfood!), for reduced carbs and better overall health really but I'm not in a position where I can go raw.

Currently Rox is on Lily's kitchen and she'll have dry food in the mornings (for convenience mainly) and then wet food in the evenings (usually stuffed in a kong).
I'm interested in switching her dry food to Orijen but as you probably know it's quite expensive so worry I won't be able to afford at the moment to switch both her dry and wet onto Orijen. So my question is can I switch her dry food to Orijen for the mornings and stick with Lily's Kitchen wet food for the evenings? Anyone else mix brands?

 

[JudyN]

Yes, it's no problem at all - both are complete, so her diet will still be balanced. You do need to do it gradually, though, over at least a week. So for the first day, substitute a seventh of her dry Lily's Kitchen with Orijen, the second day two-sevenths, and so on. I'm not sure how well this would work with wet food, though, as you don't want an open tin/pouch kicking around for too long. Chances are you'll be OK changing over fewer days.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Oh great thanks @JudyN, yes of course it would be gradual and I've just asked Orijen if they would send a free sample. The wet food wouldn't be an issue because it's remaining as Lily's right? So just adding Orijen gradually to her current Lily's dry food?

 

[JudyN]

Yep, sorry, I misread your post and thought you were planning to switch the wet as well later on. So no problem

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Oh sorry yes eventually I would look at switching her wet food too as I've noticed Orijen have new wet tins. I have no idea how I'd do that like you said with having open tins around. Probably stuff a few Kongs (she has quite a kong collection!) with it mixed and freeze them. Thanks judy

 

[excuseme]

There is no reason why you should not mix brands.

Although I feed raw, I always keep a bag of kibble as backup ( Millies Wolfheart ).
I have never had any tummy upsets from any of their products.
A couple of days ago I forgot to take any meat out of the freezer, all of the girls including the puppy had a full meal of the Millies Wolfheart "Forerunner", one of their low protein kibbles. There has been no difference in the quality of the dogs poos'.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Oh thank you @excuseme that's good to know, if I fed raw I'd definitely forget to defrost it haha!

 

[Richard & Patsy]

We find raw feeding easy and affordable, but we have lots of freezer space and a settled defrosting routine.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Yeah I think it's probably not as expensive as I think but we definitely do not have the freezer space for ourselves never mind for dog food too ...but certainly a consideration for the future when we have a bigger kitchen and therefore a bigger freezer haha

 

[Finsky]

Oh thank you @excuseme that's good to know, if I fed raw I'd definitely forget to defrost it haha!

Hmm....yes, forgetting is something I have issue with. Even I do feed ours with raw majority of the times, I do keep some 'emergency' supplies in cupboard as well..such as Lily's or as I occasionally feed them with home cooked food (liver etc) as well. I've never found switching things issue, but maybe it is because our girls get so varied diet that their tummies are used to new things/lots of variety.

 

[JudyN]

I get Jasper's food out the freezer first thing each morning, and it's as much second nature as brushing my teeth, so I rarely forget. I can always defrost in the microwave if I do forget... and Jasper can eat carcasses straight out of the freezer, though it keeps him busy for a while.

I could probably manage without a freezer if I had to, but only because there's a new pet shop about 5 mins walk from the house. Otherwise, no chance.

 

[niamh123]

Orijen also make Acana which I have used in the past the Acana is less expensive than the Orijen.Have you thought about Akela they do all of their flavours in different size kibble to suit different breeds it is also classed as a working dog food so you pay no vat which makes it less pricey than some

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Hmm....yes, forgetting is something I have issue with. Even I do feed ours with raw majority of the times, I do keep some 'emergency' supplies in cupboard as well..such as Lily's or as I occasionally feed them with home cooked food (liver etc) as well. I've never found switching things issue, but maybe it is because our girls get so varied diet that their tummies are used to new things/lots of variety.

Yeah they probably have a strong gut. Roxy does have a varied diet but she can be sensitive.

I get Jasper's food out the freezer first thing each morning, and it's as much second nature as brushing my teeth, so I rarely forget. I can always defrost in the microwave if I do forget... and Jasper can eat carcasses straight out of the freezer, though it keeps him busy for a while.

I could probably manage without a freezer if I had to, but only because there's a new pet shop about 5 mins walk from the house. Otherwise, no chance.

Yeah I actually forgot to brush my teeth this morning ...I would not rely on myself to stay on top of the defrosting haha. You're so lucky having a pet shop so close that must be super handy.

Orijen also make Acana which I have used in the past the Acana is less expensive than the Orijen.Have you thought about Akela they do all of their flavours in different size kibble to suit different breeds it is also classed as a working dog food so you pay no vat which makes it less pricey than some

Thanks for that, I've looked at Acana. Had a quick look at Akela but they seem to have sweet potato in every recipe and I think she has reactions to this ingredient with itchy skin. Also wouldn't a working dog food give her a lot of excess energy that she doesn't need because she's not a working dog?

 

[JudyN]

Quite often, dog foods are classed as working dog food as it makes them cheaper - they are tax exempt or something. I'm not even convinced the requirements of a 'working' dog are much different to that of a normal, well exercised dog either, beyond any difference in the quantity needed. You do hear about dogs being hyper on some high-quality dog foods but you never know, it might be just because they feel really good compared to when they were on a poor-quality food.

Having said that, Jasper did seem to grow extra springs when I tried him on Orijen and even though I can't say it was definitely down to the food, I took him off again pretty quickly!

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Aah okay thanks for that info, I had heard that they shouldn't be on a working food unless they are a working dog that needs that extra energy.
Oh dear haha, that's good to know I hope it doesn't have that effect on Rox. She has enough springs already

 

[JudyN]

Aah okay thanks for that info, I had heard that they shouldn't be on a working food unless they are a working dog that needs that extra energy.

I wouldn't take it as gospel - it's just something I picked up on a lurcher forum in the early days, but you know how much contradictory info there is out there!

 

[JoanneF]

I've read too that there is little difference in the ingredients of working dog food, the main reason many people buy it is that it is VAT free.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Ah okay, I never knew about this! Thanks for that. And yes Judy there is a lot of conflicting information!

 

[Finsky]

I've read too that there is little difference in the ingredients of working dog food, the main reason many people buy it is that it is VAT free.

When our Iida had so much demand for the energy with pups, I purposely bought some 'working dog' complete raw food. Only difference I found to that particular manufacture's 'standard' version of their mince was that it had little bit richer fat content, hence more energy. But that's about it.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Good to know thanks, and I hadn't even thought of that for a mum good tip.