[Sarah A]

Hello! We have a rescue dog that we adopted 2 years ago. For the first year she ate her dog food no problem. We feed dry avoderm and mix some salmon or chicken in with it. For the last year she won’t eat consistently. She sits with our other dog while we prepare it but then will just stand there, or try to ‘bury’ it with her nose, or walk away completely or sometimes she just eats. This caused us to try other foods, no luck. We took her to the vet 3 times, they find nothing. She sometimes doesn’t even want a piece of what I’m eating (tried that to see if she was just wanting people food). Also we put our foot down and said we won’t give her anything else, she needs to eat what we make her. That lasted 2 days and we gave in before she did. We feed twice a day, always at the same times. She acts hungry but then won’t eat. We are worried and don’t know what to do.

It’s to the point now she won’t eat dry food at all. We can usually get her to eat chicken and some pumpkin and that’s it. We give her freeze dried vitamin mixed with probiotic and some yogurt. But we really want her to eat normally again like our other dog. Any ideas? Thank you!

[Kristi G]

I am having a problem with my 12-year-old Yorkie, we have a weight problem.

She should be at 7-7.5 pounds but we are pushing 8.5-9 pounds. I was feeding her Wellness Core and that nipped the problem in the bud. Her weight was down, she loved the food, and felt healthier than ever. Then, the vet said her kidney levels were a little high and advised me to not feed her a high protein food and feed her a senior food instead. I then used the site again and started using Blue Wilderness Senior Grain Free, she was back up in weight in no time. We don’t do treats or bones so no culprit there. Pet Smart recommended Wellness Complete Health Senior, but she won’t eat the food so I can’t tell if it will work or not. We are still in the process of switching. She’s not typically a fickle eater and is usually quite the opposite-always ready to eat. But she turns her nose up to Wellness Complete Health Senior.

I want a dry (teeth are good), 5 Star Senior Food that won’t make her fat and will keep her at a Healthy Weight. Anyone have any recommendations? I’ve been trying to find something right for her for almost 2 years now and am desperate to find the right thing for my baby.

[Michael F]

Hi all, my dog was recently diagnosed with suspected I.B.D., however his ultra sound looked good, as did his Pancreas. The only thing on his blood work was that his B12 was at low the low range of normal. I’m thinking this may have only been caused by the bland diet he was on so often over the past several months. Anyway a couple things, I have changed his night, partial bland, partial dry dog food, partial dehydrated dog food, and he has been doing much better, I also added on a Probiotic, my first question is how long do I need to keep giving the probiotics? Forever? I am also going to try Pet Factor B12 from Wonder Labs, I’ve read that is a good B12 supplement for dogs if they can absorb it. Does anyone else have experience with Probiotics? Does anyone else use Pet Factor B12? How often do you add on the B12?

[Michael F]

Hi, my dog was on Nutro and he always had sloppy yellow bowel movements, but as we all know the food that works for one dog, doesn’t always work for another. You might try Nutri-Source Weight Management dry food, I’ve had good luck with some of their other foods and they are a small plant out of Minnesota and have had no recalls. Is your dog healthy enough to get out and walk, when my other dogs were elderly we did four short walks per day and it really helped them with their weight and arthritis, they had a much easier time getting up and down and moving around. It interesting how several short walks provide less stress on the joints and you still burn a lot of calories that way throughout the day. You might also just try a regular dog food and make sure to feed the amount for his required weight so that he gets a balanced diet and not the amount for the weight he is at, and between that and increasing his exercise, he should take weight off. Good Luck with everything!

[janet w]

my new pit Lil Boy Bue has a rash too so i switched him to grainfree SALMON FOOD bathed him in medicated shampoo with coal tar an aloe and that seems to help a lot but i sat in a warm bath with him for about an hour an let his skin hydrate well, then towel dry and spray with aloe spray i got all these products at petsmart and now he’s resting comfortably the rash flairs up now n then so i just repeat the process until he feels better <3

[Jason R]

My Golden Retriever just turned 10yrs old and he is about 12-15lbs heavier than the vet would like. He was diagnosed about three months ago with Cushing’s disease. I’ve been waiting until we found the right medication/dosage to treat the Cushing’s before I made any dietary changes.

For the last few years, he has been eating Blue FREEDOM ‘Healthy Weight’ dry food. He also has been getting 1/3 can of wet BLUE Freedom Senior Chicken as a topper. The more I learn about BLUE, the less I like them. Their food is also overpriced when there are foods of similar or better quality available for less.

We finally got the Cushing’s medication to the necessary level a few weeks ago. At that point, I had researched a lot of foods and decided to switch to NUTRO. In particular, I’m feeding him NUTRO Lite Chicken flavor dry food and NUTRO Large Breed Adult Weight Management canned food (again, as a topper). I also supplement his food with green beans, green peas and sometimes half of a sweet potato as a treat.

I’m curious if anyone else here uses NUTRO and, if so, what is their opinion of it?

[Cathy G]

I have 3 Aussies – 2 at 3 yrs & 1 at 7. Any recommendations?

[Logan W]

For those new or novice to homemade dog food, it does take some research and a little bit of trial and error to see what your dog will eat. I’ve been doing homemade 100% for about 7 or 8 years now and I would highly recommend it. It does require some initial time and research but it’s all well worth it. I first started with several dogs and wasn’t convinced, like many here, that anything available on the market was as nutritionally dense as homemade. I started when I first adopted several dogs and they loved eating anything I bought, but the food certainly never agreed with them and they were sick all around my house. I think the last food, both dry and soft, they ever ate from the pet store was Blue Buffalo way back when. I would give them rice and chicken till they got better then slowly start working commercial food back into their diet. Every time… they got sick. That’s when I started out on the quest for something that I could rest assured was wholesome and nutritional… from my own hands.

People are right here when they warn you of feeding your dog homemade food without understanding your dogs nutritional needs. We all know our dogs will eat just about anything and you’d hate to learn the hard way that you are malnourishing your dog. I started by searching the web for a canine version of a daily nutritional requirements list that includes not only the macro nutrients (proteins, fiber, fat, carbohydrates, etc.) but also details all the micro nutrients (different amino acids, minerals, vitamins, etc.). The lists are out there if you search. It will be a long, long list of about 30-40 nutrients.

Once I found this list, I did some calculations based on my dogs activity level and size, multiples really. Then I created an Excel spreadsheet of all the target daily nutritional requirements. From there I started searching the web for natural sources of each nutrient and cross referencing them again sites to make sure they weren’t toxic to dogs. You’d be surprised to find that much of the normal fresh meats and vegetables at the store have just what your dog needs. I created a list of ideal food ingredients and Googled each ingredient’s full nutritional profile and built a tab for each ingredient in Excel listing out its nutrients per 1 gram or other serving size. Then I would build other worksheets modeling possible combinations of natural ingredients and seeing how the resulting nutrional profile compares to the target. You’ll find, just like with any animal, that you’ll never get it perfect. You may figure out that adding sweet potatoes helps you fill one nutrient you were targeting only to provide an exceeding amount of another. This is inevitable but just make sure that you aren’t creating a recipe that has far too little of one nutrient that is very important, or even far too much of another that can cause problems if ingested in large quantities like Vitamin A, etc. Its really a process or trial and error modeling a recipe that is really close. I got a few recipes and then went for it. But I do give my dog a multivitamin once a day too just to be a little safer.

The recipes I’ve been using for some time is muscle meat and some organ meat like ground beef and beef livers or kidneys, or chicken breasts and chicken livers. Organ meat is very nutritionally dense and its what dogs go for first when they find a animal in the wild. Muscle meat is a thing we humans prioritize for some reason so remember that you dog IS NOT BEST SERVED WITH FILET MIGNONS OR CHICKEN TENDERS. For veggies, I use about 3-5 different vegetables and switch them up every once in a while. My favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, squash and zucchini. For fiber and carbohydrates, I pick between a rice (white or brown) or beans (dry pinto or black beans). There’s other things I do too, like I use quite a few eggs and I boil the eggshells to sterilize them. Then I grind the dried shells into a powder for their high calcium needs. I also add some ground flax seed and olive oil to every batch. That’s really it about ingredients… now the PREPARATION METHOD becomes vitally important.

If your dog is like any of mine, they probably don’t care to eat vegetables raw or their own flavor. Also, how you cook the vegetables and beans/grains can either retain most of the nutrients or deplete most of them. Dogs have very short digestive tracts compared to humans and that means that just because they can eat a raw carrot…. it doesn’t mean there digestive tract can break it all down fast enough before it passes. Pressure cookers are great for dog food vegetables. Pressure cookers apply high heat for a very short period of time that not only softens the vegetables so they are more digestible, but it helps retain the nutrients in the vegetables much better than, let’s say, boiling them. One could simply use a steamer, but the trick I use is adding some chicken broth to the pressure cooker so that it injects a tasty flavor in all the vegetables. I chop all my vegetables and pile them into the pressure cooker and add a couple cups of real chicken broth and set it for 10 minutes, done. I pull out the finished veggies and set aside. Then I do the same flavor-injection with the beans or rice by using the pressure cooker too. I take out the beans or rice when finished and mix it into the cooked vegetables I set aside.

Next I chop up a cook the meats/organs either in a large pan or also in the pressure cooker (depends on the meat). I add a generous amount of olive oil and pour in the eggs and ground eggshells + ground flax seed. When this is all done I mix it all together with the already completed parts I set aside. A little salt and its done. I divide the food up into glass, airtight containers that hold enough for no more than 5 days of food. I keep one in the fridge and the others in the freezer. After the first container is nearing empty, I start thawing the second container. I give me 20-30 lbs guys about 1 cup of the food nuked for about a minute, morning and night.

How’s it working? Wonderful coats, plenty of energy, no skin problems EVER, all vet checkups clear and I’ve had their blood tested drawn at different times of their metabolic cycles to test for nutrients in their bloodstream (a whole lot of expensive testing just to reassure me that what I was doing was good) and not a single thing ever wrong with them. Since their food is not very hard or dry, you do need to brush their teeth or make sure they get plenty of dental chews. Their stool should be nice and loose, but not huge and frequent. Once or twice a day is normal. Their digestives tracts are using more of the food mass than was being used when feeding commercial food filled with corn and other grains. So their stool gets smaller. You can go online and find paid recipes backed by vets, but I’ve yet to see one that is truly all homemade. They typically create recipes that require using some overly priced supplement powder they distribute or co-advertise for. Don’t waste your time on them.

You may find that your dog devours the food right away or plays the hold-put game for something better. Mine play both games depending on their mood. They usually don’t eat the food right away cause it’s just been reheated and they know not to try. So they usually meander around for a while before eating it later. But when they finally eat… they eat it all… every last piece of vegetable, bean and rice, etc.

So there’s my experience and I hope it inspires you to give it a go and stick with it. I have an electric pressure cooker only for the dog food… best investment ever. It costs me about 50 cents to feed 1 lbs dog for a week. So that’s $10 a week for one 20 lbs dog. I consider that a much better ROI than commercial dog food. Since I only have one freezer, I only make food every 2 weeks and spend about 2 hours when I do. But you get used to it and you learn the process inside and out. I’d never go back. Now if only I would eat as good as these damned dogs do!! 😉

[Jo C]

PITLUV- My dog isn’t picky and she is pretty tolerable to mostly everything she has tried in her whole life besides RAW. Home cook she has ate and looooves home cook food like chicken, cheese, any meat. Veggies not RAW she will only eat when mixed and soft. It’s mostly be being very cautious. Also, I don’t want to over feed her as I want her to lose some pounds. However, this is the first time she will be eating quality food not Pedigree with home cook meals consistency but I already know she will not have any type of problem with the home cook food lol. I think i’m just overthinking everything and being very overly cautious. Now i’m sticking with a set measurement as before with Pedigree I would just feed her with this one cup I had and half a can food of Pedigree wet food. So all and all this route i’m taking has to be better than before. I will do the one cup of dry morning and night and 1/4 of home cook?? or 1/2 cup of dry and 1 cup of home cook?

[pitlove]

Hi Jo C-

As long as your pit can tolerate it, you can certainly add fresh foods to her diet. You will need to decrease the amount of dry food you feed when feeding fresh food along with kibble, so as to not overfeed calories. Also starting off right off the bat reducing the dry food by half is not a great idea. You will need to slowly introduce fresh foods to her diet because it’s not something her stomach is used to. It’s like introducing a new dry food. You will need introduce it slowly and moniter her stool to make sure she can handle it.

Unfortunetly mine can not handle raw or lightly cooked food in his diet. But he seems to have a lot more issues than yours does.

[Patti S]

I recently found a wonderful dog food that’s classified as having “marked restriction” sodium levels.
The Honest Kitchen “Verve” dehydrated dog food has a sodium level of 0.18% on a dry matter basis.
PROTEIN 22.5%
FAT 8.5%
FIBER 5.8%

All ingredients in this dog food are processed in the USA in a human grade food processing facility. They are non genetically modified and free of any chemicals & preservatives. All meat is hormone and antibiotic free…. and my dog loves it and willingly eats it!

[Jo C]

Susan- thank you so much!! I have been feeding 1 cup of kibble (Just 6 Rachael Ray) and 1/4 of Fresh Pet wet food. I will be transitioning her to the kibble I have mentioned above which I doubt will be any problem as mu baby girl is no picky what so ever especially if real food is involved lol. So I should do 1/2 cup of dry(kibble) and 1/4 of homemade and see how that goes. I feel like even the amount I do now she seems always hungry but then again she loves food so if I would feed her all day she would eat lol

[Jo C]

PITLUV- you seem to know alot. I was thinking on top of my quality dry food I want to go with chicken, veggies etc mixed with. However, I do not want to over feed her so i do not know if that is a good idea..The food shows first few ingredient as chicken, turkey, chicken mean and then turkey meal so should I even feed meat on top of that. i was thinking making chicken, carrots, green beans, sweet potato here and there and spinach in crockpot and store in baggies. also feed salmon and/or sardines with something on top of the dry food…what do you suggest with dry and homemade food together???

[Barry S]

Our 19 week old Goldendoodle has giardia. The vet put him on a treatment of 5 days of Panacur followed by 5 more days of Panacur. It didn’t work. She then put him on metronidazole and again it didn’t work. There was no probiotics or supplements additionally recommended. We do not have any standing water and live in a sandy very dry area. We clean his poop up at least daily. He is never been to a dog park. The vet now wants to try probiotic “juvita” and Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Puppy Food for a month to see what happens. Any suggestions for anyother natural method would be greatly appreciated as we don’t want to expose him to any more antiobiotics and this puppy food is very expensive given he’s a growing fast 37 lb puppy.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Barry S.

[Christine M]

Hi,

My poor Bear is not quite 4 and has suffered from bad teeth his whole life. Any suggestions on what to do besides frequent dentals and tooth brushing? He is an American Eskimo, and at 6 months old required his first dental. We got another dental done in december and he lost a tooth… And it looks like he will lose at least two more on the top that have bad cavities near the base of the tooth… My poor baby. He’s going for a dental checkup on Saturday, but wanted to get some info on other steps before then.

We are currently feeding him Orijen Adult dry dog food (we are in Canada). He won’t eat the vet dental food and I’m not a fan of the ingredients anyways. I’m not really into raw feeding due to the possibility of bacteria, etc., and Bear doesn’t seem to care much for many of the pre-made raw foods out there anyways.

He likes the CET chews and they helped him a lot but they are hard to find now, so we got the Enzadent ones but they don’t do as much for him. He gets bully sticks to chew too (they always have a few to chew on).

We probably still aren’t brushing his teeth enough, but he tolerates it quite well. We use the CET toothpaste from the vet and a normal toothbrush… We tried one of the powered toothbrushes for pets but he hated it and he doesn’t like the ones which go around the whole tooth.

Any other recommendations for water additives, etc.? We also have a 4 mo old puppy but his teeth are fine.

[Jo C]

Yeah my pit has been very good on other food before but always just stuck with pedigree. I’m just hesitant and scared to switch to something that may cause her harm 🙁
I looked at Whole earth Farms food which everything looks good on her as rate and ingredients but looking at reviews a lot of peoples dogs started getting sick. ugh this is so stressful makes me want to just stick with pedigree cause I know she eats it but I want better food. So far so good with RR Just 6 but rated a 3 I think but I give her Freshpet wet dog food as well which is rated good. I want to stick with fresh pet but trying to figure out a decent dry food with good reviews and good ingredients but affordable..Am I asking for to much lol

[Jo C]

Hi Pitluv-

Previously I was feeding her and had since she was a pup Pedigree (I know GARBAGE) but currently she is eating Rachael Ray Just 6 and FreshPet wet food both got at Walmart. She looooves both she did however threw up once but nothing else. She is herself and she has no health issues last blood work was good. She did weigh in at 70 pounds though but to me she doesn’t seem fat…hmmm
she walks slower of course but still loves to play, walk and just get a lot of love nothing major but I want her to live a more healthy longer life. I’m basically new at this natural stuff and portion size for her weight and age. I usually just feed a mug size dry food and 1/4 of wet. I want a good brand with real ingredients but affordable for a decent pound bag. I’m so scared after non stop searching and reading reviews to even try with how many dogs get sick and/or die of certain foods. Do you have any suggestions on brands to look more into? I searched about Authority, Nutro, Wellness Core, Kirkland Mature Dog, and Pure balance.

[Jo C]

HI,

I was looking on a couple post about senior dogs and dry dog food. Some people say to feed a senior dog my baby is 13 years old a higher protein food. Does the carbs and fats matter as when I’m looking up dog food to see what they are rating at. When I look the brands up I see the percentages and I usually see 22-25 % range for protein but the carbs and fats are high, basically I don’t know what to look for as a proper diet for her she has no digestive issues or anything like that.

[Sara B]

I have a new Shorkie puppy, 10 weeks old & 5 lbs. I would like suggestions for a dry Ned wet food for him. Our other dogs have had allergies and I am crying Norene’s about that also. And what kind of chew treats do you recommend?

• This topic was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Sara B.

[Diane K]

You may want to try a different food……. consider trying Zignature Limited Ingredient (single protein source, duck, kangaroo, etc) or Nature’s Variety, Limited Ingredient, Duck Meal (or you can check out the other single protein sources). No potato in either of these formulas which, per all the research I have done in the last few days, can wreak havoc if there are skin issues.

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil has about 120 calories. You would just need to figure out how many calories, by food only, that he gets to maintain his weight and decrease the amount of dry food so that if you add coconut oil the calorie count remains the same.

[Blake E]

We are in need of some advice, we have got own first puppy. Ted is an 11 week old Cockapoo, we had been feeding on the ‘Royal Canine Mini Junior’ but we had decided we wanted to feed him in a raw food diet. So we went into to PAH and brought a bag of Natures Menu Puppy Raw food, however after giving Ted his first meal this morning of Raw Food, it is as though this has gone straight throu him and now has diarrhoea.

So I gues my question is are we right to of done this so soon? Or should we of kept him in dry food??

Thanks in advance!!

[Cindy R]

Artie is a 4yr old golden/mix rescue. He gets elk velvet antler, cosequin, and omega 3 daily on advice from surgeon following knee surgery for failing, arthritic knee joints. He’s doing well. Other than his itchy, dry skin. He scratches ALOT! It’s got to be miserable.
I began to give him coconut oil, which he devoured along with his TOW Wild Prarie food, but then began to question caloric impact? Artie can’t be overweight.
Should I continue? How much? Any other suggestions? Artie weighs 68-70lbs.
Thanks!

[Lila]

I have a 10yr old hound/pit mix. She has always had a sensitive stomach. I’ve tried various quality dog foods and she has done well on Merrick Limited Incrediant Turkey flavor. Now that Purina has bought them out I need to change foods. I’d like to stay in the same price range as the Merrick if possible. You all seem very knowledgable soooo, any suggestions?

[Sandra W]

Does anyone have an opinion on canned for for mixing with dry food? What’s good, what isn’t, what to avoid?

[Josh H]

Though I haven’t tried the brand myself (yet), I have several friends who use Earthborn Holistic and they only have nice things to say about it. Here on DogfoodAdvisor their puppy food hasn’t been reviewed (which is a bit of a bummer), but they have scored very high marks with most of their labels, especially with their Primitive Natural Grain-Free dry dog food which received a perfect score on here.

I also want to point out that the Earthborn Holistic brand has NEVER had a recall and they specifically exclaim this on their website. All and all it sounds like a great dog food brand that deserves an Editor’s Choice nod.

[Jennifer H]

Ok, so I make my own RAW food. I am feeding A LOT of Saint Bernards (14) and thus process my food every 2 weeks and freeze it (700 pounds at a time, so yep…. I’m hardcore). I basically grind everything (meat with bone, organs, muscle meats, veggies and fruits) and freeze it in 10 pound bph free plastic buckets. I then thaw it as needed and feed it by the scoop (an ice cream scoop of all things, lol) and add some whole raw food to the bowl to give my guys something to chew on and clean their teeth (chicken backs, turkey necks….).
I know for a fact there is NOTHING artificial or grain based or synthetic added to my food. My frozen ground food is wet and bloody when thawed and served. I stir up the food (blood and all) to serve and my dogs love it.
SO….. why is it the commercial raw foods you can buy on line or at the store are not bloody and wet?
I drain all my stuff before I grind it to minimize the wet and work to make sure my food is as dry as I can make it but it is still a bloody mess.
If anyone knows what the commercial folks are doing different, I would love to know. I worry they are adding something that I wouldn’t want to add to my food but still would really like to know.
Thanks

[zcRiley]

Zignature Zssentials limited ingredient dry dog food. They have duck, lamb or venison. No fish in them. You can read the list of ingredients on Chewy.com.

[Robin F]

Thank you Anonymously! We did have senior exam done just days ago. She does get walked 3-4 times daily. Morning 6am, noon time when my husband comes home for lunch, 6pm when he gets home from work and then just a short walk to urinate at 10/11. We have two dogs, so feeding multiple times in the day is almost impossible.
I did purchase the very lean beef I mentioned. They both seem to be only eating the wet food and leaving most of the dry. I think for a few nights I will not add anything. I’m afraid she will not be nourished properly.
I appreciate your advice. Thank you so much!

[Alisa G]

My 85-pound black lab is highly allergic to storage mites so we have taken dry food out of her diet. Combined with Apoquel, her itching is completely gone! However, buying high-quality grain-free canned food is not something I can sustain financially much longer. I’m wondering if the freeze-dried raw foods also contain storage mites? She also needs to lose some weight and my vet has provided me with a target caloric intake, with a good amount of protein so she doesn’t lose muscle. I’m pulling my hair out, having researched way too much on this site and others. SUGGESTIONS!?

[Sandra W]

Hi all – I wanted to chime in on the fats/protein issue. My dog has a very sensitive stomach and gets sick on food that is too fatty. Sick as in up-chucking. I have to be really careful with all dog foods, even dry foods. My doggy baby is a GSD and is about 18 m-o. I read a lot of this thread from the more recent posts (this year & last) and did a lot of research. I contact several pet food companies and asked for samples and usually just got auto-email coupons for a few dollars off. I’m going to get on the Verus bandwagon with Susan. Their VP responded to my contact! Yes, they’re a small company but I like that they care enough about dogs to ask questions and communicate. I’m feeding the Verus large breed puppy food & will for a few more months. Around the end of the year I will start switching over to an adult Verus formula. I know if I have questions or issues, I can contact the people at Verus and get answers. That’s important to me.

[Shawna]

Hi onapap1,

Unfortunately there is no over the counter dog food that is like Prescription ZD (assuming it’s ZD not XD). There’s two main reasons for this — 1. the starch used is just starch not the whole food “corn starch” – very specific. 2. The protein “hydrolyzed chicken” used in the food has been “hydrolyzed” or broken down into amino acids. Chicken is often an allergy culprit but hydrolyzing process is what makes it non-allergenic.

It would be EXTREMELY rare (although likely not unheard of) to have a dog that is allergic to “meat” as it is specific proteins that cause allergies and proteins are in almost all foods. Therefore almost any food can cause an allergy or allergy type symptom. Lots of folks here on DFA have dogs that react to the protein in specific grains (wheat or corn as an example) but also to the protein in potatoes, peas and legumes.

The best thing to do, if you don’t want to feed prescription, is to do an elimination diet — or feed a food with only one protein and one starch. These over the counter limited ingredient diets are not hydrolyzed so your pup could still react if the specific protein (be it from the meat or the starch) is a trigger for him. If so, then try another limited ingredient diet with a different protein and starch. Some examples of limited ingredient over the counter diets are some like Natural Balance (which have many options to chose from) https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/dry/limited-ingredient-diets or Nature’s Variety also has a limited ingredient line (they have a few options) http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-ingredient-diets-kibble-for-dogs

Others can probably give you additional options for limited ingredient diets if you want to try that route.

Edit to include — below is a list of all the foods in the Natural Balance Vegetarian diet that include protein that could be a problem. “brown rice, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, peas, potato “protein”, potatoes, tomatoes, flaxseed and possibly kelp. It takes time for the histamine etc to clear the body after experiencing an allergic reaction. It’s not uncommon to see symptoms months after the problem protein was removed but you should see steady improvements. Also consider that multiple foods can cause problems — I have one that reacts to beef, goat and barley as an example.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Shawna.

[Angel76736]

Try blue buffalo, they have their freedom and basics line. Both are grain free. They have ones for large breed as well. Petsmart usually carries a large selection of blue buffalo food. I personally use blue buffalo basics large breed dry food. It has worked great. It leveled out both of my dogs digestive issues. I had gone through several different types of food and once I got on them on blue buffalo everything leveled out nicely. Hope this helps you with your pup.

[Norman S]

Hello,

I have a 9 month old Chocolate Lab and we have been feeding her Royal Canin Labrador Retriever Adult dry dog food for a few months and have noticed that all her poops are extremely wet and soft. I’m not too sure if she is allergic to something in the food or if she needs grain free but the vet has been NO HELP so I turn to you guys! I need a dog food for a lab that will firm up her stool, I was thinking Hypoallergenic Dog Foods but I am not sure.. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

[Dena B]

Hi, I have to say I read these reviews and those on Consumer Affairs too late. My husband and I lost our 10 year (VERY) healthy Dachshund 3 weeks ago. It was shortly after buying a new bag of Kirkland Salmon dog food. She had organ failure and eventually died from Congestive heart failure due to the strain her heart and organs were on. We also have a 60lb Ridgeback Hound Mix (Nash) he has been ill as well. We did everything to try to help our babies thinking it was something around the house they were getting in contact with. From cleaning and resurfacing our grass due to the fertilizer we put on the grass. We had our carpets and tile professional cleaned by an Holistic non chemical using company. We switched to sensitive laundry detergent and washed everything they came in contact with. We would take them off the food and they would get better but upon returning to it they would get violently ill again. With Dottie being 10 we thought it was age related. Well, she passed and I’m filed with guilt thinking I could have prevented it. I only found these comments and others upon researching dog food for Nash since he has been on a diet. Since changing his food he has made a 180 degree recovery. I will be contacting Costco and going to their store today. Justice needs to prevail. We must stand up and make this stop. P.S. I’m in Arizona.

[wendi s]

Hi. What is the best dry dog food for a dog with allergies? We are currently feeding our pug Acana Pacifica but he is gaining weight on it. He has bad knees so the extra weight is really bad for him not to mention other things it causes. He is only getting a 1/4 cup twice a day. I don’t want to cut back because it is such a small amount as it is. He is very active. When it isn’t too hot out< I walk him 2 miles a day. In the summer it is a mile a day.

[Maria K]

I would stay away from Nutro Ultra. Nutrisca is always a great option. Merrick is a tough brand because not everything they produce is of a good quality. I would avoid their Limited Ingredient lines. Some of their 96% grain free canned formulas are okay. The Lil’ Plates are generally good and so is the Chicken & Sweet Potato dry food someone mentioned earlier.

[Bonnie G]

Regarding Merrick Ltd Ingredient food – I have fed my 8 1/2 yr old boxer/lab Merrick since he came to us at 6 months of age. He had a very touchy digestive system when we got him & had to try several foods before we got one that agreed with his stomach. He eats Merrick dry chicken & sweet potato supplemented with Merrick 96% Grain Free canned. The vet just this week advised me to put him on a senior version. Hope this helps and good luck with your pup!

[PATTY J]

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Our Bailey’s had to be put down and I am seriously thinking that it is due to the nexgard… We started it on all our babies about month and a half ago on all out dogs and our dobies had skin issues after a few days but then at about 3 or 4 weeks our pitbull had what looked Like coughing and hacking (the vet thought maybe it was kennel cough) and food getting stuck in her throat I had to dig it out …it looked like the flap in her throat wasn’t working I think she had an allergic reaction and it seemed like she had a stroke also her side if her face was really droopy and she could not walk or and eat right I had to feed her canned food because dry food would not go down then she acted like she had another stroke and couldn’t walk and was not eating or drinking we had to make the devastating decision to put her to sleep I am now thinking it was because of this drug

[Lori R]

We have a foster named Twinky and she is a mix of dachshund and chihuhua and about 6 years old. She has an extremely sensitive stomach and she has a bloody diarrhea which is on/off at times. She is also a nervous little girl. We currently have her on a grain-free (gluten free) canned fish dog food. We also put plain yogurt in with her food. We also have been working with a nutritionist and she does not want her on a rice diet. Otherwise she is a very healthy little girl. Could you possibly recommend a soft dog food that we could try her on? She also gets constipation with dry food.

Thank you so much.

[anonymously]

This article is slightly off topic, however prescription dog foods are discussed.

“More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets”

Posted on July 20, 2016 by skeptvet
“One of the subjects that holistic vets and other advocates of alternative practices get really passionate about is the evils of commercial and conventional diets. They promote a laundry list of myths about pet food, many of which I’ve addressed before:”

above is an excerpt from: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/

[DogFoodie]

I just looked quickly at a few I was thinking of that might work for you. Please double check the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t contain any of your triggers.

Another to take a look at would be Dr. E’s Limited Ingredient Grain and Potato Free dry dog foods in buffalo. Also take a look at Great Life Grain Free buffalo.

Canine Caviar Limited Ingredient Diet Open Meadow Holistic Entrée Dry Dog Food would be a good choice if he can tolerate millet.

Personally, I’ve used First Mate products for my boy with sensitivities and think highly of them. At quick glance, their Ocean Fish Meal Original Formula Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free might work.

[Kenneth A]

Hound Dog Mom: Thank you for all of the advice regarding food choices for large breeds. I purchased my English Style Lab from a Vet, Breeder and competitor of show quality dogs. My wife and I just wanted a family companion, couch potato to replace our Lab we lost at 9.5 years to cancer. The breeder fed all of her dogs Pro Plan and we have kept Earl on Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. He is currently 6 months old and shows no negative symptoms. However, I am not happy to learn this site (which I joined because I want to be informed) rates Pro Plan at 2.5 stars.

A small Pet Store Chain just opened a branch store a couple of miles away from where we live. The sell many of the foods that are rated 4+ Stars on this site so I will be changing Earl’s Food Soon.

Since Earl is not experiencing any problems with his current food what should I look for in determining the best food to switch him to? I know I will need to blend the new food with the old for a few days. He currently does not scratch, has no ear infections and has relatively small stools. So, I want to change to a higher rated food but I don’t want to create any issues for Earl.

Please express advice and opinions. I am leaning toward Fromm Dry Foods!

Thanks,

Ken

[Jennifer R]

Does anyone know of a dry dog food that has absolutely no form of legumes or poultry but that has a rating of 4 or 5? I’m probably looking right at it, but I can’t for the life of me find one.

I have a senior Akita who has liver and gallbladder issues and food intolerances. He’s refusing homecooked food and canned food (refusing as in not eating for days). He will eat kibble right now, but I’m having a hard time finding a quality kibble without legumes and poultry. He’s also sensitive to corn, soy, and goat, but he really can’t tolerate any form of legumes or poultry.

His vet recommends Royal Canin, which has chicken fat and causes gas. I was ready to try Natural Balance LID or California Natural but then I saw the ratings. At this point I realize grain free foods are out because they replace grains with legumes, but isn’t there a quality meat-based kibble that uses grain not legumes? Are all kibble with grains plant-based?

Any ideas would help! It’d be great if the kibble were also low fat while still being high in protein, but I’ll settle for meat-based, above 4 stars with no legumes or poultry of any form.

Thanks!

[crazy4cats]

Costco has two varieties of Kirkland dry food, one with grain and one without. The line without grain is called Nature’s Domain and it runs about $35 for 35 pounds. The Kirkland with grain is around $30 for 40 pounds. Both types are made by Diamond. They also carry a Nature’s Domain Turkey Stew canned food which is usually about $20 for 24 cans manufactured by Performance Pets.

I regularly feed my dogs the canned food. It is a GREAT deal!!! I’ve been hearing that jet.com is selling some of the Kirkland pet products on their site now as well if you do not have a Costco nearby or a membership.

Here is a link: http://www.kirklandsignaturepetsupplies.com/

Taste of the Wild is also manufactured by Diamond and can be found at several feed stores and smaller boutique type pet supply stores.

Hope this helps!

Edit: Another option is Tractor Supply Store sells 4Health. They have a budget friendly turkey and potato recipe that may work for you.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by crazy4cats.

[pitlove]

Hi Jacob-

It is not possible for a dry kibble to only consist of meat and nothing else. The food can not stay together without a starch.

[Jacob T]

Does anyone know of a dry food whose only ingredients are meat(s)?

• This topic was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Corrected spelling of "Limited" in the title

[Kyle E]

I have a 12 year old Labrador that is beginning to have joint and hip problems, so I’ve been thinking about getting her some medicine from the vet. However, a salesman at my local pet store told me that Merricks has more glucosamine and chondroitin in their food than the actual joint pills do. Does anyone know about this? Would it be just as good to spend more on Merricks and not buying the joint pills? Or, do the joint pills offer some other benefits? In which case it might be better to spend a little less on the food and get the joint pills?

[Melinda L]

I need help in finding a lower price dog food. I have 5 dogs “ALL RESCUES” 1 has severe chicken allergies. Right now I am feeding all of them, Blue Buffalo Turkey and potato grain free limited ingredients. My allergy dog is doing great on this but it is breaking the bank.

[pugmomsandy]

Foods do not contain a therapeutic dose of joint supporting supplements so that shouldn’t be a deciding factor for choosing a wet (or dry) food. I would check into separate powder, liquid, capsule or chewable joint/senior supplements. And if you haven’t already, check to see if she has any dental or gum issues and have a check up with blood work.

http://www.dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

[Kyle E]

My good Labrador friend is getting old and beginning to have problems with her joints and energy level. She’s also not eating very much of her food anymore, even though I buy her the expensive Taste of the Wild dry food. I want to switch to wet canned food to see if that improves her appetite. Does anyone have information on a quality, healthy, and tasty canned food that is formulated for all the problems senior dogs have, especially aching joints?