[pugmomsandy]

Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance freeze dried (not raw). If my dog needed something very limited, I think I would just make him a baked potato (no peel) and top it with ground beef or other protein.

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

[FrogDogz]

Thanks – it looks like one of the NV foods might work. She did try the Zeal, but it has sweet potatoes, and the nutriscan results show that’s a no go.

It’s amazing how hard it is to find foods with very short, simple ingredient lists.

[InkedMarie]

Take a look at Natures Variety limited ingredient diets, The Honest Kitchen Zeal which is dehydrated, not dry but thought I’d mention it.

[InkedMarie]

Above, in the red line, click library, then “suggested low fat foods”

[akaald]

I have a English Bulldog/Beagle Mix. I just found out yesterday she cannot process or digest fats of any kind. I’ve had her since she was a puppy and she has had chronic digestive issues since I got her. So now that I know what her issues are, I am looking for a dry dog food that has a low fat content. Right now the vet has her on rice and boiled turkey or chicken until her system settles down. She has been really sick the past few weeks. Although the vet did mention her weight is perfect but I may have problems keeping the weight on her in the future.

[FrogDogz]

I’m attempting to help a customer to find a dry dog food that will work with her dog’s very specific set of nutri scan results.

Essentially, her only options are:

– Beef, Bison or Lamb based
– WHITE potatoes or peas as binder

This doesn’t sound too difficult, but this food can’t have any of the following as additional ingredients:

– secondary protein sources, including eggs
– sweet potatoes
– oats
– corn

If anyone has a suggestion, I’d really appreciate it. Due to her personal lifestyle, raw is not an option, and due to the size of her dog, neither is dehydrated raw.

[pugmomsandy]

If you look at the raw food reviews, 4 and 5 stars I would feed with no problem, 3 and 2 stars I would feed intermittently or use as a topper on top of other foods. That might make it easier for you. There is a formula to use to turn the protein and fat into “dry matter” that way you can compare each recipe.

/choosing-dog-food/dry-matter-basis/

[Oceans11]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are picking up a 10 week old Coton puppy on Friday. He is being fed Orijen Puppy dry kibble. I will probably continue to give that to him for a couple of days then switch him to Nature’s Instinct Raw Medallions. By feeding him a commercial product like this, I don’t have to be concerned with percentages of protein, fat, etc. do I?

[Collywog]

Hi there,

The dog, Isabella, is supposedly a mountain cur mix, roughly five years old. She’s a rescue, so we don’t know much about her back story. But she’s lovely, and seems to be doing great on Oven Baked Tradition food.

The rundown about her current food is here: /dog-food-reviews/oven-baked-tradition-dry/

It seems to be quite a good food. Pretty dry, but she doesn’t seem to mind that. Would love to transition to a food that’s relatively the same, so she doesn’t have any digestive discomfort in the process.

Thanks again,
Colin

[Akari_32]

He’s crazy active, Sandy! You should see him when he’s all hyped up LOL He puts it back in under 3 minutes too (dry food is mixed with canned and an egg). I have no idea where he puts it all :p

I mind the diamond thing as much as I don’t. Yeah, diamond sucks, but dog food companies are in it for the money, no way around it. Diamond is the cheapest, so everyone (not everyone, but you know what I mean) uses them. Best you can do is try to avoid them.

[pugmomsandy]

That’s amazing your 8 pounder eats 1 cup! As for the wet, check out the calorie count and and compare it to your kibble to see if you need to feed more or less. The calories are going to be for a dry measure before added water.

[MsDad]

In regards to Nature’s Logic dry, that’s what I’m feeding my Goldendoodle puppy. I actually spoke with Scott (the owner of the company – he’ll talk to anyone who calls!) and he explained the higher calcium and phosphorous levels in the food. The way he explained it to me, all the Vitamin D comes from natural food sources – there’s no added Vitamin D3, which can cause overabsorption of calcium and phosphorous.

[InkedMarie]

I fed Grandma Lucys to one dog but not for long…..I’m an Honest Kitchen gal and I usually end up feeding more of that (dry) than kibble, by a little bit

[Akari_32]

I’m currently scooting around Petflow.com. Most of the larger bags of food are out of my price range. I found a GIANORMOUS bag of Eagle Pack, looked it up on here, and was a bit peeved to see it had corn, and so high up on the list. Yet it gets 4 stars! I suppose it’ll be on my “maybe” list….

http://www.petflow.com/product/eagle-pack/eagle-pack-original-adult-lamb-meal-with-rice-breeder-bag-dry-dog-food

As far as large-bag-shopping goes, thats about the price range I want to stay in. Smaller bags can be a little more expensive.

I’ll keep looking around, and post more as I find them.

[Jamie08]

I have a heeler mix who has always had issues with smelly gas… well it is more of an issue for me! lol. He had been on Iams for a long time and he would have it every once in awhile, especially after he would catch and eat a squirrel (his version of a partial raw diet). He’d clear a room pretty fast. Then I switched him to Evolve dry food, which he really didn’t like very much and wasn’t eating well. He’s now on Whole Earth Farms dry food and has BAD smelly gas. He’s been on it for about 2 weeks. I tried to slowly transition him over, but he would just not eat the Evolve, since he was barely eating it anyway- so it was pretty much a fast transition over to the WEF. The gas seems to be getting worse. Should I give him longer to get used to the food, or at this point is it safe to say that this food is contributing to the smell? I hate to change it because he absolutely LOVES this food (gets so excited when I feed him) and it’s affordable. Also, my other dog is doing really well on it.

Any suggestions? Give him more time? I’m also open to other food suggestions, but please try to keep them in the same price range as Whole Earth Farms.

Oh yeah, squirrels aren’t really out right now so they aren’t a contributing factor at the moment. 🙂

[Oceans11]

Thank you Pattyvaughn and pugmomsandy for the tips and your encouragement. I found out the breeder is feeding our pup Origen Puppy kibble along with Grizzly Salmon. I am going to feed Nature’s Instinct Raw frozen medallions alternating with Nature’s Variety Dry kibble Duck and Turkey and maybe throw in a little Nature’s Variety canned food to mix it up. I read somewhere on this website that Nature’s Variety is good for all life stages so ok to feed to a 10 week old puppy.

[2dogmom]

Hi,
I am getting an 8 week old Golden Retriever (English Cream). I had planned on feeding him Nature’s Logic Dry (all stages food), however I started reading a recent post about high calcium levels and growth issues. Can you tell me if I should avoid that food? If so, HoundDogMom what do you suggest? I’m focusing on dry food or dry mixed with cans. I thought I found the perfect food in Nature’s Logic, now I’m second guessing that choice with all the posts about large breeds and calcium intake. I did purchase a bag and started feeding it to my picky Sheltie (almost 2 years old).. When I think I’ve settled on a food, I keep reading about gassy foods or loose stools and I’m not sure what to do. HELP!

[Molzy]

I’m just about to start my own raw with both the cat and our two dogs who are currently on commercial dry and canned food, but I feel more comfortable after using a commercial raw product! I would continue using natures variety if I could, but it isn’t feasible for my budget with two 40lb active dogs. For me, it helped to read the ingredients on my raw bags to see that they don’t add much. I’m going to buy a ground whole prey as well, which seems easier to balance than using parts for now.

Good luck with your puppy! I have really loved natures variety, and will continue to use it for back up food. It seems like a great company, and I’ve been very happy with the product!

[Melissaandcrew]

Hmm.. Lets see, and I am sure I will miss some-

4Health-Tractor Supply Grain INCLUSIVE ONLY-
Taste OF the Wild(their own brand!)
All Diamond
Chicken Soup(Diamond brand)
Some of the Solid Gold dry foods
Canidae(except for the small amount at Ethos on West coast)
Natural balance(but guessing that changed since buy out a few mths ago?)

Whata am I missing…anyone?

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi there-

I have always fed mostly kibble, and will not give my dogs whole pieces of raw. Recently, I went to 50 50 dry and raw because I bought a grinder to grind up the bones. So far, everyone loves it and see to ne doing fine on it. I buy meats from various places, including butcher, market, processor etc. I found that I actually save several hundred dollar a month doing this, versus just feeding the kibble, dehydrawtd, commercial premade raw and canned that I used to.

[theBCnut]

It sounds like he has an intolerance to some ingredient in the food. I would try to find a food that is very different to try, different protein and different carb sources. My almost 12 yr old JRT has intolerance issues with grains and chicken.

[Dfwgolden]

Neezerfan- He cleared his fecal nothing not even worms. He also shows NO symptoms of either illness other than frequent elimination and loose stools.

He wont touch Earthborn and where I live it’s almost $80 a bag.
The vet stated that the Pumpkin and Yogurt was a great idea, so we are going to try that.

If that doesn’t work I will switch him to Pure Balance Dry and Canned and hope that helps.

[RescueDaneMom]

Soprano1-

I am by no means an expert. I would suggest checking out the dogaware website at dogaware.com/health/kidney.html. I haven’t figured out how to post links yet so bear with me.

According to my research on dogaware, dogs with early stage kidney disease only need slight diet modifications. The following text is copied from the website:
“Early Renal Insufficiency: In general, creatinine values up to about 2.0 (177 µmol/L) are indicative of mild, or early stage, kidney disease (or early renal insufficiency, as my vet terms it). In cases like these, it may still help to make dietary modifications to reduce phosphorus if blood phosphorus level is above 4.5, but these reductions do not need to be as drastic as when the values are higher, and it is probably not necessary to do other treatments at this stage, such as sub-q fluids (unless your dog is drinking so much that she is having trouble staying hydrated, such as getting up during the night to drink). Adding calcium to each meal if you are feeding a home made diet (to act as a phosphorus binder) would be advisable, and possibly antacids, particularly if your dog is showing any signs of inappetence or gastric problems. I would also give fish oil supplements (body oil, NOT liver oil), at the rate of 1,000 mg (300 mg combined DHA and EPA) per 10 lbs of body weight, along with Vitamin E (50, 100 or 200 IU for small, medium and large dogs), and discontinue any Vitamin A and D supplements (including cod liver oil) added to commercial foods. Additional recommended supplements include a B-complex vitamin and CoQ10, which may be beneficial for dogs with kidney disease.”

There is a table on the website for commercial foods with phosphorous amounts listed. There is only one blue buffalo food on there and it has too much phosphorous. See dogaware.com/health/kidneynonprescription.html

I looked up your previous food (Purina NF) on the same site. It says that food is for Late Stage Kidney Disease. The protein content is 15.9% on a dry matter basis. There are prescription diets that are better suited to Early Stage Kidney Disease. I don’t know why your vet wouldn’t have put your dog on one of those. I think Patty was right and the food was doing more harm than good in your case.

You report that your dog is doing well on Blue right now and you have a recheck in November. If it were me, I would continue to feed Blue and see what her values are at the recheck. If her creatinine and BUN are slightly elevated, I would consider switching to one of the foods on the list of non-prescription foods. My choice would be the Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Chicken Recipe and/or Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Whitefish & Sweet Potato.

I hope this is helpful. Again, I would really recommend checking out the dogaware site. There is so much information available. I would read through it before going to your recheck in November so you can be prepared.

[atavuss]

Hello everyone, I have a 13 y.o. JRT that is in good health, not over weight, he is not very active. Because of large dogs that run loose in the neighborhood he does not get taken for walks, he is a indoor dog and has been since we got him as a rescue when he was five.
He was on Eagle brand lamb kibble from when we got him until about 6 months ago because the local pet stores stopped carrying the Eagle brand. I switched him over to Taste of the Wild Sierra, he will sometimes leave food in his food dish, more so than he did with the Eagle brand. He has gas and smaller and less well formed stools compared to when he was on the Eagle brand. He is constantly chewing his feet and licking since he has been on the Taste of the Wild food and he does this much more than when he was on the Eagle brand.
Should I give him more time to get used to the Taste of the Wild food as it is supposedly a better kibble or should I change him over to something like Orijen’s Senior kibble?
Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

[CaptJohn]

Hello. I have been feeding my 3 year old Golden Retriever Blue Buffalo Dry food since he was old enough to have it. Personally, I am impressed by the ingredients. However, my Vet has been on me about the fact that the ingredients could cause him kidney stones as he gets older. Plus the food is not a good balance of nutrients. Too high in some and too low in others. I don’t know much about the chemistry of the nutrients! Lastly, he mentioned that the outside sources that Blue uses run several brands through their extruders and can easily contaminate the food.

He is recommending Eukanuba or Science. I am not trying to start a debate of which food is better, but, I am interested in knowing any opinions on the comments about the Blue Buffalo. I would like to keep him on that but am a bit worried why my vet is so concerned.

I also do not want to bash my vet. He is a very good vet and I do trust him totally. I also know that he is not trying to sell me the food his clinic sells. In fact, he gave me a coupon to a store for the Eukanuba. So, I am very concerned!

Thank you for your input!

[pugmomsandy]

Look into Amicus and Nature’s Logic, Nutrisource small/med breed puppy, Nutrisource grain free Lamb, Nature’s Select Hi-Pro, Brothers Complete Beef, and Nature’s Select grain free (this looks almost identical to Evangers grain free). After he’s been eating mod-high protein foods for a while, you might also try some Instinct and Back to Basics High Protein, or Core small breed. These are the smallest kibbles I’ve used. Feed a variety of foods. No need to pick just one. Evangers has had some issues in the past – stealing electricity, a food testing for the wrong protein as it was labeled. I cross out gluten (Royal Canin) from my list of foods in general. http://dogtorj.com/what-is-food-intolerance/gluten-intolerance/

[Oceans11]

Thank you pugdmomsandy for your thoughts. I hope our little guy doesn’t have any gastrointestinal issues. We haven’t had a puppy in a good while. Over the years we have raised many great wonderful dogs (Shepherds and Dobermans) but never a little dog. After reading so much about diets for dogs, it’s a wonder our dogs lived to ripe old ages and never had digestive problems being raised first on Purina Puppy Chow and later on Iames dry kibble. Now after doing some reading and being educated on this forum, I feel so guilty having fed our dogs the same food day in and day out. I feel like a novice dog owner now and am thankful to everyone for sharing their wisdom and making this my number one go-to web site. I have to admit that right now after trying to take everything in, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but thankful that so much helpful information is available.

[hwhalen]

I’ve been giving my 4lb, 2 year old, healthy Maltese Royal Canin Xsmall Adult” dry food as the breeder recommended that brand since he was a puppy. I’ve tried others including Merrick (which he would not eat at all). I’ve been very leery of all foods given all the recent issues. Recently I was introduced to Evangers Grain-Free dry food via a boutique dog shop. He loved the sample he tried and the treats. I’m just wondering a) should I move away from Royal Canin since it had under 3 stars rating; b) would Evangers be something suitable for this breed and size; c) which of the grain free dry is best? I’m very nervous about trying new foods and of course like everyone wants to give my dog what’s best. Thank you.

[BAndersen34]

My dog is a Yorkie Terrier Mix. He is 12 years old and weighs about 12 pounds. He is very healthy and active I want to start feeding him the best dry natural dog food and I came across this site(I currently feed him Canin Royal Adult Dry dog food). It seems like all the food recommendations are for large dogs or specific breeds. Anyone have a recommendation for a dry natural dog food from the 5 star list for a small dog?

[Jamie08]

My dogs have been on Whole Earth Farms (by Merrick) dry food for a couple weeks now and are doing great. It is normally really affordable, but was on sale at Petco and came out to $1/lb. It is not grain-free, but doesn’t have corn. It’s a 4 star food on here, and my dogs love it. I got the 35lb bag for $35-something. Their wet food is great too.

My dad also just got that grain free stuff from Costco.. Nature’s Domain? His dogs haven’t been on it long enough to know how they do, but it is also very affordable. I think it’s rated a little lower but it is grain free.

[newmom]

I’m learning a lot here. Charlie is loving marrow bones. I fill a 4-5″ bone with crunchy peanut butter or liverwurst once a week or so, he loves both. Oxtails are great but really expensive at my chain. While lying aroung and coping with an infection on his neck, he gained weight. Friends told me to add green beans to his diet reducing the dry food each day. WOW! He looks forward to the beans and is eating less and becoming sleek in body. I put his antibiotic capsule in the food and he gobbles all down without hestiation. The empty marrow bones are great for gnawing when empty. His look like intricate scrimshaw. Is it safe to give the neckbones from poultry and not have choking issues. The bones seem so tiny. Charlie is a med. to large dog but I worry about choking. All of you are so helpful and I thank you for sharing.

[sor]

I wonder if he has a malabosorbtion problem. Sounds like he is not absorbing nutrients from the food he is eating. Get a lab work up on him. I would seriously change his diet and ask your vet about purchasing a supplement called pancreazyme. It is for pancreatitis but it will help him absorb nutrients from the food he eats and he will gain weight. It is safe to use even if he doesn’t have pancreatitis. Pancreazyme is pricey but well worth it and the best product to use. He needs to be on a much better diet. Diet is MEDICINE for pets and for people. Try Halo dog food. I highly recommend it! Introduce it slowly with cooked chicken and cooked pasta – make sure it is very soft. (easy to digest) Feed him three times a day – 1 1/4 cups three times a day, use 1/2 cup dry and the rest chicken and pasta and slowly make a transition to feeding him twice a day. He needs 2 cups of food twice a day once he is back to normal. The protein i look for in a pet food for a large dog is: Crude Protein 28% (Min), Crude Fat 12% (Min), or Crude Protein 28% (Min), Crude Fat 16% (Min) Halo dog food has the correct protein/fat ratios. I would recommend the turkey and duck to start with because it has less fat, not knowing if the fat content in the food he is eating is causing him to have problems. Trust me this is the best food out there!

[Nancy M]

TO ANYONE WILLING TO RESPOND…….

Currently, my dog is on Hills Prescription I/D low-fat, dry and canned. He’s on that for a reason (will spare the details), and he was stabilized, until I started introducing some raw (very small beef bone with marrow in it…..a very tiny bit), but it gave him the runs pretty good. Was a big NO-NO, as it turned out. He rebounded well and ate his next meal with no issues. Thought he was over it, but it appears that he still has some pretty loose stools today.

So……my question is this: since he has always tended to have digestive issues on and off, (food, stress, illness now) can someone recommend some digestive probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes that I should probably be using for him? I would love to eventually get him on a much better diet, but due to his illness and needing to keep him as stable as possible, I would love to get something in him that will help with his digestive system. He has always been on kibble, and I’ve always tried to feed the premiums or naturals, which as I’m learning, are just awful for dogs. Now he’s stuck on something even worse……Hills.

I have used yogurt in the past, I do have pumpkin that I’m giving today, but I also noticed that THK has a powder mix that when mixed, is kind of a milky drink. It says it has the pros, prees, and enzymes in it. So before I get some of that just to have on hand, has anyone used it? Or can you give me other options?

As long as he’s on this Hills, I feel like I should be giving him something extra and soothing to his gut and good for his body, so I’d like something I can use regularly.

Thanks!

[Akari_32]

I found a great $2 off any Prosense pet product, so I decided to try the fish oil for Bentley’s suspected grass allergies (it’s not chicken, it’s not grains, so maybe grass?) and the senior vitamins for Haley’s weight (we can’t possibly shove anymore food down this dogs throat, as she just can’t physically eat much more than 5 cups).

Bentley’s been on the fish oil for a few months, and it does actually seem to help him some. We’ve also been wiping his paws and tummy off after being outdoors with a baby wipe, and trying to give him a weekly bath. And, which I haven’t tried yet, I found hot spot shampoo of the same brand on clearence for $3 (use the coupon and it’s only a buck :D).

Haley, at just 65 pounds of ideal weight, eats 4-5 cups a day. She’s maybe 2-3 pounds underweight, healthy otherwise. The vet had her on vitamins last year durring some medical treatment, but she’s since been off them. Pretty much boils down to her being old at this point, and not being able to metabolize food as efficiently. Shes been on these Prosense Senior vitamins for a few days and I do already see her gaining energy, at least.

Regular feeding, for all three of the dogs, consists of 8-9 cups of dry food mixed with a 13 oz can of wet food, and usually an egg thrown in, as well. This is obviously divided up in appropriate amounts for each dog. The whole feeding routine has been made up specifically for Haley, as straight dry food really upsets her stomach, in an indigestible sort of way. Even if it’s just moistened with some water, it helps her tremendously. Poor girls got tummy troubles lol

I was wondering about these senior vitamins: they seem really high in calcium, which I’ve heard mixed things about for older dogs. I’ll get exact numbers in the morning, as I’m in bed now, but it’s several times higher than the adult formula. I want to say its 4-5% though.

This brand is only available at WalMart (locally, at least) from what I’ve seen. Not that I really have much problem with that. I don’t particularly like WalMart, but I’ll do what I have to.

Also, side note while were here, and I feel it’ll be brought up at some point– you guys know those powder Centrum probiotics for people? Would something like that he beneficial in Haley’s case? Doesn’t have to be that brand or kind, either. Anything along those lines. Just know I’m not made of money 😉

[pugmomsandy]

Canned plus dry is better for a dog. Whole Earth Farms canned food is pretty reasonable and good quality. So is Petsmart’s Simply Nourish and Costco’s Kirkland Cuts in Gravy. Giving him bones to gnaw on will help keep his teeth clean. The food you asked about is fine to feed in a rotation with other higher protein foods or with some added canned food. You can even just put a scrambled egg with his kibble.

[theBCnut]

Many vets want to see dogs on nothing but dry because of the old mistaken belief that dry keeps the teeth clean, but kibble fed dogs get nasty teeth too. The only way to guarantee good clean teeth is to brush them every day. The second best strategy is to feed raw meaty bones every few days.

[S. Monique]

I can see how it may need a protein boost. What about mixing some canned food in there? I don’t know much about canned tbh. But I could afford some canned as well since this food is well priced. My vet said she doesn’t like dogs on canned food. Is there something wrong with it?
Also I am considering Canidae Pure Elements (5 star) as it’s about 10 dollars cheaper than BB and I would feed almost a 1/2 cup less per day then I do now.
Would it be better for him to be on canned+dry or just the dry Canidae?
Thanks so much for both of your feedback!

[weezerweeks]

yes I see the one grainfree bag so why does the dogfoodadvisor reviewon wellness core dry dog food say that it is grain free kibble.read the review it’s right before the comments.

[theBCnut]

The recall that Wellness was caught up in was when they had some of their formulas made at the Diamond plant. They moved away from Diamond and now all their dry food is made at their own facility, Wellpet.

[InkedMarie]

Duh! LOL, we have a spare bedroom: it’s the laundry room and dog grooming. There’s no AC but that would probably be the best place in the summer and I’m probably smart to NOT stock up on dry food in the summer.

No one’s eating raw at this time. I’m having a heckuva time with Boone’s ears (anyone reading happen to have an ingredient list for the old Brothers allergy formula) so he’s eating just THK Zeal now, Gemma has been constipated twice & needed an enema so she’s getting THK with canned & some Abady granular. Not buying raw just for Ginger.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hmmm..neither would seem to work. I use our spare room which is heated/air conditioned to store the dry. Here in NY we have the same problem with humidity etc. So, that is where the dry “lives” For the dehydrated/canned, I had hubby install some cabinets on the wall of my “mud room”. Then, I simply remodeled the kitchen, lol, that was old and outdated. With 4more cabinets, I now have two spots to keep the canned-some in the kitchen, some in the hallway : ) I split our freezer giving the dogs two shelve for their raw for now, and am looking into a chest freezer to store bigger quantities.

[InkedMarie]

My husband & I are having a disagreement on good storage. We live in New Hampshire. Cold in winter, spring/summer gets humid off & on.

We have an unheated breezeway. We have an unheated basement. Both get sticky in humidity, colder in winter. This is the first time I’ve “hoarded” dog food (thanks a lot, ladies) so it’s all new.

I have bags of dry, boxes of dehydrated and cases of canned.

Once I see answers, I’ll tell you who was right lol.

[abby13]

I have an english bulldog that is 1 1/2 years old. She has spina bifida and is completely incontinent. Sometimes I have to assist her with the number 2s. Changing her diapers gives me the excellent and horrific view of her poops. Sophie has an EXTREMELY sensitive stomach. I am very well versed in dry dog food but am extremely incompetent when it comes to supplements. I have read nearly every thread on here and it seems like information overload! I currently feed Sophie Nutrisca. That is the only kibble that hasn’t made her bowels completely crazy. I work at a pet food store, so I have tried nearly everyone. Anytime I remotely try to switch her, its diarrhea, pure liquid. She gets dehydrated quickly and that scares me! She has done well on the Nutrisca, however I am interested in switching her to a commercial raw diet. Again no matter how slowly I try to transition, its pure diarrhea, liquid and I am changing diapers every 5-15 minutes. Poor baby. So the Nutrisca we have stayed on, however, now even on the Nutrisca her bowels switch from rock solid I have to help her excrete them to pure liquid. I have her own cranberry extract powder, and salmon oil. Occasionally I give her raw eggs. I am looking for a digestive enzyme or SOMETHING to help keep her number 2s more consistent. Pumpkin doesn’t work. Haven’t had much luck with yogurt. Anytime I take her to the vet (who delivered her and wouldn’t put her down when the breeder wanted him to due to the SB and who is an expert on SB and has pooled his resources all over the country for Sophie’s SB) he suggests switching her back to Science Diet which is what he had her on when she was living with him before I adopted her. Yes then her poops where normal, no problems but I absolutely refuse to put her on that and I refuse to go to another vet, not many in my area are spina bifida literate. There has to be a supplement of some kind to help her. I don’t hear a lot of tummy gurgles. Like I said she goes from being constipated to diarrhea by the day. Any suggestions for my poor baby?!

[sor]

Do not feed Canine Caviar to your pet!!!! I was feeding Canine Caviar for years and the past year and half the food smells tainted, has a perfume smell and tastes as it smells. None of the protein in the food smells like duck, venison, chicken or fish. I cook for my dog and add 1 cup of dry dog kibble. My rottweiler has developed a dry, pungent smelly hair coat, pungent stools, goopy eyes, and a hot spot that is slowly healing for 9 months now. (thyroid is normal) I was constantly returning bags of dog food because of the tainted smell and recently the feed store stated that I could no longer return the food because they don’t get reimbursed for it. So, I contacted Canine Caviar again with this ongoing problem – the tainted perfume smell and etc. The company mailed me a new batch of their food and it smelled worse! Canine Caviar has not been returning my phone calls and they don’t have an email address. (makes me real suspicious) Canine Caviar is processed in Georgia, but they change processing plants all the time. PLEASE DON’T BUY THIS FOOD for your pet! IF YOU DO, SMELL AND TASTE IT. RETURN IT IF IT SMELLS TAINTED! DO FOOD SHOULD SMELL GOOD NOT TAINTED! I do not want my dog or any other pets to die of kidney or liver failure from tainted pet food. Most pet food companies care more about profit and saving money, than caring about the quality of pet food they produce. It is very sad. After much research, I decided to feed Halo dog food that is ownd by actress Ellen DeGeneres. It is the highest quality pet food on the market!!!! I feel Ms. DeGeneres is a very honest person, has integrety and cares about quality ingredients in Halo pet food. She can afford to buy the the best of the best ingredients for her pet food, unlike her competitors. I wish I fed my dog Halo a long time ago. All of the Halo products have the correct protein and fat ratio along with real meat (not meal or rendered) just real food ingredients, and nothing from china. – Smaller size kibble for large dogs (helps prevent bloat) and the food SMELLS amazing! My dog did not have any issues with digestive problems during the slow introduction of the food. He loves Halo dog food and so do I. This is the ultimate pet food on the market with real food ingredients !!!! Halo also makes a vegan food which is fabulous for dogs that suffer from pancreatitis.

[Nancy M]

I have A “just turned 3 year old Sheltie (yes, just 3!), who was diagnosed with CHYLOTHORAX (chyle leakage into the chest cavity) in May and must be on a low-fat diet (less than 10%, but preferably around 6 or 7). He is currently doing very well, almost can’t tell he’s got anything wrong, except for high respiration rate. He has been on the Hills I/D low-fat dry/wet, along with the Rutin supplement, for several weeks, but I absolutely cringe at the ingredients of their foods. Because he IS doing well right now, I hate to change anything, but still wish their was something much healthier for him. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this? I tried replying to a vet (can’t remember her name) who had posted some good information on low fat diets, but I don’t think it went through…….I wasn’t finished with it anyway. I’m not too keen on the raw diets so I would prefer something that’s cooked/homemade, but at this point I would do just about anything to save this dog. He has been the best dog ever…..

[FreeholdHound]

Newbie here too. I have been using the grind mixes w/ bone to add to dry food and on their own occasionally. I use the boneless ground meat w/ the See Spot Live Longer miix & when Harry gets a large turkey neck. Besides that Tripe is our go to favorite thing from MPC & Hare Today. I just got a new small freezer & there’s quite a big order in my shopping cart as we speak. Going to try the goat & rabbit grinds as Harry can’t have poultry (except bones)

[sippmanjr]

How do I safely add sardines and eggs into my puppies diet without changing the amount of calcium they will be getting. I have looked at nutritionals on sardines and it seems they do have a solid amount of calcium. Also what other raw natural foods do you think I should be adding into her diet and how do I go out about that. Obviously the base of the diet will consist of dry but I definitely want to add natural raw in as often as I can and as early as I can. Also , chew like Elk and Deer antlers have calcium as well. I just want to make sure they are not getting an abundance of these minerals from the toppers or treats.

[rogerharris]

It is hard to find the dry dog food that doesn’t contain poultry (duck, chicken, goose, turkey), vegetables (broccoli, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, yam), canola oil, any grains, flax seed, eggs or gluten but I would like to suggest you that you should read the name “Wheat Belly by Williams Davis”. This book will surely help you to resolve your issue.

http://www.compundiapharmacy.com/

[Akari_32]

It took several months to get my jack russell mix off the Puppy Chow he came on. We went from Puppy Chow to Innova Puppy. He can now go between foods no problem. Go slow, and, as said above, maybe try a mid grade food first to work your guy up to a better food.

[pugmomsandy]

If you look at the ingredient lists, they are at the FAR OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum. It’s almost like for someone who hasn’t eaten meat in a long time, and then they eat a big bowl of chili or a big steak. Not saying that Beneful doesn’t have meat, but it’s not anything like the meats and organs and fish in Orijen and now it has a bunch of legumes. A dog has gut flora that adjusts to eating certain foods. Right now, he has the ones most adapted to Beneful. So it might be quite a shock to go to Orijen. Also Orijen has quite a bit more fat. I would put it in the high fat category. This also might possibly cause some digestive upset. But I’m just being cautious! You won’t know how your dog will do until you try it. And also try several foods. A rotational diet is (IMO) best. Find a couple kibbles, some canned foods, some raw foods, etc. Back a few years ago, I weaned mine off Beneful with regular Merrick (the old recipe with gravy) and Blue Wilderness mixed together.

http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59

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