Author Topic: Switching to EVO  (Read 3496 times)

Offline smsmith

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Switching to EVO
« on: February 13, 2006, 01:47:24 pm »
Einstein is always itchy.  And he had bacterial & yeast infection in his ears when I found him.  I switched him to Evo this weekend (I bought Nutro the day I got him, because it came in a smaller bag at Petsmart and I didn't want to invest in food I knew nothing about).  I know it's too soon to see any improvement, but I'm hoping the Evo helps with the yeast problem.  My problem is that he seems hungry even after eating the 3 1/4 cups recommended on the bag!  He gets about 10 liver treats (little cubes) a day for training and letting me put drops in his ears and I give him a dog biscuit once or twice a day.  But he needs to be losing weight (about 10 pounds) not gaining.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Should I just let him chew on his monster bone instead of giving him more food?  I feel like I'm starving him to death (now that I think about, he's like a little kid saying "MOM I'M STARVING!"). 

Maybe I could give him a piece of bread or something?  Extra exercise? 
Sarah

Offline Anky

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2006, 02:28:27 pm »
First off I never go by the directions on the bag.  Depending if Einstiens the kind of dog who'll eat himself to death, I'd give him food until he lost interest, and that amount would be what he gets.  Also remember that Evo has NO fillers in it.  Sanity eats like 18 cups a day of a high quality holistic kibble, but only 6-8 of the Evo.  So they don't HAVE to eat alot.  :)
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Offline smsmith

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2006, 03:03:30 pm »
Sanity eats like 18 cups a day of a high quality holistic kibble, but only 6-8 of the Evo.  So they don't HAVE to eat alot.  :)

Thanks!  I'll try giving him more and see how much will fill him up. 
Sarah

kristi

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2006, 03:42:51 pm »
As much as all trainers said not to, I do "free-feed" Sampson. They told me if he didn't eat in 10 minutes to pick it up, & he has to wait until dinner. My vet didn't like that idea.
He gets 3-4 cups of dry in the morning. At dinner, I top-it-off or refill depending upon what he's eaten during the day. If he hasn't touched it during the day at all, I mix in some soft food just to make it interesting. He had dropped almost 12 lbs, & the vet said to make sure he eats at least one meal a day. Now he's back to where he should be weight-wise.
Before Sam, I had a rottie. He had skin/allergy problems too. I can't remember which food he ate - it was something simple like Iams - I know I bought it at Petsmart. I remember going through 5-6 brands until I found one that didn't irritate him. I also used to spray his coat with a conditioner regularly in the winter which helped tremendously & it smelled good!

BTW- How'd the bed building go? Any luck?

Offline smsmith

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2006, 04:30:11 pm »
He gets 3-4 cups of dry in the morning. At dinner, I top-it-off or refill depending upon what he's eaten during the day. If he hasn't touched it during the day at all, I mix in some soft food just to make it interesting. He had dropped almost 12 lbs, & the vet said to make sure he eats at least one meal a day. Now he's back to where he should be weight-wise.

BTW- How'd the bed building go? Any luck?

Okay -- do you think even though Einstein needs to lose a few pounds I should feed him more of the Evo -- so that he doesn't go around hungry? 

re the Bed:  I haven't started, but yesterday at the park a very aggressive dog (about the size of a lab) kept throwing himself at Einstein -- caught Einstein mid-gait once and caused him to twist around ending up with his head in the dirt.  Besides the dirty head, I was afraid he would get hurt with all the banging around he was taking from the other dog.  Then this morning I had to call him to get up and go outside before I left for work -- usually this is not a problem.  He seemed really stiff.  The vet told me a couple of weeks ago that his hips are fine, but she noticed his knees were arthritic.  I'm giving him a Chondroitin(sp?) and Glucosamine supplement.  Do you think he might have gotten hurt playing so rough?  Maybe it was the cold (it's been really cool here by Houston standards)?  I immediately got worried and so I took him for a short walk before I went to work -- just to loosen him up a little.

Now I'm thinking he really needs a bed off the ground -- just to help with the aching joints.  Do you have a photograph of the bed you could send?

Sarah

kristi

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2006, 05:20:17 pm »
sarah-
sent you an e-mail to your yahoo - call me.
-k.

Offline smsmith

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2006, 01:33:11 pm »
I gave him 2 cups yesterday morning (the landlord was coming to take him for a walk while the pest-control guy came in -- I wanted him to be a little calmer than he has been). 

I gave him another 2 cups when I got home -- around 5:30.  Then he had one dog biscuit (which I'm going to stop entirely because I realize now they're completely made of wheat-products). 

He also had several liver treats -- but I could tell he was "full" cause when I pulled out the treats, he didn't go overboard trying to get to them.  He has plenty of energy, but before I fed him so much he was hyper .  .  .  like he was anxious to get fed again!  Now he seems to be at a happy medium -- always ready to go, but not so desperate. 

Tell me more about these veggie snacks.  Do they come in a bag or do you prepare them yourself?


Sarah

Offline smsmith

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Re: Switching to EVO
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2006, 03:06:18 pm »
Great information!  thanks so much!
Sarah