[crazy4cats]

Oh, poor baby! How is she doing? Have you checked out the review side of this website? There are several 4 and 5 star foods, both dry and canned listed.

Where do you shop? What is your budget? Have you considered feeding a home made diet with a premix? What does the vet recommend? Sorry, so many questions. It would be great to hear back from you. Good luck!

[Laura M]

I find that a canned food can put weight on fast and there are many grain free, good products to choose from. I mix canned and my dry which is Orijen adult and have a skinny boy that is hard to keep weight on and that does the trick. I also supplement with chicken or hamburger, etc. and that gets him interested in his bowl of food! Not sure if you have an issue with your dogs not wanting to eat or just hard to keep weight on. Be careful when transitioning, you can upset everything if you go too fast. Good luck!

[Lynn R]

WhAt would be the best foods dry & canned, for her?

[Nancy M]

I need input on a topic that I’ve NEVER had experience with…..an UNDERWEIGHT dog.

I aquired my daughter’s mini Aussie female puppy when she was about 11 months old. She was raised on Diamond Natural’s dry puppy food. Although she has grown into a somewhat thin lanky adult, she looked alright on the Diamond. However, when it came time to switch her to an adult food, I ended up going with the Victor Hi-Pro Plus (puppy and adult formula), only because a Sheltie puppy I just got, was already on it. So I thought I would finally get away from the Diamond products and for the last few weeks, they were both eating the Victor. I was a bit concerned with the variety of meats in this formula though.

Within the first 2 weeks, I noticed a growing shed and itchiness with the Aussie; actually had to take her into the vet for an allergy shot, which has helped. He suggested a food change, which I have done over the last week; back to another Diamond product though which I don’t like, but for now I’m trying it until I find something better. I am currently switching her over to the TOTW Pacific Stream grain-free formula). The puppy is switching to the puppy formula of that as well.

The shedding and itchiness has improved some, but it’s too soon to know if it’s the food change or the allergy med, but my daughter finally agrees with me that she is getting too thin. So I’m getting a bit concerned about this. While this is normally a pretty active breed, she seems pretty content with my subdued life style (I’m a moderately active 63 year old), and she does enjoy the activity involved with the new puppy. So an excessive activity level is not the issue. I am feeding her about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups/day. I could up that of course, but if I’m NOT feeding the proper food, that will only serve to over-indulge her digestive system, wouldn’t it?

I’ve dealt with “overweight” problems at times, but NEVER an underweight issue. Suggestions, please. ASAP.

Thanks,
Nancy

[theBCnut]

Definitely compare using dry matter. That way you are comparing apple to apples. You can compare a canned food to a kibble to a raw to a dehydrated to a freeze dried if they are all in dry matter.

[pugmomsandy]

All the foods I listed are in “dry matter” (after calculation) so they can be compared together. Plug in the “crude” numbers into the calculation to convert all forms (dry, wet, etc) to dry matter.

[bill c]

Thanks Crazy.

Okay, that kinda cleared it up.
Still wondering, though, whether to
use the fat content for dry or valued…hmmm.

I’m looking for a fat content–based on what ‘others’ advise–that’s between 8-14% or 10-20% with protein between 20-30% or 22-26% dog food brand-wise (kibble and/or dehydrated). Perhaps I should hire a mathematician 🙂

[DogFoodie]

Hi Bill!

Great to see you again! I always love your positive energy!

Here’s the best dry matter converter I’ve found: http://fnae.org/dmb.html

I started to make a couple of suggestions, when I realized you were looking for foods with lower protein than what I was going to recommend. Any particular reason you’re looking for the lower protein? I don’t recall you saying anything about Billy having had pancreatitis previously, so are the protein and fat levels just your preference for him?

Sorry if I’m asking questions you’ve already answered or for which you’ve offered explanations!

[Hue Z]

This organic, all-natural dry food contains brown rice, oatmeal, green peas and potatoes– a combination of ingredients designed http://www.testking.net/testking-640-864.htm
to provide the perfect balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The Natural Balance formula is vegan and has added nutrients to meet a dog’s specific nutritional needs

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

[Naturella]

Not a Boston Terrier owner, but a small terrier mix owner nonetheless here! 🙂

I think that what you should do is try several different brands and proteins and find out what your furry friend does well on, and then rotate between brands and protein types.

I feed a rotational diet and I am constantly trying new things with my Jack-Rat mix Bruno. Brands that have small-breed (smaller kibble) sizes include Wellness (small/toy breed formulas), Victor, Annamaet GF, Earthborn Holistic GF has been small enough for my boy, Nutrisca too, Castor & Pollux, Holistic Health Extension, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and many more. I have fed most of the above as well as other brands with great success (except for NVI, my boy got sick on the rabbit formula, BUT I would try this food again).

You could also add canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried to kibble as a topper to spice things up, or as a regular thing. Wet food is better than dry for dogs anyway, so if you can feed just canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried, go for it! I usually feed Bruno “soups” of kibble, warm water, and canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried as a topper, or coconut oil, yoghurt/kefir, raw egg, canned sardines, etc.

Good luck and keep us poster or let us know if you have any more questions.

[Amy C]

Hi Everyone,
This is my first time here and I’m hoping someone can help. I got Sadie, a Treeing Walker Coonhound last year at 3 months old. She kept getting yeast infections in her ears and no medication would clear it up, so we changed her diet to grain free. A few weeks ago I decided to try Rachel Ray’s grain free wet to add to her dry, Canidae land and sea. She was just on Avangers wet buffalo, beef and some chicken, mostly buffalo for wet food. She is such a picky eater though, so that’s why I tried the RR wet, in comes gookie ears!!
I immediately pull her off of the RR and home make food for her. I made chicken thighs, string bean, sweet potato, peas and carrots. This way I know what is in her wet food. Well now she is pooping more and they are soft and squishy, and more often… She went this am at 5:30 and again at 10:00…. So could this be due to the change, maybe the chicken thighs are too rich for her, or the veggies?
She’s been having the mixture for almost two weeks now. This past time, I did save the broth, which is like a jelly, to add also, to much fat?
Also, her ears aren’t completely cleared… Could the ears be seasonal, it is about the same time of year. She is 1 year and 5 months.
Sorry this is so long! thank you

[pugmomsandy]

Wellness Complete Health Senior canned 32/14
Freshpet Select Homestyle tubs 27/18
Wysong Anergen canned 28/12
Wysong Adult Maintenance canned 28/16
Canidae Life Stages Platinum canned 24/18
Avoderm Weight Control Chicken and Rice canned 23/14
Natural Balance LID Chicken and Sweet Potato canned 25/16
Addiction Summer Brushtail dehydrated 23/11
Addiction Kangaroo Feast dehydrated 24/11
Addiction New Zealand Forest Delicacies dehydrated 25/13
Addiction Beef and Zucchini dehydrated 22/11
Addiction Venison and Cranberry dehydrated 25/15
Addiction Fig’licious Venison dehydrated 22/11
Addiction Country Chicken and Apricot dehyrated 24/17
Back to Basics Grain Free dry 27/16
Fromm Gold Reduces Activity dry 26/12
Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult dry 26/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Lamb Meal and Brown Rice dry 24/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Mature Chicken Meal dry 23/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Grain Free Overland Red and Meadow Prime dry 26/13

This article has the explanation and formula to convert foods into dry matter:

/choosing-dog-food/dry-matter-basis/

[bill c]

Hiya,

I’m abroad (stationed in Singapore). I posted in the regular site but, thought I’d also do it here.

1. What’s the best dry food with 22-26% protein; 8-14% Fat; and 340-360 calories
2. Same question for dehydrated food
3. Same goes for canned food.
I currently feed Honest Kitchen and Acana Grassland but, am confused about the percentages on the packaging.

This is us:

[Kayla]

I am not sure if he has wheat sensitivities. I do know anything corn does not settle well with him. So far, He is doing really well with Chicken and Brown rice dry food by Pure balance and had no unwanted accidents or smelly gas or anything like that. I recently started to transition Pure Balance Grain Free Bison and Pea dry food mixed in with the other food and he is still doing really well! Personally, I think he likes the Bison better than the Chicken one. lol But, I wanted to try the Grain free/different flavor because I heard Rotation is a good thing. He also does well on the wet food but I switch it up with different flavors.

[Kayla]

He seems to love the Pure Balance treats, the dry food and also the wet food by Pure Balance also! I am just trying to find different brands besides sticking with the same one lol

[Michelle R]

We have a female Boston Terrier (2 years old) we adopted from a rescue recently. We were wondering if anyone else out there that has a BT has recommendations on the best dry food to feed her?

[Dena v]

Her dry food is fromm

It says
CALORIC CONTENT41681,894 kcal/lb404 kcal/cup

she eats 2 1/2 cups a day. Although a little less lately.

I can’t even figure our how much calories she eating now cause I don’t know which numbers to use to multiply and figure out.

[pugmomsandy]

How many calories is she eating currently of dry food? You could start by feeding her the equivalent in wet food.

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

[Dena v]

Hi, I currently feed dry fromm to my lab/Shepard mix. She’s 11 years old. Very inactive. Lays/sleeps a lot. She use to be over weight but she’s been not wanting to eat her dry food as much. Which makes me think I need to switch her to wet food because it would be easier on her teeth. She has had merrick before so I want to switch to that. But I need help figuring out how much to feed my inactive senior.

Merrick senior wet says
Calorie Content

873 kcal /kg or 332 kcal per 13.2.oz. can ME (metabolizable energy) on an as fed basis (calculated).

^^^ I don’t quite get what it means. Or how to enter that into the dog food caculator.

Your dog food’s calories per serving

 kcal / cup or    kcal / kg

what number would I enter into the caculator?

I’m totally confused. Tia!

[Chase]

Hi Mike.

Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood (Poultry Feast).

Only Natural Pet PowerFood Chicken and Poultry Feast Grain Free Dog Food

[Esther B]

I am having trouble finding a five star grain free dry kibble for my puppy without rosemary. I would advise you make sure the food and treats do not have rosemary in them. I don’t know a lot about it but there does seem to be a problem with diarrhea and even some yellow frothy vomit. I’ve taken my pup off treats with rosemary but am having trouble finding a dry puppy kibble without it. My vet says my pup is doing good and just having growth spurts although she weighed 20lb at 10 weeks and the same at 11 weeks. I would also like advise and recommendations of kibble. Thanks

[George D]

I’ve spoken to the owner of bdn in regards to feeding amounts and my pups hunger, he told me not to worry, dogs will get used to it, this food is digested much quicker than kibble and since all the nutrients are fully absorbed, not as much food is needed. I am now feeding 1.75 cups of dry per day, but according to the DFA calculator I should be feeing 2.8 cups/day! I’m not sure what to do, considering cutting bdn to only once per day and kibble ( farmina ) for the other feeding.

[George D]

I’ve been feeding BDN for a few months now to my 10 month old Aussie and 6 yr old cavalier, they both love this food, however, my aussie seems so hungry about 4 hours later. Ive been mixing it with some fresh veggies and Pumpkin. This seems to be a common complaint among other people feeding BDN to their dogs. Their feeding calc recommends 1.25 cups or 4.9 oz daily which is only about 554 kcals. This seems very low to me, especially for such an active breed like the Aussie. I’ve increased her portions to 1.5 cups dry per day.

[William S]

I have 3 dogs my most recent is a great pyrenees puppy. I use Orijen Large Breed Puppy As I really the the food and the company. The cost is quite high and I am looking to mix it 50/50 with Fromms Holistic Gold Large Breed Puppy food which will bring my cost per pound to $2.06 per lb vs. $2.65.
Is this acceptable? I will have a food that is 32% protein and 34.5 calorie weight basis.

[K G]

Our 7 year-old Springer was weighing in at over 60 pounds. After researching on this site, chose Wellness Core Reduced Fat dry food + Wellness 95% canned supplement once a day (a couple of tablespoons per serving) for total of about 2-1/2 c/day. Her elimination very regular. However, she either loves the food or it’s not enough as she keeps begging for more. Occasional biscuits (5/6 per day) don’t seem to be a fill in. Any suggestions? Worried that she is not getting enough nutrients or is just loving the food.

[Barbara M]

I was giving the prescription wet food AND adding water to it to insure increase water intake. I also now make her bone broth I add to every meal (dry kibble and boiled chicken. She also get her cranberry supplement twice a day in her meals.

[Naturella]

@Akari_32, I think you’re right, I may have to tell them the problems of messing with my stuff and then cancelling my order and what not, just cause it did shock me to no end she’destroy coupons before anything was done. And claim I didn’t have what I said I did.

@InkedMarie, also just waking up so let me try to explain coherently, lol.
Here is what I was prepared to do:

I had 4 $5-off any bag of Specialty Brand (Castor&Pollux, Wellness , and Nulo included in the list) dry dog or cat food (that said “not valid with any other offer”), and 4 Wellness manufacturer $7-off any bag of dry dog or cat food (that said “one per customer”) stacked together. I had 3 C&P manufacturer coupons (that said “one per customer”) for $5-off any bag of Organix or Ultramix, each stacked with the $5-off Petsmart specialty brand coupon mentioned above. I also had a Nulo manufacturer coupon for $3-off any 4.5lb bag of food that said nothing that I can remember, stacked with the $5-off Petsmart coupon mentioned above. I also had a ton of the Wellness manufacturer coupons for $2-off any wet food, that said “one per customer”.

When I went to the register I figured I’d split my order and do all the Wellness stuff first as I also had a Petland $10-off $25+ purchase that I was going to ask if they’d match, as well as a Petsmart receipt coupon for $5-off ANY $5+ purchase I would ask them to use if they wouldn’t match the Petland coupon. I had 4 bags, 6 cans, and 6 Petite Entrees of Wellness altogether. So after she scanned them all, I gave her the 8 total dry food coupons and 12 coupons for the wet food. She started looking at them antsily, scanning here and there, putting papers everywhere, and ripping the Petsmart $5-off specialty brand coupons as she went! Close to the end of the transaction she decided she would only take six of the wet food coupons, not 12, and that she would claim I only gave her 2 Petsmart coupons, not 4. Luckily, I found an extra one in my bag and gave it to her and she decided she wouldn’t take it, and that she couldn’t do this, wasn’t comfortable, etc. I asked her if she preferred to do separate transactions for each bag. If you know me, you’d know I am a very accommodating person, so I would do whatever they felt was better for them. Well, because I was there the day before and did basically the same thing, she assumed maybe that I’m trying to use coupons to “rob” their store, lol, so she decided that, as a manager, she couldn’t handle my coupons and didn’t want this checkout on her record, so she asked an assistant to come check me out and cancelled my order, wrote on my extra $5-off Petsmart coupon that I had 2 more, and got another lady over.

The new lady was very polite, so she started reading through the coupons and decided that I can only use ONE of each of the Wellness dry and wet food period, as it said “one per customer” on them, and she did let me use the $5-off Petsmart coupon with them. So first actual transaction was one bag and one can of Wellness with the 2 Wellness and 1 Petsmart coupons. Then I wanted to do a C&P bag, with a C&P coupon and a Petsmart coupon, but then the lady decided my C&P coupon wasn’t authentic cause it was printed off a printer, and the coupon said “reproduction of coupon forbidden” (as did the Wellness). I explained that I got it online and she said I can’t trust online coupons. Um, the Wellness coupons came online too! Hello! Very few places send actual coupons in this day and age! Either way, she wouldn’t take it, so I proceeded with one bag of Nulo with a Nulo coupon and a Petsmart coupon just fine.

At the other store I tried to do basically the same and see what happens and the lady there let me use one $7-off Wellness coupon, one $2-off wet Wellness coupon, and one Petsmart coupon together for a bag and a can of Wellness. Then she saw the Petsmart coupon said “not valid with other offers” so she wouldn’t combine it with anything anymore and I should’ve stopped shopping, but I was getting confused so I ended up with 2 bags of C&P at only $5-off and 2 more cans of Wellness with each transaction of a C&P bag, with the Wellness coupons for wet food applied.

Hope this makes it more clear… If anything, I’m not contesting coupon policy, just the very first lady ripping my stuff and lying about how many Petsmart coupons I had.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Naturella.

[InkedMarie]

Naturella,
I’m still trying to wake up so maybe I’m not understanding what you were trying to do. Can you explain, one transaction at a time? Let me explain lol. IF you had say

Three $2.00 coupons off any bag of Wellness dry food, I do not think you can use more than one coupon per bag. Usually the bag says that.

IF you had a buy one bag get one free coupon, you *can* use a. $2.00 off of the one you buy but you cannot use a coupon off the free one. I’ve had these BOGO coupons and have argued with managers about using a coupon off of the one I’m paying for. I win. Always do lol.

This is non dog related but in the 80’s when my boys were small, Pizza Hut had a “get your pizza free if it’s not ready in 20 minutes” deal. We knew our local PH do we ordered a pizza with more toppings than we normally would have. Went to get it and our stopwTch was 20:36. The worker refused our free pizza, saying it was only 36 seconds over the 20. I ask where it said there was an X amount of a grace period. I ask for the manager. Maria comes out, says “hey Marie” lol. I explain, we get our pizza for free. Back then, Steve was sort of mortified that I challenged them. He’s grown since then!

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! Yes, Ginger is feeling better. No more uncontrollable and inexplicable pooping, and she’s not shaking and unforgettable any more. I think she just had a really adverse reaction to the Purina One canned food. Mom is worried about her being in arthritis associated pain, however, and we will be getting her to vet for that in the near future, hopefully we can do it very soon, because her mouth is just disgusting, and I think she’s a few teeth sort of when I got her. She’s still snuggly, but not in a desperate, give-me-all-your-love sort of way. She does move away after a while, and doesn’t press up as hard as can up against me any more, so she is obviously feeling better, and that is her normal snuggling behavior. I think that food just did a number on her tummy. She’s doing great on just her dry food softened with some warm water, and limited treats. Mom did give her two small bits of apple to day, but I don’t think it hurt anything. Her butt hasn’t exploded yet, so I’d say apples are safe lol Moms been good about just a few treats a day. Must have finally got it through her head.

[Naturella]

Hey, all!

Popping in for just a quick update, because I have a paper to write and I am so disappointed in myself and today overall…

I went to the same store I did yesterday, loaded up 2 Original Wellness COREs, 1 Ocean, and 1 Wild Game. 1 C&P Organix GF and 2 Ultramix GF. One Nulo. 12 cans total – 6 small cans of CORE and regular ones, and 6 of the tiny petite entrees. I went up to the register, and divided up the stuff in 2 transactions, Wellness stuff first, C&P and Nulo second.

The lady scanned all the Wellness stuff, then I showed her all the coupons, and she got so… confrontational. She was scanning them and ripping up the Petsmart ones after she scanned them. Then she said she scanned only 2 Petsmart ones and 4 Wellness ones, and I KNOW I had 4 Petsmart ones attached to each Wellness one. Well, she was ripping them up so I couldn’t prove it! Good thing I had an extra Petsmart one, so I gave it to her, and I gave her the stack of 12 $2-off any canned Wellness coupons, and she started freaking out, she scanned 6 of the $2-off ones and said she’s not doing any more, and she said she’s not going to take my extra $5-off Petsmart coupon either! So I would have returned 2 of the Wellness foods if she wasn’t going to give me the whole deal, and she was just trying her best to get me to argue with her, like so hard! She was rude, confrontational, and I was NOT going to argue at all. I was very polite and calm the whole time. She said she remembers me from yesterday and that she does not feel comfortable letting me do this with the coupons. She said she will cancel it all because she doesn’t want it on her record and get someone else to check me out. Maybe this is a good place to mention that she was a MANAGER, and she said she’s rather have an ASSISTANT check me out. I also didn’t want her to cancel the transaction as it wasn’t that bad, like in the $30s for 4 Wellnesses and 12 cans, but she didn’t care. Before signing off, she made sure to let the assistant know I “did this yesterday and I’m trying to do something funny with coupons again, and that she can’t handle it, she’s uncomfortable, and doesn’t want it on her record”.

When the assistant lady came, she was very polite, and I told her how the other manager from yesterday, the male one, checked me out with no problems at all, and she said that he shouldn’t have and she hopes he doesn’t get in trouble for it. I said I hoped so too.

So she began checking me out, and read every word on every coupon. In the end, I only got Wellness CORE Original and one small can of Wellness with the $2-off, the $7-off, and the $5-off coupons, and she said I can only use ONE of the $7-off of Wellness (per customer), and ONE of the $2-off for canned food (per customer). I said ok. I also got a dry Nulo for a total of $8-off with a Nulo coupon and the $5-off Petsmart coupon on a different transaction. UGH. At least she was polite, albeit super meticulous. Also, she said I couldn’t use the Castor & Pollux coupon cause it wasn’t original (?!?!?!) and that I can’t trust online coupons cause they are false, and on the C&P coupon it says “reproduction of coupon strictly prohibited” so she wouldn’t take any of them. Seriously?! How are you going to say the coupon is not original?

Ok, so I went to another store after regrouping to try it again. The cashier there was very kind, also kind of meticulous though, and she also read everything, but she was kind of confused, so she let me use the $7-off coupon of Wellness with the $2-off canned, and the $5-off Petsmart one for one bag and one can of Wellness together, and then she said she can’t combine coupons cause it says so on the Petsmart coupon, so I need to choose between the manufacturer coupon and the dang Petsmart coupon. So I did another transaction with one can of Wellness and the $2-off coupon, 1 bag of Ultramix on a super sale (expires soon), with the C&P coupon, and another bag of Organix with the C&P coupon (I shouldn’t have gotten it, it was just $5-off, but I was getting so confused). So all in all, I did 5 different transactions, 2 stores, and spent $44.00 for just 5 bags of food and 4 small cans… I am very disappointed and apparently store enemy #1 to my closest Petsmart, lol.

Anyway… Back to paper… blah… I guess for me it just depends on the cashier, cause I don’t want to argue, because I can’t really argue what the coupons says, it just depends who will let me get away with what. Either way, after 6 cans of Nulo for $3 that I WILL get, cause I have the coupons to, no more shopping, like, ever, for real, and I fail as a coupon student… Le sigh…

[Naturella]

OOOH, and if I do the Wellness dry and canned in one transaction, and the Castor and Pollux and Nulo dry and canned in another, MAYBE I can use 2 $10-off $25+ purchase from PetLand, thus making my deal $35.00 or so with taxes, for still 40.3+lbs of food!!! AND if they give me another $5-off entire purchase at PetSmart for the first transaction and I can apply it to the second one, HELLO $30.00 (or so) for 40.3+lbs of food!

*drool*

[Deborah B W]

Flint river ranch lamb and rice, fish, or chicken dry food is rated pretty high with no known recalls. What is your opinion on this food ? Please let me know by e-mail

[Deborah B W]

I would like to know if you ever researched flint river ranch dry dog food lamb and rice
Or the fish formula by them ? Supposedly they have high quality ingredients and have never been recalled. Is that brand in lamb and rice ok for a 3 month puppy?

[Liz S]

We have been feeding our pug boston terrier mix ( now 8 months ) Solid Gold Dry Lamb & Rice. Went to Petco last week and they didn’t have it and their other bags looked different. The store associate wasn’t helpful, as usual.

I just looked on their website and it is there- but in a different bag ( changed all their bags apparently ) and it was odd because there were no reviews on it. There were 4 1/2 stars but no reviews. Months ago when I read about it on their site the reviews were there! I wonder what’s going on? She needs food again and was doing well on it. The last bag I believe it was just lamb and rice. New bag says lamb, rice and barley. I MAY be wrong and it always had barley. My head is spinning.

Our other dogs- chihuahua and italian greyhound we have had on Simply Nourish Chicken and Rice for months and they are doing so well!! Much better than all the other ” HQ ” brands we tried.

Contemplating ordering another Solid Gold for the puppy or buying her the Simply Nourish puppy food.

Thoughts?

• This topic was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Liz S.

[Naturella]

Dori, I sent you the letter! Sorry, I was finishing up Paper 2! Now on to the poster presentation for it, and tomorrow and the rest of the week are Paper 3 (due Friday) and presentation for Paper 3, which will be done Monday! Then polishing up Paper 1, and then a final! And doooooneee! 🙂

@Dog_Obsessed, wish you also lived in GA! We do have another GA person on the forum, weezerweeks. But she lives far from us…

And nice, those are the types of stores I like myself! Do they have a sales rack? My favorite local store has an amazing sales rack with great prices on soon-to-expire dry and canned foods and treats and what not, it’s awesome! 🙂

[Nancy M]

I’m back on here again! Now asking if anyone has had much experience with Victor dog food. I’m currently feeding a puppy/adult formula; specifically the Hi-pro Plus. Not to repeat myself, but the Sheltie pup I got about 2 weeks ago was already on it, so because my mini Aussie pup is now a year old and ready to change over from Diamonds Naturals puppy formula, I decided to just put her on this same formula. For a couple weeks, the Aussie has aquired very itchy skin but other than that, went through the switchover just fine. The Sheltie pup remains doing well on it. I’m planning to change the Aussie over to something else as soon as I know for sure the food is causing her allergy/itching problems.

BUT, BUT, BUT………I have also noticed excessive stools, I think. It’s rather ridiculous in my opinion. It’s like, what the heck is staying in there? I clean my yard everyday, and since this morning again, I’ve cleaned up no less than 3 – 4 stools, EACH dog, already and it’s only 4:00 in the afternoon! This doesn’t seem right. Plus, the Aussie has lost about a pound of weight since she got on this food. I’ve started giving HER a little more because of the weight loss and then of course, the puppy is growing, so I’ve added a tiny bit more to his meals trying to get him down from 4 feedings a day to only 3. But it seems this stuff is almost going right through them. Sheltie pup is now almost 13 weeks and HAS continued to put on weight, but it’s minimal (which I would say is a good thing), but I’m concerned about all the stools and my Aussie’s weight loss, on top of the itching/allergy issues.

Can anyone give me some input and experience with this food?
Thanks for your help, as always!
Nancy

[Dori]

Akari the reason I think she may have an infection is the sudden teeth chattering, acting anxious and distressed and also Ginger suddenly wanting to be very cuddly with you. And let’s not forget the poop incident. Some of those symptoms looking at them separately might be explained away but they’ve have all come on together. A sign that something is going on internally. Before refilling her antibiotic I would take her into the vet or at least call in and speak to vet and let him know what went on. Vet may tell you to just refill that antibiotic or recommend a course of a different one. Most vets will want to see the dog but since your vet knows about Ginger and has already seen her a few times you may get away with a phone call. Remember there are different antibiotics for different infections. Having worked at the vet you know that one antibiotic is not a cure all for all infections. Don’t you wish it was that easy? I sure do. Do you happen to have The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form at home. If you do I would start adding 1/8 of a teaspoon into each and every meal of hers. The recommended dose says to add more but I find that their recommendation is way to high. I’ve never given the girls anymore than 1/8 tsp. and sometimes just a little sprinkle. I find it works much better than pumpkin, or anything else out in the market. When Katie was at her worst with the food allergies and everything and the constant diarrhea (what a friggin mess…..I feel for you girl having to have cleaned up that mess) I used it all the time. I think through the years with Katie I had tried everything on the market until I came across The Perfect Form.

I’m glad you’ve taken her off canned food. The canned food may simply have too much fat in it for her. Also canned foods generally have guar gum and/or carraggean (sp?) which may be ingredients that she also can’t deal with. I’m glad her poops are better today. I’d keep her off canned foods forever and ever. Like I said, if she does well long term on the Wellness Small Breed Salmon and Potato then I would just keep Ginger on that and forget about rotating foods with her. It’s really not worth it in the case of a dog like Ginger. It’s, no doubt, much too difficult on her gut which I’m sure is in bad shape due to her previous owner or owners and what they fed her.

Even if her poops are better today I’d still get her checked out just to rule infection out but somethings up with all those sudden symptoms coming on at once. Again, please post her progress. Worried about Ginger.

If you don’t already have my email address this is it. dora@hassett.com If you want to email me and send me your address, I have a few extra dog beds around that I haven’t been using. (I’m a bit of a dog bed addict). Dog food addict. All things dog addict. You get the picture. They’re in good condition and since I have small dogs that would be the perfect size for Ginger. : ) They can all go in the washer and dryer.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Akari_32]

I’m also worried about her being in pain. She actually seems to be feeling better today. Seems more peppy. Ran around the house a few times whenever she thought I was going to the kitchen, and when I leashed her up to go out side, she ran to the door, as well as running back in when I opened the door to go back in side. Also ran to her eating spot when I went to put her bowl down, and did less sleeping today.

Just curious, what makes you think she’s got an infection? She’s got another refill of antibiotics that I’ve been considering refilling because her mouth is getting stinky and nasty again.

I have stopped giving her canned, and am just soaking her food in some warm water. Already her poops are better. Not sure what it is about the canned, but I think that was a lot of her problems. The problem with finding something that works and sticking with it, though, is that I haven’t found a dry food that works for her. But for all I know, it could have been the canned that wasn’t working. Canned in general may just be something she can’t have. So far her poop looks good on this Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon and Potato with no canned. They’re small, light in color and well formed. It’s only been a few days I stopped the canned, so that could still change.

However, with her improvement today, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the Purina One canned wasn’t agreeing with her, and now that she hasn’t had in a few days, and it’s out of her system, she’s feeling better. I work tomorrow, so I’ll see how she feels Thursday and go from there.

[Nancy M]

Susan,

No prednisone, just Benadryl for a couple days until the allergy med kicks in fully. Very good tip on the food! Thank you! We’ll see how it goes…….things have improved, but not totally as yet. Hopefully by the week’s end it will be greatly improved. Thanks again! You’ve been very helpful!

Nancy

[Akari_32]

Alright, so I have a little update for you guys. Mom came home to Ginger having pooped all over her cage, her bed (another new one, btw, just for her cage, and her big round one pictured above is for outside the cage lol) and herself the other night. She’s been using Bentley’s cage and bed the last couple days while we clean the heck out hers. I’ve got her off canned completely, hoping to eliminate some fat out of her diet. I’m now offering her only dry food softened with plenty of water.

She’s also on Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon and Potato right now. Next up after that will be Nature’s Recipe Whitefish and something or another. I’m trying to find something that I can afford that has no white potato or chicken in it. It’s proving quite difficult. The Nature’s Recipe I picked out does have some potatoes, but not much, I don’t think. I may have to try Pure Balance Lamb. Was hoping I could put her in the bison one, but its got chicken in it. Trying to not do chicken and potatoes for a couple months to see if that helps her any.

She’s also beginning a few new behaviors that I’m not very comfortable with. When she has any exposure to food, or even just asking her if she’s hungry, she will chatter her teeth and look quite distressed and anxious. She also has been extremely cuddly the last several days. Last night she laid pressed as close to me as she could get and put her paw and head on my shoulder, and stayed like that for several hours. She also lets me pick her up with out any fuss at all, and gives me quite a pathetic look when I get her up, and she either shakes something terrible, or completely relaxes and looks ready to go to sleep. She’s also been sleeping a lot more than usual. All of this on top of the terrible poopy troubles she’s been having recently… We may need to take a trip to the vet if this doesn’t stop soon.

[Susan]

Look for a low carb food, my boy was licking & licking his paws & his paws smelt like corn chips, real yeasty & when he’d walk on wet grass, his paws would get red & itchy…..His 2 front paws are the worst, he can’t eat potatoes, Sweet Potatoes Peas, no starchy foods….also bath him & his paws in Malaseb Medicated Shampoo its an anti-fungal shampoo kills the bacteria but doesnt dry out his skin & the Malaseb relieves his itch & red paws & stops his smelly paws, so no licking…
Your best to feed either cooked or raw diet so u can control the amount of carbs he’s eating have you looked at “K9 Natural” freeze dried food. This food was invented for itchy dogs, has no beet pulp either, here’s their link to have a read….
http://www.k9naturalusa.com/ the Chicken & Venison has the least fat%

[Susan]

Hi Nancy does she smell yeasty like a corn chip ?? My boy suffer from yeasty skin & he does the same thing shakes like he is shaking water off his back, rubs his head & body on my rug, as soon as he eats Potatoes & Sweet Potatos… I bath him in Malaseb Medicated shampoo anti fungal this is excellent I bath every 5-7 days when he’s real itcy, The Malaseb relieves his itch, but does not dry their skin out he feels so soft after his bath…. also has the new food Victor got potatoes any starchy ingredients ?? what ingredients were in her old food, try & find a new kibble with the same ingredients as her old kibble if you can…

[theBCnut]

If the skin issues started after the food change, I would assume it was a food hypersenitivity issue. But for some dogs, cold dry air does cause skin dryness. Since I’m a big believer in the benefits of rotational diets, I would suggest changing the food, even if it is just a dry skin issue. Take the ingredient list with you to the store and get something that is as different as you can find. Keep that ingredient list though. If the food change solves the problem, you know that there is an ingredient on that list that your dog can’t handle. So then you need to start saving lists on all the foods you feed whenever you change foods and compare them to see if you can figure out what she is reacting to.

If you think it may just be dry skin, you can start adding oils to her food, like fish oil or coconut oil. Start with small amounts and work your way up or it will upset her system. She can have up to 1 teaspoon/20 lbs body weight added to her food, but start with about 1/4 teaspoon. Remember that this is pure fat and decrease her regular food as needed.

[Nancy M]

I need some opinions……FAST. Until I can get a vet appointment, I need some suggestions on skin issues. I have a year old mini Aussie, who has acquired a skin/hair condition over the last few weeks. I don’t know if it’s due to a diet change, the colder weather outside and drier, hotter temps in the house, or a flea med I’ve used lately; which was Advantix II ( this was just a couple days ago; the problem already existed beforehand).

She was on Diamond Naturals Puppy formula since 8 weeks old, but since it was time to change to an adult food, and I also just got a new Sheltie pup that was already on it, I’ve been transitioning VERY slowly, to a VICTOR formula; Hi-Pro Plus for Puppies and Adults.

At this point, I’m not sure what’s doing this, or what is “lacking” for her, but she is obviously being driven crazy by itchy or dry skin; although the skin does not look irritated. She is consistently rolling and scratching herself on the carpet, leaving small areas of hair (all I can see. Who knows how much hair she’s rubbing off), and then she’s obsessed with “shaking” her body, like she trying to shake off water.

Anyone have suggestions as to what this is all about, or suggestions to relieve her until I can get her into the vet? Gave her a bath yesterday, hoping it would would help, but it hasn’t. I used baby shampoo since I was at my daughters for the weekend and that’s the best I could come up with.

Thanks!

[Sandra S]

Hound Dog Mom, I noticed Royal Canin Maxi Starter & Royal Canin Giant Starter is on this list. I’m wondering if Royal Canin Labrador Puppy Dry Dog Food (which I recently purchased), is the same as the ones on the list?

[Karen L]

Any suggestions for dry beef based food?

[Susan]

I contacted the Probiotic company “Protexin” & asked when is the best time to give Patch his probiotic, its a powder that I mix 1 teaspoon to 10-15ml water & he just drinks it, the man at Protexin said its best to give a probiotic inbetween meals…..so I give his probiotic about 2 hours after giving him his breakfast….when Ive stopped Patches Protexin his poos were softer again, so he’s been on his probiotic now for over 1 year….

Very slowley add about 1 spoon of the Wellness food to his boiled chicken & rice & see over the next 2 days how his poos are going then after 3 days if poos are looking good increase to 2 spoon of the wet tin……the Wellness wet food with the lowest fat% is the Wellness Petite Entrees Mini fillets with only 2% fat, but their Pettite Entree’s Casserole have 5% fat, the Mini Fillets have less fat then their Casseroles…..If you convert 5% fat in wet tin food its about 22% fat when converted to Dry matter (kibble)….. thats only if ur boy has poo problems, if not he should be Ok …the wet tin stews are big, the Wellness Petite Entree’s are smaller…just a thought..

[Naturella]

Girl, you know I will, I’ve been eying Wellness for a WHILE! And with $12 off, HELLO! 🙂

Misty, thanks to Akari’s tips, I am able to feed my one 15-lb dog for about $8 or so/month (that’s about $2-$2.50/week) on really, really good dry, dehydrated, air-dried, freeze-dried, and canned foods, plus fresh food toppers, such as raw eggs, raw bones, canned sardines, yoghurt/kefir, and coconut oil. AND I have stocked up on food for him for about a year (until July/August 2015). So yeah, she is the ultimate coupon guru there is for dog and cat food and supplies. And fish and reptiles, if you’re into that. 😉

[Kayla]

Thanks, 🙂 I increased his cup by 1/2! He is also still getting some wet food mixed with his dry kibble as well as few treats here and there. Yeah, Dexter loves pumpkin and plain boiled chicken too! So far, he is still doing very well! Happy and very Active. I will weigh him this weekend! Anything else that I can feed him in very small amounts and occasionally for future reference… so far, what I am doing. He is doing very well.

[Susan]

Hi Vicki, you have a beautiful girl, I have a English Staffordshire Terrier, he’s also short & real stocky, he too suffers from the stinky yeasty skin, paws, ears, mostly his paws now…

Everyone will tell you, put her on a grainfree diet. WRONG… Grainfree doesn’t work for yeasty itchy dogs… they have replaced grains with Starchy Potatos, Peas, Topioca, Sweet Potato, (a bit lower in starch) Legumes etc…
I had to do an elimination diet to find out which foods were causing Patches problems, I found Potatos, Sweet potatos, Peas, Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats, Banana all made Patch itch even causing diarrhea (pototes) anything that was high in STARCH & Gluten, so now I try to keep Patch on a Gluten & Starch free diet….

You seem to be doing everything right, Maybe try the Antiseptic rinses with Betadine (Iodine) this really helps Patches red itchy stinky paws, it kills the bacteria..I use Detol Antiseptic lotion instead in a shallow bath, it works out cheaper then the Betadine you need the water to look like ice tea with the Betadine, you end up needing a whole bottle, where with the Detol antiseptic lotion, I only need a couple of caps to a shallow bath..

Now you need to start on the inside with her Diet…..

Kibble is NO GOOD, to make kibble they need binders to bind the kibble together Peas, Potato, Sweet Potatos, Rice, Oats, legumes etc these all are high starchy carbs causing yeast problems in dogs, the best way is no kibble… feed either a cooked diet or a freeze dry diet or both… no kibble….. 1 for breakfast the other 1 for dinner, I boiled chicken breast & add little boiled Pumkin for breakfast…

Have you looked at freeze dried foods like “K-9 Natural” instead of kibble, it has NO GRAINS, NO POTATOS, GLUTEN FREE, NO HIGH STARCHY CARBS…alot of people swear by K9 Natural, once you get ur girl off kibble the nightmare will start to end for both of you….. K9 Natural also makes treats, they do freeze dried & raw ….click on the product you want to have a look at & all the ingredients will come up……the chicken or the venison has the least amount of fat %…..even find another freeze dried brand with the same ingredients that K9 Natural uses if you can not find K9 Natural in pet shops…
here’s their link its worth a try…
http://www.k9naturalusa.com/

Good Luck with Gracie Mae