# Received THK Embark. Learning curve and newbie questions, please!



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Received the trial bag today. Thank you for suggesting this, those of you with babies with sensitive tummies!

We both have some learning. Hope was begging and whining while it was reconstituting!

Once on the plate, she would take a mouthful, run TO THE CARPET, drop what was in her mouth and the gobble it up. The fact that it is green and the carpet is light taupe could be a problem. She will catch on that she can eat it at the dish. She LOVES it!!

Can this be a supplement to her kibble or is it like raw and should not be combined. I ask becasue she is a free eater (kibble) and I do not know if after she has the HK I need to pick up her kibble dish or not. 

I also ask because I am not home during the day and hate to leave her with no food if I have fed this in the morning while she is still a puppy.

Now I await a poo to see. She just has always had fairly soft poo and I hope that this will help her tummy.

Thanks again for the suggestion. Oh-and for those of you in the U.S. where do you suggest I order a larger bag?


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## Amandarose531 (Aug 9, 2010)

jesuschick said:


> Received the trial bag today. Thank you for suggesting this, those of you with babies with sensitive tummies!
> 
> We both have some learning. Hope was begging and whining while it was reconstituting!
> *
> ...



Hope that helps!


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## leiahrandy (Jan 18, 2011)

don't worry she'll to eat at the bowl. my randy still does that sometimes and he's 16 months. but he'll still eat at the bowl other times.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

NaturalK9 is where I got the small bag. They did send me a coupon code today.

Good to know that I can offer either this, Ziwi or the kibble (Orijen puppy).

Thanks!


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## Amandarose531 (Aug 9, 2010)

jesuschick said:


> NaturalK9 is where I got the small bag. They did send me a coupon code today.
> 
> Good to know that I can offer either this, Ziwi or the kibble (Orijen puppy).
> 
> Thanks!


Yep, just watch her and if she responds badly to interchanging them then you may have to adjust, but for now I think you're safe. I change Godric flavors all the time of THK and he's fine and his butt is sen-si-tive.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Her stools may have a bit more volume on THK Embark, it is high in fiber, unlike other dog foods, and it is part of what helps their sensitive tummies  

Things I add in...

raw or cooked...
...chicken (ground or chopped)
...beef (ground)
...turkey (ground)
...cottage cheese
...plain yogurt
...scrambled eggs


Maybe try feeding her in a the bathroom or something til she learns to eat itout of the bowl, what a silly lil girl  you can mix kibble in w/ it but I would suggest just doing what you say if you free feed, meals = THK and free feed = orijen puppy. By the time she is 4 months old you should have her weaned off of the free feeding if you are able to feed her a mid day meal. Once they are 3 lbs, mine are all on 2 meals a day.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Vet thought her soft poo was breeder's food. Changed her to Blue Buffalo. Worse (it is her, no offense to Blue Buffalo). Changed her then to Orijen since we thought it was a grain issue and vet had ruled out worms/parasites. A little better. 

Will be doing this again if we get Ruby this weekend. She is currently on Royal Canin and since it has grain and Hope should not be, I cannot have them share that. Best case would be to switch Ruby (if we get her) to Orijen by hand feeding her the Royal Canin and letting her feed on Orijen.

Of course, both of them will get THK Embark.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I might recommend one of the grainfree over the acana for the two of them, just IMO food should closely reflect the nutrient profile they get in the wild and orijen is just sooo high in protein. That is JUST my opinion. Many many people feed their chis with fabulous success. But since you are feeding it as free feed, not a main diet, I tend to lean more toward something not so rich. 

She may outgrow her sensitive tummy with time. Sometimes the small ones just have sucha short digestive tract that it takes growing some to give food all the time it needs to process.


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## ExoticChis (Jun 20, 2010)

Glad you found something that works for her sensitive tummy 
Honey also used to grab her food from her bowl take it to our lounge room eat it and come back and forth, she has now stopped that and eats from her bowl.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

Ours used to take the HK food out of their bowl, put it on the carpet and then eat it early on too. They love their HK so much now though that they don't waste any time taking it out and then eating it. They outgrew that in the first week. If it doesn't improve though you might gate them in the kitchen while they eat maybe until they learn.

THK is so versatile which is one reason I love it so much, it can just as easily be fed with kibble as it can with raw.

The best prices I've found on THK are from DoggieFood.com. We go through a 10 lb box every month so I like to buy THK in bulk and not only does DoggieFood.com send out coupon codes and have deals regularly, they also have bulk discounts. The best bulk discount is if you purchase 4 boxes so each time I order I get four 10 lb boxes which will last me about 4 months on average.


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

I feed Midgie the Preference & the Force alternately, I buy Wild Alaskan Salmon & add to the Preference, about twice a month. I also add Nupro, sometimes eggs. She gets 1/4 cup twice a day (she's 5 years old). I have always free fed too, so I leave ACANA down for her to nibble in between feedings. I have sample packs of ZP and add ZP to her HK just about every feeding. If I have added extra meat to the Force which already has Chicken in it, I won't add the ZP. But when she eats the Preference with Salmon, the ZP helps to fill her up.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Thank you all! I like that I will be able to offer this in addition to whatever else I feed. 

So, would you suggest Acana over Orijen since it is not so protein heavy?


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