[Peggy]

I see a lot of talk about ‘food rotation’.
Do you rotate their food every day? Every week?”
Is this for variety? Or what purpose?

Note: For some reason, my LadyBug (lab/shepard mix) seems to like turkey more than any other meet. I know this by trial and error. Once in a while I’ll grind up and cook fresh chicken or turkey to serve with their dry food, and she much prefers turkey.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Peggy.

[Peggy]

ooohh I’m glad I found this thread.
Currently my 2 babies are eating Wellness Core Grain Free Reduced Fat dry food. I top it with Pure Balance tub food – 1/2 tub each.

I’ll admit that both myself and they are having difficulty with the switch to using wet meat as just a topper, as they are used to a 1/2 can each mixed in with their dry food.
Also, to be honest, neither one is liking the Wellness Core food. My LadyBug will NOT eat is by itself. As soon as the meat is gone, so is she.
My JRT will eat some of it after the meat is gone, but not much.

And we’re not even 1/4 of the way through a 26 lb bag! 🙁

[Dog_Obsessed]

I’m going to place my Chewy.com order today. I’m getting a bottle of Vet’s Best shampoo, a cheap dog toy, a Small Bergan Smart Storage container, a 4.4lb bag of Nature’s Logic Venison, and a 4lb bag of Fromm Four Star Nutritionals Lamb and Lentils Dry Dog Food.

Thanks to Dori who suggested the NL kibble, the storage container, and shampoo, and thanks to everyone for suggesting foods and being generally awesome!

[Walt R]

Thanks for your follow up. Yes, i have been adding probiotics to his food and will continue to do so. I will also watch the stools to see what happens and adjust per your recommendations.

We truly do not know if he must have fish based foods or not. All i have to go on are all the various foods we tried when we first got him. We tried a LOT of different foods due to the bad gas. I really can’t even recall all the different brands and types (beef vs. chicken, etc). I know we tried several… and once we go to the fish, problem solved. Gas was gone, dog was far more energetic and his fur was looking great. It took many months and just like that… life was good for everyone until about 3 months ago and now i can hardly stand to let the boy sleep next to me because the breath is too much. It smells like the Frito and it literally makes me ill from headaches to stomach. My wife and son are not as affected but they too smell it.

Anyhow, it is only because of our experiences when we first got him, that i start with the Trout/Salmon vs. Bison or Lamb (2 meats i think we did not try).

If you have recommendations for an actual food/type, I’m wide open to suggestions.

Part of the problem i have… seems that every food has “something” we need to watch for. Peas, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Legumes, Yeast, Oats, Grains, etc. So it’s hard trying to figure out where to start.

Unfortunately, money is a factor. Zignature is at the very high end of what i can afford if this turns out to be the new food of choice. I also know that due to lifestyle constraints, i need to stick with dry dog food. Again, convenience is a factor. Hope that doesn’t sound insensitive.

He’s been doing great for over 2 years and all of a sudden, something changed. I’m sure we’ll once again find the right food and fix whatever is going on. I just dread that this may take months.

So, thanks again for the advise. If you have any specific recommendations or 3 for brands/formulas… i will put them on my list in case the Zignature does not work out.

Thanks again.

Walt

[Vincent I]

First post here, and it more of a question/statement. We current use a pet food delivery website. Recently received an email stating the current ordered dry dog foods were changing formulary and packaging, but the food would still remain the consistent high quality food we have always received. The brands are Solid Gold; Barking at the Moon and Sundancer.
First, the weight of the packages are reduced from 28.5 lbs to 26 lbs per package.
Second, the caloric measurement we see listed as k/cal cup is reduced in the Barking at the Moon formula 40 k/cal cup, while the Sundancer formula is increased 35 k/cal cup.
This information was not conveyed in coorospndance and may not be important to everyone.
We still have net loss in total weight per package and in one instance, a loss of caloric availability per cup of food. These foods are not inexpensive and were 5 star recommendations at the Dog Food Advisor website. The question, do they remain on the list as 5 star recommendations? We currently house 4 rescued greyhounds and 2 rescued Spanish greyhounds, so food expenses are a consideration. We would rather feed the better foods than make veterinarian trips, and she agrees we our pups are in better than average health.

[Walt R]

Thanks all for your suggestions. I have been doing the antifungal shampoo every 2 days for the past week and I have not notice much difference. I also got a spray for the paws but that too has not helped. I did supplement his food with probiotic powder but again, no change. In fact, I want to say it’s worse.

I am thoroughly convinced his issue is INSIDE… that it’s in his saliva, in his mouth. He licks himself and then it gets on the bed linens and then they smell too.

The most convincing reason why I think it’s his mouth/insides… when he takes a deep breath and breathes out…. the fritos smell is huge. almost as bad as bad gas.

I’m very sensitive to this which is why it’s a problem.

Anyhow… I agree, that I need to start with food.

Unfortunately it’s challenging to spend $50 on a bag of dog food. Time is limited too with how much I work.

I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but for now, I want to remain with dry food.

There are 100’s of makes/formula’s out there. Something has to work.

As mentioned previously, when we got him we tried many of the regular brand foods and everything made his coat smell and he had bad gas. We stumbled upon the Purina Pro Plan Select Salmon formula and life was good for nearly 2 years. We had small bouts of this frito breath smell, but it would go away. This time… it’s not.

Can anyone recommend other dry dog foods to try?

I have read… no potatoes, sweet potatoes, grains, peas, sugars, yeasts, etc… but it seems no matter what I look at, one of these ingredentis in in the food. Sometimes it’s 7 or 8 ingredients down the list…

Which prompts the next question… if the potatos or peas are 7 ingredients down… do I need to be concerned?

I do not have a distributor near me for Victors. I was recommend Blue Wilderness but it has the Peas and Potatoes. I was also recommended Zignature Trout/Salmon but it too has peas further down the list.

Any other thoughts?

I don’t mind buy a 6lb bag here and there and start trying to find the right ones again. But it’s challenging with there being so many to choose from.

Thanks again for all your help. I will continue on with the shampoos, probiotics, etc…

[crazy4cats]

I think that is weird that your pups got crystals while eating raw food. However, after one of my cats blocked due to crystals, I have been researching causes for them. There are other reasons besides just diet. Definitely, make sure they continue to get a lot of moisture and plenty of opportunities to go potty. Also, feed two or three times a day to keep their pH levels in check. I believe that stress and anxiety caused much of my cat’s issue. Have you made big changes at home recently? Any new pets or people in the house, or changes to their routines?
Prescription food, both canned and dry has helped rid my cat of his crystals. I’m giving him about 75% prescription food and 25% regular diet. I am going to gradually decrease the prescription over a year’s time and reevaluate his urine regularly.

Crystals in dogs are not as serious as in male cats as their parts are no where as likely to get blocked as cats. However, they can make it painful to pee as they are like little pieces of glass. Can you feed them the Royal Canin temporarily or with the raw until the infections and crystals are gone? Also glucosamine has been recommended to me by more than one vet for bladder support. Good luck to you. It can be worrisome, can’t it?

[pugmomsandy]

Petkind Tripe dry food reads like a very good quality dog food that includes both fresh meat and meat meal. But tripe is best fed raw, so if you are looking to feed tripe for it’s health benefits, then I wouldn’t recommend a kibble since kibble can be cooked with high temperatures. I consider cooked tripe just another “meat”. Raw tripe is another story.

[Joanne R]

I would like to know what you think of Petkind Tripe Dry dog food.
Thank you.

[Barbara P]

I’ve been searching for a dog food that does not contain beef, poultry, lamb, fish, and peas. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’ve already checked into Nature’s Variety or Natural Balance’s Limited Ingredient foods but unfortunately those did not meet the criteria.

[Sarah]

Hello Dog Experts!

I would love to get your suggestions on what would be the best food to get for our new puppy Pearl who is 3/4 Golden Retriever and 1/4 Border Collie mix that the breeder refers to as a Coltriever. We have had her since she was 10 weeks old and is now 13 weeks and weighs 12 lbs and is a very active and happy pup. She is currently on Taste of the Wild Puppy which was what the breeder was feeding and we have switched between the Wild Prairie and Wild Pacific Salmon formulas and she has done well on both but seems to like the Wild Pacific Salmon formula more. She has a long and very fluffy puppy coat still and the Vet suggested having her on a fish based puppy food for both her longer coat and to help with the cancer that is so prevalent in Goldens. My understanding is TOTW is a good food for the price point however, I am looking to find what the best food would be for her. I joined the Editors Choice but the large breed Puppy foods listed were not fish based. I don’t mind paying more $$ as it is important to me to have her on the best food possible. Our vet is not pro Raw food and we currently are not looking to go that direction except for possibly supplementing. If anyone has suggestions on supplements we should be adding I would love to hear those as well! I am also scratching my head on whether I should be doing all dry or a wet/dry combo for her food.
These are some of the suggestions we got from Mud Bay for her dry food (a local high end pet store):
1. First Mate Puppy
2. Instinct Salmon (it’s not a puppy formula but they said that it has the same protein and fat ratios as a puppy formula would have)
3. Acana (they didn’t carry but said was great)
4. Orijen (they didn’t carry but said was great)
I appreciate the help, the more I research the more confused I get and would love to hear from people’s personal experiences!
~Sarah

[Melinda M]

My 18 mos old lab was eating Merrick and would go crazy for the food & would bark for an hour until u would feed her. However, she would have loose stool toward the end of almost every BM and had TERRIBLE gas!!! so after 4 mos of being on Merrick, we decided to switch over to Earthborn. She has been on Earthborn for a few weeks and there is a huge change in her feeding habits. Instead of going after the food with all the excitement she has and eating every last kibble– she barely eats the Earthborn. She will eat some but will leave a lot at each feeding. She will eat the rest of it later when I give it to her. Before when she was on the Merrick it was like she couldn’t get enough and couldn’t get the kibble down fast enough. Should I try another food? I need a dry kibble that is high in protein because she is working at retrieving dead ducks right now 🙂 any suggestions are appreciated.

[Madison R]

I have an 11 year old pug who has lost most of her teeth and has trouble eating dry food. She has an extremely long tongue that hangs out all the time and has trouble eating some wet foods. I’m in search of a great quality grain free wet food that is pretty chunky so she pick it up and eat it easily. I’ve sampled a few wet foods but haven’t had any luck.
Any suggestions?
Thank you!!

[julie j]

How about Life’s Abundance puppy and adult dry formula dog food? I am currently feeding this. How are you feeling about this food?

[Charlotte P]

What foods have you all switched to/had success with? My dogs have always been on grain-free, supplemented with pumpkin and goat yoghurt. Right now I have two, both are rescues… Phoebe is about six years old, she came to me four years ago, and her health is fine except for a reaction to yeast supplements which I tried as a flea treatment alternative (They are both on Comfortis now). Leo, also about six, came to me four months ago and has the anal abscess issues, was underweight, and ended up having TWELVE teeth removed – he was already missing five! Over the years, dry and canned foods I have tried include Natural Balance, Spring Naturals, I and Love and You, Wishbone Lake, and of course, home-cooked meals. Has anyone had success with any of these? How about Orijen, Acana, Blue Buffalo, or Taste of the Wild? Do I need to go raw? For the dry, I had the best outcome with Wishbone Lake.

[T]

The traditional Chinese veterinary medicine people have an interesting way of looking at this. Many ear infections qualify as “damp heat.” Foods that engender dampness include sweet and starchy foods. Therefore, in pets prone to dampness, avoiding damp-causing foods (lower carbohydrate level) is often advised. Damp DRAINING foods are sometimes used and these include: alfalfa, barley, Job’s Tears (a grain), and pumpkin- amongst many others.

Dry kibble dog food is usually thought to add to the problem when considering health from an TCVM perspective.

I agree with what BCNut and Susan said, too, an elimination diet trial with real food would be a really good idea, too! I’m working on writing a PDF that tells how to do a version of elimination diet trial.

I wrote an article on my blog about this recently:
http://naturalalternativesvet.com/food-allergy-in-dogs-and-cats-2

Tabitha

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I know that I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people on this site.
I haven’t posted in sometime but the regulars were very helpful when my Pepper came to me 3 years ago.
We have been through MANY ILLNESSES-I have fought for my angel every step of the way-but as she is aging the chronic inflammation she suffers from reared it’s ugly head again.
I have tried many foods and she adjusted to the amicus senior kibble that I would give her soaked of course wit a topper of boiled organic chicken or grassed beef or bison.
she was doing fine. A few weeks back the regurgitation and then vomiting started along with a touch of diarrhea.
Blood work x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing- next step endoscopy which her internist is not too anxious to do given her age & her numerous other health issues.
He feels it is her diet and you guessed it wants me to try the veterinary prescription foods-now understand I am not trying to get in a battle with these vets-my Pepper is my main concern & if this junk will keep her going I WILL DO IT. I looked at the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein wet & dry & got sick when I read the ingredients!!!
Can anyone guide me in an alternative-she has been eating organic pumpkin or sweet potato with organic ground turkey (as DR. Karen Becker) suggests, but I can’t keep her on this forever- I thought the Honest Kitchen base mix might work but she threw that up also.
I asked the Dr to put her on Reglan because I feel Pepper has a motility issue-she doesn’t digest her food completely, she has been on the Reglan since Monday & hasn’t reguritated or vomited. I know there are advocates of raw feeding, but, to me & I may be very wrong -she is just too old to start her on raw feeding.
I think since she is taking the Reglan, I may try to re-introduce a tsp. of the Honest Kitchen grain-free base mix again and see what happens.
Thank you for any help anyone may give.
Cheryl,Pepper & Mille-Belle

[Dog_Obsessed]

Do you mean Doc’s Choice food? If so, here is the link to the DFA review: /dog-food-reviews/docs-choice-dog-food-dry/

Honestly the ingredients don’t look to great to me at first glance, with Chicken By-Products, Corn, and Wheat being the first three ingredients. You could get a much better food for the same price. Of course, you could also do much worse than this food, and the protein is pretty high which is good.

[Bobby dog]

Hi kelsey s:
Wal-Mart has Pure Balance stews for $1/can and small tubs for 68 cents each. Here’s a thread that has suggestions for kibble sold at Wal-Mart. There is also info on where to find coupons for a few of them:
/forums/topic/need-advice-about-walmart-brands/

Like Akari suggested, stop by the coupon thread for sale info. Come over to the cat food thread, we have lots of budget friendly suggestions for cat food there. 😉

Consider rotational feeding. I feed my dog this way so he gets a healthy variety. Find at least three different brands of food with different carb and protein sources that your dogs do well on and like eating. Once your dog is used to eating a variety you never have to worry about a recipe changing and the possibility of your dog not liking it, a recall (can happen to any food at any time), or your food just not being available. The added benefit is that you can take advantage of sales and coupons to help with your budget. You can read more about it here:
/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

Edit: Also check out Tractor Supply and local feed, hardware, or garden supply stores. One line of food I like that you might find at feed stores is PMI Nutrition. If you can find it check out the Exclusive and Infinia lines. Here’s a store locator: http://www.pminutrition.com/main.html
Tractor Supply has 4Health kibble and canned food (99 cents). I would recommend the GF turkey, beef, or whitefish kibbles. Print a list of the 3, 4, and 5 star foods from the review side and take them with you to where you shop for food to see what is available within your budget.
3 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/3-star/
4 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/4-star/
5 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/5-star/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Bobby dog.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I’m also uncomfortable with fasting dogs for 24 hours. With small dogs it seems like they would get too hungry, and with bigger dogs it can increase bloat risk. Lily is also a gulper. I mix water with her wet food to slow her down, and put her dry in an activity toy.

[Dog_Obsessed]

What? Why are the posts back up?! I swear they were deleted before.

@Dori The troll was posting on the Bil-Jac dry dog food topic.

[Peggy]

Hi DogFoodie, I purchased the Wellness Core grain-free weight loss formula, on your advice and waiting for it to be delivered. It was cheaper to buy at Amazon.com and got free delivery. I noticed it gets 5 stars here at DFA.

I think after that is finished we’ll decide on whether to stay with it or switch to Pure Balance. Dog_Obsessed, which dry food to you feed your dogs?

Previously I had been walking each dog once a week, twice at the most. This past week I’ve taken them out every day. One at a time. The JRT is not used to walking on a leash so we’re working on it. LadyBug however, I’m sure was a leash walker with her previous owner as she loves it and all I have to do is say “walk” and she’s at the door, haha.
The next few days will be very busy so may not be able to walk them but we’ll get back on it after Christmas.

Tebow is a toy dog. Meaning, he loves toys. Squeakies, stuffed, rubber, balls of any kind, etc. His favorite indoor activity is for me to toss the ball UP the stairs to the second floor and he’ll run up the steps (12 steps total), retrieve it, run back down, drop it at my feet, sit and look up at me as if to say “Ok, ready!”. This happens at least 15 times before he stops bringing it back. That’s his way of saying “I need a rest now. Thank you”. 😀

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Peggy.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Peggy,

I can’t recall if I mentioned this before or not, but a few of my favorite dry “weight loss” foods that don’t compromise protein or quality, healthy fats are Wellness Core Reduced Fat (dry and canned), Orijen Senior and Go! Senior.

I recall talking about canned foods also so forgive me if you had said you were only looking for canned foods. I didn’t go back and read this thread from the beginning.

[Amy G]

Thanks for the help! He has started eating the Blue mixed in with his puppy chow but we are down to 1/4 of that. I’m also adding some natures recipe wet puppy food to it as he seems to really like that. He’s eating about 3/4 cups of dry food with maybe 2 tablespoons if the way mixed in 3 times a day. He always eats most of his food. I have noticed that his stools are still really soft, not diarrhea, but not completely formed either. He’s going like 4/6 times a day, sometimes more. Since he’s already transitioning into the blue, once he’s fully on it, when is a good time to try and switch him again or should I just leave it for a while? He doesn’t have a vet appointment until after Xmas and they are huge science diet vets…. Thanks so much and happy holidays!!

[Peggy]

Dog_Obsessed, I looked for Pure Balance wet food at my Walmart and they don’t have it, so I will have to go to the next town to get it. Dog Food Advisor gives it 4.5 stars. I’m impressed.

If Pure Balance had a weight loss formula I would buy it too, as the dry food has 4 stars.
They have a grain free formula, but not weight loss. 🙁

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Peggy.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Peggy.

[Lou B]

Getting back to the question – anyone else have any great expeerince with “Inexpensive good quality dry food?”, especially for small breeds? Thx in advance!

[T]

Oh, it makes me sad to hear stories like this… I know it seems expensive to upgrade food, but it’s going to be hard to get your dog in better health eating a sub-optimal diet. I think of it like a person spending lots of money on “fat burning belts” and jiggling machines to lose weight while still eating a box of Twinkies a week and drinking a liter of Coke daily. You can’t pour enough stuff on from the outside to make up for what’s going on inside.

Any money you put toward a diet upgrade will pay off in better health and less money spent trying to “Band-Aid” problems. I do salute you for caring and trying to come up with solutions. I don’t mean to criticize your efforts! Just saying I hope you’ll reconsider how you think about the value of diet. I can think of a couple of dog foods I really like that cost about $60-70/month to feed a 50 lb. dog. Would that be do-able?

One last thing– buying a lot of dry dog food at one time means it’s not going to be at all fresh when you feed it. The fats in it do not stay fresh for that long and can really add to health problems. Dogs need fresh fats! It’s a problem with all foods, especially stale kibble.

I have a few articles about foods on my blog if you’re interested: http://naturalalternativesvet.com

Tabitha

[BRENDA B]

I hope someone can give me good advise here. I lost 2 dogs to Renal failure this year. Both were only 4 years old. It has been devastating for us. When the first one got sick we changed the food for fear it could have had something to do with it but didn’t know. We were using Southern States Advanced dry food. We live in a tiny town and it was recommended to us. Now I know it is bad food. Just last week i lost another dog to renal failure and there is no blood line to the other one so we immediately wondered if it was caused by the same food. The Vet said she probably got sick back when the other dog did. I called FDA in Atlanta to report this and he just blew me off. I don’t have the empty bag from the food buy I feel the dog food should be investigated if is could be killing dogs. Someone need to do something and I feel helpless

[Kathy J]

My 13 Boston Terrier was diagnosed with pancreatitis which caused her to now be a diabetic.
My vet has her on science diet prescription ID which is very expensive. My other dog 7 yr old bull terrier is healthy and is on blue buffalo lamb and brown rice.
I have seen comments where blue buffalo is too rich and it’s fruit
Ingredients adds to a higher sugar intake for dogs.
I’m concerned my bull terrier will end up like my Boston terrier.
My questions is, any suggestions of a dry food that can help both dogs?

Thank you,
Kathy

[karren w]

Hi I live in the UK and am having a nightmare getting food for my dog she is an american bull dog she is 9 months old she carnt have chicken /wheat /potato’s/sweet potato’s /rice / or she get yeast ears .and her whole body is itchy. She is on orijen six fish at the moment as its got the lowest carbs in dry food you can bye in the UK .we are giving that for 2 meals and 1 meal of just meat .we are also giving her coconut oil and fish oil to try and help her . at the moment we are doing a bit better her ears are all good but she is dead itchy. Dos anyone no any other foods in the UK we can try .

[Dori]

A better way to know if your dog needs to lose or gain weight is by feel. You don’t need a scale for this. Feel your dogs body especially her rib cage both sides. Can you easily feel her ribs or do you really have to push in on her flesh to feel them. You should be easily able to feel her ribs but not to the point where you can actually feel too easily the space in between each rib. Also while she is standing still look straight down on her. You should be able to see a waist line. If you you don’t, then just keep adjusting her weight downward until you can. Same with the ribs. Also don’t forget that in feeding raw you feed much less than you would if you were feeding a dry or canned food. By regularly feeling her body you can then always adjust her meals by a little more or a little less once she gets to what feels right.

Also, as BC said. 5 – 10 lbs. overweight on a dog is a huge deal. Once she looses the weight you’ll be surprised as to how more active she’ll be. It’s best for all her internal organs and musculoskeletal system to be a little on the slim side. Much healthier all around.

[aimee]

Hi C4C,

Glad to hear that your cat is doing better. What a scary incident that you sure don’t want to repeat.

I’ve come to view urinary blockages as a multi factorial problem. Sometimes blockages are composed of mucoid matrix without any crystals, so be cautious on not having tunnel vision in regards to struvite. You can find good information on OSU indoor pet site which used to be indoor cat initiative.

The old adage “the solution to pollution is dilution” applies here. Crystal formation is a factor not only of pH but concentration of components that make up the crystal. Because pH can fluctuate throughout the day I think striving for a dilute urine is as important if not more important along with watching mineral content of the diet. I’d be willing to sacrifice a bit in the pH department to get a dilute urine. Moist foods can help along with extra water mixed into the food, flavored water “treats” providing multiple water sources and knowing what your cat likes. Some cat like “staler” water and others absolutely fresh!

pH varies with dietary factors, management factors and likely individual cat factors. Evaluating what goes in is important but I think close monitoring of what comes out is even more important. Veterinary diets are formulated to hit certain pH and concentration milestones. Some of the veterinary diets rely on salt to drive thirst. But I don’t think this “guarantees” that when fed to “your” cat the appropriate pH and concentration are achieved. Investing in a pH meter and refractometer to test urine at home is a good investment.

How often the cat eats also plays a role in urine pH. After eating the urine will become basic due to what is called the “alkaline tide”. This is noted in the cat more so than in the dog. The generation of HCL in the stomach releases bicarb in the blood which alkalizes the urine. Multiple 4-6 small meals a day are preferable to 1 or 2. I can see that there could be a bit of a trade off here. With a dry diet the cat is free to and often does eat multiple small meals a day with moist diet the food can’t be left out for hours and people usually don’t feed 4-6 times a day. If this results in the cat eating a larger amount less often the alkaline tide could result in a higher urine pH for many hours during the day despite a diet that would be otherwise be acidifying.

I personally don’t think the answer to struvite and urinary blockages can be found solely in added methionine to a diet without looking at the entire picture. Methionine is metabolized in the body and the sulfur excreted as sulfuric acid hence it is acidifying to the urine. But since minerals in the diet and feeding practices also influence pH I don’t think all the eggs should be put in one basket per say. Methionine can cause GI upset, and hemolytic anemia( large doses).

If you can achieve a dilute mildly acidic urine by adding methionine to a base diet that otherwise wasn’t reaching those parameters than great but be open to finding what works in your cat.

[Amy G]

Hi everyone–I need some help. We just brought home an 8 week old Boxer puppy 3 days ago (who is adorable btw) and he will not eat his food. The breeder was feeding him Purina Puppy Chow, wetted down until soft. She told us that he was a fast eater and to watch him. The first day we brought him home he ate very little. The second day he refused to eat it at all. I went and bought Blue Wilderness Puppy food to mix with the Purina to transition him over but he will not eat this at all. I wetted it down with low sodium chicken broth until soft, he sniffs the bowl and walks away. So for almost an entire day he refused to eat. I went to PetSmart and bought a few tubs of Nature’s Recipe puppy food and he lapped them up completely. We were excited that he finally started to eat. I was worried about just feeding him the wet food so I tried mixing it in with the Blue kibble and he wouldn’t eat it, but once I put down just the wet food he started eating. I saw on here that Nature’s recipe pure essentials got 5 stars for wet food but then I saw someone else said it wasn’t good? So now I’m completely confused as to what to go and buy him for tomorrow because I only have 2 tubs left. He’s about 9 pounds now and according to that weight, I’m guessing he should be eating 1 3/4-2 tubs per meal? 3 times a day? I have a black Lab that eats TOTW with pulled beef/chicken as a topper but she has never had a problem eating just dry kibble. Is eating just wet food going to be bad for him in the end? I’m just overwhelmed with the choices and want to make sure we are giving him the best nutrition possible. I do have a lawn and garden center near me that sells TOTW and some other high end canned dog food that I could check out but would Nature’s choice do for now? Thank you so much for all your help.

[Susan]

Hi Walt, I don’t know if I mentioned “MALASEB” medicated shampoo, bath his paws in the Malaseb as this kills the yeast & bacteria that’s living in his paws & stops the smell…also wash his whole body & give a massage for about 5-10mins while his paws are covered in the Malaseb shampoo & soaking…..Malaseb is for yeasty skin & wont strip their good oils like other products do making the dogs skin dry. Iodine does make their feet real dry… I only used Iodine when Patches paws were red & sore which he hasn’t had since washing in them in Malaseb…I have to wash Patches stinky paws every 5 days, its hard if you fill a bath then you cant soak the paws & my boy is soooo scared of baths, I don’t know what happened in his past… I’ve had him 2 years now, I can not wash or put water around his head, he starts to panic, so I use a wash cloth around his head… when you get a kibble make sure the Carbs are LOW & make sure you start writing down the first 7 ingredients that way u’ll notice what carb works & what carb make his smell worst eg: potatoes, peas, (starchy carbs) as soon as you find the right food his paw problem will go away, I have to keep my boy on his vet diet due to IBD, like vet said, she’d rather stinky paws then diarrhoea.. Ur boy has landed on his feet, one very lucky boy….

[crazy4cats]

Hi Walt-

I second Victor as a budget friendly brand if it is in your area. I feed it frequently. I’m giving Eagle Pack a try right now made by Well Pet, the same company that makes Wellness. So far so good! I prefer to use inexpensive dry and supplement with fresh, canned or frozen protein rich toppers.

I’ve never fed it, but Fromm Family Classics is another budget friendly food made by a reputable company.

Good luck to you and your buddy!

[Barbara P]

My 4 year old golden, Colby, has been allergy tested and has several food allergies. The two dry foods recommended were Blue Seal Natural 26 or Perscription Diet d/d potato and duck. I’ve been feeding him the BS Natural 26 since June but his face is turning white since starting this. Can anyone tell me if the Perscription Diet would be a better choice? There’s not a lot of info on limited ingredients dry dog foods. He is only 4 years old and he’s beginning to look like he’s 7. I’m open for suggestions.
barbwp1054@gmail.com
<Golden allergy foods>

[Walt R]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Four questions. First, if the issue is possibly a yeast infection on his paws, is it spread then via his licking and that is why the bed linens smell so bad (in addition to his feet) or is it possible that the issue is the saliva and as he licks his feet he’s also licking the blankets because he DOES lick the blankets, floors and everything else?

Secondly, there have been some recommendation for food/changing diet. Can anyone recommend a specific brand/formula (or 4) that is a touch on the less expensive side? Simply put, we are not in a position to spend $70 or $80 for a 30lb bag of food. We are more in the $30 – $40 range for 30 pound bags of premium foods and then stock up when it goes on sale.

Third, i see a lot about foot baths with recommendations for for specific product lines as well as home made remedies such as peroxide, vinegar, iodine and water (various combinations, I’d have to go back and look for the exact recipes.) Can anyone recommend one over the other or have a specific product in mind? My only concern about iodine is whether it will stain his white paws and/or the bath tub.

Lastly, i actually enjoy bathing the dog, blow drying, grooming him. When we got him he was deathly afraid of adult males. The first thing we as a family did was bath him and then i took over from there. It took a bit but now we are absolute buds. Unfortunately if you put him in a room with my wife on one side and me on the other and we both call him, she wins. She likely always will, but that does not mean i’ll ever stop trying! 🙂 So, i enjoy the time with him, caring for him, bathing him, etc… because i can tell over the past 2 years that it’s made huge inroads with trust, amongst many other things.

Thanks again for allow in my questions and thank you too so very much for the idea’s and suggestions.

Walt

[crazy4cats]

Hi Rob-
Do you feed any canned or raw food at all? If not I’d definitely start. By increasing moisture, it helps to flush out the crystals. Try to find the lowest carb, highest protein canned food you can afford and mix it in and add water. Also, You may want to use the prescription dry food for a while to help dissolve the crystals. After that, I believe Wellness Core is a good food for maintaining pH levels. Good luck!

[Sadie’s Mom]

@ BC – I found something at my local feed store that has the same active ingredients as Corta-Flx (well, this one uses HA instead of MSM) but isn’t. They only had Corta-Flx in the gallon container, which is much more than I need. It is a quart bottle that actually had dosing on it for dogs! I mixed half in with my dogs food + some wet food to make it enticing and gave the other half via syringe. She seemed ok with both, so tomorrow I may try just pouring it over her food, which is much easier than mixing it with dry and wet food and some water.

[Rob S]

Hi,

My 5 year old Australian Shepherd mix has been told that she has high pH urine, currently around 8.5, and has struvite crystals. The vet said that she would probably need to go on the prescription diet food from Hill’s Science or Royal Canine but when looking at those ingredients they look terrible, first ingredient in the dry food is corn and in the wet it is mainly meat by-products. She is currently on Nature’s Recipe Grain Free kibble and since I switched her to grain-free a few months ago her mood dramatically increased and she has so much more energy so I want to keep grain free.

I have tried supplementing with cranberry tablets but she is picky and often eats all her food but leaves the tablets.

Can anyone recommend a good quality grain-free food to help with urinary issues that would do a similar job as the prescription food but much much better quality of ingredients?

Thanks

[Walt R]

Hi. We got a rescue dog about 3 years back. It took us nearly a year before we found food that he liked and we liked. His issue was that he was always stinky even though an indoor dog. He also had room clearing gas. It was truly awful. We tried many different varieties/blends of dog food and he was, at one point, being bathed weekly it was that bad. But, we finally found the Purina Pro Plan Select Sensitive with the Salmon. It took only a matter of days and the gas was gone. In addition, he no longer smelled bad all the time and his baths were now 8 – 10 weeks apart. The dog is a pointer mix and is now pushing 5 years old. He has always been a dog that likes to lick. You walk past him or he you and out comes that tongue. He’ll get ya. LOL. He also licks the sheets, and carpet and his feet, etc. It’s never been a problem for us.

Anyhow, over the past 6 months something has changed. His feet start to smell like Frito’s. But, so do the bed linens and other things, because of his licking. His breath is not bad. If he licks your hand, it’s not bad. But over time, it adds up and we’re having a hard time with it. In addition, because of this, what becomes, an over powering smell of Fritos… he’s back to being bathed every 2 weeks.

His overall coat smells fine. His head and neck are fine. His feet on the other hand… UGH. Same with the bed linens and where he likes to sleep throughout the day.

I can’t help but think it’s his food.

Again, his breath is fine. His coat (other than feet) are fine. Still no gas and he still likes the food.

I don’t know if there is a vitamin supplement we should give him, if there are breath drops that i see online that we can give him or if we should change food.

Unfortunately, i have 100lbs of his food in the basement as it recently went on sale at $10 off per bag. It was hard to pass up. Now… I may be regretting that decision.

So, i found this site. I read up on the Pro Plan Select and it didn’t get very good reviews. Out of the nearly 200 brands/formula’s posted as 4 stars and above, Purina wasn’t even on the list.

A friend has recommended Zsignature Trout/Salmon, but OMGoodness, that is seriously expensive food.

So i thought i would reach out here in this forum and ask if anyone else has experienced this kind of thing.

I do not think the dog has any yeast infections. He doesn’t have dry, red or cracked feet and there aren’t sores on his body. He had a vet check in October and everything is good. Even his teeth are good.

I did read though, that the Pro Plan Sensitive Salmon does contain yeast. So, could that be it? The yeast is in his saliva, he’s licking thinking things and then the Yeast is fermenting for lack of a better expression?

And if that is maybe the source of the issue, why now? Why after being on this food for over 2 years, would this happen now?

And again i ask, if it’s possible it’s the yeast from the food, which clearly isn’t harming him… would breath drops work, or a vitamin of some kind and if not… are there recommendations for FISH based foods that we can try? Fish based food so far is the only one, that resolves his coat and gas issues.

Sorry for being long winded and thank you for any help you can provide.

Walt

[anne a]

A retail bargain store here in NE “ocean state job lots” is selling label removed premium canned dog food -Salmon & Mackerel. It is 12 cans for $5.99 & is packaged in a cardboard CANIDAE tray – not to expire until 5/15, grain free, same ingredients as the “pure sea “canidae I use sometimes w/dry food Orijen. That being said ,it is manufactured by Performance Pet Products from Mitchell,So.Dakota. We bought & donated this food to our local rescue without problems. I contacted the store to find out why the labels are removed & they just said it was an “odd lot”. I know Canidae in the past has had a couple of recalls r/t manufactured w/Diamond foods. Does anyone have any info about this? Thank you for your time.Anne

[Nancy M]

Thanks for your opinion BCnut, I tend to agree with you. I wonder why they make this puppy formula with such a high fiber; seems like all pups would have this same problem. Although I have noticed a little slow down in water consumption since yesterday afternoon.,Maybe this is a form of adjustment, or maybe it’s not really a good thing. I’ll have to watch him closely today before I decide to do something different. I have cut back on the amount of each feeding though, so maybe that’s helping. Fortunately, I am readily available to him, and make it a regular routine in going outside to relieve himself, we just have to do it more often. Although I have wondered how this affects his urinary system as well. He’s been really doing great on potty training since I got him and my particular set up is much easier than most situations. He just goes to the door and I’m right there to let him out and he’s right there in the spot he needs to go.

I hate to change him back to the Victor; just another change for him right now, plus the holidays are not a good time to have an upset puppy. I might try to locate a small bag of it though and reduce the amount of this new food for awhile longer though. Or maybe replacing some of the dry, with the same formula in the canned, might help too. One or the other should help, without tummy upset, I hope.,

Thanks again for responding……..
Nancy

[Dog_Obsessed]

Blue has good ingredients but bad quality control and possible mislabeling of ingredients. Wellness, for the most part, has good ingredients and is reliable. At one point they had a few products being manufactured by Diamond, but they moved away as fast as possible after the last recall. I feed there canned food as toppers and would feel totally comfortable feeding their dry. I have Wellness CORE on my list of foods to try.

[Peggy]

Hi Susan, thanks for your reply.
I’ve googled canine pancreatitis today and called my own vet.
Most of the symptoms I found, and our vet gave me, Tebow does not have.

Fever – no
Vomiting – no
Diarrhea – no
Loss of appetite (anorexia) – definitely Not!
Weight loss – no.
Dehydration – no
Fatigue and sluggishness – probably as much as any overweight dog, or human for that matter.
Mild to severe abdominal pain – I was brushing him today and while he was on his back I pushed on his tummy and felt around. He made no sounds at all that would lead one to believe he’s in pain. In fact, his legs got going because he was being tickled, haha.
Depression – not at all.
Increased heart rate – none that I can tell.
Difficulty breathing – again, as much as you would expect from an overweight dog or human. Plus he’s been snoring.

I ordered Wellness Core Grain-Free Reduced Fat Dry food today from Amazon.com – $6 less than PetSmart, and free shipping. Should be here Monday. I took him for a walk in the snow today – walking has not been a regular activity for us. It will be from now on.

Thank you to everyone for your help!

[Elizabeth G]

How can I quickly find the best quality of dry lamb food on your website? I feed raw and have for 20 some odd years but my new rescue dog has frequent ear infections so my vet wants her on a limited lamb food for about two months to see which protein might be causing it. I will be feeding fresh lamb meat for one meal but need a dry for the other feeding. Any tips on how to find the best lamb dry on your website? Thanks for doing this website by the way. I recommended it to all my puppy buyers when I was showing and breeding.

[Peggy]

Thank you everyone for your input.
Dog_Obsessed, I will go look at that canned food tomorrow, thank you.

Before the BBB, they were on Purina Dog Chow and Pedigree can. Tebow was fit and very active, no problems at ALL. Once I changed to BBB – I was told it was healthier, ha – and started feeding only once per day – is when he started gaining weight. He acts like he was hungry all the time. I guess he is. 🙁

I’ll be looking at weight loss food tomorrow as well. 2 vets contacted me tonight from here and told me to drop BBB and go to Wellness Core, and to only put enough wet food in it to “tasty it up”. Other options they gave me were to brown up some fresh ground turkey, or scramble 1 egg each and mix with their dry food.

theBCnut – yes his belly actually feels TIGHT. It doesn’t extend noticeably after eating. It’s like that all the time.
I should not have said his breathing is really labored. It’s heavier than it used to be, and he snores, whereas he did not used to. Lady has always snored.

I do have an appointment for him for a checkup and vaccinations in early January. I’m hoping that these changes and increasing our walking a bit every day will help him. We could both lose some weight.

Thanks everyone.

[Peggy]

And I will say it again – HELP!

My little 4 yr old Jack Russell Terrier, Tebow, is getting fat on Blue Buffalo Basics dry dog food! He’s always been a slim little guy, and very active as only a JRT can be.

However, my lab/shepherd, LadyBug, developed food sensitivites about 4 months ago, and my vet suggested that I switch them to Blue Buffalo Basics. So, ok, I did. Within a week, no more vomiting for Lady, yay! But Tebow is blowing up like a balloon! I’m ready to change his name to Chunky Munky, I swear. His abdomen literally is beginning to look like a balloon, but he is solid. Also, his breathing has become a bit labored, I’m assuming due to the weight gain.

Does anyone have ANY idea what could be causing this? Do I need to change foods again? I can’t afford to have them on 2 different foods.

(BTW, they eat once per day – a cup of BB in each bowl, plus 1 can of Pedigree split between them. Someone told me I should feed them smaller portions twice per day. Is this true?)

• This topic was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Peggy.

[Nancy M]

Could someone give me some pointers on using coconut oil for dogs? During this colder, drier weather, and to soothe the itchies that are also part allergy related, I wanted to start adding some to my dogs dry food. I do know it’s something that has to be used sparingly, so please give me your experiences. I have a brand new jar of USDA organic, refined, pressed, that I had bought for my Sheltie before he died a couple months ago, so maybe this will be a good time to use it up.

Looking forward to some feedback.

Thanks,
Nancy

[R-K]

Hi all, I was asked by a friend to research Welcome Home dog food, which is made by Centinela Feed on the west coast. I’m sure it’s a newer brand but after 30 minutes of looking online I am unable to find ANYTHING about it, other than mentioning it on their own website but with no link to any information. No official website, no dog food advisor, nothing. It’s not their other brand Lotus but rather Welcome Home which only used to make treats but I guess they’ve expanded into dry foods too. Can anyone provide me with any information?