Tag Archives: dog food

12/4/13

Nature’s Gift Natural Chews

I have always happily reviewed products on this blog, and as a long-time fan of Nature’s Gift, I was more than willing to review their new ‘Chews’ range when given the opportunity.

Nature's Gift Natural Chews

In our current climate, avoiding treats manufactured abroad is important – and so it’s reassuring to know that all Nature’s Gift products are produced in Victoria, from Australian products, and from human-grade meat products. Also, they don’t use palm oil in any of their products. So not only am I satisfied that this product is safe for my dogs, but that it is also relatively enviornmentally friendly, too.

Nature’s Gift generously sent us two packets of their new ‘Chews’ range: one of ‘Vitality Chews‘ and one of ‘Digestive Chews‘. (There is also a ‘Joint Chews‘ variety, but presumably they are more targeted at older dogs and they sent me products most relevant to my 6-years-and-younger household.)

Each packet contains 20 chews. Each chew is hard, crumbly, and love-heart shaped biscuit. They are easily broken in hard, but produce lots of crumbs! They are too large to use as training treats, and their crumbly nature doesn’t make them ideal for training treats anyway. They are pretty good at keeping a dog occupied mopping up all those crumbs though.

Nature's Gift Digestive Chews

Nature’s Gift Digestive Chews

The novel thing about these treats is that they’re formulated to maximise the wellbeing of our pets. For example:

  • Vitality Chews target skin, coat and eyes, enriched with Omega 3
  • Digestive Chews target ‘inner function’, enriched with prebiotics
  • Joint Chews target joint health and function, with glucosamine (500mg per chew)

It’s an easy and (according to my dogs) tasty way to get some extra nutrients into your dogs, especially if you feel your dog needs a ‘leg up’ in some way. And, if you have trouble providing your dogs with these nutrients in conventional ways (e.g. have a hard time giving your dogs tablets or capsules) then this might be a handy solution.

Now, my dogs are not the best reviewers when it comes to the taste-testing – as in, they eat anything, and this was no exception. However, I was running a ‘full house’ at the time, and both foster dogs (Bandit and a beagle) and a litter of young puppies all happily sampled this product. (Despite the product not being ‘intended’ for puppies under 4 months. Oops.)

For those interested in ingredients, the Digestive Chews contain:

Rye Flour, Copra Flour, Fresh Australian Chicken Meat, Sucrose, Emulsifiers & Binders, DHA Omega 3, Prebiotics, Inulin Powder, Beet Pulp, Vitamins & Minerals, Natural Antioxidant & Flavour.

And the Vitality Chews have the following ingredients:

Rye Flour, Fish Meal, Flax Seed Flour, Soya Flour, Emulsifiers & Binders, Fresh Australian Chicken Meat, DHA Omega 3, Vitamins & Minerals, Natural Antioxidant & Flavour.

You will notice that neither of these chews contain red meat, which may be important for dogs with sensitivity.

The recommendations are for up to 4 chews a day, depending on the size of the dog. That means if you have a large dog, you might be looking at going through one packet every 5 days. If you have a little dog, under 5kgs, though, the recommendation is one chew a day. Because of the fortified nature of these chews, I would be inclined to stick to these recommendations.

 

These treats were certainly palatable, and I would  recommend that others ‘give them a go’ in situations where they think their dogs are lacking particular nutrients. While my dogs are fit and well, and weren’t given these on a regular basis, I cannot vouch for their effectiveness in helping the conditions that they claim too – but I certainly don’t think that they’d hurt!

I am likely to purchase the ‘Vitality Chews’ in the future following dogs being on a course of antibiotics.

 

Nature’s Gift Natural Chews are available in Woolworths and other supermarkets.

 

Nature's Gift Vitality Chews

Nature’s Gift Vitality Chews

 

Disclaimer: This product was provided free of charge, though this review contains my own thoughts.

10/25/12

Tempting Fussy Eaters

First, I must say, I do not believe in catering to fussy eaters. To me, fussy eaters are made, not born, and it’s simply a bad habit that many people encourage.  For dogs that are just naughty in not eating, then I strongly recommend Sue Ailsby’s guide to teaching a dog to eat.

However, sometimes, there are medical reasons that may mean that a dog is disinclined to eat.  For Clover, her pregnancy has made her nauseous and cease to eat.  Sometimes, in times of extreme stress (such as in boarding kennels), dogs choose not to eat.  In these cases, it’s often cyclic – I know that when I don’t eat, I feel sick, and so I don’t want to eat.  I am sure the same principle applies to dogs.  There is also a rumour that dogs reduce stress by eating, so another positive in encouraging a dog to eat.

For times of medical need, or stress, I’ve compiled a list of tactics to encourage a dog to eat. These should only be used when medical illness has been ruled out and only on a short term basis.

Competition and hand feeding – two possible options for a fussy eater.

Continue reading →

06/25/12

Going Rawr! for Fussy Eaters

I am a long time advocate of raw food diets, and was excited when approached by Maggie Rhines’ regarding her new book Going Rawr! Dog Lover’s Compendium.

In his book, Maggie explains how some picky eaters may struggle to make the change to a raw food diet.  But you know you need to persevere because it’s for the good of your dog. Fortunately, there are some tips out there that will help you help your dog adjust to this new and healthier diet.

Here are 7 tips from Maggie’s book to help you encourage your picky eater onto raw food:

 

1. Adjust your feeding schedule.

Having a set feeding time can encourage dogs to eat, setting them up for the habit of eating at a set time.  This means that their digestive juices get flowing (in a Pavlovian, classical conditioning way) and you will also know that your dog is definitely hungry by this time.  Dogs have also developed to exercise before a meal (i.e. ‘hunt first’ then eat), so a jog or run before a meal can sometimes help a dog to build up their appetite.

 

2. Regulate how much food your dog is getting.

If your dog is regularly leaving some of their meal in their bowl, then you may be feeding them too much. You may need to reconsider how much you are feeding. The dog might also be in a habit of leaving food. One way to help your dog finish his food and finish it quickly is to set a certain amount of time for them to eat. Say you only give them 20 minutes to finish their food. After that, take away his food bowl. That way, he’ll be encouraged to eat his food and to finish it quickly. You could also have a look at Sue Ailsby’s teaching a dog to eat guide, to break any bad-eating habits your dog may have.  Removing food after 20 minutes or so also prevents the raw food going off – obviously not desirable!

 

3. Lay off on the treats.

If your dog is often disinterested in their meals, maybe they are getting too many treats and snacks in between meals. If you cut out these treats, it may increase the dog’s appetite and make them more keen to eat raw. If you are the type to do a lot of training with your dog, make your raw meal into the training treats, or switch to play-based rewards for a week or two, could help encourage your dog’s appetite.

 

4. Variety is the spice of life.

Some dogs respond well to variety. The joy of raw food is that it is quite varied naturally! Planning a varied meal doesn’t have to be complicated. You can rotate his meals every 3 days. Serve different kinds of meat or different kinds of fruits and vegetables to keep him excited during meal times.

 

5. Make it fun.

Sometimes dogs enjoy the packaging of a meal more than the meal itself!  Dogs that are used to using food toys, like Kongs, may be inclined to extract raw food from these toys as well.  Some dogs may be inclined to get stuck into a raw bone or carcass if you were to drag it around or use it as a lure or tug toy first.  If your dog is used to receiving food treats in training, start using raw food as training treats.  These are all fun-based strategies that could work to getting your dog to try the new food.

 

6. Maybe he’s not feeling well.

When you’ve tried different methods and your dog is still not eating, it could be a sign that your dog is not feeling well.  If his lack of appetite is accompanied by a general lack of interest in any activity, a vet check may be in order.

 

7. Do the slow switch method.

Some dogs just need more time to adjust to raw food diet especially after being so used to a different type of food for a long time. To help a smooth transisition, you may like to mix some of the old diet in with the new diet, and gradually increase the proportion of the new diet, until the new diet is fed exclusively. This method has the extra benefit of reducing the incidence of upset tummies as a result of a diet change.

 

Introducing the raw food diet to your dog isn’t always as easy as just giving him raw meaty bones to munch on. There are a lot of things to consider, especially if your dog is the sensitive/picky eater type.

To learn more about switching raw, be sure to check out Maggie Rhines’ Rawr! Dog Lover’s Compendium.

(Thank-you, Maggie, for your article ‘Why is it important for a dog to undergo detoxification before switching to raw?‘, in which a reciprocal link was provided. Thanks!)