[aimee]

Hi Peter L

The posted “actual analysis” for each product appears product specific. However, when I last spoke to Scott Freeman, the owner of Nature’s Logic, he told me that he only had one formula fully analyzed. The chicken formula dry food was analyzed and then he reported that analysis as the “actual analysis” for multiple products and as he said “changed a few numbers here and there”

This is why you will see an identical nutrient level posted for multiple products. For example, the Vit D level in the Fortifier is 175 IU/kg which is the same number reported for the canine dry chicken, beef, lamb, duck and salmon, rabbit, venison, and sardine diets. In other words every dry diet is reported as the same number.

[OCJill]

I have 3 male dogs, 1 ten year old purebred Bichon Frise, 1 six year old Chihuahua mix and 1 thirteen week old Chihuahua mix puppy. My dogs currently eat Natural Balance Ultra (puppy is on the puppy version). Since my oldest dog has been on Natural Balance 10 years and the other two are Chihuahua mixes would switching to another food high in protein be unhealthy? I am being told that high protein foods are not good for Chihuahuas…. I was looking at these two dry foods: Orijen and Acana. Would it be ok to make that switch or should I choose something with less protein? Just noting none of my dogs have had any health issues thus far.

• This topic was modified 11 years ago by OCJill.

[Ronald]

Thanks for the excellent reply..

One thing I never knew was the Diamond manufactured this product..Heard to many bad things about Diamond’s products..

Abby seems to like and enjoy the Pro Balance. I put her on this food about a month ago..But only on the Salmon dry food, the other day I opened a small bag of Bison and Pea food, she will not touch it..

I also tried just dry food morning and night. She got into a sulking mood and never ate for two days..So I had to go back to wet food in the mornings..

Thanks.. I think I’ll stick with Pro Balance for now..

Ron..

[Akari_32]

Since dry food isn’t species appropriate, and can cause some serious health issues anyways, if he doesn’t want to eat it, don’t make him. Dry is especially dangerous for males if they don’t get enough water. If we were talking going from dry to canned, and he didn’t want to eat the canned, I’d say keep bribing him, but there are more cost effective ways to feed a cat than introducing dry food. Brands that typically offer coupons for canned food are Halo, Wellness, Holistic Select, Blue Buffalo, and if you dig, there are many more…. I can tell you right now that you can get 5.5 oz cans of Halo Vigor for free at PetCo with the coupon Halo has on their website. I fed my cat for $20 a month on canned with coupons. Now I’m doing it with raw, and he loves it 🙂

[puppypiles]

Part of the problem is he just doesn’t recognize dry food as, well, food. He wasn’t a big dry food eater before, and now he doesn’t know what to do with it.

I tried everything with the Acana I brought home one time, and I mean everything – poured chicken broth and parmesan cheese over it, heated it up, threw pieces around the apt so he’d chase them and eat them, crushed it into powder and sprinkled it over his favorite food, hid it underneath his food, left some in a bowl so he’d get used to the smell… I mean, I went all out!

[Ronald]

I was using Pedigree dry food, have been for years..

Abby started putting to much weight on, so I came her asking..

I ended up changing her to Pro Balance, getting it at Wal Mart..

Now I have run into two others with big dogs and they are using Taste of the wild..

It is available in my area at the Tractor Supply..

Can I get some feed back of this type of feed.. Have you used it and what are the results. Do you like it does the dog like it..

• This topic was modified 11 years ago by Ronald.

[crazy4cats]

Sounds like you are feeding your lucky cat an awesome diet. I try to feed mostly wet food also. My cats are not too picky about their kibble as long as I don’t go too low on the fat. I bought them a weight control recipe once that they snubbed. Lol! I have been rotating between Wellness Core, Merrick and Earthborn dry. I have one cat that I am feeding Royal Canin Rx Urinary dry food due to a urinary tract blockage he suffered about five months ago. Again, welcome to DFA!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Evan:
Although I prefer not to feed my cats dry food they demand to have some around anyway. I gave PB chicken kibble a try and my cats love it, especially the picky ones. I added it to my rotation. My store doesn’t have all the varieties of the wet food. They didn’t like the chic & turkey pate’ and only my finicky female likes the GF chic in gravy. I plan on trying the other recipes too if I can find them at another store. I am hoping they like the other wet recipes. If nothing else, at least I found another kibble for them.

[puppypiles]

My cat has been on an all wet and raw diet since he was about 8 months old, and he’s nearly 3. He’s the picture of health, very svelte, and the vets just love him.

However, I am interested in adding some dry food into his diet. This is for several reasons.

Firstly, it’s a cost issue. Feeding high quality wet and raw foods (Weruva, Natural Balance, Earthborn, Rad Cat, Feline Naturals) is pretty pricey, and dry food, even the highest quality, is significantly cheaper per pound.

Secondly, I work in retail and work long hours (50+ a week). When you’re only feeding wet foods, it’s difficult to leave some out as it will go bad. I’d like to give him the option of having SOMETHING there if he gets hungry.

I realize the diet I’m feeding him now is a good one and dry food is not as good for a cat as wet and raw. My intention is to find a food he likes so it can be used in an emergency, and up to 25% of his current diet.

When he was younger and eating some dry, he ate California Natural Grain Free chicken. I haven’t tried that again, but I did try some Orijen red meat, which he totally snubbed. He also hates all things fish, and only eats canned/raw foods with poultry, lamb, or beef.

[InkedMarie]

These are my favorite dry foods: Farmina, Annamaet, Dr. Tim’s and Nature’s Logic

[Dori]

In my opinion, and that’s all it is, I would change their food. They’ve been on this particular food for a long enough time that you know they are not losing weight. Feeding them at the low end (25% below their intake plus on the low side) could cause health issues of another sort. Recommended guide lines of manufactured dog foods will mean that more or a little less, they will get their nutritional needs from that food given the approx. amount they recommend. If you are always given them less then or at the lowest end of recommendation could possibly lead to nutritional deficiencies.

My suggestion would be go find a 4 or 5 star rated quality food from a reputable company with a moderate to high protein, moderate fat and low carbs and I wouldn’t feed any of the foods on THE list. I checked almost all of those foods earlier today and they are all low in fat and high in carbs.

I may have mentioned that I have three toy breed dogs that I keep on the lean side. I feed them all commercial raw diets. I rotate proteins and brands. Commercial raw dog foods are all very high protein, high fat and low carbs. I don’t have to adjust the amount of food that I feed them going from one to the other commercial raw food because they are all accustomed to high protein and fat diets with low carbs. As a matter of fact there are times that I will feed them more than their normal amounts to get a little more weight on them. My feeding method for them is that I feed them between 2.5% and 3% of their body weight. I bought a cheap digital kitchen scale on Amazon. I think it’s a more precise way of knowing that you’re feeding them the correct amount of food each of them needs. I’ve never liked measuring dry kibble (when I used to feed it to them over three years ago) because not all dry foods are the same exact size so that the cup size will always vary somewhat in the amount your feeding them.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Linda:
I am always on the lookout for average to low fat commercial raw foods. I find most recipes too high in fat. Good or bad fat it’s in there and I want the majority of my dog’s calories to be from protein not fat. Here’s an article on fat in commercial raw foods:
/choosing-dog-food/raw-dog-food-fat/

From my list I only have one food that may fit your needs Primal Frozen Venison. On a dry matter basis using the numbers from their site it is about 16% fat. Their Frozen Rabbit recipe is also low fat (17% DMB), but you mentioned rabbit might not agree with your dog.

You might consider making your own raw if you are unable to find a suitable commercial diet. Here is a list of books for making raw and home cooked diets:
http://www.dogaware.com/diet/bookreviews.html

Since your dog is not too thrilled eating TOTW kibble maybe try another brand or have you ever thought about supplementing with canned instead? Here are some low-fat canned foods I feed Wellness Core Weight Management, Innova Large Breed Sr., and Weruva’s Marbella Paella, Paw Lickin’ Chicken, and Bed and Breakfast recipes. On Weruva’s site they list their nutrition information in dry matter basis. Other low-fat canned foods I want to try are Fromm’s Four Star Shredded Chic or Beef and Petsmart’s Simply Nourish bisque or stew foods.

Feeding a balanced diet is important, however if my dog had a health issue it would definitely be priority for me. Regarding Sojos foods and mixes there have been comments posted on DFA about the vegetables coming out of their dog as they went in and lack of info on their labels. Some posters suggested grinding the mix before feeding it. You can do a search for comments on Sojos here’s one thread:
/forums/topic/sojo-premix/

Concerns have also been posted about The Honest Kitchen foods and mixes. Posters have commented on digestibility issues, label accuracy, feeding recommendations, and questionable information provided by customer service and the owner of the company. Check out the comment sections on the review side for more info:
/dog-food-reviews/honest-kitchen-grain-free/
/dog-food-reviews/honest-kitchen-dog-food/

Good luck!

[Joanne T]

Been looking through all the recommended dry food (the list is staggering and overwhelming 🙂 but really awesome) and Timberwolf’s Lamb Grain Free is starting to look pretty good.

i’m just not sure if it’s paranoia that is holding me back because of the Rosemary ingredient.

[Susan]

Hi, I don’t know many American raw diets… Barf has their Kangaroo 3% fat, 11% dry matter (kibble) that’s low in fat & a new one has just come out called Barf lite or Honest Kitchen ZEAL is suppose to be good.. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal

[Susan]

Hi, I don’t understand WHY your vet put her on a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) “Omeprazole” first, before trying a H2 Blocker first like Zantac or Pepcid….he’s given Carafate that lines the stomach & must be only given on a empty stomach as it will just line any food in the stomach…be CAREFUL on any PPI’s, my vet explained to me how bad PPIs are if taken long term, you are making NO stomach acid & we need Stomach Acid in our stomachs to balance the pH, please read this link my vet told me I can give Patch Losec BUT for only up to 3 days then STOP, never take more then 4 weeks as you can not just stop taking a PPI, you will have awful pain, you feel like your stomach is going to exploded, cause you start making your stomach acid again & he comes back double amount.. I didn’t know all this & have been on Somac for 10years, I’m starting to reduce my 80mg a day dose, I tried just cutting my dose in half but the bad acid reflux was toooooooooo much & very painful, it was awful… http://refluxdefense.com/heartburn_GERD_articles/stomach-acid.html

A lower fat diet is best for Acid Reflux….. I would be booking to have a Endoscope done & Biopsies done, this way you will know what is happening & why this young pup is having all these symptoms, the vet should of recommended this…. I wish I did this first when I rescued my boy but for 1 & 1/2 years, we did blood tests, Ultra scan, test for Pancreatitis tests all came back good, a waste of money…finally Patch had Endoscope & Biopsies done December & he had what I was telling the vet from day 1, he had the Helicobacter infection, vomiting of a morning, always feeling sick, burping acid reflux, sloppy poos, sometimes diarrhea…..poor boy, he was put on triple therapy antibiotics for 3 weeks Metronidazole, Amoxicillin & Zantac to kill the Helicobacter cause my vet does not like using PPI, Losec is normally used but Ranitidine (Zantac) works just aswell without all the side effects from a PPI… I would be using a liquid ant acid like Mylanta or Pepto they work quick… also wet food is better then dry kibble, a low fat diet like turkey breast mince….. in a wet tin food fat must be 2% & under…if you do decide to have a Endoscope done make sure you have the biopsies done as they can tell you so much, when the vets looked down Patches throat & stomach everything look excellent, no scarring from ulcers nothing…

Patch got stomach pain from the Losec, green sloppy poos & his food just sat in his stomach cause he had no stomach acids to digest his food properly & a weird smell came out of his mouth, so I stopped the Losec, put him on Zanatc or use Mylanta when needed only, I changed his diet to a lower fat, Hypoallergenic, Gluten free diet….that just has rice & no grains no lentils or legumes….
you can give slippery elm or Manuka Honey…Slippery Elm is excellent for the stomach…Manuka honey is excellent for acid reflux, u put a little bit of the Manuka honey on small piece of white breed & take 1/2hr before eating…. if you join this F/B group this whole week we have been talking about Acid Reflux in dogs, the F/B group is called “Dogs with Inflammatory Disorders” you will learn so much & everyone is friendly & NICE…..here’s another Link, explaining how Carbohydrates cause GERDs especially if your dog has a intolerance to a carb say Legumes, lentils, barley,oats etc you can get real bad acid reflux…..

[Anonymous]

My dog with allergies and a sensitive stomach does well on Nutrisca dry (fish), my other dogs like Wysong, both combined with a homemade diet.

PS: Are you leaving the food down, free feeding? If so, not a good idea (imo) offer the food twice a day or 4 small meals per day, if she doesn’t eat it after 10-15 minutes pick it up and put it in the fridg, offer it at the next mealtime. Add water to the food, most dogs don’t drink enough. How about plain homemade chicken broth added to the food? Ask your vet if this would be okay.

[RebeccaRose]

Hello, my Shih Tzu is 2 years old & always had digestive issues. Please bear with me & this long post as I give you some history on her first:

She weighs 15 pounds. She is fed a total of 3/4th cup of food daily broken up into three meals, so about a 1/4 cup of food per meal. She is current on all vaccinations.

She has had vomiting issues and diarrhea issues but not together. About a year ago she was vomiting bile each morning. The Vet suggested I break her meals up into 3 with the last being at bedtime. And that worked great, after that just a random vomit here & there. I will say though if I forget or am late for one of those feedings for whatever reason, within an hour or two she will vomit. So I try to be very good to stay on schedule with her meals.

She was on Wellness Core for puppies, then when she turned 1 yr old I put her on Wellness Complete Health Small Breed and she did great on that for about a year… then she started refusing to eat it. So I switched her to 4Health Small Bites this past January. After a few weeks of success on the 4Health I also added a small spoonful of the 4Health canned Chicken & Vegetable Stew. She has done well on this since then, with a few random vomiting episodes for example: once I was late getting home for her middle feeding a couple weeks ago. And another time I tried giving her a spoonful of a different flavor of 4Health’s canned. She almost immediately threw that up.

The diarrhea she’s had in the past has been what we think was caused by stress as it was almost always after a groomer visit. But it would not resolve on its own I always had to take her into the Vet. She was given metronidazole and Albon but we finally figured out that a spoonful of pumpkin on grooming day & maybe a day or two afterward worked like a charm. She is a very nervous dog at both the vet & groomer & varies noises at home also.

So this morning she threw up while I was preparing her breakfast. I thought it might just be that bile in the morning thing so I went ahead & fed her & she ate, I took my daughter to school & when I got back she had thrown up breakfast in her crate. After that she threw up several more times. Even after drinking water. She refused anything to eat even her favorite thing in the world pumpkin.

So I took her to the Vet. Temp was normal. They did an xray (2 scans) and everything was normal except on area in the upper intestines the Vet said looking like a little “thickening” but she didn’t think it was an obstruction or anything because usually with an obstruction they will see all these other things in the gut that she was Not seeing. She felt like it might be some fluid in the intestines.

She asked bunches of questions & I told her there was no way she had gotten into any garbage or people food, we watch her too close for that, and outside I always take her out myself & pick up her poop so I am always watching & there was no way she ate anything outside either.

So the Vet gave her a shot of Cerenia and some tablets to take home. Sucralfate that I’m to half & make a slurry & give to her. And Omeprazole that I’m to half & give as well. Then she gave me 2 cans of the Hills Prescription Diet i/d Low Fat, GI Restore.

We didn’t do any blood work & she did not mention pancreatitis, but when I got home & was looking online I read a lot about that being a cause.

My questions are… should I switch her to a low fat diet? Something easy to digest? I have been trying to educate myself today on what it is that makes dogs have sensitive issues in the first place and what elements in dog foods are the hard to digest problems. I am reading a lot of “go low fat” but I looked on 4Health’s website and it says for the Dry that I feed – 12% Crude Fat (Min.) and 4% Crude Fiber (Max) and for the wet food I feed it says 5% Crude Fat & 1.5% Crude Fiber.

So isn’t that considered low fat according to the chart here at dogfoodadvisor on the best low fat dog foods page? And 4Health is a 4 & 5 star food. I’m not even sure she will eat the I/d low fat food since they told me to wait till later today to give it to her. I’m not even sure it’s food related that’s wrong with her today but given her history & the fact that I know she did not eat something she shouldn’t have… there must be something going on.

Any advice would be appreciated. If she is not better by Monday I have to take her back.

[Joanne T]

Hi

i’m helping my sister to research some possible dry dog foods to switch her dog onto. she has a mixed breed, 8.5 years old, with no known allergies

i’m considering between Taste Of The Wild and Canine Caviar. some reasons for this:
– 2 of the few available higher quality dry dog food that i can get my hands easily on
– grain-free
– no rosemary extract

some others that i did consider were Addiction, Timberwolf and Natural Balance but they either have questionable ingredients, or seem to have not so good reviews from users.

would appreciate any comments and advise on either of the 2 mentioned food, or options for other brands.
thanks!

[Cecile R]

Hi Doglovers and forum members,

I live in Sri Lanka and feel that it is very difficult here to get quality advise on dog nutrition (or on dogs in general). I have a 4 months old Ridgeback/Great Dane mix (Tequila) and have done some research on the internet about how I should feed her and feel like the info is very different to what the vet here has recommended me to feed my puppy, so I was hoping that somebody could give me some feeding advise? It is fairly difficult to get proper pet food here, basically the only thing that is available is Pedigree and Eukanuba dry food and this is also really expensive.
We have 4 more dogs who are all strays in different ages which I have picked up from the street and adopted and they are happy to eat almost anything and don’t like the dry food much also, so I would cook for them brown rice with pumpkin or carrott and in the mornings chicken liver and in the afternoon the same with fish filet, sprats, or meat off-cuts form the butcher.
For Tequila I’m a bit more concerned as in no case I want her to get any hip problems later (especially as I feel the vets are differently qualified to Western ones)
Our vet has given me 3 different vitamin supplements with high Calcium content, but from what I have learned can a diet with high Calcium be harmful for large breeds – alright, I just stopped giving her those.
Up to now I have been feeding her the Pedigree Puppy dry food (Calcium approx. 1.1%) but will change this now to the Eukanuba Puppy for large breeds (Calcium approx. 0.96%). So far I have been feeding her 2 smaller servings of this in the morning and always mixed this with milk powder as advised by the vet and chicken liver. In the afternoon she’s getting the same food as the adult dogs as described above. Any opinions if this makes sense?
Tequila was fairly small and skinny when we got her (32cm and 6kg at 8 weeks), but looks healthy now to my opinion. She’s approx. 55cm high now and weighs about 16kg (she’s a bit more on the Ridgeback side, so I think this is okay for her age?)
Since she’s my first large breed I’m very concerned of doing anything wrong as I just want her to grow up healthily and would appreciate any comments and advise of people who are more experienced!
Thanks a lot in advance

[Anonymous]

My poodle with allergies receives immunotherapy and does well on Nutrisca dry (fish) as a base combined with a homemade diet (see the link I provided in the Homemade Dog Food thread). She gets a fish oil capsule daily, too.
Her allergies are environmental (as most are) but she does have a sensitive stomach.
Often food sensitivities are referred to as allergies when they are not.
Allergies often show up around this age and tend to get worse with age.
I found helpful information here. http://www.allergydogcentral.com/

[BlackandBlue]

I’d like to post a few ideas about feeding cats. About a year ago, I noticed my cat obsessively licking the fur off his belly. Eventually figured out he’s got chicken intolerance. And, although I put a liquid dental additive in water that I add to his canned food everyday, his teeth were looking yellow. Here’s how I solved both problems: I feed my cat canned large breed chunky lamb dog food (Nutro Natural Choice large breed lamb and rice formula works great but there’s others such as Hills Ideal Balance lamb cans) a few times a week.
1. It’s really hard to find a resonably priced canned cat food that doesn’t contain either chicken or fish, the dog food works great for these reasons. The Nutro is often $1.78 on sale for a large 12.5 oz can.
2. Kitty has to really chew up the large chunks so it’s really helping his teeth. (It also slows down his eating which I think is good.)
I do feed daily his dry cat food and canned cat food but it is tuna fish based.
As a side note, I think the dental dry cat foods (the large nuggets by Royal Canin or Science Diet), given as treats everyday, do help with cat’s teeth, but I can’t use them anymore as they are always chicken based.

[Karen W]

Percise holistic complete dry dog food

[Bobby dog]

If he were my dog I would have him checked again. I test a few times a year regularly. However, I would test at any time if there were symptoms.

Hopefully, someone will pop in with more knowledge, but I believe detecting parasites also depends on what life stage they are in when you test for them; sometimes they aren’t detected. It’s been a few years since I have had a puppy and I have never had one with a serious parasite problem.

Something else to consider is something in his environment, cleaners, laundry soap, lawn fertilizer, is causing these issues. It could also be a protein common in both of these foods that are causing him issues. Proteins found in meat, grains, vegetables, fruits etc.

Healthy table food is fine for dogs as long as it is no more than 10% of his daily caloric intake; you want to keep his meals balanced.

[Nate D]

Thought I’d give an update on my dogs.

I’ve had the one with crystals on Science Diet per the vet for 1 week now. ph is down from 8.0 to 6.5 and holding. I am testing daily. I won’t know if crystals still exist or not until I have her retested next week.
I do not have her just on the Science Diet though. I am mixing in a small amount of the dry with it along with water.
I have been giving the Solid Gold Berry Balance supplement that I bought to my other dog with his food and have been adding water to the dry food. His ph is dropping so it is working. I plan to have both dogs on it once my female is off of the Science Diet.
I’ve been mixing a 50/50 of distilled water and filtered water I get which already has a neutral ph of 6.0.

I contacted a nutritionist with Fromm who said their food’s ph is 5.6-5.8, which is lower then most high quality dry foods, but the actual output will vary. A lower protein, lower carb diet is good. As I had mine on their weight management food I was suggested to try their 4 star whitefish and potato food as it has lower protein and the carbs are within the same range as the weight management. The food also has a different protein source.
I mentioned trying the new gold coast weight management food as it is grain free and was told I could try it, but was suggested the whitefish food due to the lower protein. 23% vs. 25%.
I was told a cranberry supplement like I am now using is a good thing.
In reality the food should be grain free with no starch/potatoes, but just eliminating it doesn’t mean it will help. I will give the whitefish food a shot and see what results I get from it.

Water consumption is the main key and if using dry food add water.
I was told even using wet food once a day can help a lot.

Unfortunately what will work for 1 dog may not work for the other so it’s a matter of finding what will. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else, but the best thing one can do for any pet is water, water, water. If one uses tap water which may have tons of minerals in it, testing it is a good idea. Water is very good, but it can also cause issues if the ph levels aren’t where they should be.

Ph test strips and testing regularly is a must.

[Nate D]

Lauren what brand food are you feeding your dog? Wet or dry? If dry are you adding water to it? Do you use filtered water or just regular tap? I’m going to post an update on my dogs in a few so you might find some tips in it.

[Anonymous]

http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

I use this as a guide, for supplements I add a dog multi vitamin, fish oil supplement, and other things depending on the dogs individual needs
I also use a quality dry food as a base, tried to get away from it, but they seem to like a little kibble here and there.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Anonymous.

[MaggiesDad]

Hi, I am one of the owners of Allprovide, and would like to address some of the points made above!
All our foods meet or exceed the AAFCO guidelines for nutrition, and this is stated on the first page of our site. If you look at each page for our products, we give a full nutritional analysis, on an “as fed” basis. We feel this is a more accurate way to understand what you are feeding your dogs.
The Guaranteed Analysis for each product is clearly shown on our boxes. I have noted the comments about this being absent from our site and will ensure this is updated! We do however show a full nutritional breakdown for all products.
We only use human grade, USDA Grade A inspected or Select meats. We never use any intensively farmed animals, and frequently take home the chicken we buy for ourselves! We would never feed our four dogs anything that we wouldn’t eat. Our chicken comes from Koch Foods and Harrison Poultry Inc in case anyone would like to check them out.
We do offer free two day shipping across over 30 States. Our foods are frozen and shipped in polystyrene boxes inside cardboard boxes for extra insulation, and in the summer months we will also use dry ice where appropriate.
We include vegetables in our foods because of the excellent nutrients and minerals they supply, not for the carbohydrates. The veg is ground finely to enable the dogs to access all the goodness, as of course just like humans, they find it difficult to process cellulose without some help breaking it down!
Our products have been developed so that they can be cooked in their 1lb pouches where customers may have concerns about bacteria. The bone pieces are extremely small, and soften during the cooking process, thereby ensuring no hazard. Some people have an issue with the natural pathogens found in raw meat, so even though our food is fully tested to be as safe as possible, we thought this would overcome any concerns someone may have about feeding Allprovide if for example they have to be extra health conscious due to a compromised immune system or having a young family. Personally, here at Allprovide we all believe in the benefits of raw feeding, as opposed to cooked or processed foods, and our dogs won’t eat anything else! (Although our Chihuahua for some reason only known to herself demands that her food is cooked in the morning and raw in the evening!)
Regarding the cost of our product, we are firm believers that quality does not have to be expensive. We source only the best ingredients but keep our overheads to a minimum to keep our costs down. We also do Bulk Buy packs with minimal packaging to pass the savings to our customers who do not want to be deluged with cardboard to recycle! We also set up our factory in Georgia to be close to the source of our ingredients, because Gainsville is the chicken capital of the USA! We never cut corners, and insist that all our ingredients only come from the human food supply chain.
We are very proud of our product and what we do, and anyone is more than welcome to tour our new factory in Norcross, GA
If anyone has any further questions about our products, or ingredients, or simply would like to try some free samples, please feel free to call me, Michael, on 678-585-1606.

[tracy b]

I have a 5 year old pit mix that has constant tummy trouble. she is on famotidine with each meal (acid reducer) but still has ongoing issues. she is currently on taste of the wild grain free (no poultry) as she also has skin allergies (these seem to be ok at this time). I am looking for the best choice dry food choice for her – wonder if anyone has any suggestions…. otherwise, I may be having to go to homemade (and that is tough with 2 big dogs!!)

[Dori]

I’m a high protein, fairly high fat, low carb feeder but that’s just too much fat even for me and I feed a higher fat food than most people would be comfortable with unless we’re just reading something wrong. I have always said that it’s the quality of the fat and proteins in a food not the quantity but without truly knowing the quality of their proteins there’s no way to know the quality of their fats. I wish they gave us the dry matter equivalents also. Math and calculations have never been my strong suit so I don’t know how to do it on my own.

• This reply was modified 11 years ago by Dori.

[Jennifer H]

Wow I really love the ingredients in that food. I think it looks really good, but I’d like to know the dry matter % of fat to make sure they aren’t getting most of their meat from fatty cuttings.

I don’t like that it’s in 1lb pouches, as that could be a pain to portion for smaller dogs, but that probably cuts costs for them.

The site kind of sucks though, and I’m having difficulty estimating shipping (it keeps telling me free, which I know can’t be right. Also 50% off your first order holy smokes!)

I have no issue feeding vegetables to my dog so long as they are properly processed. Personally I think farmed meats lack some nutrition, and that it can be quite difficult to fully balance a diet with just meat/bone.

I feed my dog a homemade raw diet, but he’s so small (12lbs) it can be difficult to balance. I’m considering switching to a rotational commercial raw diet with a few RMBs a week.

Would love more info on this product 🙂

[Dori]

Hi John. Just saw your post here and I’d like to reply and help if I can.

Nope, it wasn’t me that suggested that you keep your dogs on the same protein. That’s totally against what I do or would recommend. I may not have explained things correctly. What I had said is that I would suggest that you find a few different (proteins) that your dogs do well on and rotate within the brand if, in fact, there are different proteins in that brand that you can feed. Also find other brands with proteins you dogs do well on and rotate within all the brands all the proteins that your dogs can eat. Rotate proteins and brands. It is never, in my opinion and the way I feed, a good idea to keep a dog long term on any one protein and on any one brand.

I can’t comment on the Acana line or any dry food as I’ve mentioned before. My allergy, intolerant girl can actually eat Nature’s Logic kibble but only the dry and only the sardine formula and only in my way of rotating which is often.

Other foods I thought you might want to consider to add into their diets are Nature’s Variety Instinct Freeze Dried Lamb (doesn’t contain any poultry, fowl, or beef)

Nature’s Variety Limited Instinct Kibble Rabbit or Lamb.

Stella and Chewy’s Freeze Dried. They have a rabbit, a lamb and also a venison formula. None of which contain beef or fowl of any sort.

I think adding freeze dried to their diets in rotation would be a little more cost effective with the kibbles you’ll be feeding because this way, at least, they’ll be getting some of the benefits of raw on occasion. The other is that if freeze dried is too expensive as their entire diet in rotation you might consider rotating through the freeze dried foods that I mentioned and use them just as their treats. You’ll be sure they’re getting healthy treats and they’ll benefit health wise and you don’t have to worry about what’s in the commercial “treats” which usually contain something dogs with food intolerances have issues with. I hope this has helped. Sorry, but I hadn’t realized that you were on the road 9 months of the year. Hopefully when you stationary from time to time if your room has a fridge with small freezer you may be able to just buy small bags of raw frozen to add into their diets. Nature’s Variety Instinct is sold in most, if not all, Petco and Petsmarts and they seem to be everywhere in the country. I love that you travel with your dogs and that they are a priority in our lives. Yes, we are all rather companion animal obsessed (or most of us are) and we like it that way. So, never fear, you’re not in the minority in the world of dogs and your wanting to do the very best you can for them. I’m pretty sure it would be a safe bet that most of us dog obsessed people on this site feed our dogs healthier diets that we do ourselves and our families. I’ve been known to do a McDonald’s drive thru from time to time for myself and my husband yet would rather die than feed my dogs any low quality garbage dog food. They become our children and, as such, we commit ourselves to their health and welfare. As typical parents, we usually put ourselves last. In my opinion that’s a good thing. They can’t choose what they eat, we do it for them so we should try to do the best for them. It’s the least we can do for them when you consider all they give us in return.

[Natalie O]

I just looked up the Victor food and there actually is a hardware store near me that sells it so I will have to look into that! The main stores around me I was planning on buying food were either Pet Supplies Plus or Petsmart, and there is also a Pet Depot in my area as well. Thank you so much everyone for all the input it has really helped! I get him in one week so I’m trying to decide very soon what to buy! I didn’t realize that feeding a rotational diet was the best thing… how often do you rotate? and do you just rotate types of the same brand, or do you rotate brands of food as well? And I also thought dry food was the best type to feed.. I’m learning so much here already!

[John P]

Update: First, I want to thank everyone again for your thorough, prompt, and caring responses. I’ve tried to browse the forum to see if I could help anyone as you’ve helped me. So far, I haven’t found any topic that I feel I am qualified to give an educated opinion, but I will check back regularly.

Back to Iggy and Bella – I have had the luxury of feeding a mostly raw diet in this “detox” or “transition” phase only because this is the off-season for my business. In a few weeks, my dogs and I will begin our regular business road trips across the country (I could fly, but I would never crate my dogs in the cargo bay unless absolutely necessary). I travel with my dogs because I don’t want to be without them for extended periods of time, and I know most boarders won’t (and often can’t) provide the love, care, and attention that my dogs get from me (and that I feel they need and deserve). I tell you all this only because our transient lifestyle for nine months out of the year necessitates a dry dog food/kibble. That is why I have taken all of your excellent advice and focused my research and attention on dry dog foods.

Right now, I have found three highly rated dry dog foods with three distinct proteins that I plan to begin introducing into their diets. Here they are:
• Acana Singles Pork and Butternut Squash Dry Dog Food
•. Acana Singles Lamb and Apple Dry Dog Food
•. Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Rabbit Meal Dry Dog Food

Ideally, I would like to add at least one more food with at least one more single distinct protein to keep in the rotation, although I’m having trouble sorting through all the options to find anything suitable. I know both Iggy and Bella tolerate venison because they did well on the small bag of the Sweet Potato and Venison dog food I bought from that hack brand when I was desperate to switch and couldn’t find anything better at my local PetCo. They also do well with the raw venison that I get from my dad and brothers (they are hunters and have freezers full of the stuff). However, I can’t find any highly-rated venison food that isn’t fortified with fowl or beef (or both). If someone could give me a suggestion on a single-protein venison food, I would greatly appreciate it. Considering they will be getting this food in a rotation with other highly recommended foods, I think it would be acceptable for this venison food to have a lower protein count (correct me if I’m wrong – I’m just guessing). Alternatively, if you know of another protein that is not fowl, fish, beef, bison, or the proteins listed above, I could really use that help too. I’m afraid if one or more of these options don’t work out, which is quite possible, I’ll be going back to the drawing board and coming back begging for more help. Haha!

I believe it was Dori who suggested (or possibly impied) that I should at least consider using multiple foods with the same protein for the sake of variety if I am unable to find a suitable number of distinct proteins. If I must go that route, suggestions on single-protein dry dog foods (or, I suppose, dry dog foods with a mix of these proteins, although I find that highly doubtable) that I should try within these limits would also be very helpful, especially as I prepare logs and attempt to rule out sensitivities that might not be protein-related.

I have some excellent news, too! I have found a locally-owned pet store that is only an hour’s drive from my house. Their prices are significantly cheaper than sites like Chewy and Wag. Per 25-pound bag of premium dog food brands like Acana, I can save an average of $20 to $25. Also, they offered to order any food they don’t carry with no minimum quantities per order and no special order fee. They staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. They even told me about this website before I had a chance to tell them that this is where I had done my research. I’ll never give PetCo or PetsMart my business again!

Thank you again. I am glad that I joined this online family of pet lovers. Among my friends and family, my dedication to my pets is often derided as obsessive, and my investment in their health is deemed wasteful. This community understands the relationship I have with Iggy and Bella, and I would go so far as to say that you encourage it. I look forward to hearing any additional help that any of you might have to offer, and I especially look forward to contributing my experiences to help others in the future.

[Akari_32]

She’ll need a lot, if not all, of her teeth pulled. We all ready add water to her (dry) food and let it sit for 15-20 minutes until it’s a soggy goop. Purina For Professionals doesn’t sell the canned version of her food, unfortunately (they don’t sell a lot of Purina foods, actually…. Lol).

I’ve never had a dog need a dental. Heck, I’m still working 2 out of three of my first dogs, and they’re 11 and 12, and in pretty darn good health if you ask me LOL Haley may chew on some questionable-type objects at times, but neither of them have ever needed dental attention :p

I hope Gingers blood work comes back good enough to get her teeth done. She really needs it. She’s been so miserable. You’d think I was trying to pull moms teeth with the resistance I’ve been getting on trying to convince her to just get it done!

[Dori]

Ginger getting her dental done!!! YES! YAY! Don’t forget to fast her from the night before. Fabulous news Akari. I’m sure Ginger will feel much better after her dental. Having a dental is not particularly big deal usually unless they have to have a lot of teeth removed which will alleviate any pain she’s been in and a good cleaning should help with bacteria going on in her mouth which can be going through her blood and into her kidneys. Bad news for you is that she may only be able to eat canned if she has too many teeth removed. The procedure itself is really not a big deal. You’ll drop her off in the a.m. and pick her up in the p.m. She may or may not be a bit groggy. A little bit of canned food in the evening. Her gums, of course, will be a little sore and she probably won’t want to chew on dry food. The vet or tech will give you all the instructions when you or your mom pick her up. Have you ever had a dental on any dog? Fingers crossed that her blood work comes back half way decent. So happy for Ginger.

[Dori]

Hi William. Glad you are going to change her diet to a grain free food. Most dogs do better with a high quality protein, modern to high quality fat, low carb diet. Also do your best to avoid high starch’s like white rice, white potatoes, etc. That will help with seizures. Please try to avoid any foods that have rosemary or rosemary extract in them as rosemary is known to trigger seizures in dogs that are prone to seizures. If you will type in Seizures on the forum search box there are a couple of forums on seizures.

Since she has been on one food all of her life, I would start very very slowly by removing a few of the old kibbles and add some of the new food. Typically you can start (some say) by switching out 1/4 of her old food with 1/4 of her new food. You can add some canned pumpkin (grocery store), not the pumpkin pie type, just plain pumpkin or some probiotics to help her get through the change. Keep an eye on her poops. If they seem to be okay (“normal”), then you can move to 1/2 cup old food 1/2 cup new food. All the while checking her stools. If they start to get loose or diarrhea then go back to the mix when her stools were normal. Keep her on that till she’s regular again and then continue with the transition. Every time her stools are too loose, back up, stop and wait. Typically dogs can transition in about 10 days but some dogs will take much longer. I fear that with a dog that has eaten the same low quality dry dog food all her life it may take a bit longer. Some dogs can take up to a month or even two to fully transition. Good Luck. Do the transition slowly and all will be fine.

The Honest Kitchen makes a product called Perfect Form that a lot of us have used while transitioning foods and have been very pleased. It’s a staple I keep in the pantry for my three girls. Eventually, when all is well with your dog…..no more yeasty ears and such hopefully you’ll be able to feed her 2 or 3 or even 4 different foods that she’ll do well with. A lot of us here at DFA are rotational feeders. The more often you are able to transition to a different protein and brand the easier your dog will be able to transition through the different foods. It all makes for a healthier gut and also any nutritional needs that may not be addressed by one brand will be balanced, over time, with other foods. Also, if a food has a recall or your local store has suddenly run out of what you’ve been feeding her, there’s always another food you can feed her without upsetting gut.

[Erin M]

Hi, I’m new to the forums here, though I’m at DFA almost every week.

I currently feed my hound mix rescues Victor and add about 4 oz. wet (pure balance in the morning and kirkland turkey wet in the evening). I’m wondering about the other victor grain free blends to give my dogs some variety. They love the all stages kibble (and so do I as a teacher on a budget who wants to feed my dogs well).

Any recs for other high-q dry foods that are in the $45-50 range for a 30lb bag? I go through about 2 bags per month, (my dogs are high activity!

Thanks,
t_t

[William M]

Hello! New member here. This has probably been answered on this forum before. I have an 8 year old Lab and she is almost constantly in some phase of an ear infection. We’ve fought it with ear medication but can’t seem to beat it. She also has seizures, but only an episode every 3-4 months or so. I would like to see if a diet change will help her. She has been fed Pedigree dry food all of her life. I am hopeful that I can find a new diet that will help with this. Thanks in advance for any help!

[Akari_32]

Psh, I don’t get any money from her. It all goes to mom for the extra water and electricity she uses up (good lord, this woman is laundry crazy and doesn’t turn ANYTHING OFF!!). Not looking forward to her living here again. She’s got to be one of the most stupid, ignorant people I’ve ever met. Thankfully mom said she’s only staying here until she finds another place to live. *Please* let that be soon!

I moved all the dog food to my closest (well over 100 pounds, I’d say), all the dog and cat treats and random etc type items to the stand under one of the reptile tanks (were I keep the canned dog and cat food), and the litter went out in the garage (or next to the liter box, in the case of two of the tubs lol probably about 100 pounds in all). Now I have to do some rearranging to make some space in my bedroom. Had to quickly move stuff out of the closet to fit all this dog food…. Let’s just say the place looks like a tornado went through.

….Multiple times…. Lol

I’ll get to you as soon as I can go through and get out all the ones I don’t want/can’t use 🙂 I’ll try and do it tonight. I’ve been meaning to get them all out cut out and organized anyways lol If you’ve been through this years calandar and know what’s in there, feel free to make requests!

[Tere G]

Hi, I feel bad because my dog often licks or scrapes her bowl with her teeth even after she eats, and in between meals. She seems like she’s still hungry but I don’t increase her food portion because I’m trying to manage her weight. She’s a 4yr old small mix (maybe Italian greyhound/ papillon ), 21-22lbs, and has had 2 luxating patellas, which she got pins in to hold her patella’s in place 3yrs ago. Vet suggests she should be 18-20lbs to keep her knees healthy. So most of her life she’s only been on weight management dry food, but she doesn’t seem to loss weight, which she still needs to.
Also, she runs hard and supper fast for abut 15mins a day, off leash while I bike ride, so she’s losing a lot energy that she needs to replenish. I think her food is not cutting her needs.
I have been giving her Wellness Complete Health (Healthy weight, small breed) half a cup in the morning and half in the evening for over a year. I want to keep her kibble small because she doesn’t chew much, she mostly swallows it. She gets tremendous joy from running fast so I don’t want to limit that.
Should I up her protein/fat/ and or carbs based food? Recommendations??

• This topic was modified 11 years ago by Tere G.

[Suzette A]

@akari_32 – I did see welleness on the list! That’s good, and I totally feel you on the florida heat we just moved from Miami, FL to south texas 7 months ago. We kept our dogfood bags in the laundry room because when we kept them outside every time we would let our late GSD sadie out she would find a way to break the bags and eat herself into a sugar coma. We even had to take her to the vet twice because she was such a glutton and hate too much then couldn’t even move…

@GSDsForever – Thank you! and we already had the puppy tested for genetic abnormalities 🙂 he came back right as rain. We are purchasing him from a very reputable breeder and my boy comes from champion bloodline if ever the hip dysplasia is a problem although I highly doubt it will be because he isn’t genetically predisposed, we would gold bead him like we did our late GSD who took amazingly well to it.

♥

[WhimsicalChaos]

The best dry food we have found is Acana ‘Grasslands’. Depending on your location it may be difficult to find, as it is more of a specialty pet shoppe product. But, all of our pups have loved it, and we have had no problems with Acana. Label wise is a very healthy, organic food. But, having issues of my own with ‘Blue’ canned food, so can’t help you with a can selection.

After using Blue Canned food, I am having to find another food today as the Blue has begun to give my dog serious ‘Gassy’ issues. We tried changing him over to Merrick last week because it seemed he had become bored with the Blue (even though we get him various flavors), but the Merrick Canned food gave him serious diarrhea and more gas. We could actually hear his tummy twisting noises. I felt so guilty…so we went back to Blue. Although he is eating the Blue, his ‘Gassy’ issue seems to have gotten worse. So, going to go find a different organic canned food. If you research, you will find a lot of people having gas issues that are using Blue. So, if you choose to try Blue, you’ll know rather quickly if your pups cannot tolerate it – for sure your nose will tell you.

He also began pacing all night, last night and the night before. My husband and I took him out 6-8 times both night, but he didn’t have to poop, and obviously no diarrhea – he would just urinate. But when being back inside, would continue the pacing. I hear no tummy noises, but there is definitely gas…no doubt about that! I just do not want him having any pains. I have a feeling his stomach has become intolerant to the ‘rich’ foods such as Merrick and Blue. Or possibly has acquired an allergic reaction to one of the main ingredients. So, gonna try yet another type of food.

[GSDsForever]

I was advised by my vet to give a dose with a bare minimum 1500 EPA mg for a 76 lb young dog for dry itchy skin/coat, degenerative joint disease.

I prefer to use Grizzly’s Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil, and that is about 5 pumps/day over food of a 16-32 Oz pump bottle in my fridge. I love this brand.

This is in addition to high Omega 3, low ratio Omega 3 to 6 food.

I tried another brand when it was donated to a dog as rescue foster, also wild Alaskan salmon, but the Omega 3 content was much lower as were the EPA & DHA. And it was smellier. My only *guess* for VERY different Omega 3 content was different varieties of wild salmon used.

[Sandra R]

My finicky cat’s favorite brands are Applaws and Weruva. My guy gets wet twice a day with dry food for an occasional snack. He is not speaking to me at the moment as I just did his monthly Advantage treatment.

[Hanna J]

Have you considered that it could be the lentils or peas in grain-free novel protein kibbles that are causing the issue? Try checking the foods for common allergens besides the meat meal, like potatoes, alfalfa, lentils, peas, or meals that aren’t listed on the front of the bag.

Also, if you haven’t tried fish or turkey, or if those dry foods have other ingredients in them that could be the trigger, consider trying the Freshpet lines of Vital grain free. They have a turkey and a salmon meal that have fish, but no lentils, peas, or other non-meat allergens, just some veggies. They’re here:

http://freshpet.com/products/vitalgrainfreeturkeyrecipe/
http://freshpet.com/products/vitalsalmonrecipe/

All dry kibbles have SOME binder, and even the “grain free” kind need a starch like potatoes, peas, lentils, chickpeas, etc. Some dogs can’t tolerate those, and they are a protein source, so they can be the problem. A canned, fresh, or freeze dried food with no binders may help you isolate whether it’s the meat causing issues or another protein source. That may open you up to non-kangaroo options in the future.

[Susan]

Hi, can you do home cooking & put him on an elimination diet? start with 1 protein & 1 carb then after 2 weeks as long it looks like he’s improving start to add another food, Like GSDs Forever said… it just took Patch 1 week & the redness under his white chin went away, the red front paws all cleared up & shaking his head stopped… I feed Turkey breast mince mixed in 1 egg & made into a turkey loaf & baked then I used sweet potatoes as the carb, but I knew Patch can eat eggs you can leave out the egg if you want, or feed a limited ingredient kibble with just 2-3 ingredients there’s a few around, “California Natural” has their Lamb & Rice with just 4 ingredients or Kangaroo & Red Lentils…Wellness has their “Simple” range or there’s “Natural Balance” has their Kangaroo & potatoes Rabbit & Potatoes or Duck & Potatoes these are the only N/B flavours that have the least ingredients…I’m pretty saw one of these diets will clear up your Bullys skin & ears, try to pick a kibble with ingredients that you haven’t feed before or do the elimination diet & you will find out what foods irritate his skin & ears, also keep a diary…..Have you tried Malaseb Medicated shampoo, it was the only shampoo that killed the bacteria on Patches skin & didn’t dry out his skin, leaving his fur so soft, I bath every 6- 7 days in the Summer/Spring… I also give Patch 1/2 a Yakult everyday to help his stomach….we share 1 everyday.. I was giving No Fat Greek Yogurt but I think it made him feel sick as he has stomach & bowel problems, Good luck with ur Bully love the breed..

[GSDsForever]

Allergy & Food: I would try a single novel protein/novel carb source diet, including restricting all treats (can only be that protein/carb).

This needs to be something your dog has never eaten before, ideally both the meat/protein source and the carb(s). You feed this a long while and other monitoring (you and your vet), then slowly add back in one protein at a time. You see what makes the symptoms disappear in your dog.

Heartworm Preventative: There are only so many active ingredients effective in heartworm prevention. Heartguard would have the same ingredient as Iverhart, Ivermectin. Your other option is the main active ingredient in the formerly made Interceptor, which now only is available with other anti-parastitics in the formula.

You do need to use one of them, as heartworm is very deadly & brutal on a dog.

You can also have the main active ingredient compounded for your dog at a compounding pharmacy, in whatever form and flavoring/inactive ingredients (in case of severe allergy to what you’ve already tried) and exactly custom to the weight of your dog.

Dry skin & shampoo/conditioner — Please see my thread I already started on that topic here, asking for help.

[AmBulldog29]

I have a 4 year old american bulldog. We are having allergy issues, I believe. I would love any feedback / what has helped with your bully baby!
He has now had a yeast infection in one ear twice, easily clears up with topical meds. Vet says can be from a food allergy.
Now has an infected anal gland, on abx from the vet.
Dry skin on the top of his back. We have tried everything in terms of shampoos.. Oatmeal, sensitive skin, baby shampoo.
He is intolerant to Trifexis or Iverhart. Within 7 – 10 days after giving this he can not pee when he wants to & when he needs to go he can’t control it. We’ve done urine samples, bloodwork, no temperature, xrays, & no findings.
I am not a fan of chemicals / toxins. We would like to be as natural / holistic as possible.
I would love recommendations on dry foods to try & other suggestions on heart worm preventatives.
Thank you in advance!

[Dorothy L]

Here you go!

http://www.cesar.ca/en-us/products/dry-food

[Laurel S]

Hello – Happy to have found this forum. We have a 5 year old Aussie Mix who is also seizure prone. No medication, and has had about 6 seizures over 5 years, but very serious grand mal variety. I have had good luck with removing Rosemary from his diet as well. As others have said, better safe than sorry. We have also added a supplement called Cholodine that was recommended by our vet. While he does still have seizures, I’m sure there are other triggers that we have not identified that are at work, but at least they are very infrequent since changing his diet.

As far as food, at the time (several years ago) one of the only dry foods I could find that didn’t include Rosemary was Natural Balance Ltd Ingredient Sweet Potato and Fish. Only available near us (Illinois) from Petco. We were sailing along until Del Monte purchased Natural Balance last summer. Since then I’ve been keeping an eye on them closely. Recently I’ve read about several issues with their foods, not necessarily the dry, but feel it’s only a matter of time.

I too, have been looking to make a change. Heard recently about American Natural Premium made in Mequon, WI. They make several grain free options (I don’t think potatoes are considered a grain). There’s also some question whether this food is actually a part of Fromm (also made in Mequon), but for legal reasons they won’t actually claim that, however ANP was a bit more vague about it so I’m curious for sure. Fromm is a very well respected company with no recalls and family owned and operated since i think 1949. American Natural Premium, I believe, is more of a private label, not advertised, etc., and therefore less expensive.

I’m curious if anyone has used either Fromm Grain Free dry or American Natural Premium Grain Free varieties for there seizure prone dogs. Appreciate any and all info. Reading this forum it’s helpful to know others are dealing with the same issues and just trying to look out for our doggies best interests 🙂