On 10/31/2010 1:30 PM, Christine wrote:
Pyrs have a lower metabolism rate than other breeds. So once they reach their mature weight, they do not eat or require as much as other breeds. Their tremendous growth period of the first year at least should be addressed and good quality food given, or if feeding raw, that also should be taken into consideration. There is a rawpyrs discussion group on yahoo groups. If feeding processed kibble and canned foods, I recommend joining this information site linked below, as there have recently been many pet food recalls. Best to keep informed. http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/ You do not need to join the entire information list on Brands, ingredients, etc, which is a paid membership, you can just sign up for recall alerts.
If feeding any raw food, it is not recommended to feed processed and raw food at the same time, so if Kodiak gets his bone in the evening, that should be his evening meal, with kibble fed in the morning, if you are not doing that now. I personally feed a partially raw diet, raw in the morning and high quality kibble in the evening. That with minimal vaccines has worked for me. I have an 12 year old, 10 year old, 9 and 8 year old and my youngster is 6. Everyone quite healthy, except for the 12 year old who suddenly needed thyroid supplements. My two previous pyrs lived to 11.5 and 12.5 years, because of all the above. I feed a high quality kibble with no chemical preservatives. I did not have good luck with the two rescues I adopted. One developed osteosarcoma at age 7, the other a very large female died suddenly at age 4, she was a very large female and vet suspected Cardiac problems. I did not have a necropsy done as I had too many rescues in at the time and the cost was preventative. But with the pyrs I raised from pups, I have had very good results with all of the above. A great site to research Pet food is... http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html this site is quite informational in how to read labels, etc. Christine, I know you will get lots of good information from this list.
BOO to all of you too...... =-O -- Judith Taos, New Mexico jsmiller@newmex.com |