[RebeccaRose]

Hi, LM, I can’t imagine there would be a homeopathic vet any where near me. I did a search on theavh.org & it turned up zero for my State. I did just a general search with my towns name & homeopathic vet & it wasn’t much help. I know if I ask any of the Vet’s near me they’ll just recommend the Hill’s Precription Diets which is what they sell… We had a Pom that lived almost 13 yrs on the W/D Precription dry food. She wasn’t picky. But the price was very difficult for us to swallow all those yrs.

DogFoodie, how are you able to transition from different foods without tummy upset? I have to change her foods over slowly or she’ll either vomit or have diarrhea. I’m barely to the 50/50 ratio right now & she’s already refusing to eat it. She started out like she liked it though, picking out the new over the old.

I have never tried Fromm, I’d would have to order that online as they don’t have it near me.

So do you think I should continue on with the Wellness Healthy Weight with a spoonful of broth as long as she’ll eat it like that?

For dogs that don’t need to lose weight how do you keep them from losing weight when they need to be on a low fat food? I don’t think she’ll eat more than a 1/4 cup 3x a day even with the broth.

[Jennifer P]

I’m new to this but I can tell you that The Honest Kitchen Embark for puppies and adults seemed to be a lifesaver to our GSD puppy and his gastric problems. He was on Fromm Gold for Large Puppies and I kept going to the vet for his loose stools and the vet kept putting him on antibiotics and then probiotics to keep him from having additional stomach problems from the antibiotics!!??!! Then I found THK. I started to ease him into it but was so distressed over his stomach issues I just went for it full bore and wouldn’t you know his stomach issues were immediately resolved!! Now I’m just trying to find healthy mixes of dry for his daytime feedings. The only downside? I soon learned that a total diet of THK is as expensive as feeding organic human food.

[Jean elizabeth j]

what about solid gold dry dog food small bread?

[Cheryl H]

My vet has put my dog on prescription dog food. Once it was because of crystals in his urine and now because of a bout of diarrhea and vomiting. The crystals went away soon after he was treated for the urinary infection, but I had to keep him on the Hills prescription food for several months. I did some research to find a good quality food to transition from the prescription food. During my research I read numerous negative reports and posts regarding the quality of Hills dog foods. I chose a Blue Buffalo dry food that worked really well for several months. The soft stools that he had while on the prescription food feared up and there was no recurrence of the crystals. I bought a fourth or fifth bag of the BB and immediately had problems. At first my dog wouldn’t eat it and when he finally did, he got really sick. I chalked it up to a bad bag. I then bought some Blue Basic grain free, lamb formula and things went back to normal until the third bag. My dog became violently ill following the second serving from the third bag. My vet again has put him on a Hills prescription diet (ID). Any ideas about what to feed next? I’ve read that canned food might be better for dogs with urinary tract problems because of the water content. Any suggestions for a quality food for a sensitive stomach? Never using BB again!!

[Sally H]

I have been feeding her chicken and she only wants the brown meat. She does love liver but I am not up to cooking her chicken rice and green beans every day. I wouldn’t get the combination right and I want her to eat nutritionally. I have never had a dog that wouldn’t eat dry dog food and I never let them have people food so this is a real problem. I am 70 and walking her three times a day is tough enough as she loves long walks and chasing squirrels and I do love for her to be able to do that. She does seem to have trouble with hard
food and will not eat hard treats so I need to stick to soft foods. She sticks her nose up at all of the canned foods I have gotton her so far and the refrigerated food I got her at Publix. Someone suggest Dyno bites as being supposedly very tasty.??? She does love Cesar softie treats and hard bits of liver. as well as the greenies. She licks my coffee cup after I have drained it and even tried to lick my bowl that I had tomatos and okra in yesterday. Couldn’t believe it She throws up when she eats stews so those are out. She only gets treats once or twice a day when she does something special that she is getting trained about. Any one who can help me I will bless forever. Thank you for reading. Sally

[fur_ever21]

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice or Natures Select?

[InkedMarie]

My favorite dry foods are Annamaet, Nature’s Logic, Dr Tim’s and Farmina.

[Katie E]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good dry dog food that is low in purines and safe for a Dalmatian?

[Susan C]

to Dog Foodie, I Apologize! Yes, you were trying to help me, I am truly sorry! I did not see the actual comparisons on the two I was referring to.
I am just holding out hope that Diamond has, in fact, improved their whole process, as the ingredients and price of a few of the dry foods by 4health just look to good to turn away from.
What did you think about what the 2 independent sites said about Diamond’s improvements that I mentioned in one of my notes?
The dry 4health Grain Free Duck and Potato is manufactured by Ainsworth, so I hope that is a good one. Where the dry 4health Grain Free Chicken and Vegs is by Diamond, but that has the Probiotics, Glusosamine and Chondroitin.
Anyway, I was just so excited to learn about these “new to me” dry 4 health grain free foods . . . I hope they are good ones and may get a more thorough review one day, since Diamond has (supposedly) improved their processing and testing procedures.

and, AQARIANQT, thank you for your comments. Did you happen to see the 2 independent sites I mentioned above that also say Diamond is better. I understand what you are saying, but still have hope!! Since I have personally experienced problems with Wellness CORE very recently, and, in years past. It seems impossible to find a dry food that you can be absolutely positive that it is safe and good for our babes!! That’s my main point and concern. It’s like, who really knows when or if something will go wrong with any of the companies. So far, my 3 are doing great on the Tractor Supply dry 4health Grain Free Duck and Potato, but it’s by Ainsworth, not Diamond. So confusing!!!
Anyway, thank you for your comments back to me.
I have tried other 5 star foods, but many are too rich in something, or don’t have the Probiotics, or my dogs just won’t eat. And, I do switch them over very slowly, still using the current and new foods.
Thanks again,
Susan C. in VA

[DogFoodie]

I did read your note, Susan. Did you read mine? I directed you to the review for the Duck and Potato product and the Chicken and Vegetable canned food. But, you apparently glossed over where I had mentioned the Chicken and Vegetable dry food not having been reviewed yet. Glad you were able to find the reviews.

To say that I attacked you is incredulous. I tried to offer links that might help you find the information you were looking for. No need to be so rude.

[Susan C]

To Dog Foodie (and I hope Mike Sagman). Again, I was not referring to canned food at all, so you didn’t even read my note. I was only referring the two dry GRAIN FREE 4HEALTH DOG FOODS, that I listed.
Dog Foodie wanted to know which independent sites I saw confirmation of the improvements that have been made to Diamond Pet foods processing procedures since 2012. Well, here are two:
http://www.petmanianc.com/diamond-recall-update and
http://www.wellmindedpets.com/blog
Also, Diamond themselves have quite an impressive video on their site where you can see what they have done to greatly improve their standards. Probably better than a lot human food processing places now!! Apparently some decision makers from Pet Mania saw this first hand on a tour they went on and thought the changes warranted it good enough to bring Diamond foods back into their stores in NC.
Again, I have NO allegiance to any company, just trying to find a very good dry dog food at a reasonable price. Since the two 4health dry foods I am referring to are relatively new, I just hope that they will get the thorough review by DFA that I believe they deserve. Again, they are:
1. 4health dry Grain Free Chicken and Vegs, and
2. 4health dry Grain Free Duck and Potato
A caring mom of 3 dogs,
Susan C. in VA

[Susan C]

No they haven’t. All the the Grain Free dry “4health” foods are totally different.
The first link you sent to me was evaluating the dry “4health Whitefish and Potato”. The ingredients don’t even slightly resemble the Grain Free Duck and Potato ingredients. The Whitefish ingredients are totally different from the two I mentioned. The Duck has lots of vegs and fruits that the Whitefish does not.
AND, The 2nd link you sent to me was about canned food. I am NOT talking about any canned food. The dry Grain Free 4health Chicken and Vegs food also has lots and vegs and fruits AND Probiotics and Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Again, does not even slightly compare to this canned food link.
What is going on there with you guys?? I thought you could help me figure this out, not further upset me. I feel like you attacked ME!!
And, a lot of people, including me, who have been feeding Wellness CORE to their babes for years have had to return bags of the food, several times, because something was wrong with it and our dogs were getting sick. There probably should have been a recall, but it got swept under the carpet, Wellness did replace a lot of food for a LOT of people, but never had a recall. Many people on DFA have said this. So why has Wellness NOT had a voluntary or non voluntary recall?
I will go back and try to find the sites that I saw the “improved Diamond” testimonies. But, don’t have them to give to you this minute. Have you or anyone there looked into Diamonds improvements? Again, I am just learning about this 4health food, which looks to be a GREAT food at a GREAT price. So I have no allegiance to anyone, just trying to do the best thing for my 3 dogs. I was just looking for your help, since I PAID to be able to see the TOP Dog Food Choices by you guys, but obviously am not going to get any!!
I have been a supporter of DFA for years, but you have really upset me with your short, blunt answer that didn’t even address my questions.
Susan C. in Virginia

[DogFoodie]

Susan C,

4Health Grain Free Duck and Potato dry food has already been reviewed; and you can find it here: /dog-food-reviews/4health-grain-free-dog-food-dry/

If you’re referencing 4Health Chicken and Vegetable Stew canned food, it has already been reviewed; and you can find it here:
/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-canned/ If this is the food to which you are referring, it cannot be made by Diamond, as they have no cannery. But if you are in fact referring to their new dry food, it does take some time to update all of the reviews and that DFA product page was just updated on 08/22/2014, so it might be a while.

Diamond has had more than a “blunder from time to time,” and is far, far from being “one of the best.” Yes, that’s my opinion, and I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say that’s likely the EC opinion as well.

Can you please share the links to the independent web sites which reflect that Diamond has “greatly improved their processing and testing procedures,” please.

[Susan C]

The Tractor Supply private brand “4health” have a few relatively NEW, GRAIN FREE FOODS. DFA, PLEASE evaluate, rate, and put in the “DFA” site specifically, the two I MENTION, as they appear to be a couple of the best ones:
1. “4health GRAIN FREE CHICKEN & VEGETABLES” manufactured by DIAMOND. and,
2. “4health GRAIN FREE DUCK & POTATO” (sweet potato) manufactured by AINSWORTH.
Not sure WHY they use TWO DIFFERENT FACILITIES TO MANUFACTURE SOME OF THEIR DRY DOG FOODS, BUT THEY DO. I found this out while doing some research on the 4HEALTH BRAND. A Veterinarian with Diamond called me back to answer some of my questions that the Customer Service girl didn’t know, and that’s how I learned that Diamond doesn’t manufacture all of the 4health dry foods, even tho’ they would like to, like the Duck and Potato, by Ainsworth. I believe MANY consumers, LIKE ME, would GREATLY appreciate KNOWING this. Also, DIAMOND HAS APPARENTLY GREATLY IMPROVED THEIR PROCESSING AND TESTING PROCEDURES since 2012. THEY say this and SHOW you on their site, AS WELL AS OTHER INDEPENDENT SITES that CONFIRM this. Important to know!! Diamond may be one of the best now!! I have fed my dogs the expensive Wellness CORE for years, and, have even returned a few of those bags, through the years, because they were making my dogs have tummy issues. I would try other 5 star brands in the interim, but always went back to the CORE, thinking it must have just been a bad batch, or something. So, I guess any company, even the best, can have a blunder from time to time. I don’t work for any of these companies . . . I am just a concerned dog owner, trying to find the best food, at the best price for my very much LOVED rescued babes. I hope the 2 “4health” I mention above may just be it. It’s almost 1/2 the price!! AND, MY DOGS LOVE THE 2 FLAVORS I MENTION ABOVE, AND, BY WHAT I CAN SEE THEY ARE 2 OF THE BEST IN THE “4HEALTH” BRAND. THANKS in advance for checking this out in your thorough way!!
Susan C. in Virginia

[Susan C]

I am very careful and particular about what I have fed, and still feed, my 7 different rescued dogs over the years. I have mostly fed them the grain free “Wellness Reduced Fat CORE” for the last 5 years, and have tried other expensive 5 star foods, but usually go back to the Wellness CORE, because others seem to be to rich for my dogs, or something . . . However, they are all EXPENSIVE!! I have lost all my dogs to old age, which is always heartbreaking, and I now have 3 adorable, truly rescued Lhasa/Shitsu mixes (1st one, 4 years ago, was a 3 year old in a kill shelter in NC, with 1 day left before she was rescued, Bailey, and the recent brother and sister’s (Johnnie & Janie) owner passed away this past December. I am the lucky one that we found each other!! Love them soooo much!!
ANYWAY, I have recently learned from a friend about the very reasonably priced “4health Grain Free” Dry Dog Foods for all types of dogs that is Tractor Supply’s private Brand. I found out that most of the 4health dry foods are made by Diamond, but a few of the flavors are made by Ainsworth. The “Grain Free Duck and Potato” is by Ainsworth, for example. I had never been in, or heard of, a Tractor Supply store before, so this was all totally NEW to me. I know that Diamond has gotten a bad rap for years so I did lots of research before trying a couple of the “Grain Free” dry foods, which my dogs love, by the way. I learned that Diamond has really revamped and greatly improved their facilities, and testing procedures since 2012. Did you know that? Check out their website, and others that confirm this. I now believe they may be one of the best dry dog food processors now, and may even be better than some human food processing centers. Oh, and by the way, through the years, I have gotten a bad bag of the Wellness CORE a couple of times that my dogs wouldn’t eat, so something going wrong can happen anywhere I believe, even Wellness.
I would like to ask the “Dog Food Advisor” to PLEASE let us know what you think of, specifically, the “4health Grain Free Duck and Potato” (has sweet potato’s in it also) by Ainsworth, AND the “4health Grain Free Chicken & Vegetables” by Diamond (has Probiotics, Glucosamine and Chondroitin in it, Yeah). By the ingredients, they look like two of the best ones in my opinion that 4heath offers. I also think the Salmon one, Whitefish one, and the Grain Free Turkey and Potato look good also. It can be very difficult to decide on which food will be the best for our babes, that’s why I appreciate the “Dog Food Advisor” so much!! Most of us want the best food, at the best price, for our babes, which some of the “4health” foods may just be, is what I am hoping!! Thank you in advance if you do check out these 4health foods and list them in the fabulous “Dog Food Advisor” soon. I don’t work for any of these companies listed above, just a concerned dog owner that wants a good quality food, at a more reasonable price!! Thanks again!!
A Dog Lover who wishes all the Junk Dog Foods out there could be banned!!

[Mike Sagman]

Both Grandma Lucy’s reviews have now been tagged as “dry” — and due to server caching, it could take a few hours before you can observe these changes.

However, according to Dr. Harvey’s website, Oracle appears to use freeze-dried meats. And there’s no indication the food itself has been freeze-dried.

The reason we have (so far) not created a special category for freeze-dried dog foods is that there are other non-kibbles that would also need their own dedicated categories.

This would create categories with fewer than 10 competing products.

For example, some dog food companies claim their products are “baked” while others insist their foods are “dehydrated”. And yet others say their recipes are “air-dried”.

In any case, almost every one of these products share the common physical characteristics of other dry dog foods in that they each contain approximately 10% moisture.

So, we have chosen to lump them all together as “dry” dog foods — and then tag them for future custom search functions soon to be added to our website to allow users to create their own custom lists to find what they want.

Hope this makes sense.

[weezerweeks]

I found Dr. Harveys on the dry food review and its freezedried. I can’t find a review for grandma lucys. I wish the freezedried food could be put in a category the way the raw,dry and wet is. So confusing to me.

[Kristin S]

If you aren’t worry about budget, go with Orijen or Wellness Core. We choose a cheaper route with Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food and we like it.
https://www.petflow.com/product/fromm/fromm-gold-holistic-large-breed-puppy-dry-dog-food

[theBCnut]

I strongly believe that no dog food is perfect. All of them have minerals that are not balances, highs that are too high, lows that are too low, too much of one amino acid, too little of another, etc. Because of this, I believe that the best you can do is to rotate foods and feed a variety of different types of foods. Can you think of any single meal that it would be OK for you to eat day in and day out for years? I can’t.

I don’t have any problem with my dogs when I feed Merrick, but they get it for about a week and then we move on to something else.

I feed dry, dehydrated, freeze dried, canned, fresh, and raw. My dogs never have stomach issues either, because they are used to eating variety.

[Anonymous]

Anytime you make a change in their diet they may have loose stools/diarrhea.
Unless it’s severe, I would give it a day or two, or three.

Some of those small breeds tend to develop bladder stones….so I would add water to her meals and choose her diet accordingly, high quality kibble, homemade, or a combination.
http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

I like Wysong or Nutrisca (fish) as a dry food base. I have used Wellness in the past, my neighbor likes Fromm’s for her picky eater….I’m sure there are other good brands too.

[jakes mom]

Had another thought. Have you ever tried FreshPet foods? It comes in rolls and also in a bag, kibble shape but softer. That would introduce him to a different type of food, but not crunchy. Then maybe transition him to the dry. Only problem with FreshPet is that it needs to be refrigerated, is sold in it’s own fridge at the store. It also freezes well, I portion it out and freeze it. I know you work at a pet store, so you may already be familiar with it. If not, I’ve seen it at some pet stores, also Walmart, Target, and grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

Plenty information at these websites.
http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

http://www.allergydogcentral.com/

Environmental allergies are more common than food allergies, often food sensitivities are referred to as allergies.
If the symptoms have been going on for more than a year, 4 seasons without significant relief I would consider seeing a specialist and having the skin testing done (if you haven’t done so already).

Have you considered consulting with a homeopathic veterinarian?
http://www.vitalanimal.com
for a list of homeopathic vets in your area http://theavh.org/ Make sure the vet has at least 75% homeopathic cases in their practice, or you might just get the same old same old.

My dog with allergies receives immunotherapy and seems to do best with Nutrisca dry (fish) as a base food. A daily fish oil capsule. Frequent baths with Malaseb.

[Akari_32]

My cat eats twice a day. 11 am and 11 pm (roughly, anyways. It can vary from between 8 am and 1 am, typically). I don’t leave his food out, I put it down, and he eats it all, no matter when it gets put down. Then again, he also pounces on vegetables that fall on the floor (not that he eats them, but still… lol).

Given your cat’s unwillingness to eat dry, and his veterinary history, I wouldn’t make him eat it, personally. Instead, keep meal time interesting, with lots of different canned foods (I feed a different brand and flavor at each meal), and keep being creative on ways to getting him to continue eating canned, such as offering it at different temperatures, with different broths or water, at different consistencies (varying amounts of water and broth added).

[CircaRigel]

Just as people with different activity levels have different nutritional requirements, the same is true for dogs. The amounts you mention actually seem quite reasonable for the dogs you listed, especially if they are as lean as you say, and are active. You might be going a bit high on the two puppies, but not by much.

Of course, how much you feed also is going to depend on the water content and calorie content of the foods. Calorie dense foods should be served in smaller portions than lower calorie ones, and wet foods tend to have fewer calories than dry, dependent on water content.

The amount you’re feeding the Cane Corso/Mastiff is similar to the amount I feed my Shiloh Shepherd puppy, but as Galen is training to be a service dog, he gets more exercise than many puppies (He was born 11/20 and is around 44 lbs). Anywhere I go, he goes too. He’s expected to be 115-125 lbs full grown.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 9 months ago by CircaRigel.

[aimee]

Peter L,

I understand what you are saying but I disagree. I’d expect that there is a significant difference between the nutrient levels in the protein sources that would impact the final analysis. Chicken meal is limited to muscle skin fat connective tissue while beef meal can contain any part of the bovine. Additionally the AA profile should change between protein sources and levels yet this is not what is reported.

Also the canned diets used to report the same analysis as the dry foods did. This has changed for most of the diets yet the rabbit canned diet still reports the same analysis as the dry products, with a few numbers changed here and there : ), despite having a completely different ingredient profile and processing.

chicken dry:Chicken Meal, Millet, Chicken Fat, Pumpkin Seed, Yeast Culture, Spray Dried Chicken Liver, Dried Eggs, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Kelp, Cheese Powder, Porcine Plasma, Dried Tomato, Almonds, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Carrot, Dried Apple, Sardine Meal, Egg Shell Meal, Dried Pumpkin, Dried Apricot, Dried Blueberry, Dried Spinach, Dried Broccoli, Dried Cranberry, Parsley, Dried Artichoke, Rosemary,…

Rabbit canned: Rabbit, Water Sufficient for Processing, Turkey Liver, Dried Egg Product, Porcine Plasma, Montmorillonite Clay, Cod Liver Oil, Egg Shell Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Apple, Dried Apricot, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Artichoke, Dried Blueberry, Dried Broccoli, Dried Carrot, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Cranberry, Dried Kelp, Parsley, Dried Pumpkin, Rosemary, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomato.

For both diets the Vit A is reported as 23, 020, Vit D 175 Iu/kg, Vit E 21.34 IU/kg,thiamine 46.9mg/kg, riboflavin 8.14….etc

The Fortifier analysis also is very similar to the others yet the ingredient line up is very different.

Another other concern I had with this company’s nutrient reporting was the comparison chart for millet with other carbohydrate ingredients. They report all on a dry matter basis except for millet which is on an as fed basis. When comparing, all ingredient should be reported on a dry matter basis. By not doing this they falsely make the millet look lower in carbs/sugar when comparing to other sources than it actually is. Of greater concern is that they chose to use a processed puffed millet cereal entry from the USDA database instead of millet flour which would more correctly reflect what is in the food. I assume they did this to make millet look lower in sugar than the other ingredients they are comparing to.

[Abe A]

First I want to thank Mike for setting up this site. Great job! We have a 1 year old puppy who is healthy. We have been feeding her Blue Wilderness product and she recently stopped eating two meals a day and going to 1 meal a day. We switch per the recommendation of friends, a local pet store, and the vet said…try a raw meat diet.

We purchased Orijen Adult Food Kibble and then Stella and Chewy raw food. WOW!!!!! she devoured the food over the past three days.

Questions:

1.) We are thinking about transitioning her to Raw meat diet. Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

2.) Is it ok to give her a combo kibble/raw meat in the morning meal and then a full raw meat dinner? Frankly, I do not think she even cares about the dry kibble food. She wants the meat.

Thank you,

Abe

[Anonymous]

My dog with allergies is doing very well, she only needs the injection every 3 weeks now.
We see the specialist once a year and pick up the solution every 6 months, he is available for questions by phone.
Haven’t been to the regular vet in 3 years, no need, this dog will not be receiving any more vaccinations.
Initially the testing is expensive but the maintenance isn’t bad at all. It is what it is.

Not all dogs need immunotherapy, the allergies may only be seasonal, or related to food sensitivities.
But seeing a specialist and trying simple foods should help, for some reason my allergy girl does well on Nutrisca (fish), or Wysong. I tried eliminating this and that, no chicken, no potato……. she has a delicate stomach, but now I give her a little chicken or lean meat (cooked) with her dry, a fish oil capsule every day, it’s supposed to help pruritis.
Good luck.

[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 10 years, 9 months 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 10 years, 9 months 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.

[David P]

TOTW is the cheapest of the somewhat-acceptable foods out there. It’s good you have enough love for your dog to purchase that. TOTW is what I started my three dogs (6 lbs, 24 lbs, & 68 lbs) on.

I’ve had to economize in OTHER AREAS OF MY LIFE in order to feed these 3 hounds properly.

TOTW is BARELY acceptable. On this site, you’ll see the owner/moderator mention Steve Brown of “The Canine Ancestral Diet”; Steve Brown was an MIT graduate who started studying this as a sideline and eventually veered off into the topic of “pet nutrition” full-time.

Holistic Veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker had two YouTube interviews with Steve Brown… I am somewhat RETICENT about asking you to ACTUALLY SPEND MORE MONEY but you quite obviously have already MADE THE COMMITMENT to ensuring that your puppy gets “quality nutrition”.

So…..

You need to add one of the pre-mixes to supplement TOTW (I use Sojos Green… 8lb bag is $62)… the 6 lb Chihuahua gets one tsp. per meal. the 24 lb spaniel bred to look like a mini-Rottweiler gets 1 1/2 tblsp per meal, the 68 lb American Bulldog gets 3 tblsp. per meal. Dr. Becker provided the rationale that the diet of canids (dogs, wolves, etc.) in the wild is 70% moisture and greens from the stomachs of their vegetarian prey (rabbits, squirrels, chicken, etc.) The best that even the higher-quality grain-free dry dog foods can do is 12% moisture.

Do not OVERFEED your puppy; this resulted in a “mini-rebellion” bordering on “insurrection” by the 3 dogs in my household teaming up on me to complain when I instituted “measuring cup” proportional feedings. You’ll find that WITHOUT the “fillers/excipients” in the grocery-store brands, the recommended TOTW and Champion Dog Food (Orijen and Acana) Guidelines seem rather “stingy.” I compromise since a part of the rebellion staged by these 3 was to begin eating cheetohs and french fries that the truckers drop where I walk my dogs by the Walmart.

I measure each dogs recommended portion per day and SPACE OUT the meals to four servings which sates their initial hunger pangs; the COMPROMISE is that I don’t count the calories from the pre-mixes towards their daily caloric intake; the rationale being that these are HIGH-ROUGHAGE FOODS and since dogs have very short intestinal tracts, I’m getting the INTERNAL CLEANSING of the INTESTINAL WALLS that I desire; there is ALSO water-soluble fiber from the apples, etc CLEANSING THEIR BLOODSTREAM and keeping their RENAL SYSTEM (Kidneys) healthy.

This “may” or “may not” another TOUGH PILL for some to swallow; Steve Brown pointed out in the Karen Becker YouTube interview that THE FATS in even the best of the dry foods are intact in the air-sealed environment before the bag is opened but that these same fats degrade once opened. You need to go to a dollar store and buy $1 tupperware storage containers and refrigerate/freeze the balance of the bag once opened. Humans, dogs and all mammals need a variety of high-quality fats (which are EVERY BIT AS IMPORTANT as proteins).

Going to what I call “minimally-appropriate quality” dog foods does involve some “financial sticker shock”; you came here because you got a great puppy dog, Zane H and you were clever enough to sniff out the necessity of going “grain free”; Blue Buffalo is to be credited with instituting a national advertising campaign and there has been an understandable backlash against Purina and other brand providers to where they sheepishly and quietly have begun acknowledging that “corn,” “soy” and “wheat” are poisoning your pets.

You came here because you love your dog, Zane H and you were faced with some tough choices; I too don’t make a lot of money at my job as a CNC Lathe Operator.

You’ve got a puppy so you have a chance to have a healthy dog.. I’d recommend going to YouTube and search for Dr. Karen Becker and Mercola Healthy pets. Here is the link to her two-part series on Best-to-worst dog foods.

This the dry I feed my dogs; Orijen is 75%/80% whole prey protein to 20%/25% fruit and vegetables (found in the stomachs of the prey that dogs/wolves eat in the wild). Princess is 68 lbs and closer to “wolf size” than either Shadow (24 lbs) or Mary (6 lbs) so she gets the higher-protein + 3 tblsps. of the sojos green per meal.

I like the LESS EXPENSIVE Acana for Shadow and Mary since it is what is contained in the other 50% that I like (The DHA and EPA). I’m thinking of switching Princess over to Acana as she ages into her 13th year of life. She and Shadow are the same age and they have been active, healthy dogs who have the puppy chihuahua to entertain them.

Dogs REALLY NEED “fresh water” every day EITHER filtered through your tap with Britta or purchased in gallon bottles (“drinking” or “spring” only not “distilled”) from Walmart.

I also use the Honest Kitchen “Preference” pre-mix and sparingly add in the Grandma Lucy’s PureFormance pre-mix to get in some of those low-glycemic chickpeas.

Acana and Orijen have won numeorus awards for their low-glycemic qualities which keeps your pets healthy in the first place so that they don’t get system failures from having bodies with their pH-levels out of whack.

You need to change your dogs water daily and also add in a Tropicana breath freshener liquid to keep their teeth clean.

It is somewhat DEFLATING to come here and discover that it don’t get any cheaper than what you’re already doing…

…but you are here and you obviously love your dog.

[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