Need food ideas for Irish Setter

Well, I knew my brother would try and get me back over the Shorty incident. He called the pound on me over my 7 year old Irish Setter. Now, she's a "I stole her from and abusive home" dog (but I've had her for almost 2 years now). She's all skin and bones and we can't seem to keep any weight on her. I had to get her vet checked to make sure she's ok and not being underfed/abused. She has a clean bill of health but can use weight. She's all energy and if I understood the vet correctly, she has a high metabolism and burns off her food real fast. He put her on vitamins and we're looking to change her food. I need something all 5 big dogs can go on that's not going to kill my check book.

I did find this:

Natural Balance Rolls are made with the freshest quality meats and grains, resulting in a nutritionally complete meal rich in vitamins and minerals. Natural Balance contains approximately 40% less water than canned food which means one 4 lb. roll is equivalent to twelve 13.5 oz. cans. It's made in the USA from USDA inspected meat, with no corn or soy. It contains kelp and lecithin. Use as a full feed, mix with dry food, or give as a delicious treat.

LAMB FORMULA ROLL
Lamb, Lamb Hearts, Lamb Kidneys, Lamb Lungs, Whole Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Lamb Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid source of Vitamin C) Sucrose, Ground Whole Flaxseed, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Phosphates, Brewer's Yeast, Dried Kelp Meal, Lecithin, Natural Smoke Flavor, Glycerin, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Niacin, Vitamin A Acetate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, ,Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Sodium Nitrite.

Not happy about the Lamb Lung but, any ideas? Right now they are all on Old Roy can and dry because they are all big eaters. Help?!

(Forgot to add that they are on Old Roy because of the fiber. My 11 year old has constipation problems and this food fixed it)

I have 2 dogs whose mom was a setter mix. One of them is a porko and the other is very lean. The lean one looks the most like a setter and he is all energy and burns off food fast.

How are you feeding the 5 dogs? Do they each have their own bowl and spot in the house to eat from? Do you feed them at specific times a day or are they free feeding?

I ask because if you are controlling the amount of food that they eat, it is much easier to switch your setter to a different diet. I had 5 dogs once and we fed them twice a day in their own bowl in their own space and didn't allow them in each others food. We took the bowls away when they were done. It was very easy to adjust their diet based on their weight.

I'm not great on nutrician but do know that Old Roy is not the best choice. Mine get Nutro and it keeps Spike slightly fat and Sam lean but not that lean to be concerned.

The rolls are definately a step up ... but the protein and fat is kinda low when you take the moisture into account...

I looked at protein and fat... with 40% moisture ( dry is 10) increase the % of protein 11 by 2 =about 22% fat of 5 = about 10....
protein likely is dry matter of 22-25
fat is 10-12

look at the premium large breeds if the dogs are over 60 lbs... I too recommend the Nutro line ( max is less$$ and just as good

I would highly recommend finding a nutrient-dense food for the underweight dog. This way the dog will not have to eat a large volume of food to get the amount of nutrition needed. Ol Roy contains a LOT of filler grains and dogs have to eat a LOT of it to get enough nutrition. I would look for a food that is higher calorie, fat, and protein levels.

Is there a reason all the dogs need to be on the same food? If you are free-feeding them I would definitely recommending getting them on scheduled mealtimes instead, this may help with the Setter's weight to have more structured times (plus you will know exactly how much the dog is eating.)
If you do this and use a higher-calorie food, it will make it easier to control how much each dog is eating and make sure some of the other dogs don't end up overweight.

I would suggest a higher-quality food as well that does not use cheap fillers like corn and wheat and soy, and contains a specific protein source (such as chicken) as the first ingredient. The higher quality is more expensive, but if you read the amount of food they should be eatng you will see that each bag will actually last a lot longer than the Ol Roy because they need to eat less of it. My dogs are currently on Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Barley and also have been using by Nature Brightlife formula, both of which are 28% protein and 18% fat, because I was having trouble keeping weight on my 10 year old Golden (we did a LOT of vet testing first to make sure there was no medical reason for it.) I'd recommend trying to find a good higher protein/fat food.

Whatever you do IMO i'd get off the Ol Roy right away. The FDA did a study a few years ago and they tested for the prescence of pentobarbital, a drug used in euthanasia, in dog food. Ol Roy was one of the foods that was found to contain this drug.

Good large breed foods

Nutro
Royal canin
Solid gold
Innova

Non large breeds that seem to work
Natural balence
Timberwolf
Evo


Just like a cat try to find a meat based food and aim for no more than one meat to one or two grain...

ie
food a
chicken , chicken meal , rice , oatmeal barley millet
would be one meat to 4 grains , more poop out food in

food b
chicken meal , brown rice , white rice, lamb meal oatmeal oils fat salmon meal
this is a one to one still alot going out but a bit better than a

food c
chicken rice oil fats wheat( fine provided no allergies , digest better than all other grain except rice) lamb
the least out and a one to one ...
provided the protein is moderate to high 25-30% and the fat is moderate12-15% .. I would go with c

They are all fed out of their own bowls at a certain time every day. We give them less food in the Summer then we do in the Winter. All of them (except Butch) gets about 8 cups of dry and 2 of those huge cans of wet in the winter. All of my dogs gain except Cassie. I did find Ol Roy has a type out called something like Healthy Lifestyle. The first ingerdient is either chicken or beef (I don't remember which).

The only reason we have all of them on the same brand/kind of food is it's easier and the fiber works for Butch. I did find one store that sells Chicken Soup up here but they were closed today. I wanted to get a price on it. Also, I finally found a book on just Irish Setters and it has all kinds of info about feeding in it.

I'll check out the Nutro next weekend when we get to petsmart for our cat food.

Thank you!

Definately check on the Nurto, to me, it just sounds like you are feeding huge amounts of food.

My dog is a big boy and only gets 2 cups of Nutro dry a day and half a can (14oz can) of wet.

If you're considering the Nutro I'd recommend the Nutro Natural Choice "High Energy" variety for the Setter. It is higher protein/fat/calories for dogs with high metabolisms or that have trouble keeping weight on.
Another one that might be a good choice is Nutro 'Ultra Large Breed adult', it's also fairly high protein/calories (not the Natural Choice Large Breed, but the "Ultra" large breed-- the Natural Choice one is not very high.)

Whatever you choose, remember to switch them over to the new food slowly to avoid any stomach upsets. I usually add a little bit more of the new brand each day and aim to take about 2 weeks to totally switch over.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

If you're considering the Nutro I'd recommend the Nutro Natural Choice "High Energy" variety for the Setter. It is higher protein/fat/calories for dogs with high metabolisms or that have trouble keeping weight on.
Another one that might be a good choice is Nutro 'Ultra Large Breed adult', it's also fairly high protein/calories (not the Natural Choice Large Breed, but the "Ultra" large breed-- the Natural Choice one is not very high.)

Whatever you choose, remember to switch them over to the new food slowly to avoid any stomach upsets. I usually add a little bit more of the new brand each day and aim to take about 2 weeks to totally switch over.

Click to expand...

I agree the high enrengy for ENGLISH but of the Irish owners the reg large breed ( chn or lamb not beef ) seem to work well... the protein and fat is similiar thruoghout the line in adult for large breed...26/12 being ave which is what MOST large breeds need ... I have noted issues not just weight with higher protein and fat levals

Correct me if I am off but the fat is only needing to be higher when in growth or active hunting time( four years of info from owners )

You might also want to check into Innova EVO. It's high in protein.

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php...D%271246%27%5D

Ingredients:

Turkey
Chicken
Turkey Meal
Chicken Meal
Potatoes
Herring Meal
Chicken Fat
Natural Flavors
Egg
Garlic
Apples
Carrots
Tomatoes
Cottage Cheese
Alfalfa Sprouts
Dried Chicory Root
Taurine
Lecithin
Rosemary Extract
Vitamins/Minerals
Viable Naturally Occurring Microorganisms


Nutrition Facts:

Moisture 10.0 %
Protein 42.0 %
Fat 22.0 %
Fiber 2.5 %
Calories 1929 Kcal/lb
Calories 4243 Kcal/Kg
Calories 537 KCals/Cup

My 2 dogs and 2 cats are on it. It is expensive but because it's high in protein I don't have to feed much. It will definitely help put weight on your dog.