[SaintsDontCarryBrandy]

*confused* HDM- help me out here…On the original Calcium.docx file, Victor dog foods don’t actually make the list (not sure why)- yet you just recommended them to Qi X. Would they work for a Giant like my incoming Saintzilla? Considering Victor Grain Free, as I can actually find it on Amazon (although chewy’s not carrying it right now). With the limits of mountain living, finding decent food is pretty much dependent on the internet!

[SaintsDontCarryBrandy]

Have a new Saint puppy at 3 months old who’s apparently been raised on some serious junky food with questionable ingredients (it rates two stars on the DFA list…and I think they were being kind…). Two major questions:
(1) Can I switch him over to e.g. Victor Grain Free or another brand and potentially undo some of the dietary damage?
(2) What can I use as decent dog treats/chews? My parents raised great Saints, but they fed “whatever was cheap”, and I know the results of that path, so any suggestions would sure be appreciated. With the high rate of hip dysplasia in Saints, avoiding overfeeding or overcalcifying is a big focus.
Thoughts?

[Tara M]

Thank you for your replies. Yes, a fecal test was done to rule out parasites and any other known causes and none was found, which is why the tentative diagnosis of IBS/IBD. She is currently on Proviable-DC probiotic as well. I will be checking out the dogaware.com website. I am hoping to find a supplier in my area for the Victor’s as I have read the reviews and looks to be what I am looking for since I know going through the vet’s for food would cost a small fortune, as I have already spent a great deal in just the three months since all symptoms started. Any thoughts on adding unrefined organic coconut oil to her diet? I have heard this can be really good for digestive disorders as well.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tara-
Since you said he has bad gut bacteria, I’m assuming that you have had a fecal test done. It is common for a pup to get Coccidia and/or Giardia. Hopefully, those have been ruled out. I had a problem with loose stools with my dogs and feeding grain free Victor and adding probiotics, digestive enzyme and a supplement that contains slippery elm is very helpful. Victor is a budget friendly 5 star grain free food.
I feel like you need to figure out what is causing the diarrhea. Whether it be parasites, food intolerance or IBS, so you can fix the issue.
The dogaware.com website has a lot of great info on their digestive disorders thread. I wish you the best. It’s not a very fun issue!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Cassandra –

If you’re an Editor’s Choice member I would suggest checking out the list of recommended budget-friendly dog foods.

If not, a few reasonably priced foods that I hear good things about are Pure Balance (available at Walmart), 4Health (available at Tractor Supply) and Victor (available at some feed stores and online).

[Mike Sagman]

Hi Tracy,

We’ve already reviewed all the current Victor products. And as you can tell from our article, we really like this brand.

However, if there’s another dog food you’d like us to review, please visit this page and let us know. We’ll do our best to cover it in the future. Don’t forget to provide as much detail as possible so we can find the info we need to prepare our report.

Thanks for your suggestion.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Justine-
I have had similar issues with my dogs, however, they did have parasites. I’ve tried several supplements as well. Currently, I feed Victor grain free joint and health kibble. I use various toppers such as canned, raw, dehydrated and fresh mixed in. I almost always use a digestive enzyme and an occasional probiotic. They are doing much better now. I strongly suggest checking out dogaware.com website as they have so much information on digestive issues. If you are looking to change dry food, give Victor a try. Many on this site have done well with it. Also, plain pure pumpkin might be a great addition to your dog’s food. It is very healthy and adds fiber that is both helpful for constipation and loose stools. The supplements that I have used with success that I discovered from dogaware are: Gastriplex, Vetri Pro BD, Perfect Form and Phytomucil. I hope you find a winning combination because I know how frustrating your situation is. Cleaning up runny poop is not a good thing! Good luck.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi, Cavvie lovers! I have 3 of this beautiful breed. I have Laverne, a Ruby retired show champion who weighs around 17 lbs. and tends to have mild intolerances and trouble in the past with anal glands. She is 9 yrs. and has a murmur according to my holistic vet. No meds, though. She’s lived with us for 3 years now. Hazel is my 7 year old Black and Tan who weighs around 19 lbs., all muscle. She was born with a murmur but has never had meds. She’s been with us for 5 years. She and Laverne are registered therapy dogs. My newest is Rupert, a 7 year old Blenheim retired show champion who weighs around 19 lbs. I’ve had Rupert for 3 months now. He has a grade 5 murmur and MVD, asymptomatic, however he is on enalapril twice a day. Now that his health is pretty good for him (he came to me not so healthy) I plan on making him a therapy dog, as well.

I had to try many foods due to Laverne’s intolerances, which started with loose stool, rumbly tummy, not wanting to eat at times and of course the dreaded anal gland issues. We are finally (hope I don’t jinx us, lol) doing great with Wellness totally. I’ve always used Wellness cans and biscuits/treats but their kibble size was just too big for them, especially Laverne who I needed it to work for the most. So I used others, like Acana Singles, Merrick, Instinct LIDs, Zignature, Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s, Victors and probably others I’ve forgotten about. Some worked and I’ll still feed if needed…Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s and Victor, but a lot of others didn’t. I even tried premade raw, which was fine but too hard for my household to deal with. Foods like THK didn’t go over well. However, recently Wellness came out with new Small Breed formulas…YAY! So I tried them. I now rotate through Small Breed Senior, Small Breed Whitefish and Small Breed Simple Salmon along with their canned Stews for topping kibble and Yogurt biscuits for bedtime snack. I use their Pure Bites for training. Things are great, atm!! I do add a probiotic/enzyme supplement and a fiber supplement called Firm Up with each meal. It’s simply dried pumpkin and apple pectin. They also get coq10 for their heart. This has been working for us for 2 months now and I will continue this regimen. Sometimes I will use other canned toppers, like Simply Nourish, Fromm or Weruva for variety. All 3 have such soft wonderful coats and great skin. I did shave them down a little for the first time this summer and can honestly say that I love the haircuts! I kept their ears and tails long. I will keep them cut this way. I hope some of this info. gives hope for you guys with other Cavvies, my heart breed! 🙂 <3

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Jean Ann]

Cardiologist Dr. Charla Jones (Austin, TX) sees my Cavaliers, and she says the high protein, grain free dry foods are too rich for my dogs. Too much protein is hard on the kidneys, etc. Also, my dogs tend to gain weight on it (bad for their hearts); their normal weights range from 17 to 19 lbs. The other dry foods that are not rated well. My Cavaliers get very high grade fish oil twice daily and are doing beautifully heart-wise. Limited ingredients have about 21% – 24% protein and doesn’t taste very good, but they’ll eat it.
Also our 6 month old, 7 lb grand dog, Lily, gets dark gunk in her ears when eating the Victor dry and she started having congestion and a wet nose wheeze when on Merrick grain-free, but that could be seasonal allergies, I guess. At a loss as to what to feed her.
We fed Muenster organic for years. NEED HELP Any help out there?
Many thanks, Jean Ann Jones

[DogFoodie]

Firm Up, huh. I’ll look for it!.

Gail, so sorry to hijack your thread!

A couple of things…, I’m currently feeding my pup with food intolerance issues NVI LID Duck. The variety I’m using contains no peas. And, take a look at Victor Hi Pro 42: http://victordogfood.com/. Several regular posters here having used it with pups with digestive issues and diarrhea, with great success. It’s lower in fiber. The bonus, if you can find out locally, it’s very budget friendly.

One thing I think is confusing is that symptoms of dogs getting too little fiber look an awful lot like dogs being too much fiber.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Jennifer P-
Welcome to DFA! First of all, there is no such thing as a perfect food. It is best, in many people’s opinions on this site, to feed a variety to your dogs. There is an article in the review site’s library about diet rotation. I have fed Blue in the past, but thought they were too expensive for what you get. Right now, I am feeding my dogs grain free Victor dry kibble. I also add a different topper almost every meal so they can get different benefits from the different foods. I’m not a Blue hater but probably would not feed it again. Find at least one more kibble that is a different brand with a different protein and starch binder to give them some variety. Print the best dry food list and bring it to the pet store with you, or even better yet, check them out on the internet on their own sites to compare. Also you can start adding canned, dehydrated, raw, eggs and/or sardines to their kibble to make it even healthier. Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

My dogs’ don’t seem to do very well with peas either. The two dry kibbles that I like so far are Victor grain free and Nature’s Logic. However, neither are considered limited ingredient. Also, have you tried adding any type of digestive enzyme to their food? The Honest Kitchen makes a supplement called Perfect Form that seems to help my dogs. I wish you luck!

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi, and I’m sorry to hear that your little dog has this. I’m not recommending Hills but the diarrhea is probably coming from an abrupt diet change. I’m sure you didn’t transition to the Hills…I apologize if I’m wrong on this. Anyway, there are a few foods I would consider for a dog prone to pancreatitis. Annamaet Lean is a good food (annamaet.com). It can be ordered form Chewy.com or Wag.com, and other places. I can’t get it locally so I would have to order online. Wellness Core Reduced Fat is another I would try. Wellness is available most places like Petsmart and Petco. Wellness also has a Small Breed Healthy Weight that might work and a line called Simple that has a healthy weight formula. I love Wellness. Victor dog food (I order mine from Sportdogfood.com) has a senior formula that looks good, too. Remember, whatever you choose try to transition slowly from whatever he’s eating now. If that’s not possible try adding some plain canned pumpkin to the food to help firm up stools during transitioning. Not pie filling, just plain pumpkin.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Maria-
Victor has a healthy weight formula that looks good. As mentioned above, however, you would need to add fiber, such as chia or psyllium seed. But it is 27% protein and only 11% fat. Other foods that I’ve seen recommended are Wellness Core and Anament Lean. Also adding plain canned pumpkin would be helpful to add a little fiber and it is also very healthy for dogs.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Bonnie,

Some other foods that are known to be high quality, yet budget friendly are Victor, Dr. Tim’s, and Earthborn Holistic. You can get grain-inclusive Dr. Tim’s on Chewy.com for $1.85/lb (Momentum) and $1.46/lb (Pursuit). The grain-free kinesis is $1.80/lb. Earthborn has 4 grain-free varieties that are $47.99 for a 28lb bag ($1.71/lb), on Chewy.com also. Victor is a little harder to find. Amazon and sportdogfood.com carry it. It’s around $1.80/lb.

I’m not familiar with American Natural. I’m not a big fan of Fromm and the only Wellness formula I would consider feeding is the Core. Compared to what you are currently feeding (a 5 star grain-free food) you’d be downgrading by feeding any of those because none of them are 5 star foods and they are all very carb heavy. All of the Dr. Tim’s varieties I mentioned are 5 stars, as is the Victor Grain-Free. Earthborn is 4.5 stars but the Primitive Natural variety is 5 stars.

That’s my 2 cents. I hope it’s somewhat helpful for you.

[Mom2Cavs]

I love Victor food. I get mine when I use it from http://www.sportdogfood.com. Please go there and check it out. They do only dry, though. For cans I love Wellness Stews, but others that are good and reasonably priced are Pure Balance (Walmart’s brand), 4Health Stews (Tractor Supply’s brand). I am trying lately to use cans without carrageenan, which is a controversial ingredient these days. I also love Dr. Tim’s and Annamaet’s dry….neither make a canned food. I also love Wellness dry, of course. Other cans I like (price not taken into consideration) are Weruva, Simply Nourish, Mulligan Stew, Instinct and Prairie.

[DogFoodie]

Two excellent quality, budget friendly foods you might want to check out are Dr. Tim’s and Victor. If you can find Victor locally, it’s usually priced at about $38.99 for a 30 pound bag of the grain free and the same price for a 40 pound bag of the grain inclusive.

Here’s the Victor product locator: http://www.victordogfood.com/. Click on the “find a dealer” tab.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tracy-
Welcome to DFA! It sounds to me like you are doing a great job with your pups. I have litter mates also. Two lab mix males. They will turn three next month. What a handful! I’ll never do that again! However, I can’t imagine life without them.
Anyway, you got a clean bill of health at the vets so you must be doing something right. Most members on this site believe that it is best to feed your dogs variety. A rotating diet is recommended. It sounds like Royal Canin is very expensive for a 2.5 star food. You could definitely keep it in your rotation since the dogs do well on it if you want. You could probably add another kibble to your rotation that has more protein and even be less expensive. So far I use Victor and Natures Logic Kibbles. I also use several different toppers for variety. Such as canned, eggs, sardines, raw nuggets and even dehydrated.
When you are introducing a new food, just transition slowly and add a little plain pumpkin and probiotics to help with the change. Good luck to you and your pups!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Raam-
I too, have had some battles with Giardia. During that time I never knew if they were suffering from a food intolerance or if the Giardia was back. It was very stressful. Luckily, they have been negative for about 9 months. They were also treated several times with panacur and antibiotics. It has taken a long time to get their tummies back to normal. They have always been interested in eating though, thank goodness! I am feeding them Victor grain free with a variety of toppers with good luck. However, I do use various supplements which have also helped soothe their tummies. Much information can be found on dogaware.com with digestive issues. It is a great site. Many of the supplements that I’ve used are made by Vetri Science, Thorne, Animal Essentials and Honest Kitchen. As Sue said, it might be best to start with something bland and work your way back to a better kibble. Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Hypoallergenic is basically nomenclature. If a hypoallergenic food contains beef, and your dog is intolerant of our allergic to beef, he’ll still produce a response.

You wanted low residue. Did you identify your dog’s reaction to foods of varying fiber levels? The food you’re feeding now contains a lot of grain (filler ingredient), so it’s producing a larger stool volume.

I’d look for a grain free food with a higher percentage of meat protein and lower carbs along with lower fiber. You might look for Victor GF Ultra Pro, which meets those criteria and has a fiber level of about 2.5%.

I’d also consider adding digestive enzymes. One I’ve had great success with four one of my dogs is Swanson’s BioCore:https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-ultra-biocore-optimum-complete-ultimate-full-spectrum-enzymes-90-veg-caps. It helps him break down sugars from starches and vegetables better than any other enzyme I’ve used.

[Bobby dog]

Hi michele b:
The brands Mom2Cavs recommended are very budget friendly. I feed most of those foods regularly. I have a strict budget for pet food also so I understand your issue. I buy most of my food on sale or with coupons.

Tractor Supply Co.’s 4Health and Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance both make kibble and canned foods that are affordable; my dog loves and does well on both brands. I have not fed any Pure Balance kibbles, but they are well rated here. I use Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance stews ($1/can), Pure Balance 95% canned ($1.25/can), and all recipes of 4Health canned (99 cents/can) weekly. I also feed 4Health grain free Turkey or Beef kibbles in my rotation.

I also feed Rachael Ray zero grain kibbles and wet food tubs which are rated well. Wal-Mart and some grocery stores carry RR. A lot of times there are coupons on her website. There is a $4.00 off coupon posted now for any size Zero Grain kibble and one for B2G1 free of the wet foods. I believe you can print each coupon up to two times. You can also sign up for her pet food e-mail promotions.

Here’s a link to Rachael Ray’s site:
http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/switchto

Here’s a link to Pure Balance products:
http://www.walmart.com/cp/Pure-Balance-Natural-Dog-Food/1097490

And here’s a link to 4Health products:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/content_landing-page_4health

Victor is probably one of the most affordable brands of the DFA 4 and 5 star rated foods. Victor’s grain inclusive kibbles are very budget friendly. If you are able to order Victor on line, the website Mom2Cavs posted in her reply is great to order from. If you can find a Victor dealer in your area it would be much cheaper than buying on-line. Here is a link to Victor’s website, check out the “find a dealer” option to see if there is a store near you:
http://www.midamericapetfood.com/victordogfood/index.html

Other places to find affordable pet food are large animal feed stores, lawn and garden supply stores, and hardware stores. These stores are also likely to have frequent buyer programs you can sign up for. If you buy any pet food from a pet store check to see if they have any frequent buyer programs or e-mail promotions you can sign up for as well. Good luck!

[Mom2Cavs]

If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, they have their brand of food called 4Health. It is very reasonably priced. Look on their website to see what they have. Also, Wal Mart has their brand called Pure Balance that is not bad. I’m sure others will help out on here.
Oh, yeah….one more I like for people on a strict budget is Whole Earth Farms, however you would have to buy a large bag….which would be fine if you stored it properly. Victor dog food is great, too! I have to order my Victor online through http://www.sportdogfood.com, so if you can do that check them out, too. Good luck to you!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Terri-
I have fed both Victor grain free and Nature’s Logic to my lab mix dogs. Both have very small kibble and are 5 star foods that my dogs have done well on. Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

I feed my dogs Victor’s Joint Health grain free food. It has extra glucosamine added to it. But, like the others have stated, it is probably best to add a supplement to ensure that they are getting the full benefit of it.

[LexiDog]

I can’t say anything about the seizures either.

My personal favorite kibbles are Acana Regionals and Orijen. These are expensive but I feel we’ll worth it. I have an active 38 # dog and she was getting 1 1/4 cups of food a day on these kibbles. These can be found at Pet Supplies Plus stores and local specialty boutiques. I was actually surprised to see how many specialty shops were around when I started looking for them.

Other favorites include Wellness Core (found at Petsmart and Petco) and Fromm Four Star (Pet Supplies Plus and boutiques). A lot of people like Dr. Tim’s and Victor grain free but I can not find these in the local stores, so I haven’t tried them. I would have to order them online. I have had great experiences ordering food and other stuff from Chewy.com.

If I had to pick a kibble on a budget, I would probably try Whole Earth Farms Grain Free. This can be found at Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I’m not sure if Petsmart carries it or not because I haven’t been there in a while.

Just remember that not all foods are made for all dogs. Just because my dog does great on certain foods doesn’t mean that yours will. You have to find one that works for you and your dog.

You may want to look at feeding a 4 star kibble before jumping right to a 5. Moose will be going from a plant based diet to a meat based diet and that can cause some upsets. Just remember to transition him very slowly. You can also add some pumpkin while switching. If you buy it from the grocery store just make sure that it is pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Fruitables makes a digestive supplement with pumpkin to help with switching.

As for species appropriate food. Kibble is not one of them because kibble does not contain the amount of moisture needed for a species appropriate diet. The ideal moisture would be a food that containes around 70% moisture. For example canned is better than kibble and frozen raw is better than canned. Google Dr. Karen Becker best to worst foods. There is a video and a list that is super helpful.

Right now I am feeding my girl Primal frozen raw and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated. There are a ton of great foods out there, just need to know where to look. You should keep an open mind about ordering online. I’ve never had a bad experience with Chewy.com.

This is probably way more info than you want but this is only a little bit. Trust me. There is so much info out there it will make your head spin for a while. You can also get into feeding a homemade diet too. Others will have to help with that.

[SaintsDontCarryBrandy]

Our family has had Saint Bernards since before I was born, but the diet choices weren’t either as varied or as useful as they are now. “What’s cheap?” reigned over “What’s the best diet?” Now I have a Saint Bernard puppy (9 weeks) coming into our household who’s been raised on Sportmix Wholesome. It averages 3.5 stars, but given its first few ingredients are major flags, I’m not willing to “save a few bucks” in exchange for a less healthy and shorter-lived pup!
I can’t access HDM’s Large Breed Dog Food list on Google (argh); am considering Victor Grain Free, but am open to any dog food good for giant-breed dogs (my pup’s dad is 220 and a strapping boy, so he isn’t likely to be small…) Saints develop at a rapid pace, so their dietary needs are similar to other giants (Newfies, Mastiffs, Danes, Pyrenees, etc.)

Am reading everything I can get my hands on. I’m willing to get better quality dog food; would appreciate any advice, as well as thoughts on feeding raw vs. great-quality package food. Thanks!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Cars,

I’d take a look at Victor. They do have a fish based food called Yukon River, but it also contains sweet potato. They have lots of other varieties that include fish, but aren’t fish based.

You also mention it had to be fish based. Is there a reason for that? I ask because fish based foods are more readily subject to rancidity than other proteins. Great WDJ article about that here: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_12/features/Fats-Chance_20658-1.html. if you must buy fish based food, buy the freshest you can and only as you need it. Don’t stock up on fish based kibble.

Now, if you’re wanting fish based for the added Omegas, you’re far better off adding fresh, whole food ingredients, such as tinned sardines two or three times weekly to a meal of kibble.

Here is an amazing little download written by Steve Brown, who also wrote the article I linked to above: http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html. The download costs $2.95, but it’s worth its weight. It explains the advantages of adding fresh whole foods to your dog’s diet and how doing so, even one day per week in place of ameal of kibble, can make a huge difference in your dog’s overall health!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nicole-
The vet once prescribed this food for my pups also. It is so expensive for what is in the bag. My dogs were having loose stools as well. Turns out they had a terrible long lasting case of giardia. I assume that you have had a fecal test checking for parasites. If the high fiber helps your dog, you could always add it to another high quality food. You could add a little psyllium, chia seed or pumpkin to add fiber. If you decide to do this, please transition very slowly. I am currently feeding Victor grain free kibble. It contains montmorillonite clay which is known to help with loose stools. I have used different supplements that also help. I often use Gastriplex made by Thorne, Fruitables digestive supplement, Perfect Form made by the Honest Kitchen and probiotics that also help. There is a lot of information on dogaware.com for dogs with loose stools and intermittent diarrhea. Please let me know what you decide to do and how it goes. Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Judy-
I have been feeding Victor grain free to my dogs. I’m very happy with this food. I noticed that they also have a healthy weight food that looks promising. It is not grain free, however. It is a beef and rice formula. The guaranteed analysis is 27% protein, 11.5% fat, and 4.5% fiber. It is only 360 calories a cup. I wouldn’t hesitate to feed this to my dogs if they needed to drop some weight. There is also Premium Edge healthy weight dog food that looks great. But…it is manufactured by Diamond, who has had a string of recalls in one of their facilities in previous years. I fed the cat version of Premium Healthy Weight to my cats and they did great. But, I live in an area that has not been affected much by the recalls. There is also the option of feeding the dogs less! Or, cut back a little on the kibble and add a little canned to help make them feel fuller. Good luck with your pups!

[Naturella]

Christina, I would say probably give it a few days (2-3-ish) before you add a new ingredient just so you know if he would react for sure. As for tomatoes, I guess you could put them in a blender or food processor for a few seconds until they are pretty much mush, then try them. Make sure the whole elimination diet does not last too too long, as it is not a balanced way to feed a dog, so hopefully within 10-14 days you will know if he reacts to a particular ingredient. If he doesn’t react to any of the ones listed above, I would go with a grain-free diet, or a rice-and-maybe-oatmeal-or-millet-or-barley-as-the-only-grains diet. But grain-free is generally safer for an allergy-prone dog.

One of my classmates and friends told me that her dog was extremely itchy eating Pedigree and Beneful, so I told her what I know, and she got him on a grain-free diet – said the itch has been considerably reduced to just an occasional “normal” scratch here and there. She didn’t do an elimination diet, just straight up eliminated the grains, and she was lucky her dog did not react to anything else. So that is also another way you can approach it – just try a good quality fish-based kibble and add the THK Beams as treats and coconut oil, and see how that goes. I would probably still do an elimination though, just to be sure for myself. But, it may work out that he just needs good-quality grain-free kibble.

In case you want to just try the kibble round, some good grain-free kibbles (I will just list them for your ease, in no particular order) are:
Wellness Core – I want to feed in the future
Holistic Select
Orijen – I want to feed in the future
Acana Grain Free – I want to feed in the future
Victor Grain Free – I feed now
Earthborn Holistic Grain Free – I feed now
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free – I have fed, no issues
Holistic Health Extension Grain Free – I have fed with no issues and I feed one of their grain-inclusive formulas now
Now! Fresh – I have fed a small bag (less than 1lb) with no issues
Nutrisca – I have fed, no issues
Nature’s Variety Instinct – I will feed (have a bag lined up under the sink, lol), and I have fed samples with no issues
Back to Basics Grain Free – I will feed the grain-inclusive one (have a bag lined up under the sink also)
NutriSource Grain Free – I have fed samples with no issue but it is severely overpriced in my area so I’m not sure I would buy a bag to feed it
Taste of the Wild – some don’t like it as it is produced by Diamond and that company had a huge recall issue in 2012 that they handled poorly, but 3 friends feed/have fed it with no issues
Blue Buffalo Wilderness – I have fed with no issues but some owners report tummy and stool issues with their dogs when on Blue food. However, 2 other friends have fed/still feed Blue with no issues.

I am sure others can pitch in with more recommendations, plus, if you can afford it/want to, it really is better to feed canned/dehydrated/homemade/raw. Or you can mix them up – I feed kibble and canned/THK food/fridge add-ins (like eggs, yoghurt, raw bones, etc.). But yeah, just start off with determining what works for Chance, you can always add new things once he is at least on better food. 🙂

[Naturella]

I second Sandy’s advice – Bruno’s add-ins (various canned such as Merrick, Wellness, Nutro Ultra, etc.; THK Love, Embark, Force, Keen; yoghurt/kefir, cottage cheese, coconut oil, raw eggs, pumpkin, flaxseed meal on occasion, canned sardines on occasion, RMBs (pork necks and chicken backs at the moment), and raw spelts (small fish), and natural dehydrated chews – bully sticks, ears, snouts, chicken feet and necks, tracheas, etc.) constitute about 1/4 (25%) of his daily intake. However, THK and canned are also considered balanced foods (right?), so I think I am at below 20% with unbalanced additives. I just use his body condition as a guide, and will start keeping track of his weight (IDK if I will measure him though) – he is very active and runs a lot, and appears to be in tip top shape.

Also, I will give you Bruno’s weekly sample menu. He is an about 13lb, 1 year old, active Rat Terrier mix.
Kibble mix is: Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch:Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original:Victor Yukon Salmon in 3:1:1/3 ratio.

Treats: above kibble mix or NutriSource Seafood Select or Castor and Pollux Organix Adult (the last 2 are from samples). Also available are Nutro and Old Mother Hubbard biscuits for special occasions. Also for special occasions (or to keep him busy when I’m busy too) I make him ice-cream with yoghurt, peanut butter, coconut oil and coconut butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and turmeric, and I fill anything I can – his Kong, marrow bone, hoof, other toys with holes – and freeze. Rarely I give raw veggies/fruits like carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, apple, pineapple core, mango, raw coconut, etc. (safe stuff).

Monday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Tuesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons yoghurt/kefir and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Wednesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with raw egg (no shell) with a sprinkle of flaxseed meal
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Thursday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Friday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons cottage cheese and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons raw organ meat (whatever I have) or raw meat/fish (whatever I have) or 2 teaspoons of canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy

Saturday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Sunday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons pumpkin with a sprinkle of cinnamon and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
RMB to cap it out

On days when Bruno runs a lot (i.e. Dog Park days) I may switch his next meal’s add-in with raw egg or raw meat/organ meats/fish (or canned sardine) for added natural protein “post WOD”. Or give him a dehydrated natural chew like a bully stick, a cow/lamb/pig ear, or tripe stick, or you know – “richer” stuff to make up for the calories burned and supply some lean meat for his muscles. I really just kind of gage his body condition and appetite for stuff as far as additives go. And sometimes, if I’m out of canned, I put his plain dry kibble in a dispensing toy and let him play with it and eat it as is. I also do some training daily and reward with about 20 kibble bits, and, if I want to stress on something – an Old Mother Hubbard or Nutro biscuit. Oh, and I almost always add water (as you can see) for added hydration. But yeah… So far so good with this method of mine. Hope I’m doing it right too, lol.

But I’m sure you will figure out how to balance it for Jake. 🙂

[Mom2Cavs]

I don’t know anything about food and thyroid or Real Meat dog food, though I have used the Real Meat dog treats quite a bit and it was fine. I have also fed Victor dog food and I think it’s a very good food. I wouldn’t know which formula to recommend to you, but if you fb or email Philip at Sportdogfood.com he might have some ideas about which formula would best fit your needs.

[Sue B]

I have two Cotons, and recently through bloodwork, we have found their thyroid levels have been fluctuating. My vet doesn’t think it’s a tumor, and it would cost between 800 and $1500 to get a sonogram taken. One specialist said there was some hidden entrails found in one pet’s dog food or treats which caused his thyroid to elevate. Although I think I give my boys the best foods, it would make sense since both of their thyroids have elevated and dropped. One much more than the other. And at times the levels are normal. Therefore, my vet suggested changing dog foods. I currently give them real meat, and plan on changing to Victor’s. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Thank you

[Danni D]

Ugh…if you can get your dog off of the Pedigree.
It’s just not good for them.
I can vouch for Pure Balance, I rotate that in my Rottie’s diet, he also gets raw, freshpet and canned. I change his kibble every bag though. But he has done well on it.
Here is a controversial one to some but I have had great luck and health- Diamond Naturals not the plain cheaper Diamond. I fed my last rot this food for 15 years along with Raw and he did fine- it is also in my current rotation. It is not a bad food but Diamond has had a history of recalls. Many other Pet food makers have had recalls. Many are skiddish about Diamond because of this but it’s not a bad food. They make many other brands as well.
You can get Diamond Naturals of all kinds for great prices at Menards.
I wish I could tell you about 4health but living where I live we don’t have many feed stores. I do want to try it though as well as Eagle Pack.
Victor is a great food for my Rot, he likes it. My Pom got sick on it but he has a sensitive belly- kibble doesn’t sit well.
I bought Authority once and found maggots so ugh…not one I would feed but I know many do.

Hey Betsy- if you don’t mind little hijack- where do you get raw meaty bones? Butcher?

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Danni D.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Ally –

With the possible exception of prescription kibble formulas designed to support dental health, a kibble claiming to fight tarter is really a marketing gimick. Imagine if your dentist told you that if you ate croutons daily you’d have nice teeth and could quit brushing and flossing – if my dentist did that I’d tell him he’s nuts! There are many dental products on the market such as gels, sprays, some specially designed dental chews and raw meaty bones that may aid in supporting dental health to a certain degree. However, the only way to achieve optimal dental health is if you brush your dog’s teeth regularly. Many dog owners don’t realize the importance of oral health or realize that dogs require that their teeth are brushed regularly (just like humans!). The good news is it’s never too late to start!

Here’s a good article to get you started:

http://www.animalwellnessmagazine.com/articles/brush-his-pearly-whites/

If your dog is having issues with Pedigree you may also want to check out some other foods. Some foods I know of that many people seem to like that are comparable in price to Pedigree are 4Health (sold at Tractor Supply), Pure Balance (sold at Walmart), Rachel Ray (sold at Walmart and most grocery stores), Whole Earth Farms (sold at Petco and many pet specialty stores), Eagle Pack (sold at many pet specialty stores), Authority (sold at Petsmart) and Victor (sold at many feed stores).

[Naturella]

Normally a higher-calorie food, plus feeding her the amount for what she should weigh and not what she weighs right now should help. This may also be helpful: /dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/ as it has an option for active dogs.

That being said, here are some quality, higher-calorie AND affordable foods: Victor, Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Holistic, and, of course, for the really bad cases – Abady Granular – now that is about 700-800 kcal/cup, so you can use it mostly as a topper for another food.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Melissa,

Here’s the review for Victor Grain Free: /dog-food-reviews/victor-grain-free/

And, here’s the review for Infinia: /dog-food-reviews/infinia-dog-food/

[Melissa A]

Hello everyone,im glad to be a new member here. this site has helped thru the food issues, im not posting to nominate but to ask for two dog foods to be researched and put up the info. for us. 1. Victor dogfood,grain free and regular.2.Infinia grain free Zen. thank you for all the help and great posts here.

[Naturella]

Welcome, Robert!

Another food I know of and feed mixed into my dog’s rotation is Victor Grain Free – the kibble is tiny, the nutritional profile is pretty dang good, and my Bruno loves all flavors except for the Yukon Salmon, but he still eats it when it’s mixed in. So just wanted to give you another option for mother and son to try! 🙂

[Naturella]

I agree that a lot of people seem to have issues with Blue Buffalo, and this is not good. However, there are the few (apparently) whose dogs have done well on it. If I were to be asked to make a recommendation to someone about dog food, I would base it off of personal experience and research, and regarding Blue Buffalo, I can say that Bruno did wonderfully on the Wilderness Puppy for about 4 months, until I decided to rotate him out of it, just because rotating foods is good, not because of issues. I would say that I will keep Wilderness in our rotation because he’s done well on it, and because I know of 3 other dogs (in 2 separate households) who also have been feeding Blue (one constantly, which is not that great, the other in rotation) and their dogs have been ok too. Nonetheless, I can say that I have read about many who experience issues with it, but I really believe that it comes down to individual dogs and their guts for the most part. It is important that everyone closely monitors their dog and watch for reactions, then act accordingly. I have never had to contact the company, so I don’t know how their customer service is.

And I think the above goes for just about any food I have fed, or read a lot about. Still, no matter how much I read about foods, I will have to feed it to my dog personally in order to form my own opinion based on experience. There are many many foods I want to feed based on profile alone (and some forumers’ or friends’ opinions of them) – Wellness Core, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Wysong Epigen or Wysong 90, Victor (feeding a bit of it now, but want a full bag to really test it out), AvoDerm Trout (just that one, lol), Taste of the Wild and Canidae Pure (yes, yes, I know about Diamond and the recalls), Merrick Grain Free, Orijen (drool) and maybe Acana, Back to Basics (got a bag in the cabinet waiting its turn to be opened), Fromm, Darwin’s, The Honest Kitchen (when I’m rich, lol), etc. I don’t even know if Bruno’s lifetime will allow me to rotate through them once, let alone twice, lol.

So yeah, that’s my 2 cents.

[Naturella]

Lynn, I have not yet fed Fromm or Merrick, but I intend to. I have fed samples of Victor (all Grain Free ones), and samples of Nature’s Variety Instinct and plan to feed them as part of my dog’s rotation in the future. Bruno (my pup) REALLY likes all of Victor Grain Free except for the salmon one – he’s not crazy about it, but he eats it mixed in his current food (Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch with Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original). As for NVI – he ate the samples mixed in his previous mix (mostly Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free – Nutrisca Chicken – Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Grain Free, but when it was getting low I threw a bunch of samples in there – NVI Chicken and Duck&Turkey Raw Boost, NOW Fresh, and NutriSource Chicken), but he really likes the freeze-dried raw bits the most, and the NVI rabbit cat food, lol.

[Naturella]

Cindy_g, I would say you can finish off your bag of Blue (if you haven’t yet), but slowly be weaning your dog off to Merrick, then try something else too!

Lynn J, you can look into Victor Grain Free, and maybe Nature’s Variety Instinct, they do have chicken meal in some, but not all recipes, and are pretty good, 5 stars as well.

Becky G, why don’t you try topping with canned when you transition between foods? Most dogs like canned and would eat just about anything mixed in with it. Then you can (if you want) slowly reduce the amount of canned, until he eats the kibble alone. Canned is even better to keep in the diet though, so up to you. Also, you could add pumpkin, yoghurt, cottage cheese, kefir, or something else instead of canned if you’re up for that – my dog loves all those toppings too, and even though he licks them off first and licks and spits out the kibble at first, once the “topper” is gone, he eats whatever is in his bowl and licks it clean. Another technique that may work is, get (if you can) a sample size of a different food. Victor, Earthborn Holistic, Nutrisca, Taste of the Wild, Canidae Pure, Nature’s Variety Instinct are some that I have seen samples of. Then use those kibbles as treats and do training often – see if you can trick him to like any of them. It may take a while, but it works – I have gotten my dog used to new food this way before too. Good luck!

[Naturella]

Hater and Molly’s Mom – she is so pretty! What breed is she? 🙂

Akari… Girl… I am pretty sure I will do it, and then I will have to seriously NOT. LOOK. AT. DEALS. OR. COUPONS. for 6 months AT LEAST! I will also have to smuggle 25 lbs of food in individual 5-lb bags in the house without the hubby noticing, and hiding them somehow in a small apartment, along with the rest of the supplies… Hence, Lord, have mercy, but like you said – spend now, save later, and this dog will soon be set till the end of 20freakin15! 😀 The total of the 25lbs of food will cost $16 (counting in the free bag I begged NVI for, lol!).

Also, when I asked how long the promotion will be going on for, they said they don’t know, but for a while. I think it also just started or something… So you should definitely check, you could give them a call and let them know what the deal is at another PetLand, and see if they can hook you up! And I gotta catch it as soon as I get paid, then done! (Almost… I told my friend I will buy 5lbs of her Victor Ultra Pro bag because I really want to feed it to Bruno but don’t want to order it online – too expensive, and they don’t sell small sizes in the stores). But she won’t open that for a while, maybe like toward the end of the year, so I am good… And once I use my Petco+manufacturer coupons on some Wellness, AvoDerm, Blue Wilderness, Solid Gold, Canidae Pure, Merrick, and I have another coupon for NVI, but I can use it on another bag (clearly not on the free one, lol), THEN this dog will be set till the end of 2015 for reals and I need to practice self control like crazy. But I got this… I think. I should be able to do this. Right?

[Naturella]

Maybe you could try topping the kibble with some canned, and mix it up very well… I sometimes make my Rat Terrier mix a “soup” of kibble, canned, and a bit of water, all mushed up together.

But it would also help us if you list all that you’ve tried, so we know what not to suggest. Also, it may be just a particular flavor they care not about – have you tried several flavors of the same brand?

Some foods my Bruno likes a lot are Victor (he’s crazy about all of the grain free ones except the salmon), Earthborn Holistic Grain Free (Coastal Catch at the moment), and he liked his Dr. Tim’s and Nutrisca too. He also loves Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit (the cat food though…)

So if you tell us more about what you’ve tried, maybe we can help you better.

Another thing is, sometimes, you can let your dog “starve it out” for a day or two (but not too many more, if any at all really), then they’ll just eat what’s available if they’re hungry. Now, if they REALLY hate it and won’t eat after 2-3 full days (depending on the dog size), then maybe you can do something about it – give them what they like or try a new food.

[Naturella]

The largest I have seen is Victor, in 30 lbs for grain free, and 40-50lbs for grain inclusive. Sometimes they do a double special, i.e. you get 2 30-lb bags (for a total of 60 lbs) for a reduced price. I think the website is http://www.sportdogfood.com

Also, Dr. Tim’s – grain free comes in 30lbs, and grain-inclusive in 35lbs.

But yeah, haven’t really seen a 50-60lb bags of food…

[Shasta220]

It seems like I have heard around here that allergy tests are usually very inaccurate. You can take the same dog in for a test three different times and have each result differ. I’d try an elimination diet for a while, using these suspect foods (usually done by a home made simple diet and adding one suspect allergen at a time to see if a reaction occurs).

It’ll take a while for an elimination diet, but that’s about the only way you can tell for sure.

I don’t know too many foods’ ingredient lists. Seems like Victor uses Sorghoum instead of rice/barley as the carb source. I know a home made/raw diet is tricky to do, but it might be easier if you could possibly grind the meat/supplements and portion out daily meals in the freezer? Then when you take her to the pet sitter, you can just give her a container. This might be a possibility at least until you could find a food that works well 🙂

Also agree with aquariangt, there will probably be no easily accessible kibble that avoids all those ingredients (assuming that she really /does/ react to them all), so canned may be a better option since it’s much easier to avoid problem ingredients.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Shasta220.

[Mom2Cavs]

I’m not a vet and I’m not saying that the Instinct kibble is to blame, however, I just want to note that Instinct kibble is a high ash kibble. I found that my dogs cannot handle certain high ash foods, NV being one of them. I have just rotated them off of Victor, which I also think is a very good food but it is pretty high in ash. They are eating Annamaet again and actually doing better. They can only eat foods like Victor or NV or Earthborn (which is also pretty high in ash) for a short while before I notice problems start happening like increased tearing, having accidents in the house or stronger smelling urine and loose stool. Fromm and Annamaet are two foods I love that use low ash proteins.

[Mom2Cavs]

I’m not sure about being too high protein, possibly….but it could be anything in the food. I have a Cavalier senior that had symptoms like your dog. Adding a good probiotic/enzyme supplement and feeding a good sized biscuit before bedtime helped her. She is not eating a senior food or grain free, atm, and she’s doing great. I do rotate and I just switched the dogs from Victor to Annamaet Encore. I do also add canned toppers and the probiotics mixed with a little water at each meal. They get a Wellness biscuit at bedtime.

[Shasta220]

I’ve been looking a bit for Victor. Seems like the nearest dealer is a state away though :/ I have a friend who is lucky enough to get 40lb for about 32$!!!! Such a steal lol! If I can ever get a more steady job (I have no clue how babysitting and pet sitting manages to keep my 50$/month for dog food going, but it does!), then I’d absolutely get into something better for them. Possibly NutriSource or Earthborne….something along those lines.

All I have nearby are a couple of feed stores and pet boutiques. There is a PetCo about an hour away, then Costco/PetSmart is closer to 1.5hrs. I hate PetCo though they are SO expensive! I was looking at canned cat food there….all of it was at least .60$ more expensive than at the local feed/boutiques, ugh! (.60$ more per 5oz can, that is. If it were per case or something then I wouldn’t be so upset)

[Naturella]

Gotcha. I will feed my dogs the same too one day unless the next one has any specific issues. I just looked at Farmina and really like their GF fish and lamb formulas – I am sad that the wild boar one has chicken as a supplement – you know, in case a dog is allergic to chicken, they can’t have the wild boar either. But anyway – that one is kind of expensive, so I will feed it one day when I can afford it, lol.

And great job on the supplements! Bruno gets just about the same too, and he loves his veggies too!

You could maybe check out Victor – locally, I find the 40-lb bags of grain-inclusive for $38.99 – so, about $1/lb when you apply tax and stuff. And it’s a decent food. Online it seems to be more than $1/lb though, which is odd, but oh well. I am lucky to live close to 2 pet boutiques, and Petland, Petco, and Petsmart, AND Costco are all within 15min of me… The pet boutiques have better deals on sales though, it seems. I may ask them to see if they can get me the Farmina for less… I will look for a coupon for it too! 😀