# Opinion on vetdiet brand.



## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

After 3 years of fighting with Dexter for him to eat, I finally found a brand Dexter will go for.

It's a canadian store brand, so it's not on those dog food rating sites.

Can anyone give me an opinion on this?




It's his main food intake right now. I've tried so many brands before finding one. I'm hoping it's not too bad. He also eats raw on occasion during fishing or hunting season.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

A reasonably mid-grade food, I'd say. There are some iffy ingredients, but not too bad. I'd be OK with feeding it, especially if I had a picky dog.


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

Thank you so much. Not the best, then, but ok. But hey...if it makes him eat. Before, I had to sit and feed him with my hand. Even then, he could go days without eating. And I can't use the "well when he'll be hungry enough, he'll eat" strategy with my dog. He got so thin and sick two years ago from starving himself, I had to rush him to the vet.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

What store brand is this. Have you tried any other foods like (I know that it is expensive) Orijen or Acana?


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

I am not sure how much you are paying, or what other brands you've tried but my picky dog will only eat Taste of the Wild. It is reasonably priced, grain free and whole meat is the #1 ingredient.

Have you tried feeding him from an interactive toy? It might make eating more fun for Dexter?


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

It's the brand from Mondou.

I'm in Quebec. I've never seen Orijen, Arcana or Taste of the Wild around. I also happen to be living far from stores (seriously). I tried every possible grocery store brand, since they were the only things available. Plus two brands bought at the vet to fatten him up. He hated every one of them. When he decides to get picky, he won't even eat ground beef.

It got to the point where I had to drive the 1600 kms to the vet. He was so thin and refusing to eat...Got down to 48 pounds.


He's getting fat now. If it's not perfect, but not the worse brand ever either, I think I'll keep feeding those.

As long as I never see this again:


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

I would just keep him on anything that is working good or bad. Have you ever thought of a raw diet? try chicken (just asking not trying to convert)


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

He's randomly fed on raw (a little bit every week). I get some raw for him during hunting season and fishing season. His stomach seems to have issues with it, though. He'd had bloody liquid poop when I tried to go exclusively raw (and I tried for more than a few days). The kibbles seem to help out with those digestive issues too. He has unlimited access to the bowl and random pieces of meat.


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

Have you ever tried Trippet? It's canned green tripe. Mixing a few tablespoons with warm water makes a very yummy 'gravy' that few dogs will refuse. Right now it's what's keeping my almost 14 year old eating, she wasn't even impressed with cooked chicken and potatoes, but a few tablespoons of that stuff mixed in and she's quite happy to eat and is feeling better too.

Lana


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

I've never seen those around here. I even made a mixture made with bacon once, to get him to eat. He didn't even care for it. With raw or other food, it seems to be quite random. One day, he'll jump on it and the next, he'll try to hide it in the couch!


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## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

That's pretty common with free fed dogs - they don't get really hungry, they just munch here and there. You could try feeding two set meals, to see if he'll eat more that way, up to you of course. You can also look online for dog food companies, some use UPS to ship to your door, or you can have them ship to a depot when you're in a town to pick up. The higher end foods are usually at specialty pet stores, not grocery stores. Are you able to get to a costco? They have pretty good dry food too.


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

He doesn't munch much. Before those kibbles, he could easily go 3 days without eating ANYthing. And he has plenty of exercise. He barely weights 62 pounds now. It's all fur. When I tried limiting access to his food, he just wouldn't eat. Now he seems to be eating mostly during the night, quite strangely.

And no costco. UPS doesn't even deliver here. I define remote area! And I only drive into a town once a year.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

LOL, I think that food is about the best you're going to get if you can't get anything shipped in and you only go into town once a year (I thought I had it bad going once a month!). It's not bad at all, and if you add in more meat now and then, even better. One thing to look at---sometimes (not always), the regular adult formula is higher quality than the "large breed" or "senior" formulas of the same brand. Maybe even the puppy formula, especially if he has trouble keeping weight on. So look at those, maybe you can do a bit better without having to buy anywhere else.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

Like I said, just stick with what you can get and what he will eat, to heck if it is good or bad food.


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## Zoopie (Feb 22, 2010)

Willowy said:


> LOL, I think that food is about the best you're going to get if you can't get anything shipped in and you only go into town once a year (I thought I had it bad going once a month!). It's not bad at all, and if you add in more meat now and then, even better. One thing to look at---sometimes (not always), the regular adult formula is higher quality than the "large breed" or "senior" formulas of the same brand. Maybe even the puppy formula, especially if he has trouble keeping weight on. So look at those, maybe you can do a bit better without having to buy anywhere else.


Let's just say I'm 800 kms away from the closest traffic light. I'll keep adding meat (hunting season is starting. Dexter has its own freezer) to the kibbles. 

If you guys would have said the ingredients were horrible and I was slowly killing my dog with possible pancreatis, I would have panicked. But as sarayu14 just said, if it works and it's not horrible food, I'm quite content.


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