[Puppygirlsmom]

We have a female Yorkie, who was 9 years old this past May. At her heaviest weight she weighed 4 1/2 lbs. She is a petite little thing. But she had tonsilitis a couple of times and lost some weight. Once she started losing, she continued to lose and now she weighs only 2.5 lbs. She has never gained the weight back. She eats, she eliminates fine. She just does not gain any weight.
We have had her teeth cleaned, even though it was a high risk to have it done. She came through it and she had no loose teeth nor any cavities. So that is not the problem. All of her extensive and expensive blood work has come back fine. She checks out fine at her physical. She is just skinny. She is a picky eater. We have tried to get her to eat high calorie soft food, but she will not. We have tried many many kinds and flavors and have wasted a lot of money on soft food, but she will not eat it. We have tried mixing a little with her Taste of the Wild dry kibble, but she still will not eat it. We had her and her Puppy sisters on Blue Buffalo, but they all started refusing to eat it, so I did a lot of research for a good grain free food and asked our Vet and “Taste of the Wild” has been what they have been eating for at least a year or more now.
Our 3 1/2 yr. old Yorkie, Abbie, is around the same height and she weighs close to 5 lbs. Our 3 yr. old Biewer Terrier, Zoie, is also around the same height and she weighs around 4.12 lbs. So it is only our older tiny Ellie who is skinny and underweight. She loves chicken and bacon from the table, but they do not put any weight on her either. And our Vet says that the bacon is not good for her. Does anyone have any suggestions? She looks like an anorexic dog and we are concerned that she will start having a lot of health issues due to malnutrition. We just spent close to $200 on tests and they found nothing wrong with her! Her stool was tested, too, and no parasites. The Vet says that she is healthy, but too skinner.
He suggested putting her on Royal Canin Puppy Food dry and wet. But it has grain in it and not sure how she will do on that. Plus we cannot feed her separate from our other two. We have tried that and she barks not wanting to be away from them to eat. It is a big problem!
Any suggestions that anyone has, I am willing to try!
Thanks!

[InkedMarie]

I’m sorry about your friends dogs. I hope they recover.

[Hound Dog Mom]

My friend had a similar experience with Blue when feeding it to her golden puppy – diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, etc. Cleared up as soon as she switched foods.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi avamom –

I would recommend feeding a food of the list of appropriate large and giant breed puppy foods posted here. Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Nutro Natural Choice are not appropriate foods for a growing giant breed puppy such as a Mastiff. The Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Turkey formula or the rabbit formula might be a good food to try. Sometimes with sensitive dogs it’s trial and error until you figure out which foods are causing the issues.

[btunick]

A great friend who is an amazing dog person.. she raises her dogs in the healthiest way possible — has had a terribly frightening experience with Blue Buffalo dog food.. Another friend had a similar problem with Blue Buffalo cat food.. I have never posted here before, but what happened to my friend’s dogs is very, very worrying. Here’s what happened:
For months one of her dogs has been having on and off bouts of diarrhea. Her other dogs seemed “off”, lethargic and just not themselves. She had them tested repeatedly for tick diseases and all has been negative. Everything came to a head in the last two weeks. One of her dogs had serious GI problems during her pregnancy and did not eat well even while lactating. Two Saturdays ago she started throwing up repeatedly at 5 in the morning and was shivering, by the time they got her to the vet that morning, she was throwing up blood. At the vet she was hydrated and all the tests showed nothing.. She spent the night at emergency hospital where they did more tests including x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing, healthiest dog on the planet. She came home on a low fat ID diet and seemed to recover well.

This past Sunday afternoon, her dog’s mother had a seizure. Two more of her dogs also started throwing up for several days. The first dog to get sick, the one who had been hospitalized, began throwing up again with tremors. They had started re-introducing her regular Blue Buffalo kibble earlier that week.

My friend started googling Blue Buffalo food and the attached link is what she found. She took all of her dogs off the food..Finally this morning she feels like everyone is getting better. No one threw up last night, no tremors, no diarrhea, no seizures.

Here is the link she found..

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html?page=2

[weezerweeks]

I just got back from petco to buy my yorkie canned food. He’s been on merrick 13.2 oz cans for 2.99 which is not so bad since he can eat it for 2 days. I was going to buy him some nature’s variety instinct. a 13.2 oz can was 4.79. I mean really what a rip off!!!! He was on bb kibble and for 3 months it cost me about 40$. I know u people don’t like blue buffalo but they are not ripping us off as bad as some other companies and they are 5 star foods. I can buy 4 health for .99$ a ccan and not have to go out of town but what’s really bad is my yorkie didn’t like the food any better. Any comments?

• This topic was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[mssmiley]

my boston terrier has been diagnosed with alopecia…. she is balding on her chest and hind legs. The balding is all symmetrical. The vet has done a skin scrape and tested for other known causes of hairloss. All these tests come back negative. Now she says that the hair loss is going to be a result of a thyroid issue or hormore issue. We are going to start running more tests to look into which it might be. Have any other owners out there had to deal with alopecia in their dogs??? She’s perfectly healthy otherwise, but what concerns me is how these thyroid/hormone issues may affect her later on in life. For those of you who are dealing with alopecia or thyroid/hormone issues…. what food are you using to help your dog? Are there foods out there that can help bring the re-growth of the dogs hair back? She is currently of blue buffalo freedon small breed dry food. We switched her to the freedom line when the hair loss began bc we wanted to rule out allergies for the hair loss reason.

[CFJFNF]

I looked through the 5 star review. How can brands with recent recalls be on the list? I have had to change food 3 times. We went from Blue Buffalo to Natural Balance to Taste of the Wild! Since a few of the 5 star brands are getting/have been recalled, I now don’t know what to switch to. I found out that Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond, so now I want to switch. Any suggestions??

[avamom]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I have been referencing DFA since I first put down the deposit on my English mastiff puppy. She is will be 7 months old this week and we have had a time. I was feeding Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy for the first 5 months. She had a rash and I thought it might be a food allergy she was on flea meds and I never saw any. It wasn’t horrible but it was constant. I took her off thinking maybe it was the chicken and put her on Natural Choice Sweet Potato and Venison. It got much worse within a week. Got to looking at ingredients and realized there were sweet potatoes in the BBWP as well. Tried Natural Choice Venison and Potato better but still not gone (this one had carrots). We discovered a beta carotene or at least an orange vegetable allergy. Took her off everything and cooked her rice or potatoes and ground venison for a month. She got too lean and even though she was getting a multi vitamin I was concerned about proper nutrition. Help! What can I feed her that is good for her overall health and proper growth, but that does not cause allergic reactions.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Wellness CORE is a much better food – it’s rated 5 star and is made by WellPet (a great company). Blue Buffalo is a questionable company and the Longevity line is only rated 4 stars.

[ShihTzuOwner]

So if anyone has checked out my other topic, I’ve been feeding my Shih Tzu Blue Buffalo’s FREEDOM Grain-Free Puppy Formula. On the side of the bag it says to feed my puppy 1/4 of a cup based on his weight. Now when I saw this I thought 1/4 a cup for EACH feeding. So all this time, I’ve been feeding my puppy 3/4 of a cup everyday. Sometimes he eats all of it. Sometimes he leaves some.

However, 1/4 of a cup daily divided between 3 feedings? 3 teaspoons a feeding?!? That sounds like such a small amount.

[Ambystoma]

I am getting a GSP puppy and have narrowed down the foods, or so I thought.

I think we are going to start him on Fromm Gold Puppy, but I like the look of Taste of the Wild as well for variety once he is out of the puppy stage. However I saw Native being recommended for this specific breed. Of course, I will probably give variety in the form of cans, fresh, and perhaps raw later like I do with my beagle-terrier mutt (he’s on Fromm now but has eaten Wellness and Blue Buffalo as well).

For a puppy, would you stick with Fromm Gold or go ahead and do TOTW or Native Puppy or something else? I can’t quite afford to do all fresh with 2 dogs, so I’m looking for dry with cans/fresh/raw as a supplement.

Thanks!

[ShihTzuOwner]

To start things off, I am a first time puppy/dog owner so I’m a rookie but I’m getting the handle of my 2 month old Shih Tzu.

My puppy was eating Purina Puppy Chow [GARBAGE] before he became mine and I knew that the food was just not healthy seeing as how a large bag was just $8 at Walmart. So I Googled around and found out that Blue Buffalo’s Puppy Food as seen below….

was an excellent alternative. Grain-Free, No Preservatives, generally much better then most dry puppy food selections out there.

As a first time puppy owner, I did make the mistake of switching the food in just one day and suffered the dreaded diarrhea problem but some white rice with chicken relieved it and I did the whole 50/50, 75/25, 100/0 new to old dog food trick.

My MAIN problem and I do not know whether it’s the food I’m giving him, is that he itches ALOT. He always scratches near his ears and his neck constantly. Now, I didn’t keep him on the Purina Puppy Chow long enough for me to find out if the issue was also relevant with that dog food as well or JUST Blue Buffalo. I took him to the vet and his ears were fine. There appears to be no flea problem so my only conclusion was that it could POSSIBLY be the food.

So I wanted to know if there are any recommendations you guys can give me based on the age and breed of the puppy and his troublesome itch. I heard Blue Buffalo has a Basics Formula but the review it got on this site [which I trust] makes me hesitant to buy that alternative. I’ve heard of Orijen but that seems to be too much of a high protein formula for such a young pup and for Shih Tzu’s.

[Flossie]

Speaking of which, Pizza Garlic, do you know if the percentages you mention are on an as-fed or dry matter basis? I’m going to look into some of those as well. Yeah, I don’t like Science Diet either, and it seems like most of the Rx foods made specifically for cardiac conditions are similarly low quality.

[Flossie]

Thanks, mah4angel. I did email Earthborn last week, and the Primitive Naturals is apparently .34% and the lowest sodium wet food is Toby’s Turkey at .16%. I asked for the dry matter percentage, but the person who answered didn’t clarify whether she was talking about dry matter or as-fed percentage. (The wet food is extremely low sodium if it’s dry matter, but kind of high if it’s as-fed.) It does sound like a good food, so I guess I’ll ask her to clarify.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Flossie.

[mah4angel]

I have no idea how much sodium this has, but I *always* recommend Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural simply because it’s a great food (great protein content, etc.). On chewy.com a 28-pound bag is $47.99 (~$1.71 per pound). If it was a 30-pound bag it would be about $51.42.
I also highly recommend Earthborn’s wet food tubs. On chewy you get a pack of 8 9-ounce tubs for $17.49. So about $2.19 per tub, and about $0.24 per ounce.
Obviously I really have no idea what the sodium levels are and both are a little bit above your $2/can and $50/30-pound bag limit but I thought I’d give my recommendation since I had great luck with both of these 🙂

[Flossie]

Thanks, everybody! I don’t see a holistic vet, but I give my dog fish oil, coq10 supplements, as well as something called Vetri-Science Cardio Strength (it has l-carnitine, taurine, and various other supplements; it gets really good reviews on a few different sites). My vet says he’s nowhere near the end stages, but I’d love to minimize the coughing as much as possible. He was diagnosed in March, and since then the coughing has been kind of up and down. Luckily, his behavior/activity level/appetite haven’t changed in the least, and I want to keep it that way as long as possible. (He’s a beagle, by the way, but we’re not sure how old he is; we found him on the street seven years ago.)

I’m still deciding on a food; I’ve emailed a ton of companies and am trying to sort through it all. None of the varieties I’ve asked about seem to have high sodium, at least. It’s confusing because some have given me “as fed” content, others dry matter content, still others milligrams, and I’ve just got to go through all my emails and figure out which brands meet all or most of the criteria I’ve mentioned. Thanks again!

[Pizza Garlic]

My dog passed away last month because of CHF. The cardiologist suggested low sodium diet and the use of fatty acid, such as Salmon fish oil, as the supplement. Omega 3 & Omega 6 should be in the right proportion. I have also made nutritive consultation and the consultant suggested Salmon oil (in pill form) and L-Carnitine. My vet also recommended “Rx Vitamins – Formula CV”. Hawthorn is helpful too.

My dog was fed with “Karma” kibble which has a low sodium level of 0.06, you may also find the others as follows:
– Natura – Innova Low Fat Adult 0.12
– Natura – Senior Dry Dog Food 0.11
– Hills Prescription h/d (It was recommended by vet, but I really dislike it and stopped it, and used Karma instead) 0.07

I saw from books that the following dog foods also have low sodium level:
– Purina CNM Canine NF-Formula 0.22
– Select Care Canine Modified Formula 0.28
– MediCal Cardio 0.17
Hope you find the information helpful.

Best wishes for your dog!!

[Anonymous]

I have just had similar experiences as that on page 2 of the thread where Swissy Mix talks about her Bernese/Greater Swiss mix throwing up on Taste of the Wild puppy food. I have an almost 8 month old Bernese male who is right around 80 lbs. We got him at 8 weeks old and started him on Blue Buffalo and then as I researched how to feed larger breed dogs, I decided to switch him to TOTW. They have puppy formulas now that are 1.4% calcium / 1.0% phosphorus, which I thought was in line with what he needed. I’ve been alternating between the 2 varieties now for around 4 or 5 months without any issues.

As of the last 3 days though, Walter has also thrown up his food 3 separate times right after eating. I tend to think it is because the kibble is too small for him and he’s not chewing like he needs to. The end result of his vomiting makes it clear that he doesn’t need to bother chewing his food. I tried feeding him in a larger, more shallow bowl so he can’t inhale and we have stopped feeding him right after he comes in the house and is all hot. I thought the problem might be a combination of being too hot, eating too fast, not chewing enough. However, this morning right after he woke up he did it, so I guess it is either just the not chewing issue or the food itself. I don’t think it is a puppy issue, because he seems perfectly fine otherwise.

So my questions are as follows:

1. Does anyone know of a good food that has larger bites and still stays in the recommended ranges of cal/phosphorus? I guess it may have to be an all life stage or adult formula. I hate to be a stickler on price, but I feel like I’m already spending a lot on what he is on to make sure his food is higher quality, so I’d like to stay in line with TOTW, which is about $50 / 30 lb. bag.

2. How do you tell proper weight of a dog as hairy as a BMD? His weight is right in line with what he’s always averaged (about 10 lbs. / month), but he has such long, wavy hair, it struggle to tell if I’m feeding him enough or too much. I’ve been staying within the guidelines recommended on the bag, but it’s kind of hard to tell for sure. Any tips?

3. Any suggestions for getting him to slow down on his eating? He doesn’t have to compete with any other dogs, so there’s really no need for him to eat like he does.

[pugmomsandy]

Poop color can change with the different food. My 10 pugs eat different kibbles, cans and dehydrated and raw and they all have different color poops. Also she might still be trying to get used to the new food. There is a food called Abady granular and it has over 800 calories per cup. You could mix this in to your meatballs easily as it is a granular product.

[JenRose]

Sorry guys!!

My 5 year old Lab has been on Newman’s Own Organic Beef canned food for many months. She has megaesophagus and the texture is good for rolling into meatballs. I also like that it is super high calorie because she does best with small amounts of nutrient dense food. I cannot buy it locally and ran out about a week ago. Ended up having to feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness Turkey and Chicken canned food for several days until my order of Newman’s was delivered. The texture was also good for rolling into meatballs but it had less kcal/can (502 vs Newman’s 625) and more fat which I am not wild about. But I noticed a dramatic improvement in her poop on the BBW!! On the Newman’s it is very dark (almost black) and soft but formed. On the BBW it was brown and firm. The dark poop has always concerned me but dealing with this damned ME, I have to pick my battles.

Should I stay on the BBW? Any reason why her poo would be so dark on the Newman’s. Maybe a beef vs poultry issue? Is dark (greenish, black) poo ok?

They are both 5* canned foods but the Newman’s has higher calories and less fat (fat takes longer to digest and the faster a ME pup can digest their meals, the better!) which is why I went with it in the first place.

[molliesmom]

My poor 10-yr-old female English Springer gets two to four UTI’s a year (for three years now). Vet puts her on heavy duty antibiotics and just recently suggested Craninadine which she’s been on for a few months now and yet another UTI!
She’s had crystals too, but not this time. Her urine is very diluted so I’ve been told to cut back on her water intake.
She is on thyroid meds and doing well with that (not so ravishingly hungry and weight back to normal)
AS FOR CAUSE: she’s been tested for other things – vet doesn’t see anything. She DOES lick herself often (you know, lady parts) and vet thinks she keeps transferring bacteria from her mouth to there and may be causing UTI. And her teeth and breath have gotten so bad because of that! I’ve asked about probiotics but no real enthusiasm from vet.
BEHAVIOR: Outdoors often (fence). Highly intelligent, stubborn and high-strung. Has more obsessive habits as she ages. Examples: more barking; she LOVES rabbit poop! YUK! Vet says that would not contribute to UTI problem, but I wonder, and try my best to keep her from it – we have so many rabbits in the yard! I also wonder if the licking is more behavioral.
I am with her all the time due to my disability, so she’s hardly ever left alone.
DIET: Here’s where I could use some advice. I’ve always suspected that it might be her food at least contributing to her problem and recently switched her to Blue Buffalo Senior. I’ve just found your wonderful site and realized that she DOES need more protein even though she’s older. DUH! So do I!! She’s not really a fan of it and she’s sick again, anyway. Vet gave me samples of Hills Adult t/d. Very large kibble to use as treats for tartar control. But now unsure of the quality!
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I do live on a limited income so all fresh food may be hard to do, but some (like raw chicken wings?) may be possible.
I thank you in advance — Colleen

[DogFoodie]

Hey Flossie,

Something I just recalled…. I have a Cavalier that means the world to me and Cavaliers are predisposed to cardiac disease, so I was talking to my TCVM vet about different cardiac support supplements and in particular, I asked about Standard Process Canine Cardiac Support. He said its a great product, but he would only recommend it for a dog with a cardiac problem and that it wasn’t best for use in preventing cardiac disease. Do you see a TCVM or holistic vet, by chance?

[InkedMarie]

Flossie, I understand. I was stating a reason I won’t feed it. Same goes for Evangers and all the companies with poor customer service.

[Flossie]

Thanks, Hound Dog Mom. Yes, by “organ meat” I meant the hearts you mentioned and nothing else. He’s already on a taurine/l-carnitine/coq10/vitamin supplement, as well as fish oil, but he’d be pretty happy with the chicken hearts as well.

InkedMarie, I wasn’t saying no one *should* be concerned about Diamond; I was saying that it wasn’t necessarily my primary concern, since I just discovered yesterday that one of the foods they’ve eaten for the better part of a year is made by Diamond and they’ve all done well on it. Clearly safety is important to me, since clearly that’s why I’m asking so many questions about these brands–I thought I’d made a decision on what to buy, but my concerns about their safety are what made me hesitate. As I said, I’m certainly willing to seek out alternatives that strike the right balance between all the various factors I’ve mentioned in this thread.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Flossie.

[Hound Dog Mom]

If he has heart problems adding fresh heart as a topper an a regular basis could be very beneficial. Heart (also gizzards) are actually considered to be a muscle meat (nutritionally speaking), not organ meat so you could top the kibble daily with no issues – true organ meats (i.e. liver, kidneys, lungs, etc., while healthy, should be fed sparingly because they’re so nutrient-dense). Heart is rich in CoQ10 and taurine which are both known to be beneficial to heart health. The concept of glandular therapy also involves supplementing with the gland (or organ) that is experiencing problems – i.e. a dog with heart failure should eat heart, a dog with pancreatitis should eat pancreas, a dog with renal failure should eat kidney, etc. Glandular supplements that are much more concentrated can be purchased but feeding the fresh organ/gland is beneficial as well.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[InkedMarie]

Flossie, we all have to decide what food o feed. For me, I won’t feed a Diamond made food. You can google, if you want, to find he FDA report on the Diamond factory inspection. That might not be important to you but it is to me. There are so many other foods out there o choose from but that’s jmo.

[Flossie]

Thanks so much! I was just about to email Fromm’s to ask about sodium; it really does sound like a good option. And adding some meat as a topper is a good idea–my dog would definitely be all for it! The day I started mixing canned food into his dry food was the best day of his life, so organ meat on a regular basis would enrapture him. (He still eats like a pig and is very energetic; my vet says he’s certainly not in the end stages or anything like that. But his heart is enlarged and there’s fluid in his lungs that causes coughing, and two diuretics and two heart meds haven’t been able to eradicate it. I’m hoping lowering his sodium and adding some supplements will help bring it to a minimum for now.)

[Hound Dog Mom]

The Fromm Classics I mentioned is rated 3.5 stars and the Precise Senior formula is rated 3 stars – neither contain any bad ingredients and both are made by reputable companies, the lower ratings are due to the lower protein content. These foods could, however, easily be upped to 4 star quality by topping with some lean meat. Chicken gizzards, chicken hearts and beef hearts are generally pretty cheap at the grocery store – you could cook them up in a healthy oil (such as coconut oil or olive oil) and they’d be a great high protein/low sodium topper.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Precise Senior is 0.12% sodium and retails for $37.99 for 30 lbs. on Chewy(dot)com.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Flossie –

I’m doing a bit of searching around and I think I found a good food for you! Fromm Classics adult recipe is 0.29% sodium on a dry matter basis. Fromm is a reputable company with no history of recalls. The food retails for $37.99 for 33 lbs. on Chewy(dot)com. If I find any more options I’ll let you know.

[Flossie]

Thanks, everyone. I’ll definitely check out your suggestions, BetsyGreer!

InkedMarie, I think I’m aiming for anything less than .3% dry matter sodium content (or around 50-80mg per 100 kcal); my vet hasn’t actually said he needs to go on a low-sodium diet, but so much of what I’ve read about CHF advocates controlling sodium intake and I thought it would be a good idea to at least be aware of it. Of course, it’s confusing; some of the companies I’ve contacted have given me a percentage “as fed” instead of the dry matter content (which I only just learned is the percentage I should be looking out for). I don’t want to severely restrict him yet, just make sure his food isn’t high in sodium.

I’ll admit that I’m not as concerned about Diamond as a lot of people here, since I feed all 3 of my dogs 4Health right now (I just discovered that the dry food is made by Diamond). And I think that eventually I could probably find anecdotal evidence against every brand, since I doubt one exists that hasn’t ever had a complaint. Ideally, though, I’d love to find a brand with no history of recalls that strikes the right balance of good nutritional profile, affordability, availability, and lower sodium content–but I realize that might be a pipe dream.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Flossie –

I wouldn’t feed Canidae because their food (or at least most of it) is manufactured by Diamond.

I wouldn’t feed Blue Buffalo because I believe they have poor quality control and no integrity. Last summer I purchased a bag of their dog biscuits and there were bugs in the bag. A month later I bought a bag of their cat food and upon opening it found that it was covered with mold. That same summer a friend of mine started her puppy on Blue Buffalo and the dog got very sick, the issues cleared up as soon as she switched foods. Many other have reported similar issues – the stories are all over the web – however Blue continuously denies that there are any problems with their products. Go to truthaboutpetfood(dot)com and type in Blue Buffalo – check out the articles.

I wouldn’t feed Nutro mainly due to the fact that they don’t have a single formula high enough in protein for my tastes. I also don’t like that Nutro is owned by Mars – a large corporation (also makes Pedigree and Royal Canin). There have been a lot of complaints about Nutro lately as well (you can also check these out on Truth About Pet Food).

[InkedMarie]

Flossie: I fed Canidae years ago. What maximum sodium level do you have to stick with?

[DogFoodie]

I agree with the others and hope you can come up with some additional choices.

I used Canidae Pure Elements once when I though that the manufacturing had been moved to Canidae’s new manufacturing facility, Ethos; only to find out that much of the manufacturing is still through Diamond so you couldn’t be sure that what you were buying was being made by Ethos or Diamond. Diamond is a deal breaker for me. My dogs weren’t thrilled with it anyway and I used it only briefly for the duration of one small bag.

I’d check out Dr. Tim’s and I’d contact Dr. Tim (drtim@drtims.com) and ask him which formula he might suggest for your dog. Dr. Tim’s is budget friendly and Dr. Tim is a vet who is very hands on with the production of his food… he’ll get back to you very quickly with a response. I just checked the site quickly and didn’t see anything regarding Sodium. You need a combination of excellent customer service, budget friendly and a quality product. I’d also try Earthborn, NutriSource and Fromm ~ all three of those fit your requirements ~ assuming the Sodium is OK.

[Flossie]

InkedMarie, do you use Canidae? I’d always heard good things about it, but now there are several comments on this site about it causing (or seeming to cause–it’s conjecture after all) digestive problems in dogs who’ve been on it for years. It worries me that maybe there’s a contaminated batch or something; wish I knew if there are actually a lot more people who *aren’t* having problems with it. The Platinum varieties are pretty low in sodium.

Hound Dog Mom, can I ask why you wouldn’t choose any of them? They get pretty good reviews here, so that’s why I picked them to ask about their sodium content. I actually was planning to order from Chewy, but there are so *many* options and variables that I don’t know how to narrow it down except the way I’ve been doing–making sure they have a good nutritional profile, checking the prices, then emailing the company to ask about sodium content (I *really* wish they’d start listing sodium on the package!). What brands are better but in the same price range? I’d prefer something that isn’t more than about $2 a can or $50 per 30lb bag. (I feed him both canned and dry food.)

[Hound Dog Mom]

I wouldn’t feed any of those foods. Have you considered shopping online? Sites like Chewy, Wag and Petflow would really open up some options for better quality foods – they all have a wide variety and quality brands and offer free shipping. I’m not sure about the sodium content of any brands (you’d just have to start calling companies) so I can’t speak for that, but I know I wouldn’t feed my dogs Blue, Canidae or Nutro. How much are you looking to spend?

[InkedMarie]

I hope someone can come along with some other options for you. Of those three, I’d go with Canidae.

[Flossie]

I have another thread about looking for sodium content on 4Health, which my dog with CHF currently eats. I’ve considered switching, though, and I’ve contacted all three of these companies, who have been really helpful and forthcoming with their sodium info. All three have varieties with a low sodium content.

But even though they have good official reviews on this site, the comments on the reviews have me worried. Apparently a lot of dogs on Canidae have suddenly experienced digestive issues, some people don’t like Blue for various reasons, and Nutro might have had a formula change.

I guess I can rule out the Canidae since there are quite a few posts about issues with it (has anyone reported this to the company?), but I’m not sure how to choose between Blue and Nutro. Does anybody have any further info about them, or another perspective on the issues people might have with them?

I think I’m just overwhelmed–it seems impossible to find a food that has a good nutritional profile, doesn’t have any issues with quality control, has readily available info about sodium, AND is easy to find and not ridiculously expensive. Does a food that fits all those requirements actually exist?

[Jessica1]

I just adopted a puppy from a rescue, his mom and her puppies were dumped. The mom is a smaller German Shepherd and the vet thinks he has Burmese Mountain Dog. He is the cutest and sweetest “little” guy. I can guess this is going to be a big boy. Ever since I considered adopting him I started doing research on dog foods, they have changed a lot since my last dog.
I feel like I’m studying for an exam and failing. I am so confused at this point. I looked into brands like ; Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Blue Wilderness, Canine Caviar, Innova, Natures Variety, etc etc … After speaking to many people they stated that the higher end brands were to rich for their dogs and or created loose bowls. I’ve looked at the med end, but not all that happy with some of the ingredients. I loved the information on the, “Large Breed Puppy Food List” with the calcium percentages, and the food with rabbit as the main ingredient sounded to be like one of the best meats to use. But I just don’t know which might work out best for him. I was able to bring him home today and they have him on Pedigree so I want to wean him off this as soon as possible. Also, I would like to find a good food that won’t break me. I don’t mind paying a little more for better quality but some of the pricing is way out there.
I really want something that is good for him but it has to be something he enjoys. Oh and I’m looking for a dry food.
If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for me I would greatly appreciate it.

[Spencers Mom]

Hi everyone, I have a 2 1/2 year old, male Yorkie. We had the pleasure of becoming his pet parents a little over a year ago. We are having issues with food allergies. He gnaws/licks his feet, so much at times their raw, he’s constantly scratching. No sneezing. When we first got him he was eating Purina moist & meaty/beef & cheese. We wanted to switch him to a little healthier product and to a kibble thinking a kibble version was better for his teeth. Since then, he has had issues. Funny he wasn’t having allergy issues on the Purina. We’ve tried Nutro, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance LID, Taste of The Wild High Prairie, even a prescription dog food from the Vet, (which made him vomit several times in just 2 weeks) and many more I can’t remember at the moment. Of those brands we’ve tried Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Salmon, Venison – which we have him on at the moment even Venison jerky treats. We’ve tried grain free, limited ingredient, etc. The Salmon made him vomit, may have been too rich for him. I’ve researched and researched, some posts I’ve read said California Natural was great for dogs with food allergies, but I’ve seen they have had several recalls lately. Little scared to try that one yet. We are at our wits end!! Hate to see our baby suffering. We are wondering now is it the meat protein (since we’ve tried so many different proteins) he’s having issues with or could it be the “dry” formula in it’s self. We left him with his Aunt for a week and she feed him Fresh Pet Select, CHICKEN. She said he didn’t scratch or gnaw any that week. So are we on to something, or just barking up the wrong tree (pun intended)??? Could there be some difference between the dry and wet formula that would cause food allergies??

[DieselJunki]

I have never fed Science Diet and luckily become dog food savvy before getting sucked into the “My vet knows everything” deal. I do know the ingredients are crap, however.

Dendad, have you looked up all the 4 and 5 star foods here? I personally would stay away from Blue Buffalo and anything Diamond has had their hands in making. Here is a link to the Diamond (people who make blue buffalo among others!) recalls
/dog-food-recall/diamond-dog-food-recall-expands-again/

I know some people here feed Nature’s Variety, Orijen, Fromms, Annamaet, Brothers, just to name a few. I know some people on here are have found a decent brand at their Costco that is pretty budget friendly but I have forgotten the name. If you want to know of more 4 and 5 star foods on this website just click “Home” at the top and on the left there will be a link “Dry Dog Food.” click that and from there you have the option to click how many stars.

Remember though variety is key! Choose a couple different brands and rotate at the end of every bag, or every couple months. Change the protein source, if the source in the food you are feeding is beef, choose chicken next time, so on and so forth. And remember to rotate SLOWLY, especially if you know your dog gets an upset tummy when you switch to fast.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by DieselJunki.

[dendad]

Unfortunately, I’m still feeding her Science Diet because I haven’t had time to get the research done (wrecked my car right before my baby died, so I’m without transportation too). I don’t want to change her to a new food until I know for sure it’s the right thing. I’m so grateful for this site. It has given me the info I need to decide on a new food. I’m leaning towards Blue Buffalo, but need to look into it further. I certainly will take Science Diet out of our lives at the earliest opportunity, possibly tomorrow if at all possible. A friend is going to take me to buy whatever food I decide on.

Thanks for asking. At present, I’m open to any suggestions. I have begged my wife not to get another dog. My little dog misses “Stretch” as much as we do, but I don’t want to go through this but one more time.

[Blue1693]

I need help finding a good dog food for my 2 and a half year old, 15 pound Shih Tzu. While at a friend’s house, he was given some Purina Beneful Healthy Weight. I was so happy and shocked that he was eating because he is the pickiest eater in the world. I have tried numerous dog foods like two flavors of Blue Buffalo, Caesar’s, Pedigree, a hypoallergenic type, etc. Well, I ran out and bought a bag of the Beneful because I was so happy my dog likes a food…until I read the ingredients. CORN? Chicken BY PRODUCT? EW! I read some reviews and found it to be the worst dog food that can have serious health consequences. I threw that bag away and informed my friend. Unfortunately, I am back where I started, my dog still refuses to eat and I do not know what to do. I mixed the dry food with water, warmed it up, and added some turkey. That only seems to help for a day and then my dog gets tired of it. I even have resorted to feeding him turkey and rice almost every day just so he will eat and even know he still backs up from food. The vet said that a dog will not starve themselves and there are dogs that live to eat and then there are dogs that eat to live (mine would be in the second category). I then bought Newman’s Own Organic Adult Formula and mixed some water in and he ate it. I want to know if that brand is good? And if not, are there any other brands that are healthy and have no recalls?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi jaxsmom –

Unfortunately many people are experiencing these same issues with Blue Buffalo. My friend’s golden retriever puppy got very sick on the Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy formula. I also don’t believe that any of the Blue Formulas are appropriate for a large breed puppy such as a lab. I’d recommend checking out the Large Breed Puppy thread – it’s under the “Diet and Health Issues Forum.” Hope that helps!

[jaxsmom]

We have a 6 month old lab mix puppy that has developed a poor appetite and weird eating habits within the last month. He was on blue buffalo lamb and oatmeal puppy food for a couple of months. One day he started getting diarrhea and was acting less energetic and wouldn’t really eat without much coaxing. So we took him to the vet and there were no issues. The vet recommended Prescription Diet food for digestive health and we tried that. He seemed to like that and we decided to slowly get him back on his old food and he would eat his old food when it was mixed with the Prescription Diet. We wanted to get off of that since the first ingredient is corn and get back to something more natural. We tried switching to the blue buffalo large breed puppy chicken and rice to see if he liked that flavor instead. But he really doesn’t have much interest in it and won’t eat it all of it. He will usually take a few kibbles and bring it to a rug and eat it there and then walk away for a bit. His stool is sometimes solid, sometimes loose and it varies how many times he goes in a day. He sometimes has gas too. He also itches his ears and paws a lot, so we are thinking he might have allergies. Does anyone have a suggestion for a dry food that is natural and in the same price range as blue buffalo? Should we get a large breed puppy food? We are considering Hollistic Select as an option.
Thanks for the help!

[Oz]

Also at the store I get food they have:

Blue buffalo, Solid Gold, Natures Variety, Natural Balance, Natures Recipe, Halo, Merrick, Nutro Ultra, Natural Choice, Wellness, Science Diet, and *cringes* Purina products and grocery store brands

[BoRegard]

Hello, my name is Bo, I’m from IL. I am looking for advice because my 8 year old mixed breed Rockie hasn’t been eating regularly and has occasional diarrhea and even vomited twice in the last 2 weeks and once or twice in he prior 2 week period. Right when we think she is getting better, she has a couple bad days. She used to devour her food in 30 seconds flat, but now she just looks at it, eats a kibble, spits it out, and if she does decide to eat, it will take her 5 mintues to finish 3/4 cup. Lately she will wake me up at 5am (normal eating time) whining, so I will put food in her bowl and she will just look at the food, then look at me with a sad face.

She has been on blue buffalo for a few years, currently chicken and brown rice. The sickness started shortly after a family picnic where she consumed plenty of table food and possibly some raw chicken juices momentarily before I ran over and stopped her. Yes I was a very bad doggie dad that day! Right around that time is when we opened a fresh bag of Blue Buffalo as well. That was a month ago and she hasn’t been right since. Since then we have been extremely careful to keep her away from any table food and garbage but she still has loose stool, vomits occasionally and has lathargic days. Occasionally her stomach will growl so loud we can hear it across the room. Yeserday she had bad gas, which is rare for her. According to some reading I’ve done on this website and consumeraffairs.com it seems there might be some bad Blue buffalo food going around recently, and I am not sure if the food is to blame for Rockie’s problems. Certainly I wasn’t doing my job a month ago, so bad parenting may be to blame. My wife and I are contemplating switching her food to see if that makes a difference. We had a vet appt last week, then for 2 days before the appt, her stool was normal and she was eating somewhat normal. So we canceled the appt. Might be time to make another appt.

There are a lot of variables here, I know. Any input is appreciated. I really want to get my girl back to the happy and healthy dog she used to be!
Thanks, Bo

[Dustin-R]

I have a 4 month old Rottie. He was on Blue Buffalo Wilderness puppy. He had loose stool a lot. Blue would not give me a answer about the calcium levels so I switched to Wellness Core Puppy and have NO problems at all with it. It is on the list also. With my pup Wellness Core Puppy is the one.

[equinelove93]

So for the past nine years my brother owned a lab x collie. He was on a very poor diet (grocery store brand kibble) then my brother decided he didn’t want the dog, so I decided to adopt him. Yesterday I took him to the vet for his shots and the vet said he was underweight. This is because he wasn’t being fed enough by my brother.

Now I have the task of helping him put on weight. His current weight is 43.5 lbs. ribs, spine and hips can be seen and felt. I switched his food over to holistic blend. (We tried acana, Orijen and blue buffalo but he would constantly have diarreah. But he’s tolerating the holistic blend very well.

The food feeding guidelines for his weight is 1 1/3 cup daily. The Kcal is 390 per cup. My dog is very active and gets a lot of excercise daily.

How much should I feed him to gain weight?