# Starting a rotation diet with my Border Collie



## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Right now she is eating Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural. I was planning on feeding this food for awhile until I found out about ash and contacted the company for the %. It is 12%! So I decided to start rotating after this 6 lb bag is gone. Next food I bought is TOTW Sierra Mountain. I plan to only buy the small bags companies make, they usually range from 4-6 lbs I think. Reason being is because she is taking a little over a month to get through this 6lb bag. She only eats 1/3 cup twice a day, so not much. 
Anyway just wondering what foods you rotate and if you have any tips or insight?


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

Hey you (it's Javadoo)....in my rotation right now I am feeding:

TOTW Pacific Stream
TOTW High Prairie
TOTW Sierra Mountain
NV Instinct Duck & Turkey Meal
Now!!
Fromm Beef Frittata
Fromm Surf & Turf
Fromm Gamebird
Fromm Salmon Tunalini (just started our first bag)
I also have a bag of Go! to try soon. 

Good luck....and just be sure to introduce foods slowly. Keep an eye on all the major indicators (eyes, ears, coat, skin, weight, poops) to decide if a food is working.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Javadoo said:


> Hey you (it's Javadoo)....in my rotation right now I am feeding:
> 
> TOTW Pacific Stream
> TOTW High Prairie
> ...


Hey Gina! I think I will look into ordering a bag of NV or Fromm. After the TOTW is close to gone of course. I have never found Fromm around here in stores. How old were Java and Moka when you started the rotation diet for them? I am wondering when I could start it with Emma my lab, she is 11 months now.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I tend to go a somewhat conservative route with rotating; and with an 11 month old I'd personally sticked to rotating between 2 formulas for the next half year.

I've found that Fromm tends to show up in certain areas of the country more than others; plus it usually seems to be in larger cities. They do tend to be low ash formulas, but it just seems nice not to have to order foods.

An easier brand to find in my experience is NutriSource. Their grain-free chicken only has 7.5% ash which I think is very good. Grain Free Chicken Formula Dog Food


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

PDXdogmom said:


> I tend to go a somewhat conservative route with rotating; and with an 11 month old I'd personally sticked to rotating between 2 formulas for the next half year.
> 
> I've found that Fromm tends to show up in certain areas of the country more than others; plus it usually seems to be in larger cities. They do tend to be low ash formulas, but it just seems nice not to have to order foods.
> 
> An easier brand to find in my experience is NutriSource. Their grain-free chicken only has 7.5% ash which I think is very good. Grain Free Chicken Formula Dog Food


I don't even have to start rotating with the 11 month old yet. Especially if it will mess with her growing, because she will still grow till two years old.
I definitely want to with my 8 year old border collie though. 
I have fed the grain nutrisources before but not the grain free. The store with the grain formulas does not carry the grain free and I never asked them to order itbecause it is just a small hardware with not much shelf space. I agree though that it is easier to not order online. Once we move in Mat we will be much closer to pet food stores and it will be easy to get some of these formulas.


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## DogLuver (Oct 19, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> An easier brand to find in my experience is NutriSource. Their grain-free chicken only has 7.5% ash which I think is very good. Grain Free Chicken Formula Dog Food


PDXdogmom, may I ask...do you work for NutriSource? Or just very fond of their products?


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

DogLuver said:


> PDXdogmom, may I ask...do you work for NutriSource? Or just very fond of their products?


Fair question, but it made me chuckle. At different times this past year, I could have people ask or wonder if I work for Nutrisca, Canine Caviar, The Honest Kitchen or Natura (California Natural).

I've been rotating foods for the past three years and I try to have 3 foods I rotate among every couple of months. To arrive at 3, I end up trying a number of brands that may not stay in a final rotation . . . doesn't mean they're bad; just that they weren't great for my dogs. Brands like Acana, Fromm, and Taste of the Wild get mentioned constantly and don't need extra endorsement. I feed Acana and Fromm also.

I could list positives for a lot of different brands. At the moment, it's true I often suggest NutriSource to someone for several reasons:

It has two moderate protein and fat grain free formulas for a very reasonable price. NutriSource is not owned by a mega-company and it has a good track record. I think the food flies under the radar a little bit because up until now they haven't been as widely distributed and don't do much advertising. It's a more simple formula than a lot of grain frees on the market. 

I've never tried their grain-inclusive formulas so really can't comment on them. The 5% fiber in the grain-frees may work for some dogs and not others. In short, I like to mention NutriSource to people as an option when they're looking at all the grain-frees available and don't want to pay a high price. In a nutshell, they are simple grain-free meat-based formulas at a reasonable price.


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## DogLuver (Oct 19, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> Fair question, but it made me chuckle. At different times this past year, I could have people ask or wonder if I work for Nutrisca, Canine Caviar, The Honest Kitchen or Natura (California Natural).
> 
> I've been rotating foods for the past three years and I try to have 3 foods I rotate among every couple of months. To arrive at 3, I end up trying a number of brands that may not stay in a final rotation . . . doesn't mean they're bad; just that they weren't great for my dogs. Brands like Acana, Fromm, and Taste of the Wild get mentioned constantly and don't need extra endorsement. I feed Acana and Fromm also.
> 
> ...


Thanks, great answer.


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