[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!

[Susan]

Hi Shannon.
next time try a low fat dry biscuit like Jatz or some dry toast white bread toast is best that’s what I use to do before Patch was put on an ant acid medication Omeprazole (Prilosec) also liquid “Mylanta” 5mls 1 teaspoon works great lines the esophagus & stomach… aren’t Milk bones high in fat? just have to be careful with fat it doesn’t make things worse….
Acid reflux can be from high carb diet, high fat diet, diet with fermentable fibers, barley, oats, oatmeal, legumes, beans, lentils, carrots, apple, peas… Best to avoid these type of foods & see how she goes.

[Susan]

Hi Mary,
why not try the Hills Metobolic + Mobility Tuna stew canned food?? I looked at ingredient list there’s no green lipped mussel, just ask vet can you try 1 tin around cost $3-4 then if he likes & eats you buy the 12 pack cans in a cartoon, Hills is money back for palability & any health problems it make cause, feed the Hills wet tin for say dinner & the dry kibble for breakfast. also instead of grinding up the kibble let the kibble soak in warm water when the kibble is soft (a good kibble soften in 20-40mins, TOTW is good soft in 20mins) all the way thru drain all the water thoroughly, then you put your clean palm of your hand in bowl & push about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of the soft kibble against bowl edge & squeeze out as much water out, this way there’s no excess water no real sloppy kibble, then add his yogurt to the moist kibble, I was sqeezing out all the water then putting the soft swollen kibble in a blender & pulsating for 2-5 sec, the kibble becomes nice & fluffy then mix thru the yogurt my boy also loves his yogurt he gets 1 spoon every night as dessert….

[Mary G]

Thanks!!! For all the suggestions!!! I have tried just not feeding him the mobility diet and just stick to TATW dry kibble and still refuses to eat. I am at my wits end. He refuses everything unless I grind the dry food and mix it with yogurt. He is only eating like 2/3 cup and then refuses to eat anything else but asks to be fed and when he sees what it is, he walks away.

I think we will try to go back to Royal Canin Mature Consult again I wanted to improve the diet but again, he refuses to eat anything that is grain-free. We wioll switch to that again and just hope for the best. I just want him to eat.

[Judy G]

I feed my standard poodles Canidae Pure Sea. One of my pups has many food allergies and does great on this food. There is no chicken or chicken meal in it. It is limited Ingredients, grain free, has antioxidants and probiotics, and is an all life stages dry food. There are other flavors available in this formula. I have found that Chewy.com is the cheapest and easiest place to purchase. Hope this helps.

[Susan]

Hi Mary,
take the Royal Canine back to vet, all vet diets are money back guranteed, ask the vet nurse at the front desk can you try the “Hills” Metabolic + Mobility Tuna stew canned food instead there’s also the matching dry formula, there’s NO green lipped Mussel in the wet tin food or the dry that I could see, the wet formula will be nicer to eat & have better ingredients, ask vet can you buy 1 can then if he eats it, buy the 12 pack cartoon or get a script to buy online, it will probably be cheaper online….Hills must add something to make all their food more palatable my boy loves the Hills foods but he wasnt as keen on the Royal Canine vet diets.
or look at the “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior dry formula, it’s high in omega 3 & has Glucomine + Chondroitin, the old dog up the rd acts like a young pup again since eating the “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior formula….https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

You could rotate different meals, Patch eats 4 smaller meals a day, I feed his TOTW at 7am & 5pm then 12pm & 8pm feed, I feed something else either wet tin, cooked, or another brand of dry food & rotate everything….
I was taking Green Lipped Mussel and Turmeric with BioP & the Green Lipped Mussel would repeat on me, I’d burp it back up but it did help with my joint pain but I couldnt handle the taste coming back up, now I’m trying Glucosamine + Chondroitin joint repair it doesn’t repeat on me……
When your weather starts cooling down a bit get those heat packs, I’ve got the wheat heat pack, you put in microwave for 2 mins, make your boy lay on his side & place 1 heat pack on his shoulder area & another heat pack on side of his hip & a electric banket for the other side of his body to lay on, you can buy those heated pet beds the heat really helps the joint pain, he’ll look like a heated sandwich lol
after I go to Physiotherapy once a week, he puts the heat pack on my neck/shoulder & another heat pack on my lower back & gives me a light massage, I feel really good afterwards…

[haleycookie]

Whatever food you feed I would just use the suggested feeding chart while he’s a puppy. Start at the lowest for his weight and adjust as you feel is needed. If you give lots of treats. That means a little less food at breakfast and dinner time. If you mix 6 oz of wet food in then that’s usually a half cup of food maybe a 1/4 depending. But most dry food bags will have an indicator of what to do when adding wet food in and the wet food cans also sometimes have a guide on mixing with dry.

[pitlove]

Hi Randy-

Unlike fats and carbohydates, proteins do not store in the body, so when fed in excess will be excreted from the body as waste. This is why it was originally thought high protein diets cause kidney damage.

According to my current edition textbook (I’m studying to become an RVT), dry pet food for dogs should not contain more than 40% protein on a dry matter basis. Anything more than that is not being used by the body. I personally have found my dogs do well on foods around 26% protein and 16% fat or under. You can find puppy foods with those %’s usually or at least close to it.

I have however read literature written by a nutritionist that states that puppies need between 22-25% protein.

As for fiber, I find anything over 5% MAX fiber to be too high. You will usually find 5% or more fiber in weight control diets.

Hope this helps!

[Susan]

Hi Sue,
Vet diets were once made to eat until the dog/cat became better then the owner looked for alternitive diets to feed, then Hills & realised vets were telling pet owners to just kept feeding their pets the vet diets, when owners didn’t know what else to feed their pets, so around 2014 Hills re formulated a few of their vet diets so the dog could eat the vet diet for the rest of it’s life & brought out a few more dry vet formula’s & more canned stew formula’s that were more palatable for sick dogs with kidney, weight management, skin health & intestinal health problems, my boy loves the I/d Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetable stew, I get it for him as a treat even though he gets his red paws from the chicken..
When the internet came along having a sick pet become very confusing epecially when there’s some poster that are anti healthy not into holistic natural ways to feed sick pets, you don’t need scientific proof to see how healthy your dog has become after being feed a balanced healthy home made diets, changing a pets diet can make a real big difference follow “Rodney Habib” on his face Book page & see the difference with dogs that were dying from cancer & now are cancer free after eating the Ketopet diets, after feeding either raw or home cooked especially when they’re sick or even healthy pets, you can tell by their coats, skin, their behaviour they are more switch on & act like they want to live all of a sudden they feel better also how they are getting around when they feel so good….
Chico would know he’s not eating the same food as his brother & sisters are eating, he’d smell & know his food is different…. I always feel sorry for my boy he has to eat his dry kibble & my cat Indy gets nice raw meat for breakfast & dinner, freeze dried for lunch, she gets everything healthy & he doesn’t he gets his dry boring kibble… he has IBD

Start looking for a Vet Nutrionist in your area, here’s a link it’s called “Just Food For Dogs”
https://www.justfoodfordogs.com/vet-support-diets
they also make Custom diets for dogs with multiple health problems.. you can still feed 1 meal the k/d wet tin food & the other meals feedthe new cooked meal, thats what I did with my IBD boy he ate his vet diet for 2 of his meals & the other 2 meals were home cooked lean beef or lean pork rissoles balls with broccolli, egg, parsley, kale, then add sweet potato.

Are you on Face Book? join this group “K-9 Kitchen” it’s run by Monica Segal a nutritionist you can contact her & she’ll make Chico a recipe for kidney disease, she also post recipes on her page or send them in an email if you subscribe join hersite its all free, then once you have joined her K-9 Kitchen group, post a post asking for a recipe for Kidney Disease, either Monica or a poster will post 1 of her Kidney disease recipes…
Have you joined the “Canine Kidney Disease” groups on Face Book there’s a few…then post in the groups where a good vet nutritionist is in your area near you & start from there…
Chico is only 5yrs old, he’s way to young to be just eating the k/d food
Do you have a crock pot? I also would start making cooked meals for all your dogs & freeze small meals or 1 big meal you can divide for all of them, still feed their food they are eating at the moment for 1 of their meals & feed the cooked healthy meal for their other meals….especially if you have small dogs that might be predisposed to stones/crystal, pancreatitis etc, there’s also Dr Judy Morgan find her face book page & follow her & she answers all post, here’s her link below, she has a few recipes on You Tube very easy to make, she has around 8 dogs, a few of them are sick, look at her Homemade Pup Loaf video very easy to make & can fed your other dogs… http://www.drjudymorgan.com/category/videos/

[Angela L]

So…like y’all I noticed this dog food..but I saw the canned before they started carrying the dry. I was feeding my dogs the canned mixed with Rachel Ray dry (I usually mix the Pure Balance). All dogs like it. The chihuahua prefers the salmon but she is super old and because it is ground can eat it better. I also have been looking for reviews but came up empty. After seeing that Rachel Ray was given only 2 and a half stars, I am on the hunt for a replacement.

[Richard P]

Hello Kathryn,

Everyone seems to have their own idea about what is the best dog food, but what is best for one dog may not be the best for your dog. Obviously, feeding the “best” food you can find and having your bloodhound throw it up is not the best food for your dog.

It appears that every food you have tried is not tolerated by your bloodhound except your vet’s recommended Purina EN Gastroenteric Wet. So listen to your vet. Purina EN also comes in a dry kibble so you could ask your vet if it would be alright to add some of that to the canned food.

Also, (and with my vet’s approval I might add) I will cook (crockpot or grill for flavor variety) a family pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts and chop them up to add 1/2 cup to my Great Dane’s kibble. I store portions in freezer bags and defrost each bag as needed. Chicken breast is probably the easiest meat on your dog’s GI tract. Ask your vet if that would be OK to try with your bloodhound.

As info, I also cook boneless skinless chicken thighs which are tastier than the breasts but have a little more fat content. Additionally I rotate other meats–lean ground chuck, lean pork roast. If something gives him a bout of diarrhea I discontinue that or at least try a smaller portion added to his kibble. All this is with my vet’s approval. Great Danes have sensitive stomachs but these fattier meats might not be appropriate for your bloodhound.

Lastly, if you are concerned about the ingredients in the Purina EN, keep in mind that the first ingredient, brewers rice, has a very beneficial effect on canine GI/diarrhea issues. Years ago I had a Great Dane with a severe diarrhea problem. Instead of giving him medications for it, I cooked large batches of white (not brown) rice in chicken broth and mixed it 50/50 with his kibble. Within a week his diarrhea was gone.

I hope some of this information was helpful to you. Good luck with your bloodhound and rub his belly for me.

Sincerely,

Richard Pflueger

[anonymous]

Glad to hear things are improving. Remember to add a little water to any dry food 🙂
Be careful about overfeeding, as much as you would like her to gain weight, rapid weight gain can have issues.
Slow and steady is better.

[Heather C]

Thank you so much for the suggestions, Susan. I use a liquid Omega 3 in a pump called Omega-Tri-V (purchased from the vet, brand is Henry Schein). I store her dry food in an air-tight container inside the house, but I agree, I need to try a different food. I’ve tried a few salmon-based dry foods but she turns her nose up at fish; however, I haven’t tried the brands that you suggested so maybe one of those will taste better to her. l’ll look at both of the food recommendations and start transitioning her over to something new this week.
I still bathe Daisy with her oatmeal puppy shampoo that get at Petsmart. I’ll check out Malaseb.
Poor girl, she acts like she feels fine but I still worry that she doesn’t. Oh how I wish they could talk!
Thanks so much – I’ll let you know how it goes.

[Kim B]

I am still trying to figure out how to do the calculation on the food. I am looking at Canidae. I have fed their food in the past and now they have grain free options.

Life Stages Dry Dog Food for Puppies, Adults & Seniors

Here is a link to see a screen shot of the ingredients, etc so how do I turn this information into the equation to confirm if it is a well balanced food for a giant breed?

Thank you for your help with this!

[Susan]

Hi Heather,
Daisy needs a diet high in Omega 3, have you tried a salmon/fish diet yet? you write you give her Omega 3 but what brand are you using, is it a New Zealand brand? in America they tested a heap different brands of un opened fish oils supplements off the shop shelves & 70% of them were no good, a waste of money, then they tested the fish oil supplements from New Zealand & their fish oil capsule were of better quality, the whether is cooler in NZ, so there’s no damage while being made.. Oxidation occurs when unsaturated fats such as omega -3 fatty acids EPA & DHA are exposed to heat, light or oxygen…how you’ll know if capsules are rancid/oxidized the smell is awful, smells real fishy smell & the gel capsules may have discoloration… store any fish oil in fridge…
same as oils in a kibble as soon as you open bag of kibble & the oxygen hits the kibble the oils start to oxidize, they say you have 2 weeks life on a kibble, so make sure its put in an air tight container & stored in a very cool place in the house, alot of people put their dog food in the garage or hot shed…
Cause you don’t know if the fish oil capsules are good or bad, best to buy tin sardines in spring water or olive oil, take sardines out of the tin & put in a glass air tight small container, store in fridge & give Daisy 2-3 sardines a day either as a treat or as a topper on her dry food….
I would start looking for a Salmon dry formula but not Orijen or Acana, Orijen & Acana tested high for toxins & contaminates….
Have a look at “Canidae” Pure Sea formula, alot of dogs with skin problems do really well on the Canidae Pure Sea formula, ingredients are good, its high in omega 3, feed for 2-3 months then rotate & feed the Canidae Pure Sky it has turkey meal & duck meal, turkey & chicken are cleaner meats, or rotate with the Canidae Pure Elements also the wet tin foods are really good to use as a topper, read thru the ingredient list see which formula you prefer but make sure you rotate with the Pure Sea especially when Spring & Summer is coming start back on the Canidae Pure Sea, https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

or try a vet diet try Hills new “Derma Defense” wet & dry, it’s a vet diet for Environment allergies, skin problems, with high levels of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acid, the Omega 3 is high at 1.80% the Omega 6-3.96%, the Omega 3 should be around 1/2 of what the Omega 6% is, alot of pet foods aren’t balanced properly & are very low in Omega 3 & very high in Omega 6, they’re not balanced properly & cause skin problems….
Hills Derm Defense helps strengthen skin barrier, formulated to help soothe & nourish skin & coat, helps skin recover naturally, supporting a healthy immune system, works with proprietary complex of bioactives & phytonutrients, antioxidants, including vitamin E, high levels of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids….
I know I lot of people don’t like the ingredients in vet diets, but they’re formulated for certain health problems, you could give the Derm Defense a try for just 3 months & see does her fur start to grow back, you’ve got nothing to lose also Hills is guaranteed to work or money back, contact Hills speak with one of their Vet Nutritionist & see what formula they recommend… I rotate & feed the Hills D/D Venison & Potato Skin health & Stomach, my boy has IBD & Skin Allergies or try the Canidae Pure Sea & Pure Sky formula’s first & see how Daisy goes…. Canidae will be cheaper then the vet diet… Canidae gets 5 stars on American consumer affairs site, Canidae grow all their own vegetables, Canidae is a family run business…. what your feeding at the moment isn’t helping, so you have nothing to lose..
also shampoo what are you bathing Daisy in to moisturize & nourish her skin?
Start bathing Daisy weekly with Malaseb medicated shampoo to wash off any allergens on her skin…

[Heather C]

Hi, My boxer-lab-mystery mix, Daisy, is 2.5 years old and has been experiencing patchy hair loss on and off for 18 mos. I have taken her to 2 vets and a vet dermatologist. She’s had biopsies and blood work. Her thyroid is fine, she has slightly elevated hormones, but otherwise they can’t find a reason for the hair loss. She was diagnosed with a form of alopecia (which can be allergies, seasonal, eclipse, anything, etc.). We got her when she was a few months old and her puppy food was blue chicken dinner. When we switched her to adult food, we changed to beef (blue bison dry and blue beef wet). I noticed the first round of hair loss when we changed her food from beef back to chicken after a few months. We thought the hair loss was normal shedding at first, but it started getting patchy. Her skin on belly and legs also got a lot darker. She has been off of chicken for a year and she still has periodic shedding. She currently eats Merrick Texas Beef dry and Blue beef dinner wet. I changed the dry food to Merrick because the Blue did contain some chicken in it. She seems to feel good and doesn’t itch or scratch. I recently reduced the size of her meals because she needs to lose 7 pounds. She has started losing her hair again since I reduced the volume, but i doubt that would be the cause. I also use an omega 3 oil on her food but it doesn’t seem to help at all. Her coat is fairly shiny in the sun but it’s pretty much bare on her belly and her legs. I would like to find one food that would help her issues.
Any advice out there would be much appreciated. Thank you

[Susan]

Hi Therese,
Glad you have finally found something Lucy likes, so she is a gravy lover like most dogs, this must be the type of food her original owner feed her gravy type stews, now when you give her her anitibiotics make sure she is taking them on a full stomach, this is why she’d be feeling nauseous, antibiotic’s must be taken with a meal & if she wasnt really eating much it would be hard to give her her meds…..

With Pancreatitis just make sure the fat in a wet tin food is 4% & below when feeding some wet tin foods, some are 5,6,7,8,9% min in fat, eating high fat foods 24/7 can cause Pancreatitis.. even with this Mighty Dog 1 food might be 3%min fat then another formula might be 6%min fat, just make sure you read the can first, if you see 5%min fat min when you convert 5%min fat it will be around 20-25% max fat, depending on the brand when it’s converted to dry matter, so it’s best to stay around the 2-4%fat in wet tin foods, for now just stick with the mighty dog wet tin food, then once she is off all her meds & she is feeling heaps better you can venture out & try better quality foods…

Hills Science Diet has their new Youthful Vitality 7+ Chicken & Vegetable Stew, the can is lime/green back round with a border collie dog running on the side, the Youthful Vitility food has everything a dog needs, even thought Lucy is only 3 she could be in poor condition on the inside, the Youthful Vitility Stew has antioxidants for brain support, L-carnitine helps with stomach & diarrhea, Vitamins C & E help bolster a strong immune system, Omega 3 & 6 for skin & coat & has high quality ingredients, the fat is 15%max, Hills converts all their wet tin foods fat, protein, fiber etc it’s on their Hills site, even if you just buy 3-4 tins a week & she gets 1 tin every second night for dinner or breakfast, if she does not eat this food then wash out the Hills tin & take it back to Pet Shop, Hills is guaranteed money back for palability….it’s a bit embarassing but the workers get to know you & your dog…
also instead of the boiled pumkin, try boiled sweet potato, the orange sweet potato, maybe its called Yams in America, it’s healthy like pumkin & taste like pumkin but it’s sweeter, just add 1spoon mixed thru wet tin food, I boil cut up squares about the size of 1 spoon & freeze then I take out when I need 1-2 spoons to add to a meal, it thaws very quickly & then heat in micro wave so its not cold, that’s another reason dogs & cats won’t eat their food if its cold from the fridge, I warm my cats wet & raw food for just 7-8 second to take off the chill..

[Tom A]

We switched our two dogs to BCR about two weeks ago. The one dog is a 15 year old golden retriever, the other is a 13 month old schnauzer, both are neutered. The golden has severe arthritis and a mass on his liver, between these two issues we were considering euthanasia in near future. Within a couple of days of starting the golden on the turkey dinner which is complete other than Omega three and 6 we supplemented this with a salmon oil once a day. The golden is now showing a marked increase in vitality and activity. Although his arthritis continues to limit his physical activity since beginning the BCR we have found that instead of just lying flat on the floor all the time he now sits on the floor with his head and body upright paying attention to everything going on around him.

We were considering euthanasia within a matter of days or weeks, however his improved vitality is causing us to rethink this plan. The only problem the Schnauzer is having is he seems to love the food so much that he eats it faster than we would like.

We can’t help but Wonder as we read information about declining life expectancies in pure breds over the last number of years what role current dry Foods play in this. We don’t know if it is just a result of better knowledge by pet owners but we do seem to talk to more owners everyday who’s dogs are dying from cancer. Could this be a result of some of the additives which dry foods are putting in their kibbles?

Regardless, so far we are very happy with the BCR dinners and plan to continue using them.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Tom A.

[Therese M]

The vet knows the antibiotics are making her nauseous. She gave us a couple anti nausea pills when we were there. She basically said she weighs enough that just waiting out the antibiotics is okay- I guess for heartworms one antibiotic is the best and that’s what she’s on?

We did the rotisserie chicken and she did eat it, I was just worried about all the salt. If we start mixing things she won’t touch it so I dont think we can mix in the prescription stuff. If we mix with dry food she picks out the good stuff, if we mix with wet she won’t touch any of it. The vet said return that if she isn’t eating it so we will. Vet suggested we try Fromms which she wouldnt touch so I took it back. I’ll get mighty dogs- I know I saw that at target. We only have one tray of cesars left so I need to get more of something today anyway. 🙂

[Therese M]

Thanks for all your replies. When we got her, they seemed to think she was perfectly healthy, which made us comfortable taking her. We all assume that her issues are antibiotic related. She’s been to 2 vets, both think the same. Other than the not eating, she’s overall healthy. We have insurance for her, so if we need additional testing it’s not a problem for us to cover it, but neither vet mentioned anything about it. We’re not giving her back- we’ll work out what we need to to get her better. We’ve had (sick) pets before just not a dog.

I tried Costco canned but I didn’t get the stew one and she hated it, although it looked pretty gross to me too. She really likes gravy- she’ll lick that out of the bowl first then eat the chunks with other brands. I can get the stew kind- I was looking at it last time I was there actually.

This is the info on Cesars: “The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 19% and estimated carbohydrates of about 28%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 45% and a mean fat level of 21%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 26% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 48%.
Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs as compared to a typical wet dog food.”

The paste looks like it would be very helpful- I’ll ask about that tomorrow. I’ll get the costco stew today, no more dry, low fat. Thank you all for your help- Lucy certainly appreciates it!

[Joyce B]

Hi there, have you tried Pepcid? When one of my dogs was on several prescription drugs for a ruptured disc and wouldn’t eat, Pepcid made the difference. He is small and only required a half a tablet at 12-hour intervals. It’s inexpensive and you can use the generic. This was on the advice of our vet; please check with yours. And as others have said, I wouldn’t keep trying different foods, just give him whatever he will eat for now. There is plenty of time later when he is healthy to experiment. (Dry food is usually the least appetizing of all.) For another of my dogs – and I may get criticized for this – but I added plain cooked pasta to his wet food when he had a tummy ache. He loved it and while it has no nutritional value, it was soothing and added calories. Best of luck and hang in there! He will get better and be forever grateful to you.

[a c]

C C, I am sorry about your Sheltie. I also lost my miniature schnauzer a few months ago to lymphoma. He was on Hill’s Science diet with topper of other kibbles, wet food, or human food all his life. At that time, I thought science diet was the best. It was recommended by multiple vets. I later learned that was not the case. I agree with you that vets just aren’t trained regarding food issues or other ways to treat diseases, just dispense drugs… I know first hand on that. My schnauzer was misdiagnosed by our regular vet. Three visits within the same month and the vet though he has hurt his back and put him on steroids which
probably was one of the reason that he was not responsed to the chemotherapy later on. It was the ER vet who diagnosed him with lymphoma. The vet oncologists just followed the protocols to dispense medications like the assembly line.

Back to the topic. I am in the process switching from Orijen puppy to Horizon Amicus puppy, but has to deal with sloppy stool. Horizon Amicus is make in Canada. It was not tested by the Clean Label. I don’t know if I make the right choice? Do you know anything about Horizon dog food? There are so many information out there and it’s very overwhelming and confusing. I am so new on the dog food issues. I was blinded by the dog food marketing for years.

Btw. I have a new discovery this morning. I have been soaking the kibbles in water. I noticed the soaked kibbles smells really bad. Since I soaked Orijen and Horizen Amicus together, I couldn’t tell which one is it. Both kibbles smells ok when it’s dry. So, I soaked them separately this morning. It was the Orijen. 10 minutes into soaking, the kibbles smells bad but the kibbles are still pretty hard. Horizon Amicus still has the same herb smell as the dry and it’s very soft.

[anonymous]

Try boiling some chicken, chop it up, mix it with the dry food and pour water or the chicken water over it. She needs to stay hydrated. Maybe a little boiled white rice mixed in too.
Don’t keep adding all kinds of stuff or supplements, it will only make her more nauseous.
Keep it plain and simple, only give what the vet has ordered. Don’t leave food down, but offer her small meals with water added frequently.
This dog has been through a lot, heartworm treatment is hard, she still has a way to go.
She may have diarrhea when she is going through the treatment, but you have no choice, the heartworm treatment is crucial and needs to be done ASAP, it is a priority.
I assume the shelter is paying for it.

You said this is your first dog, this may not be a good match considering the dog’s medical issues and ongoing care she will need.
If you are not up for it, if your gut tells you it won’t work, talk to the shelter NOW.
There are experienced pet owners that will be better able to take care of her.
If you return her to the shelter, they will most likely place her with a foster while she recovers.
Take a break, and next time get a dog that is doing well, and is younger.

If you decide to keep her, work closely with your vet, ask if she’s dehydrated? Sometimes they need subq fluids once or twice to get them over the hump.
This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.

[Susan]

Hi Therese,
sounds like she has stomach or panreatitis problems & the cesars food probably doesn’t upset her stomach any cause any pain or whatever she is having, I would NOT start any treatment for her heartworm yet, it will kill her, vet needs to work out what’s wrong with her stomach first & why she is hesitant to eat, something is wrong, Golden Labradors LOVE their food….
I got a rescue 5yrs ago & he was the same in very bad condition, but he was the opposite & ate everything in site, even cat poo, after vomiting weekly, doing bloody diarrhea, sloppy poo’s, acid reflux, up thru the night with rumbling, grumbling bowel noises, in the end I asked the vet can we do Endoscope + Biopsies, vet put camera down his throat into the stomach & did 2 Biopsies, you need the biopsies cause when the vet looked into Patches stomach everything looked excellent, there was no stomach ulcers like we thought, but what I thought he had, he had, waiting & waiting for biopsy results Patch had the Helicobacter-Pylori & IBD, he was put on triple therapy meds for 21 days, Metronidazole, Amoxiccilin to kill the bad bacteria that lives in the stomach walls & Prilosec for the acid reflux the Helicobacter causes, Patch did real well while taken the triple therapy meds then once the 21 day course finished it all came back again within 1 week of stopping the meds, it was a nightmare in the end now Patch takes 20mg Prilosec every morning & only takes the Metronidazole 200mg for 10-14 days when needed, if he’s doing sloppy poos or diarrhea, starts feeling sick everyday & whinging for me to rub his stomach/pancreas area & is eating & eating grass…

Can you ask the rescue group do they have some money in their budget for her to see a Gastro specialist or a vet that knows about stomach/bowel problems, in Australia the rescue groups post picture of the very sick dog & asks for help on their face book page & raise some money so dog can be treated by vet & do the Endoscope + Biopsies need to shop around cause there’s cheaper vets around that do Endoscope & Biopsies, people will help with donations…..
I wanted to do the same give Patch back to rescue group so he got another foster carer, he broke my heart, I couldn’t give him back cause I thought will the new foster carer care for him like I do or will he just be thrown out the back yard again & suffer & the rescue group puts dog up for adoption & someone else gets stuck with the problem hoping they will pay all the vet bills, Patch was weeing blood the day I got him from teh pound, the rescue group had to paid $1,500 for 2x ultrascan, desexing, vacination, vet diet wet & dry food the dissolve his crystals, medications, at that stage he just had Urinary crystal, the rescue vet said he must of gotten infection from being used to breed, I thought everything was done all fixed, he’s all healthy now & I adopted him but it was just the beginning of my sleepless nights the vet office I ended up staying with felt sorry for Patch & me for adopting a sick 4yr old Staffy + all the vet nurses were Staffy lovers & my bet did alot of discount rates & now my vet writes out repeats for his prescriptions so I can get his meds from a chemist it was costing $120 for 1 month of Prilosec, now all I pay is $8 & the Metronidazole only cost $7 when I need it I keep spare in cupboard….

I would be only feeding low fat wet food, nothing over 3% in fat, the fat & protein & isnt like it is in a dry kibble, wet raw & cooked hasnt been converted to dry matter (Kibble) yet, Do NOT feed any more dry kibble, it must make whatever she has, worse, like my boy the kibble made him worse with his IBD (Stomach) in the beginning till we worked out what was wrong & I found a kibble that works for him.
Read what is the fat % in the Cesars wet food??? also start boiling potato or boil sweet potato whatever firms her poos up best & start adding say 2-3 cesars foil tin & the same amount boiled mash potato do not add any butter or mil to the mashed potato & mix potato all thru with the Cesars food, maybe start off with only 1/2 mashed potato with her food cause she may not trust the potato yet, whatever she has got, has cause her alot of pain & she doesn’t trust food no more… I have to go the Pet Shop it’s closing, I have to pick up something, look what are the ingredients & fat % in these Cesars foods she etas & post, stop trying all type of foods for now, I’ll try & find a similair food to the Cesars same ingredients once you post, that is in a bigger tin size & low in fat, maybe someone else knows of a lower fat wet tin food similair to Cesars food….
Do you shop at “Costco” ?? Costco has their “Kirklands Signature” Nature Domain wet tin & its cheap & looks pretty good, click on “Reviews” look for Kirkland, Signature Nature Domain canned foods & click on link & scroll down a bit & there’s a photo of Turkey & Pea stew looks good & you can mash with boiled Potato this will work out cheaper till vet works out whats wrong, also ask the vet can you try a 21 day course of Metronidazole?? take back the vet diet food she won’t eat for refund & ask can you try 2 tins of the Hills I/d Canine Chicken & Vegetables Stew, Digestive Care wet tin food, do not get the Hills I/d Low Fat, Rice, Vegetables Chicken stew Restore, they look similair, the I/d Low fat Restore wet tin is full of rice & fish oil, the I/d canine Chicken & vegetable Stew Digestive Care has less ingredients & has more chucks of meat no fish oil, fish oil can make them feel sick, see if after being taking the 21 day course of Metronidazole if she starts to get better after 4-5th day, it has to be taken with a meal every 12 hours…
What is her name??

[Therese M]

We got our 3 yo golden mix from a rescue 3 weeks ago. They got her from shelter a week before we got her so no real history. She’s heartworm positive and almost done with her 30 days of antibiotics. She was 5 lbs underweight when we got her and has lost another 1 lb since then. She’ll start heartworm treatment soon and I understand she’ll likely be very ill and lose weight from that so we’re very concerned.

Pretty much from the beginning she refused food. We fed her what they gave her (Muenster dry, pro plan chicken and rice wet). Wouldn’t touch it. Tried each separately, no go. Tried tuna, chicken toppers, nothing. We’ve rotated through at least 10 dry foods and 20 canned foods. We took her back to the rescue and they tried a bunch of stuff on her. Of 7 dry and 6 wet, the only thing she ate for them, and has consistently eaten for us is Cesars trays. I’ve been trying desperately to get her to eat anything better than that but nothing else will work. I’ve tried everything form Fromms to Weruva to Bil Jac picky eater. Nothing works. I’ve mixed in pumpkin (plain and fruitables), raw goats milk, broth, nothing works. Homemade chicken and rice, ground beef, oats, green beans, eggs, cottage cheese. We took her to the vet earlier this week for vomiting and diarrhea. The vet gave us some prescription food, which she refused to eat, and some antinausea pills which stopped the puking but hasn’t helped her appetite. Said otherwise shes great. My husband is starting to wonder if we’re capable of dealing with her, and I’m not far behind him. We throw out $6-8 of food every day bc she just wont touch it. Is there anything left to try? We’re trying to stay on the high quality foods but at this point I could care less what it is if itll get her to eat. For her weight she should be eating 16 trays of Cesars a day- she eats at most 2. She eats less than 1/3 what she should every single day, on the days she eats at all. We will do literally anything at this point, so all suggestions are welcome. We live in Dallas so we have access to pretty much everything, we just need to track it down. Thanks for any help you can provide. If you need any more details please be specific- this is our first dog and we’re doing our best but I’m not up on lingo just yet, or what might be important that I’m leaving out.

[Caroline C]

Below are the heavy metal results from a bag of ACANA Wild Atlantic dog food that was purchased in February. My dog died from kidney failure in July caused by an immune disease. I can’t help but think that feeding her food tainted with heavy metals did not help.

Acana Wild Atlantic Dry Dog (special project)
Pet Food Test
Heavy Metals by ICPMS

Lead (ppb) 289.7
Arsenic (ppb) 3257.7
Cadmium (ppb) 99.0
Mercury (ppb) 45.6
Nickel (ppb) 1172.6
Chromium (ppb) 400.8

[anonymous]

Zignature Dog Food
Our catfish are farm raised in Georgia so that we can monitor what they’re eating (which are GMO free foods). Knowing how catfish behavior is we made this decision and were very selective with choosing a farm to guarantee it’s humane.

Recent response to a question I asked over in comments, Zignature reviews

https://disqus.com/home/discussion/dogfoodadvisor/zignature_dog_food_dry/#comment-3474690040

[Carol R]

I have noticed that there is a website for the Cat Food Advisor saying that it’s coming soon. Does anyone know when it will be up and running? I have a new kitten that I’m trying to find the best food for. She seems to love the Wellness canned but not the Wellness dry. I’d like to find a good quality food for her that can be purchased locally.