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Search Results for 'best dry food'
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my 20lb, 13 yr old JRT suffers from mitral valve disease & an enlarged heart. He was eating Nature’s Variety Instinct dry until about 6 months ago when he started to lose his appetite. Switched to Instinct canned over the next few months until he stopped eating that as well. Have always hesitated changing his food too rapidly because of diarrhea & resulting anal gland issues, but have just taken the plunge & bought a variety of super premium wet foods in the hope of just keeping him interested. Added Swanson’s Dr.Langer’s 15 strain probiotics to his cocktail of drugs & supplements. He looks good & is gaining back a little weight, but the diarrhea, gas & noisy gut are worse. To put things in perspective, he’s outlived his life expectancy by 2 years since his heart disease was discovered. Every day we have is a gift at this point. He doesn’t seem to be able to keep large meals down (perhaps because his heart is so enlarged it reduces the capacity of his stomach) so I feed him 3 small meals a day. He likes canned pumpkin, but it doesn’t seem to help much w/ the diarrhea & I worry that he’s not getting enough protein & fat if I add too much to his small meals… I think I’m going to have to give up on the variety of canned foods & go back to just one for as long as he’ll eat it to stave off the diarrhea. What’s my best bet for high protein/fat yet not going to make his digestive issues worse?
Topic: Advising a Food Switch?
First off: I’m not concerned about my own dogs’ nutrition, they’re on a diet that works well for us and them.
A friend, on the other hand, thinks he’s giving his two 7y.o. GSDs the best and spoiling them (I don’t know how, but even his vet said their diet is good…). I’ve once told him about Nutra Nuggets, how it’s pretty good for its low price…he’s still convinced his dogs do great on their diet. Okay, what does he feed them? Beneful dry and Alpo/Pedigree canned…
It makes me sick whenever I go over there to feed the dogs, then I look at the ingredient label….ugggggh, how do those even qualify for ingredients?!? I was rather disappointed when he wouldn’t switch at least to Nutra Nuggets, since it’s a bit better quality AND it’s $25/40lb instead of $26/30lb… I was just kinda thinking “ahh it’d be a win-win in quality AND affordability!.
Anyway, he’s not really like me as far as studying out the premium nutrition/price, so I don’t really want to show him any articles that are super long. He’s also much much older than me, so it’s not like I’m just telling my pal to switch foods or anything… Most of all, I really don’t want to come across like “sir, you’re feeding your dogs garbage, get them off please!!!”
Any ideas to advise a food switch in the nicest, most respectful and sensitive way possible?
(Again, I really don’t need food-brand suggestions, as I already know the foods we do/don’t have around here, and the rough pricing of them…plus, getting him to switch to about anything will be better than Beneful and Alpo!)
Hi All,
First post. Great site! Can’t believe I have had labs my entire life and never found it. I replied under large breed nutrition and wasn’t sure if I should have started another topic so I put it in both. Not sure of the protocol here yet 🙂
Apologies for the length… I wanted to get it all in 🙂
We just lost both of our labs last year in a one two punch within 2 months. Killed me 🙁 Floyd (my 11 1/2) Chocolate to prostrate cancer and KC (my girl 15 1/2) yellow to lack of mobility. That girl was bolted together more times and just kept on trucking. Pretty amazing… I was blessed. She may have cost me a fortune, but she was worth every penny and more. As close to a human as a dog can be 🙂 For anyone who has an older dog that is having trouble getting around I HIGHLY recommend trying acupuncture. I got two extra years of love out of her. 🙂 Now to the new…
A few months ago we started a new chapter in life and brought Tucker home. (I would put up a pic but I can’t figure out how to do it.. lol. Gorgeous White Male Lab. Great breeder, all of her dogs looked so healthy, great referrals. Then the unthinkable happened. We brought him home a few days before 8 weeks and on day two we were all on the bed ( I know… don’t even say it. There is a crate on there for when we sleep… Still want him on Daddy’s bed) I was at the top and my fiancé was at the bottom.. Tucker in the middle and he did a scoot and rolled of the bed… and began limping 🙁 I almost died. You all can only imagine! He favored his should for a few minutes and he was fine. Then two weeks later my finance was holding him, put him down and he favored for a minute and was fine. I was thinking maybe a bone bruise. Two weeks later it happened again!!! That was it… x-ray time. Our regular vet said there was a slight deformity in the round of the shoulder bone where it goes in the socket but it would it probably just go away and to keep him calm for a month or so. That doesn’t work for me. I’ve paid the price for listening to first opinions in the past and not investigating issues. I brought him to my Ortho who bolted my girl back together so many times and he gave me the real scoop…
OCD… I knew when he said come in my office it wasn’t a bone bruise. I’ve taken that walk before. 🙁 He’s old school and said monitor and if it gets bad we will fix it. He wasn’t showing signs of distress on manipulation. He said if it’s bad they yelp. I’ve researched everywhere and my brain feels like it is full of Bingo Balls right now.
Our breeder said she has never had a dog with OCD. I know nutrition and heredity are two factors, but in this case I have to believe that this is trauma related OCD and not from the others. With that in mind, I know slow growth, low calcium. Some say no carbs so grain free, others say not too much protein is bad which is what you get with grain free…
Bingo Balls :-/
Our breeder did not believe in puppy food and fed Kirkland Signature Salmon and Sweet Potato. I have a problem with Costco dog food. We got home and the vet said Iams puppy large breed was good. I think that is worse. Can’t believe I went there… I just wanted to do it all right. So here we are now.
I need the best dry food I can get considering his OCD condition in his left shoulder. I really don’t care what I spend on my bag of kibble. I just want to fix my puppy!!!
We got a harness instead of a collar so there is no unnecessary tugging, There are ramps everywhere so there is minimal impact on up a downs, and we try to control him as much as anyone could control a 4 month old lab. When the zoomies come you just have to go with the flow…lol.
Now I need to know the best dry kibble to feed him. Whatever will help as much as possible for this to heal and his bones to grow big and strong. 🙂
Side note … The vet did start him on a glucosamine pill that seems good. And then we talked to the lady at the holistic dog food store who says it may be bad because he is young and you don’t want it to take the place of his own body making it… seriously!!! like I didn’t have enough to worry about with the kibble….
Any help would be sooo greatly appreciated. I love my dogs more than people! I can’t change what happened and I have accepted that it was an accident, though preventable 🙁 Now I need to do everything I can to put things right!
Help me Doggie Food Forum… your my only hope! 🙂
Thank you everyone for all of your posts. They have been very helpful. This place is fabulous!
Okay…I’ll go. Warning! It’s gonna be a long post LOL!
Lucy Mae – 12.5 year old adopted from a no-kill shelter 11.5 years ago. She’s a mix of Poodle/French Brittany/Chihuahua (finally did a DNA on her), is black and white and looks like a small Border Collie. She’s always weighed in at 24-25 lbs. According to the shelter she was found running in the road (by the shelter President on her way to work), was covered with dirt, oil, mud. She was only in the shelter a month when we adopted her. Didn’t know anything about dogs really and went looking for a puppy with the kids (14 and 12). My husband and I had always had cats. Anyway, we saw Lucy and decided to visit with her. I liked her looks and she was a smaller dog. She immediately put her paw on my leg in the visiting room! We also had a puppy brought in, which proceeded to jump all over Lucy, and wee in the middle of the floor LOL! Lucy was just very quiet and kept up with the paw….so the rest is history hahaha. The shelter was calling her Mae, because that was the month she came to them. They had another May…so. I didn’t especially like the name Mae for a first name (and I always give my animals middle names) so we decided on Lucy Mae. Lucy has done agility work/beginner competitions with me and rally obedience competitions (which she liked and did the best in). She has also been my demo dog when I’ve taught beginner obedience classes. Her temperament, however, has always been so-so. She didn’t know how to climb steps, or walk on carpet when we adopted her. She’s very protective of our house and tends to not like many other dogs, except her Cavvie ladies of course. I have been known to put a yellow ribbon on her leash when out and about, and at the dog club. About a year ago, Lucy developed a mass on her bladder. We decided no surgery (due to her acting very normal and her age). But, I feel it did undermine her immune system and this past Nov./Dec. she developed a very rare form of canine skin cancer called CETL (cutaneous epitheliotropic t-cell lymphoma). It only happens to old dogs (beginning around age 9 and up), no one knows what causes it, no treatments seem to help it and the prognosis is poor (6 mos. to 2 yrs. at most). Also, the dogs don’t seem to be bothered by it much and tend not to die with it per se, and usually the owner has to make the decision to put the dog down due to quality of life. We are taking Lucy Mae one day at a time now and have been blessed with her all these years!! She’s one great dog!
Hazel Louise – a 6.5 year old Black and Tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I will give a back story here: When my kids got older and didn’t need me as much I took a part time, 2 day a week, job at a local pet specialty store (which is now a Petco due to a buyout). I feel God led me to the job as it “fell into my lap”, so to speak. This is also where I became knowledgeable about pet nutrition. I had always wanted to do pet therapy work but my mixed breeds (Lucy and Desi (rip)) were not suited in temperament for it. One day I met a breeder of Cavaliers who came into the store monthly to buy their food. She said she had a 5 year old retired show champion that she would love to rehome, if she found the right one…..so….after a few more meetings with her, I finally went to her kennel and met Stella Agnes, my first Cavalier (a Blenheim). Stella was wonderful and I immediately had her certified to be a therapy dog with TDI. We did this for 5 years until Stella could no longer do it and I had a back issue. Stella passed away this past January 13, 2013 at 12 years of age, rip. While Stella was about 7 or 8 the breeder called me to say she had another Cavalier…Hazel, who was 2 years at the time, who she wanted to rehome. Hazel and her brother were purchased from a breeder in England to enhance my friend’s breeding line. When they took all the dogs to Ohio State to be seen by the specialists for testing, Hazel didn’t pass. She had a mild heart murmur, which is prevalent in Cavaliers. Even though she was going to be okay the breeder could not breed her. So, they didn’t really show her either. At age 2 they decided to give her a good home as a beloved pet, so she came to me! She did some therapy visits with me and Stella and did well on them…she’s a shyer dog, though. I was going to get her certified, but when I retired Stella I decided to just wait on it. Hazel is a great dog!!! She is so loving, and she is definitely my shadow. She is my best eater and though she tends to have dry skin in the winter, she is beautiful and shiny with a fish oil supplement. She weighs 19 lbs. and I keep her a perfect weight due to her murmur issue. She is not on any meds and the murmur hasn’t changed since she was 2, thank goodness! She is now certified as a therapy dog and does better than I’d expected due to her being a shyer dog. She has really come in to her own with it. I love Hazel Louise (Hazie as I like to call her) and I hope she continues to do well healthwise….she’s a very special dog!
Laverne Marie – Vernie (my nickname for her) is an 8.5 year old Ruby Cavalier who weighs 17 lbs. She came into our household 2.5 years ago right after my mixed breed Shih-Poo, Desi, passed away. I like to say he sent her to us, as she has some of his characteristics (only the good ones, thank goodness, as he was quite the stinker, lol). Anyway, when my Desi passed my husband told me to contact the breeder to see if she had a dog I could adopt. I wasn’t too sure yet but went ahead and made the call. She had one, Laverne, but she was actually promised to a couple where the wife had M.S. to be a companion for her. I was bummed but knew that perhaps it was for the best. However, God had other plans, and about a week later the breeder called me to say that the wife did not want Laverne and the husband didn’t want to keep her either, so they were returning her! She said she should’ve just given her to me in the first place :). I took Laverne home and she fit right in!! I now had 3 Cavaliers (Stella was still with us then) and Lucy Mae. I was in heaven! I joked the only thing I needed was a Tri and then I’d have a matched set. When Stella passed away, I started feeling like I should get back into therapy dog work. I also knew that Laverne would be great at it. She is actually from the breeder’s own kennel and has quite the personality, and is still loved by them, as is Hazel. We keep in touch still. She had 2 litters before I got her and was retired from show at age 6, the March before I adopted her in Sept. She is quite the jokester and is one of the lights of our lives! Very special dog indeed. I found a TDI testor and had Laverne certified this past Feb. 2013. In March 2013 Hazel was officially certified, as well. Now we visit a local hospital, library reading program and nursing homes. It is very fulfilling. Laverne and Hazel actually have the same birthday, Aug. 16th, and they are 2 years apart. For one of Laverne’s litters she was mated to Hazel’s brother, so they are sisters and sisters-in-law hahahahaha! I will always have a Cavalier from now on. If God deems it that I have another one while Lucy’s still alive, then that’s wonderful. If not, then I will actively seek another one (or two) when Lucy goes to the bridge. Btw, Lucy does like the Cavs…..sometimes I think she thinks they’re little divas lol. She is the alpha and lets them know it, but she loves them and takes care of them, too. 🙂
Princess Di – My Princie is going on 9 years old and is a Tortoise Shell cat who thinks she’s a dog! Princess first came into my oldest daughter’s life when she decided she needed a cat for company. She lived in Lima, Ohio at the time and was teaching H.S. math there. She didn’t have family close so she was sometimes lonely. One day I visited and we went to the local cat no-kill shelter. Princess had been there for around a year and a half! We adopted Princess (her name at the shelter, too) because she was very friendly and actually wanted to just stay on Erin’s lap the entire visiting time lol. Erin thought about changing her name but kept it when she found a food bowl at the pet store with Princess written inside of it …fate you know lol. Well, eventually Erin moved back to Bowling Green, Ohio where her fiancé was. But, she was moving in with some girlfriends and they couldn’t have pets. She asked me and her dad to keep Princess for her until she could take her back. I told her fine, but she needed to know that her dad would probably not give Princess back when that time came. He is definitely a cat lover. As you guessed it, he wouldn’t give her back! Now Erin has 2 other cats (Sheldon and Penny) and the rest is history. Princie gets along fine with the dogs and comes running when it’s dinner or treat time, just like they do! Very affectionate cat and very loved by all. 🙂
Now, I know this was long-winded and thanks if you read this far. I just wanted to tell you all the whole story. Bless you all!
Topic: New furbaby dry skin issue
Hi everyone, today I adopted a 3 year old walker hound mix from the local animal shelter. I’ve noticed she has a minor case of dry skin. From the history I got on her she turned in because her owner died. I can tell she was very important to her previous owner, she is very well trained. My question is what kind of food would be the best to help with skin issues and gain a little weight. She was 55 lbs at her last vet visit in October, but looks like she lost some weight due to shelter life. It will be a week before we go to my vet for a health check and I wanted to get a good food to get her on her way to feeling 100% after what she’s been through. Sorry so long I’ve never had a dog with skin issues so not sure what to do to help her until vet time.
Topic: Unsual amount of gas?
I have a 6 month old lab/pointer mix. We can’t do all raw food so we are trying to do the next best thing with 4/5 star kibble on rotation, with a wet food topper, and raw food stuffers. We noticed that he had an incredible amount of gas. I did some research on here and started him on a probiotic/enzyme supplement. That helped a lot, like incredibly so with nearly instant results. However he still has gas. I don’t know how much is normal. Usually he has gas around the same time of day too, that’s what I find interesting. It’s around 5:30pm then again at night (I think 10pm). He eats usually between 11:30-12pm and again at 8:30-9pm. He gets the probiotic with each feeding but not the raw food. However he’ll be gassy whether he eats the raw food or not.
I was thinking it might be the wet food. I think I’m rotating it too fast. There’s definitely some wet foods that make him have horrible gas. It’s nearly all stews (chunks of meat) and Merrick. His gas isn’t as bad on the food that’s one solid blob like Wellness Core, Halo, and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
I guess I’m wondering how much gas is normal. And if his gas is unusual what I can do to help it. Should I keep him on the same wet food through the whole bag of kibble? Or should I rotate it more often. And like with dry food should there a transition between wet foods? Or this normal as he’s a young dog and his gut flora is still maturing. I don’t know, shooting in the dark.
I really appreciate any help!New here…We are bringing an 8 week old Labrador puppy home next Saturday and I am trying to narrow in on food options. I have spent the last few days reading every single post in this thread and it has been quite an education – thank you to all of you who spend time here to help educate others!
My questions:
1. Our puppy will be coming home on Purina Pro Plan Focus Puppy Large Breed Formula and I want to transition him to something better as soon as possible. Would a few days after he is home and settled in be too soon to start a transition, provided he is not showing any signs of GI distress?
2. If price/cost is not a constraint, what off the shelf product would you feed a lab puppy? I am not up to a homemade diet at this point (might consider this in the future, but don’t trust myself to get up to speed in one week and to get it right during this crucial growth period). Most of the discussions I’ve read here involve rotating quality dry foods (with added toppers/supplements). Would this be the best way to start since our puppy will be coming home on a dry food?
It has also been stated that raw, canned or reconstituted is even better. I can see the raw recommendations in the document linked to several times throughout this thread. What do you consider to be the best of these brands? Would transitioning directly to raw be ok for our puppy; or should we go first to canned, then to raw?
Can anyone offer recommendations for the “best of the best” of canned foods for a large breed puppy? I figure I can call companies to calculate exact calcium/kcal, but could anyone offer the best brands/formulas to start my efforts? The fives stars listed in the library are:
By Nature 95% Meat (Canned)
Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix (Canned)
Dogswell Dog Food (Canned)
EVO Dog Food (Canned)
Fromm Gold Nutritionals (Canned)
Go! Fit and Free (Canned)
Great Life Essentials (Canned)
Kirkland Cuts in Gravy (Canned)
Life’s Abundance (Canned)
Merrick Dog Food (Canned)
Merrick Grain Free Dog Food (Canned)
Nature’s Variety Instinct (Canned)
Pet-Tao Dog Food (Canned)
Pure Balance Dog Food (Canned)
Tiki Dog Food (Canned)
Wellness Core Dog Food (Canned)
Wellness Stews (Canned)
Weruva Kobe (Canned)
Weruva Kurobuta (Canned)
ZiwiPeak Daily Dog Cuisine (Canned)Thank you so much for any advice!
ATTopic: dog food confusion
I have been doing research on the best dog food to feed and I am more confused than ever. I find complaints and bad reviews about all of the brands. I have fed Iams lamb and rice for years. For some reason my dogs will always get an ear infection when on other foods that i have tried so faR and i have fed iams puppy for our puppys but I have heard of some negatives there lately. Then I was in the vet for puppy check up on our Aussie and the receptionist recommended 4health after feeding iit for one week mixed with the iams our puppy started dry heaving. And vomiting. Did research found other complaints about the same thing I dont think I want to take any chances I had found a lot of good reviews about fromm and was going to switch to that but of course I fell across bad reviews. How I cant afford the top of the line and 70 a bag type food. I am thinking about sticking with Iams I have never had problem. I am so confused. My dogs are like my kids. They are family. How does one know what dogs foods are really okay. Talk about confusing. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions..
Topic: 4Health Question
I am very satisfied with 4Health dry food for my dog. I have a question about which adult food would be better for my pup. My trainer said I should go with the higher protein one, 4Health Performance, another person suggested the adult large breed formula. I have a 9 month old Bernese Mt, Shepherd mix. He is 63 pounds, tall and lean, healthy shiny coat. He did great on the puppy food and handles both of the a fore mentioned formulas fine. I am not looking to switch brands, just which of these would be best for his diet moving forward. You give the performance 4.5 stars. Note: My pup did not do well on grain free food at all.
I have 3 dogs, a 14 yr old shelti, and two 4 lb Maltese mixes. I feed the Shellie Now senior, he does ok ,but poops a lot! The little ones seem to do well on Buffalo grain free, but have terrible eye tearing, could be genetic or from food. Either way all three are chow hounds! They eat fast. I want to add a canned diet to the regimine, but I’m confused, do I add the canned to the kibble? Or is it best to feed dry at one feeding and wet at another?
I have also give the little ones Stella and Chewy freezes dried, I have added that to the kibble. I’m concerned the protein level is to high when I do that. If someone can help me understand all this…..Topic: Feeding my Alaskan Malamute
I got Amiga at 8 weeks old, back on June 1st. Her breeder recommended Nutro LBP Lamb & Rice, so that’s what I fed her at first. I wasn’t happy with her gas or her stools, so I did some research and decided to mix Orijen LBP and NV Prairie LBP with the Nutro. Did some more research and discovered that I was feeding her way too much calcium. So I added two other foods to the mix in mid-July, NV Instinct Rabbit and CC Open Sky, had to set up a spreadsheet to keep CA, CA:K, calories & protein in order. I did the calculations based on the max-CA values, not averages or the tested values of a specific batch, to be on the safe side.
Ran out of this mix a month ago, at 8 months apparently she can regulate her CA herself, so I quit worrying about it. Now I have her on a mix of Orijen Regional Red, NV Instinct Rabbit, and NV Prairie Venison & Barley. It seems reasonable to me to feed her a red-meat diet in winter, and switch to a fish-and-fowl diet come summer (ancestral-wolf feeding pattern). In a few months the mix will be Orijen Six Fish, NV Instinct Rabbit LID, and NV Prairie Duck & Oatmeal. Both supplemented with the occasional topper of Orijen Tundra freeze-dried. LID Rabbit doesn’t have turkey, which is in the Duck & Oatmeal formula, so Turkey’s on the menu all year, too. Protein content of these blends is 33%.
The Prairie kibble’s mixed in to lower my cost from $3/lb to $2.75/lb, which adds up with a large breed. Rabbit is in the mix year-round, because I read some research (I’ll post the links if I find them again) about how wild/feral canines/felines primarily eat bunnies. The missing “meat group” in the prepared foods is rodent, so I’ll also occasionally feed raw beaver meat as a topper. I’d like to add a third brand into the mix instead of the Prairie, unfortunately I haven’t found anything that doesn’t have either the “wrong” grains or is loaded with potato (a no-no for malamutes as white potato is known to trigger bloat in this breed), or is too expensive to serve the purpose.
I set up another spreadsheet for amino acids and did yet more research; I believe she’s getting the full spectrum in sufficient quantities from all the different protein sources (also gets Orijen Tundra freeze-dried treats, used these to teach her to swim ‘cuz they float without getting soggy) such that she doesn’t need the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements typically found in large-breed-specific formulas — her body ought to be able to produce as much of these as she needs provided the proper building blocks (amino acids & cartilage). Her stools, on the “winter blend” anyway, are firm and dry, and not too voluminous or frequent and she seems to be thriving; my Vet is pleased with her physical condition and says her growth rate is right on target.
Many thanks to this site and all who contribute for helping me navigate the dog-food waters, it’s enough to make one’s head explode, but it’s also nice to have so many quality options in dry kibble. It’s been several years since I’ve had a dog (Amiga’s my 4th), Iams and even Purina just aren’t what they once were so I didn’t even consider those despite two of my dogs living to 15 (Keeshond on Eukanuba and Golden Retriever on Hi-Pro). My last malamute got Iams Lamb & Rice, but was shot (with cause) by a sheep rancher at 3 1/2 back in ’94 so I have no long-term report, there.
What got me to not trust dogfood manufacturers and do this research, leading me here, was how horrific the first month was feeding Amiga just the Nutro. Glossy, semi-soft, mucousy stools (if not diarrhea) and lotsa smelly farts — just like my friends’ dogs being fed Nutro. Enzymes, pre- and pro- biotics didn’t help, de-worming only cleared up the worms. No surprise given the ridiculously-high Zinc content in Nutro formulas, apparently since Mars bought them out — these are symptoms of Zinc toxicity, not poor digestive-tract health; no band-aid for that. Wish I’d figured that out sooner, and the calcium-level thing.
If I had the puppy-food phase to do over again, I wouldn’t touch Nutro with a 10-foot pole. These problems lessened when blended with the other kibbles, and disappeared entirely (OK, occasional fart still, probably the grains) this month after discontinuing the Nutro. I would do the four-kibble mix again, going with just the Rabbit and Duck would be lower calcium, but would also lack the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements the two LBP kibbles contain, as well as the cartilage and broad spectrum of amino acids which make these supplements unnecessary.
I did rush her to the vet after-hours back in September for bloat, but I didn’t alter her diet because of it. Sometimes she eats stuff that isn’t “on the menu” so to speak, mostly I blame my kitties because they love hunting and killing — just not eating their kills, which they leave for the alley cats. And for Amiga, sometimes she finds these before I do and accounts for occasional fur/feathers in her stools (Amiga’s also killed a mourning dove, robin, grackle, and a magpie). At least they’ve learned not to bring them in the house! I’m following all the best-practice guidelines for avoiding bloat, so hopefully this was a one-time thing, scary for both of us…
Sadly, Natural Balance going over to the Dark Side of the Force with Del Monte has completely buggered my trust in the brand after my boys were doing so well on their Ultra and/or Synergy formulas. Ever since I learned of the merger, I have been hypervigilant about any signs of food sensitive issues with both dogs (some kind of shepherd with long hair mix-mutt and our runt-y most likely pitbull/staffordshire we think).
As of the last bag of food, the Natural Balance Ultra, I noticed that our Pit has had more than one issue of vomiting and notable signs of apparent nausea (lots of lip licking, less than energetic), and the Shepherd mutt has had some issues with stool that starts okay and then becomes runny, but not quite full blown diarrhea. If it had been just once, I would have just assumed it was them eating something out of the trash or garden that they oughtn’t have, but twice or more, and it starts to become a THING. Add that to the fact that they seem notably less interested in the food (they are free feeding dry kibble, and they don’t eat with enthusiasm but more like obligation) and that the mutt has been acting like HE has a tummy ache when its usually the Pit with the sensitive stomach, and now I have enough reason to switch from the NB line, because I don’t trust Del Monte to maintain the standards with it.
What dry kibble can I get that will approximate the ingredients that were in the Synergy? I think that was best since it really seemed to cut down on the number and size of the poops, which were always firm and never gooey like the second half of them are now. and the Pit didn’t spend all day itching and licking paws and shaking his head the way he does whenever he eats cheap food. He has had an increase in ear itchiness lately, and lots of butt licking and even the mutt seems to be chewing on himself more nowadays, but the last two bags have been Ultra, not Synergy, so that may have something to do with it.
Still I would prefer to stay away from anything that is mass produced by a corp that spent millions to oppose GMO labeling along with Monsanto, and now the Natural Balance is on that list, so Synergy is out too. Looking for a replacement kibble from a brand that is at least popular enough to be carried in Petco or a feed supply chain that isn’t going to have boutique hours only, and one that is sold in LARGE bags of at least more than 25 pounds, preferably more. I figure similar makeup will have similar results with the boys and I’d like to have similar effects as the Synergy, which did nice things for their coat and their apparent digestive tract tolerance, resulting in smaller neater and fewer stools, and gave them lots of energy and they didn’t have to eat a ton of it. I don’t mind if it has rice, as that seems to suit them well enough without issue.
Anyone got a good replacement suggestion that doesn’t cost 85 bucks a bag? I am exhausted from the researching and have no idea where to begin now. It doesn’t need to be ultra premium, but should be at least a 3 star choice. It would be easier to pick something to replace it with if I understood what was good about the Synergy in the first place beyond the effects, but I just have no idea why it worked, it just did.
Curse them for selling out!
(After reading more articles on that acquisition, I am even more nervous about the direction that the NB brand may be headed. There was one article that had some scary wording in it concerning the awareness that people would pay more for foods that APPEARED TO BE better for their animals. It almost seemed to be a deliberate avoidance of what it actually WAS as opposed to how it LOOKED to be. The emphasis was all on how they wanted to capture a bigger share of the market and were interested in the premium lines because of what consumers would be willing to spend, with no focus at all on providing quality that would sustain that. I think it was a money grab, and that means that they will maximise it by cutting costs wherever possible too. And I’ve noticed in the reviews on their foods over the last two months, there are a lot of dogs with similar vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy that had been feeding NB for years without that happening. I can’t risk it.)
Topic: Dry with freeze dried?
Hey all
Been lurking for quite some time with great results in my dog food rotation. Over the past 2 years I’ve fed my Sheltie and Cocker; Orijen 6 fish, Fromm Surf and Turf/ Salmon a la Veg, Brothers Fish, Go! Fit, Annamaet Lean, and Annamaet Aqualuk. As you can see I have an affinity for fish based foods due to my Shelties sensitive skin and I love the coat it produces. The Annamaet, for me, has by far been the best. However, I’m only using Aqualuk and Fromm right now and in an effort to keep a good rotation I want to branch out into new foods. More specifically, I’m interested in dry with some sort of raw mixed in. I was about to buy a bag of Great Life grain free wild salmon until I saw the catastrophe with the recall but it wasn’t a recall ;). I’ve come across Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Salmon. Before I buy a bag I wanted to know if you guys knew of any other options that include freeze dried with dry kibble. I don’t want to get too complicated so please just keep it to all in ones.
Thanks in advance!
Topic: Best Dry Food for Two Dogs?
Hi,
I have a Shih-Tzu and a medium sized Collie, we are currently on Castor & Pollux Organix, but it is getting harder to find around here. I’m looking to start getting dog food off of Amazon, is there a better option out there?Thanks
Topic: puppy food help
ok that was weird, I was typing a post when poof ! So if this ends up being a double post, sorry!
Let’s try again…..Against my advice, my part time employee got a lab puppy over the weekend. She absolutely cannot afford a dog, so I am really sorry she did this. However, now that it’s done, I am trying to find the cheapest of the best food. I think Fromm sounds promising as the least expensive 4 star food I’ve found (though I don’t like rice in a food & it has tomato pomace, it’s better than the Beneful she is feeding :/ ) & so far I’ve found it for $51.49 for a 33 lb bag.
Having never fed a lab puppy, I have no idea how long a 33 lb bag will last. If someone could give me a ballpark on this I’d appreciate it. It’s been a while since I fed Muggsy dry food & he’s a smaller dog than a lab puppy will end up. I think his 5 lb Castor & Pollux Organix lasted about a week.
I really hope to not have to go lower than 4 stars, but she really is on a limited budget <sigh> I’m really open to any suggestions as to a good yet cheap food!
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