[anonymous]

“He didn’t have any problems with it but he wasn’t super interested in the food unless we doctored it up with toppings etc”.

I always add at least a tablespoon of cooked protein and a splash of water or plain chicken broth (no onion) to kibble. Minimal snacks, 2 meals per day.
I consider kibble the base (1/2 to 2/3 of the meal).
Kibble, even the so called best ones, look so dry and boring otherwise.
Right or wrong, my dogs are thriving on this regimen.

I have been pleased with the quality of Zignature Whitefish (check Chewy dot com for prices)
For something more reasonable I would consider Purina Pro Plan Focus Salmon.
I agree with pitluv, not to make too many changes right now.
Good luck with your pup 🙂

Ps: I avoid potato and sweet potato, in my experience some dogs with sensitive stomachs don’t do well, a lot of kibbles use too much potato (cheap filler) imo

This is not veterinary advice; consult your veterinarian.

[Susan]

Hi Melissa,
sounds like you have a puppy with a very sensitive stomach/bowel, he may suffer with skin allergies as he get’s older, there’s a few Goldendoodles with sensitive stomach & skin on a Face Book group I belong too….
Food sensitivities/intolerances can take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks to react to a certain ingredient & have Intestinal stress… sounds like there’s an ingredient in the Fromm he’s sensitive too..
My boy has skin allergies & food intolerances & can’t eat high fat meals, tapioca, beet pulp, liver, barley & high fiber kibbles & too many proteins & ingredients he gets stomach up sets, acid reflux, sloppy poos/diarrhea & he wakes up 2am, 4am or 5am crying at the front door to be let out to have diarrhea, sometimes you can hear loud grumbling noises coming from his bowel (Wind)….
You’ll have to start working out what agrees with him & what doesn’t, keep a diary & write down foods, kibbles etc that don’t agree with him & try & work out if there’s an common ingredient, I ended up doing a elimination food diet..

I’ve had great success with “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it is a single protein formula with just lamb meal & has limited ingredients, grain free & is a all life stages formula, has the matching wet tin food…… https://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

When a dog knows a food/kibble causes pain, upset stomach, wind, nausea they’re hesitate to eat it or don’t eat it at all, listen to your dog when he doesn’t want to eat something, he’s telling you, mum this makes me sick, offer to feed something else, he might prefer a wet tin food, cooked, raw or rotate between 2 brands of kibbles that’s what I do, so he doesn’t get sick of eating the same kibble formula, Patch gets Canidae Pure for breakfast & TOTW for lunch & dinner…but you have pup I don’t know how it works rotating Puppy formula’s if it’s Ok….ask & email the kibble company, they would know….
TOTW have vet nutritionist that email back & give advise…

Canidae is another food I feed the Canidae Pure Wild Boar, all the Pure formula’s have limited ingredients.
Canidae have a 3 large breed puppy formula’s, 2 in their “Life Stages” formula’s dry & wet tin, Canidae have a new Large breed puppy Turkey & Brown Rice that has only 1 protein Turkey Meal that’s not too high in protein or fat & can be feed all stages of life Puppy, Adult & Senior large breed…
http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-large-breed-turkey-meal-brown-rice-dry-formula
or Canidae Life Stages Large breed Puppy Duck Meal & Lentils wet & dry
or Canidae’s “Under The Sun” Large Breed Puppy Chicken dry

Maybe try a kibble that has limited ingredient & only 1 protein & see how he goes, no more then 8 ingredients so there’s less ingredients to cause any problems .. Read the ingredients, fiber, fat & protein % in the Nutrisource Puppy formula & the Fromm Heartland Puppy & see is there heaps of ingredients? how many different proteins? is the Fat, Fiber & Protein on the higher end?
Best to buy from a Pet Shop this way you can take it back for a refund & try another food if he doesn’t really want to eat it…..

[Fiona S]

@Cameron B .. yes I converted the as fed analysis to Dry Matter Basis .. which takes the water content out of the various types of foods which lets you compare them side by side.
As noted by someone else the fruits and vegetables do not appear to have been cooked and in reading books it does say that dogs can’t easily break down the cell walls of plants. I am happy for it just to pass through as fiber but I don’t tend to see any chunks in his poop although he only gets one cup of this along with close to 2lbs of raw meat and bones
The first bag I opened sealed up just fine with the ziploc, the second one ripped on opening which wasn’t as great. Small issue but figured I’d mention it.
I did call to ask Chewy aboiut the fat content and was told someone would contact me but so far they haven’t.
From what I can see you can still buy one get one free of this food which definitely makes it more affordable, and that was my second purchase of it.

[Susan]

Hi, pea flour & pea starch isn’t as bad as pea protein, Hills Vet Nutritionist explained to me it’s the protein in foods that the dog is sensitive or allergic too….
I would avoid eating peas if your 100% sure he can’t eat peas……
Have you tried a vet diet & done a proper food elimination diet? either using a vet diet or a raw diet?
this is the only true why to find out what foods your dog has intolerances too…. also another way is thru the winter months your dog will do better then as soon as spring & summer come your dog gets worse then it’s seasonal environment allergies what my boy suffers with as long as I feed him foods he’s OK with we have a good winter until spring & summer come around ….. it’s so hard to work out what is causing what….best to feed a raw limited ingredient diet then start the CADI injections…It’s too hard to do food elimination diet while feeding a dry kibble too many allergens to deal with in a kibble…

Join this face Book Group, “Dog issues, allergies and other information support group” there’s a new injection that has just come out made by the same makers of Apoquel called “Cytopoint” CADI injections, the way CADI injection works is it blocks the receptors completely & stops the itch where Apoquel blocks the reaction from the allergen receptors, so many dogs in America are enjoying an itch free Summer since having the CADI injections, it last 4-6 weeks, apparently the more CADI injection your dog has the injection seem to last longer & longer till he needs the CADI injection, find a vet or Dermatologist in your area & ask what they think of this new drug… my vet said results looks excellent….

More info in this group from parents & their happy dogs, CADI isn’t in Australia yet but hopefully we’ll get it this spring/summer, we had an awful Summer so good luck, make sure you give baths to wash off the pollens, dirt. grass etc the days your dog isn’t doing well..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/240043826044760/

[Susan]

Hi Zabryna,
another very lucky dog who has landed on her feet & been rescued now found a good home……
Has she been wormed with an “All Wormer, desexed & vaccinated?
She may prefer eating wet tin food & cooked food instead of a dry kibble also start feeding 3-4 smaller meals a day, instead of the 2 larger meals a day to help gain her weight, get her in a routine & feed meals same times every day, start feeding the amount it says to feed on the kibble bag, read the weight you want her to be or what she should weigh, divided the amount it says on bag into 2 meals, feed kibble for Breakfast 7am & more kibble for Dinner 5pm then lunch 12pm feed wet tin or cooked food (left overs are good) and a second dinner 8pm wet tin food or left overs from dinner, so she is eating every 5 hours, she should start to gain weight within 1 month, if she hasn’t gained any weight & is eating more then the recommended amount in 2 months, see a vet, normally rescued dogs are covered for any health problems when you buy a dog or cat through a rescue group or RSPCA, my cat had 14 days warranty & if there’s a health problem then it’s free until the health problem is fixed… Is she small dog or a big dog? if she is small then only buy the small bags of kibble as kibble goes rancid, stale after it’s opened, so make sure it’s kept in a air tight container in a cool dark place…..
Good foods at a good price in America.
“Costco” sell a brand “Kirkland Signature”, Natures Domain, look at the Salmon & Sweet Potatoes, it is “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon formula & cheaper-
http://www.kirklandsignaturepetsupplies.com/natures-domain-brand

“Pro Pac Ultimates” Bayside Whitefish & Prime Meadow Lamb kibble
is made by the makers who make Earthborn Holistic,

4 Health wet tin & dry kibble sold at Tractor Supply Co-https://www.tractorsupply.com/landing-pages_brands_4health

There’s probably more brands of kibble you’d have to post a post asking for “Good Price 3-5 star wet & dry foods”

[Susan]

Hi, another very lucky dog who has landed on her feet, been rescued & has found a good home……
Has she been wormed with an “All Wormer, desexed & vaccinated? she may prefer eating wet tin food & cooked food instead of a dry kibble also start feeding 3-4 smaller meals a day, instead of the 2 larger meals a day to help gain her weight, get her in a routine & feed meals same times every day, start feeding the amount it says to feed on the kibble bag, read the weight you want her to be or what she should weigh, divided the amount it says on bag into 2 meals, feed kibble for Breakfast 7am & more kibble for Dinner 5pm then lunch 12pm feed wet tin or cooked food (left overs are good) and a second dinner 8pm wet tin food or left overs from dinner, so she is eating every 5 hours, she should start to gain weight within 1 month, if she hasn’t gained any weight & is eating more then the recommended amount in 2 months, see a vet, normally rescued dogs are covered for any health problems when you buy a dog or cat through a rescue group or RSPCA, my cat had 14 days warranty & if there’s a health problem then it’s free until the health problem is fixed… Is she small dog or a big dog? if she is small then only buy the small bags of kibble as kibble goes rancid, stale after it’s opened, so make sure it’s kept in a air tight container in a cool dark place…..
Good foods at a good price in America.
“Costco” sell a brand “Kirkland Signature”, Natures Domain, look at the Salmon & Sweet Potatoes, it is “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon formula & cheaper-
http://www.kirklandsignaturepetsupplies.com/natures-domain-brand

“Pro Pac Ultimates” Bayside Whitefish & Prime Meadow Lamb kibble
is made by the makers who make Earthborn Holistic,

4 Health wet tin & dry kibble sold at Tractor Supply Co-https://www.tractorsupply.com/landing-pages_brands_4health

There’s probably more brands of kibble you’d have to post a post asking for “Good Price 3-5 star wet & dry foods”

[Claudia D]

Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet

In a two-year study spanning from October 2010 through July 2012, the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) screened over 1,000 samples of pet food for bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses.1 (The illnesses are called “foodborne” because the bacteria are carried, or “borne,” in or on contaminated food.) The study showed that, compared to other types of pet food tested, raw pet food was more likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria.
The Pet Food Study

Raw pet food was not included in the first year of the study. In the second year, CVM expanded the study to include 196 samples of commercially available raw dog and cat food. The center bought a variety of raw pet food online from different manufacturers and had the products shipped directly to six participating laboratories.2 The raw pet food products were usually frozen in tube-like packages and made from ground meat or sausage.
The participating laboratories analyzed the raw pet food for harmful bacteria, including Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. In past projects, CVM had monitored dog and cat food for the presence of Salmonella. But before this study, the center “had not investigated the occurrence of Listeria in pet food,” said Renate Reimschuessel, a veterinarian at CVM’s Office of Research and one of the study’s principal investigators. Dr. Reimschuessel further noted that “quite a large percentage of the raw foods for pets we tested were positive for the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.” (Pathogens are disease-causing germs, like some bacteria. Not all bacteria are harmful pathogens, though. Some bacteria are helpful to people and animals, such as those that live in the intestines and contribute to a healthy gut.)

Of the 196 raw pet food samples analyzed, 15 were positive for Salmonella and 32 were positive for L. monocytogenes (see Table 1).

Table 1: Number and type of pet food samples that tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes (Years 1 & 2)
Type of Pet Food Sample No. samples tested No. positive for Salmonella No. positive for L. monocytogenes
Raw pet food 196 15 32
Dry exotic pet food* 190 0 0
Jerky-type treats† 190 0 0
Semi-moist dog food‡ 120 0 0
Semi-moist cat food‡ 120 0 0
Dry dog food§ 120 0 0
Dry cat food§ 120 1 0
* Non-cat and non-dog food, such as dry pellets for hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, amphibians, and birds.
† Included chicken jerky product, pig ears, and bully stick-type products.
‡ Typically packaged in pouches for retail sale, such as (1) pouched dog and cat food; and
(2) food treats shaped like bacon, fish, pork chops, and burgers.
§ Included pellet- or kibble-type food typically packaged in bags for retail sale.
Note: CVM did not collect or test canned and wet pet food samples in this study.

Based on the study’s results, CVM is concerned about the public health risk of raw pet food diets. As Dr. Reimschuessel explained, the study “identified a potential health risk for the pets eating the raw food, and for the owners handling the product.” Owners who feed their pet a raw diet may have a higher risk of getting infected with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
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Because raw pet food is more likely than other types of pet food to contain Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, the single best thing you can do to prevent infection is to not feed your pet a raw diet

Pet Food Recalls

Both cooked and raw pet food products are recalled for various reasons, including the presence of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. For a list of recalled pet food and the reason for the recall, please see CVM’s Recalls & Withdrawals Web page.
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Resources for You

Get the Facts about Salmonella!
Get the Facts about Listeria!
Avoid the Dangers of Raw Pet Food
Pet Food
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1 Nemser S, Reimschuessel, R. Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) disclaimer icon Microbiology Cooperative Agreement Program (MCAP), FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Special Project: Pet food testing for selected microbial organisms. Final Report 2010-2012. The study was conducted by FDA CVM’s Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN), in collaboration with FERN MCAP laboratories. The journal citation is Nemser S, Doran T, et al. Investigation of Listeria, Salmonella, and Toxigenic Escherichia coli in Various Pet Foods. Foodborne Pathog Dis 2014;11:706-709.
2 Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Michigan Department of Agriculture; Minnesota Department of Agriculture; North Carolina Department of Agriculture; Ohio Department of Agriculture; and Washington Department of Agriculture.

[Susan]

Hi Christie, Fromm weight management Gold Formula has a few different proteins & a lot of different ingredients, most weight management kibbles are higher in fiber to keep the dog feeling fuller longer, read the fiber % it’s high at 7% fiber, if your looking for a lower fat diet formula have look at “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior, adult dogs can also eat the Pure Meadow senior formula, the protein is good at 28%min & the Fat is 10.80% max… it has 2 proteins, Chicken Meal & Turkey Meal, ingredient list- 1st-Chicken, 2nd-Chicken Meal & 3rd-Turkey Meal so the 28%min protein is mainly meat proteins & not 1/2 plant proteins & 1/2 meat proteins, then 4th- Sweet Potatoes, 5th-Chickpeas, 6th-peas, Pure Meadow has only 9 ingredients….
I know some dogs like to graze, but both dogs?? maybe just change the kibble brand to another brand with lower fiber-4-5%max, limited ingredient kibble & see if it makes a difference & see if they aren’t eating as much grass….My boy only eats grass when he’s unwell & feels sick or has a bit of acid reflux, he doesn’t do well on higher fiber kibbles, no dog really would, dogs have a short digestive tract build to digest meat proteins, not high fiber, high carbohydrate diet….. Canidae is money back if your pets aren’t happy, Canidae have other formula’s….. I like their Pure Wild Boar so does my dog & cat, the cat is always trying to pinch Patches kibbles that’s how I know when a kibble taste good Indy (cat)wants to get the dogs kibble….
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-grain-free-pure-meadow-dry-formula

[Susan]

Hi Michelle P,
the only thing that will give you answers is a Endoscope + Biopsies…..X-rays will be a waste of money, X-rays do not show what’s happening in the stomach…
Sounds like what happens with my boy, I was back at the vets Tuesday doing full blood test that were a waste of money, they showed nothing, blood test came back all good….
It very hard to work out what’s happening when its the Intestinal tract, the only why to know what’s wrong is thru biopsies, so either do an Endoscope + Biopsies which is the easiest way or cut open & do Biopsies, I said NO again on Tuesday cause you still treat with the same medications & just have a name for what type of IBD it is….I asked to put my boy back on the Triple Therapy medications, Metronidazole, Clarithromycin & Omeprazole (Losec) for 14 -21 days to kill the Helicobacter again, your boy may have the Helicobacter-Pylori why didn’t the vet put him on Omeprazole (Losec) instead of the Nexium?? they’re the same type of drug an acid blocker, PPI, it takes 12-24hrs for a Pump Protein Inhibitor (PPI) Nexium, Losec, Somac, start to work if the diarrhea doesn’t stop ask vet can he put him on Omeprazole instead of the Nexium, Omeprazole firmed Patches poos up & Zantac didn’t help Patch…when he’s gulping give some liquid Mylanta I keep a small bottle in the fridge it keep it cold it soothes the esophagus & stomach & stops the gulping straight away & they can sleep…Omeprazole is a blocker & sends a msg to the brain to stop making the excess hydrochloric acid in the stomach where Zantac is just like taking liquid Mylanta it just covers the acid reflux but it doesn’t stop it, once you stabilize him he will get better, feed a low fat, low carb, low fiber diet, it’s best to cook meals, boiled sweet potato is good when they don’t want to eat, sooths the stomach same as boiled pumkin, not much about 2 spoons mixed thru the chicken or turkey…
Maybe look for a low fat wet tin food make sure you email the pet food company to get the fat % as it isn’t converted to dry matter (Kibble) yet, so 4%min fat is around 16 to 20%max fat when converted to dry matter (Kibble), I was feeding the Hills I/D Chicken & Vegetables stew but they have changed the ingredients & it has Beet Pulp now, beet Pulp seems to make my boy acid reflux worse, do not mix kibble & wet tin food, feed one or the other or make sure you feed at least 6 hrs apart….Sometimes a dog needs to stay on a low dose of Metronidazole just take once a day, once the dog has finished the 21-28 day course, try & stay with the same vet so pick the vet you thought was better & helped more, find out the vets working hours, Patches vet only works Tuesday & Thursday..

Join this Face Book group- “Canine Diabetes Support & Information Group” & look in the “Files” 2nd post- 2017- C.D.S.I foods, scroll down for the wet tin foods they have all been converted to dry matter fat & they don’t have Beet Pulp a fermentable fiber, that most vet diets have for bowel problems….
*Weruva can/tin –
Cirque de la Mer -fat 9.8%
Bed & Breakfast -fat-12.4%
Grandma Chix Soup-fat-12.5%

*Natures Recipe
G/F Chicken recipe in broth-fat-11.11%
G/F Chicken Wild Salmon recipe in broth-fat-11.11%

* Simply Nourish
G/F Chicken & Beef Stew-fat-11.76%
G/F Chicken & Venison-fat-11.76%

*Pure Essentials
G/F Salmon Recipe in broth-fat-11.76%

[Kristen L]

Just an idea – Everything I read tells you that yeast is caused by sugar and starch turns into sugar. And what foods are high in starch? Potatoes! Try taking her off starchy foods. They have to put some starch/carbs in dry food to keep it together, but potatoes are high starch. Sweet potatoes are better than white, but still high. Take her off potatoes for starters, and Google the glycemic index for dogs foods. The chart will list from high to low. Peas are low as is tapioca. Raw, of course, is best. You can eliminate all sugar that way. Also, if you haven’t tried it already (I’ve read that vets prescribe it), order some T8 keto solution on Amazon. It worked amazing for my boy and his chronic yeast infections. It dries it all up and goes all the way down inside. His ears have been good for months. NO POTATOES.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Kristen L.

[Susan]

Hi Tiffany, yeasty ears can be from an ingredient your dog is sensitive too & you haven’t eliminated it from her diet yet even thought you have changed kibbles there may be any ingredient she is very sensitive too, here’s a link “Facts & Myths Yeast Dermatitis” written by 2 Dermatologist Karen Helton Rhodes, have you seen a Dermatologist yet??
http://www.healthyskin4dogs.com/blog/2015/9/8/facts-myths-about-yeast-dermatitis-in-dogs scroll down & read the section about “CARF” Cutaneous Adverse Reaction Food

I would start a raw elimination diet this way she isn’t eating a dry kibble & isn’t eating the same ingredients that’s in most dry kibbles, my boy can NOT eat carrots he starts shaking his head, scratching his ears, ripping at his ears 20mins after eating a meal that had carrots also chicken is another ingredient my boy reacts too badly…..

I rescued a 5mth old kitten that had a real bad mite infestation the RSPCA treated her ears killed the mites but then when I adopted her she was still shacking & scratching her ears, I took her back to RSPCA vet & they did ear scrap & she had bad infection from the mites, so they gave me drops to put in her ears twice a day & I had to come back in 1 week, another ear scrap & she still had ear infection so I had to continue with the antibiotic ear drops twice a day for another week, she was eating Hills Kitten dry food at the time, the Hills Kitten kibble was given to me when I adopted her, after 6 vet visits & antibiotic ear drops & ear cleaners the infection cleared up but she still had itchy skin & would scratch whole body, so I stopped the Hills dry kibble & tried a grain free Wellness Kitten kibble she was still scratching then I started her on a pre made raw cat diet & Ziwi Peak air dried raw Mackerel & Lamb 2 weeks later NO MORE scratching & ripping at her ears & skin…. Stop feeding dry kibble, either feed a raw diet with 1 single novel protein source or try a Freeze dry raw with just 1 novel protein a protein she hasn’t eaten before Rabbit, Kangaroo, Lamb, Pork, Ziwi Peak has their air dried raw or wet tin food raw
If this doesn’t help after 2months no treats no other foods except her raw or freeze dried diet, then book to see a Dermatologist & tell the Dermatologist what you have tried….
It might be environment allergies but I doubt it, ears are normally food related…..
Good-Luck it would be very uncomfortable for her…

[Mary G]

Hello!!

My 11 year-old beagle just got diagnosed with moderate heart disease. He shows no symptoms but we found out about his enlarged heart because he had a respiratory infection which got taken care of. He is doing great now but the vet suggested we put him on a low sodium diet. We live in Mexico for the moment and there are quite a few brands not available here.

What would you recommend we try? I cannot buy Akana, EVO or even Wellness. We currently have him on Royal Canin Mature Consult. What would other suggestions be? We have a Petco here but we do have a limited amount of brands to choose from. I checked out Tufts suggestions via their website but I am reluctant to try any of the Hills products. Please help, I need guidance. Thanks!!!!

[christine d]

When looking at Dog Food Advisor’s list of recommended dog foods, there is a section that states the nutrition content. Should I be looking at the “Dry Matter Basis” or the “Calorie Weighted Basis” to know what ratio of protein/fat/carbs my dog is getting? So confused!

[Alexandra S]

Yes, please review Whole Paws! Specifically, the Salmon and Sweet Potato dry food.

[crazy4cats]

Mickey T-
I feed my cats a variety of canned foods and follow it up with a little kibble. I try to avoid canned food that contains fish. It has been possibly linked to hyperthyroidism and also according to the Clean Label Project findings that Susan mentioned above, often contain more contaminants than other flavors.
I have fed several different dry foods and don’t believe it is as evil as some do. But, I do think getting moisture in their diets is very important. Especially if they are indoor only cats like mine. Due to urinary tract issues with one of my cats, I feed a couple of different Royal Canin Rx dry recipes that have a S/O index. My cats are doing very well on this regimen so far.
Hope this helps!

[Susan]

Hi
When you have nothing to do go on this site “Clean Label Project” kibbles & wet tin foods with the most toxins & contaminates mainly have fish as the main protein, you’ll be surprised when you see the worse dog & cat brands….
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/

The best food to feed a cat is a Raw diet, kibble isn’t good to feed cats, cats have a short digestive tract, cats don’t do real well eating high carb, grains, chick peas lentils etc long term, some cats end up with kidney problems teeth problems from eating dry kibble….
Look for a premade raw diet, I get the Raw sachets from Aldi’s in fridge section, it works out the same price feeding a raw diet as feeding the expensive dry kibble diet..
I live Australia so our Aldi’s would have different raw formula’s then the American Aldi’s, I also buy chicken wings, freeze the chicken wings all separate….feed a chicken for breakfast every second day for her teeth.. buy those gloves for food prep if you don’t like handling any raw food & buy the Antiseptic hand cleaner to have on kitchen bench.
Bad teeth are another problem cats suffer from eating dry & wet process cat foods, look at a cat teeth that are feed wet tin & dry kibbles over the age of 3 yrs old, their teeth are yellow & full of tartar now look at a raw feed cat teeth still nice, white & no tartar…

Join these f/b groups
* Cat Crap
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CatCrap/
* Cat Chat
https://www.facebook.com/groups/618876468214507/
* Rodney Habib
https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib

Ziwi Pets is a really good air dried raw food wet & dry
my cat goes nuts when she smells the Ziwi Pets Mackerel & Lamb
send Ziwi Pets an email asking any questions you may have & ask for cat samples…
https://www.ziwipets.com/

[Susan]

Hi sorry to hear about your girl, my boy has IBD & gets Pancreatitis pain he had it yesterday & today again, real whingy I’m lucky he grinds his teeth when he has his acid reflux & licks mouth like he’s suckling, so I know he’s unwell liquid Mylanta is good too keep a small bottle in fridge & give 5mls & being kept in the fridge soothes the stomach more….
When they yarn & pant, they have pain my vet said, even paw licking can be pain & they set off endorphins from the licking & Patch does a big burp sometimes, I burp him like a baby sometimes when he has his pancreas pain, I rub his back & stomach area (right side rib cage) it makes him feel better, my vet wanted Patch on Prednisone small dose 5mg, actually 3 vets wanted him on Steroids I kept saying NO the Prednisone will give him more acid reflux in the end I have him 2.5mg with breakfast & 2.5mg with dinner & only gave for 3-4 days & stopped the Prednisone did take away his Pancreas pain BUT he felts real sick vomited a few times & got diarrhea, whe I told his vet she said yes some dogs cant take steroids now she said just start him on the Metronidazole low dose 200mg at night Metronidazole has a steroid anti inflammatory type drug & antibiotic, it does help but takes longer about 4-5 days the Prednisone worked within 1 day & Patch takes Losec (Omeprazole) 8.30am every day now, it doesn’t have to be given before they eat like other acid reducers, its a blocker, I thought the same with the Losec when Patch started taking it vet didn’t want him on a Pump Proton Inhibitor (PPI) long term & said just give it to him when needed for 3-4 days then stop but I found he was doing better when taking the Losec, I started just giving 1/2 the 20mg tablet, I buy his Losec from chemist $7.99, his vet writes me 6 repeat scripts, it’s cheaper then buying from vets-$100 & the chemist orders in the Losec that can be cut in 1/2 “Omeprazole Sandoz” I thought the same when Patch first started to take the Losec, that the Losec was causing sloppy poo’s but it was an ingredient in the R/C Low Fat Intestinal vet diet wet tin food, either the Corn gluten meal, whole corn or the wheat then I realized it was the boiled rice, he cant eat boiled rice, it irritates his bowel, he eats the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable stew, it has the least rice & no beet pulp, I take out the rice & carrots give to my cat she loves it but the fat is 14.9% sometimes Patch gets acid reflux, but not his pancreas pain, so I tried the Royal Canine HP wet tin but it has oil all on the bottom of can & fish oils cause Patch to have acid reflux & his pain so I was using a can opener that takes off the top of the can & sliding out the whole meat loaf & patting it with a paper towel to absorb all the oil & cutting the loaf in 3rds & putting the rest on a plate & cover with cling wrap put in fridge, I found he preferred the Hills I/d Chicken Vegetable stew, are you on facebook?? join this group “Canine Diabetes Support and Information? group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CanineDiabetesSupportandInformation/files/
on your left is the “Files” click on files & 2nd link- “2017.3.26 – CDSI Diabetes dog food options” click on this & all low fat foods will come up, just scroll down for the wet tin foods the lady has converted the wet tin foods to DM (Dry Matter) DM is the fat% if it were a kibble…or email the wet tin company & ask about the formula’s your interested in, can they email back fat% after being converted to dry matter, the lady has done it with the wet tin foods on the link, I ended up cooking lean pork mince or 99% fat free Turkey mince & Kangaroo mince all human grade minces, Patch did real well on the lean beef
I added 1 whisked egg some finally chopped parsley, peeled & grated 1 carrot & a few chopped up broccoli heads mix all together & make 1 cup size rissole balls or 1/2 cup size balls & bake in oven on baking tray lined with foil just take them out after 15mins & turn over the rissoles & remove any water & fat, I also boil sweet potatoes & add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup rissole ball, all mashed & cut up so it’s easy to eat, the sweet potato & rissoles can be frozen take out the day before put in fridge to thaw….
I also feed Canidae kibble have a look at the Canidae Pure Meadow Senior the fat is 10.8% max, or Canidae Life Stages Platinum fat is 8.5% min you”ll need to email Canidae for max fat % there’s also a wet tin Platinum fat say 4% but it hasn’t been converted to Dry Matter so it will be around 16 to 20% fat so its a must to email the pet food companies,
I feed 5 meals a day 7am 9am 5am is kibble & 12pm & 8pm is wet food.. I live Australia & our Royal Canine comes from France not America our ingredient list is a bit better, I would start looking for other wet tin foods to feed, have you read the ingredient list in the Purina EN? Purina uses by product meats….. I like the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable Stew but we can only get the small 156g cans now so I was going to make my rissoles sweet potato & add the I/d Stew…. ask vet can you try low dose of Prednisone for her pain, 5mg my vet said steroids taken in morning is best same with the Losec best to take of a morning…

It’s awful watching them in pain, Patch is a real talker & whinger, he tells me when something is wrong, he lifts his front paw up, at first I thought he wanted me to shake his paw, (he’s a rescue) but he kept pulling his paw away when I went to shake his paw, then lifting up his paw again, I realised he wants me to rub his stomach & pancreas area….
Have you joined the “Canine Pancreatitis support group” on F/B I hope this very long post something will help your girl…. she will probably also feel sick some days, the Losec will helped with the nausea, I would be making her comfortable, the Losec starts working in 12 -24hrs so when you do stop the Losec its still in their system for 12-24hrs, even if you give the Losec every 2nd day & see how she goes but in the end I give it every morning now… Patch is nilly 9yrs old weights 17-18kg =40lbs… I just remember if you want to stay with Vet Diets look at the Royal Canine PR Potato & Rabbit but I think the fat is too high in the wet tins, one of the Potato formula’s is lower I think its the PV-Venison but R/C has stopped making the PV you’ll have to contact Royal Canine..

[Susan J]

There’s a formula to figure dry matter fat content. It’s here on dogfoodadvisor.com Or you can use this online calculator, aimed at cats, but I assume it would be the same for any pet food.

http://fnae.org/dmb.html

I figured the Tylee chicken at about 34% fat. Maybe this isn’t a fair comparison, but the bag of Canidae dry I just bought is 13% fat using the dry matter calculation. I top kibble with a couple tablespoons homemade chicken or whatever I cook for the pup to increase palatability. The Tylee could be used in the same way, limiting fat but making for a tasty meal when topping kibble. Or maybe that amount of fat is appropriate for working dogs.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Susan J.

[anonymous]

What is the big deal about adding a spoonful of real food (chopped cooked chicken breast, lean cooked hamburger, a bite of scrambled egg) mixed in with the kibble. Feed twice a day, measured amounts, pick up after 10 minutes and store in fridg offer at the next meal time.
Let him skip meals, as long as he is drinking water, if he doesn’t eat times 3 days (he will) consult your vet.
Always have fresh water available, in fact add a little to the kibble and or presoak kibble, especially for seniors.
All kibble is like cereal, no matter how much you pay for it, dry and boring.
How would you like to eat nothing but cheerios for the rest of your life? You might be inclined to skip a meal or two, lol
Ps: If you boil a chicken breast in a little water you will have a pseudo broth (3 day supply) that you can pour over the kibble along with a bite of chicken
Zignature is a quality dry food, maybe he would prefer that? My small breeds vomited when I fed them Orijen, also, the product has changed.

[Muttjunky]

I rescued Freddie one year ago, he is about 8 years old. We also have two other rescued buddies. Freddie ate the dry orijens for about eight months, then turned away. Went for a complete physical and all is great. No issues. Good teeth and gums. Great blood work. He acts healthy and happy and playful ..until mealtime. I made the mistake of thinking in the beginning, when he turned his nose up at the orijens, that maybe he didn’t feel good, so I made boiled chicken and rice, and by doing so, I created a monster. He’s even starting to push the rice away and demand more chicken, which he wolves down. While I don’t mind cooking for a sick dog at all, it’s now obvious that he is just as stubborn as the day is long, and I don’t want to continue cooking constantly for him. It’s like a standoff by his bowl, who will crack first. I’ve never had a more stubborn dude and I’ve had many fuzzys. He needs dog food with all the nutrients, I’m thinking something that maybe resembles chunks of chicken? Wet food that has chunks? Also, I can’t leave it down till he cracks, due to my other two. I’ve already tried a few, but he only wants chicken breast at this point. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I’d like a wet food that is chunky, looks like chicken? Has good palatability….Help!

[HoundMusic]

Honey Bar; please, don’t take that propaganda movie to heart. I don’t doubt the producers honestly believe much of what that video contains, and mean well, but take it from someone who first came across those scare-mongering websites & videos about commercial dog foods around 2001 – the old adage that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions has never been more accurate then when it comes to the controversy surrounding certain dog food brands/ingredients.

The first thing you should know is that Science Diet is not harming your dog. Tumors are mainly genetic. I even have one older dog who developed a fatty lump in the exact same spot that his mother did. I have also had Beagles with cancer eating different brands of canned, dry foods and the raw diet.

Another thing you have to realize is that movies like the one you watched are propaganda films produced by people who have an ulterior motive. That means, they deliberately tell you half truths and play on your emotions, while hiding the fact that the main reason they are against certain companies is because they are large corporations making more profit than those people deem acceptable. They’re called anti-corporation. And some of the big dog food manufacturers, like Iams and Science Diet, feed the formula to dogs and take blood tests periodically to test the results before it is put on the market. Often, this is confused with animal vivisection, and so you will find people who don’t care if the food is good or bad, it’s just that they don’t like the company’s practices.

There are people who would rather your dog fell apart on a “holistic” food (these are all marketing gimmicks) with no such testing behind it, than something sold by one of the larger corporations. I call them Dog Food Social Justice Warriors, because science and facts go out the window, while emotional appeals and propaganda are all they have to offer. They bash ingredients known to be used in certain brands, and hope people will blindly believe that if they say corn will make your dog have allergies, it magically will, or that Ingredient X will cause cancer, then it will, with no scientific proof whatsoever.

I don’t doubt dogs do well on all different kinds of foods, from raw to grocery store to home cooked to high dollar “holistic”, but none of these methods are wrong if your dog is doing well. It sounds like your dog is VERY well taken care of. Twelve years old is great for a Lab, and if I were in your shoes, knowing today what I didn’t know in 2001, I would leave the dog on the food he’s been eating, and maybe add some small amounts of home cooking or replace a meal here and there with a home cooked substitute if you’re worried. Because switching foods for older animals can definitely do more harm than good. High protein diets like raw can also place a strain on the kidneys, liver and affect the immune system of an older dog in a very bad way 🙁 The raw fed sister of one of my show champion dogs also developed a chronic ear/eye infection which was not treated with conventional medicine, and eventually, after about two years, caused infective endocarditis. basically, the infection traveled to her heart and caused a murmur. So yes, even raw has its risks.

I have lost dogs to cancer on several types of diets, RAW INCLUDED, but one thing they all had in common, from canned to dry to raw, was that they were high meat/high protein diets. Older dogs may need *slightly* more protein than adults, but we tend to feed adult dogs far too much protein as it is, and keep in mind that most of the small company owned holistic diets have no research behind them and have dangerously high mineral levels due to the high protein content. When I said that the road to Hell was paved with good intentions was that by switching a dog doing well on one feed for so long, you might wake up a problem that was lying dormant or cause problems feeding a diet geared more towards marketing trends than what your dog actually needs. Good luck with your dog, and maybe take a look at other sites like the Science Dog Blog or SkeptVet to hear the other side of the story.

https://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by HoundMusic.

[Susan]

Hi, so sad I also rescued a bully bread (Staffy) & Patch was vomiting up undigested kibble 8hrs later also, they have a very un healthy gut….who said she needs soft pallet surgery?? this isn’t the case, her food isn’t being digested, so the body rejects the un digested food & vomits, kibble is the hardest food to digest, no matter what the vet diet dry kibbles say on the front of the bag, raw/cooked & wet tin food digest quicker & are easier to digest then a high carb dry kibble….
if you can borrow the money find a good vet who can do or organize a Endoscope + Biopsies of the stomach, you need to do the biopsies to see what’s wrong in her
stomach & why she isn’t making enough Hydrochloric acid, my boy had the Helicobacter-Pylori + IBD…or ask a vet can he give you the triple therapy meds for Helicobacter-Pylori infection, the meds are: Metronidazole, Amoxicillin & Omeprazole, these meds will fix the stomach & kill any bad bacteria in the gut, but the Helicobacter will come back, Ive been fighting Patches for 3 yrs until he was left on Omeprazole ant acid med this finally helped Patch & a low carb diet
….cause she isn’t digestion her kibble it’s best to change both kibbles especially the Vet Diet they’re crap TRUST ME they do not go soft within 50mins the Hills vet diet kibbles & Royal Canin kibbles take 1-2 hours to go soft but not all the way through, so the kibbles just sit in her stomach so she vomits the undigested kibble back up cause her stomach isn’t working properly,
its called “Hypochlorhydria” low stomach acid where the Helicobacter breeds & lives, she needs meds the ones I mentioned above triple therapy to kill the Helicobacter infection & a diet low in carbs preferably gluten free & more meat then carbs so kibble isn’t good to feed.
… a lot of rescue dogs have Helicobacter cause of their poor diet while growing up also she could of left her mum way to early & never got all the proper nutrients from her mums milk that’s needed for a healthy stomach, now you need to make her gut healthy you do this once her triple therapy meds are finished…
If you want to feed a vet diet feed the wet tin foods like Hills vet diet I/d Chicken & Vegetable stew but Hills have stopped making the big cans of I/d Chicken & Vegetables Stew in Australia & now only make a small 156g can instead.. Patch needs 8 cans a day, you cant afford 8 small tins a day, so he gets 2 cans a day & gets his Canidae or Taste Of The Wild lamb kibble… or buy some chicken breast & sweet potatoes & cook & freeze meals
“Canidae” make very easy to digest kibbles like Canidae Life Stages, Chicken Meal & Rice, “Canidae Pure Meadow” it’s a senior kibble but it won’t matter she’ll get extra Omega 3 & DHA fatty acids & glucosamine in her diet for her bones & it has higher protein & less carbs what is needed for easy digestion & it’s Chicken, Chicken meal & Turkey Meal & Sweet Potato same ingredients as she is eating at the moment BUT will be easier to digest cause the protein is higher…
Start testing her kibbles, get a glass of very warm water, not boiling water just very warm water, add about 2-3 kibbles to the glass of water, does the kibbles float? a good kibble should float & how long does it take for the kibbles to go soft all the way thru?? a good easy to digest kibble should only take about 15-40mins to go soft all the way thru… another very easy to digest kibble is “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, its a single protein limited ingredient kibble & grain free as well, after Patch tried all the crappy vet diets that didn’t digest easy like they say they do, finally 3 yrs later I tried TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & finally Patch started to get better, gain weight & he did the triple therapy meds 3 times as its very hard to kill this Helicobacter-Pylori, he still takes the Metronidazole a low dose 200mg with food on & off when I see he’s going down hill & getting his acid reflux bad again, he takes the Omeprazole (Losec) 8.30am every day now, it’s a ant acid medication cause they don’t make enough stomach acid, the helicobacter breeds & takes over their stomach & lives in the stomach walls & keeps breeding they get bad acid reflux, vomit, eat grass, feel sick, loss weight & cant digest their food properly, she probably gets bad acid reflux as well this is why she is thin & under weight, she needs a IBD Specialist vet….her vet doesn’t seen to be working out why she is thin & why she isn’t digesting her food & vomiting ?? she’s young her gut should be healthy so something has happened in her past her mum may have past on the Helicobacter infection, Ive had it & its awful you feel so hungry all the time & your stomach gets a norring feeling, you need a vet that will listen & knows about IBD..
yes don’t desex her yet she she’s too sick, my poor boy was desexed, vaccinated, wormed, flea, all on the same day that’s what happens here in Australia when a rescue dog is rescued from a pound before going to their career, its straight from the pound to the vets then career…Patch was too sick to be adopted & I fell in love with him & adopted him…..
Your girl needs 4-5 meals a day not 2 big meals, Patch gets 5 meals a day 7am, 9am 5pm he gets 1/2 cup kibble one of the kibbles I mentioned above & at 12pm & 8pm he gets the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable Stew wet tin food…he was getting a cooked meals but last March he started to vomit up the cooked lean pork mince & sweet potato again so he got put back on the Metronidazole & was already taking the Omeprazole ant acid meds & I asked vet can I try the Hills I’d Chicken & Vegetable stew can it has digestive enzymes in it..
Watch her does she lick lips/mouth & swallow, burp? my boy grinds his teeth when he gets his acid reflux, when I first got Patch he was licking & licking his paws continually of a night when he was at his worst, his vet said the licking paws sets off his endorphins then
he would burp….

[Jennifer D]

I have adopted a two year old bully that has some vomiting issues. She was not spayed when I got her, and when I took her in for her appt, the vet said she needed to gain some weight before they would do the surgery. 4 days later she went into heat. Ugh. The problem is that I have a hard time getting her to hold down enough food for her to actually put on weight. She was throwing up a lot (A LOT) while she was in heat, and it seemed to have calmed down for a few days after her heat was over. Now she is vomiting about 8 – 10 hours after she eats a meal, undigested kibble – I have been feeding her the Natural Balance Chicken & Sweet Potato Dry Dog Formula, watered down to soften up the kibble a bit, mixed with the Prescription ID formula for digestion issues. I am not sure why she isnt digesting the food, but I am hesitant to change her food as it seems to be so hard with her sensitive system. Does it mean anything – the fact that it sits in her system for so long undigested? Also, I am thinking she needs the soft pallet surgery and might wait to get her fixed till I can afford to do both surgeries at once so she only has be be put under once. She basically has sleep apnea and has a hard time breathing at night. Any suggestions are welcome!

[Cameron B]

Thanks @Fiona S for calling that out. I am just starting to learn about alternatives to dry food.
I have been feeding my 40lbs Aussie Tylee’s for about 3 weeks now, and she loves it, but I didn’t even think to look at the fat content.

And the costs are high…at 3 cups a day it costs me $120/month for Tylee’s
96 ounces = 12 cups. 3 cups a day only provides me with a week supply so at $30/week adds up.

So I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do…may try out Darwin’s but that costs a little more than I was wanting to pay.

[Marie P]

This was set up for a 11 month old Boston Terrier at 16 pounds )
YOU will need to ADJUST the feeding amount for your Dog’s Weight

VERY Easy
WE have had Good luck with this Recipe:
This recipe uses egg as a binder; bake it like a meat loaf, with bread crumbs. As presented here, with these ingredients, it is about 30 percent protein, 25 percent fat, and 38 percent carbohydrates.
If you need Wheat FREE bread crumbs – here is a link: to Gillian’s Foods
http://www.gilliansfoodsglutenfree.com/products/index.php?cPath=29&osCsid=15aad74dac45e25945dd8f62963644c1

FEED Daily: for the Boston Terrier:

2 ( 1 inch size slices of the meat loaf ) 2 x per day ( for you size dog ) ( 15-18 pound dog )

( at night you may want to do 1 1/2 slices ) – JUST see if he is hungry

SNACK-
( FEED 1/4 cup of a quality Dry ( LOW grain or NO grain Kibble per day ) – as a snack

WE like the Fromm’s Brand of Dog food – also Blue Buffalo is good:

Recipe:

CHOOSE 1 meat:

2 lbs fairly lean *****( YOU will do Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey ) ( skip the beef )/ for this month-

3 cups of bread crumbs – plain – See Wheat free link above if you need it –

1/8 of a cup 2 % low-fat milk

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons of CRUSHED eggShell — – Smash it ( it’s for Calcium)

1/2 cup cooked vegetables ( green beans/peas/ others) ( grated and mush) *** ( TRY GREEN BEANS but cut them up orSmash them )

( do not put the NuVET into the Recipe ) –

(YOU can not balance this Recipe without a Quality Supplement)

*** 1 NuVET wafer vitamin ** each day – see below: ( PER DAY PER DOG ) ( NuVET is a must to balance out home cooking )

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon LOW SALT tamari soy sauce

order your NuVET here- I do get a small % and give BACK to Pet Rescue

go here: http://www.nuvet.com/81098 ( you are looking for the NuVET Plus Wafer ) – if you go on auto ship you save 15% on every bottle
use my Name if they ask you – Pet Nurse Marie

BAKE
* press the mixture into a casserole dish so it’s 1 to 2 inches thick and bake at 350°F for 30 to 35minutes, or until set and lightly browned.

[Rachel K]

Hello I was wondering on people’s opinion of this RC variety of food.

I’m from Australia and I’ve noticed that the “Endurance 4800” sold here appears to be different to the ones I’ve seen sold overseas. I don’t feed RC (the dry food I feed is a grain free brand called Ivory Coat; lamb/kangaroo 36% min protein 18% min fat; highest protein kibble I’ve seen in Australia) but this variety intrigues me because its one of the higher protein kibbles’ available in aus and definitely the highest fat.

This is what the composition is listed as on the Australian website:

COMPOSITION: dehydrated poultry protein, animal fats, rice, vegetable protein isolate*, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, vegetable fibres, fish oil, minerals, soya oil, psyllium husks and seeds (1%), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides (0.2%)), hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin). ADDITIVES (per kg): Nutritional additives: Vitamin A: 22300 IU, Vitamin D3: 1000 IU, Vitamin E: 700mg, E1 (Iron): 48 mg, E2 (Iodine): 4.8 mg, E4 (Copper): 15 mg, E5 (Manganese): 62 mg, E6 (Zinc): 187 mg, E8 (Selenium): 0.09 mg – Technological additives: Clinoptilolite of sedimentary origin: 10g – Preservatives – Antioxidants. ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein: 32%, Fat content: 30%, Crude ash: 8.1% *L.I.P.: Protein selected for its very high assimilation.

Thoughts are appreciated 🙂

I hope this post is allowed

[Fiona S]

I have recently tried Tylee’s Turkey Frozen Dog Food. I like it and I like the company but there are a few things to consider about it.
1. It arrived quickly and VERY well packed, product was as frizen as if ut just came out a deep freezer.
2. My dog likes it and actually ate all the fruits and veggies from it which he never does.
3. It does say it meets AAFCO standards for all stages of life
BUT
4. Calculating on a dry matter analysis the fat content is about 38% which is double the fat of most other commercial dog foods. I would be extremely cautious about feeding this exclusively due to the potential for pancreatits.
5. It may be just as well that the fat content is too high to feed exclusively as it is EXPENSIVE! The 96oz bag equates to 12 cups of thawed food, that is almost $3 a cup and my dog (80lbs) would need almost 5 cups a day.

I absolutely appreciate what Chewy are trying to do to improve healthier options to kibble. I like that you can easily contact a fairly well informed human at the company. I called and mentioned my concern about tue fat content and asked if they could consider a low fat option.

I love that they do a turkey and a pork option as my dog cannot eat chicken or beef.

My dog is raw fed but he seems to get bored and this was one way to get him to eat a few antioxidants. I defrost a cup or so in the microwave at 50% for 2 minutes .. the bag has a ziploc seal, it is very convenient to store and use.

I am happy to add one cup a day to his raw diet .

Overall I would applaud chewy for bringing this out, I am hoping they will do a reduced fat version. Oh and they just launched a Tylee’s jerky treat. It’s reasonably priced with nothing other than the meat .. and it comes in turkey and pork which is great for all the chicken and beef sensitive dogs out there. Have ordered it and am waiting for it to arrive. Hope this info helps 🙂

[elaine c]

smart girl… I wish more dogs were that smart. Dry dog food is convenient for you and terrible for dogs… check out Answers Pet Food. You will never look back.

[Susan]

Hi Matt,
Sounds like your dog has Seasonal Environment Allergies & Food Intolerances. My boy has both, his vet said if they have food sensitivities they normally will have some type of environment allergies as well… as soon as I read your post about his hives on his legs, tail & abdomen I knew environment allergies probably from grass, tree or plants pollens, that’s what Patch gets as soon as Spring starts, my vet said, keep a dairy & as the years pass you’ll start to see a pattern & I did every spring Patch has itchy hives all over his body & face/head, red paws when he walks on wet morning grass, a yeasty smelly mess, but thru the cooler Winter months he’s pretty good, no itchy skin or red paws as long as he doesn’t walk on wet grass or eat any foods he’s sensitive too, Winter we get a break,…
Baths are the best thing you can do, bath as soon as he’s real bad with his hives & itchy skin, give him a bath, I do weekly baths now but I was bathing every 2nd 3rd day at one stage, I use a medicated shampoo “Malaseb” medicated shampoo it’s mild & can be used daily & kills any bacteria, yeast on the skin & keeps their skin nice, moist & soft, when you bath your washing off any allergens, pollens & dirt that’s on their skin, I also use creams on his paws, head around chin & around tail & bum area when he’s bum surfing on my rug, “Sudocrem” is excellent it stops his itchy bum within mins of applying it, Sudocrem is a healing cream for Nappy Rash, Eczema, Dermatitis, Pressure Sore etc, sold in the baby section at any Supermarket or Chemist, the Sudocrem acts as a barrier & protects their skin especially their paws & where their skin is red/pink on stomach area & back of legs, I’d love to show a before & after photo’s after a lady applied the Sudocrem to her dogs red stomach, it’s posted on the Dog issues allergies F/B group link below. I also use Hydrocortisone 1% cream at night I check Patches whole body before bed & if something is still red like in between his toes, I get a cotton tip & thinly apply some Hydrocortisone 1% cream, when he wakes up in the morning all his paws are nice & pink all clear again, you can put on socks & bandage around the paws to stop any licking as licking makes things worse, best to bath the paws in Malaseb & dry them off then apply the Sudocrem,

The only way to know what foods your boy is sensitive too & can eat, is to do a “Food Elimination Diet”… you can use a vet diet like “Royal Canine” Hypoallergenic wet tin food, then once your dog is doing well & not reacting start adding 1 new ingredient to the R/C HP wet food, every 6 weeks add 1 new ingredient, no treats or any extra things are to be feed while your doing an elimination food diet, it can take a dog 1 day up to 6 weeks to react to an ingredient & show symptoms, that’s why sometimes you’ll start a new food & think your dog is doing really well then 3-4 weeks later he’ll start reacting to an ingredient in the new kibble…
Probably half the foods you think he’s sensitive too he isn’t..
I tested & added ingredients that are in the kibbles I wanted to feed… I worked out my boy reacts to chicken, he gets red paws, itchy yeasty smelly skin & itchy bum after I added raw & cooked chicken to his diet, carrots made his ears real itchy & he’d shake his head 20mins after eating the chicken & carrots he reacted, oats & barley made Patches poos very sloppy, I always thought potatoes & peas were causing Patches yeast problems cause potatoes are a high sugar starch but later I learnt a dog will only get yeasty smelly skin, paws & ears if they’re sensitive to a certain ingredient (CARF) or have environment allergies.. Read this link “Myths & Fact about yeast Dermatitis” scroll down to “Carbohydrates & Sugar in your dogs diet. http://www.healthyskin4dogs.com/blog/2015/9/8/facts-myths-about-yeast-dermatitis-in-dogs, Dr Karen Helton Rhodes DVM DACVD often pops into this Face Book group called “Dog issues, allergies and other information support group” join you’ll learn a lot..
Once you have done the Elimination diet, you’ll know what foods are causing what but its best to do a elimination diet in the cooler months Winter when pollens aren’t as bad as the Spring/Summer months..
Can you cook or feed a raw diet? you’ll have better control with your dogs diet, even if you do what I’m doing, I feed a few meals “Canidae” Pure Wild Boar kibble & the other meals are wet tin food Royal Canine HP wet tin or cooked pork rissoles with sweet potatoes. Patch eats 4-5 meals a day, he has IBD as well, if you join the Face Book group I recommended above https://www.facebook.com/groups/240043826044760/
you’ll read some people post their dogs are allergic to mites & the mites are in the dog kibble, or your dog may be allergies to dust mites in your house…. dog allergies starts to get very confusing & as they get older they get worse, but once you get into a routine with weekly or twice a week baths, apply creams, using Huggie baby wipes Coconut oil wipes or Cucumber & Aloe wipes when the dog comes back inside wipe him down days you don’t feel like bathing him & work out his food intolerances.. it gets better..
Here’s a link for Canidae Pure formula’s, the omega 3 is balanced in Canidae kibbles, some brands of kibble are too high in omega 6 & too low in omega 3 causing skin problems in dogs.. http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Zignature is another food people say has helped their allergic dog….Make sure your dogs diet is high in Omega 3 it will help with their allergies, ad few sardines to 1 of your dogs meal a day.. buy tin sardines or salmon in spring water also green lipped mussels are good to give as a treat.

[zcRiley]

Stay away from Purina, and brands they bought out. Try the Zignature line of dry dog food. #1 for allergies and gastrointestinal issues.

[Rachel K]

I mix animal sources in food; when feeding fresh foods it is crucial to avoid deficiencies.

The aim with mixing it up in regards to avoiding food allergies/intolerances developing when feeding dry is to make sure the dog doesn’t eat exactly the same thing day in day out for the rest of its life so you’d mix/rotate over time so they aren’t eating the same thing 🙂

[william m]

First time posting. I have a one year old female lab/newfie mix. She is a rescue dog that was on a diet of Wild Callings rocky mount medley. For the first few months she ate the food no problem, then she wouldn’t go near it. I tried several other foods, Fromm, Earthborn Hollistics, Merrick Back Country infused and Nature’s Variety raw boost.
She would start off fine with all of them, then all off a sudden stop.
I have tried adding a little canned food to the kibble and that worked for a while, then she started picking out the canned food and leaving the rest.
Now she will only eat canned food.
I had my vet check her out, no problems.
She is on a schedule, food at 7am and 4:30pm.
I leave the food for 30 minutes, then take it away.
I tried leaving the food to see if she will eventually eat it, but she won’t touch it for days.
Should I be concerned or is my dog just a picky food snob.
Thanks.

[Ann O]

I am trying to figure out best food for my dogs. A toy poodle who is 10 and a terrier who is 5. I have been buying from a online place. My food has started getting bad reviews. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I feed them dry food and boiled chicken breast. My dogs are both rescue dogs. Also what is best rawhide and treats for them.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Ann O.

[Anna B]

My dog has those exact symptoms with a food he can’t tolerate and he also has environmental issues. We’ve had luck with Petcurean’s Go! Sensitivity + Shine Limited Ingredient Diets. He specifically does well on the duck but I know they have salmon, turkey, duck, and venison formulas in their limited ingredient line. It doesn’t have potatoes but does have peas/lentils. If you aren’t certain that peas are a problem, I would recommend giving it a try! The Honest Kitchen Zeal is fish and sweet potatoes, so that might work for him. Finding a dry dog food that only has sweet potatoes as the binder in the kibble is difficult. Have you considered trying a commercial raw food?

[Susan]

Hi Mike are you 100% sure it’s not acid reflux?? that’s what Patch does, its like reverse swallowing, he was doing it after eating certain kibbles, doesn’t do it when he eats wet foods, only sometime with kibbles, not since he’s been eating Canidae or Taste Of The Wild kibbles .. He’d go outside eat some grass & the grass seem to wash the acid down, then he did big burp…
Can you feed a low carb kibble & look at feeding wet foods, just make sure the fat on tin is 3-4%max & under, when you convert a wet tin food to dry matter (Kibble) 5% min fat in a wet tin food when convert is around 20-25% max fat converted to dry matter (Kibble), so 3% min is about 11% fat, I feed wet tin it’s 3.5% fat that’s around 13.7% fat….
Don’t add water to kibble it makes the acid reflux worse I have found, unless all the water is completely drained out, when kibbles is soft then put soft kibbles thru a blender so kibble all fluffs up…Your better of cooking or feeding wet tin foods….
Find a lower carbohydrate kibble look at “Canidae Pure Meadow Senior” it’s grain free the fat is 10.8% max, I emailed Canidae for a neighbor, the carbs are around 37% & protein is 28%-29%, email the kibble companies they will give you accurate % of fat, carbs, protein & fiber %…

Why I always recommend “Canidae” & “Taste of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb is Patch has IBD & gets bad acid reflux & is doing really well since starting the Canidae Pure Wild Formula & when he eats the TOTW formula & I feed cooked & wet tin food, I try to feed less kibble & more fresh whole healthy foods….
http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

[Mike E]

it’s weird. he doesn’t scarf. he’s a single kibble at a time dog. and the symptoms don’t persist. they only persist till he gets a little liquid in his food and it seems to wash away anything causing him trouble swallowing, which means he can finish his meal without a cough or wheeze.

I’m going to start pre-soaking his food and also try experimenting with small bites food for him alone (I live 4 miles from a tractor supply so I can grab a 5 lb bag of 4health small bites to experiment) … he gets soup broth in his kibble half the time anyways so that’s probably why I don’t see it more often. it’s only a rarity and ONLY on completely dry meal. I was just double checking to see if I was missing anything important. But like you said,

[Mike E]

I have a quick question. My half whippet/terrier mix has always been a slow and picky eater (unlike his boxer/shepherd sister who can inhale 2 cups of food in 30 seconds flat). I’ve been feeding them both Sportmix Wholesomes the last 8 or 9 months and I noticed that three times in the last 2 months (once about a month and a half ago, twice this week) my whippet/terrier starts eating his food and then part way through the meal starts wheezing/rasping at every bite. It’s like right after a bit he really tries to get it down and you can see him swallowing a couple times to get the food down like it’s stuck in the throat. The first time it happened I got super worried, but I figured out really quickly that if I pour a little water or chicken stock in his food that it suddenly clears up. Like instantly. he drinks a little broth and the wet food just goes down like butter. No more hacking/wheezing trying to get it down.

my SUSPICION is that the sportmix wholesomes kibble is just a bit big for him and a whole dry piece gets lodged in there sometimes making a temporary obstruction during his meal. The Sportmix wholesomes isn’t super big for a 27 lb dog, but it’s more like medium size kibble …bigger than the smaller bites of Victor or the like… Am I right that the kibble is probably getting stuck in his throat (this only happens once in a while, 3 times in 2 months being fed twice a day) and it always instantly goes away if the kibble has moisture or broth added to it.

I was thinking of switching him alone over to a small bites formula, or making his food into a soupy mix with water or broth but wanted to make sure there wasn’t something super obvious I was missing.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Mike E.

[sb020]

Hi Susan,
Riley is doing well on the Hill’s® Prescription Diet® i/d® Canine Chicken & Vegetable Stew, and I am trying to transition her to dry food, which is currently Annamaet Grain Free Lean (fat 7%-9%, max fiber 3.5%, 350 kcal/cup). I had been mixing it into the stew with a gradual increase every two days. When it was 1/2 kibble and 1/2 stew, she had no problem, but when it was 3/4 kibble and 1/4 stew, her nausea occurred. All your information was extremely helpful, especially that test to see if the kibble is easy to digest. Thank you very much!!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by sb020.

[Susan]

Hi Charisma sounds like his Helicobacter is back & it’s BAD.. Patch gastro specialist told me,
all dogs have the Helicobacter but cause they have a healthy gut it doesn’t take over but dogs with IBD the Helicobacter seems to take over….
this happened with Patch the Helicobacter kept coming back real bad until I left him on the Losec (Omeprazole) ant acid reducer we were going around & around in circle as soon as I killed the Helicobacter & stopped the Triple Therapy, 3-4 weeks later it was back taking over his stomach again, then I did soooo much research & spoke with my Gastrointestinal Specialist Dr & he said give him the triple therapy course meds again BUT this time we changed the Amoxicillin too another stronger antibiotic that is used to kill the Helicobacter, I cant remember name, it started with a C, he also said this time when the course is finished he must stay on the a stronger ant acid reducer Omeprazole (Losec)…..
Your boy needs the triple therapy 21 day course again, maybe he was never given it??? did he ever take Metronidazole (Flagyl) he would of improved while taking it then when it finished he would of went down hill again some dogs stay on a very low dose of the Metronidazole for the rest of their lives….
Ask vet for Metronidazole, Amoxcilin & Losec & after the 21 days when Metro & Amoxicillin is finished he must stay on the Losec 20mg, Losec is best given of a morning…..Losec is called Prilosec in America…. also you can not just stop taken Losec after it has been taken for 3-4 weeks, it needs to be reduced real slowly cause the Hydrochloric acid in the stomach comes back full on, triple amounts of Hydrochloric acids are made & your in a lot of pain until the stomach works out the right amount Hydrochloric acid to make, sorta what’s happening now to his stomach, I always make sure I tell people so they know this, you can miss one dose of Losec cause it last in the body for 24 hours but then you need to take the Losec,….
I cant believe the Vets haven’t pick this up…… after 4-5 days after taken the triple therapy meds he will be a new dog & sleep again he’ll start to feel better again & wont be starving hungry all the time & have stomach pain, the Metro & Amoxicillin must be given every 12 hours with a meal, I think the Losec is taken just the once a day, I cant remember cause Patch was put on Zantac in the beginning taken twice a day but the Zantac didn’t help his acid reflux.. feed 4-5 smaller meals a day & change his diet….can you cook his meals & freeze them? also give some Liquid Mylanta 4-5 mls 1 teaspoon, it will settle his stomach & help kill the Helicobacter, for now if he’s up thru the night, researchers have found when Pepto Bismol is given with the Triple therapy meds it kills the Helicobacter as well, I gave it to Patch for 5 days then he didn’t want the Pepto Bismol no more so I stopped given it to him & went back to the Mylanta only when he needed it thru the night …. I know when something works for Patch he lets me give it to him but when a medication causes any side effects he runs away & doesn’t want that medication…. Mylanta seem to work better & it doesn’t have asprin in it like the Pepto Bismol has..
I’ve had the Helicobacter years ago before I rescued Patch & you are starving hungry 1 hour after you eat, the food takes away the pain but as soon as food is digest it all starts over again & the acid in your stomach is awful, norring feeling in stomach, you feel depressed & miserable….Patches vet tells me Patch was very lucky I rescued him cause she wouldn’t of thought about Helicobacter but cause I’ve had it 3 times in my 20’s I knew all the symptoms….
He needs Losec (Omeprazole) ASAP & the Metronidazole, my vet gives me repeat scripts for the Losec & Metronidazole so I can just go to chemist & get when needed & since Patch has been on the Losec he sleeps thru the night & is doing really well also he needs gluten free diet low fiber, low carbs & no beet pulp diet, the Beet Pulp breeds the Helicobacter more…I would be trying a new diet as well, look at the Canidae Pure Meadow Senior kibble it will keep him feeling fuller longer & is easy to digest & feed some of his other meals with cooked sweet potato & a lean white meat all put thru a blender or finally cut up he’d be gulping his meals…. also can he eat the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic wet formula instead of the LOw Fat Intestinal? the fat is low at 2.5% email Royal Canine America what’s the fat % is when converted to dry matter (Kibble) it say’s 2.5% so converted would be around 7-9%max fat if it were a kibble the American HP wet tin is lower in fat then the Australian made R/C HP wet…. but when the fat & protein is lower the carbs are higher….
I hope ur vet listens & you gives you the Triple therapy meds or even if you can get the Metronidazole & the Losec you will see a big difference in 1 week, I know when Patch feels better he’s naughty & gets all his toys out..

[Susan]

Hi Charisma
What are you feeding him, what medications is he on?? has he been checked for Helicobacter & acid reflux? had Endoscope + Biopsies done?
He sounds like my boy 4yrs ago, when I rescued him he was put on a vet diet for his skin allergies, the vet diet gave him Pancreatitis fat was way too high 19% fat & that was the start of Patches misery, I found with my boy the vet diet dry kibbles made him worse….
My boy was diagnosed thru Endoscope & Biopsies, it said IBD {to look further with exploratory surgery} I wouldn’t do & Helicobacter-Pylori…… the Pancreatitis, food intolerances & skin allergies we already knew, he’s at his best now finally after 3yrs, he’s better in the cooler months, no environment allergies, his immune system isn’t in over drive…..
When Patch was having the rumbling, grumbling bowel, pacing back & forth wanting me to rub his stomach/pancreas area, wanting grass 2am 4am & thru the day, later I learnt it was Colitis from food intolerances/sensitivities… do you know what helps the best when this was happening, liquid Mylanta, not pink Pepto Bismol that has asprin in it, plain & simple liquid Mylanta, 5mls, 1 teaspoon would settle all the gases going thru his stomach & bowel…….
Are you seeing a new specialist, someone with new eyes, with all his results?? I keep diaries every single year & read back, this vet told me to keep a diary …. I saw 4 vets until I found Patches vet he see’s now & she also suffers with IBD, she understands & knows what I’m talking about when I tell her about Patches symptoms……

They break your heart watching them suffer, I didn’t know a poor dog could suffer so much with all these symptoms, now when I read a post, I know what that person & poor dog is going thru….
I have to feed 5 smaller meals a day, I can’t feed 1 whole cup of kibble for 1 meal, he gets bad pain, I can only feed 1/2 cup kibble at one time, that’s hand feed, I feed 2 kibbles at one time in a raised bowl so he chews the kibbles & doesn’t just swallow the whole hard kibble, I only feed kibble at 7am, 9am, 5pm, 1/2 a cup & wet tin vet diet Royal Canin Hypoallergenic at 12pm & 8pm, I have to rotate Patches kibbles, as soon as I see he’s not well & starts his whinging & lifts up his right paw for me to rub his stomach/pancreas area I know something is wrong & rotate kibble & foods, I stop feeding whatever he’s eating & feed something else…..
Hills vet diet kibbles & Royal Canin vet diet kibbles made poor Patch worse…only the kibbles…..

[Susan]

Hi sb020,
My boy is a Staffy same as your girl got the white fur & pink skin he’s 8 & 1/2 years old now & has IBD, Pancreatitis & Skin Allergies & it has taken me 2-3 years to work out his diet for all his illnesses, I found “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb limited ingredient, single protein kibble helped with his IBD & firmed up his poo’s, he seems to do real good on the TOTW kibble, it only has 338Kcals per cup & TOTW uses Purified water & Patch doesn’t get his Pancreas pain, no acid reflux, no vomiting & no nausea, but the fat is 15%max…. then I tried other kibbles I thought he can handle the TOTW 15% fat kibble but I didn’t realise the Kcals were over 400 Kcals per cup, so that means the kibble is more dense & is harder to digest, he gets his bad Pancreas pain & whinges for me to rub the area where his Pancreas is when he eats kibbles over 380Kcals per cup… also when a kibble was higher in carbohydrates & fiber, over 4%-fiber he gets his acid reflux & Pancreas pain & seems unwell, then I read higher fiber diets aren’t good for dogs with Pancreatitis…..
Now I rotate between a few different foods, I feed 4-5 smaller meals a day, Patch can’t digest 1 cup of kibble all at once, it must start to expand & sit in his stomach & something happens & he start having his pain, so I give about 1/2 cup kibble at 7am, 9am 5pm & then his wet tin vet diets at 12pm & 8pm…. I was cooking for Patch lean pork mince rissoles with a whisked egg, some chopped up broccoli, chopped parsley, a leaf of kale & 1 grated carrot all made into a small round rissole ball & baked in the oven then I boiled some sweet potatoes all cut into 1 spoon size & I’d freeze sections so I just took out the day before & put in the fridge to thaw, I added NAS Digestavite Plus powder to balance the meal but the beginning of this year I changed where I buy my lean pork mince from & the fat must have been higher & Patch started vomiting & vomiting up un digested rissole he got his bad pain right side & was put on the Hills I/D Chicken & Vegetable stew, I think they use chicken & pork liver it doesn’t have as many ingredient & there’s no Beet Pulp like all the other Hills I/D wet formula’s has, he starts his scratching & is a bit itchy but he gets better with his Pancreatitis & like my vet says just bath him twice a week & add his cream….
I do not use any of the Vet diet dry kibbles they are all too hard to digest, I do a simple test, get a glass of very warm water & put about 2 kibbles in the cup/glass, a good easy to digest kibble will float to the top of the water & only take about 15 to 30mins to go soft all the way thru, all the vet diet kibble & other some premium kibbles sink to the bottom & can take up to 3 hours to go soft all the way thru Purina, Sensitive Digestion, Hills vet diets & Royal Canin vet diet kibbles are the worst for digesting & these formula’s are for dogs with intestinal stress ….
When I was feeding kibbles that were hard to digest I didn’t know & poor Patch got his pain, nausea & would sometimes vomit back up all the in digested kibble 4 to 8 hours later, it would say easy to digest on the kibble bag…
“Canidae” is another excellent kibble look at their “All Stages Platinum” has both grains & potatoes but very easy to digest & is around 8-9% in fat, fiber is 4%max, Kcals are 342 per cup & Canidea “Pure Meadow” grain free, 10.80% max fat.. http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
You don’t mention are the foods you feeding wet or dry or both?? was the vet diet the wet tin food & which I/D formula is yoiur girl doing good on? I feed the Hills I/D Chicken & Vegetable stew 156g tin & the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic wet tin food cause Patch has food intolerances, I cant feed certain ingredients he starts getting real yeasty & itchy skin, paws & ears, chicken makes his paws red & skin itch but it doesn’t bother his stomach & bowel & cause any Intestinal stress, so I rotate when something has chicken in it & he only gets it a few days then I stop & feed the Royal Canin HP wet tin food, you may find it easier to go thru a Nutritionist to make a special diet & use “Balance it” to balance the meals.
https://secure.balanceit.com/ there’s recipes on this link for Balance it..
Maybe stick with the Hills vet diet for a few meals & feed another brand kibble for the other meals, feed 4 smaller meals a day, like what I’ve been doing with Patch & he’s doing well again…..

If you go on this face book join this group. “Canine Diabetes Support and Information” then look for the “Files” on the left side & click on the 2nd document “CDSI Diabetic food options chart” scroll down to the wet tin foods as some of the kibbles are low in fat BUT are too high in fiber for a dog with Pancreatitis just read the fiber % on any dry kibble you feed & stay around 4% fiber & avoid any weight management/weight loss dry kibbles some are lower in fat but they add more fiber to keep the dog feeling fuller longer….
also when you read the fat on a wet tin food, the fat hasn’t been converted to dry matter (Kibble) the wet tin foods on this chart have all been converted, eg: 11.11% fat DMD there’s a lot of really good wet tin food formula’s if you live in America on this chart….

When you look & read at a wet tin if you read say 4%min fat when you convert 4%min fat that’s around 16-20%max in fat its best to email the food company & ask what is the fat % in ????? when converted to dry matter..

I hope you’ve gotten some good information from my experience with Patch & your girl gets better….

[gsdmama]

My dog gets seasonal allergies, so every spring (Around this time yay! lol). Going to try adding some coconut oil and wild alaskan salmon oil to her regular dry food but honestly I feel like the quickest relief for her is just a trip to the vet. I hate to give my dog drugs but she gets horrible hot spots and a few days on Apoquel clears them right up.

[Susan]

Hi Honey Bear,
yes your young & have realized pet food companies like Hills prefer to spend all their money on advertising & colourful packaging instead of making better quality dogs foods for our pets…you have taken the first steps to make your dogs healthier & live longer..
are you on Face Book, follow “Rodney Habib” he has over 1 million followers not like Skeptvet with only 1100 followers…
Dr Karen Becker & Susan Thixton were one of the first to reveal all these pet food companies & DFA he set up this DFA site all cause of his little dog called Penny
Dr Mikes story is under “ABOUT” up the top left..same as Rodney Habib he started exposing all these dog food companies like Hills, Royal Canin, Purina etc & all their false advertising saying that their food does this & that when they don’t, it all started 2 yrs ago when Rodney found out his 14 year old Golden Retriever (Sammy) had cancer he was like most of us, we didn’t know to turn the kibble bag around & read the ingredient list instead reading the bull on the front of the kibble bag…same as vets when I went to my vets the other day there’s a new light up big Hills stand all along the wall, with all their colourful packaging etc… Rodney’s said his brain went into over drive day & night doing so much research trying to find a way to reverse his dog Sammy cancer & cure for his cancer & Raw Diets kept coming up over & over again, natural whole foods, healthy foods us humans eat are the best to feed our pet, not a dry processed kibble, they found by just adding 2 tablespoons of fresh whole foods to your dogs bowl of kibble reduces the chances of your dog getting cancer, Rodney has heaps of video’s to watch, the best video is “Maggie the oldest dog in the World” you have to watch Maggies story, she pasted away last year age 30 years old, after watching her story you’ll understand why she lived so long….
Rodney Habib found “KetoPet this group of researcher takes dying dogs out of pounds around America that have cancer & were dumped there by their owners after these dogs were put on a KetoPet raw diet these dogs cancer was reversed, these dogs became cancer FREE & then needed to find new homes, its an excellent video showing these once sick dogs acting like young puppies same as Rodney Habibs boy Sammy he’s cancer free now all cause he was feed a healthy homemade balanced raw diet Rodney posted he takes 70mins a day to make his dogs raw meals for the day….

Firstly are your dogs on vet prescription diets, if yes what for? or did your vet just recommend to feed the normal Hills pet kibbles you buy at Pet shops or online pet stores?
Some vets are old school & have been Hills brain washed lol if they’re old school they will say no to a raw diet.. I went thru a Naturopath to put Patch on a raw diet, my vet had recommended I see a vet nutritionist for Patches health problems..
I rescued Patch age 4 yrs old he was in a bad way vets all said the same thing he was feed a poor quality diet probably Aldis or supermarket food, it took me a few years to get his gut healthy again….You need to do it slowly change 1 of the dogs meals say breakfast feed the new cooked diet or raw diet & for dinner still feed the Hills kibble or feed the same Hills kibble & start adding the new cooked or raw food to the meals & take away about 1/4 cup of kibble out of their bowl then the following week increase the new food & take out more of the Hills Kibble till you no longer feed the Hills kibble or just feed the kibble sometimes, have a look at Canidae Pure Meadow Senior grain free kibble http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products Canidae is a small family run business.
… My boy was just put straight onto a homemade balanced raw diet the next day made by the Naturopath with no bone & no organ meat to start with cause he has IBD he did really well except he would regurgitate up digested water & raw food back up into his mouth about 20-30mins after eating it, cause his esophagus had been damage thru old owner using a choke chain on him, he did the same on wet tin food & cooked foods but now 4 yrs later he doesn’t regurgitate wet food no more….
Keep us informed with what you start to do even by adding some cooked left overs from dinner & take away some of the Hills Kibble is healthy….

[pugmomsandy]

Drs. Foster and Smith Signature Series

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/dog-supplies/food/dry-food/ps/c/3307/28497/28498?s=ts&r=2011

[Karyn S]

Hello,

Thank you to all who have contributed such a wealth of information to this forum. I will be welcoming a German Shepherd puppy in about a month and have been trying to determine the best dehydrated, freeze-dried or raw diet to start her on. (I do not have the capacity to do an entirely raw diet, but could add raw toppers to a meal.)

I’ve read through all pages and just when I feel I have a direction, something changes it.

I started with HDM’s latest list, which includes some Raw and a couple of THC dehydrated options for large breed puppies. Since the list is a bit older, I reached out to a couple of the companies (Stella and Chewy’s and THC) specific to average/maximum calcium and received conflicting information, which leads me to believe formulas have changed since list was compiled.

I’m also a member of Editor’s choice and there’s only 1 non-dry food option (FreshPet) noted. I have been researching for hours on end and it seems I am nowhere closer to a decision.

Does anyone have recommendations for a dehydrated, freeze-dried and/or raw option(s) that would be safe for a large breed puppy. I’m trying to avoid feed kibble if at all possible.

Thank you!

[Matt A]

Brief backstory: 4 year old beagle who was completely healthy for the first 2.5 years of his life besides a slight chicken intolerance. I found 3 types of non chicken grain free dog foods that he did well on and would rotate every bag without issue. Seemingly within a few months of him being neutered he started developing protein allergies to all of his dog foods and nearly every other dog food I tried.

His symptoms are: yeast infection in his ears, licking/itchy paws, a more vibrant pink belly than normal, intense itchiness around his body with about a dozen hives on his legs, tail, and abdomen, butt scooting, and a heavy metallic smell from his rear end.

So far the only food that he can tolerate without symptoms has been Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish which seems to have had a formula change since I last purchased it. The challenging thing has been finding food without Chicken, Duck, Beef, Pork, Grains, white potatoes, or Lentils (Primarily Peas/Chickpeas). It seems as though when you go grain free you get a bunch of peas and white potatoes. Since I last purchased this food they seemingly have added white potato protein which may trigger my dogs allergies in the near future. I cannot locate a bag of the old formula nor can I locate another salmon+sweet potato formula that isn’t augmented by white potatoes and/or peas. I am getting desperate. Any help or advice is appreciated.

[Anne A]

I had no idea Merrick was sold to Purina. Perhaps that is part of the problem I have with the packaging being breached. I have thrown away all of the dry food I purchased from them in light of my fear of the contamination.

[Jon K]

I still notice Merrick food and Castor + Pollux are part of the editor’s choice with a 5 star rating. Merrick (who also makes Castor + Pollux) was sold to Purina. What are people’s opinion since the ownership change? I have read reviews on other sites they noticed a quality change. Ingredient wise, they still appear to be quality brands, but I am concerned being under Purina’s ownership now. I am seeking a grain free, low calorie dry food, preferably with smaller kibbles. Hard to find with the exception of Merrick + Castor and Pollux. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[Anne A]

Wow…thank you. It sounds like there are more problems than I thought.

So, Dog Food Advisor, is this something about which you could influence? I don’t think the brand should be rated with 5 stars if they have a packaging problem with their dry food.

Thoughts? I am wondering if I should be concerned about the canned food as well because there may be issues throughout the production facility…may be I am just being paranoid but BOTH my girls have been really sick lately.

[Acroyali]

Sorry you’re having difficulties Lori 🙁 Have you been able to do a search for any holistic minded vets in your area? You didn’t specify if his current diet is dry or wet, most dogs with diabetes (and many with stones) do well with a higher moisture diet than a dry food can offer. I’m not a fan of prescription diets , so I can’t help on that much, but if you’re thinking of trying something else a holistic vet who knows about raw and/or cooked feeding for a dog with health problems would be the person to consult, as when dealing with diabetes and possible liver problems, finding a good diet can be tricky (but not impossible).
I’ve been down your path. It’s frustrating as heck to spend thousands and see little to no improvement, but don’t give up. Contrary to what others seem to think, holistic vets and homeopathic vets are two very different types of practice and have absolutely nothing to do with one another; a holistic vet would be a good option.
Lew Olson at B naturals has a great book on feeding real food to dogs, and has chapters with information on what foods are good for what problems (based on the dogs current lab numbers, something you’ll want to keep up with). Hope this is helpful.