Those of you who had Dobes live for 10+ years, what did you feed him? - Page 3

**JenTN** · 07-12-2008, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dobes&Hounds

My Mercury lived to be 10 1/2 on kibble. I did change it up throughout his life and always added meats and veggies, cottage cheese etc. I lost him to Cardio. Who knows how long he would have lived if he hadn't gotten one of the dreaded C's.

My mother's dog, Perky, lived to be around 15 on kibbles and bits. Not a Doberman, but still crappy food.

My Siamese cat, Cherrie, lived to be 17 on things like meow mix and cat chow.
I currently have a 15 year old cat who was fed icky food the first part of her life before I knew better. So much is genetic.

My parents got me a pound kitten when I was 5 years old. They fed her whatever was on sale at the grocery store-usually not even the same brand, usually dry, sometimes canned. She was an indoor/outdoor cat. She lived to be over 17 years old. Go figure!

MaryAndDobes · 07-12-2008, 10:49 PM

Sadie was my first Doberman to pass 10 - she died at 12. Ate Pro Plan chicken and rice her whole life.

Ember was my second to pass 10 - she died at 11. I think she started out on Pro Plan chicken and rice, went to Pro Plan turkey and barley later, and was on Canidae the last couple of years. Switched to Canidae to see if the lack of corn, wheat and soy would help her incontinence.

Rocket is going to be 10 in 9 days (knock on wood!). He was on Eagle Pack puppy as a youngster because I won 2 bags of it at dog shows, then on Pro Plan chicken and rice, later Pro Plan turkey and barley (once I realized my reds generally do better on it than chicken) but has been on Canidae the last few years. He would get hot spots on the Pro Plan turkey and barley, none since switching.

AnneMarie · 07-12-2008, 10:55 PM

My first Dobe lived till 13,she ate kibbles,pasta pizza and whatever else the kids gave her.She was my healthiest Dobe

Zoeberry · 07-12-2008, 11:16 PM

Had a male live to 11 1/2 and a female live to 15 1/2.

Over the years I fed them different foods but nothing horrendously bad. Started out with Iams/Euk. Did some Science Diet. Then for many years fed Nutro natural lamb and rice and then Nutro natural senior. Towards the end when I became more educated and fed Canidae.

**Kahlua** · 07-13-2008, 12:30 AM

My first girl, Kylie, lived to be over 14 1/2. She was always fed Science Diet.

**BackInBlack** · 07-13-2008, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaryAndDobes

(once I realized my reds generally do better on it than chicken) but has been on Canidae the last few years. He would get hot spots on the Pro Plan turkey and barley, none since switching.

That is interesting. I had a bag of the chicken and rice puppy (that I was actually going to give away but it was sitting next to the dog food containers) and my husband not knowingly dumped it in Brownies food container with the remainder of the Turkey and Barley puppy. (I mean, it is all puppy food right????) Husbands...ugh.

I was just going to switch him over to the Salmon and Rice adult when the turkey & barley was gone.

Anyway....my husband fed him the chicken thinking that is what he was eating all along (shows how much attention he pays) and Brownie had AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL explosive stool. Then he started vomiting. I stopped by my vet and they gave me some pills (only one days worth, they thought it was probably an isolated incident) and ever since then he has been fine. He switched to Salmon and Rice with no problems whatsoever.

I am kind of wondering if maybe that was an allergic reaction to chicken? It seemed kind of over the top.

Other than that one incident though, they are all doing excellent on the Pro Plan. I have seen the most difference in Piper.

Nicola · 07-13-2008, 06:33 AM

Sorry to hijack this thread, but it's kind of related...

i'm still yet to be satisfied with the food i am feeding my two. After lots of research on getting Bruce, I picked Nutro puppy, he then went on to the adult version. It was costing me a lot of money and i wasn't sure whether either dogs were 'right' on it. I spoke to a few friends - most of which had either working dogs or show dogs (Crufts best in breed etc) so they were very experienced (well much more than me!) They all agreed that many of the good foods were far too high in protein and that they preferred a much more basic food. They are British brands so i'm not sure you'll have heard of them but 2 that were suggested were Dr Johns and 'That'll do'. They had half the protein content and were a quarter of the price compared to what i was paying.

So i made the switch to 'that'll do', and both seem great on it. BUT there is a lot of gas and a lot of 'deposits'!

I am on a very VERY tight budget but i want to do the best for my dogs. Do you think it is worth the extra money for the 'better' brands?

Rauschund · 07-13-2008, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadeslane

My male turned 10 in April. Exclusive Chicken and Rice has been the mainstay in his diet (made by Purina Mills - real chicken meat, omega fatty acids, glucosamine - very good food, but hard to find). When I haven't been able to find that, Purina One Chicken & Rice. They are similar enough in composition that I can switch back and forth with no period of adjustment.

They sell Exclusive at our feed store, and I agree, it is a really good food! Too bad they don't carry it everywhere

**talentdobe** · 07-13-2008, 03:01 PM

Gretel, who lived to be almost 12, ate Eukanuba almost her entire life- with a couple years of Pinnacle thrown in there. Brigit, who is currently 11, has eaten Eukanuba, Pinnacle, and is now on Precise.

DJF · 07-14-2008, 11:01 AM

My Dobe lived to 13 years and 1 month on IAMS.