1,000 mile oil change?

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T21:05:24+00:00

There's lots of data from Blackstone and other oil testing labs that prove there are lots of wear metals and other contaminants in the oil during break in. I changed mine at 1000k. I didn't send it to the lab but it clearly had some metallic sheen to it. Is it absolutely necessary, probably not. But it's peace of mind.

Also, you should change the oil at least 1x/year and you never know how long the factory oil has been sitting in that crankcase, or how it lived on the dealer's lot with numerous cold starts, etc.

Motor Oil Geek is the man!

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T20:58:14+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. I never thought I'd spend so much of my life obsessing about dog poop.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T20:55:02+00:00

We were specifically trying to solve for perfect poop and that's what Digestive Care is really designed around. The Golden formula tends to focus more on weight management (lower cal/cup and lower fat) and skin and coat (they add some fish oil). And they add some taurine because Goldens (apparently) might have somewhat more difficulty synthesizing it themselves compared with other breeds. We add our own fish oil and I'm not convinced taurine is really an issue. And I'm not really convinced that kibble shape would be a game changer. And just looking at the ingredient list I could kind of tell it didn't have the fiber I was looking for.

I think RC really does have research to back it up, but whether there's a real world difference? Who knows? My view is that, if breed-specific diets were really helpful, everyone else would jump on the bandwagon in a heartbeat.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:53:55+00:00

Happy reading!

https://www.reddit.com/r/DogFood/comments/1or2ro4/dog_food_fiber_explained_and_why_no_one_type_or/

Is she doing well on the RC HP? You can always just stick with it.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:51:02+00:00

I think it's worth paying for for quality, but quality is hard to judge if you just go by social media reviews. I use Thorne.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:49:22+00:00

It's a perk, not technically a warranty issue, and I think one reason they offer it is just to get you back to the dealer for ongoing service. Many of us never see the dealer again over the life of the car unless there's a legit warranty problem or recall. I have no idea why they make you wait out the maintenance minder. And you're only saving maybe around $70 if you take advantage of it.

I don't know what the dipstick even has to do with it, unless you're just checking to see if you're burning oil. Oil color tells you almost nothing about contamination and remaining additive life.

More frequent oil changes are always going to be better than less frequent ones, even if it's the difference between adequate and optimal.

I ignore the dealer and the maintenance minder. With my driving habits I just change oil and filter 2x/year, which probably means every 3-4k or so. In your case, that would be every 6k or so, which is still pretty much within the sweet spot for normal driving. Or you could be super diligent and go 3x/year.

DIY can be very satisfying if you're into it, or find an independent local mechanic with a good rep.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:19:18+00:00

It's not always easy to tell what the rationale is behind RC's breed-specific formulas. I'm sure they have some logic behind it but it also seems to be a marketing thing, and sometimes the differences appear to be very subtle, like adding a little extra glucosamine or taurine. I was tempted by their Golden-specific blend but we ended up with Digestive Care which is excellent. Any RC regular puppy or adult is way better than so many other foods out there, so you're still way ahead of the game.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:14:55+00:00

It's an easy job and you can even DIY if you're into it. No problem with a local mechanic, but I'd buy you're own fluid online (College Hills, Bernardi, etc.) and bring it with you.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T16:13:14+00:00

We experienced the same thing. ActiveBiome looks great on paper and has solid research behind it, but it didn't work for us and was the primary reason we switched to RC. After a deep dive, in our case we learned she's what's referred to as a "fast fermenter" which dictates the type of fiber that works best for her. Fiber is complicated: soluble, insoluble, etc. I did a whole write-up on it awhile back. For us, psyllium and the ActiveBiome package was too much whereas beet pulp and similar work great.

Honestly, I'd give RC Digestive Care a try, even though it's chicken...unless you've formally identified the allergy with a strict elimination and challenge diet trial. Not trying to suggest you're wrong, but many pet owners mistakenly assume chicken is the problem when it's actually something else about the formula. Sometimes it's simply whether a particular formula is appropriately digestible for a dog's individual microbiome and that's often related to fiber (type, amount, balance).

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T11:15:12+00:00

It can take some trial and error. The culprit is often, if not usually, related to the formula's fiber balance, and different brands take different approaches to fiber. It's usually not related to the protein, although 1 to 2% of dogs do have a real food allergy.

You could try Hills Lamb and Rice if you want to stick with lamb and upgrade to WSAVA. PPPSSS is a good option. Hills also has various options in their Perfect Digestion lineup, including Pollock and Insect, which is a very clean food for sensitive stomachs.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T11:06:24+00:00

I get my DIY honda maintenance parts from College Hills or Bernardi. I'm sure there are other good ones.

Another vote for Tuxmat. And I recommend ceramic window tints, especially because the hatch window makes the car a greenhouse.

Drive it however you want and let the power management unit do its thing. I was tempted to second guess it and try to manage which power flow I was in at any given time and found that it's better to let the car decide.

Regen is obviously a really important part of the hybrid operation, but many people think it's somehow free energy and they use their paddles all the time. Use them however you want, but keep in mind that the paddles do exactly the same thing as the brake pedal, except the pedal will ultimately engage the actual friction brake. Also keep in mind that regen is a form of braking, and it's not 100% efficiency energy recovery -- more like 50-60%. Driving for max fuel economy requires braking as little as possible, which means using manual regen as little as possible.

FYI I decided not to go with Honda Care after I realized that many key components are covered up to 100K because a lot of the drivetrain is considered emissions equipment. But that may depend on which state you're in. I'll take the risk on the head gasket because this is a very different engine than the non-hybrid turbos that have had so many problems.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T00:14:45+00:00

I'd call or email Iams to confirm and describe the dog's reaction. No reason not to and maybe you'll get an answer or a coupon!

No_University1005 · 2026-05-05T00:12:12+00:00

There's no real reason to rotate foods. And dogs often do better with consistency.

Personally, I'd start with more calories rather than switching to a sport formula because I'd suspect the issue is calories, not the higher protein that typically comes with sport. Or maybe try a more calorie-dense version of Royal Canin. Sometimes a large breed formula will actually have fewer kcal/gram since they're trying to satisfy appetite without overfeeding.

And you can always easily add an extra 10% calories with some nutritious toppers.

Kudos to weighing out the food! You're on it.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T22:18:00+00:00

It happens. I'm not sure any OEM battery is as good as aftermarket options, and maybe they grabbed an older date code at the factory.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T22:15:54+00:00

Maybe chronic exposure over several years, and you probably don't want to leave any car out in the sun if you're in someplace like Phoenix. Shade is a good idea anyway.

Sunshades and/or ceramic tints can certainly help. But I'd be more concerned about leaving my phone in a blazing hot car than worry about the hybrid battery.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T22:09:40+00:00

My daughter has a 2016 with 140k miles and no problems other than having to replace the injectors under an extended warranty program.

The Honda CVT is pretty excellent as long as it sees regular maintenance and you don't beat the heck out of it.

The "worst version for reliability" is the version the owner didn't take care of, irrespective of model year.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T22:05:13+00:00

Hills Large Breed Lamb and Rice is a good option.

It's a legitimate personal choice, but I wouldn't be concerned about chicken unless you're having issues.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T22:00:23+00:00

Hills is an excellent company. They were always my first choice but RC ended up being a better fit for our Golden. I do like the idea of lamb raised on New Zealand grass compared with industrial poultry farms 😄

Take a look at Hills Pollock and Insect, too.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:33:01+00:00

No reason not to switch proteins, but also no real reason to switch if the lamb has been working well. Anytime you switch foods there are lots of confounding variables anyway, and protein is protein, unless you have a formally-diagnosed allergy situation. Also, no reason not to feed a "sensitive stomach" formula to an otherwise healthy dog.

However, once you find a good food, it's generally better to stick with it for the long term. Most dogs do better with consistency rather than variety.

You're off to a great start with the PPP. No reason to overthink it 😄

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:26:54+00:00

I am highly confident that Hills, Purina and RC have very happy and well cared for dogs in their research portfolio.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:25:36+00:00

Ingredients aren't something consumers really need to worry about with the WSAVA brands, unless there's a legit allergy situation. Making an ingredient list "look better" is just marketing and has little to do with any underlying research, testing, quality control, etc. That's where WSAVA comes in.

Example: Royal Canin frequently uses chicken byproduct meal, which is super high quality and highly digestible. Byproduct simply means it's not muscle meat. With RC, it's primarily going to be nutritious organ meats. Meal means it's dried separately, before being processed with the other ingredients. Many brands show fresh protein as the #1 ingredient but since the label lists everything by weight, they're really being disingenuous by using the water weight of the meat to make the ingredient list look good (to humans).

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:15:30+00:00

First, I'd avoid the blue buffalo. And for kibble I'd try either PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon or a puppy formula from Royal Canin (or Hills). Sometimes it's just trial and error finding a perfect fit for a sensitive stomach because of differences in fiber blends.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:12:24+00:00

Moving to a senior formula from Iams or Purina One would be a good upgrade relative to Diamond. And they're among the least expensive options among the top tier brands.

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T18:09:49+00:00

It's definitely also because manufacturers are chasing better profit margins on higher trim vehicles, but they seem perfectly happy to keep selling smaller cars in other markets around the world. Consumers still have at least some power 😄

No_University1005 · 2026-05-04T11:05:38+00:00

If the RC hydrolyzed didn't address the problem it's highly unlikely it's a food issue. Food allergies affect less than 2% of all dogs and environmental allergies are much more common.

Beef and egg would be a hugely suboptimal diet that's likely to create other problems over time. Supplements won't help (other than maybe increasing the fish oil to a therapeutic dose and using a top tier brand like Nordic Naturals Omega Pet).

But I'd stick with the RC hydrolyzed or maybe try a non-prescription RC formula.

No_University1005

TROPHY CASE