# Have you fed your dogs Bil-Jac?



## HudsensMama9 (Dec 17, 2009)

Hudsen is 16 weeks old. His breeder was feeding him Pro Plan puppy chicken and rice, but I switched over to Bil-Jac Large Puppy because it seemed to have a lot of protein and less fillers. Hudsen's coat is very shiney and he looks much leaner than he had. I haven't heard of many people who use this food, so I just wanted to see if anyone has tried it and what you thought? Also, the bag recommends that you increase feedings a cup for every ten lbs they gain. So, by the time he is 70lbs, he should be eating 7 cups. Is this normal? That just seems like so much food and this is supposed to be a premium dog food, so I thought you feed less? Any thoughts or opinions? Thanks!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I thought about trying Bil Jac...but I suspected it was too calorie dense for Lucky.

When you look at the Adult Large Breed, the amount recomended is around 3 cups. So I'm not sure how to read the puppy information....

I believe that by 6 months our Goldens should be on adult anyway.


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## 3SweetGoldens (Feb 28, 2007)

Just in my personal opinion, I would switch him back to the Puppy Pro Plan. There was a Rep from Bil-Jack in Petsmart promoting their line of food. I went home and read up online about different reviews on this food. It is very poorly rated, and though cheaper by comparison to some of the top of the line foods, it is still expensive for what you are getting. The cashier at the register told me that when the Reps come in, it doesn't mean that they are necessarily a good food. They are allowed to promote their product, IF....they are not trying to stop a person who has come in to pick up a food they are on. She said it is for the people who have not chosen a food as yet, and of course they play up what ever the product is, to be an excellent food.


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

I fed my two goldens, now passed (one passed at 9, the other, at nearly 13) Bil Jac for probably about a year, perhaps less, and they did very well on it. I had a coupon, and decided to try it. I love the liver training bits and feel that the company and food is top quality.

I later came across concerns about the use of BHA as a preservative--which Bil Jac uses. Now, depending on what cereal you eat, if you eat cereal, you'll also find that BHA/BHT is used as a preservative in some cereals that we eat--and other foods. 

The FDA allows the use of BHA/BHT because it feels it is safe, however, I decided to err on the side of caution, since studies have shown that, when looking at similar breeds of dogs, goldens face nearly an equal risk of cancer as boxers (although the life expectancy of goldens is the same as other breeds--labs, etc.--that are the same size as goldens.) Here are a couple of links for you--and certainly you need to make the decision that you feel is right. I did feel conflicted taking my dogs off Bil Jac, but I thought if I was going to be neurotic about it, then I should just find another food.

http://www.enotalone.com/article/8134.html

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/102774

As for the portion size, I checked the Bil Jac web site, and if the web site matches the bag, it should also reference that the portion you feed your dog should correspond to activity level, health and conformation--the same wording which is on all bags of all dog foods. My golden weighs 55/56 lbs, gets lots of treats because I'm training her in little increments throughout the day, and she gets anywhere between two "small" cups to two "rounded" cups of food a day--and she's of average build--moderate activity. Hope this helps.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I fed my older two Bil-Jac but only for a short time because neither could tolerate it. Both got really bad diarrhea from it, even though I switched them slowly. It's the only food that's ever caused that to happen to either of them.
That doesn't mean it's a bad food, just that my two couldn't eat it.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

I've never tried the dry Bil Jac, but I did have my last GSD on the old, refrigerated formula for a while. I wasn't impressed. I'd been trying to find a food that he would eat and do well on and remembered my grandparents feeding Bil Jac to their GSDs, years ago, so I figured I'd give it a shot. He loved it, but his coat started to look all coarse and wiry after about a month, so we switched. 

I agree that 7 cups for a 70 pound dog sounds like an _awful_ lot.


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## HudsensMama9 (Dec 17, 2009)

Thanks everyone. Hudsen has been doing fine with the Bil-Jac, but I'm wondering if I should give him something else. He does scratch himself a lot, but I don't know if it is from the food or if he is just still getting used to his collar. When I fed him the pro plan, he rarely ate his whole bowl. Once I started mixing in the Bil-Jac with the pro plan he gobbled it up soo quickly. Now that he is just eating the Bil-Jac, he licks his bowl forever once all of his food is gone. 

Rappwizard you brought up a good point about the BHA/BHT- Thanks! I need to look more into that. 

Does anyone have a food that you do recommend (one I can get at Petsmart or Petco)? Has anyone tried Authority, the Petsmart brand?


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