# How much Natural Instinct



## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

I know that my pup should be fed 4-6% of his body weight per day (hope that's right). Question is - how much in grams is that of Natural Instinct food per day and should I split it into 3 days per day. I know it depends on his weight but what is he likely to weigh when I get him (roughly)
Many thanks


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

for a dog your looking for 3% of its ideal body weight, for a puppy you want a little more than that, when Delta was a puppy i think i had her on 400g spread out over the day. but i dont use NI so i dont know if it would be different for that.


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

curt3007 said:


> I know that my pup should be fed 4-6% of his body weight per day (hope that's right). Question is - how much in grams is that of Natural Instinct food per day and should I split it into 3 days per day. I know it depends on his weight but what is he likely to weigh when I get him (roughly)
> Many thanks


If feeding 5% of body weight for a puppy it would be 50g for every 1kg of puppy. Flo was 4kg when I got her which would cost 54p per day.

1kg = 50g per day
2kg = 100g per day
3kg = 150g per day
4kg = 200g per day
5kg = 250g per day
6kg = 300g per day

Split the daily amount over 3 meal morning, midday and late afternoon (4pm).

Fully grown Flo is now 10.5kg so has 200g NI per day split as two meals at 7am and 6pm.


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## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

Thanks Mandy that's really helpful. Just got to think about the cost of delivery now and the storage. Unfortunately nearest supplier is a round trip of 100 miles, not got much freezer space to bulk buy, so delivery is going to add to costs but heyho worth it!


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

do you have room where you could get a wee second hand under counter freezer, we got one (unfortunetly not frost free) that sits in the porch next to the girls crate, enogh room for about a weeks worth of food, bones and a couple of packs of chiken wings, all in all it ads up to almost a fortnights worth of food for my 4, so you could posible get a months worth in that kind of freezer for one pup.


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## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

Yep think that might be an option Kendal , thanks


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

kendal said:


> do you have room where you could get a wee second hand under counter freezer, we got one (unfortunetly not frost free) that sits in the porch next to the girls crate, enogh room for about a weeks worth of food, bones and a couple of packs of chiken wings, all in all it ads up to almost a fortnights worth of food for my 4, so you could posible get a months worth in that kind of freezer for one pup.


That's what I have done as well and why it took a while to switch as you do really need a small freezer so you can by and store enough. Mines in the garage. My first order was 10 packs but I'll get 40 kg in a week or so. Don't forget to PM Dylansmum for her full name. If you call them with your first order on their friend 2 friend scheme you'll get £5 off your first order which will cover the postage.


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

embee said:


> If feeding 5% of body weight for a puppy it would be 50g for every 1kg of puppy. Flo was 4kg when I got her which would cost 54p per day.
> 
> 1kg = 50g per day
> 2kg = 100g per day
> ...


Hi Embee what age was Flo when you started her on natural instict?Thanks Donna


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

DONNA said:


> Hi Embee what age was Flo when you started her on natural instict?Thanks Donna


I didn't switch her till a few months ago when she was 16 months old but my next puppy will go straight onto NI at 8 weeks. They can be weaned straight onto NI.


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## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

Was going to feed origen first and then put onto Natural Instinct after we come back from Burghley Horse Trials (in a caravan for 5 nights), but think with a fridge in the caravan we can manage the Natural Instinct. Only decision now is whether to change hi straight away or let him settle in for a week


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

curt3007 said:


> Was going to feed origen first and then put onto Natural Instinct after we come back from Burghley Horse Trials (in a caravan for 5 nights), but think with a fridge in the caravan we can manage the Natural Instinct. Only decision now is whether to change hi straight away or let him settle in for a week


I would keep him on the food the breeder has been feeding him for the first week while he settles as it can be a stressful time which can cause stomach upsets anyway then switch to NI after a week.

I wouldn't change gradually by mixing the breeders kibble with NI I would just change straight away after a week. If the breeders kibble has grains and rice it would take 10 hours to digest where the NI is digested more easily and quickly in around 5 hours so mixing the two types could make it hard for puppy to digest.


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Suggest you get the food in and see how George goes. Sometimes they get an upset tum from the change in home and then you might as well change him over straight away. If he's ok you could make a gradual change or settle him in first. I don't think it will make a lot of difference in the long run. By the way 5 days will be fine for NI in a fridge, especially if you put it into the fridge semi-frozen.


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## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

He will come from the breeder on Royal Canin, just a question about the Natural Instinct, how long does he stay on the puppy variety and do I feed anything else like chicken wings. Any advice is greatly received


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

curt3007 said:


> He will come from the breeder on Royal Canin, just a question about the Natural Instinct, how long does he stay on the puppy variety and do I feed anything else like chicken wings. Any advice is greatly received


It says 9 months on their website though there doesn't appear to be much difference between the puppy and adult food except that the puppy food has 85% chicken and bone whereas the adult food has 80% chicken and bone.

In fact the working dog adult food also has 85% chicken and bone so seems to be exactly the same as the puppy food apart from the addition of vit C and the puppy food is £2.70kg and the working food is only £2.30kg (or £2.00 if you buy 10 packs).

I'll probably just get Flo the working dog chicken for my next order and it seems puppy and working dog is the same but just cheaper for working dog!! It may be worth calling them and asking what the difference is between puppy and working chicken!!


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

The puppy variety is almost the same as the regular, so it's not too important. I changed Dylan at about 10 months. You don't need to feed chicken wings or anything else, in fact it's probably better not to unless you really want to, because NI has the correct balance of meat/bones/veg. However I give large raw bones to gnaw on to keep Dylan's teeth clean and for fun. I think one or two big bones a week is really nice for them and they love them. The ones from NI are really expensive, but you can probably find a local butcher who sells them cheaply - I get a tray with maybe 2-3 huge marrowbones or 6 slightly smaller bones for 99p. And Dylan will usually keep them for ages - they just dry out and he goes back to them as he wants.


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## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Mandy are you getting a new puppy?


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## MichelleE (Apr 2, 2011)

I am having real trouble finding a local butcher who will sell me raw bones - 2 have told me they won't sell raw, only cooked, and another 2 didn't do bones at all  Anyone from my area with a local supplier? I resorted to buying a leg of lamb from the supermarket - hubby is happy as he now gets lamb tagine for fathers day, and Poppy is loving her first bone  Happy days!


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Sorry, forgot to add that with a natural diet it's best to use only natural training treats as well, rather than commercial ones. I make liver cake or dried liver and give tiny pieces of that. A batch lasts for weeks. You can also use chicken (fresh or dried) or cheese.


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

MichelleE said:


> I am having real trouble finding a local butcher who will sell me raw bones - 2 have told me they won't sell raw, only cooked, and another 2 didn't do bones at all  Anyone from my area with a local supplier? I resorted to buying a leg of lamb from the supermarket - hubby is happy as he now gets lamb tagine for fathers day, and Poppy is loving her first bone  Happy days!


It can be hard to find one - just keep asking. If you buy some meat from them then they should be obliging, after all, what are they doing with all the bones they produce?? You can get them from NI, but they're really expensive. You could ask in your pet shop - they may know of somewhere.


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

caradunne said:


> Mandy are you getting a new puppy?


Maybe..........................................


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

MichelleE said:


> I am having real trouble finding a local butcher who will sell me raw bones - 2 have told me they won't sell raw, only cooked, and another 2 didn't do bones at all  Anyone from my area with a local supplier? I resorted to buying a leg of lamb from the supermarket - hubby is happy as he now gets lamb tagine for fathers day, and Poppy is loving her first bone  Happy days!


Maybe find a 'rural' butcher. In any village butchers I've asked it seems to be a normal everyday thing to provide dog owners with raw bones - they even keep a stock of frozen bones so they always have something in.


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## Sarette (Mar 21, 2011)

I'm already on the look out for bones, and have noticed that my butchers usually have a few small ones in a tray with 50p on the side... it's all so new to me though, and there's so many different types of bone! So much info is being absorbed by my tired old brain these days!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

There is some EU ruling where they cant sell you bones that they have already thrown away I wonder if some butchers think that they are nt allowed to sell them ... obviously if they dont sell them then they are for the bin !!! There are more than one butchers in my local market that just have them in a box. Maybe get the yellow pages out and ring around a few x


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## MichelleE (Apr 2, 2011)

Thanks Karen - think I'll do a ring round. There are plenty of rural butchers in easy reach, so I'll do a trawl and get a stock in for the freezer.


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

embee said:


> In fact the working dog adult food also has 85% chicken and bone so seems to be exactly the same as the puppy food apart from the addition of vit C and the puppy food is £2.70kg and the working food is only £2.30kg (or £2.00 if you buy 10 packs).


Just spoken to NI as I've just placed an order. The working dog chicken is not suitable for puppies because of the added vit C in it. They said that puppies are still developing the ability to produce vit C and if it is given in their food then it would inhibit the development of their ability to produce vit C for themselves. They are so helpful and knowledgeable when you call them.

I've just order 20kg working chicken, 10 kg turkey and 10kg chicken and lame - hopefully it will all fit in the freezer. That will feed Flo for 200 days so hope she doesn't go off it!!!


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## Sarette (Mar 21, 2011)

embee said:


> Just spoken to NI as I've just placed an order. The working dog chicken is not suitable for puppies because of the added vit C in it. They said that puppies are still developing the ability to produce vit C and if it is given in their food then it would inhibit the development of their ability to produce vit C for themselves. They are so helpful and knowledgeable when you call them.
> 
> I've just order 20kg working chicken, 10 kg turkey and 10kg chicken and lame - hopefully it will all fit in the freezer. That will feed Flo for 200 days so hope she doesn't go off it!!!


Do you mind if I ask how much that lot cost? The more I look at NI, the more I am leaning towards it...


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Sarette said:


> Do you mind if I ask how much that lot cost? The more I look at NI, the more I am leaning towards it...


£93.50 and there was no postage as it was 40kg. So that's 47p per day. They have lots of different sales and offers depending on what meat they are getting in which is why I went for working and chicken/lamb this time round as you can make a big saving.


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## Sarette (Mar 21, 2011)

embee said:


> £93.50 and there was no postage as it was 40kg. So that's 47p per day. They have lots of different sales and offers depending on what meat they are getting in which is why I went for working and chicken/lamb this time round as you can make a big saving.


Thanks so much! Well that's pretty good I think. I was looking on there yesterday and saw they had a sale on the chicken and lamb packs. Do you think you could take a picture of it all when it arrives, so I can see what sort of freezer space it will take up?!

Sarah xx


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## Mez-UK (May 4, 2011)

MichelleE said:


> I am having real trouble finding a local butcher who will sell me raw bones - 2 have told me they won't sell raw, only cooked, and another 2 didn't do bones at all  Anyone from my area with a local supplier? I resorted to buying a leg of lamb from the supermarket - hubby is happy as he now gets lamb tagine for fathers day, and Poppy is loving her first bone  Happy days!


Do you have a local farmers market? We have one in Berkhamsted once a month and they sell all sorts of local and farm produce and one does doggy bones.
Have a look round for a local farm shop rather than butchers you may have more luck.
I have just found a product called "Paddy Wack" you can get it from pet shops loose by the kilo or pre-packed it is a totally natural product I believe it is the sinue ( I will check the spelling and tell you later exactly what it is) but it is fantastic Harley loves it and they last for ages and don't splinter or go smelly and great for keeping teeth clean give it a try if you haven't already.


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## Mez-UK (May 4, 2011)

Okay thought would take a picture of Paddy Wack and its packet! it is Sinew!
Hope you can read the ingedients!








This is a chewed one that Harley has been working on for about a week!!!!!


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## embee (Dec 27, 2010)

Sarette said:


> Thanks so much! Well that's pretty good I think. I was looking on there yesterday and saw they had a sale on the chicken and lamb packs. Do you think you could take a picture of it all when it arrives, so I can see what sort of freezer space it will take up?!
> 
> Sarah xx


Yep will do. A single 1kg tray is 22cm x 17cm x 5cm.


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