[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 10 years, 10 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 10 years, 11 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 10 years, 11 months ago by Z B.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 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/

[Karra L]

I have an 11 year old Lhasa that I believe is suffering from food allergies. She was on Eukenuba Adult dry food until a year ago when she had pancreatitis. She spent the weekend at the vet, and came home with Science Diet Low Fat GI Restore. We use the dry formula. She has terrible allergies, and seems to always have a yeasty ear infection. We have taken her the vet more times than I can count, and he said she has environmental allergies ( we live in Florida), and pretty much told me to try Benedryl. We took her to a specialist and had a consult, the treatment and testing was going to be over 6,000.
Lately, her mouth area has become swollen and red and has the smell of yeast as well. She has crusty material in her beard that is coming from her swollen mouth area. She is always scratching and licking her paws.
My gut is telling me that she has a food allergy. I want to switch her food, but am scared since she has had pancreatitis a year ago, and we almost lost her.
If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thank you in advance!!

[Jennifer L]

I have a six year old golden retriever that constantly has brown smelly wax oozing in his ears and scratches all the time. I hate that he is so uncomfortable…currently I am feeding him a salmon & sweet potato dry food by Eathborn called Coastal Catch. Looking to change his diet as I am afraid he has now developed a fish allergy and the starch in the sweet potatoes is feeding the yeast. Please help my baby!!

[Heather L]

Dog Obseed, i was feeding him dry kibble ( Fromm family) before and after his tooth extrations. its been 2 yrs since that and hes done great with it.
thanks Dog Foodie i will try that Honest Kitchen. i am headed to the pet store tomorrow to get some new food. i bought the Fresh pet (both log and soft chunks) he just puts his nose up.. UGG.. LOL.. thank goodness i have two other hungery little buggers becaue none of my food attemts are going in the garbage. at the end of all of this im going to have 3 picky eaters. lol lol…

[Heather L]

Thank you all for your suggestions.
Prior to this ordeal he was eating dry food with a bit of warm water. Unfortunatly at his last teeth cleaning 2 yrs ago he had to have a bunch of extrations that ended him with 5 teeth left. He totally adapted well to that and has had no isues with eating pretty much anything. This past week i have been giving him a special food from the vet that is high in nutrients via syringe and stage 2 baby food (no onion or garlic). I am finding that now that he is attempting to eat the chicken, it is best if its cut in longer strips. He seems to be able to get it in his mouth easier. I thought little boiled meat balls would be good but they seem to just roll out. I am also still doing food by the syringe due to me not feeling hes getting enough with just chicken. I know its going to take time for him to adapt. As of right now my husband and i are just excited he has come this far with all of this. Hes one strong PUP!! To answer your question Dori were thinking he may have had a seisure that cut off the blood supply due to his jaw clamping down on that area. The line that was on his tongue from good tissue to bad was identical to his upper jaw gum line. He has had seisures in the past but never enough for the vet to put him on meds. They are far and few between. He may have had one when we were not home and we didnt even relize. We do have two other dogs another mini poodle and bichon frise so to say if a Pee accident occured which is a sign of a seisure we wouldnt have known it came from our oldest. 🙁
Thank you all again for your help and comments

[Dog_Obsessed]

I am so sorry you had to go through this! Wet food will probably be easier to eat then dry food, so you could look around at some 4 and 5 star wet options and chose one to start with. I agree with DogFoodie about the baby food, just make sure that it does not contain onion or large amounts of garlic.

[Philip W]

We were feeding our dogs Natural Balance Grain Free chicken and sweet potato and they did not have an issue. We were concerned about the quality of the food and after much research on this site, we switched to Merrick dry Grain Free chicken & sweet potato and mix a little of the Merrick moist as well. We switched gradually over almost 3 weeks. We have noticed that are dogs now have loose stool and some diarrhea and I am beginning to think the Merrick might just be too rich for them. Has anybody’s dogs experienced this with Merrick?

[Peggy]

I will definitely go light on the PB. Thanks everyone!

I did a bit more digging on Pure Balance Salmon & Pea formula dry food, which is the flavor my dogs have really taken to. Below is an image I found on its Walmart page.

(sorry, it’s a bit difficult to read)

[Peggy]

D_O good memory! Depending on what scale I put him on he was either 28 or 30 lbs. So he’s lost either 2 or 4 lbs. Ha.

But that’s not because of my dog food expertise as we all well know! I found his tennis balls in the snow outside, threw them in the dryer (sounded like a thunder storm) and started throwing them up the stairs so he could run up. His favorite form of play.

Progress!

[Peggy]

This is wonderful! Thanks Naturella. I didn’t think about putting water in the dry food. The only dry food I ever did that with was many many years ago when Gravy Train was the thing to feed your pooches.
I tried to get my dogs to eat apple slices and baby carrot sticks to no avail. But they’ll eat cooked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower mixed in their food. And they’ll eat peanut butter and pumpkin. I’m going to try a lot of these. Thanks again.

[Naturella]

@Dog_Obsessed, yes, I am! 🙂 LoL, I’ve been lurking for a while, lol, getting out of my winter break hiatus slowly.

@Peggy, you’re very welcome. 🙂 I agree with DO, Blue Buffalo is by far not the greatest out there so it’s even better that your pups don’t eat it anymore, BUT my personal experience with it, albeit short (like 5 months) was good. Wilderness Puppy was the second food we fed to Bruno after getting him and he did lovely on it, his coat became shinier, and this is when I became very interested in researching dog foods. So far the roommate’s dog seems fine on it too, and a couple of friends have fed it for a while with no problems. Given the huge variety of dry foods I want to try for Bruno, I may never get to come back to it, lol, and I’m okay with that.
As for LB, great job on the 1lb down! I’d say maybe, if you want to, give her 3/4 cup of dry per feeding plus the 1/2 can of wet food. You can also add some water and stir well so that the canned coats the kibble evenly and more water is always good. This way she will be at 2 cups dry calorie-wise, and see how that goes for her and if she keeps losing weight. Or, you can keep her at the amounts you stated and see if she’s losing like that. 🙂

[Naturella]

Oh, and Peggy, you could do the same for LadyBug as well! My roommate’s dog used to be on Science Diet for a long time, and was about 65-70 lbs or so and she is a lab-mix maybe, or a Carolina Dog (American Dingo) mix. He put her on Nulo and reduced her food intake from 3 cups to either 1.5 or 2 cups of dry/day (he doesn’t add anything to it, except for a couple Yummy Chummies fish-based treats/day). Now she is on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Red Meat something, and she’s looking great! Much better than when she was on the SD. Nulo and BB Wilderness and both better formulas than SD and though the calories were reduced some, she was getting better nutrition. She’s lost some weight, coat looks better, and she overall looks healthier. So, better food in the right amounts does miracles. I believe it! 🙂

[Naturella]

Hello, Peggy! Let me jump in just really quick and say that I also have a small terrier mix named Bruno. We think he is a Jack Russell-Rat Terrier, but who knows… He was found in some bushes near a house, so we sometimes say he’s a Bush Terrier, lol.

Anyway, Bruno is now getting close to 2 years old and at 14.5 lbs as of September. The vet said this is a good weight for him, perhaps up to 15 lbs would be fine, but not much more. In the summer we were both very active and he ate 3/4 cup of dry plus about 1/4 cup of watery (soupy) THK and other various mixers per day. I feed him souped-up dry at all times. The foods he was having in the summer (and now) are all above 400 kcal/cup. Because we were exercising basically twice a day, he ate about a full cup calorie-wise. He burned a lot though.

Now in winter, we are not so active (though we should be, shame on me, shame, shame, shame…) and he is down to 1/2 cup 400-something kcal dry plus the additives at the same amounts. His figure hasn’t changed, I watch for his tummy to stay tucked, and for me to be able to feel his ribs easily. However, in late Fall, I had to figure out that I was supposed to reduce his food because I started noticing his waist getting less visible from above. So I reduced the food some. He did act like he wasn’t getting enough food, but by keeping feeding times as regular as possible, he was never truly starved, he got the nutrition he needed. For me, the hardest was when he would lick his empty food bowl over and over hoping food would magically appear. I would then take his food dish away until dinner time. But now that’s how he sometimes reminds me it’s dinner time, if I slip up and forget to give it on time, lol. I find it adorable.

But for Tebow, I would definitely suggest that you reduce to at most 1/2 cup dry and 1/2 tub wet, split between two feedings. Feed like that for 2 weeks and see how it goes. Don’t cave. It is for his own good, and he will live a longer and happier life with you. Also, for treats, you can give some celery bits – they are almost negative calories. Cucumbers are good too as they are mostly water. This way you won’t have to feel bad taking more kibble away if you give any real treats. Don’t overdo the celery and cucumber either though, lol. And when the weather permits, do the walks. They will also help. Eventually Tebow may get to a point to physically require 3/4 cup or even 1 cup of dry calorie-wise (as Dori said, based on activity level, etc.), but not now.

Another note (sorry for the novel here). I also kind of take care food-wise of the dog of the family I babysit for and that poor Shitzu-Maltese mix was being severely overfed, I mean, they would just put kibble in the bowl all the way up and let her eat however much she wanted. She thankfully doesn’t eat till she throws up but had no limits on food intake, and looked like she could lose some weight herself. I don’t know how much she weighs, but she looks to be about Bruno’s size, and her tummy was pudgy and sagging, and her ribs were there, but harder to feel. So I put her on 1/2 cup of dry (400-something kcal/cup), and a teaspoon of coconut oil/day, with warm water, and she’s been doing great, looking like she’s on her way to being fitter. I am happy and grateful that the family trusts me to do this for their dog and it makes me happy to have switched her to better food and to be working on her health.

So it does work, do not worry about starving your dog. We are also always here to help with any questions you may have! Keep us posted on Tebow’s progress! 🙂

[Peggy]

I think I hijacked another thread, so moving my inquiries back to my thread.

My husband is of the opinion that we should feed Tebow (the JRT) healthy cooked food with the dry, rather than canned food. He says it is less expensive.

Comparing what we spend on can food to what we spend on fresh ground turkey and chicken, and canned salmon – I can see his point. He says add carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and they got it made.

Men!

[Dog_Obsessed]

I have been told the same thing numerous times, but dry food helping teeth is actually a myth. Here are two DFA articles on that: /choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

/choosing-dog-food/dry-dog-food-cleaner-teeth/

[Peggy]

Thank you for that advice Dori.
The Jack Russell terrier site that I am a member of says this:

“Feed your Jack Russell Terrier a diet that is at least 50 percent dry kibble. The crunchy texture of this type of food will reduce buildup of plaque and tartar on the teeth. Buildup of plaque and tartar can cause dental problems for small breeds like the Jack Russell. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations about how much to feed your dog daily, based on your pet’s weight or desired weight. Divide the daily ration into at least two meals; three is even better for your pet. This is because the Jack Russell’s small stomach can only hold so much food at once. Dividing the daily ration into two or three meals per day allows for proper digestion of the food.”

[Dori]

Not in my opinion. Wet food is much healthier (depending on the quality, of course) for dogs than dry food. I would rather see you go all wet than all dry. Or half and half. You could also feed all dry in the a.m. and all wet in the p.m. or vice versa but I would never council anyone to feed only dry.

[Peggy]

BTW, out of curiosity, is there ever a time when you should feed your dog ONLY dry food and leave the wet out?

[Peggy]

I do not know where my head was/is. And I can’t find the calorie count for the Salmon & Pea dry food which is what they eat.
I’ll keep digging.

[Mike Sagman]

Copper is an essential mineral for dogs, cats, humans — and all living things, for that matter.

So, you’ll almost always find some form of copper on a dog food label. That’s because in order to legally claim the product is “complete and balanced” for nutritional adequacy, a dog food must contain sufficient copper to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles.

According to the official 2015 AAFCO publication, a dog food must contain at least 7.5 mg of copper per each kilogram of dog food (on a dry matter basis, of course).

However, any mineral (even sodium) can be toxic in excessive amounts. The maximum for copper as published by AAFCO is currently 250 mg.

Because some compounds of copper have such poor bioavailability for dogs, AAFCO does not permit its oxide form (like copper oxide, cupric oxide, etc.) to be used to meet the association’s official nutrient profiles.

So, manufacturers must use copper sulfate or a chelated form of the mineral such as copper proteinate (or copper complexed with an amino acid or polysaccharide).

The personal interest (lay) article mentioned by Susan Thixton that was published in The Battle Creek (Michigan) Enquirer appears to base its warnings on a hypothesis proposed by one well-meaning veterinarian.

And his “theory” is certainly worthy of further investigation.

However, until a scientific study that addresses the specific topic of copper sulfate toxicity in dogs can be referenced, I would suggest to those concerned to avoid the hysteria about these recent claims.

Please read this pet food industry article about copper sulfate written by a respected animal nutritionist, Dr. Greg Aldrich of Kansas State University for a more enlightening and scientific explanation.

Hope this helps.

[Dori]

Hi Peggy. Just read your post on how much your dogs ate this morning. I don’t know how much Ladybug,your Lab/Shep, mix weighs but I will state that’s a heck of a lot of food for Tebow, your JRT, ( if he’s suppose to weigh 20 lbs.). You’re giving him way more than 1/2 cup per meal if you are also adding a tub of food even if it is small. Is it possible that you’re not taking into account the amount of calories in the tub (wet) food your adding to their meals? You mentioned that you will start giving him 3/4 cup daily but you don’t mention anything about reducing the wet food also? Foods with gravy have a lot of basically wasted calories. I’m glad you’re adding wet foods as they are much better for your dog than dry, I’m just saying that you have to take all the calories that you feed into account for the entire day (that includes any treats you’re giving them) and divide all calories into two meals.

[Carolyn G]

Does anyone know of a brand of high quality, high star-rating dry kibble that is poultry and grain free, but, most importantly, a weight loss food?

[Peggy]

Bah I didn’t even think to look for the calories on the Walmart site. Thank you very much!

On the bags, it says to feed him 1 cup per day, and 2 – 2 1/2 cups for LadyBug.
So I will reduce him to 3/4 cup total of dry. I hesitate to reduce the can food any.
A couple of times last week, in place of the can food, I broiled some ground turkey and added cooked broccoli and carrots. Added that to the dry food and they both ate that up. Another night I did Turkey and scrambled eggs. WOW they had gas that night. I had to run them out of the bedroom and close the door. Whewee! 😛

I’m sure it will help tremendously when this SNOW goes away so I can resume our daily walks!