Det er jo ingen hemmelighed, at min mening udi industrielt fremstillet foder er kendt – i hver fald her på Beaglepack. Jeg har om nogen haft mine “oplevelser” omkring projekt tørfoder. Det skyldes primært at 2 af mine tidligere beagler Oscar og Darwin ikke tolererede hvad som helst. Charlie derimod var ret stabil hvad foder angik – når bare det ikke indeholdt nogen former for lever – så spiste han fint og havde en stabil mave.
Oscar fik allerede som hvalp konstateret IBS, som gav en masse grå hår, for lige meget hvad jeg gjorde så virkede det bare ikke. Darwin var dog bedre skruet sammen – men han havde svært ved at nedbryde det tørre foder og det viste sig i form af kraftige kolik smerter – man kan med rette sige at han var som en hest der fik forkert hø. Bedre blev det da alle beaglerne kom mere og mere over på våd foder – så fulgte Oscars og Darwins mave bedre med – og Charlie – ja han åd det også i god stil. At fodre 3 beagler af på vådfoder er en mere kostbar affære – så vi kom derhen hvor jeg studerede hvordan man kunne lave den bedste hjemmelavede mad – og sådan blev det. Jeg er dog ikke i tvivl om at tørfoderet, samt arvlighed lagede grundstammen til at Oscar og Darwin udviklede Hypothyroidisme som gjorde at de begge måtte i medicinbehandling resten af deres liv.
Derfor tager jeg naturligvis ikke nogen chancer med Nova.
Hendes fremtidige foder indtag ligger allerede fast. Lige nu er hun kun 9 uger og derfor skal hun havde sin hvalpemad. Jeg er ikke sådan skruet sammen, at jeg har overskud til selv at regne ud hvad proteiner, fedt mv. udi hvalpe angår og hvordan det skal sammensættes. Men jeg ved alt om hvordan man fodre en voksen beagle på hjemmelavet mad.
Derfor vil Nova få hvalpefoder til hun rammer sin voksen vægt. Jeg er dog lige nu i gang med at køre hende væk fra Arion hvalpefoderet – igen fordi jeg planlagede at køre hende over på et foder med lidt mindre protein og fedt. En beagle fungerer i mine øjne bedst på fodertyper med max 25% protein og under 15 % fedt – Det kan man også læse om via internet mv. Alle mine tidligere beagler har fungeret bedst på denne type foder.
Jeg vælger mellem forskellige typer våd foder beregnet til hvalpe, så Nova kan få lidt forskelligt. Lige nu udfaser vi stadig Arion foderet – men jeg skal hilse at sige at det nye foder er modtaget og tegner til at blive et hit.
Novas foderplan lige nu – er 2 x tørfoder (blødt op i bensuppe) og 2 gange daglig vådfoder som topping om dagen til hun rammer de 5 kg – derefter skal mængden af mad justeres og gentænkes.
It is no secret that my views on industrially manufactured pet food are well known—at least here on Beaglepack. If anyone has had “experiences” with the whole dry-food endeavor, it’s me. This is primarily because two of my former Beagles, Oscar and Darwin, couldn’t just tolerate anything. Charlie, on the other hand, was quite steady when it came to food; as long as it didn’t contain any liver, he ate just fine and had a stable stomach.
Oscar was diagnosed with IBS as a puppy, which caused me a lot of gray hairs—no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work. Darwin was built a bit more robustly, but he struggled to break down dry food, which manifested as severe colic-like pain—you could rightly say he was like a horse that had been fed the wrong kind of hay. Things improved when all the Beagles gradually switched over to wet food; Oscar and Darwin’s stomachs handled it much better, and Charlie—well, he tucked into it with great gusto, too. Feeding three Beagles a wet-food diet is a more expensive affair, so I began researching how to prepare the best homemade meals—and that’s how it’s been ever since. I have no doubt, however, that the dry food, combined with genetics, laid the groundwork for Oscar and Darwin to develop hypothyroidism—a condition that required both of them to be on medication for the rest of their lives.
Naturally, I’m not taking any chances with Nova.
Her future diet is already decided. Right now, she’s only 9 weeks old, so she needs to be on puppy food. I’m simply not the type of person who has the capacity to calculate the exact requirements for proteins, fats, and so on myself. …regarding puppies and how their diet should be composed. However, I am very knowledgeable about feeding an adult Beagle a homemade diet.
Therefore, Nova will receive puppy food until she reaches her adult weight. Right now, I am in the process of transitioning her away from the Arion puppy food—partly because I planned to switch her to a diet with slightly lower protein and fat content. In my view, a Beagle thrives best on a diet containing a maximum of 25% protein and less than 15% fat—a point that is also supported by information found online and elsewhere. All my previous Beagles have done best on this type of diet.
I choose between different types of wet food intended for puppies, so that Nova can have a bit of variety. We are currently still phasing out the Arion food, but I can tell you that the new food has arrived and looks like it will be a big hit.
Nova’s current feeding plan consists of two daily meals of dry food (softened in bone broth) – Two dry feed topped with wet food. This regimen will continue until she reaches 5 kg; after that, the portion sizes will need to be adjusted and the feeding plan re-evaluated.
