[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, 3 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!

[InkedMarie]

If you go back to the dog food advisor, go to the suggested low fat foods.

It’s important, regarding crystals, to insure your dog gets enough liquid. You can add water to dry foods or better, feed canned alone or with dry (if adding canned to dry, still add water) or feed a dehydrated food and/or raw.

Make sure your dog has ample opportunity to urinate

[GYaccino]

On the advice of our breeder, we are feeding adult food (she used Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach-we used our other dog’s brand, Blue Wilderness Salmon) to our 6 month old pup. He developed diarrhea two weeks ago and we switched to the rice and boiled chicken diet until things got better and attempted to gradually reintroduce the kibble. When we hit 1/4 cup of dry, the diarrhea started again. Back to the rice and chicken until clear two days, and then tried a new kibble, this time Core Wellness. Same thing-after we hit the 1/4 dry, back to the diarrhea. He has checked out negative for parasites and finished an antibiotic for some bacteria in his stool sample the first time. Can anybody suggest a dry food that is easier on the digestive system? This boy needs to fill out!

[[email protected]]

Loss of income is forcing us to consider a cheaper dog food for our two small dogs. Our dogs have been fed a BLUE”S brand dry dog food for the last year or so. Any suggestions of a brand that is more affordable, but yet healthy for small bread dogs.

[theBCnut]

If you want easy, Darwin’s, Aunt Jenny’s, and Answers for complete frozen raw foods foods. Or you can get The Honest Kitchen Preference or Steve Brown’s See Spot Live Longer dinner mixes and add your own fresh meat to them. This is a really easy way to get started feeding raw. Or if you want to do the work of learning about what to add to balance your dogs meals, you can order several different meats from Hare Today.

[murphy625]

Great….one last question…I think I’ll try the kibble of Pure Balance, a small bag…and a can (the cans are so large..), then find a decent raw, or dehydrated food, to alternate…any suggestions? I guess I’ll get bones at the butcher..I love this site!
J

[Hound Dog Mom]

What is your budget? Unfortunately – while healthier, as Patty pointed out – most dry food alternatives (dehydrated, freeze-dried, canned and raw) are much more expensive than dry dog food. If it’s not possible to feed an entirely raw, dehydrated, freeze-dried or canned diet you can “top” the kibble with these foods or alternate (i.e. raw for breakfast and dry for dinner). Healthy leftovers like lean meat, steamed veggies, eggs or plain yogurt are also a cheap way to dress up kibble and boost the species-appropriateness – just keep the addition of unbalanced toppers to 20% or less of the meal. Unfortunately dehydrated, freeze-dried and commercial raw foods would probably be off the table for someone on a budget but there are some quality budget friendly canned foods. Walmart sells a food called Pure Balance which is rated 5 stars and costs $1 per can, Tractor Supply sells a food called 4Health which is rated 4.5 stars and costs $0.99 per can and Costco sells a canned food called Kirkland Cuts & Gravy which costs $0.79 per can. Home cooked and homemade raw can be done fairly cheaply – but homemade diets do take some research. I agree with Patty about the lack of dental benefits with dry food as well – it’s just a myth that dry food cleans the teeth. The only way to assure dental health is to brush your dog’s teeth regularly or have regular dental cleanings at your vet. Raw bones can aid in dental health to a certain degree, but they’re no substitution for teeth brushing.

[theBCnut]

I’m sure you have noticed that dry doesn’t really keep teeth clean, so if that’s the only reason for feeding it then take a pass. Balanced raw is best. It has fresh specie appropriate food sources. After that, freeze dried, then dehydrated, because they are less processed and are usually a good source of meat proteins. Next would be canned, it is heat damaged but it has appropriate moisture and it is less processed than kibble and less starch than kibble. Last is kibble which is high in carbs and very processed.

For dental health, try brushing and raw meaty bones.

[murphy625]

Hi everyone,
I’ve had dogs all my life and fed nothing but dry dog food. After reading all the posts on this site..my head is swirling around. I am getting a bichon/Shitzu mix, 5 lb puppy, 9 wks old. I always thought wet food was bad for the teeth.. I have budget constraints as well. Can I have your opinions on what is best and what dog food would be good. I just bought nutro ultra dry. Thanks for you input…
Jami

[Mommadog]

You can always order online, there is petflow.com, wag.com, chewy.com and some others. Amazon sells the senior for 52.00 with free shipping. Merrick is priced well and is a very good brand. High protein, lower fat. They do have a senior and grain free. I feed my 7 dogs the same food, just less for my 10 year old who is a bit overweight. I am feeding my bunch Holistic select Duck formula right now.

I was feeding precise sensicare )lamb and rice) but even after several months we were having to many poops and loose stool. We are over half way through the Holistic select right now and they are doing so much better on it. But I want to give them something with more protein so I am going to try the Merrick Texas beef and sweet potato and the Pork (all grain free formula’s). My dogs range in age from 4 months up to 10 years.

I personally do not want to feed senior or eight loss formula’s, I am not impressed by any of them. Feeding a high quality higher protein (over 30% from meat) with fat less than 15% and then just give the overweight dogs a bit less is better I think.

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/consumer/products/product.jsp?id=147&page=2&view=list&sort=category_3&order=asc&name=Grain_Free_Real_Texas_Beef_&_Sweet_Potato_Recipe&categories=Dog-Grain%20Free-Dry&age=All_Life_Stages

Karla (AKA Disqus user name Zombie Chick)

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

[BlackandBlue]

Good for you for adopting a pit and a handicapped one at that! I’d like to suggest trying PetSmart’s brand of Simply Nourish. Specifically the Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Sweet Potato and Salmon dry dog food. And the canned Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Diet Fish & Potato Stew is excellent for allergies too. My scratching and licking allergy dog stopped that behavior cold turkey when on this food. The only issue she had on it was her eyes got goopey. I think she has mild reaction to potato. This food is on sale often and there’s coupons sometimes too so it’s a very affordable dog food. PetSmart just emailed me a $3.00 off coupon for any Simply Nourish purchase! I know right away if a food causes scratching to my dog. Return it to PetSmart if it doesn’t work out. Good luck with your pitty!

[Larissamichelle513]

I also feed my dog (60lb black lab/hound mix) Earth’s Pride Pet dry dog food and she is doing GREAT on it! I do also add a nupro supplement to insure she gets all her vitamins but from the research I put into finding her a quality, not to highly priced adult food it looks like the canned equivalent is a good choice. What you want to see in a dog food is meats listed first, thus the chicken, chicken broth and chicken liver would make up the highest percentage of ingredients in that canned food. You dont want to see anything like corn or corn syrup listed in the first few ingredients. This canned food also seems to have a lot of fruits and vegetables which is a good sign, and brown rice is an easily digestible carb for most dogs (again much better to see than corn). In my opinion I would say this is an above average quality canned food for your dog. I think it’s on par with a lot of the higher priced wet foods you find at pet stores. Dog Food Advisor does have a review for the Bj’s dry dog food if you wanted to take a look… /dog-food-reviews/berkley-jensen/

[doggydelight]

While my 8 month, small 9lb puppy seems to be healthy eating canned and dry food, alternately, twice daily. Respecting which I add a very small amount of cooked chicken breast. I am wondering whether to add a bit of raw garlic to her dish, plus alternating the cooked chicken with some canned albacore tuna. There is also talk of occasionally adding a teaspoon of cooked squash to puppy food. Any merit in this – or am I going overboard on nutritional needs.

[Byfuzzerabbit]

I have a 4 month Westie who had vomited several times in one day about 3 weeks ago and the vet recommend we give her some chicken and rice to give her a stomach a rest for a few days. I followed her directions I did mix some on her dry food which was Natures Recipe we switched it to Wellness thinking maybe she just didn’t like her food at first a week after stopping the chicken and rice diet. It’s been about 2 and a half weeks since we gave her chicken. She was eating her food but you could kind of tell she would look at you and be like what is this garbage. In the past 2 days she has become super stubborn about her food. She will eat maybe 1/8 cup then walk away from it .

I don’t think she’s sick b/c she’ll eat her treats like a champ also we got her Wellness wet puppy food today and she has no problems eating that. I have tried mixing the wet and dry food and she has no interest in it.

So I guess is this like a stand off w/ my dog until she eats her dog food again? I would rather keep her on the dry food.

[scottNY]

That is absolutely the truth. I should have specified I was referring to high-quality grain-free, for example only those that get 4 or 5 stars from DFA. I just switched from TOTW, which is 4-star, to Instinct Grain-Free Rabbit Meal Dry Dog Food based on what I read here. Since my puppy will be at least 75-80 lbs before he is done growing, I followed HDM’s advice from her spreadsheet for large-breed dogs.

[doggydelight]

We recently ‘rescued’ a 6 month old maltese/shitzu cross. She is now 8 months and doing well. We feed her twice daily. Every morning she is fed a cup of Nature’s Variety Instant Raw Boost (grain free) dry food(Crude protein 40%; crude fat 20%; fibre 4%;). And in the evening she gets a cup of Wet food, namely Innova Puppy Food(12% protein; 8% crude fat; fibre 1% etc.,). In addition, to each of the aforesaid cup of food I add a tablespoon of chicken breast(Kirkland’s premium cooked chicken breast which comes in a can – specifically for humans – and is very good). It has a 22% protein content, plus a 2% fat content. I always rinse the dog’s portion off under the tap to dispose of any sodium,etc.,
While our puppy thoroughly enjoys her meals I am wondering whether she is getting her full nutritional needs. She certainly gets her protein allowance, but is it too much. Further, while she is 8 months how much longer should we feed her puppy food. I should point out that she defecates and pees regularly. The poohs are invariably firm, while the pees are medium yellow toned.

[R Corsol]

I’ve been asking for a review of the new Earth’s Pride item at BJ’s as well but haven’t seen one yet.

I am currently using the Earth’s Pride Pet Foods and really really really love them! I had moved off of the Costco brand to Blue Buffalo which I was paying a fortune for because my dog’s didn’t do well on Kirkland despite the good ingredient deck. When the BJ’s dry foods came out I was skeptical because the disparity I saw between Kirkland and Blue Buffalo.

Because of that I wanted to asked questions about the food and was told by BJ’s that their food is made by a company called GlobalOne pet. They provided me this e-mail address [email protected] to contact them. Upon my asking they told me they peroxide value test their meats, they don’t buy farm raised fish, they said they did all the little things that I guess made a difference in the more expensive foods vs. Kirkland. We currently use the Grain Free Duck but have used the Chicken and Lamb as well for the dry and my dogs are doing great and LOVE IT! We use the wet as well as a treat sometimes and man they are doing great on it as well. Best part it’s a terrific value still, (although not as cheap as Kirkland).

Hope this helps!

[CharlieNYC]

Hello everyone,

I’m a total newbie here and I hope to learn as much as I can. With little planning and even less preparation, we just got a 4-month old Standard Poodle puppy 2 days ago. He’s really gentle with our kids and has a peaceful disposition with everyone so we’re feeling very lucky. He weighs about 20-25 pounds, has an Apricot-color coat and seems to be in great health (we’re taking him to the vet tomorrow.)

The person we got him from recommended Purina One Healthy Blend Large Puppy Formula in red bags. After a little digging, I realized that it isn’t a highly rated food at all. I was hoping to get your recommendations for the top couple of foods for our new puppy. Some friends have recommended freeze-dried beef or chicken patties, and some swear by dry foods to help the teeth and gums. At this point, we’re little confused so we would appreciate any help you can give us.

Thanks in advance!

[katrina0275]

Hello –

I am looking to change the diet of my german shepard. He has very bad yeast issues on his skin and in his ears. I am looking for a dry and wet dog food that have no sugars, whatsoever – this means no honey, no high fructose corn syrup, no white or sweet potato, no corn, no wheat, and no rice. Can anyone help me??? I am desperate!

Thanks!

[jpjhooper]

Any word on this food? I keep seeing posts about dogs getting sick within the last 6 months. We feed him the Life Protection Formula with the Life Source bits as a secondary food source. Main food source is Grandma Lucys freeze dried chicken. We mostly use the dry kibble as “treats” for training as we thought it might be lower calorie then actual treats. Also if we happen to run out of GL then we supplement with BB until we can get to the store.

[Mavis]

Hi! This was requested by some people I was chatting with so here goes nothing! 🙂 So if you have not been in on the chat on the review of the Grain Free Merrick Dog Food here is the link I am of course Mavis: /dog-food-reviews/before-grain-dog-food-dry/
Any way here is some info on my dog Hogan. He is a male German Shephard/ Labrador mix. He weighs around 90-95 lbs. meaning he is around 15- 20 lbs overweight. He is almost 8 years old. This started when I was looking to buy him a better food. I had originally fed him Pedigree. After reading the ingredients and how bad they were I am now on the hunt for a better food. So I need you pet owners to help me come up with a couple weight loss methods and I’ll be very happy to try them out. Just to let you know try and be creative and please no walks/ bike riding, my dog has anxiety and refuses to go too far from the house. Lastly any suggestions on ways to ease his anxiety and help him go a little farther from the house, with him he will not walk if he can’t see the house anymore. Thank you so much!!!
-Mavis

[BlackandBlue]

My dog has a lot of food intolerances and I sometimes forget what they are. Here’s the list: Poultry, eggs, sardines, rice, oatmeal, and slightly white potatoes. Here’s the reactions: Paw licking, face scratching, belly rash, ear infection, gooey eyes, butt scooting, diarrhea, rust colored stained fur around her mouth and anus, and flakey skin on her ears. Here’s the dry dog food that she can eat with good results: Merrick Grain Free Texas Beef + Sweet Potatoes Recipe. (I haven’t found any others after trying TONS of different food. I’m still working on finding other brands to rotate.) The canned food: Born Free Salmon Recipe.
List your dogs’ results here too!

[kdpetadvocate]

I have been feeding my dogs the grainfree from G’day (a pet food delivery service and more) for years. I’ve read the label. It appears to be good. Has their food (white bag, no label, but manufactured by Ohio Pet Foods, Inc) been analyzed?