[neezerfan]

I believe the list will only contain 4 or 5 star foods. See the review here: /dog-food-reviews/great-life-dog-food-dry/.
Would you consider feeding canned? Picky dogs will usually eat canned better than kibble.

[Dru N]

My 9 year old American Bulldog has a inoperable tumor and has been on prednisone for the past year. His appetite is extreme. We have been feeding him FreshPet Select for about a year now. He also gets a lot of snacks. He is still losing weight and rather than increase the FreshPet which is expensive, we would like to give him a high calorie dry food in addition to the FreshPet to keep his weight up.

He should be about 120 lbs. He’s lower than that now, probably closed to 105 to 110. The last time we tried to give him Blue Buffalo he got really bad gas. He also has a lot of skin allergies. Do you have any suggestions on a dry food that would be good?

[Jose S]

What confuses me about Blue Buffalo is that, in 2007 they had a major dust up with American Nutrition (ANI) ANI was putting ingredients in Blue Buffalo’s food without their consent. Blue Buffalo called it “tampering.” The FDA chimed in as well. Blue Buffalo said they would never use ANI again. Why then, according to the Whole Dog Journal, does ANI make Blue Buffalo dry?

[Naturella]

I second Sandy’s advice – Bruno’s add-ins (various canned such as Merrick, Wellness, Nutro Ultra, etc.; THK Love, Embark, Force, Keen; yoghurt/kefir, cottage cheese, coconut oil, raw eggs, pumpkin, flaxseed meal on occasion, canned sardines on occasion, RMBs (pork necks and chicken backs at the moment), and raw spelts (small fish), and natural dehydrated chews – bully sticks, ears, snouts, chicken feet and necks, tracheas, etc.) constitute about 1/4 (25%) of his daily intake. However, THK and canned are also considered balanced foods (right?), so I think I am at below 20% with unbalanced additives. I just use his body condition as a guide, and will start keeping track of his weight (IDK if I will measure him though) – he is very active and runs a lot, and appears to be in tip top shape.

Also, I will give you Bruno’s weekly sample menu. He is an about 13lb, 1 year old, active Rat Terrier mix.
Kibble mix is: Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch:Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original:Victor Yukon Salmon in 3:1:1/3 ratio.

Treats: above kibble mix or NutriSource Seafood Select or Castor and Pollux Organix Adult (the last 2 are from samples). Also available are Nutro and Old Mother Hubbard biscuits for special occasions. Also for special occasions (or to keep him busy when I’m busy too) I make him ice-cream with yoghurt, peanut butter, coconut oil and coconut butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and turmeric, and I fill anything I can – his Kong, marrow bone, hoof, other toys with holes – and freeze. Rarely I give raw veggies/fruits like carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, apple, pineapple core, mango, raw coconut, etc. (safe stuff).

Monday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Tuesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons yoghurt/kefir and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Wednesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with raw egg (no shell) with a sprinkle of flaxseed meal
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Thursday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Friday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons cottage cheese and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons raw organ meat (whatever I have) or raw meat/fish (whatever I have) or 2 teaspoons of canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy

Saturday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Sunday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons pumpkin with a sprinkle of cinnamon and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
RMB to cap it out

On days when Bruno runs a lot (i.e. Dog Park days) I may switch his next meal’s add-in with raw egg or raw meat/organ meats/fish (or canned sardine) for added natural protein “post WOD”. Or give him a dehydrated natural chew like a bully stick, a cow/lamb/pig ear, or tripe stick, or you know – “richer” stuff to make up for the calories burned and supply some lean meat for his muscles. I really just kind of gage his body condition and appetite for stuff as far as additives go. And sometimes, if I’m out of canned, I put his plain dry kibble in a dispensing toy and let him play with it and eat it as is. I also do some training daily and reward with about 20 kibble bits, and, if I want to stress on something – an Old Mother Hubbard or Nutro biscuit. Oh, and I almost always add water (as you can see) for added hydration. But yeah… So far so good with this method of mine. Hope I’m doing it right too, lol.

But I’m sure you will figure out how to balance it for Jake. 🙂

[Joanne H]

How about a dry food with no grain or peas? I just learned that my lab is allergic to peas. I have been stumped for years and had switched her to Wellness Grain Free. That and most others have peas as a top 5 ingredient.

[Wanda F]

When we received our first bag of Orijen, last Friday, you could tell it was an amazing kibble before even opening the bag. It is very dense, you can smell the freshness and Brewer LOVES it. I mixed Orijen with Nutrisca for a couple days and he found a way to eat around the Nutrisca. Because of the high protein content I’ve been integrating it rather slowly, (a couple cups a day) but he still developed loose stool after 2 days and I am still giving him a reasonable meal with raw ingredients, not mixing. So why the loose stools??? Who knows.
And…he’s still scratching and licking!…I don’t believe this is a food allergy; I think it’s a skin allergy. When I picked up his flea and tick meds. at the vet. she told me to try Benadryl. Any comments on that? I truly hate giving my dog more medication. Are there any natural products that actually work? I’ve tried herbal flea control, he hated it and it didn’t work very well. Thanks for all your helpful comments.

[Carolyn H]

Hi – I have an adolescent Rescue Cattle Collie in the city who tends to get extremely hyperactive, bordering aggressive when he’s had high protein food. I had him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness and switched to the chicken (beef upsets his stomach) Blue Buffalo Freedom. He’s starting to not like the food much and I need to make a switch. Since I’m changing, I thought I’d try to upgrade him to Solid Gold which my last dogs ate & seems to have a good review on here. My concern is the % protein in the food. I don’t want to starve him but he just can’t handle that much protein without becoming a madman!!

I am very careful to ensure he gets adequate exercise for his age/breed despite not living in the country.

[Hound Dog Mom]

At my shelter we don’t spay the queens until a few weeks after their kittens have been weaned. If the kittens’ eyes opened 10 days ago, I’d guess that they’re roughly 3 weeks old. With kittens, even more than with puppies I’d say, it’s very important that they be kept with mom and allowed to nurse for eight weeks if at all possible. Kittens really tend not to do well when they’re weaned early. It’s a good idea to start offering wet food around 4 weeks, they’ll usually start eating a little dry around 5-6 weeks, but they really should have access to mom for 8 weeks. If the mom is already nursing, she likely would still produce milk after being spayed however I would advise waiting until at least two weeks after the kittens are weaned until spaying her. This will give her time to dry up and for the mammary tissue to regress. Not only do I feel that that a spay surgery is an unnecessary amount of stress to put a queen that is nursing ten kittens under but it’s also a more complicated surgery when the cat has mammary development (most vets don’t want to do it). During this time period, however, it will be very important to keep her contained because she can become pregnant again. Are you keeping the cats in your house? If not – would it be possible for you to create a makeshift “nursery” somewhere (a shed, garage, etc.) where it’s clean, comfortable and that you’re sure mom can’t escape and no outside cats can enter?

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Suburban Gal]

FYI…

My local Kriser’s gave me free samples (2 OZ bags) of Earthbound Holistic dry food (Lamb, Bison and Herring) and they came with $3 off coupons on the bag. The coupons are good on 5 LB or larger bags of dog food and have no expiration date.

Kriser’s are a chain of privately owned pet stores in CO, CA, TX and IL.

You can learn more about Kriser’s by going to http://www.krisers.com.

[Amir F]

Hey
4 Alaskan Malamute, what food would you pick?
Merrik or Timer wolf?

I was reading the reviews on both of these the other day and I think Timber wolf is better but then I saw it wasn’t on the Editor’s Choice list.

why you think this is?

/dog-food-reviews/timberwolf-organics-dry/
/dog-food-reviews/merrick-dog-food-dry/

[Carol G]

Nominate a Brand for Editor’s Choice

I’ve been using Flint River Ranch dry dog food for years. They have NEVER had a product recalled. Is there a reason they have not been considered for your list.
Carol

[Bobby dog]

Hello:
Checked out the NV canned cat food to see if my pet stores had the deal C4c ran into, they didn’t. 🙁
I picked up beef liver for the ABC diet. I went to two grocery stores and that was the only thing on my raw list I could find. 🙁 I was going to hit a third grocery store on my way home, but I ran out of time. That one probably will have some of the items I am looking for; next time I will start there first.

I also picked up lactobacillus & bifidobacterium capsules and plain Greek yogurt for the kitties. I have been sprinkling one capsule each/day on Tyler’s food; he does not like yogurt. I have been alternating yogurt and capsules with Archie; he’s a good eater. I hope Archie’s coat continues to fill out. The bald spots are really growing fur now. His skin is still dry, but has improved a great deal. I’ll keep you up to date in case anyone else has these types of issues with their cats in the future.

Akari:
Hope all is well.

Not a coupon deal, but one of my pet store’s deal this month is B1G1 free any size dog or cat food of Cali Nat’l or EVO. Picked up two small bags of EVO for the cats for $9.99 total and three cans of Wellness using my $1.00 off coupons for each. 😉 I was in there looking around for food to buy this Sunday during their anniversary sale, 25% off everything, wahoooo!

[Naturella]

Hm, that’s odd – that he got dry skin on fish-based food when usually fish-based foods help with skin issues (or at least fish oil does). Bruno is as soft and shiny as ever (then again, he also gets coconut oil at breakfast every other day as well and that helps with skin and coat too).

I have not gotten the lamb yet, I have the poultry one and the bison one lined up to feed Bruno.

Anyway, hope they respond soon!

[Akari_32]

Glad you got it! I did about the same for Bentley. Gave him 1/2 cup of dry food, and a 1/8 cup of HK. Mixed it with a 1/4 cup of water and a bit of local honey (that stuff is helping him so much! After just a few days, his skin is much less red) and mixed it all together. He liked it! I gave him the grain free chicken one– whatever it’s called lol

[Jeannie D]

I would like to nominate: Canine Caviar “Holistic” – only alkaline based dog food in America – they offer dry and canned and are GMO, gluten, antibiotic and Hormone Free products.

[Ron M]

Mary over at Dogaware has compiled a list of lower fat foods both dry and canned.
Just do a search at her site for low fat diets if interested.
Ron

[pugmomsandy]

She might just need a longer transition as it looks like in the first week, you got to a 50/50 mix. I usually don’t increase the amount of new food until poops are nearly normal. So I would stay at a 80/20 mix until she has a somewhat normal stool and nothing loose. I’m pretty sure one of mine took about 2-3 months to fully transition over to Instinct, another high protein brand a few years a go. He was on 20/80 for a month. As far as waiting for the pumpkin, it sounds like she is wanting to be spoiled, and for you to give in. I wouldn’t call that concerning unless you think she will start getting picky and not eat only dry food. As far as probiotics go, check to see if has multiple strains of organisms. And then some dogs just don’t do well on some of the “better” brands. I had to give up on Merrick for my fosters. I would either start over on the transitioning or try another brand. I’ve had good luck with Nutrisource GF lamb, Canidae Pure Elements and Core Wild Game and Nutrisca.

[USA]

I agree with Betsy. For a dog with cancer who is not already eating a raw diet and doing well on it I would not want to add the additional bacterial load that comes with raw food. A lot of healthy dogs do very well on a raw diet and this is something worth trying in dogs who are not fighting cancer or other serious illnesses.

Kibble is highly processed and the way it is made and the ingredients that it uses are the furthest from a NATURAL diet for a canine that you can feed your dog. The fact that kibble is a dry food adds additional stress to a dog’s kidneys and liver.

If a homemade lightly cooked diet is not an option a high quality low carb canned food would be much more beneficial for all dogs than kibble but especially for a dog dealing with a serious illness.

[jakes mom]

You can have crystals in alkaline or acid urine, just different kinds. He’s probably just better off with no dry food. If this turns out to be a continuing crystal problem there’s a surgery that can be done that essentially turns him into a girl, lol. Reconstructs the urethra and widens it so it’s less likely to get blocked. But let’s hope you don’t have to think about that!
I’m jealous of the fish tank talk! Haven’t had one in a long time, I agree, I like the neons, too!

[Alice M]

Hello,

I own a 4 year old German Shepherd. I find she does well on duck dry food and I try to keep the fat and protein levels normal and grain free. She does well with digestion with duck protein Also I mix in a little wet food and steamed vegetables. ( carrots, peas, squash, beans) No beef products. I am using Go Sensitivity and Shine, although I am thinking about trying the Fromm duck food. I also look for treats that are low in fat and grain free.
I’ve tried the Zuke’s dental treats, they seem to cause loose stools.

[USA]

Hi Tina L,

Demodectic Mange is definitely related to the immune system. It is believed that all dogs have the mites but they are kept in check by a healthy immune system. Your dog may have a late blooming immune system or there may be other things going on.

I would recommend you feed him the best food you can. Take a look at the 5 star foods on the review part of this website. Try to stay below 25% carbs which is still a lot but it is hard to find dry foods with less carbs. Canned foods can be found with less carbs and if you are able to feed a large dog only canned food then that would be a good option. If you want to look a little deeper into the quality of the foods you might want to join the Editors Choice section here. There is a yearly fee but it goes more in depth into the dog food companies on the list. The better his diet, they better he will do with everything life throws at him.

The pills for the itching might have been a prednisone type drug which stops itching by SUPPRESSING the immune system! This is counter productive to BUILDING up the immune system to control the mites that cause Demodectic Mange!

I agree with you on limiting vaccines, flea control and any other toxic meds although at some point if his mange becomes wide spread and he is in constant distress you might have to seek the least toxic alternative. I would suggest you supplement his diet with digestive enzymes to make sure he is absorbing all the nutrients in his food, probiotics to help strengthen his immune system, omega 3’s to help with inflammation and turmeric as an antioxidant.

Good Luck with your pup!!!

[Bobby dog]

Marie: For ticks you use it like a flea powder

Akari:
I used to buy Shoo Flea by the Natural Vet, really liked it but just didn’t fit into the budget anymore. The main ingredient in Shoo Flea is food grade DE and it is scented with a capsule of herbs and essential oils. I began using plain food grade DE several years ago as a flea powder and for treating pet beds, floors etc with good results. Keep in mind it does not kill them immediately.

I have seen warnings about DE clogging vacuums, it has never happened to me. I just make sure I take their bedding outside to shake them out then throw them in the washer. I have only had to use DE on the floors in my basement so I swept the floor well before vacuuming.

Be careful not to inhale the dust or let your pets inhale the dust.

I have never fed it to my cats or dogs.

The one drawback I found using it as a flea powder is that it can dry their skin. I always use organic unrefined coco oil as a food supplement when using it. Fish oil would probably be a good choice also. I use CVS 1000 mg fish oil capsules for Bobby and the cats. The good thing about coco oil is it can be applied externally. As a flea deterrent I had the best luck using coco oil applied directly to the skin, but it can be messy for your furniture. Coco oil does very well at soothing skin irritations like flea bites. I apply DE first, then coco oil if needed in certain areas. I used coco oil daily on Bobby last summer. Hopefully I won’t have to treat flea bites this year because his yeasty smell is gone and his skin is healthy since I have improved his diet. So far so good!

Good thing I checked the links I saved on DE, some of them no longer existed.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/benefits-diatomaceous-earth/
http://www.vetinfo.com/using-diatomaceous-earth-to-worm-pets.html
http://www.diatomaceousearth.com/?gclid=CJ2Dt8S5p74CFaQF7Aod5g4AcA
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/parasites/a/Diatomaceous-Earth-For-Flea-Control.htm
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html&sa=U&ei=9l5xU7PaKPLHsATEvYCQCA&ved=0CB0QFjAA&sig2=DCYxeQKLHzMoXm6BYZtcxw&usg=AFQjCNHLDmVU6sLMs22UbzqWxC0OnCzAVw

[jakes mom]

BobbyDog, that’s right, put an empty litter box out and hope he’ll use it then you can pour the urine into a plastic margarine cup or something. The vet can do a bladder tap if necessary (not as bad for the cat as it sounds) but hopefully Akari or the vet can just get a sample. It may not be an actual UTI, might be cystitis from crystals. Some cats just can’t tolerate the dry food, screws with the urine PH and causes trouble. Akari, what kind of little blood specs are you taking about? How’s the flea problem? Are you sure it’s not little specs of flea dirt that’s falling off when he sits in one place for a while? Flea dirt (poop) is pretty much blood so will leave red spots. Just a thought. Bobby dog, haven’t tried yogurt or kefir yet, will let you know.

[Bobby dog]

Awww, sorry to read that Akari. 🙁 I think you have the right idea and dry cat food may not be for him.

Didn’t Jakes mom have some type of suggestion on collecting urine? Can’t remember exactly, but I think I commented on it a while ago. If I remember something about emptying out the litter box completely and hopefully the cat will use the litter box w/o the litter? IDK, I may have imagined it. lol

[Akari_32]

Ooooh fun times -_- cats got another suspected UTI. Vet appointment for tomorrow at 3;30. I’m glad I got my tax check, and that I only need about $160 of it for something else so we have some wiggle room for th vet, because I wouldn’t have been able to afford this otherwise! I’m going to stop dry food completely, even though I’m adding water and not even feeding him a full serving. Maybe he’s just one of those cats that can’t handle it? If it’s not a UTI, then we still need to figure out what’s going on and why he keeps leaving little blood specks all over the tile when he sits in one spot for a while. He still doesn’t really drink water, but I add to his food so that’s probably not too big of a deal. So, we’ll see. I’ve been instructed to try and get a urine sample, but he backs up to the front corner of the litter box to pee, so I dunno how well that’ll work out lol

[Rich N]

So maybe choose a dry dogfood with low amount of meal but then add protien via fresh meats to it. ?

[jakes mom]

The See Spot Live Longer site has a booklet called the ABC diet. One day a week is all fresh/raw food, the other days are the usual diet, dry, canned whatever you’ve been feeding. He also mentions that instead of one whole day you can spread the fresh menu items over the course of a week, just adjusting the kibble amounts. So apparently he doesn’t see a problem with mixing kibble and raw.

[Akari_32]

To you guys who have it already, or have used it, how much water should I put in the food to make it more like oatmeal/porridge? He wouldn’t enjoy having to work too hard for his food (lapping it up) lol He’s going to be getting about 1/2 cup dry.

[Linda H]

I have an 8 year old Sheltie whose fasting triglycerides were almost off the charts. My vet put him on the Royal Canin Low-Fat GI dry kibble and that has brought down his triglycerides significantly. This food has 5% fat which is lower than almost anything else I’ve found. He is thriving well on this food.

[jane k]

I have a picky yorkie/shihtz mix. he just turned 1 year. Hes very active. I recently discovered he likes lamb. does anyone have a dry 5 star food that is lamb based?

[Bobby dog]

Bobby’s rotation is the same as BCn’s. I buy small bags of kibble so I can rotate foods often. He can switch cold turkey at any time for toppers, whole foods, freeze dried/dehydrated, or kibbles. I feed anything from 3 to 5 star wet/dry foods so protein/fiber/fat levels change with each food. Most of the time Bobby gets samples of other kibbles during a rotation with no issues. So far it doesn’t matter what the protein is and I feed grain inclusive and GF in hopes of avoiding any food intolerances. I am in the process of finding raw foods that Bobby enjoys as well; again no issues other than his taste buds. lol He has never had any issues with transitions since I began rotation feeding in Sept ’13.

[Anissa M]

I am trying to figure out which is the best meat protein in dry dog foods for a sensitive stomach…I hear that lamb is good, beef is harder to digest, chicken/turkey/duck is good as well. Or is a combo of meat proteins better such as chicken and lamb ? I am currently feeding Canidae Life Stages with good success. I am feeding Diamond Beef meal and Rice and have fed it for years until they changed their recipe and one of my bloodhound decided that it was horrible stuff and it completely unsettled her system where as she went off her food for over 2 days even when I tried to mix new with old slowly. The rest of my bloodhounds are fine on the new Diamond. Has anyone else had a problem with the ‘new’ Diamond ? So I started her on the Canidae and she immediately loved it with no problems. I was looking at Merrick Lamb and Apple but I am concerned with just the one meat protein instead of a combo…Comments ?

[Bobby dog]

I can’t compete with Akari, I just picked up one Wellness and one Holistice select canned food for my cats at $1.00 off/each.

FYI:
coupons.com has the following coupons posted:
$4.00 off any Nature’s Recipe (Petsmart) dry 4 lbs. or larger
$2.00 off any Nutro Ultra dry 4 lbs. or larger
B3G1 free Nutro Ultra Boost trays
$1.50 off 5 Iams Woof Delights

[Bobby dog]

C4c:
Too funny because I thought the same thing! :0 That’s partly why I posted it because we have been talking about making our kibbles a little more wholesome and this was posted on a dog food site so I just assumed it was a cookbook for dogs. When I saw the pictures I thought OMG do people really make their dog food look that appetizing? Then I re-read the intro and started laughing at myself. My meals are definately not that pretty either. But, I will be checking out the recipes, especially the desserts.

FYI:
coupons.com has $4.00 off Nature’s Recipe 4 lbs or larger any variety dry dog food (Petsmart), $2.00 off Nutro Ultra any variety 4 lbs or larger dry dog food, B3G1 free Nutro Ultra Boost trays, $1.50 off 5 Iams Woof Delights, Sheba $3.00 off 24 cans, a couple Fancy Feast, and $5.00 off Blue Natural Litter (any size) coupons. I know Akari already gave us a review (not so good) of the Blue litter, but just throwing it out there any way.

Cheers 😉

[Katherine S]

I have an American Bulldog who has many food allergies. Does anyone know of a good venison based dry dog food? Venison is one of the few meats he can eat that does not make him sick. Thank you.

[Janie]

My biggest issue with dog food (most dry & canned), is the vitamin premix. If the ingredient label contains a list of vitamins & minerals, it is EXTREMELY likely that those vitamins are sourced from China. China is contaminating products with melamine which is why dogs are becoming ill and dying. It is NOT salmonella. Dog food manufacturers are not required to disclose the sources of ingredients. ONLY where the product is manufactured. I stick with a raw food diet. i wrote extensitely about these issues on my website essentiallydogs.com. You can type keywords on the website search bar. Raw, salmonella, and FDA are good keywords to search.

[Rev Terry R]

We have a one-year-old female yellow Lab who is in training to be my support dog. She has had three episodes of bloody stools in the last four months. The vet has ruled out parasites. We are looking at food issues since she seems to pass blood anytime there is even the smallest attempt to change her diet. We’ve been feeding Pedigree dry. It doesn’t cause the stomach irritation, but she doesn’t eat it well either. We’d like to try a homemade food but need something that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Anyone have a suggestion or recipe to share?

[Susan]

Kibble is the worst food to feed a dog, its just easy for us the humans, no cooking, no mess, instant….best is raw, then cooked, then freeze dry….. My boy has Pancreatitis & vet said try not to feed kibble if I can & I notice after Patch has his kibble he seems uncomfortable & burps more & Ive got him on a low residue kibble that breaks up real easy & I add water to soften as well….some kibbles are real real hard, especially the kibbles with potatos, sweet potato & grounded rice.. I add hot water to a couple of the kibbles if they dont soften within 1 min, I dont use them….

[Bobby dog]

Jakes mom:
Jake must have the best floppy ears. I can’t even imagine two better breeds with nice floppy ears. 🙂

Today was Bobby’s egg day! He does love egg day.

Hey Akari:
I love the Bentley snuggle pic! Poor baby, we used a flea collar on my childhood dog. I never used one for my JRT because many years ago consumers were warned about the possible side effects of some flea collars. Some brands use questionable chemicals. The before and after pictures are pretty telling, you did the right thing by taking it off immediately. They do have herbal flea collars on the Only Natural Pet Website.

I have never heard of stud tail before.

My suggestion on the fur loss would be to look into a probiotic. I was going to wait to update you guys, but here’s my update on feeding my hyperthyroid kitty a probiotic. I started giving him about 2T/day of kefir beginning April 11. He has dry skin which can be a side effect of his daily meds. I have treated his dry skin both internally and externally with organic unrefined coco oil. During the winter it got a little out of hand because of the heat and him staying indoors most of the time. I took him to the Vet, we discussed treatment options. I opted for antibiotics and medicated creme; it helped.

I also started researching possible home remedies other than coco oil. This led me to probiotics. I found info stating when a cat’s gut is in a weakened state probiotics is needed. Antibiotics can contribute to a weakened gut because it kills beneficial bacteria living there. He was also treated prior to the fall with antibiotics for a cut that got infected; this also could have contributed to what he is experiencing with his skin and fur now. A few signs of a weak gut include skin and fur conditions. So I decided to try kefir since I could drink it and I could give it to Bobby and Archie too. Long story short (I know, too late), it’s been almost a month and his skin and fur has improved a great deal. He now has peach fuzz growing on the several bald spots he was licking. The skin is not red and irritated looking, it is healing. I even took pictures at the start of my kefir trial. It really made a difference although he is not eating it as willingly as he was before.

I have been slowly researching probiotics for cats; I just haven’t come up with any recommendations for a human grade one that I could mix in his food or how much to dose. Since Archie has shown such an improvement in his fur and skin, I want to start giving it to my other senior kitty whose fur is not as full as it used to be. He just had a check-up recently, including blood work, and everything came back excellent. The one thing that I think may have affected his fur is at the start of the fall he had a cold and he was prescribed a round of antibiotics. His gut may still be out of whack, IDK. This kitty wants nothing to do with kefir so that is also why I need to find a probiotic other than kefir for him.

Maybe the chemicals from the flea collar put a strain on Kitty’s system internally, IDK just a thought. That’s my kefir and kitty story so far.

Another option for treating pets with fleas is using food grade dematiaceous earth as a flea powder for your kitty; it is inexpensive. Many people use it on their animals both internally and externally for parasites. It does not kill fleas immediately; it damages their exoskeleton which causes their death. You can also use it on floors, bedding, or anything else your pet may use to kill fleas. I feed it to my horses and I also use it as a flea powder. You can find a lot of info about DE and using it on your pets on the Internet.

[Gloraidy R]

I’m also looking for a free of synthetic vitamins and minerals, grain free/good for sensitive dogs to allergies, and i can make it into a rotational dry kibble diet(cans are too expensive to feed to large dogs and i dont have the fridge space for a raw/home made diet). I recently heard of different studies (done with humans, not dogs so it might/not apply) where the researchers compared the health of people who took synthetic vitamins from pills and those that took their vitamins from their diet(vegetables, fruits, meats ect.). They found that those that took synthetic vitamins had higher occurrences of cancer than those who ate their naturally occurring vitamins in foods. Here are two sources where you can get this info from: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/selenium-vitamin-e-supplements-increase-decrease-prostate-cancer-risk-201402287059 , http://www.cancer.org/healthy/eathealthygetactive/acsguidelinesonnutritionphysicalactivityforcancerprevention/acs-guidelines-on-nutrition-and-physical-activity-for-cancer-prevention-diet-cancer-questions
“Can nutritional supplements lower cancer risk?
There is strong evidence that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods may reduce the risk of cancer. But there is no proof at this time that supplements can reduce cancer risk. Some high-dose supplements may actually increase cancer risk.”

so please help me find one >.< for my very special adopted senor furbabies.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Gloraidy R.

[Akari_32]

Went shopping yesterday! Didn’t plan or anything, and still came out really great!

I got:

1x 4lb bag of Hills Ideal Balance Small Breed Puppy food ($11.99 on sale)
4x 13.whatever oz cans of Hills Ideal Balance Dog food ($2.00 each on sale)
1x Shubunkin Goldfish (I have a goldfish problem….)

Coupons were:
-2 free cans when you buy any size bag (hanging on the shelf)
-BOGO Hills Ideal Balance Dog Food Cans
-$5 off any size Hills Ideal Balance Food Dog or Cat (jacked a pamphlet from a PetCo LOL)
-$6 off any Hills Dry Dog or Cat food purchase (prints on receipt of previous purchase)

I think that’s it… Ill have to check my receipt later lol

Anyways, got out of there for $4! I didn’t plan or bring any of those coupons with me except the $6 off one LOL We went in to find cat food for my friend, and left with all the goodies :p I should have just gotten the two free cans and not paid $1 a piece for the other two, but it’s not like they won’t get used. I figure I paid $1 a pound for the food and got the cans and fish free lol

[Akari_32]

Thanks guys! For the money we decided on Wellness Core Turkey and Duck (or whatever it is) for now. No fish, etc, and can use the $5 off any bag coupons along with store coupons and pet Supermarket does B10G1 through the store (not through the companies, so no hassle with that!). I think I’m gunna take they route too, and keep mixing dry food into the cats canned. He does well on that method, and doesn’t keep weight up as well on just canned. Lord knows I can’t afford to feed this can any more than I already do lol

[Susan]

My boy was just diagnosed 2 months ago, I boil chicken breast, boil butternut pumkin & a boiled egg..I shread the chicken breast & mash it all together, I get enough chicken breast & pumkin for 1 fortnight & cook it all then freeze little meals..I just give the cook meal for breakfast & his kibble at night, Ive read that kibble isnt good for dogs with Pancreatitis, ur better off with a real low fat wet food, its easier to digest, I cook cause Im in Australia & the wet food fat % isnt low enough in fat, the lowest I can get is 3% fat, thats the Wellness senior…it needs to be around 1% fat, U’ll have to learn how to convert wet fat % into dry matter its easy, My vet also said when on a kibble fat% has to be under 10% fat, he said, he likes it to be 8% fat, alot of senior foods are low in fat but. You say she has a slight meat allergy that makes her itch, you sure its not carbohydrates, Carbohyrates make dogs itch, my boy cant have potatos or sweet potatos, he goes nuts scratching & his ears start to itch as well….Im sure other people on here will have some really good low fat foods..

[banditsmom]

my dog has had recent behavior changes. he is a 12 yo shih tzu and physically his issues are hypothyroidism and he takes meds also dry eye and he gets drops.
He has been on Prozac 5mg daily for some aggressiveness and its worked ok. I am going to wean him off of it after talking to the vet again. Vet just saw him and agrees that he is cognitively impaired. he wanders around the house and the will sit down and just bark at nothing. His hearing is fine but when I call him he doesn’t respond at all which is not like him.
Vet said to add omega-3 and I’m going to try selegiline for a month to see if it helps him.

I need peoples input. Does he need something different or something added?
Has anyone had experience with this? I’m distraught over this and I need to do the best for him.
He eats canned food or Stella & Chewy’s thatI add meat to. His canned is rotated, Wellness, Merrick, Weruva or Ziwi.

[Suburban Gal]

I don’t know Canada well enough to know what can and can’t be gotten there.

That said, I’d try finding Earthbound Holistic. They have six grain-free dry and five grain-free moist dog food formulas and are a reasonably priced food.

[Akari_32]

Well I think when I said dry that would be what I meant :p

I told her she may have to suck it up and buy Inscinct LID Rabbit. I told her to try something with out chicken and fish, since the cat usually has chicken based foods (they tend to buy stuff at the grocery store….). We’re going out tonight after she gets off work and scooping out what we can find.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Akari_32.

[Shawna]

Hi Lorraine B.,

The stage of the disease, and complicating factors, is the determining factor as to what types of diet are appropriate and not. Vets are often quick to recommend a prescription kidney diet when it is not really the best option. Example, Royal Canin states that the RC MP Modified food is designed for “late stage” kd.
“Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Renal LP Modified Dry Dog Food is a palatable, high energy, and highly digestible diet that has been formulated to aid in the management of late stage chronic kidney disease in adult dogs.” http://www.chewy.com/dog/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-renal-lp/dp/33956?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=179&utm_term=&gclid=CJyTl_PZl74CFbTm7AodKyIA1w

And, in my opinion, the ingredients in the kibbled diet are HORRIFIC for any dog but really bad for a dog with kd. The goal when feeding a kd dog is to feed “high quality protein”. The proteins used in this food (corn gluten meal and wheat gluten) are anything but “high quality”.

The canned food is a bit better but still may be too low in protein for the early stages of the disease. In the earlier stages it is often not necessary (OR ADVISABLE) to lower protein. But it is important to feed high quality proteins and to potentially limit the amount of phosphorus.

My pup has had kidney disease for eight years (as of next month) and this is a food I would NEVER feed her for any reason.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by Shawna.

[meky6ra]

Hi, sorry to hear about Ginger! I hope that she feels better soon! I’ve been feeding my dog Wellness dry dogfood for a couple of months and she seems fine. The only problem we had was with the Core Reduced Fat formula. It gave her terrible gas, but apparently it’s because Dixie’s intolerant to chicken. She eats the Simple Salmon and Pea recipe now and she’s fine. What was your dog diagnosed with?

[Susan]

Hi, I’d called it a “sensitive tummy” make sure the fat % is low, I found when my boy had his gurling bowel (Colitis) the vet said lower his fat & said he had Colitis..Patch was getting me up around 4-5am about every 10 days wanting to go outside & eat grass, when I first got him over 1 year ago, I’d hear his bowels rumbling from the next room, since Ive cut out the chicken necks & kept him on his Vet prescription diet ‘Eukanuba Intestianal’ that has only 10% crude fat, we haven’t had any rumbling & gurling since December, Thank-God..Ive also found when his tummy bowel was rumbling, Id make him toast eat 2 pieces of dry toast with fish paste lightly spread no butter, you could use cottage cheese something that doesnt have fat in it, the toast seemed to stop his rumbling & we could go back to bed…but watch the Crude Fat % in his kibble, no treats or things that have too much fat, also I keep his food the same & if I give him anything new I do it of a morning not of a night. I give him his Eukanuba Intestinal for his dinner so I wont get woken up with his little gurgle motor running….lol oh with the scratching stay away from kibbles & foods that are high carbohydrate, no potatoes, sweet potatos etc…maybe ur better of doing an elimination diet, like Im doing at the moment..also my boy is on a good probiotic for his stomach I feel this has also helped him…

[Tina]

Ginger is my 5 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi and at the moment she is on a Prescription Diet from the Vet. At the age of 2 Ginger was on Wellness Whitefish & Sweet Potato Dry Food Recipe along with Wellness Complete Health Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe Canned Food. First I changed the canned food, let her get used to it and eventually I bought a bag of dry food. On the first day of the gradually change over she seemed alright but something seemed different. She was the last dog to finish her dinner that night (she usually is the first) and she didn’t eat all of her dinner. Later on that night she began to vomit all over the place and her stool had some blood in it. I cleaned her up and gave her some Wellness Canned food to eat. About an half an hour later she began to vomit and her stool had even more blood in it. Throughout the entire night the blood got even worst and she became very weak and dehydrated (I stayed up all night with her). Early the next morning I called out of work and took her to the vet, $400.00 later she was sent home with Prescription Diet Canned food and lots of medicine. My vet said that it was caused by the food Wellness and to check to dry food when I got home. After looking in the bag of food I found little bits of fish bone throughout the food. Has anyone else had a problem with Wellness?