Purpose:
This is a 3-month feeding trial to assess how Abby, our 15 ½ year old Havanese/Maltese Mix does on Rockster, since Healthy Spot is interested in adding Rockster to our food line. The results will help determine the pros and cons of feeding this food, and my experience and documentation will help our staff answer customers’ questions about feeding, expectations, transitioning, etc
Rockster is a life-enhancing superfood that is acknowledged as "best of the best" from Europe. It is the only bio-organic dog food that uses only human-grade filet, muscle, and vital inner organs of animals certified to be free from any exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones, chemicals, or steroids. Rockster is gently poached from raw in a certified bpa-free can at low temperatures, mirroring sous-vide cooking methods. Rockster is available in 6 different recipes: A Fisherman's Dream (salmon); Boeuf Du Cap (beef); Sound of Game (venison); Chickenrella (chicken); Duck a la Royale (duck); and Sunday Roast (lamb). The name "Rockster" comes from a rescued street dog from Napoli who would not eat any commercial food because street dogs are genetically wired to avoid anything that could be harmful. This motivated his rescuers, Zoe and Sven, to work with Europe's leading experts to create a food for him that he not only loved to eat, but would nuture his microbiome and extend his life by a few years. Rockster lived until he was 21 years old and continues his legacy through a litter of puppies who he fathered when he was 18.
Trial Participant:
Abby was adopted when she was 4 months old. Her previous owner had purchased her from a “Designer Dog Puppy Mill” in Oklahoma. She is all white and has had immune issues all her life. Currently, she is in excellent health except for some arthritis in her front left leg. She is not on any prescription drugs. Abby has been fed a raw diet since I adopted her. In the last year, I have fed her a combination of a raw diet with an organic gently cooked diet to reduce phosphorus since her kidney levels are slightly elevated. I do add quite a few whole food supplements to her diet, and she is starting to refuse her food due to the supplements. I started the trial on Sunday, May 7, 2023.
Because the kcal’s are so close to her raw diet, I am continuing to feed her based on 2.5% of her weight. She is still very active and lean, and I have found that 5 ounces per day is the right amount of food for her. I am continuing to give her a 1-ounce organic chicken neck and raw goat milk as well, so her total food intake is above 6 ounces. If I followed the directions on the can, she would eat between 8 and 10 ounces depending on the protein. I will be checking her weight to ensure she doesn’t lose weight at this amount.
Week 1: May 7 – 13
Since Abby has been eating raw and gently cooked diets, I started her on 100% Rockster on the first day. Because I was given a sample 2 weeks ago, I had given her portions of Rockster Beef with her raw food in the beginning. Since she had no negative reaction and the Rockster owners, Zoe and Sven, had said that a transition is not required for a dog fed a raw food diet, I did not transition her at the beginning of the trial. The first can that I fed her was the Chickenrella. She loved it! She immediately ate up each meal with all the supplements added. I would usually have to add some treat toppers to her food, but this addition has not been necessary with Rockster. This is BIG! Over the past year, feeding her has become a big challenge because she does not want to eat. Starting this week, that has completely changed with Rockster. I plan to keep switching proteins through the trial so as she finishes one diet, I will change to the next. This week, she has eaten the Chickenrella, Duck a la Royale, and is now on the A Fisherman’s Dream. So far, she has loved all 3 proteins. I have never fed her a fish-based diet (she does get a little salmon and sardines when we eat them), so I wasn’t sure how she would adapt. So far, she gobbles it up.
Her stools have been a bit looser and softer on this new diet. They do alternate, and sometimes she has perfect stools, but the looser stool is not normal for her. I have added RX Clay and psyllium husk to see if that firms up her stool. She had been on psyllium husk twice a day prior to this trial, so the fact that I stopped the psyllium at the beginning of the trial may be the cause. Her energy level is high as always and I am not seeing any other changes during this first week.