Episode 17 - Owning a Borzoi - Diet and Nutrition Update

[@simon1003]

Hi Jacob, your borzois are beautiful and a real credit to you. When it comes to nutrition, have you considered the borzoi's natural diet from their country of origin? We have a male akita and for the first couple of years we had so many problems with his food, he would refuse food he had been happy with for months previously and sometimes get an upset stomach from the same food. So we did a bit of research and discovered that although Akitas are large dogs they have a small gullet, this comes from their native diet in Japan - the breed were initially raised on rice, fish and fresh veg. Chunky meat which many Western breeds are used to is not good for them. So we moved him to a simple diet of raw eggs, boiled rice, veg and fish - tinned tuna, sardines, the odd piece of fresh supermarket fish, and the change was amazing, he stopped having stomach upsets, his coat improved. Nothing short of miraculous, and he's been on the same diet for 5 years now, he never gets bored of it. Of course he also gets treat in the form of dried pigs ears, and black pudding for breakfast two or three times or week. But I truly believe that feeding a breed based on their place of origin can have a definite affect on their health.

[@esperborzoi]

That is a great idea! I'll look into it. I am always adding fresh foods to their diet, I'll try some origin foods (we know Esper already likes beets, so, there's that).

[@mickk5006]

I also have to add my last dog developed a food allergy to bonemeal and lived ten of her 14 years as a pescatarian . Loving your vids Jacob keep bringing the honesty

[@esperborzoi]

Thank you so much! i've never heard of a bonemeal allergy! how fascinating.

[@mickk5006]

@@esperborzoi my veterinarian friend explained it like this, they have an allergic reaction to the pests bite and after they develop the same reaction to the food that they were eating when they got bit. For our Sophie that meant a staff outbreak. Fed her salmon based food for twelve years, and she absolutely loved to chew/gnaw on Apple's just like Corb with a bone. We only give him raw bones don't want them to get stuck in the teeth or cause an obstruction. Glad you are still around, Your vids kept me smiling.

[@ponpon4069]

borzoi is my favorite dog breed

[@greytgreytx]

This is very cool to know. After having my cats on Hill's Science Diet for 3 years because of their urinary tract stuff, I switched to Pro Plan to save some money about a year ago. My experience has been the same; their digestive response is great, and they've stayed well the entire year. Glad to know that we can stick with this brand when we get our dog.

[@pgakt]

There has been a link between peas + sweet potatoes (along with legumes and regular potatoes) and heart issues in dogs so you might want to avoid those!

[@elizabeth1663]

you should definitely look into frozen dog food such as instinct, primal,bones and co, answers and many more! they contain little to no carbs which are beneficial for dogs for a number of different reasons. They also contain larger amounts of moisture which is very beneficial for urinary tract health. They also contain higher quality animal parts. In most kibbles they will contain byproducts that are things like feathers and beaks that are labeled as chicken but they have no nutritional value.

[@brian5462]

So helpful, thank you!

[@esperborzoi]

=)

[@notafan1275]

Thanks a lot for another informative video! 1. May I ask why you are boiling the veggies? 2. Do you happen to have a link to a web site (or a book recommendation) where I'd find the nutritional requirements of dogs in general, or even better, giant sighthounds in particular? 3. From different sources I've heard that Barzois remain "puppies" in their heads for a veeeery long time - including destructive puppy behaviour. Is there something to it? Maybe that could be a topic for a future video? Thanks again for all the work you are doing to spread information about this wonderful breed!

[@esperborzoi]

1. I boil the veggies because it's efficient, and I don't have to use any added oils. 2. Good question! I don't have any links, but I make sure to include proper kibble with every meal (that is balanced for their needs). I have a lot more research on puppy foods, as that's my current experience, but we've had no issues with Esper. 3. It is true that they technically stay within their puppy phase much longer due to growth, but behaviorally I've found that (like other breeds) after they are done teething, their destructiveness really subsides. In general, this is a really mellow breed, so having a little puppy jaunt to them is actually kinda nice. Crate training and proper supervision is more than enough to curtail it.

[@notafan1275]

@@esperborzoi Thank you for the quick answer! Regarding 1. When you say "no added oils" you are probably thinking about frying? I was thinking about leaving them raw (except beans and potatoes, obviously). I have an idea that a dog could have some fun with a huge raw carrot (unless he'd not consider it food at all and simply ignore it). Btw, carrots are some 85 % water, under 10 % carbohydrates, about half of which is sugars. I don't worry about the amount of sugar I eat in my carrots, I won't worry about the sugar in the dog's carrots. Re. 2. Sadly, a balanced ration becomes unbalanced if the wrong things are added to it. Not to mention that I'd like to check manufacturers' labels against independent information... (The funny thing is that I don't remember my mom making such a fuss about our Bernese Mountain Dog's food and she was just fine... But I figure between their size, low body fat, athleticism and risk of bloat Barzois want the very best...)

[@wyfyj]

I am curious how different their nutritional needs would be compared to Silkin Windhounds. Since it's still a new breed, there isn't as much documentation.

[@pryncecharming2133]

do you mix the kibble with the chicken, berries, and etc? or is in sperate dishes?

[@ecaterinatache]

More than a year since you`ve made this video, but have you tried or heard about Carna 4? I`m not in the US but I`ve read lots of good things about it, especially from people who feed their dogs raw food (so are not big fans of kibble)

[@esperborzoi]

I have not heard about it, but it seems to have great ratings / reviews. I always go by how my girls feel, maybe I’ll give it a test out

[@exoticgem3834]

Have you heard about Nutrivet? Do you have any experience with feeding your dogs with it?

[@esperborzoi]

I have not, unfortunately

[@pgakt]

Roughly how much good do your dogs eat per day? I’ve been struggling to find a solid estimate and am trying to work out the costs for my future pup!

[@elizabeth1663]

for weight loss feed 2% of a dogs body weight, for maintenance feed 2.5% 3%-4% for very high energy/ nursing and pregnant. please make sure to research though. Don’t just come onto KZbin and expect a proper answer!

[@pgakt]

@@elizabeth1663 I have been researching and finding wildly different numbers :’’’-)

[@cxxljosiee4877]

My dog is allergic to most things including wheat. That's why we are very careful with what he eats. We give him the same thing every day because he likes it and it doesn't make him sick. Or scratch.

[@esperborzoi]

It's tough, once you find something that works you stick to it! =)

[@mickk5006]

I'm lucky my best friend in town is the butcher,and we get big joint beef bones that won't get stuck in the roof of the mouth.

[@esperborzoi]

My pups LOVE big roasted / smoked beef bones.

[@peaseblossom4252]

Hi, I was rewatching this video so I could get the name of the kibble you feed Ira, since I’m getting my pup next week. Question-do you feed her the Purina Pro Large breed puppy Chicken & Rice? Or the grain free chicken? Are you still happy with this food for her? Thank you. :)

[@peaseblossom4252]

Oops, Ora, not Ira-didn’t catch the autocorrect. :)

[@esperborzoi]

CHICKEN AND RICE. OH MAN, DIDN'T MEAN CAPS, BUT I'LL LEAVE IT ON THERE. I'M NOT YELLING I SWEAR.

[@peaseblossom4252]

THANK YOU! ;)

[@annelienv]

Chicken is a savoir for me and the pup. She doesn't want to eat any training treats except when it's dried chicken strips.

[@esperborzoi]

oh yaaa, these are chicken monsters.

[@glamourprincess7433]

I just got a beautiful borzoi 6 months old. I was told to give him 3 small meals a day. Is it a cup 3x a day? Also, can he drink as much water as he wants and play or will he get bloat? Thx

[@esperborzoi]

There's a lot less risk when they are puppies, but that said, I ALWAYS limit exercise by at least 30 mins before and after eating and I've never had a dog suffer from bloat.

[@dannybee9870]

How can I figure out how much fresh food I should give my girl? On her kibble it says she should be getting about 2- 2 1/2 cups a day. I give her one cup twice a day, so would you give half a cup of kibble and half a cup of fresh? Or still one cup of kibble and another one cup of fresh since most fresh foods don't have as many calories.

[@esperborzoi]

That's a great question, and you're right, fresh food is less calorically dense than kibble - especially if it is mostly veggies and lean protein. It was a bit of a trial and error for us at first, but it seemed to be like 1 cup kibble roughly equalled 1.75 cups of fresh in general.

[@TT-qv5wy]

Chicken is not a staple in dog diet because is low in essential vitamins like iron, zinc, vit.B12 etc. 50% red meat must be included.

[@Umuk666]

You have such a cool videos! Even more your doggos ofc 🫶🏻🫶🏻 What is the size of their beds? I can ´t still figure out how big it shout be for adult Borzoi.