General Question Nature's Variety Instinct, Grain Free

[ModernFemme]

Hi everyone - posting here from super windy and rainy Delaware. One cool thing about the hurricane and having to stay off the roads is that we are doing a TON of research into the food we want to feed our new puppy. We are getting ready to change Remi's food... he's now 16 weeks.

We took several things into consideration:

1) EBN Rating
2) Reviews on amazon
3) Price and availability
4) History of Company

We think we've narrowed it down to Nature's Variety Instinct, Grain Free, which is a 6 star food according to EBN. One main question we have is we know grain free can be excellent for bulldogs.

One question for anyone feeding their pooch this food or a similar high protein/grain free diet - Do you experience super loose stools? Any issues I can run into? Also general comments are totally welcome.

http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Variety-Instinct-Grain-Free-25-3-Pound/dp/B000PEAMP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1351524159&sr=1-1&keywords=nature%27s+variety+instinct

Thanks guys!!!!!!

 

[Sherry]

That's a good food, I found lots of bully's have allergies to chicken so watch for any chicken ingredients. Then again some are not. Go slow, put some pumpkin in the mix until transitioned. That will help to stiffen up the stool

 

[ModernFemme]

[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION] - very good to know. The breeder had him on Diamond and it looks like the first ingredient is chicken meal. We are having an issue with tear staining, so we may want to try some other flavor. Thanks girly!!!!!!

 

[sheshistory]

Hi there - my bullies are both on NVI and their stools are like ROCKS literally! I had to come on the board to ask how to soften them up because I was worried they were TOO firm and they would become constipated. Personally, I put a little warm water in their food and that helps a lot. You can also supplement veggies and that kind of thing to get more fiber. But it's a great food for us!

Good luck! It can be SO hard to find the right food for your bully!

 

[ModernFemme]

Hi there - my bullies are both on NVI and their stools are like ROCKS literally! I had to come on the board to ask how to soften them up because I was worried they were TOO firm and they would become constipated. Personally, I put a little warm water in their food and that helps a lot. You can also supplement veggies and that kind of thing to get more fiber. But it's a great food for us!

Good luck! It can be SO hard to find the right food for your bully!

What flavor are you on?

 

[sheshistory]

What flavor are you on?

I have used two consistently - we use the NVI Beef and Lamb and also the NVI Limited Ingredient Diet in Lamb - my boys tend to do better with the lamb than other proteins, esp fish!

 

[ModernFemme]

awesome, thanks. We are purchasing the duck/turkey flavor right now.

 

[Momma2Bullies]

Hi there! I had mine on NV LID, the turkey variety. Poops were small and kind of hard..... But not bad. I have had to change their food since due to what I believe may be a poultry allergy... But it was a good food. Just tough to get up here, $$$ and special order only. Good luck!

 

[Scueva]

[MENTION=6280]ModernFemme[/MENTION] have you considered raw? The only way ingot year stains to subside was on raw. Also they drink wayyyyy less water which means they do not need to go pee nearly as much. No more eye goobers in the mornings either. It's much easier to monitor any food allergies also since you know exactly what is going into your bully.

 

[lilythebully]

NVI is a very good food IMO, and in my bullies opinion. I've narrowed it down to the salmon meal flavor (since here petco only carries, chicken, duck/turkey and salmon formulas). like a previous member said, i had water to the kibble, i added it so that it could release the aroma and make some kind of gravy therefore making it more appetizing for my bullies.

 

[ModernFemme]

@ModernFemme have you considered raw? The only way ingot year stains to subside was on raw. Also they drink wayyyyy less water which means they do not need to go pee nearly as much. No more eye goobers in the mornings either. It's much easier to monitor any food allergies also since you know exactly what is going into your bully.

Not yet - we only eat organic/free roaming meat without antibiotics, which I know would be super healthy for Remi, but it would totally drive up our bill!! Also, the amount of time for feeding is an issue. During the day, I work full time from home, and taking him to the park, etc, is killing my schedule. I know it's a total must, but throw adding raw food in, and I may as well be a stay at home mother! ha ha ha.

How much meat would you say a dog needs raw a day? Speaking of which, is there any dog food out there that does have organic/hormone free meat? xoxox.

 

[Scueva]

[MENTION=6280]ModernFemme[/MENTION] primal raw is all organic free range meat and vegetables is pretty pricey though. Natures variety frozen raw is free range but the fruits & veggies in it aren't organic. I had duchess on natures variety for about 3 months spending about $80 per week. You are suppose to feed 3% of their ideal adult body weight. So I feed about 1.5lbs per day. After much research I decided to do home prepared raw. It's going great been about 3 weeks now. I'm spending about $80 per month which I'm sure I could cut down further if I wanted to. Dogs don't really need fruits and veggies sono cut those out. I feed bone 10%, organ10%, muscle meat 80%. I found a raw feeding co-op that I can obtain meat very inexpensive about $1.80 per pound for most stuff or I can go to to the meat packing district and purchase wholesale meat and organ for about .89 per pound but everything comes in 30-40# cases so storage becomes an issue. I thought it would be much more difficult than it actually has been. Raw is definatley the way to go. I'll be getting a new baby boy and he will be raw fed as soon as I get him!

 

[loveabully]

good luck I hope you find the right food I'm still trying myself so let me know how it goes

 

[ModernFemme]

Still hasn't gotten here yet, but super excited to get him started on it!

 

[ModernFemme]

First impressions: Order just came in today - I have a gallon zip lock bag of the Diamond left, and I probably added about 1/8th cup of the NVI into the Diamond. As per usual, Remi inhaled everything.

I noticed the color is a little darker than the Diamond, and the smell seemed fresher, less pungent. Stay tuned for more updates.