[Susan]

Hi, contact the makers of Blue Buffalo again, can you ring them? this way they will put you thru to the proper section, ask a vet where you live can they place an order & have the dry & wet Blue Buffalo sent to their practice, nothing is impossible, especially when the vet will be getting a new patient & a customer….
Can you make a cooked or raw diet this would be heaps better then feeding a dry kibble… here’s a Natural Home Made raw diet or it can be cooked minus any bones but it gives you an idea what your dog should be eating, look for those ingredients in a kibble, I feed 1 meal cooked & the other meals kibble or wet tin food….
http://naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/Shop/2016/03/15/acidifying-diet-urinary-crystals/

[Susan]

Hi TS, go & see a Dermatologist, as they specialize in in dogs skin….
Yeast can be from Food Sensitivities & Environment Allergies, my boy has both 🙁
I would be feeding a raw diet, go back to a natural diet, what a dogs body is meant to be digesting, dogs have a short intestinal tract, made to digest a raw diet, not a dry kibble, you can buy the dearest kibble BUT it’s still a dry high carb/fiber kibble, most grain free diets are high in carbs & fiber, the grain kibbles that have wheat, corn, maize, rice, oats, barley etc, my boy starts to smell yeasty, itch, get red smelly paws, within 2 days when he eats a kibble with oats, barley, corn, wheat & tapioca which is most of Hills, Royal Canine, Iams & Eukanuba kibbles ingredients…. but your dog may not be sensitive to these ingredients & some dogs do really well & don’t itch & smell yeasty..

If you can afford to feed a home made raw diet then that’s the best or look at the premade raw diets or maybe feed just 1 meal raw with blended greens & the other meal a limited ingredient kibble like “Canidae” Pure Sea very high in omega 3 what is needed for the skin or look for those loaf style rolls in the fridge section, read ingredients first, there are some really good rolls around, I live Australia & we have Crocodile & Tapioca, Kangaroo & Pumkin, Lamb & Rosemary, Kangaroo & Potato specially made for dogs with IBS, IBD & Skin/food sensitivities…
Baths: you need a medicated shampoo like “Malaseb” medicated shampoo, the Malaseb kills the bacteria on their skin & it doesn’t dry out the skin, Malaseb can be used daily & helps put the moisture back into their skin & paws…It’s excellent for yeasty stinky dogs I bath weekly in the Summer months sometimes twice a week it relieves their itch as well..

Omega 3: Omega 3 is needed, some kibbles are not balanced properly & are too high in omega 6 & too low in omega 3 causing skin problems, read kibble packet or on their internet site or email & ask the kibble companies what is the omega 3% & 6% in what ever kibble your looking at feeding, the omega 3 should be 1/2 of what the omega 6% is, so if it says 3.96%-omega 6, the omega 3 should be around 1.80% these percentages were taken from the new Hills prescription diet called Hills “Derm Defense” for dogs with Environment Allergies, Hills is money back guaranteed you could give it a go if your not going to feed a balanced raw diet, the Hills Derm Defense wet tin has Ok ingredients or start with an Elimination diet, but sounds like your boy has environment allergies as well

You need to work out does your dog have food sensitivities to certain foods or does he have environment allergies, it has taken me 2-3 yrs to work out what foods my boy can’t eat & he has seasonal allergies, his vet made me keep a diary & she said you will start to see a pattern with Seasonal Environment Allergies & we did every spring right thru to Autumn then Patch & I get a break thru Winter, Patch is fine thru the winter months as long as he’s not eating foods he’s sensitive too then when spring comes he starts to itch, smell, get hive like lumps all over the white fur sections head stomach red paws, I use Hydrocortisone 1% cream on his paws but first I wash them in the Malseb medicated shampoo then a night when he goes to bed I check out his paws, head & see where’s red & put the Hydrocortisone 1% cream in between his toes with a cotton tip, around his bottom lip mouth gets red above his eye where fur is white the fur starts to thinning out & is real pink, I apply the cream I also use “Sudocrem” sometimes, it’s also excellent as well Sudocrem is sold supermarket & chemist excellent for eczema, dermatitis, rashes, pressure sore.
You both have a big journey ahead, there’s no magic drug Oh there’s Apoquel but its fairly new so please try baths shampoos, raw diet & natural things, also Apoquel doesn’t help if you have a yeast….

Canidae Pure Sea excellent for dogs with skin problems look for a fish kibble when it comes to skin problems but rotate when the season change so your dog isn’t just eating 1 protein, Pork, Lamb, Kangaroo, Salmon/fish – http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

Hills Derm Defense or Skin/Food Sensitivities d/d only cause the omega 3 is high in these foods http://www.hillspet.com/en/us/products/pd-canine-dd-salmon-canned

[T S]

I have a 7 month old Irish Soft coat Wheaten. Brought him home July 22 – stunk to high heaven, but oh well – he’s cute. I’ve always thought he has a worse than normal dog odor. I don’t normally mind dog smell, I get that they’re not humans. But Oscar Stinks! I noticed his first yeast infection in Sept (ear). It dawned on me then, that his front paws are all pink/rusty from yeast as well. Vet doesn’t seem too concerned, but I am. He said try to change food – so I did.
IAMS puppy was what we were sent home with. Slowly changed him to Simply Nourish – chicken. Then, I changed him to Acana Grasslands mixed with Simply Nourish LID lamb because so many people told me to stay away from chicken. He has been on this only a short while (Nov 2nd). In the meantime – once a week baths with TeaTree oil shampoo and vinegar rinses. I dry his feet when he comes in the house. Seems to help.
Still has yeasty paws and another yeast infection in his ear. (noticed yesterday) Also, the groomer said his coat isn’t as full as it should be. She does think that he is going through “greasy teen” change right now, but that his coat should be more thick and healthy.
He licks his paws and groin area often. Doesn’t really bite much, just licking.
I feel comfortable with the food he is on now. What is my next step? My husband thinks I have an over-reactive nose and that he smells fine…..
At what point is seeking a diagnosis necessary – I don’t want to wait until it’s “too late”. I am not sure what to consider as far as why he gets these yeasty flare ups, so I am not sure what to ask the vet.
Thanks from a first-time-dog-owner.

Oh…also – can the yeast live long on his brushes? I groom him often – how do I clean his brush/comb?

[marilyn s]

My 8 year old mini poodle just got another bladder stone infection. After the last one, we tried the Royal Canin prescription canned food, and she hated it. She is not much of a meat eater. So the vet recommended Hill’s prescription diet c/d Urinary Care, dry dog food. I switched to that about 3 months ago. But now I noticed frequent needs to urinate and blood in her urine. The vet put her on Clavamox 125mg 2X a day for 2 weeks. That has helped on all her other occurences. We give her plenty of water and walk her frequently. But I think we have to clean her genital area more often. I will try that now.

[Barb M]

I have a student who is feeding her 1 year old Maltese – Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food and the dog is not eating it without a lot of additives.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a dry food for a Maltese that I could suggest to her.

Thanks!

Barb

[Reiggin H]

My wife and I recently adopted an 18 month old Maltese/Pekingese (coat like a Maltese) that was previously on Royal Canin. He has some really smell poops, lots of gas, and very bad tear stains. He also bites his legs quite a bit. I’m trying to find an appropriate food that will help with a lot of these issues, in particular the gastointestinal ones. I’ve read that beet pulp in food can contribute to bad tear stains and the Royal Canin has that as an ingredient. I’m leaning towards Wellness Core small breed formula but I don’t know if maybe I need to have a higher protein content or a higher Omega 3/6 content? Thoughts?

[Susan W]

I’ve had FANTASTIC success with 3 things: Powdering my dogs w/FOOD GRADE DE powder, feeding them VeRUS OptiCoat &/or Cold Water Fish formulas, and using DerMagic shampoos on them. Itchiness, dryness, irritated ears are GONE!

[Susan W]

Bertha, powder your dog with FOOD GRADE DE powder. Try that for a few days. If it works, your dog has mites.
That being said, go check the VeRUS website for their CANNED food. They have flavors with duck, lamb, fish, and beef liver. VeRUS has some fantastic dry foods, too. My dogs were uber itchy last year. VeRUS cold water fish formula took care of 65% of their itchiness. The balance was cured by DE powder. Anyway, the VeRUS foods come in small kibble pieces so it is GREAT for small doggies!!

[Sarah B]

Hi All, As other reviewers have mentioned on this website and on petfoodreviews.com.au – I HAVE ALSO FOUND BLACK HAIR IN SUNDAY PETS GRAIN FREE ADULT DOG FOOD. I purchased a 1.5kg bag of the Sunday Pets Tasty Holistic Grain Free Adult from an online pet store in Australia and noticed as I was feeding it to my dogs it had allot of black hair / fur baked into the dog biscuits, with some of the hair in clumps, it was very noticeable and I have never struck this in 10 years of buying good quality holistic dog food. I can say with confidence I have tried 80% of the grain free and holistic/natural dog food on the market available in Australia from dry food, tin food to barf. And I have NEVER seen/heard of such large quantities of hair in a baked biscuit. Nor have I ever struck any visible hair/fur in any dog food. I have heard of people in our show/rescue/breeding community striking the odd hair, but not clumps of it, in almost every biscuit. It does not look like ‘herbs’ at ALL, it is definalty some sort of animal black hair, which makes me seriously question Sunday Pets quality control. If ‘meat’ in their ingredients is Lamb, aka Sheep then why is the hair BLACK? After I struck the hair I purchased a 2nd bag, thinking that maybe I had a bad batch, but once again there was black hair in the biscuits of the 2nd bag. I hope the Sunday Pets review their QUALITY CONTROL as the food ingredients otherwise are very good and I like the idea of the large dry biscuits as its good for dogs teeth and digestion. Also my dogs did love the biscuits. I was feeding it to my dogs just as a morning treat as they have barf in the afternoon. I hope in future Sunday Pets make their Ingrediants label more transparent in particular what ‘meat’ and fix the hair issue in the biscuits, until this time I won’t purchase this product again. Regards Sarah (Australia).

[Laura M]

I recently received a wellness stress scan for my 5yr old lab who has always had slight food issues (dry red skin, dime size bumps that dry out and flake, ear infections). Allergies have gotten worse and is allergic to too much to list but here are a few: bison, lamb, chicken, chicken eggs, turkey, green peas, chickpea, kidney bean, herring/anchovy, shellfish, barley, buckwheat, corn, millet, oat, quinoa, white and brown rice, rye, wheat, gluten, white and sweet potatoes, pumpkin and seeds. Any suggestions of food brands to try would be appreciated

[Bertha L]

Was at the vets today. I too have a small 15-lb dog who is scratching the fur right off his body. I’m trying desperately to help him. I have been told not to give him chicken, turkey, or pork. He is a picky eater to start with and likes wet food, so finding the right food is going to be hard. I need to change his kibbles (dry food) also as it contains “chicken meal”. He will not eat kibble with white fish as the first ingrediant. No fleas could be found, so we are assuming a food allergy.
Any words of wisdom from this forum?

BethGL

[Minsway]

Thank you! Yes, I have save food, throw up and stool.
I will look for some of the forums you are speaking of and post .

Yes, Blue Buffalo will pay for the vet bills. Yet you are allowing Blue Buffalo Dry Dog Food Company to pay for your silence. If they pay for your bills, you have no claim and you have no voice.

Im on a mission to “Save A Life Campaign ”
To help those not to experience what my two girls went thought after eating Blue Buffalo Dry Dog Food. They died a horrible death!

[Susan]

Hi CP, what are you feeding her, what is colour of vomit, is there food in her vomit, is the vomit yellow? how many meals a day are you feeding?
High fat diets can cause acid reflux, my boy can’t eat any kibbles or wet tin foods with fish oil or salmon oil, he needs to take an ant acid medication every morning now..also food sensitivities can cause vomiting as well..
See a vet that specializes in stomach problems, sometimes change of diet to a lower fat limited ingredient diet, feed 3-4 smaller meals a day will fix this problem.. also feeding home cooked meals are better then feeding a dry kibble..

[Susan]

Hi, yes Dogs & Cats are dying younger & getting cancer more now then back in the 60’s 70’s & 80’s, our pets were being feed more home cooked meals & less kibble, they weren’t being vaccinated as much, we didn’t have all these toxic flea products, come on, read the instructions to a Flea Spot treatment, it says “Wear Gloves when applying” so imagine what the flea spot on does to our poor pets skin 🙁

Our pets did live longer years ago…Now more & more dogs & cats are dying from cancer &
other diseases….

Have a look at Maggie the oldest dog in the world, she died this year at the age of 30, yes 30yrs old, Maggie lived on a dairy farm here in Victoria Australia, she drank 1 fresh glass of milk straight from the cow 6am every morning till the day she died, she was not feed any dry kibbles, she was feed table scraps, raw & sometimes ate the placentas when the baby calves were born & also ate a dead calves that were born dead…Maggie ran 20-30km a day, about 15km of a morning rounding up the cows & 15km of an afternoon bringing the cows back home, Maggie was only vaccinated when she was a pup & that was that no more vaccinations…

It was all these big kibble companies that put the fear into people, telling them “Do not
feed cooked foods to your dogs, back in the 90’s these big kibble companies started saying home cooked meals & table scraps can kill our pets, they have done studies & proven dogs feed a few veggies & fresh meat added to their kibble 3 times a week reduces their risk of getting cancer..

Rodney Habib & Dr Karen Becker have an up hill struggle trying to educate the world that dry foods (kibble) aren’t as great as they say they are…Image if us humans just ate dry biscuits 24/7 our whole lives, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t live as long as the person who ate freshly made meats & veggies…
Also we do not need to over vaccinate our dogs & cats we don’t get vaccinated every 1-3 years so why are vets vaccinating our pets?? there’s no need, Dr Ronald Schultz studied every major vaccine in over a thousand dogs and every study he delivered the same conclusion, every time vaccines for diseases like distemper, and canine parvovirus, once administered to adults animals provide lifetime immunity.
There’s is no need to vaccinate every year, if your worried then do tilters instead, it’s a simple blood test done in the vets clinic…
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/titers-avoiding-over-vaccination-in-dogs/
your pets will be fine…

Here’s Maggies Story, the interview with Maggies dad, just put your name & email then click sign up, then sit back, it’s a beautiful video Rodney has put together after Maggie passed away this year. there’s also a follow up video underneath Maggies video, Rodney
talking about what contributed to Maggie living so long, 30yrs old.

Home – new

[Carol M]

I’m sorry to hear you’re going through this too, Kelly. This is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

My dog is still doing well & I’m so thankful for that. Her lung lobe torsion occurred after she had the surgery (thoracic duct ligation). They said some fluid build up is normal after surgery but the torsion wasn’t the cause of the chylothorax. She had to have a 2nd surgery to fix the torsion. We tried the low fat diet & Rutin for several weeks before surgery & it wasn’t working; chyle was still building up & she had to be tapped repeatedly. The surgery didn’t work & she had a pleural port put in; we drain the fluid at home.

She is on Royal Canin low fat gastro and I mix the canned & dry food together. She also takes 1000mg of Rutin 3 times a day. Did they suggest Rutin? That’s about the only thing that’s been suggested for chylothorax. That and a low fat diet.

If I had it to do over again I would not have had the surgery. It cost a fortune & didn’t work. It may work for some dogs. I didn’t know about the pleural port and hers was the first one the vet did, but I would try that before doing major surgery if at all possible. The chest taps cause scarring and pocketing in the chest, which can make getting fluid out harder or even impossible. She has pocketing on one side but fluid can still come out.

Most vets have never dealt with this at all and haven’t heard of the pleural port. It’s a much less invasive procedure; the port is under the skin with a tube that goes thru the chest cavity. You use a special needle and after cleaning the area, insert the needle into the center of the port (think it’s silicone) and pull out fluid til it stops. We do it twice a week and get about 800ml – 1000ml out each time. She’s about 30 lbs. so that’s a lot but it’s been that way for 3 years.

I don’t know anything about other foods; she’s been on the Royal Canin since she was diagnosed. The Hills Prescription food is available too but about the same price. I don’t think I’d even consider anything that your dog is allergic to though.

Her protein levels are a little low but not terribly; and she’s at the same weight she was before all this. She eats well & is active & happy. I was worried about the protein loss as it’s said to lead to wasting but that hasn’t happened.

I would ask your vet about the port – info at norfolkvetproducts.com. Maybe even print the info out & bring it with you. And I’d ask about the success rate they’ve had with the surgery; what they think caused the torsion (was it first or was the chylothorax first and caused the torsion) and if your dog isn’t already on Rutin, ask about that too.

And — it may yet resolve on its own — it sounds like it hasn’t been that long. They tried my dog for several weeks on Rutin & low fat diet to see if it would go away before talking about surgery. Don’t let them rush you into a decision – it’s not good but it’s not necessarily an emergency either.

I wish you lots of good luck and please keep us posted! Carol

[Kelly K]

I am so happy to have found this post but so sad to need it. My dog, Tucker, is such a trooper. About 2 weeks ago my boy started with a cough, just the odd cough here and there. In a couple of days I decided to take him to the vet, just before we left he coughed up blood and that was the first sign it was serious. Our vet took blood work and did x-rays and our vet was stymied by the results but didn’t think he had much of a chance but to be euthanized. He seemed perfectly healthy! She said we could try taking him to a veterinary hospital in the city staffed by specialists and surgeons and we drove there that night. Like Lyndzy’s and Carol’s dogs, he was diagnosed with Lung Lobe Torsion. If it was a primary condition and he made it through the night, he was given good odds with the surgery. There was no other option, that or euthanasia and so we went ahead with hope and love in our hearts (…and don’t forget the wallets). He pulled through the surgery really well, was getting the best care and it looked like he was going to come home early, when after 2 days the fluid draining from his chest tube turned from a clear pink to a strawberry milkshake colour and increased from 20-30 mls to over 100. It was chyle. I understand that the situation can resolve on its own sometimes and we are hoping. They took the chest tube out after a few days and sent him home anyway – his recovery is amazing considering he just had a lung removed! But at the first visit back an ultrasound showed the chyle is still building up.

He goes back tomorrow to get the staples removed and assess the situation. I am hoping against hope that it is resolved on its own but I am afraid they will recommend the surgery for it but the results don’t seem to be great, he is still recovering and I’m not sure that my wallet can handle anymore. It is eating me up inside. Everything else is going so well but there is a distinct lack of good information out there.

I was so sad to read about Lisa’s dog – but it gives me hope that yours is doing ok after 3 years, Carol. Lindsay, is your dog doing ok?

Right now he is on the Royal Canin Low-fat gastro wet diet. However this alone is going to bankrupt me at $50/6 days from my vet. I have to find a good, low-fat dry kibble to mix with it at the very least or figure out a healthy low-fat recipe that I can cook. My real problem with this is that he is also allergic to chicken which is a fundamental ingredient in most foods. Prior to this he was on the Holistic Select Salmon, Anchovy and Sardine diet. Very healthy but higher in fat.

My vet said if it says “hydrollised” chicken protein that it is digestible even with an allergy but at this point I don’t want to take the risk. The other brand she suggested is vegetarian with soy as the main protein – I have a lot of misgivings about that due to the protein loss that can accompany chylothorax. He is a very skinny Royal Standard Poodle – 31″ at the shoulder and honestly can’t afford much weight loss. If anyone has any healthy non-chicken low-fat diet recipes they would like to share, I would certainly appreciate it.

I will take the advice on here to heart when I go see the vet tomorrow – as well as any other suggestions, feedback, etc., that you all have. My heart is breaking for my big guy.

[Donna G]

I am looking through the Editors Choice list and not finding many dry foods for my yorkies, which I consider small breed dogs. Any help would be appreciated. They are 6 and 14 yrs old. Weight is 8 1/2 lb and 10 lbs. Looking for a dry food they will really like and is good for them.

thanks, Donna

[Toby B]

I have a few questions regarding switching and/or combining different dog foods. I feed 1/2 dry kibble 1/2 canned food combo to my dog. (he has no food allergies)

1) Regarding the canned food, can I switch up different protein for my dog throughout the week? For example, one day I give a can of lamb, the next day I give chicken. Do I need to titrate and slowly transition into another protein group like I do with changing different brands of dry kibble?

2) I use Merrick canned foods, they have a lot of variety of flavors/selections, is it ok to try a new flavor each day if it’s within the same line (backcountry line)?

[Susan]

Hi Steve, do you know the fat % in wet tin food isn’t like the fat % in a dry kibble, If it says 5%min fat in a wet tin food when converted to dry matter (dry kibble) 5% fat wet is about 22%-26% fat, it depends on the company, some wet tin foods have more fat then others….With Wellness wet tin foods you have to send Wellness an email & ask for the fat % in wet tin foods as dry matter fat %, have a look at Wellness TruFood, Wellness Stews, Core Chuncky Centers, look for wet tin foods around 2% fat also it will say min email company & ask for max fat % in the formulas you like & want to try & the dry matter converted fat %.
My boy gets Pancreatitis & he does the same just stares at me while I’m sleeping & paws at me to rub his stomach & pancreas area…
May I ask when you did cook a low fat meal what did you cook? cause my boy can not eat boiled rice, he gets diarrhea, he can have rice in a kibbles cause it has been grounded down & there’s no boiled cooked rice to irritate his bowel, try boiling potato & sweet potatoes, pumkin, I boil some pumkin & sweet potato then freeze boil sweet potato & pumkin in sections… Cooking is the best, you know what he’s eating & it works out cheaper, I cook once a fortnight, I buy 1kg lean Pork mince or 1kg lean beef mince & make rissoles that I bake in the oven, so any excess fat comes out. I make 1 cup size rissoles, whisk 1 egg, then I cut up some broccoli, parsley, kale, grate 1 small carrot & mix all together & I use scales & make 130gms = 1 cup rissoles, freeze then take 1 rissole out & 1 piece of boiled sweet potatoe or 1 piece of pumkin, sometimes I add both sweet potato & a little piece of pumkin, take out the afternoon before & thaw in fridge for the next day. I feed 1 cut up cooked rissole & sweet potato about 1/3 of a cup sweet potato for breakfast & I’ve just started feeding for lunch & dinner “Canidae” Life Stages Platinum kibble, the Platinum formula is real easy to digest the kibbles are real small so if they don’t chew all the kibbles they are so easy to digest. Patch eats 4 small meals a day.
Patch was real ill about 1 month ago my grandson gave him a Fruit stick, he was put on Hills I/d vet diet he seem to be doing OK but after 1-2 weeks he had his pain again right side, so I took back the Hills vet diet got my $75 back & went & bought some Canidae Life Stages Platinum kibble & Patch is doing real well & sleeping thru the night Canidae Life Stages Platinum also makes wet tin food the fat is 4.5%min you’d have to email Caniidae & ask what it the fat % when converted to dry matter max %, it will be around 20% max fat, so I’ve never bought Platinum wet tin…

[Anna W]

Hi guys, I am looking for folks with similar experiences (hoping for solutions of course).

I just wanted to start with saying that I am an experiences and passionate raw feeder currently getting my qualifications in pet nutrition and someone who has been raw feeding dogs and ferrets for a few years. I needed to say this so nobody assumes that I ‘tried’ to feed my dog raw for 20 minutes and she has a digestive upset.
We adopted our now 2.5 year old female chihuahua at the age of 1 and put her on a raw diet straight away. No issues for the first 6 months. Then these really dry powdery stools started to occur, a few weeks later painful defecation kicked in, she was crying in pain while passing stools really bad and eventually stopped going to the toilet until she couldn’t keep it in anymore. We tried every diet tweak we could think of – more veg, less bone, more offal, more muscle, nothing changed. Thousands of dollars and many tests later (blood, ultrasound, poop exams, colonoscopy) we know that she is not digesting bones properly and passing sharp shards of bones created a lot of inflammation and scarring in her colon. We know that very dry, powdery and small pieces of stool frequently get stuck in her intestines and only come out after a series of enemas. I never knew I would say this but this dog cannot digest bones properly. We still don’t really know if it’s a bone digestion issue or food digestion issue and the bones are the only ones causing pain. When she had her colon completely cleaned out from old hard stool for colonoscopy we kept her on a meat only diet for about a week and she was fine, no pain, her stools were normal size (a sausage as opposed to many small bits coming out in many attempts). Then we gave her some rabbit with bone and the crying came back. It is obvious the bones are causing the problem (and I was refusing to even admit it for a long time) but I am trying to find out WHY she is not digesting them properly. Regular vets are of absolutely no help as they don’t believe dogs should eat bones in the first place. Their diagnosis – some dogs just can’t eat bones. I am desperate to find the answer, the vets don’t even want to keep testing – like is it a digestive problem in the stomach? They already settled with their ideas. Has anyone had a similar issue before? I would really appreciate any leads. I cannot even find anything on the internet. Thanks!

[Lyn M]

Sorry just realised the other site I had looked at was an Australian dog food reviewer.

[Lyn M]

Sometime back I researched Ivory Coat and Stay Loyal dry dog food and found good reviews , Aust products and Aust produced , no grains, but I can’t find it now on yr site . Has there been a change in the quality of the food.

[CockalierMom]

Hi Steve,

I cannot offer any suggestions as to a canned food to recommend for diabetes/pancreatitis but can say that the two brands you mentioned are a lot higher in fat than the RC GILF. The GILF shows 1% min and 2.5% max for fat. To compare canned foods, you will need to convert to a dry matter basis since there is a difference in moisture content. On a dry matter basis, the GILF is 4% minimum and 10% maximum fat whereas the lowest fat TOW is a minimum of 16.5% fat on a dry matter basis and they do not state what the maximum is. This is a huge difference and I think it may be too high but check with your vet to be sure.

The other thing I wanted to mentioned is the GILF contains prebiotics and that is probably why he had a good stool on it and runny when you tried homemade. One food that I know is low fat and low carb is THK Zeal, however he would probably have a runny stool with it unless you tried adding THK Perfect Form or some other prebiotic/probiotic supplement.

Hopefully someone else will be along that can offer some food suggestions based on their experience.

[SHERRI O]

Would I be able to get the recipe that you are using for your giant breed dogs? We have our first mastiff ever, and I would like to feed him raw food, like we do for our Maine Coon cats! We have a recipe for the cats, using raw meat, vitamins, minerals, etc that is what our breeder used. We freeze it in plastic bowls, the same way you do, it sounds like. But the mastiff pups breeder just used dry food, and I CANNOT find a real recipe anywhere for the giant breed of mastiffs! St Bernards are pretty close in size, and in the same family, so I imagine the needs would be the same. Thank you so much for any direction in this search!

[nancy m]

Thankyou everyone. Lucy took to the iodine ok but I won’t used it again given the new knowledge that it can dry out the skin/paws. I did start her on the predisone this morning (reluctantly) because she was pretty aggitated last night. Her food starting today is also at 50/50 Proformatrin and Royal Canin

[Pavo]

Tractor Supply has a $10 off if you spend $50 and sign up for their Loyalty Club (give them an email and phone number).

Also found Tractor Supply had a 5 star canned food 4Health Beef and Vegetable Stew
13 oz for a buck and 22 oz for $1.60. There is some other varieties available at TS for the same price and the ratings vary so check it out before you buy:

/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-canned/

In addition I ended up purchasing a 4 star dry food – Sportmix Wholesomes Chicken Meal and Rice rated 4 stars. A 40 pound bag for about $28. It was “on Sale”
/dog-food-reviews/sportmix-wholesomes-dog-food/

[PuppyMom3]

Background

Our two sweet pups are a medley of health issues. You know the concept of mutts being healthier because of the diverse genetics? Well, our dogs are the one in a million that have (what seems like) every possible issue from the many different breeds that make up their genetics. Both their regular vet and the neurologist theorized this may have been due to trauma in the womb since their mama was malnourished and living on the streets for so long.

A brief rundown of their more major issues include:

1) (Girl -& Boy?-) Severe food allergies with skin reactions and vomiting
2) (Girl) Possible megaesophagus (we have an appointment next month for diagnostics)
3) (Boy) Cerebellar hypoplasia
4) (Boy) Possible degenerative neurological disease (we have to wait and re-test in 6 months for changes)
5) (Boy) Probable mild case of laryngeal paralysis (not officially diagnosed but regular vet is pretty certain and we want to give our boy a break from invasive/sedation testing since he just had an MRI and spinal tap so we aren’t pushing for an official diagnosis at this time)

What I am Trying to Accomplish

With all of these issues going on, I want to make sure their food is as wholesome and non-damaging as possible. Especially since a good diet and exercise therapy can help slow the progression of neurological issues if our boy has a degenerative disease.

Previous Foods/Diets We’ve Used

Blue Buffalo Wilderness
Blue Buffalo Freedom
Taste of the Wild
Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Grain Free. This seemed to work for a while but the skin issues and vomiting have returned.
Homemade diet. This was a pain in the butt. When they were younger and had their initial digestive issues, I homemade their meals for two weeks as an experiment to see if their issues cleared up. They did really well on this diet- no digestive upset, no skin issues, no vomiting, nothing. The down side was it was really time and labor intensive and the cost was astronomical. Since they were younger and in active growth stages, we spent significant time researching their required nutrition and establishing recipes that met those needs. Especially to mitigate the chances of developing hip dysplasia down the road since they are larger dogs. On top of that, we spent nearly $100 a week because hydrated, fresh food has less concentrated nutrients/calories so the dogs needed larger portions than they had with dry food. I am hesitant to go back to this method since I was making 14 cup batches of food every other day (they get just over 7 cups a day between the two of them) and spending more on their food than ours!

Things I am Considering

1) Outlandishly expensive pre-made food. Such as The Honest Kitchen. It seems to have really good ingredients but at $100 for a 10lb bag that will last between 16-20 days for one 60lb dog (so between 8-10 days for 2 dogs) that seems prohibitively expensive. (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/marvel)
2) Outlandishly expensive homemade food. See all the notes above about the pros/cons of this.
3) Some other less expensive option I hear about on here? Labor intensive stuff is a pain in the neck since I work full time, but it is more preferable than spending significant sums of money because my husband is currently not really thrilled with the $100/10lb bag of food option.

Your Suggestions?

I would love to hear from anyone who has used pre-made meals with quality ingredients that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, or who have made their pet’s food at home without spending a fortune. All of the websites and forums that I have found almost exclusively feature people with small dogs (under 30lbs) so their efforts are a quarter of what mine would be under the same circumstances with two 60lb dogs.

[nancy m]

i adopted an 8yo cockapoo 2 weeks ago. prior owners said they needed to rehome her, that she is allergic to chicken and that she continues to occasionally have allergy flareups after vet put her on royal canin about three months ago. I find that lucy scratches a lot and goes extended periods of the day chewing at her hiney, and licking at her paws. I took her to Petco and vet recommends prednisone and a change in food. I’m concerned about putting her on prednisone since i don’t have bloodwork for her to know if it likely is ok for her; also concerned about giving her a med because her record show she had an allergic reaction to rabies vaccine. I know that and prednisone are different but i’m new to this and don’t want to take any chances until i see an experienced vet and until i have insurance in place. Can anyone advise me on what they think i should do;
1) Give her pred/ transition diet (i think i’ll slowly incorporate Performatin Ultra Limited) or
2)Keep her on Royal Canin/ keep her off grass in case this is environmental until i can see a regular vet or
3) Do 2 above but also give her benedryl 2 doses of 25 mlg daily for no more than 4 days until i can see a real vet

Any help is greatly appreciated. I would greatly appreciat an opinion on what you would do if you were me and why. Please also tell me if you’ve owned dogs alot in your lifetime or if you are a novice like me

[Saint G]

Just because you see hoof print, don’t go looking for Zebras……They’re probably horses.

You do not have to go crazy here….Few simple things…First and foremost Great danes are skinny. It does not need to get barrel shaped like a lab.
You have a few very simple problems.
1) stop feeding him pasta…Fattens humans not dogs. Dogs can’t process the semolina flour.
2)chicken is great, use it as an additive to fatten him up.
3) Don’t buy into the “you need expensive food” Crap. Try beniful first ingredient is Chicken and its about $20 per 50lb bag. Feed him 80 oz per day.
4) How to fatten him up- add quaker oats to hi food. Feed him cheap penut butter (if you can-my dane does not like peanut butter) Throw him bread with real butter as snacks…Train him with American cheese slices. All this is great to add pounds.
5) chewing himself- dry skin, probably an issue with the pasta. Put a table spoon of Sa- Flower (not sun flower) oil or coconut oil (more expensive than sa- flower.) Too much will loosen his stool. NB-getting off the pasta and adding the oats and beniful will solid up his loose stool. Also, til the dry skin and loose stool go away, wipe his anus with baby wipes to keep him from getting soar and chewing that.
6) once he is up to weight, you can go off beniful and go to pedigree (I use it its $20 for 55 lbs at tractor supply. if he thins out, switch back. its nice to switch around anyway. OHH and if any idiot tells you to feed him cream, milk or such….do not! will lead to gas you can not stand!!! OMG

[tabia s]

hi i am sorry if the has been talked about already in advance but i have several questions. both me and my s/o received a chorkie, she is 9 month.when we got her she was already eating Purana puppy chow.we have recently noticed she has been losing weight. we have been giving her 1 full cup of her dry food per day, she has just recently received all her shots because her previous owner didnt give her any. our question is what type of foods or dog foods wet or dry will help put some weight on her,maintain it and keep her healthy. any and all advice would be of great value

• This topic was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by tabia s.

[deborah p]

Richard, I found the bad reviews at the bottom of the page for Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Dry food

Thanks Crazy4cats, that makes me feel better. Not sure if I’m posting these replies correctly. New to this site.

[elaine c]

dry dog food in general is not the best, if that is what you are looking for. WHY? because it is so cooked that there are no enzymes or other beneficial things that actually help a dog. Have you ever asked yourself, if we are told not to eat processed foods because they are not good for us, WHY would you start a puppy on processed foods and give it to them their whole life?? dry dog food is convenient for YOU that is all.

[Melodie A]

Just today, my Vet told me to buy either Purina Pro Plan or Royal Canin. What a timely topic. Neither of those brands are rated ‘recommended’ on this site. Yet when I read the disclaimer on this site and that they don’t actually do any testing, but rely solely on the manufacturer, well that doesn’t give me any confidence either.

My Vet said he’s never been keen on Fromm, which is what I have always fed my dog (she is currently on Fromm Gold dry), but I don’t think she has ever loved the food. A recent relocation has caused stress and her appetite is off, causing her to lose 2 pounds which she can ill afford to lose as she’s already on the petite side of her breed.

Would love input……..

[Stella W]

Three weeks ago I purchased Nature’s Recipe Venison and Rice dry dog food serial # 30521 51460, use by 9/1/2017 and fed it to my lab mix and golden retriever. Both dogs became extremely ill, the lab mix was violently throwing up. I took the dogs to the vet the next day where unfortunately they could not save our precious golden retriever. The lab mix stayed at the vets on IV for a day and it took her over a week to recover once she got home. It is very unlikely that both of the dogs ate something else poisonous, if it was one dog than yes, but both dogs becoming extremely ill after eating this new batch of food, I blame the serial # of this food. I have been in contact with Nature’s Recipe and they are testing it. My vet sent in a report.

Come to find out there are now three negative reviews on Amazon.com about this food, two were it directly states this serial # (disclosure one of the reviews is my own), but it seems that it is making other dogs ill.

Has anyone else run into this issue after feeding their dogs this batch # of Nature’s Recipe Venison and Rice? I just don’t want what happened to my dog happen to anyone elses!

[zcRiley]

Zignature Limited Ingredient Formula Dry Dog Food (Turkey, lamb, or duck)

Key Benefits:
Grain-free and limited ingredient formula
Gluten-free diet
No potato, chicken or eggs
Complete and balanced diet for all life stages
Made in the USA

Stay away from all grains, brewer’s yeast and oatmeal anything. Same for treats. Yeast also feeds on oatmeal based shampoo. Bath in Aroma Paws honeysuckle and jasmine formula, all natural. Order food from Chewy.com, ingredients and reviews listed on everything.

Stop all the medications, it weakens the immune system. Wipe out ears daily with a tissue, q-tip out the yeast. Get ear drops from vet and keep at it.

[Sandra W]

My 11 mo old Glen chews at her toes and scratches her ear. This is a recurring problem and has been treated with medications each time. A vet suggested changing her food/treats and I am looking for the proper dog food. She started with a standard dry food the breeder used and then I used Horizon Legacy Puppy Grain Free. I don’t remember a real problem then. After we got another puppy (Vizsla) I stopped the Horizon (I could only get it in 8 lb bags) and switched to Wellness Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal. It was a few months before I noticed the chewing and scratching, so it may not be a food allergy, but I’m going to try changing her food. Also, the Blue Buffalo Health Bar treats (all varieties) need to be changed. Does anyone have a recommendation/suggestion?

[Karen D]

I just rescued a 10-12 year old Pomeranian. Since I don’t know what he was raised on, I’m having an extremely hard time finding a food that he’ll eat. I finally lit on Pedigree canned, beef only-none of that chicken or beef stew for him, but after 3 weeks he stopped eating. I should mention that he’s had some teeth pulled in that time period so he won’t eat dry kibble. A return visit to the vet showed that he has colitis. He’s on meds for that and the vet recommended boiled beef or chicken until his colon calms down. That was great for about a day, now he turns up his nose. I tried his original canned formula, no dice. I bought raw, no dice. He refuses any and all veggies, cooked or raw. I even tried dry cat kibble! Nope. I’m worried because he’s underweight from being on his own for an unspecified amount of time. The vet is concerned because he had gained a pound but quickly lost it when the colitis started in. I don’t know what to do, it’s like he’s on a hunger strike! I’ve had people say, “just let him go hungry, he’ll eat when he’s hungry enough.” But he’s underweight and to me that’s cruel. Maybe I’m part of the problem and I’m feeding, pun intended, into his food issues.
Help please! Any suggestions at all would be much appreciated.

[S G]

I have a new rescue for the last 4 weeks battling diarrhea.
The rescue didn’t give me any of his previous kibble and couldn’t tell me what brand it was anyway, just said it varies because they get donations. My other dog eats a super healthy canned Organic Natural Planet so I was trying to do the same for the new rescue, but it’s giving him diarrhea. I’ve borrowed some kibble (low-quality) from a neighbor to see if weaning him would help but he won’t touch it if i mix in kibble because my other dog is eating the good canned stuff next to him! I tried mixing in brown rice which helped a little bit, then I tried mixing in pumpkin which helped firm it a little more but it’s still pretty soft and has some mucus (no blood and only has 2 sloppy stools a day and he acts completely normal and happy), so i really feel it’s his body trying to transition rather than any health problems. I am also now adding probiotics but no change yet. I think this particular dog needs more fiber, can someone recommend a QUALITY kibble with good source of fiber that I can mix with his canned Organic Natural Planet to see if that will help? I would prefer a poultry to match his canned or lamb kibble but one that has a good source of fiber to help me with firming his stools. I prefer to stay with the highest quality brands, (i had a shitzu who had severe inflammatory bowel disease at the age of 4 and had to feed him RAW diet which extended his life another 8 years!, so i prefer the highest quality canned and kibble as raw was a hassle to feed and don’t want to go there again). Again, higher fiber, quality fiber but still high protein is what i’m looking for in a quality dry food to mix in with Natural Planet. Thanks again for any suggestions. Desperate to get his stools firmer!!!

[Susan W]

Mick,
If you’re still looking for an alternative, contact VeRUS pet foods for a sample of their dry dog food. My dogs do extremely well on it – no loose stools or diarrhea issues. They have a really informative website & after you’ve read about them, you can fill out a contact form. The VP will email you & ask questions, then make recommendations based on your answers, THEN they’ll send you samples (instead of coupons). THEN, when you decide you need to feed it, you can go to PetFlow & get a discount for autoship. 🙂

[Lisa H]

I have a 16 month old lab mix who seems to have sensitivity to a lot of things…legumes seem to be a problem so does chicken duck and turkey I had him on natural balance LID fish and sweet potato but then we started with yeast issues and now constant grass eating and occasional vomit. I don’t know what to do for him. I give him probiotic every day as well as benedryl. I bathe him in antifungal/antibacterial to try to help the itching but I want to actually solve his issues not mask them. Can anyone help me find and affordable food that will ease my puppy’s issues.

[zcRiley]

Dr. Tim’s Pursuit Active Dog Formula Dry Dog Food or Orijens Puppy Formula.

The standard is when the loss exceeds ten percent of normal body weight (and when it is not due to fluid loss).

ALSO CHECK FOR:
Fecal studies to look for chronic intestinal parasites
Complete blood count (CBC) to look for infection, inflammation, leukemia, anemia, and other blood disorders
A biochemical profile that will evaluate kidney, liver, and pancreas function, and the status of blood proteins, blood sugar, and electrolytes

[zcRiley]

Zignature Limited Ingredient Formula Dry Dog Food (Turkey, lamb, or duck)

Key Benefits:
Grain-free and limited ingredient formula
Gluten-free diet
No potato, chicken or eggs (hard to find!)
Complete and balanced diet for all life stages
Made in the USA

ADD ONE PER DAY for joint health:
Nutramax Dasuquin with MSM Soft Chews Joint Health Large Dog Supplement

Go to the vet for a thorough assessment of which type of arthritis he has and make sure there are no other ailments. Blood work and fecal testing, too. Keep him warm and dry, and controlled exercise is key, get him moving on fun walks. You can turn this around, good luck!

[pitlove]

Hi P G-

The calcium calculator will not give you an accurate read out if you use the dry matter or as fed calcium and phosphorus. It has to be the average or MAX calcium and phos levels.

You will either need to look for a nutrient or typical analysis on the companies website or email them for the info. If they are unwilling to provide you with that info, I would pass on using a food from that company.

[Lori A]

Is there any way to sort the list of Editor’s List dog foods? Dry food, low calorie, etc.

[Freddy w]

Ops here is the link for victor dog food that I use

https://www.chewy.com/victor-hero-grain-free-dry-dog-food/dp/120702

[Freddy w]

Hello
I sort of had the same issue with my shepherds
But I found a solution that works well for them
It’s a dry dog good made by Victor

You can find it on chewy.com

There small bites so don’t get fooled by the photo of the German Shepherd
For my dogs the other dog foods had way to much fiber
Also my dogs are real active

Bets of luck to you

[Craig T]

We use Blue Buffalo Wilderness Healthy Weight Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food for our nearly 10 year old Labrador Retriever

[Leslie P]

Hello, our boykin spaniel puppy came to us on Hill’s Science dry puppy food. After having researched this dog food we decided to upgrade his food to a higher quality product. We have now attempted to transition him FIVE times. Each and every time results with bad diarrhea that just won’t stop and this is only giving him a very small amount. So far we have tried Orijen, Fromm’s, Victor Grain Free, Taste of the Wild and Acana.

Does anyone have any suggestions? We think he may be allergic to chicken and we really prefer a grain-free diet for his breed.

[Jill B]

Hello! I’m so sorry this happened to your pups! I have 2 Lhasa Apsos- one is 14 and the other is 13. I just switched over from Fresh Pet to Merrick. Thy seem to like the Merrick Backcountry canned and the freeze dried raw nuggets mixed with it. I also cook ground beef or chicken to mix with it. I used to feed them Purina One Beyond dry food and they did fine on that too. For my dogs and their food, it’s all about how they appear. I look at their energy level, their coat and skin condition, their poop frequency and appearance of their poop. I know it’s gross, but I look for solid, well-formed logs. If it’s too soft, too watery, or too dark, it’s not right. If they are pooping more than twice a day, that’s too much. It’s good you are a member of this forum. There are a ton of high quality foods out there. You just have to find the ones that work for your dogs. Mine have been on SO many different foods-Innova, call of the wild, solid gold, natural balance, nutrisca, Newmans own…I could go on and on! Good luck to you and your pups!

[Richard K]

I have a shi-tzh and a pomeranian and about 2 months ago my shi-tzh got really sick throwing up and severe diarrhea. I took him to the vet and they did blood work and really didn’t find anything so they said it must just be a virus well 2 days later my other dog started the same thing. Well I thought It must be a virus. I took him to the vet and got him medication and they both seemed to be doing fine so I stopped giving them the medication. Well about 3 or 4 days later my shi-tzh started it again. I still had some medication left so I started him on it again and called the vet and he said to keep giving him the medication. So I did and after about 5 days he was doing fine again and I ran out of the medicine anyway but about 4 days go by and he starts it again! I called the vet and he sent home more medicine so I kept giving it to him and he again got better but again about 4 days later he starts again! I took him back to the vet and they did a test on his pancreas and gave me more medicine and said they would have results the next day. We’ll the test they did came back fine! I asked the vet what is going on I mean I’m up to 600 bucks in vet bills and still no answer! He said maybe it’s his diet! Well I used to feed them the blue buffalo until the lawsuit came out about their food having by products in it so I then changed to earthborn which they have been eating around 1 and a half years now with no problems. I always mix their dry food with wet food and they love it so now I am looking for a 5 star wet and dry food I can try them on that i can purchase somewhere near me. I see merrick is rated 5 star but I also read they were bought out by purina/nestle. I’m not sure I trust it being made by Purina? Can someone suggest a good dog food wet and dry i can try on them? Oh both my dogs are old. One is 9 years old and one is 10. The shi-tzh seems to have a more delicate stomach. Thanks