[Lisa C]

I’m sure this has been talked about numerous times on here, but there’s no search box to try and find answers in the forum. Sorry!

We have had our Chewy since December of last year. We got him at eight weeks. He is a Pekingese/Chihuahua/Cocker Spaniel/ mix (we did a DNA test!) So he’s not quite a year old yet, but later in the fall he will be. The first month or two we had Chewy, he had no problems. We fed him dry puppy Nutro (the pink bag) that was recommended by someone who claimed to have researched foods. after the first 1-2 months, he started vomiting EVERY day. At least once a day. It’s now mid-July, and yes, he still vomits EVERY single day! I think there’s maybe been six total days since Feb that he hasn’t puked at least once. We’ve had numerous tests done at the vet. Blood tests, X-rays, stool samples. Everything is negative. They have no answers for us! The next step would be putting a camera inside him — which I’m sure is an expensive procedure that I cannot afford. He acts normal – he still loves to go outside and play, gets excited when we come home, plays with toys. But he always acts so hungry. We’ve tried so many different kinds of foods, wet and dry. At the vet’s request, we tried two different brands of prescription food (dry only), (which is expensive) 🙁 first Hills and then the Purina RX. The vet also made me buy the $30 box of RX Purina probiotics. None of that fancy overpriced crap did anything but make him vomit even more, and even worse, all undigested.

This week I’ve started to keep a daily journal of everything he eats, and his daily puking habits. The vomiting occurs in the early mornings. Occasionally at night, but mostly mornings. He seems to do alright on the Nutro Puppy Chiot wet food, last week he went maybe 1-2 days without puking on that alone. But I know he can’t just live on wet food, at least from what I’ve read they also need dry food for their teeth. For a few weeks we tried feeding solely cooked chicken, which is LOVED, but still puked out that, too. The other problem is obviously is switching the foods so many times gives him baaaad diarrhea. Yesterday I decided to try yet another food, Solid Gold wet, and going from the Nutro can to that has made him diarrhea two days in a row. We have to keep him locked up in the kitchen the last two nights because he just won’t stop pooping. Of course most of the time his poops are normal, but every once in a while that one food will tip him off and it’s all downhill from there.

I’m so, SO tired of waking up early every morning to scrub vomit off of our apartment carpet. (It’s already ruined.) but most importantly, I just want Chewy to be a normal, healthy dog, and not have such horrible vomiting problems. and of course because of this, you can feel all his bones. We recently took him to get groomed and they said they noticed he was really skinny. He’s skinny because he vomits every day! My boyfriend says we should try him on a raw diet, but I don’t want to do something too drastic without help first. I guess our next step could be getting a second opinion at a different vet, but we’ve already spent a lot of money. I appreciate ALL comments and suggestions. Please help us and our Chewy 🙁

[Robin B]

As a Wisconsin native I am partial to Fromm four star grain free. I can rotate st will and they produce all their own dry kibble. Canned food is made in SD. In the many years of manufacturing food, never a recall. Also, my puppy loves it all. Never is a kibble left behind. Take a look at their site and foods.

[Melissaandcrew]

I have a new love in my life and its called Restaurant Depot, lol! You have to have a business in order to get a free membership but it is so worth it. Its all human food, and I buy in bulk there. For example, my last visit I picked up chicken leg quarters for 55cents per lb. It sold in bulk 40lb boxes-sizes a restaurant would buy. Beef heart was just over a $1 per lb. I can buy a good portion of my ingredients from the one location, and then fill in the blanks with other distributors-heart, backs, liver, quarters and I think they have gizzards but did not look. I can order fresh fish in bulk as well, though they seem to have a problem getting sardines for me, so I bought a bunch of other types in the interm. I do feed veggies and buy them by the crate(40lb) as well as smaller quantities of frozen veggies.

I have gotten off the raw lately due to a back injury flare up, and just started up again. I can say that my dogs DID seem to drink more when on dry, and have more poop to clean up. Our almost 16yr old and 15 yr old went for 6mth bloods and everything is wonderful with them.

[Bobby dog]

Awwwww…:( I got 3 12# bags of Innova GF dry cat food for $36.87 and one small bag of Simply Nourish GF dry cat food to try for $6.79. Still got free shipping too, don’t know how that happened.

[Debbie L]

It has always been a great concern of mine to find a dog food that is both nutritious and one the dogs like and eat. Recently I checked with Dog Food Advisor, as the dog foods at Walmart may not always be considered ideal. So I bought 4Health Beef and Rice Grain Free, as my smaller dog had been scratching a lot and I was afraid he may have been allergic to the grain in the food I was feeding him and a larger dog. However, neither dog seemed to care for it too much so I went to Diamond Naturals which the Advisor gives a high rating. Same thing. I went back to 4Health Salmon and Sweet Potato, and to my surprise the dogs seemed to like this the least.

In the meantime on these foods the dogs are scratching a lot and hair feels dry and rough. I cannot believe these foods are ideal as the fleas are causing dermatitis and thus the larger dog has also lost some hair. A good dog food should help increase their immune systems, thereby repel fleas and mites, and these foods Advisor recommended did not in our case. I’m trying to stay away from the chemical flea and tic repellents as much as possible and going the natural route.

So I went ahead and bought some Beneful, even though Advisor gives it the lowest rating of one star. The dogs are eating it and their hair feels softer and smoother. Plus, neither dog is constantly scratching like on the Advisor recommended foods. I’m sticking with it for now.

[Elizabeth P]

His research showed that moistening dry foods that contained CITRIC ACID increased the risk of GDV.

[Jonathan L]

I’m sure there are probably many brands of dog food out there that haven’t been reviewed. Here in the LA area we have a certain brand that I have seen in a number of different feed stores. I have personally used this food for our dog for many years and we recently had to put our dog down just shy of 4 years old. She stopped eating her food. We tried different foods but the only thing she would eat in the end were treats. She eventually even stopped eating those and stopped drinking. We finally had to put her down. We were told by the vet that her issues were not related to her food, but there’s something that keeps nagging me about the food. She never seemed to be fanatic about eating but after a period when our normal food was not available when we finally got it she started refusing to eat it. We now have another dog we rescued and are feeding her the same food. She too doesn’t seem very interested in the food unless we add a little bit of wet food. I’d be very interested in how our dry dog food compares to some of the other foods. We have been using Ace Hi Feeds – Dog Chunk Bite Size it is made by Star Milling Co. Would it be possible to review this sometime? They have information about their products at http://www.starmilling.com.

[Dyann R]

According to research done by Dr. Larry Glickman at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, and published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, moistening dry dog food contributes to the risk of Gastric Dilatation Volvulus, GDV, commonly known as bloat, which is the second leading cause of death in large and giant breed dogs.

[Regina D]

Need a canned food – Alf won’t eat dry.

[Bobby dog]

I found a few discounts and sales to share with everyone.

Petsmart is having a 30% off storewide and online sale and an additional 15% off (through 7/13/14) on select items ordered on-line. I also found this discount code last night from the Krazy Coupon Lady. You can get an extra $20 off select Innova dry cat or dog food on top of the 30% storewide and online sale:
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2014/07/10/hot-extra-20-innova-dry-cat-dog-food-petsmart21604/

Petco.com is offering free shipping with no minimum which expires 7/12/14. They are also having a 10 – 15% off sale on a several brands of pet food.

[Patricia W]

I’m new here and have been reading this with interest. I have a mini australian shepherd that needs to lose about 6 lbs. I’ve been fighting his weight loss for a couple years now. was feeding him Chicken Soup for the Soul weight management which is 20% protein and about 6% fat. I tried switching (very slowly) to Fat Dog, which is higher in protein and after a very short period he got pancreatitis and had to be hospitalized.

My vet was pretty sure it was the new dog food and told me it was important to keep fat low and beware of high protein foods for a dog with this disease. I’ve been very careful since then and put him back on the Chicken Soup. He is still overweight and so the vet put him on a prescription Iams. After a four month period he had only lost 1 lb. The vet food was very expensive so I went back to Chicken Soup weight management.

He has breathing issues and also a chronic limp that comes and goes, so exercise is not something I can push. He chases our border collies around the back yard, and goes on short walks, but if he starts limping, I have to curtail it until the leg heals. He has had the xrays, blood work, etc., and the vet is pretty convinced it is a bit of arthritis and we have to deal with it, giving pain meds if it is bad.

I’m interested in getting some opinions. Right now I give him 1/2 cup of dry and 1 tblsp of canned (iams) at each meal morning and night. I think I am feeding him too much, but he seems so hungry. The vet had me feed him 1/3 cup dry and 1 tblsp wet of the prescription food and he was hungry all the time, with only 1 lb loss.

I’m also very confused about the high protein comment for pancreatitis dogs early in this forum. My vet says NO on high protein and it seems to be a disagreement among the vet world. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Bobby dog]

Hi gmcbogger:
Sportmix Wholesomes Chic & Rice (TSC 40 lbs/sale price $27.99) is one I was going to suggest to you. Pro Pac would be another, they are both manufactured by Midwestern Pet Foods, who make Earthborn Holistic.

Diamond manufactures the 4 Health grain inclusive recipes, GF pork, GF duck, and reportedly the GF whitefish. I haven’t verified with TSC if Diamond is now making the GF whitefish, however there have been several complaints about this recipe changing on the review side recently. Ainsworth manufactures the 4Health GF beef and GF turkey recipes.

Also, check with dog food websites and the stores that you purchase food from for frequent buyer programs or any other incentives they may have. For example, buy ten bags and the 11th is free.

There is a PDF download from Steve Brown, ABC Diet, that you may be interested in. This download will help you improve a kibble diet through healthy foods (eggs, tinned fish, fresh meat, vegetables) you can get at the grocery store. I feed anything from a 3 to 5 star kibble and this download helps me to improve my dogs diet very affordably.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

Here’s are some others you may want to check out:
~Zach’s Quality Feed:
http://zqdfrjscompany.azurewebsites.net/index.php
/dog-food-reviews/zachs-quality-dog-food/

Depending on your location this may only be available online, but check it out even if that’s the case because their shipping rates may be reasonable. Here is a thread a poster started about Zach’s: /forums/topic/4-stars-33-for-50-lb-bag/

~Exclusive (PMI Nutrition):
http://www.exclusivepetfood.com/default.aspx
/dog-food-reviews/exclusive-dog-food-dry/

~Blue Seal Life Stages (Kent Nutrition):
http://blueseal.com/products/dog/life-stages-dry-formulas/
/dog-food-reviews/blue-seal-dog-food-dry/

~Sportmix Wholesomes or
~Pro Pac:
http://www.sportmix.com/dog/wholesomesChickenMealRice.php
/dog-food-reviews/sportmix-wholesomes-dog-food/
http://us.propacpetfood.com/images/propac-ultimates-header.png
/dog-food-reviews/pro-pac-dog-food/

~Authority GF & grain inclusive (Petsmart):
/dog-food-reviews/authority-dog-food-dry/
/dog-food-reviews/authority-grain-free-dog-food/

[Travis A]

Hey,

So i’m looking for a rotational dry food to sub in with the current food I have my 2 pit/(lab/boxer) mixed boys, 5 months old and on Zach’s Quality Dog Food for the last month or so. Seems to be good food they like it but it’s a bit of a hassle for me to get ahold of it at my location, so i was hoping to find a grain-free good food that won’t break the budget i can sub for to ease things. I pay $33 for a 50lb bag of that stuff though so anything else is going to be a worse deal i understand but still i need something that isn’t overpriced and comes in somewhat of a bigger bag, can’t be feeding 2, 35 lb growing pups little 12lb bags all the time. Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks for you time.

[Linda T]

Has anyone else tried Natures Kitchen? I have tried just about all brands of dog food dry and wet over the last 8 years. I have a very allergic dog and pancreatitis. Lots going on. I am now trying the Natures kitchen dog food. Can anyone tell me how their dog is doing or if anyone else knows of this food. Thank you

[Elizabeth P]

I always moisten my dogs’ dry kibble with water. Not to be anthropomorphic, but I wouldn’t eat dry cereal without milk. And I know that dry food doesn’t scrub teeth clean. Is there a benefit or risk to moistening dry food?

[Gregory C]

Hello,

I have recently adopted a dog — she is an older (they think about 7-8 years) mix, probably some lab, terrier, and who knows what else. She is about 40 pounds. The rescue organization is keeping her for 2.5 weeks, as I already had a vacation planned prior to the adoption, but before I leave I am preparing my house, buying food, etc.

The rescue org is feeding her some pretty terrible food, from everything I read on here and elsewhere. They are feeding her mostly wet food (I think because she likes it, and they have too many dogs to worry about to force the issue) — they are using Pedigree “meaty ground dinner” (ick!). Depending on who feeds her, they are also mixing in some Science Diet Advanced Fitness (small bites dry).

Clearly, I want to switch her to a new food when I get her. After a lot of research and some recommendations from friends, I have settled on Wellness Complete Health for dry food, and will try a variety of Wellness wet foods to mix in.

My question/concern is this: How best to transition her to the new food? It is tough to do the usual transition “formulas” I have seen online, because she is basically on only wet food now, and I want to switch to a combo. I have heard from several people that they have had success at switching “cold turkey” when adopting a new dog, but others seem to swear by transitioning. I figure as an older dog, her stomach is not as sensitive as a puppy’s would be, but I don’t know whether it’s a bad idea to switch “cold turkey” or whether I should just try it and see what happens. On the one hand, I’m switching to a *much* higher quality product, but on the other hand, I wonder how she’ll handle the different nutritional value.

Any thoughts/recommendations on this? If you suggest transitioning, any ideas how I might do it, given her current diet of mostly wet food? (I was thinking of mixing in some new dry with some old wet, and then slowly transitioning to more new dry and less wet, and then to the new wet. But honestly, I’d love it if “cold turkey” was everyone’s answer — less stressful! 🙂 )

Thanks in advance!

• This topic was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Gregory C.

[deca d]

What kind of products would help with my shih-tzu’s dry eye condition? She’s on medicated eye drops right now. I’m looking for alternative store medications, and maybe food supplements.

[Eddie C]

I wanted to know how to get a rating on our chain store dog food that just came out and it’s organic and they have prime cuts in can and also dry kibble in 3 categories.
It’s called Wegmans Brand Simply By Nature. How can we submit the dog food for a rating by dog food advisor.

[Dannie F]

Looking for anyone with experience good or bad with this brand.

All our adult Shepherds are feed raw, but want to start puppy 8week old on some good quality dry food until he is older and teeth are set.

[pugmomsandy]

A fat supplement could be a tablespoon or two of olive oil or coconut oil or even fish oil or combo oils. Oils are fat and calories and have over 100 calories per tablespoon. A dry addition just to add overall calories could be Abady’s granular food. It has nearly 800 calories per cup so you could add in a couple tablespoons of that. A canned food high in fat is Nature’s Logic Lamb or Rabbit. They have more fat than protein hence the lower rating (not because it has lots of red colored ingredients). Hound & Gatos canned chicken and pork recipes are also high in fat (40% plus). You can also make some “satin balls” and send it to the trainer to feed.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Melinda M]

I am so thankful for the site and all the knowledge & advice that is shared. I have learned so much which in turn will help my 4-legged baby! However, I am in great need of advice. My 1 yr old yellow lab is off in duck hunting/retriever training school. She is in a very critical point in her training and is burning a great deal of calories. She is losing weight
(5 lbs). We are trying to help her gain weight by switching her food (which needed to be switched any ways) from ProPlan to Wellness Core Large Breed. However, I did not pay attention to the fat content of the Wellness and when the food reached the trainer He stated our Bella may lose weight on the Wellness due to its lower fat content 14% compared to the Proplan which has a 20% fat content. PLEASE HELP! do I complete choose a different dry food other than WELLNESS or do I add a canned food to her dry OR the vet even suggested a “fat supplement”. I have no idea what to use as a fat supplement. I need something that is pretty convenient for the trainer to feed since he has 18 dogs to feed. However, I want it to be healthy for my Bella but decently economical as well.
Thank you in advance for any knowledge/advice you can pass on to me.

[Regina D]

I wrote here a few weeks ago. Alf, 5 yo rescue standard poodle/Intermittent diarrhea/terrible stomach gurgling, & wouldn’t eat on those days. Vet did stool tests (negative) and gave Flagyl & probiotics on the chance they might help. They didn’t. Got some good suggestions here — Thank you! I continued my search on the internet and even wrote to Dr. Tim (as someone here recommended). He suggested I cut out everything but one food. I tried his dry food first, but that didn’t help. However, upon his advice, added to that of my research, I concluded Alf might have a food intolerance. I decided to try LID Lamb. Alf has been on NB LID Lamb (and absolutely nothing else) for 8 days. He eats 3 cans a day (in 3 feedings). He has not had one day of the above symptoms. Such a relief! This problem has been so troubling. We still hold our breaths every potty break, hoping there will be no diarrhea – so far, so good! I am not that happy with NB’s review (3+) on Dog Food Reviews, but it has solved a big problem for us. Does anyone have other brand suggestions? I hate to change when NB is working, but we might consider something else after another month or so.

[Katie J]

He actually watches the other dog eat. So I asked my boyfriend, who he apparently eats better for, if he bring my terrier in for feedings. He does not. I thought he had been being that I told him to… Lol. I had been separating the pair in the bathroom of all places. It was just a convenient place at first. It is quite crowded with the three of us. But I do have to keep any dog getting something special out of sight of the spaniel as she is very territorial over food/treats/anything special. Perhaps the extras I having been giving my terrier will just have to be after I feed the pup for now. I don’t have an ideal situation currently. Eventually they will have special places to eat.

I had planned to switch to 2 meals and found out that the boyfriend fed lunch today. I will just give him a very small dinner to hold him over. We’ll go to 2 tomorrow. I am nervous about having him eat just dry as he hasn’t been forced to suffer that torture in about a week. 😉 Would doing a mostly dry meal in the AM and a mostly wet meal in the PM be a good compromise?

I had a sneaking suspicion that I was totally getting played with the spoon feeding. And there is a reason that I have furry kids and not the human kind. I guess I would be that mom forcing food down her kids’ mouths! It’s been several years since I’ve had a puppy as opposed to an adoloescent or adult. I have been extremely paranoid and concerned with every bit of him.

I did a bit of online vet work to see about his water habits. And I was figuring that he just hadn’t understood that water isn’t just a boredom thing. His potty training has been coming along so I was thinking about letting him get a few more water breaks so he can get the hint. I will discuss his habits with our vet just to be sure as he acts like a normal puppy.

We just picked up some new goodies for him tonight: 2 samples of Signature and two cans of Wild Calling. And since the price was good on the Orijen Treats, he got those too. We almost picked up a small bag of the Stella raw, but we were wanting to try a small bag of the rabbit before committing to a big bag.

Crazy4cats – Thank you. He’s my little special man. I just want the best for my little guys!

[Dori]

YIKES! Draining the tongue is definitely not anything that I’ve dealt with or even heard of. Unless he wasn’t able to swallow and having difficulty with breathing I would have opted for the shot.

C4C You have got to figure out what your dogs are getting into. It’s just too much of a coincidence for my liking. This may sound a little nutty to you but seriously, you and your hubby have got to get down on all fours and check all through your house, all levels including basement. Anywhere and everywhere that your dogs wander in house. Then you both have to do the same thing (on your dogs level which means down on all fours) and go through your yard. They are getting something from somewhere. There may even be a beehive, wasps nest, carpenter ants, something that you’re not seeing but it is there somewhere. Like I said, it way too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. You’ve never had a dog have this happen to them and now you’ve got two?

Benadryl only. Not with anything else included on the label. 25 mg. is what has always been prescribed for any dog that I have ever had. Katie who weighs 6 lbs. gets 25 mg. anytime she’s having a really bad day with food or allergies. It’s never even slowed her down. There are times that she has gotten 25 mg. twice or three times a day. That’s also what her allergist/dermatologist and traditional vets prescribe.

Let us know what happens and also what you found either inside or outside your house. Put your thinking cap on.

Your dog on antibiotics, is he on antibiotics too?
I’m glad they are doing better, sorry for all your going through.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Dori.

[Terri M]

After several skin scrapings to rule out sarcopic mange, demodectic mange and yeast (all negative), my vet wants us to try an elimination diet. Royal Canin specific protein -Rabbit/potato was what they wanted him to try along with wet rabbit food to mix with the dry. Have any of you had success with this food regimen? We’ve been asked to do this for eight weeks. I have two other frenchies (both brindle) with no skin/coat issues. This sweet boy is honey blonde. We also have him on omega-derm which I put on his food once daily. We have also done the corticosteroid injection followed by antibiotic and steroid therapy which worked for a while, but the skin condition came back. Prior to this, I had switched him to Acana a Grasslands grain free with wet food. I also use a special allergy anti-shampoo. I’m at my wits end trying to help my little guy. Any suggestions/advice are welcomed!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Dori –

Freshpet isn’t raw.

There are two raw foods currently on the list – Stella & Chewy’s and Primal. The list will be changing in the future as some companies are taken off and new companies are added so we’re always considering new companies to add.

Keep in mind that it’s also important for the list to represent brands that the average reader will want to feed their dog and that are readily available. The majority of pet owners do not feed raw. Many raw foods also have a limited distribution. So, while we definitely don’t want to exclude any raw foods deserving of recognition from the list, the bulk of the list is and will continue to be dry dog foods.

[Katie J]

In regards to pet stores, I agree. This pup and my spaniel are exceptions. I currently own two off the track thoroughbreds that I adopted and my terrier mix from a rescue whom I know even less about as he came in as an abused stray. Plus I have brought home several barn kittens along with several other adopted and well bred pups alike. To me I feel sorry for these pet store pups. They get born into a horrific system, and they have no control over it. They were just born and get the brunt of it all because giving them a loving home that they wish to have supports the monsters that brought them to life.

Not sure how I left any details out in that novel of an original post, but I did. He gets a little more than a quarter cup of kibble with two heaping teaspoons of wet. Though the wet is enough to mix thoroughly with the dry. The 4Health suggests up to 2 cups for him hence my feeding so much and so often. I also have picked up the adult dogs’ food while he is with them because he would sneak their food and not eat his. Plus Sir Pees-a-lot hadn’t quite understood that he shouldn’t drink half his weight in water and have all sorts of accidents. I am proud to say that he has been accident free for nearly 2 days (knock on wood) so I may let water stay down more often. I have been giving him lots of little water breaks simply for potty training purposes.

And I guess it never occurred to me that I was feeding too much. My boyfriend and I discussed feeding too much per feeding but not in general. I’ll admit that I am very worried that he’s not getting enough to get “big and strong” but didn’t think I was giving too much. Perhaps I should cut back on both kibble and wet by a tiny bit? Or do the same ration just twice a day?

[Carol P]

I have been feeding my 3 small dogs Blue Wilderness Weight Control and was recently told that this is too high protein for inactive dogs such as mine and could cause kidney problems along with others . One is cockapoo, mixed terrier and chihuahua. They each overeat so I weigh their food – I give them 2 oz. of dry food mixed with a tablespoon of Organix canned food. All suggestions will be appriciataed.

[Dori]

So sorry to hear what happened to Griffey. It really sounds like what some of the other posters are saying. Bee sting, spider bite, something like that. A lot of us have dogs with food allergies and intolerances and I’ve never seen or heard of any reaction as you’re describing. You should always have Benadryl in your house. I even carry some in a pill container in my handbag. You never know when you might be out and about and you or your dog will have a reaction. It’s always best to get an antihistamine as soon as you see some reaction and then try to figure out what the issue is. Did the vet tell you how long you should keep giving the Benadryl. Should be about three times a day until the reaction has completely subsided and then even for a couple of days after that. When Katie is having her allergy issues (because I’ve screwed up and let her have something she shouldn’t) I give her Benadryl (25 mg.). She weighs 6 lbs. and the worst that can happen is that your dog will sleep a bit more. Doesn’t seem to bother Katie that way but just wanted you to know the drowsy part. Again, poor Griffey. How’s he doing now? Better I hope.

[pugmomsandy]

If you haven’t been through the DFA Library yet, there are some helpful articles there about how to choose dog food, ingredients, ingredient labels, canine nutrition, etc.

/helpful-dog-food-articles/

For me personally, I chose 1) a small kibble, 2) generally not less than 30% protein for kibble, 3) gluten free, 4) not less than 36% protein dry matter for wet food, 5) no by-products/sugar/food color/BHA/BHT/ethoxyquin/sodium nitrite, and I generally do not buy from the large corporations (the ones that also make candy bars and toothpaste and other household items).

Also, I feel diet variety and rotation is important so pick various proteins and types of foods (raw, canned, frozen, dehydrated/freeze dried, kibble).

[Jordan H]

Hi everyone, i’ve been going through the list of 5 star rated dog foods (wet and dry) on this site but i had no luck finding any that were available in Australia so i decided to come here with hopes of some advice! I would really like to know what is the best type of dog food, highly rated by the standards of this site that is available in Aus.

The thought of me feeding my pup food that truly isn’t good for him makes me very uneasy so any help and advice is really appreciated!

In case this is of importance – i have a 4 year old maltese x shih tzu!

[Susan]

Hi Tracey, Shih tzu are known for stomach problems, especially pancreatitis, try a diet that is lower in fat, spewing yellow acid is a sign that she has excess stomach acid, are you sure she doesnt have acid reflux, my boy was suffering from this the begining of the year, I had to cook boiled chicken breast & boiled pumkin & also he was put on 1/3 Zantac every 12 hours 1 hour before food, this fixed the problem, as he hasnt vomited now for months thank- God, also kibbles are processed & harder on their tummy to digest.. You dont say what she is eating change whatever it is she eating, so she wants to eat & smaller meals are best 4 times a day, not the 1 big meal a day, as the acids will eat away at her stomach & will cause stomach ulcers in the end, a nice low fat dry biscuits helps..for her not to want to eat something is wrong, change her diet to a lower fat easy to digest meals & see then if she’s feeling better…nice smelling tuna or salmon as a small meal, I do the tuna & boiled pumkin for a light breakfast as Patch cant stomach his kibble for breakfast, I give the kibble for lunch & dinner but he’s on a low residue kibble that breaks up very easy & now Im adding the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal, but the Holistic Select kibbles broke down easier & when water was added the Holistic Select soften real easy so he’d digest it easier then a kibble that had potatos..

[crazy4cats]

Hi Zach-
Have you tried a stew type of canned? They are easy to mix really well into the dry food. Remember that you only have to worry about the 20% or less for toppers if it is not a balanced topper, such as sardines. Most canned is balanced as long as it doesn’t say for supplemental feeding only. I’ve been using the Kirkland Cuts which has been replaced by Natures Domain canned foods. Also Pure Balance, Merrick and Whole Earth Farms have budget friendly canned stew style foods that I like. Maybe mixing it really well into the kibble will help. Good luck. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could talk sometimes?

[Janet M]

My 8 year boxer has been having issues with either having very small soft stools and bouts of diarrhea. He had his stools check and the vet found no infections/parasites etc. They put him on antibotics just in case. They did a complete blood and urine work up and nothing showed up except his urine was very diluted. He has been drinking more water lately. We have tried so many different dry dog foods. He has been on Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and that has not helped. I have even been putting pumkin in his food. For the last few days I took him off the dog food and only gave him boiled white meat chicken with a little pumpkin mixed in. It helped a little but he was still going soft and very little stool. Now he is back on the Science Diet and has diarrhea again. Any suggestions on what dry food to try now? I have two boxers and can’t afford to spend 75.00 a bag when I go through a 30 pound bag about every 2 weeks. They checked him for Cushings’s, diabetes etc. I think he might have IBS. Please any suggestions.

[Nancy C]

BCNut, thank you. Here’s my issue: CARBS. Ive contacted Earthborn for carb info on the foods and Dry Matter numbers as well. They give crude. On one of the formulas the first ingredient is meal (can’t remem which animal protein) and the NEXT FOUR ingredients are flour, barley, sweet potato and 1 other one -pea something perhaps. Seems to me that will raise the carbs, and if so, Is this a good thing? Watching Dr. Becker’s videos has led me into “carbs- aware ville” so I am interested in your perspective. Also at NutriSource GF I noticed the 28%Protein, 17%Fat and a whopping 48% carb! Is this healthy? I’m confused and welcome your illumination.
Thank you for your help.

[theBCnut]

Cats do best long term on wet foods. The most common cause of death in cats is kidney failure, which they attribute to an unnaturally dry diet. They do kind of imprint on the type of foods they are fed when young, so if you only feed dry, later they will refuse canned. Introducing raw and canned young is very important.

[Ysabella J]

Okay cat people, I am in dire need of some help. A friend of mine found an abandoned kitten that she couldn’t keep. I ended up taking care of her and in the meantime fell in love with her. Took her to the vet for a check up, got her dewormed with panacur and albon, and also sent out a fecal that came back negative. The vet believes she is about 5 weeks old. I have been feeding her raw goats milk and Taste of the Wild dry food. Cat food is fairly new to me as I feed my dog half raw & half Orijen, and never had a cat of my own, only ones that I grew up with. I am wondering if there is something too rich in her diet? She has had very loose stools for 4 days now.. I have had her for 6 days. What do I do? I am considering ground turkey, pumpkin, and rice… Poor kitty has to go so often and I’m constantly bathing and cleaning up after her. The vet says she’s hydrated and she has been drinking plenty of water.

What to do?

[Joey B]

Good morning! First time poster, here. But my english bulldog, Roscoe, is almost 2 years old, and lately I’ve noticed that his stool has gotten very loose (not runny, more like soft-serve ice cream.. sorry for the description!!!)

I’ve been feeding him limited ingredient Nutro lamb and rice (Limited Ingredient Diet – Lamb & Whole Brown Rice Natural Dry Dog Food : NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® Dog Foods – The Nutro Company), and it’s just now started to become more noticeable that his stool doesn’t have the right consistency.

Any recommendations for bullies that won’t upset their stomachs? Thanks in advance! : )

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog, have you been on the HK site? You can get sample pouches so you can see if the cats will like it, without spending a lot of $$. My guys wouldn’t even taste it, they gave it a sniff then gave me a look that said, “what are you trying to do to me?”. The packets are not very big so if your guys usually have to try something several times to decide whether they like it or not, you’d need to take that into consideration. It’s good food, tho, I really wish mine would eat it. If nothing else, you’d have a new topper for Bobby for a few days. Right now my cats are eating good dry and mostly cans, now adding the Freshpet. And my Julie absolutely loves raw, so she gets a bit of that as well. The other cats really not interested in the raw so it’s just Julie and the dog getting the good stuff! Old cats, old habits I guess!

[crazy4cats]

Akari-
Yippee! A picture, finally. I could look at cat pictures all day, LOL! And, BTW, I TASTED the dog food, I didn’t eat dog food. 🙂 There was talk about it being salty. I wanted to check it out. And, no, I didn’t think it was overly salty.
Yes, please always double check the dryer before you shut the door. A former coworker told me a horror story about a cat in the dryer.

[Akari_32]

Ewww, I wouldn’t eat pet food lol Some of it may be human grade, but there’s still no way of knowing for sure what goes into it and how it was handled lol

Side note, “Oh were you trying to do laundry? Here, let me fix that for you.”

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/4F7F2DD6-377F-4382-AC7B-1400952BB74D_zpslpbbsiza.jpg

[Karen C]

Help! My breeder originally recommended Taste Of The Wild High Praire Venison and Bison dry puppy food, my English Cream puppy has been eating this dog food since she was a puppy, when i got her at 4 months she constantly ate her poop. The breeders reasons for changing to Life Abundance is this problem, he said the switch was amazing they were having such a problem with all their pups eating their poop and all the issues that come with that. The issue i have is that with shipping (I cant purchase local) its 50% more expensive almost $100.00 for a 35 LB bag! And I thought Taste of the Wild was expensive at $55.00 a 35 lb bag, HELP I want the absolute best for my 7 month old pup but this seems excessively expensive.
I live in Maryland. THANK YOU

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Robin –

No Wellness foods are manufactured by Diamond. All of Wellness’s dry formulas are made either in-house at WellPet’s own facility in Mishawaka, IN or by Hagen in Waverly, NY or Vitaline in Hazelton, PA.

[Bobby dog]

I have some prices from my Wal-Mart on FreshPet Select rolls for dogs, $3.16, $4.86 & $12.86. I haven’t checked out the prices recently though, not sure how accurate they are.

It is a cooked product that must be kept refrigerated, as C4c wrote t comes in a roll form and also small nugget bites, tubs, and shreds for cats now. They have their own facility for making the food. They’ve added a few different foods and treats since I have looked at the website last. They have a line that is made from anitbiotic and hormone free poultry, grain free, and limited ingredient slections.

Bobby loved the FreshPet Select. I fed it as a topper once before I came to DFA. I will feed it again it’s just that I am all stocked up on dry, kibble, and raw for Bobby right now.

I am definately going to try it out for the kitties. Hopefully it will be something to add to the rotation. They have some shredded meat & gravy recipes for kitties that are only available in California; that’s okay since my cats don’t like shreds. lol

http://freshpet.com/

[Meho M]

I’m wondering why you gave Nulo Medal Series dry a 5 star rating, but its not on the list of top foods?

[jakes mom]

Has anyone tried FreshPet? The dog food gets a 3.5 star rating. I bought a small bag of the chicken cat food and 2 of my guys love it. Almost as convenient as dry. It does have fish in it, tho. Something else for the rotation list when the price is right.

[Bobby dog]

aquariangt:
I am looking for new dry food. Since P&G is being sold to Mars by the end of 2014 and Merrick seems to be having issues, I am down to Wellness Turkey & Duck. I have an old GF cat food list I am going to have to dig out to start looking for more dry food to add to my rotation.

I look for foods with no fish meal and low carbs. The fish meal is a little difficult everyone likes to add it.

For cat food, at least when I am trying out new recipes (wet or dry) I always buy local so I can buy a small quantity and can return it quickly if I need to. So my selections are a little limited, but not too bad since I have a boutique pet store, a local chain pet store, and a national chain pet store close by. I never mind ordering food on-line for my cats once I know they will eat it. I was going to check out Pure Vita and I will also take a look at Earthborn when I get a sec tonight. I think C4c feeds Earthborn.

[Bobby dog]

Sharon:
I think they are hiding the veggies! lol I always give the leftover veggies to Bobby. I am not sure he even likes eating them as much as he knows it’s from the cat’s food.

aquariangt:
I kinda figured you already tried raw, but you never know. I know that insulted cat look when you try to give them something new all to well. I have tried so many foods I started a spreadsheet so I don’t keep wasting money. I do have a great rotation going for my cat that will eat anything. My other four are tough nuts to crack. They want dry food and Purina. At least they have good dry food and a few days a week they will eat some decent food. Oh well, we can only keep trying. I haven’t tried HK for my cats, I don’t think they would go for it though; not writing it off entirely because you never know.

[arwyru24]

I am so glad to read the positive review…it seems like every review I have read has been extremely positive so I am definitely going to get one of these. Our last dog ate more like a cat. He would pick at his food throughout the day so this is like a shock.. Our puppy now doesn’t choke or cough or anything like that after eating but it really does seem like he eats really really really really fast and this would be a really good thing. I try to feed very minimal dry food to my cats, I have them down to about 1/3 cup a day split into two feedings between the two of them(although its the tubby one that eats most of it, he prefers and eats more of the dry food the other one prefers and eats more of the canned food) but I got http://aikiou.com/ and it really seems to help a lot, it slows him down so he can’t just chow down all his kibble at once, and that seems to have him eating a little less. I really want to eliminate all kibble from my cats diet, but Wyatt really really really loves his crunchies and he looks and begs for them. He likes canned food, and he does eat the canned, they get about the equivalent of a 13oz can a day (total for the two of them, split into 3 meals usually) but its been hard for me to completely kick the kibble.

[Qi X]

Thanks a lot! I think i am going to get the Wellness CORE Grain Free Puppy Formula Dry Dog Food! Looks like that is the only one for puppy on the list