[Melissaandcrew]

Just wanted to update this. Have been grinding raw components since Oct and MOSt do well with it. However, I do have two 14 yr olds and a 16 yr old who do NOT do well with raw-They lost a bunch of weight which was quickly regained once they went back on dry. No way would they eat the volume in raw to keep weight on. Lesson confirmed-raw does NOT work for all dogs.

Secondly, Hubby helped me grind my chicken pieces the other night-it will be at least a week for it to be shipped to the company, have gears replaced and get it back. Thankfully its under warranty and the company I bought the Tassan from does not void the warranty for grinding chicken bones in the Tassan.

On the bright side, Hubby thought the food making was taking way too much time away from other things we need to do, so he just ordered a new one. After watching some videos of the Wesson’s grinding, he ordered the Wesson 32 since it said it was good for large volumes. His thought is we can process en masse once a month or every other and save a bunch of time!

I still recc the Tassan for those grinding a small amount, or those looking to try a grinder out before committing to an expensive purchase. I figure with this one I can grind whole turkeys without worrying about damage.

[theBCnut]

/dog-food-reviews/grandma-lucys-pureformance/
/dog-food-reviews/stella-chewys-raw-freeze-dried/

I would assume it is because Mike decided not very long ago how he was going to categorize freeze dried and dehyrated foods, so he hasn’t got to all of them to add tags for the dry list, since they aren’t really like a regular dry food. You should go down to the bottom of the page and shoot him an email about it. He likes to be informed about the things like that that we find so he can fix them.

[“Blue”]

Rather than start a new thread, I will post here, where my new question seems to fit anyway. Under the 5 Star Dry Dog Foods is listed Primal Freeze Dried Formula, but not the 5 Star rated Stella & Chewys FD and the Grandma Lucy’s FD. Is there a reason for this or just an oversight?

[Shasta220]

Ah, sounds like cats are quite the problem causes LOL! Usually we buy small enough packs of meat that they don’t need to be frozen, she eats them before they go bad (if I ever add organs, then they usually get frozen since one package lasts a looooong time for Ms. Picky Britches). Millie is our raw eater, refusing ANY commercial foods, then her younger brother, Panda, loves his dry (it’s hilarious – he’s always been on the dirt cheap dry food and /only/ liked his Cat Chow. We finally switched to Chicken Soup, and it took him a few days to adjust. We still keep cat chow around as treats for the ducks/chickens, and when we left a scoop of it out, Panda was there munching away on the food! The little dork prefers the cheap taste over quality lol). Then Maddy is the least picky, she doesn’t like raw, but that’s fine since she eats canned daily.

Well, I will just have to keep playing around with proportions for the goofy kitty.

Does anyone know how to post pictures? I’d love to show her to you guys, she is a very very unique kitty. Cream/chocolate tortoiseshell and has a perfectly split face (half white, half brown). Big blue eyes, white feet.

[theBCnut]

What I know and what I can get my cats to eat are 2 totally different things. 🙂 They just don’t really want to go along with raw feeding. At least I’ve been able to get 2 of them on canned food. My oldest is dry all the way, she won’t even smell canned or raw foods. The 2 younger ones will eat about 1/2 oz of raw, then they’ll just walk away. I can’t begin to tell you how much raw cat food my dogs have had to eat for me. Gideon has a “clean up the mess” command.

[freshley]

I’m trying to switch my pup to adult food and it seems like every good quality dog food I find that is reasonably priced and fairly easy to get locally, I find out is being produced by Diamond. After all the recalls, and how they handled the situation, I don’t feel like they can be trusted. Seems like they all go to them so they can save a few bucks, problem is the quality goes down as Diamond doesn’t seem to give a crap about quality.

[Bobby dog]

Thanks for the coupon tips. I will ask them which competitor’s coupons they honor.

Just one more thought for you. If you do decide to add H2O to the dry food, I am not sure how quickly it would be absorbed and what kind of consistency your cat may like it to be. Maybe you could add just enough H2O to it the night before to break it down, put it in a container in the fridge to keep it fresh, then add more H2O prior to feeding it to him if necessary. This is how I make my horses’ meals every day. I prep their meals for dinner at breakfast and meals for breakfast at dinner time. I add just enough H2O to break down the hay pellets, then when I feed I add more hot H2O to make a mash.

[Bobby dog]

What a big kitty! I love the tuffs of fur sticking up between his toes. I would think any way you can add moisture to the food he is eating, wet or dry, is a good thing. I add one to two tablespoons of H2O to the canned food I feed my cats at each meal; it makes it like a toothpaste consistency.
Funny you mention Innova Nature’s Table. One of the pet stores I shop at always has a great 50% off section. The food I have bought is never even close to expired. They quickly discount food that doesn’t sell so they can stock more of their popular varieties. They had Innova’s “Prime” GF Chicken for 50% off. Innova renamed their “Prime” line of food “Nature’s Table,” so the store put the old bags on sale. I got a 5 lb bag for $5.00. I was afraid to buy more because I did not know if they would like it. My cats are extremely picky and they do like this food and the ingredients look good. If I make it back to the store I will buy more at 50% off. I will definately add it to the list of dry food they like. I believe Innova might have had a recall recently, but we always have to be on the lookoout for recalls. I also have a small bag of Merrick GF chicken I bought on sale that I will be feeding them after the Innova. By the way, I think you have a great line-up of food to try out on your new friend.

[Akari_32]

Thanks guys! I just weighed him myself, and– even under weight– he weighs 11.2 pounds!!! Omg lol Talk about food bills!

Just curious on the dry subject, can I add water to his dry food? He doesn’t seem to have had much water today, even though he ate all his dry food. He did drink some yesterday, though, and I refilled his bowl once (it’s not a large bowl).

Also, I ditched the Nutro Max. I traded it for EVO. But I just realized that the EVO has herring meal in it! It’s like the 4th ingredient, though. It’s only a small bag, so that’s not much of a problem (2.2 pounds). I think next I will the Simply Nourish from PetSmart. I did see that Innova Natures Table had a cat food. Anyone have thoughts on that?

[Bobby dog]

Hi, congrats and he is gorgeous! As far as how much to feed your kitty, if you are going to feed wet and dry food I would suggest you check out the feeding guide on the dry food you are feeding him. For example, Wellness has a guide on their bag suggesting how much to feed your cats if you are feeding only dry or a combo of wet and dry according to your cat’s weight. When you decide on an amount just observe your cat’s body condition and adjust your food amounts accordingly.
I have had cats ever since I can remember and still have lots to learn. I have two 15 yrs, one 14 yrs, one 11 yrs, and one 6 yrs, all stray cats. I wish I never fed them wheat, corn, soy, fish, or dry food. I lost two that were 15 years old about four years ago to illnesses that bad nutrition surely contributed to; digestion problems, obesity, and the male had urinary tract issues throughout his life. I have one cat that was diagnosed about five years ago with a hyperthyroid; he requires daily meds now. I have slowly changed their diets over the past five months, but at their ages change is difficult so they still need their fish and dry food fixes. Most importantly I have weaned them off of Friskies. I might not ever be able to completely ween them off of fish or dry food. If I paid more attention to their diets I truly believe I would not have had the vet bills I had over the years. About four years ago an emergency room visit in the middle of the night for my male cat’s urinary tract infection cost me about $2,000 to get him well.
My advice is to feed them the best wet diet that fits your budget. Avoid soy, wheat, corn, and fish. Stick to poultry, lamb, rabbit or beef if possible. If you are going to feed dry find a good quality GF dry.
I am with Crazy4cats, my go to website is catinfo.org. My other favorite is the naturalcatcareblog.com. They have a great list of dry and dehydrated foods and the reason they recommend them. I feed wet three times a day (totalling about 3-5 oz./cat) and give them a small scoop of dry once a day. I am on a very tight budget as well so I only buy food that I either have coupons for, on sale, or on the 50% off shelf. I feed Natures Variety raw (when they e-mail coupons), 4Health from Tractor Supply, Merrick, Wellness, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic (chic only, K3 is in the other varieties), Blue Buffalo, and Evo. I am always trying new canned foods using the information I learned about food from catinfo as a guide. I also feed them boiled chicken two or three days a week as one of their meals to help keep costs down. For dry I have been feeding Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (bought with the $5 coupon from their site of course) because there is no fish meal in the recipe. I just bought a bag of Merrick GF chic on sale which they seem to like.
Sorry for the long post, maybe something I have written will be helpful for you. Good luck, he’s one lucky kitty!

[Mom2Cavs]

Yes, definitely wet food is better than dry. I do feed my cat dry and wet. I believe I’ve posted before that she gets wet (canned food, and sometimes premade raw) in the morning and evening and dry is left out all the time (I replenish it if she doesn’t finish it in a timely manner). She likes to eat this way. She loves nibbling the dry food in between breakfast and dinner. She also drinks plenty of water. So, if you can give wet along with any dry all the better. 🙂

[Molzy]

He is gorgeous!! Congrats!

Wet food is SO important for male cats! Luckily they are a lot smaller than dogs – I can feed my 10lb cat a commercial raw diet for less than a dollar a day. His coat is gorgeous, and it keeps urinary tract infections at bay! Ralph is on natures variety raw chicken. But even canned food is better than dry (Ralph only gets dry if I leave overnight without a pet sitter).

I could do natures variety even cheaper, but the medallions are SO convenient!

[soccerman1933]

Would you review the new dry dog foods available at BJ’s Wholesle Club. They are distributed by BJ’s and the brand name is “Earth Pride Pet” dry dog food.

[Akari_32]

How much, do you think? He’s a *big* boy! I hoping for a vets visit tomorrow, so he can be weighed then. But in his defense, Bentley did eat about half of his dry food before I could stop him lol

[Akari_32]

So I need some tips. The cat is starving. He ate all his food last night, and this morning input down exactly the same (~1/8 cup of dry food, and a nice big tablespoon of canned food). He’s eaten it all, and is currently chasing around the bowl that had the canned food in it. He’s thin, but he’s in no way dangerously skinny. I can just barely feel his spine and ribs, but his hips are a little obvious when you feel around under all that fur. He’s not that bad, though, and he’s happily eaten a few crickets as well (he knocked a Kritter keeper full of them off the table, and I missed a few in the clean up lol). I don’t want to give him too much food all at once, and make him sick or something, but it’s pretty pathetic that he’s chasing his food dish around! Thoughts?

[Shasta220]

I’m sorry, but I will go through the sob story of Millie. We rescued her as a 5wk kitten. I thought she was old enough to start cat food, but Dad insisted on dropper feeding her for a few days. I have no clue if that had anything to do with it, but she refused cat food when we offered it to her about a week later.

We tried dry, canned, organic, flaked, pouched. She sniffed it and backed up as if it was rotten. We got desperate enough to try “starving” her, offering NOTHING but cat food. She went a week without any food, and still had zero desire for cat food, even after force feeding it to her.

Eventually she got to eating kitchen meat scraps, hot dogs, and cheese (I’m repulsed too, but I simply knew /nothing/ about feline nutrition back then. It’s in the past now and can’t be changed – so please don’t chew me out, I’ve scolded myself enough for letting my parents feed that to her LOL!)…

A couple years ago we took her to the vet for urinary issues. They gave her some meds and she cleared right up, but it’s back now.

Her current diet is *shameful face* raw chicken legs. I wish we could some how get some supplements into her diet, but I’ve tried adding a basic supplemental powder (I added about 1/4 of a day’s worth into some ground meat), and she immediately detected it and refused.

I’m just wondering what the most basic raw diet is out there that I can get away with. I can’t try ANYTHING that’s commercial, as she’s turned her nose up at it ALL, I promise. She likes muscle meat/fat from almost every protein source, and she eats almost the whole leg bone of the chicken, so I’m not at all worried about her calcium. I’ve offered her heart/gizzard/liver, and she refused. Occasionally when I grind her meat, I can sneak about 10% liver/heart into it, but that’s it. I tried adding an egg, but she doesn’t like them (occasionally she’ll eat them cooked).

So, what /will/ she eat? She, obviously, likes her muscle meat/fat/bone, and she likes cheese/milk (no yogurt), peanut butter, and coconut oil.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has a cat as miserably picky as her, and how they manage to get at least SOME of the required nutrients into the diet….because I’m sick and tired of cleaning her messes (I thought her walking into the litterbox and forgetting to turn around was just her personality, but after doing some research, I found that “missing” is a further sign of urinary problems).

Please don’t tell me “just take her to the vet” because we have. They’ve done all they can do – it’s all up to her and what she will/won’t put in her mouth.

Sorry for being so long-winded, and sorry if it was confusing at all…but I’m a bit confused myself. Why can’t she be like the other cats and just eat some balanced canned/dry food? I don’t know -_-

[Akari_32]

He doesn’t seem at all like the type to bolt out an open door. Someone dumped this cat, I’m sure of it. He’s shy and skittish, but boy can be get in to trouble! He escaped from the bathroom, then after a while jumped the step-over gate in the hallway. I figured I’d just let him roam the house. He’s already been climbing all over the kitchen table, tried to jump on both reptile tanks in the living room, found the blinds on the back door… Lol

He seems very healthy. I checked his teeth, and they looks great, his coat is solid, he’s super soft. So I’m really worried about him giving the dogs anything. I’ve got him locked in the bathroom for the night, though, and I’ll lock him in there when I go to work tomorrow. He can’t be trusted alone just yet, it seems LOL

The good news is, he knows what to do in the litter box! Thank god lol that would be terrible if he didn’t.

He’s starving, it seems, so I think at this point he’ll anything. He did end up going back for that dry food. And he got into moms room and under black hole of a bed, so I had to lure him out with even more canned food. He’s eaten two tablespoons of Friskies and about 1/8 cup (less, really) of the Max Cat. And I saw poop and pee in his litter box when I went In the bathroom to get him to stop clawing on the door lol Turns out, the litter I bought is NOT clumping. I flushed the poop down the toilet, but can’t do anything about the pee. That’s ok, I guess. I’ll buy better litter later. I bought everything but the Innova, EVO and Max Cat at the dollar store. Can’t expect much from dollar store cat litter LOL But his bowls are really cute! :p

Another friend of mine and I have decided that if I can’t keep the cat (it’s up to mom, in the end, after all), that she will take him. They’ve got another cat, and they should get along great.

[Akari_32]

HE’S SO FLUFFY! And very sweet. He’s already taken to me. And eating lol I bought him a huge can of Friskies at the dollar store, expecting much if it to go to waste while I figured out what he liked and got him eating. I put down three bowls, water, canned food, and dry food. Made a mess of the water, ignored the dry, and inhaled the Friskies. Good thing also bought a can of Innova and a can of EVO! If he doesn’t eat the dry (which, whatever) I’ll give it to my friend (It’s just the Nutro Max Kitten, nothing special).

[Mom2Cavs]

What you are giving him sounds like a good plan. The Nature’s Logic fortifier is a whole food supplement and I believe should not be “too much”. I really don’t know if you mean you might overdose him on something or if it’s too rich. But, either way, it should be a healthy supplement to add if he tolerates it. All the rest are fine, too. The doses for all these supplements for such a small dog should be small, as well. If you are worried about changing the taste of his food and him not eating, then you could use something else to help deliver the supplement, like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc…. to put some of the supplements in and give as a treat. As for the joint supplement, you could always get one that is packaged like a treat and give it that way, so it doesn’t have to be mixed into his food. The coconut oil would probably be licked right off your finger as a treat, and if the fish oil is a gel cap you could wrap it in something, like cheese, or use cream cheese and cover it and give as a treat, as well. The probiotics and enzymes shouldn’t change the taste of the food. And as far as him being healthier without all the supplementation….sometimes supplements can cause issues, like allergic ones, or loose stool, etc., so it is a choice you have to make, whether or not to give, and if you do want to give supplements to try to find those that the dog can accept either in his food or as a treat. I should know all this because I have smaller dogs who don’t eat that much food and I do like to give supplements. Lucy, my Mixed Breed, has a rare type of skin cancer (I believe she’s in remission, atm, yay!) and she takes a liquid maitake mushroom supplement in her canned/dry food every morning. I was very worried she might not take it in her food and I’d have to get creative, but she has with no problems…very good, lol. I also give Standard Process supplements, which are powders, and sometimes they will give a little loose stool, so I back off a little. If I feel I’m overloading them with supplements I tend to break it all up between morning and evening or give as a treat during the day. Sometimes I don’t give a supplement every day, but every other. I also evaluate their supplements at times to determine if I still need to give something or if I can stop for awhile. I also like to rotate supplements, too. I will give Wholistic Pet for awhile and them I’ll switch and give Nature’s Farmacy stuff, or Springtime, Inc. I’ve used cream cheese to give pill type supplements to Lucy because she’s picky. The Cavaliers tend to just eat anything I give them lol. These methods have worked with my dogs and I hope some of the suggestion help.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Honeybeesmom1]

Hi Akari, I don’t know why your sweet Bentley coughs. Maybe dry food on his throat?
I give my other 2 dry food w/ a tiny bit of water – but Honeybee only eats canned & dehydrated. He inhales dry food and he just doesn’t do good on it. He coughs when his trachea is acting up or when he gets itchy skin. I didn’t even see the pollen when I had him outside yesterday…or he never would have been out! Keeping him inside is easy…it’s COLD out and he don’t like it. LOL He also gets this way in summer with the grass. Breaks out in hives and skin turns red.
What do you think of Dr. Harvey’s Emune Boost supplement with bee pollen and other good herbs? Maybe that would do Bentley and Honeybee some good.
I rinsed his feet with water and vinegar and no outside for awhile for him. They can keep us on our toes, huh? Lil stinkers!

[tamneggs]

Do the Kyjen bowls work if you have dry & wet food mixed or is it only for dry? What is recommended for wet food or a mix? I’m using Kongs now but they are a pain to fill multiple times for a large lab mix.

[Hamlin38]

Hi Dr. Mike,

I haven’t seen a rating on Sojourner Farms, or Sojo’s.

That’s been my dog’s diet for over a year. I like it. Well, and they do to.

I prefer it over the other freeze dried raw foods because the protein/fat content is lower than say Stella & Chewey’s or Primal. Not that I haven’t heard or seen great things with dogs who’s diets consists of the latter, the price/volume ratio is greater than what I can afford.

There is a downside to Sojo’s I have to admit. After rehydration, the Guaranteed Analysis for Protein/Fat is greatly reduced. So much so I have to add my own because I have big! active and young dogs.

And it’s reported to me that the stool is greater -which I’d expect from Dry Dog Food -which I refuse to serve. Bad for the teeth, bad for the digestive tract, bad for the adrenal system -the biological filter intended to remove undigestible material like ash -which any dry dog food is chocked full of.

Quick aside: I don’t know how many people come to me and say, but what about their teeth? The crunchy’s clean their teeth. Dr. Mike, you know in your profession, Captain Crunch doesn’t do well for dental health. Nor does any carb -and that’s what it takes to bind the ingredients to make a kibble.

NO DRY FOOD! EVER!

[tjodei]

we have a 3 month old yorkie that weighs 4.5lbs.. the vet has determined he has an allergy to his current dry food and suggested we get a grain free food…I have been looking online and none of the ones I have seen are specifically for a puppy.. Help! I know he is not considered a puppy until 6 months.. any and all suggestions are appreciated..

[Dori]

My Maltese, Hannah, weights 8 lbs. She’s not the one with the allergies. My allergy dog is Katie, 7 lb. champagne color Maltipoo. Poor thing is or I should say was a real mess. More problems than any one dog should have. Have you looked on line to see what you can get? Also the Pet Supermarket probably has better stuff also. It’s time consuming because you’ll need to read the ingredients listed. Just try to find something that has the least amount of ingredients in it and that you can actually recognize what they are. Also try to find one that says it’s soap less. Not sure why Bentley would have the oily problem after shampooing and not the others. But maybe you can get a shampoo that works for Bentley and not use it on the other two that don’t have the skin issues. Does he have food issues? If so, what is he allergic or intolerant to? It’s exhausting and time consuming trying to find things that dogs with intolerances to food and environment can deal with. Took me 4 years to get Katie to a level where she’s happy, healthy. No more scratching, sores, bad breath, bad gas. There were times I thought it would never happen but I just kept lists of everything I fed her so that every time I had a problem with something I would try to figure out the offending ingredients whether it was food or shampoo. The shampoo issue was the last thing that I finally figured out. I was even trying prescription shampoos which were ridiculously expensive and did not help at all. I also found that she was having issues with the laundry detergents so I switched everything to dye free fragrance free. I no longer burn candles in the house. Nothing that can possibly bother her. Like I said. It’s been like a full time job and exhausting. But when I see her now I know it was worth all the work.

[Akari_32]

PetSmart dry list!

Simply nourish source
Organix
Natures recipe grain free
Simply nourish LID
Wellness CORE
Blue buffalo wilderness
Blue buffalo freedom

Blue buffalo’s cat food is pretty cheap, considering! I was surprised. Their dog food is outrageous lol

[Akari_32]

She hasn’t caught him yet. She told me before she only goes out there a few times a week to feed him, so I’ll give it some time.

I’ve heard about that fish thing. I’ll be using mostly poultry and beef. I figure a can of fish here and there won’t hurt though, if I have to or for a treat or whatever, but I won’t use it on a regular basis.

The Simply Norish (both kinds) is only on my list for when it’s on a good sale. It looks like a good quality, but the protein is a little low from what I can tell. Lots of people have good things to say about it, though, and I like the looks of the Source dry food. I just have to see how much is fed before that goes down on my dry list, since it’s pretty expensive.

[aquariangt]

I use Simply Nourish canned stuff for my dogs and my cat. I have trouble getting her to eat wet food, even as a topper. They make Stew style ones that I can mix into the dry food that she’ll still eat

[aquariangt]

Just curious as to some opinions on dry foods with close to 40% protein analysis. The sheltie is getting fairly active (agility) but the other two are mostly house dogs- not much more than walks, though I have a yard so they can run.

I do like to keep them on the same food, but would the high protein food be unhealthy for the others, or is it not going to cause too much unhealthy weight gain? Also- hip and joint supplements, yay or nay? Vet said she should with her agility stuff, but of course, I rarely pay attention to them re:nutrition

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by aquariangt.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Yippee, cats, one of my favorite subjects! I have four right now. 15, 5 and two 3 year olds. I hope the kitten is fairly tame. He might be tough to catch if she isn’t. I am first going to give you my go-to website for cat food nutrition. It is catinfo.org. I have rescued a handful of semi-feral kitties. They sometimes are hard to get to eat wet food at first, but keep trying if that is the case. I also feed both canned and dry. My favorite budget canned food is Authority only found at Pet Smart. I think it is the best for the least. I also have and do feed Chicken Soup, Fancy Feast, Nutro Max and Friskies. In addition, they get Weruva Cats in the Kitchen every now and then as it is more expensive, but very good. I rotate dry between Taste of the Wild, Wellness Core, Earthborn and right now am feeding Premium Edge Healthy Weight because they are getting a little chubby. Yes, the Premium Edge and Taste of the Wild are Diamond products, but I keep an eye on recalls and so far so good. You actually have to be aware of recalls for every brand. Very concerning matter! Check out the site I mentioned above. It is full of all kinds of cat health information and has two different charts with several types of canned food sorted by protein, fat, carbs and phosphorous. Good luck. It can be a very rewarding experience to save a kitty. It certainly will not survive for more than a couple of years if left in the wild. It might take a while for it to warm up to you. My 15 year old kitty was feral and it took three years for her to come to me. Now, she won’t get off my lap! LOL!

[Akari_32]

Thanks! I’ve been scooting around the websites for all the stores here and picking out some foods to try. Wet and dry together sounds cheaper than just wet, and obviously healthier than just dry.

Wet:

Newmans own
Rachael Ray
Natural Life 95% (the dry is disgusting, but I don’t think the wet looks at all)
EVO
Wellness Core
Natural balance (some of them)
Nutro Natural Choice
Wellness
Blue buffalo

For dry, I’m kind of just leaning toward EVO, for the price. Given the good selection of canned foods I’ve got going, that’d be alright, right? Obviously, if another brand I like the looks of goes on sale I can get a few bags of that, too. It’s hard to find a good, affordable (for me) grain free dry cat food around here! :/ I’ve still got a local shop to check in person, and two more websites to check (PetSmart and PetCo).

What do you guys think so far?

[LuvPoodles]

My miniature poodle has always seemed to have a problem with dry food that has less than 10% fiber. He gets really constipated even though I soften his food with a bit a water. He started with Royal Canine when he was a puppy, then I changed him to Arcana Wild Prairie and his issue became obvious; that’s when I realized he had a problem with dry food that has low content of fiber. So I switched him to Nutro Natural Choice. He’s been doing pretty good on it for a couple of years now but I want to know if there’s a higher quality brand that can accommodate his needs. I just found Nature’s Recipe Small Breed Grain Free Easy to Digest and I think I’ll try that. Does anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks a lot in advance

[Mom2Cavs]

I wanted to add that my daughter feeds her cats TOTW, dry only, and they’re beauties. The only thing is it’s a Diamond food, but can’t convince my daughter to change lol. As long as she’s vigilant and aware then she could be feeding worse. You don’t have to break the bank to feed your cat. TSC has TOTW and 4Health, wet and dry, that are good foods for the price.

[Mom2Cavs]

Okay, here is what I do for my one Tortoise Shell stinker of a cat lol:

Dry: It is left out in a small bowl for her to nibble on periodically, which she likes to do. I dump it every other day, if it’s still there. I put 1/4-1/3 c. in the bowl. The kibbles she likes are Instinct, Fromm (Gamebird only), Orijen/Acana (she will eat it, but not like some others, so I’ve stopped buying it), Annamaet (actually the grain inclusive is her favorite and it has made her fur even softer!). She will be trying some Dr. Tim’s soon.

Wet: She gets a 3 oz. can every day split between am and pm. She loves Wellness cubes and Wellness Chicken grainfree. She also likes Fromm and Mulligan Stew. Very picky with wet food and the only Instinct she’ll eat is Healthy Weight. Btw, sometimes cat and dog canned ingredients are identical, as in M. Stew and Instinct Healthy Weight. So I use those for both the cat and dogs. Fromm is, too, I believe. I’ve used many brands for her in the past and they were fine, but I’ve just narrowed the list down now as to what I’m buying. She’s eaten BB, Weruva, Tiki Cat and Earthborn.

Litter: I’m a diehard World’s Best fan. I did have some great coupons for Blue’s new walnut litter and have integrated that into her litter at times with no problems.

Sometimes she also gets Dinovite for cats or the Well Blend/or Cat version of Missing Link added in. She has some minor health issues, but she is a beauty. Princess Di will be 9 yrs. old this year. A few years ago, we lost our other cat, a runt black cat named Smokey Jo who died at age 21 yrs

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! A girl at work told me she found a kitten (says he’s maybe a year old or so) living in the woods of her apartment complex. She can’t take him, but she does feed him a few times a week. She said if she could catch him, she’d call me and I could have him. She thinks he used to be someone’s pet, and looks to be neutered.

I need some cat tips (last time I had a cat, I was 5, so I don’t think that really counts… Lol), and some recommendations on food. I do know that too high in carbs and fat isn’t good, and that wet is much preferable over dry. I’d like him to eat both if there is ever some sort of emergency that there would only be one or the other available, but he will eat mainly wet otherwise.

The only brand wet that I’ve found that looks best is the chicken Wellness. Others have high fat, are corn/ rice/soy based, or are overall just terrible. I also don’t want to be spending much more than $0.50-1.00 a day on food. This can obviously be taken rather lightly, but don’t go crazy with $3 single serve cans of food LOL If anyone has a few brands and flavors they use, let me know!

For dry, I’ll be starting with Nutro Max Cat Kitten (hey, it’s $3 with a coupon, and I don’t want to buy an expensive bag of food to start him out on and him not eat it), and then the chicken EVO. Common sense tells me I could just do the same I do with the dogs, and soak the food in some water before offering it. That’d be ok, right?

And what all do you guys use for litter, and what brands should I stay away from. My sister uses tidy cats, and that stuff is so dusty and gross. I wouldn’t mind one of those one-bag-a-month deals. It seems to work out about the same for cost anyways. And if I can pay $8 for a 2 pound, one month supply, rather than pay $6 for a 20 pound, one month supply, I’m all for that!

I also been some tips on keeping the dog out of the cats food, and the other way around :p

[JamesKelly]

My experience with two toy poodles, weight about 8-9#, & one 11# cockapoo is if you think they might have food problems, or at least some mysterious undiagnosed troubles, change them to something that at least claims to be all-natural, made in USA only. Read the ingredients, then find out what the producer description really means.

Poodle #1 about 20 years ago. Started feeding her some dyed red soft food pellets in a clear package, disremember brand, haven’t seen it in years. She of course loved it. She was getting old, lost control of her bladder. Took her to vet & he gave us the nice speech preparating us to have our aging dog put down. Then he was so amazed by how healthy she seemed, when he examined her. I, an engineer not a vet, would attribute this to her living with a young Springer Spaniel & two Siamese cats, all of whom kept her quite active. I thought about it, then took her off of the pretty soft red food. She regained bladder control.
Coincidence, of course.

Poodle #2 maybe 10 years ago. Loved to lie down in my lap, but it was a real good idea to put a towel or blanket underneath her to catch the Leakage from this aging female. She ate some presumably good vet-approved canned dog food. Remembered Poodle #1 and switched her to something that claimed to be all natural, I believe Paul Newman’s stuff. No more leaking, safe to have her in my lap.
In my opinion, not shared by my wife (& unsure of vet), I killed her with Nutro treat sticks some years later.

Cockapoo 3 years old, weight 11#. Occasionally throws up bile, then one scrambled egg breakfast last week. Had been giving her Milkbones. Wife of course thinks I am an over-reacting know-it-all. True enough, but dog’s morning appetite better & no more bile spots on rug. Read the amazing ingredients in Milkbones. Yes, I am an arrogant fellow, and yes, Dog is now Off of those treats. No more wheat, sodium metabisulfite and BHA (whether or not they are responsible).

Wish this site would do a review of Milkbone (Dog loves them) & perhaps suggest some healthier dry biscuits that still taste good to Dog.

I really would like to hear from some experienced, educated person who knows about dog foods, rather than try to apply engineering methods to care for Dog.

[Shasta220]

Sounds like you’ve already got some ideas for foods to try – I don’t know that many brands personally, so I usually say it’s safe to go with 4-5 star brands.

As for the skin. I wouldn’t expect a bath to help much, as soaps tend to strip the coat even more, unless they’re medicated and designed for dry skin (when my dog is super dry, I use an oil-based organic shampoo. Sometimes it’s almost too much though, and my dog doesn’t feel clean at all).

Some things to look into: possibly tests for food allergies? As almost all skin problems have something to do with food, sadly. It could be chicken, grains, tomatoes, fish, the list goes on. I’d try getting him on coconut oil – organic extra virgin cold pressed, about 1tbsp per 30lbs. That stuff has been known as a miracle worker around these parts! Salmon oil is very good, too. Keep that up, 🙂

Fiber additions – most people add a big spoonful of pumpkin (canned is fine) to their dogs food. If there’s no improvement in his morning routine, then possibly try some probiotic supplements as well.

[Fatcakes]

Hi all. In December I got a healthy, active, 9 yr old male German Shepherd. he was eating Pro Plan Sport, the 30/20 kind. He had terrible gas so I switched him slowly to Innova Prime Chicken and Turkey. He has developed dry, flaky skin along his back and sides. Bathing actually aggravated his skin terribly. He is now also supplemented with fish oil (for people), 1200-2400 mg per day. I’ve seen improvement from that, but he’s still really dandruffy along his back. I’m brand loyal to Innova as that’s what we fed during the first China food disaster; my in-laws pets sickened and died on vet-prescribed food, but our pets were fine.
What should I try next? He is extremely active and lean; he doesn’t need any calorie reduction. He could use more fiber in his diet, I think, as sometimes it takes him a long time to finish his morning constitutional. I’m open to trying a different brand of food, although I have a hard time believing he’s not getting what he needs from the Innova Prime. I’m also open to mixing different foods if that would help. What do you think?

[Melissaandcrew]

I feed a lot of grain free foods toy crew (99 percent of the time) as well as raw etc. The average protein content of the dry I feed is around 31 to 33 percent. While I have a huge fenced yard there are no winter track stars here either, lol. I just cut back on amounts if someone is looking hefty.

[NicoleJ]

Hi all,

I’m new here, was just looking for a dog forum that encompasses health and diet and had a number of raw feeders so hopefully I’ve come to the right place.

My dog’s name is Dacey, she is a coming 13 year old miniature smooth Dachshund.

Earlier this year she was very “off”.. depressed, lethargic and seemed to be in some sort of discomfort. Her poops were very abnormal ( mostly very thin, or absolutely FULL of hair). But after she passed a few hair balls she was back to her normal self after a few days. Then, about a month later, she had a mysterious front leg lameness(she wouldn’t put any weight on her right front) that also went along with her not pooping for almost 2 days. When I took her to the vet and we determined there was nothing obviously wrong with her leg, but her anal sacs were full.. he dealt with those and voila, she can walk again! LOL. But her poops still aren’t entirely “normal”. She is still having intermittent narrow poops, or very dry “pellet” poops, or very mucusy wet poops, and she still has a lot of hair in them! (im guessing she must be picking it up off the floor, but it’s still weird cause some poops are really full of it and I have never seen her walking around eating things off the floor, so she must be doing it when I’m not home? ) She is raw fed… I’ve been trying to make sure she isn’t getting too much bone material in her food because that definitely causes very dry hard poops. Years ago when she was kibble fed I had to make sure she was getting a high fibre diet because her anal glands would randomly leak if she didn’t get at least 5-7% fibre. But she also pooped 3-4 times a day with that diet. Now she only poops once a day most of the time, and they are much smaller and harder, but she doesn’t have the anal glad leakage either, actually the opposite problem, her anal gland secretions are very thick and may be blocking her ability to poop properly.

I’ve also notice she isn’t drinking nearly as much as she used to. At first I chalked it up to the amount of extra moisture she gets from the raw food, and less fibre, but because she is having these pooping issues, I’m not sure she is getting enough water. She used to drink tons, I’d always have to keep a water dish full in my car for her and now she rarely drinks at all even if we are gone all day on road trips (she is my sidekick, always comes with me for work). When I give her the pinch test her skin isn’t snapping back into place, it hasn’t been for quite a while, but isn’t too bad. She still is full of energy, eats well etc. It’s just the weird pooping issues which makes me think she isn’t drinking enough due to the consistencies. Today I started adding water to her food and will see if that helps. I’m not used to having an older animal who isn’t drinking enough, usually it’s the opposite- Kidney issues and drinking a ton!

anyone else deal with these issues and an older dog?

thanks
Nicole and Dacey

[Shasta220]

I’ve never done home made diets, so I’m terribly sorry – I’m not much help. I completely understand though, I have a cat who is ultra picky. She will not touch ANY type of commercial food (we’ve tried dry, canned, flaked, pouched, refrigerated, you name it, she’s turned her nose up at.). We tried offering her nothing but cat food for a week straight, and she probably would have completely starved herself, she would NOT touch it.

She’s picky about her food now even, so she doesn’t get the nutrition she needs, and it’s showing sadly… I’m jumping on this thread to see what some suggestions might be.

The only way I could think of hiding extra nutrition into their food is by grinding it. I know organ meats and raw bones are important in a balanced diet. Maybe buying a supplemental powder (just general vitamins probably) and try adding that, maybe start with just 1/2 day’s worth, as many animals can detect the smell of it and refuse. Omegas are always one of my favorite additions. My dogs get it with fish oils (salmon, sardine, krill, I think even algae would work), and raw eggs – your dogs may prefer the taste of cooked.

Just play around with how much you can get in there without it being too detected. Possibly try coconut oil as well, it has tons of benefits. Try offering them a teaspoon of organic extra virgin cold-pressed coconut oil. It’s great for their skin, fur, teeth, digestion, and pretty much everything else! Most dogs like it, too.

Hopefully you’ll be able to figure out something that works out perfectly. Have you tried commercial dehydrated, refridgorated, or raw foods? They already have balanced nutrients, so you wouldn’t need to worry about many supplements.

And yes, dog nutrition is very very confusing. Research and reading forums seems to make it worse, as everyone has their own opinions and experiences… Plus, every dog is different, so what works miracles for my dog might do absolutely nothing for yours. Just keep trying to gain information though, I’m sure you’ll slowly start figuring it out. (I’m new to nutrition myself, but the more I’m on here, the more I learn!)

[lplsuzie]

My dog is diabetic. Right now she is eating special dry food from the vet. She does not really like this food, but I know she needs to eat regularly because of the insulin. I got a small bag of Natural Balance synergy and she loves it. The ingredients are about the same as the Rx food. Does anyone have any suggestions.

[checker]

With kidney issues,the food should be special. I am new to using Hill’s k/d renal.It is specially formulated for renal,kidneys.The food should contain low phosphorus,low sodium and low protein. I haven’t found a compatible good brand in my area,so I stick with the Hill’s for now. You may read borrow stories on the Hill’s and good reviews.Just keep in mind there are people out there writing bad reviews on behalf of other food companies or the companies themselves. I also gave my dog treats,and now I am using pieces of sweet potato as a little treat. I hope this helps. My 12 year old female Pomeranian had 2 kidney stones in which I need to maintain not get more or bladder infections. She also had a liver test was a little off,but still ok. I live in Windsor,Ont.Canada and so far found a reasonable price at pet value.I have to feed wet canned food due to her only having 2 teeth left. The Vet.cans were more expensive at $3.23/ can and pet value was $2.59/can and if buy a case of 12,you basically get a free can for the 10% off. I am not sure about online yet,I am still searching for reasonable prices myself. The dry dog food will probably last longer and be cheaper. I hope this helps and if anyone know where a cheaper price can be found or a different food besides making my own can be found. I would be grateful!!
Sincerely,Kim

[petscene]

I have a client that has a dog that needs to have a food with low sugar content. I am not sure how to read that on a label and he was told by another store that Taste of the Wild Boar was low in sugar…not sure how they knew that – does anyone know of a dry food that would meet a low sugar need? Thanks!

[Rraupach]

My dog recently had surgery. In the normal pre-op blood work her protein levels were very slightly elevated. The vet said the effect on her kidneys was low, scale of 1 to 10 about a 2, and it wasn’t a big concern. Sandy is 13 years old, mixed breed, about 45 pounds, and has always been an extremely healthy weight so weight loss is not a concern. She is very picky about her food and likes Purina Little Bites! I know this is not the healthiest product for her! My main question is do I need to change her food now to protect her kidneys? What type of senior (dry) foods would you recommend? The site is a little overwhelming in all the foods listed. The vet mentioned something about less protein needed for older dogs, and then I read different ideas about protein on this site. As I’m sure you all understand, Sandy is my baby and as her “person” I want to do everything in my power to keep her around as long as possible!! Thanks so much for your time and help!
Ragan (Rraupach) & Sandy

[Lablubber]

Hi Crew

This is what I ordered to try the two either alternating or a mix of the two if he has no trouble with either of them… But I am introducing some cooked hamburger and ground turkey as well as spinach and going to buy some of the stuff you have to rehydrate to start with for the ease of carrying it with me.

One thing that I have had a hard time with was the a lot of the food has no no’s in it that you guys have told me about and I have read about as well such as Rosemary Extract or Oil- Seizures, Canola Oil-Cancer, Garlic – Anemia, and the first thing Rosemary which even rules out Wellness Core Puppy even though it was on the list and I was going to get it an Orijen both as alternates or as a mix. What is strange now is I am driving all of my friends nuts on what treats they buy their dogs and the food that they are feeding them as well.

One thing that is definitely noticable with Jess is that he has thinned down dramatically since coming off of Pupina LB Puppy Chow and he is very lean which I personally have a hard time getting use to because I have always had nice, big, rolly polly, lab puppies and I guess it was just fornate that I have never had one with a hip or shoulder or elbow issue, except with one of my old females, she was English Bred Lab and she was as big as a horse and in her old age she around 10 or 12 she did start having a slight limp in her rear end but that was it. So this this whole thing is a new ballgame for me….With keeping a LBP looking like a lean and mean greyhound instead of a huge big old lab like i always liked to see. Bigger has always been better to me, but what did I know.

I just have to get rid of a whole lot of old school ways and ways of thinking, that now have to be reprogrammed in me, but guess what? you guys were knowledgeable enough about this whole thing and the backed it up with factual evidence and because I love my dogs enough I had to take heed and listen and am glad I did… Because I would hate to see this pup or for that matter my either of my two Westies or Custard the Cat, developing cancer because of Monsanto’s genetically muted or altered grain, being in their food or them developing hip or shoulder or elbow issues because I was too stubborn to listen to you guys about Calcium issues with it’s uptake in LBP’s. So thank all of you for that as well for giving me a quick education in what is best for my dog and for making me dig deep on my own into what what all the leading specialists say about these things as well…

This is the kibble I ordered yesterday from Chewy to transition over to from Blue…

1 x Orijen Puppy Large Breed Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 28.6-lb bag
1 x Annamaet Grain-Free Salcha Poulet Formula Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag

Thanks Lablubber

[debs]

I’ve been reading many of the posts as I have a dog with ‘colitis’ and all I can say is that each dog is individual and responds to different things so a food that works for one dog may not be as successful for another. I was feeding my dog on RC Sensitivity until they changed their dry food ingredients which started my dog off again; I then changed to RC Gastro Intestinal Moderate Calorie which is working fine. Good luck though.

[llynns]

Would foods with pseudo grains be ok to feed when trying to eliminate all grains from the diet? I have a dog who is in remission with thyroid carcinoma and I know raw would be the optimum….and, I’m researching my options. But, until then – I’m looking for some dry foods to add for rotation. I currently feed Horizon Legacy Salmon and have had great results. I was considering Nature’s Logic but, I noticed it contains millet. Any thoughts on other options and feeding pseudo grains?

[Akari_32]

I need some ideas on slowing Bentley down when he eats. It wasn’t so bad on the Wellness, which was still pretty fast, but the large piece kept him slow enough I didn’t worry, but now that he’s on the Instinct, and the kibbles are small enough for my goldfish to eat, he eats a 3/4 of a cup of food in less than a minute! (Keep in mind he only weighs about 8 pounds)

After he eats he burps, and his tummy gets a little bloated, and he immediately wants to go out and go potty. He’s always asked to go out soon after eating no mater what he’s been on, but usually he waits a few minutes, rather than asking right away. His poops are good, btw, not too hard or soft, and problems going.

Other than buying a special bowl, what ideas do you guys have? The slow-feeder bowls actually aren’t very common here, much less small ones. Not to mention mom loves the set he has now, and wouldn’t want to replace them unless it’s absolutely necessary, and nothing else works. So we need some home remedy, DIY sort of ideas. The bowl is the size of a one cup dry measuring cup, for size reference. I was thinking maybe a pingpong ball dropped in with the food, but there may be better ideas out there lol He’s craft, and will likely remove anything he can get ahold of, just something to keep in mind.

Thanks!

[Sharon Buchanan]

loobija and vaarde ~
You need to read the articles that HDM has posted on page one of this thread. If you’re going to feed dry to your large breed puppies, you need to be feeding a low calcium/phosphorus kibble. Those articles, will tell you why. If you don’t want to read all of them, at least read Dr. Susan Lauter’s paper (#1), Dr. Henry Baker’s paper (#3 on the list), as well as Dr. Karen Becker’s article and watch her video (#5).

HDM also posted a list of Large Breed Puppy food here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFY183Q0NVRXlidWc/edit, to make it easy for you to research the best LBP food for your dog (and wallet). You can also Google Large Breed Puppy Food to find more. Your puppy is worth a little bit of homework.

Look for a food that has a minimum calcium content of .8% with a maximum around 1.2% (and don’t get hung up on AAFCO standards for calcium – they’re still behind the power curve when it comes to LBP nutrition). HDM’s list only provides minimum calcium content, you’ll need to go to the manufacture’s website to see if they list the maximum – some don’t, call them if you’re considering their food.

vaarde – Dr. Clauder’s adult food for LB “junior” dogs contains maize (corn), corn meal, rice, beet pulp, powdered egg, mussel powder. Filler grains, sugars and in the case of those two powders, nothing but dust. They also use sodium selenite as a source of selenium when they could be using a natural source – selenium yeast. Compare those ingredients with NRG Maxim for large breeds, or Canine Caviar, or…

loobija – you have a puppy, not an adult dog. Do not feed your LBP adult dog food and be very careful about feeding your puppy any “all life stages” food as well. Please read those articles. There is a reason why you need to select a formula designed specifically for large breed puppies. I do not like Authority’s LBP formula for some of the same reasons I don’t like Dr. Clauder’s and their minimum calcium is 1.3% when that is higher than what I would consider as a maximum amount.

Personally, having read all the articles that HDM posted links to – and I found them independent of this fantastic forum, (be sure to thank her for making your research easier), I believe the closer you can stay to .8% calcium the better. LBP kibble formulas will have the correct calcium/phosphorus ratio (1.2:1).

Look for foods that have named meat “meals” (chicken meal, salmon meal, etc.) in many of the first five ingredients as possible. Avoid unnamed anything (meat meal, fish meal, poultry-by-product), grains and fillers (wheat, corn, glutens), and sugars and starches (beets, potatoes). Try to find foods with natural supplements and no preservatives. If you don’t don’t what an ingredient is, look it up. For example: menadione sodium bisulfite complex (synthetic vs. natural Vit K), sodium selenite (vs. selenium yeast).

Kibble is a mine field. Make sure you subscribe to DogFoodAdvisor’s recall alerts: /dog-food-recall-alerts/. You can also find a wealth of information regarding pet food manufacturing practices (what they’re doing right, mostly wrong, how the FDA and the AAFCO really aren’t concerned about what goes into your pet food, recalls, etc.), at truthaboutpetfood.com.

Finally, I would recommend you read just the few pages that have been started in the forums here on feeding raw to large breed puppies: /forums/topic/feeding-raw-non-commercial-to-large-breed-puppies/page/2/#post-33708.

[typhoon]

Hi every one . Just started my dog on a dry food called Now Fresh Market. It is all natural, no soy, no corn, no GMO stuff and it has everything in it a dog needs. It is somewhat hard to find as it is out of Canada but it can be ordered from KV pet which can be looked up on web. It is sort of expensive but sure takes a lot of guess work out of things. My dog is a real picky eater but loves this stuff.