[arwyru24]

I bought a bag of the exact same formula Authority dry for cats kibble awhile ago on a great sale and just started feeding it a week ago or so. So far so good. It’s not as high quality as what I usually like to feed but I will use this bag up then switch. They also get lots of high quality canned food which is important.

[WALTER M C]

Try giving ,libbys 100% pure pumpkin pura,1or 2 table spoons a day in their food.

That will stop the problem of runs,I don’t give my four dogs vit or probiotic,I just feed
them, back to basic dry food,and healthy treats,thank God no problems,and they are all happy campers.

walt123.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by WALTER M C.

[arwyru24]

So I have been pretty broke, and I was almost entirely out of dry cat food when I realized that I still had some bags stashed that I have been meaning to get over to the local feral TNR group, including three 4lb bags of Authority that I picked up for 99cents each. So I decided to just open up one of those babies and feed that to get me until I get paid at the end of the week, since it at least has no corn, and no by-products.

http://www.petsmart.com/cat/dry-food/authority-senstive-solutions-adult-cat-food-zid36-23724/cat-36-catid-200028?var_id=36-23724&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted

So I went back to look at the nutritional info online today, and saw that the calories are actually not bad at all at 379/cup, so now I am thinking that I might just use this bag up, (which will take me a couple months) instead. Its not too bad right? They get canned food too, I feed them together, they get about 2 5.5oz cans and just under 1/2 cup of dry food per day split into meals. One cat eats almost all wet food, and only a little dry (I think sometimes none at all) , and the other cries and cries for his crunchies and I think he eats all of the dry food, but he also eats wet.

[Laurie H]

Hi everyone! I am so glad I found this forum 🙂 I have a Chinese Shar Pei who just turned 1 yr old (yesterday) and she has had recurring yeast infection problems (in ears, mainly and now in the folds of skin near her mouth and between toes) every 2 months since she was 4 months old. My vet gave her some kind of medicine that went in her ears for 2 weeks, and it cleared it up at first, then gave her Chlorpheniramine 4 mg pills to take -I pill 2x daily. She then increased it to 2 pills, 2x daily. Angel has been on Hill’s Science Diet (canned and dry) which I now see could be at least a big factor in this 🙁 We thought it was a good quality food 🙁 Anyway, my vet still thinks it’s just seasonal allergies, not food related. Can anyone tell me appx guess how long it would take (after switching brands) before there might be an improvement? Any and all comments, suggestions, about fighting yeast infections very much appreciated!

[crazy4cats]

Hi-
I don’t have a new food for the budget friendly list, just a new format. I’ve suggested before and I’m going to give it one more shot. LOL! It would be nice if the list would contain two different columns. One with the wet food and one with dry. It would make it easier when printing and taking to store with you. Thank you!

[Hanna J]

Have you tried ZiwiPeak? It’s very expensive, but they ONLY use meat sources in their food, and one of their foods is Venison flavor.

Here are the ingredients:

Venison Meat, Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney, Chicory Inulin, Green-lipped Mussel, Fish Oil, Lecithin, Kelp, Vitamins and Minerals, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Copper proteinate

ZiwiPeak Daily-Dog Cuisine Venison Real Meat Dry Dog Food

[Lisa M]

Does anyone have recommendations for a toy poodle who can only have venison as the sole protein in his food (no chicken meal, eggs, or proteins from other animal sources) due to allergies? We’ve been through Natural Balance (didn’t help with allergies and he didn’t like the taste of any of it), Wellness (VERY fishy and made his allergies acutely worsen), Evangers (which was discontinued). Right now we use Evo 95% wet food, which has had recalls, and California Natural dry venison (which has had recalls, and seems to be being possibly discontinued? or at least it is very hard to find). I have a source for venison ground hamburger meat with ground bone, but I also have been unable to find vitamin supplements to add to it. I’d ground up some of the dry CA Natural and called it “sprinkles”, and he would eat it that way sometimes. He’s seen 2 vets, consulted with a vet internist, and has seen a veterinary dermatologist, so yes, it is documented that it is both food allergies and skin allergies. He did not go for any of the freeze dried stuff. Thanks so much.

[Jerry S]

I have a Siberian husky and an Alaskan malamute on Earthborn Holistic bison dog food for the last 2 years. Both dogs coats became fuller within a few months of trying this food and the malamute’s coat became much softer and still is to this day.
Over the last 4 months, however, my husky (6 1/2) has begun to slowly develop bare spots on his hind legs and to a lesser degree on his sides. My vet noticed some matting near those areas and his skin was fairly dry and flaking but saw no other red flags. His blood work showed no issues. I brushed out the matted fur over the next couple weeks and bathed him with an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal shampoo as a precaution a week ago. His skin feels softer and doesn’t appear to be flaking anymore, but his coat is still dry in those areas. His coat has also lost some of its color over the last few months and has become dull on his rear legs. He has not been scratching at all.
I was told by a dog food rep in Petsmart last week that dogs tend to build allergies to the same pet food over a period of about 2 years and suggested trying a different formula in the same brand. Is there some credibility in this?

[Dori]

Kristin C. As others have posted, the food is air dryer which would be a dehydrated food. It’s different than any dehydrated food. When rehydrated, as others have said, it looks and smells like ground meat. Also as cindy q. said, you do need to add water, but I also don’t add as much as they say. This is basically a personal decision as to how much water to add. Depends on how your dog likes his food. Some like real mush and don’t want to have to chew anything at all, lol, and others like a more substantial chunky food. As I’ve mentioned before I food rotational so the GA and analysis don’t really make a difference to me and my dogs. I rotate with every meal.

Cindy q. The trick with THK is to either not add as much water as stated on the box (I never do) or make up a batch that will last two or three days and put in the fridge. At meal time scoop out as much as you need for the meal. If your dog doesn’t like cold food then just leave it out on the counter until room temperature. I do it both ways but overnight works best. Also Cindy q. before spending money on actual size bags or boxes of the foods you’re trying out ask for samples at your local small pet stores, they always have samples or email or call manufacturer of food. They’ll pretty much always send you out samples for either a very nominal fee or others just have you pay for the shipping which is also a small fee. You’re going to go through way to much money buying the actual boxes or bags of the food. Also, if you rotate your foods you should try to buy the smallest size so that the individual foods won’t go bad. I realize the small bags/boxes will cost you a little more but you’ll be sure to be able to rotate and not have the bottom of bags or boxes go bad before you get to the end. That’s important with rotating foods that are not frozen and kept in freezer. Also BDN is less expensive than Sojo’s. I don’t particularly care for Sojo’s so I don’t feed it. The only foods I presently feed other than commercial raw foods are THK, BDN and in a pinch if I won’t be home or dogs left with someone else who refuses to feed raw (jeesh) I use Nature’s Logic dry. Excellent as kibbles go. They also have a good canned food but the canned foods all contain something or other that my allergy/intolerant maltipoo, Katie, cannot tolerate. It’s the only kibble they do well on and that I don’t feel awful feeding them.

[Punky T]

Hi! I have a 19 month old French Bulldog (Gigi). She developed small, crusty bumps under her fur (on back and upper legs). She was not scratching them. The vet said it’s staph infection and gave her 2-weeks on antibiotic. They cleared up about 95%, but within a week off the antibiotic they were back. So vet put her on another 2 weeks; they’ve started to clear again, and he will reevaluate this week. In the meantime I ordered Dinovite. Gigi is a small Frenchie, 16.3 pounds, so I have been giving her 1 tablespoon (or 1/2 scoop) with both meals, am/pm. She eats Orijens “6 Fish” dry food and loves it. Occasionally she has an itchy butt and licks her paws, and has some eye goo, too. I’m hoping that the Dinovite will help. I also got the Omega oils, but am finishing up the brand I already have for her first.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Also… do you store Dinovite in the fridge?

Thank you so much!

[Stephen R]

When I search 5 Star dry dog food, ◾4Health Performance Formula Adult is not listed. When I go to 4Health Dog Food (Dry) review page, with an overall rating of 4 stars, 4Health Performance Formula Adult has 5 stars. Is this a typo on the review page?

[Dori]

Hi Liz S. NV Instinct raw is one of the foods I use in rotation feeding with my three toy dogs. I also use Answers Detailed, Vital Essentials Raw, Stella & Chewys Raw,
Primal Raw Formulas, OC Raw. In rotation feeding I also use The Honest Kitchen which is a dehydrated food and BDN which is another dehydrated food. The only kibble I have fed recently is Natures Logic Sardine Formula. The food is teeny tiny and they love it and have had no issues. The reason for the kibble after almost three years on raw is that if I have to leave them with someone or travel with them it would be more convenient than traveling lots of raw food which means a number of coolers with ice packs and I’m not Sure I feel completely safe with the food that way. I’ve also tried some freeze dried from a couple of the raw food companies. It’s an expensive process to freeze dry apparently so that’s the reason for freeze dried being so costly.

[Naturella]

Hey, T. I second Sue on not giving leftovers. When you first said “human food”, I thought you meant things like raw/cooked lean meats and veggies (no seasonings or only such that are dog-friendly, like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, a little bit of garlic). Yoghurt is ok, but only if it is plain – not the sweet-ish, fruity-ish stuff a lot of us eat. Noodles are sometimes okay if that’s all they are – one noodle (he really doesn’t NEED it though), and not covered in pasta sauce and seasonings. Cheetos are not very good for humans or pets (they contain formaldehyde and burn like they’re made of pure petrol if you set them on fire).
Bottom line – anything on your plate for dinner is PROBABLY not good for your doggie, especially cooked bones of any kind, because they could splinter and cause all kinds of internal disasters if he/she doesn’t choke on them first.

Good news though! What you CAN give to your dog are raw or lightly cooked lean meats (no bone) and veggies/fruits, eggs (probably just 1 egg/week for a teeny dog like a yorkie), canned sardines in water with no salt added (their spinal bone is okay to give), plain yoghurt/kefir, and safe seasonings like the ones mentioned above (a pinch of cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garlic are totally fine). Also coconut oil and canned pumpkin (the plain one, not the pie-filling cans) – the latter can help your dog’s tummy when introducing new foods. You can add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin with every meal at which new food is present, and watch the stool. If it is still bad, back off the new food, and give just pumpkin or just his BB kibble until the stool is normal. Sometimes probiotics and digestive enzymes may help strengthen his/her gut too.

It is really good to supplement a dry kibble with canned or otherwise wetter food, or any of the fresh foods mentioned above. So maybe try that for your pup, and good luck!

[rita h]

I would like suggestions for dry dog food that helps produce firmer stools.

[crazy4cats]

Thank you! I copied and pasted it to an email I sent myself. Aren’t you proud of me? Hee hee! You are going to make us all techies yet!

However, I just realized it is only for dry food. Darn!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by crazy4cats.

[Dori]

I think you should put your dog on a dehydrated food like The Honest Kitchen. Their ingredients are all high quality and manufactured in the USA in a human food plant. The only other company that can say that is Weruva. I agree that canned would be the more expensive way to go, but as Marie alluded to, you are spending quite a bit of money at the vet I would imagine. Whichever way you go, I would definitely get your dog off dry kibble. Try dehydrated and give it a chance. Good luck and please post back and let us know how things are going.

[Cecile C]

Koda likes acana, this is the only food he will eat. Fit and Light. I think I am feeding him too much of it, as he still isn’t losing weight. He is sooo fat, I need your help fast. Thanks ahead of time for your assistance 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I can’t help with the leakage but I wanted to comment on the crystals. A previous dog had recurrent crystals. My vet said special food wasn’t necessary. It’s very important to get enough fluid into your dog. Dry food is the worst; wet food is best: raw, dehydrated, canned. If you must feed dry, please add canned & water to it. Aldo make sure he has ample opportunity to urinate. My vet also told me to give my dog one vitamin C tablet but don’t do that without talking to your vet.

[Heather S]

4 year old lab mix 70 lbs. in April 2013, she had a bladder/urinary track infection. Found out she had struvites. She had been eating EARTHBORN Whitefish. Some time later, leaking began. After talking to makers of EARTHBORN, we switched to adult vantage. Also began supplementing with Solid Gold cranberry powder. Struvites and leaking continued. In June 2014, had urine tested and everything came back normal, even the pH. Except she still had struvites and was still leaking. Finally gave in to putting her on Royal Canin OS. Vet has been insisting for a year that she has to be on it, and for the rest of her life! Called 2 other vets that said it was the only option for struvites. No one would address the urine leakage as long as she had the crystals. After 2 months, crystals were gone, but but still leaking. Tried INCURIN for 3 weeks, still leaking. Switched to PROPAC GRAIN FREE, and started PROIN ON 7/22/14, and also started the Solid Gold again. On 9/13, she leaked. Did a urine test at the vet and pH was 7. Vet says only option is the ROYAL CANIN, bc pH is going up. I checked pH at home today and it said 8. She leaked even when struvites were gone, but we keep being told leaking is bc of crystals and pH going up. I can’t afford, and don’t want our dog to be on the ROYAL CANIN for life! Isn’t there any affordable, dry dog food, that will lower pH? And prevent crystals? PLEASE, PLEASE, HELP! I don’t understand why this is so hard to treat and don’t believe the only option is ROYAL CANIN.

[Bobby dog]

Hi melissaandcrew:
Ray T started a thread asking for advice on Miniature Schnauzers; I remember reading you have owned several (and maybe still have one or two?) and I hope you see this.

/forums/topic/low-fat-dry-food-for-a-minature-schnauzer/#post-53029

[Bobby dog]

Hi katj813:
Look into C4c’s suggestion about Freshpet. Freshpet is a refrigerated food that is not canned, not raw, would mix easily with a dry food, and it is a kibble shape that pours easily from the bag. It is also easy to find at pet stores, grocery stores, and Wal-Mart.

[Kellye P]

USA — I am looking at the fructosamine test from March and it says the reference range is 260-358. I remember my vet saying that he was in the range that might require us to lower his insulin but she didn’t want to do that because he was doing so well. The specialist always tells me to not treat the numbers but to treat the dog. Per the explanation on the results, 260 is just above the range that might mean prolonged hypoglycemia. I am home all day so I observe his behavior. He does not drink a lot or act like he’s unhappy. He is quite content. The specialist says a happy dog is the goal so to stop worrying. (easy to say!!!) Neither vet was the least bit concerned about the 250 glucose reading when he was off insulin. They expected him to be much higher. My vet talked to the Vetsulin people and many other specialists. She calls anybody and everybody to get consultations on this little dog. He goes for his thyroid and fructosamine test in a couple weeks so I will have new numbers and will post them here. As for the thyroid, since he has been on the thyroxine, he has tested normal every time. I really hoped that was the problem but the full panel done last year showed everything was normal. In fact, the most frustrating part of this whole story is that we can’t get my dog to test positive for anything that will give us a new idea for how to treat him. He is the most abnormal “normal” dog in the world.

sue62b – I paid big bucks to two different companies that specialize in vet formulated recipes for dogs. When I saw the final results, I was a bit skeptical. The amount of food they advised was less than what I feed now and it was so amazingly healthy. Yes, that’s a good thing, but maybe not for a skinny dog??? For example, lean chicken breast – broiled, with a tiny bit of chickpeas and a dash of corn oil. It came to about .25 cup. (with a vitamin supplement added but no calories in the supplement) I don’t like corn oil due to GMOs but that’s another story.
Another recipe had lots and lots of broccoli. Does anybody have a very picky dog who would willingly eat broccoli?? And, of course, I researched every single ingredient they told me to feed him and I had a few issues with broccoli. They told me I wasn’t feeding enough to cause harm but why would I feed anything that might be dangerous? There was a study done that showed broccoli could cause problems in dogs but they told me it was not a proven fact and many dogs eat it and there are no problems at all. That’s not good enough for me. 🙂
I did try the Wellness Duck and Oatmeal. Duck is a preferred protein per my Traditional Chinese Medicine vet. Duck is “cool” so it counters the “hot” diabetes. Turkey is also “cool”. Lamb is “warm” but I may try that one too. My boy was not super crazy about the Duck and Oatmeal. It would be great if he’d eat it because there is a store that sells it right by my favorite grocery store. I am keeping Chewy.com in business with my many orders of almost every food they sell! I had good luck with ZiwiPeak canned food but only one type was considered tasty by my boy and that one became unavailable in January. It cost $5 per can, by the way. 🙂
I do use didgestive enzymes, plus coconut oil because my TCM vet said it adds calories and is another “cool” food.
He has always preferred dry kibble and right now he likes the Nulo food but he used to like Fromm and he was heavier at that time so I just ordered more Fromm. (they have a duck recipe)
Thank you for the info on K9Kitchen. I will check it out!!
Good luck with Patch. If you have access to vets who went to the Chi Institute, they have all sorts of herbal supplements that might help you. I used Liver Happy back when my boy had slightly elevated levels. His next test showed a reading of 45, as I recall, which was fantastic. Even the Chi TCM vet was amazed. Unfortunately the Chi blends for diabetes contain cinnamon and my boy will throw up cinnamon every single time. That is really a shame because that herbal remedy gets rave reviews from other parents of diabetic dogs.

Thank you both!!!!

[Akari_32]

It’s also on sale. With the coupon it’s only be $3 a bag!

http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=food-health%2Fdry-food%2Fsimply-nourish-trade-source-adult-cat-good-zid36-2556%2Fcat-36-catid-200028%3Fvar_id%3D36-2556

[Andrew M]

Hello Hound Dog Mom ~
Our now 6 month old German GSD weighs in at 51 ponds plus! We have been feeding him Wellness Core Puppy Dry… He devours his twice daily feeding of approximately 2 cups per feeding. My questions… You suggest mixing wet food. What is your opinion about staying with the same family of food, Wellness, and adding the wet, as a topper, either on a regular daily basis at each feeding or periodically on different days at different feedings? Thanks in advance for your comments and response… Others are also encouraged to comment if you would like to contribute.

[Akari_32]

Nails are done! Whoo! I tried to do them myself, but my clippers are just too small. I did trim them, at least.

But today at the vet, we had some down time, so I walked home and grabbed Ginger, and walked back over. Managed to muzzle her in one try, and got her flipped on her side to hold her down very easily.

I feel like if we had rushed into this sooner, she would have been so stressed and scared. But she didn’t even growl or try to bite. I held her down while the tech I’m shadowing did the cutting. When I get some bigger clippers, I’ll try it at home again, when it’s time to do it, of course. I’ll have someone hold her while I cut. Hopefully, though, daily walks will keep them down at this point.

Speaking of walks, when we were walking home, I started up the driveway, and she was still walking down the sidewalk LOL She really loves to walk. We walked about a half mile yesterday, and we got home and she was just so happy. I’ve never seen her eyes so bright, despite the fact she was so so tired out her tounge was almost touching the floor, even with her head held up LOL I always say I hate Flexi leashes, but I do walk her and Haley on one. She has such little legs that she lags behind if she’s not running (you know she’s excited when she’s running LOL), and I don’t want her to tangle in the leash. She also stops abruptly for potty breaks, and I don’t want to jerk her (and hurt her) on accident. And then Haley just needs a quiet verbal command, or even a just hearing the lock start to click on the leash to know what I want her to do. And neither of them approach random people we pass, either. But you’ll never catch me walking a dog like Bentley on a Flexi leash! He’s stupid enough to run out into the road or run up to dogs that clearly want to eat him. The only Flexi leash I would consider for him is the Flexi City, which is a 6ft retractable, and is absolutely genius. But I ain’t paying $20+ for a leash, so that’ll never happen unless I find one at goodwill (where I got my other two full size ones lol). He gets tangled in his leash all the time because he can’t just walk in a straight line like a normal dog. I hate walking him sometimes, but someone’s gotta do it… Lol

Anyway… Lol Ginger is doing good, and eating well. I started her on a 1/2 teaspoon of keifer every day, and her poops look much better than they have been. Not all runny and smelly like they’ve been the last week. I think I’ll just keep her on it every day. I’ve been giving it to Bentley as well, the same amount, to mix the SSLL mix into, along with some canned food and coconut oil or fish oil. I also need to up her food, I think. I’ve been giving her 1/3 cup with a couple tablespoons of canned Wellness Senior (my free cans! LOL), but I think I’ll start giving her a little more of the dry, especially since she loves walks so much. Gotta keep some meat on her bones.

That’s all I’ve got for now, I think. She’s passed out on the couch, sleeping off her nail trim lol

[Akari_32]

The only thing I don’t like about the cat Authority is that all the formulas appear to have fish in them. Fish over a period of time can cause thyroid issues. I used to use the Authority Flaked Turkey, but they just changed the recipe to have have less protein, and more carbs, which I avoid for my cat because he is prone to UTIs. For normal cats, that drink water (mine doesn’t), the little extra carbs they added shouldn’t matter. The Flaked Turkey is the only canned recipe that does not have fish, and I’m fairly sure all the dry ones have fish. Wouldn’t be bad for a rotation, but it’s not something I’d personally use all the time.

I also like the looks of the Simply Nourish dry, and used it some when I didn’t know about my cats UTI problems. They also have fish, but much lower down. Just check the ingredients, and decide for your self. That far doesn’t shouldn’t cause any problems, but if you’re like me, I’d rather not use it on a regular basis. I’ll admit to being a crazy person LOL

Also, here’s a coupon 🙂 save the link, as it’s good forever 😉 The expiration date changes every day. It’s good for Authority and Simply Nourish dry foods, as well as other brands, and is for cat and dog food.

http://pages.email-petsmart.com/coupons2014?g=6e33a451-2f8c-401b-b420-888b86bf1199&ab=foodcenter_coupon_dog

[Susan D]

I have a 5 yr old black lab (Jake). In the last year or so he has been constantly licking and chewing his feet. We tried allergy shots (depomedrol) and it didn’t help at all. He is eating a chicken based dry dog food that has not wheat or corn. We add canned food and also cook chicken thighs and add that meat. We also have 3 other dogs, 2 german shepherds and a mixed breed. The others do not have this problem. I bought a natural formula supplement for dogs and he has been on it for about 3 weeks but I don’t see any results yet.

Any suggestions? My husband and I are retired so cost of food is an issue (of sorts).

[Ray T]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I have a one year old miniature Schnauzer. I am aware of their tendency to get hyperlipidemia, pancreatitis and such. Could anyone suggest a dry kibble that is low in fat and would be a good life long food providing it is tolerated. She has been on Blue since puppyhood but have been advised that it may be a little to rich for her.
The prescription brands have a low rating, but are used by Veterinarians, so what should I do?

[Kellye P]

My little poodle has been diabetic for 4 years. His glucose levels are good. I have had every imaginable test run on him to find out why he can’t gain weight. Everything checks out perfectly except one time his electrolytes were off. I now put an electrolyte powder in his water. He was 10 lbs when diagnosed and is now 6 pounds. Every bone in his body sticks out. I take him to a Traditional Chinese Medicine vet, an acupunture specialist, and his regular vet. He is on Vetsulin and thyroid. I give him Caniotic probiotics, coconut oil and digestive enzymes. I have gone raw, dehydrated, bought recipes at Balance It, bought recipes from a California company that makes food based on their vet’s advice, tried Sojo’s and other “add meat” foods, dry food, canned food, etc. I have tried everything. High fat foods make him throw up. It is breaking my heart that we are heading back into winter and he’s skin and bones. Yes, he stays inside and wears shirts or sweaters all year, but he is way too skinny.

[crazy4cats]

Yes, Authority canned cat food is one of the foods I feed my cats regularly. They don’t eat the flaked very well, though, just the pate style. I think it is a great value. I’ve not fed the dry kibble.

[Mom2Cavs]

I’m sure others will post, but you most likely won’t see Blue Buffalo listed on the editor’s choice selections. Even though, ingredient wise they rate high on the list they have a few problems. They use lots of co packers, have been reported to allegedly make some animals sick. These are just a few of the reasons I’m aware of. Imho, I’d choose Wellness Small Breed over Blue Buffalo hands down. I feed it in my rotation. They manufacture they’re own food now, or outsource very little of their dry. They claim to use non-GMO ingredients. They don’t contain the lifesource bits…..even though years ago when I fed it for a short time my dogs ate them, I like the fact that Wellness doesn’t have them. Wellness also sends out coupons every month and I like their newsletter. Each of us must do what we think is best for our pets and I just am not comfortable with Blue Buffalo anymore.

[Liz S]

Usually I shop at Petco but last week went to PetSmart and they had this brand.

Anyone else ever try this brand whether for cats or dogs? Thoughts? If you didn’t have a good experience what ended up being the brand/type you finally went with?

I recently switched my 2 cats to Authority Dry Turkey Sensitive digestive.
So far I LOVE IT!!! My Simba hasn’t thrown up since the day after we switched to it. Yes, we mixed their old food into this and switched them in 2 days. I am so relieved to finally find a dry food that is easy on his stomach. His little sister Sassy loves it too.

[DogFoodie]

If you right click and choose save image, then open the file, you can print the coupons.

Here’s a coupon for $8.00 of Back to Basics Grain Free dry dog food. The coupon is only good at Pet Supplies Plus:

http://www.petsuppliesplus.com/coupon.jsp?pageName=20140924_Back2Basics_Save8

[Bobby dog]

Hi James D:
I don’t know if anyone has such a list, but in the mean time you can use the link below to access lists to foods that are rated as just 5 stars, just 4 stars, and so on:

/dog-food-reviews/dry/

[Lisa C]

Hello all! It has been a while since I wrote and I’ve been meaning to for a while, but kept getting sidetracked. So here I am at 2:40am, haha.

Our Chewy has been 1000000% fantastic over the last month. Our 2nd opinion vet saved the day. He has been on the omeprazole for over a month now and he hasn’t puked at all. He can eat any foods now that he couldn’t before. Wet, dry, treats of different nature. It’s a miracle. The only thing I worry is, does he have to take this tiny pill for the rest of his life? For the meantime, it’s a nice relief for all of us. We plan on talking to that vet soon to ask her about the Omeprazole. Chewy is a million times better in so many different aspects, attitude wise especially. he’s never depressed and sitting alone ALL day in his bed. he plays constantly, he’s always happy and smiling. It’s like we got our puppy back. We hadn’t seen that in SO long. it warms my heart SO MUCH! and he will be ONE next month!

Needless to say we gave up on buying Z/D as he can eat anything now and not vomit, and it’s super expensive. Currently he is back on Nutro since that’s what he has had since we first got him and he was a tiny baby.

Here’s some pics:

http://oi57.tinypic.com/5xon44.jpg
http://oi57.tinypic.com/20q1kpy.jpg

Thanks ALL <3

[Nancy M]

I have very recently acquired from my daughter, an 8 month old mini Aussie, who is currently about 20+ lbs. She has been on Diamond puppy formula, dry, since 8 weeks of age. Not being a Diamond fan, and not willing or able to go with the RAW, I am looking for suggestions as to a more healthy and favorable dog food for her. I have always used the premium brands with my previous dogs, hoping to offer much better nutrition than the run of the mill, grocery store brands, but there have become so many choices, I have no idea where to start to switch this girl over. Being an energy, performance type of breed, opposed to my more calm, laid back lifestyle, I do not wish to feed a formula that will create more energy. Truthfully, I’m not sure she will be happy with or acceptable, of a more sedentary life with me, but rather than allow her to be given off to a stranger, I am just trying to give it my best and see if it can work. I’m not sure this is going to do her justice, but time will tell.

In the meantime, I want something substantially better for her than Diamond. Suggestions, please. My first inclination would be TOTW, but depending on what her system may accept and thrive on, I could be on a trial and error rollercoaster. I thought all of this was behind me for a good while, until I lost my beloved Sheltie a couple weeks ago and now trying to give this pup a new home. Now it starts all over again. Whoopy!

Looking for input soon, so I can try to get started. Thanks much to all!

Nancy

[Ivan L]

@sue66b
I’m using Blue Buffalo to feed all of them. The Cocker have almost only wet canned food. The other two have dry food topped with wet food.
They like the Blue Buffalo, I just want to rotate the food and try other brands of high quality food.

[Ivan L]

Hi
I’m very new on this dog food subject.
I have three dogs and I’m lost of what is the best way to feed them.
I have a 10 years old cocker spaniel and 2 shih tzu that are 4 years old.

Should I use dry food or wet food?
Should I mix them?
What food do you recommend taking in consideration one is a senior dog all of them are small breeds?

Thank you for the advises

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Carlos –

Mixing wet food and dry food is definitely a good idea. Wet food is much healthier than dry (higher moisture content, higher protein levels, less processed) so if you’re going to feed dry it’s a great idea to at least incorporate some wet.

I’m not sure whether or not Simply Nourish is appropriate for large breed puppies as my inquiries to the company about their nutrient levels were never responded to. However, with that said, I wouldn’t consider a pit-husky mix to be a large breed so you’re probably okay.

[Carlos F]

Hello everyone, i’m really glad i found this forum. Thanks to all of you i have been educating myself a lot. I am a first time owner though and just wanted to ask a couple questions. I have a huskey/pitbull mix puppy and she will be 4 months at the end of the month. I am currently feeding her 1 cup Simply Nourished large breed puppy food with a spoonful of wet food from the same brand mixed together 3 times a day. Just wondering if i have done a good choice and if mixing wet and dry food is a good idea. Thank you all in advance and i really appreciate all of your help.

[Bobby dog]

No code, it’s just a promo they are running. On their homepage it reads “pet appreciation week,” and under that they have several pet food specials listed. 1st is the 4H deal, 2nd is $5 off certain foods, then $3 off certain foods. It does say today is the last day to save on pet products. I don’t know if it means the sale prices and the 4H shipping deal ends or just prices; I didn’t ask when the shipping deal ends.

I clicked on several of the 4H foods (dog & cat both canned and dry) and each one had the deal on each individual page. On the individual pages for each food (cat or dog) the deal is listed under the price, “Buy $49 of 4Health, Get Free Ground Shipping.”

I totally get not wanting to buy a bunch of food you haven’t bought before, I feel the same way. I just did a mock order to see how they credit free shipping to your order; it is automatically applied after your order exceeds $49. If you don’t reach $49 the shipping is around $20. Now the neat thing is you don’t have to order a case of something. I put in like 11 cans of chic canned cat food, 6 cans of turkey canned dog food, and a bag of dry dog food. Also, I don’t know if it is my lack of computer skills, their site never brings up all 4H selections (different bag sizes) unless I type “4Health” in the search box and then search for the products from the 4H page.

[Akari_32]

Haha, thanks guys! She’s a total cutie. You can see why I couldn’t leave her to be put down. Just look-it that face!

Yes, Dori, she has some major talons. Not sharp, though, surprisingly. Which is nice lol But they are so long that two of them got stuck overlapping and had her hobbling around the house until I noticed lol I’ve been walking her every day to try and wear them down. I don’t want to jump into trying to get her vetted and groomed before she’s really had a chance to settle in. Of course, vetting will be done by who over adopts her (be it us, or someone else) unless an emergency comes up. I would certainly love to see her stay, but its up to mom in the end. If it were up to me, she’d be staying, no question about it! She’s such a sweetie X3

Her poor teeth are terrible. They are beyond repair at this point, and she’s so old, I wouldn’t bother even if they could be fixed. Not sure if I said this already or not, but I looked at her vet records when we had nothing else to do, and she has no shot records or anything! Only thing she has is a nail trim in 2012, something else in 2013, and then about 12 visits since the 5th of September this year, starting with a bladder infection and ending with being aggressive and me taking her on the 16th. The lady that left her says she’s 16, and the records say she’s 14. I thought I heard she was 12. So, no one knows exactly how old she is, but she’s old. The vet said he didn’t even want to give her shots she is sold old. But I will continue to feed her canned and dry mix, to keep the cost of the canned down. I’ll give her whatever the big dogs are on for dry, and whatever I get for a good price for canned. Keep it interesting lol I did try the ol’ warm water in the dry food trick, and she wouldn’t eat it.

Jakes mom, my room mate didn’t say anything about being aggressive when she came out of her daze. If she was, I would have heard about it. The only time she gets grumpy is when Bentley is too excited and gets in her face and when you try to pick her up. So it does seem like more of a pain anticipation reaction. But I did consider a mild seizure, since she hasn’t done that before for me (or anything else that would show to me that she has dementia), and we just had a dog come in doing a very similar thing (would block everything around him, and look very uncomfortable, act like he was about to throw up, and then come right back out of it like nothing ever happened). So I’m still kind of torn about the whole dementia thing. As she settles in, I’ll be able to tell better, I suppose.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! Popping in with an update!

I was talking to mom Wednesday about Ginger (just about her in general), and she was like “well send me a picture!” (she works out of town mon-thurs). So I hang up with her, send her a pic, and she texts back “awww she’s cute!” and then sends another one that says “but we aren’t keeping her”.

Fast forward to Thursday night when she gets home, and we were all standing around and talking, and moms like “well I don’t like her name.” Of course, everyone is thinking why does her name matter if we aren’t keeping her??

Then today, I call her while my friend and I are driving to Universal, and she’s got Ginger up on her bed (she used to doggy steps to get up there), sleeping in her pillow! At the same time, my friend was texting a few of her friends that may be able to take her or know someone who may be able to, and I was telling mom about it, and she was like “well I don’t knoooow.”

So in less than 12 hours of being around that dog, she’s got mom wrapped around her little paw, and totally trained. So we may very well have ourselves a fourth dog. And it sounds like she’s moms dog LOL I suppose we’re going to have to talk about this more when I get home. Its not like she eats very much, anyways.

And speaking of eating, I got a can of Bentley’s back up Pure Balance Stew Puppy out, and mixed a couple teaspoons of the broth in and some of the meat, and she didn’t waste any time eating it! Had mom feed her the same way today, and she apparently ate very well today as well. I also noticed she can’t get down the doggy stairs, so I wonder how good her sight is, and if she is relying more on her sense of smell, which is why she wasn’t eating the dry food. She does have cataracts, and doesn’t like to be out in the yard at night, and if the lights are out, she will not go down the stairs.

Oh, and the other day, when I was at work and my room mate was home with Ginger, she said Ginger was staring out, and took her a few minutes to get her attention and bring her “back.” So maybe she does have dementia… But even still, she’s pretty much a normal dog for her age.

[Naturella]

Hey, all!

Please allow me to preface this by saying that this comment is NOT directed to anyone in particular.

I just do not understand why this bugs me so much, but it does… Here it is: I do not seem to grasp why people recommend stuff like “Blue Buffalo Wilderness” or “SomeBrand Grain Free”, when those foods are not BRANDS. They are brand LINES. Blue Buffalo is a brand with grain-free and grain-inclusive dry and wet foods. You can’t just pick your favorite formula and boom, want it to be an Editor’s Choice BRAND. It is usually a part of a BRAND with multiple formulas and even the line you recommend rated well, that doesn’t mean all products did or that the BRAND is worth of being included as an Editor’s Choice brand.

Sorry, just had to get this off my chest, still not directed to anyone personally.

[Liz S]

My 2 year old chihuahua is a picky eater when it comes to dry and canned.
Since she is not very active I think I need something with not too much protein? I’d like to do a dry that she can pick at throughout the day as well as a bit of canned in the evening.

Any other chihuahua parents have any suggestions? Or what do you feed yours?

[Bobby dog]

Akari posted a list of Wellness food carb values on a dry matter and as fed basis for anyone interested:

/forums/topic/carb-values-of-wellness-kibble/

[Cheryl C]

My 13 year old dog does not have symptoms of pancreatic insulinoma but blood tests show a wide variation in glucose. One vet suggests a diabetic diet, another a diet of complex carbohydrates. Is there a healthy dry/canned dog food with protein, complex carbs, low fat that I can use as a base and add real food that are complex carbs?

[Akari_32]

I emailed Wellness the other day looking for a low carb kibble to use as treats for Bentley, and they, awesomely, sent me the as fed and dry matter carb values of their entire dog line! Decided I’d post it here, and possibly help someone out in the future 🙂

Wellness® Dry Dog Foods: Carbohydrates

Wellness® Dry Dog
Complete Health Deboned Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe:
As Fed: 49.58%
Dry Matter: 53.89%

Complete Health Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe:
As Fed: 45.89%
Dry Matter: 49.84%

Complete Health Lamb & Barley Recipe:
As Fed: 48.15%
Dry Matter: 52.34%

Complete Health Healthy Weight Deboned Chicken & Peas Recipe:
As Fed: 53.11%
Dry Matter: 57.73%

Complete Health Senior Deboned Chicken & Barley Recipe:
As Fed: 52.42%
Dry Matter: 56.98%

Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal Recipe:
As Fed: 36.72%
Dry Matter: 39.91%

Large Breed Complete Health Adult Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe:
As Fed: 44.58%
Dry Matter: 48.46%

Large Breed Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Brown Rice & Salmon Meal Recipe:
As Fed: 43.56%
Dry Matter: 47.35%

Small Breed Complete Health Adult Turkey & Oatmeal Recipe:
As Fed: 37.67%
Dry Matter: 40.94%

Small Breed Complete Health Adult Whitefish, Salmon Meal, & Peas Recipe:
As Fed: 35.43%
Dry Matter: 38.51%

Small Breed Complete Health Puppy Turkey, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal Recipe:
As Fed: 36.36%
Dry Matter: 39.52%

Small Breed Complete Health Senior:
As Fed: 44.16%
Dry Matter: 48.00%

Small Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight Turkey & Brown Rice Recipe:
As Fed: 43.38%
Dry Matter: 47.16%

Toy Breed Complete Health Adult Deboned Chicken, Brown Rice & Peas Recipe:
As Fed: 32.48%
Dry Matter: 35.30%

Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight Deboned Chicken & Barley Recipe:
As Fed: 41.71%
Dry Matter: 45.34%

Toy Breed Complete Health Senior Deboned Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe:
As Fed: 42.43%
Dry Matter: 46.12%

Wellness® CORE® Dry Dog
CORE® Grain-Free Original:
As Fed: 29.47%
Dry Matter: 32.03%

CORE® Grain-Free Ocean:
As Fed: 28.52%
Dry Matter: 31.00%

CORE® Grain-Free Reduced Fat:
As Fed: 34.19%
Dry Matter: 37.16%

CORE® Grain-Free Puppy:
As Fed: 23.58%
Dry Matter: 25.63%

CORE® Grain-Free Small Breed:
As Fed: 23.79%
Dry Matter: 25.86%

CORE® Grain-Free Large Breed:
As Fed: 31.29%
Dry Matter: 34.01%

CORE® Grain-Free Wild Game:
As Fed: 28.18%
Dry Matter: 30.63%

Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Dry Dog Recipes:
Simple Grain-Free Salmon & Potato Formula:
As Fed: 43.20%
Dry Matter: 46.96%

Simple Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Formula:
As Fed: 41.99%
Dry Matter: 45.64%

Simple Lamb & Oatmeal Formula:
As Fed: 48.11%
Dry Matter: 52.59%

Simple Duck & Oatmeal Formula:
As Fed: 49.26%
Dry Matter: 53.54%

Simple Grain -Free Small Breed Salmon & Potato Formula:
As Fed: 35.13%
Dry Matter: 38.18%

Simple Grain – Free Healthy Weight Salmon & Peas Formula:
As Fed: 42.76%
Dry Matter: 46.48%

[crazy4cats]

Here is the link for the large breed puppy appropriate dry dog foods: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit
I don’t think it has a yellow stickie. But it SHOULD! 🙂 Good luck!

[InkedMarie]

Barb: are you giving your dog wet food and/or adding wet and water to his dry?