Need to make a trip to Petco I guess! I have always (except for the caesars) kept them on a good brand of dog food, no by-products, I have heard horror stories about that. Will look at the nutrisource and wellness. I would like to be able to feed them the same brand in canned and dry. Also will try suggestion on giving new food in morning. Hope I can post good news in a few weeks!
Karen, it is not bad at all to add wet food to dry – it helps moisten it, which helps with digestion and the constant state of mild dehydration that dry food causes. Just try to switch around both dry and wet food brands until you find a combo that works for them. Also, adding just warm water to kibble and letting it sit for a few minutes should help too.
Some quality and affordable brands with small kibble are Victor, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free, NutriSource (in some areas it is affordable, in others – not so much), Wysong, and my boy did well on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, he managed Dr. Tim’s kibble size (a bit on the medium size), and has done great on the above brands both food-wise and kibble size-wise. Also, Holistic Health Extension he has done well on and with. For wet I use The Honest Kitchen dehydrated and I just add water to it and the kibble, let it sit a bit, then serve.
Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions!
Thank you, all of you. Some good suggestions. They have been getting the Caesars for about 2 years. The Blue, maybe 6 mos? I mostly use the caesars for flavoring. They both have me under their little spoiled paws! They don’t like just dry dog food, and I know it’s my fault for giving in to them! But enough is enough!
It depends on what you want in a food..ie grain free..corn free etc etc. I usually feed Arcana fir dry but rotate Victors Nutrisource, Hi trek on a rare occassion as well as Prozac when I am too lazy to go to the boutique pet store.
Evanger’s dry kibble, esp the pheasant formula, is a food that my dogs have liked and done well on; it has 4.5 to 5 star rating as well. Why is it not an Editors Choice?
I’m not clear on this. Some foods listed appear to have a higher rating overall than some of those listed as Editors Choice foods. Why?
I have a 9 year old mix with the body of a wiener dog and face and fur of a spaniel. She has had back surgery gets around great until she goes through a spell and has trouble walking for a while. She thinks she is a hunting dog and lives to chase squirrels and chip monks which are every where here. Looking for a new dry dog food that she will like and is good for her.
Hi Dog Obsessed,
Nice name!
The fats in dry foods start to oxidize pretty quickly and they are going bad before you can see or smell any changes. The less time the bag is open the better. At 4-6 weeks the fats are what scares me and I think that is too long. 2-3 weeks is much better. For storage longer than 2 weeks of an opened bag of dry food I would place it in an air-tight container like an Omega Seal.
I would keep the food in it’s original bag and place it bag and all in the container. The reason is, if you empty the food into the container without the bag the fats in the food will start to build up on the interior walls of the container. Even though you will use up all the food every 4-6 weeks the fat on the walls will keep building up and keep oxidizing.
Good Luck!
Hi Kathleen:
Yes, plain kefir, no flavoring or sugar.
If you check out those links they have dosage suggestions noted in both articles. I mix kefir in my cats canned food. My dog loves it so much I feed it to him as a treat without mixing it with anything; I just pour it in his bowl. It would really depend on your pup.
Kefir really helped my kitty with his skin and fur. He had extremely dry skin and bald spots on his face, back, and tail area. I have fed it to him daily for the past five or six months and his fur has almost completely grown back. His skin is still dry, but not nearly as bad; dry skin is also a side effect of a medication he takes daily. Recently, my dog started having some minor skin irritations so he is also getting some daily now. When all is well with him I feed it to him 3x/wk.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by
Bobby dog.
How long is dry food good after opening, if kept in its original package an sealed? I have heard up to 6 weeks. It takes Lily 4-6 weeks to finish a small bag, and I assume it would take her up to 8 weeks when mixed with wet food. I usually keep wet food for about 3 days in the fridge, does anyone know if it can be frozen? Also treats, I have heard it is just until the expiration date for dry treats, but what about moist ones? Thanks to all that reply.
Hi Courtney. If your dog does wind up having crystals be sure to ask what type. As far as the UTI the other posters have helped. It is important that your dog is walked often and that she drink plenty of water. If you are feeding her kibble then please add water to it and let is absorb the water before feeding her the food. It’s a good way to get more moisture into a dog that doesn’t drink enough water. As the others have suggested, dry food (kibble) is not what she should be eating. Commercial raw foods (if you don’t want to hassle making your own), dehydrated, canned, freeze dried. In that order would be the best way for you to go imo. Normally I would put freeze dried before dehydrated but a lot of freeze dried foods don’t absorb water very well. There are plenty of quality dehydrated foods so your dog will win with the moisture and the quality of the food.
You didn’t mention what food you feed your dog. How many meals a day does she get and hopefully you leave water down for her all the time.
Hi Courtney,
I had a dog with frequent UTI’s and he was diagnosed with struvite crystals. My vet had me give him one 500 mg vitamin C a day but you don’t do this without your vets okay. It is extremely important to get enough liquid into your dog. Dry food is the worst you can feed. Best is a raw diet, canned or dehydrated. If you must feed dry, add canned & water to his food.
Don’t worry about low oxalate foods unless it’s needed. I would not use a prescription food at all. If your vet tells you to, I’d find a holistic vet to go to and get their advice. Keep us posted on how she is.
Does anyone know if these chews are safe to give to a dog, recently recovered from a tummy upset? Bruno is 100% right now, but still on Perfect Form for this week and next week, and for now on canned and dry food, same protein, same brand. However, I have midterms and papers this week, so what (if anything) can I give to the poor guy to distract him from me?
Also, do you think he will be fine with having THK (like he used to before he got sick) as a topper after I take him off the canned? I will introduce all his usual additives (coconut oil, yoghurt/kefir, raw egg, canned sardines, RMB) one by one and one per week or until I’m sure his tummy can handle it. But THK is his usual staple – and I rotate between 4 flavors of it and one BDN. Should I just go one at a time and one per week for those too, or would it be safe to rotate again?
Although “budget friendly” is very much a relative term, some excellent dry foods that I feel are budget friendly, and that I feel I can confidently recommend, are Victor, NutriSource, Earthborn Holistics, Eagle Pack, Dr. Tim’s and even Pure Balance made by Ainsworth that’s sold at Wal-Mart or Nature’s Domain Turkey and Pea Stew canned from Costco.
I just kind of eye-ball it for canned, to be honest. I use just enough canned to coat the kibbles evenly (a few spoonfuls of canned over 1/3-1/4 cup dry for my dachshund, and a whole 13 oz can to 3-4 cups split between my big guys) and if I notice undesirable weight change, I adjust accordingly.
For “fresh” toppers, as long as it’s not making up more than about 20% of the dogs diet, it’s fine. That 20% can mean daily toppers, or even a whole meal once a week or so of a raw meaty bone or something. No need to make it all scientific, really. Have fun with it!
As for size and breed specific marketing, it’s pretty useless. Keep life interesting and switch it up. I’m actually feeding all my dogs on Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health right now– even the 130 pounder! I shoot for 25% and up (the higher the better, but I use coupons for my dog food, so I can’t be too picky), and as high callorie as possible. This one happened to fit the bill with 30% protein and 502 calories per cup, and be free, plus money back, after coupons.
Nothing wrong with questions! If you don’t ask, you don’t learn. 🙂
I’m the kind of person that thinks if a dog is getting too fat on a food, decrease the amount given, and if its getting too thin, increase the amount given (with-in reason, of course). So yes, if you need to adjust, go for it. The guidelines on the bag aren’t set in stone, and all dogs digest foods differently, just like people do.
I mix water when I don’t have canned, and two of my dogs are 60 and 130 lbs. My old lab mix (the 60 pounder that doesn’t eat much) also doesn’t like straight dry food for very long. Once a week or so I’ll add canned food or some water to her dry food. Just enough to make it soft and water logged, but not swimming.
Hi, I am considering doing a raw food diet with my two dogs. They are old and have no real health problems but do have big lumps forming on their skin for the past 1-2 years. Fatty tumors I am guessing. I haven’t taken them to a vet in a very long time.
My daughter has autism and is obviously my priority. We eat 90% organic diet as a family and spend most of our money doing so among many of her supplements.
I am kind of sick of buying crappy dog food for them. I buy them a grain free dry dog food now which is mostly meat then followed by sweet potato which I know they don’t need.
I am not so worried about these two ( I love them but realize they are on there way out of this world and the damage of their teeth wont be repaired) but when they go would like to ditch the crappy dog food for sure.
So sorry for the long introduction but my question is how much does this all cost and how much preparation is involved? I have been buying what I thought was raw dog food at Whole Foods lately but realized it was lightly pasteurized. It was lamb and many lamb organs with many synthetic vitamins/minerals.
Do most people use synthetic vitamins/minerals on this diet? Again total newbie but do love nutrition.
BTW my dogs now are 11 and are 10 and 15 pounds. My next dog I plan will be bigger like a golden retriever.
Thank you much!
HI Courtney, the first day I got my rescue dog he was weeing blood, so when he was due to be desexed the next day & while he was under the vet did an ultra scan & he had crystals, she showed me a little urine container of some crystals that were removed from another dog, they looked like sea salts u put in a salt grinder, he was desexed & I had to give him antibiotics for 2 weeks & for 6 weeks he was put on the Royal Canin S/O wet & dry food for 6 weeks to dissolve the crystals, but he wasnt vomiting or had diarrhea back then, after he got his vomiting & diarrhea but that was a different health problem, 6 weeks later he had another ultra scan to see if the crystals had dissolved & they had Thank-God if they didnt dissolve vet said he’d need operation.. vet thinks his case was from being used as a breeding dog & he caught an infection from a female dog….she should be on foods low in oxalates maybe someone else will know what foods are good for urinary tract infection…there is info on UTI click on the FAQ up the top then on ur left in the “search this website” put Urinary infection..
I have a Shih Tzu and a Lhasa Apso. Both are having very loose bowel problems. I don’t know what else could be causing it but food. They get Blue Buffalo dry food, mixed with a small amount of Little Caesars. Any ideas on a food I can change them to? Thanks
The way I understand it, all of Diamonds canned food are made and canned by Simmons. I personally just assume not support Diamond, but I do buy other canned foods made by Simmons, like Pure Balance.
I personally shoot for higher callorie foods because I have an older dog that I can’t get to eat much more than about 2 cups a day. If I can get her eat as little as possible, but still have her maintain her body weight, we’re both happy. I have some dry EVO in the freezer, and she actually only eats about a cup of that a day when I take it out. Due to the fat content and her age (11), I only use it for about a week or two at a time because it makes her pudgy pretty quickly LOL For most dogs, callories isn’t an issue, especially on a rotational diet.
Hi everyone! I’m thinking of switching to Manitok Red Meat formula (from Zeal, a New Zealand brand). I have some doubts though. My concerns lie with monosodium phosphate, oligofructose & salt listed in the ingredients.
From Wiki, oligofructose is a sweentener extracted from fruits and vegetables, and that list include onion and leeks, which are off-limits to dogs. Should I be concern that this is added to the kibble?
Monosodium phosphate, from what I find from the web, is a combination of the synthetic forms of phosphorus and sodium. Phosphorus can be found in many foods and it’s rare for humans to be deficient in this, and usually doctors would make the recommendation if a supplement is needed. I have no idea if dogs need it in supplemental form, but surely additional sodium is not necessary, right?
And the salt, should I worry that the manufacturer add salt to the dry food? I don’t see it mention in the review and discussions. Am I being too paranoid? Any help is much appreciated!! Thank you!!
Hey Jan -that’s a tough one. I am scrolling through dry dog food ingredients and can’t come up with one. Have you considered freeze dried? I feed my dogs raw, I make most of it, so cooking and storing may be the best option for you to control the ingredients. Hopefully someone else pipes in with a solution for you.
I have a 2 year old Golden Retriever who has been plagued with skin issues due to allergies her whole life. Food tests found she’s allergic to soybeans, corn, alfalfa, green peas, sweet potatoes and beef! I’ve used California Natural dry food her whole life, trying different ones until we determined the problem. I find that most quality dry foods contain many of these ingredients. Canned food seems pretty expensive. Can anyone suggest a dry food that does not contain these things? I’m seriously considering cooking chicken for her and storing portions in the freezer….! I’d also like to eliminate rice, if possible. She’s still having skin issues. (Haven’t yet ruled out grass.) Any help is appreciated!
I have a 2 year old Golden Retriever who has been plagued with skin issues due to allergies her whole life. Food tests found she’s allergic to soybeans, corn, alfalfa, green peas, sweet potatoes and beef! I’ve used California Natural dry food her whole life, trying different ones until we determined the problem. I find that most quality dry foods contain many of these ingredients. Canned food seems pretty expensive. Can anyone suggest a dry food that does not contain these things? I’m seriously considering cooking chicken for her and storing portions in the freezer….! Any help is appreciated!
It’s mainly dry hard kibble I prefer not to feed more than twice a day. Other foods that are easier to digest or enzyme rich raw foods I’m less concerned about. Plus when I feed kibble or a food with lots of plant matter, I give enzymes with it.
Well this might explain why my 9 year old Lab was having trouble with her energy levels on the Core Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. She needed more carbs! She’s doing much better on Merrick Grain-Free. Thanks!
Thank you everyone for your comments. theBCnut I did not get my dogs from a breeder they are all rescues and up till now have been fed commercial prepared dry/wet dog food. I never even heard of Raw Dog Food until Chance came to us. Then I started researching and like I said above it is all so confusing one site contradicting the other etc.. so I appreciate any and all comments. I bought my meat straight from a butcher, it came pre-grounded. I was told that the 10lbs was a mixture of heart,brain which I understood to not be considered organ meats and then kidney, liver and spleen with I know are organ meats. I also know that tongues are included but wasn’t sure what they are considered. If I added lean ground beef to my recipe say 10-15 lbs would that balance it out better. I am making very large batches as I try to make at least a weeks worth at a time. My Danes range in size from 90-160 lbs so I have been feeding them approx 2% of there ideal body weight per day which is about 3.5 lbs if I worked it out properly, I feed them half in the morning and half in the evening. I will not add the extra egg shells next time and do what I normally do, add them to my garden instead. pugmomsandy the chicken I purchased was from my local grocery store and I ground it myself in a hand grinder at home. I believe I should have called them quarter chicken legs they were thighs with legs attached and bones still in. The next batch will be purchased from the butcher chicken backs with bone in pre-ground. I will look into those books as well, I have a tablet and an e-reader so I should be able to get them. Thank you all so much, I really do appreciate the comments !!! I’m so new at this and I find it confusing even though I did research. I’m still trying to figure out what meats are what hence the mistake with too much organ meats. I just want to make up for my past bad food mistakes and do what is best for my fur babies. Thank you !!
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by
Tanya C.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Tanya C.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Tanya C.
Only Natural Pet has a sample of 1 LB of PowerFood Red Meat Feast Dry Dog Food for $0.99 Shipped. Appears to me to be 5*.
Only Natural Pet PowerFood Chicken and Poultry Feast Grain Free Dog Food
Hi Laura, here’s a link to “Holistic Select” Anchovys, Sardines & Salmon meal, I know you’ve said no Salmon but this kibble has no potatos, have a look at the ingredients they may be as close as you’ll get to the Proseries, A few dogs from the dog park have skin allergies & they are on the Holistic Select Anchovys, Sardines & Salmon meal for their skin & ears…. http://www.holisticselect.com/dry-dog-food-anchovy-sardine-and-salmon-meal
Hello All,
I have a 12 year old dog that is probably a lab mix who has been having problems with hair loss. a year ago he was losing hair in patches on his face and the tips of his ears. also some dry cracked skin on the tips of his ears, that i picked off, and swollen ears from tips almost to base. i took him to the vet many times and eventually another vet suggested that it could be allergies.
I had been feeding him pro series hypoallergenic food in canada, but i have since moved to the states with him and i can’t get it here. the hair on his face had completely grown in and his ears were getting better as well. i just switched to pure vita salmon and potato, which he greatly prefers, but his ears are swollen again and no more signs of improvement with the hair coming back. i’ve been reading about this and it seems that ear infections are often triggered by food allergies, and this is a sign of the allergy (though the only problem with the ears is swelling, hair loss, and maybe some purple marks on the skin). i have looked everywhere for a food with similar ingredients but i can’t find anything that is just mostly herring, anchovies, and rice. i also supplemented with canned tuna to make the pro series more appetizing, and that seemed fine. if anyone can offer any suggestions of what to try or how to interpret this i would appreciate it so much.
You can also put dry through a coffee grinder and then add water, but that isn’t really the best solution. At her age, she needs to be eating foods that have plenty of moisture in them. And she may not produce the stomach acid that she once did so you might want to add 1/2 tablespoon of unprocessed apple cider vinegar for every one cup of food.
Hi Dori,
Thank you for getting that info from BDN! I am glad that BDN is working out well for you and your crew.
You wrote:
“I just spoke to someone at Big Dog Natural. They air dry their food at 80 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours.”
24 hours is a very long time to keep a raw food at 80 to 100 degrees F. Imagine taking a couple of pounds of any raw food that contained meat and vegetables and placing it outside on a 100 degree F Georgia day. Then take a powerful fan and have it blow on the food. Leave the raw meat outside in the 100 degree temps with the fan blowing on it for 24 hours. That is not a food I would feed my dog.
And pugmomsandy wrote:
“They’re bags of food do not have an ingredient or GA label. Just the name of the product”.
This lets me know that BDN is not following the regulations for labeling dog foods. That is not a good sign for me.
You also wrote:
“As I have said often in the past…..these issues that are being questioned back and forth may very well not sit well with some if this is the ONLY food you are going to feed your dogs”
The way this food is air-dried and the potential it carries for bacterial growth along with the lack of proper labeling are issues that would prevent me from using this food regardless of how many other foods were in my rotation.
Again, I am very happy that BDN is working out for you and your guys!
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This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by
USA.
I have never seen any bone or bone pieces in the food. I agree with cindy q on the issue of bones.
USA and anyone else interested. I just spoke to someone at Big Dog Natural. They air dry their food at 80 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours.
I decided that instead of guessing, I would just pick up the phone and call. My call was returned within 20 minutes. I have never once been given the run around with any question I have asked. They have been nothing but forthcoming with me. I choose to have the food in rotation with my three dogs everyone else can make up their own minds. As I have said often in the past…..these issues that are being questioned back and forth may very well not sit well with some if this is the ONLY food you are going to feed your dogs. Most of us on DFA rotate foods, supplements, within the brands and different brands. Anyway, my dogs love the food and they have absolutely no issues with the food. No diarrhea, gas, no constipation, no itchiness, no bad breath, no tear stains, no gurgling stomachs, their poops are exactly the way they should be for dogs that eat raw-small well formed not too hard don’t stick to the ground no smell whatsoever.
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This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by
Dori.
Hi Everyone,
I read the ingredient lists for BDN foods and I took this off their website:
“The final product is air dried between 80 and 100 degrees in order not to destroy the integrity of the raw ingredients. All processes of humidity, wind velocity and temperature are monitored and automatically altered when necessary. In this way, we produce a very high end product, that is not only very bio-available but also very much liked by the ones we are doing it for, our dogs.”
My concerns are:
1) They don’t say if 80-100 degrees is F or C, if it’s C then the temps would be 176-212 F and there would be no issue with bacterial growth but it would not be a very gentle temperature. If 80-100 degrees is F, that is a good temperature for bacterial growth. So if the air-dried process takes 8 hours then that food is growing bacteria until the moisture level gets to its finished state of 12% or below. In order to turn fresh meat and veggies into the granola consistency that BDN is, the time of drying at 80-100 degrees F would be 8-12 hours? Without knowing their process I can only guesstimate but even with very high fan speed (air movement) it could take 12 hours or more.
2) Bone, they use ground bone in the chicken, turkey and fish recipes. How finely is that bone ground and how brittle is it after the air drying. How much does the air drying increase the danger of the bone to the dogs that eat it? I don’t know but it is something that would be of concern to me if I were going to feed my dogs BDN.
I’ve kept her on dry dog food as long as I could, but she just went through a bit of a sick spell and I noticed that when she threw up she had whole pieces of food in her tummy. I’m also noticing that she’s lost a bit of weight and when I popped into the vet today they confirmed she’s down just over half a pound. I’ve made my own food for her before when she broke her jaw but she seemed to have mild allergies to everything I used. (Except her banana oatmeal and cottage cheese breakfasts.)
What would you recommend for an alternative to dry dog food? She also eats apples, pears, bananas and blackberries as snacks so I’m looking for something that might be a bit higher in the meat/protein. I’ve always had her on some version of lamb dry kibble and was leaning towards either the Kirkland or the Castor and Pollex. (Both based on the review I read on this wonderful site!) She could stand to gain a full pound too but I have to be careful as she has a slight heart murmur and I don’t want it to get worse.
Thanks for the help!
It’s not canned, but rather dehydrated, look into The Honest Kitchen Zeal. Fat is a big issue. Usually when you lower carbs, you raise protein and fat. THK Zeal is the best one I know of with good levels, though in your case, I still might add lean meat to lower the carbs even more. Zeal comes as a dry powder that you add water to. If you add water right before feeding then you have a soupy mixture. If you prepare it a while ahead of time, it is more like a thick paste or pate style food. My dogs love all of THK’s foods.
Hi:
Pennywisepaws posted a Natures Recipe dry cat food $3 off coupon on any one bag valid until 11/15/14 and info on how to stack with another coupon:
http://www.pennywisepaws.com/petco-31-natures-recipe-grain-free-cat-food-printable-coupon/
or enter coupon code “cnature3off” to redeem online.
Hi SunnyD,
Looks like the NVI raw duck bites are a good choice with sodium at .27%.
The product also includes heart, which is excellent glandular therapy.
Here’s a couple of threads you might also be interested in:
/forums/topic/food-and-supplements-for-my-cavi-with-heart-murmur/; /forums/topic/dry-dog-food-with-low-salt-and-low-fat/
Glad they liked it! I always liked how NutriSource looked for the dry dog food. I used the Super Performance once for the big dogs and thru did great on it.
Hi Kayla-
For sure you want to make these changes gradually. I have incorporated all these add-ins as I’ve been learning, over about a two year period! I feed my dogs by calories. I calculate most canned foods at about 400 calories. So about 100 calories per quarter of can. I also compute dry at about 400 calories per cup. So 1/4 cup less dry food for 1/4 of a can. Obviously not all canned and dry have the same calories, but to make it simple, I just took an average. I also use the Pure Balance canned food. We especially like the stews. Good questions! Keep up the good,work!
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This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by
crazy4cats.
Hi Kayla-
I always mix something in with my dog’s kibble. I have two golden labs. Both male and about 80 pounds. Every morning they get a few heaping Tbs of canned with their kibble. In the afternoon, they get either eggs, sardines, dehydrated or fresh meat with their dry food. I don’t think that dry kibble is the best to feed regardless of how many stars it gets. However, it is convenient and budget friendly. I do believe that a premium canned food is healthier, but also much more expensive. Especially with two large dogs. And oh yes, four medium cats! Good luck and welcome to DFA!
Can I mixed dry and wet food or too much? Austrian Shepherd breed Dog, around 40 to 50 pounds and around 1 year old. Slowly changing him to Pure Balance Dog food because the last two brands made him sick.
Have you ever heard of wellness, acana, Orijen…. Are you kidding? Yes everyone here has heard of them, and yes, they are still high in carbs, and yes they are still considered kibble, as all dry food is kibble. Maybe less carbs than all the low quality corn and soy kibble, but still carb heavy none the less.
The thought process that wet food rots teeth is a very old wives tale. And forgive me for saying so, but you did already tell someone that this message was just for hdm so Not to respond.
Spaniel39, I recommend a bit more research before making comments like your last one
Seriously, if dogs eating dry food have to get their teeth cleaned all the time, what makes you think that canned food is worse? Kibble does not clean teeth. When a dog crunches down on kibble, it explodes. It does not scrape along the surface of the tooth all the way to the gum line, and if by some miracle it did, it would slice up the gums too. Canned food does not rot teeth. Carbs are responsible for the junk left on teeth. Kibble is carbs.
If you really want clean teeth, you let your dog gnaw on something like a meaty bone that will scrape the whole length of the tooth and work under the gum line too, or you learn how to brush.
Hound Dog Mom
I know this is off topic but I actually joined this forum to ask you this (so hopefully you get this post!). I have a wonderful little 2 year old Yorkie boy and he’s 6.4lbs of extremely picky when it comes to eating. He’s gone as long as 1.5 days without eating, then he’ll finally give in and eat. I only feed him dry dog food – Fromm. I chose not to give him anything wet as I’m scared of him having dental issues later on. Anyway, he was on Natural Balance for a few months when I first got him – right at 1 years of age. He took to the Fromm really well at first then he stopped eating as quickly. I figured maybe he just wanted soft food (I even switched flavors of Fromm), so I started crushing the food and adding water to make it more like wet dog food. That worked. On occasion I would mix with a tad bit of banana or some other healthy fruit for him. He liked that. But now he’s back to not wanting to eat. I read another article where you posted in response to someone else in a similar position as me. I just want your opinion on what you think I should do or try. I will spend whatever to make sure he’s eating healthy and also enjoying his food. What would you suggest? Do you recommend Fromm? Thanks so much.
Cyndi:
First your dog is beautiful! I love the way he looks right into the picture! And with seeming purpose! 🙂 I know he’s a sweet one.
Thank you for your post also. You all are really helping me. My GSD was gone for three months for training and while he was gone I decided on RAW. Like you, I read the major books, watched Becker’s videos, took notes, read on line, and my binder is jammed. He had all those troubles on Origen and Acana and i just decided kibble was not worth it.
I will brush his teeth in addition to doing the bones. Thank you for that info. Have some HARE TODAY turkey necks frozen now but he is not YET on raw. I am working with a Homeopathic Vet who is wonderful and who has recommended Big Dog Natural although DFA people did not feel good about what BDN not coming forth with info re GA. I asked BDN about it and they said they could not tell their “secret” (which she inferred had to do with the fermentation of the veggies and the air drying process). The Homeopath vet feeds BDN to his 6 dogs – several are Great Danes – and he loves the food and the company. He also feeds Darwins. He has suggested that I go cold turkey when I transition the GSD using chicken and the turkey formulas (BDN) to begin with for several weeks. One Protein. (THat is what Tracy at HARE TODAY also suggested.) Once he’s doing great on that I will pull out the Turkey necks. After that I think I can start veering out a little. Tracy at HARE TODAY emailed me to take my time and NOT PUSH IT — that getting in a hurry will mess up his digestion. She’s SELLING RAW and TOLD ME TO SLOW DOWN! (That’s a sign of a good person!)
The woman who 1/2 owns Ziwipeak has two labs and she said she feeds them Ziwi at breakfast everyday and then gives them a raw very meaty bone for supper at night. I never got into Ziwipeak myself but it was interesting to hear that she does that. Says they are a picture of health.
Now it appears I must find out about CALCIUM so I do not overdo it. Any references about that?
Thank you again for your input. This is such a great site and I have met wonderful people.
With Gratitude,
Nancy C.
Thank you for your response. Green beans are canned so cooked. Carrots are raw baby carrots mostly without skin. It’s been very hot here until lately, hopefully fall and winter will cool us off to walk more than once a day in the cool A.M. He loves the dog park and runs a lot there, but again not cool enough yet. I play tug of war with him at home in doors or I throw his squeaky and he runs and brings it back. This is upper desert so lots of rocky yards, no grass. He’s going in for obedience training this saturday so hopefully that will also help. I found the list of carbs in Wellness foods that was posted on one of the forums and the Wellness Core Reduced Fat is As Fed 34.19 and Dry Matter 37.16. Is that high?
The As Fed values are just that, they include the 10% or whatever moisture the food has. The Dry Matter values mathematically remove all moisture from the food.
Thank you, Akari: This is exactly what I wanted to know. I need the amount for Wellness Core Reduced Fat dog food and now I’m wondering if “As Fed: 34.19 and Dry Matter: 37.16” is high or low. Does anyone know if this could be keeping Jack from losing weight? Thank you.
Oh, Victoria, I am so very sorry you and the poor dogs have been placed in this position. Is your local ASPCA ‘friendly’ ..can you ask them if they have a doc with no charge or little charge for those with limited income and can perhaps see the lab and recommend inexpensive and grain free food? Also, when my St. had hotspots vet recommended we use human benedryl tabs rolled into a bit of peanut butter. I know for our St. 120 lbs, we gave her one full tab. We were also given a spray to stop the itch, can’t remember the name. Hope this helps.
Hi all,
I’m new here, so hello! Lots of good reading here! I have a 5YO Cavalier female named Willow, who was just diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur, which seems to have developed very quickly (our regular vet did not hear it just 6 short months ago, but the cardiologist found it this past saturday at a heart clinic). I’m trying to research what the best food and supplements are for this condition. I really prefer feeding her a dry/kibble food. The vet recommended a low-sodium food (have no idea what I should choose – nothing seems to be marketed specifically as low-sodum), and supplementation with CoQ10 and Vit E. My head is swimming with everything I’ve found in just a short amount of time researching. Are these the only supplements you’d recommend? I’ve also read quite a bit about glandular therapy for heart health and am wondering what everyone here thinks about that and what a good supplement for that would be.
I found this website when searching for glandulars. http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/natural-heart-cardiovascular-remedy-treatment-dogs-cats-pets.html wondering about the Heart Tonic product and the Daily Multi Complete (which has glandulars in it). Anyone have experience with this supplier or these products?
I’m also wondering (and these might be ultra-basic knowledge to most, but I can’t find anything that will tell me): If I do a Fish Oil like this one http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/nordic-naturals-fish-oil-supplement-for-pets.html do I also still supplement with Vit E and CoQ10?
I hate researching this stuff because there always seems to be such conflicting information out there. Any help anyone could give me would be SO appreciated! TIA!
Wendy
mom to Willow
2 months, 1 week ago
