Taste of the Wild

The Girls have been eating Taste of the Wild for over a year now. The company that owns/manufactures the brand isn't really the best out there (that recent recall dealt a big blow to Diamond and associates) but for a relatively high-quality food for a good price, I can't really not feed them Taste of the Wild just because I may not like the owner/manufacturer or some such business. The family Matriarch doesn't want to spend more than $40 for a 30 pound bag, and since she's the one dishing out the cash, she makes the rules. So Taste of the Wild it is, except when I can find another high-quality brand on sale.

Anywho, I figured now was a good enough time to write up a review of this food.

High Prairie

Ingredients:
Bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product,dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 32% Minimum, Fat: 18% Minimum
Calcium: 2.1%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.4%, as-fed
Calories: 3,719 kcal/kg (370 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

I like the protein level and ingredients in this formula. I like how there are several named meat sources before any plant ones. I don't really care about the "exotic" meats, and fortunately that is not reflected in the price of these foods as it is with some other brands.

I started the Girls on Taste of the Wild in early May of last year. Right off the bat I began to notice differences when I switched the Girls off Pedicrap. Within two weeks their goats began to de-grease, they didn't stink or shed as much, and their breath got a little better. Poops shrank considerably and became almost odorless. Even their teeth looked slightly better.

Pacific Stream

Ingredients:
Salmon, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, canola oil, salmon meal, smoked salmon, potato fiber, natural flavor, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 25% Minimum, Fat: 15% Minimum
Calcium: 1.9%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.1%, as-fed
Calories: 3,600 kcal/kg (360 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

The protein of this formula is a bit less than I'd like. However, I like the ingredients. I prefer sweet potatoes over regular potatoes, and the sweets come before the regular, and they are followed by (canola oil) fish meals which are a concentrated source of protein. Note the probiotics. This is generally seen as a good thing to be included in pet foods, but I tend to think they are somewhat useless and do not really consider them to be a plus. I add in my own probiotics if I feel they are needed anyways.

I was not as satisfied with this formula as I was the High Prairie. The Girls are a bit less active, The muscle tone isn't as good, but their coats are very sleek and shiny. Poops are bigger and softer and a bit smellier than the higher protein formulas. The Girls really liked this formula, probably because of the strong fish smell.

Seirra Mountain

Ingredients:
Lamb, lamb meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas, canola oil, pea protein, roasted lamb, tomato pomace, natural flavor, salt, choline chloride, mixed tocopherols (a natural preservative and source of vitamin E), dried chicory root, taurine, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 25% Minimum, Fat: 15% Minimum
Calcium: 1.6%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.0%, as-fed
Calories: 3,611 kcal/kg (338 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

This formula is basically all lamb and potatoes with a few extra items. Not bad, but I generally like to see a bit more meat in a food. The protein level is again a bit low, as are the kcals per cup (lowest of the line.

The Girls has slightly lesser coat quality and their energy was lower (due to the lower kcals per cup) but this food has the best poop quality, oddly enough. You'd think a formula with less plant (fiber) sources over one with more would have smaller shits, but I guess that's not always the case.

Wetlands

Ingredients:
Duck, duck meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, roasted quail, roasted duck, smoked turkey, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product,dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 32% Minimum, Fat: 18% Minimum
Calcium: 2.1%, as-fed; Phosphorus: 1.4%, as-fed
Calories: 3,750 kcal/kg (375 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy

Since Conker has never tried Taste of the Wild, I was not opposed to feeding these foods due to the chicken content in three of the formulas. (I'll test that soon, I think he's been lying to me about the cooked chicken thing.)  I like the ingredients in this formula a lot. Plenty of protein sources before a plant, which is again sweet potatoes. There are some funny things like roasted quail and smoked turkey, and natural flavor generally turns me off, but I gave the food a shot anyways.

The results are very similar to the High Prairie. I like this formula a lot, I think the Girls actually do best on this one. Coat remained shiny and mostly odor-free, poop is pretty good, They seemed to like this one a lot too.

In general, I am very satisfied with the Taste of the Wild line. I have not tried any of their canned foods, I do not feed canned often and that's usually only when Conker is being an asshat. Again, I am not a big fan of Diamond, but with me, the bottom line is: Do the dogs do good on the food, do they like it, and can I afford it? And the answer to all three of those questions are yes. Diamond may not be the greatest company in the world, but I am quite satisfied with Taste of the Wild. I think too many people get hung up on Diamond's less-than-stellar track record and ignore the fact that this is a pretty great dog food, especially for the quality and price.
Anywho, the Girls do really good on this food. Taste of the Wild helped Sasha drop 20 pounds, and Juneau got an A+ from the Vet in the "I thought you were two years old, not six!" department. (Basically, she's in really great health.) It's affordable, easily available, and the dogs love it.


Coming soon!

Southwest Canyon

Taste of the Wild is coming out with a new formula this upcoming month, this time potato-free. The ingredients really don't look as good as the others, there are two plants sources after the first meat, and one meat meal after those then a mish-mash of other ingredients, so I do not think it's going to be as good as the other formulas. However, I am going to try it anyways and see how it compares to the others.
I was able to get a trial (5lb) bag from Petflow for $2 which will arrive in a few days. Conker will be the first one to try it, and it will be his first trial of a Taste of the Wild food. I dunno when exactly I will be trying it, I do have quite a list of foods to trial, but I may bump it up after I finish this bag of EVO and the bag of Fromm I started to try but quit for various reasons. (Going to give it one more shot before I give it an F.)
Since the Girls have two 30lb bags of Nutrisource to test out, it'll be at least two months before they get to try the new formula, if there's even a place that carries it here in GP. We tend to be on the slow-side as far as getting new products in goes, so I don't know if I'll be seeing it in October or next year or never.

Hardware Store

I took Conker to the Home Depot today. This was his first time ever going into a hardware store. I thought he was going to utterly hate it, he's not fond of buildings in general, let alone buildings that are usually noisy, but I gave it a shot anyways.
I first walked by the door and read the signs posted on it, one of which said "No Pets!" yet another said "Dogs must be on leash." So I was confuzed if dogs were or weren't allowed inside. I asked the greeter and he said that dogs were allowed, as long as they were leashed and didn't cause any issues. So I went back to the Jeep and retrieved Conker.

He was not exactly thrilled to be there, but he did a lot better than I expected. His tail only dropped when a supertall employee walked past and said hello to him, but he was generally curious, cautious, but curious, about the store. That's good, usually he shows no interest in anything but the door.

So Conker and I walked around Home Depot for a bit, picked up an electrical timer device, bought it (no treats at the register, they were out) then went back home.

The device is for the freezer. The thing runs constantly, it doesn't turn off even when it reaches the desired temperature, so I did a few experiments with unplugging it for certain periods of time and monitoring the internal temperature. I am going to try setting it to run for 30 minutes every hour and a half and see how well that maintains the temperature. If it needs more time running, or less, I'll adjust from there. But from what I gathered from my initial experiments, I think this will work fine. (And save money too.)


In other news...
All the dogs are digesting their food fine now with no signs of whatever the problems were. They are being transitioned back to their kibbles and will be fully transitioned tomorrow. I will hold off on add-ins for a few days, then test a couple items one at a time to see what could have been the trigger. Right now I am thinking it was the eggs, so I will test those first.

I bought something

Freezer... Big freezer.

Blarghiest

Sorry for the lack of anything even remotely interesting as of late.
Two of the dogs (guess who's one of them?) have had some digestive issues that I have not been able to find the cause of, Blogger finally updated my interface and I hate it, and nothing has really been going on that is worth writing about so... Yeah.
Once I get this problem with Conker and Sasha all sorted out, I'll probably be a bit more active on the blog. It just annoys the crap out of me and I don't feel like writing anything when two out of three dogs are leaving nasty messes in the backyard for a week. (Actually, Conker's only just started so that is slightly incorrect.)

Anywho, the weather suddenly got cooler, which is kinda nice.


EDIT: Okay well, Juneau had a slight issue as well, so add her to the list. Juneau's and Conker's problems look exactly alike, so that means that their problem(s) are one of these since they each got some of them yesterday:
A: EVO Red Meat, B: Raw egg, C: Beef roast chunk, D: Something else
I hope it's not D for simplicity's sake.

Reading List

Since I finally finished and returned the library books I borrowed a while ago, I can break into the small stock of books I have purchased in the past few weeks. I have recently discovered a used book store that I previously had never noticed that sells books for a really dang good deal. So I hop in there and pick myself up a few. I also bought one at another bookstore (new and used) a while ago, as well as some that I got for $1 at a yard sale. Oh, and a pair from a regular thrift store.
So, on my shelf of books to read are:

Hunting Dogs, by F.Philip Rice and John I.Dahl, first and second editions ($5 for both)
Hiking with Dogs, by Linda B. Mullally ($1)
Wolves, A Wildlife Handbook, by Kim Long ($2)
Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat ($2)
Your Dog, The Owner's Manual, by Dr. Marty Becker ($10? Can't remember exactly)
The Dog Whisperer, by Paul Owens with Norma Eckoate ($3)
A Good Dog, by Jon Katz (1 of 3 for $1)
Cesar's Way, by Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier (2 of 3 for $1)
Dog Tricks, by Captain Arthur J Haggetry and Carol Lea Benjamin (3 of 3 for $1)

Note that one book titled The Dog Whisperer. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Cesar Millan butthead. The Dog Whisperer is a positive reinforcement training book, and I am looking forwards to reading it.
The only reason why a Cesar book is on my list is because it was basically free and I have never actually read any crap written by the egotistical bastard. I'm kinda curious to see what he says in it, but not at the same time.

Somehow, this thing passed the CGC

'Ey

Conker the Shiba Inu is now a Canine Good Citizen! It's just a certificate, not anything special (and I think that titles mean just about nothing anyways) but for Conker, this is a pretty big thing.

I never really talked (on the blog) about just how bad Conker was when I got him. Think Shiba Inu puppy, that is four months old, with absolutely NO bite inhibition, terribly food aggressive towards anything that moves, not house-trained, has no manners, and is afraid of everyone but me... Basically, he was part-feral (I truly mean that), and he was a big project right from the get-go.

The worst bit was the stranger fear. It is still an ongoing process, but Conker has made some pretty big improvements in the last few months.  Conker had gotten to the point that he was good enough around strange people, where as long as they didn't bother him, that he was fine with them being close to him. As in standing right beside him. That was HUGE for Conker, and I took that as a sign that he might be ready for CGC.
He was not overly fond of the training classes we took, but by the end he would accept two of the trainers with no issue, and one of the others with only a small amount of shying away. (One of the trainers and several handlers he still would not allow to pet or groom.) Conker was even okay with being left alone for 3 minutes with some nice elderly ladies, one of whom just adored Shibas.

Anyways, I'm glad that Conker was able to pass this thing. I still have a few things I need to work on him with but I really did not think that he would be able to pass the CGC this soon. It's been just shy of two years that I've had him, and in that time he's gone from being a wild, snapping, biting, fearful, maniac to what the AKC conciders to be a good citizen.

I don't think he'd have passed if they saw how he can be at home though... He's still got a bit of that feral side in him.

CGC class week 4

Today was the last day of CGC classes. Conker did good again, still was a bit nervous with the friendly stranger thing, but the trainer thinks he will pass. We'll see how he does this Saturday.

Not much else going on today. We didn't hike because of the class, and my sister and her fiancee are in town.

13.5 miles!

Wow, we had a LONG hike today! It was a very good one too. Unfortunately, I left the camera at home, so there are no pictures of today's hike.
We ran into Logan and his owner again, and this time we hiked together for a while. Conker and Logan got along great and even ran around playing some. Then Conker disappeared off to the parking lot and started to bark at people... Logan's owner has a lot of free time now so he and I are going to hike together often since the dogs get along so great.
I also ran into another Vibram Five Finger wearer. I was like "Hmm, I see toe shoe prints..." then caught up to who made them shortly after. We hiked together for a bit too and talked about some stuff, until I had to take the trail back to where my Jeep was parked. We hope to run into each other again for another chat.
(I was wearing my Vibrams today since I sliced my foot on something yesterday.)

So, while I may not have much of a social life (none if you take away the internet) there are some people who's company I do enjoy. I just don't actively seek out other people to be around. Kinda like Conker.

Dur hur

The best part about today was that, even after this nice long hike, the first thing Conker wanted to do when we got home was... Play. It's practically impossible to wear this Energizer Rocketship Shiba out.

We went to the dog park today, something we haven't done in a long time. Nobody was there, but that was fine. Conker sniffed and ran and rolled in the sand, then we visited the creek.

Conker really likes the creek. Sometimes he visits it five times in one dog park session (about an hour, sometimes more). It seems to supercharge him and he'll run around like a rocket after going for a swim.
Some of the trees at the dog park are beginning to show signs of fall, and the temperatures reflect that. It was a very nice mild day with a slight breeze.

On our hike, Conker was less than ethsusiastic and spent most of his time either lagging way behind or way off in front speeding along and trying to take trails that led back to the parking lot.

This picture shows how darned leggy Conker is. Conker is very leggy for a Shiba.

The hike was only around 3.5 miles or so, not too long. We ran into a pack of off-leash (but polite) dogs that Conker wanted absolutely nothing to do with and ran away from, and bayed at from a distance, right at the beginning of the hike. That could have been why he wanted to leave.

Some dope stole my sister's rabbit

Scooter spends most of the summer out in a pen in the front yard. He has plenty of clover and grass to eat, a shade house, and water at all times. Some jackass took it upon themselves to "rescue" or just plain steal my sister's rabbit. He is very well cared for, has a heated hutch that he sleeps in during the winter, is given fresh veggies and some fruits on an almost daily basis, is visited by many neighbors (and some polite dogs) during the day, and pet several times a day by my younger siblings and I. We care very deeply about Scooter and would really like to have him back. My sister is very upset over this.

Pre-weekend hikes

Yesterday and today Conker and I did 4.75 and 7 miles on our evening hikes. We hadn't gone on any hikes this week, for no reason, so I wanted to get some in before the weekend hit.

Obligatory pick-nick table Shiba.

Going up Hogback. It's one of the steeper "average" trails at Cathedral Hills. I don't particularly like this section very much, but Conker likes to take it. He doesn't care for the hill (unless we are going down it) but likes the parts after it.

The top of Hogback. I like the top of the Hogback trails since they are on top of ridges (hogbacks?) and you can see the rest of the forest from them. There is usually wind up on them.

The wind was sweeping along this section, and Conker was pausing frequently to sniff it. There must have been some interesting scents, since he stopped for very long periods of time.

 

I just like this picture.

Conker investigates a scent.

There have been a number of fires in the area lately so everything had a layer of haze over it. The smoke was only barely detectable (by me).

Conker started today's hike by taking a dirt bath. I guess he was not satisfied with his clear sable coat and wanted a shaded sable (sesame) coat. There is still dirt in his fur. I might need to give him a rinse soon.

He is getting more and more comfortable ranging out from me. He stops to check my whereabouts quite often so I let him go out pretty far if the trail is not too curvy. (This is not far at all, it's only about 30 feet or so. He goes out a LOT farther than that at times.)

We stopped on this bench for a water and scenery break.

The sun made the trees appear as if there was a large fire behind them.

The sunsets were pretty good on both days, thanks to the smoke haze that stuck around.

The Kibble Trails: New Contestant #7 EVO Red Meat (Small Bites)

I stopped the previous food due to some nasty digestive issues that began to occur when I started to feed it, and also since I bought some new kibble that was going to expire soon so I bumped back the other one and started to feed this one instead. The digestive problems have vanishes so far, so I figured I'd introduce the food properly now.

I spied a few bags of EVO on sale at the Grange for a good price. (13.2bs for $25, 28.6lbs for $50) They had Red Meat (small and large bites), Herring & Salmon, and Weight Management. (Holy shit check out the protein levels in the WM food!) They might have had Senior as well, but I can't remember.
I only bought one 13.2lb since the food was set to expire soon and I didn't want to stock up on stuff that would go bad before I could use it.

Anywho, I ended up with a bag of the Red Meat Small Bites.

Ingredients: 
Beef, Lamb Meal, Potatoes, Eggs, Sunflower Oil, Buffalo, Lamb, Venison, Herring Oil, Natural Flavors, Apples, Carrots, Tomatoes, Alfalfa Sprouts, Cottage Cheese, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins: (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Betaine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Beta Carotene, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Folic Acid), Minerals: (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper, Dried Chicory Root, Direct-Fed Microbials: (Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product)

Guaranteed Analisys:
Crude Protein (Min)     42.0 %
Crude Fat (Min)     22.0 %
Crude Fiber (Max)     2.5 %
Moisture (Max)     10.0 %
Carbohydrates NFE (Max)     15.0 %
Linoleic Acid (an Omega-6 Fatty Acid) (Min)     1.2 %
Vitamin E (Min)     300.0 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (Min)     500.0 mg/kg
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Min)     0.4 %
DHA + EPA (Min)     0.1 %
Total Microorganisms (Min)     90,000,000.0 CFU/lb
4370.0 kcal/kg
27.0 kcal/cup


This is the highest protein dry food Conker has eaten since I attempted to feed him Orijen Puppy way back in St. Louis. (If you don't know already, that did not go very well at all.) Conker normally gets a protein level that's identical to the one in this food with the homemade stuff, but this is dry and that is packed with moisture.
This bag should last for the rest of the month. I might add in some canned or an egg every now and then, but not every day like I do with most other kibbles.

EVO's website has a feeding calculator that can be used to determine how much food a dog should get. I generally do not follow the guidelines on bags or websites since they are usually wrong when it comes to my dogs, but it can give a starting place if one is not sure how much to feed of a new food. (They almost always overestimate by a lot how much to feed.) Conker has been getting one cup a day, but that could change.

Anyways, so far he's been able to digest it fine with no problems. I had to switch him off the Fromm cold turkey because of the digestive problems but he handled the switch without problems. (Sometimes he does not.)

CGC class week 3

Conker did really good today. We did the usual heeling, then we worked on greeting a friendly stranger and supervised separation. Conker was, like normal, shy of the friendly stranger, but he did GREAT with the supervised separation. That kinda shocked me. No whining or looking for me, just chilling with the lady in a lawn chair. So, that's really good.
He did some very nice heeling, good recall, stays, downs, sits, etc... He wasn't so fond of the noise distractions, but he was good with the crowd. He also did good with the thing where two people with dogs walk towards each other and say hello, but the dogs don't. (Can't remember what that's called.)

Anywho, one more week of class to go, then after that is the CGC test! Hopefully Conker will be ready for it by then.

Nights are getting chilly

It was a dastardly 46 degrees last night. Both outside and in the trailer. I closed all the windows and door (I usually have that open with the screen door closed at night) but that did not help warm the trailer much. While the trailer can have heat, it runs on propane, and I'd rather not do that (expensive). So I don't have any heat (yet) and had to figure something out to keep myself warm.
Already on the bed is a sheet, micro-fleece blanket, poly-fleece blanket, and pseudo-sleeping bag. I added an additional layer last night to combat the chilly air. Not the heavy-duty sleeping bag I reserve for the dead of winter. Not the wool blanket I jacked from the yard sale last year. No, I broke out...

The queen sized dual control heating blanket. And cranked it up to level 7 (out of 10).

It was cold enough that even Conker didn't want to stay on top of the covers and ended up squashed up against my face under the heating blanket. But alas, I was so annoyed with how cold it had suddenly gotten that I didn't actually fall asleep until about 7:30 AM.

The predicted temperature for tonight is from 54 to 48 degrees, depending on the site you use. This time if it gets cold enough, I will be prepared. I'll have that thing running before I even get into bed.  See, being the desert creature that I am, it's gotta be warm, even hot sometimes, in order for me to sleep good. If I am the least bit chilled, I won't sleep at all. Which is basically what happened last night.

Once he joined my face under the covers, Conker slept quite soundly. As usual.

Today the Girls got some raw yumms.

Chicken backs, ground beef, lamb liver, beef thymus, and eggs. Conker didn't get any. I gave him 3/4 cup of EVO Red Meat, we'll see how that goes either tonight or tomorrow.

Switching things up

So, I found a bag of EVO Red Meat for cheap, and since it's got the closest expiration date, I will be trying it out. I'm going to put the Fromm Salmon on hold for now, since when I began to feed it to Conker, he started having odd poop problems that I haven't seen in a long long time. If they continue, then I will investigate further. But for now, I'm hoping that a food change will stop the nasty from occurring.