[Naturella]

Shasta,

When I researched foods/spices toxic to dogs, I never saw nutmeg listed, so I assumed it was ok. But you never know, and research keeps finding new stuff, such as I read somewhere that rosemary (present in many dry kibble and treat recipes, and not marked as bad by Dr. Mike), is now considered dangerous for dogs. Go figure.

In any case, I like to use spices for their benefits more so than flavor for my dog, i.e. turmeric is a natural antibiotic, cinnamon helps with weight maintenance and is good for the heart (so I have read), ginger helps with carsickness (which my pup often gets), etc. Also, aside from the Doggie Pizza Treats, the other 2 recipes are fit for human consumption, so Bruno didn’t really get TOO much of them, and definitely not too much all at once. But thank you for the input, and I will try to keep myself up to date on new findings on spices regarding dogs! 🙂

P.S. If your dog treat business takes off, please start and online “store” – I would love to give Bruno some of your treats! Or, if you live near Atlanta/Marietta/Kennesaw, GA, let me know if you take the treats to any local Farmers’ Market or some similar place where I could buy them!

[Shasta220]

Wellness is a good brand…I wouldn’t really worry much about looking for a food intended just for seniors, unless she is really needing some extra joint support/etc. It doesn’t really sound like she is.

First off, please don’t go by what the food bag feeding guidelines say…they are ALWAYS way too much! Not a single one of my dogs has EVER eaten the amount the bag requires… Usually my dogs are completely fine w eating about HALF of what the bag says, no lie. (One of our older dogs started gaining a little when she was eating half of what the bag said…we cut back even a little more, and her energy/weight is back to 100% normal.) I’d definitely start reducing the amount of food… It’s still good to do 2 meals though. Maybe start with a normal breakfast, then cutting her dinner in half. After a week or two, try cutting both breakfast and dinner in half, then see how her weight is doing.
Also be sure to not hand out too many treats, or you’re just encouraging the weight to stay on. My dogs get treats all the time, but I just break off teeny tiny pieces – they can’t tell the difference between a big treat or a little one, it’s still something that tastes good.

Best wishes! Hopefully you can get her weight down at least a little 🙂 I’ve never really had to deal w overweight dogs yet, as I always make sure to simply prevent it from happening. I’m sure an owner as great as you will have no problem though ;D

[Mom2Cavs]

If your Rat Terrier is not all that active, i.e. couch potato like my Cavs, then I would definitely cut back on the food. Wellness is a brand I like a lot, myself. I don’t feed their kibble right now (due to its size and chicken in most), but I use their canned food almost everyday and also use their treats. Anyway, I have 3 small dogs. Two Cavaliers and one Mixed Breed. Lucy, my Mixed Breed, has always been 24-25 lbs., no deviation in all of her 12.5 years. She gets 1/3 c. of kibble in the a.m. and 1/3 c. in the p.m. She is not active….chases squirrels at times lol, but that’s about it. She does get about 1-2 tblsp. canned food added to the kibble at each meal. I use to give more treats than I do now, but recently have been giving either a Wellness Lamb grain free biscuit or Wellness Pure Reward treat in the morning and at night before bed. If they get anything else during the day it’s just their kibble (which they think is a treat lol)…maybe 3-4 pieces of it. So, long story short hahahaha……I would definitely cut down on your dog’s food. Btw, my Cavs weigh 17 lbs. and 19 lbs. and they each get 1/4 c. kibble a.m. and 1/4 c. p.m. with 1-2 tblsps. canned added. They are definitely couch potatoes, except when they’re doing their Therapy Dog work.

I also wanted to add that my dogs are 6 yrs., 8 yrs., 12 yrs. and have never eaten a senior food. They usually get an all-life-stage food. I am using Fromm 4Star Salmon a la Veg and Mulligan Stew right now.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Jujubeez]

I am up at 4am with my (non champion, rescued from a craphole as a puppy) 11 year old pitty, Nemo. I was just about to write your same post! My guy is on Blue Basics and seems to be the worst he’s ever been. He was shaking his head and crying from frustration as well. I noticed his skin is shedding thick, pasty scaled. Almost like wax. That’s new, especially on his back. I’ve given him some Benadryl and leftover ativan (from the vet!!! He was mauled over the summer and his recovery was so bad he couldn’t lay on his side to sleep 🙁 )

I am here, now trolling your post looking for some new ideas.

I’ve been off my game with two sick human kids but normally I do:

Greek Yogurt
Powdered probiotics (the kind kept in the fridge) added to the yogurt
And FISH OIL FISH OIL FISH OIL!!! I just buy caplets and he eats them like treats. You can also add it liquid style to some boiled eggs or yogurt.

Yeast is triggered when the dogs natural bacteria is thrown off, leaving no “fighter” bacteria to kill off excessive fungi. This is typical after antibiotics, induction to an allergen or sometimes just a weather change and climate. Either way, you need to get that good bacteria back in your baby to regulate the yeast.

I KNOW I need to get his routine back in order but this food is just worth its weight in crap for what it costs. Other, similar minded brands sell products of a higher overall quality.

Anyway, if anyone knows how to instantly SOOTHE the rash and scaling/ear junk while the new diet/supplements take effect, let me know! I can;t stand to see him suffer while we wait for his gut to catch up to his body 🙁

Good luck with your baby and I hope maybe one of my tricks helps!!!

[Shasta220]

I am starting a business with home made treats. So far I’ve only made pumpkin-flax treats, but I’m going to come up with other super nutritious flavors as well. I’ll be making the “home made greenies” to sell (they help with bad breath by working in the digestive tract, which also will help relieve any smelly gas…)

I noticed you use spices in your first treat recipe. I know that cinnamon is great for dogs, and I think ginger is good too…but I’ve read somewhere that nutmeg is very toxic to dogs. It’s probably best to avoid adding much seasoning other than maybe the cinnamon. Dogs usually don’t care about spice-flavors anyway 🙂

[Shasta220]

Okay, so I’m inventing my own wholesome, super healthy dog treats (wheat, corn, and soy free as well!). I’ll be selling them at our local street market in a few months…

I’ve never done any sort of business like this, so I’m clueless on how much to sell the treats for. The first batch I made is pumpkin flax flavored (with the benefits of ground flax, coconut oil, egg, oats, rice, and pumpkin. Drool drool!)… Costs about $3 for a batch, takes about 2-3hrs total, and makes around 60 treats (they’re about 1.5″ rounds)

I was thinking I could sell 10 for $3, but I had other opinions say I should sell a bag for at least $6.

I want to make maximum profit for sure (as I’m sure I’ll put a lot of work into it, plus the time I’ll spend at the market…), but I also want the price to be low enough that people will want to buy them.

Any suggestions for price range and how many treats per bag?

(I also made them into larger treats…maybe 2×4″ squares… Figured I could sell about 3-5 of them for the same price as 10 tiny treats?)

Thanks for any ideas on price. =) Flavor suggestions are great too! So far I have (I’ve not made the recipes up yet…) the pumpkin-flax, green goodies (w kale, broccoli, and spinach), seasonal berry/fruit flavors (apple, blueberry, blackberry, pear, etc), peanut butter, banana-nut, and sweet potato. Maybe even I’ll try to make a meatball for those EXTRA carnivorous dogs out there…

[Shasta220]

Gosh! That’s awful! I’ve honestly never bought any pre-filled treats before. I ALWAYS just stuff em with my own treats/peanut butter/etc… I’m especially unfond of red barn brand anyway since it’s full of corn syrup and other sugars. It’s hard enough to keep my dogs’ teeth clean even without sugar, LOL!

[raylene5]

Hi all,

So we are about to get a puppy in a couple of weeks and I’m wanting to try Dr. Dunbar’s “Before and After Getting your Puppy” advice and pretty much feed all meals from the Kong. He believes that keeping the puppy entertained and exercised with the chew toys will help with sleep, separation issues and keep them from chewing up other things in the house.

He says to measure out your dog’s kibble for the day and just stuffing it all in the Kong and let the dog eat from that instead of the food bowl, until they have been found to be trustworthy in the house. It’s important to use their allotted amount of kibble rather than treats because the treats are full of more fat and calories (some treats are fine). My problem is that I’m going to raw feed the dog. So what would I stuff the Kong with that they can eat all day without gaining too much weight?

Thanks!

[Dorenda]

Jude, I am new to this forum and just posted under “renal failure” before I saw this post of yours. Here is my situation: my dog was snake-bit about a year ago and we have been fighting renal failure ever since (high BUN and Creatine levels). The vet has him on Hills Science Diet KD canned and dry food but he will hardly eat it. I end up maxing it with Bisquick to make doggie treats (1:1 ratio) but I know he’s barely eating enough to get by. Do you have any suggestions–I read in your post something about some food you make from Kidney Yahoo? Thanks for ANY help!

[Cocker_mom]

Hi, InkedMarie! Since about April I’ve been feeding both my dogs the Iams Healthy Naturals Adult Lamb Meal and Rice dog food. They’ve both responded well to it, and it was included on the list of (literally, hundreds–at least one thousand) dog foods the allergy testing company gave me. Basically, it’s an average kibble, but it’s easily accessible in my area. Prior to that, I had my allergy prone cocker on Nature’s Recipe Grain-Free Easy to Digest Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Pumpkin dog food and my older cocker on Blue Buffalo Senior Turkey (both are considered limited ingredient foods). (I’d highly recommend both those foods; it was just a 20+ mile drive one-way every time I needed dog food.)

To put things in context, I got my allergy prone cocker in September, 2012. I was visiting the vet pretty much every two weeks and he was constantly on keto, benadryl, special shampoo for the elephant hide, and various ear medications. The shampoo improved the elephant hide somewhat, but he was still having problems with ears and itching/licking in general. Once I got him on the Nature’s Recipe, he slowly started improving (I was beginning to think we had a definite winner!), but then spring hit and his skin, eyes, ears just drove him crazy with itching, so he really didn’t enjoy a substantial change in his condition. I did the food allergy test first just because I wanted to eliminate as many of the most likely causes as possible before considering something like an allergy panel/allergy shots. After getting the results, I rid the house of any foods, treats, etc. he was allergic to and made the decision to put both dogs on the same food with my vet’s approval. There was a little adjusting of portions for my older cocker, and she definitely liked the Blue Buffalo much better (it has oats, and I didn’t want to risk my allergy prone dog getting a morsel of it), but she’s doing really well on it.

The warm months were a nightmare for the little guy. The exposed skin and the yeast and the elephant hide cleared up completely with the food adjustment but the ears were the worst I’d seen yet–literally Velveeta cheese at the worst, and medicines weren’t providing much relief. More bi-weekly vet visits, and I even participated in some trial drugs when everything else failed. Thank goodness for the first hard frost. It’s winter now, and his ears have cleared up, so I am pretty confident now the food issues have been ruled out. We’ve both gotten a much needed break from the ear agony. He looks far and away better than ever and the constant itching/licking isn’t going on now that it’s winter. That’s what convinced me to do the outdoor panel before his 2nd spring with me. The tests aren’t terribly invasive or expensive–they use only a small blood sample. I couldn’t imagine having a chronic yeast infection! I’m hoping the allergy shots will prep him for the spring allergens.

I could probably start a whole new thread about cockers and their ears, but I can tell you that having owned two cockers now, my experience with the younger dog has been COMPLETELY different than the older one. Basically, I’ve always exercised preventative care with my older cocker just because cockers are naturally prone to infections with their big floppy ears–cleaning and drying the ears once a week or so, keeping the insides or the ear shaved close, and letting them air out. She’s had maybe 3 or 4 ear infections in her 13 years, and her ears are very clean and healthy. My younger cocker’s ears are a mess–gnarly and misshapen on the inside with a lot of scar tissue particularly on the left ear and there is an ugly polyp on the left ear too. He is truly a special needs dog, and I’m thinking the product of overbreeding (resulting in a very cute but very issue-prone pup).

I know a lot of dogs do well on a food elimination diet, and I believe I truly gave that method a fair shake (the food he was on when he took the food allergy test was actually on the testing company’s approved list–although none of the prior foods I tried were), but my dog’s issues are caused by a variety of allergens that aren’t limited to just food. I spent literally thousands of dollars in vet bills for various treatments that treated only symptoms but not the true problem, and I have no regrets with the allergy tests. I truly believe we’ve reached a turning point. They might not be necessary for every dog, but if your dog is experiencing chronic allergies and a food adjustment isn’t completely alleviating the symptoms, the test is worth it.

[Cocker_mom]

I am new to this forum and mom to two cocker spaniels (ages 13 and 6), so I’ve seen my share of ear infections and whatnot. I adopted my youngest cocker a little over a year ago (September, 2012), and he had terrible elephant skin on his groin and chest and he stunk of yeast–it was all through his ears and on his little nose and paws. Just pitiful. He was a stray and his owner didn’t claim him although he was housebroken and sat on command when I got him. My vet initially suggested a “lifestyle” change–just being consistently cared for–might improve the skin. Unfortunately, it didn’t improve the near constant itching/licking, and we tried all kinds of medications on top of daily benedryl which just knocked the poor guy out. Much like spotcdb’s case, it would clear up only to come back. I tried the fancy, super expensive all natural dog foods for allergy prone dogs. We rotated foods to eliminate potential allergens. No substantial changes. It took about 5 months for me to make the decision to just test for the food allergies (about $200), and I’m so glad I did. He was VERY allergic to–surprise–OATS and SOY! Those would have been the last ingredients to be eliminated rotating the foods out. Today he is on a dog food (the company that does the testing gave me a HUGE list of foods/treats he could eat that wouldn’t trigger a reaction) that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg but is still good for him. I just had an outdoor/indoor allergy panel done for him this week. Again, so glad I did because he was still having problems with his ears in the warm months, and it looks like he’ll need to go on allergy shots, which I’ll start before the spring to hopefully give him a head start. Never experienced anything like this with my older cocker, who I’ve had since she was 12 weeks old. Long story short, I really wish I’d done these allergy tests from the get-go, or at least in the first few months. I could have saved my little guy a lot of irritation and myself a lot of money. Incidentally, the elephant skin was completely eliminated shortly after getting him on the right food. He is SO much better, prettier, and happier than when I brought him home.

[brewer]

I have a 90 lb 10 month old German Shepherd who has some allergies. I took him to the vet and was advised it is food allergies, most likely turkey that is in his food. I am eliminating the turkey and switching to a salmon diet. It is nature’s domain salmon dog food which is grain free. Could there be a dye in this brand of dog food that is causing the problem?
I searched the internet and also found that air fresheners could be causing the problem. I am wondering if I should get rid of the plug in air fresheners as it seems the rash began when we plugged them in shortly before Christmas, also around the same time we gave him the turkey dog food and some new treats (stopping treats as well).
I am just trying to get this under control as quickly as possible and would appreciate any thoughts or recommendations.

[Mom2Cavs]

Betsy Greer….thanks so much for your kind words. Lucy is actually doing quite well, except for the lesions she has on her skin and the baldness that comes with them :(. Lucy has never had skin problems, at all, so this was a shock to see these places on her. I first noticed places by her mouth and under her chin. Then the groomer noticed one on her back when he was blow drying her. Looked like nothing I had ever seen before. My first thought was an allergic reaction to something!? It all started about 2 weeks after I began feeding TOTW Pacific Stream so I actually considered it might be the food, but she had never had allergies in the past…though I know they can come on anytime. It just seemed so odd. I took her to my holistic vets and they really weren’t sure what it could be, either. We took a blood test and it showed slightly elevated kidney levels and slightly low thyroid levels. So….we kinda expected the kidney values with her bladder tumor (she’s had for a year now) and we thought she might be having a skin issue due to thyroid. But the vets had never seen skin problems like hers with thyroid before which is why we opted for biopsies to be sure. They took from 3 lesions, which had worsened and multiplied since the groomer found the one on her back. It came back as canine epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma or CETL. Very rare cancer, happens to mostly older dogs. Can happen out of the blue, no known cause. Prognosis is poor usually and generally no treatments help. Dogs can live a few months to up to 2 years with it. It all depends on their comfort level and the seriousness of the lesions. She wears a T-Shirt around the house so she won’t bother them. Thankfully, she’s accommodating with that. She still eats great, plays more than the Cavs and is her usual self right now. In fact, Lucy’s is the first case in all the years my vets have been practicing that they’ve seen! So….we are taking it one day at a time. My vet gave me a supplement from Vetri Science called Maitake DMG Pro. They’re chews, which she readily takes (and this is a dog that’s very picky with her treats lol). It is an immune supplement. They’re very new, I can’t even order them yet. I can get it in liquid form right now, though, so I ordered that and I’m hoping she likes it mixed with something. Safflower oil has been known to help some dogs, so I have started with that, too. I’ll keep everyone posted on how she does. Again, thanks for the kind thoughts!

[Mom2Cavs]

Since I’ve taken Laverne (all 3 dogs) off poultry she’s been doing 100% better. Since I last posted here in August we’ve gone through different dry foods (can’t even remember what all), but currently they’re eating Fromm Salmon a la Veg. It does have some chicken cartilage in it and grains (which don’t seem to be a problem). I’ve been using only canned foods without poultry, as well. I’ve used Wellness a lot, especially their 95% and stews. I have on hand some Simply Nourish Fish & Potato, Weruva Cirque de la Mer, Fromm 4Star Pork and some others that I’ve fed. Also, I’ve noticed that when a food has a lot of peas Laverne has issues, too. I also have been adding in probiotics/enzymes. They get 2 treats a day. One in the morning, Wellness Lamb grain free biscuit, and one during the day, Wellness Pure Rewards Beef. Lucy, who you may have heard has CETL (skin cancer) gets some other supplements. Anal glands and itching have been gone since I’ve changed to this regimen. It might not work for all dogs, but has been good for mine. 🙂

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Tambourineman]

I have a 14 year old lab with bad arthritis. An xray disclosed he also has a lesion on his vertebrae. So he has a lot of trouble getting up and around.

Due to his age we have not opted for surgery for his spine as we think it would be too much for him.

We give him EVO Senior which does have some calcium (2.10%). I regret to say he also gets a strip and a half of bacon which is used to hide the many meds he takes (Gabapentin, 3 tramadol, Rimadyl, and Amantadine) He now rejects pill pockets which he used to gulp like dog treats (we have tried peanut butter, cream cheese, bread, swedish meatballs, turkey hot dogs, a pill popper tool, etc., etc.) Bacon is the only thing that works and at his age not getting his meds would be worse than having some bacon.

Anyway, I am wondering if some more calcium would help with respect to building the bone in his vertebrae back up. As an experiment I ground up some Citrical and put it in his food and unlike when other meds are mixed with food he will eat it. (He no longer chews bones so he does not get any calcium that way.) I’ve read that some add ground up egg shells.

the dog food project says this about calcium: “. . . The correct ratio of calcium to phosphorus and magnesium is very important for a dog’s health and needs to be carefully balanced – this is not something you would want to do without doing your research on the topic!” . . .

“Excess intake of calcium results in growth retardation and severe bone and joint abnormalities. [Presumably this applies to puppies] When feeding a quality pet food, supplementation of calcium *** during growth *** is unnecessary, and potentially very dangerous.
Note: Excess calcium causes decreased phosphorus absorption (and vice versa!). Lack of magnesium in the diet renders calcium useless, because the body needs magnesium to properly absorb calcium. If adequate amounts of all 3 of these minerals are present int he diet, the body can regulate the balance according to its needs.”

Citrical includes 20% magnesium (80 mg) and also Vitamin D

Any thoughts?

[kvee]

I have the safemade pet stuffing octopus that I stuff with frozen treats from their treat tray bone shape. Susie likes to munch on frozen organic pumpkin puree, mashed blueberries and raspberries, greek yogurt with green bean puree, and shredded and pureed carrots.

From time to time, I stuff some DOGsbutter peanut butter.

[Mom2Cavs]

Pattyvaughn has some good suggestions. I also have Cavaliers and small dogs are notorious for having bad teeth (not just Cavs) so it can be a constant problem, even shortly after dentals. I have had dentals given to mine off and on and their teeth stay good for only awhile. I do brush their teeth, but admit it’s not as often as I should. They are not good chewers, either, which makes it doubly hard to keep teeth clean :(. As for the breath issue. I have found that when mine eat something they are intolerant to or get into something they shouldn’t their breath smells bad. When anal glands are acting up their breath smells bad. Giving probiotics and enzymes helps tremendously. Also, feeding a high quality food and treats (I’ve actually cut them out 99% of their diet) has helped mine. Currently, I’m feeding Fromm 4Star Salmon a la Veg. Now I do also top their kibble with quality canned food (tblsp.) and mix in their prob/enz. When one of my Cavs had a poop eating problem (enzymes solved this, too, for her) her breath was atrocious! So in a nut shell it could be from:

1. the food they eat.
2. anal gland problems (they’re full).
3. eating things they shouldn’t (like poop or bugs, etc).
4. having a cracked tooth or something wrong with gums, teeth, etc.
5. needing a dental (no lie, some dogs need dentals more often, especially small dogs).

First, I would have your vet inspect your dogs mouth to see if anything is stuck in there, or a cracked tooth, etc. Your vet will probably recommend another dental, which isn’t always feasible at the time. I personally do them either every year or every other year. I don’t like to put my oldies under the anesthesia that often.
Giving raw bones can help keep teeth scrubbed clean. Brushing their teeth can help a lot. Even trying some of the dental sprays and gels, like Mercola’s, or Tropiclean can’t hurt either. Good luck to you, I know the pains of owning small dogs with bad teeth. I hope this helps some.

[InkedMarie]

If you don’t want to cut them, some of us may have bought them from you.

[theBCnut]

Can I suggest you cut them to pieces with a good heavy pair of kitchen scissors instead of throwing them out? Make them treat sized so they won’t choke. You shouldn’t have any problems after they finally got them swallowed, they are completely digestable.

[Ptcbass]

We tried the Honest Kitchen catfish chews. My dogs love them but I had to throw out the box after trying to give my dogs these treats twice. My dogs like to swallow them whole (when they get them down to a smaller size). I tried to pull it from my dogs throat when she acted like she was choking. I could feel it at the top of her throat but couldn’t get it. Now I get to watch them and worry for the next day or so hoping it doesn’t cause any problems. Too bad because they did love them. Oh and no one ever mentions the smell. They really do smell horrible!!

[mellowmutt]

Well, the food’s already mixed… I’ve read this advice a lot, but the only links I’ve come across are to those marketing rotational feeding. Maybe one in ten dogs I’ve ever known had food allergies (mostly to “bad” grains); most of the rest lived long, happy lives on the same food day in and day out, mostly dry kibble of dubious quality by today’s standards. I have two very good, related reasons for mixing rather than rotating.

First, the different kibble sizes, and one kibble being “preferred” really slows down Amiga’s feeding rate. I don’t want her “inhaling” her food, which she does when all the kibbles are the same size/smell. Mixed, she’ll try picking out the Orijen kibbles! Of course she winds up eating most of the other kibbles along with, at which point I guess she figures she may as well finish the meal. But it does take her twice as long to eat, this way, and gives me control of what she’s eating with no fuss because…

Second, she’s one of those picky mals who drive their owners to despair with hunger strikes, this being a well-known feature-bug of many individuals of most arctic breeds — which evolved to be headstrong, independent, and require less food than other dogs of similar size. If I rotate the food, which I did try, she’ll just ignore the food dish until what she wants gets put in it — which turns into a battle of wills the human usually loses (I know I’m a sucker for those sad puppy-dog eyes with whimpering), best not let it start if I want her growth rate to be steady not spurty, though.

http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=8333
http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4462
(list goes on)

I also think Amiga’s spoiled enough without letting her choose her own menu, but it’s a real challenge to get her to eat what I want her to eat, regardless of when she eats it. For instance, when she was protesting NVI Rabbit she got away from me, into a neighbor’s house, and chowed down a whole bowl of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits. Came when called, after a short delay, licking her chops and grinning while the neighbor shooed her out of her house… pinned her ears back and rolled over on her back at my feet in a typical-malamute show of faux-submissiveness (neither hind leg straight), then ignored her own food for two more days. Which turned into four when she figured out how to raid the cat food for a few seconds before I caught her at it, then ate the rest of my sandwich off the countertop while I relocated the cat dish. 🙂

This can also be an issue when using toppers, but I’ve figured out how to train around this. I’m redirecting Amiga’s prey drive into SAR training (informally, can’t train with other dog/handler teams until she’s more mature about working when other dogs are present, there’s a reason so many SAR dogs are Goldens). Aside from disliking all forms of transport (no rhyme or reason for it I can figure, which I also hope she matures out of), all the aptitude for SAR work is there, her kibble OCD really shines through in “re-find” work. Her name is well-chosen, especially where kids are concerned; if the scent she’s on is animal she pricks her ears forward, but pins ’em back submissively for any and all humans… excellent potential despite being a malamute, even on tracking work.

She knows the difference between “food” and “umm-umms” and has figured out what I mean when I say “umm-umms on your dinner-food” — a big reward delayed until dinnertime instead of little treats over the course of a long, physically-demanding training session (which she sees as playing hide-and-seek in the forest for a few hours, at this stage). She’s very treat-motivated. Oh, she’ll still skip a meal here and there, but that just lets me know she isn’t getting enough exercise — that and the zoomie circles around the yard. Both of which I’m currently chalking up to being in season, total psycho malamute puppy on my hands atm.

Some Amiga videos here, the one running next to the bike was taken a month ago while the ones playing with the neighbor Husky are from last week, and aren’t mally pups just adorable before they become terrors?

http://www.veoh.com/list/u/bikefat

What worries me is topping kibble with raw/freeze-dried due to the different rates of digestion. If I just feed the toppers as a meal, I’m worried she’ll lose the correlation with it as a treat, and hold out for it as a regular meal by again spurning her kibble — perhaps even the Orijen. With the mix, when she’s hungry she’s really quite excited about being fed, with none of the malamute games we played when I tried rotating five foods and she’d only eat one of ’em.

YMalMV. 😉

[mellowmutt]

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…

[nationalguard88]

I’ve been using Wellness “just for puppies” so far and he loves them. As well as they’re easy to tear into even smaller pieces for training purposes. No bad reactions digestive or otherwise. Also peanut butter in a Kong keeps him busy and happy. Definitely will try the frozen stuffed Kong. He loves home made venison, dehydrated or not. He’s about 11 weeks so I don’t dry out to much. Dobermans inhale their food like no other I’ve seen, so I like to keep softer at this point, to avoid a chocking hazard. Afraid to give him a lot of different treats, so young. Upset his digestion. He really loves Dr. Tims Pursuit dog food. Nice firm stools, no diarrhea. Healthy looking eyes and coat. It’s hard to beat for the money, and I don’t feel worried about feeding it to him most of all. Trying to find good quality kibble without breaking the bank can be extremely stressful. Especially when there’s none locally. Finding this website was a huge help ingredient wise, but the loving owners reviews were the biggest help of all. Thanks everybody!

[nunyanunya]

Would anal gland issues cause chronic flatulence? My 10mo. old puppy farts all the time! UGH!!! Stinky and gross. He’s done this since I adopted him at 2mo. old. I don’t feed him treats just Solid Gold Wolf Cub puppy food.

[Naples_vidiot]

First time here and thanks for having me. Purchased (dry pellets) Blue Buffalo several months ago and noticed that my Sheltie was getting sick once or twice a week in the morning then not eating till early afternoon. She’d drool first then vomit stomach fluids and sometimes the actual Blue Buffalo. This went on for months. Thought of all reasons why she was getting sick from low sugar levels to alergies. Tried feeding her treats at night to keep her belly full but that failed. The BB never crossed are minds as being the culprit because of its reputation. Just recently, my dog was getting sick every morning for a week straight…we finally took action. After feeding her the dry pellets from Blue Buffalo for months, we changed to a canned wet food. Miraculously she stopped getting sick. It has been 72 hours now. Wife googled Blue Buffalo and a whole page of articles populated about BB making dogs sick. She informed me and then I called the store that sold us this product then the BB headquarters. They did not pick up their phone in any department. The store that I spoke with claimed they knew nothing about the articles….you’d think they’d be aware because the multiple articles were from last March 2013. Were they protecting BB? All I know is, if I was selling food that was potentially getting pets sick, the product would be pulled immediately. We use a store swipe card everytime we buy product so maybe the seller would have looked up what we / everyone were buying and notified us about possible tainted food from BB? Waiting on BB to email us back so will check back later. Love my dog and it killed me seeing her vomotting every morning. Take her to a vet you say? Who can afford a vet these days? Or am I being obtuse. Happy Holidays!

[lmnordrum]

Puppy goes to the vet on Monday and I’ll ask for his opinion on her weight.

I don’t mind two or three meals; at issue is housetraining and how fast puppy will have to go outside. But that’s just part of having a puppy. (I have not had a dog in about 20 years!) So I’ll plan on 3 meals a day, measured out. For training I am planning on using low value treats like frozen peas or even pieces of kibble. The breeder uses Cheerios (which is oat and not corn.) Still on the fence about Cheerios.

I have a photo taken last week and you can see the belly but I can’t figure out how to post it within this forum. Its quite a belly though! Here’s a link to pup on my Pintrest (which is in the process of being created): http://www.pinterest.com/pin/384494886908431455/

[Akari_32]

Tonight she got half wellness and half etc dog food (totaling about 4-4.5 cups), some canned pro plan, her vitamins, and a hot dog. The hot dog only adds 140 calories, but it’s something, and it’s easier for her to eat than more dry food is. She pretty much inhaled it! Lol I’ve got some canned pumpkin I might aught to add tomorrow or she’ll belly-aching and grumbling at me.

I spent about 20 minutes pulling that rotisserie chicken off the bone the other night. It’s not a fun job at all!

She loves turkey backs, but I haven’t seen any lately. Any raw treats they’ve gotten in the last two months has been liver or gizzards because there are no necks and backs floating around! What are some other cheap cuts of meat I give them?

[cbgmom]

Hi Molzy,

Notice any changes with switching to a harness? May still be a little early — I hope it is helpful for Quincy. I don’t even have Casey wear a collar for his tags — they are all on his harness. The food I fed to him never irritated him, just the treats. Quincy seems to have more damage to either the trachea or esophagus (or whatever causes these unfortunate spasms). I fed him grain free kibble (alternated between Orijen, Taste of the Wild, etc) mixed with Kirkland’s premium wet. However, Casey has recently developed a series of other health concerns so I am transitioning him now to commercial raw. I am hoping to learn enough to go the homemade route but for now, that’s what I’ve been feeding. Honest Kitchen certainly seems like a very good food choice for Quincy especially considering you can make it pretty soupy if nec.

I have not found a single person whose vet was able to diagnose this condition. Casey’s first attack was at 4 months and I ran over to the vet thinking he had something stuck in his throat. She insisted (even though my gut was telling me she was wrong and I told her as much) that frantic grass eating was nausea and he likely had something stuck in his stomach, even though it couldn’t be seen in an xray. $1,100 and an overnight stay for nothing. A few days later, I was walking him and my neighbor said, “I think that collar is bothering him” and I realized that may be the cause.

I don’t have any other real hints except during vet appts., remind your vet and techs that he has some kind of real sensitivity around his trachea. Casey is feisty and they would restrain him around the head (as well as other areas), which is pretty common. One visit he was gulping for a month afterwards. Now I tell them not to hold him there.

Anyway, keep me posted with how he is doing!

[PetClubEmployee]

Hello!
Can we have some more information?
I’m a huge raw advocate so Id love to help.
Have you changed anything else?
How old is your dog? What kind of treats do you give?
Was the hills canned or dry?

[Dutch]

There are starch-free foods…such as Wysong’s Epigen. Very small kibble though. They also have Dentatreat that you can sprinkle on food and Dr. Dream treats for teeth..although the latter has been missing from their website for some time. Hopefully they didn’t discontinue them!

[Molzy]

Thanks cbgmom! I switched him to his harness as soon as I saw this post two days ago (on my phone, which is why I didn’t reply then, sorry!). What do you feed your dog for his normal food?

It’s so hard to tell what sets Quincy off. We were doing great for a few weeks (only mine episodes), and then early this week he had a particularly bad attack, throwing up multiple times one night. The Pepcid seems like it might be helping, hard to tell. Hopefully the harness will make a difference too. Poor guy hasn’t gotten treats in months now because I live in fear of setting off an attack, but I have decided to try some freeze dried beef this weekend.

My vet doesn’t take me seriously about it, since he has no other symptoms and has yet to gulp at the vets. I guess I’m thankful to not be spending my WHOLE paycheck at the vets (our other dog has had two surgeries in the past two weeks for entropion, and then again when he ripped his surgical site open), but it kills me to watch him when he starts panicking!

I’ll try the harness for now, please share any other helpful hints! I joined the Facebook group a few months ago, but I couldn’t post to it? I sent a message and the went responded, but I would love to be able to contact all the members.

[Rory]

Liver enzymes decreased for a year on vets herbal meds She has been on herbs for arthritis that worked very well. Liver Then increased and she was put on Hills l/d Not thrilled but enzymes came down a bit. Then began having gastric issues –diarrhea and gas –was diagnosed with IBS. Has been on Tylan powder for months. Finally improved when arthritis worsened and a week of Tramadol brought painful gas and diarrhea back. I took her off Tramadol (vet agreed) Exercise helps arthritis more. She is on herbs for IBS also.
She also gets big meatballs of Evangers Lamb and Rice canned twice a day to disguise herb caps. She does not love the Hills. Have to add a little of whatever. evangers other dogs get. She gets pieces Stella and Chewy freeze dried Dog Food patties as her treats. (Rabbit). I like that but a little pricey for all 7 rescues but I would do it for her but am afraid to take her off Hills She leaves some Hills on her plate in morning but will eat Evangers and Stella. Vets are just not aware of all foods and content. She is 11 lab mix.

[kwass610]

My boyfriend and I have a 4 y/o rescue yorkie-poo that is most likely from a puppy mill, and is allergic to everything. We currently have him on Natural Balance Lamb and Brown Rice food, which the vet suggested, and cyclosporine. He is doing better over the past few months that he has been on these, but not perfect – his eyes still emit a sticky, chunky discharge and he has trouble growing hair around them, and he is constantly chewing his feet and legs, often until he bleeds. Sometimes he gets a black, rough pattern on his stomach skin, which I think was ID’d by a previous vet as yeast. What more can we do? The vet he used to go to just kept giving him steroids for years, which is why we found a new vet – I want to help him, not slowly kill him. He is allergic to bluegrass, fescue grass, ragweed, lambs quarters weed, marsh elder weed, sage, russian thistle, cottonwood/aspen trees, box elder/maple trees, walnut trees, birch trees, aspergillius, penicillum, candida albicans, nigrospora, phoma (all of these are fungi), mouse epidermal, dust mites, salmon, poultry mix, eggs, milk, wheat, white potato, cotton, staph, and malassezia. This is all from an official allergy test.
We also have two larger dogs (both around 70lbs) so its tricky to feed the little guy alone. Getting food that they can all eat is important, but we can give the little one meds and topical things separate from the two bigger boys.
Any advice is welcome, I am lost and frustrated, I just want him to be comfortable. It is so hard getting him sweaters, blankets, treats, food, bedding, shampoos, medications, etc. that do not have something in them that he is allergic to! We might have to replant the yard in spring if it turns out we have a type of grass he cannot tolerate.

[kwass610]

My boyfriend and i have a 4 y/o rescue yorkie-poo dog that is most likely from a puppy mill, and is allergic to everything. We currently have him on Natural Balance Lamb and brown rice food, which the vet suggested, and cyclosporine. He is doing better over the past few months that he has been on these, but not perfect – his eyes still emit a sticky, chunky discharge and he has trouble growing hair around them, and he is constantly chewing his feet and legs, often until he bleeds. Sometimes he gets a black, rough pattern on his stomach skin, which I think was ID’d by a previous vet as yeast. What more can we do? The vet he used to go to just kept giving him steroids for years, which is why we found a new vet – I want to help him, not slowly kill him. He is allergic to: bluegrass, fescue grass, ragweed, lambs quarters weed, marsh elder weed, sage, russian thistle, cottonwood/aspen trees, box elder/maple trees, walnut trees, birch trees, aspergillius, penicillum, candida albicans, nigrospora, phoma (all of these are fungi), mouse epidermal, dust mites, salmon, poultry mix, eggs, milk, wheat, white potato, cotton, staph, and malassezia. This is all from an official allergy test.
We also have two larger dogs (both around 70lbs) so its tricky to feed the little guy alone. Getting food that they can all eat is important, but we can give the little one meds and topical things separate from the two bigger boys.
Any advice is welcome, I am lost and frustrated, I just want him to be comfortable. It is so hard getting him sweaters, blankets, treats, food, bedding, shampoos, medications, etc. that do not have something in them that he is allergic to! We might have to replant the yard in spring if it turns out we have a type of grass he cannot tolerate.

[cbgmom]

My dog has had bouts of this too… frantically trying to get outside to eat grass until he threw up… gulping, bobbing, licking. First I found that it was primarily due to his collar. I removed it entirely and only use a harness. I know you said that you use a harness or gentle leader for walking but he wears a collar outside. Why don’t you try switching to a harness all of the time and see if you have any improvement? We have a cord (2 connected actually– you can get at home depot) that we have around a tree and connect it to his chest harness. That had the symptoms improve tremendously. It can also occur when he eats certain harder treats. I only give him soft chew treats and bully sticks now. The bully sticks don’t bother him. When he has an episode (which is very rare now), I give him a Pepcid once or twice a day with his food (for acid which can also irritate his trachea). My dog is about 45 pds so one tablet is his dose. Some dogs have very sensitive tracheas. If he had any damage to that area (choke collars, mean owners who pull by collar) or any hereditary condition, that may add to the problem. There is actually a Facebook page for Gulping Dogs! Not that much information, but you are not alone! Good luck!

[Gizzy]

People please be aware that dog treats Made in China are killing dogs.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY ANY CHEWMASTERS (CELEBRITY PRODUCTS INC.) TREATS FOR YOUR DOGS.

I bought Chewmasters Chicken Fillets for my dogs, the company REMOVED the Made in China from their packaging as a way of tricking people into buying their products thinking they are safe, they are NOT safe. This product KILLED my 7 year old health shih Tzu Gizzy on November 22 of this year. She went into full kidney failure within 2 months of having this product. Please if you love your pets don’t buy them anything made in China, and don’t buy Chewmasters because they are Made in China, the company just doesn’t tell you that. Over 3,600 dogs have become sick and or died from these treats!!

[dogspotindia]

If you are searching in India than I suggest you to try a online pet store named dogspot.in and the link of treat section is “http://www.dogspot.in/treats-food/”. I think it will help you.

[nationalguard88]

Hey thanks guys. Patty, I agree with the peanut butter, as I did in the past. Wasn’t sure about their other treats.(your reviews have been a big help with my choosing dog foods, thanks.)
Ohbichon, thanks again for the local location help, and I agree with her being more involved in making treats herself. I use venison I harvest myself for meat in treats. All natural the way it should be. Only downside would be the pesticides the farmers use, but I eat it, and dogs love it. Anyone have their own recipes for treats they’d like to share, be glad to hear. Or direct me to another forum area about it, appreciated. Ill defininately check out zukes and the others mentioned as well. Thanks again for your politeness and help. So glad I found this site 🙂 truly knowledgable people that care for their babies as I do! My vet gave me a complimentary bag of large breed puppy science diet, went in the garbage. Also vet tech tried to give my baby a treat for being good, I took it from her politely and put in the trash when she left. Know one feeds my baby anything but me or my fiancé. I don’t know what’s in that stuff?

[OhBichonPlease]

I just checked the Petsmart website, since most posters seem to have access.. they apparently offer Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Dog Cookies in stores only. From what I understand from browsing this site, this is a reputable company with quality products. Newman’s Own also make dog treats that should be pretty easy to find, considering how popular the brand is. Old Mother Hubbard’s biscuits are USA made and that is a Wellpet brand – they have consistently high product ratings on this site.
My girl is currently going crazy for Zuke’s peanut butter and blueberry mini-bites. They are small and crunchy, easy to break in half without being messy, and pretty healthy. I prefer to feed vegetarian store-bought treats for primarily hygienic reasons, although I do like limiting meat sources I’m not 100% sure about.

nationalguard88, you may want to encourage your fiance to bake some of her own treats for the dog! A good way to bond and feel included and ensure healthy, safe ingredients.

[nationalguard88]

I live in Owensboro Ky. Only pet stores locally are petsmart, pet food center, and an E&L pets. I just want to be able to shop locally for a no wheat, soy, corn, by product, or ingredients sourced in china dog treats. Was curious about zukes or kong treats. Use kong toys, but never hear anything about the treats themselves. Just because it says made in USA, doesn’t mean the ingredients are safe or from china. Something local my lady can buy, so I’m not doing it all online??? Thanks for the brands, I’ll look them up.

[A.Sandy]

Hello,
My name is Ana I am the owner of a small pet nutrition consulting business called Pupcat Nutrition Consulting I am a pet nutrition expert/advisor. Dogs with pancreatitis have very fragile immune systems, avoid high protein and high fat diets, feed small frequent meals through out the day, and less or no processed diets and avoid dry foods and rotation. The next thing PLEASE STOP feeding science diet it’s killing your dog! Here are some suggestions: lean meats,(bison,chicken,turkey) low fat treats, try senior formulas they have less fat and less protein. Here are some awesome brands that will transform your pup forever!! ok , your best bet would be dehydrated raw, I recommend Honest kitchen preference or all except thrive mix with canned for extra moisture and flavor try senior formula canned like merrick , and natural balance(try to stick with 4% fat or less) avoid grocery store pet foods. and it would be beneficial to add a probiotic/prebiotic to aid digestion, like PROZYMES is a really good one I like. and remember there is a transition period when switching foods (7-10 days) for more info on honest kitchen go to thehonestkitchen.com and for more real nutrition facts follow me on twitter @pupcatfacts and on facebook or at pupcatnutrition.com
good luck!!

-Ana

[Angeldogs]

Yep….have one big guy here that is allergic to peas, white potatoes, venison, chicken and turkey. Confirmed by allergy tests by Spectrum Labs, which I highly recommend if you are struggling with food issues and skin rashes.

You’d think that I’d have an easy time of finding him a kibble? Nope. I have been doing ingredients research on every brand of food that is relatively easy to find…..shocking! Just because it states sweet potatoes……well, I keep finding potato gluten or white potatoes on the same list of ingredients. Or LID foods that list lamb or beef as the protein source with chicken fat in them.

So far, after two days of reading ingredients on websites, I found ONE kibble: Canine Caviar Lamb and Pearl Millet.

I’m currently feeding him raw ground beef mixed with Sojos Grain Free, and being careful about treats, which are mostly raw beef bone treats.

Really frustrating that the names of the food indicate limited ingredients, but they are NOT.

[OhBichonPlease]

I have bought and used The Honest Kitchen Pro Bloom Goat’s Milk for Dogs & Cats for a picky eater who recently went through some digestive issues. It seems like a great product that should be gentle and beneficial to your dog.

“Pro Bloom is a shelf-stable instant goat’s milk with digestive enzymes & probiotics. Pro Bloom is The Honest Kitchen’s very own formulation of natural goat’s milk plus probiotics and digestive enzymes, designed to nourish and nurture cats and dogs. It’s ideal for growing puppies and general immune support at the gut level. Simply mix one packet with one cup of warm water. Serve alone as a nourishing drink, pour on kibble for added moisture, or use to hydrate Honest Kitchen food. Pro Bloom is human-grade and made in the USA from pasture-raised, free-ranging goat’s milk in the Pacific Northwest. It’s naturally free of pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and antibiotics. Ingredients: Dehydrated goat’s milk, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, dried candida rugosa fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation product, dried pineapple fermentation product; dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus brevis fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried streptococcus thermophiles fermentation product”

There are multiple servings in each packet depending on the weight of your animal [can be used for kittens, puppies, cats and dogs]. Only a dog 71lbs+ would get the whole cup of reconstituted milk that each packet can make in a serving.

It reconstitutes nicely, although I just used it to rehydrate some freeze-dried food.
As long as your dog can handle dairy, this is convenient product to have on hand to encourage good gut health and hydration.

You may also want to try kefir instead of yogurt. It has more probiotics. You can mix it with the canned pumpkin and try freezing it for for treats.

[I used to make my own yogurt at home, easy-peasy, with dried milk powder, yogurt and kefir. I would be interested in trying to similarly make a “dog yogurt” with the Pro Bloom product. I don’t know if it would work, but it would be a nice treat.]

[A.Sandy]

Propylene glycol, found in body washes, hair gels, shampoos, hair sprays and one of the main ingredients in antifreeze and also found in… some of your dog’s favorite treats! They say propylene glycol is safe to use in food products but the reality is it’s not. This is what I call a silent killer. It is not “dangerous” if ingested in small quantities but it will get accumulated in the system over time and can be extremely toxic and even deadly, only if ingested, that’s why it’s included in our beauty products that we use externally. If it has killed humans that have consumed it, now imagine what it can do in dogs and cats over time? follow extended comments in facebook and follow us on twitter @pupcatfacts for more info

[Moonskimom]

Been making this for my dogs for years, slight variations of what is on sale in the veggie dept. Vet fine with it b/c they are super healthy!:
BIG POT (I freeze 1/2)
3 lbs ground chicken or turkey or ground pork (or mix)
2 lbs ground beef (total amount 5 lbs of meat)
Organic: dried lentils, split peas, brown rice, barley, apples, squash, spinach, kale.
No salt V-8 juice, tomato paste, organic flaxseed meal, organic virgin coconut oil, cranberries, frozen mixed vegetables, water added as needed but goal is nice thick stew; often add oatmeal if not quite thick enough.When cooling I add a few fish oil pills to pot (same as I take). Served with plain organic yogurt & add powder in caps of pro & prebiotics. Heaviest on the proteins, veggies, & fruits. 2 cups/ 2x’s daily with water added too. CHEAPER than Orijen but use that occasionally- they don’t like it as much. Glucosamine/chondroitin a couple x’s a week, not sure if helpful, mm.
Both dogs rescue lab/hound etc =pure-bred mutts, both approx 55lb. Both 6yo Therapy dogs & both get TONS of exercise in woods & parks. Raw femur bones a couple of x’s a week & I make my own treats too for when they are working. LOVE MY DOGS!

[nationalguard88]

Hello, I’ve been learning a lot of good information about dog foods from dogfoodadvisor.com the past few months preparing for my new dobie. Found Dr. Tim’s for a reasonable price and no complaints. I lost my last baby, dobie, to cancer in June after 12 years. My fiancé and I have purchased this pup to raise together. I’ve been educating her on what’s acceptable and not safe. She feels left out, not being able to buy him treats locally. I’ve been doing all shopping online. Aside from making my own treats at home, are there any acceptable treats at petsmart she can buy? Like mentioned above. Zukes??? She just came home with a bag of pet botanicals. I said, you did a good job trying to read the ingredients, but look at the tiny print on the back. Product of china! Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[young101]

Hi PippaY

My 10 year old weimaraner Blu also has PLE. Here in the UK we have Hills Science Plan Prescription Diet – she has a scoop of their “d/d salmon and rice” dry food for lunch. It’s listed as being hypoallergenic and for skin complaints but it’s also used for PLE (vet reccommended we use it)

Breakfast and dinner she has Chappie tinned food which is also fish based. The advice from the vet was to put her on a high protein low fat diet, protein from fish rather than red meats, for treats things like cottage cheese and eggs (I must admit I restrict the amount of eggs she has as you can imagine the side effects!)

Coconut oil is an MCT, dogs find it more palatable than the MCT liquid oil. It comes in a solid form in a jar, I add a tablespoon a day to her food, maybe a teaspoon a day for your yorkie?

Blu is also on steroids to treat the PLE but the diet definitely helped in getting her protein levels back up.

Good luck!

[Akari_32]

I’ll get the dry Pro Plan every now and then. They send out great coupons for it, up to $5 off. And then PetCo usually has $3-5 off coupons on it as well. Combine with a sale, and you get it SUPER cheap! The trick is buying small bags, instead of bigger ones.

Reptiles really are much cheaper and a better quality at shows. I would only buy from shows, but I made a joke about a cute lizard I wanted at PetSmart (Rex) for Christmas, and my parents got him for me LOL Thus, I started into reptiles with one of the worst starter reptiles on the planet XD But I love him and don’t mind dumping all my money on his UV bulbs and crap. Two years after I got him, I got my first leopard gecko, a female Dreamsickle I named Amelia, and then this year, I got my second in my march, a male Snow named Rowen, and another male in September at the FirExpo (where I also got Amelia), a tangerine lavender, Raven. Love my “yizards” to death :3

I just tried to use one of those cricket coupons yesterday LOL I didn’t realize it had expired on the 1st. Whoops! I’ve actually started breeding my own meal worms for my guys staple, and then I’ll still by crickets, supers, roaches and waxworms as a treat. I’m spending so much on feeders that I don’t have money money left at the end of the week for, you know, bills and gas and stuff? LOL

Most companies don’t check if you’ve gotten a coupon before or not, except by tracking your ip address, so you can print multiple coupons on various computers, and then you can also email them and ask for one in the mail. Did you get that BB $5 off any bag, $1 off any can, and $0.50/$1 off any treats thing in the mail? I’ve got some of those I need to use, as they expire at the end of the year….

Because I tend to buy several months worth of dog food over a week or so period, I only print the coupons out a few times a year, 10 at a time. But I’m pretty sure they are reset monthly. Just try every couple weeks, doesn’t hurt! 🙂

[OhBichonPlease]

I definitely think you should switch to higher-quality foods… for the picky eater especially – what little he will take down needs to be properly nutritious and high quality since he isn’t eating enough/well. I would transition slowly to minimize upset or selective eating of familiar kibbles and try fasting for a day with no treats or extras [I know it’s hard] before introducing small amounts of a new kibble. You can even try providing 2-4 different kibbles at a time – maybe something in the mix will appeal to your dog especially. You may want to look for a kibble that has a slightly higher fat content or salt as both of those are appealing and will encourage eating and may help get your picky eater to a better state of health. The different ingredients can help your dog adjust to new foods better and will only help/improve nutrient absorption and gut health provided there are no allergies/intolerances. Many local pet shops can provide free samples so you can try adding small amounts of new kibbles without spending much money. Adding some wet food or high quality meat toppers might also entice and encourage better eating habits. You may have to experiment, but tuna, salmon, plain cooked shredded meats, yogurt, canned pumpkin and other pantry items may help establish better habits and digestive health. Warmed peanut butter can also be drizzled over kibble instead of mixing and clumping it up in the bowl. Sometimes piles of food can be intimidating and food may need to be spread out more. Or your dog might not like her food bowl for some reason – try switching to a cereal bowl or a pie tie and see if that helps. Some dogs like to be sneaky eaters so hiding food in several places or the putting the dog bowl in unexpected places or outside might help. Feed your dogs separately [and maybe even at different times of the day], feed well [high quality kibbles and nutritious toppers/extras/treats] and congratulate, encourage and reward with enthusiastic praise every single time your picky eater takes a mouthful of food and actually swallows it.
You may also try making your own dog treats out of the above ingredients or buying canned food and instead of serving it at room temperature or warmed, try freezing it in ice cube trays giving those to your dog on a towel or an easily cleaned floor. Laying down a special mat or picking a quiet corner and acting like a mealtime is very special may also help her your picky dog more excited about dinner. Some dogs really like munching on frozen foods even when they won’t touch them at other temperatures.
When my picky eater isn’t eating I give her a little pepcid [we suspect semi-regular heartburn] and then act really excited about opening a can of high quality wet dog [or occasionally cat or puppy – vet’s recommendation for getting food in when nothing else works.] The smellier the better [canned green tripe works wonders but is best fed outside. I also had amazing luck with small cans of Weruva – it looks/smells like human-grade baby food and is expensive, but the quality is obvious and the food was eagerly consumed both wet and frozen].] I give her a little straight out of the can right off the spoon so she feels like it is human food and a nice treat and then drop some in a dish with kibble. I won’t mix it in anymore because too often she has shunned to food once she discovers the hidden kibbles and I don’t like throwing food out [the neighborhood cats have gotten very friendly since her leftovers get tossed on the pavement for them – I am sure it’s better than whatever they are fishing out of the trash, small birds, squirrels, etc]. But sometimes she will eat up the wet food in one section and then start eating mouthfuls of kibble afterward – progress!
When our girl is especially reticent about eating kibble we move her food into the room where we eat dinner and hang out in the evenings and sometimes have to pretend to eat kibble, hand feed her or toss pieces onto that evening’s dinner plate to get her to start eating. Once she realizes she is indeed hungry she usually goes back to her bowl and only needs encouragement to keep eating [Good girl! What a good dog you are for eating kibble! Good dogs eat their food!] every other bite. She still looks at us for encouragement while eating and I sometimes have to tap to bowl or shake it to remind her there is still food to be had.] I give her a half cup of food at a time and she never eats more than half at night and usually doesn’t empty her bowl entirely until the next afternoon. [She is slightly less than 15lbs and eats approx 300-400 calories a day in food and treats, as far as I can figure.]
I had never met a dog previously who didn’t like and look forward to dinner time, but our rescued Bichon needs to be coaxed and encouraged to eat almost every bite, every day.

Good luck, keep experimenting with higher-quality foods and ingredients and don’t give up!

[OhBichonPlease]

Our rescued Bichon went from going once usually, sometimes twice a day [sizable pile, lighter brown and a bit floppy sometimes] on a low-quality corn based kibble to pooping 2-3 times a day [mostly dark brown, harder/more solid, slimmer and well-formed] on Wellness Core. We spoiled her a bit at first and she gained three pounds during her first month or two with us. She lost that weight easily when we switched to a high quality grain free kibble and nicer dog treats crumbled into tiny pieces. As far as bowel movements during the transition and continuing now, most of the time it is easy out, but sometimes she squat-walks for a minute or two until she feels like everything has passed. She recently went on a hunger strike [and lost a half pound in about a week] and didn’t eat kibble for a week straight and hardly touched treats, human food or stinky, delicious wet food until after giving her some Pepcids. [I created a topic about doggie heartburn in another section on this forum and am curious about other people’s experiences with food refusal due to heartburn or indigestion.] Things are back to normal and settling down digestion-wise, but we are interested in rotating her food and trying different brands and are starting on Dr Tim’s grain free. I am curious to see what this does to her stool volume [never a sentiment I thought I would have]. I too though stool volume would decrease due to her grain-free kibble, but put down her increased regularity to finally getting proper nutrition with quality fiber sources. During her week of not eating, I started making ice cube treats [out of necessity to preserve what was being laid down, but not consumed] made with Wellness 95% salmon and organic canned pumpkin – she loves these frozen goodies [gets 1-2 cubes most days] and I will probably continue to provide them for her for the benefits to skin & coat and digestion. I may even add a bit of yogurt as I understand that freezing doesn’t affect probiotics and I want her to have as wide a variety of helpful gut flora as possible. [As a note, she was pooping more before we started adding pumpkin to her diet. Since she has been getting her ‘salmon pops’ and eating kibble again more regularly – but never yet enthusiastically – she has continued with going 2-3 times a day and never in the morning anymore, curiously.]
Don’t get me wrong – I am happy to see stuff moving through regardless or quantity or frequency, but I read lots of posts where people discussed decreased stool volume and that has not been my personal experience either, so far.
You might also try adding canned pumpkin or frozen or fresh green beans to your dog’s food – that will provide fiber helping pull stuff through and also contributing to a feeling a fullness. It may make your dog poop even more though.
Dog treats can be a major culprit in weight gain, so you may want to switch to treating with toys/playing, smaller treats with healthier ingredients, carrot slices, bones for chewing or something like the Lickety Stik – a great liquid treat [in multiple flavors] with a roller ball dispenser [perfect for training and keeping pockets clean and smell-free]. There are hundreds of licks per bottle and it is super-low calorie – they claim only 1 calorie every 10 licks so you can still indulge your dog without extra/empty calories.