[joet]

TO–MSWROBBIE–

HERES A LINK TO WHY YOU SHOULLD***NEVER**
FEED YOUR PET BENNIFUL OR ANYTHING RATED LIKE THAT—CLICK AND READ AND DONT BUY–PLEASE–JOE T

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/beneful.html

[joet]

TO—
-Ana Expert/pet nutrition advisor
@pupfacts
pupcatnutrition.com–

maybe you think i need help cause i said id kill for teddy–

OTHER THAN THAT–
WHAT I WROTE—– IS PURE FACT—

AND IF YOU DONT THINK SO—YOU NEED THE HELP–
YOUR MERRICK IDEA IS GOOD–MERRICK IS A 5 STAR FOOD LITTLE OR NO RECALLS AS BLUE IS—–

PEOPLE–READ CAREFULLY PLEASE;

WHEN FEEDING AND FINDING A FOOD FOR YOUR PET–DOG–
YOU 1ST CHECK THE RATING-MUST BE NO LESS THAN 3 STARS OR YOUR KILLING YOUR DOG.
3 STAR IS CHEAP-$1.49 APROX-WET–4 SRAR–OVER $2-WET–5 STAR-$2.50 TO 3 PLUS AT SOME PLACES—-PETCO IS MOST EXPENSIVE DONT GO THERE.
2ND–GO TO RECALL SITES—
3RD–IF THERE ON THAT LIST FOR THEIR WET OR DRY DOG FOODS,AND DEPENDING ON HOW MANY TIMES AND WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO DOGS ON THIS FOOD OR MANUFACTURES FOOD–

THEN–YOU MAKE YOUR DECISION—
AND FOR YOUR PEST SAKE–
***IT BETTER BE THE RITE ONE**

DOES THAT SOUND LOGICAL TO YOU EXPERT!

[GRamoin]

I am trying to learn more about proper dog foods for my just turned 11 year old female yellow lab. She is about 70 lbs in really good shape and only has some joint stiffness occasionally showing. I have fed her IAM’s dry dog food forever.

2 Questions for someone to please assist if possible :
– Is it beneficial or OK to change now after using IAM’s so long ?

– What would be a great food recommendation if changing now is ok, & what is rotation strategy for and what would the rotation products recommendation be ?

Thanks so much for any input !!

[Jujubeez]

I am up at 4am with my (non champion, rescued from a craphole as a puppy) 11 year old pitty, Nemo. I was just about to write your same post! My guy is on Blue Basics and seems to be the worst he’s ever been. He was shaking his head and crying from frustration as well. I noticed his skin is shedding thick, pasty scaled. Almost like wax. That’s new, especially on his back. I’ve given him some Benadryl and leftover ativan (from the vet!!! He was mauled over the summer and his recovery was so bad he couldn’t lay on his side to sleep 🙁 )

I am here, now trolling your post looking for some new ideas.

I’ve been off my game with two sick human kids but normally I do:

Greek Yogurt
Powdered probiotics (the kind kept in the fridge) added to the yogurt
And FISH OIL FISH OIL FISH OIL!!! I just buy caplets and he eats them like treats. You can also add it liquid style to some boiled eggs or yogurt.

Yeast is triggered when the dogs natural bacteria is thrown off, leaving no “fighter” bacteria to kill off excessive fungi. This is typical after antibiotics, induction to an allergen or sometimes just a weather change and climate. Either way, you need to get that good bacteria back in your baby to regulate the yeast.

I KNOW I need to get his routine back in order but this food is just worth its weight in crap for what it costs. Other, similar minded brands sell products of a higher overall quality.

Anyway, if anyone knows how to instantly SOOTHE the rash and scaling/ear junk while the new diet/supplements take effect, let me know! I can;t stand to see him suffer while we wait for his gut to catch up to his body 🙁

Good luck with your baby and I hope maybe one of my tricks helps!!!

[Shasta220]

I completely understand your need for economical nutrition! We have about the same problem… 3 years ago we had just two dogs and 5 cats. Now? 2 Betta fish, 3 cats, 3 dogs (aka PIGS with how much they eat…), 8 chickens, 2 ducks, a miniature horse, and a 600lb puppy dog (aka Iggy the Holstein steer…he doesn’t know he’s a cow)

We obviously cannot splurge that much on buying ultra quality food (our lab has allergies though, so she can’t have foods full of wheat/corn).

The most economical and quality foods I’ve found so far are Nutra Nuggets (I ONLY get the lamb n rice formula, since lamb meal is the first ingredient instead of corona or byproduct), Diamond naturals, and Kirkland signature. Kirkland is 4star food, about 25$ for 40lb, and can be found at Costo (possibly you could find it online?). Diamond naturals is very similar to Kirkland, but it’s 40$ (I get the Large Breed 60+ since it has glucosamine and chondroitin to help their joints). Nutra nuggets is the same price as Kirkland, but only 3-star.

To make the food last a bit longer, possibly try adding your own nutritious “fillers” such as sweet potatoes (baked), carrots, apples, and meat (cooked or raw). Possibly try to find a local butcher and see if you can buy meat-scraps, or meat that’s slightly expired (just past human-consumption, but 100% safe for dogs). I know a girl who was able to buy virtually unlimited amounts of expired meat for her 5 dogs and 8 cats… It was, I think, $.50 per lb, which is a serious steal! Yep, she gives her lucky pups 100% raw, lol!

I hope you’ve found something that’s good for the dogs and your wallet. Also, try not to get “lite” foods (I don’t ever get the lite ones…not even if it’s a quality brand), you may find yourself feeding more. Switching to a food that’s even a little better than Beneful might actually be cheaper, since you may feed less.

When I owned my 90lb APBT mix, he ate 9c of Dog Chow daily (and he was super thin, too!). We switched him over to Nutra Nuggets, and he went down to about 2c daily without gaining/losing ANY weight. My biggest tip is this: even if you can’t afford much, at least make sure meat is the #1 ingredient (meal is fine, avoid by product if you can…).

[Melissaandcrew]

Scruffy-

I would never feed my dogs tobacco for any reason. With that said, I can not see how your homecooked”recipe” is anywhere near balanced. The chicken backs, liver and veggies as a meal,day in and day out, will ultimately cause nutritional issues. As well., I also do not how that could provide enough kcals for one mid size dog for day, let alone a “kennel of 30”. If you were feeding it as a “topper” I could see where it would be “ok” but you are advocating feeding it as a primary base of the meal.

I think home cooked foods are great, as long as the person attempting it has researched and consulted on what a proper ‘meal plan” is

[Mitdeleon]

http://www.eaglepropet.com/original/15-original/dry-food-for-dogs/4-eagle-pro-original-lamb-for-small-medium-breed-puppy-medium-breed-puppy

cant find a review on this
my pregnant bulldog is on this diet should i switch?

[DogFoodie]

I would never feed my dog tobacco. Home prepared is great, if it’s properly balanced. You might want to pick up Steve Brown’s book if you go that route: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929242670/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. Also dogaware.com has great resources for those who prepare their own meals.

As far as a commercial kibble that’s quality and affordable, my favorites would be Dr. Tim’s, Victor, Earthborn Holistics and NutriSource.

One important consideration when you’re comparing the cost of one food to another is that you need to know the number of kcals per cup so you can determine how long a bag will last you. Often, better quality foods often have greater caloric density so you can’t simply compare the cost of 30 pounds of brand A to 30 pounds of brand B.

[mswrobbie]

Again, thanks all!! We are on our way to Rural King to buy a Diamond Naturals four star food; a 40$ bag is 29.99$ and they have a large breed one for $31. something. And I am going to keep reading so that if I am using the dry dog food, I can add some healthy home made food to it. Thanks thanks and my dogs thank you too!! Hope they will eat this!! I have heard that you should slowly change the diet over and maybe give 1/2 of the old food with 1/2 of the new food for a while??? That true?? Thanks much!!!

[Scruffy312052]

Keep reading on the personal dog food creations. They are all over the web. I was paying an average of 247 per week (over 12K per year) for dry dog food with dismal results. I now spend just under 165.00 per week and I am developing ideas for diets and beneficial supplements to lower that cost even more. My goal is to reduce my intial cost by 65 to 70% while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet for my pack. The info is out there. Just keep reading. If you have a favorite Vet, It’s best to keep them in the loop.

Scruffy

[mswrobbie]

Thank you all; I am busy reading, and really appreciate the help, and the direction to the link. Scruffy, I started reading about making my own dog food last night as well, and appreciate your input. I woke up dreaming about food . . I was starving, LOL!!!

[Scruffy312052]

I need to correct an error in my remedy. I stated: 3 Pounds of chicken backs and necks. I mis read the latest label whereas, 2.94 was the price of the chicken, not the weight. At 45 cents per pound the weight is actually slightly over 6 pounds of Backs and Necks.

My Bada.

Scruffy.

[Scruffy312052]

I can’t address the type of food for large breed any more than I can for miniature breeds but I can tell you what I started doing about a year and a half ago.

I have 30 dogs. Most are American Eskimos and Long haired Dachshunds however, due to a couple of segregation errors on our part we also have several Cold Franks added to our mix. While the AKC refuses to recognize this cross as a specific breed we love them just as much as our Blue Bloods.

To address your query: I was a very strong proponent of Dry food. I’ve tried many and varied brands with a minimum rating of 3 stars. Over the years several of our pets had been plagued with a myriad of health problems: Bad Breath, loose stool, fur falling out, fleas, parasites etc… etc… before I researched K-9 Dietary needs. I started with consulting the three of our most trusted vets in our area as well as several trips to the University Of Georgia College Of Veterinary Medicine.

Oddly enough, their knowledge on the subject was nothing more than suggesting a variety of name brand foods and supplements. It was, quite frankly, a costly “hit or miss” solution with little or no improvement to the health of our pack.

I educated myself by reading hundreds of articles and forums such as this (Rudy’s). As a result, I concocted and changed their diet to a home remedy.

In less than four months there was a marked improvement. Coccidian protozoa; gone. Their breath was no longer foul smelling. No more signs of any type of worms wiggling in their stool. Their fur started growing back soft and fluffy and much to our relief, there are few if any fleas. As a bonus I cut our rather large K-9 pantry expense by 33%. I did, however, add an extra 30 minutes to my time while preparing their meal (mind you, I am feeding thirty).

NOTE: Should you consider my solution it is strongly advised that you consult your Vet First. Two of the ingredients I use may be challenged by some (but not all) authorities. *These two are: “Plug Chewing Tobacco and Garlic.”

Here is my Remedy: In a crock pot I cook 3 pounds of chicken backs and necks and one pound of chicken liver for a minimum of 8 hours on Auto. This causes the bones to break down to become malleable and easily digested. Thirty minutes before serving add 2.5 pounds of frozen or fresh mixed vegetables (make sure there is no or little corn) i.e. peas, lima beans, carrots, green beans and stir.

In a blender add two heaping tablespoons of minced garlic, 1/2 ounce of plug tobacco and one cup of broth from the crockpot. Blend on high for thirty to sixty seconds or until the tobacco is cut up into pieces that look almost granular. Add this to the crock pot and stir several times. Turn the crock pot off and let stand for thirty minutes.

Whatever type of dry food you are using reduce the serving amount by 60% and mix this on a 2 To 1 ratio of crock pot mix to dry food. Considering you have five dogs, freeze the rest of the crock pot mixture in pouches that serve five. Taking into account the size of my kennels, I obviously have no leftovers.

I have been feeding this mixture to my kennels for almost 1 ½ years and my pack has never looked or responded healthier.

* It is argued that tobacco will kill Coccidian protozoa and the Garlic will repel the fleas. I use these two ingredients only twice a month so you will need to reduce the amount to a proper ratio so as not to give your pets too much.

The benefits: less trips to the vet, more active adults, fresher breath, no more de-wormer medicine to buy (which, by the way, is not a healthy substance for your pet) less, if any flea remedies and coats full of luster. If you like, you can also drop to a one star dry food considering it is primarily used as filler.

[JASTECH]

I have fed Fromm to my yard for a long time, it does very well. You can get a better price online buying a month or two supply at a time.

[Akari_32]

I’m about to be giving Nutrisource Super Performance a try here soon. It’s about $45 for 33 pounds, and has my 130 pound dog eating just 3.5 cups (and he’ll probably eat less than that because he’s lazy), according to the calculator in the review section of the site. Or if you have a Tractor Supply, they have 4Health which is pretty cheap, and ranks well. The last one I can really think of is Walmart has Pure Balance and Purina One Beyond, both or which are 3 stars.

Hey, that’s my thread :p

[theBCnut]

If you have a Costco membership, Kirkland is about the cheapest quality food around. Find out what your local feed stores carry too. I’m not good on knowing cheap foods because my with issues seems to understand price tags and only does well on the really expensive ones, but I am boosting this up where more people will see it. Also, there is a thread somewhere here already about good deals on dog food.
Ah, here it is.
/forums/topic/budget-friendly-dog-foods/

[mswrobbie]

Hi, Just wondering if people could weigh in on a decent dog food for our five medium to large dogs. Just found out the Beneful weight management formula we’ve been giving them is a lousy choice. We have one large 100 to 110 pound mutt. Three 65 to 90 pound mutts and one that is is also a mutt, looks like a small collie/type of dog and is about 35 pounds. They are all indoor dogs but we have a very large back yard they play in and get their exercise together. One is like four years old, one is a bit younger so three years old and the others are between 8 and 11 years old. All range from a bit overweight to one being severely obese, except the small one. We simply cannot afford these 50 to 75$ bags of dry food. They go through a 30 pound bag of Beneful in five to seven days, ($26.88 at Walmart) so we find ourselves opening two large bags most weeks. I would like to get at least a 3 or four star food. We could order online. Help!!! I don’t want to keep feeding them lousy food, but I have spent two solid nights now trying to find a decent dog food that we can afford and am worn out at the effort. Seems like I am not seeing any under about 42$ . Suggestions? Ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Shasta220]

I use peanut butter usually. It’s tasty, and it does stiffen up in the freezer, but won’t completely harden like I hope it would. I even added a little corn starch, hoping it might stiffen up a bit more, still didn’t work. I will try the kibble definitely, and look into yogurt.

Normally, i wouldn’t care what How messy Loki’s chews are, but he needs something to do when he comes inside. He’s quite mischievous (to say the least). Luckily, it’s not in a bad way LOL! He is good enough to stay out of the dry cat food, but he steals the other cat’s raw chicken bones… (It’s actually nice sometimes, because he finds the little remains that the cat dragged under the table or in a corner.) Then he tries to chew up my favorite stuffed animals -_- it’s so adorable though. He trots off, finds a stuffie, then brings it over to me and looks at me like “Mama, can I pleeeeease tear this one’s head off?” I’m so glad he asks before he destroys…

Sorry about the ramble 😉 like I say, this isn’t a /huge/ issue, but thanks for the helpful tips so far.

[Jackie B]

Dr. Mike plans to come out with a Cat Food Advisor someday. Cats are easier than dogs though. They are obligate carnivores. The more meat in the diet, the better for them. And if they will eat wet food, that is preferable to dry (especially raw wet food but cooked should be OK. People say raw preserves more nutrients and I’m sure it does but cats are picky.). You should at least supplement dry cat food with the wet food several times a week to help prevent kidney issues and other problems down the line.

My friend who is a cat expert feeds Authority wet food from PetSmart. She fosters cats so she has to pick a budget friendly but still good food. If I had a cat I would likely feed a frozen raw product.

[Mom2Cavs]

I agree with all said. I also belong to Susan Thixton’s site. Like said before, if not opposed to Diamond then TOTW is a great food. I’ve fed their wet food to my cat (Rocky Mountain) and she does like it. My daughter feeds TOTW dry to her cats and they are beautiful!! You can also get it in a larger bag. I try to stay grain free with my cat, but Tractor Supply does have their private brand 4Health that is decent quality and quite a bargain. When my little black runt cat, Smokey Jo, was living (she passed at age 21 yrs!) she loved Fancy Feast….now I’m not saying to feed FF, but I had to get her to eat, you know. If you buy the gourmet pate’s…the classics, like Salmon, chicken, etc., they aren’t that bad. They don’t contain glutens or menadione, if I remember correctly, but do contain some by-products. So, these are the only ones I would buy. She would occasionally eat wellness, too, so I would try to sneak some in hahahaha. I have also read catinfo.org.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Shasta-
I also wish there was a cat food advisory site as great as this dog food one! But I agree with the others, a good dog food brand is most likely also good place to start with cats. Since you are not opposed to using Diamond brands, Kirkland Signature at Costco is very similar to the Diamond Naturals and Chicken Soup at an even more affordable price. I rotate between Wellness Core, Earthborn Primitive, and Taste of the Wild dry for mine. I also use various canned foods such as: Chicken Soup, Nutro, Friskies, and Authority. Also importantly, try to stay away from fish based kibble and canned food. It contains a lot of iodine which could later lead to hyperthyroidism. As mentioned above, catinfo dot org is a great site for cat nutrition and health issues. It does have a few charts with a lot of data on numerous brands of canned cat foods. Good luck!

[Shasta220]

I really don’t want to have to spend tons of money on chews and stuff (unless it’s gonna really last…), but basically here’s what I want: a home made filling that will either dry or freeze COMPLETELY solid (without getting crumbly or melty…).

Loki is big on chewing. He doesn’t like plastic/rubber chews much. If I give him a kong, he takes out a tiny bit of the food and then drops the sticky toy in my lap (Kongs are his favorite fetch toy…). So far hooves are the only chews that I can fill without having him tear it up or bring it to me. (Luckily he’s not a fan of chewing on the hoof itself, he only licks out whatever filling I put in it)

I tried getting long-lasting edible chews, but the “even longer lasting” formula lasted Loki about 5 minutes, and got crumbs ALL OVER the carpet. Bones are okay, but he’s really not a big fan.

So again, about the only thing that strikes his interest are the stuffed hooves (or I’m sure he’d like to lick filling out of a hollow bone)… But are there any fillings that might last a bit longer without making a mess?

(If you can’t already tell, this is for his special indoor chews, LOL! When he’s in his outdoor kennel run, he’s content with sticks, elk bones, and our other dog’s tail!)

[slappppy]

THANK YOU for all the comments – soooo helpful!!

I adopted a 2 year old 40 pound cattledog last month and her gulping started two days after – with a violent episode late one night. Went to a vet the next day and he said symptoms may be kennel cough (she was a shelter dog so no doubt has that too). And no, she didn’t gulp for the vet so he probably thought new dog owner was crazy.

Here’s what I’m doing and gauging it day by day:
– slower meals – not giving it to her all at once and using the funky food bowl with the ridges (yes, time factor with work, ugh).
-no dry kibble cause she seem to choke the pieces down (doesn’t chew – and yes, not great for the teeth and tartar but gulping is CRAZY to experience).
-probiotic powder and sometimes canned pumpkin mixed in with food (settles the stomach).
-started exercise right way (I think she was in shelters a long time. I’m a trail runner so got her on a routine fast. On days we workout, she seems much better than days we just do short walks. But yes, realize not everyone can do this in winter).
-got the Chinese tea pills after reading this post! Ha, not sure if these are the same pills used in this post but they are used to balance the stomach, basically making things right internally (and that’s what we want after 7 p.m., omg). This Dr has an alternative medicine/acupuncture place down the street and I called him at 10 p.m. during the 2nd episode. He came over on his bicycle in 10 mins with the pills! Again, have no idea here and giving it in limited doses as I’m not quite sure about it all.
— giving her love and reassurance all the time in case it is an emotional security thing.
–watching her with an eagle eye when we are outside – if I glance away for a nano second, I am pulling things out of her mouth/throat!

She still gulps a few days a week but it is more of a repeated swallowing thing (still odd though and not relaxing to watch). But not violent like it was.

Thanks again for the great tips!

[Shasta220]

Thanks for the help, guys! We have one super picky eater (like I say, the cats have always been on super cheap food)… He only eats Cat Chow so far, but it’s pretty much garbage. So far, a really affordable dry food (that’s also quality) is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul. I also wonder if I could find Diamond Naturals for cats (some people HATE the dog food for it, others love it. All of my dogs are on it and they’re doing great).

I’m planning on finding some quality canned food for my older kitty (I really want to try Evo 95% chicken and turkey). I’m not sure if the other one would eat it, he’s refused other organic canned foods, haha. I’m not worried about him though, because he nibbles on some of our cat’s raw food (just to clarify. We have 3. Maddy is a senior…she just eats the dry and maybe canned. Panda ONLY eats dry…then Millie is too sophisticated for cat food, she eats only raw…)

[heiditron]

Hello, there! I have an old man with what seems to be a very picky digestive system. Woody is a 15 1/2 year old shepherd mix (Belgian/German/who knows) who has, in the last four months, developed some crazy sensitivities. Up until his problems started showing up, he was on TOTW salmon and sweet potato dry food, and had been doing great with it for years (I could never rotate proteins because he can’t do any kind of bird, egg, or red meat kibble/canned food.)

Very suddenly, that changed, and now after a huge bout of trial and error, I’ve found that he can only do canned salmon and sweet potato food (dry with what appears to be the exact same list of ingredients gives him soft/runny poo). And even on the canned, he can only form a solid stool if he gets a sprinkle of tylan over it. He also farts a great deal more than he ever used to, and I hear his stomach rumble constantly. And, man, that canned food is not cheap. I try any other canned protein and the tylan doesn’t even work, so I figure fish is still prettymuch the only thing he can eat.

Hs anybody been through something similar? If so, what is this?! His bloodwork is great, his kidneys are great, liver, fecal, x rays, urine, you name it all look great. I tried adding enzyms to his food and even THAT gave him mushy stool. My goal here would be to feed him something without the aid of an antibiotic, but I seem to be running out of options.

Thanks!
Heidi

[Mom2Cavs]

Like you and Patty said, if you can trust a dog food company and the food is rated a good one, then their cat food should be pretty good, too. Most people feel that cats should never eat a dry food. They are also obligate carnivores and need high protein, i.e. meat. Now…I will say I do leave dry out all the time for my cat to nibble on and she does like to do that occasionally. She gets fed a wet/canned food morning and evening. I add in missing link well blend to her food. She has some allergy responses and this seems to help. She loves Instinct kibble (not all flavors/kinds, though) but hates their canned food. She also likes Orijen/Acana. Currently, she’s eating Fromm Gamebird kibble and loves it. It also is doing well with her allergies. She eats Mulligan Stew canned, Fromm Gold canned, Wellness canned and pouches. She likes Weruva ok. I’ve tried premade raw with her a few times but she eventually won’t eat it. I keep trying, though, lol. She’s in perfect weight, as well.

[Akari_32]

Which would you go for? The LID or the Wholesome Essentials?

Wholesome Essentials Puppy:
http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/wholesome-essentials-puppy-food.aspx

-27% Protein
-16% Fat
-384 calories/cup

LID Puppy:
http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/lid-puppy-food-lamb-and-rice.aspx

-26% Protein
-15% Fat
-393 calories/cup

Its either more fat and protein, and less calories, or less fat and protein and more calories. I think I’d rather go with the first, though. The calories aren’t that much different (neither really are the fat and protein, but you know)… What I really want is the Small Breed Puppy, but the largest bag it comes in is 8 pounds, and the rebate calls for 15 pound bags. Poo 🙁 http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/small-breed-puppy-food.aspx

[wparsons]

I signed up because I’ve been through this exact issue with my beloved basset hound, and I think I have a handle on it.

His episodes began at about 1 year of age, and would happen seemingly at random, sometimes every few days, other times weeks apart. The first time it happened was pretty terrifying, and after a late night emergency vet visit and $500 later, I didn’t feel any better informed than when I started.

Eventually I stumbled across a forum post where it was suggested that in some dogs an empty stomach can lead to overproduction of stomach acid, which causes stomach discomfort and irritation of the esophagus.

What has worked wonders for Patton (my basset) has been to make sure he never goes too long without eating something. We’ve settled into a pretty good schedule of normal meals for breakfast and dinner, with a couple additional small snack-sized meals at night.

It goes like this (all dry food):

7:30 am – 1 cup
5:30 pm – 1 cup
9 pm – 1/3 – 1/2 cup
10pm to midnight (just before bed) – 1/8 – 1/4 cup

This has pretty much completely cleared up the problem for Patton. I also keep 10mg famotidine tablets (Pepcid, but generic is much cheaper) on hand, and whenever he has an episode or seems gassy, he gets one. This is what the vet prescribed after his first visit, with an inconclusive diagnosis, so I know it’s safe to give him.

In the last year and a half, he’s had maybe 3 or 4 episodes, and all I do is give him about a 1/2 cup of food and a Pepcid, and he’s back to normal within 10-15 minutes.

I hope this helps. I know how scary this can be, and how helpless I felt to help my best friend.

[Akari_32]

Yeah, it’s weird. It’s not SUPER low calorie, more like average for lower brands, but it’s low for what they claim it to be. Here’s the link:

http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/natural-choice-dog-food/dry/high-energy-endurance.aspx

The LIDs are all lamb (I guess they don’t want to branch out unless the package says fish or otherwise). The others listed are chicken. My guys get both often.

[RukatheBlackfish]

I have a 6 month old lab/pointer mix. We can’t do all raw food so we are trying to do the next best thing with 4/5 star kibble on rotation, with a wet food topper, and raw food stuffers. We noticed that he had an incredible amount of gas. I did some research on here and started him on a probiotic/enzyme supplement. That helped a lot, like incredibly so with nearly instant results. However he still has gas. I don’t know how much is normal. Usually he has gas around the same time of day too, that’s what I find interesting. It’s around 5:30pm then again at night (I think 10pm). He eats usually between 11:30-12pm and again at 8:30-9pm. He gets the probiotic with each feeding but not the raw food. However he’ll be gassy whether he eats the raw food or not.
I was thinking it might be the wet food. I think I’m rotating it too fast. There’s definitely some wet foods that make him have horrible gas. It’s nearly all stews (chunks of meat) and Merrick. His gas isn’t as bad on the food that’s one solid blob like Wellness Core, Halo, and Nature’s Variety Instinct.
I guess I’m wondering how much gas is normal. And if his gas is unusual what I can do to help it. Should I keep him on the same wet food through the whole bag of kibble? Or should I rotate it more often. And like with dry food should there a transition between wet foods? Or this normal as he’s a young dog and his gut flora is still maturing. I don’t know, shooting in the dark.
I really appreciate any help!

[Rabbinator]

I’ve read a lot about raw diets, kibble diets, wet diets, rotation diets, homemade and store-bought foods. I work in the pet industry and while nobody has actually asked me yet (raw is not really big in this area apparently), I have yet to find a definitive answer to my question.

Many things that I have read said not to, under any circumstances, rotate raw and kibble. Others say that it’s actually great to rotate raw and kibble, but not to feed both simultaneously (which makes sense re: digestion). I have found a lot of opinions, but no science to back any of it up (other than the simultaneous feeding). I understand protein rotation as well as wet/dry combination/rotation, but I’m at a loss for kibble/raw.

Does anyone have any evidence for/against a kibble/raw rotation?

And another fun question: If feeding raw and kibble simultaneously is unhealthy, why do I carry Nature’s Variety Instinct that is normal kibble with freeze-dried raw coating? Does the fact that it’s freeze-dried raw factor in at all, or is it a gimmick? (NV website about Raw Boost: http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/RawBoost/dog/lamb )

[Tulmaster]

Hi, new here and hope I reached an appropriate page for comment. First I am searching for the best dry food to give Odin, my 7 yr old Lab/Rot. I have been feeding him Blue Buffalo for years. So to cut to the chase, I was reviewing the Stars, 5 and 4 and noticed when I got to some, and I will use BB as an example, it said in the 4 star category, there were 17 different food that were offered. Of those on the list there were 4 or 5 that did not display a stars rating, and the rest were rated from as low as 2 and as high as 4.5. I tried to find a rating method explanation, but could not so, what do they mean? Did some not meet the 4 star rating and if so why? If they are all 4 star, then why the difference. If they are not 4 star then why are they listed under the 4 star link? All to confusing for me.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi Dean-

I love THK and have been using it for going on 6 years. You have too look at the food based on calories. THK Love has 514 cal per cup. NV LID Turkey has 444 cal per cup. You would not have to feed as much of the THK as you would the NV. A 10lb box of THK has 40 dry cups in it. To determine how long a box of Love will last you, figure out how many calories you will feed a day then convert that to cups per day. Divide 40 cups by the number of cups per day you’ll feed and that will give you how many days the box will last. I mix THK with raw at a 50/50 mix so I feed my Dane 1.5 cups THK per day. One 10lb box lasts me about 26 days. My Dane only eats about 1700 calories per day.

Overall, I’m sure THK will cost a bit more than feeding kibble but less than feeding all canned or commercial raw. You just have to decide if the extra cost is worth it to you to feed a superior food that’s made with whole foods and human-grade ingredients.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by RescueDaneMom.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi crazy mom- There are some affordable, high quality foods out there. I have an almost 8 year old Great Dane and I understand how pricey it can be to feed them.

Annamaet Ultra from HDM’s list is $70 for a 40 pound bag which comes out to $1.75/pound. It has 480 calories/cup so you’ll feed less of it than you would other foods which will also make it stretch further- a good bang for your buck. http://www.chewy.com/dog/annamaet-ultra-32-dry-dog-food/dp/41926

Annamaet Extra is also a possibility. It is lower protein at 26% instead of 32% (I prefer higher protein for my dog). It is $53 for a 40 pound bag ($1.33/pound). It is not as calorically dense as the Ultra at 425 cal/cup so you would need to feed a little more of it. http://www.chewy.com/dog/annamaet-extra-26-dry-dog-food/dp/41927

Dr. Tim’s Kinesis is good too. It’s $61 for a 44 pound bag ($1.39/pound). It has 415 cal/cup and 26% protein. http://www.chewy.com/dog/dr-tims-kinesis-all-life-stages-dry/dp/37810

Victor Select Chicken Meal and Brown Rice or Lamb Meal and Brown Rice are also affordable. The chicken is 391 cal/cup, 24% protein, and $55 for 40 pounds ($1.38/pound). http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Dog-Food-Chicken-40-Pound/dp/B00COVMFW4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619583&sr=8-6&keywords=victor+select+dog+food
The lamb is 381 cal/cup, 24% protein, and $59 for 40 pounds ($1.48/pound). This would be good so you can alternate proteins and not feed just chicken all the time. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-Dog-Food-Chicken-40-Pound/dp/B00COVSBL8/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1389619583&sr=8-9&keywords=victor+select+dog+food

Those are all grain-inclusive foods. Grain-free cost a bit more and I don’t know exactly what your budget is. I think Earthborn Holistic is the most affordable and high quality grain free food out there. Meadow Feast and Coast Catch are on HDM’s list. They are both $47.99 for a 26 pound bag ($1.85/pound). The MF is lamb-based, 26% protein, and 400 cal/cup. http://www.chewy.com/dog/earthborn-holistic-meadow-feast/dp/36414
The CC is fish-based, 32% protein, and 435 cal/cup. http://www.chewy.com/dog/earthborn-holistic-coastal-catch/dp/36406

As far as your Danes putting weight on, as long as their not ribby it’s ok for them to be on the lean side. It’s better to be lean than overweight. You don’t want added stress on the joints.

I hope I helped with the food recommendations. If you can afford it, I would try alternating the grain-inclusive foods with grain-free foods. You could do Annamaet Ultra, Earthborn Meadow Feast, Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Coastal Catch. That way you rotate protein sources (chicken, lamb, and fish) as well as protein percentages (32% and 26%).

[theBCnut]

I’m answering all out of order. I love THK! I recommend rotating slower to start with, so you know what your puppy can handle. It may be fine to go that fast, but it may not. Take a week to switch foods, then stay on the food for a week, then take a week to switch to the next food to start with, at the fastest. It really won’t hurt anything if you go too slow, but it may if you go faster.

The way dry foods are made with the proteins added seperately from the fats, seperately from the…, seperately from the…, makes them fairly consistant. With canned, they can throw whole pieces parts in the pot and turn them into canned food with no idea how much of it is bone, fat, or meat, very inconsistant and can change a lot batch to batch. Like I said, I don’t know that for sure, but with how far off the GAs are on many canned foods, that’s what I expect.

[Alsmom]

My dog is allergic to peas, wheat, barley, corn and soybean. Finally we have this knowledge and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed pawing thru the pages of all the dog foods ( raw, dry, and canned ). A long list of foods came along with Tristan’s allergy report. Addiction’s dry Le Lamb and canned venison stew seem to fit his needs. I think I know where to buy it too. Is this an overnite transition or a slow half new and half old? For some reason I feel anxious about picking the right food ( recall issues etc. )
If anyone out there has used the Addiction brand and types I plan to try…I would appreciate some feedback.
Tristan is 7, we have him for a bit more than a year. He’s been scratching chin and neck since we got him. The vet gave some shots, changed his food twice …no improvement. So now that we know what he’s allergic too I am optimistic and so happy to think how much more comfortable he will be. Thanks u! Alsmom

[Dorenda]

Jude, I am new to this forum and just posted under “renal failure” before I saw this post of yours. Here is my situation: my dog was snake-bit about a year ago and we have been fighting renal failure ever since (high BUN and Creatine levels). The vet has him on Hills Science Diet KD canned and dry food but he will hardly eat it. I end up maxing it with Bisquick to make doggie treats (1:1 ratio) but I know he’s barely eating enough to get by. Do you have any suggestions–I read in your post something about some food you make from Kidney Yahoo? Thanks for ANY help!

[Dorenda]

My dog, a rescue of about 5 years, was snake-bit over a year ago, and although I got him to a vet immediately, he went into renal failure and we have have been fighting high BUN and creatine levels ever since. He’s supposed to eat strictly low protein & sodium, so the vet has him on Hills Sciece Diet KD canned and dry, but I’m having a horrible time getting him to eat it. Does ANYONE have a suggestion on a dog food I can make homemade OR one I can buy that won’t increase his BUN or creatine levels? He loves bread but even that has high protein.

[AT]

New here…We are bringing an 8 week old Labrador puppy home next Saturday and I am trying to narrow in on food options. I have spent the last few days reading every single post in this thread and it has been quite an education – thank you to all of you who spend time here to help educate others!
My questions:
1. Our puppy will be coming home on Purina Pro Plan Focus Puppy Large Breed Formula and I want to transition him to something better as soon as possible. Would a few days after he is home and settled in be too soon to start a transition, provided he is not showing any signs of GI distress?
2. If price/cost is not a constraint, what off the shelf product would you feed a lab puppy? I am not up to a homemade diet at this point (might consider this in the future, but don’t trust myself to get up to speed in one week and to get it right during this crucial growth period). Most of the discussions I’ve read here involve rotating quality dry foods (with added toppers/supplements). Would this be the best way to start since our puppy will be coming home on a dry food?
It has also been stated that raw, canned or reconstituted is even better. I can see the raw recommendations in the document linked to several times throughout this thread. What do you consider to be the best of these brands? Would transitioning directly to raw be ok for our puppy; or should we go first to canned, then to raw?
Can anyone offer recommendations for the “best of the best” of canned foods for a large breed puppy? I figure I can call companies to calculate exact calcium/kcal, but could anyone offer the best brands/formulas to start my efforts? The fives stars listed in the library are:
By Nature 95% Meat (Canned)
Castor and Pollux Natural Ultramix (Canned)
Dogswell Dog Food (Canned)
EVO Dog Food (Canned)
Fromm Gold Nutritionals (Canned)
Go! Fit and Free (Canned)
Great Life Essentials (Canned)
Kirkland Cuts in Gravy (Canned)
Life’s Abundance (Canned)
Merrick Dog Food (Canned)
Merrick Grain Free Dog Food (Canned)
Nature’s Variety Instinct (Canned)
Pet-Tao Dog Food (Canned)
Pure Balance Dog Food (Canned)
Tiki Dog Food (Canned)
Wellness Core Dog Food (Canned)
Wellness Stews (Canned)
Weruva Kobe (Canned)
Weruva Kurobuta (Canned)
ZiwiPeak Daily Dog Cuisine (Canned)

Thank you so much for any advice!
AT

• This reply was modified 12 years, 2 months ago by AT.

[pacalady]

I have been doing research on the best dog food to feed and I am more confused than ever. I find complaints and bad reviews about all of the brands. I have fed Iams lamb and rice for years. For some reason my dogs will always get an ear infection when on other foods that i have tried so faR and i have fed iams puppy for our puppys but I have heard of some negatives there lately. Then I was in the vet for puppy check up on our Aussie and the receptionist recommended 4health after feeding iit for one week mixed with the iams our puppy started dry heaving. And vomiting. Did research found other complaints about the same thing I dont think I want to take any chances I had found a lot of good reviews about fromm and was going to switch to that but of course I fell across bad reviews. How I cant afford the top of the line and 70 a bag type food. I am thinking about sticking with Iams I have never had problem. I am so confused. My dogs are like my kids. They are family. How does one know what dogs foods are really okay. Talk about confusing. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions..

[axelstaff]

hello guys,
we have ast dog and feed him with flatazor. what would you know about the product itself? it is french brand. high premium class, however has in the food corn and gluten. although i am pretty much sceptic about marketing and pr issues with the grain free products.

have someone fom you used that dry food nd what could you tell me for uality from rading the stamp with supleents though.

and next dry food i wish to ask is chicopee by harison inc. canada.

what is your suggest and opinion for those two. cheers

p.p.
i am really sorry for childish writing in english but right now i am on the tablet and i hate it

[nata78sha]

Hello. I am new here. I have a St Bernard mix (98 pounds) that will be 9 years old in the fall. I also have a 5 year old miniature schnauzer. Our dogs have been on the grain free natures domain from Costco for years (at the advice of our old vet). The vet here wants my Saint on senior food. He suggested canned food, cooked human food (and buy vitamins if I cook his food) and then dry food or mixing canned with dry food . But he suggested Science diet and said he did not like Blue Buffalo … so that has me questioning him. I know BB had a recall but I had always seen high rating for it. I could have also sworn that he said a low protein diet.. I would think it would be the opposite- less carbs.. but I am not a vet. Does the Saint need to be on a senior food , is there an all stages food that both dogs can be on? Also the schnauzer is very active, the Saint..not so much. Price does matter.. I can not afford to pay $50+ for 30 pounds of dog food when I go through 6 cups a day (current food).

[Cocker_mom]

Hi, InkedMarie! Since about April I’ve been feeding both my dogs the Iams Healthy Naturals Adult Lamb Meal and Rice dog food. They’ve both responded well to it, and it was included on the list of (literally, hundreds–at least one thousand) dog foods the allergy testing company gave me. Basically, it’s an average kibble, but it’s easily accessible in my area. Prior to that, I had my allergy prone cocker on Nature’s Recipe Grain-Free Easy to Digest Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Pumpkin dog food and my older cocker on Blue Buffalo Senior Turkey (both are considered limited ingredient foods). (I’d highly recommend both those foods; it was just a 20+ mile drive one-way every time I needed dog food.)

To put things in context, I got my allergy prone cocker in September, 2012. I was visiting the vet pretty much every two weeks and he was constantly on keto, benadryl, special shampoo for the elephant hide, and various ear medications. The shampoo improved the elephant hide somewhat, but he was still having problems with ears and itching/licking in general. Once I got him on the Nature’s Recipe, he slowly started improving (I was beginning to think we had a definite winner!), but then spring hit and his skin, eyes, ears just drove him crazy with itching, so he really didn’t enjoy a substantial change in his condition. I did the food allergy test first just because I wanted to eliminate as many of the most likely causes as possible before considering something like an allergy panel/allergy shots. After getting the results, I rid the house of any foods, treats, etc. he was allergic to and made the decision to put both dogs on the same food with my vet’s approval. There was a little adjusting of portions for my older cocker, and she definitely liked the Blue Buffalo much better (it has oats, and I didn’t want to risk my allergy prone dog getting a morsel of it), but she’s doing really well on it.

The warm months were a nightmare for the little guy. The exposed skin and the yeast and the elephant hide cleared up completely with the food adjustment but the ears were the worst I’d seen yet–literally Velveeta cheese at the worst, and medicines weren’t providing much relief. More bi-weekly vet visits, and I even participated in some trial drugs when everything else failed. Thank goodness for the first hard frost. It’s winter now, and his ears have cleared up, so I am pretty confident now the food issues have been ruled out. We’ve both gotten a much needed break from the ear agony. He looks far and away better than ever and the constant itching/licking isn’t going on now that it’s winter. That’s what convinced me to do the outdoor panel before his 2nd spring with me. The tests aren’t terribly invasive or expensive–they use only a small blood sample. I couldn’t imagine having a chronic yeast infection! I’m hoping the allergy shots will prep him for the spring allergens.

I could probably start a whole new thread about cockers and their ears, but I can tell you that having owned two cockers now, my experience with the younger dog has been COMPLETELY different than the older one. Basically, I’ve always exercised preventative care with my older cocker just because cockers are naturally prone to infections with their big floppy ears–cleaning and drying the ears once a week or so, keeping the insides or the ear shaved close, and letting them air out. She’s had maybe 3 or 4 ear infections in her 13 years, and her ears are very clean and healthy. My younger cocker’s ears are a mess–gnarly and misshapen on the inside with a lot of scar tissue particularly on the left ear and there is an ugly polyp on the left ear too. He is truly a special needs dog, and I’m thinking the product of overbreeding (resulting in a very cute but very issue-prone pup).

I know a lot of dogs do well on a food elimination diet, and I believe I truly gave that method a fair shake (the food he was on when he took the food allergy test was actually on the testing company’s approved list–although none of the prior foods I tried were), but my dog’s issues are caused by a variety of allergens that aren’t limited to just food. I spent literally thousands of dollars in vet bills for various treatments that treated only symptoms but not the true problem, and I have no regrets with the allergy tests. I truly believe we’ve reached a turning point. They might not be necessary for every dog, but if your dog is experiencing chronic allergies and a food adjustment isn’t completely alleviating the symptoms, the test is worth it.

[theBCnut]

He had food intolerance issues, so I can’t sort the symptoms into neat piles, and I got on the his issues very early, so he didn’t get really bad. He had nasty slimey diarrhea with blood, vomitting, hot itchy red skin, and a thin, patchy, dry coat. Those are common food intolerance symptoms, but some can be due to yeast. He also had the Frito smell, stinky cheese smell that is associated with yeast. And the skin on his belly was starting to turn black. He broke out in a staph infecting one day, dime size areas with pustules in them. Cutting out grains and other sugar sources made a dramatic difference and so did adding probiotics.

Have you looked at the possibility of ringworm?

Many of the dog food sites give free shipping on orders over a certain amount.

[LindaW]

Hi, all. I’ve just recently learned through initially “Dogs Naturally” magazine and then numerous other sources about the dangers and shortcomings of synthetic vitamins and minerals in almost all commercially prepared dog food whether dry or canned. The stuff is derived from toxic materials and since it is so much less expensive than whole food sources, they use them.
There is only one commercial food, Nature’s Logic, that I know of. I had wanted to try Brothers Complete, but they have synthetic also (sodium selenite, etc.). Sometimes my very discerning golden ret. pup doesn’t want her raw or home cooked fare and she will eat a little kibble or canned. Very difficult puppy to feed. So, let’s help spread the word about the synthetics. It is just as important as not feeding Beneful or Ol Roy. Even human vitamins has it unless it is “whole food” supplements. The articles state that quite a few problems that dogs have can be linked back to these artifical supps.

[Cocker_mom]

I am new to this forum and mom to two cocker spaniels (ages 13 and 6), so I’ve seen my share of ear infections and whatnot. I adopted my youngest cocker a little over a year ago (September, 2012), and he had terrible elephant skin on his groin and chest and he stunk of yeast–it was all through his ears and on his little nose and paws. Just pitiful. He was a stray and his owner didn’t claim him although he was housebroken and sat on command when I got him. My vet initially suggested a “lifestyle” change–just being consistently cared for–might improve the skin. Unfortunately, it didn’t improve the near constant itching/licking, and we tried all kinds of medications on top of daily benedryl which just knocked the poor guy out. Much like spotcdb’s case, it would clear up only to come back. I tried the fancy, super expensive all natural dog foods for allergy prone dogs. We rotated foods to eliminate potential allergens. No substantial changes. It took about 5 months for me to make the decision to just test for the food allergies (about $200), and I’m so glad I did. He was VERY allergic to–surprise–OATS and SOY! Those would have been the last ingredients to be eliminated rotating the foods out. Today he is on a dog food (the company that does the testing gave me a HUGE list of foods/treats he could eat that wouldn’t trigger a reaction) that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg but is still good for him. I just had an outdoor/indoor allergy panel done for him this week. Again, so glad I did because he was still having problems with his ears in the warm months, and it looks like he’ll need to go on allergy shots, which I’ll start before the spring to hopefully give him a head start. Never experienced anything like this with my older cocker, who I’ve had since she was 12 weeks old. Long story short, I really wish I’d done these allergy tests from the get-go, or at least in the first few months. I could have saved my little guy a lot of irritation and myself a lot of money. Incidentally, the elephant skin was completely eliminated shortly after getting him on the right food. He is SO much better, prettier, and happier than when I brought him home.

[amytich]

I’d like to feed my 2 goldens (one is almost 3 years old, the other is 13) the same diet. Can anyone recommend a dry dog food that would suit both of them. They are both in excellent health and good weight.

[ScottsMomma]

We recently adopted a terrier mix from our local Humane Society. He is my first dog-knew nothing about food so we just picked up the standard Kibbles & Bits for him which he ate just fine. Noticed on his second day with us, how much he was scratching; neck area, face, biting along his legs & paws. Took him in for a visit, was told he had dry skin, to try fish oil, also started reading up on dog food and picked up Earth’s Pride Grain free Duck & Vegetable. He is eating that just fine, no issues with messy stool (does have some gas) not bringing anything up. Took him back today since he has also been shaking his head along with the scratching, doc looked in his ears, said they were clear-just looked irritated. Said it is most likely allergies-which is what I suspect-but allergies to what? We live in Maryland so pollen is not an issue right now-possibly dust? Or food-how do you tell? His fur is nice & soft, but skin is dry and he has some dandruff. No major sneezing or coughing. I’m at a loss as to what to do. Doc gave me a med. called Prednistabs and a drop for his ears. I don’t know weather to try a different food with less ingredients, try Raw (does a raw diet help with both food & inhalant allergies)

[Piinkpixie]

Oops wrong post. Idk what happened. Sorry

[Piinkpixie]

I live in colombia and i am able to find taste of tha wild in several local vets. Btw my cats love equilibrio and my lab lives natualis, it has kind of dehydratwd fruit chunks. You should try it