# Nature's Variety. Food/Water Bowls



## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

Anyone feeding this to your dogs? Sounds good, ingredients look good, good ratings. They have an all life stages, which I prefer, but also have puppy formulas. Any thoughts on them? Speaking of variety, does anyone like to switch flavors within the same brand every once in awhile?

Also, for whatever reason I can't find food/water bowls that I'm happy with. Pet stores, online, and nothing. Most are too shallow. Can anyone recommend some bowls? Not sure if I want the elevated bowls, but deep/wide individual bowls sound nice.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

We don't now, but have used NV in the past and mine did well on it. We alternated between 2 flavors with no problems. We just used stainless steel bowls.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

MT523 said:


> Anyone feeding this to your dogs? Sounds good, ingredients look good, good ratings. They have an all life stages, which I prefer, but also have puppy formulas. Any thoughts on them? Speaking of variety, does anyone like to switch flavors within the same brand every once in awhile?
> 
> Also, for whatever reason I can't find food/water bowls that I'm happy with. Pet stores, online, and nothing. Most are too shallow. Can anyone recommend some bowls? Not sure if I want the elevated bowls, but deep/wide individual bowls sound nice.


Yes, Nature's Variety is a higher quality kibble. Fromm's and Acana are also high quality and many on here feed these.

Feeding "All Life Stages" is perfectly fine and many people do this. Just check that the Calcium/Phosphorus ratio's are not too high.

Rotation is important so that the dogs get a variety of nutrients.

I feel a good Probiotic is another key item to add. About 70% of the immune system lies in the gut and it very important to keep it healthy!
These two products use Whole Foods Human Ingredients:
*Sunday Sundae*: (Digestive Enzyme/ProBiotic Combo) http://ineedthat.corecommerce.com/Sunday-Sundae.html
*Gut Sense: *(ProBiotic) http://dr-dobias-natural-healing-usa.myshopify.com/collections/dr-dobias-original-products/products/gutsense

4 Quart Heavy Stainless Steel *Non-Slip* Bowl: Heavy Premium Pet Dishes | Revival Animal Health 

5 Quart Stainless Steel *Non-Tip* Bowl: https://jet.com/product/X-Super-Hea...uart-20-cups/00510cd020f84737b3854b93899eb1a6


Moms


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## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

THANK YOU this is exactly what I'm looking for. Once I transition from the breeders food I will start with Nature's Variety and hopefully it will work out. Will also rotate the flavors and check out the probiotic(had no idea about this). Will probably go with the non-tip bowls


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

I didn't look into their Instinct kibble because it's grain free but their Prairie kibble was 2% calcium which is too high for a lbp.


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## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

I guess that's another thing. I see some of you don't like to start puppies on grain free diets because they might never be able to eat grains if you do?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

No, it's because of a lot of the times grain free is too high in cal/pho to be suitable for a GSD puppy.

I feed NV Instinct to my 3 year old and he loves the taste. Can't eat their rabbit, though. Too rich apparently.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

ausdland said:


> I didn't look into their Instinct kibble because it's grain free but their Prairie kibble was 2% calcium which is too high for a lbp.



Prairie Small to Medium Breed Puppy is 1.1%/0.8%
Prairie LBP is 0.9%-1.6% Cal. & 0.8% Phos.

The Original Prairie
Salmon is 1.3%/1.0%, 
Beef is 1.5%/1.0%, 
Chicken 1.3%/0.9%. 
You could rotate with the above Puppy and Original Prairie formulas. 

Lamb is too high at 2.1%/1.2% 

Instinct Non-Grain Raw Boost Chicken is to high at 2.2/1.3
Instinct Non-Grain Raw Boost Lamb/Salmon is to high at 2.2/1.5
Didn't check the rest.

Even if you feed predominately kibble, a raw meal fed once or twice a week can enhance a dogs health! 

Instinct *Raw* Grain Free Frozen Beef Patties: 0.8%/0.6%

Hope this helps!
Moms


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

Momto2GSDs said:


> Prairie Small to Medium Breed Puppy is 1.1%/0.8%
> Prairie LBP is 0.9%-1.6% Cal. & 0.8% Phos.
> 
> The Original Prairie
> ...


Yes, it was the lamb and rice I had looked in to. When my pup was young, I tried but couldn't find their Prairie LBP. NV minerals are high for an expensive kibble which is why I went with Annameat. I'm not ready for raw but my pup gets cooked bison, sweet potato and broccoli dinners a couples times a week.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Our dog really enjoys the Nature's Variety frozen, prepared raw foods. She also did well on the kibble, until she couldn't handle kibble anymore, irritated her GI system.


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## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

Momto2GSDs said:


> Prairie Small to Medium Breed Puppy is 1.1%/0.8%
> Prairie LBP is 0.9%-1.6% Cal. & 0.8% Phos.
> 
> The Original Prairie
> ...


Sorry for the late reply and thanks for all the help. I was looking into NV Instinct Chicken Meal but looks like that's too high. I will be going with the Prairie instead of Instinct. Ends up being a bit cheaper for all the flavors too. I'd love to feed raw, and once or twice a week sounds more realistic for me right now so I will do more research on that as well.

Only about 2.5 weeks till I bring her home!


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## Dotbat215 (Aug 19, 2015)

What is she currently being fed?


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

I'd feed that pup whatever the breeder has been feeding for at least 2-3 weeks. 
Are you able to find NV Prairie LBP? I wasn't.
Fromm and Wellness have good LBP kibbles too.


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## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

The breeder is currently feeding Bil-Jac, and yes I will transition slowly. How about if I'm transitioning from NV chicken to Beef, do I still need to go slow? I say all this assuming the NV agrees with her and she's not allergic to anything. I will be prepared if I need to try different brands.

ausdland- I plan on ordering from chewy.com who carries all the flavors.


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

MT523 said:


> The breeder is currently feeding Bil-Jac, and yes I will transition slowly. How about if I'm transitioning from NV chicken to Beef, do I still need to go slow? I say all this assuming the NV agrees with her and she's not allergic to anything. I will be prepared if I need to try different brands.
> 
> ausdland- I plan on ordering from chewy.com who carries all the flavors.


They don't carry the Prairie LBP. I guess you're going to feed adult food? I'm no expert; Moms is. I think you won't want to rotate foods often with a puppy. 
Every thing I've read indicates feeding a kibble 30% or less protein, 7% or less ash, 1.2% or less calcium, 1% or less phosphorous. Also, suggested is feeding a kibble with wholesome grains like brown rice, oatmeal, etc. unless your pup has an allergy to grains.
I like Annamaet Encore. I fed Royal Canin per the breeder until my pup was almost 8 months old and she grew too fast.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

ausdland said:


> I'd feed that pup whatever the breeder has been feeding for at least 2-3 weeks.
> Are you able to find NV Prairie LBP? I wasn't.
> Fromm and Wellness have good LBP kibbles too.


Yes, definitely. Your pup will be going thru some major changes......being taken from mom and littermates, going home with strangers, going into a new home, new smells, new sounds, new routine, new place to sleep, new yard, leash training, possible other dog, or neighbors with dogs that won't like the pup.....many, many unsettling things for him/her to process. 
I tell people that it would be like putting you on a plane and dropping you off in the middle of another country that you don't know where you are or the language.....I think you'd have a few "butterflies" in your stomach and a lot of anxiety! LOL 

So because of all that, a lot of puppies get diarrhea from this big change. It is best to keep them on the same food for a week or two to see if this occurs. If you would change the food immediately, he/she could get a gut upset and you don't want to clean up THOSE types of accidents!

When it's time to change kibble: Transition with small amounts of new food mixed with old, taking a week or two to complete the change. If stool get loose, go back to previous amount fed (where stool was solid) and hold at that amount for a few days until his gut gets use to it. Then increase again slowly. This is called "bowel tolerance".


As for rotating within the same brand of kibble.......at first you will want to say with one kind until you experience what type of gut your new puppy has b/c German Shepherds are notorious for bad ones. 

You will soon become a good poop watcher!!!  (I LOVE this emoji!:grin2

After the pup is completely transitioned to the new kibble, keep them on that for several weeks, then try another flavor, being cautious of how much you give at first. If the pup has a good gut, you will eventually be able to go from one bag to another without problems unless the pup is sensitive to one variety.


Nature's Variety is available at your local PetsMart or PetCo or Doggie Boutique instead of on-line. 
Store Locator: Retailer Locations | Nature's Variety Store Locator 

Fromm's is used by many on this blog with great success and it is a family owned and manufactured company.....just something to consider.

So glad you are doing a food change! Bill Jack is full of by-products and cheap grains!


Don't forget......we NEED pictures of the Little Fur Baby!
Moms


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## MT523 (Jun 16, 2016)

ausdland said:


> They don't carry the Prairie LBP. I guess you're going to feed adult food? I'm no expert; Moms is. I think you won't want to rotate foods often with a puppy.
> Every thing I've read indicates feeding a kibble 30% or less protein, 7% or less ash, 1.2% or less calcium, 1% or less phosphorous. Also, suggested is feeding a kibble with wholesome grains like brown rice, oatmeal, etc. unless your pup has an allergy to grains.
> I like Annamaet Encore. I fed Royal Canin per the breeder until my pup was almost 8 months old and she grew too fast.


Oops didn't see you said LBP at first. I was planning on going with the adult/all life stages. Thanks for the percentages, I'll save this information and make sure everything is ok with the kibble I decide to feed. Also glad to hear wholesome grains are a good thing if she doesn't have allergies.



Momto2GSDs said:


> Yes, definitely. Your pup will be going thru some major changes......being taken from mom and littermates, going home with strangers, going into a new home, new smells, new sounds, new routine, new place to sleep, new yard, leash training, possible other dog, or neighbors with dogs that won't like the pup.....many, many unsettling things for him/her to process.
> I tell people that it would be like putting you on a plane and dropping you off in the middle of another country that you don't know where you are or the language.....I think you'd have a few "butterflies" in your stomach and a lot of anxiety! LOL
> 
> So because of all that, a lot of puppies get diarrhea from this big change. It is best to keep them on the same food for a week or two to see if this occurs. If you would change the food immediately, he/she could get a gut upset and you don't want to clean up THOSE types of accidents!
> ...


That's a good way to put it in regards to being dropped off in a foreign country. I will for sure keep her on the food she is already eating for a couple weeks and slowly transition to NV. 

I will remember to take a step backwards if her stools get loose while transitioning. It'll be interesting to see what kind of gut she has, either way I will do everything slowly including introducing raw a couple times a week down the road. 

I will look into Fromm, looks like a lot of different varieties within the brand. Still going start with NV and see how things go, but if it doesn't work out for some reason Fromm will be next on the list!

Pictures will be added somewhere on here:grin2:


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Excellent plan MT!

Keep us posted!

Moms


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