[Melody G]

I have a Siberian Husky. She is almost 2yrs old. She seems to have a sensitive stomach. Currently she is on a lamb dry food. She was on chicken but we switched to lamb to see if it helped her, and it has not. After doing some research, I want to try a Limited Ingredient food for sensitive stomachs, but am undecided if I should stick with lamb, or try fish? I see a lot of Salmon and sweet potato. Does it matter? Or have you seen better results in the digestion when feeding your dog a specific protein in their food?
I have been looking on Chewy dot com and have a few brands that interested me. Just not sure which one to pick? Merrick (which she ate when we first picked her up as a pup, just not a LID one, she got bored with it after a while), Natural Balance, Wellness, Chicken soup for the soul dog food, Canidae..SO MANY OPTIONS!

• This topic was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Melody G. Reason: added

[Susan]

Hi Poodaddy,
Welcome to DFA, I really enjoyed your story, the same thing happened with my cat Jeremy he was 10yrs old & his breath was awful, his teeth were full of tarter from eating wet tin food & dry kibble & a cooked food (what I ate) Jeremy loved his food & made daily visits to a few neigbours places, same time everyday for 14 yrs, he was a Main Coon, a beautiful big cat, he was the same height as my English Staffy Patch, his vet said we can clean his teeth & it will cost $460 & if any teeth need removing it will be an extra $50 per tooth, plus he will need a blood test before we can give him any anaesthetic cause he’s 10yrs old or you can start giving him chicken necks, vet said I’ve seen really good results giving cats chicken necks, so naturally I pick the safe & natural way to clean his teeth & I started giving him meaty chicken necks & chciken wings he loved them & the tarter started to come off his teeth & no more smelly breath, I just wish I fed him a raw diet earlier, poor Jeremy passed away age 14, then Patch became real sick again with his IBD vet didn’t know what was wrong, his diet hadn’t changed but he was having a bad IBD flare, STRESS he was really depressed since Jeremy had been PTS, so the best thing to do was adopt a new cat so off we went to the RSPCA, they knew we were coming & had a few cats waiting to met Patch, Patch picked this scrawny, skinny 5 month old street kitten with a bent tail, a bent ear & had had bad ear mites & was still being treated for really bad ear infection caused by the ear mites infestation, I said to Patch look there’s a beautiful looking ginger boy he’s friendly he’s a kitten he’s NOT SICK, but Patch really liked this little scrawny kitten & she really took to Patch, they both really liked each other straight away… As the days passed Patch got better & was like a young pup playing, running, giving his balls to this kitten, the kitten “Indy” washes him at night before bed & now she thinks she is a dog not a cat cause she has been brought up by a dog, Indy is feed a raw diet she eats everything & loves her freeze Dried Green Lipped Mussels every day…..

….”Steve Brown” when asked if you had to pick just 1 food to add to your dog bowl of fresh food to make it better, what would it be, Steve said Mussels… they’re cheap, they have Iodine, Manganese, Omega 3, DHA, EPA, Vitamin-D, alot of raw foods are short of Iodine, fats & Vitamin-D so add 1-2 mussels a day, also add 1 tablespoon of Salmon & a pinch of Kelp…Follow “Rodney Habib” on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib

Rodney & Ty Bollinger interview medical professionals & cancer scientists to find the truth about PET CANCER & their new documentry “The Truth About Pet Cancer” is finally being released 17th October 2017….. Best thing you’ve done is put your dogs on a raw diet.. when I move into my house 1-2 months I’m re trying Patch on a raw diet again this time no enzymes or probiotics & I’ll see if it works out this time, I hate feeding him dry processed kibble & he see’s Indy getting raw meal, it breaks my heart…

[Susan]

Hi Dana,
what is he eating?? how high is the fiber % ?
Look for low fiber under 4%, lower carb under 38% diets, oils can make acid reflux/nausea worse just be careful, I’d try & cook one of his meals, use easy to digest meats like turkey & chicken, get some chicken breast cut up into small pieces, just bring to the boil do not over cook as the chicken pieces. they will be like hard leather pieces & boiled some sweet potatoes or plain white potatoes, mix 1/2 chicken & 1/2 potato & some boil pumkin about 1 spoon of pumkin, I freeze boiled pumkin pieces in the freezer in those ice cube trays & take out as I need some pumkin, the pumkin thaws very quickly, pumkin soothes the stomach, you watch he’ll be better after eating a lean low fat, low fiber cooked meal then when he eats the dry kibble….
Sometimes the dog ends up needing an acid reducer, i’d be trying an acid reducer like liquid “Mylanta” its a white powdery liquid that relieves nausea & acid reflux, I keep a small bottle in the fridge, when its cold it soothe the throat, esophagus & stomach, you give 1 teaspoon, 5mls when needed, when he’s gulping grass, my boy use to wait near the fridge for his Mylanta when he felt real sick, Mylanta was the only medication he let me give him so it must of done something to help also Slippery Elm made into a sloppy paste & kept in the fridge helps, go to health food store & get some slippery elm powder, you boil the jug & add boiled water to about under 1 teaspoon slippery elm powder & make a sloppy paste so you can pull up into a those big 20ml syringes or put on 1 teaspoon or open his mouth & put on his tongue….
I wouldnt be giving any oils, you need to work out what is causing the problem, why is he’s getting nausea??
the only test that will give vet some answers is to have an Endoscope & Biopies done the biopies will tell the vet whats going on, my boy had Helicobacter-Pylori this makes them feel real sick & have bad acid reflux, I’ve had Helicobacter its awful & takes a while to get rid off, but first try changing his diet, then you watch him after he eats, does he seem uncomfortable when he kibble is he better after he eats his cooked meals……..

Have you tried “4Health” Special Care Sensitive Stomach dry formula?? its Egg & Potato very easy to digest ingreients, is low in fiber-3%, low in fat-13% & carbs-40%, also has probiotics & prebiotics in it…. give it a go & see if there’s an improvement with his stomach… I’ve heard alot of really good results with the “4health” Sensitive Stomach & Sensitive Skin formula’s..

[anne c]

Please help. I can’t take the breath with the salmon based food my dogs have been on, and the stool being soft. They have been on it for years, health Brittany’s, average exercise amounts. Spay female a little chubby (but that’s my husband’s doing:)
Thinking Acana Appalachian
I only use dry.
Suggestions please

[Dr. Jessica G]

Ive been feeding my dog Halo for his entire life, but also stumbled across this Whole Paws Dry Chicken food when shopping on Amazon Fresh. Id like to ensure its made with the same quality ingredients he is used to – because he sure does love this particular brand!

[Susan]

Hi Dina,
I live Australia & alot of foods that are NOT American made will not be on DFA review site…
DFA is an American pet food site….
Google “UK Pet Food Reviews” & the UK pet food site comes up, I just put in “Unipaws in the “UK Pet Food Review” site & nothing comes up, so a UK pet food company must just make the Unipaws specially for dogs in Indonesia & it’s not sold in the UK or its sold under a different name…
Can you get any Australian or American pets foods in Indonesia?
can you get American brands “Acana” “Merrick” “Canidae” or here’s a few Australian & New Zealand made brands “Meals For Mutts” “A La Carte” “Ivory Coat” ” Ziwi Peak” K-9 Natural” “Barf Dr B’s” that are sold overseas…

A good dry kibble will have 2-4 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th ingredients followed be a carb, the meat protein should be followed by a meal, cause when they write the ingredient list the ingredients are raw & after these ingredients are cooked they shrink & move up the ingredient list & are not 1st or 2nd no more…..

Here’s an example of a 5 star kibble…
“Canidae” Pure Sky” formula, Duck, Duck Meal, Turkey Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Chicken Fat, Potatoes, Suncured Alfalfa, natural falvours, minerals & vitamins,
Protein-32%, Fat-16%, Fiber-4%, Carbs-30%
What are the first 5 ingredients in the Unipaws formula your feeding?

[Virginia D]

I have an almost 2 yr. old lab who bloats and farts daily. Sometimes the farts stink bad, sometimes they don’t at all. I have tried different foods; sometimes they work for a day, then we’re back to square one. He is now eating California Naturals Limited Ingredient dry dog food, and his treats are SportMix Grain Free dog biscuits. He takes Beano before every meal, per my vet; my vet is not a nutritionist & has run out of basic ideas for us. Pal is a rather timid guy & sensitive emotionally, we feel; our household is busy & that’s got to be part of it, we think (adult children complain about his farts & slobberiness, which is understandable). Would a probiotic help? I’ve heard, ‘they work/they don’t work.’ Any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated!

[Susan]

Hi Rea,
How you work out the Carbohydrates in dry kibble?
you add the Protein% + the Fat% + the Fiber% + the Moisture% + the Ash%, a good honest kibble company will put the ash % on kibble bag or their pet food site but they normally don’t want you to know the ash %….
a good kibble should have low ash % around 5% & under for ash %, if the Ash isn’t written on the kibble bag or on the pet food site then just add 8% for the ash %, once you have added up protein, fat, fiber, moisture & ash % now take away the score from 100 & you’ll have your carb % or you can email the pet food company & ask them & they will give you the correct Carb %… I feed kibbles that are under 40% in Carbs…

[poodaddy]

Michael B,

For about 5 months now, I have been developing an integrated system using Excel as a complete nutrition model specifically targeted at total visibility of all elements/variables for raw dog food preparation. This initiative is not for commercial sale, is for my use to control every aspect of planning, designing, shopping, manufacturing, and feeding my dogs. The system has two items remaining to be complete before I am comfortable starting to share my knowledge, and the software development: (1) industry recognized source of canine MDR (wet) or MDR (dry with conversion methodology to wet) for all micro-nutrients and vitamins and (2) sources for concluding my research into supplements to finish the balancing.

So,… if you want to start a dialog on this, let me know.

[Michael R]

A little confused. You have rated Nutro Dry Dog Food Limited Ingredients 4-4.5 stars in your reviews but yet it is not on your recommended list in Editor’s Choice? If there’s something wrong with what I’m feeding my Golden I need to know. He is full of allergies with a sensitive stomach and it has worked well. I’m specifically talking about Salmon and Lentiles formula. My guy did great on Venison and Sweet Potato but the situation in New Zealand made it impossible to get so I’m struggling. He doesn’t seem to like the lamb, and is allergic to chicken, which makes me wonder why so many of your reviews are with chicken because it’s one of the leading allergens in dogs!

[Susan]

Hi Darlene,
He sounds like he has a lot of life left in him & has a exciting little life, going on daily walks, chasing squirrels, I’d say the Wellness Core Small Breed isn’t agreeing with him anymore it’s way to rich now for an older dog….Wellness Core Small breed is higher in fat & protein, probably causing bad wind pain like my boy gets when he eats a kibble that doesnt agree with him, he wakes up & is up & down thru the night & just walks around the common garden area then he comes back inside, I’d say he’s farting then feels better then my boy comes back inside goes to bed then he’s up again wanting to go out again, see how he goes after eating the Hills I/d wet tin food see if he settle down, cause he’s normal thru the day isn’t he??

I’d feed the Hills I/d low fat Restore wet canned food & also a Senior kibble like “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior if he still wants a few dry kibble bisuits to chew & crunch on, Canidae Pure Meadow Senior formula is GF very easy to chew & digest, only has 10.80%max fat & has all the supplements older dogs need for their joints, skin, brain, heart etc, I’d start feeding smaller meals thru the day/night, I feed 4-5 meals a day 7am, 9am, 12pm, 5pm, 8pm….easier to digest smaller meals then 2 bigger meals.
You could feed 1-2 meals a dry kibble like the “Canidae” Senior kibble & the rest of his meals he gets the I/D Restore wet tin food & see if he gets better thru the night. Ask vet about “Gabapentin” capsules, it helps them sleep at night, helps any joint or nerve pain & doesn’t cause any stomach/bowel problems, if your on facebook, put “Canine Pancreatitis Support” group in the “search” bar, join then on ur left is their “Files” click & then click on the first link “Low Fat Foods” then scroll down a bit till you get to all the wet tin foods, the fat has been converted to dry matter (DM) fat (Kibble) on your right, then he can have a few different flavours & see which one he really likes best..
Here’s Canidae’s site to look at the dry formula’s but the wet tin foods haven’t been converted & probably will be too high in fat for him, when you see say 5%min fat on a wet tin food after it’s converted to dry matter 5%min fat is around 20%min -25%max fat that’s way too high…
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

[Michele L]

Thanks Callie! What lamb dog food are you using? Is it dry?

[Michele L]

Thanks both for your feedback. I will try both ‘Solid Gold White Heart Quail’ and pulling food after 15 minutes.

Any other dry suggestions are welcome!!

[zcRiley]

Solid Gold Wild Heart Quail, Chickpeas & Pumpkin Recipe Grain-Free Adult Dry Dog Food

[Michele L]

Help! I just subscribed today to Editor’s Choice, because we are at our wits end selecting dry dog food for this sporty/sleek bird loving canine Lulu the ‘Llewellin English Setter’. Almost 3 yo, 39 lbs. She will try new brands for a little while which encourages us, then gets bored and turns away. I was hoping Editor’s Choice would narrow the selection but did not. I need something that feeds (well balanced) her furnace and that smells and tastes good. She will walk away at first smell if it does not appeal to her. Any ideas from the bird dog hunting community? She is a family dog (in the house and truck) but bird hunts w hubby. She would rather follow his every move than eat. Any pearls of wisdom or experience are appreciated!
Signed -Lulu’s Mom

[Susan]

Hi Atlas,
I would feed the Natural Balance Fish & Potato for 4-6 months to let his Gi tract settle & heal or start him on the the brand that is cheaper, the Kirklands Natures Domain Turkey Sweet Potato formula this way you have some of the Natural Balance Fish & Potato formula to introduce with the kibble & just feed that kibble for 4-6months then once he seems stable rotate between a few different brands with a different protein source… & make sure they do not have Chickpeas & Lentils..

He’s probably growing it’s called “growth spurt” it happens between 8-12months old, google Growth Spurts in dogs….
You could give him a meaty raw bone, no cooked bones, this way he chewing & keeping busy & he’s eating something & you could feed him 3 smaller meals a day instead of just 2 larger kibble meals a day, that will keep him feeling fuller.
I follow “Rodney Habib” on his face Book page watch his videos, his vidoe’s are quick & to teh point & really good, he recommends blueberries, apple, healthy whole foods added as a topped to kibble fed dogs I give the toppers as a treat instead, if your dog likes cooked food instead then feed him cooked meals & try & feed less kibble he’ll be healthier….

The only problem I have with fish kibble they are higher in toxins & contamintes.
Have a look at Clean Label Project 2nd test study on kibbles, wet foods & treats, alot of the expensive brands some of their formula’s came back very high in Toxins & Acrylamides & BPA & BPS… Kirkland had a few formula’s, so did TOTW & I think Nature Balance had a few brands high in toxins, you’ll have to look thru & see which formula’s only got 1-2 stars
here’s the link below click on it, read thru then scroll back up & look to your left & click on “Dry Dog Foods” you’ll see all the 5 star foods then go to pages 11 thru to 16 is teh start to all the bad 1 star brands & the formula’s that tested very high in toxins. Just stay away from these formula’s if you can…..
The last 2 Summers I’ve been rotatating Patches kibbles to a fish kibble cause he has skin allergies in Spring & Summmer months & fish formula’s are higher in Omega 3, my vet & I couldn’t work out why poor Patch was doing really well thru the Winter months then after I started feeding him new fish formula’s that didnt have any ingredients he is sensitive too “Wellness” Complete Health, White Fish & Sweet Potato, he got sloppy poos & was unwell, so I put him back on his TOTW Roasted Lamb formula he was good again then I introduuced & tried “Earthborn Holistic” Ocean Fusion after 1-2 months later he became ill again, same with “Holistic Select” Salmon it took 3 months he became sick & wouldnt touch his food if ever your dog wont eat a kibble dont make him, take the food back, I keep all my recipts, then I tried the TOTW Pacific Stream Salmon formula which is the Kirkland Nutures Domain Salmon & Sweet Potato formula, he kept vomiting up the TOTW Salmon, then last April CLP released their first ever pet food testing & I was shocked there were 3 of the foods I feed Patch in the top 10 worse pet kibbles all these formula’s tested very high in toxins, now CLP has just relesed their 2nd test 1 week ago join & get their emails click on link below also on your left click on “Brand Report Cards”
Some people say CLP is this & that, all they want is money, yes they need donation to test pet & baby foods that’s how we get it for free.
My dog & other people dogs have been very sick after eating these 4 & 5 star brands that DFA gives & they have tested very high in toxins, when you go & look at these brands up in the DFA “Reviews” section, read all people’s post, my dog is sick, my dog died, my dog has diarrhea, I know some dogs may have health problems but there’s some foods like TOTW’s High Prairie formula where a heap of dogs became very sick all of a sudden after eating the TOTW High Prairie & Pacific Stream formula’s these formula’s both tested very high in toxins in CLP 2nd testing…
I’d rather be safe then sorry & when you have a dog with a sensitive stomach & bowel these’s are the dogs that become very sick first, Purina rated good with some of their formula’s but some of Purina’s formula’s didnt rate good at all, like Purina’s Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach formula it rated 3rd worse formula with the higest amount of Toxins.. there’s more information on different pet foods on Clean Label Project F/B page…
Im staying away from fish pet foods, I buy human tin salmon in spring water give that as a small meal with sweet potato for Patch
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/pet-food-study-2-0/

[CockalierMom]

Hi Atlas,
With your boy’s gut already irritated and inflamed from something in the Instinct, the rice irritated it more. Neither one of my girls can tolerate rice in kibble or when it is double cooked in water and time. As Susan mentioned before, once his gut gets healed he may or may not be able to tolerate rice. When it comes to food issues, it really is a matter of experimenting to see what they can tolerate.

My girls actually do good with the LID Natural Balance foods because of the low fiber, but I knew you did not want the expense so the Nature’s Domain looks like a good option. (If I had a Costco close to me, it is a food I would try). My girl with just the grain intolerance actually eats half Wellness Simple Turkey and half NB Duck and Potato–the fiber in Wellness is a little too high so I cut it with NB.

As far as the Sentinel, I used it all the time 10 years ago with my previous girls and then it was discontinued. When they brought it back 4 years ago, I decided to try it again instead of Heartguard, but after the first dose, their fur became very dull and dry (they are both black cockers). Our vet mentioned how bad their coats looked and wanted to know what I had changed and it turned out to be due to the Sentinel. I found this out when I took them off of it for the winter, and the shine returned to their coats. I did try giving another dose a few months later, and the same thing happened so it obviously did not agree with either one. I know there are a lot of people who use it without any problems at all. My best advise is if you want to try it just watch for reactions like you have done with the Revolution. After what I have been through with these girls with food problems, I limit as much exposure to heartworm and flea products as possible–I do not use any more than what is necessary. I keep my yard sprayed with Wondercide so they are not exposed to a lot of fleas, ticks, and mosquitos. You just need to use your judgement as to what is necessary in your environment. When you are dealing with a food issue, it is easier when you do not have other sources that may be contributing factors.

Keep us updated if you get a chance.

[Jaclyn B]

Hi DogFoodAdvisor,

Clean Label Project is a national non-profit with the mission to bring truth and transparency to consumer product labeling. We do this by using data and science to reveal true product quality and purity and empower consumer to make their own choices. Through the resulting shifting economics, we aim to serve as the catalyst to change the definition of food and consumer product safety in America.

Given the humanization of pet food over the past several years coupled with the scandals and recalls, we were especially interested in what was truly behind all these “Feed them like Family”, “Natural”, “Human-grade”, etc. claims. For us, it was about seeing past the comfort and security that pet food brands marketing departments sell, and get right to the data and science about the true ingredient quality. This impartiality only comes through testing. When we began this pet food study, we assumed that these companies were regularly screening for environmental toxins alongside more conventional foodborne contaminants (like salmonella). Our results clearly indicate otherwise. We believe consumers have a right to know what’s in the products they buy.

When we initially started this project, we utilized Nielson reports to pull the products that made up 90% of the overall retail sales of pet foods. From there, we visited specialty pet food stores and spoke with consumers and team members to ask what people were buying. Our approach to the sampling was simple and why Clean Label Project is unique is clear- we simulate the consumer shopping experience. We went to grocery stores, pet food stores, and online retailers and purchased products just like any consumer would. We tested over 1000 of America’s best-selling dry and wet dog foods, cat foods, and treats for over 130 environmental and industrial contaminants and toxins like heavy metals, pesticide residues, antibiotic residues, plasticizers, melamine, acrylamide, and mycotoxins. We amassed over 130,000 data points, benchmarked them, and put the findings on our website in the form of a 5-star rating system. The products that we personally purchased and tested are literally the exact same products that are in pantries across America. For us, we don’t trust label claims, we trust analytical chemistry because gas chromatography and Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry doesn’t lie.

We agree that sampling error is a risk in any scientific study, and you have correctly pointed out that random sampling of sufficient size is essential to minimizing the risk of sampling error leading to a false positive or false negative result (so-called “Type I” and “Type II” errors). However, there are two important distinctions here that we would like to stress as to why we chose the sampling strategy that we did.

First, at the product level – while you make a valid point that sampling repeatedly from different batches for an individual product would result in a more accurate representation of the “true” contaminant level of a single product this, in our opinion, misses important quality and supplier assurance implications of our results. If these companies, as many of them have repeatedly assured us, are conducting rigorous supplier assurance and quality assurance programs, single “fluke” high values should be exceedingly rare. While sample variability does occur, a robust quality program should severely limit the variability (and the levels of these contaminants). This is particularly important given that there is no maximum tolerance level for these contaminants in the pet food space. As a side note, the argument that “the product is only loaded with known carcinogens occasionally” doesn’t reassure us very much. Consider the analogy of food borne pathogens like salmonella, e.coli, or listeria – certainly there is variability as to how much of these bacteria are present in raw ingredients, but rigorous quality assurance programs or kill steps bring the variability in finished products to almost zero. This is why the presence of these bacteria cause headlines when they occur in finished foods – we have systems in place that should prevent them. This is not the case for the contaminants we measure in the pet food space—but it should be. All brands, regardless of their score, should be vigilant regarding these contaminants and should take proactive steps to improve the status of the industry.

Second, at the brand level: It is important to note that decisions about a brand (for example, the brand report cards released September 18, 2017) are not based off single product ratings, instead they are based on the average performance of multiple products within a brand. When data is aggregated across a group, the “true” value being estimated is that of the brand, not the product. As such, when we give the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to a brand, this is based on the weight of evidence from multiple products. This means that our brand ratings, and the conclusions we draw about the performance of brands, are arguably the least likely to be impacted by sampling error.

For us at Clean Label Project, we refer to ourselves as the environmental and industrial contaminant and toxin people. That’s who we are, the mission we hold, and the conversation we are looking to have with consumers. To us, so often we hear about food safety issues happening at burrito restaurants and cruise ships (e.coli, listeria, salmonella, etc.), but what people don’t talk about is the long term adverse health effects associated with chronic exposure to industrial and environmental toxins and contaminants with links to diseases like cancer- for ALL living things. To us, first, it’s do no harm, start with high quality – not harmful ingredients – and then dive into how to formulate the most nutritious foods. This should not be a novel concept.

To us at Clean Label Project, there is no such thing as healthy poison. You can read more information about our position here. http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/white-paper/

[Susan]

Hi Atlas,
the 6 month mark is time to let his bowel heal & get healthy again from having diarrhea & a irritated bowel from having food intolerance, the Metronidazole helps heal the bowel, Metronidazole is an antibiotic & an anti inflammatory excellent when the stomach & bowel is inflammed. Once you find a kibble you want to feed just feed that for 4-6months, my vet recommends 9-12 months, that was after Patch had diarrhea blood…. I dont think his food intolerance/sensitivities will go away, Patches haven’t, I ended up doing an Elimination food diet to work out what Patch can eat, he has a few food sensititivies…
Hopefully your boy will get better now you, just read labels what is in treat biscuits as well & use the dry kibble as treats for training…
Oh there’s 1 thing the Natural balance Fish & Sweet Potato he’s eating at the moment has NO peas or probiotics, so when you try Kirklands Nature Domain Turkey & Sweet Potato formula, his poos may go a bit soft then maybe they won’t, just introduce over new kibble over 10 days he might be OK with peas my boy is & there’s probiotics in Natures Domain to keep their gut healthy, if his poos start going a bit soft just add less new kibble & more of the old kibble & stay on that amount of new kibble a few days longer & add more of his old kibble…..
Good-Luck

[pugmomsandy]

If you look through the 5 star foods, there should be other low carb options. For instance, Wysong Epigen, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast, Wellness Core (some recipes), Nature’s Variety Instinct (some recipes), Stella and Chewy’s Raw Blend (dry food), Farmina N&D Grain Free, Weruva Caloric Harmony.

Kibble is a bakery product and needs starch to keep its shape. Canned foods can be lower in carbs since they don’t require a starchy binder and they’re probably not as expensive as raw foods.

[aimee]

Hi Lori J
Keep in mind grain allergies are rare and that carbohydrates in the diet do not feed yeast on the skin. So sad that people that should know better write articles and post videos saying that you need a low carbohydrate diet to conquer yeast infections…. you don’t. The fact is that the type of yeast on dog’s skin is a fat loving yeast. Give some of these guys all the carbohydrate they want and you know what happens…. they die because they need fat to live. But even if they were carbohydrate loving yeast. How would the carbohydrate get from inside the digestive track to outside the body which is where the yeast are? Hmmm see where that falls apart?

Point is you don’t need a low carb food…. you need a controlled sodium food. I took a look at the MedVet list.. lots of choices there including grain free options like Cal Natural kangaroo and lentils.

Have you looked at Nature Variety Instinct dry line? You might find something there, for example they are reporting their limited ingredient Duck as 0.3% Na =74mg/100kcals, limited ingredient turkey is 0.4 %=97mg/100 kcals Ultimate protein Duck 0.4% =89/100kcals. If you think one of the Natures Variety products would work check with the company to make sure the website info is accurate and check with your vet.

[Atlas T]

Hi everyone,

This is a long story, but I’ll try to be concise: we adopted our 7mo old lab mix puppy 1 month ago. Before that, he was fostered by my brother, so we know his history. He has had very soft stools for a long time (I’d say slightly more firm than emoji poop), that vary from slightly softer/harder, but never truly hard, and he was pooping about 5 times/day. There tend not to be any pieces of unprocessed food in them. All of this was on Instinct Large Breed Puppy food, provided by the rescue.

With help from the rescue, we put him on several different dewormers, several probiotics, and finally an antibiotic (metro), but nothing helped the poop. The vet took a fecal sample and found no problems. About 3 weeks ago, he actually started having diarrhea, so I put him on a bland diet (pumpkin, rice, chicken) and it got BAD: became explosive diarrhea. I completely limited his diet (no treats, no peanut butter for pills, nothing else) and it was still bad, even when it was chicken and rice (no pumpkin). After about 4 bad days like this, I decided to try a different bland diet – just chicken and potatoes, and once or twice, egg + potato. This firmed things right up (conclusion = he may be intolerant to rice, but does great with chicken and potato). Within a day, his poop was actually formed and semi firm. He stayed on this diet for about 4 days. Then I decided to try to transition him to dry kibble – Nature’s Domain Puppy (I decide to try this one because it doesn’t have rice). I’ve done this transition veeeery slowly (we are on Day 5 now) and his poop is gradually getting worse again.

The rescue has suggested that while he is not intolerant to chicken (as proven by the chicken and potato bland diet success), he may be intolerant to whatever preservatives are used in chicken kibble. They suggested trying Nature’s Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato. This will be my next attempt, but I’m feeling a bit hopeless. And while I’m hoping this is the answer, I wonder if something else could be going on? The vet has not been helpful, so I’m hoping folks here can provide some suggestions of what to do! And I do want to note that cost and affordability are a definite consideration, so I’d rather not go to expensive limited ingredient foods unless absolutely necessary.

Also, he has not had gas, vomiting, itchyness, lethargy or any other symptoms as far as I can tell – just the soft stool. One more thing to note – diarrhea has somewhat coincided with when he was given topical Revolution, but I’m not sure there is causation there.

[Robert S]

Thanks for the comments. I have looked at a lot of dog foods on Dig Food Advisor and was going to use EVO dry morning EVO 95% Evening. I just learned that EVO is or has stopped manufacturing the canned dog food.Of course you can purchase until supplies run out.

I ordered a case of Dave’s 95% beef and will see how my dogs like. I am going to try Wysong Epigen starch free. I will mix with EVO until all. 1/4 cup dry mornings and 1/4 cup wet evenings. It is pretty much high fat, high protein, low carb diet. during the day we give treats like Earthborn Holistic grain free.

I don’t know how this will work out but I am going to try. I have another miniature smooth coated dachshund, 13, that has mass on or near spleen. I am trying to feed both the same.

like I said we will see.

Blessings,
bob

[Mary G]

I am so sorry you are going through this with your beagle. I also have a beagle with health issues. It could be your doggie is allergic to some of the ingredients of the food. If you can, find a vet that also knows about homeopathy and natural diets. I was feeding mine dry kibble but he had two health scares with his heart and high glucose. I went to a homeopathic veterinarian and nutritionist and am now giving him natural foods (with recipes provided by the vet) and of course following his instructions as far as supplementing him with powdered bone and multivitamin. He is doing wonderfully well. Of course it is more work because you need to cook the ingredients and then mix it daily but I am happy to do it if it means he is healthier and is getting less preservatives. Sometimes the dry kibbble is not for most dogs and something in them makes them sick. That would be another option where you control what you give him and they prefer natural food anyway. Try taking him to another vet and ask about that. On a side note, Royal Canin and Proplan have recipes for doggies with digestive issues but you must first determine what he might be allergic to. Hope this helps!

[Susan]

Hi Lori, I just posted a post about “Clean Label Project” click on link & look at all the 5 Star foods, Canidae & Under the Sun, Nutro, Purina, I & love & You all got 5 stars, & Acana, Wellness & Orijen got 1 star they are very high in Toxins. Wellness has a lawsuit at the moment for false advertisement saying their dry kibble is high quaility but Clean Label Test tested a few of Wellness formula’s & they tested very high for toxins…..
If you can cook then freeze meals, home cooking is heaps better then feeding a dry processed kibble, Ted will probably start to feel & get better especially at age 10 Ted would probably love a nice cooked meal, I buy tin salmon in spring water & tin Sardines in spring water & add a few sardines to one of the cooked meal or some Salmon to 1 of the meals a day, Salmon & Sardines will help balance the meal with Omega 3, Vitamins for his joints, bones, heart, brain, skin & coat,.. I buy tin Salmon & Tuna slices in Spring water & drain all teh water & I boil some sweet potatoes & mix 1/2 & 1/2 & make a meal, it’s healthy & probably wont have any toxins like the dry kibbles have.
If your not happy feeding a Chickpeas & Peas diet then take the food back & say your dog won’t eat it, most pet foods are money back guaranteed for palability…

[Susan]

Finally Clean label project has released their 2nd study on dog & cat foods & have also added a few more brands…..
These brands below got 1- 2 stars for being high in Toxic Metals & Acrylamides & BPA/BPS. but it’s only certain formula’s that got 1 star not all their formula’s got 1 star, some brands did have a few of their formula’s with 1 star, this might explain why some pets were really sick this year, look & see did the brand/formula you were feeding your dog get 1-2 star?…
click on link below
read then scroll back up, look to your left & click on “Dry Dog Food” to find out which formula’s got 5 stars & less.
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/pet-food-study-2-0/

Brands that got 5 Stars- I & Love & You, Nutro, Canidae, Canidae’s cheaper brand “Under The Sun”, Purina, Trudog, Simply Nourish, Eagle Pack…

Brands with 1 & 2 stars are on pages 11 to 16, you can also click on “Brand Report Cards” link down the bottom …..
I was VERY surprised “Fromm” had 4 formula’s with 1 star & the rest of Fromm formula’s only got 2 & 3 stars, People are always posting how good their dogs are doing on Fromm but I wonder how good their dogs will be doing after just eating Fromm for 2-4 years?…. This is why it’s best to rotate between a few different brands so your dog isn’t eating the same food 24/7…

*Brand formula’s that got 1 Star.
TOTW, Merrick, Acana, Orijen, bbf, Timberwolf, Earthborn Holistic, Fromm, Greenies, Holistic Select, American Journey, Kirkland, High Tek, Natures Variety, Blue. Only Natural Pet, Natures lodic, Special Kitty, Lotus, Wet Nose, Primal, Old Mother Hubbard, Castor & Pollux, Open farm, Milk Bone, Halo, Natural Balance, Nutri-Source, Solid Gold, Diamond, Petcurean, Racheal Ray-Nutrish, Meow Mix, Trudog, Pup-Peroni, Nature’s Planet-Organics, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Dog for Dog, Milos Kitchen, Dogswell Nutrisca.
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/brand-report-cards/

[Susan]

Hi Susana,
Stop feeding the Acana, Acana is probably too rich for a dog with intestinal stress, it has organ meats, Acana is excellent for a healthy dog that doesn’t have intestinal problems.

Sounds like your boy has a few food intolerances & there’s an ingredients in the Hills I/d formula & Acana formula he’s sensitive too, this happened with my Patch when I rescued & adopted him 5yrs ago, he had rumbling, grumbling LOUD bowel noises, I’d hear him in another room, these loud noises are gases rumbling thru the bowel & can be painful, Patch would do the same eat & eat grass, then his vet said only let him eat about 2 mintues worth of grass then stop him eating grass, the long pieces of grass can tangle together & cause a blockage or the grass can cause diarrhea…
I have found a dry bit of white toasted bread is best to give when these noises are happening, dry toast seems to settle the stomach also liquid Mylanta, 1 teaspoon 5mls seems to settle the stomach & bowel aswell & stops the loud rumbling bowel noises..
Once you work out what foods he is sensitive too these rumbling bowel noises will stop…
Patch also had streaks of blood thru his poos some days, this was cause he was eating an ingredient that he was sensitive too & I didnt know it was irratating his bowel then 1 night he had diarrhea that turned into blood water, I rushed him to the vet 8am his vet said looks like he has IBD cause I had been there a few times before with stomach/bowel problems. Patch was put on a Hydrolzed vet diet Royal Canine HP & Metronidazole for 21 days the bowel needs to heal & rest but he cont digest the Royal Canine HP vet diet ended up causing other problems….
Patch hasn’t had no more problems as long as Patch doesn’t eat Chickpeas, Lentils, Barley, Oats, Beet Pulp for his bowel & Chicken Tapioca & Carrots cause itchy smelly yeasty paws ears & skin problems… Food Sensitivities/Intolerances can cause gas/wind, farts, sloppy poo, diarrhea, smelly yeasty ears, paws, skin, itchy skin, bum rubbing on ground, just depends on the dog….

Both of the vet you saw have given the Metronidazole which was good to heal his bowel but the vets should of prescribed him a limited ingredient kibble that was chicken & grain free either the Hills D/D Potato & Venison or the Potato & Duck limited ingredient formulas or the Royal Canine Select proteins, Potato & Rabbit etc…

Go to “Tractor Supply Co & look for the “4Health” Sensitive Stomach it has Egg & Potato very easy to digest limited ingredients & will help his blowel rest & heal…

Don’t feed any more kibbles that are higher then 27%-protein or high in Kcals per cup no higher then 380 Kcals per cup & don’t have too many ingredients cause there will be more chance that he’s sensitive to an ingredient the more ingredients there is & he’ll react…

then when he’s doing really well try the “4Health Sensitive Skin” it has limited ingredients & has Hydrolyzed Salmon & Pea flour very easy to digest ingredients, the Acana might have been too high in protein & very rich high in Kcals per cup, when a kibble is high in Kcals over 400 the kibble is more dense & harder to digest & when a dog has a sensitive stomach bowel it’s too hard to break down….
His smelly breath sounds like his stomach bowel is not working properly the Metronidazole will fix ths problem, my vet writes out a few repeat scripts of teh Metronidazole & I just take teh scripts to a chemist & get out, my boy still takes Metronidazole on & off if he starts getting his smelly fermenting breath, acid reflux or if I see he’s starting to do sloppy poos for more then 2 days I re start him on the Metronidazole 1 x 200mg tablet every 12 hours with food for 10-14 days then the next 10 days just give him 1x 200mg tablet with his dinner that’s for a 40lb +18kg dog but since he’s been eating the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb he’s been doing really well, I do rotate & feed other brands but this has taken me nilly 4 yrs to get Patch gut healthy again & if Im feeding him another brand kibble & he starts getting stomach/bowel symptoms I put him back on her TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble & he goes good again….finally after 2 yrs of trying all the vet diets I had joined a few face book groups for Canines with IBD, EPI & dogs were doing really well on ” 4Health” formula’s & “Taste Of The Wild’ Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb formula, TOTW Lamb has limited ingredients only has 1 meat protein Lamb, Sweet potato. potato, peas, egg, very easy to digest….

Always read the ingredient list before buying a new kibble, read what ingredients are in the Acana & the I/d formula & try & aviod these proteins & ingredients for now.. Continue with the Metronidazole stop the Acana take it back for a refund, only feed a very bland diet like the 4Health Sensitive Stomach or Sensitive Skin formula’s for now… or try the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb these formula’s do not have Chickpeas or lentils as these ingredient are harder to digest when te dogs stomach & bowel isnt working properly…
Good-luck keep me up dated with what is happening, hopefully he’ll be doing firm poos in a few days..

[Susan]

Hi Sandra,
Hills have their D/D Venison & Potato & D/D Duck & Potato wet & dry, Hills does not use soy protein in their formula’s like the Royal Canine does……My boy also has IBD he didn’t do too well on the vet diets, he does really well on “Taste Of the Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it only has 1 meat protein Lamb meal, Sweet potatos, potato, peas, egg etc he also did real well on “Canidae” Pure Wild” Boar & Pure Land… here’s Canidae’s formula’s the Pure range is grain free & limited ingredients.
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

If your dog can eat a cooked diet I would be cooking & making his food & freezing meals…. follow “Judy Morgan” on her Face Book page she has a few really easy to make recipes, on video, her pup loaf is real easy to make. https://www.facebook.com/JudyMorganDVM/

I make lean pork rissole 1/2 cup size made into balls, I add 1 whished egg, chopped broccoli, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley & kale, put on a foiled linned baking tray & bake in the oven, turn rissoles over about 10-15mins later & drain any water & fat then bake till ready only takes about 25mins. I started just adding 1 whisk egg with 1kg (2lbs) lean pork mince then I started to add 1 new ingredient everytime I had to make another batch of the rissoles, I also boil sweet potato & freeze small 1/4 cup size pieces & mash the sweet potato + 1 pork rissole, I feed 5 small meals a day the kibble 7am, 9am 5pm & the cooked meal 12pm & 8pm, Patch can’t just eat wet tin or cooked food his poo’s are slop so having the kibble inbetween his cooked meal makes his poo’s firm..
Probably best to contact a Nutritionist your dog has a few health problems, Judy Morgan does specially made diets for dogs she might recommend one of her recipes on one of her video’s, also go on the “Balance It” site they have recipes & their Balance it powder to balance dogs diet they make special recipes diets for dogs with a few health problems, also google “Just Food For Dogs” they make special balanced diets another good person to follow is Monica Segal join her f/b group called “K-9 Kitchen”

[anonymous]

The amount of sodium in Zignatture dog food is not high. All dog foods contain salt under a variety of different names.

/forums/topic/sodium-in-dry-dog-food/

[a c]

Thank you, Susan. I can use more wet can food. I already used Natural Receipe wet foods as topper per your earlier recommendation. 😀

Both kibbles I used are low fat. Horizon Amicus Senior and Weight management. Protein 33% Fat 11.67% minimum and 13.33% maximum Fiber 4.25% calorie 400. Purina One Smartblend Healthy Weight. Protein 31% Fat 11% minimum 13.6% maximum Fiber 6.25% calorie 320. All in dry matter.

The lower of protein and fat means higher carbohydrates which means fillers. Many of the best low fat dry dog foods recommended by this site have carbohydrates between 50-61% with the exception of Premium Edge Healthy Wright with 38% carbs 49% protein and 13% fat in dry matter.

I guess I can also broil some chicken or turkey breast.

[Kathy M]

For dry dog foods, it is preferable to have beef meal/chicken meal/(or whatever animal source protein meal) rather than having beef/chicken/(or whatever animal source protein) because with meal the water has been removed from the meat so you are getting more meat when it is in meal form.

Is the reverse true for potatoes? I assume potatoes have a significant amount of water too. So would “potato”/”pea” be preferable rather than “dried ground potato” or “pea meal” because there will be less potato/peas when its listed as a whole food vs. one in which the water has been removed?

[Susan]

Hi ac,
have you looked at feeding 1 meal a low fat wet canned food & the other meal dry kibble that has the higher protein % & lowest fat & lowest fiber % look which dry kibble has lowest carbs, or stop feeding the dry kibble & feed canned foods, the weight will come off.

There’s “4Health” Sensitive Care, Weight Management dry, Fat-8%max, Kcals-279per cup. https://www.tractorsupply.com/landing-pages_brands_4health-special-care.html

Canned Foods, the fat has been converted to dry matter.

Weruva canned Cirque de La Mer- Fat- 9.9% .
Natures Recipe G/F Chicken recipe in broth fat-11.11%
” ” Chicken & Wild Salmon recipe in brooth fat-11.11%
Pure Essentials G/F Salmon Recipe in Broth-fat-11.76%
Simply Nourish G/F Chicken & Beef Stew-fat-11.76%
” ” Chicken & Venison Stew- fat-11.76%

[Susan]

Hi Meghann,
Stop feeding the Wellness Core, cause he has had Giardia his bowel would still be inflammed & needs to heal & rest & he needs a very easy to digest kibble, did the vet recommended feeding him “Hills I/d Digestive Care” dry kibble? it has everything he needs B-12 to heal his bowel & is very easy to digest, my boy had to stay on a Intestinal low fiber vet diet for 9-12months as soon as the 9 months was up & Patch had done firm poos every day, I started to introduce a new kibble that wasn’t too high in protein & not too high in fiber or fat around 25%-protein, 15%-fat & under 4% for fiber, & under 370 Kcals per cup, he needs to stay on the Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 21-28 days, the first 14 days he has to take Metronidazole twice a day every 12 hours with a meal then reduce to just one tablet a day at night with a meal for 10-14 days…..

Take back the Wellness Core it’s too rich, very dense kibble, high protein & probably high in fiber, no good for dogs when their stomach & bowel isn’t working properly & is inflammed, get refund & buy either “Taste Of The Wild”, Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb or look at “4Health” Duck Meal & Potato, Pork Meal & Potato or the Turkey Meal & Potato read ingredient list & get the kibble with the least ingredients, I think the Pork formula has the least ingredients like the TOTW Lamb formula & has only 332Kcals per cup, look for kibbles with Sweet Potato & Potato, if you can get the TOTW Roasted Lamb formula try this formula first, within 2 days poos will be firm again… 4Health is sold at Tractor Supply

I don’t know if it’s the lower fiber, low Kcals per cup, or the probiotics they use or cause they use purified water ?? maybe all these things put together is what makes TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb really work & help dogs with EPI, IBD, IBS, Diarrhea, after you change his food & he’s finished the course of the Metronidazole & he’s been doing really well for a while then all of a sudden you see him doing sloppy poos for 2 days straight put him back on the Metronidazole for 10-14 days give Metro twice a day every 12 hours with a meal then reduce to 1 Metronidazole at night with his dinner for another 10 days, my vet writes me a few repeat scripts & I can get out at the Chemist when I need it….but since feeding the TOTW I haven’t needed to give the Metroniazole only when I have rotated a kibble that didn’t agree with him & put his stomach/bowel bacteria out of wack again or he starts getting his bad acid reflux (Helicobacter-Pylori) he gets put back on the Metronidazole…
Then once your boy is doing really well for 9-12mths start rotating & change brand & look for a different protein source with a few different ingredients & slowly introduce the new kibble with his regular kibble over 1 month peroid, this way he’ll have 2 different brands that agree with him with a different protein source, I rotate between Lamb, Pork & Turkey, rotating between a few different brands is good to do just incase the brand your feeding has toxins or is not balanced properly your changing his kibble & he’s not eating the same brand formula 24/7 year after year… but you only start Rotating his kibbles when you get his bowel healthy again, I rotate between 3 different brands, I always feed TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb formula Patch always has very firm poos on his TOTW Lamb & I rotate with a Australian brand MfM Turkey & I just started to try Hills pork meal formula cause I was given a Hills Voucher…
Rotating will strengthen his gut/bowel, just make sure when you pick a new kible you stay around the same fat, protein & fiber % & Kcals per cup as the brand of kibble he does really well on…
Wellness Core could be too rich & the protein % is probably way too high for him at this stage, “Wellness Core”, Ocean fish & “Wellness Complete Health” White Fish were both on the “Clean Label Project” bad list for kibble with high contaminates & toxins.. Which wellness Core formula are you feeding?
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/

My boy is a rescue & has IBD & Environment Allergies & every Spring Summer Patch gets bad itchy skin so the beginning of Spring his vet said try & feed him a fish kibble that’s salmon higher in Omega 3, so spring 2015 came & I rotated with a fish kibble I feed an Australian made MfM Salmon kibble Patch was fine no diarrhea no waking me up 1am 4am with diarrhea etc, the next year in Spring I feed a new fish kibble Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fussion then around 2 months later he got his diarrhea back same with the next fish brand Wellness Complete Health Whitefish & sweet potato, then I tried Holistic Select Salmon & Potato poos were excellent he was doing good then 2-3 month later he became very ill his vet kept shaking her head & couldn’t work out what was wrong, he was fine eating the Australian made Salmon MfM kibble & he had no diarrhea, we couldn’t work out why my boy was doing really well, no diarrhea no vomiting then he ate the different American fish brands & he was really unwell, then I saw Clean Label Project in May/June & the brands I was feeding him were on the worse contaminates & toxins list, “Earthborn Holistic” Ocean Fusion Whitefish-7th, “Holistic Select” Salmon -10th & “Wellness” Whitefish I don’t know where teh WellnessComplete HealthWhitefish came but Wellpet who makes Wellness has a lawsuit against them now cause of the finding from the Clean Label Project testings..
It’s best to stay away from any kibbles that have fish in them especially when they have a sensitive stomach/bowel. I rather add fresh human tin salmon as a topper & give the K-9 Natural freeze dried Mussels as treats now to up his Omega 3 in his diet for his skin…

Your boy will get better but it just takes time, even if you have to put him on a vet diet, the Hills I/D Digestive Care dry for 6 months it can be given to puppies, then rotate & feed a limited ingredient kibble, my vet said it takes a good 9-12 months for their bowel to heal & recover, Probiotics are best given inbetween meal when their Hydrochloric acids are low in the stomach & the live cutures in the probiotics make it past the stomach into the small bowel & make sure you change his water twice a day, as soon as Patch drinks out of his water bowl I change it, I see bits of food down the bottom of his water bowl..
keeps us up dated with what worked..

[Leland W]

I have been using Premium edge Weight Reduction 1dry food for about a year for my Basset Hound and it has been terrific. Unfortunately it is being discontinued in November. I am looking for suggestions on a weight reduction formula that DFA rates at 5 stars. Please help!

[Judy G]

My boy (standard poodle) is a rescue and came to us with diarrhea, ear infections and was very skinny. After many vet visits and nothing was helping I started researching. Found he has many food allergies – chicken, beef, lamb, grains and the list goes on. He can eat salmon. Have had great results with Canidae Pure Sea. It is limited Ingredients, grain free, has antioxidants and probiotics, and is an all life stages dry food. I have found that Chewy.com is the cheapest and easiest place to purchase. Hope this helps.

[Kathy B]

What a horrible experience for you. We adopted a rescue in January and although her stools weren’t as loose as what you are describing they were pretty bad and every time she went! A member on here mentioned NutriSource dog food (dry) and we switched her a couple of months ago… end of problem. We believe it was just because of a sensitive stomach…. we are cautious about what we give her as treats, absolutely no rawhides….. I know you don’t want to keep switching foods because that is rough on them as well but it’s my only suggestion/experience. I assume you already tried cottage cheese/rice mixture and/or boiled chicken? Hope he gets feeling better!

[Susan]

Hi Shari,
I would be stopping the Carafate (Sulcrate) it lines the stomach so you can only give it when the stomach is completely empty so if there’s any food in his stomach the Carafate lines the food instead of his stomach & can make things worse, why has the vet got him on 3 a day? the food may not be completely digested, if he already has very low stomach acid the Carafate could be making things worse… Has he had any more gulping attacks since starting the Sulcrate or is he the same?

If you have the money have an Endoscope & Biopsies done to see what is happening in the stomach, the Biopsies will give your vet some answers, your vet must think his mouth licking & swollowing has something to do with the stomach for him to prescribe these types of drugs..
Ask your vet about “Gabapentin”?? it is used for seizures, pancreatitis, IBD, stomach problems, nerve pain, Gabapentin capsules covers a few health problems maybe see if he settles after taking the Gabapentin…

Even though you have change his food to a low fat food, how high is the fiber & carbs?? Is he on a vet dry diet kibble?? the carbs will be high & so will the fiber if its a vet diet, alot of vets prescribe the Hills W/D for dogs with Pancreatitis why I’ll never know the Insoluble fiber is 28%… Dry kibble is no good when dogs have Pancreatitis, the dry kibble could be causing acid reflux in the first place, have you tried feeding a lean meat like chicken or turkey low fiber, low carb, cooked meal, chicken breast & sweet potato & just give him the Losec 20mg every morning for 1-2 weeks & see how he goes?…. that’s what my Boxer was put on a home cooked diet by the new vet but it was too late by then, her old vet had her on the Hills vet diet it made her worse but vets never blame it’s the vet diet that’s causing the gulping swllowing drolling…..

Maybe best to have the Endoscope + Biospies done so the vet can see the stomach &
see is there’s any stomach ulcers or anything else, the biospsies will give some answers to whats happening…could be Helicobacter-Pylori, they eat & eat like they are starving, droll, swollow gulp as well..

[Susan]

Hi Shari G,
have you tried any acid medications?? Drolling is a sign of wanting to vomit,
my 8 nilly 9 yr old Staffy was doing the excate thing as your dog is doing in video having a licking attacks 2 weeks ago, he suffers with IBD & gets bad Acid Reflux & does take Omperazole (Prilosec) now for his acid reflux attacks but last month when he had had 2 licking attacks in 2 in 1 month I noticed he didnt drink his water after eating his 7am feed when he came back from his 7.30am walk, he eats 5 small meals a day 7am, 9am, 12pm, 5pm & 8pm & I’d say his kibble started to be digested in his stomach & cause he hadn’t drank his morning drink of water it has caused him to get his bad acid reflux & start doing his mouth licking attack, I let him eat some grass to push the acid back down throat, then I gave him his ant acid medication “Losec” it was due 8.30am around the same time he started having his licking attack then I gave him a small meal 20mins later & he was better…..
As we age we doný make as much Hydrochloric acid in the stomach so our food isnt being digested properly like it should be & we get bad acid reflux, google “Hypochlorhydria” it’s low stomach acid that causes acid reflux, ask vet can you try Omperazole (Prilosec) 20mg giving once a day it doesn’t have to be given before food like the other ant acid meds do as it’s a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) & his diet what is he eating?? make sure it’s low in fiber low carbs, as high fiber & high carbs cause acid reflux especially if they are eating a dry kibble, then if after taking the Prilosec & change of diet hasn’t worked then maybe look into other options, he’s 9 & 1/2 yrs old, thats excellent age my Boxer had Mast Cell Cancer at age 9 & she too was suffering from bad acid reflux but back then I didnt know much about acid reflux until I rescued Patch my Staffy & got a really good vet that specializes in IBD…
Please ask your vet about Hypochlorhydria & next time it happens again have some liquid Mylanta in the fridge waiting & give him 1 teaspoon straight away. Fits/seizures do not go on & on for a long time, acid reflux does….
I hope you find some answer’s cause its an awful thing to watch happen, I even start having a panic attack watching Patch…

[Susan]

Hi Susan R,
How is your dog doing?? stop feeding the Royal Canine HP food, my boy did the same thing while eating the R/C HP formula when I first rescued him age 4yrs old, he was put on R/C HP for his skin & sloppy poos, but he couldn’t digest the R/C HP kibble properly & the fat was way too high for him causing acid reflux & bad pancreas pain, the R/C HP is high in omega oils, it’s for skin problems, a few vets don’t know how to use these vet diets properly & cause a vet diet has worked for a few of their other dog patients the vet recommends it for another dog & that poor dog might have another underlying health problem & the vet diet is not the right diet for that dog….

are you on Face Book? join this group put in the search bar- “Canine Pancreatitis Support” Group there’s help & support in this group from experience dog owners that have been thru what you’re going thru also look in the “Files” on your left click on the “Low Fat Foods” link scroll down & look at the wet tin foods, the fat has been converted to dry mater on your right.. your dog needs to rest his Pancreas, low fiber is a must so, no weight management diets they are low in fat BUT too high in fiber for Pancreatitis.. Hills vet diet has their I/d Low Fat Restore Rice Chicken Stew formula the fat & fiber is low, stick with wet foods, kibble is too hard to digest & is high in carbs too much work for the pancreas…

[anonymous]

@ croeber, @ Susie

I prefer to stay with one brand of kibble that agrees with the dog as a base. Zignature is my current favorite. I do add a topper and rotate the toppers depending on what I have on hand. I always add a splash of water to dry kibble.
In my experience, annual vet checkups are important. Some vets will recommend lab work at that time. If the dogs are in good shape, I wouldn’t make unnecessary changes to their diets. But, then I’m just going by my experience.
Sometimes it takes a week or two for an adverse reaction to a food to show up, then another week for the dog to stabilize. I’d rather avoid that 🙂
PS: Homeopathic views differ from traditional veterinary medicine, so you may get a variety of opinions when consulting the internet.

[Susan]

Hi Croeber,
I think it is really important to rotate between diiferent brands & feed a diffferent meat protein source & different ingredients, a rotational diet allows a beter chance of providing a more complete & balanced diet, while most dog food sold has been balanced to meet nutritional guidelines there’s always a chance that one brand might be a little deficient in a nutrient compared to another brand, by rotating a variety of foods your pet is less likely to suffer any deficiencies & rotating helps strengthen the dogs immune system & may reduce the risk off allergies or sypmtoms developing later on as teh y age this is very important for young animals…
You know your girl does well on Merrick so now look for another brand with a different protein source & different ingrdients but stay around the same protein % & fat % it doesnt have to be exactly the same fat & protein 1-3% higher or lower… some people rotate with the same brand that’s not a good idea, say that brand has toxins or high contaminates in their fish formula then the other formulas may also have the fish meal or whatever is in that brands meats etc so best to look for another brand it doesn’t have to be real expessive to be really good, look at “Clean Label Project” pet food testings some of the very expensive brands had the highest toxins & Purina got 4-5 stars ause of the lean meats tehy buy, Turkey & Chicken are suppose to be very clean meats….

I can’t be too fussy with what I feed my boy, I have to feed him what agrees with him, he was a rescue I rescued at age 4, he suffers with IBD, Skin Allergies & food intolerances, vets & his nutritionist said he probably was feed the same cheap Aldis dog food & when he was reacting with diarrhea & vomiting the owner didn’t bother changing his food or the owner changed & feed another poor quality brand that had the ingredients he was sensitive too & was reacting too, he is a prime example of a dog feed a very poor diet & was never introduced to a lot of different foods…probably why he ended up at the pound cause of his IBD, when I got him he was pooing blood & weeing blood, vet said the weeing blood would have been from being used for breeding..
I’m feed “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb grain free with Lamb meal, sweet potato, potato, peas, egg, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, formula, TOTW Roasted Lamb is Patches go to kibble that he does the best on so far…
I’ve just finished introducing Hills Science Diet, Sensitive Skin formula it’s a grain formula with rice, corn, pork meal & egg formula, I’m trying this in my rotation cause it has Pork Meal & Hills gave me a free voucher-$140, my IBD boy does really well on his cooked Pork rissoles & Sweet potato, so when I saw Hills had a Pork meal formula I had to try it & see how he does on it & he’s doing really wll he gets bad acid reflux so its very hard finding foods that agrees with his stomach & he doesn’t grind his teeth & doesn’t swollow & swollow & lick his lips, I was rotating & feed “Canidae” Pure Wild Boar & I tried the Pure Meadow Senior, “Canidae has some really good grain free & grain kibbles….
I have to give treats instead of adding foods to his kibble, he gets 1-2 freeze dried, “K-9 Natural” Green Lipped Mussels, the mussel shell is high in Glucosamine & Chondroitin for his joints & bones.
“Love Em” Mini Cookies Chicken Liver & Cranberry with DHA for immune support biscuits an Australian Brand, I’ve just started these, he was getting peeled apple pieces, he gets his Yakult probiotic drink, he gets about 1/4 of the Yakult probiotic drink in between feeds when his stomach acids are low so they dont kill the live bacteria in te probiotic & I drink the rest of te Yakult drink, he gets his yogurt ice cream only about 1 teaspoon after his dinner & if I’m running late or on the computer he tells me about his ice cream yogurt he whinges & barks at me till I get it out of the freezer. I can’t remember what else he gets at teh moment, I’ve had him 5 yrs this November & he has tried heaps & different brand kibbles & foods the Australian kibble brands are really good but some are way to high in protein & fat for him, no vet diets have worked for Patch, TOTW has been the best dry kibble so far that covers all his health problems, I’ve strengthen his gut (immune system) heaps since I got him 5 yrs ago he was always very sick before, but now he has a beautiful shinny coat, he is very healthy runs, jumps acts like a puppy doesnt seem to have any arthritis yet, (fingers X) he’ll be 9 years old on the 20th Novemeber & it’s the same day I rescued him 5 years ago his “Got You Day” he was being Put To Sleep on his birthday..

Steve Brown was asked if you had to pick 1 food to add to your dogs diet to make it healthier what would you add & Steve said, “Mussels” you can buy them in the freezer section or buy freeze dried mussels, Mussels are very healthy they have Manganese, Iodine, Fats, Vitamin D he said alot of raw diets are short of Manganese, Iodine fats & Vitamin D so add about 1-2 mussels a day + 1 tablespoon salmon & a pinch of Kelp to your dogs diet….

Follow “Rodney Habib” on his face Book page, you’ll learn heaps about adding really good healthy fresh whole foods to your dogs diet…
Sounds like your doing a pretty good job already….

[Susan]

Hi gee you’ve been thru a lot so has your poor boy, the vets would be stumped they rely on test result, they probably haven’t see anything like this before, so go with your gut if they recommend to try news drugs if it doesn’t feel right don’t give the drugs cause your dog is being a guinea pig for them to learn on, try to contact other dog owners that have been thru the same thing.
I looked & there isnt any face book groups “yet” but you could start a “Dog or Canine with IMPT group” & just wait & see if a few dog owners join & talk about what they have been thru, especially if they live in another country (Australia) they may treat with different medicines, I read that there’s been no studies done on Canines with IMTP vets only know what owners have been thru & it has been documented…

Did the meds they prescribe for IMTP make him worse & sick?? he’s probably better off with no drugs if he seems OK…..I found this site it was written by Cold Coast Verterinary Services Australia, I wonder if you contact email other pet owners who have dealt with IMTP ?? you learn so much from other pet owners what they did, what worked, what didn’t work.
http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/imt.htm

The Royal Canne Low Fat Gastro he’s eating has Pork as the only protein, it has rice flour instead of the boiled rice & corn, if he’s doing OK on the R/C Low Fat Gastro then that means he does OK with pork, rice & corn, the fat in the R/C low fat Gastro is 2.5%max when it’s converted to dry matter (kibble) it’s 10.45% max fat.., so if you want to cook something you can add some fresh lean cooked pork meat, you can buy some lean pork & mince thru the mincer yourself that’s what my vet does & told me to do the same for Patch, then you know what he’s eating, I was buying the human lean 5 star pork mince but Patch started to get pancreatitis symptoms, vomiting bad pancreas pain, I had bought the pork mince from a different supermarket & the fat said 5% but it must of been higher & had more fat then the other lean pork mince I was buying & Patch became real sick…

“Canidae” make their “Pure Wild Boar” dry kibble.
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

there’s “Walk About” made in New Zealand & Australia they import to California, they only make Jerky & freeze dried treats & wet tin foods-Wild Boar, Wild Kangaroo & Goat, fat is 2%min when fat is converted it’s around 15%max fat.
http://walkaboutpetproducts.com/

[Therese M]

I like to buy locally if possible but delivered to my door is pretty great too. They just started selling at a new place here so that’s awesome. Looks like a good store with lots of good brands. Plus they gave me coupons so I need to use those!

Left the reject food out for 2 hours. Didn’t touch any of it even with crumbled freeze dry on it. Ugh. Getting tired of returning all these open bags. They must hate me.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Therese M:
Sounds like your girl is doing much better!

I have found the best and most accurate way to find out who manufactures pet food is to go straight to the source, the company itself. Many do use co-packers and even if they do have a kibble factory most times they don’t own their own cannery. Some companies won’t disclose this info, I choose not to feed them if that’s the case. Another issue is companies can and do change who they use so info found on the Internet might not be the most current. The companies that use co-packers tend not to communicate these things with their customers.

Evangers is only a cannery. They do have their own kibble, but they use a co-packer for it.

Hi Susan:
Yes, Diamond only manufactures dry foods for their house brands (TOTW, Chic Soup, Diamond, Premium Edge, Professional+) and other various companies; they are not a cannery. Although Diamond and Costco Kirkland both use a co-packer for their canned foods it is still their products, they’re just made at a facility they don’t happen to own.

As C4C has posted previously Costco Kirkland brand canned foods are manufactured by Performance Pet foods and their kibble is manufactured by Diamond.

/dog-food-reviews/diamond-naturals-dog-food/#comment-3487352339

Last info I had Simmons cans 4Health recipes; not sure who packages their tubs.

Last info I had on Diamond canned recipes are American Nutrition for Chic Soup, Performance Pet Products for TOTW, and I am not sure who cans their Naturals line.

[Susan]

Hi Therese,
TOTW does not make their wet tin foods, TOTW & Kirkland Signature wet tin foods are made by Evangers, so if your dog was eating & enjoying his TOTW wet tin foods its not a diamond product…..
I bought the 1 x TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb about 1 month ago & on the TOTW site it said the fat is 4%min but when the tin food arrived it said 4.5%min fat on the can, so I converted the 4.5% fat to dry matter & it was 25% fat, a bit high for Patch but I did give him 2 tablespoons for lunch & he ended up with his acid reflux afterwards so the cat ended up eating the rest of the TOTW Roasted Lamb wet tin food & she loved it…it’s a bit expensive at $4.99 a tin in Australia…
If you live near Costco’s try “Kirklands Signature, Nature’s Domain canned food, if you click on the “Reviews” up the top of your post then scroll down & look for “Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain (canned)” click on link then scroll down & there’s a photo of the Turkey & pea Stew, its looks pretty good…

There’s “Walkabout” Walkabout treats & wet canned food is made in New Zealand & Australia, there’s Wild Kangaroo, Wild Boar, Goat all are low in fat 2% when fat is converted to dry matter they are around 14-15%max fat & there’s Bushtail Possum & Duck, it’s higher in fat 5%, when converted to dry mater is 22.27% max fat… good for dogs with food sensitivities..

Here’s the link calculator so you can save & convert the wet tin foods so you know how high the fat is, I never normally buy a wet tin food that’s over 4% in fat cause I know the fat % will be high over 20% in fat when it’s converted to dry matter (Kibble). http://www.k-9kraving.com/resources/calculator/php

There’s also “4Health” wet tin food sold at Tractor Supply very good price around $1.19,
I don’t know if Evangers also make 4Health wet tin foods, someone else might know but it’s not hard to email the pet food companies & ask do they make their own canned foods or who does makes them… they need a cannery on site to make the canned foods..

[Susan]

Hi Lauren,
I woke up this morning thinking about your boy, has he eaten yet?? have you tried feeding him something you have cooked?
When you stopped the Prednisone did you do it slowely & reduce over 1 month period??
has stopped eating since you stopped the predisone?? was that when he “was” eating the Royal Canine HP then he has stopped?
also is the vet 100% sure he has IMPT?
Why I’m asking is your vet 100% certain he has IMPT is I suffer with C.R.E.S.T it’s an autoimmune disease/multisystem connective tissue disorder, but when I was 27 yrs old Dr’s first diagnosed me with Lupus…these auto immune diseases are hard to diagnosed, Dr’s only know I have CREST now cause I ended up moving & getting a really good Proffessor as my Dr & as the years have passed my symptoms for Lupus changed….

There’s “4Health” Sensitive Stomach it has NO meat or there’s 4Health Sensitive Skin & it has Hydrolzed Salmon, it comes in wet & dry, I don’t know if the meat is Hydrolyzed in the Sensitive Stomach Wet can food, I don’t have the time to google I have to be somewhere, 4Health is sold at Tractor Supply, I’ve read on a few sites dogs seem to do really well on 4Health formula’s when they have diarrhea & stomach problems, why did you stop feeding Taste Of The Wild??
I really think he needs a really good probiotic to strengthen his immune, I drink 1 “Yakult”probiotic drink every morning inbetween breakfast & lunch, when I stopped drinking my Yakult probiotic drink I started to feel sick all day, probiotics are best taken without any foods when the stomach acids are low…. I wonder if your boy is feeling sick after eating his Royal Canine? or wont he eating any foods?
He’s probably having a few different symptoms & this is when vets don’t know what’s going on??
Has he been tested for Lupus??

[Therese M]

Thanks she’s much better. Gained 7 lbs! Vet is very happy, says 3-5 more and we’ll be good.

She won’t touch the dry if there’s any liquid with it. Go figure. We had been sprinkling dehydrated raw on it and that’s when she started eating dry but then I tried liquid and she didn’t touch it. She drinks a lot so I figure it’s fine. Yesterday she ate the dry straight so that was super exciting! She still gets at least one can a day, mainly bc we still have some. Not sure if we’ll keep that up or not.

The Bison NutriSource looks similar to High Prairie but I’m not sure we have that brand around. I’ll look for it though. I think I’ll try the Zignature lamb since High Prairie has a lot of lamb in it. We had tried a couple kinds of Fromms and she wasn’t a fan but since I have the coupon I figured it might be worth another try. Worst case we’ll just donate it. I just can’t figure this dog out at all, except that she seems to hate fish, which is the biggest bag of food we have, so of course she does.

[Therese M]

We finally found a couple dry foods that our very picky eater will eat. Bil Jac picky eater and TOTW High Prairie. We don’t like the quality of Bil Jac and didn’t realize TOTW was Diamond, and there have been recent complaints about it. We dont want orijen/acana until the new plant formulas get straightened out, unless there’s additional information on that I’ve missed.
We’ve had some samples that she hasn’t liked but she’s starting to open up to more choices so we might go back to those (zignature turkey and fish- she hates all fish flavors).

I have a coupon for a free bag of zignature so especially one of those flavors would be great. I also have a buy one get one free for fromms. In the end I don’t care about the coupons, just finding her a food she likes. So, what is out there that is high quality that might have comparable tastes to those two foods? Chicken/chicken liver and buffalo/lamb. We’ve also had luck with wet food containing beef and duck. We only have a enough food for today and tomorrow so I need something I can pick up today and am willing to order something else later.

[Susan]

Hi Rita,
yes just recently Patch has had a 3 swollowing episodes after eating his breakfast in the last 3-4 months but I noticed it only happens around 8am when he hasn’t drank any water after eating his breakfast & gone for his morning walk, he just comes home & goes straight to bed & has a sleep then wakes up 20-30mins later & comes to me swollowing & gulping & wants to go outside & eat grass also I haven’t giving him his Losec yet, I give him his Losec around 8.30-9am, he has been taking 20mg Losec 20mg every day now for about 18mths now, I’d say Patches swollowing gulping is from the kibble swelling in his stomach & there’s no water & te dry kibble comes back up into throat into his mouth or his Losec dose needs to be increased & 1/2 a 20mg Losec tablet needs to be given at night 12 hours after his morning dose was given, I’ll have to talk with his Vet but first I’m making sure its not cause he doesn’t drink water after eating his breakfast & morning walk …. but I think it’s from not drinking any water after eating breakfast cause this is the only times it seems to happen around 8am, I make sure after he eats breakfast & when we comes home from his
7.15am walk, he has a little drink of his water, I take over a bowl of water if he’s gone straight to his bed when we come home, I’m noticing he is becoming lazy or his lower back might be hurting him we have just found a weird bone growth out of the top of his back leg into his spine, we thought it’s not bothering him but after watching him closely thise last 2 months thru Winter I think this bone growth might be bothering him, Staffys are so hard to read, they don’t show when they have pain…

I would give the Prilosec & Metronidazole twice a day for how long vet has prescribe it. How long has your vet prescribe the Metronidazole & Prilosec for?? 21 days is best, so the Metronidazole can kill the bad bacteria living in the stomach walls, then when the Metronidazole course is finished continue giving the Prilosec but only give 1 x 20mg Prilosec a day in the morning, it’s best to give Losec of a morning, works better my Gastro Dr said & so did Patches IBD vet, Prilosec doesn’t have to be taking before food like other ant acid meds need to be taken… At the moment you’d be giving the Metronidazole with food & giving them together…
This is awful to watch but go on Google & google “My Dog having Seizure” they don’t gulp or swollow & if 1 dog licks mouth in video its cause he’s feeling sick from the seizure, he’s not gulping & swollowing like my boy does….
When the acid comes up their throat into their mouth, they don’t know what to do so they try & swollow & swollow the acid, they need either a dry biscuit or some liquid Mylanta to soothe the acid reflux back into the stomach or grass to vomit up all the acid… I really think once your dog takes his Prilosec daily he’ll be better & more comfortable..& watch everything he does & when does he have his swollowing & gulping attack is it after eating is it when he hasnt eaten all night etc…

[Dana F]

Holistic Blend Grain-Free Marine 5 Fish All Life Stages Dry Dog Food. This is an excellent dry dog food made in Canada. My Collie, like so many other dogs, did not do well on the U.S. version of Origen after having been on the Canadian version.
I tried many brands of kibble before coming across Holistic Blend and found that my dog preferred the 5 Fish version. He is thriving on it. His coat is soft and is coming in thick once again. His allergies are improving, his weight is steady, his stools are compact and consistent and best of all, he loves this kibble.
I am more than pleased with Holistic Blend so far which is why I am recommending this food as a brand for Editor’s Choice!