# Yuki's food



## Rainw (May 23, 2011)

Yuki isn't a particularly picky eater. However, if I just give him kibble, he'll nibble it throughout the day. Some days, he just won't bother with it, like he wouldn't eat it if he's hot. We've had a lot of hot days. Before, I would give him wet food for breakfast and then free feed dry food. He'll eat all his wet food, though, so now I'm mixing it in with his dry food and giving that to him several times a day.

I give him Nature's Variety Instinct Salmon formula dry food. I was giving him Nature's Variety canned, and I've started giving him Wellness Core canned. I want to give him EVO Turkey and Chicken canned when he's had both Wellness Cores. I'm also looking for Weruva Kobe and Kurobuta. I pretty much want to alternate Wellness Core, EVO Turkey and Chicken, and Weruva Kobe and Kurobuta cans. One reason for this is my dad swears, he's just like me, and I can't stand the same food all the time. Another is that I want to make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs in many natural forms.

When he's done with his salmon dry food, I think I want to switch him to EVO Red Meat Formula Small Bites - but I need to get a sample to see that he likes it first. I'm not very sure about this one, though. 

Nature's Variety uses Tapioka, where Evo uses potatoes. Which one is better?

Nature's Variety has montmorillonite, but Evo has chicory root. I know they're for different things, but which is better?

Evo reports; "a dry matter protein reading of 47%, a fat level of 24% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 21%"
Nature's Variety; "a dry matter protein reading of 39%, a fat level of 24% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 29%."

I admit that when I had my sweet little Beagle (she didn't die, she was kidnapped) I fed her Purina Puppy Chow, because that's what I thought the best was. Now I'm learning and asking about ingredients of the foods. Yuki definitely eats better than me, but at least his food is more affordable. I wish I could live on $20-$30 a month.

Also, he gets Bravo Buffalo Bites for training treats and Lynchburger Wild Alaskan Salmon treats after his weekly bath. I really likes Salmon. I also avoid grain because he sneezes a lot and gets bad stools when he has it. And I'll be careful to switch his dry food over slowly, but it's hard to do that with canned food.

I find ingredients and search foods on Dogfoodadvisor.com

Is there any problems with any of the foods I mentioned?


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Yuki sure does have it good! He's a lucky little guy! I agree with you about feeding a variety of things - I do that too. It keeps our fluffs from getting bored with their food but also a variety is important because they get different nutrients from different foods. I'm lucky Bailey is not picky at all so I can give him a large variety of things without any issues. 

In regards to the specific brands you have mentioned. I think Weruva is great - one of the best canned foods out there. Nature's Variety is good too, although I've heard their rabbit varieties are sourced from China so I would avoid those. I would just be a little hesitant with Evo - do a search on this forum for it. Several members have not had great experiences with Evo. Also, Evo is made by a company named Natura which was recently bought by Proctor & Gamble - I'm a little wary of such large corporations doing pet food, but maybe that's just me  Based on my experience alone, I can say that my Bailey did not tolerate Evo well at all. I tried their canned food once a long time ago and he threw it up immediately. 

If you are looking for kibble suggestions, I know that Acana and Now! Small Breed by Petcurean are popular here on SM. Addiction is also a great brand - they make a Salmon kibble that is grain-free, if you'd like to try another salmon-based food. Fromm is another good one - they have two grain-free varieties. These are the brands I would feed Bailey if I go with kibble again in the future. Right now, he is on dehydrated raw food from The Honest Kitchen and I mix in a little bit of canned food. 

I have tried A LOT of the high quality canned food out there - I used to pick up a can or two of each brand/variety my local store carried and then just mix in some in to the kibble he was getting at the time. From that, I have narrowed down a few brands I like best. Party Animal Organics, Weruva and Addiction are my (and Bailey's) favorite ones.


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## Rainw (May 23, 2011)

Thank you for letting me know about Evo. Maybe I should just drop the kibble and feed him wet food only? I'm wondering- except for convenience and price- if there's a reason to feed dry food.

I found the Weruva by the can, so I can see what he thinks of those. If he likes those, he can alternate flavors of Weruva and Wellness Core. 

I miss-typed when I wrote "I really likes salmon," I meant "_he_ really likes salmon." I'm interested (and unhappy) to hear that the rabbit formula is from China. When I was still looking for a food for him, I got three sample flavours of NVI; chicken, salmon, and rabbit. He wouldn't bother with the rabbit, but he nibbled at the chicken and really liked the salmon.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

The Evo Red Meat has a very high protein level, doesn't it? I would be a little cautious with feeding a dry food with that much protein as a full meal, I would make sure he drinks extra water.

As far as the potato vs tapioca, it really doesn't matter. The tapioca is used as a binding agent so the food can be shaped into kibble, whereas foods with potato don't need any extra binding agent. Some dogs are allergic to potato so it is nice that at least a few foods have no potato, but in Yuki's case, either is fine.  I'm wondering if sometimes they use tapioca also to keep the carb ratio lower.

I haven't personally tried Weruva canned but I know it is a great food. The only downside to it is that almost every variety contains chicken so I would be aware of that if you decide to add it into your rotation. Rotation feeding usually consists of changing proteins and of course type of food (dry, canned, dehydrated/freeze-dried, etc). I wanted to feed part Weruva but too many of them have chicken mixed with another protein. If you're trying Weruva just for the flavor varieties, and aren't concerned about switching up proteins, I'm sure it will be perfect! Let us know how Yuki likes it, please!


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