[Melissaandcrew]

Hi Erin- I just googled the dry food you feed, and on line it says it is only 12% fat..which is very low and should be fine. When giving beef or chicken, if not feeding raw. be sure to BOIL it, then drain well./.use 95% lean beef. My crew has less problems with beef when it is fed raw, but that is them. Eggs should be hard boiled, and my schnauzers get 1/2 of large egg each. no more than 2 twice a week. Anything more, and stomach issues. I do give them low fat shredded cheese on occasion, but more often I give them a dash of low fat kefir, or low fat/fat free yogurt. If it were my dog, I would feed a bland diet for a week, and then start the dry back..slowly over a week. . No “additives/toppers” for a few weeks. I am betting the cheese just built up her triglycerides and it was a matter of time.

[Melissaandcrew]

While its generally recommended to keep the fat in the lower ranges(10-12 percent) each tolerance level is different for different dogs. Schanuzers, btw, are notorious for having pancreatitis problems. Do you know what caused it? Different food? Treat maybe? Pigs ear? Its hard to find a bland canned diet that does not contain rice-most of them do. If she can’t have it, then I guess boiled chicken is your option, perhaps with some sweet potato. My schnauzers typically stay in the 16 percent fat max for dry, and one used to only be able to tolerate about 14%.

[Oceans11]

I have posted under this topic before but haven’t found anything that works. My one year old Malagasy Coton De Tulear is a picky eater. I have tried Basic Instinct Raw, Fresh Pet, various 5 star canned foods including Tripett, Orijen dry puppy kibble., Fromm Gold kibble, Blue Wilderness. What he will eat on a consistent basis is rotisserie chicken which probably isn’t healthy. We have tried giving him raw ground round and raw steak. All he wants to do is bury it. I have supplements that I try to give him hidden in his food but one whiff and he walks away (supplements: Angel Eyes, Grizzly Salmon Oil, probiotic, and Vitamin supplement). I am concerned that he is not getting any of these supplements or more importantly a nutritious diet. Because he doesn’t eat much on a routine basis, we have all too often shared what we are eating. I don’t believe he is underweight. I would appreciate any suggestions and/or advice anyone could share. Thanks much!

[Ly]

No 🙁 It was like 3 days! I took him to the vet this morning. He said initially his digestion issue could be from the transition, but it’s because he was eating his poop! Of-course I don’t let him eat it! It’s just that it’s pure liquid, so it’s impossible to pick it all up. Then the next time we go out, he sniffs it out and gets a lick in before I’m fast enough to pull him back.
Plus for vacation we were at a friends house for a week (3 weeks ago) and they have 3 small dogs and a fenced in back yard. He literally went around and ate all their poop! Then later puked it up on their living room carpet! I went around and tried to pick it all up outside and kept him on a leash and walked him around after that. So maybe it was still in his system from then, and changing his food on top of that didn’t help!? The vet gave me an antibiotic and a probiotic and I switched his food to Holistic Select Adult/Puppy dry food and he absolutely loves it! It smells sooooo good too! So I think I’m sticking with that. I just want a firm normal poop now! Vet said to stop the chicken and rice and just give him that. They advertise it’s like yogurt for dogs. He’s the pickiest when it comes to food (didn’t care for but would eat BB, hated Wellness Core, loved Orijen), but he’ll eat any animals poop! “They” say he’ll outgrow it. idk? I tried those pills stool-no! Didn’t work.

[Ly]

Holistic Select Grain-Free Adult/Puppy dry food?

[Jan T]

I would like to nominate Nature’s Logic Dry Chicken Meal Mix…it’s rated 5 stars, is grain and gluten free and our 3 Pups LOVE it and are thriving! It can be purchased at a local dog food shop within 10 miles of home, which is great too.

[“Blue”]

I have bought both Darwin’s and Natures Variety Instinct Raw frozen foods and am having difficulty reconciling their recommended feeding amounts. (Disclosure, sometime in the past 2 months I replied to a similar dry kibble post and suggested the OP use the feeding guides on the package as a starting point but to watch the dog’s body shape using the healthy dog image silhouettes available for that purpose. In other words, if your dog looks fat, feed less, if he looks thin, feed more.)

According to the Dog Food Calculator my 55 lb. dog needs 1230 Calories. For now, forget about differences in one dog’s metabolism, daily exercise, etc. “1230 Cal.” This request to help me understand is about the math, not the individual dog.

NV says my dog needs 1250 Cal. per day (close enough) and that I should feed him 19.5 oz. per day. Their nutrition info says their chicken patties have 49 Cal. per oz. which means 955 Cal. to be fed. Why tell me he needs 1250 and then tell me to only feed 955? That’s a Cal. shortage of about 25%.

Darwins says to feed my dog 9 lbs. per week. Their nutrition info says the chicken recipe is 36 Cal. per oz. That gives 5184 Cal. per week, /7 is 740 Cal. per day. That’s a Cal. shortage of about 60%.

Guess what I’ve been seeing in my dog for the past few weeks. Yep, he’s lost weight.

Can anybody explain why these (or any) companies are so conservative in their recommendations? Am I doing the math wrong? (even if I am, he’s lost considerable weight.) Is there some bit of knowledge I’m missing about feeding raw as relates to weight gain/loss?

Please don’t tell me to follow my own previous advice. Evidently I’ll surely go broke trying to feed him commercial raw.

Thanks,
Steve

[Tiyapup]

I add some pre-mix + raw on top of my dogs’ kibble. I love the idea of giving them some less processed food, but I don’t yet trust the pre-mixes enough to feed them exclusively. I’ve rotated through Sojo’s, The Honest Kitchen, Grandma Lucy’s Artisan, and Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance.

My main complaint is that the meat to mix ratios seem suspiciously unscientific. Sojo’s says 1 cup dry mix to 1/2 cup meat (seems like not nearly enough meat; I do 1:1). THK says 1 cup dry mix to 1 cup meat, and Grandma Lucy’s says 1 cup dry mix to 1 OR 2 cups meat. The whole reason I started adding the premix to the meat was that I was a little worried about messing up the calcium. These instructions don’t necessarily make me feel more confident, so I keep the kibble around.

Dogaware.com has a very informative write-up about premixes for anyone who needs more information (premixes aren’t reviewed on this site).

[Akari_32]

As some of you guys may know, my moms dog Bentley, a 7 pound jack russell/maltese mix, has a terrible time with yeast infections on his skin, mainly his back half, and all four paws. I finally decided it wasn’t a food allergy, but a seasonal allergy (and every season in FL is allergy season) after trying nearly every dry food on the shelf here, and put him on By Nature 95% canned, which we have to order online every three weeks. And even then, he needs a whole can (he is extremely active and has a high metabolism), but we manage to get by with 3/4 of a can one day, and then 1/4 of a can the next with 1/4 cup (dry measured) of a THK grain free complete mix, and that keeps his weight up well enough. If I didn’t happen to have a couple sample boxes of THK, I don’t know what I’d do! Anyway, his fur is growing back, he’s overall much better, but I still feel like he needs a bit more of a better diet to push his recovery into the right direction.

I’m wanting to do a pre-mix, and have it narrowed down to Urban Wolf and See Spot Live Longer. But I have issues with both. My only issue with UW is the price! I coupon for my dog food, and there is definitely some major sticker shock going on there. I need to know how much food the whole bag would make, and about how long it would last him before I can really pick this one or not. Then theres SSLL. The price is great, as just $17 a 1lb bag. Each bag claims to make 26lb of food, but there are no feeding guidelines or preparation instructions on the website! And the owner of the site doesn’t seem to have all his ducks in a row, either, from what I hear. But the priiiiiice! Its so affordable sounding! I’d love to hear your all’s thoughts on these mixes, and I’d also like to know of any other low carb, and no/minimal sweet potato and carrot mixes out there (Grandma Lucy’s and Sojo’s are out– not high enough calories).

I was also wondering, at his size, how often, and how much, should I offer eggs and sardines? And what brand of sardines do you guys use?

As for proteins, pork and chicken are very high up on the contenders list. Ground pork is just $2.49 a pound, and most pieces of chicken are $1.99 a pound and less. What are your guy’s thoughts on pork as a decent chunk of the dogs diet? I hear such mixed things about pork in general for dogs, but he sure does love a good country rib! And about the chicken, I hear many people like to use dark meat chicken because of the fat content. This sounds great to me because its *cheap*, thighs in particular being just $1.49 a pound. Is this correct? He can certainly use any extra fat he can get (him and cat are running around the house like lunatics right now, even!).

I also want you guys to ok my “staple” meat choices:
Chicken Thighs
Chicken Gizzards
Chicken Livers
Chicken Necks
Chicken Backs
Chicken Wings
Turkey Livers
Turkey Gizzards
Turkey Necks
Turkey Backs
Turkey Wings
Beef Heart
Beef Liver
Country Ribs
Ground Pork

There are more, but I can’t think of them. And then I will also throw in whatever’s on a good sale at the time. Beef is expensive, so it’ll be mostly turkey, chicken, pork (given what ever you guys say about the pork) and beef parts. He doesn’t like fish, so thats not going to be anything I’ll force on him, other than the occasional sardine for his skin and coat. And I know liver shouldn’t be a very large part of the diet. They aren’t sold in very big packages, anyways lol (and some pre-mixes call for them?)

My last question for now, when I want to offer a protein with bone in it (RMB), could I feed him the pre-mix prepared with no meat (separated out during prep before meat is added), and then give him the RMB? Or could I just give the RMB as the meal and forget the pre-mix (but how often can I do that?)? Or I could remove all the meat from the bone, and give him just the bone as a munchy treat. Given his mushy diet, I would really like to make sure he gets enough to chew on. My plan is to make his meals for one to two weeks ahead on a weekend, and then freeze them all in a planned out sort of manner, and mark out his meals by day. That way I can make sure he gets the right amount of sardines and egg, and gets a good rotation of meat.

That’ll do for now, i think. I’m just in the planning stages, so I’m open to any suggestions, change in plans, tips, whatever. Thanks! 🙂

[Victoria W]

Could you possibly review PetSana dehydrated dry dog food?

[Nancy C]

A couple of thoughts: My 10 yr old Golden R will eat about anything but not in a gobbling it up sort of way. HOWEVER, I have just lately been adding TO the bowl some sample packs of The Honest Kitchen flavors (which they sent for free in a box) and I have mixed that tog with Fromm’s Four Star Salmon, Dr Tim’s Kinesis GF, and Acana Grasslands, and she has LICKED every food molecule out of THE BOWL every time! Each pack has about 100 calories, so I reduced the calories in the dry kibble to make room for the HK food. THK food is wet such that it will coat all the kibble in a nice way if you stir it. also, I have added Coconut Oil to the food, putting little dollops on top of the food. Both my dogs LOVE coconut oil and it is SO GOOD for them. (The substitute mailman just commented yesterday how beautiful the Golden’s coat is — that it is noticeably thicker and prettier. I told him I’ve been giving her coconut oil. He said it has made a difference.) Dr Becker recommends 1 tsp per day for every 10 to 20 pounds of weight. It’s like CANDY to them and I think makes contents in the bowl more interesting and tasty. I sometimes snip large fish oil capsules and drop the drops on the kibble. Also just bought some very high quality Norwegian Salmon Oil. The woman at the pet boutique said several pumps of this on top of kibble really upgrades the flavor.

[Deby G]

About 2 weeks ago I started to fed my 7lb poodle mix the family style with veggies, etc. I researched and even called the company and was told they import nothing from China and neither do their suppliers. Now there are posts on the internet that the company was sold to a china based company and there are horror stories about the dry food. I rescued Marley this past Feb. and she is about 5-6 years old. My vet practically insisted on Hills WD prescription food. However, Marley had patella/cruciate surgery recently and in discussing her food the Dr. was shocked about using WD RX long term when she has no gastro or other problems. So, I figured he was pushing it because I need to buy it from him and decided to try Blue. Marley loves it but now I am frightened. Anyone out there have any answers for me? I will really appreciate your input. Bunny

[Naturella]

Liz S, I also think adding canned will do much, much good! When I use canned, I prefer the pate-style ones, and I add a bit of water with the canned and kibble (I mix dry and canned usually), and make it mushy/porridge-like/soupy, and this way I try to counter the dryness of the kibble.

My dog is small too (Jack Russell-mini Rat Terrier mix (we think, as he was found in the bushes), 13.5 lbs), but I never really fed him a small-breed specific food except for his very first one when we adopted him. Foods I have tried that he did good on (and could eat the kibble with no problems) are: Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension, Dr. Tim’s (slightly bigger kibble, but oh well, he managed it just fine), Nutrisca, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free, Victor Grain Free (lots of samples), Nature’s Variety Instinct (samples), Now! Fresh (sample), NutriSource Grain Free (samples), Annamaet (samples), Wysong (samples), and I have a lot lined up – Back to Basics, Canidae Pure, Dogswell LiveFree, Wysong, NVI, more Victor Grain Free (which, in my case (heads up to LabsRawesome), told me I could PURCHASE the samples at $0.33/baggie, but wouldn’t send me free ones, AND I had to pay the shipping… But I stocked up at 5 samples/food, lol).

All the kibbles aside from Dr. Tim’s were small enough and just fine to manage. For canned I have fed Wellness Core, Nutro Natural Source and Nutro Ultra, and now I feed The Honest Kitchen (THK) dehydrated with water instead of canned. I also add a raw egg once a week, coconut oil with some lukewarm water every other day, and yoghurt/kefir every other day, as well as a canned sardine and its fish juice from the can once a week too. So you can use some of these for variety and to cut the costs of canned.

[Akari_32]

I add canned to add variety, but also because my oldest dog, an 11 year old lab mix, has never stomached meal-sized amounts of dry food very well, so the extra moisture makes it a little more palatable. I mix it right in her dry food, and she loves it.

Canned also adds moisture to their diet, which can be important for certain medical conditions, such as dogs susceptible to UTIs.

I use all different brands and flavors of both canned and dry. There’s really no science to picking my canned, since I only split a single 13 oz can between a 60 lb and 130 lb dog every few days, but if you plan to feed it more often and have it be a larger part of their diet, pick 3-5 star rated brands (I tend to pick 2-3 star rated canned food because of cost).

I believe someone has already suggested to you Wellness Complete Health Small and Toy breed recipes? Pure Balance from Walmart also has small pieces, and now has a small breed formula. It’s a good price, and my guys did good on the salmon and pea grain free. Wellness would be my starting point, though. It’s my favorite for dry food. I’m actually getting ready to try out the toy breed ones for my big guys, the goal being to feed my lab mix as small a meal as possible.

[pugmomsandy]

The reasons for adding a quality canned food: add moisture to the diet, quality canned foods have a good amount of protein since they don’t need carbohydrate binders like kibble, it’s easier to digest since it’s not hard and dry like kibble, they don’t have preservatives in them, and it’s easy to mix in powdered supplements. Canned foods are more species-appropriate than dry pellets.

Drawbacks: softer stool sometimes and the canned foods usually don’t include probiotics. They might have prebiotics like inulin/chicory root.

You don’t have to stick with the same brand of wet as you are using dry. Use various brands and feed a rotaional diet.

[Liz S]

I have a 2 yr old female chihuahua and 5 yr old italian greyhound. I’m not happy with their current food although it is a good one. I’m in the process of choosing a new one. ( dry )

What is a reason(s) you might add a canned food to their diet? I give my chi a small can at night.

When I choose a dry food I think I would like to continue giving her a small can/packet at night. And also start giving our IG a can at night. ( coming close to making a final decision hopefully, on the dry ) My head is spinning and I am so overwhelmed.

Whatever dry we pick it will need to be small bites. And wouldn’t it make sense to buy the same brand canned? Or…?

Thanks you for any advice. Would love to hear anyone elses thoughts or experiences.

Liz

[Liz S]

Sue66b

I am new to this site and I didn’t know anyone responded to my post. To be honest, I don’t even know how I stumbled upon it, and saw the replies! I looked around and found all I had to do was click on my profile, lol. Also, I am not sure I am replying correctly…like directly to your reply or this just goes as another reply. I think I did it right but I am not sure. 🙂

I LOVE Wellness. I give it to my cats & my ferrets. I tried the dog version ( same thing…chicken one.. ( chihuahua and IG several months ago). but they turned their noses up to it. I also think my chihuahua doesn’t do well with chicken. I am not sure what Wellness has…I’m gonna head over to the Petco and PetSmart site right now and see what kinds they have. I’d like to do lamb, venison etc ( anything besides chicken ) and I would love to go grain free. Chihuahua is getting Whole Earth grain free now. And Natures Variety Grain Free wet food at night. The IG eats it as well but my chi is having a hard time eating the large pieces. Ah. Poor girl. Last year it took a longggg time finding the right food for our cat as well. Once we found the Wellness Chicken- it was a miracle. Life saver! Phew.

I love that Petco allows you to return a bag as long as its about half eaten. Not sure what PetSmarts policy is.

Might be silly to even ask, since you aren’t here and we’re confused ourselves lol…but do you think I could try one of the Wellness ( grain free ) first? I know grain free is best.

When I think about it though, if I go grain free dry food, I’d need to go grain free for her nightly wet food because what’s the point? Right? I’m just not sure if it’s chicken or the grains that my chi has the real problem with. Not worried about the IG, he does pretty well with everything.

As for the bugg pup I will also look into the Wellness online right now, too.

My 4th ferret that passed in June had insulinoma, adrenal disease etc etc. It’s horrible seeing any of them in ANY type of discomfort.

Geesh I’m sorry I’m so all over the place! My head is spinning!
Thanks for your reply!!!!

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

[Tulip]

Just had to chime in here. I LOVE this product and this company. Do a bit of digging folks. Read the label. Just about everything in this product is available at your health food store in whole food supplements. In fact, many of these things are part of my personal regime. You won’t’ get the same results with just a diet change.

Think about it. Take good ingredients and HEAT extrude them. Make them into a slurry and put them through extreme heat and pressure. What comes out the other end is highly process,heat extruded food. Of course, AAFCO labels it complete based on what? Is Beneful complete? Yes, according to AAFCO.

Think for yourself. Do your own research.

I feed the homemade dog food recipe on Dinovite’s site. It includes a couple of dinovite products. And I use their wonderful shampoo. My poor Tulip was so miserable for YEARS. Allergists, dermatologists, medications. The people at dinvoite helped me to detox her which took about 5months. Then we continued and to this day, you would not recognize this dog! She’s perky, beautiful, and completely healthy. Yes, healthy.

You eat highly processed food for 7 years…in a dry kibble….and see how you look and feel.

And for those who have not even used this product, you have no basis for opinion, in my opinion.

[Laurie E]

I have a bichon poodle mix that should weigh less than 10 lbs. She’s over weight so I want to start by changing her food. I was feeding her Eukanuba but recently transitioned her to Excellence reduced fat dry which I’m feeding my lab (she’s lost weight since I switched). Any suggestions for a small breed dry food to help her lose weight?

[Susan]

Hi Mar, does the Grain free kibble have potatos or sweet potato..& does the Authority have a money back guarantee, I would take back the food if this has happened & get the one she was eating before the rash, bold spots & dry skin, also grass can give them a rash on their tummys, if they lay on the grass, what are you bathing them in.. I use Malaseb medicated shampoo, it doesnt strip their skin of oils & kills any bacteria in the skin, its excellent.. I have to bath Patch every 5-7 days or as soon as I see him scratching..try to feed foods high in omega 3’s & 6 & get kibbles with a high omega-3 & 6…..no potatos, no sweet potato,no lentils or other high carb foods or high carb fruits as the carbs convert to sugar & yeast loves sugars..I love Pit Bulls they have a hard time in life, the most beautiful dogs & the Staffy..

[Mar E]

I have two female Pitbulls and Lucy is about 6 yrs old and the other just barely a year old. I have fed the puppy Authority dog food since I had her and she was 4 months old. The last bag of puppy food I bought was Authority but I got “grain free” puppy food. I thought grain free was better for the dogs? My point being it seems like since I made the change, the puppy has a rash on her chest and arms and I’m noticing little dry flaky bald spots here and there, could the food be doing this to her? Heres the kicker, Lucy also has a rash but Lucy has had it longer and I think hers is more severe than the puppys. Lucy has white fur so I know her skin is alot more sensitive as opposed to the puppys brindle fur however, I feed Lucy Iams Healthy Naturals. Im wondering if this isnt a skin condition Lucy somehow got and infected the puppy as well? They are not excessively scratching or anything but I noticed the puppy has what almost looks like dandruff on her fur. Please help I cannot afford another vet bill and any and all suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated 😉 Thanks so much have a wonderful evening!

[aimee]

Hi Dori and LabsRawsome,

Experimentally compounds that mimic the hormone CCK result in pancreatitis. In these studies high amounts are given. The most potent dietary stimulation of CCK is fat. Protein though also stimulates CCK release.

From the table in Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition 2012 on foods to avoid with chronic pancreatitis “Dry meat treats ( jerky)” The text also cautions against feeding diets very high in protein to patients with a history of pancreatitis.

Hope this helps explain why Patch doesn’t do well with jerky treats.

[Dori]

Wow Labs. You and I seem to be on the same page of late. Dried jerky meat absolutely cannot cause Pancreatitis. Seriously? As Judge Judy would say……RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!
.
On a completely different subject, the girls had their first meal of Victor’s Grain Free (Yukon–the only one that Katie can eat). Other than Katie having a gurgling stomach all seems well. I’m going to try feeding that in the a.m. and raw for their p.m. meals. It would be so great if they can actually eat a dry food. I haven’t gone anywhere since I put the dogs on raw food 2 1/2 years ago. I’ve become a slave to my girls. Not that I wasn’t before, but at least my husband or dog sitters or kennels would feed kibble, they won’t do raw. Truthfully, I wouldn’t trust them anyway. It would really be nice not to be a slave to their meal times. I’ll let you know how it goes on the Victor site.

[Cheryl]

Hi. I’m the mom of a very special boy–I inherited Timber, my brother’s rescue GSD mix from rural TN, when my brother died. Timber often has diarrhea and I’ve tried many foods. Problem is, because of Timber’s nature, he hunts and eats wild critters and also drinks water from many different sources, e.g., puddles, ponds, etc. I have fecal testing done regularly and it always comes back negative. I am looking for a superior quality kibble that will calm his GI track. I have made food for many of my previous dogs, but w/5 rescues, his size (>100 lbs) and limited time, that’s not an option. Thoughts, recommendations? Many thanks.

[jim b]

I have a Shih Tzu with allergies to chicken, potatoes and peas. The only dry food I have found is Primal Freeze Dried Duck Formula. Just started so not sure if will help. It’s a minor hassle to rehydrate and would prefer to find a dry kibble alternative if anyone has a suggestion.

[cajungurl]

We got our puppy at 4 weeks due to mom’s milk drying up. Layla was being fed Pedigree canned puppy food. I knew I didn’t want to keep her on that so started researching about better dog foods. Started her on 4- health Grain Free. But was told at her 9 week appt that she should be on a large breed puppy food because of calcium levels….. more research…. found this site and found Blue wilderness large breed puppy with a 5 star rating. After purchasing, I decided to scroll through a couple of the threads and noticed that this brand is also considered too high in calcium for my large breed puppy….. so in wanting to do what is best for my puppy I decided to research homemade dog foods(made my brain hurt!!!) I think it would be best for me to start with a pre-mix first!

My question, what would be the best pre-mix for a large breed puppy that would have the right amount of calcium?

[DogFoodie]

For your puppy, have you tried adding digestive enzymes to her food? That might help. That said, I’d also recommend changing her food. Poor puppy, can you imagine how miserable she must feel.

When my Golden has gas its because he’s eating something that he’s intolerant of, such as chickpeas or lentils. Look and see if your food includes those. If it does, you might want to look for something without a lot of legumes.

Free feeding isn’t a good idea for a variety of reasons. It contributes to weight gain and isn’t particularly safe as fats in dry dog food go rancid quickly once exposed to air. Everyone should have their place to eat and their own bowls. Give them 15 minutes to eat and then remove what’s left.

Some brands with tiny kibble are Nature’s Logic, Wellness and Amicus. Wellness Core Small Breed is a great product and the kibble are a small, thin, triangular diet of shape. My Cavalier does great on Wellness Core products.

[Susan]

Hi Liz, your dog shouldn’t have real bad gas… Have you looked at the Wellness Range?? They make “Wellness Toy breed” “Wellness Small Breed” complete health Puppy Turkey Oatmeal & Salmon meal recipe..Here’s a link to have a look, the whole Wellness range should come up, Complete Health, Core Grainfree, Toy Breed & Small Breed & their Simple limited ingredients, what I use, my boy was a walking fart, now I never smell any farts since he’s been on the Wellness Simple…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete Health Dry Dog Recipes I hope this link works if it doesnt just google “Wellness dog food”… good-luck

[Liz S]

I have a 2 yr old female chihuahua ( Nala ) and a 5 yr old male italian greyhound ( Oreo. ) Instead of rambling on about what we’ve tried, I’d like to ask for some suggestions.

I’d like small bites. Chihuahua has hard time with bigger ones and IG’s have sensitive teeth. Not all. But they are known for teeth issues. Science Diet isn’t an option.

I’d like to leave the dry out all day as well as give each wet food for dinner ( 5-6ish )

We also have a 5 month old female BUGG. My last pug passed a few years ago so I do understand their needs to a point. The dry food she eats now she gets 2x a day. The gas she has is horrible. There are no words LOL. Thing is, there are many times throughout the day where she will pass gas like every 1-3 minutes. She is also become tough at feeding times. She is sticking her nose up and there have been some mornings we’ve had to leave bowl in her pen and she picked through it. I tried mixing it with a bit of pretty warm water and that worked a few times but she’s figured it out and still is just picking at it. Not everyday, but many days I need to be able to put a bowl down in the AM and have her eat it within a half hour. Dinner feed isn’t as important for her to finish quickly.

I’d like to switch her to a different dry puppy and I’m thinking I could mix a little wet puppy food with it to get her to eat it at least within 30 minutes.

I tend to ramble so sorry in advance!
Liz

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

[Susan B]

Apologies in advance if I’m not doing this correctly – I’m new here! 🙂
Regarding Nature’s Recipe dry dog food: Was feeding grain free salmon, sweet potato formula. Realized the bag did not say “made in USA” and that prompted a call to the 800 number. This company uses “some” vitamins and minerals from China and other countries. They claim they are “unable to get them in sufficient quantities in the US.” This is a MAJOR concern for me given the amount of damage Chinese ingredients did to some of our pets.

Obviously, I will not continue feeding this food (although my dog likes it). I am curious to read others comments and opinions on this topic. I’m seriously disturbed by the lack of what I perceive to be “honesty” in this company not noting on their bags that some ingredients come from China. Not a legal issue, but a moral issue, IMHO.

Thank you and I’ll check back next week for any comments. (I won’t have computer access until then).

[matt n]

I suggest looking through the thread the others are suggesting. That’s what I’ve had to do with the absence of response to my own questions.

I might be wrong but these are the conclusions I’ve drawn for what to feed my puppy (poodle/GR mix).

A raw food diet is probably the “best”…if you have unlimited funds. For myself, I tried to find a balance of affordability, healthiness, and convenience. As a result I’ve narrowed it down to these dry foods…

Annamaet Grain-Free Aqualuk
Annamaet Grain-Free Salcha Poulet
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain-Free
Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch
Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast
Nature’s Variety Instinct
Victor Select
Wellness CORE Grain-Free Puppy

I’ll eventually try all of these and see which my puppy does best on. If that’s too much trial and error for you, I’d go with Dr. Tim’s Kinesis.

As far as I can tell, grain free vs grain inclusive usually only matters if your pup has issues with grains or if you’re into the “fads.”

But once again this is just my observations from perusing the forums.

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

[Raymond C]

In the Dog Food Advisor review of Wellness Core Dry (grain-free), salmon oil is not listed as an ingredient, yet it is listed on the bag of food. My concern is that the salmon oil may not be ethoxyquin-free.

The Dog Food Advisor review of another dry Wellness food that contains salmon meal does not indicate it as being ethoxyquin-free. However, for other dog foods that contain salmon meal or oil, the Dog Food Advisor always indicates in a separate paragraph if it is believed to be ethoxyquin-free.

[Susan]

Hi C W, the loud bowel sound is called Borborymi, sometimes when a dog has eaten something they shouldn’t eat they have this loud gurgling of the bowel …The loud gurgling sounds are produced when gas moves from one portion of the intestines to another.. try to find another wet tin food that agrees with her & is cheaper then the Hills, sounds like she prefers wet food more then kibble… Kibble is harder to digest so this may be the reason why she doesn’t want her kibble, she may get pain after eating her kibble, so now she refuses to eat her kibble…I add water to Patches kibble & let the kibble soften a bit, then I drain all the water & pat dry with a paper towel, it just makes his kibble more soft & easier to digest..
When Patch was having the loud gurgling noises early hours of the morning, vet said it was Colitis, Patch was pooing jelly like poo’s & sometimes there was light red blood streaked thru his poo’s, I also caught Patch eating the neighbours cat poo….also if you click on “Forum” then scroll down to “Off Topic” click then scroll down a bit & you’ll see “Coupons” on the Coupons post, people have posted places with cheaper premium foods that are on special….

[Lihan Z]

Thanks! I also found “Go! Fit and Free”, sounds really well to me. Both of their dry and canned food are GMO free.

[Dori]

Hi Kristen. My dog Katie (5 year old Maltipoo) used to get underarm rash also, sometimes it would look more like a grayish area also. It went away after a couple of weeks when I put her on raw diet eliminating all grains, soy, corn, white potatoes and most especially chicken, turkey, duck, quail. In other words all fowl was removed from her diet. She and my other two dogs have been on raw food diet for a little over two years. Katie has never gotten the underarm rash again. IMHO your vet is mistaken. It is the diet. I would definitely NOT spend the money on any nutritionist that does not believe in raw feeding. I figured all this out with Katie through years of trial and error. I would take away any and all grains and definitely switch out all poultry for a couple of weeks and see what happens. Never give antibiotics for allergies or an undiagnosed issue. Most traditional vets in my experience are very quick to hand out antibiotics. The only reason I would go along with giving any of my dogs antibiotics is if it was a true diagnosed issue that was an infection that needed antibiotics and that the antibiotic was specific for whatever the infection was. That was a really bad call on the part of your vet.

C4C. I think if it was laundry detergent or something on the lawn or on the property it would not be just an underarm rash, it would be on the paws, belly and other areas, don’t you think? Anyway, it’s just my opinion for whatever it’s worth.

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

[Bobby dog]

Hey guys
It’s a very, very, very rainy day here, Bobby is not happy.

Akari:
Glad you’re back!! I will post cartridge info later when I can get to my saved info for it. 🙂

Love the bowls and the pics too!!! Alec looks happy to have someone to bother.

C4c:
So jealous of your TJ’s. I have to drive so far to get to one, 🙁 but I will be going by one in the fall as you know so we can compare notes about shopping there! TJ’s is on Dr. Pierson’s list (and my Vet’s list too). I looked at reviews on YouTube and various other sites. I couldn’t find ingredient or analysis info anywhere on TJ’s website. I remember it has rice and fish in some or all recipes. It reminded me of a CSFCLS or BB quality. I am definitely going to try some out. Most reviews I read commented that it was decent quality and budget friendly to add to a rotation.

FYI for all you cat lovers, you know how I love a good PDF download. On Little Big Cat Dr. Hofve’s updated book “What Cats Should Eat” is on sale for $4.97, regularly $8.99 until 8/15. Her approved list of cat food is included which was just updated last month. The list even includes some dry, although as you know she discourages feeding dry food. Also on the approved list are commercial raw (dehydrated, freeze dried, frozen etc), foods that need supplements, treats, toppers, meal supplements, foods considered but not approved, foods that were approved and why they are no longer approved.

I haven’t had a chance to read it, just downloaded it yesterday, but the list I was happy with. I can comment that some of the foods she lists are not an option for me because of the manufacturers, but nevertheless I am glad I purchased the book because there are plently of foods listed. Some chapter topics are dry diets, wet diets, nutrition related diseases, alternative diets, and making your cat’s food at home; it’s 62 pages. Here’s the link to the bookstore on her website if you’re interested: http://www.littlebigcat.com/bookstore/

[Leah12345]

Not sure if this is diet and health or another forum so let me know. My year old Lhasa mix had some food allergy issues that led to paw chewing that was solved with better food. Unfortunately after a few months of no itching she started itching this week all over. Biting her behind and scratching terribly. Poor girl. The vet suggested Benadryl and Allerderm EFA-Z Plus. The Benedryl did nothing, but when I added the Allerdem EFA-Z Plus, her itching decreased by 90% or more. Does anyone have any experience with this product? Is it okay? It is added to her kibble and is a fatty acid/zinc/vitamin supplement. Could I get the same result from changing her diet? Any thoughts are appreciated. Leah

[Jenny F]

I started to experience some of the issues posted here with my 2-year old Frenchie. He has been on Wellness dry and wet food since he was a puppy. About a month ago, he started vomiting bile in the morning before breakfast and had diarrhea for two days. First day, he didn’t want to eat anything during the day -no even cooked chicken which he loves – but will eat at night – right on schedule at dinner time. On second day – same thing vomited bile in the morning first thing then didn’t want to eat so I let him fast till dinner time. Around noon on second day, he was running out to the yard every 20 minutes or so due to diarrhea and I saw he was having trouble eliminating and when a little bit of it came out it was dark like dead blood. I rushed him to the vet and on our way there I could hear and feel his stomach rumbling with gas. At the vets run all sorts of tests for virus and x-ray since I thought he had something stuck in the intestines (he has a history of been a little vacuum cleaner since puppy) but since vet could not determine what was making him sick they gave him antibiotics in case it was some sort of virus until the culture came back. He tested negative for everything and did not have anything blocking his intestines. Vet also put him on IV since he was getting dehydrated and as we all know that is life threatening. In the meantime – I was feeding him just cooked chicken and brown rice with grated carrots and some fried eggs with just a pinch of olive oil – you can also fried eggs with water; that’s all he ate for a week. After that, I started cooking his meals and added some more veggies (chicken, green beans, brown rice, grated carrots or ground beef, chopped celery, spinach and potatoes boiled together – drained chicken/beef broth since too much can cause proteins to enter his kidneys – and put it in a container in the fridge I make enough for 6 meals breakfast and dinner for 3 days) and he has been doing better since then. Has puked probably twice since then – early morning – but just a little bit of white foam not bile. I know it is hard sometimes to cook even for ourselves due to busy schedules but I figured that I can make two meals with the same veggies and the basic chicken and ground beef for me in my dog by just adding salt. Makes me feel better to know that my little guy is eating fresh and natural food. Now, I am on my search for a good probiotic and enzymes to add to his meals since I know he definitely needs that and feel like that’s why he is having issues with his digestive system. In the meantime, I’m adding oatmeal gluten-free and a bit of barley to his diet. I would only feed barley during the day since tents to be heavy a night – even for humans. We’ve also found a store for treats called The Bone Appetite Barkery shop in New Jersey by accident. Their pumpkins treats are also good for digestion and taste delicious – yes I tried it! Lol they are all made with natural ingredients – I highly recommend it. Tip: ice cubes are good for when dogs are not drinking enough water. Hope this comment helps : )

[Naturella]

Amen, Kritterlady! This is basically what happened to us when we got Bruno. He was dropped off with no food, so we loaded him in the car and rushed to PetSmart where we looked around a bit (our roommate was feeding Science Diet at the time, thank goodness he finally switched to Nulo Medal Series), and we were pondering upon also feeding SD, but we spoke to a store associate and she recommended Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (4.5 stars on DFA, but I didn’t know this at the time) – she talked about the unique shape of the kibbles and how they are meant to strengthen puppy jaws but are small enough for our little guy. We got a small bag of that, Bruno loved it, it was all good. But then I kept seeing Blue Wilderness commercials, so in a month we got him a small bag of that. He also loved it and I noticed increased shine on his coat. We bought a bigger bag and for the next 3-4 months he was on Blue, but when researching it I found DFA, and began learning tons and tons about dog nutrition. I am so happy I steered clear of SD and now Bruno is on a rotational dry diet (4-5 stars only) with canned or THK as a topper, and additives like yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil, canned sardines, flax seed meal and pumpkin every once in a while, and RMBs and raw egg once a week each. He looks fantastic, coat feels great, and I really believe that had it not been for Blue Buffalo Wilderness and me researching it, I may not have found this amazing website and learned so much. I plan to use it again in the future as Bruno seemed to have no problems on it, but it will be a while – so many other foods to try before that! 🙂

[Deborah M]

Nancy,
K9Natural does not use HPP – which means it stays a true 100% raw. A few folks have suggested adding just a little bit of vegetable to this diet because of the tendency for the stool to be a little dry. I think I mentioned – I add a little pumpkin and that seems to do the trick. The feeding guidelines for mine are as follows: for an 11 lb. dog, they recommend about 1 1/2 scoops of food for the day – I adjust the water how I prefer. I have found that I needed to increase the food a little more and they have maintained a steady weight. So, I give them one scoop in the morning and another at night. That said, I am increasing the amount of food they recommend by about 1/4, so I need to factor that in to what I use for the month. I also give them a nice meaty bone about once a week. So, yes – even for my little ones, it’s expensive. But… since my daughters are taking their sweet time giving me grandchildren, these two get spoiled :):)

[Dori]

Hi Zach. You can crumble it on her kibble but you still need to add water then to the entire meal. Most of the long time posters suggest that if feeding kibble you should add water to it anyway. The issue has always been with the lack of hydration eating dry foods for dogs. Some of the larger dogs especially if they gulp their dry food down quickly can be subject to bloat. Don’t forget that the dry food (without water added) will also expand in the dog after it’s been eaten. I hope I’m explaining this correctly or at least making myself understandable.

As Barbara mentioned, you don’t have to defrost raw food all the way. I only defrost enough so that I can mush in and disguise one of my dogs medications. They like it a little colder and crunchier. I’ve been feeding it this way (all raw) for over a couple of years. I have three small dogs and it’s never harmed them to eat it cold. They also like crunching on ice cubes so maybe that’s why they like their food a bit colder and harder.

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

[Bralic H]

Ok, another one asking for food advice… I have a Lab/Great Dane/St Bernard mix puppy, almost 6 months old and weighs ~60lbs… I have tried quite a few different foods, but his digestion hasn’t really liked many. I tried the Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover’s Soul, but the kibble was tiny, so that wasn’t working. Just before that was Costco’s Kirkland Signature puppy, which he liked, but he had soft-ish stools and gas… before that was Nutro Max Large Breed Puppy, because I didn’t know better and bought from our local co-op.

I currently am feeding him Merrick’s Whole Earth Farms Puppy recipe, and he LOVES it, but he still has soft stools and I worry because its not a “Large Breed” food. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions from a website, like petflow.com, which is where I ordered the Merrick’s from. I am trying to keep the cost down, as we just bought a house and are 2 months away from having a little baby girl, so I have been comparing brands on DFA that petflow.com sells. So far I am stuck between “NutriSource
Large Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice Dry Dog Food” and “Horizon Complete Large Breed Puppy Formula Dry Dog Food”, which are 1.53$ and 156$ a lb respectively.

So should I be switching his food from the Merricks, which is only 1.33$ a lb? Or choose one of these other 2. I am willing to even pay a little more, but was hoping to stay under like 1.90$ per lb. Thanks!!

P.S. Oh and also, i was reading this website by a “Great Dane Lady”. She recommends not going grain-free until adult, is there any truth to this? Has anyone else glanced at her website? Is it too old to be useful? (copyright on bottom is 2002-2003)

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

[Barbara O]

I really think I’d feed what they love…as long as it’s a decent quality..my silly cats will eat Friskie’s canned cat food but turn their noses up if I give them TOTW…and they won’t eat the dry TOTW any longer..they love Halo…wonder what it is about the flavor they add, and I do feed fish….My cats are rescues and I have always rotated and given then fish…never been sick…The oldest one is about 17…I do feed eople salmon and people tuna…sorry…if it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for them…All other meats brought into the house is organically raised, and/or grass fed…

This is the first time I’ve not Siameses running around…We lost ours to a weird disease that causes them to go blind…it’s genetic…I’ve had two Siamese to have it…one I had in Texas, the other one here in AZ.

As long as you’re feed good quality, feed what they like…Most dogs will eat the same food over and over…cats, on the other hand, will not…they want rotation. Having a hard time feeding the Canidae…and it’s a good food…so…I gave in yesterday and filled the Halo feeder…You’d have thought I’d given them candy…

[aimee]

losal,

It isn’t that he has an intolerance or allergic reaction… he just can’t stand the smell. It makes him nauseous. Once, when out with a friend, I ate a meal with garlic in the sauce. As I recall he slept on the couch the next three nights.: )

I wouldn’t say all mammals have the same susceptibility. Cats are much more susceptible than dogs and I didn’t find information on garlic causing anemia in people. In fact when I ran the search terms anemia and garlic in pubmed I came across papers describing garlic use to treat anemia ( sickle cell) in people. But I suppose if you ate massive quantities it could ??? Do you have a link you could share describing. The difference in how garlic acts in different species has to do with the number of sulfhydryl groups in their hemoglobin. Cats have eight,, dogs four and people two.

I don’t mind a tiny bit of garlic/onion in dog food as a flavoring agent, but I’d never feed cloves of garlic to my dog. I’m unconvinced of any benefits and aware of the consequences. In regards to grape pumice, after researching it a bit, its presence in food doesn’t concern me in the least.

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

[arwyru24]

All of the cats that I’ve tried that Holistic Select variety have really liked it. I have to really watch the calorie content with the dry food because the one that eats most of the dry food is a little tubby and gains weight quickly. He is 13.5 lbs so he isn’t hugely overweight but still should be leaner but I have not been able to get him below 13.5. He went up to 14.2 at one point. I was thinking about trying the grain free indoor Holistic Select because it is a little lower in calories. The volume seems to really make a difference to him, even though he gets wet food too, when I’ve tried giving a smaller portion of higher calorie kibble he begs and begs for more.

[crazy4cats]

Well said, Losul. What is funny is the more I learn about dog food, the more I lean towards more simple dry kibble without many ingredients. That way I have more control over toppers and supplements that are added. When I first started, I was looking for kibble that had everything for the cheapest price. It’s too bad that a lot of limited ingredient foods have 1/2 the stuff, but twice the price! Lol! I too, have been feeding garlic for the last couple of months without incident so far. It’s funny you brought up vampires. I always say I feed my dogs garlic to keep away parasites, mosquitoes and vampires. No one has found any humor in it so far. Just funny looks!

[arwyru24]

Hey everyone!! Just checking in to say hi.

I too try to limit the dry food that my kitties get. They do love TOTW and the calories are low, so I am currently feeding that mixed in with another dry food that they don’t like as much. I have about 4lbs of kibble in my storage container, and that will take me months to go through, but I will switch it out when its gone. This month I got a good price on Instinct Healthy Weight Chicken 3oz cans, and so far so good. The consistency is definitely different then the normal Instinct varieties, and there is Cod in it, but the cod is the 5th ingredient, and the food doesn’t smell fishy, so I don’t count it as a fish option in my rotation. lol. I also got the big 12.5oz cans of the Wellness Turkey which my cats almost always like (they like it a lot better than the chicken variety for whatever reason, even though the turkey one is half chicken) I also have been feeding the Instinct LID Turkey which they eat but don’t seem to love, and Nature’s Logic Chicken which only one will eat. I have a case of TOTW Rocky Mountain cans in my rotation and that is salmon and chicken and my cats have always really LOVED it.

[crazy4cats]

Yes, I did try the Victor dry cat food, but my cats didn’t like it much. It is really the first dry food that they haven’t cared much for. I have been feeding a bunch of different kibbles. Right now I’m finishing up Merrick grain free weight control and transitioning to a Nutro indoor variety that was a free sample at a vendor show. I forget exactly which one it is. But, the ingredients and analysis really didn’t look too bad. I was pleasantly surprised! I have fed Earthborn, Wellness Core, Taste of the Wild, and Premium Edge kibbles in the last year. My dogs’, on the other hand, really like the grain free Victor.

[Dori]

Hi HDM. I had looked through the review and I saw way more pros than cons. I’ve recently tried the Nature’s Dry Sardine formula for Katie who can barely eat anything. I’ve been feeding raw for over two years and still have issues with her. She weighs 6 lbs. I feed her the NL Sardine formula in the am and then a raw different protein in the evenings and she seems to be doing really really well on it. I’m really shocked too because I swore I’d never have any of my dogs on kibble again. This was sheer desperation on my part and advice from my local boutique pet food store that I trust implicitly.

[Barbie D]

I have not read through all the replies, so forgive me if I am repeating recommendations. I feed my cat Victor dry food and Felidae wet food. My daughter’s cat is very picky and will only eat Earthborn Holistic wet food, but she likes the Victor dry food too.