[Melissa M]

I have 2 rescues–a male Mini Aussie/shetland ( 4 years) who could lose about 5 pounds and a female Kelpie mix (3 1/2 years) who’s at a healthy weight. They are now on Blue Basics Turkey and Potato (for about a year now) Neither one will consistently eat their food. We’ve tried wet over dry, homemade meat/broth/veggies over it, changing brands (about 5 in total)–everything. They just will not eat. Vet said to feed dry, pick up after 30 min. and try again with the next meal. Well, the longest I lasted (humor there!) was 5 days. Then they start vomiting bile and just look pathetic and mom gives in!!! Some days they’ll eat good all day (with meat/broth mixed in) then the next day they’ll snub their noses at it. It all started with my male–but then when we got our female, she was fine for about a year but then she see’s the other one snub his nose and then she does the same! I’ve never had a dog like this before, let alone two! It’s very frustrating and costly with all the kibble being thrown out untouched and also hard to plan your day when they haven’t eaten and gone outside to do their job yet. I will add though, they will eat ANY AND ALL human food at all times, just not dog food! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[dana i]

Hi! I’ve been reading this forum all day today, but am overwhelmed by all the choices. I’d really love to hear people’s actual experiences and thoughts– what is on paper does not always match what makes the dogs happy and healthy.

I have two lab mix dogs– both rescues.
Diesel is a 1 year old Lab/Shephard mix who has allergies. 65# dog
Dudley is a 1 1/2 year old lab/Greyhound mix who has gas issues when he eats ANYTHING other than the current food… (even treats) 83# dog

They were both given horrible diets before they came to me.
I have them on Science Diet Lamb and Rice Large Breed formula.

At the time, it’s the ONLY thing that I found that helped Diesel’s allergy symptoms (they are completely gone on this food but when I try anything else it comes back) and Dudley’s gas is now a very rare thing on this food.

However, reading it seems that people don’t like this one and that there may be better out there… And the fact that when I went to buy it today I found it went up in price AGAIN. uugh. Maybe now is a good time to switch…

I want what is best for them, with budget kinda on the mind at the same time.

Right now, it takes us 11 days to go through a 33 pound bag of Science Diet Lamb and Rice large breed formula dry food and used to cost us around $45 a bag but did just go up to about $50.

I’d really love to get them something better. Maybe something that also makes their poop a little smaller too? (I know–wishful thinking? LOL)

Any suggestions based on the gas/allergies?
I priced raw diet– which I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do, but it’s way out of our price range from what I am reading.

I CAN and will supplement a little bit of our cooked food on top (If I can avoid the gas and allergy issues– that will take a little experimenting)….

I have a feed store 1 mile from my house that sells some food but he’s kinda expensive on some items. I also live near Petco, Petsmart and have Amazon prime… I live in Texas, suburb of Dallas if that helps.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated!

[al r]

My pit ‘Spike” developed a spot on his neck that was an open sore. The vet said the cloth collar was holding the infection that was caused by-red dye in his food. I then checked and found it in most (dry) dog food. The dog’s “siblings” also had issues with it with ear infections. Once taken off it took like a few weeks and it cleared right up. He asked me to notify the maker- (Purina) that I did and for what? They continue to sell it and now real nasty food killing dogs.(Beniful)

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi John
.

Sadly welcome to the world of wheaties. Great dogs, lots of medical concerns. Be thankful yours has the skin issues from allergies and not the intestinsl. Ours had both. We feed high quality dry and raw foods to control his issues. He eats a lot of Acana, Orijen and Nature’s Variety products. Once you find a brand that is higher rated, look for any chicken in it. We started ours on the Acana Lamb/ apple with great success. We never feed him a food for long term, in the hopes that he will not develop an allergy due to exposure.

For example. Last week he ate Acana Pork/squash for two days, Nature’s Variety Rabbit (limited ingredient) for 2 days, and the lamb Acana for 2 days. Grandma Lucy dehydrated venison for one.

[GSDsForever]

But you started this with a concern for digestibility, good absorption of nutrients, stool size, and gas. So I wanted to comment on that.

“I don’t know if having more animal protein versus plant protein would help her digest the nutrients and poop/have gas less?”

In short, no. It is the quality of the individual ingredients, what they are and their grade, that affect digestibility as they go into a formula. You’re also playing a balancing game with some ingredients, between rich in nutrients and greater digestibility. From there, processing matters. It can affect overall digestibility and preservation of nutrients. Finally freshness of ingredients going into the formula and from date of manufacture to purchase and use are very important.

I would highly recommend calling the company of the the foods you’re considering, as well as the one you’ve been feeding (Infinia) and asking for Total Dry Matter Digestibility, plus digestibility of protein, fat, and carbs.

The Infinia is rather low in protein, lower than I personally would feel comfortable feeding. But that isn’t the problem when looking at nutrient absorption and digestibility. But when the protein IS very low, then it becomes even more critical to ensure that it is very high quality and highly digested.

Since Infinia Holistic Salmon & Sweet Potato’s primary ingredients are ones that look good and CAN be highly digestible . . .

Salmon, Menhaden fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes

it may the grade of ingredients and/or processing that is problematic.

Fish meal, for example, comes in MANY different grades at VERY different price points to pet food companies. It can be very high ash & bones, leftover carcass material or low ash/high protein & high digestibility and come from good cuts included or whole fish with most bone filtered out, which costs the company considerably more and is harder to source. It also, by AAFCO definition, can be stripped of its oil (which is sold separately at profit, rather than going into the food) or have those precious Omega 3s left in. This formula appears to be very low in Omega 3, particularly for a fish formula, and even though it has been already boosted by plant oil (Canola). Reasons for fish formulas to be low in Omega 3 tend to be the meal has been stripped of its oils and/or use of farmed salmon. Salmon varieties also range greatly in Omega 3 content!

Canola oil is not going to be as digestible and its nutrients absorbed well in order to be used by your dog vs., say, salmon oil or an animal fat. (I personally don’t like canola oil anyway, as it’s not a very clean ingredient. In commercial use, it is generally high heat and chemical processed, damaged, and and contaminated.) Potatoes, sweet potatoes can include skins or not, etc. affecting digestibility and stool volume.

Foods cooked for less time and at lower temperatures preserve more nutrients. And gentle cooking both increases digestibility and nutrient absorbability in ingredients and nutrients AND decreases them compared to raw, depending on the ingredient or nutrient.

Consider how fresh the ingredients are, how fresh from date of manufacture, how it was stored and transported prior to getting to you, and how properly sealed the bags are. (From there, you must also store foods properly.) Actually smell the food.

But just to give you an example of how you can never tell with things like digestibility from the price and marketing/popularity of a product or just looking at the ingredient list of a “better” brand — Orijen’s 6 Fish formula has a pretty poor overall dry matter digestibility for a premium brand and is in fact the lowest among their formulas. It’s also lower than the cheap bulk bags from Costco, Nature’s Domain (by Diamond).

[crazy4cats]

Hi Meghan-
I think all of the foods that you listed look good. However, I have not heard of the Sammy Snacks. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say anything bad about Wellness. I have also heard good reviews on Earthborn and Horizon. I’ve not fed any of these to my dogs yet, but I regularly feed both dry and canned Wellness to my cats.

I have been feeding grain free California Natural with pork and peas to my dogs with touchy digestive systems. I know it is not a highly recommended food since the buy out. However, it is working very well for my dogs. It has limited ingredients and a little lower in fat than most while maintaining a decent protein level.

Sounds like you will have to transition very slowly when you first start feeding the new food. Good luck, it sounds like you’ve had quite a few obstacles to overcome. I hope you find something that works!

[Meghan M]

Hello all!

I have been to the Dog Food Advisor website many, many times over the last year or so, and recently decided to post a forum so I could get some personal insight regarding my issue. I have a 3 year-old Doberman who has been getting fed Infinia Holistic Salmon and Sweet Potato for quite some time. I also give her fish oil, yogurt, eggs, pumpkin, various fruits and veggies, and recently started adding wet food to the dry food based on many suggestions to vary a dog’s food.

When I first got my dog, she was the runt of the litter. She had horrible skin, recurring UTIs, recurring issues with digestive upset (vomiting, diarrhea, constipation), etc. I tried a lot of different foods to no avail before I realized she likely has an allergy to poultry. I switched her over to the Infinia dog food and she has done great ever since. People always talk about how beautiful and shiny her coat is, how healthy she looks, etc. But I’ve noticed that, for the amount of food she eats per day, her stools are REALLY big and I feel like she goes way too often, which makes me worried that she’s not getting all of the benefits from the food that she should be getting. She also has gas ALL THE TIME. I thought it may have been the yogurt, so I’ve been giving her probiotic chews, but it’s still horrible.

I’ve really been spending time the past few weeks researching, and I feel like the Infinia has too low of protein for her (22%) and does not have enough animal/fish protein. I don’t know if having more animal protein versus plant protein would help her digest the nutrients and poop/have gas less? Anywas, I thought Canidae Pure Sea would be a good first change-up, so I started to transition her EXTREMELY slowly, and she still ended up getting sick. I have her back on her normal food while I figure out what I want to switch her too. Candiae isn’t completely out (I could need to transition her even more slowly than I did, who knows).

So, after all of my research on this website I found 9 other dog foods that seem to be high-quality and offer higher protein contents. I also have to take cost into consideration, because I’m a college student and can’t afford food like Orijen. So, here is my list of foods that I’ve found and like. If anyone could give me advice or suggestions about what food(s) would be best or personal stories, I would really appreciate it. And I’m sorry for the long rant!

1) Sammy Snacks Ancestry Salmon and Sweet Potato
2) Wellness CORE Ocean Formula
3) Horizon Legacy Fish
4) Innova Nature’s Table Cold Water Salmon and Wild Herring
5) Zignature Trout and Salmon Meal
6) Earthborn Holistic Grain Free Coastal Catch
7) Horizon Pulsar Fish Formula

The Sammy Snacks Ancestry is my favorite so far that I’ve researched, but I wondered if ethoxyquin was present. Also, once I get her comfortable with a higher-protein fish food, I will start introducing different protein sources, like beef and possibly bison, as well as adding canned sardines, salmon, and other “raw” foods.

[Dog_Obsessed]

If you shop at Walmart, Pure Balance is a a 4 star rated, budget-friendly dry food. Remember to transition slowly to whatever you pick.

[theBCnut]

Gail
Seizures are threshold events. That means as long as your dog stays under threshold, it won’t have a seizure, but when it reaches it’s threshold it has one. All dogs are different and what causes your dog to go over threshold may be different than what affected mine, but here are the things that should be done for ALL dogs who seizure. Get your dog on a natural food. I would recommend Nature’s Logic or homemade. Remove chemicals from your dogs environment. These include, but are not limited to: air fresheners, scented candles, perfumes, dryer sheets, strong detergents, pesticides, cleaning products, herbicides, any unnecessary drugs, etc. Keep your house as stress free as possible. Some dogs react to particular things and you may have to do a bit of detective work to figure out what triggers a seizure in your dog.

[Donna W]

Hello. I am on a fixed income and was wondering if anyone could recommend a relatively cheap dry dog food that is also of good quality. She is a 13 year old mixed breed and I am concerned about continuing the Purina Light and Healthy. Thank you.

[Dorothy L]

It comes in a few different flavors, but I usually get the Roast Chicken flavor. I am wondering if someone could look into this one and give it a rating. It is what I feed my toy poodles and they seem to be doing very well on it, but I want to make sure they are getting good nutrition,

Thanks in advance,

[Naturella]

Hey, Crista, and welcome to DFA!

Yes, Beneful is not a good food at all, so I would definitely advise you to change your Yorkie to something else. However, changing directly to a high-quality food may seriously upset his tummy, so I would recommend switching him gradually to Nutro or some other medium-level brand, and after a little while, switching him over to a good-quality food.

Off the top of my head, Castor and Pollux Organix is a good-quality dry, organic meat-and-veggie-based food. Their other line, Ultramix, is also really, really good, but not quite all-organic. http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/our-products

Since you are an Editor’s Choice member on this site, I believe you have access to a list of GMO-free foods: /reports/gmo-free/
Just look through that, they are all quality foods to choose from. Good luck!

[Peggy P]

I’m considering Zignature dry (they have lamb, duck, turkey, trout and salmon), I’d like to know about all of them. On Chewy.com, this food does get good reviews. Thanks.

[Crista S]

I want the best for my 6yr old Yorkie the Price doesn’t matter to me. I am a juicing no preservatives nerd myself so I want the best for him as well. My heart just sinks when i hear that the dog food I have been giving him “beneful” has been recalled. I can’t imagine my life without him, even though I know one day it will come I want to help him be as healthy as I am now.

[neezerfan]

Check out this page. Pure Balance brand and Rachael Ray’s Nutrish are available at Walmart and are lower priced. Nutrisource is lower priced too
/best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/best-dry-puppy-foods-4-star/

[Missie]

Hello, I’ve been reading the reviews for quite a while now on the site and decided to join the forum. I have a one year old beagle named Maisie. I’m fairly new to the idea of rotational diet or changing up her food frequently. Currently, she is eating Merrick Healthy Weight dry food and occasionally, she will get some canned food mixed in. I have her on the Healthy Weight food primarily because I live in Iowa and we’ve had a very cold winter and I haven’t been able to get her out and exercise how as much as I would like and she’s gain some weight over the winter. According to the vet she should be about 25 pounds and she weighs 28 right now.

Anyway, I’ve noticed with trying different dry foods, she seems to do better during the transitional period (more energy, stools are healthy, non-stinky) than she seems to do once she has fully transitioned to a new food. For example with the Merrick, I’ve noticed her stools are well formed, but her poop is stinky. She hasn’t had any diarrhea on the Merrick, but she’s had a couple of loose stools that I believe was caused by something she picked up on our walks.

I was wondering if there would be any benefits of mixing two dry foods together for her meals? Instead of just sticking to one formula? Like 50 percent old food and 50 percent new food? Would there be any nutritional benefit to this? Or would this possibly cause an upset tummy?

[Liz S]

Okay thanks everyone.

Susan,
I don’t really have the time to cook for all of them. If it ended up being, like life or death, I could pull things together. All of the ferrets and the cats are on HQ grain free foods. I am a stay-at-home-mom to the furbabies and my 2 1/2 yr old who is weaning off of gtube feedings. So there are lots of dr appts , therapists that come to the house etc. Me and my mom have been talking about making our dogs food for years. She has 2 chihuahuas. Maybe someday. 🙂

I’ll check out the links ^ … still not sure what to look for besides grain free/potato free… Since it could be a number of things? :/ Confusing…. frustrating. Took a while to find the perfect food for the other furbabies. Well worth it but still took a long time. We have about 8lbs of the chicken dry food for the dogs left over but we want to get them off of it asap. I’ll use to ease transition of course but want to switch them now. 2pm here. Heading out at 5:30 to 3 different pet stores… trying to find at least 1 or 2 maybe 3 different brands/formulas to be able to pick up tonight. ( not to buy all, just one. ) Otherwise I end up with the worst anxiety looking through all the bags etc.

We shall see.

[james y]

I just used some puppy wormer from the grocery store. We fasted her for 24 hours and then treated her. Its been a week and shes already putting on some weight. She gets another does this weekend.

Im not really concerned about what the best food is. I just wanted something as good as the frozen food in dry form. One thing i can say about the biljac is theres alot less poo in the yard now and her coat is amazing!

We are on day three of the blue wilderness puppy food. She seems fine, but gassy like when she was on puppy chow. I guess its just something in puppy food

[bkagel]

Help!!! I’m going to have to change everything free dog food again!!! Gracie is the one with the allergies. I have been giving both dogs raw apple cider vinegar in their water and her sensitive tummy seems to be doing much better in two weeks. However…..I have gone through almost all the dog foods that Inked Marie (thank you very much Inked Marie) listed and there is something I don’t like or they don’t like in almost all of them.

What they don’t like-anything with chicken or turkey

What I don’t like-fruit, legumes, anything that has a super high protein in it because it gives Gracie the runs. I’m not fond of sweet potatoes either. She’s an 8 year old papillion that acts like she’s 3. She doesn’t need fruit or sweet potato because she’s the energizer bunny already.

We have used Merrick grain free, Nature’s variety, Back to basics pork (too rich and gave her the runs) and currently using Nutrisource grain free. I don’t give them the lamb. Since they are both small dogs, I rotate blends every 3-4 months.

They love their kibble but it’s cold and snowy outside and she’s still scratching like a fiend.

Gracie and George were at their healthiest when they did raw. However, mommy doesn’t have the time, money, or energy to make up batches of raw food and repeat repeat repeat.

They love Evanger’s wet food and so do I. Just meat and water. I was thinking of trying Evanger’s dry food but I am concerned about the high level of protein to fat ratio. I’m also concerned about the sweet potato. Somebody help me!!

[james y]

Hello newb here looking for a little info.

First a little background
My 9 month old pitbull, maple has recently been having problems. She undoubtedly had worms and was scratching alot and losing hair. At first i was feeding her purina dog chow and she was doing fine. Then the wife brought home pedigree and thats when the hair loss started. So i instantly thought the dog had mange and began treating her for it. I also read that a raw diet would boost the immune system so i did that too. I fed her venison mostly, with raw eggs and gave her vitamins everyday. She cleared up and we started back with the unused portion of pedigree. Well she broke out in hives!

Ok so the dog is allergic to dog food…just my luck. A vet friend told me to try bil-jac frozen food so i did for a couple weeks. She was doing great on it! we got rid of the worms and shes putting on wieght and her coat is awesome! Although the frozen food isnt very convenient so i just googled best grain free dog food and found this site. I came across a name i recognized “blue buffalo” and this very site said it wss a five star food. So i purchased 20 pounds of the grain free wilderness red meat puppy food. It was pretty pricey, as a matter of fact i figure i could buy hamburger for $3 a pound but its so much easier than having to refrigerate or prepare raw food.

2 days into feeding and she seems to be doing just fine. I dont monitor poo, so i cant say anything about it.

Anyhow now im seeing all this bad stuff on the web about blue dog food….and something about a lawsuit with purina?? Is there any truth to these claims about the food hurting dogs or is it maybe a bunch of hired posters or something? If the stuff wasnt $60 a bag i would just throw it out and go back to the biljac.

[Pam P]

These are excellent websites that provides nutrition information.
http://www.natureslogic.com/information/did-u-know/
http://www.petsafe.net/blog/2013/02/27/pet-food-the-good-the-bad-and-the-healthy/
http://dogaware.com/diet/dryfood.html
http://www.myperfectpetfood.com/nutrition.html
http://truthaboutpetfood.com/petsumer-report-review-of-the-month-45/

Most dry dog foods contain synthetic vitamins and minerals which are sourced almost entirely from industrial waste such as coal tar for one. Synthetics and chemicals are not easily absorbed or not absorbed at all, so the kidneys and the liver can become overtaxed trying to eliminate the toxic waste.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Pam P.

[David R]

I am new to Dog Food Advisor. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time so if you can point me to past postings or other locations to answer my question, please feel free to do so. I have been using some of the Science Diet canned foods for years based originally on my Vets suggestion, such as Slim and Healthy, Grain free,Perfect weight. Also, Nutro Natural Choice Dry food. I was also recently at the Westminster Dog Club show in NYC and Purina Pro Plan had a large booth there. What are the issues or ratings regarding these? I do know that no one staffing the PUrina booth could answer where the chicken came from that was in their food. I ask these things to assess how poorly my dogs have been eating and because with 3 dogs I have to be conscious of cost as well. Thanks

[Becky]

I’m coming to this late but your lab/bulldog sounds a lot like my pug. I don’t know about the digestive enzymes, but she can’t eat any dry food. I tried many different brands, including Rx for sensitive stomachs, alternative proteins, etc, and nothing worked. She had pneumonia when she was about 4 mos old and was on a lot of antibiotics (she almost died) and we think that messed up her whole system and gave her c-diff and chronic diarrhea. She’s 3 now and she can eat ONE kind of canned food. It took almost 2 years to figure out which food worked. She also takes Tylan powder, just a tad every other day. That saved her life, I think.

[crazy4cats]

I was going by this that was posted in the Whole Dog Journal:
Here are my sardine recommendations for adult dogs. Feed twice this much to puppies and pregnant or lactating females.

Dog’s 3.75-oz can
Weight sardines
5 lbs 1/4 can per week
15 lbs 1/2 can per week
25 lbs 5/8 can per week
50 lbs 1 can per week
100 lbs 1 3/4 cans per week

A 3.75-ounce can of sardines has about 200 calories, so reduce the amount of dry food given on “sardine days” accordingly. Rule of thumb: One can of sardines in water has about the same number of calories as ½ cup of most dog foods.

You can substitute canned wild Alaska pink salmon (the bones are edible), oysters (a great source of zinc, especially important for pregnant and lactating females), and other fresh, frozen, or canned wild ocean fish for sardines. Pacific oysters are probably better than Gulf of Mexico oysters, especially after the BP oil spill in 2010, and safer than canned oysters from China. Never feed raw salmon or trout, especially Pacific salmon, because it may contain a bacterium that can kill dogs.
But…. now, I’ve pulled up my ABC diet and it does show two cans per week. So how about 1 1/2! LOL!

Here is the link to the whole dog journal: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/15_12/features/Fats-Chance_20658-1.html

Either way, it is great that you are considering adding them to your dog’s food. Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Well that was easy. Brett Sher already emailed me back from Evangers and said that their dry foods are co-packed by Mid-America Pet Foods. I wasn’t sure I’d get an answer at all, let alone within minutes on a Friday night.

[DogFoodie]

This is the only thread I could find with Evangers in the title of the topic.

I had heard rumors previously that Ohio Pet Foods and Fromm co-packed Evangers kibble. I just thought I’d let you know that I emailed Ohio Pet Foods today and a gentleman got back to me immediately and said that Ohio Pet Foods does not manufacture any products for Evangers at all. I sent an email to Evangers… we’ll see if they get back to me.

I just wondered if anyone knew for sure who co-packed Evangers dry foods? I thought that someone had mentioned having communicated with Fromm, who also denied manufacturing any of Evangers products.

Just FYI, Matt Golladay, VP at Ohio Pet Foods emailed me back within 20 minutes of my sending my email to him. If Ohio Pet Foods co-packed Evangers, I was thinking of looking at one of their products that meets my requirement for Sam, my Golden with lots of food intolerance issues, since there’s so little I have to feed him.

[Mieke v]

In one of Dr Becker’s videos she discusses dry pet foods. If I understood her correctly, dried food dehydrates an animal as the animal has to re-hydrate the food. This is why, according to her in the video, the army stopped putting dehydrated fruits into troop’s snacks. The body uses a lot of water to rehydrate the food and an animal (pet) generally doesn’t drink that much water in a day. She said the dry foods put pets in a chronic (long-term) state of dehydration. Given her advice, it seems that when feeding kibble one might consider adding the appropriate water (or other re-hydrating liquid) to prevent the animal from having to use stores of its bodily water to rehydrate the food. I am also new to DFA, and only recently learned this by watch some of Dr Becker’s videos on you tube.

[Mieke v]

Hi Carol,

We also had pancreatitis symptoms in our dog and Honest Kitchen Zeal really did the trick. He was symptom-free almost immediately. I would recommend to let the food sit about 10 minutes prior to serving (or make ahead and refrig.). We now do a rotation of HK Zeal, Wellness Core, and Merrick Grain-free Wilderness. Three months in and he still has no symptoms. There is a website that lists many of the dry and canned foods and the fat content. It also explains about the information given by the manufacturers and how to figure fat content. I can’t speak to its validity, but it was helpful in pointing us to low-fat, high protein foods. Here is the link: http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjlowfatdiets.html In addition to the HK, on our vet’s advice, we did 10 mg of Famotidine with each meal (our dog weighs 55 lbs) for 2 weeks. You can pick it up at any grocery or drug store. Of course, you’d want to check with your vet first to make sure there are no contra-indications and for the dosage. As you probably already know, fasting is a thing of the past with treatment for pancreatitis and several small meals a day for the first days is the current approach. Good luck! It is so hard – I did weeks of research and I am a research scientist by trade! I hope you find something that works well for your little one.

[Aspen A]

Lovx3, I am with Steve’s Real Food, a raw pet food company. The Atwater figures are not particularly helpful, and you will always want to compare dog foods using a dry matter comparison. The reason for this is that as different products contain different moisture levels, it can skew the results. Usually pet food companies will use the at water comparison because they want their numbers to look better, so you need to ask them for the dry matter comparison. It sounds like Naturella is doing a great job, and I can give a second opinion in favor of much of what she/he said. I would also recommend that you consider going to a raw diet, as it is much more in line with how your dog is genetically designed to process food. Adding water and mixing with canned is a great start, and definitely better on your dog’s intestines and ability to digest kibble than just giving straight dry, but raw is best!

[Aspen A]

Lovemypuppy, I am with Steve’s Real Food, a raw pet food company (for full disclosure). Well done on switching your pup to raw, it is so much healthier for him than even the highest-end kibble. Any dry product is not going to compare in health benefits and easy digestion compared to raw. It is always good to rotate the food – we don’t expect our children to eat one thing every day for their entire life, but if you only feed a kid ice cream and cherrioos their stomachs are going to have a hard time eating apples and spinach. I hope your pup is doing well!

[Aspen A]

Hi, Carol, I am with Steve’s Real Food (a raw pet food company, so you have full disclosure). I just looked up the Miracle Dog food, but I am not seeing enough specifics about which grains and minerals are in it to speak to whether they are the best fit for your pet. If you are worried about the nutrition balance you may want to go to a frozen raw food, there are some great ones out there (Steve’s included) that do the math and nutrition for you, including the fat content, etc. Pork and beef are going to be higher in fat, if you are wanting low fat sticking to chicken and turkey is going to be best. What is wrong with your dog’s pancrease? Is it pancreatitis? Natural Dog Health Remedies.com (no affiliation) recommends Milk Thistle, Yarrow Root, Echinacea, dandelion, and probiotics, if that helps. I would not recommend switching them to dry food. It is so much harder on the stomach, and harder to digest, it makes them more thirsty, etc. If you are looking to improve their diet I would definitely recommend going to a more raw diet rather than a dry diet, that is just a step back, in my opinion.

[Adam H]

Hello everyone, I have great news and horrible news all of which are absolutely true without a doubt and promise if anyone wants to question me then go on go on and leave me alone period!

1. I don’t work for dynovite
2. I’ve spent thousands at numerous vets (I refuse to call them anything other then that die please)!
A.steriod shots and antibiotics…….
Money please
B.we have to do a biopsy…….el mula
C.we need to wait 45 days off the steroids in
Order to have a successful blood screen for
allergies……buy these products to help
Including eat plugs…….give me money
Oh the tests aren’t very accurate we have to take our time and find out by feeding the dog 120 dollar bags of food and adding proteins.
More money please.
3. All white pit mix with blue eyes.
A. Only kills three children per week but if your and angry middle
Aged………he takes no prisoners.
4. Added dynovite to a good dry food and some raw food with it and three months later presto. All hair back and licking and itching gone.

I really think vets know about the nutritional deficiencies in dog food and exploit this to there advantage and stab them with needles.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Adam H. Reason: Spellcheck

[Keith F]

Hi, I have a cocker spaniel who’s about 3 years old and he’s had a ton of stomach issues and is a very picky eater. Our Vet recently had us only feed him rabbit based wet/dry food which really seems to be working. We were using Royal Canin from the vet but I got mixed reviews from a few pet shop owners about that brand so I recently changed over to Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free Rabbit Meal Formula Dry Dog Food which he seems to like but I need suggestions on a wet food now. I looked into the Nature’s Variety Instinct wet version but it’s very pricey and I was hoping not to spend $4.50 a can unless I really have to. I’ve been trying to do research to find a good nutitional mix that might cost a little less and Evangers Game Meats Rabbit came up. I’ve never heard much about them before and I was hoping someone could tell me from a nutitional standpoint if this is a good food to mix with the dry food I already have if there’s any other suggestions out there. Worst case I can stick with the Royal Canin wet rabbit food but I’d figured I’d ask since I’m new to this site. Thanks – Keith

[Christine U]

I just read the fat on his RC dry and it said 7.5 and his wet 3.5%. I think he’d eat all wet. I always thought all wet was too much overload for his gut, but since fat is half, maybe it would be better.

All his issues have only affected upper GI. All his burping and gulping episodes never included diarrhea. I do hear his tummy rumble and he does have the occasional toot. The vet wanted to do an endoscopy as the next step but I didn’t. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put him through another procedure and if it would actually tell us anything. It seems to be controllable with food so I wanted to try that. (I have IBS and have been through too many procedures all for nothing). The food change to Royal Canin cut his symptoms by 75% or more so I know we’re on the right track. Plus a gal at the vets has a dog with super sensitive stomach. She told me all the stuff her dog tested for, procedures….eek! And it told her nothing….her dog just has a sensitive stomach. I know all dogs are different but Chewie has been through hell more than once so I try to be careful with him and avoid unnecessary stuff.

I’ve tried a couple different probiotics and like you said, did not agree with him.

[Susan]

Oh, I forgot to mention the fat% in wet food seems lower but when converted to dry matter (Kibble) its high for example 4% fat in wet tin food is around 22% fat when converted, if it was a kibble, that’s why I have to cook, if you live America you have lower fat% in wet food, then I have in Australia.. your best to get 2% fat & under for wet tin food, the Wellness Complete Health Senior has the lowest at 3% fat in the wet, or the “Wellness Petite Entrees Mini Filets” only the ones in gravy are 2% fat..

Have you have a Endoscope & Biopsies done for the Helicobacter? I found with the Helicobacter all the ant acid don’t work…. Zantac worked the best for Patch also, Zantac doesn’t affect the bowel, where Losec affects the bowel & gave Patch bad wind pain & sloppy greenie/black poos…..another thing I’ve just read on Dr Karen Becker site about fiber & prebiotics don’t use kibbles with Prebiotics Beet Pulp, FOS, a lot of vet diets use Beet Pulp & FOS & MOS… for a healthy dog with a healthy Gut, prebiotics are good but for a dog with GI problems Prebiotics can make things worse, another reason Patch was taken off kibble…The link has been put up on the Face Book group…

There’s a group on Face Book called “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder” a few dogs on that site have bad acid reflux & stomach problems, the group was called, “Dogs with Stomach & Bowel problems” but the name was changed about 3 months ago..

[Susan]

Hi Christine, the Gulping is Acid Reflux, my boy started getting this when on the Royal Canine HP that’s when all Patches problems started, 2013, fast forward 2 years, Patch had Endoscope & Biopsies done December 2014 & he has Helicobacter, IBD, they get real bad acid reflux, burping, heartburn, he was put on triple therapy Metronidazole, Amoxicillin & Zantac cause he cant take Losec but they are normally use Losec, he was on this 3 weeks, as soon as the triple therapy stopped within 1 week Patch was gulping & swallowing again, at night early hours of morning is worse, I’ve been giving 3ml Mylanta this really heaps…Patch was put on another triple therapy Metronidazole, Clarithromycin & Zantac, the Clarithromycin made him so ill, I had to stop all meds, that was last week, I have also stopped any kibbles, no more kibble, I have been buying turkey breast mince 99% fat free about 1 kilo =(2.2 pounds) I add 1 egg & mix thru mince & then I make about 4 long meatloaf & with the left over turkey breast mince I make real little turkey balls as treats, I put on baking tray & bake, I boil a heap of butternut pumkin & freeze 20g squares, I section the turkey when cooked & freeze, to 1 cup of cooked turkey after I’ve mashed all up, I add about 1 heap spoon boiled pumkin….pumkin soothes the GI tract…… Patch is on this diet for 6 weeks to let everything rest after the strong antibiotics made him ill….

You need a real low fat diet as fat makes acid reflux worse, high protein kibbles normally have high fat, also limited ingredient diets are best, if you can, feed a wet diet, as kibble is too over processed & makes things worse with acid reflux & gulping.. Your dog is small, you could cook & freeze like I’m doing, boil a heap of potatoes & freeze sections for the day & buy some fresh white fish & freeze after cooked. I use to use tin tuna & spring water then I tried tin salmon but the fat was too high in the salmon…so far turkey breast has been the best…

“Wellness Simple” limited ingredient has Grainfree Salmon & Potatoes or Turkey & Potatoes in wet & dry, the fat is min-12% here’s their link to have a look, just scroll right down to the bottom for the Simple range, I use to feed the Duck & Oatmeal & the Lamb & Oatmeal as Patch cant eat potatoes & these flavours had the lowest fat, min-11% & min-12% fat but that’s min fat-11%, so u add another 1 & 1/2 more for max fat%…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[Christine U]

Hi everyone,
I seriously need advice.
I’ve been to regular vets and holistic vets.
I have a 4 year old Parsons Terrier/Shitz Tsu mix with bad GI issues. He’s had so many tests and it seems to be food related. We’ve tried so many foods and right now he’s on Royal Canin White Fish and Potato both wet and dry. He still has the occasional ‘gulping’ type issue but no diarrhea or vomiting.
Recently I found Grandma Z’s grain free fish and potato and he loves that and the ingredients seem to be a bit better than Royal Canin.
Here’s my issue. First…I’m ALWAYS open to finding the best food I can for him but we are getting ready to RV full time. My concern is finding his food on the road. Every vet has to order it and it can take 1-2 weeks. I plan to carry a lot with us, but I know there are so many new grain free foods out there. Maybe there’s one I haven’t heard of.
Any tips, advice, recommendations?
Thanks so much!
Christine

[Carol B]

Hi I am hoping someone can help me out. We have been feeding our dachshunds Dr. Harvey’s Canine “Miracle” dog food for several years. We only rotate between chicken and beef, so in the am they get beef, at night it’s chicken. We cook the meat ahead of time, package it in bags and freeze it. We also add the Health & Shine with the am feeding and used to add the Golden Years, but we have a range of 3 yrs to 15 yrs. now. We have one Senior that is having issues with his pancreas now. I have spoken with Dr. Harvey on more than one occasion to find out if “when you add your own protein” the mix is balanced and has all the minerals needed. I have yet to get a straight answer. I am reluctant to switch their food, but I also want to make sure they are eating a balanced diet. We are considering changing them to a dry food. Many years ago we used Honest Kitchen, it just became too expensive with 4 dogs. I welcome any comments or anyone who has experience with Dr. Harvey’s that might help us decide what to do to help keep our senior’s healthy. We were told we need a low-fat, but if we add the protein, how do you know what “low-fat” is?

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, we have the same dog puzzle at home! Bruno loves it! 😀 And she is just adorable. She’s not huge, but probably still can be classified as a “large breed”? Idk… Sorry. We got just a small guy, and the roommate’s dog is about 55-60 lbs, but she doesn’t look too big either. I think the medium bags of each food should be lasting her about a month, no? How long does each of the large EB bags last her? Also, on sportdogfood.com all of the GF Victor bags come only in 30-lb bags, just FYI. But it’s still a great food, and even if all the other bags you feed are mediums, it’s fine if the Victor are the large ones.

Anyway, as for the tripling the toppers – I highly recommend buying this e-book: http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK – it is just under $3.00 but very informative about adding fresh toppers (such as eggs, canned sardines, raw or cooked meat) and in what proportions based on the dog’s weight. You won’t necessarily have to triple the toppers just because she weighs 3 times more than Bruno – maybe double them, the book will tell you, particularly about the eggs and sardines. But, for example, Bruno used to eat 1/2 of what Casey (our roommate’s dog) eats, and she ate 2 cups of food/day, at 55-60 lbs. He ate 1 cup ever since we got him at under 10 lbs or so,
and a little pup. When I began introducing toppers, I put him on 3/4 cups of dry/day, and then added toppers and treats, and that was when we were exercising very vigorously in the summer. I think then he was getting a bit more than 1 cup dry calorie-wise, but he was burning it off and his body needed the extra boost. Now he’s at 1/2 cup dry with toppers (we’re not getting as much exercise :/ ), so calorie-wise he’s still at around 3/4-1 cup per day, and then the occasional treat. I watch more his body condition than weight, and speaking of, here is a good link for that too: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CDMQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.unc.edu%2Ffiles%2F2012%2F11%2FCCM3_032387.pdf&ei=M5jjVJCwLYOuggSfnoSwAw&usg=AFQjCNHtVxv9oSG6wDJy-eYgbHFmyKag_Q&sig2=T1KHIfunn_GiCqOKGXYcfg&bvm=bv.85970519,d.eXY 4-5 is ideal, so that’s what we strive to keep Bruno at. That’s what I should strive for myself, lol!

And lol! Well, whatever works for you, your fam, and Luci! LoL. And good, glad we’ll be having you around! 🙂

[Naturella]

@Oleanderz, Lucille looks so cute in your pic! 🙂 But the link you posted says I don’t have permission to view it or something…

Yes, I would probably have her stay overnight. She won’t hate you, I promise. And yeah, I would say she is about medium… I think large breeds are the ones 50+ lbs when adults.

And awwh, you’re welcome! I hope it helps! I really tried to make it as diverse and balanced at possible. I would say that for a start, 4 brands are fine to rotate between. By the time you finish the suggested schedule, you can decide whether to repeat it or add more to the mix. I personally always add more, cause there are so many foods I want to try on Bruno, but many of the pros here stick to just a few brands and rotate between them and the flavors. I think 4 brands is a good start.

If Luci doesn’t have a grain allergy, it won’t hurt her to have grains again. It is only 2 formulas with grains anyway, and if you notice her reacting to them, just keep alternating between the Kinesis and RPM GFs.

Eggs: dogs’ digestive tracts are much shorter than ours, so the probability of them getting salmonella is much lower. They were meant to eat raw food. If it bugs you though, you can totally lightly or fully cook the whole egg and give it to her. You can use coconut or olive oil to cook it in, or no oil if you’re poaching it. It is, in fact, recommended that you lightly cook the egg white, and not cook the yolk at all, because there is an enzyme (I believe) in the egg white that could mess with the dog’s body properly absorbing the biotin in the yolk. If you cook the yolk, some of the biotin goes away too, is my understanding. So cook the egg white lightly. BTW, for Luci, I would probably give her 2 eggs together when I do give eggs, and a whole 3.5-oz can of sardines if I were to give her any. She is 3 times Bruno’s size after all. 🙂

Now, for food storage and rotation. As long as you keep it in a dark, cool, dry place, as long as you use it up by the BEST BY date, you should be fine. I personally have a bit of a stocking-up (NOT hoarding… Not yet, hopefully not ever!) problem with dog food because of amazing deals, so I basically stocked up enough food to last Bru till the end of this year. Luckily, I will be able to use it by or close to the BEST BY dates. But for the future, I would probably still get 3-4 months’ worth at a time, depending on deals, because in case a food doesn’t work out for him and I have to scrap it, I don’t want him to be foodless till I order or buy the next bag. So, what you can do, is stock up with say, the first line of medium-sized bags of EB, Dr Tim’s, Nulo, and Victor (medium-sized should be good, just so you see how she’s taking it) and start going through them and when you get to the Nulo, order the next line. This way you will always have about 4-5 bags at a time in case something goes wrong. Plus, at all times there will be an EB there if she can’t or won’t eat any of the other foods. But I hope she likes them!

As for the keeping track – make sure your family doesn’t feel like Big Brother is watching, lol. It is mostly important for feeding to keep track of times, amounts, and toppers, etc., as well as making sure no treats are given till she learns to eat her food quickly when put down. It shouldn’t take her too long. After that, still make sure she’s not getting too many treats to make her skip her next meal. And that’s about it. Exercising with a dog can be fun, so I’m sure someone will do something with daily, it doesn’t have to be super tracked, but you can do it if you want. I probably will track everything one day when we have kids and another dog though, lol! But that’s still far in the future.

One last thing that I’m sure you probably know, but I will just throw out there – all the foods in Luci’s future rotation, including EB, are pretty calorie-dense (Especially Dr. Tim’s Momentum). So keep track of how much she is being fed also, because she may just be one of those dogs that can self-regulate and between possibly too much food and too many treats, she is skipping meals. Use the bag feeding guidelines as a guideline only, not as a rule, and just adjust accordingly. She should have a waist when looked at from above, and her ribs should be easily-felt.

I am happy if I have been able to help with anything. Please do stay around in the forums, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions! 🙂

[lovemypuppy]

The raw food that my pup eats is 31.25% fat, after converting to dry matter basis.

The catfish beams are around 4%, so not high in fat by any stretch of the imagination. Honestly, I don’t think either of the techs were familiar with Beams and just assumed fish skin = high fat.

I read that raw food needs to be no more than 60 calories per ounce, otherwise the fat content is too high. Our nuggets are 48 calories per ounce, but 31.25% fat seems kind of high. Hmmm. Always something more to learn or understand!

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

[lovemypuppy]

Thanks everyone for all the good information!

First let me say, I’m in my late 30’s and this is the first dog I’ve owned, lived with, or cared for. Not trying to use that as an excuse, it is what it is, but I’m definitely having a steep learning curve, and unfortunately it’s at the expense of my pup 🙁

I don’t know she has a food allergy or any type of allergy, but given her breed (Boston Terrier), finickiness, weight loss, red eyes, tear stains, brittle and dry fur, dry itchy skin, missing fur on her hind legs and behind her ears, and a few small scabs from scratching, I felt like it made sense to try to switch to raw with minimal ingredients in hopes of improving her overall health and identifying any potential allergens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t come to this conclusion until after giving her WAY TOO MANY different types of animal proteins (kibble, wet, freeze dried, toppers, etc.) while trying to find a food (and training treat) she’d settle on. I’m sure it didn’t help that she also went through quite a few different foods with the breeder when she was having a hard time weaning.

At this point, I’m not sure it would be possible for me to pinpoint a specific food that might be causing her skin and fur issues. The animal proteins she’s had the most of are chicken, beef, and turkey. Also, most of her symptoms were present before I started switching her food around and giving her novel animal proteins. So, if I had to take a guess, I would say she is having a hard time with turkey, chicken, and maybe lentils (they gave her horrid gas, anyway).

At this point, she’s been on the commercial raw for about a week and I’m seeing dramatic improvement. She still has tear stains, but I imagine that will take time (to grow out) and diligence on my end (wiping her face). She has gained weight and filled out, her coat is not nearly as dry (even shiny towards her back/spine) and her skin flaking and itchiness has lessened.

Given her overall improvement, I’m not inclined to switch her food yet again, especially if I can just stick with this for 10 weeks and see where she is at then (and if need be do more of a true elimination diet). I will stop the catfish skins (bummer) and try to find some type of low fat duck chew. I have sweet potato chews but she doesn’t really like them … they seem to crumble up and are more crunchy than chewy. Maybe if that’s her only choice though, she’ll learn to enjoy them 🙂

@DogFoodie, have you looked at Nordic Naturals Pet Collection? They use pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled fish oil, using sardine and anchovy oil or cod liver oil. Their pet line is pretty much the same as their human line with the exception of tocopherols as the preservative rather than rosemary extract. Just a thought.

If you read all of this, you rock! Sorry it’s so long and again thanks to all for offering your valuable insight!

[Mark C]

I have been feeding the venison formula to my dogs for about a year now. This last batch I purchased was different in color and smell. It went from a pleasing smelling food to a nasty odorous mix of what I call chemical smells.

Nature’s Logic was contacted and this is what I was told: A couple months ago, in order to continue to make our food to our high standards, we moved from a plant in Texas to CJ Food in Pawnee City, Nebraska. The new plant is making everything to our specifications, and as a matter of fact, our specs have improved due to better sourcing of our ingredients.

When we come out with new bags in February and March, we will show that the calories have gone up per cup and the weight of a cup is slightly higher from 3.8 oz to 4 oz.

What this probably will mean to you is a need to feed less food. A bit too much food can cause some gas and lose stool for some pets.

When we do launch our food in the new bags, we will also make a couple very small changes. One is going from beef meal in our venison to some lamb meal which we use to do. This will enable us to export our venison diet to Canada and many other foreign country into which we cannot with the beef in the diet.

I hope you will try to cut back about ¼ on the amount you feed. If you do this I believe everything will work like it has in the past.

Has anyone else had an experience with this food? Can they replace the bags AFTER the food content changes? It seems to me the nutrition information on the current bags are wrong or misleading.

[Naturella]

Cheryl, I literally laughed out loud with true sincerity! 😀 Thank you so much for the kind words! I am not amazing, lol, but I do try to stay organized. However, I can be flexible too – I would skip a food in a heartbeat if it smells funny, Bruno doesn’t eat it, or it makes him sick. I’ve done it too, with Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit. It just did not work out. Oh well.

Also, 2 of his weekly meals, chosen at random, are just plain kibble eaten from a puzzle toy of some sort, just for entertainment and brain stimulation. Or fed during a training session. I use kibble as treats, and I use samples of various other foods than his main food at the time being to add variety, so sometimes the dry meals are all “treats” (different kibble), some “treats”, some normal food, or all normal food. On Tuesdays I will be trying to use a fish-based kibble as his meal (I used to do it on Saturdays, when he got Sardines anyway, but too much fish in one day is probably not as good as some fish twice/week), so Tuesdays he will be getting a fish-based kibble from my samples stash.

Dori, hoarding some THK and Orijen (for us kibble-feeders) may not be too bad of an idea. Especially today as we are supposed to be iced-in in GA. I hope we are and I hope schools and Universities are closed tomorrow. I want a day off mid-week-ish. So rebellious! LoL! 😀

***EDIT*** – Oh, and Cheryl – wouldn’t it be nice if they could just tell us what they want to eat on a particular meal from the closet/fridge/freezer? It would be soo much easier on us! 🙂 But, they can’t… So they just get what they can, and we just try to make it as healthy, yummy, and diversified as possible. 🙂

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

[pugmomsandy]

Just looking at those numbers for Beams, it doesn’t appear to be a high fat item. You can also compare it to the Primal recipe you are currently feeding. How does Beams compare to that? In general, “puppy” recipes are higher in fat. Even Purina’s Focus Small Breed Puppy dry recipe has a minimum of 20% fat, and Purina is a large company that has veterinarians and nutritionists on staff. It would be interesting to know what food your vet would have recommended for your puppy to see how much fat is in that! I know that Beams are just a treat, but fat in food and treats are the same to me.

[brit]

I use eggshells for calcium if I am cooking the meat or using raw meat without bones. We use organic eggs for ourselves and our pets so I collect at least 6 eggshells, rinse the shells with cool water and leave to dry overnight. I put them in my little Braun coffee grinder (also handy for grinding dry herbs etc) and grind them to a powdery consistency. Use approx 1/2tsp per lb of meat. If I give chicken necks that morning (usually give them at least twice a week)I don’t worry about calcium that evening I buy Wholistic Pet Canine Complete and use on the food (I use half the dose that they suggest) as a supplement plus some herbs that I grind and add. During the winter I give a tsp of Carlsons Cod Liver Oil (unflavored) a couple times a week (its low in A and D which is good as some is way to high). I make all my own dog food but often cook and also often feed raw (usually Primal raw). So if I am buying something like Primal I don’t need to add calcium because it has bone ground in. Usually breakfast is cooked sweet potato/plain goat yogurt/raw egg yolk although often I buy canned Alaskan salmon, rinse it and use a small amount. Then evening meal is either the Primal with crushed raw veggies (I put them through my Greenstar Juicer which has a gadget that allows them to come through whole but crushed) or cooked meat with the veggies. If I have a dog that needs to gain weight I throw in some organic oat flakes while meat is cooking.

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

[Kate F]

Thanks for all the great questions and it’s wonderful to hear about all the dogs doing well on our food! Here are some initial responses to some of the questions but I also encourage you to give us a call so we can get more in-depth answers for you: 866-437-9729

@Dog_Obsessed:
For a more active dog, we recommend increasing the ratio of meat to the dry mix. This provides more calories from the protein and fat, and less of the fruits and veggies, which offer less calories per gram. The guidelines are offered as a place to start and we strongly believe that each and every dog is an individual. So, we recommend that you start with these amounts and then adjust in time to suit your dog’s individual dog’s needs.

You may increase the ratio of meat to base mix by as much as 2:1, two parts meat to 1 part dry mix. You may also increase the total amount of both meat and base mix as needed, as long as you feed within our recommended ratios, which will keep the nutrients in balance. The minimum is 1:1, maximum 2:1 (meat:base mix). If fed within our recommended ratios, you may create a meal that meets AAFCO guidelines.

If Lily needs more than what is recommended, please feel free to increase her daily portion to suit her calorie needs.

@cheryl-pepper-millie-belle:
It may be helpful to know that the stool created from a diet of colorful whole foods will naturally be more colorful, too! It will not look the same as a the stool created by a homogenous dry kibble or a mostly meat raw diet. A whole food diet allows the GI system to efficiently absorb the nutrients the body needs and move the rest on out, including the insoluble fiber in fresh fruits and veggies. Your dog’s overall body condition and health will determine if he/she is getting the nutrients they need.

While most dogs with a healthy and balanced digestive tract are easily able to digest and assimilate the nutrients from our dehydrated whole foods, some may need a little help. If the GI tract has been compromised in any way due to a variety of chronic ailments, courses of antibiotics, medications, stress, etc., the addition of digestive enzymes and probiotics can help a dog regain balance and the overall strength of the GI system.

For Pepper, it may help to blend the mix using a food processor or blender prior to feeding to break the larger pieces down a bit. I’ve heard a few customer doing this for their very sensitive pups and it works great! We’re happy to hear that Pepper is doing well with the food!

Hope this helps! -Kate, THK

[Dori]

Hi Kimberly. The dog in my avatar is my 15 1/2 year old Maltese named Hannah. I also have a 5 1/2 year old Yorkipoo named Lola. My girl with all the issues (she also has environmental allergies) is a 5 1/2 year old Maltipoo. Her name is Katie. She was the runt of the littler and the tiniest dog I had ever seen. She was due to be put down and so we brought her into our family at the age of 9 weeks. She had food intolerance issues right from when we got her. She also had to have knee surgery for a level 4 – 5 luxating patella at under a year old. We could no longer adjust her leg (knee) manually so surgery was the only course of action left for us. She also had to have her four front top teeth removed because her lower canines were growing straight out the bottom (not to the sides where they should be) so the top teeth were interfering with the lower canines. It’s been one thing after another with our poor sweet Katie but for all that, I will say that she has been the most loving, sweet, affectionate little dog we have ever had. With the exception of a Tibetan Terrier that I had a number of years ago all the dogs in my life and now with my husband have been toy dogs with hair. I’m allergic to animals so fur is a no go in my home.

I will mention that other than seasonal allergies that Katie still has to deal with she has remains allergy free as it concerns diet since making all the changes. She was a complete mess before. Yeasty smelly ears, scratching 24/7, horrendous breath, gas to knock you out of the house let along the room, red rimmed eyes, her eyes were always full of goop and awful tear stains. Oh I could go on and on. She was at the vet all the time. I also was taking her to an allergist. Of course she also had her orthopedic surgeon and then there was her oral surgeon. She was on Atopica back then which is a horrendous prescription allergy medication that really does a number on their organs. She was also supplemented with Benadryl. None of that actually helped by the way. So I got serious about figuring out what to do and came across this site on the web and that was the beginning for all three of my dogs nutritional health. I cannot remember when the last time Katie had to have an antihistamine. It’s been years.

[Kimberly C]

The most recent diets/supplements I’ve had him on are PetDiets.com and BalanceIt, both recommended by my vets. One of my vets suggested taking him off chicken to see if he was allergic. I took him off the white chicken for a while and it seemed to help some, and when we put him back on the white meat he seemed to itch more. I’ve also tried the “Honest Kitchen”, numerous premium canned foods, dry dog foods (which he absolutely hates) and have use some recipes from Dr. Pitcairn’s book (except I lightly cooked the meat) and Janie Knetzer’s book, “Home Cooking For Sick Dogs”. Some of the vitamin/mineral supplements I used with these have been “Vitalmix” which I bought from Purely Pets, and Drs. Foster and Smith multivitamin. The list goes on and on, but these are the main ones.

[Gloria K]

Lyndel, sounds like you’ve got it pretty well down pat. Thanks so much for the explanation. I do agree with you that most Vets are not trained in dog nutrition as most of them advocate dry dog food and often have them for sale in their offices.
They range from Iams, to Science Diet to Purina etc. and I have the same feeling you do that maybe they are connected to the companies of the products they’re selling as most GPs are.