Not happy with what Rosie is eating

[:o)rosie:o)]

I'm not sure if this question has been posted before & im sorry if it has but any way here it is- I know that salt is not good for our dogs but what disturbs me is that so many brands of dog/puppy food contains salt. What does everyone else think of this? Can the small amounts of salt in food hurt Rosie? I've been looking to swap Rosie from pedigree dog food to something with no, or less bi-products and natural ingredients. Faerie dust suggested Old Mother Hubbard (thanks) & that looks excellent, but I live in Aus so I really doubt I can buy it here. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[puttin510]

Well now something we agree on. I give my dogs, busquits from Old Mother hubbard. LOL Never heard of a kibble that they have. Some great brands off the top of my head, Natural Balance, Innova, Chicken soup, Canidae, Wellness, Praire is new but looks great. Timberwolf. Whats available to you over there?

[abbeys-mom]

Hello,

Old Mother Hubbard makes a food called WELLNESS, and it is a good kibble. I did feed Abbey WEllness when she was younger, but I found the food very dry, as it is baked not extruded (sp?)
Anyways, I made the transition to INNOVA, and it is AWESOME! I also give Abbey raw beef bones, I buy them at my pet supply store, they are frozen and Abbey get's one a week, usually Sunday mornings. In teh summer she can have it out on teh deck, and in teh winter she get's it in her crate. Other than the dry kibble and bones, she get's raw fruits, veggies, cheese, dried liver treats, and the odd "rollover treat"

You can go to these sites to find out if these foods are available in your country.
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/

Good Luck,
amd let us know what you decide.

[puttin510]

Mine get veggies too. The ones that tolerate them well. One of my dogs will upchuck them. Occasional raw bones also. But no canned wet food anymore. I tried that when I first got them. Did not like that.

[nern]

Sodium is a required nutrient although I think some manufacturers add extra salt because it is used as a preservative. Some companies may add it simply because the ingredients used don't contain enough sodium to meet the requirement. I've used Wellness dog food in the past....Natalie loved it and for the most part did well on it. I've also had good results with Innova and Timberwolf Organics which are my favorite 2 brands.

[:o)rosie:o)]

Thanks Abbey'smom, puttin & Nern.
Thats good to know that they do require some salt Nern, do you know how much salt is too much in dry food? Like what percentage? Puttin I went to our local big pets supply store recently & had a good look at all their dry food products. These are what I saw-Eukanuba,Hill's Sience Diet, Advantage & Pro Plan. All of these except Hill's Science diet had some sort of bi-products. So now Im looking for a resonably priced, low salt (only what is required) all natural ingredients dry food. I know it's a lot to ask but I'll find one eventually. And thanks Abbey for those links. COuld you plz tell me where on the sites I can find if their food is available in my area? Thanks for all your help@

[nern]

Its nearly impossible to judge a food based on percentages because of the calorie differences between brands but the min. requirement for sodium is .3% for growth and .06% for adult maintenance assuming the food has 3.5 kcal/g....there is no max. percentage listed for sodium by the AAFCO. (Im not sure if these would be the same percentages in Australia as they are in the US.) Higher calorie foods will have higher percentages but not necessarily a higher sodium content. Hope that makes sense.

[nern]

rosie - try this link for the store locator for naturas products:
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab&country=Australia