[Akari_32]

Here’s my Black Friday haul!

From left to right:

2x 35 lb Tidy Cat Litter Pails ($7.99 each)
24x Wellness Divine Dou’s (4x @ $1.59 each, 12x @ $1.34 each, 8x @ $1.30 each– 12 not pictured)
3x Nature’s Variety Instinct Pride ($1.15 each– not on sale, used as filler)
6x Halo Impulse Cat Food ($1.99 each)
1x Hill’s Science Diet Soft and Chewy Dog Training Treats (Free for getting to PetSmart at ungodly hours this morning)
48x Friskies Special Diet ($0.39 cents each)
1x Hill’s Ideal Balance Cat Treats (Free with the Hill’s dog treats)
2x Wellness CORE Puppy Food 4lb ($14.99– not on sale)
2x Nature’s Recipe Whitefish and Potato Dog Food 4.5 lb ($9.99 each)

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/A729F6D9-874C-433A-A016-17B9FAB54F23_zps7y7blsco.jpg

Not Pictured:

1x PetMate Jumbo Litter Box
3x Zukes Dog Treats ($2.74 each)
3x Wellness CORE Cat Food 2lb ($8.99 each)
1x Natural Balance Ultra Cat Food Can ($1.69)
1X Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh Cat Litter ($4.25)

All for a grand total of $58.38! The Wellness dry cat food, Natural Balance can, Blue Buffalo Litter, and 3 cans of Friskies were all donated to the local shelter. I should also note that I got the Duo’s at three different stores lol

The coupons I used:

3x $10 off $25 purchase (three separate orders)
1x $4 off $20 purchase
5x B2G2 Wellness Divine Dou’s
6x $1 off any Halo product
5x $7 off any Wellness dry dog or cat food
2x $5 off Nature’s Recipe dog food
7x $5 off any natural or specialized dog or cat food
4x $1 off any Wellness can (used on the Duo’s)
$2 off any Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh cat litter

I did so many transactions and shopped at three different stores that I don’t even want to lay everything out for you guys– sorry lol But I left with $100 this morning that my uncle gave me and I didn’t even spend it all!

I took a couple pictures of my stash after I tunred the spare room into the stash-room for all the dry food and random pet stuff :p The bests parts are:

78 lb of dog food
190 lb of cat litter
5 bottles of dog shampoos
3 bags of cat treats
5 bags of dog treats
150 cans of cat food
28 cans of dog food

*edit* sorry, the computer decided it didn’t want to live any more. Thankfully it still lets me edit on my phone lol Here’s the pics!

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• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Akari_32.

[Jennifer H]

Hi all! You all gave ma great advice when my Kaia was suffering from some intestinal issues, so thought I would get some additional ideas on foods. We currently have her on Canidae Pure Sky, which she seems to love. The vet recommended a hypoallergenic food, but the prices at the vet’s office for those foods is astronomical. They said Canidae would be a good option. However, after reading some other things on this site. I’m beginning to wonder if we made the right choice? She was on TOTW Roasted Fowl, which she loves as well. But I also noticed the Canidae was extremely high in protein.

Can anyone recommend a budget-friendly dry food, that is lower in protein, that is grain-free and is a LID diet? What do you all think of Natural Balance?

Thanks so much!

[Rebekah R]

Thank you everyone. Titan has been playing all day and is eating, drinking, going to bathroom as normal. He has not had another seizure. I was so afraid for him to take a nap, but he did and no seizures. I hope it stays that way throughout the night. He’s really very tired, as am I. I have been stressed all day and haven’t eaten a thing.

I am thinking about taking them off the flea meds and heart guard in the cold months. Not sure yet what to do in the spring and summer. I just am not comfortable with these poisons.
My dogs all eat a dry food by Natural Balance. It’s salmon and sweet potato and has no fillers, bi-products, etc. Two of my dogs have severe skin allergies, so this is what we have found works. I wonder now if the skin probs could be due to the topical flea treatments. We stopped giving them the heart guard bc it is beef flavored and beef was one of the first things we excluded when trying to determine what was causing the allergies. But the advantage multi is supposed to have the heart guard in it combined with flea meds. An all in one thing. I’m thinking it’s just too strong for my sensitive pups. Although the others have never had seizures that we know of, there are some suspicious things that go on after they get this topical.
We have him a bath this morning and tried to wash it all off his skin. I don’t know if it helped, but I hope it did.
I have unplugged the scented plugins, am not going to burn scented anything, gonna watch on the volume of tv, etc. just things in general that stress me, I’m going to take into consideration for Titan and try to keep it calm.
Doing research online, we ran across something. Have any of you heard of canna companion or canna pet? Two companies that have created non-Thc meds for dogs with seizures, anxiety, arthritis, cancer, etc. I’m going to talk to my vet, but we may try it.

[Dori]

It may very well have been the topical flea tick meds. that have been known to trigger seizures in dogs. Also, what foods are you feeding your dog. I remember reading that some ingredients have to be avoided in dogs that get seizures. I’m sorry but I don’t recall what they are.

I do agree with Akari that it at minimum requires a call to the vet to let him know how many, how often and how long each seizure is lasting. Please start keeping a log of everything and anything you are feeding your dog. What’s happening in the hours preceding the seizures. Anything new happening in your environment inside and out. Have you changed cleaning products anywhere in the house. Are you burning candles. Are you using air fresheners. Anything new sprayed outside around your property. All this is needed information to determine what is going on. I would want to know all that first before putting him on meds for seizures but, of course, advise your vet of all the above. Write everything down before calling the vet. You made have made some change in his environment that is affecting him. Also, laundry detergent…is it scented??? Did you change laundry detergents or softeners? Anyone of these things could be triggering seizures.

[DogFoodie]

Just a suggestion for you to check out, Karen… have you ever looked at Diggin’ Your Dog’s Pumpkin with Cranberry: http://www.dydusa.com/firmup_cranberry/. I use the plain without cranberry. It’s very easy to add to the food dry, both of the dogs lick up every grain.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Karen J-
I have been trying to follow your posts because I have some experience with Struvite crystals. You are tough to follow because you have started so many topics regarding the same issue. It is easier when you keep it all on one thread! Anyway, I’m a little confused. Does your dog have urinary crystals? Is she straining to pee or have blood in it. If yes, then you definitely want to at least feed canned. If you are going to feed kibble, I would feed the prescription type that dissolves the crystals. My cat had crystals and ended up having a blocked urinary tract. I was faced with having a very expensive emergency procedure or euthanasia. I opted for the procedure and it cost close to $2,000. Now I have no money for Christmas, but we still have our cat. Before the surgery, I was already feeding him at least half of his diet with canned food. I also have a water fountain that the cats use. Increased water intake is also important. There are several theories on what causes Struvite crystals. They might be different in dogs than cats, but the outcome could be the same. The vet food for crystals has restricted magnesium and phosphorous which affects the ph level of the urine. After learning the hard way and thinking vet food is crap, I have been feeding the prescription food for about a month and his last urinalysis was clear of any crystals or blood. I will continue to feed both canned and dry Rx food for 6 months and then slowly switch back to regular canned, but will always feed the vet kibble. I try to feed as little kibble as possible, but he was a shelter cat addicted to his crunchies when I got him.
So, in conclusion, I really hope that you can avoid the same situation. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by crazy4cats.

[evan v]

Thanks Akari32. The $5 coupon worked.

Audrey – I got a few different Nutrisource and BB samples. I tried giving him a few pieces of each and as stated before he seems to like the puppy one the most. I tried giving him the Purevita verison of salmon & turkey but he turned them down quickly. He ate of few pieces of the BB but didn’t finish the small amount I tried to give him. But no doubt Nutrisource looks like are great brand. =)

aquariangt – Yes I noticed the Fromm grain free diets are much higher in protein also. Grain free also should mean loaded with peas or potatoes. I can see why it’s hard to find dry foods without them…

theBCnut – I just read the Dogs and Carbohydrates — A Surprising Secret Revealed on this website! Now I see where you get your info from?

[arwyru24]

I found a 5lb bag of Nature’s Recipe chicken grain free indoor dry cat food at Big Lots today for $4. The packaging was perfect and it’s not near expiration. There was only one bag or I would have bought more then one. I gave it to a friend that usually feeds a grocery store brand..wet and dry at least. I was happy I thought it was a great find.

[Kayla]

He just lost a few pounds and so far just stayed there~ No sign of sickness, he is still happy and active… His stool is fine and no vomiting. I did give him a little bit more food for dinner since…He is getting bigger and very active. I will weigh him this weekend, and keep watching him. Perhaps, since he is a big dog…he needs more food and 3 cups isn’t enough. Idk. I will try 3 1/2 including dry and some wet food and some treats here and there.

Lately, since he has gotten cooler…He is more active. Every time I take him out, he wants to run… no joke! lol

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

[Tammy C]

I’ve looked at the tool the one person developed. It listed everything she was allergic to plus more.
I had thought about my little dog being allergic to pheasant, being it is a fowl, and I was right. She did end up having a reaction to it.
Now I have her on a limited ingredients food, with the main item is Buffalo and brown rice. She seems to have a reaction to this food also but not as severe.
I was thinking if anyone would know. Is there a supplement, (lack of a better word) to help with the symptoms.
I already give her a generic liquid form Benadryl, (which helps) but I’m concerned with side effects of long term usage.

[Kayla]

Weird question!!

My Dog is an Aussie and he is around 1 years old…He will be 2 years old in August. I have been feeding him Pure Balance dry food and sometimes a little bit of Pure balance wet food as well has treats. I feed him 3 cups of food and some treats…He is also 50 pounds. However, lately.. My dog looks like he is a little Skinner? Why is this? Do I need to feed him more? or what?

Dexter is not sick, no puking and also his stool is normal and hard. He goes twice a day. Morning and night… sometimes 3 times total but very rarely.

[DogFoodie]

You guys saw the recall on EVO cat and ferret food, right?

Natura Pet Recalls 5 Lots of Dry Cat and Dry Ferret Food

[crazy4cats]

You’re welcome! Here is a new recall for cat and ferret food:http://truthaboutpetfood.com/natura-pet-recalls-5-lots-of-dry-cat-and-dry-ferret-food/

[evan v]

Some of these brands I have not seen locally. I do have a few more stores I would like to check out.

I got a sample bag of Nutrisource small/med puppy. He seemed to like it the most. But is that’s just for puppies isn’t it?

As for the rotational diet. One store really close to me sells Fromm. I like all the different choices?

Just about every store carries Wellness. They have a few small breed/smaller kibble which is pretty cool.

The high protein dry foods seem to be higher priced. EVO,Acana & Orijen just to name a few are freakin expensive and have over 40% protein. A few other people I talked to all said the higher protein diets are better suited for active dogs. Which does make sense. I just won’t worry about protein levels. I’d say most good dry dog food has 27%-33% anyway.

I read Dr Mike Sagman’s story. It’s inspiring. I understand how he rates the food in all. Regardless of knowledge this website is GREAT! It’s easy to just look up food and compare one another. =)

[pugmomsandy]

You might consider joining Editor’s Choice. It’s an annul membership. The companies listed there have met additional guidelines.

/choosing-dog-food/brand-guidelines/

Horizon Amicus, Nutrisource grain free Lamb, Pro Pac Ultimates Overland Red, Nature’s Logic, Wellness Small/Toy breed, Nutrisource Sm/Med Puppy are all very small/tiny kibbles.

Also check out these articles:

/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

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

[Peter S]

i got a reply back from Farmina on this topic of pre-soaking … they specifically said NOT to do it . Sounded like the main reason was to prevent possible bacterial buildup if the food soaks for too long. So I’m gonna go with that and just start feeding it dry.

[julie o]

just finding this post now, hope your pup is doing well. i too, have a dog with food allergies who is prone to pancreatitis. wellness core reduced fat is a life saver, literally. comes in wet and dry formulas. my dog literally CANNOT eat anything else. pricey, but higher quality ingredients than rc, and honestly if it saves your dog’s pancreas and skin, its worth it. good luck.

[Akari_32]

Thanks for all the help guys. I was thinking about giving her pumpkin, but she’s so sensitive to food that I don’t want to risk making it worse by introducing something else into her diet. I do have some though, and may try it. We’ll be making pumpkin pies here soon, so I’ll just nab a couple spoon fills out of the can before mom busts out the spices.

She used to be on Royal Canin Dachshund formula. And given what I’ve seen of her previous owner, she probably was on it for most, if not all, of her life. She wouldn’t eat it when I got her, and actually hadn’t eaten dog food in several months because her mouth was so infected that she wouldn’t eat any dry food. I only had a small amount of her old food, and ended throwing most of it away because I tried various ways to get her to eat it (water, broth, some left overs) and she just wouldn’t touch it until I offered canned with it. At that point she was almost completely on Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight (lower protein and fat), so she had very little transition time. She didn’t do any better on that than she does on CORE Small Breed.

I don’t really think chicken is her problem, given she was on Royal Canin before I got her. However, I do have a bag of Salmon and Potato Wellness Simple and have a bunch of Beef and Lamb Purina One cans. I should have enough of those cans to get her through a bag of dry. It would at least be a starting point, I suppose.

I yell at my mom and grandma all the time for giving them too many treats. My grandparents are the worst. They come over and give Ginger and Bentley a good half cup of treats each. What’s worse is they’ll come over with some nasty cheap crap like Beggin Strips or some soft dollar store brand treats and give them a bunch of those!! My favorite is when they SEE me making the dogs dinners and they give them a bunch of a treats anyways. Pisses me off to no end. You don’t even understand. It’s to the point now that I hide the dog treats when I know they’re coming over.

[Alexis H]

I know that you have reviewed Orijen Dog Foods, however I would love to see you evaluate Orijen’s new product in the United States, Orijen Tundra Dry Food (It contains different meats). Thank you

[Dori]

Hi Akari. I swear by Perfect Form but from what I’m reading if this is an ongoing issue you would have to give Ginger the correct dose of Perfect Form with every meal. She’s small so it wouldn’t be much. Personally I think she’s having a food intolerance issue. I tried researching some of the foods you’re feeding her and most, if not all, contain some type of poultry in the ingredient list. It could be that she does well for a little while but with the addition of a canned as a topper that has more of whatever ingredient she is having an issue with which may or may not be in her kibble, it’s more than her gut can tolerate. If I were you I would attempt to find a food (dry and canned) that does not contain any poultry whatsoever and no white potatoes. White potatoes and tomatoes are high inflammatory foods and are probably also causing issues with her old age arthritic symptoms. That’s the reason Hannah gets no foods with white potatoes, rice and tomato. Also, there are dogs that cannot tolerate white potatoes yet do fine with sweet potatoes. I wish I could be of more help but I really do believe that the diarrhea has to do with her foods. As I said, find a kibble with NO poultry of any sort and a canned with no poultry of any sort. Feed her only those foods for a couple of weeks without rotating anything else into her diet and see how she does. Also, what treats if any is she getting from you or any other person that thinks she’s just too cute and needs a treat?

[Celine W]

Hello, I am the owner of two Bernese Mountain dogs (3 years and 11 month). I RAW fed them exclusively. As money is tight right now I might have to switch to half RAW and half dry food. As much as I don’t like the idea, I try to figure out what might be the best choice of dry food out there for a large Breed dog (one is 95 lbs. and the puppy is 11 month old). I really want to buy a high quality dry food (4 to 5 stars). I am still confused that there are so many opinions about the low protein and big dogs. Can anybody give me some recommendations – I am overwhelmed. THANK YOU…

[Randy P]

What is the best ACTIVE (20% fat-30% Protien) Dry food that you have found. I have hunting dogs and want to feed the 20/30 ratio?

[Talia B]

Hello,

I have a golden with a bunch of allergies and to keep them in check she gets a pill. She is allergic to peanut butter and shouldn’t have cheese bc of chronic yeast ears (We are x plowing different food options also). The treats that we have used are not that nutritious and dry out over time even if sealed correctly or they crumble when your pushing in a treat. So has anyone found the perfect dog treat or does anyone have a recipe. We use to use cream cheese (before we knew it was contributing and would love w similar consistency 🙂

[Pluto.the.St.Bernard]

Hi, all this information is so helpful, but just a tad overwhelming for me (so many opinions). I am curious about your opinion on a few things, I have a male st. benard pupp just about 20wks, been feeding him Natures Variety Instinct Dry($$$), and honestly looking to switch to something with less of a price tag, but without loosing quality as I want him in the best shape inside/out. His weight is good, looking/feeling healthy. I noticed the other saint owner was inquiring about Wellness Core Puppy, I am also curious about this brand of food –>> “Orijen product line includes six dry dog foods, five claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages and one (Senior) for adult maintenance”. Noticed it wasn’t on your list of approved large/giant breed foods, would you recommend (I’ve read pretty good things)? One last question what toppings would you suggest if not homemade food recipe ?
Hope none of this confuses you, thanks.

[Melissa OBryan]

Life’s Abundance dry Dog & Puppy formulas and canned dog food. Veterinarian formulated and never recalled. They ship direct to the customer so it’s super fresh and they know exactly where their products are if there ever were an issue. Thank you for your consideration! ~Melissa O’Bryan – Independent Field Rep of Life’s Abundance since 2001.

[theBCnut]

I can’t answer all your questions, but I’ll try to answer some. First, there is no guarantee that your cat will eat raw. They can be kind of peculiar about switching types of food, so the first thing to try is to switch the cat to canned food. Pick up dry food and allow the cat to get hungry, not starving, just hungry, and then offer canned food. If kitty eats it, great!! If not, after an hour, offer the dry food for 20 minutes, then pick it up. Next meal time, offer canned food first again. You may have to offer quite a number of times before she will eat it, or you may be one of the lucky ones. Once you have your cat on all canned food, start the process over again switching to raw.

There are many people that do not give any supplements, but they are the ones that need to be really careful to feed whole prey raw. Your dog might not eat kale, but if they eat an herbivore, they will be getting predigested greens that the food animal ate. You can predigest your own choice of veggies but blanching and pureeing.

You can also feed turkey and fish, so beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and fish are plenty of different proteins, and maybe a few times a year you can find lamb.

I use premixes +-3 days a week and no premix the rest of the time. I want to be sure to cover my bases.

Soup bones are not RMBs. RMBs are bones that are soft and can be completely eaten at meal time. Ribs from lamb, pork, or calves are good RMBs. So are neck bones from those same animals. All parts of chicken and turkey have good bones in them too. You should be able to get heart and liver and maybe kidney for organs. Maybe you can occasionally get some whole prey, even whole prey grinds, from Hare Today or My Pet Carnivore, to make up for not feeding other organs.

You can feed grinds to your cat, if you make sure they have heart in them, or add a taurine supplement. It her meats are frozen, you need to make sure the water that separates out as it defrosts is mixed back in, because that is where a lot of taurine is lost. I get whole carcass grinds from Hare Today for my cats, both rabbit and quail.

[Michael H]

Hi everyone!

We have 2 dogs:

Bernie, 9y M allergic-to-life Basset Hound
Zuli, 3y F Lab Mix

and our cat:
Sophie, 8y F Mackeral Tabby, borderline diabetic

Due to both Bernie and Sophie’s above issues, it seems like my best option at this point would be to try raw feeding. The dogs both enjoy the occasional chicken wing or turkey neck, but I have not yet tried feeding it as a whole diet. The cat, who was originally an outdoor stray who did hunt for her sustenance, does accept things like turkey and pepperoni, but for most of her life has been on dry food…which is probably why she had the October diagnosis for diabetes. She is near impossible to catch (the yearly vet visit can take us anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to capture her-we’ve blocked off hiding spaces as we find them over the years, though once she actually broke INTO the wall to hide) and has a lack of scruff, and at this point I’m really fearing the ability to be able to administer insulin consistently. So, it seems that a diet change may be my only help with this. For Bernie, I can control what goes into the food, and avoid his allergens altogether.

I work from home, so cooking and preparing isn’t a big deal. I handle raw meat for my own consumption so that doesn’t bother me, and I’m very versed in the realm of preventing cross contamination.

My access to pastured/organic items is limited to either very far drives or possible home delivery (have to order a LOT at a time to make the shipping be affordable). For the delivery [ReelRaw] they do have a lot of variety, which is nice, but seems the most expensive option that I’ve come across ($300/mo for all pets, around 50lb of items, still cheaper than whole foods). I do have a butcher shop somewhat nearby, but the only organs they carry or process is beef heart, and the variety of RMB’s I can get aren’t much, as well as they do not carry any pastured/organic meats.

Upon my research, I’m finding a lot of conflicting information. It seems that on one side everyone is pro supplements to add to the meals, which I’m hesitant to do so, as I’m of the perspective to not take any synthetic or multivitamins myself since I feel I’m literally peeing the money away, and rather get what I need from whole foods. I know dogs cant digest fruit/veg well, as anytime I’ve given a piece I find it the next day pretty much intact in their waste. We do own a masticating juicer, so that is an option. I’ve come across some freeze dried foods (Big Dog Natural) that say they ferment the veg to make them bioavailable, which is interesting, though I’m unsure if it’s still too high-carb for Bernie. It could all be a bunch of hogwash as well. I do agree with adding omega 3/sardines at meal time, as I feel that the fats are too delicate for any processing procedure.

Then there’s all the premixes available with vitamins, minerals, kale, sweet potatoes, etc. (Urban Wolf, THK, SSLL Dinner Mix). It’s hard to find a premix without one of Bernie’s proposed allergens in it, and to be honest I’d rather keep the carb count for him down as much as possible, as Bassets are already yeast factories, and Sophie needs as little carb as possible-I don’t think I’ve come across mixes for cats anyways. What dog eats kale in the wild anyways? I have a hard time getting it down myself…lol.

On the other side, I’ve come across a few companies that don’t use added vitamins/minerals (Answers, ReelRaw), stating it’s complete/balanced as is, or with Answers, their own products they (conveniently) suggest to add, which is goat’s milk yogurt, or buy their combination product with veg, clay, cultured things, etc. Bernie is borderline allergic to cow dairy, so I’m unsure if he can even have that anyways. I’ve tried kefir with him before, but the yeast didn’t get any better, and would occasionally have putrid gas as well.

Bernie is currently on Orijen, which he does seem more energetic and less itchy, however the gas has been atrocious, and even though he’s not been really red and itchy on it, still is having a yeast issue (underarms, ears, back of legs). This is a dog that sleeps 14 hours a day on those areas, so not much air is circulating. The gas has gotten better by feeding him less of it, but it can still clear a room. I think it’s due to the lentils/chickpeas-while he’s not allergic to them, doesn’t mean he can digest them well.

So to end my novella for how, I’ll boil it down to some questions:

-Do you feel that the supplements are needed if I use the cheaper conventional meat from the butcher? Or would possibly they be getting enough if I splurge for the pastured meats/organs/rmb? It’s doubtful I can afford both the pastured and supplements.

-Do you feel premixes are worth it, and would make the conventional meat balanced? (again, may not be able to do both pastured + mixes)

-How important do you feel variety in meats is? If I shop locally, I only really have access to beef, chicken, and pork, which I myself am even tired of, haha. Most any recreational or RMB’s I can find in the area are meant for soups and have very little meat left on them. With delivery I can get many more options, but I pay out the wazoo for it.

-Would maybe just doing the freeze dried route be the best idea? Between the issues above and our cat, I’m also leaning towards this route. I’ve also heard that cats don’t dig cool meat very much, and as its the winter now I don’t want Sophie to lose any weight form refusing food. The 2 dogs will eat anything so I’m not worried there. I know I have to avoid giving Sophie all ground meat due to taurine loss. My wife also would rather rip off her eyebrows than touch raw meat, so if it comes a time when I cannot feed them, I’d have to have an alternative on hand anyways.

Thanks for any input!

[Yonatan L]

Hi Guys,

I used to feed my dog with Earthbornd grain free. However, a lot of friends suggest me to move to Nutra Gold
http://www.nutragold.com/products/dogs/dry_food/turkey_and_sweet_potato/grain-free/

Is there any review that will come in closest future? 🙂 I want to be sure that my husky getting the best food:)

[Jess L]

We feed raw, fresh food. We also feed dry in the evenings and wanted a reliable, high quality dry food. I have long researched and looked for a reliable dry food and now have found it. It is Orijens, grain-free and whole prey. They are family owned from Alberta, Canada, but sold select retailers in the US. You can go to their website and see where it is available, near you. Good luck.

[Beth J]

Hi all, I have an update if it is at all helpful… I think I get the dog food before it hits most stores. (I get it from a pet food distributor my brother works for). Since the bad batch of TOTW High prairie formula in July, I have tried 3 other grain free dry dog kibbles. Since then, my dog has developed an allergy to chicken leading me back to TOTW, now Pacific Stream (Salmon, no Chicken in it). The kibble looks normal, (no crumbs in the bag to be found), no explosive diarrhea and my GSD is happy. I have been mixing 100% pumpkin in with her food to make all transitions easier on her stomach and no issues (about 1-2 tbsp per feeding). I wonder if they had a contamination in the plant and did a clean up? But hang in there. I think it will be back to normal soon.

[theBCnut]

It’s nothing to worry about. Bruno might not be getting everything from his food, but he isn’t missing much. I had the same issue with THK unless I let it rehydrate for hours. I assume that digestive enzymes and probiotics aren’t getting into the inside of a dry piece. The things that dogs don’t digest on their own are worked on by those probiotics. If it hasn’t been digested, he either didn’t have the right probiotics, didn’t have enough of them, or they couldn’t get to the pieces of food If you cook the food, you’ll only destroy more nutrients.

[Geraldine C]

Thanks everyone. I think I am going to change dog foods both dry and canned. No more TOTW.

[Alina S]

Hi!

I have a Rottweiler x Corgi mix, who weighs about 30 pounds. I feed him Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free duck and turkey dry food, and he gets a 1/4 can of the NV wet food each feeding. I buy it in a variety of proteins. And at night, he gets NuPro joint supplement.

Three days ago, he had pretty bad diarrhea as I was walking him. I stopped his NuPro supplement that night. The next day, he also had really bad diarrhea on our walk. On the same walk, even though he had already gone #2, he stopped two more times, except the only thing that came out was a little bit of brown liquid. I didn’t feed him at all yesterday.

Today, before his breakfast, I took him on a walk and he had a little bit of diarrhea again! It was just a small amount, as he had not eaten the day before. I gave him some dry food when we got home today.

He isn’t having any accidents in the house, it is only when we walk outside. He’s playful, bright eyes, cold and wet nose, and otherwise seems to be okay.

What could the problem be?

[InkedMarie]

Imo a fog with crystals should be fed a wet food, not dry. Adding water is fine but it’s not enough.

[arwyru24]

It’s always really bothered me that it would even possibly be worth it to ship chickens halfway across the world and then sent back. It’s crazy and super shady. I also do not buy anything jerky regardless of the brand. Before I was better educated I bought my last dog jerky treats ..blue buffalo brand and also happy hips. He lived to be 15 when he died and I don’t think he suffered any ill effects but it’s hard to say He got epithelial lymphoma at about 14 and the tumor was removed but who can really say what causes some of the cancers. It really hurt his quality of life in his final year. He didn’t tolerate chemo well and developed pancreatitis as a result and it was just a hard last year. I don’t make my own food or feed raw but I try to do all that I can to feed healthy foods and not take undue risks but I am always questioning myself. I have a vet I trust implicitly now but unfortunately didn’t find him until the dog was 13 and cat was 15. He would have saved both of those animals a lot of pain and suffering. The dog had two surgeries to remove crystals the second time he was 12 and was blocked completely. The other vets just had him on c/d dry his whole life. This was the first vet to tell us water is very important and took him off the rx food and had us feed high quality canned with lots of water added in. They don’t push science diet there they give a list of brands they suggest which are all good choices (taste of the wild is the only one I can think of that’s debatable) It’s such a shame that it’s so hard to know who and what to trust to take good care of our pets. I agree with BC nut completely. … this shouldn’t be so hard.

[theBCnut]

I change dry foods weekly and wet foods every meal.

[Bobby dog]

Did the Vet mention anything about adding more fiber to your kitty’s diet?

I rotate (constantly due to finicky kitties) commercial raw, canned, and some dry. Not sure of bone content, but I feed NV Instinct frozen, Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried, and Primal freeze dried with no issues. None of my cats will eat the same food two days in a row.

[jcmccallum]

Thank you for the quick responses everyone! The breeder is currently feeding the pups Nature’s Domain Grain Free Turkey Meal and Sweet Potato (3.5 stars). I will do some research on rotational feeding and start to figure out how to best introduce new foods into his diet once he’s settled. From personal experience, how often do you rotate your dry kibble? Anyone have any recommended canned food you and your dogs are particularly fond of?

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

[pugmomsandy]

Dehydrated and freeze dried can be either cooked or raw. Grandma Lucy’s actually lightly cooks their food products before freeze drying so they may also do that with their treats.

[Susan]

Hi Karen have you tried Wellness Small Breed? they’re have wet & dry….here’s a link to have alook at the Whole Wellness range… also have you tried feeding wet tin foods instead of kibbles, wet is better when they have had crystals…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[jcmccallum]

Hi there! I am both new to the puppy/dog world and new to Dog Food Advisor. I am in the middle of researching the best puppy foods for my future pup (I pick him up December 7th!), and have (probably) settled on feeding him Fromm Gold or Horizon Complete kibble. I am not entirely sure, however, whether I should also be feeding him a wet topper. What are the benefits? Are there any disadvantages? Should I not feed wet food until he’s older?

Jenny

[Dog_Obsessed]

From what I’ve seen it is really important for a dog to have water, and if a dog doesn’t drink much that is a reason to add water to their food. Lily drinks quite a bit, so I’m not as worried about that. As for bloat, from what I’ve heard and dog CAN bloat, it is just that it is extremely uncommon for smaller dogs. I think it would be unlikely for a 27 pound dog to bloat, though not impossible. I’ve heard that mixing with wet food can help prevent bloat.

EDIT: Just saw BCnut’s reply, thanks! I freaked out about bloat for one of my fosters, she was “dry vomiting” because of kennel cough, and that is one of the main symptoms of bloat. She was 12 pounds though, so bloat seemed unlikely. Once she was diagnosed with kennel cough I relaxed. Oh yeah, and there was that whole “ice water causes bloat!” thing on the internet. Luckily by the time I saw it it had been disproven.

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

[Susan]

Hi Cathy what are you feeding him at the moment?
Try a limited ingredient food with low fat%, has the vet put him on Hills ID
low fat GI restore wet tin food the fat% is only 8.5% fat dry matter so if it was a kibble the fat is only 8.5% cause it has already been converted…
commercial wet tin foods are higher in fat that can cause sloppy poos unless u can find one
thats around 1-2% fat in wet food.. Have a look at the Wellness Simple limited ingredients
kibbles, I tried the Simple Lamb & Oatmeal & Duck & Oatmeal kibbles, Simple does have grainfree kibbles aswell…Simple also have wet tin food but the fat% is high around 7-8% fat if they were a kibble the fat % would be around 38% fat.. the one with the lowest fat% is the Wellness Petite Entrees mini fillets 2% fat in wet
here’s the Wellness range
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete

[Dog_Obsessed]

I have seen several places and heard form some people that it is a good idea to mix water with Lily’s food, especially since Bichons are prone to bladder crystals. However, I have also heard that mixing water with dry food can be a risk factor for GDV/Bloat, especially if the food contains citric acid. Small dogs do not usually get bloat, so do you think this is safe to do? Thanks!

[Renate W]

Acana Light and Fit, is a very good dry food for dogs with weight issues. Why is it not available in the USA like all the other Acana formulas?
From: Renate, Cleveland Ohio

[Kersi B]

Hello everybody!

I am new here and tried to find some informations on my own, but I am lost…

I move from Germany to California this January and take my 6-year-old Chihuahua (3kg or 6,6p weight) with me.
He already has a light cardiac insufficiency, but the doc said that he doesn’t need any medicine yet.
Here in Germany I feed him with wet (in the late afternoon), dry (he has a extra bowl with some in case he is hungry) and own-cooked food (as often as I can instead of wet food). His treats are 100% dry meat only. And I give him Vitamin K1 and homeopathic Crataegus supplements to his food to strengthen his heart.
But none of the brands I am feeding him right now are available in the US.
So could you please help me to find the brands with the highest quality but affordable for a student? Thank you so much! <3 :*

• This topic was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Kersi B.

[Cathy A]

Hi all first post here. Hoping you can help.

Our 14 year old lab has become not only very picky about his food. (He likes flavor) but seems to be having a few more accidents and a bit of the runs.

I was looking to change his food to Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain-Free Formula Dry Dog Food

Any other recommendations?

[iggymom]

I’ve been researching dog foods for about two weeks now and I just can’t decide on what I think is best for him. He’s 4 months and about 7 pounds, and IG’s typically need a high protein high fat diet but I can’t help but be cautionary of very high protein foods (Orijen?) because he’s so tiny. I’ve been looking at Canine Caviar, Acana, Orijen, the Petcurean Now!/Go! line, etc…. Thoughts?

Please help! 🙂

[jcmccallum]

HDM,

Thank you so much for compiling this list- it looks like it took an amazing effort!!! I will be a first time puppy owner in December of a wonderful bernedoodle (bernese/poodle cross) that should grow to be about 60-70 lbs. Until I pick him up he will be fed Nature’s Domain Turkey and Sweet Potato. I am thinking about transitioning him over to By Nature, however, was hoping you could clarify which By Nature product had the .80% calcium. The only By Nature Organic food I see on their website is cans. They have a “Natural” and a “Grain-Free” line that includes dry food. Where you referring to the By Nature puppy formula? Any clarity you would be willing to be provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Cindy S]

I am transitioning my two greyhounds from Natural Balance to NOW Fresh dog food (dry). They get bored so easily, so I feed them that in the evenings, and I usually mix in some cooked ground beef and a little cheese, or some cooked chicken to make it more enticing/interesting. In the mornings, I now feed them K9 Natural – Chicken Feast raw frozen food, which they really like; the challenge with that is that I live in northern CT and it is hard to find a store that carries it consistently, so I’ve had to order it online (and pay a $30 frozen food surcharge, which I’m happy to do if it means my dogs will eat!). I have been looking for a dogfoodadvisor.com rating for the K9 Natural raw frozen foods, but only see the K9 Natural Freeze Dried Raw (Freeze-Dried); the raw freeze dried chicken feast has a 5-star rating, but not sure if that applies to the raw frozen chicken feast, does anyone know? Thanks so much!