[patrick h]

I have to give my Schnauzer antibiotics for 3 weeks for a squishy mass between his toes. The vet wants to try this before operating because of the location. They already did a needle stick of the mass to check for bad cells (waiting on the results still). Right now I am “hiding” the antibiotic capsule in a little chuck of coconut oil, and I give him 2 table spoons of melted coconut oil on his food. I want to give him a probiotic to help his stomach. I read that you should NOT give the dog the probiotics WITH his food. He only eats Wellness dry formula. I was looking for a tablet or something that he will eat easily. Any suggestions?

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[BulldogMom]

Hi all! My puppy is 8 weeks and I’m wanting to get away from the dry dog food and feed him a raw diet. I’ve been researching for hours and I cannot find a good raw recipe to start him on. It seems like everyone just feeds in whole rather than mixing… I did find one recipe with ground beef and rice but I’m wanting something with chicken, veggies, fruit, etc. Can someone PLEASE help me? I have no idea where to start. I need some recipes, a menu, something! I’m feeling absolutely discouraged. I was looking for something I could freeze in bulk rather than spending a ton of money on whole chicken, turkey, etc. for different days.

He’s an 8 week old American bulldog.

Thanks in advance!

[Bralic H]

Ok, so I have St.Bernard/Great dane/Lab mix. He is just about 1 year old and roughly 95 to 100 lbs. I have been feeding him (Nature’s Variety Prairie Large Breed Puppy Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Medley Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag) from chewy.com. but the price just went up 20$ per bag so I am looking for a new food. I have several selected that are closer to my price range, but then I started to wonder, when should I be switching to adult food? He doesn’t seem to have grown much in the last few months, Would it be ok to order a large breed dog food instead of puppy? I want him to live a long and happy life, as him and my 3 month old daughter seem to be getting along great! His name is Wrex! This is him at about 2 months.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Bralic H.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 1 month ago by Bralic H.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bailey5244-

I have a cat with struvite crystals as well. I am also currently feeding Hill’s C/D. It is an OK food to feed long term, unlike the Hill’s S/D. But you are right, the ingredients do not look great. Are you feeding canned or dry? One of the most important things that I am learning about crystals and possible stones is that moisture is of great importance. It is best to try to feed as much canned as possible and try to get them to drink and pee often also. Another thing that I’m reading is that stress can be a factor with forming the crystals. My cat is on an anti-anxiety pill that seems to help a lot too. I think the addition of two crazy dogs was very hard on him.

In addition to the C/D, there are other prescription urinary tract foods that you could possibly rotate with, such as Purina, Iams and Royal Canin Rx urinary foods. I am currently adding some over the counter urinary foods that are made by Purina, Friskies and Dave’s. I am going to slowly attempt to wean him off the expensive prescription foods. But, so far they are working as his recent urinalysis showed no crystals, blood or infection. Woo Hoo! It has been about 3 months since his blockage and he is doing well.

I definitely could not recommend you doing any of these things without approval from your vet. You would need a prescription for the RC, Purina, or Iams food anyway. But, I like the fact that at least I am giving him some variety. I hardly feed any kibble to any of my cats any longer, but I do plan to transition off the vet food some time. But, like I said, in good conscience, I could never suggest you do the same. Most vets say they need to stay on it for life. But, I’m hoping if I feed mostly high quality canned, like Weezerweeks mentioned above, he will stay healthy. Good luck!

[Mike Sagman]

Holly and Jeffrey,

Wellness dry food products do not appear to contain corn or soy — the 2 most likely dog food ingredients to contain GM materials. Yet due to cross contamination found in the supply chain of many pet (and human) foods, making a guarantee for any food product to be 100% GMO free would be technically misleading.

Unlike the European Union, the U.S. government does not yet address this topic from a regulatory standpoint.

When interviewing Wellpet, I found the representative to be completely transparent about this topic. And it was apparent to me the company was sensible in the way they address questions about the GMO nature of their products.

I found this FAQ question and answer posted publicly on the company’s website:

Why does the new packaging no longer say “GMO-Free”?

The Wellness Quality team has worked very hard to remove GMO ingredients from our Wellness dry dog and cat foods and nothing is changing in our recipes.

As the discussion about GMOs has continued in the pet community, we’ve made a conscious decision not to make a broad non-GMO statement until there are definitive regulatory standards to guide such claims in the pet food community.

So, I remain confident in our inclusion of Wellness dry dog foods on our non-GMO list.

[tad b]

We rescued a 10 month old Dalmation/Pit mix about 2 months ago and she doesn’t like any of the dog foods I’ve tried. We have tried TOTW, Orijen, Evolve, Trader Joes, Blue Wilderness and/or Buffalo, Wellness and Merrick. We tried different varieties as well as puppy and adult versions and nothing seems to work. She has now developed some itching and minor rashes which I’m sure is caused by some of the foods. We also mixed canned foods from some of the list above but to no success. She will eat the dry cat food when she gets a chance. She was 45 lbs and is now down to 43 lbs and is getting us worried. We took her to the vet and she is healthy other than not liking her foods. I then tried a lesser quality dog food (Purina One) and she seemed to like that but that’s not the way we want to go with her unless we have too. I guess dogs like they’re version of “fast food” over healthy eating just like a lot of us humans. By the way, the foods that were not eaten have been donated to our shelters. I need some help!
Thanks for any responses.

[CircaRigel]

My 10-week-old Shiloh Shepherd, Galen, is now on Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Puppy Health Lamb and Oatmeal Recipe Dry Dog Food. He loves the food, and his stool consistency is great! His growth hasn’t been as fast as some of his siblings, but I see that as a good thing, for the vet says he’s a perfect weight for his frame and in great health. This looks to be taking excellent care of his joints. After all, when it comes to growth, it’s not a matter of how quickly one grows, and in large dogs it’s better that it be slow and steady (but he still grew 20% in 10 days- 20 to 24 lbs). The genes will dictate the final size.

It’s important that I look after Galen’s joints properly, for he’s training to be a service dog, to help with my PTSD and spine injuries. I was fortunate enough to find an organization that is quite happy to help train owner raised dogs, for after the Shiloh Shepherd I rescued 20 years ago (I didn’t even know he was a Shiloh at the time), I knew the breed has what is perfect for my needs.

[Peggy]

This morning, the kids had their usual Pure Balance Salmon & Pea grain-free dry food with –
1/4 can of PB Beef stew w/ carrots and brown rice, LadyBug had the other 3/4 of the can. I added a bit of ground flax seed because they love the taste.

Tonight, I baked a large pork loin steak (unseasoned), cut it up into tiny pieces, and gave Tebow 1/4 of it and LadyBug the rest, added diced cooked carrots, and mixed it with their 1/4 c and 3/4 c of PB Salmon & Pea kibble.

Had two happy canine campers today! ♥

[CockalierMom]

One of my girls has all fowl and tapioca allergies so I am creating charts with protein and ingredients for the potential foods she can eat. From the information I have gathered so far, I can point you in the direction of a few brands that have varieties that meet the lower protein and no potato criteria — California Natural, Tuscan Natural, Spring Natural, and Natural Balance LID. If there is not an oat allergy, you might look at Pinnacle Trout & Sweet Potatoes or Wellness Simple Lamb & Oats. These foods are lower protein than you are currently feeding (I saw in another post that you are feeding Purina Beyond and it has a dry matter content of 31% protein).

[Akari_32]

Hi, Kimi! What are you feeding now? And is it dry or canned? Canned or raw are the best when it comes to feeding cats. Cats do not have a high thirst drive, which can lead to sever cronic dehydration while on dry foods. And not enough water can lead to all kinds of health problems, such as the ones you are seeing. Most health problems, especially in cats, can be fixed with a simple change of diet, under the direction of a vet. So, yes, go see your vet, but express that you would like to not do all the crazy meds if it’s not absolutely necessary (I have to remind my vet of this quite often lol).

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Flowers, you’re welcome! Sounds like your pup is off to a great start. 🙂 Yes, canned is definitely better than dry. Caned is higher in meat protein, species appropriate, moisture rich, contains no preservatives. Here’s a list of the best 5 star puppy foods. You have to scroll down a bit to see the list. /best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/best-canned-puppy-foods-5-star/ I use 2 from this list Pure Balance Puppy Stew @ Walmart $1 per can and Costco’s Nature’s Domain $20 for a case of 24 cans. Your puppy would probably eat about 1 can per day.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Flowers, welcome to DFA! Congratulations on your new Dachshund puppy! I also have a Dachshund, he turns 2 in February. I rescued him at 6 months. He is my first small dog. His name is Blue and he is adorable, friendly, and affectionate. Please make sure to socialize him properly. Take him everywhere you can, and just let people love on him. Socialize him with lots of different sizes of friendly dogs too. I have 2 other dogs. A Lab named Trinity, and a Springer Spaniel named Cooper. I feed a mix of kibble and canned. Between the 3 dogs I go through 2 cans and 5 cups of dry per day. The only reason that I even use kibble is because I cannot afford to feed 100% canned. For 1 small Doxie it wouldn’t be expensive at all tho. My food recommendation to you would be to put him on canned food, it is much more species appropriate than kibble, because kibble has no moisture. With canned the food is moisture rich, closer to it’s original state, and preservative free. I would love to see some pics of your puppy. 😀

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by LabsRawesome.

[MIKE B]

Sorry for the long history, but the situation is complicated; I’ll stick to info that seems essential to this mystery.

Our 15.5 year old lab/setter mix has been on a raw food diet for about the last 14 years, since being diagnosed with mild hip disp. For all these years, he has eaten his nightly dinner with joy, mostly frozen raw chicken on the bone, lots of leg quarters, drumsticks, backs. Breakfast has also always been an eagerly awaited treat, a mix of ground turkey, tuna, fish oil, eggs yokes, and ground veggies (brocc, carrots, and other) and apples w/out seeds. I’m probably forgetting something, but you get the idea.

His regular blood work has also delivered exemplary results from a doc sympathetic to but not knowledgeable about raw feeding.

As recently as this last summer we were needing to feed him a bit less to keep his weight down (approx. 60 lbs) because the warm weather really slows him down. He has always gotten two walks a day, totaling about 3-4 miles, off leash, though as he slowed down it was sometimes tough to get in 2 miles a day in 2 walks.

Then we tried some laser therapy on an arthritic wrist, which didn’t help, so we tried adding Tramadol to help w/ the arthritis. He has been getting daily Rimadyl, also, for probably the last year or more.

The Tramadol seemed to help, but he really hated the taste, and soon even hiding them in his morning breakfast wasn’t good enough, so we put them in fish oil capsules, until he detected the hated pills and stopped eating the fish oil caps that came with his breakfast.

Since the pills helped, we decided to hide the pills in very small Lean Treats, which did the trick, but soon after he started losing interest in breakfast and eventually his nightly chicken on the bone. He still ate, but seemed less enthused.

Now things get really complicated. To combat a growing problem with nightly incontinence, we started giving him testosterone shots. The results have been phenomenal. The shots not only got the incontinence under control, but they, along with cold weather, have him walking with great enthusiasm, speed, and vigor, so now we’re up to 4 or more miles a day between the two walks. Great news.

Except that even as he was getting much more exercise, his appetite has been greatly reduced. He still eats both breakfast and dinner as described above, but he will typically only eat a half portion, which has lead to significant weight loss.

When his ribs began to show we started trying different meats including beef and liver with some but not enough improvement. Finally, about a week ago, in desperation we did three things: 1) we started making silky balls for him as a supplement, and sure enough, he likes them; 2) we started adding canned dog food to his breakfast and 3) we started giving him some Iams dry dog food AFTER he ate as much of his chicken on the bone as he was willing to eat.

The latest is that he seems less and less interested in his raw food breakfast even when mixed with canned dog food, and while he can still be coaxed into downing a couple of raw drumsticks for dinner most (but not all) nights, he loves the silky balls and his kibble.

At this point I need another bag of dog food but I hate using the stuff and would rather see him back on a BARF diet, but if he won’t eat enough of it, well, he’s got to eat! At 15.5 years old, I’m tempted to say, okay, whatever you’ll eat, pal, that’s fine, but if anyone has experience with a situation like this I’d love to hear some suggestions.

In particular, I’d like to know a) are changes in taste common to older dogs, as they can be in people?,; b) does anybody recognize in the story above a causal explanation? (we have our own theories, but I’ll reserve them for now); c) does anybody have suggestions for how to get him back to enthusiastic BARFing?

Thank you.

[Peggy]

Sooo I went to the store yesterday and purchased a few tubs (3.5 oz each) of Pure Balance cat food. They have a wider variety of flavors than the dog food does. I got Turkey & Sweet potatoes, Salmon & Sweet potatoes, and Turkey & Peas. They won’t be eating it all the time of course, only to give them a change from their regular dog food flavors.

Anyway, this morning they had their Salmon & Pea dry with Salmon & Sweet potatoes cat food. ALL gone! 😀

[crazy4cats]

I bought a couple today also. And yes, more expensive than I was hoping for as well. Shoot, the canned dog food is four times bigger and only 6 cents more. I don’t get it. It’s frustrating trying to feed cats a decent food on a budget. I’ll try it out in the morning. Oh and btw, they also had pure balance dry cat food that looked good too! Three or four different flavors.
Oh, and another btw,

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by crazy4cats.

[Peggy]

Fed my dogs PB Salmon & Pea recipe dry – 1/2 cup for Tebow and 1 cup for Ladybug, plus 1 tub each of PB Chicken dinner (3.5 ounces each).
Waste of time. Neither of them ate more than a bite or two. Just enough to know it was chicken, and walk away. ugh!

Tonight they were fed the same dry food, 1/2 c for Tebow and 1 c for LadyBug, broiled ground turkey, 2 Tbsp white rice for Tebow and 4 Tbsp rice for Lady, about 10 green beans each, diced.

They ate the entire contents of their bowl. In fact, they licked them so clean, I don’t even have to wash them, ha. 🙂

[Ronald]

Went to Wal mart picked up two bags of Pure Brand dry dog food.

One bag of salmon and peas and one bag of chicken and brown rice..

Came home and took Abby out for a walk at three, in the mean time the wife opened the bag and put almost two cut of the salmon dry food in her dish..

When we came back in maybe 45 minutes later, she headed for her dish, as she usually does to get a drink of fresh water, her other dry food is always there but she seldom ate it.. This time she dove right in to the salmon dry food and finished it off, so I gave her another cup thinking maybe a mistake, she took to it and ate it all..

Now the first 5 years of her life was spent elsewhere, then I took her in.. I was wondering if maybe the other owners gave her this type of dry food..I was thinking maybe this was why, maybe she had this food before I got her..

Well I’ll see how this goes over the next few days..Either she’ll continue eating this product or snub it.. She never was a picky eater, she was at first when I got her, I guess I taught her some bad habits like cookies, ice cream, potato chips and a few more goodies..

So thanks for the advice folks..

Ron..

• This topic was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Ronald.

[Sally C]

I am new to this site and a fairly new dog owner. Here’s the history of my pup: we adopted a 9 month old yorkie from a local rescue in November. He came to us eating Eagle Pack dog food which I kept him on. He was also coughing a lot, then he started itching and chewy his hind legs. He developed severe ear infections, then diarrhea and then he finally started vomiting roundworms. This was all over the course of 6 weeks. Before the worms were found (despite 3 stool samples), we were certain he had allergies. So, I tried him on Blue Buffalo Basics which was not helpful and caused diarrhea then switched to Nature’s Variety limited ingredient Salmon meal. He has completely quit scratching and the hair on his hind legs is starting to grow back. His skin is also less dry. The problem is that he really smells, he has gas, his breath is awful and his stools are very soft , large and smell awful!!! Now I don’t know if he really has allergies or if it could have been been getting worms.

I have read about raw diets but I just don’t know if I could do it. Maybe if it was already prepared. Dry kibble would be my first choice, but I don’t know if it will help him. This has been a very long process of trial and error and any advice would be wonderful! I have wasted so much dog food!

[Jack L]

I have three dogs. One is over weight while the other two are just fine. I’d like to keep the heavy one satisfied so that she doesn’t seem to be famished but she needs to lose weight. Any suggestions? I read that adding string beans to her regular diet will add bulk but not calories.

[Joni P]

I was interested in your opinion of Flint River dry dog food, both for adult and large breed puppy?
Thx

Joni Poole

[Peggy]

It is beneath The Bottom Line, still a part of the review –

“Pure Balance Grain Free is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of Salmon and Salmon meal as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.”

[Peggy]

Ron, we have freezing rain, ice and snow here in Youngstown too. The roads are a slick mess.
Anyway, I started off with the smallest bag of dry and a few tubs of wet food, to test the waters so to speak. They love it.

Good luck!

[Peggy]

Ronald, no more wrong than I was, or 75% of the US population, so don’t beat yourself up.
After leaving Pedigree, I moved to Blue Buffalo Basics which my Tebow liked – a little too much. He gained weight like crazy. LadyBug vomited.

I think she has food sensitivities, so we switched to Wellness Core grain-free reduced fat.
They both hated it, lol. Would not eat a single bite. I was discussing other brands with members here, and how being a single mom I can’t afford the high-priced stuff. Someone mentioned Pure Balance, which I looked up here and saw the good ratings. So I googled it and discovered you can only find it at Walmart.

I was floored that a food sold at walmart had such a high rating. And except for the chicken recipe, they love it. Especially the can lamb and dry Salmon & Pea recipe. And although it’s at the very top end of my budget, I can still swing it. Carefully. 🙂

[Peggy]

I thought the 4 stars was the combination of both recipes as well.
But it clearly says: “Pure Balance Grain Free is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of salmon and salmon meal as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.”

This can be very confusing for people new to the website.

[Bobby dog]

The salmon rates 3.5 stars as noted next to the recipe.

It is my understanding the 4 star rating is the average for both recipes within the Pure Balance GF line. If recipes within a line warrant a different rating it is noted next to the recipe.

“◾Pure Balance Wild and Free Bison and Pea Recipe (4.5 stars)
◾Pure Balance Grain Free Salmon and Pea Recipe (3.5 stars)”
/dog-food-reviews/pure-balance-grain-free-dog-food/

Wellness also has a recipe that is rated different within the Core line; there are several other brands with different ratings within recipes too:
/dog-food-reviews/wellness-dog-food-core-dry/

Recipes containing more protein from quality meat sources are typically rated higher than foods with more plant based proteins. Here is the criteria for DFA ratings:
/frequently-asked-questions/rate-dog-food/

[Peggy]

I’m confused about a dog food rating on this site, so thought I would ask.

Pure Balance has 2 grain-free recipes, Wild & Free Bison and Pea , and Salmon and Pea Recipe. The Bison and Pea is rated 4 stars, while Salmon and Pea is rated 3.5 stars.

Salmon and Pea is used for the review, and at the end of the review, says
“Pure Balance Grain Free is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of salmon and salmon meal as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.”

So my question is – Is the Pure Balance Salmon & Peas recipe rated 3.5 or 4 stars?

[Ronald]

Thanks folks, I spent some time on here last night. I found a lot of good information..

I was reading the label, and I am a label shopper, but not for dog food I guess. Anyways the label say by product of of sorts..

Also talked to the wife about the dog food.. I am going to get a better quality food, probably dry..Wet food is to fattening.

I have a black lab she is roughly 8 years of age, and a little over weight..

What are some of the dry dog foods would you’d recommend I get her on…I would appreciate some feedback on this..

Thanks

Ron..

[joan a]

I would also like to nominate nature’s Logic. It’s one of the few dry foods my Tibetan Terriers will eat. I would like to know if there is a reason that it hasn’t been included.

[Ronald]

I have looked at a few articles, and I never see any Pedigree dog food articles..
Is Pedigree not a suitable dog food product..

I have been using Pedigree now for almost five years, dry and wet food.

Just wondering if I can get some information on these products.

Thanks.
Ron..

[Peggy]

This morning, I fed my dogs Pure Balance (PB) Salmon & Peas dry (1/4 c for Tebow, 1 c for LadyBug, moistened w/ warm water), 1/4 can of PB Chicken for Tebow, 3/4 can for LadyBug, 2 medium scrambled eggs divided between them.

Neither of them ate ONE SINGLE BITE. grrrr.
I picked it up after 1/2 hour. Dinner is at 4 pm.

NOTE: I am slowly learning that my dogs do not like Chicken, in any form, and they are sensitive to beef.
Which narrows me to seafood, pork, and lamb.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Peggy.

[Bobby dog]

Here’s another homemade treat recipe I have that I forgot about. I haven’t made this one, but this would be convenient to make if you are feeding kibble. I would freeze anything I wasn’t feeding within a week for this recipe also:

Place 2 cups of dry food into a blender or food processor. Grind to a powder consistency. Pour the dry powder into a medium mixing bowl and add 1 1/4 cup of water. Stir until a dough forms. Using a table spoon or small cookie dropper, drop dog cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes. Cool completely before serving to your dog. Store in the refrigerator for one week.
http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/dog-food-treat.html

[Anthony S]

Hello,

I have a 1yo labradoodle girl who is very energetic, but not excited about the Wellness Large Breed dog food I am currently giving her. Looking for something to transition over to that would be a bit more appetizing for her (preferably something found in Petco or PetSmart). I know Wellness is on the top end of dry foods that can be purchased, but I feel she is bored with it. Anything else out there as nutritious, but may have a better taste? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[DogFoodie]

My dog can’t have flax either, but I’ve also determined a long list of other ingredients of which he is intolerant so the list I have is very short. Dry foods on my short list that don’t contain flax are NVI LID, Addiction Viva La Venison, Canidae Pure Sky (Diamond, yuck), Wysong Fundamentals, FirstMate Chicken and Blueberries and Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear (original, not singles). There are also several Canine Caviar formulas that don’t have flax currently, and they have new formulas coming out really soon and when they do, I know Wilderness meets my criteria. I think several CC formulas would meet your criteria currently.

It’ll soon be three years that its taken me to get my list to where it is currently. I am constantly on Chewy.com reading ingredients. You’ll need to check the ones I mentioned to see if they contain other problem ingredients.

I’ve determined my dogs problem ingredients through trial and error during a modified elimination diet. If your allergy test results were determined by a blood test, or the like, I encourage you to consider doing an elimination diet as allergy test results are notorious for both false positives and false negatives.

[Peggy]

It started 2 days ago when I added a few pieces of PB’s Lamb & brown rice kibbles to his Salmon & Pea kibble. I was trying to get him used to that dry food too. The same thing happened last week when I added a few pieces of the PB Chicken & brown rice to the Salmon & Pea.

Could the brown rice be upsetting his tummy? It never happens when he’s eating the Salmon & Pea with canned food.

Edit – I just remembered. The PB stews have brown rice in them as well. I mixed the Beef, veggies, and Brown rice stew into their meal last night. 🙁

[Dina H]

I was assured by the woman at Pet Valu that I didn’t have to do the slow transition. This is a dog that was born here. I do rescue and of the 5 in the litter, she was the typical ‘middle’ child, always sensitive and insecure. I think that may have some bearing. She was adopted and her owner had her on Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food. She was returned to me bec owner was moving (boo) and that is the food I was transitioning from. I had read about the connection between Blue Buffalo and Diamond and decided to part ways with it. She has always had intermittent bouts of diarrhea; no parasites…she has been checked and she has been treated with panacur and metro a month ago. I think what I will do is get a small bag of the Blue Buffalo that she was on and slowly segue her to the Acana but will go with the Acana chicken this time. As well as replace that slow feeder bowl that one of my dogs decided was a toy. (:

[MelSnowy]

Thank you much, crazy4cats for responding. Old vet, (since my pup wouldn’t even eat much, (a few kibbles) of the high quality dry foods, like Royal Canin, Nutrisource, and Wellness – too rich for her,) New Vet recommended I give her the Purina Pro-Plan SELECT Sensitive Stomach/SALMON. She has been eating this for awhile, however, the recently opened bag she has eaten from, the Vet determined was the cause of her issues. (Very Scarey, Vet thot renal failure). I will never feed her that anymore! All of the times she has transitioned to new dry food – did it very, very gradually. Am stymied, I don’t mind paying the price for a good quality dry food but don’t see any others for sensitive stomach. She loves boiled lean hamburg and rice but know she needs other nutrients. Am so very willing to make home made food, (am retired, so have the time) yet, having seen so many ‘recipes’, (many raw meat, which I won’t use) don’t even know where to begin. “Snowy” is such a cuddle bug, 1/2 Great Pyr, 1/2 St. Bernard. She is small for the mixed breed (both parents seen in person were small, too) weighing 80 lbs. Her only other med issue, (6 months ago) was a Seresto Collar making her very aggressive, which when removed, she was back to her loving self.

?????? Want to give her the best, but don’t know where to start. Thank you, crazy4cats!

Melinda

[Dog_Obsessed]

@Sandy Whoa! How on earth did you get it to do that?!

Anyway, I have one unopened bag of kibble (Nature’s Logic), one 4lb box of THK Thrive, an open bag of Fromm that I’m probably not going to keep using, and 3 cans of food. This is about 2 months worth of dry and a few weeks of toppers.

[MelSnowy]

Hi, hoping you can help – looking for sensitive stomach dry food. My 1 yr old puppy was on Purina Pro Plan Select for Sensitive Stomach and had a horrible experience with that causing bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Vet checked her creatinine levels in both blood, (high) and urine (SpGr) low …eating now boiled lean hamburg and rice, re-tested and both results normal. Vet determined it was the food..but need some good dry food to get her on. Any suggestions, help would be appreciated. Many Thanks.

[Lori]

I have used all the Nutrisource dry foods and my dogs have done very well on them. My lab came to me eating Nutrisouce. No recalls and price is good.

[aquariangt]

Jumping in, I agree with what everyone says-part of the reason for dry dog food i tend to go towards grain free, is the protein is often higher-which is one of my major points in kibble

[Naturella]

I will honestly admit that in the beginning when we adopted our Bruno, I got on the “grainfree” bandwagon and really did think grain-free is necessary and better. Now I know better thanks to the above ladies and many more, and as far as dry food is concerned, I’d look for high-protein, low-carb foods, with loads of meat as first few ingredients. Many of the foods I have stocked up on happen to be grain-free for this year, but it is not a rule at our household to keep it this way.

I do eventually want to work up to feeding balanced raw though, which I consider the ultimate best/species-appropriate food.

[aquariangt]

I would cut out the noon meal now-I usually do it around 6 months.

Technically a dog can be on puppy food forever. All Life Stages foods are the same AAFCO profile as a puppy food, and I tend to like them more in general. Just make sure you are feeding the appropriate calorie intake based on her age and size.

Rotating toppers is fine, I start a rotational diet of toppers and kibble as quickly as possible. With Dani, I bought 2 small bags of what the breeder had her on, and fed the first one, mixed the second, and moved on to rotations right after that, and worked out great.

As far as what is appropriate to top with, if it isn’t a balanced meal (like THK which is, but I usually reduce the amount of dry accordingly with that) like chicken or fruit/veggies, just try to make sure to stay under 20% of total calorie intake as unbalanced toppers. I rarely feed unbalanced toppers because I do so much training, that I count that in for calories as well

[crazy4cats]

Hi Dominick:

Here is a reply I found to this question from a few years ago that I agree with. I know there are several others that feel differently about grains. Hopefully they will chime in also and give their opinions in order for you to make good decisions when feeding your dogs.

December 14, 2012 at 7:30 am #10877 REPLY

Hound Dog Mom
Participant
mcaponigro –
I agree. I think some are led to believe a grain-free or grain-free/white potato free food is automatically superior or “species appropriate”, which isn’t the case. There are some wonderful grain-free and white potato free foods, but many more that are low protein, high carb and in no way species-appropriate. Whether the binder is grain, potato, tapioca or legumes – one must keep in mind that none are appropriate foods for a dog (carnivore) to be eating. The most important thing when feeding dry food is – in my opinion – focus more on maximizing meat content and protein content rather than picking a food based on which binder it uses. It’s also important to remember that just because a food contains an ingredient that is high glycemic doesn’t necessarily mean that the food is high glycemic – for an example, Orijen – which contains white potato – is one of the few foods certified low glycemic by the glycemic research institute. I think the only way one can truly avoid these high carb fillers is to go with an all meat or all meat and non-starchy vegetable canned food or feed a homemade diet free from grains and other starches.

[Douglas L]

Ok I have a small breed puppy(chihuahua/mix) that is 9 weeks old and 7lbs. He was weened with purina puppy chow, and I’m almost done with the bag. I know the puppy chow is not very good so I’m looking for something better, however I’m not looking to spend $30 bucks on a 6lb bag of dry food.

I have read about puppy and adult food and it seems that the large breed puppies are the ones that need the puppy formulas. So can I switch to adult small breed food now or do I need to keep giving him puppy formula food and for how long?

I’m looking at a couple brands I can get local, pure balance, purina smartblend, Innova, iams naturals, natural choice. Just to give y’all an idea where I’m at, I would like to be around $20-$30 a 10-15lb bag. What do y’all recommend, I’m trying to stay away from cheap corn food, but not wanting to make the jump to overpriced organic food. My dog I had when I was a kid lived 15 years on pedigree and was healthy until the last 6 months, and I know many other dogs that eat the same without problems but I figure for less than $10 a month I can give my dog a better diet.

Thanks for any answers.

[crazy4cats]

Akari-
I’ve been feeding my cat Purina’s Rx urinary tract canned food. I don’t see a weight circle on the cans. Is it only for dry food? I also feed some of the Friskies canned as well. I didn’t know about a Purina club.

[Akari_32]

I only use very food specific products, mainly out of cost necessity. Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Giblets and Speical Diet Beef and Chicken (both super low carb. They make up about 1/2 of the cats diet), Tidy Cats litter, Gingers PVD JM (which is belping her soooo much!), and every so often I’ll buy Purina One canned food for both the cat (only like two flavors) and dogs, Pro Plan dry for the dogs and canned for both, and just a few flavors of Fancy Feast for the cat (can’t remember which ones). I used to have dry One Beyond on my sometimes list, but they’re too expensive now. I’m really not that fond of Purina as a whole, but when you don’t have much money and the animals out number the humans buy about 6 to 1 (including the fish and reptiles lol) you have to be oportunistic lol I do really like Tidy Cats though! :p

*edit* And I guess you could count the Zukes dog and cat treats, since they’re owned by Purina now, last I heard. Lol

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Akari_32.

[Z B]

This is what I am using in my current rotation :

Canned:
Walmarts Pure Balance puppy food, $1, 5 star
Tractor Supply Store’s 4health beef and veggie stew $1, 5 star

Dry:
Rachael Ray Nutrish zero grain, available at walmart and and most supermarkets $22 for 14 lbs, 4 star
Dr Tims Kinesis grain free, order online for $65-$75 for 40 lbs, 5 star

I’ve also used Whole Earth Farms grain free, Petco has it ans maybe petsmart too.

Walmart’s Pure balance Canned has a dedicated puppy food, and the others I listed are approved for all life stages.
Pure Balance also has a dry grain free line, 4 star, budget friendly, but i wasn’t crazy about it
and prob won’t use it again.

I feed raw on the weekends with Sea Spot Live Longer premix. Cheapest boneless muscle meats I can find are chicken hearts ($1 per lb) and pork shoulder roast, has a small bone but easy to remove ($1.69 per lb). Raw pork products should be kept frozen for 2 weeks before serving (kills parasites apparently).

Canned water packed sardines once or twice a week (65’cents per can),
and a recreational pig foot or chicken foot once a week or so ($1 per lb)

I saw frozen pigs heads at walmart for $1’per lb, but decided I don’t want that thing staring at me every time I open the freezer.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Z B.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by Z B.

[Dori]

I try to avoid flax in any form as much as I can for the reasons that BC has just stated. Some dogs have intolerances to flax. My dog, BC’s and a couple of others that I know of do not do well with flax. It’s a constant never ending list of intolerances and sensitivities to ingredients in foods that people with sensitive dogs have to be on the look out for. Ever vigilant! Bad breeding? I’ve researched and read so much in Katie’s 5 1/2 years and just when I think I’ve got it all figured out and she is doing fabulous something else comes along. Of course she also has environmental issues so this constant weather change in Atlanta isn’t helping. We almost got to 70 degrees today by me and tomorrow we’ll be on the way down again. Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands and scream and cry and pull out what little hair I have left. I think I’m a bit exhausted actually. I shampooed three rugs on the main level today and groomed (baths and hair cuts) all three dogs today in hopes of getting all possible allergens out of the house. Of course that also means washing all bedding and toys, etc. etc. I’ll be doing laundry all through the night. Tomorrow I spend the day in the hospital with hubby as he goes through PET scan with sedation and CT scans, and some other tests to make sure that his cancer is still under control. Praying we get good news. He seems perfectly fine but you never know. Cancer is such an insidious disease.

[Susan]

Hi, try a low carb diet with no potatoes or sweet potatoes, my boy gets real itchy stinky ears when he eats kibbles with sweet potatoes, I prefer kibbles with rice as a lot of the grainfree kibbles have either potatoes, sweet potatoes & peas that are very high in starch…. The Earthborn Grain free kibbles (Large breed, Meadow Feast, Great Plains) has no potatoes or sweet potatoes they use Tapioca instead but does have peas… have you looked at Freeze dry foods like K9 Natural http://www.k9natural.com/