[foodle]

Speaking of bowel problems, my dog became issue-free when I started her on Evo ckn about 7 yrs ago and did very well until the Evo recall last April. I have tried about 10 foods since then for various lengths of time and nothing works like Evo to produce a small, fairly dry stool without straining. I bot a bag of Evo and waited 6 weeks, called the company and it had not been recalled so I gave her 1 Tablespoon of it with 3 T of another dry she has been eating. About 12 hours later she threw up the whole serving, looked about like it did when it went in except moist. I waited two days and the third day I gave her the same combination and about 9 hours later she threw that up. She has not thrown up anything in all the months this has been going on. What can be causing this? I really want to get her back on Evo. Maybe this is coincidence and I should try again?

[nicoles]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll check out those suggestions – will test it out to see how well they sit with him.

And we feed him in the afternoon/evening since that’s immediately after he gets his big exercise for the day – we go for a 5km-6km run. We don’t usually feed him in the morning because he’s not a puppy anymore so the vet recommended only one meal a day as it’s better for his digestion, but we’ve added the extra morning cup to try to get some more weight on him.

[DogFoodie]

Is there a particular reason you’re feeding such a small percentage of his daily ration in the morning and such a large portion in the evening?

[theBCnut]

Abady isn’t rated here but they do have high calorie foods. Victor Ultra Pro and Nature’s Variety Instinct are lower but still high. You can get some fish oil and add a dose and coconut oil too.

[nicoles]

My 20 month old kelpie x german shep has a ridiculously high metabolism. I can barely keep the weight on him and we’re giving him 1 cup of dry food in the morning, and 3 cups of dry with one cup of cooked food in the evening. And he can barely get through the evening food. We moved him to adult food but then shifted back to Giant Puppy Holistic Select because it had a higher fat content and he was getting an upset tummy from the adult food. He doesn’t stop moving all day chasing flies, bugs and birds and is just burning it all off though – and it didn’t help matters when my dad took him to the dog park in the morning and the beach in the afternoon over Christmas break!

Am wondering if anyone can recommend one of the 5 star rating dry dog foods (or even a wet food) which will be better for a “working dog” that’s just working at keeping our yard safe from insects and birds.

[rose]

I have had my schnauzer on Wellness Core Original dry dog food for about 9 months and she has had no problems with this food, although I have to give her green veggies, for some reason the dry dog foods out there that are wheat and grain free gives her Colitis. She leaks from her anal glans, when she on wheat & grain free dry dog food. When she was younger I had her on Natural Balance she never had this problem, she is now 2 years old. I have her groomed regularly and her anal glans are expressed. I had to take her to her Vet. to have them expressed again because her glans were full again.

Does anyone know why grain and wheat free dog food would do that?

[rose]

I tried my schnauzer on Rachel Rays dry dog food and dog bones, and had to take both back to Smiths store where I purchased both. As my dog started vomiting and made her horribly sick, I thought she was dying. I will never buy her brand again. Just thought I would comment on her brand. I would be very careful .

[cinner00]

I am very satisfied with 4Health dry food for my dog. I have a question about which adult food would be better for my pup. My trainer said I should go with the higher protein one, 4Health Performance, another person suggested the adult large breed formula. I have a 9 month old Bernese Mt, Shepherd mix. He is 63 pounds, tall and lean, healthy shiny coat. He did great on the puppy food and handles both of the a fore mentioned formulas fine. I am not looking to switch brands, just which of these would be best for his diet moving forward. You give the performance 4.5 stars. Note: My pup did not do well on grain free food at all.

[Missmillie01]

Thanks Pattyvaughn, I always thought kibble was good fir their teeth too,but. The two little ones don’t even chew…I had to buy bowls with the little ball in the middle to try and slow them down. So I will add the canned ans might just slowly eliminate the dry altogether and switch to dehydrated food, because they eat so fast I’m thinking it’s easier to digest as well.

[Mom2Cavs]

Well….you are not alone in this. There are many dogs that seem to “enjoy” doing this. I had a Cavalier (at the bridge now) that has been known to partake. What I did with her and it seemed to work was I added enzymes to her food. In her case I used a supplement called Solid Gold Seameal. I think sometimes it can be a behavior, attention getting problem. Sometimes it can be the food, I believe. In Stella’s case I’m not sure what it was because she was eating a high quality food, but the Seameal worked. A little while after I started adding it to her food she stopped doing it. I added a canned topper to her dry so put the Seameal in that. As for the Science Diet kibble being the cause, who knows….I do know that you could probably find a little higher quality food for her. I’m not a Science Diet fan, myself, sorry. But if you don’t want to change her food at least adding enzymes or a probiotic/enzyme supplement can’t hurt.

[Mom2Cavs]

Betsy Greer….thanks so much for your kind words. Lucy is actually doing quite well, except for the lesions she has on her skin and the baldness that comes with them :(. Lucy has never had skin problems, at all, so this was a shock to see these places on her. I first noticed places by her mouth and under her chin. Then the groomer noticed one on her back when he was blow drying her. Looked like nothing I had ever seen before. My first thought was an allergic reaction to something!? It all started about 2 weeks after I began feeding TOTW Pacific Stream so I actually considered it might be the food, but she had never had allergies in the past…though I know they can come on anytime. It just seemed so odd. I took her to my holistic vets and they really weren’t sure what it could be, either. We took a blood test and it showed slightly elevated kidney levels and slightly low thyroid levels. So….we kinda expected the kidney values with her bladder tumor (she’s had for a year now) and we thought she might be having a skin issue due to thyroid. But the vets had never seen skin problems like hers with thyroid before which is why we opted for biopsies to be sure. They took from 3 lesions, which had worsened and multiplied since the groomer found the one on her back. It came back as canine epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma or CETL. Very rare cancer, happens to mostly older dogs. Can happen out of the blue, no known cause. Prognosis is poor usually and generally no treatments help. Dogs can live a few months to up to 2 years with it. It all depends on their comfort level and the seriousness of the lesions. She wears a T-Shirt around the house so she won’t bother them. Thankfully, she’s accommodating with that. She still eats great, plays more than the Cavs and is her usual self right now. In fact, Lucy’s is the first case in all the years my vets have been practicing that they’ve seen! So….we are taking it one day at a time. My vet gave me a supplement from Vetri Science called Maitake DMG Pro. They’re chews, which she readily takes (and this is a dog that’s very picky with her treats lol). It is an immune supplement. They’re very new, I can’t even order them yet. I can get it in liquid form right now, though, so I ordered that and I’m hoping she likes it mixed with something. Safflower oil has been known to help some dogs, so I have started with that, too. I’ll keep everyone posted on how she does. Again, thanks for the kind thoughts!

[Bets175]

Hi everyone,
I’m new to this board but find it extremely interesting as i have battled anal gland issues with my German Wirehaired Pointer for quite some time now. Changing foods, adding pumpkin, etc. didn’t do much for her until i purchased Glandex. I’m still on my first bottle of it and give her a teaspoon of the dry powder formula daily and have noticed that the anal gland odor is very rare now and the form of her stool has gotten much better. Currently I am feeding her Nature’s Recipe Venison and Rice…it doesn’t have all the fruits and veggies that some of the other dry dog foods have and for her…less is more!!! Hope this helps.

[Mom2Cavs]

Since I’ve taken Laverne (all 3 dogs) off poultry she’s been doing 100% better. Since I last posted here in August we’ve gone through different dry foods (can’t even remember what all), but currently they’re eating Fromm Salmon a la Veg. It does have some chicken cartilage in it and grains (which don’t seem to be a problem). I’ve been using only canned foods without poultry, as well. I’ve used Wellness a lot, especially their 95% and stews. I have on hand some Simply Nourish Fish & Potato, Weruva Cirque de la Mer, Fromm 4Star Pork and some others that I’ve fed. Also, I’ve noticed that when a food has a lot of peas Laverne has issues, too. I also have been adding in probiotics/enzymes. They get 2 treats a day. One in the morning, Wellness Lamb grain free biscuit, and one during the day, Wellness Pure Rewards Beef. Lucy, who you may have heard has CETL (skin cancer) gets some other supplements. Anal glands and itching have been gone since I’ve changed to this regimen. It might not work for all dogs, but has been good for mine. 🙂

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[theBCnut]

They used to think that eating dry kibble helped keep the teeth clean, but in actuality it does little to nothing because the kibble basically explodes when the dog bites down on it, if the dog chews its food at all, so it does not scrape along the surface of the tooth and does nothing for the gumline where most problems develop. So go ahead and add the canned to the kibble and you can even add a little more water to it. The stomach handles wet foods easier anyways.

Protein level should not be a problem. You could try changing foods and see if it helps the one with tearing issues. Feeding variety is as healthy for dogs as it is for us.

[scooter]

I adopted a rescue dog the end of June and he has been having anal gland problems on an ongoing basis. He has needed to go to the vet every three weeks to get them expressed and has now been on antibiotics and a steroid for just over a week. He is just under two yrs old and is part papillon and terrier. My vet just mentioned possible surgery to remove the glands if we can’t get them under control. Don’t want to have to put him through that surgery because of the possible outcomes so have been researching changing foods. He gets dry food and I give him a tablespoon of pumpkin and And yogurt every day. He has never had diarrhea And always has firm poop. I am trying to figure out what else I can do to help this problem. Has anyone tried glandex? What about blue buffalo dry food?

[Missmillie01]

I have 3 dogs, a 14 yr old shelti, and two 4 lb Maltese mixes. I feed the Shellie Now senior, he does ok ,but poops a lot! The little ones seem to do well on Buffalo grain free, but have terrible eye tearing, could be genetic or from food. Either way all three are chow hounds! They eat fast. I want to add a canned diet to the regimine, but I’m confused, do I add the canned to the kibble? Or is it best to feed dry at one feeding and wet at another?
I have also give the little ones Stella and Chewy freezes dried, I have added that to the kibble. I’m concerned the protein level is to high when I do that. If someone can help me understand all this…..

[Mom2Cavs]

I currently don’t feed commercial raw, but I have and will again I’m sure. First off, dry kibble does not help keep dogs teeth clean. In fact, if they chew it at all (most tend to swallow it whole) it merely sticks to their teeth, much like when we eat crackers or cookies…way more than canned or raw. Actually, the commercial raw would do a better job at keeping teeth clean because it has a more natural component and more readily available enzymes. I would definitely add raw, meaty bones as a component of your dog’s diet. I’m sure others who feed this way will be more able to direct you in how to do this. You’re on the right track with your pup, congratulations with the new addition!

[Gary]

Hello everyone,I wanted to know if we can get some kind of reviews of Genesis Skin+Coat dry dogfood.I cant seem to get any information of this dogfood as it seems last review was performed in 2008-2009 and i have heard the company has done considerable improvements since then.Please share your thoughts if you have used this brand and would greatly apreciate if we can get full reviews of this product.

[Duke The Boxer]

If Farmina does not get released on chewy in time i will definitely be going with the back 2 basics formulas. I have not decided yet though what is the next protein i want Duke to try. I have been talking to Farmina on facebook and they said the dog foods should be around the same price as fromm for their higher protein grain free formulas, and then around $55-60 for the grain inclusive formula which still has 35% protein.

[goldenlucydog]

My Cavalier King Charles is 5 years old, and was rescued from a puppy mill at
4 months old. His breath has always been horrific, and the Vet recommended his teeth be cleaned when he was 3,as there was tartar present. Unfortunately, that didn’t help. He eats dry Iam’s Dog food. Could a change in food help ? Are some breeds of dogs more likely to suffer with bad breath ?

[Naples_vidiot]

This is what Blue came back with:

Hi Christine,

Thank you for contacting us. We are sorry that BLUE did not work out for your pet. When switching foods, there is always a possibility that the food will not agree with your pet or they may not like it. Which Wilderness formula were you feeding your dog? Wilderness is a higher protein and fat diet for active, sporting and working dogs. Due to the higher protein and fat, it is not always the best fit for some pets. Whenever you purchase BLUE it comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you find that BLUE is not a good fit for your pet, you can return the unused portion to the retailer for a full refund or exchange with your receipt.

We do not have any current recalls. In the unfortunate event of a recall, we would work with each of our retailers to immediately remove affected product as well as post signage alerting consumers of a recall. In the case of our larger retailers, such as PetSmart and Petco, we are able to work with them in contacting customers that purchased a recalled product based on information obtained from their Pet Perks and PALS program. We would also post the most up-to-date information on our website as well as work with veterinary websites (such as Veterinary Information Network) to educate veterinarians across the country of the issue so that they can share it with their clients.

We are aware of the postings and blogs that are unregulated. Unfortunately we can’t control what is posted in an online forum and unless the Pet Parent contacts us directly, we can’t investigate their claim fully. We always encourage pet parents to contact us if they feel there is an issue so that we can gather all of the product information for our QA Team and investigate. Product quality is our #1 priority. We have strict controls in place to make sure that our ingredients meet the highest quality standards.

These controls include the following:

Certificate of origin for all ingredients
COA’s (certificates of analysis) on all our ingredients prior to accepting
Testing of each ingredient for known toxins prior to accepting
Testing during production to ensure that our formulas meet our nutritional specifications.
Testing after production to ensure product stability and freshness.

We use a government certified laboratory to test for normal analyticals, toxins, bacterial contamination, and spoilage.

Please feel free to contact me with any further questions.

Take care,
Tracy

Blue Buffalo Co.

Yada yada yada

[mellowmutt]

Well, the food’s already mixed… I’ve read this advice a lot, but the only links I’ve come across are to those marketing rotational feeding. Maybe one in ten dogs I’ve ever known had food allergies (mostly to “bad” grains); most of the rest lived long, happy lives on the same food day in and day out, mostly dry kibble of dubious quality by today’s standards. I have two very good, related reasons for mixing rather than rotating.

First, the different kibble sizes, and one kibble being “preferred” really slows down Amiga’s feeding rate. I don’t want her “inhaling” her food, which she does when all the kibbles are the same size/smell. Mixed, she’ll try picking out the Orijen kibbles! Of course she winds up eating most of the other kibbles along with, at which point I guess she figures she may as well finish the meal. But it does take her twice as long to eat, this way, and gives me control of what she’s eating with no fuss because…

Second, she’s one of those picky mals who drive their owners to despair with hunger strikes, this being a well-known feature-bug of many individuals of most arctic breeds — which evolved to be headstrong, independent, and require less food than other dogs of similar size. If I rotate the food, which I did try, she’ll just ignore the food dish until what she wants gets put in it — which turns into a battle of wills the human usually loses (I know I’m a sucker for those sad puppy-dog eyes with whimpering), best not let it start if I want her growth rate to be steady not spurty, though.

http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=8333
http://wildpaw.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4462
(list goes on)

I also think Amiga’s spoiled enough without letting her choose her own menu, but it’s a real challenge to get her to eat what I want her to eat, regardless of when she eats it. For instance, when she was protesting NVI Rabbit she got away from me, into a neighbor’s house, and chowed down a whole bowl of Kibbles ‘n’ Bits. Came when called, after a short delay, licking her chops and grinning while the neighbor shooed her out of her house… pinned her ears back and rolled over on her back at my feet in a typical-malamute show of faux-submissiveness (neither hind leg straight), then ignored her own food for two more days. Which turned into four when she figured out how to raid the cat food for a few seconds before I caught her at it, then ate the rest of my sandwich off the countertop while I relocated the cat dish. 🙂

This can also be an issue when using toppers, but I’ve figured out how to train around this. I’m redirecting Amiga’s prey drive into SAR training (informally, can’t train with other dog/handler teams until she’s more mature about working when other dogs are present, there’s a reason so many SAR dogs are Goldens). Aside from disliking all forms of transport (no rhyme or reason for it I can figure, which I also hope she matures out of), all the aptitude for SAR work is there, her kibble OCD really shines through in “re-find” work. Her name is well-chosen, especially where kids are concerned; if the scent she’s on is animal she pricks her ears forward, but pins ’em back submissively for any and all humans… excellent potential despite being a malamute, even on tracking work.

She knows the difference between “food” and “umm-umms” and has figured out what I mean when I say “umm-umms on your dinner-food” — a big reward delayed until dinnertime instead of little treats over the course of a long, physically-demanding training session (which she sees as playing hide-and-seek in the forest for a few hours, at this stage). She’s very treat-motivated. Oh, she’ll still skip a meal here and there, but that just lets me know she isn’t getting enough exercise — that and the zoomie circles around the yard. Both of which I’m currently chalking up to being in season, total psycho malamute puppy on my hands atm.

Some Amiga videos here, the one running next to the bike was taken a month ago while the ones playing with the neighbor Husky are from last week, and aren’t mally pups just adorable before they become terrors?

http://www.veoh.com/list/u/bikefat

What worries me is topping kibble with raw/freeze-dried due to the different rates of digestion. If I just feed the toppers as a meal, I’m worried she’ll lose the correlation with it as a treat, and hold out for it as a regular meal by again spurning her kibble — perhaps even the Orijen. With the mix, when she’s hungry she’s really quite excited about being fed, with none of the malamute games we played when I tried rotating five foods and she’d only eat one of ’em.

YMalMV. 😉

[Luna Bear]

So I have been dog sitting for Luna for a couple of weeks. When her regular food ran out, I did not know what it was so I went to Pet Smart and got Blue Buffalo for older dogs. She is a hearty eater and usually will eat anything she can find…and she ate the BB food for about a week and then started getting sluggish and then stopped eating. She is old so I was worried she might be on her last legs. Then she ate a little and started throwing it all up. She laid in bed for two days hardly eating a thing and having diarrhea. I stopped putting it in her bowl and fed her some chicken broth and chicken meat for a couple of days and she started looking much better. In the four days since I stopped feeding it to her, she has completely turned around and is back to her old self. Who can say…but I am going back to get my money back and will never feed another dog this food again. I am no scientific expert but this just seems way too coincidental. Good news is that she has her energy back and definitely her interest in food!

[theBCnut]

Usually they are made out of ingredients that you would recognize as food ingredients rather than things that you have to look up to know what you are feeding. The term is not regulated though, so anyone can claim it.

[jcosler]

what the heck is a “holistic food???”

[mellowmutt]

I got Amiga at 8 weeks old, back on June 1st. Her breeder recommended Nutro LBP Lamb & Rice, so that’s what I fed her at first. I wasn’t happy with her gas or her stools, so I did some research and decided to mix Orijen LBP and NV Prairie LBP with the Nutro. Did some more research and discovered that I was feeding her way too much calcium. So I added two other foods to the mix in mid-July, NV Instinct Rabbit and CC Open Sky, had to set up a spreadsheet to keep CA, CA:K, calories & protein in order. I did the calculations based on the max-CA values, not averages or the tested values of a specific batch, to be on the safe side.

Ran out of this mix a month ago, at 8 months apparently she can regulate her CA herself, so I quit worrying about it. Now I have her on a mix of Orijen Regional Red, NV Instinct Rabbit, and NV Prairie Venison & Barley. It seems reasonable to me to feed her a red-meat diet in winter, and switch to a fish-and-fowl diet come summer (ancestral-wolf feeding pattern). In a few months the mix will be Orijen Six Fish, NV Instinct Rabbit LID, and NV Prairie Duck & Oatmeal. Both supplemented with the occasional topper of Orijen Tundra freeze-dried. LID Rabbit doesn’t have turkey, which is in the Duck & Oatmeal formula, so Turkey’s on the menu all year, too. Protein content of these blends is 33%.

The Prairie kibble’s mixed in to lower my cost from $3/lb to $2.75/lb, which adds up with a large breed. Rabbit is in the mix year-round, because I read some research (I’ll post the links if I find them again) about how wild/feral canines/felines primarily eat bunnies. The missing “meat group” in the prepared foods is rodent, so I’ll also occasionally feed raw beaver meat as a topper. I’d like to add a third brand into the mix instead of the Prairie, unfortunately I haven’t found anything that doesn’t have either the “wrong” grains or is loaded with potato (a no-no for malamutes as white potato is known to trigger bloat in this breed), or is too expensive to serve the purpose.

I set up another spreadsheet for amino acids and did yet more research; I believe she’s getting the full spectrum in sufficient quantities from all the different protein sources (also gets Orijen Tundra freeze-dried treats, used these to teach her to swim ‘cuz they float without getting soggy) such that she doesn’t need the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements typically found in large-breed-specific formulas — her body ought to be able to produce as much of these as she needs provided the proper building blocks (amino acids & cartilage). Her stools, on the “winter blend” anyway, are firm and dry, and not too voluminous or frequent and she seems to be thriving; my Vet is pleased with her physical condition and says her growth rate is right on target.

Many thanks to this site and all who contribute for helping me navigate the dog-food waters, it’s enough to make one’s head explode, but it’s also nice to have so many quality options in dry kibble. It’s been several years since I’ve had a dog (Amiga’s my 4th), Iams and even Purina just aren’t what they once were so I didn’t even consider those despite two of my dogs living to 15 (Keeshond on Eukanuba and Golden Retriever on Hi-Pro). My last malamute got Iams Lamb & Rice, but was shot (with cause) by a sheep rancher at 3 1/2 back in ’94 so I have no long-term report, there.

What got me to not trust dogfood manufacturers and do this research, leading me here, was how horrific the first month was feeding Amiga just the Nutro. Glossy, semi-soft, mucousy stools (if not diarrhea) and lotsa smelly farts — just like my friends’ dogs being fed Nutro. Enzymes, pre- and pro- biotics didn’t help, de-worming only cleared up the worms. No surprise given the ridiculously-high Zinc content in Nutro formulas, apparently since Mars bought them out — these are symptoms of Zinc toxicity, not poor digestive-tract health; no band-aid for that. Wish I’d figured that out sooner, and the calcium-level thing.

If I had the puppy-food phase to do over again, I wouldn’t touch Nutro with a 10-foot pole. These problems lessened when blended with the other kibbles, and disappeared entirely (OK, occasional fart still, probably the grains) this month after discontinuing the Nutro. I would do the four-kibble mix again, going with just the Rabbit and Duck would be lower calcium, but would also lack the glucosamine/chondroitin/taurine supplements the two LBP kibbles contain, as well as the cartilage and broad spectrum of amino acids which make these supplements unnecessary.

I did rush her to the vet after-hours back in September for bloat, but I didn’t alter her diet because of it. Sometimes she eats stuff that isn’t “on the menu” so to speak, mostly I blame my kitties because they love hunting and killing — just not eating their kills, which they leave for the alley cats. And for Amiga, sometimes she finds these before I do and accounts for occasional fur/feathers in her stools (Amiga’s also killed a mourning dove, robin, grackle, and a magpie). At least they’ve learned not to bring them in the house! I’m following all the best-practice guidelines for avoiding bloat, so hopefully this was a one-time thing, scary for both of us…

[BlackandBlue]

My dog is currently eating half Back 2 Basics Pork and half Natural Balance LID GF Legume & Duck Meal. She is doing better than ever on this combo. A little background on my dog: she has bad reactions to chicken, fish, venison, lamb, soy, kelp, alfalfa, rice that include yeasty feet and ears. For the last couple of months I’ve been keeping a strict watch on her and nailed down her irritants. (I’ve made good use of all of the NB LID foods to test on her.) The NB LID Duck is so low in protein that I decided on the B2B Pork to add in. Amazing results. My dog is just a regular happy, calm dog now, not a scratching, licking and whimpering mess. I’m deciding on whether to phase out the NB Duck or not.

[theBCnut]

LOL!! You should see my own emails. I’ll sign off and hit send and then realize that it autocorrected, so my own emails make fun of my name!

RDM, I’ve been wanting to try Timberwolf. There are several of their formulas that my dog can’t have, but they look intriguing. Please let us know how it goes.

[RescueDaneMom]

I have no experience with B2B. My local independent pet store carries Timberwolf Platinum now. I bought a small bag for our pit bull to try and he seemed to like it. We’ll probably buy a big bag of the Black Forest variety in the next couple weeks. I’ll let you know how he does on it.

[nationalguard88]

I’ve been using Wellness “just for puppies” so far and he loves them. As well as they’re easy to tear into even smaller pieces for training purposes. No bad reactions digestive or otherwise. Also peanut butter in a Kong keeps him busy and happy. Definitely will try the frozen stuffed Kong. He loves home made venison, dehydrated or not. He’s about 11 weeks so I don’t dry out to much. Dobermans inhale their food like no other I’ve seen, so I like to keep softer at this point, to avoid a chocking hazard. Afraid to give him a lot of different treats, so young. Upset his digestion. He really loves Dr. Tims Pursuit dog food. Nice firm stools, no diarrhea. Healthy looking eyes and coat. It’s hard to beat for the money, and I don’t feel worried about feeding it to him most of all. Trying to find good quality kibble without breaking the bank can be extremely stressful. Especially when there’s none locally. Finding this website was a huge help ingredient wise, but the loving owners reviews were the biggest help of all. Thanks everybody!

[Duke The Boxer]

Hahaha sorry Patty my phone autocorrects it haha. But thank you for the response. B2B looks interesting tho. I like the ingredients and how they include a lot of organs from animals. I’m trying to look for more foods with high % of animal protein. That’s why farmina, timberwolf Platinum, and B2B all look really good. Idk which to choose next!

[MinPinMom]

Redrock302, I understand what you are going through. I have a 9 year old Min Min (Taz) diagnosed with Diabetes July 31, 2013. levels started at 560. But now his levels bounce from 150-199, 200-292, to 199-236. I can’t get 3 weeks in a row with a level under 200. This is one of the worst battles for a fur baby. Overweight at 27 pounds, but down now to 24 which I am glad to see, but trying to get him to his ideal weight of 18. No Hills diet because he has been grain free since prior to his Diabetes due to skin problems. I try cooking for him chicken, eggs with cheese, or even turkey burgers even buying 95% meat wet foods as a topper. He will eat one day, but not the next. I lay with him coaching him to eat so he can take his insulin. He is on 10 units 2x per day. I can’t find a dry and wet food that he will go crazy over so I won’t have these battles. We fight numerous ear problems. Meds at least once per month. Just when you think he is in the clear he starts with the ears again. I can’t stand to watch him not eat because he needs his insulin as I am afraid his levels will never stabilize and the Vet will only increase his insulin. But what is the use if he won’t eat. Any help out there would be a blessing.

[theBCnut]

B2B is on my short list to try. Betsy tried it when her’s were still pups and she said that after a while on it they both developed soft stools. It might be that it was a bit much for them at that point in their lives, rotationally speaking, or that there is something about it that they couldn’t handle. It has none of Micah’s no no ingredients and there aren’t that many foods that I can say that about, so I’ll try it sometime this Spring. If you try it sooner, let us know.

And if you’re going to call me Party Just, at least capitalize it, LOL!!!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by theBCnut.

[Duke The Boxer]

Hey party just and Great Dane mom just checking back in. Duke is doing great. 🙂 but I recently came across the brand Back to Basics and it looked like a very good brand. Their high protein line has a min of 38% protein and they are rated 5 stars from Mike. Have you guys tried this line? That question goes to anyone who had tried Back to Basics.

[theBCnut]

Try adding digestive enzymes and try NutriSource dog food. Good luck!

[sherrie]

I have a 11 month old pit bull/rottweiler mix,
I have been feeding him Blue Life Protection Large Breed dry puppy food for about 6 months. I had to change his food 3 times (Purina Focus, Bill Jack & Blue) due to excessive, horrible gas. I have also agreed Forti Flora to his food to no avail. Friends have told me to put him on Purina. Knowing all of the horrible “stuff” in some foods I am hesitant and do not want to put my baby on something bad. He has a beautiful coat and id like to keep it that way. Good dog food
for an extremely gassy dog?

[Susan]

I have been looking at the ingredients in dog kibble trying to find a common demoniator in foods that don’t work for my dogs, besides grains and chicken/turkey. All have had chicken fat and,or tomato pumice. Started using Earthborn that has a couple flavors that has neither of these ingredients. After just a couple of weeks both dogs are really doing great. Made a fast transition using pumpkin and all went well so far. They had been eating some of the Earthborn in tubs as topper, so that might have been reason for ease into dry.
Interesting some of the ingredients down on the list can cause big problems as well as the main ingredients.
Merry Christmas!

[mojo]

Hi everyone Im not sure if i have overseen the topic of porkbut i need desperate advice, i decided to do something good for my dog and move away from commercial dry food and i decided to make him a meat loaf with rice, eggs, carrotts and minced meat. after all that work and shoving it in the oven i realised that the minced meat i had was a mixture of beef and pork… now i have heard that pork is dangerous for dogs… now im not sure if i can feed him it or not. the loaf backed for 1hour 20 min im sure any bacteria would be dead now… and is pork generally bad for dogs…. would be very grateful for any advice on the topic

[mojo]

Hi everyone Im not sure if i have overseen the topic of porkbut i need desperate advice, i decided to do something good for my dog and move away from commercial dry food and i decided to make him a meat loaf with rice, carrotts and minced meat. after all that work and shoving it in the oven i realised that the minced meat i had was a mixture of beef and pork… now i have heard that pork is dangerous for dogs… now im not sure if i can feed him it or not. the loaf backed for 1hour 20 min im sure any bacteria would be dead now… and is pork generally bad for dogs…. sorry if this is the wrong thread to have posted this.. but would be very grateful for any advice

[RescueDaneMom]

My picks would be:
Orijen Adult (38% protein)
Acana regionals (31-33% protein)
Go! Fit and Free Adult (38% protein)
Annamaet Grain Free (30% protein)
Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (38% protein)
Horizon Legacy Adult (34% protein)
Pinnacle Peak Protein (42% protein)
Timberwolf Platinum (36% protein)

Our pit bull is currently eating the Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural with some Timberwolf (Black Forest formula with elk) mixed in. He’s doing really well on it. We bought a small bag of Timberwolf to try in case he didn’t like it. He seems to like it so we’ll buy a big bag next time.

[Duke The Boxer]

Yeah I run on the last part of the walk. And I run and play fetch with him in my yard often. I have siblings who also play with him outside. I really want to try brothers complete!

[theBCnut]

Probably! Does he get to run on your walk? Does he play fetch?

[Duke The Boxer]

Thank you very much patty. I was looking into natures logic since the brothers conplete is out of my price range. So if I walk my dog a mile or two everyday he should be ae to handle the higher fat?

[theBCnut]

I wouldn’t worry about dry matter. As long as everyone realizes that these are Guaranteed Analysis numbers, they will know what they are looking at.

Yes, I’ve heard of Farmina. It looks like it’s a really good food.

Look at the protein%. Say it’s 42%, 50% of that would be a fat level of 21%. That would have the number of calories from fat close to the same as the number of calories from protein. Personally, I feed higher fat than than, active dogs can handle it. Couch potatos may need less.

[Duke The Boxer]

Patty have you heard of farmina? I know their formula is not suitable for lbp but i like the protein % but I need your help to get the ratios of fat to protein.
http://usa.farmina.com/?q=content/product/grain-free-chicken-recipe-0

[Duke The Boxer]

I’m sorry patty I knew that I wasn’t very educated on the subject and would get corrected. Can you tell me how to get the dry matter protein. And 50% fat to protein ratio? Or how does that work. Again sorry for being such a noob.

[polkadott]

HELP! I have a 14 yr old Jack Russell that cannot eat gluten(wheat), but is also having re-occuring UTI’s. My vet told me to find a high protein food without oxalates, much veggies or dairy. She was on Blue-Grain-free. Vet said it’s bad stuff, (and actually, I had a bad experience with consistency-My dog became ill after starting a new bag…Had to return it.) Then I tried Hill’s Grain Free Ideal Balance…Turkey flavor, and she’s also tried the salmon, but I’m not sure if it will be just as bad as the turkey reoccurring Urinary Tract Infections. Anyone tried Royal Canin Vet SO Dry food? It does have corn gluten in it. Any suggestions as my vet seems clueless. 🙁

[A.Sandy]

I feed Victor, I like it a lot. But Acana, Orijen puppy,and Taste of the wild high prairie puppy are also excellent, a bit higher in carbs but high quality feed.

Ana
pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts

[theBCnut]

I’m guessing that your numbers are not dry matter, since they don’t add up the way dry matter figures should. I like Nature’s Variety Instinct, Brother’s Complete, and Nature’s Logic. I’m interested in Timberwolf Platinum too, though I haven’t tried it yet. I just started Canidae Pure Sky, so it’s too soon to tell how I’ll like it. BTW, none of these would be considered low fat since moderate fat is 50% of the protein level.

[InkedMarie]

Why not order it?