# Finally trying Dr. Tim's Pursuit



## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

Ordered on Chewy. No issues with shipment. I have high hopes for this food!! 


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

I don't know ... On paper it doesn't impress me personally


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Watson has been on it for a while and it's fine. I did start a highly recommended digestive supplement around the same time so I can't say what helped, but he's been pooping a little less with no gross soft poops (previously he had one per day). I'm going to keep it in my rotation with Nature's Variety Instinct.


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## Losech (Apr 5, 2011)

I'm going to try it eventually. Probably in a couple months.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> I don't know ... On paper it doesn't impress me personally


Look at the ash content and the amount of actual animal protein that's in it. There's no vegetable protein boosters. My dog is absorbing so much that his stools are basically 60% less than any they food he's been on and he's just started. I didn't even transition. 


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

PureMutt said:


> Look at the ash content and the amount of actual animal protein that's in it. There's no vegetable protein boosters. My dog is absorbing so much that his stools are basically 60% less than any they food he's been on and he's just started. I didn't even transition.
> 
> 
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Go by that and not how something looks "on paper". Dogs can't read and most owners can get misled by labels, despite what they read.

Now you have me curious, I ran across this thread on a semi-pro/pro training site:

http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums/showthread.php?103990-Welcome-new-RTF-Sponsor-Dr-Tim-s!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I used Pursuit for my Brittany, she did great on it & will go back on it.


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

I was intrigued by this food because of my technical background and bought a small bag for the Mrs. picky Cavalier. This dog has not particular issues other than that and normally soft for a good week after eating something new, even stuff off the ground.

No gas, hard stools, loved eating it. I may venture into this more. It is very hard and heavy food, much heavier than other products and the crunching noise is very loud. The dog ate this food much slower.


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## Woofie2 (Oct 5, 2013)

Have to say, my seizure prone Pomeranian did MARVELOUSLY on Dr Tim's Momentum; something in it overall stabilized him really well and gave him awesome energy. 

That said, Dr. tim's formula's all contain chicken which is a no-go for the one dog I have that could've used his formula's the most. 

I think I'm more impressed by Annamaet's versions, mainly because they offer foods with no dried beet-pulp and no chicken.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

They are too low in cals for me Josefina can't have a food under 400 cals per cup


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I'm pretty sure all of Dr Tim's are over 400 cals. I looked into it before because I was trying to find something under 400 cals for Mia but they didn't have anything?

Momentum: 588 kcals
Pursuit: 450 kcals
Kinesis (grain inclusive): 415 kcals
Kinesis (grain free): 415 kcals

I just ordered some Kinesis Grain free here.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> They are too low in cals for me Josefina can't have a food under 400 cals per cup


Uh, Pursuit is 450 calories per cup.


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## Little Wise Owl (Nov 12, 2011)

I keep hearing all these amazing things about Dr. Tim's and it doesn't appear to be available in Canada ):


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## Boleyn (Aug 25, 2008)

How is the kibble size of this brand? I'm interested in the Kinesis and wonder if anyone knows. Thanks!


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

elrohwen said:


> Uh, Pursuit is 450 calories per cup.


But its mostly from plant protein and calories. there is only one meat source in the primary ingredients ... and that's not something I like.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

You are thinking about some other kibble. Not much plant protein here.
http://drtims.com/pursuit/
"Ingredients:
Chicken meal, brown rice flour, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oat flour, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), dried whole eggs, rice bran, menhaden fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean herring meal, flax seed meal, catfish meal, chicken liver meal, dried porcine plasma protein, salmon meal, lecithin, potassium chloride, salt, canola oil"


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> But its mostly from plant protein and calories. there is only one meat source in the primary ingredients ... and that's not something I like.


Of the 30% GA protein, about 90% is from chicken, egg, fish, chicken liver and blood plasma, so animal protein not plant protein. 

You are making the mistake that 99% of people make when they read a label, you don't have the recipe and do not know the weight of the ingredients. Without these you have to word backwards like I did. Rice is very low in protein, that should help you, and oats have less than half the protein of something like lentils so its impossible for this food to have much vegetable protein.

Your statement is entirely incorrect.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> But its mostly from plant protein and calories. there is only one meat source in the primary ingredients ... and that's not something I like.


Remember you have to look at the analysis also, not just the ingredients list. Pursuit is pretty good across the board. Having one meat source at the beginning really just means that food is primarily chicken meal when taking everything into consideration.

If you're looking at calories, it's about a 1:1 ratio of proteins and carbs which is about as good as you can get with kibble. Ideally I'd prefer closer to a 2:1 ratio of protein and fat but if you want a high kcal kibble, it's really just going to be mostly fat. You could look at Momentum if you really want a higher kcal food.


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

That type of ratio is designed to support working dogs and avoid weight loss. When the ratio gets too high and protein calories are too biased, a highly active dog will lose weight, especially some sporting breeds. 30% of protein calories are lost during metabolism.

This food contains about 43% concentrated (dried) animal ingredients and you would be hard pressed to find another with that much. They exist but they are few and far between.

Most of the people on here really don't even need to feed Pursuit.


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

My dog is starting to bite his paws. Allergies?


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

PureMutt said:


> My dog is starting to bite his paws. Allergies?


Paw chewing is typically caused by environment allergens like pollen or fleas, not by food, but it's always possible. How has he done on chicken before?



Noticed this weekend that Watson's coat is not as shiny and soft as it used to be. Part of this may be that it's winter, very cold, and very dry. I hope it's not the food, but the fat content is lower than his previous food so maybe.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

> Paw chewing is typically caused by environment allergens like pollen or fleas, not by food, but it's always possible. How has he done on chicken before?


?? both my dogs with food allergies chew their paws if they get one of their food allergens. Baby has different allergic reactions to different things(itching/chewing in certain areas, rashes, swelling etc..) but chewing her paws is a common reaction for her. Gem too, she only has food allergies(Chicken and Beef) and her only reaction is paw chewing...


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Miss Bugs said:


> ?? both my dogs with food allergies chew their paws if they get one of their food allergens. Baby has different allergic reactions to different things(itching/chewing in certain areas, rashes, swelling etc..) but chewing her paws is a common reaction for her. Gem too, she only has food allergies(Chicken and Beef) and her only reaction is paw chewing...


That's just what the interwebz and my vet tell me. Watson chews his paws and we decided it was likely environmental. I had another dog who did it in response to fleas. Most of the information out there suggests looking at environmental triggers before food.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

ShoreDobermans said:


> That type of ratio is designed to support working dogs and avoid weight loss. When the ratio gets too high and protein calories are too biased, a highly active dog will lose weight, especially some sporting breeds. 30% of protein calories are lost during metabolism.
> 
> This food contains about 43% concentrated (dried) animal ingredients and you would be hard pressed to find another with that much. They exist but they are few and far between.
> 
> Most of the people on here really don't even need to feed Pursuit.


Why do you say that? A lot of people on here do dog sports, hunt and work their dogs and do have a need a high end food.

I was feeding back to basics pork:

Ingredients

Every ingredient is thoughtfully chosen to contribute to the well-being of your dog. Rollover each one to learn more.

Pork Liver
Pork Meal
Pork Protein
Tapioca
Pork Fat (Naturally Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols)
Peas
Pork Gelatin
Pork Kidney
Whole Flaxseed
Menhaden Fish Oil
Natural Pork Flavor
Sunflower Oil
Salt
L-Carnitine
Dicalcium Phosphate
Potassium Chloride
Zinc Proteinate
Choline Chloride
Iron Proteinate
Vitamin E Supplement
L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C)
Manganese Proteinate
Biotin
Copper Proteinate
Niacin
Calcium Pantothenate
Sodium Selenite
Vitamin A Supplement
Riboflavin Supplement
Vitamin D3 Supplement
Thiamine Mononitrate
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Calcium Iodate
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Folic Acid.

Now I am feeding Merick because if price issues with B2B and NVI, and that they use local ingredients. Perhaps my judgement of Dr. Tim's was premature and I apologize for that, I sometimes tend to be skeptical of dog foods.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I don't think most sports dogs need something as high in calorie/fat as momentum. My dogs and I work MAYBE 5-6 hours a week and a lot of that is tricks and nosework, which isn't physically demanding. We may do agility 3 hours a week? Maybe? 

Anyways, my bag of Kinesis GF came in but won't be tried out till we get through our other opened bags- Fromm's family (my dogs dislike), Purina One Beyond (dogs love), and Wellness WM (dogs love). I also got a bag of Annamaet Lean to try out.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Laurelin said:


> I don't think most sports dogs need something as high in calorie/fat as momentum. My dogs and I work MAYBE 5-6 hours a week and a lot of that is tricks and nosework, which isn't physically demanding. We may do agility 3 hours a week? Maybe?
> 
> Anyways, my bag of Kinesis GF came in but won't be tried out till we get through our other opened bags- Fromm's family (my dogs dislike), Purina One Beyond (dogs love), and Wellness WM (dogs love). I also got a bag of Annamaet Lean to try out.


True but the "richer" a food is the less you have to feed of it. I feed all mine high end food that is over 400 cals per cup and high in fat and none of my dogs are overweight.


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> True but the "richer" a food is the less you have to feed of it. I feed all mine high end food that is over 400 cals per cup and high in fat and none of my dogs are overweight.


When you are comparing one food against another forget about cups it means nothing in this context. A cup is a measure of volume not weight. Kibble size and shape can throw it off. 

You said you fed Merrick I will guess grain free. Figure those foods are 3700 calories per kg. Dr. Tim's Pursuit is about 4,000 (about 8% more) and Dr. Tim's Momentum is 4,600 (about 25% more). 

Also, other factors will influence how much you need to feed. How the food is made, what the fiber is and some other factors like the level of protein calories vs fat and carb calories. The more protein calories, the less sticky the food is because 30% of the calories are lost during metabolism. The calorie calculation does not take this into account.

Compare based on calories of the weight of the food not fluid cups of the food.

Also, you don't want to minimize feeding too much. Dogs like chewing stuff and if you feed too little motility is affected.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Some dogs can't handle very little amounts of food (volume-wise). That is the issue I've had with Mia. She will puke bile if she is fed too little volume so I feed her more of a lower calorie food so she maintains weight and her stomach doesn't go empty.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Mind are fed once a day, bear gets a cup a day, Josefina gets two plus a satin or "fat" ball, buddy and Yumi get two cups. Izze also had this problem and when feeding richer foods (had to when Josefina was young) I just fed her later so her stomach wouldn't be empty in the morning (she would never eat in the morning :/) a couple of biscuts in the morning stage off the bile.

Every dog is differen but that's what worked for us.


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## Yellowsnow (Feb 5, 2014)

I have been interested in the Dr. Tim foods for a while now. I've thought about switching to it, but what I feed now is working fine, so I haven't pulled the trigger. If it's not broke...


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## PureMutt (Feb 6, 2009)

So far so good. Poops are good. But shedding like crazy. Also, eye gunk has reduced to almost nothing and he was previously on a grain free food. So, maybe it was the potato or pea, who knows. 


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## ShoreDobermans (Nov 18, 2013)

PureMutt said:


> So far so good. Poops are good. But shedding like crazy. Also, eye gunk has reduced to almost nothing and he was previously on a grain free food. So, maybe it was the potato or pea, who knows.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Shedding is triggered by coats cycle and hormonal factors mostly due to sunlight. True, in many parts of the country it is still cold, but the days are getting longer and I think his shedding is just a coincidence with the food change.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I'm trying to decide between Kinesis and Pursuit. I bought a bag of Kinesis grain free but haven't opened it yet. I've already got three other bags open of other foods we're trying. 

One of my dogs is 9.5, lower energy but still an agility dog who goes hiking around 3x a week if it's not so cold like it is this week. She is hard to keep weight on and is usually borderline underweight but has great muscle tone. She is very very fast in agility and expends a lot of energy when we play. She's also older.

Other dog is 4.5 also an agility dog. At home she's much higher energy but not as hardcore in sports generally. She puts excess weight on easily.

I also have a bag of Annamaet Lean to try for the second dog.


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