Three Corgis diet and nutrition
I do get a lot of questions about Hambone, Cupcake and Wolfgang, but the one question that pops up the most is, “What do you feed them?” Good question. I am highly concerned about the long term health of our pets, so this is something that we have been super detailed about. Dog food is the topic of this post.
First of all, I can’t lie. Hambone, the eldest, was raised on Iams. I had no idea about premium dog food until half way through Cupcake’s life. Therefore, I feel a little bit of guilt that Hambone has not had the benefit of a solid diet. Either way, I make sure that they have the best diet that we can afford.
This post is going to focus on what their diet is right now. I have tried them all, dry, wet, organic, even raw, but within the post, I am only discussing the current regime, which is grain-free, cooked meat and vegetables. This is a new development, in my opinion, of the ever-changing landscape of pet health, which nutrition is playing a huge part in.
Chicken allergies
Our dogs are on a non-chicken diet, meaning no chicken in meals or as snacks. Basically, my well trusted Vet, Dr Streiber, was concerned with Cupcake and Hambone’s weight, which was pretty pudgy, and also Cupcake’s very pink skin. He recommended that we get them off of chicken entirely to eliminate the natural allergy to chicken. This was backed up by the Vet, Dr Vougaris at the California Rehabilition Center, as she was working on Hambone and Cupcake’s back issues. She advised that they must lose weight in order to properly address their off and on backaches. Part of her holistic approach is to move a grain-free, organic and chickenless dog food diet. OK! I get it, no chicken.
Diet and details
The first step was to switch from packaged dry to cooked meat with as many vegetables as possible. Since vegetables have little calories, it will fill them up. With the cooked protein came a supplement mix, See Spot Live Longer, a well packed mix that has everything from flax seed to algae. This is added to our pick of turkey, lean and not chicken.
I buy 6 lbs of organic dark meat turkey a week. It can get a little costly, but I know what is in their food, which is super important. I do not buy the pre-packaged turkey, as these are treated with salt. Read the package, it has salt content, not really that great. Once this is cooked and mixed with the See Spot Longer supplement, I bulk it up with cooked vegetables, a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and squash. I buy these in the frozen section. Yes, this is a bit cumbersome due to the time it takes to cook, but the proof is in the pudding! Hambone lost 8 lbs and Cupcake 6 lbs. Check out this photo below of how chubby they were.
And now? So slim and trim…
So amazing, isn’t it? The last time we had a vet check, Hambone was at 33 lbs and Cupcake at 28 lbs! I am so proud of them. They do get a lot of exercise, so don’t forget that.
New ones on the horizon
There are two new brands that I am checking out, as we speak, Fresh Fetch and Nature’s Fresh, cooked protein and vegetables.
Both boast the “grain free” mantra, which is a huge trend in dog food. And, they all come with chicken, beef, lamb, salmon and turkey options, give or take. I bought both of these at Whole Foods, which seems to be upping their game on the pet food options. I like that! I buy their raw turkey at the butcher, so being able to have that is great. The only thing that I would change is the price! Wow, are these expensive. So, here is the breakdown of the budgets that I have adopted per week:
See Spot Live Longer: 6 lbs turkey ($45) + frozen vegetables ($21) + supplement ($3) = $69
Nature’s Fresh: 6 lbs tube ($15) + frozen vegetables ($21) = $36
Fresh Fetch: 18 packs ($60) + frozen vegetables ($21) = $81
Well, if you do the math, you can see that Fresh Fetch needs to come down in price a tad to be competitive. I will try out the above and let everyone know the results. Stay tuned for more tips on healthy dog food.
How much do you feed your corgies each? I want to start feeding mine with the meat and veggies and powder as well.
I feed them 1/2 cup of meat and a cup of vegetables (or more) twice a day. did you go the site for the mix? http://www.seespotlivelonger.com let me know if you need any more advice!
Which supplement do you prefer ?
See Spot Live Longer, it is a powder that has a lot of vitamins.
I am concerned about the health of my corgi. Just because I want to make sure i am doing all that i can to support and provide a healthy lifestyle for him. When you calculated your weekly costs were you accounting for all three of your dogs? Because at the moment I am feeding him a red solo cup full of kibble around 7 pm and every now and then feeding him some scrambled eggs every couple days. But I wanted to look at reasonable priced natural type diets for him, due to me being a college student I am not able to spend a lot
Our dogs get half a cup in the morning and half a cup at dinner. both are with a ton of vegetables. if we were to go dry kibble, i would check out the different brands, like Merrick’s, Origen, etc, and decide which had the best organic and balanced ingredients. I was told to use the supplement because a protein only diet would not be enough. There are many new brands coming out into the market, and you should definitely not go for the cheapest from the grocery, as these are over filled with chicken and fillers. I keep them on a non-chicken diet by using turkey, but if i have to feed them kibble, i go with Merrick’s Grain Free Buffalo. Plus the frozen vegetables. Our email is info@threecorgis.com if you would like to discuss more. Good luck!