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For my inaugural WOOF! blog on Canine Kid Care’s website I, AlphaMom, have chosen to write about Dog Food, a topic we all have to deal with, a topic of interest (and concern) for many PupPeople. This blog deals specifically with one aspect—one observation and brand of kibble—in particular. Future blogs will address other issues and products; my research, ‘field trials’, and findings will be duly and unbiasedly reported, so make sure to check back regularly and please feel free to contact me with any questions or observations.
I’ve had Greyhounds since 1995. Over the years I have put up with all sorts of digestive issues from more than sixty of Arizona’s Retired Racing Greyhounds. Most of the problems, both short- and long-term, have resulted from the crappy diet fed at the Track, a diet lacking in wholesome nutrition and riddled with undesirable elements.
In March 2024, I adopted my first retired Racer from Australia, a handsome 4-year-old male I named Zeven. With three decades of experience under my collar, I wasn’t too worried about the diarrhea that arrived with him. But as the months wore on alarm bells began ringing in my head because Zeven was unable to gain weight, in fact, he consistently weighed in five pounds under what the paperwork he arrived with indicated. Wondering if my mathematical skills had atrophied, I calculated and recalculated the conversion from kilograms to pounds, each time arriving at the same confounding number. I asked AlphaMate to check my math. I even checked in with Zeven’s FosterMom to make sure his paperwork hadn’t inadvertently been switched with another Greyhound’s. Usually I would blame worms for the disgustingness I was scooping up multiple times each day, but Zeven was tested twice and found to be parasite-free both times. I would later learn that Greyhounds from Australia live much more normal, much more domesticated lives than America’s Racers (who are practically guaranteed to have worms). This fact made the following story even more fascinating to me; see what you think….
I tried feeding my new Greyhound Guy all the different kibbled meats (beef, chicken, lamb, turkey, pork, duck, salmon, white fish, venison, goat) from various quality Pup food manufacturers (we tried at least 15 different brands) each with its own unique percentages of protein and fat, searching for–praying for–a kibble with just the right balance for Zeven’s sensitive system. The challenges continued until I started feeding him Addiction’s Wild Kangaroo and Apples recipe.
The change in his excrement was pretty much instantaneous…as were his rather bizarre actions!
When I saw him poop outside (what a good boy!) and walk away from the first solid by-product he’d produced in the seven months he’d been on American soil, I cheered. But then I watched as Zeven turned around and circled back to it. He sniffed and sniffed the freshly produced pile (perhaps wondering why this Poop smelled so different yet so familiar) and proceeded to make the motions of ‘burying’ it with his nose and muzzle as Pups sometimes do (something he had not done previously). Zeven is one of those Greyhounds who’s nearly perfect, so imagine my shock when he then started eating his feces–oh no!–something he’d also never done before. I shooed him away only to have him come back for a second taste…and a third! For the next few days, to avoid a repeat performance, I was forced to follow behind Zeven and immediately pick up the alluring, beautifully formed logs. A small inconvenience compared to the massive relief (to both of us) of solid poop, but still!
Victorious and triumphant, I quickly ordered more bags of the miracle kibble from Amazon. Unfortunately, although the order was placed in a timely manner, it ended up getting lost somewhere in the ethers. The exact thing I tried to prevent happening happened: Zeven was without Addiction’s Wild Kangaroo and Apples recipe kibble for two weeks. During this time I fed all five of my Pups Addiction’s Wild Island Birds kibble (a much richer formula)…and once again found myself cleaning up Zeven’s very loose stools. As soon as the awaited bags of kibbled Kangaroo yumminess arrived, his poop went back to being lovely and firm. Two months later evidence of his body’s satisfaction was visible: only three ribs and a few vertebrae were still showing (rather than seven ribs on each side, plus every single bone along his spine and a set of pointy hip bones). YAY!
Zeven put a wee bit of a different spin on the ‘eat local’ movement!
(He also likes to spin during wild play times…watch a movie of Zeven’s antics by clicking here.)
Bow wow are we American consumers lucky to have access to foods from around the world, not only for ourselves but for our Pups too. Addiction Dog Foods come out of New Zealand. The twenty-pound bags are pricey, but aren’t they all these days? I am so thrilled with Addiction’s Wild Kangaroo and Apples recipe that for the first time ever, I’ve signed up for Amazon’s auto-ship program. Granted, it’s not THE perfect kibble (too much reliance on peas, in my opinion, and no calcium/phosphorus information), but the 22% protein, 11% fat ratio works for Zeven’s naturally lean body and delicate digestive system. Finding a food he could tolerate helped him more comfortably acclimate to his new Life in these United States…and made for a much happier poop-scooping AlphaMom! Woof woof!
Another WOOF! pawspective with pawtential: ZIGnature’s Kangaroo, Limited Ingredients formula uses lentils as well as peas, has a 26.5% protein to 13% fat ratio, and once again, no calcium/phosphorous information. This kibbled food also seemed to agree with Zeven. Ahhhh!