Hi, again, Nancy
Yes, I understand about pancreatitis — my female has it, and we know all about watching the fat intake. The Wellness Core Tender Bites that I have been feeding my pups for about 5 weeks has 21% crude fat, versus the 6% or so in the canned foods (also Wellness Core) I was feeding. But — I’m happy to report — absolutely no problems so far. And I have not had to throw any of the Tender Bites away, whereas I tossed TONS of the canned foods away, uneaten. I was making a lot of my own dog food from chicken breasts (baked), carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin. The pups ate this, but not with gusto. I also give them two Nutri-Vet senior vitamin tabs a day. But, so far, they’ve been doing really well on the Tender Bites (but I still offer the canned), which are 70% raw, gently dried.
I should mention that my male pup is sensitive to wheat — it was a long process to determine this, as it was by trial and error. When I avoid wheat in both food and treats, he does really well. I took him to a dermatologist several years ago (he’s 11), but they didn’t test for food allergies. Why???? So I had to do my own food testing. Many dog food products are “grain free” in the last many years, so it’s relatively easy to avoid wheat. Treats are the worse offenders. You might want to try staying away from wheat for awhile to see if this is a problem for your Schnauzers. My male is the one on Apoquel for various other allergies — Apoquel was a LIFE CHANGER!
My pups are mixed breed, but predominately Jack Russell terriers. They are litter-mates, but soooooooo different health-wise. The female has pancreatitis, but no other health issues. The male has diabetes, cataracts (he had surgery for this), and lots of allergies. We have only ever fed them premium foods recommended by DogFoodAdvisor, with the exception of Dr. Marty’s, which I bought from the infomercial.
Stay in touch, Nancy. Best of luck with your food search.
