poodle proud Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hi all, I had my poodles on EP duck for quite some time. They didnt love it but they ate it. When supply of EP got low I switched to Nutro which they love. The only problem is that Osca's coat has become very brittle and sparse in the year they have been on it. I'd go back to the EP but the biscuits are much harder than the nutro and Osca has had some teeth removed and I think he finds it hard to eat. I know I could add water to soften but I did this before and he didn't eat it. I can't do barf because their guts are sensitive and don't tolerate it. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thanks PP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 (edited) How old is Osca? My poodles get Artemis Small Dog Seniors as part of their diet. The kibble size is very small. Edited July 21, 2010 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottychick Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 You could give Nature's Gift Biogestion kibble a try. It's semi-dry or semi-moist or whatever they call it LOL It's not a "premium" brand but I've heard very good things about NG and they are Australian and not too expensive. Might be worth trying a small pack and see how they go. It's in most local supermarkets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I give my poodles Proplan Sensitive skin and stomach, which is salmon based. Ella has a sensitive stomach and Skipper gets hot spots and they both do well on this. I did change to Nutro just because of price but I have just found a company that home delivers and the proplan is $30 a bag cheaper then the pet shop, so I have changed back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) Thanks everyone, I haven't considered any of those before. :p How old is Osca? Osca is 5.5 yrs and Midnight is 1.5. I am looking for a food they could both eat because they eat each others food anyway. Ive tried separating them but then they won't eat ;) Can you give a senior formula to younger dogs? Edited to ask Mish13, what is the proplan kibble like? Is it really hard or does it crumble without too much effort? Edited July 22, 2010 by poodle proud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Thanks everyone, I haven't considered any of those before. :p How old is Osca? Osca is 5.5 yrs and Midnight is 1.5. I am looking for a food they could both eat because they eat each others food anyway. Ive tried separating them but then they won't eat ;) Can you give a senior formula to younger dogs? They use it for fat dogs but you could feed an ordinary adult one to dogs of that age. Royal Canin make a Poodle food you could try. You might also think about adding an Omega Oil supplement to their diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Thanks everyone, I haven't considered any of those before. :p How old is Osca? Osca is 5.5 yrs and Midnight is 1.5. I am looking for a food they could both eat because they eat each others food anyway. Ive tried separating them but then they won't eat ;) Can you give a senior formula to younger dogs? Edited to ask Mish13, what is the proplan kibble like? Is it really hard or does it crumble without too much effort? I wouldn't say it is too hard, my toy poodle has no trouble eating it, all four of mine are feed the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 If you're concerned about how hard the dry is (whichever you decide on) you can semi-soak it ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 I wouldn't say it is too hard, my toy poodle has no trouble eating it, all four of mine are feed the same. Thanks! Would you mind telling me where you get yours from? If you're concerned about how hard the dry is (whichever you decide on) you can semi-soak it :p Thanks Aziah. Sadly though when I do that they turn their nose up at it. But that's what I get for having poodles ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) I wouldn't say it is too hard, my toy poodle has no trouble eating it, all four of mine are feed the same. Thanks! Would you mind telling me where you get yours from? If you're concerned about how hard the dry is (whichever you decide on) you can semi-soak it :p Thanks Aziah. Sadly though when I do that they turn their nose up at it. But that's what I get for having poodles ;) I was just getting it at the local pet shop but it was over $130 for the 15kg bag, a friend has just put me onto http://happypawspetfood.com.au/10/ and they deliver it for $108. I am not sure if they are only Gold Coast based? Just went back and checked, they only deliver to the Gold Coast and Hinterland Edited July 22, 2010 by mish13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheree_e4 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) I'd go back to the EP but the biscuits are much harder than the nutro and Osca has had some teeth removed and I think he finds it hard to eat. I know I could add water to soften but I did this before and he didn't eat it. Which teeth has he had removed? If your dog has bad teeth he really should be on something like Hills science diet T/D which is especially designed to keep teeth clean. Your dog really needs to chew to keep the remaining teeth in good condition, Bones I would not recommend due to the possibility of him getting a slab fracture on his carnassials if he already has bad teeth. I would not be softening the food at all. My boy has just had his Carnassial tooth ( the big one used for chewing) taken out due to a slab fracture caused by eating bones ;) , he has no problems eating large biscuits however I do need to clean the bottom carnassial on that side now as it has nothing to grind up against so will become coverered in tartar very easily. Edited July 22, 2010 by sheree_e4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavalier_resue_QLD Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 My MIL has a mini poo, 13 years old and pretty much never been ill in her life. About 6 months ago MIL suddenly stopped buying Royal Canin and started a supermarket brand, proplan or something similar. I think things were a bit tough with loosing her job etc. Poor Poodles coat went from soft and thick and lucsious to sparse and wirey in a matter of weeks. Infact it was so sparse you could see through it to her skin in patches and suddenly, she looked, and acted, her age! She has since changed to Natural Balance, the Australian version though with some sardines once a week and Poody has gone back to normal. Happier dog, MUCH happier coat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 Thanks anyway Mish13, I'll ask my mate google to find me the best deal ;) And thanks Sheree, you have raised some very good points. Osca had some teeth removed that were in bad nic before we got him. His remaining teeth are in good shape. I couldnt tell you the names of the teeth he had removed but he had two up the top and two down the bottom removed. I have previously looked into The Hills Science TD and even the zd but wasn't happy with the ingredients list. Because Osca has such a sensitive gut and skin a lot of foods don't agree with him. It's almost impossible to find a food that suits sensitive guts, skin and provides good tartar control. Cavalier_rescue_QLD That's exactly what happened to Osca's coat. I was in a petbarn one day and the nutro rep was there. I told him what had happened and he couldn't believe it. He said that Nutro was better for their coat than EP (of course) but I certainly havent found that to be true. I know that some dogs don't do so well on foods as others. It is just a pain because they love the nutro. I'll look into natural balance. I think one of the online stores I buy from sells it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascalmyshadow Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Get them on to Artemis my poodles coats have never looked so good, I also mix in fresh foods every night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Royal Canin do a Poodle specific food now if that's of any interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Get them on to Artemis my poodles coats have never looked so good, I also mix in fresh foods every night. I brought Artemis and have never cleaned up so many runny poo's, it went straight through my poodles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 Get them on to Artemis my poodles coats have never looked so good, I also mix in fresh foods every night. The ingredients look pretty good. I might save it as a backup. Royal Canin do a Poodle specific food now if that's of any interest? Thanks kitkat, I did consider it but sadly the first ingredient is maize. I bought some of the proplan at petbarn and so far so good. Osca has to work a bit at chewing it but not too much. I certainly won't wait as long this time before switching if they don't do well on it. I'm impatient to see how they go on but I'll be good and do the changeover gradually Thankyou everybody for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Get them on to Artemis my poodles coats have never looked so good, I also mix in fresh foods every night. I brought Artemis and have never cleaned up so many runny poo's, it went straight through my poodles. Which one Mish - I haven't had this issue with my tribe but they are all on Seniors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny123 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 When the original US Nutro (adult Lamb & Rice) was no longer available in Australia in switched my two to Pro Plan Sensitive (salmon). They loved it but over the months their coats lost all their shine and felt quite dry. When Nutro (made in Australia) became available I switched them back to the Lamb and Rice and their coats are now lovely, shiny and healthy again. I also feed sardines and raw eggs a couple of time a week which I think helps but I was also feeding those with the Pro Plan so I put the healthy coats down to the Nutro Lamb and Rice. What variety of Nutro were you feeding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mish13 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Get them on to Artemis my poodles coats have never looked so good, I also mix in fresh foods every night. I brought Artemis and have never cleaned up so many runny poo's, it went straight through my poodles. Which one Mish - I haven't had this issue with my tribe but they are all on Seniors. I have forgotten which one it was and I only brought it a couple of weeks ago, it was recommended to me in the poodle forum. Oscar has skin and ear problems that's why I tried it. I will have to go back through the thread and see if I can find the name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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