# Let the Farmina Samples begin



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Just received our samples today and just gave the dogs and cat a few samples to try out. First, the cat had JUST eaten, his regular Evolve canned plus fromm kibble (grain free surf n turf). He left half.

When I opened the envelope from Farmina he was instantly on the counter meowing and sniffing and BITING the bags LOL. He then proceeded to eat about ¼ cup worth of the boar flavor.  There's a generous amount of sample in there, to last him a couple more meals.

The dog food (chicken) has a very large kibble size, reminiscent of how Iams used to be. Bigger than the average sized kibbles these days but even Cookie, my 4 lb chihuahua with 8 teeth, crunched them in half easily. Jack, my irritatingly picky poodle, usually spits out new kibble and he has to starve for a couple meals before he tries anything new. Well he crunched down several and asked for more. Echo and Darby equally enjoyed the kibbles and wanted more more more! (but they will eat anything!). 

When I first opened the bag, the food smelled really good. Like really good! Fresh like a roasted chicken. 

SO... if Chewy ever gets its rear in gear I may try a bag and see how everyone does on it.

Did you get your samples yet?


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Yes, my dogs gobbled it up  I'm very excited to order a bag of this food.


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Also, impressed with how dark and meaty smelling the food is...


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

We got our samples today as well. All of mine were thrilled with it. Even my super picky pup. It was the ancestral cereal chicken.


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Celt said:


> We got our samples today as well. All of mine were thrilled with it. Even my super picky pup. It was the ancestral cereal chicken.


I have heard from a few friends with very picky dogs, that they went crazy for the samples. It looks and smells very meaty, I guess that's probably why!


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I chatted with Anthony at Chewy.com last night and he thinks it will be there mid March. <sigh> The next thing, coming all the way from Italy, will there be shipping/supply issues. 
It's comparable to Acana or Orijen but those both have phosphorus 1.4%+. In an ideal world for me it would be 1% or below (this is what I learned from Dr.Doolittle and I'm not sure just exactly "how" concerned I need to be about that).


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

Celt said:


> We got our samples today as well. All of mine were thrilled with it. Even my super picky pup. It was the ancestral cereal chicken.


The food you received is 30% protein and 18% fat and low ash of 6.80%. The two grains, farro and oats, are only 20% of the weight.

The reasons the diets feed so well are 1) the animal protein content is 92% - 97% of the total protein content, 2) the production process using twin-screw extruders is very gentle on the ingredients, 3) we don't make and inventory food, all food is made to order and all ingredients are ordered for an order, and 4) if you look at the food you notice that the kibble has absorbed the fat like a sponge, that is Vacuum Infusion. The fats go deep into the pieces and stay fresh.

Our foods are extremely high in animal protein. In fact, in many of the foods you lovely people received, just the first two ingredients are 50% or more of the whole formula.

We now have 6 distributors in 35 states, covering close to 3,000 stores. We are working on the 7th distributor to add another 7 states, including Florida.

Ciao.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I got mine this week as well!


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

InkedMarie said:


> I got mine this week as well!


Did they like them? I'm thinking this could be a great food for Boone.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

meggels said:


> Did they like them? I'm thinking this could be a great food for Boone.


Boone's back on raw. I sent my vet printouts of 30 different foods; Farmina wasn't one she recommended, at least not to start. So, for now, he's eating goat.


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

InkedMarie said:


> Boone's back on raw. I sent my vet printouts of 30 different foods; Farmina wasn't one she recommended, at least not to start. So, for now, he's eating goat.


We have a half dozen at our company...please any questions let us know.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

FarminaND said:


> We have a half dozen at our company...please any questions let us know.


will do, thank you


----------



## NewfieAussie (Feb 19, 2013)

I got some Farmina samples today in the mail that I requested, Wild Boar GF, Fish GF and Chicken Pomegranate. Thank you Farmina.

I am using the samples as treats, and let me tell you my pups turned into obedience machines! This food smells so good that they gave me full attention and I haven't seen them so focused. 

At our house we seem to like bigger kibble and this is on the bigger side and it crunches and they chew it. I love the crunch! No inhaling small pieces.

Newfie is now laying by the refrigerator where I have it on top. She wants MORE now!


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Well, the grain free wild boar was not as well accepted. They have been picking at it but not as gung ho as for the ancestral cereal. The kibble seems to be a bit harder to chew for my lot.


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

And, Windy the cat ate the Wild Boar kibble this morning. Why? She has only eaten chicken kibble since I've had her. I've spent a fortune on different kibble and different proteins for her and she's never touched anything but chicken. This is weird. I'm going to have be careful as she won't touch the other kibble now. 
When do you think the bigger bags will be available Farmina?


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

MollyWoppy said:


> And, Windy the cat ate the pork kibble this morning. Why? She has only eaten chicken kibble since I've had her. I've spent a fortune on different kibble and different proteins for her and she's never touched anything but chicken. This is weird. I'm going to have be careful as she won't touch the other kibble now.
> When do you think the bigger bags will be available Farmina?


2-3 weeks. She loves the Wild Boar? It is not pork, it is actually the wild species.


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

FarminaND said:


> 2-3 weeks. She loves the Wild Boar? It is not pork, it is actually the wild species.


Yes, I'm really sorry about that. I wasn't home and couldn't remember the exact name. 
If I'm in Florida, I need to buy it from Chewy.com right?


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

It's supposed to be available on chewy mid march according to the chewy chat guy, Anthony. I checked. My dogs and cat love it too. But due to sales, now I have Acana cat grasslands, 4Health whitefish/potato (cat), for the dogs I got one of each grain free 4Health foods (4 lb bags) and one more Merrick chicken/sweet potato plus open bags of merrick beef/sweet potato and fromm beef frittata for the dogs and open bag of fromm surf n turf for cat (he loved but now hates, THANKS Farmina lol). 

Plus a whole shelf of assorted dog and cat cans before I'll order any Farmina. 

But all pawed creatures here say that's what they want!


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

For those with dogs with sensitive tummies, how has the food been working in the stool department? 

As some of you know, Vee is super sensitive.


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Mine got 2 meals out of the samples, "cold turkey" switch to them and stools were perfectly fine the next day, even Jack the cannon-butt man. LOL


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Get some samples LITW and give it a try. You've got nothing to lose if it doesn't cost you anything to find out.


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

MollyWoppy said:


> Get some samples LITW and give it a try. You've got nothing to lose if it doesn't cost you anything to find out.


I requested samples yesterday and they said their sending them  

The only thing I have to lose is my dog having loose stool  She's so sensitive that sometimes if she has the wrong thing, she'll have explosive terribleness in the house. Thank god for hard wood floors though! I'm excited to try this food. The rep recommended the cod for my pup so that's what their sending...nervous because fish has never settled well with her as far as with Fromm, Diamond, or Honest Kitchen Zeal(gas central!). But the Fromm and the Diamond both had chicken and fish in them so it could have been that or a number of other things. Fingers crossed!


----------



## Matsuro (Apr 19, 2013)

I think I will order samples, but wait until the shipment is closer to feed it. I don't want Molly to refuse her current food. I decided to switch flavors since she wasn't interested in the Fromm Salmon A La veg anymore.

ETA: Just sent off a request for samples.

I'm curious, did anyone take pictures of the kibbles? I'm curious about the kibble size of each of them. Because the Fromm Pork and Applesauce is bigger than the Salmon a la Veg kibble.


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

Matsuro said:


> I think I will order samples, but wait until the shipment is closer to feed it. I don't want Molly to refuse her current food. I decided to switch flavors since she wasn't interested in the Fromm Salmon A La veg anymore.
> 
> ETA: Just sent off a request for samples.
> 
> I'm curious, did anyone take pictures of the kibbles? I'm curious about the kibble size of each of them. Because the Fromm Pork and Applesauce is bigger than the Salmon a la Veg kibble.


Kibble size is considerably larger than Fromm. In the close to 1,000 samples that have been sent out, many have been sent to very picky Yorkshire Terriers and people have said even for that small a breed the kibble size is fine. 

I have received many emails that both dogs and cats were not happy with their current foods after trying ours 

Ciao


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I've been feeding a little bit here and there to Jackson over the past few days from our sample. He seriously LOVES it. Kibble is pretty big IMO but isn't a problem for 17lb Jackson at all. I cannot WAIT to order a full bag because he's not wanting to eat current food now as much.


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

Tried it today. I gave two kibbles to the dog as treats and she seemed okay with them. The cats went nuts. They LOVE the boar. Holy crap. Kitty crack!


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Haha, so it's not just Windy!


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

MollyWoppy said:


> Haha, so it's not just Windy!



Nope! Tank is super picky so I'm a little shocked!


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

leaveittoweaver said:


> Nope! Tank is super picky so I'm a little shocked!


Yeah, nope! Poppy went nuts for it, too, and was on a hunger strike for 2 days before he gave in and at his fromm.


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

Shamrockmommy said:


> Yeah, nope! Poppy went nuts for it, too, and was on a hunger strike for 2 days before he gave in and at his fromm.



Hahah. Which Fromm is Poppy on?


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I had to blender Windy's old kibble and some of the Farmina to get her to eat. I could throttle her, feeding a cat shouldn't be this hard. She's now eating the old kibble again, but man, it drives me crazy. I just get so worried that she'll get that fatty liver disease so I don't tough her out.


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

MollyWoppy said:


> I had to blender Windy's old kibble and some of the Farmina to get her to eat. I could throttle her, feeding a cat shouldn't be this hard. She's now eating the old kibble again, but man, it drives me crazy. I just get so worried that she'll get that fatty liver disease so I don't tough her out.


Yes we tricked Windy into eating NV by dusting it with ground Farmina N&D!!!!!!

The response has been the same with dogs too, especially smaller breeds.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

FarminaND said:


> Yes we tricked Windy into eating NV by dusting it with ground Farmina N&D!!!!!!
> 
> The response has been the same with dogs too, especially smaller breeds.


So, instead of fairy dust, it's Farmina dust? :wink::wink:


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

InkedMarie said:


> So, instead of fairy dust, it's Farmina dust? :wink::wink:



Marie, siete sicuramente sei un angelo mandato da Dio stesso! :becky:


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

FarminaND said:


> Marie, siete sicuramente sei un angelo mandato da Dio stesso! :becky:


If my translator worked correctly, ive never been called that before!


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Wow Farmina, that was sweet  

You know I check chewy daily.... Farmina where are you!


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

Still nothing at chewy


----------



## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I know . . . I keep checking also. I wonder if there are shipping problems coming into the U.S.

I communicated with a distributor earlier this month who said he was expecting his first shipment the middle of March and then it should appear soon in area stores. So far nothing.


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

PDXdogmom said:


> I know . . . I keep checking also. I wonder if there are shipping problems coming into the U.S.
> 
> I communicated with a distributor earlier this month who said he was expecting his first shipment the middle of March and then it should appear soon in area stores. So far nothing.


Several containers are in the USA now. They arrived at Port Newark.

They will be where they need to be next week, promise, hoping Monday to PA (chewy & zeiglers) and the west coast later in the week.

Three more are due to arrive in Mid-April.


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Awesome! 
Thanks for the update.


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

At least Zeiglers list N&D on their website, so far nothing on Chewy. I wonder how long if chewy gets it monday will it appear on their site.


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

chewys website wont load, maybe they are updating it for farmina LOL


----------



## Matsuro (Apr 19, 2013)

They don't have it listed so far, was just on it. I received my sample as well last week.


----------



## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

chewy is going to alert me when it arrives. not as of yet.


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Hope Farmina comes in soon for everyone!


----------



## ChicagoDog (Jul 18, 2013)

I've been waiting since I've heard about the food last year. Was suppose to be available last September, maybe even earlier. I wonder what the hold up was. Anyways on their facebook page:



> Farmina USA Its supposed to be delivered to Chewy tomorrow morning.


----------



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Where did you all get samples of this new food?


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Go to their FarminaUSA Facebook page and PM them with your address and they'll send them right to you.


----------



## ChicagoDog (Jul 18, 2013)

BrownieM said:


> Where did you all get samples of this new food?


You can request samples from www.facebook.com/FarminaUSA, if you use Facebook or go to Info | Farmina Pet Foods - Happy pet. Happy You. and send a request thru their website.


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

chewy told me today still would be 2-3 weeks before its available, so i am gonna try fromm 4 start surf and turf. Cant wait that long


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 25, 2014)

zootv said:


> chewy told me today still would be 2-3 weeks before its available, so i am gonna try fromm 4 start surf and turf. Cant wait that long


Wow are you serious?? That's a bummer  I need to put an order in and was going to wait till Farmina was available, but I give up. Hopefully it will finally be available by the time my next bag of food is gone.


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

MarieLovesChis said:


> Wow are you serious?? That's a bummer  I need to put an order in and was going to wait till Farmina was available, but I give up. Hopefully it will finally be available by the time my next bag of food is gone.


I know, i dont know who to believe at this point. But i am not going to start transitioning to a new food and then switch again a month later. My aussie is sensitive to food changes so i have to do it over a 2-3 week period ....


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 25, 2014)

Ah that sucks. Luckily my girl has an iron gut, I can switch up her foods randomly with no problems. But I'm not going to worry about waiting for the food anymore either as I had to buy another bag which is about 2 months of food for my dog.


----------



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah, the wait has been SO long, and then I worry about availability once it finally is on chewy. I finally found something for my 2 very sensitive tummy dogs now anyway, and I"m no longer willing to put them through any further food changes, so I won't be ordering any Farmina any time soon. Maaaaaybe for the cat. Maybe.


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

zootv said:


> chewy told me today still would be 2-3 weeks before its available, so i am gonna try fromm 4 start surf and turf. Cant wait that long


Seriously? Ugh. I'm just going to have to order another food for now. We're running low and I was hoping to wait. But oh well.


----------



## FarminaND (May 23, 2013)

Jacksons Mom said:


> Seriously? Ugh. I'm just going to have to order another food for now. We're running low and I was hoping to wait. But oh well.


No one has more information or more accurate information about where the food is than me. There is 75,000 lbs less than 2 hours from the Chewy warehouse in Harrisburg, PA. It was supposed to be delivered there today at 6 am but there is a shortage of trucks that can transport containers. It is very frustrating that the weather in February has caused such a shipping backlog. The food will be there soon and the problem will go away.


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 25, 2014)

FarminaND said:


> No one has more information or more accurate information about where the food is than me. There is 75,000 lbs less than 2 hours from the Chewy warehouse in Harrisburg, PA. It was supposed to be delivered there today at 6 am but there is a shortage of trucks that can transport containers. It is very frustrating that the weather in February has caused such a shipping backlog. The food will be there soon and the problem will go away.


That's good and all, but the problem is we just keep hearing "soon" but soon never comes. Unfortunately, it seems a lot of us can't keep holding off on our orders based on soon hwell:


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I don't care, a few days/weeks whatever delay is nothing, my only concern is the quality of the food I will be feeding my pet. Not much anyone can do about weather holdups anyway. Things happen, that's life.


----------



## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> I don't care, a few days/weeks whatever delay is nothing, my only concern is the quality of the food I will be feeding my pet. Not much anyone can do about weather holdups anyway. Things happen, that's life.


MollyWoppy I think what you really mean is "she'll be right" ha ha. (ps. if you are not familiar with the kiwi vernacular you won't understand this)


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

Well quality vs starvation? Or diarrhea brought on from too fast a food change? There are other dog foods equally as good and some of us have to move on. My only problem is it late March now not February and repeatedly told "just a few more days" adds up to a few weeks. I am not even sure all the backend stuff has been setup at chewy, meaning website updates/pricing ect. There is a lot to do in warehouse distribution. So even it if the food were to arrive today, chewy still have to process it and possibly do all that other stuff. So there time line of 2 weeks is more realistic for me.


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Oh, I still use that term a lot sozzle. No, she'll be right mate. It's inbred. Trouble is, here people think you're speaking in the third person and you get a lot of weird looks. Sigh.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I don't get the big deal. Us in the northeast have had a heckuva winter. Apparently that prevented delivery of food. Buy a bag of your normal food then buy Farmina next time. What if it was in today & the ups was behind in delivery, truck broke down etc? No one should be dependent on ordering food where you're *that close* to running out that you're worried about transitioning and tummy upsets.


----------



## MarieLovesChis (Mar 25, 2014)

Where on Earth did anyone say it was a big deal? All any of us stated was that it's a shame we couldn't switch over since we're low on food. Now that we had to restock, we're no longer going to buy Farmina any time soon. I don't see how you assume anyone thinks it's a big deal...


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

MarieLovesChis said:


> Where on Earth did anyone say it was a big deal? All any of us stated was that it's a shame we couldn't switch over since we're low on food. Now that we had to restock, we're no longer going to buy Farmina any time soon. I don't see how you assume anyone thinks it's a big deal...


Exactly, it isn't a big deal 

If you want to wait it out, fine but don't imply that just because we can't that we don't care about the quality of food we feed our pets. That is absurd.


----------



## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

zootv said:


> Exactly, it isn't a big deal
> 
> If you want to wait it out, fine but don't imply that just because we can't that we don't care about the quality of food we feed our pets. That is absurd.


Oh God. My only concern in this life is the quality of the food I feed my cat. I don't care what you feed. I don't get why people are so upset. I'm the one feeding the crappy food.


----------



## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

I have no problem being told there is a wait. I do have a problem being yanked around, it concerns me when the two companies are clearly not communicating very well and one says one thing while the other says something different. 

It's very frustrating. But it's also something I deal with every day at work, the vendor doesn't ship us food, we call the vendor and they have plenty in stock, so they don't know why it didn't go out, or they tell you they don't have it in stock and they don't know why, so then you call the dog food company themselves who tell you that there are no production problems. Super annoying. But manufacturing shortages are something that does need to be expected to some degree. There may be a time when your animal's food is not available and you will have to switch abruptly, or it will be recalled, etc. 

It's not a big deal, just annoying when no one knows one way or another.


----------



## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

farmina can come back and answer but when stuff is shipped by boat, there are delays that are out of everyone's hands. including chewy.
it has nothing to do with production problems, rather the rules of stuff shipped from europe by boat.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

zootv said:


> Exactly, it isn't a big deal
> 
> If you want to wait it out, fine but don't imply that just because we can't that we don't care about the quality of food we feed our pets. That is absurd.


It sounded like some thought it was a big deal. I mentioned nothing about the quality of food. You said "if you want to wait it out...just because we can't"...lol, I don't think you have a choice since Chewy doesn't have it yet!


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I think Farmina should have kept quiet & let it show up when it does.


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

So if several containers where in the US on the 22nd, and few of them 2 hours away from chewy on the 24th ...that should make them 30mins away from chewy today.


----------



## Cady-Ren (Mar 2, 2014)

I have thought of using this food, but will go to Fromm instead for now. I will wait & see how it goes. If this shipment was held up what about subsequent ones?? Was the boat slowed by winter weather? The big snows of winter have been over here in PA since February. I won't be ordering for a good while until I can see if availability is constant.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

I sent an e-mail to the distributor for Washington State, Oregon, where I live, and Idaho and asked when Farmina would be available to local retailers in my area. He replied very quickly and wrote that it should be available in about two weeks. 

Since I just started a new bag of the Acanna Singles I have been using, and my two dogs are small and don't eat that much, I should be OK. If not, I will simply get another bag of the Acanna and use it before trying the transition to Farmina. 

I do have a bit of a concern though regarding the size of the kibble. Pugs tend to really wolf down their food and have been known to choke because of it. 

Although I do tend to flood the kibble with water, so, perhaps, that slows him down enough so that the kibble size may not be an issue.

I think that I am going to have to give this some more thought before going to Farmina.


----------



## AngelaPrimanti (Feb 24, 2014)

LProf said:


> I sent an e-mail to the distributor for Washington State, Oregon, where I live, and Idaho and asked when Farmina would be available to local retailers in my area. He replied very quickly and wrote that it should be available in about two weeks.
> 
> Since I just started a new bag of the Acanna Singles I have been using, and my two dogs are small and don't eat that much, I should be OK. If not, I will simply get another bag of the Acanna and use it before trying the transition to Farmina.
> 
> ...


Lots of breeds eat fast, Labs, for example. The best way to slow them down is to use a food with larger pieces so they learn to chew, or use a slow-down bowl. A heavy muffin tin with the food distributed in each cup is something breeders use to teach puppies to eat slower. Royal Canin has a shape for pugs that makes it hard for them to swallow the kibble. I suspect a larger kibble size will do the trick once they learn. You can hand feed them a larger kibble so they learn to chew. Small kibble will always allow the dog to eat faster and gulp more air.

Flooding or floating kibble in water is not a good idea. Maybe it does slow them down but forcing a dog to ingest water, and probably much more than they would drink in an entire day, doesn't seem like a good way to approach the problem. It is one of these internet myths that seems to have a life of its own.


----------



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I slow down my fast eater by mixing about 1/4 can of canned food in her dry food.


----------



## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Two weeks, cool. I hope my local place gets some in then.

I don't bother trying to slow my dogs down unless they choke every time they eat. After handling at a sleddog kennel and seeing how dang fast those dogs inhale their food with absolutely no problems, I am not the least bit worried about mine eating quickly.
I do put water in their kibble, but I don't flood it. At most it's a 50/50 mix of kibble and water, but usually less water than kibble. Kibble size doesn't affect my fast eater.


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

The Farmina kibble, I got had a decent sized kibble. I wished they had been available when our elderly golden was around and often ended up choking on smaller kibble. So few kibbles are "large" pieces, most seem to be more nibbles than chunks. I've added water to kibble since before computers were "around", mostly because plain dry kibble makes me feel like their eating dry cereal without milk.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

Wait, are you guys saying that my Pug is less likely to choke on a larger kibble.like the Farmina, then a smaller one, like say, Instinct? Really!


----------



## zootv (Mar 8, 2014)

I add a little water for my aussie to her dry ... is it swimming in water, no. But instead of a slow down bowl, which chipped her tooth, the added water plus a few minute wait time make it more like wet food slower her down enough where she doesn't get regurg.


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I can't say on if larger kibble will be less likely for your pug to choke on but it did help our old man. With small kibble pieces, he would grab a mouthful, kinda chew it, then swallow. He didn't choke eating this way when he was younger but he started choking more often in his elderly years. Large kibble "forced" him to take smaller mouthfuls and to chew more. I'm sure there are dogs out there that will try and swallow large chunks and end up choking but for us, so far, larger pieces end up being "chewed" more than smaller pieces. My iggies will crunch through small kibble bits and eat larger kibble pieces one or two at a time. Each dog is unique and "special" which makes it a pain to try and come up with any "absolutes" with them.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks, Celt. We have not experienced any choking while eating with our Pug, but read about it on a Pug Forum I frequent. So, just didn't want to increase the potential.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Cady-Ren said:


> I have thought of using this food, but will go to Fromm instead for now. I will wait & see how it goes. If this shipment was held up what about subsequent ones?? Was the boat slowed by winter weather? The big snows of winter have been over here in PA since February. I won't be ordering for a good while until I can see if availability is constant.


This is one of many reasons that I think every dog should have a few foods they do well on. When Farmina is out, why not try it if you're interested? If your dog does well on it, that's great, buy it again. If it's out, go back to what he was on before. Using a variety of foods is a smart idea for everyone.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

InkedMarie said:


> This is one of many reasons that I think every dog should have a few foods they do well on. When Farmina is out, why not try it if you're interested? If your dog does well on it, that's great, buy it again. If it's out, go back to what he was on before. Using a variety of foods is a smart idea for everyone.


This idea of using a variety of foods is new to me. I understand the idea of using the same brand and rotating among different proteins within that same brand. That way there is no need to slowly transition to the new food. 

But, if we are talking here about a variety of different brands of food, don't I then have to slowly transition to the different brands of food each time I switch?


----------



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

LProf said:


> This idea of using a variety of foods is new to me. I understand the idea of using the same brand and rotating among different proteins within that same brand. That way there is no need to slowly transition to the new food.
> 
> But, if we are talking here about a variety of different brands of food, don't I then have to slowly transition to the different brands of food each time I switch?


If you feed a variety of foods in a "consistent" manner then transitioning becomes a moot point. I feed my dogs everything but the kitchen sink. Different brands, "flavors", even "diet". I haven't, to date, had a dog have any digestion problems which imo is because of the way I feed.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

LProf said:


> This idea of using a variety of foods is new to me. I understand the idea of using the same brand and rotating among different proteins within that same brand. That way there is no need to slowly transition to the new food.
> 
> But, if we are talking here about a variety of different brands of food, don't I then have to slowly transition to the different brands of food each time I switch?


First, here are some reasons to have a variety of brands that work for your dog: What if there is a recall, what if you can't find the food, what if it all of a sudden doesn't agree with your dog or what if they change the formula?

As far as transitioning, it depends on your dog. Two of my three can change just like that with no tummy upset. The other one is so-so. Slow transition, to ME, is 5 days. 

What does transition have to do with buying a bag of Farmina to try when it's available? Not sure if I missed something.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

InkedMarie said:


> First, here are some reasons to have a variety of brands that work for your dog: What if there is a recall, what if you can't find the food, what if it all of a sudden doesn't agree with your dog or what if they change the formula?
> 
> As far as transitioning, it depends on your dog. Two of my three can change just like that with no tummy upset. The other one is so-so. Slow transition, to ME, is 5 days.
> 
> What does transition have to do with buying a bag of Farmina to try when it's available? Not sure if I missed something.


It has nothing to do with it, I just switched topics when I read about different foods. Sorry for any confusion.


----------



## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

Celt said:


> If you feed a variety of foods in a "consistent" manner then transitioning becomes a moot point. I feed my dogs everything but the kitchen sink. Different brands, "flavors", even "diet". I haven't, to date, had a dog have any digestion problems which imo is because of the way I feed.


OK, got it. Thanks.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

LProf said:


> It has nothing to do with it, I just switched topics when I read about different foods. Sorry for any confusion.


LOL okay, we went out last night and I don't do great on five hours of sleep


----------

