What food do you feed your Cavaliers on?

I know there have been a few threads on here about food, but I am new to this site and am interested to find out what people are using and what they think of different brands.

Our vet gave us a free bag of Science Diet. Our 12 week old pup seems to like it, but I have had a couple of people tell me it is not so good, and just expensive.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. We are very new to owning a Cavalier and I would like to find a good diet for ours. I have thought about steaming some veggies to mix with his dry food when he gets a bit older, or adding some chicken etc. Any thoughts on this would also be welcomed.

Thanks!
Sharon

Hi Sharon,

I'm also a new Cavalier owner. I've always had cats but this is my first puppy so I'm learning along the way.

I was feeding Lilee Science Diet but I wasn't happy with some of the ingredients. Now I'm feeding her Nutro Ultra which has no by-products. She doesn't really seem to like it that much so I might have to find a new food.

I will be looking forward to reading what everyone else is feeding. Maybe we will find a new and better food.

I've been feeding Holly Science also. Find it great. Give it to her twice a day with boiled chicken. Eats the chicken first and comes back then to nibble on the nuts.
Yvonne

Hi Sharon,

I feed my dogs Innova EVO kibble, and sometimes the EVO canned 95% beef or turkey & chicken.

Other foods I like to feed them are Natura California Natural Lamb and Rice, and Wellness.

I prefer not to feed mine anything that has corn in it. I also try to stay away from wheat, since that doesn't agree with Geordie.

There are several high quality foods to choose from, so I'm sure you'll learn about many more here! :flwr:

I feed Ca Natural chicken and rice. Jake had terrible tummy problems as a baby and could not get a firm stool. CA Natural seems to be his magic elixer!

I feed the Natural Balance Sweet Potatoe and Fish to my adults and the Ultra Premium to young dogs. I have been very pleased with their skin and coat while on this diet.

The Fish formula seems to really help with reduced breakage of the coat.

We used to feed Canidae until it started getting harder to find, so are now feeding Royal Canin. IMHO, Science Diet is not that great of a food. And its not one of the foods listed by the Whole Dog Journal. I've said it before, but sure wish the vets would quit pushing SD.

I'll echo Bruce in that Science Diet isn't that great. There are many better options out there, check Whole Dog Journal for a great list. We use California Natural Chicken and Rice. I like that it's an all life-stages food, so both Gus (5 months) and Abbey (4 yrs) can be on it.

I was feeding them Nutro MAX® MINI CHUNK, but recently I got more involved in reading all the ingredients on the label. That was due to this web board and this website: http://www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I am trying Canidae Chicken & Rice for All Life Stages, but once that bag is gone I am not getting another. The ingredients after further diagnosis are similar to the Nutro Max that they were on before, but they don't seem to digest it or excrete it as well as the Nutro.

I am going to slowly move them over to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul when the old food starts getting low. I like the ingredient list much better.

I use "Innova Evo" with some "Vets Choice Meaty Mix Chicken" sometimes I use the Innova Evo 95% turkey/chicken, King was on Beneful, but I really only gave it him him because it was the only thing I could get him to eat (stupid me didn't think of trying Innova Evo)

Science Diet is a quite mediocre food in its ingredients and a premium food in its price. They do have a huge programme with vets to push it. I would use their prescription diets if needed, which are special forumlations for dogs with health issues (though Royal Canin, whose food is better quality I think, also is doing some prescription foods and I'd go with them rather than Hill's).

Ingredients in Hill's original Adult food:

Ingredients
Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

A lot of this is filler and there's a lot of mixed grains that are known to cause allergy problems in dogs (and are NOT a natural food for dogs at all): corn meal, brewers rice, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat and soybean meal!! In one food!

So: two types of wheat, two sources of corn, soybeans and rice (brewers rice is a low quality of rice as well).

The Roycroft page (that's breeder Laura Lang's site) goes into why these things matter in some more detail.

In Ireland the four foods I recommend are:

James Wellbeloved
Burns
Clinivet
Royal Canin

I generally recommend James Wellbeloved when homing a rescue dog.

I currently feed James Wellbeloved and will probably rotate back to Royal Canin the next bag of food. I like those two foods in particular.

However I mostly feed my dogs a homecooked diet as I enjoy making up fresh foods. I supplement with kibble rather than primarily feeding kibble.

At the moment both myself and Nicki (UK) are trying a new product from the "Natural dog food Company"

www.naturaldogfoodcompany.com

100% natural including all added vitamins/minerals...we found J/W to be artificial...

It's a certified holistic product, no wheat/gluten etc, prime meats and herbage. It is compatable with natural feeding and BARF feeding. Deliverd to the door, all size bags available, samples sent on request through the post.

Worth a look at their site.

As for the Science diet :yuk: sorry people!

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Yes really pleased with this one, the boys are doing well on it. We've almost finished the first 15kg bag.

I had problems with James Wellbeloved with my neutered boys, they put weight on with it - even with low amounts and they were very hungry.

I fed Burns for years which I think is a very good food, no weight problems there except it didn't put enough weight on my entire dog...and then he started getting colitis with it Also they charge delivery to me unless I order 30 kg :yikes which is a lot for 3 small dogs!! The nearest pet shop that stocks Burns is about 40 miles...so only ok if I'm heading that way anyway!

This company deliver free...even to us!! We're in quite a remote area...

Good firm poops - sorry hope you're not eating! - and they are not hungry on it.


I have been told they are hoping to introduce some biscuits/treats..will keep you posted!!


100% natural including all added vitamins/minerals...we found J/W to be artificial...

and Burns use some chemical/artificial vitamins/minerals too...



I feed about 80% kibble and 20% home prepared, lightly cooked meat/fish/eggs and pureed veg and fruit...would like to do more but not possible at the moment, this food is about the next best thing I've found in terms of kibble in the UK.

This lady has Cavaliers and is an excellent source of info on home prepared foods

http://www.doggiedietician.com/

In the uk her book is availabe from

http://www.naturalpetcare.co.uk/pet...d=475&osCsid=bb9c3bd979abf2d939481fac761db9b1

Oh and if you really want to know what goes into dog food....and have a strong stomach, then read Ann Martin's book, Food Pets Die for: Shocking Facts about Pet Food

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...-2398012?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance

I know it's mostly US based, but a lot of it is still relevant...

We have been feeding James Wellbeloved for the last couple of months and the dogs love it. Even Daisy Boo likes it and she is really fussy. They have a good range of flavours in the Petstop in Blanchardstown. Currenly we are feeding Ocean White fish and rice and they gobble it up. We have also tried duck and rice and lamb and rice.

Joanna

hi sharon.
i'll tell you what zack's opinion is. He has made it clear that in his opinion, Innova Evo is much better than any of the other kibbles he has tried. I gather from his behavior that this opinion is based on flavor experience. as his mom, i will give it good ratings for nutritional quality also. The company makes the claim that the Evo has some of the good features of raw feeding, high protein, and high quality ingredients.

i don't know how most dogs feel about this, but this is one dog's opinion.
:d*g:

Has anyone tried home cooking for their Cavs? I am home all day with the children, so I have the time to do it. I have looked up some good recipes on the internet and want to try cooking him a balanced diet including meats/fish/poultry, rice, pasta veggies etc and perhaps put some fish oil in every few days to help his coat. At least this way I would know he is being fed fresh food.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Sharon

Sharon,

mine all get this as well, somedays mixed with a little kibble some not. Use good lean meat, fish, rice veg etc, they love it. :flwr:

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

Hello!! I'm new to the forum and looking forward to posting on here!

I've had very good luck with Eagle Pack Holistic Select chicken meal and rice formula. Before that I had some problems with soft stools with a few of the other brands.

Sharon, I mostly homecook (I tried raw for a long while too but it it was too tiresome to make homemade raw -- no premades are available over here -- and I always wanted the dogs to eat a variety anyway as not everyone will handle raw when I need to board the dogs) . There are some recipes and links in the Library section under the 'Caring' part.

I am a big fan of as much fresh food as possible. Kibble no matter how good the quality is still extruded dry food that is processed and has to have nutrients added back in, and is basically a convenience food for dogs (like human breakfast cereals -- lots of nutrition in an unlikely format because it's a good vehicle for fortifying with vitamins etc). That suits many people just as a 100% raw diet suits many people. For my onw part, I like something fresh without the risks (and I do consider there to be risks) of raw. Feeding is always a hot topic and there are so many choices these days that people can make. I think it is good and helpful for anyone to consider the range of opinions and options out there and then pick an informed approach which fits a family and its dogs.

My own approach: I tend to add some kibble on and off. I sometimes feed some raw chicken necks as well. None of my three dogs are fussy. They also enjoy fresh fruit and vegetable treats -- there's lots of advice on those possibilities too I think in the library article on obesity.

I find that something a dog might not care for now, it will like later on, especially if there are other dogs around that like that particular something. Competition sure helps with food fussiness! If the dogs are hanging around whle I am preparing food I usually give them some veggie or fruit snacks. Often they start by not being too interested in some item and after a couple of times of getting it, it becomes a favourite (banana and broccoli stems are two such things around here... :lol: ).