[PugsleyOtisMom]

In July I switched my pugs to the “Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free Duck & Turkey Diet” kibble. Instantly their allergies improved and I noticed a big difference in their health. However, I have had to cut their food down to half a cup a day because they are gaining so much weight! Otis my one year old pug went from 18lbs to 21lbs(OVERWEIGHT) and Pugsley my 5yr old pug went from 25lbs to 28lbs! If you are a pug person you know that is A LOT of weight to gain. I understand the food is high in protein and that is what is making them gain the weight, but I can’t keep resorting to cutting their food down.
I don’t want to switch their food but if that’s what I need to do I will do it. I did see that Natures Variety Instinct came out with a healthy kibble, has anyone tried it? If anyone knows of a different brand of food out there that is healthier but the same quality please let me know. Also, if anyone knows of a cheaper healthier food that would be great. I love my pugs, but spending $60+ bucks a month on their dog food is just not feasible.
Also, please do not lecture me on how much I am feeding my pugs or that they need more exercise. I have had issues with my older pugs weight for years. They get lots of exercise(walks everyday) and no extra treats. The main issue is I do live in Louisiana so them being outside more is just not an option.

[pugmomsandy]

Generally, meats are acidifying and increasing the protein in the diet can help with struvites. Try using meat treats like Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Crunch or Kisses, Vital Essentials freeze dried nibbletts, Fresh is Best dehyrated meat treats, Pure Bites, or some safe jerky. But you also want to increase fluid intake with these dried treats and overall to flush out the bladder. A wet food diet might be better. When her UTI is gone and she’s on regular food, give her urinary tract supplements. There is one called Wysong Biotic pH- and Clear Tract or Berry Balance, etc.

http://www.wysong.net/products/ph-dog-cat-supplement.php

http://www.wysong.net/pet-health-and-nutrition/urinary-problems.php

[sparkysgirl]

So i am planning on making a homemade dog treat business. These would be wheat-free, corn-free, low-glucose, lactose-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. The ingredients will all be human grade products and all different flavors. What do you guys think of it? Also all the ingredients used will be listed and customized if allergies are a problem.

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

[Chip]

Hi there, I just posted a question right before you about some problems my dogs are having as well. My advice would be to check out Honest Kitchen. It really helped my dogs with digestive issues until recently when I screwed things up by trying to introduce a different brand of food because they were getting bored with my mixture of Blue Buffalo Freedom and Honest Kitchen that I had been feeding them for the past two years. Here is a link… I really love this company, how it conducts business, treats it’s workers, and creates awesome food for you good buddy: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products

[somebodysme]

I have some frozen turkey necks that I stashed after we started on the LID foods. I’ve reached the point of trying new things and have been 0% successful so far! GAH! First the bone and now the antler. She actually had some deer antlers which I’m now thinking that were the cause of her occasional flare ups. I told me husband that I’m actually GLAD that she reacted so bad to that antler because(it opened my eyes) I had not for one second suspected that the deer antlers she’d been chewing could possibly have been the cause for her occasional flare ups but now I’m pretty sure that’s it. I know it wasn’t the cause all along because she’s only had the deer antlers for a couple months.

Have any of you ever heard of a dog being allergic to antlers? She chewed quite a bit of “marrow” out of it and by the evening, she had hives and a large raised welt above her tail. The hives were all over her back. Then she also had a huge blood filled pustule on the bottom of her foot. The good thing about her not having any treats or anything is that I can say 100% that the antler was the cause because she gets nothing else.

[PrincessPiper]

Click on the look inside and if you scroll down to page 109 you will see some examples of the recipes that are offered in this book. I’m new to raw feeding so I’m buying this book and I’ve heard that this book is a good one, too.

I think I’m going to start out with prepackaged and pre-mixes to get me started and after I read this book hopefully I will become a little more adventurous. 🙂

I have a 3lb one year old yorkie that absolutely hates dog food so I started homecooking for her while I research raw. She currently gets premade raw for her evening meal and I cook her breakfast. She gets chicken feet (we raise our own birds) for treats.

Good luck in your quest!!

[HabanaJoe]

I agree with Patty as well. My caveat would be to try to avoid food with grains….corn, soy, wheat etc.
We experimented…slowly with various brands and settled on Blue Buffalo or Wellness..both canned and kibble. Of course, every time we buy, we do check ingredients as companies are known to change to something cheaper and keep the label looking the same.
I would suggest that you show your boyfriend what “meat by products” are and let him know that they can have adverse effects on a dog.
We also stay away from any glutens for protein enhancing agents and only buy food that is made from ingredients here or in Canada. (no chinese). Check any treats you buy as well, as a lot of companies are putting an American flag on the package to make you think it’s made here. When you read the fine print, it says “made in china”. (poisonous ingredients a few years ago related to gluten).

The little extra spent on a quality dog food will pay you back in the long run with fewer vet bills and fewer skin problems for your pup.
Good luck with your new family member!

[DogLover25]

Okay I called and they emailed me this answer within minutes of my call with a complete nutrient profile for Oracle, the new food. Maybe this well help answer your question.

“Thank you for your email. Oracle has 1.12% Calcium. (Attached please find the complete Nutritional Analysis for Oracle).

We add Calcium Citrate to all of our pre-mixes including Canine Health, Veg-To-Bowl and Fine Ground Veg-To-Bowl. This is the best and most highly absorbable form of Calcium.

There are also deep green leafy vegetables in all of our foods which have lots of calcium in a whole food form.

The Calcium/Phosphorous is approximately 1 to 1.2 when the pre-mixes are made according to the guidelines that we provide with each bag of food. Keep in mind that the meat is the largest source of phosphorous and the amount of meat added to the pre-mixes can be adjusted to the specific needs of your dog. This is one of the wonderful benefits to making your own fresh food for your companion. For puppies, the Calcium/Phosphorus is about 1.1; 18 months to 7 years old dogs about 1 – 1.2; Older than 7 years about 1 – 1.4.

Please feel free to call us directly at anytime and speak directly with Dr. Harvey, who will be happy to guide you to make any of our pre-mixes specific to your dog’s needs.

Thank you for contacting us. We are always here to provide help and guidance.

Yours in Health,
The Team at Dr. Harvey’s.”

I don’t know why anyone else would have gotten another response. As I said, this company has always been very responsive and helpful to me and my dog loves their food and treats.

[jackieshoes]

I have an 8 year old teacup chihuahua that weighs 4.2 pounds. She has been on Beneful Incredibites for some time now and ONLY likes the chewy ones. She picks them out and comes and finds me to feed her more if there aren’t many in there. I had no idea what kind of JUNK they put in dog food until I changed my English Bulldog from Prescription Diet to Castor and Pollux UltraMix (totally different dog).

I have been on the search for a food that she will eat, as she is very very very picky. She turns her nose up at things most dogs would woof down in no time. She doesn’t like cheese (unless its string cheese), any treats I have ever purchased (except marrowbones and she only gets a few of those a month), greenies, green beans, bananas, carrots, etc. She just turns her nose up and walks off. I want to find a good food that is relatively chewy (but not wet) that she will eat – but want it to be a QUALITY food because I want her life to be as full as possible. She is still full of life and acts like a puppy most days running around and chasing things – so no major health issues. Except we might be a little overdue on a dental, but I’m between jobs right now so that will have to wait.

I appreciate any input and recommendations!

[Molzy]

Hello! I’ll apologize in advance for the length of this post.

We adopted an Australian Cattle Dog (Quincy) at the end of July. He is a year-and-a-half old neutered male, and we were told he was given up due to not being housebroken. I am beginning to suspect that the real reason may have be what I can only describe as his gulping disorder.

For the first two weeks at home he was totally fine. We switched him from Science Diet to Merrick Lamb and Rice, which he gets twice a day. We did have to board him about two weeks after adopting him due to a family wedding, and it was after this that he started his first episode of gulping/swallowing. Usually at night, he will begin frantically swallowing and gulping. Quincy will frantically search the house for carpet fibers to pull up, and will eventually vomit and then re-eat his food if we don’t get to it in time. This went on for about a week the first time – we brought him to the vet, they said he looked fine, and that it was probably just all the changes in his life. I did give him a gas-x one night, because he was swallowing so much air I was concerned about bloat. He ate some carpet this first time, when I fell asleep with him out of his kennel (he normally sleeps in bed with us, but when he is having these bouts I have learned to kennel him so that he can’t get into anything). He threw the carpet up about 3 days after that.

At that point, we thought he just had a sensitive stomach. So, when we switched his food again (our other dog has an iron stomach, and had done well with us rotating food, so we already had a bag of grain-free salmon from Nutrisource), we weren’t all surprised when the symptoms started up again. This time I gave him a couple of doses of pepto-bismol to ease his tummy troubles, and about 6 days later he stopped vomiting. I should note – when he vomits, it seems associated with these bursts of gulping/swallowing/licking. I thought it was him having an upset stomach and panicking about it, but the vet thought it was odd that he is willing to eat his vomit right away, and that a nauseous dog wouldn’t do that? I am beginning to think that the actual issue is the gulping/swallowing, and the vomiting may be a side effect of that, rather than the other way around.

I switched him to rice and boiled chicken, and he seemed to get better. We put him back on Merrick (chicken and rice this time, because they were out of lamb and rice), and he did fine for about a week. Then last week, he threw up again (he had had a minor bout of swallowing, but nothing like he normally gets). We fasted him for 36 hours, and brought him to the vet. Again, his stool and activity is normal. The vet gave him an anti-nausea shot, and sent us home with some anti-nausea pills and canned science diet ID (for gastro-intestinal health). He was fine for about 3 days, and then last night had one of his worst bouts of swallowing/gulping yet. He didn’t throw up at all (that I know of, I did fall asleep for a little while), but did try to eat a rope toy. I kenneled him for the night, and this morning he ate grass like crazy.

His bouts tend to start at night when we’re going to bed, and he works himself up into a frenzy. Once it starts, it tends to last for multiple days, and kenneling him seems to work to calm him down a little. Our other dog (LoJack) has been totally fine through all of this. They are never outside without my supervision, and he doesn’t get human food (except for the two occasions he has stolen it off of the counter). I haven’t been feeding treats for a few weeks now, but tonight had to give him some zukes at training class. The only other thing would be that he did start HeartGuard and Frontline, but both of those started after his initial attacks. One last thing I should mention is that he plays a LOT with my other dog, and they usually wrestle and play tug of war every night before bed, but will often stop for >2 hours before going to bed. I haven’t felt like there was any correlation between them playing and one of these attacks. When we walk he is on a gentle leader or harness, but he is on his collar when on his tie-out in the yard. I remove the dog’s collars when they’re wrestling so that they don’t hurt each other.

Has anyone dealt with similar symptoms? What did you do? My Internet searches have found that others have this issue but I haven’t found anyone who has solved it. We will probably do blood work and an X-ray next to rule out anything normal, but I want opinions from others on possible nutritional changes that could help. I refuse to switch to science diet unless I absolutely must. I’m considering trying raw, but currently scared of anything that might upset him, since I’ve been cleaning vomit for the past month it seems! I do natures variety raw with my cat, and our other dog has been on grain free nutrisource or merrick for the past year.

Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it!

[pugmomsandy]

Tripletsmom,

What size is your dog? Mine are small, but they still eat turkey necks, duck necks, chicken feet, chicken legs, beef or bison marrow bones from Primal and baby back pork ribs. The pork ribs are much softer. My dogs can eat those but they can’t eat beef ribs. You might also try oxtail. Being a tail, it won’t have a dense bone. As far as salmonella, I don’t worry about it for my dogs either. I just wash my hands and the fork. I don’t even wash their bowls every meal anymore. They get washed once a week. I don’t think there is a way to get rid of the salmonella without cooking it. I give them bones outside in the yard. When the meat is gone, then they can chew them inside.

[Mom2Cavs]

As you all may remember, I’ve been battling things with Laverne. She would have anal gland issues and goopy eyes, she would lick her forearm and scratch her back sides. Sometimes she would lick her back knee?…I guess that would be what it’s called lol. She would scoot only sometimes. Her stool would be loose to full blown diarrhea at times, except when we tried NV LIDs…then she was too constipated (they all were) and the other symptoms were still there. Finally, one of her breeders told me that her brother and mother could never have poultry! So….I’ve been working on getting poultry out of the house. We have tried Zignature, still didn’t do the trick (maybe I didn’t give it long enough). We then went on Holistic Select grain free. Things were a little better. Now, I also top with canned food (and something tells me sometimes it may be the canned that’s causing the problem). I’ve narrowed the canned down to a few kinds whereas I was using quite a lot of different kinds before. Things were a little better, still not where I would like, though. In there as well I used some Natural Balance I had in the dog closet to see if it would be better than the Hol. Sel. I had the Lamb & Rice and the Swt. Pot. & Fish. Things were even a little better. I used to like N.B. but am leary of it now..bummer. When I finished with the N.B. I transitioned in a small bag of Acana Lamb (from the dog closet, of course!) This is what they are on now. We’re only on the first day with only Acana Lamb & Apple as the kibble, but so far so good. I’ve stopped treats for the time being, as well. I’ve been using the kibble, which they all readily take (even picky Lucy…don’t know how long this will last). Today I gave Acana topped with Wellness 95% Salmon for breakfast and only dry Acana for dinner. I think that’s my plan….kibble and can for breakfast and dry for dinner. They also get part of their dry right before bedtime as a snack. It’s really too soon to tell but today has been fine with this arrangement. I pray it keeps on working….I like Acana and maybe eventually I can use other flavors, like Ranchlands. I’ll keep y’all posted. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Oh, I wanted to mention that I did order some Big Dog Natural in beef. While the dogs all loved it very much, it really did a number on Laverne’s bowels!! Too, too much for her so…..we will not be using it in the future.

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

[theBCnut]

Triplets Mom

A lot of us here feed raw so feeding bones is normal for us. I don’t worry about salmonella in my dog at all, I just take precautions for us humans. I also feed raw rib bones, they are softer than marrow bones, but still take some chewing. Mine really like turkey necks and they have a lot of cartilage, so act as a joint supplement too.

[beagleowner]

I got the herbs for Henry’s lipomas from Pawhealer. Holly is the herbalist that made the Dissolve and even a Custom Dissolve for Henry. His lipomas are extremely large and the Custom Dissolve did liquefy them but they did not go away. I felt that continuing that route was senseless so did more research. Found a company by the name of NuVet that has a chewable tablet with a money back guarantee if not satisfied. My Vet had heard of the company, looked at the ingredients and suggested to try it and she also researched further and suggested on two week intervals to add tumeric, milk thistle and Sam-e every 12 hours.

I started the NuVet Sept 1st and have seen the lipomas getting smaller and in fact one has disappeared. I feed home made dog food to Henry of 85/15 beef or lean turkey plus vegetables. He is improving. Since he also has weakness in his hind legs, I am considering getting he joint formula from NuVet as well. I like the NeVet better than Pawhealer because they explain and list each ingredient and Pawhealer would not do that.

Feel free to check in with me. Henry is 14 and is doing well. I do give him marrow bones and then refill them with his food or pumpkin forva nightly treat. Keep in touch.

[treizi]

Thanks for everyone’s responses so far!

So when you mention low fat, are there certain #’s he should be staying under when looking for food? I’m not sure where Lotus falls on the calorie scale, I generally have just been concerned with grain and recalls. I’ll add that he’s a good weight, no concerns have ever been stated by the vet either and he doesn’t get additional treats beyond the occasional item off the cutting board from a salad dinner or dried sweet potato pieces about once a week.

Is there a digestive enzyme that you’d recommend as well? And is there a supplement that might assist with a reoccurring slipped disc or aggravation?

Just as an update, his stools are back to normal and he’s mostly in nice shape as well. All bulging in his belly seems to have gone away, though his back does seem to randomly bother him. He’ll go up on his hind legs without complaint (on his own, I’d keep him on all 4’s if I could) but he seems aware of back pain at times as his ears will drop and he’ll tense if you rub back there. He has reinjured himself in the past (much worse than how he acts now) and we’ll crate, prevent jumping, keep him quiet for about 2 weeks (per vets instructions) and that works, but if I can help build him up in any way with supplements, I’m more than willing to do so.

[Triplets Mom]

Hello all — brand new to this forum, and I don’t get to post very often, but my dogs’ diet is one of the all-consuming concerns of my life right now due to their health needs, so I’m surely happy to find you all!

To “beagleowner” – if you’re still following this group, I’m very interested in the comment you made about giving your Henry herbs to liquify his lipomas. What herbs? How much/how often/how long (quantity/dose/duration)? Did the lipomas go away yet? How did you know they had liquified?

And to anyone giving their dog soup/marrow bones, what animal do the bones come from? I’ve spent a total of around $6,000 on two separate dental incidents from two of my three dogs chewing beef bones (usually steak bones like a T-bone, sometimes beef rib bones). But poultry bones which are soft enough to not break teeth cause me concerns re salmonella since cooking bones to kill bacteria causes them to become splintery/dangerous. Is there anyone here with these concerns who has found a good solution? Is there a way to kill the bacteria on poultry carcasses OTHER than cooking them?

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to doing a lot more reading as I am able to get online!

[BijouMama05]

Arquello1062 – The treats you bought don’t seem to be the ones pets are having trouble with since they don’t contain Rosemary in any of its forms (extract, oil, leaf, etc.). The one I have states the ingredients as chicken & rosemary extract (nothing else). They are Full Moon Freeze Dried Chicken Treats, not the Full Moon Chicken Strips. I did contact the AAFCO with all of my data, vet reports and much more regarding rosemary and dogs (including thousands of adverse reactions in dogs & cats who eat this ingredient in pet foods, treats & human foods/meats) & it has been put on the radar of the FDA/CVM, the vet toxicologist in Tennessee & other watchdog groups by them. I tried to get numerous pet food companies, watchdog groups, pet food advisory groups, etc. to take notice, but no one would take me seriously or take the time & everyone kept ‘passing the buck,’ saying the responsibility belonged to someone else. So, I did all the research (medical, scientific, GRAS, AAFCO, FDA, CVM, AVMA, consumer affairs, hundreds of different foods & treats, etc.) & sent it to all the appropriate agencies in the hopes that someone would finally listen & do the right thing for the pets we all love. Finally someone listened. It was a whimper, not a bang, but at least it was a noise and I can only hope that it got the attention of the right people. I can only hope that something will finally get done about the use of rosemary as a ‘flavor enhancer’ in pet food & its acceptance as a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) ingredient for pets, especially when it is known to cause such severe reactions within hours of ingestion in thousands of pets (vomiting, diarrhea, electrolyte imbalance & hypoglycemia [from vomiting & diarrhea], etc.). Rosemary has been known to be a bile stimulant for over 100 years & in small dogs & cats, those with digestive problems, GERD, colitis or sensitive stomachs, health problems, older pets, puppies, diabetes, etc. this excess bile would definitely cause the extreme symptoms seen when rosemary is consumed by these pets (but not as often by larger or healthier animals).

[theBCnut]

Not that probiotics are bad, because they are good, but I think your dog could benefit from digestive enzymes, especially if this is a borderline or chronic pancreatitis problem. You may want to start Koda on a low fat diet and cut out any treats that aren’t low fat. And if it could be his back again, work at getting every single ounce of extra weight off of him. Just one caution, a lot of low fat diets reduce protein too, and that is bad, because they increase carbs a lot.

[jinxykb]

It sounds like you are looking for training treats and not a good meal for your pup.
As small dogs are prone to pancreatitis you need to pick something small and lower in fat. If you try to train your pup with his food, I don’t think it will go well, and you are sending mixed messages; Training treats should be special–that’s why they are called treats!

My 7 lb chihuahua will do tricks for frozen banana slices and frozen green beans. She will also do them for pieces of chicken and salmon, so, we mix it up to keep her healthy. If you want to keep it portable Honest Kitchen Peck’s are good. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/pecks. They have a new one called quickies which looks great, but we haven’t tried it yet. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/treats/quickies. Both are low calorie.

As for moist food, Patty is right. The stopped making ‘Gains Burgers’ for a reason.

Good luck!

[Becky]

I’m the one whose dog had the allergy tests and it showed she was allergic to everything. But she’s my foster and it was her original family who did the testing. One strange thing, though, it showed she was NOT allergic to corn! But as I’ve had her for over a year, I’ve also found she’s allergic to sweet potatoes and barley. Or at least she gets diarrhea when she eats something with that in it, so I’m assuming she’s allergic or sensitive to those.

She’s on a food that agrees with her, she eats carrots and blueberries for treats and I found some Nutro grain-free treats without barley she can eat and she’s happy. (with her Atopica) She’s getting adopted Sunday after a year! I’m going to miss her so much but it will be good for her to have a forever home.

Does anyone else use acidophilus? That seems to help with her stomach issues, too.

[darnsdog]

Any feedback regarding the Lick Out Loud treats? It’s a Canadian company that advertises itself as “Natural, organic and healthy” and “Complete natural nutrition”. I bought the treats, but won’t give them to my dogs until I know more. Thanks for any reviews.

The link to the treats I purchased is below.

http://www.completenaturalnutrition.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=89

[Byfuzzerabbit]

I have a 4 month Westie who had vomited several times in one day about 3 weeks ago and the vet recommend we give her some chicken and rice to give her a stomach a rest for a few days. I followed her directions I did mix some on her dry food which was Natures Recipe we switched it to Wellness thinking maybe she just didn’t like her food at first a week after stopping the chicken and rice diet. It’s been about 2 and a half weeks since we gave her chicken. She was eating her food but you could kind of tell she would look at you and be like what is this garbage. In the past 2 days she has become super stubborn about her food. She will eat maybe 1/8 cup then walk away from it .

I don’t think she’s sick b/c she’ll eat her treats like a champ also we got her Wellness wet puppy food today and she has no problems eating that. I have tried mixing the wet and dry food and she has no interest in it.

So I guess is this like a stand off w/ my dog until she eats her dog food again? I would rather keep her on the dry food.

[Julia Halter]

If your dog(s) could talk, what would they say about their current food and their treats? I own two wonderful Australian Shepherds (Freddy (2) and the newest addition Perry, who’s 2). Freddy would probably stare at me all the time and be like, “Momma, momma, I really want those little crunchy things…” He loves these ‘Natural Balances Roll-A-Rounds’. Perry would just look up at his empty food bags and go, “Please momma, may I have some more?” I just recently put him on a rotational diet and he likes every new brand he gets. Would yours act the same, or differently?

[TmMura13]

Shadow is my 10 month old German Shepherd mix with diarrhea, demodex mites, demodectic mange, is extremely picky, needs to put on weight, might have a food allergy (possibly needs to stay from birds), is very high energy and has a low immune system. Please keep in mind that I live in Florida and I’m surrounded my national pet store retailers. There are very few small speciality pet store retailers around. Also I would prefer not to order online unless it’s truly necessary.

Shadow – Hill’s® Science Diet® Puppy Large Breed / Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Sweet Potato & Venison / Nutro Natural Choice Limited Ingredient Diet Lamb & Whole Brown Rice Formula Large Breed Puppy Food / Wilderness™ Chicken Recipe for Puppies

We feed him what ever he will eat at the time. This also may include canned food, treats mixed in and even sometimes table scraps.

[jpjhooper]

Any word on this food? I keep seeing posts about dogs getting sick within the last 6 months. We feed him the Life Protection Formula with the Life Source bits as a secondary food source. Main food source is Grandma Lucys freeze dried chicken. We mostly use the dry kibble as “treats” for training as we thought it might be lower calorie then actual treats. Also if we happen to run out of GL then we supplement with BB until we can get to the store.

[puppylove]

We always gave our little maltese bully sticks and never had any choking issues. It was either that or my $200 shoes. lol

[Mom2Cavs]

One of my Cavaliers (in my avatar pic, Laverne) has anal gland problems off and on. I attribute it to allergies with her. I have taken her, all the dogs, off all poultry. She is now eating for kibble Holistic Select grain free. It is a poultry free, fish based kibble with a pretty decent fiber content at around 6% max, I believe. It does have potatoes, but they don’t seem to be a problem with my dogs. I do top with canned foods and have been keeping them poultry free, as well. So far, I’ve been using Wellness for the majority….95% Salmon or Beef or Lamb, Beef Stew, and Simple Salmon or Lamb. This seems to be working. She hasn’t had any issues since I switched to doing this. I was using Zignature kibble, and will probably keep it in the rotation. I just bought some Big Dog Natural dehydrated raw in beef flavor that I plan on trying in the mix. I also add probiotics and enzymes to my dogs’ food. There are lots of them recommended on this site. Currently, I’m using Wholistic Pet Digest all Plus (or something like that lol!). This is all I do, no other supplements atm. Oh…I almost forgot, I do give a biscuit at night before bedtime. I’ve been using Wellness Lamb grain free or Whitefish (not grain free). Any soft treats given, usually during therapy dog visits, are Wellness Pure Rewards beef. As you can see, I like Wellness hahahaha. 🙂 I’m not saying this regimen would work for your dog, but to think about allergies….perhaps do away with chicken and definitely grains. Go from there. I’ve been battling this with Laverne for awhile now and I feel I finally have a handle on it.

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

[beagleowner]

I get soup bones at the grocery store. They do not splinter but are hard as a rock. After our beagle removes the little bit of meat on the face of the bone and any inside meat residue, I spoon out all marrow and fill it with pumpkin, freeze it and give to him as a nightly treat. He cleans them out and knows on the bone itself. We have about 5 of them and when they have been filled 4 times I toss them and then get a new bone at the store to replace it. No problems at all.

[newmom]

I wish I had read all of these posts before sending mine in. Oh Well, live and learn. I am concerned about letting a dog have a marrow bone. This would be a wonderful treat for Sgt. Charlie but I’m concerned about the open “doughnut hole” once the marrow is gone. Isn’t it possible for the dog to somehow such this bone into the esophagus and choke? Many years ago, my vet told me not to give our then dog a marrow bone for this reason. If there is little likelyhood of this, I will give Sarge one immediately. I think he would love it! Those of you who give their buddies/kids(4 legged)/babies the butchers bone do not seem to be concerned about the ends splintering as I am. Am I worrying too much? The Sgt. would love to have another big bone!
I do not see positive responses regarding dental sticks, does this mean they are best left out of the picture? I’ve already learned a lot from all of you. Thanks a bunch.

[newmom]

In the past, I gave my dogs pig ears and calve hooves…the odor was terrible but they loved them. I’ve seen so many recalls for these and jerky, so I don’t know what to give Sgt. Charlie to chew on. He loves gnawing on bones but I fear for his teeth. I would like to give him dental sticks if they are safe. Sarge spent a couple of months on a huge real butchers bone but I finally took it away from him as the ends became jagged and I feared the pieces would cut or damage his intestinal tract, or worse! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[theBCnut]

BTW, I use Spirugreen. My dogs think the tablets are treats. I always add green superfoods and some other antioxidant rich foods, but I’m not sure how much of that sort of thing THK already has in it.

[Lori]

I should add that Chuckles was evaluated by the nutritionist, Teddy was not. They have him eating 1-1/2 cups of the OM twice a day (266 cal/cup). I give Teddy 1 cup, which I think may not be enough. They allowed Chuck 20 calories in treats per day (that was a tuffy one for me!).

[somebodysme]

OH yes, sounds just exactly like my dog with allergies too. She’s a “lab mix”…AKA no one knows!

The vet did the same thing. What I did was go with a limited ingredient diet. I have her on Nature’s Variety LID Turkey which is doing an adequate job of keeping it under control. Remember that everything he consumes can contribute, not just their dog food. Treats and rawhide etc. even vitamins and supplements. People food…it can all cause problems.

Really the antiboitics help heal it up but then it just will come right back because they are killing the dog’s immune system.

I chose the NV food because it had the least amount of ingredients and not potatoes of any kind. I don’t even want her on sweet potatoes either.

Does he stink like strong cheese? If so that is yeast too so you don’t want a food with too many carbs or it will get worse. You’d also want to give a probiotic.

Just out of curiosity, what are you feeding him now?

[BijouMama05]

I’ve had the same problem with my dog eating these treats. I gave him one very tiny piece of freeze dried chicken (less than 1/2″) and within 12 hours he was vomiting bright yellow bile. I didn’t make the connection with ROSEMARY EXTRACT, though until later after I gave him a small bite of boiled organic ground turkey & he had the same reaction about 12 hours later (vomiting bright yellow bile). I dug the package out of the trash & it contained two ingredients (organic turkey & ROSEMARY EXTRACT). These treats also contain two ingredients (chicken & ROSEMARY EXTRACT). My dog doesn’t eat any other food that contains ROSEMARY EXTRACT with the exception of these two items. He used to be fed Nutro Puppy Food & was switched to their Toy Breed Adult Formula when he turned one year old and had no problems with it, either until they changed the formula and added ROSEMARY EXTRACT to it (This brand now has almost 1500 complaints for the same symptoms on consumer affairs). He immediately started vomiting and having diarrhea which became bloody. When he started having Grand Mal seizures & his liver enzymes became elevated we switched his food to an organic limited ingredient diet & his symptoms disappeared. We didn’t realize that the ROSEMARY EXTRACT was the problem until recently with the feeding of the Full Moon Freeze Dried Chicken Treats & the Organic Ground Turkey Meat (both of which had only two ingredients, one of which ROSEMARY EXTRACT). This ingredient is a neurotoxin/neurostimulant, a blood thinner, and also stimulated bile production (which might explain the vomiting & diarrhea). I have done some research on the Internet & there are hundreds of thousands of complaints about dog foods, cat foods & treats that contain ROSEMARY EXTRACT & all of the symptoms are the same (vomiting of bile, diarrhea [often bloody], seizures, itching, elevated liver enzymes, refusal to eat, & weight loss). I believe that this is one ‘natural’ additive that has no place in pet food or treats & probably hasn’t even been properly tested to see if it is even safe or not. Just because it is safe for the majority of healthy humans (not diabetic, pregnant, taking blood thinners/aspirin/NSAIDs, epileptic, etc.) doesn’t mean it is safe for dogs and cats.

[Mom2Cavs]

Marie….I’ve done both. I’ve spoken up and I’ve been silent. It just all depends on the “vibe” I feel coming from the other person. Once I saw a man take a huge bag of those chicken jerky treats that have been a problem (don’t remember what the brand was exactly) and put it in his cart. I just couldn’t let that one go and spoke up that it was a shame the store still had them on the shelves when they were causing a lot of problems for dogs. He was shocked at what I told him and in the end I believe he put them back. I also told him of several sites online where he could find out stuff about recalls, etc. He seemed very appreciative. I also helped a few people at Petsmart. One was a younger couple who was adopting a pup from the adoptions they were having that day. They seemed kinda lost and were wandering around trying to buy supplies. I steered them in the direction of the “good food” aisle and told them about some of the different foods and why they might be good choices. I also suggested a certain kind of harness (instead of collar) that was easy to use. This was a very small breed and I told them about trachea issues when using a collar, etc. Again, they were very thankful. Then there was the lady who declared Science Diet was the “best” food going because her vet said so….she overheard a conversation between me and a friend talking about dog food. We tried to convince her otherwise but it was clear that we were wasting our energy….so I just shut up about that one. There have been others that I’ve not spoken up about just because I could sense that it would do no good. Sometimes it’s hard to not come off sounding like a know-it-all snob, too!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Mom2Cavs.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[MommyToCash]

Awesome! Thank you so much– I feel so guilty. I always give him a little bit of my food (not much, because I know I shouldn’t), but he was going to have to go cold turkey (hardy har har…). But, what I think I’ll do is bring these doggie treats to the table and give him some when I’m done, so he THINKS he’s getting what I’m eating.

I know, I am insane.

Thanks a lot–I’ll look these brands/treats up, as they are new to me. 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

You can use freeze dried meat and tripe treats like Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Kisses, Fresh is Best, Bravo, Vital Essentials, etc.

You can also make easy homemade pumpkin treats:

http://www.all-natural-dog-treat.com/pumpkindogtreatrecipes.html

[poconnell]

We have a Westie and a Cairn Terrior, they both have allergies to Wheat (as I do)! We feed them dry dog food that we buy from our local Pet store and we mix chicken thigh meat in with it and they will not eat the food without it. We feed them once a day, I leave the dry dog food in their dish as they basically just eat the chicken, but they do get the dry food as well. Is one time a day not enough, this has always been a concern of mine. Oh, and they do get treats, maybe too much. Thanks for any help you can give.

[apriliamille]

hello all, i just read the entire thread and whew tons of information. i have a few questions but wanted to also make a few comments if they would help as well.

my 7 month old doberman girl is a rocket eater. so fast she throws up. i found i was able to slow her down by using one of our deep wall cookie sheets for her food. prior to this she would eat so fast that she would finish in time, throw up, eat again and then go and try to ninja the boxer’s food while he was eating. now the boxer finishes first and stares at her eating. a nice cheap solution to speed eating.

i saw a couple posts on high value treats. i live in central utah and we have a meat and game processing locker here called fords. they sell dog jerky treats that my girl goes bonkers over during our track training. i messed up a small ziplock baggie thats in our training pack and whew, the leash harness and toys smelled like the jerky the next session. they sell them on ebay for 15 bucks / 2 pounds free ship

hound dog mom, thank you soooo much for the information docs. one of the pages back i saw where dr tim was removed from the 2nd list but man it took me 3 hours to get through the whole thread. was it due to it not saying puppy or ALS on the packaging? i cant remember. This list came at a very fortunate time for me. we love our food we feed but due to a short term financial crisis emergency i have to reduce costs untill i get back on my feet. luckily i have 70 pounds of her current food available for her to help with a transition. im hoping to find something i can supplement her current with until i get back on my feet (i hope that makes sense). i was starting off thinking after the first doc of either earthborn or dr tim. but then the 2nd doc came out. any suggestions on this?

also we have a facebook group that is for our zip code regional for pets. may i share your doc on that for others to look at?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Kiwi is safe for dogs. I’ve used baby food purees with kiwi and I’ve seen dog treats with kiwi.

[dog34747]

I have an 8 year old male, retired racing greyhound with a very sensitive stomach and allergies. He’s had severe ear infections, nasal congestion, compulsive licking and digestive problems. He is also hyper allergic to flea bites, with them even turning in to mini staph infections at each bite. Over the past 3 1/2 years I have tried nearly every brand on the market from Purina on up to Orijen. If it’s sold anywhere between the specialty boutique shops and PetsMart, I have probably tried it. I’ve tried grain-in, grain-free, corn-free, soy-free, gluten-free, chicken-free… etc. etc. I have tried chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, beef, bison, and I think one even had ostrich or something. Basically I’ve tried everything. I have even tried the high-end frozen raw diet food, he just simply won’t touch it. He does not appear to be allergic to chicken specifically, I’ve tried poultry based foods and foods with absolutely no poultry of any kind and the result is the same.

Every single grain-free food causes, horrendous breath, loose stool and severe gas. No amount of pumpkin, yogurt, supplement pro-biotics or pre-biotics seems to fix it, sometimes those relieve things for a day or two but never permanently. It seems directly linked to the percent of protein, above a certain point and these issues start. He seems ok around 22% but usually anything in that range is not grain-free.

The grain-in foods (and treats) increase his nasal congestion (like a kid sucking the snot in vs. blowing his nose, not the same as a reverse sneeze) and the obsessive licking, and they also exacerbates the ear infections. He has had the ear infections recurring, or perhaps even continually but low level, since I got him. He was on a grain-in food when I got him and I immediately switched to grain-free but the ear never fully cleared up even on grain-free. The ear is finally cleared up (for now) after lots of meds though I’m worried his diet will bring it back.

I have tried some raw foods and veggies but they seem to pass through him without even being digested at all.

Any kind of food with potato as a major ingredient seems to act as an immediate diuretic, causing him to be constantly thirsty, panting and drinking and therefore needing to go out 7+ per day every few hours and even having accidents in the house which otherwise he has never had before. This includes all those limited ingredient foods because they all seems to be potato based.

The only time I have had any luck with a food is with Iams Sensitive Naturals Ocean Fish. Yes, I know it doesn’t rank highly and many people here are against it, but it was literally the only food that stopped the breath/stool/gas problems in their tracks, nearly overnight. I’ve heard others say they had similar good luck with Iams and attribute it to the beet pulp, not sure if that’s really true but I can say it worked for my dog. He went about eating it with no digestive issues for 9 months or so but the silent ear infection got worse and worse and the nasal issues got worse. Then we tried Eukanuba Wild Salmon/Rice and the ear/nasal continued to get worse and the licking started. The only benefit to the Eukanuba was his coat was suddenly full, fluffy and soft and the traditional greyhound bald spots were even filling in. I was bothered by the increase in allergies so I’ve gone back to looking for something else.

So I’ve since re-tried several other grain-free foods and the Biljac Sensitive formula, all produce the same old problems. Re-tried a limited potato food, same problem.

I’d like to note he has been tested repeatedly for worms, giardia, heartworms, etc. and all negative. He has had bloodwork taken regularly and it is all absolutely perfect, including thyroid. His teeth have been cleaned by the vet recently and are good. He has absolutely no medical issues outside of the allergies and stomach sensitivities. Also, several vets and others suggested giving him claritan or benedryl to relieve the nasal and skin related reactions but it seems to do nothing for him.

I’m sorry this post is so long, thanks for reading all of it, I was trying to give the full background so folks know what I’ve already tried on this great food adventure. I’m looking for any suggestions, advice, testimonials, whatever on food and treats. I’m willing to try any food to get him to be comfortable, as long as it doesn’t require a second mortgage to pay for it. Thanks in advance!

[theBCnut]

Hi BluesMom

Just a couple things and a boost of your post up to the top where more people will see it. The thing with the partially solid stool is it can be from a few different causes. Early stages of some intestinal parasites will cause this. Treats that are difficult to digest can cause partial soft stool. Overheating can too, if it isn’t so bad as to cause full blown diarrhea. Also a dog may not make enough of the enzymes they need to fully use everything in the food.

Some people call a food too rich, because it is too high in fat or because they believe it is too high in fat for their dog. Some because their dog needs longer for it’s body to adjust to the change in nutrient levels, but they don’t know that is the problem, adding enzymes helps. Some because they believe the story about this that or the other having too much protein.

What probiotic are you using? Please consider adding digestive enzymes to your dogs meals, you may find this to be a real quick fix for all your concerns. In the wild, canids would get enzymes from the prey animal they were eating. Some dogs don’t make enough of their own enzymes or they don’t adjust to new foods without a little extra help.

And people food isn’t bad as long as you are sharing the good stuff, not a lot of the fatty trimmings and poultry skin.

[emchide]

Hi everyone, and thanks for such an informative site with a lot of informative posts by those willing to share their hard-learned experiences. I’ve been poring over a lot of the discussions and digging in to the facts presented, and I’m trying hard not to duplicate questions already asked.

One manufacturer I came across seems not to have a presence on this website yet – it’s listed in the topic, GreenTripe.com. What particularly intrigues me are their various formulations using trachea, gullet, and pancreas, among others. What do you experienced raw food people think of this variation? At a glance, it looks like shipping costs might be somewhat prohibitive unless ordering in serious bulk.

I’m thinking my best bet to start is simply checking with the local grocers for various RMBs and organs on the cheap and using those as well as eggs, yogurt, and so on as a topper for grain-free kibble (currently rotating among Halo Puppy Salmon, Halo Surf and Turf, Nature’s Variety Instinct Duck, and Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit with canned toppings like Wellness Core and Solid Gold Green Cow Tripe). Ideally I would eventually transition to all home-prepared ingredients but I definitely need to read up more on vegetables and supplements for a while first.

Oh, and my dog is a four-month old boxer/pit mix – he’s growing like a weed and I’m slightly concerned we’ve been using a few too many treats for training in addition to his three meals a day as he’s gone from 13 lbs on June 12 when we adopted him to 32 currently, but he seems healthy as a horse and has great energy. The only issue seems to be some scratching and itching which has somewhat receded as his flea treatment has kicked in (I still find fleas on him but they seem unwell and are easy to catch and crush), but he came home on SD of course from the SPCA so I am hoping that dietary improvements might eliminate any potential skin issues if they exist.

I look forward to gleaning a lot more valuable knowledge from these discussions, and thanks again for expending the energy to inform more people – I really appreciate the love-driven data!

• This topic was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by emchide.
• This topic was modified 12 years, 4 months ago by emchide.

[EHubbman]

I should clarify a bit, haha! The things I was reading were more along the lines of 50% meat/bone/organ and 50% raw fruit and veg (or other ratios around those amounts), which is why I was wanting to stay away from those, because that kinda seems like an obnoxious amount of fruit/veg. I was finding these ratios on pages for the BARF diet, where prey model raw pages were more towards meat/bone/organs with supplements.

More what I mean by feeling more towards prey model is what I’m seeing more frequently here and among those I know that feed raw. The main majority of the meal is meat/bone/organ, but they do supplement with good stuff. (Am I calling it the wrong thing by saying prey model?)

Patty, that mix sounds like a good treat! I’m sure Dom would love it, he loves frozen treats.

HDM, Thanks! I’ll definitely be checking in on those books. A good friend just recommended “Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals” by Lew Olson, so I’ve been trying to read that.

Random thought, since I’ve seen it a few times on forums: Garlic for dogs? I would think that since it’s a member of the allium family, wouldn’t it be bad for dogs? Yet I see people saying “add it to the food to make your dog eat it!”

[theBCnut]

ebk

How old are your kids? The reason I ask is because from the time mine were old enough to understand that their hands were dirty I had them help me feed the dogs and then we went and washed our hands because dog food can make our hands dirty. If they found a stray piece of dog food on the floor, they knew that they had to go wash their hands after they gave it to the dogs. Same with dog treats. The oldest will be 18 in a couple days, the youngest is 13. They have never gotten anything from the animals and they have always had their own chores to do, but the lesson about washing stuck. We have a ton of animals.

[theBCnut]

Thanks for the good thoughts and especially the prayers everyone.

My favorite treats and my dogs too are the freeze dried foods, lots of meat and not much else, very little processing.

[Hound Dog Mom]

My favorite training treats are ZiwiPeak food, Vital Essential’s freeze-dried nibblets and Nature’s Variety Instinct freeze-dried raw (in the nuggets). I like to use complete and balanced foods for treats whenever possible and the dogs seem to really like these foods.

[pugmomsandy]

This is from their website:

“Performance Pet Products along with Canine Cattle Company, a respected name in dog treats for years are brands of the 4th largest meat processor in the U.S., American Foods Group. We are a company devoted to quality. Due to numerous pet food recalls lately, quality and safety have been concerns. We take these concerns very seriously-that’s why we have built a plant in Mitchell, South Dakota devoted to the production of human grade dog and cat food from the highest quality
ingredients available”

http://www.performancepet.net/index.asp?lid=1

[Hound Dog Mom]

My dogs love the grain-free buddy biscuits. I like them because they’re so big – I have a hard time finding treats that are big enough for my girls. Most are so small that they just swallow them.

[pugmomsandy]

My giant toy dogs are 24 and 30 lbs! And still eat 2/3 cup total per day plus treats.