# HELP! Is this choice of foods healthy for my French Bulldog?



## bentleyfrenchie (May 23, 2012)

Hello,

I am new here and this is my first post! This is also the first dog i've ever owned and I would love him to be extra healthy.. I'd like to thank everyone in advance who responds to this post and helps me out, I appreciate it.

I have a 7 month old french bulldog, and this is what i am currently feeding him:

1/2 cup Acana Pacifica grain-free kibble
1/2 cup Wellness Core grain-free original formula kibble
1 1/2 tablespoons Wellness 95% Salmon Canned grain free (soft food)

I mix all of these together twice a day (around 3pm and then 9pm)

I also give my dog:

BLUE Wilderness chicken trail treats (chicken) grain-free - (Twice a day)
NuVet Plus - Daily vitamins (once a day)

My dog seems healthy and seems to really like his food. Is this mixture of food and treats a healthy one? is there anything he may be missing in his diet based on these foods? I would love to hear everyones thoughts and suggestions.

I have attached a photo of each food for reference.

Thank you!


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

They are all good foods but why mix the kibbles in together? It's one thing to rotate a diet (one kibble one meal, one kibble the next, or weekly, etc) but to my understanding kibbles are made to be balanced and if you're mixing them together that kind of throws things off.


I may be way off here but I think that's what I've read.


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## bentleyfrenchie (May 23, 2012)

I may be way off too lol... but i just thought that mixing them would help add diversity to his diet because the Acana Pacifica is mostly fish and the Wellness core includes turkey and chicken.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

Since you're willing to pay for the good (and expensive foods)... I feed Nature's Variety: Instinct which comes in dry, wet, and raw in a bunch of different proteins and it's made to be rotated. What I do is every time I get low and order new food, I order a different protein. Last bag was duck, this bag is beef, next bag will be fish-based. You can rotate by bag, or weekly, or even daily. If you're worried about diversity I"d do it that way instead of mixing two different kibbles :]


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

Also, post some pictures! I ADORE Frenchies, especially cream ones.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

I mix kibble together for my dogs, as well as rotate - never have I ever had any problems with this, in fact, I've had much better results doing this. I don't feed kibble on a regular basis though as much as I used to, usually just a couple times a week, but previously I was feeding my dogs kibble every morning, and then they get their raw in the evenings. Some people are highly agains't this whole mixing thing, and dont' see the point of it, but it works for me and it works for my dogs. I know breeders who do this as well and swear by it.

It has taken some trial and error for me to find the right brands and varieties that work, but I find the dogs have had more problems just eating one type of kibble as opposed to mixing it with something different. I like this because it keeps a good variety, and also I like it because each brand/variety has different ingredients, so I'm confident my dogs aren't getting too much or too less of certain ingredients in kibbles on a regular basis. Some prefer to just rotate each bag, well that's fine too.. its better than nothing, but it just doesn't work as well for me, since my dogs don't eat a ton of kibble they wouldn't get the variety as much this way. I do rotate my mixes as well, lately i've been sticking to mixing 3 together at a time, 3 different proteins, and 3 different brands, and I ensure one of the mix is potato free as well. Another reason I do this is because it keeps them interested in the food, since they are primarily raw fed, its hard to get them to eat kibble but if its mixed its much more inticing to them. I have a few brands I stick with (Nature's Variety Instinct, Acana, NOW!, Timberwolf grain free, Orijen & Fromm's grain free) and I rotate between all of their flavors, ensuring that each trio mix has a fish, a poultry and a red meat or rabbit. This may not work for some, but I've been doing this for 4 or 5 years now with no issue's. Over the last few years though when trying a new kibble I introduced it gradually and if there were problems I eliminated it, and if there wasn't I included it. So far these brands with mixing and rotating I've had no issues, so I plan to stick with these ones for now.

I sometimes mix their raw meals up the same way I mix their kibble (sometimes a poultry, a fish and a red meat) as well so for me, mixing kibble is no big deal, some dogs may not tolerate this as well as others, and sometimes I don't mix.. some days my dogs don't get kibble, and they will get one raw protein in the morning, and a different one in the evening. The important thing, to me, is that they are getting a variety one way or another, so if you choose to mix a few, as long as your dog tolerates it - fine, if you choose to rotate each bag and your dog does fine this way as well, all good. As long as they don't eat the exact same thing day in and day out for the rest of their lives then all good IMO


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Any reasons why his meals aren't more spaced out?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I don't have any problem with mixing kibbles, if someone wants to do it. I mix my cats' kibble (well, I did. Now that I've switched them to almost all canned food I don't use the kibble very fast. I may stop mixing). The only thing that jumps out at me is that it seems like a lot of food. If you feed him that mix twice a day he's getting 2 cups of kibble and some canned! Maybe at his age he's burning all those calories, but definitelyy keep an eye on him and cut back if he starts looking chubby.


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## Jordan S (Nov 21, 2009)

Thats a lot of food lol, my 24 lb dog eats two 1/3 cup meals a day, perhaps he just had a crap metabolism, but anyways, Personally I think you should rotate them rather than mix them in the same meal

Also I think vitamins are a waste of money if your already feeding a complete dog good, if your looking to supplement, omega 3(salmon oil is usually be best source)glucosamine, or probiotics would be more beneficial since most dog foods lack these


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

So, you're feeding over a cup of food per day, including the canned food? Why so much food for such a small dog? I know puppies need more food than adults, but overfeeding can lead to obesity and even diahrrea. My 13 pound adult minipoo and similar sized westie/bichon mix eat 1/2 cup total a day each, divided into two feedings, with just a little bit of water mixed in to wet it (not soggy). They only gets 1/2 - 1 small dog biscuit daily (Paul Newnan's). With a premium quality kibble, you can feed less b/c it's more nutrient dense. Baby carrots and frozen, no-salt green beans are good snacks, too, if they act like they're starving. 

I rotate kibble brands, too, but sometimes I'll feed one kind for breakfast and another for dinner. Usually, I just rotate by the bag; it's simpler that way.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

The reason most people rotate rather than mix isn't that it's dangerous for the dog, it's that (a) constantly feeding the same protein can lead to allergies, so rotating a month of chicken to a month of fish to a month of lamb will help prevent that, and (b) if your dog does develop an allergy, it's going to be really difficult to figure out what she's allergic to if she's eating a little of everything every day.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

And 

c) kibble goes bad once the bag is opened, so having several bags open at the same time may well mean it will last more than a month or so and go bad.


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## PackMomma (Sep 26, 2011)

Can't argue these points about mixing kibble, but it really just depends on the dog or how you do it. It certainly isn't convenient or possible for some, but I can easily argue it's worked well for me as I've been doing it for 5 years with no issues. Both of my dogs were fed kibble this way since puppies, of course the raw feeding might play a factor as well and if someone were feeding solely kibble to their dogs then no, mixing may not be the best choice. I do believe though, that since my dogs were raised on eating mixed kibble that it has helped prevent them from developing food allergies or intolerances to certain ingredients in kibble. 

I don't mix the same kinds together each time so they don't eat the same proteins each month, I do rotate at well, so one month it might be NVI Salmon, Acana Ranchlands and NOW!, and then next month it would be NVI Rabbit, Fromm's Surf & Turf, and Timberwolf Wilderness formula or something to that extent, basically they never eat the same thing each month because each mix will be different and not often do I mix the same brands/varieties together. I adopted this technique from the breeder who's had success with keeping food allergies at bay with all of her dogs and so far seems to work well for me too. But of course every dog is different, and my case would be different because I don't feed kibble on a daily basis, but I think that If I did feed only kibble I probably wouldn't mind doing something like what georgiapeach mentioned, one kind for breakfast and another kind for dinner.. not that its an overly big deal but it would just be my preference that my dogs didn't eat the exact same thing twice a day for a month, I like the daily variety. 

However, another good point about mixing kibble not being as feasible of an option for some is cost; for one small dog, maybe not a huge difference but for those feeding large or multiple dogs well the thing is you likely save money by buying larger bags of dog food, and since Kathyy mentioned the good point about it going bad if sitting open for a while, then you might be forced to spend a little bit more to buy a few smaller bags of various kinds to add up to the normal amount you feed in a month, so that might not be an option for some. I don't have the issue with it going bad, I buy 3 small 5lb bags and mix together in a large sealed container and it typically lasts me just over a month with the amount I feed, sometimes less when I dogsit or travel or go camping i tend to feed more kibble, but usually well within the expiry dates atleast, sometimes I freeze half of it as well to preserve though if i'm not feeding as much.

There's pro's and cons to almost anything we do with our dogs, its trial and error and finding out what works for you and your dog. If its not broken, don't fix it. By all means give new things a try if you feel it would be better, and if not, then you go back to what you were doing. I do want to second though that I think you might be overfeeding your pup just a bit, and I would consider maybe spacing out the meals a bit, unless there's a specific reason you haven't mentioned that you need to do this?


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## begemot (Feb 1, 2011)

I think the mixing is a good idea for a puppy. It would probably take a while to get through each bag individually, during which time they might only be getting one protein source. The mixing will also make up for it if one of the kibbles is low in something, because of a manufacturing mistake.

The vitamin probably isn't necessary though, since it probably just has the same stuff that's already in the food. If you want to supplement, you could try raw eggs, fish oil, and other highly nutritious unprocessed foods. I'm also curious why he eats at 3pm and 9pm.

And pictures pictures PICTURES!


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## WalterDog (May 25, 2012)

Feeding such a variety of proteins is a really bad idea, a really bad idea. First, it is totally unnecessary. Each of those foods has all the amino acids and other nutrients the puppy needs and Second, if you got a dog with a genetic predisposition to allergies, feeding all these now means you have no more bullets going forward. Dogs don't suddenly become allergic to anything if they have a sound immune system.

Rotating foods is a marketing gimmick that was developed by the first creepy owner of Nature's Variety to induce people to buy small bags of food at a higher price per lb. Now he owns Nature's Logic and that strategy isn't going so well.

There is no basis in science for doing this and if you get unlucky you will find yourself with a dog with antibodies against a variety of proteins and big vet bills.

Not smart.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

you obviously have NO CLUE how allergies work. allergies are not only genetic but also aquired by "exposure over time". you think all people with bee sting allergies have always had it? no. for example my co-worker. she was stung a few times through her childhood with no problem, each time she got stung after a few times, the reactions became more serious. her arm went numb, she got hives, she had trouble breathing etc. the last time she was stung the doctor said there was a very good chance that the next time she could have a very severe reaction. she got stung at work... guess what happened? we rushed her to the ER, she was treated and given a perscription for an epi-pen.


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## PatchworkRobot (Aug 24, 2010)

GreatDaneMom said:


> you obviously have NO CLUE how allergies work. allergies are not only genetic but also aquired by "exposure over time". you think all people with bee sting allergies have always had it? no. for example my co-worker. she was stung a few times through her childhood with no problem, each time she got stung after a few times, the reactions became more serious. her arm went numb, she got hives, she had trouble breathing etc. the last time she was stung the doctor said there was a very good chance that the next time she could have a very severe reaction. she got stung at work... guess what happened? we rushed her to the ER, she was treated and given a perscription for an epi-pen.


Are you sure? Because I was thinking that I should stop eating everything but chicken so that when I became allergic to it I could move onto another protein source.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

PatchworkRobot said:


> Are you sure? Because I was thinking that I should stop eating everything but chicken so that when I became allergic to it I could move onto another protein source.


hahaha good idea lol


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## DaViking (Apr 13, 2012)

WalterDog said:


> Feeding such a variety of proteins is a really bad idea, a really bad idea. First, it is totally unnecessary. Each of those foods has all the amino acids and other nutrients the puppy needs and Second, if you got a dog with a genetic predisposition to allergies, feeding all these now means you have no more bullets going forward. Dogs don't suddenly become allergic to anything if they have a sound immune system.


I know he got himself banned (again) but still... 'course you have more bullets, I am no vet so correct me if I am wrong, but I think it's unlikely that a predispositioned dog would develop antibodies to multiple proteins at the same time. I am sure it can happen just not very common. You can still do elimination diets, just creates a little more "mess" in the transition period.


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