After trying many dog foods over the years, I currently feed my basenjis Ori-Jen dog food.
It seems like this brand is much closer to "the foods and nutrients that cats & dogs would find hunting in the wild, keeping in mind that today’s lifestyle of regular meals and less exercise means that our companion pets require fewer calories."
I also have used (and like) Evo dog food.
It just seems that my basenjis prefer Ori-Jen to Evo---so that's what they get. (I am writing this blog post in my personal capacity and not as a representative of BRAT. I pay full price for all of the dog foods I use and don't get anything for free from any dog food companies).
My only concern about Ori-Jen is that the fat content seems a little lower than what dogs would have eaten in the wild---the "fat phobia" seems to have even infected dog foods.
Anyway, feel free to use the comments section below to share your ideas on canine nutrition and what works best with your basenji/dog. I like the idea of the "raw diet" but am not ready to go that far.
I'm not a nutritionist, but I figure that alternating two high quality foods (Evo and Canidae) ensures that Ruby gets what she needs in her diet. Plus, I give her a Pet-Tab every day. She also gets a taste of whatever we have for dinner (including veggies such as green beans, beets, asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower), or a small spoonful of wet cat food mixed into her kibble every night.
ReplyDeleteI experimented with raw chicken necks and wings, but they're sure messy!
We tried Canidae with all three of our current B's and ugh what issues. Senji has gotten stick thin on it but if you feed him to much he gets sick and gets the runs. Trixie has the same problem but not as bad, Lady doesn't seem to mind what we feed her she has no issues whatsoever. At this point and time we are going back to purina one sensitive systems we never had any problems with this food none of the dogs get the runs from it and senji was looking a lot better on the purina, not stick thin. Our vet said to up the amount of Canidae he figured it must be quite a bit lower in calories (basically the reason for all three dogs getting thinner). Guess that in our quest for better food for them starving them to death and making them sick is not an option. They have been on the canidae since last spring so we gave it plenty long enough.
ReplyDeleteTaste of the Wild grain-free is the one food we found that REALLY works for Tana, our petite rescue girl. Had a hard time keeping weight on her when we first adopted her; she also had frequent digestive upsets. So we looked into different foods & experimented. TOTW is the only grain-free that has both kept her at a good weight & kept her digestive issues at bay. Oddly enough, Jibini doesn't tolerate the grain-free foods too well; I think they are too rich for him. Dark, soft greasy stools & bad gas. Blue Buffalo suits him well. Though this year I am hoping to take the plunge and switch to raw. A 10 mile drive to the local meat locker & prime hunting on my own property sure beats a 240 mile round trip every 2 months to buy TOTW for Tana :)
ReplyDeleteOur 11 year old Basenji has been eating Fromm (www.frommfamily.com) for about 8-9 years. He does not like ANY other food.
ReplyDeleteWe adopted a Basenji from BRAT last year, and after she got more comfortable with us she too fell in love with Fromm. She was on prescription food for a while, and once she got off of it, we tried several different kinds. But it was Fromm that she got most excited about. Instead of picking at her food and barely eating, she now gobbles it down every meal. If our male doesn't eat right away, she'll try to steal his.
Both dogs are very healthy, and have great coates. I wouldn't switch them to anything else.
It took a while to settle on a food for me. Being in Germany with my two kids made food a little difficult. I had food shipped from the States for a while after we moved (Timberwolf Organics then switched to Taste of the Wild after Timberwolf added chicken fat) but got really tired of paying shipping. Now they're on a European food called James Wellbeloved and are doing well. Copper can't have wheat, soy, chicken, or corn and the ingredients on James Wellbeloved are in about 10 languages, including English, which was very helpful! I'm looking forward to moving back in a few months where my choices aren't quite as limited :)
ReplyDeleteI actually have a Basenji breeder from DC who does a completely holistic/raw diet approach for his dogs who will speak about this in a seminar at the BRAT Convention this summer. He was one of the first people I approached since I've heard a few different people express interest in learning more about the raw diet.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who has a beautiful red husky that feeds a raw diet because his boy was allergic even the high-end dry foods. He goes out and buys entire rabbits and such and feeds them to his dog. I'm not sure I could deal with that 'raw' a diet, though my dogs might love it.
My basenji eats a mix of Halo chicken and Core chicken. I mix a spoonful of wet Halo into the mix of dry food (equal parts dry Halo and Core)and add Lysine. It took months and at least 9 different types of food to find something he would eat on a "regular" basis. He also gets cheese, peas, chicken, and dry pasta when we're cooking as treats. He doesn't eat his dog food everyday, but he's always FULL of energy!
ReplyDeleteComment from a Facebook user:
ReplyDelete"I checked out the Ori-Jen website, since it sounded interesting. I've been feeding raw for probably 8-10 years now with great results. The main thing that worries me about the Ori-Jen products is that everything--even puppy foods--contain all ingredients that are "de-boned". IMO, bones are a critical part of the canine diet. Also "meals" (e.g., "turkey meal") can be made of just about any part of the turkey. Certainly better than Science Diet, but I'd worry about the lack of bones."
I have a B-girl who is very fussy and 2 non-B's who will anything that is not nailed down. After my two previous canine children(one was a Basenji-mix) died from the melamine in the poisoned pet food, which was Purina and Iams, I totally stopped purchasing ANY commerical dog food at all. I learned the vets are generally useless when it comes to nutrition and after much research I have found that the lesser known organics are much better. The crew eats Innova, Wellness and Evo only. Sophie, the Basenji now has a really beautiful, soft deep red coat which had been thinner when I adopted her from Brat a few years ago. Dog owners need to do research into the foods and learn what is actually in commerical dog foods prepared today. When I learned that in many cases, the dog food contained contaminated meat products from ill animals including dogs I became livid that we, as pet parents have supported these companies like Purina, Science and Royal Canin.
ReplyDeleteThere are frozen raw diets available that are very easy, not messy or gross. I've been supplementing my dogs' food with Nature's Variety frozen raw diet.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.naturesvariety.com/ It comes in several different formulas/flavors. They love it! I have a dog that is on soloxine and another on Marin for liver function; these pills can be easily hidden in the thawed medallion and joyfully consumed.