Dachshund Nola Reviews Spring Naturals Dog Food

Hey, everyone!


Today were working with Spring Naturals for a review of their all natural dry and canned dog food. The pups have loved this, so lets get right to it!

Heres a bit about Spring Naturals:

SPRING.

It’s all about vitality, a fresh state of mind. It’s the feeling you get when you consider the abundance of life, and all the good things from the earth that grow and thrive. That’s what inspired us to create the Spring Naturals line.

IT STARTED WITH A SIMPLE IDEA.

When we set out to develop Spring Naturals dinners and treats, we had a single objective in mind: to develop a complete family of wholesome products that would provide no-compromise pet nutrition. Every recipe would be made with only select, market-quality ingredients from sources in the United States. So with the help of some very smart animal nutritionists who shared our passion for pets, Spring Naturals was born. Welcome to a fresh new era in pet nutrition.

OUR PASSION FOR PETS RUNS DEEP.

Spring Naturals Dinners and Treats are brought to you by Performance Pet Products. We are a family-owned firm that has helped nourish millions of people and companion animals since 1946. We promise that every Spring Naturals product is made from premium quality, domestically sourced ingredients right here in the US.

SPRING INTO ACTION.

We’re so confident your pet will thrive on Spring Naturals products that we back them with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We invite you to discover what makes our recipes so good, and thank you for visiting this site.

We were sent Grain Free Beef Dinner Dry Food and Grain Free Turkey Stew Canned Food. Heres the ingredients for those:

Beef Dinner

Beef, chickpeas, peas, dried eggs, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dicalcium phosphate, sun-cured alfalfa, flaxseed, sweet potatoes, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, salt, spinach, tomato pomace, choline chloride, potassium chloride, blueberries, cranberries, apricots, carrots, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, biotin, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, chicory root extract, dandelion greens, mixed tocopherols (preservative), rosemary extract.







Turkey Stew

Turkey, turkey broth, vegetable broth, sunflower oil, carrots, peas, dicalcium phosphate, flaxseed oil, calcium carbonate, salt, spinach, potassium chloride, agar agar, lecithin, choline chloride, sodium acid pyrophosphate, salmon oil, dandelion greens, apricots, blueberries, cranberries, chicory root extract, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, biotin, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid.









Spring Naturals makes kibble, canned and treats for both dogs and cats. Their kibble comes in the following flavors: Beef, Salmon, Chicken, Turkey, and Lamb. Their canned array is: Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Chicken and Lamb & Salmon.
Having all those different flavors is a great way to feed a rotation diet to a pup that may have a more sensitive stomach!




Pike and Olivia have been on the kibble for 2 weeks now, and they love it! Its 26% protein, and since Nola drops weight like crazy on anything below 32%, she sat this taste test out. She enjoyed the canned, though!

Pike has been eating 1/2c, though Ill be bumping Mr. Skinny up to 3/4c soon. Olivia is getting 1/4c to 1/2, depending on how hungry she acts.
Like I said, theyre really enjoying it! Pike can be finicky about his food, and hes yet to turn his nose up at it. The smell of it isnt horrible like some dog food, which my sensitive nose appreciates. The pieces are a good size for both small and large breeds, and its available in 4lbs, 12lbs and 26lbs. The price range is $15 to $64 at Chewy.com

I was quite happy with this food! Ill be adding it to the dogs diet every few bags. Highly recommend if your dog is okay with lower protein!



- Dachshund Mommy

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Puppies in Conformation Class

Yes!  Its true!  I do allow young puppies in my conformation classes, in fact, I encourage it.  Because the methods that I use for training show dogs (and all dogs actually) are positive reinforcement methods young puppies do great and are welcome to attend.  Young puppies (2 to 5 months) are like little sponges, open and ready for new information and learning opportunities.  This is, in my opinion, the best time to get your puppies started on their conformation ring training.  One of the most difficult times to start training a dog is during adolescence, so waiting until a dog is old enough to show (6 month) is not the best time to start your training.  It makes much more sense to start young so that when they enter adolescence they are already well on their way and have several behaviors under their belt.  It just makes sense to start early!

I realize that some people have concerns about exposing their puppies to diseases but most classes require vaccination records making a dog training class in a reputable facility a fairly low risk environment.  For me, personally, I have no problem taking my puppies to low risk areas once they have been started on their vaccinations.  If I am being honest, I am much more concerned with my puppy having many positive, early learning and socialization opportunities than I am with them contracting a disease.  The behavioral risk of keeping them inside and not socializing them well is too high and I am not willing to take that risk.  Waiting until a dog is 4 months old to start the socialization and training process simply does not give you enough time to properly socialize and expose them.  So, be safe and be smart, but socialize them well!

Whenever I have young puppies in my conformation classes I am always careful to make a few things clear to my clients.  First, the goal is not that the puppy do everything perfectly like a well trained adult show dog.  The goal is that the puppy have fun and enjoy himself.  I recently watched a very disturbing You Tube video where someone demonstrated how to train a puppy to be a show dog in under a minute.  It was really awful to watch this cheerful puppy be strong armed into position, and forced to stand completely still while he panicked and struggled to escape.  Eventually, he stopped struggling and stood there... with his ears and tail down and the spark gone from his eyes.  Poor guy.  This is, in my opinion, the absolute worst way to train a puppy.  This puppies first conformation experience was scary, uncomfortable, aversive and something he wanted to escape.  Always remember that however an animal learns something lives with that behavior forever.  In other words, if show ring training is trained using positive reinforcement and keeping it light and fun for the puppy, then those behaviors will always have that emotional state attached to them.  On the flip side, if the show ring behaviors are trained with force, corrections and punishment, that emotional state, dread, discomfort or fear will be associated with those behaviors.  The fact is, if you want your puppy to grow up to be a dog that enjoys showing, he needs to be taught to enjoy shows as a puppy.

I always want to make it clear with my clients is that they have a right at any time to give the puppy a break or end the training once they feel the puppy has had enough.  We never want to overdo  it.  When its done well, the training should leave the puppy wanting more.  So, its important that we stop if the puppy starts to show signs of tiring out, getting stressed or looking bored.  Show training should be fun, fun, fun!

Puppies need to be trained on comfortable, non-aversive, dog friendly equipment.  I am not a fan of metal choke collars in general, but they are never a good choice for a young puppy just learning the ropes. 

It is important to make sure that puppies in conformation class feel safe and secure.  If the class is very loud or full of many rowdy dogs, it may be better for the puppy to be off to the side, simply watching and chewing on a bully stick.  People may think that this is a waste of time but its not because as the puppy is sitting on the owners lap, munching on a tasty chewer he is actually being conditioned that being around a bunch of dogs in a strange environment is a good, safe and relaxing thing.  This is invaluable conditioning to a show dog and a great way to ease a puppy into training.

If you havent already done so, consider finding a positive reinforcement conformation class to take your puppy to.  When its done well and the puppy is kept safe and having a good time, it can be a wonderful thing to do for your puppy.

Note:  Before taking your puppy to a conformation class be sure to observe a class and make sure that the instructor is a positive reinforcement trainer.  Please never allow anyone to jerk, drag, force or intimidate your puppy in any way.  You are responsible for keeping your puppy safe and you have a right to say "no".

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