[RhondaP]

I had my mixed Fluffy Chinese Crested breed on Science Hill wet food.. She got bored with Chicken and so we gave her beef.. I am pretty sure she was allergic to the beef, and now the chicken seems to be bugging her as well. I am at a loss for what canned good to give her. She does not like dry! She is 10 pounds.

Any help would be greatly appreciated… I will only use American manufactured brands:)

[rebeccaleaver]

Thank you both for your advice. We also have a Tractor supply store in town. When I go to town tomorrow, I will spend the day on the floor of both stores with my calculator [I’m numerically dyslexic] figuring out the dry matter equation on every food there. Whatever it takes.

[theBCnut]

You do know that a canned food with 4% fat is equivalent to a dry food that is 20% fat, right?

[A.Sandy]

Hello,
My name is Ana I am the owner of a small pet nutrition consulting business called Pupcat Nutrition Consulting I am a pet nutrition expert/advisor. Dogs with pancreatitis have very fragile immune systems, avoid high protein and high fat diets, feed small frequent meals through out the day, and less or no processed diets and avoid dry foods and rotation. The next thing PLEASE STOP feeding science diet it’s killing your dog! Here are some suggestions: lean meats,(bison,chicken,turkey) low fat treats, try senior formulas they have less fat and less protein. Here are some awesome brands that will transform your pup forever!! ok , your best bet would be dehydrated raw, I recommend Honest kitchen preference or all except thrive mix with canned for extra moisture and flavor try senior formula canned like merrick , and natural balance(try to stick with 4% fat or less) avoid grocery store pet foods. and it would be beneficial to add a probiotic/prebiotic to aid digestion, like PROZYMES is a really good one I like. and remember there is a transition period when switching foods (7-10 days) for more info on honest kitchen go to thehonestkitchen.com and for more real nutrition facts follow me on twitter @pupcatfacts and on facebook or at pupcatnutrition.com
good luck!!

-Ana

[young101]

Hi PippaY

My 10 year old weimaraner Blu also has PLE. Here in the UK we have Hills Science Plan Prescription Diet – she has a scoop of their “d/d salmon and rice” dry food for lunch. It’s listed as being hypoallergenic and for skin complaints but it’s also used for PLE (vet reccommended we use it)

Breakfast and dinner she has Chappie tinned food which is also fish based. The advice from the vet was to put her on a high protein low fat diet, protein from fish rather than red meats, for treats things like cottage cheese and eggs (I must admit I restrict the amount of eggs she has as you can imagine the side effects!)

Coconut oil is an MCT, dogs find it more palatable than the MCT liquid oil. It comes in a solid form in a jar, I add a tablespoon a day to her food, maybe a teaspoon a day for your yorkie?

Blu is also on steroids to treat the PLE but the diet definitely helped in getting her protein levels back up.

Good luck!

[Wildcat_1]

Hi all
I
have been reading this topic and the dogfoodadvisor reviews with great interest as I am about to welcome home a new GSD pup. I want to start on a higher quality food than I used in past (Blue Buffalo) and this current pup supposedly is on Eukanuba large breed puppy.

Hound Dog Mom did some great work and without her spreadsheet this would seem like an even more impossible task 🙂 I also read with interest the threads about calcium levels and was about to pull the trigger on Orijen Large Breed Puppy until I saw the potential issues there with calcium. So, with that said I narrowed it down to Annamaet as the one I want to try, specifically Salcha.

Once i looked into local availability I found a company producing something with the same nutritionalist as Annamaet and thought I might give that a try.

This particular company has a couple of products one of which is a grain inclusive puppy specific (28% protein min, 17% fat min, 3.5% fiber, 1.16% calcium dry) specific, the next is an all stages grain free (turkey, chicken, catfish) which is 29% protein, 14% fat 3.5% fiber 1.49% calcium or they have a grain free duck and bison which is 30% protein, 16% fat, 4% fiber.

The questions I have are:

1) Grain free or grain inclusive for puppies ?

2) If grain free as puppy I assume there are still grain free solutions for when they get older (needing leaner food etc) ?

3) Better to go with puppy or all stage food in general ?

Thanks so much all

WC

[sharfie]

Does any one know about the calcium levels in canned food? Would one be able to calculate using the same method as for the dry and raw? Also, is the canned food usually “all life stages” and appropriate for a puppy? Sorry if this has been asked and answered already.

[boxermum]

Can anyone suggest a better alternative to Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Fish dry food? My 1.5 yr old boxer has been on this food since he was a young puppy up until about a month ago when he suddenly decided he didn’t like it anymore and I stumbled across this site and saw it was only rated at a 3 anyway. I’d like to get him on a food that he both likes and is better for him, but I originally started him on it a year ago because it was the only food that wouldn’t give him diarrhea, and I’m discovering this is still an issue. I don’t know if the problem is a sensitive stomach or allergies. If it’s allergies, I haven’t been able to narrow it down to anything specific.

[Emastiff]

Question for Hound Dog Mom.

What do you think of feeding an English Mastiff puppy Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen food. We are looking to blend a kibble and a more convent pre made raw food. The dry kibble will be Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit
Would love some thoughts.

[Molzy]

Wag.com has a great offer for new customers right now, 25% off your first food purchase! Plus a lot of their foods are on sale right now, I just got a 10 lb box of Honest Kitchen Keen (normally $60) for $38! I ordered from them a few weeks ago and got the box within two days, free shipping! So I ordered again today, under my boyfriends name and address to stock up.

I also love Amazon, I’ve ordered Honest Kitchen, Merrick dry food, and Chicken Soup canned dog food from Amazon, and all were great prices and arrived undamaged and fast (I have amazon prime, so free two day shipping!).

[HannahBearsMom]

Jessie,

My 2-year-old Havanese has surgery to repair an extrahepatic liver shunt last May. He is completely asymptomatic at this time and and his most recent BAT was slightly elevated after feeding, but both my regular vet and the surgeon said his BAT may never be completely normal, but as long as he is asymptomatic I shouldn’t worry. The surgeon said he can go back to as regular diet as there is no evidence a low protein diet is beneficial postsurgically. Our regular vet said he might do okay on a regular diet, but staying on the low protein diet certainly wil not hurt him.

What food did you end up going with? I’m considering Honest Kitchen’s Keen or preference (with my own added protein). I’m also considering alternating between the two.

Laurie

[Akari_32]

I’ll get the dry Pro Plan every now and then. They send out great coupons for it, up to $5 off. And then PetCo usually has $3-5 off coupons on it as well. Combine with a sale, and you get it SUPER cheap! The trick is buying small bags, instead of bigger ones.

Reptiles really are much cheaper and a better quality at shows. I would only buy from shows, but I made a joke about a cute lizard I wanted at PetSmart (Rex) for Christmas, and my parents got him for me LOL Thus, I started into reptiles with one of the worst starter reptiles on the planet XD But I love him and don’t mind dumping all my money on his UV bulbs and crap. Two years after I got him, I got my first leopard gecko, a female Dreamsickle I named Amelia, and then this year, I got my second in my march, a male Snow named Rowen, and another male in September at the FirExpo (where I also got Amelia), a tangerine lavender, Raven. Love my “yizards” to death :3

I just tried to use one of those cricket coupons yesterday LOL I didn’t realize it had expired on the 1st. Whoops! I’ve actually started breeding my own meal worms for my guys staple, and then I’ll still by crickets, supers, roaches and waxworms as a treat. I’m spending so much on feeders that I don’t have money money left at the end of the week for, you know, bills and gas and stuff? LOL

Most companies don’t check if you’ve gotten a coupon before or not, except by tracking your ip address, so you can print multiple coupons on various computers, and then you can also email them and ask for one in the mail. Did you get that BB $5 off any bag, $1 off any can, and $0.50/$1 off any treats thing in the mail? I’ve got some of those I need to use, as they expire at the end of the year….

Because I tend to buy several months worth of dog food over a week or so period, I only print the coupons out a few times a year, 10 at a time. But I’m pretty sure they are reset monthly. Just try every couple weeks, doesn’t hurt! 🙂

[anniearies]

Hi, everyone, thanks for helping.
She been taking glucosamine+chondroitin tablets for over a year, it works for her. But then, she could take it no more. At first we thought she does not like the taste, as it’s bitter. We tried all other brand, instead of giving tablet, we brought glucosamine in powder or liquid form, and we found there is something she could not tolerate in glucosamine products. her tounge wouldn’t stop licking like getting choked,utill it went white, it happened whenever we gave glucosamine to her , either instantneously or later of the day. If we not giving her that, it does not happen at all.
To maintain her joint health, we still give that to her for quite awhile , untill our dog refused to have it anymore.
She is having dry kibble for meals, and i wonder if it’s right for us to add the herbal medicine to help her with it. I mean most herbal medicine seemed made intend to be added to whole food.Would it be in conflict with commercial dog food?

i would also like to try all the products you guys recommend.

thank you for helping without you guys, all i know i could give her is glucosamine and herbal medicine, now we got wilder choice. i believe there must be something suitable to maintain her joint health from what you guys recommend.

thank u guys !

[Akari_32]

The only reason it’s in the garage is because it’s cooler out right now. It’s usually in the pantry, but it’s full of human food ATM (for once LOL). Since I buy small bags, it’s usually fits right in the cabinet over top the human food.

Hey, another FL person! That’s good you guys get a discount! I wish we got one at Publix lol I would go with Core over BB, personally. But as I said earlier in the thread, Core is my favorite grain free food. But I like to switch it up, so I do try most everything. I’ve not used the dry BB, but I’ve used some of the cans. The dogs seem to like Pro Plan cans best, plus I get them free, so that’s what they mainly get for canned mixers, but I like to have fun with my dry food purchases.

Seems we’ve got a similar line up of pets! I’ve got the three dogs, a Mali Uromastyx, three leopard geckos, about two dozen goldfish (I have a goldfish problem… I have a 150+ gallon tank in the works for my 6 indoor fancies LOL), and several tropicals. Between the fish, I have almost 400 gallon of water worth of ponds and aquariums.

What kind of Uro do you have? Did you get yours at PetSmart or a show? We got Rex about 4 years ago at our local PetSmart. My Leos all came from breeders at various Repticon conventions :p Are you near the Pinellas County type area? I buy all my feeder inscects at White Hot Dragons, in (what I call, but may not actually be) St Pete. They are super cheap, and have better quality bugs, as well as a variety 🙂

Use those coupons, girl! Save some money! 😉 I bought $25 worth of etcetera for $8 today at PetSmart Lol

[theBCnut]

Just remember that dog food should be stored in an air tight cool dry dark place, because environmental factors affect the quality of the food. Heat, fresh air, and light in particular break down the fats in dog foods. So the best way to store it is under air conditioning/indoors in it’s original bag with the top rolled down and all the air squeezed out. In the Winter heat is not so much a factor, but over the Summer, the garage is not a good place to store dog food, and here in FL that’s 3/4 of the year.

[OhBichonPlease]

I would also suggest [when your dog has settled a bit] taking her to a smaller pet store [Petco and Petsmart might be a bit overstimulating, especially during the holiday season] and showing her several different toys. She may enjoying browsing the aisles with you and may even pick out her own toy that appeals to her. We pull things off the rack for our girl to inspect; when she tries to take it from us or looks excited, we tend to get it because we want her to play.
There is also a toy that may bring your dog some comfort – I think it was designed for weaning puppies, dogs with separation anxiety or mourning pets, but it is a plush toy with a warming pack and a “beating heart” powered by a battery. There is a popular brand available at online retailers and Amazon called SnugglePuppy from Snuggle Pet Products. It is kind of expensive [you may be able to find another brand/model for less] for an experiment, but it may comfort her and help her transition her to her new environment and to liking toys/playing.
I would also recommend wrapping a plush toy in an old tshirt or stuffing it inside a sock that has your scent on it – you’re her pack/people now and she wants to smell like you so she won’t have to be alone again. [Our girl likes to jump in our dirty laundry and thrash under our bedcovers after her bath, probably thinking we won’t recognize her. She also takes off her Doggles whenever my fiance reenters the car]. Making the toy smell like you by putting it in the dirty clothes hamper will help reinforce that this toy belongs in the household, toys are fun and playing with you is a nice thing to do. Some non-plush toys can also have food smeared on them or treats stuffed inside to help get entice her to interact with them.
Playing is a great way to bond with your dog and give her a chance to exercise and feel comfortable inside in her new surroundings. Keep trying to teach her to play – no dog is too old to learn to have fun.
The most important thing to remember is to go slow and have a really positive attitude when dealing with toys – even if your dog’s behavior is upsetting – don’t get upset! Dogs read our emotions and getting worried and stressed over her reactions might be causing more of an issue. If you feel like crying over her reactions, take a break, take her for a walk and then just try to cuddle with her and her toy quietly. Rub her and pet her with the toy if she doesn’t act scared. If she wants it in her crate, let her have it there. Maybe she wants a toy to cuddle and protect and you could get her another toy for tossing, pulling and playing with you in the living room.

[theBCnut]

I give each cat a half can of food in the morning with water added to it. And I leave dry down all night. I never mix the two.

[OhBichonPlease]

I recently adopted an older female Bichon Frise from the local shelter. She has been doing great and made the switch to a higher-quality kibble with no major issues. I recently finished her first bag of Wellness Core and now we are trying Dr Tim’s grain free. She has been getting Cloud Star’s sweet potato Buddy Biscuits crumbled for treats. We had an issue lately that prompted a trip to the vet… For a Halloween treat, I gave my girl a dehydrated rabbit foot from a local pet store. Their products come from a reputable company that sources and processes all of its ingredients in the US. After eating this rabbit foot [complete with fur], my girl stopped eating [and subsequently pooping] for a week straight. There was one incidence of some stuff moving through after the first night, but not really anything else. She wasn’t struggling and didn’t seem in pain. For the first few days she was a bit lethargic and wasn’t interested in toys, but after day 3 or so she seemed like her energy was back and she was drinking normally. I tried everything to get her to eat – moistened dry food, peanut butter, yogurt, warmed wet food, pumpkin, baby food, pedialyte, tuna, etc and she was barely even eating her favorite treats and would sometimes refuse her favorite human morsels outright. We were worried, so we went to the vet. Nothing obviously wrong during the physical and we didn’t want to spring for an xray because I doubted a blockage [and the vet seemed to want to see the rabbit’s foot even though I told him she chomped it up well]… So the vet recommended famotidine, the main ingredient in Pepcid. We were told to give a quarter every 12 hours for a week. Within an hour of her first dose she was eating kibble again [and she is not an enthusiastic eater, especially not for kibble]. We were so relieved – it appears our dog just has a problem with indigestion and/or heartburn. Her diet, eating habits and relieving are all back to normal now… but I find myself giving her a quarter of the acid controller [we bought the store brand] in the evening when she hasn’t eaten. It is pretty obvious that it works because she will start eating soon after that.
I am wondering if anyone else has this issue? Is it safe to give my dog the occasional Pepcid on a semi-regular basis? The acid controller we have at the moment includes the antacids calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide – are we over-supplementing her? Are those safe enough for dogs to have several times a month?
Are there some triggers or dietary changes that I may be able to implement to prevent my girl from developing heartburn in the future? Is her physiology responsible or perhaps the way she eats?
If anyone has any experience with doggie heartburn or some comments or suggestions, please respond. I’m so curious about this!

[crazy4cats]

Hi cdubau-
Did you happen to notice that the first ingredient in that Purina dry food is corn gluten meal? I hope you are still feeding some canned food also. Lisa Pierson, DVM, states on her website, catinfo.org, that she would rather see a cat be fed any canned food over any dry food regardless of quality. I know how crazy expensive the canned food is, but you can buy the cheaper stuff, such as Friskies, or Fancy Feast to get some moisture in her diet. When I feed my four cats, I don’t mix the canned with their dry. I keep it separate. That way I can remove the canned if they don’t eat it and the dry doesn’t get icky from getting wet. But it always all gets eaten unless I buy them a special occasion expensive canned food, then they turn up their noses. So frustrating! LoL. Good luck!

[BlueEyedGirl]

Hello –

Thank you all for the wonderfully intelligent conversations and to HDM for curating the list of LB Puppy Dry Foods. I have tried to read as much as I could, but with over 50 pages, it is quite overwhelming. I apologize in advance if my questions are redundant.

We are hoping to adopt a Boxer/ Great Dane (?) (Maybe Catahoula Cross?) mix from a local rescue this weekend. (I was hoping to be able to add her picture to my profile to show off her blue eyes, but I can’t seem to figure it out right now).

The food she is currently on is Hills Healthy Advantage Large Breed which appears to be borderline for Calcium, but it rates quite low for quality (Two Stars. oh – the irony that it is considered a vet exclusive product).

She was placed on this food as she had as her foster mom says “a wicked case of diarrea” when she came into her foster home. According to her foster mom, she seems to be doing quite well on this food and she has requested we keep her on it for the next couple of months.

After reading all of the information here, I am wanting to transition her to a higher quality food for the remainder of her puppyhood. (She is currently 38.3 pounds and leggy with pretty marled markings at just four months, thus I am leaning to the Great Dane mix).

I have a few questions –

1) I am considering the Wellness Core Puppy as the beginning food to transition her to. Although we transitioned our previous dogs with foods for interest, is there another medical reason to switch out the foods? Is a 3-4 food rotation sufficient?

2) If it turns out that she is NOT a large breed mix (maybe Catahoula), is there any danger or adverse results from feeding a medium calcium food?

3) Are there any training treats that are recommended for large breeds that follow suit with the calcium content?

Thank you so much for your help. There is so much to collect in time for her arrival on Saturday! I want to be prepared. Any advice you can offer is appreciated!

D

[cdubau]

Hey thanks so much for the reply! I think I have figured out a food for her! Here her story. Oreo doesn’t have UTI’s but had bladder stones maybe two years ago? If feels like it was forever ago but I felt so bad. I had one of those automatic kitty litter boxes so I didn’t notice she wasn’t pee’ing a lot in one go. Anyway I took her in and finally got a pee sample and it looked like straight blood 🙁 Its been so long I can’t remember if they did an ultra sound. I want to say no. They has me switch her food and give her meds and try the pet fountain (didn’t work).
Food wise she always gets dry food with wet food mixed, water added to make it gravy like. She was on science diet c/d but it seemed to make her sick sometimes. If i mixed to much water with the dry food she would vomit. Plus the watered down dry food would smell rancid in a very short time. So I called wellness and got their mineral counts one day and their weight loss formula was within the range that was listed on the C/d. So I switched to that and she hated it. She would lick the wet food off the dry food and leave the dry food in the bowl!! Low and behold I saw a lady in the store with the Purina Urinary tract health and asked her about it. She said her vet told her to switch her cats to that. Oreo will eat it….which is a lot coming from her. She will eat it plain too. She is picky about it being fresh though. But I’m glad I found a food she will eat, won’t break the bank and is a U/T food.
I still need to find a way to get her more fluids though. Going all canned I just can’t afford. Its not in the budge so any other creative ways besides a fountain I’m up to trying.

[Eldee]

My homemade recipe:
One large slow cooker
Only buy marked down items or on sale items remember they are dogs not children
Stewing beef and skinless boneless chicken breasts
chicken giblets
turkey giblets
beef liver
low fat low sodium chicken broth ( 1 box )
Green beans
carrots
sweet potato
frozen blueberries, apple pieces, garlic powder, ground flax seed,
cubed squash
throw it all into the slow cooker and cook all day add more water later on if it appears dry
Remind husband not to touch it, it is for the dog.
I buy those dollar store plastic containers ( probably full of Chinese lead paint ) I think they are 6 for two dollars.
I fill them up and keep them in the freezer and add my stew to their kibble.
Which by the way is Back to Basics and Orijen.

[ShelterGirl]

Just so you know wet dog food is very bad for your dogs teeth and I would not recommend it as a daily diet. It should be used more as a treat or as a source for hiding pills. It increases the amount plaque build up on there teeth which will increase the rate of decay, especially for small dogs who are already known for having bad teeth. Not to mention it also could lead to obesity. Certain kinds of dry dog foods can be very nutritious and keep your dog healthy you just have to look at the ingredients.

[voxleo]

Sadly, Natural Balance going over to the Dark Side of the Force with Del Monte has completely buggered my trust in the brand after my boys were doing so well on their Ultra and/or Synergy formulas. Ever since I learned of the merger, I have been hypervigilant about any signs of food sensitive issues with both dogs (some kind of shepherd with long hair mix-mutt and our runt-y most likely pitbull/staffordshire we think).

As of the last bag of food, the Natural Balance Ultra, I noticed that our Pit has had more than one issue of vomiting and notable signs of apparent nausea (lots of lip licking, less than energetic), and the Shepherd mutt has had some issues with stool that starts okay and then becomes runny, but not quite full blown diarrhea. If it had been just once, I would have just assumed it was them eating something out of the trash or garden that they oughtn’t have, but twice or more, and it starts to become a THING. Add that to the fact that they seem notably less interested in the food (they are free feeding dry kibble, and they don’t eat with enthusiasm but more like obligation) and that the mutt has been acting like HE has a tummy ache when its usually the Pit with the sensitive stomach, and now I have enough reason to switch from the NB line, because I don’t trust Del Monte to maintain the standards with it.

What dry kibble can I get that will approximate the ingredients that were in the Synergy? I think that was best since it really seemed to cut down on the number and size of the poops, which were always firm and never gooey like the second half of them are now. and the Pit didn’t spend all day itching and licking paws and shaking his head the way he does whenever he eats cheap food. He has had an increase in ear itchiness lately, and lots of butt licking and even the mutt seems to be chewing on himself more nowadays, but the last two bags have been Ultra, not Synergy, so that may have something to do with it.

Still I would prefer to stay away from anything that is mass produced by a corp that spent millions to oppose GMO labeling along with Monsanto, and now the Natural Balance is on that list, so Synergy is out too. Looking for a replacement kibble from a brand that is at least popular enough to be carried in Petco or a feed supply chain that isn’t going to have boutique hours only, and one that is sold in LARGE bags of at least more than 25 pounds, preferably more. I figure similar makeup will have similar results with the boys and I’d like to have similar effects as the Synergy, which did nice things for their coat and their apparent digestive tract tolerance, resulting in smaller neater and fewer stools, and gave them lots of energy and they didn’t have to eat a ton of it. I don’t mind if it has rice, as that seems to suit them well enough without issue.

Anyone got a good replacement suggestion that doesn’t cost 85 bucks a bag? I am exhausted from the researching and have no idea where to begin now. It doesn’t need to be ultra premium, but should be at least a 3 star choice. It would be easier to pick something to replace it with if I understood what was good about the Synergy in the first place beyond the effects, but I just have no idea why it worked, it just did.

Curse them for selling out!

(After reading more articles on that acquisition, I am even more nervous about the direction that the NB brand may be headed. There was one article that had some scary wording in it concerning the awareness that people would pay more for foods that APPEARED TO BE better for their animals. It almost seemed to be a deliberate avoidance of what it actually WAS as opposed to how it LOOKED to be. The emphasis was all on how they wanted to capture a bigger share of the market and were interested in the premium lines because of what consumers would be willing to spend, with no focus at all on providing quality that would sustain that. I think it was a money grab, and that means that they will maximise it by cutting costs wherever possible too. And I’ve noticed in the reviews on their foods over the last two months, there are a lot of dogs with similar vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy that had been feeding NB for years without that happening. I can’t risk it.)

[Naturella]

Healthy Doggie Pizza Treats

Ingredients:

1/2 Best Bully Sticks Chicken Sausage
1/2 Best Bully Sticks Bacon Sausage
1 Best Bully Sticks Beef Sausage
1 Dried Fish Skin (optional)
3 strips Duck Jerky (optional)
1 medium carrot
1 radish
2 celery stalks
1 egg
2/3 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I used Colby Jack)
1 small low sodium beef bouillon cube dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup tomato paste or tomato puree (made of tomatoes and water only, no sugar or other added ingredients)
1 teaspoon olive oil or bacon fat
2/3 cup unbleached flour (whole wheat or brown rice flour would work too)
1 tablespoon dry parsley leaves
1 tablespoon dry rosemary
1 tablespoon turmeric powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a food processor or blender, grind up beef, bacon, and chicken sausages as well as the duck jerky and fish skin to fine powder/tiny crumbs. Fish skin and jerky may remain a bit stringy, but that is okay.

3. Pour dry meat flour mix in a mixing bowl.

4. In a food processor or blender grind until finely chopped the carrot, radish, and celery.

5. Pour in the mixing bowl with the meat crumbs.

6. Add all remaining ingredients.

7. Using a spatula or your hands, mix until a homogenous wet mix forms.

8. Pour mix on a cookie sheet or pizza pan lined with parchment paper and even out until about 1/4 inch thick.

9. Bake for 30 minutes.

10. Take out, let cool down just a bit then cut up in desired treat sizes.

11. Serve to beloved pooch(es).

P.S. This is where I got my dry sausages for the “meat flour” from: http://www.bestbullysticks.com/home/bbs/search?keywords=sausage&submit.x=-959&submit.y=-93

[hamish]

Hey all

Been lurking for quite some time with great results in my dog food rotation. Over the past 2 years I’ve fed my Sheltie and Cocker; Orijen 6 fish, Fromm Surf and Turf/ Salmon a la Veg, Brothers Fish, Go! Fit, Annamaet Lean, and Annamaet Aqualuk. As you can see I have an affinity for fish based foods due to my Shelties sensitive skin and I love the coat it produces. The Annamaet, for me, has by far been the best. However, I’m only using Aqualuk and Fromm right now and in an effort to keep a good rotation I want to branch out into new foods. More specifically, I’m interested in dry with some sort of raw mixed in. I was about to buy a bag of Great Life grain free wild salmon until I saw the catastrophe with the recall but it wasn’t a recall ;). I’ve come across Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Salmon. Before I buy a bag I wanted to know if you guys knew of any other options that include freeze dried with dry kibble. I don’t want to get too complicated so please just keep it to all in ones.

Thanks in advance!

[doggydelight]

We have a 11 month old (11 pound) puppy who is quite healthy. We feed her with a combination of dry and wet food, using one of your 5 star rated foods. Given the nourishment that organ meats provide we are wondering if it is advisable to add a little bit of cooked beef liver to our puppy’s food intake.

[cherikeeusa]

I will be getting my large-breed puppy in about a month. My pup is a Goldendoodle, a Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle mix; they are well known to have a propensity toward grain allergies. I would like to provide a rotational diet for him, adding homemade meals (Sojo balanced) as well as grain-free, white potato-free dry foods topped with canned foods, sardines, etc. Can anybody help me with what sort of time-table for changing up his meals should be? Also, I’ve seen someplace that pork is a definite no-no, and chicken has a fairly high risk of allergy. True? Or…? In addition, any suggestions you might have for which brands I should start with would be very helpful. A full dietary plan would rock since I know next to nothing! LOL! I know…newbies suck right?!

[UTI_Overlord]

cdubau,

If your cat has crystals in her urine, those may be the cause of her condition (volume may be good even with crystal formation, a urinalysis can confirm this). Years ago, my cat became fully blocked and almost perished as a result of urinary crystals and constant UTIs. The crystals were so numerous that his bladder looked like a snow-globe on an ultrasound. The vet flushed his bladder as best they could, but he still had a lot of crystals left over. After about 2 months on Royal Canin’s Urinary SO, his bladder was completely clean. To date, ultrasound and urinalysis reveal no crystals.

He gets 1/2 a can of wet food every day. I pour some water into the can after opening to add moisture; it mixes well and he drinks it right up. Afterwards, he gets a small amount of the dry food. At first, I did not give him any dry food. As others have stated, it is vitally important to have high levels of hydration and dry food does nothing to assist in this regard. Now, I use both the Urinary SO and Purina’s UR to add variety.

UTIs and bladder issues are not conditions you want to take a test and see approach with. In addition to the severe pain they feel, it only takes a few hours for these conditions to become fatal (bladder gets blocked, bladder bursts, cat dies). I am all for natural remedies, but go with what is PROVEN to work and stabilize her condition; THEN, try to maintain a healthy urinary tract with alternative methods.

May The Force be with you my brother and/or sister.

[lmnordrum]

Since I posted to the list the other day about Merrick I thought I would share what they provided regarding Calcium. Obviously this food will not go on HDM’s list for large breeds.

Dry Dog Food
Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult -2.50
Beef, Whole Barley & Carrots-Adult 2.50
Lamb, Brown Rice & Apple- Adult 2.50
Large Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.36
Small Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.50
Puppy-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.28
Senior-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.20
Grain-Free Chicken 2.50
Grain-Free Buffalo 2.50
Grain-Free Duck 2.50
Grain-Free Pork 2.32

[pugmomsandy]

It’s healthier to have a varied diet and to not become dependent on just one food. Recipes change and then dogs have trouble adjusting to the new formulation when only given one food long term. After your dog has been switching often, he shouldn’t have a problem with it. Give him probiotics with each meal. Why would you want him to only eat one food every day of his life? Different meats have different amino acid profiles to offer. I can’t leave food out at my house because a have pet vacuum cleaners. It sounds like he is not interested in his dry food or his treats. Time for a change. Mine LOVE to eat! Any food, any form, any time.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

[Mahaghaith]

Thanks for that advice…

One question though I keep reading that it’s important to switch food types around and not have a consistent diet. Is that true? I always thought consistency was better for dogs digestion/stomach issues.

Also my dog is a very picky eater, even with treats he only eats his favorites when teased. So I keep his food/kibbles out all day and he barely goes through a small bowl in a day or two even.

Would you suggest I don’t keep food out? Should I change between dry and canned food? He’s got a sensitive tummy, the times I feed him cooked meat or chicken, he might get diarrhea the next day.

Sorry for my endless questions.

If money was no issue what would you say is my best bet to experiment.
Thanks a bunch.

[2pups]

Hi Lily,

Dozer is about 13 weeks now. He was part of an unplanned litter of 15. When I picked him up it was from a little house in suburbia and he was in a childs cot with about 8 other pups. Not the greatest start for my little boy. If I could have I would have scooped up all the pups and taken them with me!

I don’t know what he was being fed but I’m sure it was of a poor quality. His little belly was so swollen when I got him and I think it must have been malnutrition that caused it. My partner went to the pet store and was told Purina Supercoat would be fine, but from what I can tell it is a pretty sub-par dry food. My vet was good enough to recognise that it was a nutrition based problem and did not push to have xrays done. But the Royal Canin she then sold me seemed to increase the problem. So I scoured the net to find the solution.

Hope you can work out the right food for your pup too.

[KatB]

Hello!

My kids seem to really love the Castor & Pollax Ultramix, and at first it also seemed to be helping with the itching of my yellow. As time has gone by, he has returned to his itchy self. although mostly in the mornings and he doesn’t seem too uncomfortable or stressed by it.

Some friends have an adopted golden who started itching a few months back. They changed food a couple of times, and then their vet recommended something called atopica. It seemed to work ok, certainly not miraculous but the itching was somewhat lessened, but then some side effects started. In doing research about this drug, turns out it is very controversial and not something I would put my guys on. Bottom line, they went back to the vet, who agreed, and she is now on a prescription diet food that is made by Royal Canin. It’s quite expensive, but will be interesting to see how she does on it and if that takes care of the problem.

I’m not quite ready to go that route yet, as I hate to keep switching their food, and especially since they love it so much. Yet another friend lives in Hawaii (I am in a mountain state so it’s quite dry) with a tropical climate, and still has an itchy dog. They are feeding natural, local dog food and supplementing with flaxseed oil. They also use noni oil specifically made for pets and mix it with coconut oil which they rub on his tummy every so often….it seems to help. I may give that a try……

I also had to take my female, the black lab, off of the pro-biotics and enzymes, as she suddenly started vomiting every time I gave it to her. This started a month or so after I started them on it. But her stools are nice and solid now, and she seems to be fine without the additions. Itchy boy I still have on them plus Omega fish oil, but a small amount. His stools can get runny with too much oil. My female still eats grass and is sometimes a little gassy, but it’s minimal.

I’ll be interested on any updates on what might be working, and I’ll let you know how my friends’ dog does on the Royal Canin.

Kat

[sandybreit]

We “adopted” 2 full-size rough collies from a relative who could no longer keep them, several years ago. One is a vacuum when it comes to feeding time, the other, not so much! He was very underweight when we got them, mainly because they were fed together and the other one would eat everything if he got the chance. We have always monitored feeding time closely and not let “the vacuum” have a 2nd dishful, but have had a lot of trouble finding something that “picky eater” would actually eat consistently — and which didn’t cause icky, mucusy stools. We’ve tried adding cooked chicken, chicken broth, canned food, etc., to several types of dry food. Our current diet is Iams Healthy Naturals, with about 1/4 can of Tractor Supply’s 4-Health and a little Beneful mixed in. For the last couple of months “Picky Eater” has been very consistent with eating and pooping (which was also a real issue for quite some time, with both dogs — ages 4 and 6 — having accidents in the house when we were gone for more than a few hours), no accidents, no mucusy stools, and coats haven’t changed at all, as far as I can see. I know Beneful is a really low-end kibble, but am really wondering if I should just leave well enough alone or look for something different… it seems that any of the dry foods have reviews saying they make dogs sick, cause kidney and liver disease, problems with stooling, etc, etc. Should I just go by what seems to be working, or do I need to change? (just of note, I’m far from being a new dog owner, have had them forever but only recently discovered how different the various brands can be in terms of nutrition; former dogs have thrived on what I now recognize as less than optimal food, to say the least) Thanks for any comments, I’m sure I’m not the only one with this sort of dilemma.

[Akari_32]

A little update…

The last few days I’ve been sooo busy! I haven’t mixed their food in several days (just been giving them straight dry), and a few times I’ve even forgotten to give Haley her doggy vitamins >.<

BUT! We’re back on track, and I’ve started Haley on the fish oil pills. The bottle says 3 daily (one with each meal), but this for an adult human, so I figured I’d start with two a day and see how it goes. Thoughts?

I’ve also opted to use just the fish oil at this point in time. I with the holidays coming up, I don’t have the time to screw around with the doses and balancing them out with other vitamins and whatever. So I kept the zink and C for my self and sent the rest to my grandpa. He can use them. I do still have proper apple cider vinegar on my list, I just have to rememeber to get it after work. You’d think working in a grocery store would help with that, but really I just want to clock out and run when i get off LOL

[lois]

I want to think both pugmomsandy and Pattyvaughn for your responses. I will look into the suggestions and pay attention to the canned food as well.

Although I didn’t mention this in my post, my dog seems to have a little more pep on the fish based food and he hasn’t given me the “look at the food then look at me” look that he has in the past.

[theBCnut]

Your canned food does matter if it has a protein that he is intolerant to, which is what it sound like. Just a spoonful is all it takes for the damage to his gut to continue until he has some serious problems. Please make sure that his canned food is also a novel protein and let him have some real relief from his itchiness.

[pugmomsandy]

Look into Wellness Core Ocean, Horizon Legacy Fish, Horizon Pulsar Fish, The Honest Kitchen Zeal, Smack Pet Food Salmon, Nature’s Logic Sardine, Nutrisca Salmon, LiveFree salmon, Holistic Select Sardine, Nature’s Logic canned sardine, Nutrisca canned salmon, Hound & Gatoes canned Trout or Salmon, Great Life Grain Free Salmon. You can also use canned/pouched sardines packed in water/no salt added for human consumption, and even raw sardines or mackerel. The Honest Kitchen Zeal is low fat and has a moderate amount of fiber and you can make just a spoonful if you wanted and it tends to generate a formed stool. I’ve used it before. For other novel proteins besides fish foods, there is also Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance in goat and rabbit.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by pugmomsandy.

[lois]

I have a mixed breed dog that just turned 10 years old around 24 lbs. Earlier this year he starting scratching a lot, pulling his hair out, biting himself to the point of causing bleeding and scabbing. Nothing the vet did helped until I switched him to a fish based dry dog food, Taste of the Wild, which he seems to enjoy mixed with a little canned food and the itching has subsided a little to where he isn’t pulling out his hair which is kept very short. Unfortunately it’s higher in fat and lower in fiber than the weight management food he was on, Science Diet Metabolic. His stool has also changed which I think is from the lower fiber and since I’ve cut the amount due to the fat he is always hungry.

I want to keep him on a fish based dry food which I mix with a little canned food but wanted to find one that was not as high in fat and with a little more fiber. Any suggestions on which brand would fit this description? The canned food does not have to be fish since I don’t use a lot of that when I feed him. Just a spoon to give it a little wetness.

[Rahat]

Now I am going to post a formula of one kind of vegetarien dog food: Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula (Dry)
This organic, all-natural dry food contains brown rice, oatmeal, green peas and potatoes– a combination of ingredients designed to provide the perfect balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The Natural Balance formula is vegan and has added nutrients to meet a dog’s specific nutritional needs

[Parr]

Hi Mercman,

I do not see the Kirkland Dog food you mentioned on HDM ‘s Large Breed Dog Food List. I looked up Kirkland’s Signature Sweet Potato dry dog food on DFA list in general and found, Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato dry dog food, but it only had 3.5 stars and I think the foods on HDM’s list must be 4 stars or higher. Not sure if that is the one you were referencing or not.

I am currently looking through the list for rotation foods and didn’t remember seeing a Kirkland brand on the list. I am new to all of this so I may be In error. I know how easy it is to mix up information read here just because the site is so full of wonderful information, it is hard for me to keep things straight sometimes. I just suggest you double check that the Kirkland food meets the calcium levels needed for large breeds. I tried to find it on the Costco site but it isn’t listed.

I hope this helps.

[theBCnut]

Rotation is good for a healthy digestive tract so don’t worry about getting one that goes with Acana, worry about getting as big a variety as you can. As long as the canned foods are for All Life Stages or Growth, you can use whatever amount you want and you can even mix it with extra water to make a gravy. If the canned foods you find are Adult or Maintenance foods then you should only make the canned food about 20% or less of the diet. Use cans within 3 days of opening and store the canned food you don’t use immediately in a sealed container, not in the can. If you have a small dog and you won’t use a can that fast you can freeze it in the right size protions and defrost as needed.

[Amanda Newcomb]

So I’m going to be switching my puppy’s food soon (he’s on Purina one smart blend puppy right now, what the previous owner fed him). I’m very interested in feeding him Acana regionals dry food because of all the positive reivews, but I’ve also read that dry food alone doesn’t supply enough moisture in a dogs diet. I don’t want to feed him solely canned food for fear of him gaining weight. He’s a small dog and while I walk him daily, he otherwise doesn’t get much exercise.

Would mixing canned food with the Acana be a good way to suppliment his moisture intake? If so, how much canned food to dry food, and how do I choose a brand that goes well with the Acana?

[Nancy M]

Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! What an ordeal you and your dog have been through! I’m a little surprised that the surgery you did had little effect, as I’ve been told that if anything can do the trick it is that. I just could not do it financially and then just didn’t have much faith in any surgery. Very risky, expensive, life threatening, difficult recoveryand a guarded solution at best……also my vets were not too optimistic.

In my case, maybe I’ve been lucky. Time will tell. To date, the fluid that is there is minimal (since last having it drained in late September) and has not increased any. My dog acts as normal as ever and for the most part, I can’t tell there’s anything wrong. For how long, is pure guesswork. So for the time being, I am extremely happy!

This is what I have done, as far as diet and supplementation. Keep in mind though, that at the onset of this, the first specialist I saw, put him on high doses of prednisone, which after almost 2 weeks I ended up weaning him off of…..while it may have helped with the inflammation of the chyle, it gave him high blood pressure. So, I felt it was counter-productive, plus the frequent urination was very difficult to manage. So, I’m not sure if this had anything to do with the improvement I’m seeing right now or not. He has also continued taking a low dose of Benazipril, for the entire circulatory system.

Since his diagnosis, he has been on the Hill’s I/D, Low-fat Residue formula. I feed him the dry, mainly, with a little bit of the canned in with it. I have also used in place of their canned food, the canned formula made by Purina; EN Gastroenteric, also available through my vet(black can). Occasionally, I will top off his dry food with various canned meat formulas; not much, but just a little for variety. I’ve never been a fan of the Hill’s or Science Diet in general, but at this point, I’m using what they tell me. If it helps, so be it, whatever is in it.

Finally, I have, since day of diagnosis, given 500 mg. of the Rutin, (I’m using the NOW brand capsules right now, which really only have 450 mg. each), at least twice a day, sometimes 3. I have recently added the recommended dose of Solid Gold’s Sealmeal, just to give his entire system some extra support. So, that’s about it. Along with some help from above, I’m hoping for a miracle, as I’m sure you are. It is a very frustrating and unpredictable situation, to say the least.

With all you and your dog have been through, with such disappointment and probably having such a feeling of helplessness, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I wish you the very best. If I can help in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact me again.

[TuckNRoll]

Hey guys! I just got a new baby to add to my family, his name is Tucker and he is a lab/basset mix. He is the cutest thing ever but the mix kind of makes me wonder about what type of food would be best for him! He is about a year old and the people I got him from had him on Pedigree (Yuck!) and I was looking into changing him to Premium Edge. With the mix he is what nutrients does he need most? Should I look into getting more glucosomine for him because of his bone structure? Thanks!

[weezerweeks]

I just have to make this comment about chewey’s.com. I ordered about $90 worth of canned food and could not use them. I called the site to send them back and the lady told me to take them to a shelter and she would credit my card. Needless to say they now have all of my business!

[RescueDaneMom]

There are reviews for the dry but not canned.
/dog-food-reviews/natural-planet-organics/
/dog-food-reviews/nutrisource-pure-vita-dog-food-dry/
/dog-food-reviews/pure-vita-grain-free-dog-food/

My sister has been using the Pure Vita Grain Free for her border collie/english springer mix. Her dog likes it and has been doing well on it. I fed it once or twice. I’m not a big fan of the lower protein and high carbs.

[weezerweeks]

Can anyone tell me anything about these foods from nutrisource? When is the dog review coming on the top foods?

[Parr]

Pattyvaughn,

Thank you so much for letting me know the protein was based on the dry matter rather than the guaranteed analysis. I went back to the websites but not all of them show the dry matter information. I hate to ask, but can you tell me the formula to determine that result? You did such a good job on the calcium calculation! : ) Seriously, I love the detail you share! You are extremely helpful to everyone! Especially since I am new to this site this last week, I’ve had several questions. You have been very patient and helped me sort through all this information. Thank you so much! It is so much to take in, But I am trying.

Mfulton,

I think you may be talking about the list of “pea-free” food that was on another thread, “Dog Food Ingredients”, under the question, “Anyone’s dog allergic to Peas?”. I happened to be reading that one too so I’ve copied it here for you. I hope this is what you were looking for.

pugmomsandy wrote:

Grandma Lucy’s and The Honest Kitchen have some pea free foods. Also Great Life grain free/Pioneer Naturals. Here’s some pea free foods I had written down last year. I’m not sure if they’re still pea free:
Timberwolf
TOTW Pacific Stream (canola)
EVO red meats
EVO turkey & chicken
Pinnacle Peak (quinoa)
Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance
Natures Logic – millet, no potato
Great Life
Canine Caviar
I and Love and You by OnlyNaturalPet.com