# Food of Choice



## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

What food do y'all feed your Havanese?

We've been feeding Eva Taste of the Wild for her main food and in the mornings we'll give her a bit of Merrick canned food. She loves the turducken one haha.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

Tillie's also on Taste of the Wild! She has done fantastic on it and has never had a problem, I don't plan on changing her food unless she develops a problem with it at some point! She also has a spoonful of greek yogurt in the evenings.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

I hadn't even heard of Taste of the Wild until recently. While we were living in Japan the best cat food we could find was Purina One, which isn't all that great at all lol, and our poor kitties had a lot of digestion problems. Once we returned to the US a friend recommend I try it for our cats. Now their puking issue is mostly gone and their coats are super soft and shiny!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

wow! awesome! Tillie's breeder fed it to her from the begining and we didn't see any reason to change it. I never thought to feed it to our cats... we have 3 and they do fine on Costco cheapo's! LOL


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

Luckily the store we buy it from every 13th bag is free! So in the end it costs us about the same as supermarket brands would.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I feed Primal raw. I add freeze dried vegetable medley, cottage cheese, pumpkin, or something else healthy to it


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

I've thought about going raw. Do you find that it gets messy? My grandmother feeds raw to her dogs but she lives on a big farm so she just feeds them in her field rather than in the house lol.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

No, it's not messy at all. It comes in one ounce cubes or patties.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

Ahh gotcha! My grandmother feeds her dogs from the animals they raise for meat so it tends to get pretty messy depending on what the latest slaughter was ound:


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Yikes, that sounds much more messy than what I buy


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

The breeder was feeding his litter TOTW. We kept Tucker on that for awhile, but he never really loved it. Then we tried Orijen, same thing, he didn't love it and had we had to add yogurt or pumpkin to entice him to eat it. He has mild allergies so we switched to California Natural Lamb grain free - he loves it.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

evaofnc said:


> I hadn't even heard of Taste of the Wild until recently. While we were living in Japan the best cat food we could find was Purina One, which isn't all that great at all lol, and our poor kitties had a lot of digestion problems. Once we returned to the US a friend recommend I try it for our cats. Now their puking issue is mostly gone and their coats are super soft and shiny!


Cats shouldn't eat dog food and vice versa. Vets are now recommending cats eat canned food rather than kibble. Different nutritional requirements.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

Taste of the Wild makes both cat food and dog food.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

OK , I thought you were feeding the dog food to your cats. LOL


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

haha naw, the cats have zero interest in Eva's food, though I have caught the one picking up bits of kibble from Eva's bowl and then throwing them on the floor in disdain


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

My guys are on Orijen all stages and Blue small breed canned. They were eating Evo but my Vet suggested this combo as I have an older dog who is not well so he needs the extra moisture in the canned and the Vet seemed to think the Orijen is High Protein but a better mix then the Evo. This has worked out well for all the pups. I really think it depends on the dog.

Hehe the raw feed comment made me laugh I aways think of fresh slaughter also. My thoughts of true raw are fresh kill. LOL. I went to cooking school in France in the early 70's as a young girl and they often brought sides of flesh for us to cut up. So when I hear a chef say he went to school in New York or AZ and has know idea about what to do with a side of beef, I find it curious!


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

I feed a portion of raw to my dogs every second or third day consisting of meaty bones...we are on the farm though. The bones are rather lean meat wise and mostly venison. One of the people who boards his horse here is a member of a hunting organization and he keeps me supplied. I don't find it messy at all...they first clean off the muscle tissue and tendons etc. and for the next few days gnaw on the bones. They take them outside on their trips outside to pee and bury them very often in the snow and dig them up and bring them back in to chew them more. They don't get to do this all over the house, they have an area for raw...worst nightmare would be finding something smelly gone rotten in the bed or any where else...lol. That's something I hope doesn't happen ever. 

1 ounce cubes or patties, wow, that's news to me...is it just flesh and no bones or what? I started feeding raw basically to see if a more natural canine diet...bones mostly would keep the teeth white and healthy but listening to them crunching bones makes me wonder if they will break teeth or if bones are good for them.


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## toto3d (Nov 25, 2010)

We feed Chester Wellness SuperMix Puppy kibble with a little Wellness Core wet food mixed in. We chose Wellness because it got great reviews on dogfoodadvisor.com, and it's readily available at almost every pet store in case we need food in pinch.

Oh, and he loves it


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Cailleach said:


> ...worst nightmare would be finding something smelly gone rotten in the bed or any where else...lol. That's something I hope doesn't happen ever.


No, I'll tell you a WORST nightmare...

We used to live in an old house. We had a little cat who slept under the covers with us. From time to time, she'd get out of bed, and when she came back, she'd immediately burrow down against us. So one night she did this, and half awake, I slid my had down her back... and off onto something furry... and warm... and wet...

She had brought a DEAD BAT into bed with us!!!! I'm not sure if she thought she'd have a midnight snack in bed, or whether she wanted to share with us, but either way, it left an indelible impression!ound:


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## West End Girl (Feb 18, 2011)

I feed Lola Fromm Puppy Gold & one of my reasons for choosing Fromm over Wellness (which is what I feed my Ragdolls & 1 British Shorthair), is the ability to switch flavours, add variety (no one likes to eat the same thing every day!) w/o risk of tummy upset to the dog. 

In terms of wet vs dry for cats, my cats have been on dry kibble for 5 years now w/o any issues. I think the times Vets may recommend wet/canned food for cats is when they have a tendency towards developing urinary infections.

Someone here mentioned that it depends on the dog and that is so true. Right now, my friend's Poodle is on Wellness puppy (she's 7 months), but it's not working very well- she needs a higher protein food, so she's going to try Orijen.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

krandall said:


> No, I'll tell you a WORST nightmare...
> 
> We used to live in an old house. We had a little cat who slept under the covers with us. From time to time, she'd get out of bed, and when she came back, she'd immediately burrow down against us. So one night she did this, and half awake, I slid my had down her back... and off onto something furry... and warm... and wet...
> 
> She had brought a DEAD BAT into bed with us!!!! I'm not sure if she thought she'd have a midnight snack in bed, or whether she wanted to share with us, but either way, it left an indelible impression!ound:


hahaha that reminds me of my cat we had when I was growing up. She was an avid hunter but would usually leave her kills outside. One day my mom and I got home from grocery shopping. I walk into the kitchen barefoot, arms full of bags, and step into something wet and sticky. I look down, start screaming, and throw all the bags on the ground while running into the bathroom. Turns out she had decided to bring a freshly killed and partly devoured rabbit into the kitchen while we were gone. I think I spent an hour rinsing my feet in the bathtub ound:


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

I feed my Havanese Purina Pro Plan XS for toy breeds. They love it, are generally in good weight and are very healthy. My Shelties and Collies are on Pro Plan shredded chicken. They too are in good weight. Generally, coats are also in really good shape (unless I forget to brush for a long time. I've been feeding purina products for years and have had healthy, long lived dogs.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Becky Chittenden said:


> I feed my Havanese Purina Pro Plan XS for toy breeds. They love it, are generally in good weight and are very healthy. My Shelties and Collies are on Pro Plan shredded chicken. They too are in good weight. Generally, coats are also in really good shape (unless I forget to brush for a long time. I've been feeding purina products for years and have had healthy, long lived dogs.


 My vet also recommended Purina and a few others he says they are about 15 years ahead of all these other dog food starting up and have a lot more money for research. I am glad to here that you like it and their coats do well . I was thinking of changing we feed Blue Buffalo small bites for puppy's


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

evaofnc said:


> hahaha that reminds me of my cat we had when I was growing up. She was an avid hunter but would usually leave her kills outside. One day my mom and I got home from grocery shopping. I walk into the kitchen barefoot, arms full of bags, and step into something wet and sticky. I look down, start screaming, and throw all the bags on the ground while running into the bathroom. Turns out she had decided to bring a freshly killed and partly devoured rabbit into the kitchen while we were gone. I think I spent an hour rinsing my feet in the bathtub ound:


 My cat ate my twetty bird Samantha  she would bring snakes in the house and bunnies.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Suzi said:


> My vet also recommended Purina and a few others he says they are about 15 years ahead of all these other dog food starting up and have a lot more money for research. I am glad to here that you like it and their coats do well . I was thinking of changing we feed Blue Buffalo small bites for puppy's


Stick with the Blue Buffalo JMO.


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## holt24 (Jan 21, 2011)

Becky Chittenden said:


> I feed my Havanese Purina Pro Plan XS for toy breeds. They love it, are generally in good weight and are very healthy. My Shelties and Collies are on Pro Plan shredded chicken. They too are in good weight. Generally, coats are also in really good shape (unless I forget to brush for a long time. I've been feeding purina products for years and have had healthy, long lived dogs.


Here are the ingredients:
Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn germ meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), dried egg product, animal digest, wheat bran, potassium chloride, salt, calcium phosphate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium carbonate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

this have changed over the years the foods used to be better quality. It is a matter of choice and if your pet handles the food. Mine are allergic to corn and wheat.

I have a some info about foods let me know if you want a copy- ebooks for pets health and 1st aid ect.


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

Our kibble brand is NOW...I tend to switch up at least twice a year. This food I am liking as even my very fussy eater likes it. It's pricey though at $69.00 a bag including tax. It's made here in Alberta and I like to but local. Would like to hear your opinions on the ingredients. I was surprised with the pineapple and when I inquired about it being an ingredient I was told pineapple is added for the purpose of curbing poop eating. My dogs don't eat poop but apparently there are many that do. 

Ingredients: De-boned turkey, potato flour, pea, apple, whole dried egg, pea fibre, tomato, potato, flaxseed, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E) , natural flavors, salmon, de-boned duck, sun dried alfalfa, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, flaxseed, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins: ( vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vit. C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) , minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, dl-methionine, l-lysine, chicory root extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifido bacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, Yucca schidigera extract, marigold extract, garlic powder, l-carnitine, dried rosemary

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%


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## TShot (Jan 16, 2009)

About a year ago I started feeding Petunia Fromm's Four Star. Petunia is a very picky eater, I've tried many of the premium dog foods and Fromm's is the only one she seems to enjoy eating. With teh Four-Star she gets a good variety switching between the different entrées. The Pork and Applesauce, the Beef Frittata and Salmon a la Veggie are her favorites. The only one she turns her nose up at is the Chicken La Veg
I have no plans to switch brands of dog food. Fromm's is a very good product and Petunia loves it.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

Cailleach said:


> Our kibble brand is NOW...


Kipling also gets now! small breed formula though...looking at your list of ingredients I think the small breed formula is slightly different. He disses it every now and again hoping for some parmesan but usually he eats well.

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=209


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Cailleach said:


> Our kibble brand is NOW...I tend to switch up at least twice a year. This food I am liking as even my very fussy eater likes it. It's pricey though at $69.00 a bag including tax. It's made here in Alberta and I like to but local. Would like to hear your opinions on the ingredients. I was surprised with the pineapple and when I inquired about it being an ingredient I was told pineapple is added for the purpose of curbing poop eating. My dogs don't eat poop but apparently there are many that do.
> 
> Ingredients: De-boned turkey, potato flour, pea, apple, whole dried egg, pea fibre, tomato, potato, flaxseed, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E) , natural flavors, salmon, de-boned duck, sun dried alfalfa, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, flaxseed, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins: ( vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vit. C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) , minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, dl-methionine, l-lysine, chicory root extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifido bacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, Yucca schidigera extract, marigold extract, garlic powder, l-carnitine, dried rosemary
> 
> Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%


Just because you're a Canuck I asked Sabine. Here's her reply.

"Now is made by Petcurean, the same people who make Go Natural:
http://petcurean.com/

Excellent quality food, I just wish they would offer a few simpler formulations that don't have so many different ingredients.

I feed Go from Petcurean. but canned. Recommeded by Sabine. We Canadians are making many of the best foods out there. Not just my opinion. LOL


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

davetgabby said:


> Just because you're a Canuck I asked Sabine. Here's her reply.
> 
> "Now is made by Petcurean, the same people who make Go Natural:
> http://petcurean.com/
> ...


I was hoping to hear your opinion, whoohoo Sabine approved, doesn't get much better than that. I wish there were less more simpler ingredients also. I don't mind spending for good kibble but I wanted to make sure it was of good healthy quality for the money. I read about so many different brands before I decided this was the one I would try. I add a tablespoon of canned and a bit of water when I feed also. What I like about it best is my fuss face girly hasn't turned her nose up at it yet and it's been over two months, she usually gives the "ick" I don't like it anymore at about the three week period with everything else offered her previously. Her is a naturally thin type dog and she's actually put on a tad of weight, that's huge for her.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

holt24 said:


> Here are the ingredients:
> Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), corn germ meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), dried egg product, animal digest, wheat bran, potassium chloride, salt, calcium phosphate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium carbonate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
> 
> this have changed over the years the foods used to be better quality. It is a matter of choice and if your pet handles the food. Mine are allergic to corn and wheat.
> ...


Whenever I see chicken byproduct or poultry byproduct in a food I want to puke. I used to work on a chicken farm and you don't even want to know what that stuff is uke:

What's even scarier is I've seen some pet food that just says "meat byproduct" :suspicious:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

evaofnc said:


> Whenever I see chicken byproduct or poultry byproduct in a food I want to puke. I used to work on a chicken farm and you don't even want to know what that stuff is uke:
> 
> What's even scarier is I've seen some pet food that just says "meat byproduct" :suspicious:


Don't go to the far east, then. They call them delicacies.:biggrin1:


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

haha I lived in Japan for four years. Trust me, not even they would want to eat ground up diseased animal mulch blech!


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Cailleach said:


> Our kibble brand is NOW...I tend to switch up at least twice a year. This food I am liking as even my very fussy eater likes it. It's pricey though at $69.00 a bag including tax. It's made here in Alberta and I like to but local. Would like to hear your opinions on the ingredients. I was surprised with the pineapple and when I inquired about it being an ingredient I was told pineapple is added for the purpose of curbing poop eating. My dogs don't eat poop but apparently there are many that do.
> 
> Ingredients: De-boned turkey, potato flour, pea, apple, whole dried egg, pea fibre, tomato, potato, flaxseed, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E) , natural flavors, salmon, de-boned duck, sun dried alfalfa, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, flaxseed, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins: ( vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vit. C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) , minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, dl-methionine, l-lysine, chicory root extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifido bacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, Yucca schidigera extract, marigold extract, garlic powder, l-carnitine, dried rosemary
> 
> Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%


 That sounds very tasty !
And thanks Dave I will stay with the Blue Buffalo


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## Sox (Jan 29, 2010)

Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with Halo Spot's Stew (dry) Wholesome Chicken Recipe?
http://shop.halopets.com/Dry-Dog/Adult-Dog-Dry-Chicken-4lb
Thanks!


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## holt24 (Jan 21, 2011)

Suzi I agree with Dave stay with Blue We here in the states aren't as lucky, all the advertising $ goes toward the big brands that fill their food with junk. I didn't know any better years ago and was feeding Iams to Drake and the cats- friskies. The vets get kickbacks for selling the crap, so I agree w/ Dave again don't always go with the vet - if they sell the food in the office that's a big sign.

Curious if anyone knows of the online vet- Andrew Jones- and what your thoughts are? esp. you guys from Canada


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## holt24 (Jan 21, 2011)

Sox said:


> Does anyone have any thoughts/experience with Halo Spot's Stew (dry) Wholesome Chicken Recipe?
> http://shop.halopets.com/Dry-Dog/Adult-Dog-Dry-Chicken-4lb
> Thanks!


looks yummy

oh and I now feed the cats Taste of the wild- they were on Chicken soup for the Cat lovers but Lucky keep throwing up too- much better with TOTW

oh and the stories I could tell you about Princess our little mancoon hunter- we found 5 bunnies( just their hind ends) in our back yard when we 1st moved in. Numerous rats both alive and dead lizards again both live and dead, birds again both alive and dead- all brought into the house.


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## evaofnc (Feb 22, 2011)

Our current kitties aren't allowed outside but we'll leave the balcony open to them when the weather is nice. Our one cat has become an avid leaf hunter. She'll chase them around when the wind kicks them up and then bring them inside as a prize ound:


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