[theBCnut]

Vital Essentials makes a freeze dried dog food that mine go crazy for. I use it as training treats. The chicken variety has chicken, chicken bones, and chicken organs in it. The beef has beef, beef bones, and beef organs in it. And the turkey has turkey, turkey bones, and turkey organs in it. They are dry like a kibble, but not as oily. I love it! On Fridays, we do agility and my dogs get about a whole meals worth of treats, but they have never even had a loose stool from it. And because it was meant to be a stand alone dog food, I don’t worry about unbalancing my dogs diet.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi jimmianne –

There’s no such thing as a single “best” food. The less processed the better – so raw would be the best option, followed by fresh cooked, then dehydrated or freeze-dried, then canned, with dry food being the worst option. With whatever you feed, variety is key – don’t stick with the same food. Rotating foods helps to strengthen your dog’s gut by fostering a diverse population of microflora, gives your dog a variety of nutrients and give you options in the event of a recall. If you’re going to feed a dry food as the bulk of your pup’s diet I would add a quality “topper” – such as raw, dehydrated, freeze-dried, canned or healthy fresh foods (i.e. eggs, lean meat, plain yogurt or kefir, cottage cheese, tinned sardines, etc.). Canidae looks good on paper but I personally wouldn’t risk feeding – the majority of Canidae’s products are manufactured by Diamond who has very poor quality control and numerous recalls. Unless you live in the same state as Canidae’s plant or in a neighboring state you’re probably getting product manufactured by Diamond.

As far as supplements, some good supplements to consider would be probiotics, digestive enzymes, quality fish oil and whole food supplements (with “super foods” like kelp, spirulina, bee pollen, etc.).

[sippmanjr]

Hi Hound Dog Mom,
You seem very knowledgeable on this subject. I just found your post after beginning to do a lot of dog food research. My fathers Golden Retriever just gave birth to 11 puppies a week and a half ago. We are not backyard breeders trying to profit of these dogs. They pups came from a 55lb female Golden, and a 110lb male. Both are my fathers family dogs. This will be there first and last litter. All dogs will be staying close and going to family and friends. One of them will be my young families first dog in our home. With that being said, I want to wean them onto the best food I can to help curb any growth or health issues. I also want to pick a food that I can keep my puppy on as well throughout their puppy stage and into adulthood. We live in Southern California so getting these foods is usually not the issue. Not to mention there are endless resources online. My Question to you is… What would be your top 5 choices for this breed? Any help you can give would be great. This is the food I purchased yesterday on the recommendation of my local feed store. I am starting to regret my decision since it is not grain free and am probably going to return it based on what you have to say. it is the Canidae large breed puppy http://www.canidae.com/dogs/life-stages/dry/large-breed-puppy/duck

[CaitlinNes]

My 17 lb. terrier mix has a sensitive stomach. When he was having trouble a couple of months ago, he was vomiting daily or at least several times a week, and had loose stools frequently. He was sick for about 12 weeks, and we were at the vet every other week testing for IBD and getting a range of pills to try, some of which worked, some didn’t. Finally, with trial and error and time, things are under control. I am about to switch his food from our vet recommended Hill’s Prescription Diet I.D (dry) to a higher quality food, now that he has been symptom free for a couple of months. I am not a fan of the low-quality ingredients in I.D which is the main cause for the switch, even though my dog has been doing well on the diet and enjoys the food. I plan on transitioning him to the new food over a 14 day period. I noticed that the new food (BLUE Basics Grain-Free turkey and potato recipe dry food) has twice the amount of fiber as the old food (3.5% old to 7% new), slightly higher fat (9% old to 12% new), but almost the same amount of protein (21% to 22%). Is the extra fiber in the new food going to cause him trouble, or might it actually help him?

[SheSaid]

So sorry for all the loses.. nothing hurts as bad as losing a love one. I too had a fur baby die in June. It was sudden and a rush to the vets where she died with in 12 hours. We were crushed and still suffer the loss. Vet said it was “probably” Addison’s disease and her death was from an Addison crisis .. and he said this without testing her. I researched that disease and it is still a maybe but my thoughts are it could have been food related. I have now transitioned all my other babies to rice and chicken with some vegies. I have recently become mom to a large black lab.. I do give him the rice and chicken mixture but that is much too expensive for me to feed him without mixing in some dry dog food, and of course since reading this I will find a safe dry dog food to give him. My question is that just today I read that rice can contain arsenic… /[‘0’]\ … Is that just the rice in dog food preps or all rice. We eat a lot of rice as a family and now our dogs do too. Is the same true for organic rice as well. I will continue to do some research today on my own but if anyone can fast track me I would appreciate it.

[pugmomsandy]

Ziwipeak, Only Natural Pet Max Meat, Smack, Vital Essentials, Addiction.
As far as ingredients go, look for named meats, named fats, real veg/fruit, superfoods, and protein at least around 30% dry matter. Because just like kibble, there are high and low protein dehydrated foods. 30 is just around average. I don’t think Ziwipeak and Vital Essentials absorb water well so I would use those like kibble. You can use rehydrated foods like you would canned foods. They can be given any time as a meal or as a topper to kibble. My senior gets mostly wet food.

[Marvins mom]

I have to mention the best help i’ve had for my dog in the 8years that i’ve owned him. It’s – if I may mention a brand name – the Dinovites product out of Kentucky. All the years that he’s itched and scratched off all of his hair, having the itchy red, watery eyes for months on end – it’s the only thing that has helped him have some amount of relief. For years we’ve tried the extra fish/oils, grain free dog food, probiotics, benedryl, steroids, vet visits…..and NOTHING…i mean nothing helped him. Sadly he looked like a chemotherapy patient?!?!? Since taking the Dinovites this year, starting in May he was three months free of his irritations. Sadly come Aug. he burst into red inflamed skin and sad eyes, also lost wieght again. I thought – OH NO, not again! BUT IT ONLY LASTED FOR 6 WEEKS… vs the 5-6 months of misery!So, i bathed him every other day with a soothing bath shampoo and continued with the Dinovites and he is now been itch free again since the last 2 weeks! it is now Oct. 1st. I have to say that seasonal allergies are the worst to treat and this IS the only remedy i will continue to use year long for him to be happy in the later years of his life! He is now 8 — i only wish i had known about this product years ago and saved him the misery!!!!!!!! I am hoping that come next May it doesn’t start again and holds off til at least Aug. or doesn’t come at all….we’ll see! It’s worth the invest ment for us!!!!!!!!

[somebodysme]

Off the top of my head, this is what I’d do if I were searching. I would go to chewy dot com and search for dry dog food then you can narrow it down by choosing “puppy” then grain free and then by the meat you’d like to feed such as lamb. That will narrow it down and from there you’ll just have to check the ingredients they list for each food at chewy and see if it contains beef or chicken or potatoes.

[pugmomsandy]

You might check out “Pet Food Industry” magazine. All the companies that make anything related to dog food advertise in there.

[RobLee]

Hello everyone,

Would anyone here happen to know where dog food producers get their puree/powders for their dry dog foods?

At the moment I am working on making my own dry dog food. Is their an agricultural network that I can gain access to such powders/purees in bulk? I have already gathered contacts for certain types chicken/etc. meals I will be using.

I have looked online for such purees I need but they seem a bit pricey. Also its hard to find the specific ones I will be needing.

Thanks!

-RobLee

• This topic was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by RobLee.

[harp31]

Thanks for the suggestions Olga. I have been feeding Orijin Regional Red which is for all life stages and they are both eating it (although the 4 mo old doesn’t like it as much as the 1 yr old does). I also add a little wet food to the dry (currently Wellness 95% beef, turkey or chicken). I just wonder if the high protein is too much for the little one … Orijen Reg Red is 75% protein plus the wet is high protein but I only add enough to coat the kibble (1/2 tsp or so). I also add a little boiled/chopped chicken breast to the top (1 tablespoon or so). The one year old gobbles it up and eats very well, but the little one is not as fond of it. She eats it just fine when the older one is near “cause she doesn’t want her to get it, though … LOL. We are battling a yeast infection in the little one’s ear right now and she is a little itchy and licking her paws, not sure if it is environmental or food related. Hoping it’s not the food …

[olga]

Hi, I have a 2 year old Boston Terrier that has always had a sensitive stomach and some skin problems. We used to buy him high quality high protein food because he is very active, however it never sat well with him. Out vet told us that a GI oriented diet is better for him because he can’t process high levels of protein and he needs more fillers in his diet. I used this website to compare brands that have about 30% or less of chicken meal not by-product as the main ingredient and then some safe fillers. We currently use the Costco brand Kirkland Chicken flavored dry food with added glucosamine for his joints. It has worked great!
Regarding dogs getting tired of food, our dog does that with every brand. We usually buy a can of wet food, something organic, natural or limited ingredient and add a tablespoon to each meal. Otherwise, I add a tablespoon of greek yogurt (which helps with the farting) or pumpkin pure (high in fiber).
Otherwise, I add a little bit of water and heat it up in the microwave so its wet and warm, especially in the winter he enjoys it. In the worst case I just add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, which makes it moist and is great for his skin and coat.

[Chip]

I have two dogs, both German Shorthair mixes… one is an older male (11 years old), the other a younger (5 years) female. I love them both very much, both were shelter/rescue dogs. When we adopted the younger dog, we switched from feeding her Hill’s Science Diet (which is what we were sent home with from the shelter) to some sort of Purina Dry Kibble, since she wouldn’t eat the Hill’s. Since then and after finding this website (my knowledge about dog food and their ingredients greatly increased), her menu evolved from the low quality kibble to a mixture of Honest Kitchens dehydrated raw food (a company that I love) mixed with Blue Buffalo Freedom. I consider both of these foods to have above average to excellent ingredients and I feel good when I buy it for my two dogs. The problem is is that they both have very sensitive stomachs… when we started with the HK and BB it seemed to FINALLY fix the problem with terrible diarrhea that they both were experiencing with all the foods we tried (Castor and Pollux, Nature’s Recipe, and so on). Their bowl movements (I feel strange talking about this) were FINALLY healthy… fluffy yet firm, regular, didn’t stink. It was a miracle. Unfortunately, after about two years of eating various styles/flavors of HK mixed with BB, the younger dog “Jessie” decided that she absolutely didn’t want to eat it anymore. I got tired of preparing it only to have to dump it out (it’s very expensive) and then wash her dish (as I did after every meal since it’s a part raw diet). So, we tried some different brands thinking that it would add a bit of diversity to what they were eating. We went with Wellness Complete Health kibble and canned but soon found out that the diarrhea had returned (we introduced these foods slowly). We tried going back to the old food but she couldn’t shake the diarrhea (the older fella was having some problems as well, but not nearly extreme). We finally took her into the vet, which I dread doing because I know exactly what’s coming… a fecal exam (which is always negative), a bill for $100, and a lecture about how the food I feed them isn’t quality/adequate because it wasn’t “formulated” by veterinarians and pet nutritionists (in their words) as Hill’s Science Diet is. I don’t have a problem with giving the HSD Prescription i/d gastrointestinal a try… my problem is that the ingredient list is full of low quality foods and chemicals, yet they charge more per can/bag than the food with (what I consider to be) high quality ingredients that I was feeding my dogs. I’m sick of being treated as though I’m being insolent because I actually question what it is specifically about Hill’s that is supposed to calm my dog’s stomach. Is it the corn? The iodized salt? The food coloring? I know it sounds as though I’m being snippy right now, but this has been an ongoing problem as I’ve brought the dogs to the same vet in the past few years every now and then with small bouts of stomach problems and am told the same thing every time and mad to feel as though I’m an ignorant and irresponsible pet owner for not switching to Hill’s and I’m sick of it. I don’t have any other options to switch to a different vet, so that won’t solve anything. It has been three days and there hasn’t been any improvement so far on the HSD and, sorry it has taken me so loooonnnnngggg to get to the point, here is my question: Does anyone have an alternative to HSD i/d that actually has quality ingredients? Or, does anyone have any useful advice about what our next course of action should be? I thought I read something in one of the comment sections a long time ago about how German Shorthair Pointers are sensitive to a certain ingredient that is fairly common in most dog foods… does anyone know anything about that subject? And, is it just me, or do veterinarians actually know anything about dog nutrition, or do they just espouse what they are told by the salespeople from Hill’s? I don’t doubt that Hill’s probably does make some important prescription foods that certain dogs need, but the i/d just looks like crap to me. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.

[Melissaandcrew]

If you are concerned that the Orijen may be too high protein for him, try the sisterproduct Acana. Its about 31% versus the Orijen 38% and my Iggys love it :

[LisaLynn]

I am adopting a mini aussie pup and will be bringing him home next week (he will be 9 weeks). I’ve had standard aussies, border collies, shelties and lab mixes in the past and I also have a 4 yr old chi but always bought food that was suggested by the person/breeder I adopted the pup from. Now it’s been a while since I had a pup and I want the best for him! I don’t swallow what vets recommend anymore. But I am so confused about nutrition; namely breed-specific percentages of protein, fat, carb, sodium content and calcium. I’m considering mixing Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (Dry) with *Abady granular (*not rated on this site and I understand why), some occasional raw meats, yogurt and organic antioxidants. Could someone please explain in simple terms what the appropriate ratio is for a mini aussie (appx 30 lbs adult size) and a 7 lb adult chi as far as dietary percentages? Thank you for any feedback!

[PiaOnomato]

The urine should have gone to the lab on Saturday but the error occurred at the vet’s office and the specimen wasn’t sent. I too am hoping that the glucose is some errant reading from using an old, refrigerated sample. I thought the vet would have ordered blood work right away with glucose in the urine but it was me who requested blood work! Maybe they think the glucose reading isn’t real also. I don’t know what to think right now. Pico’s energy level is good but he is a little surly so I think maybe he doesn’t feel quite well. Thanks so much for your insight and your well wishes. It helps more than you know.
ps. LOVE your dog!

[theBCnut]

A lot of labs are not open over the weekend and the ones that are are associated with hospitals/emergency clinics and are priced accordingly. It is normal to wait until Monday for non emergencies, however I’m surprised they didn’t do some in house testing. Glucose isn’t necessarily accurate if it isn’t fresh. I hope everything is OK.

[PiaOnomato]

I took Pico’s clean catch urine sample in on Saturday but somehow, it wasn’t sent to the lab until Monday! I was not happy… at all.
I got some really odd results on Tuesday (yesterday). Pico has a UTI but also has high glucose (100), protein, bilirubin, and fat in his urine!! I am really concerned that some or all of this may be a result of feeding Orijen 6 fish for 6 weeks but I can’t find any literature to support it. I had to do a pretty quick switch to Dr. Tim’s Active Dog kibble but so far, no ill effects.
The vet ordered additional tests on the urine sample (Protein and creatinine) and we will have blood work drawn on 10/1. Thankfully, Pico seems very much himself.
I will update this thread as this is potentially food related…
Dee

[Chuck]

Does anyone know of a site or book that has good recipes that are easy to follow? I see videos online and some sites like http://rawfed.com/links.html but nothing really concrete.. just I feed them chicken backs etc. Something with a little more detail I suppose.

And if I was going to do something like Primal patties and adding 10% meaty bone… how often would I be doing that a few times a week? daily? and Its ok to go to Sams club or whole foods and get chicken thighs and chicken backs and my pup eat the whole thing? Its going to be very weird to watch her eat bones.

Also If i were to continue feeding kibble (Wellness CORE or TOTW) along with patties at first would that be a problem? if so how would I ration that, treat the pattie like wet food?

Overall I want my dog to be as happy and healthy as possible, and again this morning she ate maybe 1/3rd of her food… she just wont eat dry kibble unless something is mixed in. So I really want to make this change as fast as possible

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by Chuck.

[Molzy]

Hello all,

I am considering switching my dogs to a raw diet. We have two 1.5-year-old Australian Cattle Dog Mixes. They are both rescue dogs. We adopted LoJack last October, and Quincy came home with us in July. Both of them came to us eating Science Diet, which we pretty much immediately threw out. I worked in a high-end pet store for years, and I am kind of a food snob when it comes to my pets. My cat, Ralph, has been on Nature’s Variety frozen chicken for over a year now, and does amazingly on it (for him, it has helped with his urinary tract infections). The dogs have eaten a variety of Nutrisource Grain-Free Salmon, Pure-Vita or Merrick dry kibble. My boyfriend and I are big on “Eat Local” and both of these companies seemed pretty good for commercial dog food. Now that we have graduated from grad school, we can start entertaining the idea of paying a little more to feed raw. When we just had LoJack he would also get raw meaty bones once in a while for his teeth, we haven’t tried giving Quincy those due to some digestive issues we’ve been struggling with.

Anyways, I am thinking of originally starting with a pre-made raw, and possibly slowly adding in some other stuff. My boyfriend hunts, so hopefully we will have some venison this year for them, and we also live in the country so there is the possibility of contacting local butchers for organ meats and stuff. We already own a hand grinder for the meat (though we may invest in an electric one if we end up going with raw!).

Anyways, what are your recommendations for pre-made diets? At this point, we would like to stick with a grind because of Quincy’s issues with chunkier food (I want to make sure that raw works before trying chunks, then slowly add chunks in to make sure we don’t cause issues). I am considering doing Nature’s Variety since it is balanced for cats and dogs, which would be nice, but it is also a little expensive, so I figured I would see if anyone else has any suggestions. I would also consider a pre-mix with ground meat.

One last question – can they have venison bones? We saved a bunch from the deer we got last year and froze them, but I got worried about chronic wasting disease, so we have never tried them. They are thinner than the beef/bison bones we normally feed, so I worried about him swallowing chunks as well.

Thanks!
Molly, LoJack and Quincy (and Ralph the cat)

[pugmomsandy]

1. Is it better to get a premade mix of raw food online or buy meats from the supermarket or meat market? Or is it better to have a mix?

As a newbie to raw, I think it would be better for you to feed a food that is complete and balanced whether that is commercial frozen raw like Nature’s Variety, Primal, Bravo, Stella & Chewy’s, Darwins, and others, or dehydrated/freeze dried raw (but more expensive) food like Orijen freeze dried, Primal, Stella & Chewy’s. Meat by itself is not a good diet. For beginners, I would buy a commercial raw or use a Premix such as Urban Wolf, See Spot Live Longer, Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen. You add meat and some oil and that’s usually it. No additional vitamins needed. You can make these in advanced in big batches and freeze in serving sizes or a couple days worth in one bag/container. You can feed up to 20% of an unbalanced food without having to worry about additional vits/minerals. For example, topping kibble with some meat or scrambled egg (but not more than 20% of the meal). As you become more comfortable with raw you can give homemade a try but be sure to use a recipe book.

2. Is ground or whole better? Your dog might like the texture of some chunks, versus ground. But in any case, raw meat has enzymes that also helps keep teeth clean. The ripping of the flesh and tendons from the bone cleans the teeth too. I have small dogs so I use a coarse ground. My dogs don’t have a preference for meat sizes. They eat it all.

3. I keep seeing people talking about feeding bones, including chicken bones… I was always told that chicken bones are dangerous? This is going to be the one that the hardest to get my wife on board with.

Raw bones are edible. The cooked bones are dry and splinter. Also there are recreational bones versus consumable bones. Most small animals can be consumed whole (chicken, rabbit, quail, turkey). But dense, weight bearing bones from larger animals are for gnawing only (marrow bones/leg bones). For heavy chewers, they can break teeth. For instance, my small dogs eat chicken legs, turkey and duck necks and feet and pork baby back ribs. They gnaw on beef/bison rib bones and marrow bones/femur for the enjoyment and it keeps their teeth clean. I feed these outside and don’t worry about cleanup when the weather is nice. You can train your dog to eat bones in the house on a towel, blanket or tarp. This winter, I’ll be feeding my small dogs in a crate or I could feed them on the bathroom tile and mop.

4. Do you need to add supplements to these meals? If so are they included in the premade mixes or am I adding them?

If you use a complete and balanced commercial premix, no additional supplements are necessary. Although there are a lot of people who give whole food supplements like supergreen foods (chlorella, kelp, barley grass, etc), bee pollen, and herbs, a complete vitamin E.

5. What is the best site for ordering?
I’ve heard Chewy.com is good. I’ve always used Petflow and amazon.

6. Does someone have a schedule or process I can literally follow to the letter?
Sorry, I am sure this has been answered over and over again but I would really appreciate the help. I am not too concerned about the cost as Wellness and Core are not cheap, however if I can pre-make these and feed her in the morning because we are often in a rush and it’s so hard to get her to eat kibble before we leave.

At my house, they eat raw if I have it thawed out. If not, they get other foods (kibble, canned, freeze dried). Darwins comes in convenient packaging and serving sizes and most commercial products come in patties or small bite sizes or chubs (which are the least convenient for me). You just have to remember to thaw! You can put 3 days worth out to thaw in the frig. I also use dehydrated foods (The Honest Kitchen, Addiction) where I just add water and let sit. I make some ahead of time and put it in the frig. But these are not raw.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[dlopes_87]

I have a 3 months old pure bred boxer named Rocky. He is on Diamon Extreme Athlete dry food. He really likes it. I just emailed the company yesterday asking them about the amount of calcium in it as it is not listed in the package. I got an email back this morning from a rep who told me the calcium level is 1.9%.
Can anyone tell me if that’s a good thing? last Friday he got his second shot and has had diahrrea since Sunday. I called the vet and they told me it is because of the vaccine. I had bough a 40lb bag which is almost over now after 2 months we’ve had him home.
I need some advice.

Thank you 😀

[Muttley]

Hello. I ve adopted a mini schnauzer. he will be 8 in 3 months. he always been fed with Alpo and he is at least 6 -7 lbs overweight which is huge for that type of dog. I want to switch him to grain free dry food. My question is,will he lose weight with grain free dry food? I have selected origen senior grain free dry food or Nutrience grain free dry food. Or should I start him with a diet food and then switch to grain free ? Thanks.

[PiaOnomato]

Thanks so much Pattyvaughn! I looked into both Dr. Tim’s and Nature’s Logic (neither of which I’ve heard of) and ended up ordering Dr. Tim’s on Chewy.com. There is a local feed store listed on the Dr. Tim’s site but when I called, they acted like I was speaking another language! They are going to see if they can order it for me.
Pico is my first-ever small dog (he has completely changed my mind about them!) and I’m finding that he has some different issues than larger pups.
Thank you very much for taking the time to help us. I’m looking forward to being a part of this forum after referencing FoodAdvisor for 3.5 years
Dee

[theBCnut]

Wellness was not bought by P&G as far as I last heard, though they do own Iams/Eukanuba and Evo/Innova. If they are doing fine on Orijen and they dark urine is nothing more than very concentrated, maybe you should try adding water to their food to increase the amount of water in their diet.

If you really want a good grain inclusive food, then Dr. Tim’s is good, so is Nature’s Logic.

[PiaOnomato]

Hi,
I’m new here and couldn’t find a Forum Search so if this topic has been covered, I’m sorry!
I am looking for a good quality dry kibble that is more protein/carb balanced than a grain-free for our active, fit, small dog.
Here are the details if you care to read on! I have a 4.5 year old Rescue named Pico. Pico weighs 8.8# and is most likely a Chi/Italian Greyhound mix. He is very active and gets daily 3 mile walks and competes in Agility.
I had Pico and our other rescue (24# ACD/BC mix Gilda) on Wellness CORE. Pico was having some elevated BUN labs so I switched him to Wellness Super5 mix Small Breed.
When Wellness was bought by P&G, I got worried about possible formula changes and recalls so I came back to DogFoodAdvisor and started researching again. This time (I know this won’t make sense), I switched both dogs to Orijen 6 Fish. They both look great and have fantastic energy but Pico has starting having dark, strong smelling urine. Usually when he gets a UTI, he is ill. Now, however he seems fine (I did take a sample in today) and I think it’s from the high protein food.
I am sorry for the long post. Thanks for any and all opinions!
Dee

[dendad]

My Chihuahua puppy is almost three months old. She weighs about three pounds, four ounces. I’m feeding her four times a day. Can food with a little dry food. About 2 oz each time. Is this too much? Seems like she poops a lot and its not very solid. I add a little pumpkin sometimes to eliminate diarrhea. There seems to be a big difference of opinions on this subject and I am concerned. Some say if you don’t feed a pup often enough it will become hydro glycemic.

[Pitonos]

Hi all! I’m new here and I’m from Portugal.

I have a bullmastiff with 28 months and a dogo argentino with 11 years and a half.
The BM is eating Bento Kronen, regular Maxi or Mega (Versela Laga).
I would like to know if this is a good dry dog food, because I didn’t find anything about this brand.
Can you give a hand, please? 🙂

Thank you all!

[waltersmum]

I purchased a bag of Nutrisource to mix in with what I’m currently using for a few days so she doesn’t get an upset stomach. I used to blend a variety of meats, vegetables and fruit for the first few years when we were home in Australia but since living here in Florida for the past 4 years have give the dogs only dry food as we travel a bit now and it is easier to store. Also better for their teeth as small dogs often have teeth problems. Willow at 8 and Yogi at 7 both have excellent pearly white teeth. I also buy calf hooves for them to chew as they can’t chew off bits to get caught in their little throats.

[Lara]

Karma is on Nutrisca Lamb and Chickpea for about 4 weeks now. I wanted her off any kind of potato…white or sweet. That was the common ingredient in the previous dog foods. I have kept her on the Gentle Digest probiotic and the Claritin and Benadryl. And seems to do well on them.
I have added Dr Mercola’s Spirugreen and she does ok.
I truly believe not only am I dealing with food but environmental allergies as well
Karma definately does not like digestive enzymes. Vomits every time.
The vet even changed her heartworm med to Revolution from Heartguard

I had to get her off Rachel Ray because her stools were liquid and yellow….and she seemed constantly hungry
I was wondering about Zymox shampoo and the rinse? Wondering if I should give that a try….any thoughts?

I will be looking into that saliva test

Thankyou charlie and sombodysme. You both have helped me out so much and thanks for not making me feel like the only one dealing with this….sometimes I feel like my vet thinks I’m crazy because I want to try to fix the issue not put a “band-aid” on it!

[GailLouise]

Has anyone read and tried Andi Brown’s “The Whole Pet Diet”? She has published this book and also has a website: http://www.thewholepetdiet.com/

In our extended family, we have 3 Shetland sheepdogs (a senior one with thyroid issues), a young Siberian husky and German short-haired pointer (who have both had bladder infections and urine pH bouncing around up to 9.0, plus a yeast infection in the female husky following antibiotic treatment), and a young very sensitive English springer spaniel with a topical yeast infection (lived with a cone for months due to scratching her chin & licking/biting paws and butt) until we switched her to Nutrisca, a grain-free dry food, based on this website. Finding this website (dogfoodadvisor.com) a month ago has really opened our eyes – the various vets are still recommending Purina & Science Diets as nutritionally sound but when we question them, their reasoning is based on typical marketing (the big companies do research and why would they do anything that would be harmful to pets sort of thing). So, last weekend, we mixed up the EFA oil mixture as best we could and also made the chicken stew, according to the recipes on Andi’s website. Our dogs love it – including the springer spaniel, who often would lie around and not eat except for once a day. My daughter and I cooked the stew together with all of the dogs in the kitchen and they just hovered around us the whole time. I am interested in reading if anyone else has had any experience with this. Thanks!

[GSDsForever]

I would think that most high quality, non vegetarian dog foods will not contain soy or navy bean (this one would be a rare ingredient even in vegetarian kibble!).

For lowfat foods, I would look through DFA’s list of lowfat foods, particularly the grain free ones. For dry foods without white potato, InkedMArie has posted here in forums a list of grain-free and white potato free foods and I would cross check it.

High carb foods, more than high protein/fat foods, show in studies to put more weight on dogs. So I would keep that in mind. But even among the reduced carb/higher protein grain free foods, there are some that are low fat. Two that come to mind are Honest Kitchen’s Zeal and Wellness Core’s reduced fat formula.

[Lara]

I have a chocolate Lab that has had numerous issues. I rescued her off of Craigslist in Oct. The person I got Karma from had her on Rachel Ray Noutrish. I switched her to Blue Buffalo Freedom for puppies (grain free) It all started in December with a big ear infection to both ears and small, red bumps on her abdomen last December. Diagnosis: chicken allergy. Switched to Natural Balance Potato and Fish with tuna and salt-free peas which she did fine on…for awhile. I noticed increased itchiness..she scratched and bit everywhere…no fleas. She also developed a UTI with struvite crystals so I switched to NB Potato and Rabbit. My vet suggested Hill’s Prescription for the crystals and UTI which I refused. The vet also states to stop giving her tuna and peas as the peas may have contributed to the pH problem. My baby has had 2 back to back UTI’s one with the crystals and one without. During the 2nd UTI I switched to Nutrisca Lamb and Chickpea (grain and potato free) and canned Lamb from Wellness as a topper (only in a.m.) She seems to be doing better although she still itches and bites her paws but it appears to go in spurts….. I’m wondering if it is enviromental allergies and not food. She has some eye goobers but I started using Ark Naturals Eyes So Bright and that has helped tremendously. She also was very flaking but that has almost gone away since starting her on Nutrisca. She is on Claritin/Benadryl/probiotic/salmon oil/liquid glucosamine and sometimes coconut oil. She is also on a cranberry extract for a urine pH of 9.
I have started to notice she is losing fur on the tips of her ears (just started last week). She has no ear infection that I can see. I had been cleaning 3x per week because they began to smell…now I am down to 1x per week
I use Richard’s Organics Incredible Skin Spray for the itchy areas and any hotspots. I also at times will rub in coconut oil
She has little red bumps on her belly which come and go….literally they are there in the morning and sometimes almost gone by night (could be the benadryl/claritin combo)
I have tried digestive enzymes twice (different brands) and she has vomited with both…not sure she can tolerate them…I’ve started slowly both times
I have to bring her back in for a re-check of her urine to see if the pH is down
Every dog food she has been on she has liked….she is not a picky eater (she even eats pills as if they were a treat)
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and sorry it is long

[Codex]

I’m worried about people saying that fish oil supplements can cause vitamin A surplus over time.

It made Codex’s coat turned shinier and absolutely no dry skin–fingers crossed it’ll stay like that.

I’m wondering if the fish oil is not a long term solution to keeping her skin and coat silky. I suspect it might be masking food allergy symptoms(surf and turf makes her scratch)?

Any suggestions of a supplement I can use instead of fish oil?

[waltersmum]

One of my two Griffons is highly allergic. She has been through the desensitizing process and is currently on two different pills morning and night which is not ideal. She had a major flair up of unknown origin recently and lost a lot of hair and weight. I am trying to find a suitable dry food that does not have potato, soy or navy bean that will also not make her put on weight. Her nick name is Tubby which stands for tub of lard so we are constantly battling to keep her trim. She is currently 8.5lb which is just at the low end of ideal. Any help would be very much appreciated.

[pugmomsandy]

Nutrisource is $49-$51 for the large bag and it has more calories so you can feed less too.

[InkedMarie]

Look at dr Tim’s, Fromm, Victor….if you will order online, you’ll have lots of options at great prices.

[mandified]

We currently feed our dogs Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice dry food. We pay around $55 for a 30 lb. bag. We are looking for other good dry food options that cost a little less. Any advice?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi RescueDaneMom –

There’s no need to add additional muscle meat to Primal grinds – all have balanced C:P ratios except for the beef and buffalo which actually have more phosphorus than calcium and thus should be fed with some RMBs. You would want to add vitamin e, vitamin d (such as cod liver oil), omega 3′ and a whole food supplement. I would also recommend feeding some canned oysters once or twice a week (high in zinc and selenium) and some ground nuts or seeds (like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds) a few times a week (high in manganese). Yogurt or kefir is rich in probiotics and can make a good addition as well. Cod liver oil is rich in vitamin a but there’s really no need to worry about vitamin a levels – if the dog is getting liver (which it will be if its eating the grinds) and fruits/vegetables it will be getting plenty of vitamin a. Also keep in mind that the vitamin d requirements are 500 IU per kg (or approx. (227 IU per pound) on a dry matter basis – one lb. of raw food will provide around 0.3 lb. dry matter. Therefore, you would need around 68 IU per pound of raw food (minimum). I give my girls each a capsule of Carlson Cod Liver oil daily which has 250 IU vitamin d per capsule – they also get a some lower levels from beef liver, eggs, dairy. A glandular isn’t necessary, I think it can be beneficial though.

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi All,

I have been lurking on DFA for a few months now. Originally I was trying to find the best dry food for my dog, then I started getting into dehydrated and freeze dried. Now I’m looking at frozen raw. For the past two months I have been doing 2/3 premium 5 star kibble with 1/3 frozen raw (complete formulas from Primal or Stella & Chewy’s). I didn’t know if my dog would go for it so that’s why I started this way. Now I want to move to full raw. I will admit to being lazy when it comes to this process. The easiest thing for me to get hold of right now is Primal grinds and complete formulas (Primal and S&C). A lady in the next town owner has become a retailer and sells it out of her house and adds very little markup.

I have a 7.5 year old Great Dane named Max that I got from a rescue. He is 155 pounds, is currently eating 1800-1900 calories per day, and is in perfect condition. I have fed him 3 meals per day since I got him because I could and it works for him. I want to do Primal grinds with additions for two of his meals and a complete formula for his third meal. I am most concerned with balancing his two meals of Primal grinds. From reading I have gathered that these grinds can be high in bone content as well as fat so it is important to add extra muscle meat (heart, boneless meats) and protein (eggs, cottage cheese, canned salmon, canned oysters, tripe?). I also plan on adding yogurt or kefir, sprouted seeds, fish oil, vitamin E, HDM’s superfood blend and veggie/fruit/herb puree, and 3 cloves of garlic 3x/week.

I have a few questions/ things I wanted to double check. He would need about 3200mg combined EPA/DHA, 300iu vitamin E, 200iu vitamin D/lb of food, 3 tsp of superfood blend daily, right? I couldn’t find what the appropriate amount of vitamin A was? If I use cod liver oil for the vitamin D, will that provide sufficient vitamin A? Also, would it be good to use a glandular supplement too? Lastly, assuming I have covered everything, a multivitamin/mineral isn’t needed correct?

Thank you in advance for your help. And special thanks to Hound Dog Mom for posting menus and such great, detailed information.

[Mom2Cavs]

As you all may remember, I’ve been battling things with Laverne. She would have anal gland issues and goopy eyes, she would lick her forearm and scratch her back sides. Sometimes she would lick her back knee?…I guess that would be what it’s called lol. She would scoot only sometimes. Her stool would be loose to full blown diarrhea at times, except when we tried NV LIDs…then she was too constipated (they all were) and the other symptoms were still there. Finally, one of her breeders told me that her brother and mother could never have poultry! So….I’ve been working on getting poultry out of the house. We have tried Zignature, still didn’t do the trick (maybe I didn’t give it long enough). We then went on Holistic Select grain free. Things were a little better. Now, I also top with canned food (and something tells me sometimes it may be the canned that’s causing the problem). I’ve narrowed the canned down to a few kinds whereas I was using quite a lot of different kinds before. Things were a little better, still not where I would like, though. In there as well I used some Natural Balance I had in the dog closet to see if it would be better than the Hol. Sel. I had the Lamb & Rice and the Swt. Pot. & Fish. Things were even a little better. I used to like N.B. but am leary of it now..bummer. When I finished with the N.B. I transitioned in a small bag of Acana Lamb (from the dog closet, of course!) This is what they are on now. We’re only on the first day with only Acana Lamb & Apple as the kibble, but so far so good. I’ve stopped treats for the time being, as well. I’ve been using the kibble, which they all readily take (even picky Lucy…don’t know how long this will last). Today I gave Acana topped with Wellness 95% Salmon for breakfast and only dry Acana for dinner. I think that’s my plan….kibble and can for breakfast and dry for dinner. They also get part of their dry right before bedtime as a snack. It’s really too soon to tell but today has been fine with this arrangement. I pray it keeps on working….I like Acana and maybe eventually I can use other flavors, like Ranchlands. I’ll keep y’all posted. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Oh, I wanted to mention that I did order some Big Dog Natural in beef. While the dogs all loved it very much, it really did a number on Laverne’s bowels!! Too, too much for her so…..we will not be using it in the future.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[silkwingspapillons]

I’ve been making my own raw dog food for 12 years now. I travel with my dogs and have tried to dehydrate their food but have found that there is so much oil in it that I can’t get it to a dry consistency. I got a sample bag of Honest Kitchen this weekend and their food is like powder. I’m wondering how they do that with raw meat. Does anyone have any experience at this and can offer suggestions?

[BlackandBlue]

Update: Sensitive allergy dog was eating Merrick GF Beef & Sweet Potatoes fine, almost finished a small bag. Transitioned to Nature’s Variety GF LI Lamb. Dog starts shaking head, scratching at mouth (lips itchy?), licking paws. Five days into the transition to NV, I take her to the vet. Microscopic cytology of ears ($28) revealed bacteria and yeast infection. Dog’s on Otibiotic Ointment ($12.50) ear drops for two weeks. No transition switch to Wellness Super5Mix Complete Health Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe dry. And dog’s doing much better, no itching and licking but I think her ears will take another week to heal up. So now I’m adding lamb (I think?) to the list of foods she should NOT eat.
Frustrating to say the least.

[lizbethc41]

Hi,
My dog will be 10 in Nov. He had a malignant fibrosarcoma removed in ’09. Since then he’s had issues with intermittent diarrhea.
His food history:
He has always been an extremely picky eater, going ‘on strike’ often
Fed Iams until he was 3.5 (My first dog & I didn’t know any better, mea culpa)
As a blood cancer survivor myself, I switched our household to an organic one.
Switched to Castor & Pollux Organix dry that I added a small amount of organic chicken, turkey or beef w/occasional wild caught salmon or duck to entice him to eat it. He did great on this until his health issue arose.
After his surgery I started adding pumpkin & probiotics (from Only Natural Pet) to his meals, but he still would get colitis type diarrhea every now & then. So I decided to try cooked homemade.
I had a vet nutritionist diet done up for him (Dr Susan Wynn). I use only organic foods, either turkey, chicken or beef w/either oatmeal, quinoa or sweet potato & then some kind of veggie, usually carrots, cauliflower or green beans. The individual supplements worry me because of the fish oil which he’s never done well on so I use flaxseed oil plus bone meal, choline, canola oil, lite salt & Centrum.
I decided to keep a commercial organic canned food to make sure his nutritional needs were met & for the times where I may not have a homemade meal available. I started w/ByNature Organics canned turkey until I realized it has carrageenan (sp?). I switched to Party Animal grain free organic. I’ve tried the 2 chickens & the turkey.
Problem is he still doesn’t like commercial dog food, sometimes he’ll eat it, sometimes not & he still has some soft poos. So started adding Animal Essentials digestive enzyme/probiotics & Metamucil (on the vet’s advice) I had a second diet done up for him from Balance It, but I haven’t used it yet because it seems like it has a LOT of carbs compared to his other vet diet (2.5 cups of quinoa to 6 oz of turkey) & 6 5/8 tsp of Metamucil! That’s over 2 TBS! I had been gradually increasing the Metamucil again on the vet’s advice as she said there would be Metamucil in the Balance It diet, but 2 tsps bound him up for over a day, so there’s no way I’m giving him over 2 TBS (which is more than the max for a human adult). He’s not a big water drinker, another concern for the Metamucil.
I’m sorry this is such a long post, but I really am trying to find the right diet for my fur baby. I’m thinking of cooking his Dr Wynn diet w/out the individual supplements, adding ONP’s senior multi-vitamin, the Animal Essentials & mixing it in w/the Party Animal, keeping the proteins the same (turkey w/turkey, beef w/beef etc).
Any thoughts, opinions & advice would be appreciated!
Btw, he’s a German Shepherd mix, 48 lbs, body score of 5/9 I don’t use chemical pesticides on him, just Heartgard monthly.

[BlackandBlue]

Your dogs’ issues sound like what I’ve got with my dog. So, I’d recommend these two foods because it sounds like your dogs do well on fish based kibble:

*Wellness Super5Mix Complete Health Limited Ingredients Whitefish & Sweet Potato dry dog food(not grain free but still this formula is great for dogs with allergies, etc). Protein 22, Fat 12, kcal/cup 400.

*Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Sweet Potato and Salmon dry dog food (grain free, only available at PetSmart, very reasonably priced). Protein 24, Fat 12, not sure of the kcal/cup but it’s less than the Wellness mentioned above.

I really hope that helps you and your dogs.

[theBCnut]

You should ask this on the review side in the off topics section or in the pure balance thread. I imagine it is in the works but Dr Mike has a long list of foods that still need to be reviewed.

[naynay]

I was at Walmart the other day and noticed that pure balance added a grain free dry food and from what I could see from the ingredient list it looks like its pretty good but there is no review on it are you currently working on a review for it?

[cdubau]

Here is my situation

One large breed dog and one small breed dog. They are both around 7/8 years old and over weight. Recently we changed the older dogs food from Nutro to TOTW due to the interest in the grain free aspect and better quality food as well. We have restricted both food intake and started exercising them. With the food change Emma has stopped rubbing herself all over the house (shes always been itchy but checked out okay per the docs) and her ears are no longer red (they were red but had no infection per the docs). Since reading about all the Diamond food recalls I was hesitant about trying TOTW and still alittle leery about it.

While at the doc we brought up to that Emma, was drinking alot of water. Turns out she had a UTI. He mentioned she might have Cushings due to the protein in her urine and said we need to have her tested for that eventually. After doing some of my own research and reading articles on this site (theres a post about cushings) I am convinced I really need to cut her fat intake back and increase her protein as that is said to help with aspects of Cushings. While she hasn’t been diagnosed she really shows some key signs of it. We are hoping to test her in the next couple months. For any interest she is constantly drinking ALOT of water, constantly hungry (eats poop if we miss a clean up, as well as will tear into anything she can find), easily stressed or aggravated most the time, has a hard time getting up/down the stairs and doesn’t get on the couch as much, pants when the other dogs aren’t panting and the AC doesn’t go higher then 76, her extra weight seems to only be in her chest/abdomen and she has developed a heart murmur that is very LOUD.

I have looked on the suggested low fat list but most the listed dry kibble is NOT grain free, if they were they weren’t in my budget by any means. I couldn’t find anything that was below 13% Fat in a grain free formula on my own that was in my budget. After seeing such an improvement over the grain free I am having a hard time switching her to any of the “low fat list” foods that include grains. So I am looking to other people for their opinions and maybe experience with this. I just feel like I’m at a loss and I’ve spent days in front of the computer trying to figure this out.

Current Food
TOTW Pacific Stream dry dog food 15% Fat 25% Protein

Here is what I found that I can afford FROM the list – Not grain free:
AvoDerm Large Breed Chicken and Rice 11% Fat 29% Protein
Fromm Gold Reduced Activity Senior Dry Dog Food 12% Fat 26% Protein
Wellness Super5 Mix Large Breed Adult 12% Fat 28% Protein

Here is what I found on my own that IS grain free – NOT on the list

GO! Senior 14% Fat 32% Protein
Merrick G/F Texas Beef 15% Fat 38% Protein
Holistic Select 13% Fat 28% Protein

Thank you for any input!

[mdbd]

So we have adopted a wonderful senior (12-year old) mini poodle. (I’ve always been allergic to cats but had a dog years’ ago). She was in a kill shelter for about a week then with a large dog rescue facility for 2 months. She had been on a generic kibble (apparently) with her original home. and the rescue. Our first day yesterday was absolutely fine, but today she had her first hair-cut and I noticed just what dry, flakey skin she has and her hair is quite dry. She has many flakes coming off and, of course, with all the flakes coming off – I’m now sneezing and my eyes are watering like crazy – as are my son’s. Other than the skin and coat, she is in wonderful health.

I am absolutely NOT going to give up on this old lady so I really need some helpful suggestions for foods and supplements as they have come a long way since I last had a pet.

a) What is the best dry dog food for a senior (does this equate to grain free or something else)? Cost is way less important than quality.
b) Are there any particular ingredients that are really bad for senior poodles and/or any that are really beneficial?
c) Should she stay on kibble given she has always had it or would you suggest wet?
d) Is there any dog food or supplement that will alleviate her dry skin and prevent the flaking? If so, liquid or tablet form?
e) This may sound crazy – but is there any food or supplement that helps decrease allergens in a pet to assist an owner who is reacting badly to the pet?
f) Is there anything (food or supplement) to assist in helping the dog become less smelly?
g) Is there any topical cream or bath wash that would assist her?

We’re an allergen-free house generally because of my allergies so wood floors, no drapes, etc.

Any help/advice would REALLY be welcome! Thanks!

[GaitedGurl]

I have a 5 pound, 9 month old puppy. I am looking for a recommendation for a moist food. I don’t want dry and I don’t want wet canned…..I want moist and there really isn’t a category for that. I want small pieces. I mainly want to use for training but because I am training the come command, I will be giving her a lot and don’t want to over feed. Any recommendations? Amazon and I are very good friends!