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Thread: Rotation Diet

  1. #1
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    Rotation Diet

    How do you know if it's "working" for your dogs? I have been rotating foods for over 6 months now.

    Rocks weight is good. his bloodwork was good the last time we did it (april?) and we'll keep monitoring that.

    Penny's gained lots of muscle (she normally does during the summer) and slimmed down. Her weight is up (due to muscle I assume as she isn't fat!). her energy is good. But her coat is - meh. shedding like a maniac (I know shedding is normal but this year has been non stop and much much more than last year). Maybe I should add a supplement for that? (fish oil or coconut oil or sardines).

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    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I figured if I didn't see a sign the food was not working then it was working. With our three food rotation poop output didn't change, nor did coat, appetite, energy or weight. I did have the advantage of a food that was working fine in the first place to compare to. There was one small exception, the grain free food was a bit lower in kcal/cup and I saw weight loss in one week so had to up the amount I fed of it. And in winter I had to feed even more of it, making it a more expensive food for us. I did keep the three foods close in protein, fat and kcal/cup with that one exception, which was not great, but it still made a difference.

    ETA: Rotated three different brands and three completely different main protein and main carb and one was grain free, no difference other than that weight loss.
    Last edited by Snowshoe; 08-17-2015 at 11:56 AM.

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    Senior Dog BaconsMom's Avatar
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    We saw a big difference in eye boogers, ears, coat, and poops. Bacon has been doing very well on his Fromm Rotation. However, this was a big change from us--from our breeder's food which was a chicken based food, and Bacon doesn't tolerate chicken well at all.
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    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Been rotating kibbles for several years now, all Fromm, duck, pork and whitefish. I'll feed one for about 2-3 months before a change. Really don't see any changes, which is what I expected. Oh, the one change I do see is when I feed whitefish in the winter, since it has a lower calorie count, am able to keep weight down on Mardi.
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    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    I have rotated foods for 2+ years. Unlike some of the others I rotate brands as well as protein sources, mainly grain free. My dogs are healthy, good weight, good poops, great coats, etc. I have assumed this is working as I have no evidence it is not. The vet I use does say he would rather see dogs fed a rotation diet if you are going to feed kibble. He is a different "thinker" than most vets I have met or hear about!
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    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I switch foods and sometimes brands at the end of a large bag of food. I do not see a difference from one food to another, grain inclusive or grain free, that I would attribute to their food. Both my dogs seem to do fine on pretty much any foods I've tried.

    I use grizzly salmon oil at the recommended dosage and while Lark only really sheds about twice a year, Chase has a much heavier coat than hers and he sheds all year round. It does increase about when Lark's does, but I started the salmon oil about 2 years ago and sadly noticed no decrease in the amount of shedding that boy does. He's the kind you brush so much hair out of you cannot believe he's not bald or at least patchy. You could always try fish or coconut oil, keeping in mind that if her shedding decreases, at this point it could still be seasonal, not from the oil. I started it with other joint supplements when Lark had a limp, not for coat.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Coming back to add, when I started giving Oban EFAs (Jamieson 3-6-9) it was for his harsh, dry coat and mild dandruff. It worked but did nothing for the shedding, nor had I expected it to. This food he's on now though, for his Lymphangiectasia, it's good for his coat and skin and, perplexingly, much lower in fat. And, he's not itching and is completely off his allergy meds. However he is just now starting his second shed of 2015.

  8. #8
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    thanks everyone

    we switch brands and proteins. Good point about looking at ckals per cups. I try to keep protein not crazy high (not above 30%). Some people say fish is good in the summer and so on. This time I went with boreal but they didn't have two bags of any oen protein so I have boreal salmon and the other bag is boreal turkey. I'll keep going and just keep an eye on their weight and overal health. There was a short period Pen had eye boogers but that has passed - could be a number of reasons for that. Always grain free so far.

    I stick to mostly canadian brands with a few US ones. I tend to avoid the super expensive ones (like fromm grain free which are $90+ per bag here) though. Generally I pay $60-80 per bag (still - ouch! haha). '

    I mention the shedding as it's pretty bad. And I mean, I am used to lab shedding LOL! But pen was crazy this year and kept going. we may finally be slowing down now though. we don't know her mix (i assume her parents and even grand parents were mixes so who knows). Some type of herding breed with a touch of terrier somewhere in there and then likely many other things. Her coat is short. Dries very quickly which is nice

 



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