[DogFoodie]

Thankfully, my dog has no true allergies. However, he is definitely very intolerant of fish in any form (including fish oil), flax, chickpeas and lentils. I hope there are no others. Fish and flax show up very frequently.

[Susan]

Hi Richard, Ive been going thru this with diarrhea & skin problems since I rescued my boy on the 20th November 2012…..are you starting with home cooked food trial or a vet prescription diet?

I started with a vet prescription diet first, I found it easier & ur dog gets all his vitamins etc…Your dog doesn’t have to stay on the vet prescription diet forever but its a starting point & probably will help with his diarrhea if put on the right vet prescription diet…

At first I didn’t want to believe my vet when he told me my boy had IBD caused by certain foods & enviornment.. Patches first vet put him on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic (HP) the fat was tooo high, then poor Patch got Pancreatitis, his first poo of a morning on the R/C HP was good but his afternoon poo was always very sloppy & yellow & he still had his hive like lumps over his body & red itchy paws after being on the R/C HP vet diet for 2 months , then I rung Royal Canin & I spoke with one of their nuturalist vet & she said try the Royal Canin ‘Sensitivity Control’ which was just Tapioca & Duck this worked, it cleared his red itchy paws but I cant remember why he was then put on another vet prescription diet Eukanuba Intestinal low residue kibble, I did change vets at the same clinic as Patches first vet was very very busy with surgery & was hard to get appointments with, but the Eukanuba worked the BEST, his poos stayed firm, skin cleared up, he still gets his red paws now & then but it worked with his diarrhea the best, then after being on the Eukanuba Intestinal for around 6 months & he was doing really well, I started to try commercial premium kibbles they just didnt work, too many ingredients, fats too high, fiber too high, the last kibble I tried was the Wellness Simple Lamb & Oatmeal last month he went real good for the first 2 months, then he started having bad gas of a night & the afternoon poo was sloppy & yellow again…
What I’ve found with the normal kibbles there will be either 1 ingredient that my dog cant eat or there’s too many carbs causing skin problems or sloppy poos, bad wind, so it was back to the vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal within 2 days poos all good again…

At the begining of this year when Patch was doing real well just eating his Eukanuba again & after trying 5 different kibbles that didnt work for him..I started trying new foods just at breakfast time, I kept feeding his Eukanuba Intestinal for lunch & dinner & I started a food elimination diet for breakfast & cause the Eukanuba Intestinal has chicken & turkey, I started with boiled chicken breast as I knew he can tolarate chicken.. I added just rice, Patch had real sloppy yellow poos again, so I stopped the rice & tried boiled egg he did real well on chicken & egg then I added sweet pototo after 2 days, his ears started to itch, I stopped the sweet potato, waited till his itchy ears went away which was 2 days, then I tried a little bit of boiled pumkin, the pumkin worked, he had no reactions, only if I gave to much pumkin mixed with the chicken his poos were softer & more orange, then next morning I added some boiled potato, my god within 20 mins of eating the potato he had a rash all over his chest at first I thought its from our morning walk, he always walks thru shrubs, bushy plants to have his poo, so the next morning I added the potato again & again he was scratching his chest, I looked & the rash was back & that afternoon he had diarrhea like he had gotten back in December when I tried a Fish & Potato kibble, so now I know Potatos are a no no, then I stopped the chicken & I feed tin tuna in spring water, I drain the water & add a bit of pumkin, Patch did real well on tuna & little bit of pumkin, I added the boiled egg, he had no skin reactions or sloppy poos, then I added rice again just to be sure this week & again very very sloppy poos, so I definently know do not feed boiled rice, potatos & sweet potatoes…

I’d try a vet prescription diet first, they are made especially for dogs with diarrhea problems & skin problems from foods, its a starting point…..

Hills Z/d uses hydrolyzed chicken liver & hydrolyzed chicken.. Royal Canin Hypoallergenic uses hydrolyzed soya protein isolate & hydrolysed poultry liver, but the Royal Canin HP uses more oils then the Hills Z/d, there’s soya oil, fish oil, barage oil, marigold extract in the R/C HP, too many oils for my dog thats probably why his poos weren’t firming up.
Royal Canin Sensitivity Control has dehydrated duck & hydrolyzed poultry proteins.
there’s also Raynes K9 Sensitive Gi a few ladies use the Raynes when the Hills & Royal Canin didnt work for their dogs but I dont think Raynes uses hydrolyzed proteins..

I joined groups, either facebook groups or a yahoo groups, the yahoo groups are the best, you get alot of help from people that are going thru the same thing, what foods have worked & what didn’t work for their dogs with diarrhea…there’s a good group on yahoo called “IBDogs” & “K9Kitchen” run by Monica Segal she can help with ur dogs diet if needed & answer questions….
Good-Luck

[Akari_32]

I’m glad too! However he must still be working on passing that bark he ate off the fire log. He puked all over the floor after we got home from the vet. To help butter him up, I’ll be using two small meals a day of mostly EVO (high in fat, should coat his insides pretty good– in theory at least) and I’ll give him some of the dogs fish oil at every meal. It’s marketed for dogs, but it shouldn’t hurt, right? He likes it better than coconut oil. And, since he’s not had any of the food I’ve planned out for him over the next couple days before, hopefully his poops will be softer while his tummy tries to figure out what to do with it, and should help dislodge whatever it is he’s eaten.

And just because: I was doing my homework at the kitchen table, and left for like 2 minutes to go to the bathroom, and came back to this:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/9511B0F1-AB09-4146-9018-55DACD28CCA8_zpsqin88bju.jpg

Little chair thief…. Lol

[theBCnut]

Raw goats milk is OK, but only add about 1/4 cup per day. You really want to be careful about unbalancing the diet of something that grows as fast as a Dogue. I would add the goats milk, fish or krill oil, and a little chicken or other lean meat or maybe a lightly cooked egg. If he isn’t having digestive issues, I wouldn’t mess up his diet to fix things that aren’t a problem.

[aimee]

When adding supplements to a dog’s diet they shouldn’t make up more then 10% of the caloric intake. I use fresh foods whole foods as supplements: veggies, fruits ( no grapes raisins, currents, onions, garlic ) DHA,EPA ( fish oils).

I’m not sure what you mean by rotating boiled chicken and rice with Fromm. Boiled chicken and rice is missing many nutrients and as such is not a suitable to use as a meal on an ongoing basis. If using boiled chicken and rice it should not make up more than 10% of the calories fed that day unless you are balancing your homemade food.

[theBCnut]

For my 45 lb dogs, I have some 4″ marrow bones and I still scrape out the ends. I leave about 2 tbs and I don’t give them their fish oil or coconut oil on those days. Would you give the Brute a tbs of added fat? Or would that be too much for him?

[Naturella]

Zach, I found my old menu for Bruno from May this year! LoL! Here it is, in case it helps or for reference of what has been to what is now regarding feeding. Only a little bit has changed really – I don’t mix foods anymore and I only feed twice/day, and I have sopped feeding dinner on Sundays if he gets an RMB. My additives also fluctuate sometimes too, and I may or may not use canned sometimes instead of THK/BDN.

Enjoy:

“Bruno’s add-ins (various canned such as Merrick, Wellness, Nutro Ultra, etc.; THK Love, Embark, Force, Keen; yoghurt/kefir, cottage cheese, coconut oil, raw eggs, pumpkin, flaxseed meal on occasion, canned sardines on occasion, RMBs (pork necks and chicken backs at the moment), and raw spelts (small fish), and natural dehydrated chews – bully sticks, ears, snouts, chicken feet and necks, tracheas, etc.) constitute about 1/4 (25%) of his daily intake. However, THK and canned are also considered balanced foods (right?), so I think I am at below 20% with unbalanced additives. I just use his body condition as a guide, and will start keeping track of his weight (IDK if I will measure him though) – he is very active and runs a lot, and appears to be in tip top shape.

Also, I will give you Bruno’s weekly sample menu. He is an about 13lb, 1 year old, active Rat Terrier mix.
Kibble mix is: Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch:Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension Original:Victor Yukon Salmon in 3:1:1/3 ratio.

Treats: above kibble mix or NutriSource Seafood Select or Castor and Pollux Organix Adult (the last 2 are from samples). Also available are Nutro and Old Mother Hubbard biscuits for special occasions. Also for special occasions (or to keep him busy when I’m busy too) I make him ice-cream with yoghurt, peanut butter, coconut oil and coconut butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and turmeric, and I fill anything I can – his Kong, marrow bone, hoof, other toys with holes – and freeze. Rarely I give raw veggies/fruits like carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, apple, pineapple core, mango, raw coconut, etc. (safe stuff).

Monday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Tuesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons yoghurt/kefir and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Wednesday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with raw egg (no shell) with a sprinkle of flaxseed meal
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Thursday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy

Friday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons cottage cheese and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons raw organ meat (whatever I have) or raw meat/fish (whatever I have) or 2 teaspoons of canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK chicken and water to make it soupy

Saturday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon coconut oil and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK turkey and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy

Sunday:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons pumpkin with a sprinkle of cinnamon and water to make it soupy
Lunch: 1/4 cup kibble with 2 teaspoons canned and water to make it soupy
Dinner: 1/4 cup kibble with teaspoon THK beef and water to make it soupy
RMB to cap it out

On days when Bruno runs a lot (i.e. Dog Park days) I may switch his next meal’s add-in with raw egg or raw meat/organ meats/fish (or canned sardine) for added natural protein “post WOD”. Or give him a dehydrated natural chew like a bully stick, a cow/lamb/pig ear, or tripe stick, or you know – “richer” stuff to make up for the calories burned and supply some lean meat for his muscles. I really just kind of gage his body condition and appetite for stuff as far as additives go. And sometimes, if I’m out of canned, I put his plain dry kibble in a dispensing toy and let him play with it and eat it as is. I also do some training daily and reward with about 20 kibble bits, and, if I want to stress on something – an Old Mother Hubbard or Nutro biscuit. Oh, and I almost always add water (as you can see) for added hydration.”

[Hildie V]

From what I have learned from a few books and sites I have read the guidelines for homemade food without using bones is this:

65% meat
10% organ
25% veggies

1 tsp of fresh ground eggshell per lb of food fed
Salmon oil daily
Vitamin e daily

I also add in a mineral and vitamin mix and a probiotic and digestive enzymes

If your dog doesn’t keep weight on with this you can increase the veggies to 40%, using mostly sweet potato or regular potato or a winter squash and use 10% organ and 50% meat

Yogurt isn’t enough of a calcium supplement, it balances itself but not the entire diet

You can also add fish a few times a week and eggs if they work for your dog

[Kathy H]

I am starting my dog on a homemade cooked diet. I prepared for her the other day a cooked chicken/turkey with quinoa, baby green peas and a cooked carrot. This is why:
She had bouts of diarrhea and started to vomit after three days. Vet said the dog food is becoming an issue these days. It was a new bag, same dog food I have feed her for years but I have noticed her having this issue (without the vomiting) all this past Summer with every new bag. After a day or two, she would settle out back to normal. This time she did not. I had wondered about it being the dog food but after a week ago my vet confirmed my suspicion. Her bowels checked after the very first meal. 🙂

Tonight I cooked the following for her, what I am needing to know is what I put together tonight, is it a good complete nutrition? She is 16 and in good health. I plan on doing three or four different meal batches (freeze the bulk) each week to feed her a change up in her weekly of meals. I plan on making her a batch of fish (baked flounder) with good calcium source, omegas and fiber in the batch.

Is this a good mix of nutrition for her?

Proteins:
1 lb Laura’s beef 96% fat free
2 scrambled eggs, cooked without oil-along with the shells ground into a powder-(calcium)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt for the calcium and the probiotics
Fiber:
1 cup baby peas
1/2 large sweet potato
1 cup cooked white rice (all I have in pantry right now)
1 TBLSP Dried homemade mix of rainbow chard/kale, organic–high in vitamins A, K, and C, as well as fibre and protein
1 TBSP Ground flax seed–high in good omega’s

I feed her a meal of this tonight and she licked her bowl all over the kitchen floor, trying her best to make sure she didn’t miss a drip in her bowl, LOL!

Just want to know if this will be a good recipe to make for her. I am also going to give her some liver for treats during the week, not a lot, and some other things to keep her calcium and lot of vitamins up, not to miss anything.

Sorry for the book! 🙂

[Karen J]

I’m hearing vitamin C and Cranberry. What safe delivery device for Vit C – 500mg? Cheese, cottage cheese or? I used boiled chicken today.

I saw these on Amazon: Cranberry Comfort Soft Chews, are they good?

Also I saw on Amazon strips to measure ph balance of her urine…she hasn’t developed an infection or stones as yet and I’d like to prevent it.

I’ve been getting overwhelming advice to stay away from fish but eHow recommends it – I think I’ll stay away from it.

Karen for Trixie

[Naturella]

Hey, Korey! What other brands have you tried? Maybe a fish-based food will help, or, you could start adding raw, organic, unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil or wild salmon oil to his food. Walmart or Costco have affordable coconut oil, but only get the unrefined stuff. It has made a ton of difference for my Bruno

I have also used Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch with great success. Other affordable brands besides Earthborn Holisitic are Victor, Dr. Tim’s, NutriSource. Rotational feeding is also a plus both for the dog and for the wallet – this way you can take advantage of sales and add variety to Max’s diet. 🙂 If you’re into ordering online, you can use websites such as petflow.com , chewy.com , wag.com , petfooddirect.com . They often have great sales and deals.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by Naturella.

[Karen J]

I really appreciate the input. I lost Lucky dog last year. I was heart broken, and Trixie is sunshine in a tiny body.

I know vet said pre struvite…I’ve heard stay away from fish too.

What should the PH be?

I’ve heard one person on FaceBook said:” If the crystals are Struvite, then acidifying the food, as well as high protein, low carb, grain-free food helps them from forming. I feed my dogs Taste of the Wild with wet food added as a topper.”

I’m mixing a little kibble and some freeze dried crumbled on top and part of a can of Blue Buffalo which I may return the BB products, then adding Cranberry Comfort and some water to make it all really moist. Either boiled tap or Brita water only. I’ll get the PH strips and trade kibble in for grain free I also heard “low ash” is good for this.

[theBCnut]

Just understand that the oils in fish based foods start to oxidize very quickly and it is supposedly worse, for the dog, than other types of oil oxidizing.

[theBCnut]

If you get another commercial raw and a premix or 2 to rotate between, the only thing I would want to make sure of is tripe at least once a week or a multistrain probiotic and the omegas. If you are feeding twice a day, one meal of oily fish is enough Omega 3s. Their fish was only part oily fish, so may not be enough. If you are adding a fish or krill oil supplement, then you want 100mg of DHA and EPA combined for every 10 lbs of body weight daily. Skip flaxseed oil, it has the wrong form of omegas for dogs.

[JAN E]

Kristin C, what do you suggest for an oil supplement? I tried a fish-based oil, but her breath and the smell of her toys was awful!! 🙂

[Susan]

Hi, has the vet tried him on a vet prescription diet kibble yet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat or the Sensitivity Control….My boy was put on the Eukanuba Intestinal vet diet, it only has 1.75%-fiber 10%-Fat, he was put on the Intestinal Plus 4%-fiber first, he was still doing very sloppy poos after 2 weeks, then I had to order another bag, the lady made a mistake & gave me the Intestinal instead of the Intestinal Plus it was a blessing making the mistake as the Intestinal is only 1.75% crude fiber, as soon as he started the Intestinal 1.75%-fiber his poos were back to normal within 2 days, thats when we realised he needed less fiber, vet said she wanted him to stay on the Eukanuba Intestinal for 1 year but around 6 months when he was doing real well, I started trying other kibbles, I stay around the same fat% protein% & I tried to find a low crude fiber% as his Intestinal Vet diet but it was hard as the vet prescription diet only had the real low crude fiber, even when I give Patch Pumkin I cant give him more then a little teaspoon, if I give more his poos are very sloppy, he cant have too much fiber or fat..
Have you ever done an elimaintion diet, thats the best way, I found that Patch was getting real bad diarrhea from potatos & itchy skin & Sweet potatos made his ears itchy when I did the elimination diet, Vet tried him on the Euknuba FP for his skin last December 1 week after just introducing 1/4cup of the FP to his Intestinal for the whole week, (I slowly introduce new kibbles I use to take about 1 month) he had real bad diarrhea as soon as he ate something he had to run outside & do water poo, so I took him straight off the FP vet thought it was from the higher fat% as it was 15% where his Intestinal was only 10% then 6 months later when I started the elimination diet, I realised it was the potatos in the Eukanuba FP as it was Fish & Potato giving him the bad diarrhea…the less you give the better, there has to be a food that stops his diarrhea, on the yahoo groups there’s a group called “IBDogs” & most of the dogs with real bad diarrhea are put on Prednidsone (Steroid) has he been put on a steroid yet, its for inflammed bowel, I never put Patch on the steriod as I got his diarrhea under control, he was put on the Metroniazole for 2 weeks & when he has had a flares, he gets put on the Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 2 weeks,
Most of the kibbles that you have tried have they been grainfree, try & get a kibble with low fat, low protein, low fiber & not a grainfree kibble as some grain free kibbles are higher in fat & protein, try a limited ingredient kibble.. after trying about 6 different kibbles, I put Patch on the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal first then I realised it has Potato protein (he started to scratch) then I changed him to the Lamb & Oatmeal it has Oats & rice I found Patch does better on grounded rice & oats kibbles, the fiber is 4.75% I was a bit worried to try but it had been over 6months since Patch had a real bad flare, last December but I still do his Eukanuba Intestinal for dinner & the Wellness Simple for breakfast & lunch… I have to give Patch smaller meals thru the day he doesnt do well on 2 large meals a day.. Have you tried the Wellness Complete health Puppy Large breed Deboned Chicken & brown rice.. I was going to try the Large breed if the Wellness Simple didnt work, but there was too many proteins in it & it has brown rice, brown rice is higher in fiber thats what worried me.. try to get a kibble with just has 1 protein that’s why I tried the Lamb & Oatmeal & the Duck & Oatmeal cause there’s just the 1 protein but it has peas & Patch farts cause of the peas…. Less is best..
Another kibble some of the ladys are using on the IBDogs is “Natural Balance” limited ingredients…try one that has the less ingredents some have more ingredients then the other limited ingredient kibbles… here’s the link to have look at the ingredients in the LTD kibbles, the Kangaroo has just Kangaroo & Potato & the fiber is 3% fat-10% there’s Bison & Sweet Potato but it has has peas, I wouldnt try a kibble with peas just yet, there’s the Potato & Rabbit that doesnt have peas or too many ingredients, have alook at all the Limited ingredients kibbes & pick one with just 1 protein that he has never had before the Kangaroo looked the best & had the least ingredients..the other one was the potato & Rabbit also didnt have too many ingredients to irratate his bowel..
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?…
Or start an Elimination diet & don’t start with chicken as u’ve tried the Chicken & it didnt work, another protein like Lamb, kangaroo, rabbit, fish, one lady feeds her dog horse meat, if you can find a place that sells horse meat, cook it, not raw yet & dont do the boiled rice, Patch can have grounded rice in kibbles but not boiled rice, it irritates the bowel for some dogs, maybe try potato or sweet potatos instead of the boiled rice if he goes good then add another food.. or ask vet put him on a vet prescription diet like the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal low fat alot of dogs do real well on the Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal or the Royal Canin Sensitivity Control its just Duck & Tapioca & no other foods, no treats etc then when he’s better after 6months try & find another kibble with similar ingredients to the vet diet he’s on..
He would be so skinny as he wouldnt be getting any nutrition cause he’s pooing it back out…something is really wrong with Banes digestion, vet may need to do bi-opies to find what the problems is.
I feel for you & Bane there’s a few Great Danes on the IBDogs group if you join they also may be able to help you out as they have & are going thru the same thing, also Coconut oil at this stage is a No No when he’s going real good then maybe introduce new things but sooooooo slowely cause 1 thing can make him have a real bad flare & then you’ll have so much touble getting them back to pooing normal again like last December, it took me nilly 3 months to get Patch back to doing nice firm poos again & on the Wellness Simple he does nice firm poos, I think he did better poos on the Duck & Oatmeal it had less peas cause they used the Potato protein & not as many peas in the Duck & Oatmeal…. Good-Luck have a look at the Natural Balance LImited ingredient kibbles…

[theBCnut]

If you want, you can just add a can of sardines packed in water once a week, instead of fish oil.

Of those premixes See Spot Live Longer is my favorite.

[Jude s]

Oh and which brand of fish oil should I use, If I do go with See Spot Live Longer dinner mix?

[Akari_32]

Thanks for sharing! I have almost a whole bag I opened and never finished sitting on top of the fridge that I want to do something with lol Not sure if I’ll use it as a topper for Ginger, or if I’ll make treats with it.

As for the cat, I think he’s got another blockage. This cat is as bad as a puppy when it comes to chewing on things! Mom bought this cool portable camp fire thing, where its a log, with some holes cut into the top with starter and whatever in it, and since its a natural log, its got bark on the outside. Well, the cat has a paper and cardboard fetish and he has to eat anything papery, and I noticed a few days after mom bought the log that there are several large (like 3+ inch squares!) areas missing out of the bark. The dogs are locked up all day, and when we’re home, they’re under our feet, or sleeping on the couch. The cat is out and about in the house, and he’s just down right naughty, so I know who to blame when it comes to the missing bark.

Anyways, he’s not eating like his usual “starved” self, and when he does, he doesn’t eat much. He’s even turning down Friskies, which is just crazy. He’s been working on his current can (which is spiked with enough coconut oil to kill a horse, and some of the dogs liquid fish oil) for a good 24 hours. Todays food was supposed to be Wellness Beef and Chicken, but I’m not going to put down a $2 can of food for him to let sit all day (and he’s still willingly working on that can of Friskies). In fact, I’m not going to give it to him until he’s passed all that bark he’s eaten, and is eating his food properly again. I don’t want $4 worth of food to go to waste! He’s also spending a lot of time stretched out when laying down, and licking his tummy and “special place”. I think he’s about finished the can of food thats down, so I’m going to put down some fish oil in a bowl, and let him lick at it when he’s hungry tonight.

So far, no puking like last time, and fingers crossed it doesn’t get to that point. The bark is papery, so it should move out with some buttering up, and not actually completely block him like last time.

To end on a positive note, I had a helper while doing my homework tonight. Heres a picture of him eating my ($170) textbook *rolls eyes*

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/EEC881D8-3847-4DDC-8CCE-74467D7D41E2_zpshq9q1qjp.jpg

And him pretending to have no bones LOL

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/88A86A9F-431B-4F5E-A015-971B4694BA22_zpswf0pw4wc.jpg

[theBCnut]

Tongue is muscle, and brain has some really good stuff in it, but is high fat. I really like that grind you get from your butcher, but you need to ask about the ratios. It sounds like you are on your way to a very nice meal, just watch the calcium. And remember that adding variety is how you cover all those miconutrients that AAFCO doesn’t even know how much or what a dog needs. One time add in a can of oysters, another oily fish. Sometimes use spinach or kale, sometimes go for kelp or spirulina. Use lamb instead of beef and turkey instead of chicken sometimes. Collect several different recipes. Have fun feeding your pups, I know they’ll have fun eating it!!

[Katy G]

Since his normal diet is already Salmon, it could just be too much fish oil. Try just using the coconut oil for awhile and see if that helps.

[Laura B]

sorry, i keep being unclear. he can also eat barley and oats.

this is what is in pro series:

Fish Meal (Herring & Anchovy), Brewers Rice, Whole Barley, Whole Oats, Fish Oil (Herring), Dried Brewers Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, DiCalcium Phosphate, Kelp Meal, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Malted Barley Flour, L-lysine Hydrochloride, Inactivated Yeast, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C Activity), Vitamin E Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Methionine, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Selenite, Manganese Methionine, Copper Lysine, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione, Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K Activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid. – See more at: http://proseriespet.ca/dog-food/holistic-fish-and-rice/#sthash.LLGpRtYI.dpuf

[TheNaturalDog]

Holistic Select Grain Free Adult & Puppy Health Salmon and Anchovy & Sardine Meal

Ingredients:
Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Dried Ground Potatoes, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal, Tomato Pomace, Flaxseed, Pea Fiber, Pumpkin, Natural Fish Flavor, Cranberries, Apples, Brewers Dried Yeast, Papaya, Salt, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Choline Chloride, Blueberries, Pomegranate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Inulin, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Fennel, Ground Peppermint, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Trichoderma reesei Fermentation Product, Dried Rhizopus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Green Tea Extract.
This is a naturally preserved product.

[Susan]

Hi Kelsey, when a dog stops eating they are normally sick, something is normally wrong..have you tried changing her food & see how she goes….Is she a picky eater or has this just happened the not wanting to eat, my cat is a fussy spoiled cat but if I just keep giving him the food he doesnt want he normally eats it in the end cause he’s hungry..
My friend works in a fish Co-Op & gives me prawns, shark, whiting etc so he waits for the freshly cooked fish the spoiled bugger….

[Ry K]

Hi all,

My husky/lab has been on the raw diet for over 6 months now. I’ve verified with the raw pet food store and with a few raw diet books that he’s getting the right amount, proper bone/meat/veg balance, extras like green powders, kelp, fish oil, etc.

All of his health problems have gone away except for one – skin irritation. He’ll be good to go for a month or two, and then all of a sudden he’ll start chewing all over himself to the point of stripping the hair off and making it even worse. Then I put the cone on him for a few weeks, and he’s either fine or back at the chewing.

I exercise him every day so I don’t think it is a stress problem. I avoid fields with long grass that might bother his skin. If it’s bad enough I’ll give him a bath with oatmeal, baking soda, aloe, etc.

Does anyone have any additional thoughts on this topic? I find it especially important because I convinced a friend to switch his dog to raw recently. He did so, and it fixed some MAJOR problems the dog was having, but now 6 months later his dog is having skin irritation problems as well. It doesn’t seem to be an allergy like pollen, especially because right now there shouldn’t be any pollen issues at all where I live.

Thanks in advance for your time!
Ryan

[Wendy E]

Thank you, Mom2Cavs! I am just now getting a chance to google some of this stuff. When you say you are doing a rotation of base kibbles, do you mean you buy a different bag each time, or you rotate the three kinds with a different one each day, or what? And then you also add the canned stuff to it each time? My girl will think she died and went to heaven! LOL

And you supplement with Standard Process Cardiac Care, CoQ10 and fish oil? Any others?

I’m looking forward to checking out the cavalier websites too! Thank you SO much!

[Tiffany K]

For your Mini Schnauzer….The Honest Kitchen is so healthy as is mainly fish and veggies. This is the dehydrated formula; I believe it is called Zeal You add warm water and let it sit a bit. It looks like green gruel or oatmeal. But, I specifically purchased it for my Pit Bull/Great Dane mix who was hospitalized with pancreatitis (my mother was keeping her and I have never got to the bottom of what she was fed) but it has completely smoothed out her digestion problems , as well as helping her chronic skin allergies. It is just getting her to eat it. It smells exactly like fish food. If you mixed her 3 ounces of chicken in with the Zeal, I am sure she would gobble it down. Another “trick” is I use the chicken broth from boiled chicken as the mixing agent for the Zeal. I hope this helps and your little girl feels better each day.

[theBCnut]

I always advise going with fish, sardine, herring, salmon, krill, algae, or other forms of omega 3 oils. Dogs do not efficiently convert ALA into DHA and EPA, which are the forms they need. 85% of the ALA is left unconverted and is simply another source of fat.

[Bobby dog]

The supplements the Vet suggested should help with her anemia, poor thing.

I have a healthy, younger pup and supplement with MSM daily, kefir for probiotics, garlic 3x/wk, fish oil capsules 3x/wk when I don’t feed sardines, coconut oil 3x/wk, and vit E 1x/wk. For fresh foods I feed some vegies, fruit, lightly cooked fresh meats (he does not have a taste for raw), and a 1 minute poached egg 1-2x/week which helps keep his skin and coat beautiful. I know their are some wonderful commercial supplements out there that would help with healing her immune system, but I don’t have any suggestions for a dog with her health issues. I do recommend looking into digestive enzymes and probiotics for starters. Some probiotics recommended by regular posters are Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic, Swanson Ultra Soil Based Organisms (I believe this might also contain digestive enzymes, not sure), and Mercola complete. Here is a link to Dogaware for a starting point that might help you find info on supplements for her and some other topics as well.
http://dogaware.com/diet/supplements.html

Info on kefir and coco oil:
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/05/foods-rich-in-probiotics-beneficial-for.html

http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/02/coconut-oil-is-good-for-your-dogs.html

I will throw this out to you which may or may not interest/help you to improve her kibble diet if that is what you are going to continue to feed her. I follow Steve Brown’s “ABC Diet.” It is an easy menu plan that helps you improve any quality of kibble following a simple menu and according to the dog’s weight with fresh foods (raw or lightly cooked meat) you can buy at the grocery store.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

[crazy4cats]

BDog- Wow! You did do great. The Innova and Canidae cans were a steal! Akari is rubbing off on you! Yes, I’m happy about my kitty’s turnaround. It must have been too much change for her. She’s never been away from home in her life. Except for 3 or 4 days up in trees in her younger years! I can’t help but always wonder about previous pets. I really wish I knew as much then as I do now. I feel like a couple of them could have lived longer. I guess that is just how it is in many aspects of life though.
My sister is coming around a bit with her dog . He is getting a few eggs a week, yogurt and some fish oil. She tried a little canned and it gave him explosive diarrhea. Her boyfriend got a little mad and told her just to only give him kibble from now on. I wish she would have asked me about canned first. She tried Merrick right off the bat when he’d never had any before. She probably should have started with a little lower level food. I hope she continues to try and improve his diet. And doesn’t let the set back stop her quest. They are still battling fleas a bit, however.
We have today off and are probably going to take the canine boys for a ride. Maybe even a dog park! They love them so much. But I’m so nervous about them “picking” up any cooties. We have been clean for a while now! Have a great day!

[Mom2Cavs]

Wellness has their Simple line, which I like. I am using their Simple Small Breed formula with my Cavaliers. It is Salmon based and the only flavor, atm, in the Simple Small Breed line. The regular Simple line has other flavors, but not all of them are grain free so you would need to check.

I also top my dogs’ kibble with canned food. I use Wellness, they have a 95% line that is just meat. I use other brands at times. Right now I am using Freshpet Vital, a lightly cooked food that is grain free and comes in roll form. I chop it into chunks and top their kibble with it, and add in their probiotics, fish oil and a little water. Not a speck left in their bowls. They do have some that are limited, the Turkey, Beef and Bison, and Whitefish rolls. I alternate flavors with the dogs.

I have two dogs that seem to have flea allergy dermatitis, and one of them also has mild food allergies as well. I am also using an allergy chew from Vet Classics (I bought at my holistic vet), but you can buy it online and also from Naturvet (same company). These have quercitin, colostrum and other things that seem to be helping them, too. Right now all are doing well…..hope I didn’t just jinx us, lol!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Victoria W:
I understand your budget constraints and hopefully I can offer some more suggestions in addition to the ones you have received. You are very kind to give your relative’s dogs the extra attention they need!

It is surprising they would continue to pay for office visits and medication without trying a new diet as well. However, it sounds like she has an infection and needs antibiotics at this time.

Buying a 50 lbs. bag of food is convenient for large dog owners. Throw in a price of about 45 cents/lb. and it’s hard to talk someone out of buying it. In the future, if you are able to convince them to try another food they should expect to pay at least $1/lb. for a food with more meat protein; about $10 – $15 more per bag. If they would agree to this price point you could find some decent kibbles for them in 40-50 lbs bags.

If you decide to add a new food or supplement be sure to add slowly and in small portions building up to the desired amounts.

If your relatives will only shop at Wal-Mart for dog food and are adamant about feeding Ol’ Roy, maybe you could suggest they try adding other brands to their dogs’ diet along with Ol’ Roy. Here‘s a thread with kibble & canned foods available at Wal-Mart with decent ratings:
/forums/search/Wal-Mart/

There is a PDF download from Steve Brown, “See Spot Live Longer the ABC Way.” It will help you improve any quality of kibble with the addition of fresh foods (eggs, tinned fish, fresh meat, vegetables) you can get at the grocery store. There is a menu that walks you through the amounts of each food to add according to the quality of kibble being fed and the size of the dog. I feed anything from a 3 to 5 star kibble and this download helps me to improve my dog’s diet very easily and affordably. I add the fresh food over several meals rather than feeding it in one day.
http://www.seespotlivelonger.com/home/sll/page_41/see_spot_live_longer_the_abc_way___electronic_down.html

I don’t always have sardines on hand for my dog and when I don’t I supplement his diet with CVS drug store 1000 mg fish oil capsules 3x/week. I also supplement vitamin E once a week regardless if I feed sardines or CVS fish oil. Here’s a link to more info on supplements, it’s also a great site with lots of other info:
http://dogaware.com/diet/supplements.html

As far as mercury or chemical contamination, smaller fish are not usually high in contaminates due to their short life span and the depth of water they live in. Herring, menhaden, and sardines are some smaller species. Here’s a site with some more info on contamination in fish and a link to a wallet card with a list of fish and the degree of contamination they may have:
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/

I think adding some probiotics to her diet would really help with her skin issues; it helped tremendously with healing my cat’s skin. This would also help keep the antibiotics from destroying the friendly bacteria in her digestive system. An affordable way to do this is to feed unflavored kefir; most grocery stores sell kefir and it has a very long shelf life. I add it to my cat and dog’s food daily. Here’s some info:
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/05/foods-rich-in-probiotics-beneficial-for.html

Other probiotics recommended by regular posters are Dr. Stephen Langer’s Ultimate 15 Strain Probiotic, Swanson Ultra Soil Based Organisms, and Mercola complete.

Coconut oil would be another food that would help with her skin. I add it to my dog’s food 3x/week, more if he has skin issues. I also apply it directly to his skin when it’s irritated. Unfortunately, he loves it so much I have to be sure I have time to supervise him so he doesn’t lick it off before it’s absorbed. Only use unrefined organic. The best price I have found for it was at BJ’s or Costco; Wal-Mart also has a good price just in a smaller jar. Here’s some info on the benefits and dosage:
http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/02/coconut-oil-is-good-for-your-dogs.html

After a bad experience with my cat and steroids when my dog developed a skin infection I was more than willing to put in the work I needed to help him heal. Bathing with medicated shampoo and applying antibiotic cream regularly was integral in healing his infection. The active ingredients in Malasab shampoo is 2% Miconazole Nitrate and 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate. There are some generic alternatives that might be more budget friendly. Look for my post on page 3 from June 9, 2014 at 6:40 pm for info on some alternatives and for some ingredients to look for in medicated shampoos.
/forums/topic/maybe-its-time-for-a-diet-change/page/3/

I don’t have any experience with a dog that has hip dysplasia, but I think you are on the right track with a glucosamine supplement. Here are two threads that might be helpful:
/forums/topic/joint-health/
/forums/topic/budget-friendly-supplements-for-14-year-old-dachshund/

And here’s a coupon thread that might help with your pet food budget. The first page is an intro and the last page has the most current info posted.
Page 1:
/forums/topic/coupons/
Current page:
/forums/topic/coupons/page/15/

[Molly S]

It is great to get advice from others that have been there, but this is an amazing article by one of the leading integrative vets with very detailed information on solving seasonal allergies. Much of this can be applied to dealing with pit bulls. Pitties are particularly sensitive to food ingredients as well as environmental factors.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/07/01/pet-allergies.aspx

Ensure they are on a high-protein, grain-free, potato-free food like Orijen, LiveFree or Pioneer Naturals.

Use a combination of coconut oil and fish oil.

Regular rinse/bath/use foot soaks to eliminate pesky allergens.

Just like children with allergies, ensure that you do everything you can to eliminate environmental allergens in the home – clean air, air-friendly cleaners, and add diffusers.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi, Cav lover! I have 3 and all 3 of mine have murmurs. Hazel has a grade 2 that was early onset and hasn’t changed in 5 years. She’s 7 now. She is on no meds at this time. Laverne is 9 and was diagnosed with a grade 3/4 about a year ago. She is on no meds at this time. Rupert is 7 and was just diagnosed this past April with a grade 5 and MVD. 🙁 He is doing fine, atm, and is on enalapril. I do give supplements like coq10 and fish oil. I have used others in the past, in supplements like Bio-Cardio by Thorne and Cardio Strength from Vetri Science. My vet likes to use Standard Process glandular supps. and I’ve used the Cardiac care one. I do know that homecooked or raw would probably be best but I do as good as I can for them. I am feeding a rotation of base kibbles, Wellness Simple Small Breed, Fromm Salmon Tunalini. I add canned foods like Fromm 4Star, Wellness 95% or Stews, Simply Nourish and also Fresh Pet Vital. They are great eaters! You can also find tons of info. at this site: cavalierhealth.org. Good luck with your pup, they are a special kind of breed!

One more thing…..I do know that Wellness makes a Small Breed Senior (only comes in 4lb. bags, though) that is lower, controlled sodium but it’s not grain free (if that’s a concern, may not be). Actually, pretty much all of Wellness Small Breed formulas have decent salt percentages (not outlandish).

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Dori]

Hi Terri M. Please make sure that the raw virgin coconut oil is organic. Also, with the coconut oil, don’t start at 1 TBSP. start by adding very little per meal and eventually work your way up to the TBSP. Giving your dogs that much coconut oil without having introduced it slowly is sure to cause diarrhea. As far as the raw goat’s milk, I would also introduce that slowly until you’re sure that your dog is tolerating it well. I would also not start with both the coconut oil and raw goat’s milk at the same time. If you’re dogs have any issues you won’t know what caused it. What omega 3 supplement were you thinking of using? Canned sardines in water with NO salt that you buy in the grocery store is a good way of adding omega 3. Another way is also adding a fish oil. I use Nature’s Logic Sardine Oil. I keep it in the fridge and splash a little on one of their meals in the day then the bottle goes right back in the fridge. Fish oils go rancid pretty quickly so even though a food will say it contains fish oil, it’s viable really to be of any use which is the reason that fish oil should be kept refrigerated. I feed my girls canned sardines two or three times a week either as a mid day or evening snack or as a topper on their meal and on those days I do not add the sardine oil. I prefer sardine oil to other oils because sardines have a very short life span. In other words they’re not swimming around in waters long enough to absorb a lot of the dangers and toxics that have now so contaminated our waters. I never ever feed my dogs salmon or salmon oil because of the contaminated waters that they general come from. You have to really trust your fish monger when selecting fish for your dogs and make sure they know where the fish came from.

I noticed that you said you also bought freeze dried. Keep in mind that freeze dried is the most expensive way to go.

Let me say that I am delighted that you are going to feed your dogs raw. I’ve been feeding my three dogs commercial raw foods for a little over 2 and 1/2 years, maybe closer to three and the difference in them is nothing short of miraculous. I have a maltipoo, Katie, who I used to say was allergic to life in general. She was a complete and total mess. She was always itchy, tear stain,, gas to clear a house out, diarrhea, yeasty ears, shedding like crazy (her breed is not suppose to shed, they have hair not fur…..I’m allergic to animals), I could go on and on and on. Other than the occasional bout of seasonal allergies (Spring, Fall), all those issues have cleared up. No more scratchy, stains, gas, yeast, her hair is now not shedding at all and very very shiny. Good luck I know you’ll be happy you made the switch. Eventually when you have things better under control I hope you’ll give thought to rotating your dogs commercial raw meals with different brands and the different proteins within those brands.

Sorry, one more thing. Don’t forget the treats you feed. Most commercial treats contain grains and other garbage. Not all, but most. I feed little bits of organic fruits and veggies as treats. Healthy and none cause harm as commercial treats do. You also don’t have to worry about the dreaded recalls.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Dori.

[Wendy E]

Hi all,
I’m new here, so hello! Lots of good reading here! I have a 5YO Cavalier female named Willow, who was just diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur, which seems to have developed very quickly (our regular vet did not hear it just 6 short months ago, but the cardiologist found it this past saturday at a heart clinic). I’m trying to research what the best food and supplements are for this condition. I really prefer feeding her a dry/kibble food. The vet recommended a low-sodium food (have no idea what I should choose – nothing seems to be marketed specifically as low-sodum), and supplementation with CoQ10 and Vit E. My head is swimming with everything I’ve found in just a short amount of time researching. Are these the only supplements you’d recommend? I’ve also read quite a bit about glandular therapy for heart health and am wondering what everyone here thinks about that and what a good supplement for that would be.

I found this website when searching for glandulars. http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/natural-heart-cardiovascular-remedy-treatment-dogs-cats-pets.html wondering about the Heart Tonic product and the Daily Multi Complete (which has glandulars in it). Anyone have experience with this supplier or these products?

I’m also wondering (and these might be ultra-basic knowledge to most, but I can’t find anything that will tell me): If I do a Fish Oil like this one http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/nordic-naturals-fish-oil-supplement-for-pets.html do I also still supplement with Vit E and CoQ10?

I hate researching this stuff because there always seems to be such conflicting information out there. Any help anyone could give me would be SO appreciated! TIA!

Wendy
mom to Willow

[Victoria W]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am trying to convince them to invest in better dog food, they don’t see the point in sacrificing any of their monthly extras so they can afford decent food. I’m a college student and therefore am on a limited budget, but every month since I found DFA I’ve put aside money to spoil my baby min pin/ chi mix, he comes first you know and I really don’t care to spend money on him. I bought some of the Malesab Sue and I will give her weekly baths like you suggest, God knows her owners wont take the time to do it. Naturella, thank you for the food suggestions I supplement my Taz’s Dr. Tims and Pure Bal with Merrick Southern Comfort among other canned food plus eggs, raw meat, and veggies b/c he loves them 🙂 I’m unsure if I can afford to much food for 4 huge dogs but I will try for their sake. I did not know I could give a dog sardines though, should I be concerned about the mercury usually found in bottom tier fish? How much do you think I can safely feed her or could I give her Fish oil pills in place of the sardines and avoid the merc. all together? I will try the yoghurt too. Again thanks for any suggestions, I am feeling a little better about helping this poor baby out now.

[Susan]

Hi Victoria, is there anyway you ask the owners can you buy her food instead & change her food to something else, Sardines in spring water are cheap, the fish oil in the sardines should help mix a couple of the sardines thru her Ol’Roy feed, also a good medicated shampoo, I use Malaseb medicated shampoo this kills any bacteria on the skin but doesnt strip the good oils, there might be another shampoo that is like the Malaseb that kills bacteria, you can buy at the pet shop, she should be bath weekly in the Malaseb shampoo, that will releave her itch & start to heal all the sore, the Predisone is just a bandaid it doesnt fix the problem, her feed needs changing ASAP. Also she’d need a good dog probiotic for her tummy after being on Antibiotics..Can you cook her meals if so, she needs a low carb diet, something fishy for the higher omega 3 & 6 for her skin..they’d save money from the vets if they just changed her diet…I hate pills I always asked my vet for creams & other things instead of tablets like Steriods & Antibiotic, Good-Luck,

[Akari_32]

As you guys may know, I recently took in an old Dachshund with several health and behavioral problems, all due to lack of proper care and rough treatment.

One of her biggest problems is she’s always limping and when she hurts too much, she lashes out at almost any handling (mainly when being picked up). I know they are prone to back problems, and from what I’ve seen of her extremely limited vet records, she’s had no such problems. She does have problems with her shoulders and hips, though. Typical old dog stuff, really, but she’s learned from experience in her previous home that lashing out and biting when she’s in pain will get her left alone. I need to get her on some sort of good, but relatively cheap, joint/etc supplement (glucosamine is the first thing that comes to mind) that will help with any pain she’s having, and help prevent or slow down any further joint or bone damage and help with the arthritis I’m sure she has. I also need some tips on getting her to understand that biting is not the answer, if anyone has any.

She loves to be active, and I want to keep her that way. She does limp more after walks, but she doesn’t seem to notice, and loves the stimulation. It’s like she loves to just be so tired she doesn’t want to do anything. She just looks so happy after long walks, and you can tell that she is over all calmer and less high strung (she paces all day with no good walks) . Obviously, I want to keep her happy and active, but I don’t want to cause any more damage to her joints, so we need to get her on something good before she gets much worse.

I’ve tried Pro Sense glucosamine chewables from Walmart on my other dogs, and they really didn’t do anything that I noticed. Granted, they don’t really have any problems in that department, despite being large and freakishly huge, and 10 11 years old, so there is that. I shop mostly at Pet Supermarket and PetSmart, but can also go to PetCo and look at stuff online, and I work at Publix (only one dog joint supplement there, but it’s like $20, so I’m good on that, but people supplements are always an option, too).

And she is already on fish oil and coconut oil, rotated daily, so that’s already covered. So, anything you guys have, go for it! I’d like to only spend about $10 a month, if possible, but take that loosely when giving me suggestions.

Thanks guys!

[Hanna J]

Have you tried ZiwiPeak? It’s very expensive, but they ONLY use meat sources in their food, and one of their foods is Venison flavor.

Here are the ingredients:

Venison Meat, Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney, Chicory Inulin, Green-lipped Mussel, Fish Oil, Lecithin, Kelp, Vitamins and Minerals, Parsley, Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Copper proteinate

ZiwiPeak Daily-Dog Cuisine Venison Real Meat Dry Dog Food

[Akari_32]

So an update on Ginger is in order.

Mom, once again, is a complete idiot. She put the doggy stairs up to her bed, which in and of itself is great, and I’m glad she’s remember to do that, but her bed is a good 10-12 inch taller than the stairs are!! She expects this 7 inch tall (probably less!), 14 year old dog to get from the top of the stairs to the top of the bed. Even worse, she expects her to down. Ginger fell down the stairs getting down while I was at work the other day, and now she’s limping on her front right leg, flinching away from contact, and biting (mouthing and snarling, really) when being picked up. She’s also pacing the house, obviously uncomfortable, and doesn’t seem to know what to do. Hopefully she’ll just need some Previcox and down time to recover, and nothing more.

On the Previcox note, I can’t help but wonder if she’s at a point where she needs pain management to live comfortably. I’ve been thinking this side before the steps incident, because she never has fully stopped flinching away from certain contact. She’s also got another fatty tumor forming very quickly on the side of her stomach– I can’t help but wonder if it’s hurting her with how fast it’s forming, or if it’s something else. She also went out peed the other morning, then came in, drank a ton of water, then peed straight water on the floor. Had no color at all to it. The vet said she maybe be diabetic or have some other problems (just looking at her you can tell she’s not in the best of health), and to try and get a pee sample (he said that before the even happened). Either way, vet in the morning. Thankfully orthopedic exams are free, so that’ll save me some money…. Lol

Some good news though, I can’t believe how nice her coat has gotten over the last two weeks I’ve had her. She was eating Royal Canin Dachshund, and now I’ve got her on Wellness Toy Breed and various canned foods (was Pure Balance, now on Wellness Senior), as well as coconut and fish oil rotated on a daily basis, and kefir daily. She’s very soft and shiny and doesn’t shed as much. I may put her on Wellness CORE Small Breed. Depends on if I can get a good price, and how she adapts to changes in just the canned food for now. Lord knows she’s probably been on that one Royal Canin for her entire life.

[Punky T]

Hi! I have a 19 month old French Bulldog (Gigi). She developed small, crusty bumps under her fur (on back and upper legs). She was not scratching them. The vet said it’s staph infection and gave her 2-weeks on antibiotic. They cleared up about 95%, but within a week off the antibiotic they were back. So vet put her on another 2 weeks; they’ve started to clear again, and he will reevaluate this week. In the meantime I ordered Dinovite. Gigi is a small Frenchie, 16.3 pounds, so I have been giving her 1 tablespoon (or 1/2 scoop) with both meals, am/pm. She eats Orijens “6 Fish” dry food and loves it. Occasionally she has an itchy butt and licks her paws, and has some eye goo, too. I’m hoping that the Dinovite will help. I also got the Omega oils, but am finishing up the brand I already have for her first.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Also… do you store Dinovite in the fridge?

Thank you so much!

[Kristin C]

Hi Holly-I know you posted this a while ago and have probably figured some of this out. I feed my dogs mostly raw, but I think if you are using this only as a kibble topper and not more than 25% of their diet you can use whatever’s left over from dinner. I personally would avoid the fatty part of the meat. I use a ratio of 80% meat/organs, 5% fruit/veg purée, 15% sweet potato or pumpkin. You might want to omit the rice as that’s probably already in the kibble, if not another carb. Eggs are good, as is a little fish oil, vitamin e and yogurt. Any cooked meat is fine. I avoid pork and fish because I feed raw. There’s a book called See Spot Live Longer that has a few pages on how to supplement your kibble FYI.

[Julian R]

Hi Kristin,
I adopted my chow/akita mix almost two years ago and I started feeding him raw meats more or less after a month of his arrival. I started slow, mixing ground beef with canned wet food. I eliminated kibble right away or should I say he rejected it once he was presented with an alternative diet. After about a month of a raw/canned mix, I just fed him raw meats. Once I have made the full decision of a raw diet I searched for commercially available raw meats (http://www.darwinspet.com) but it was not a cheap option. I turned to my local meat markets and bought chicken (breasts, necks, hearts, thighs), turkey legs (cut in pieces), pork neck bones, beef kidney and heart, and ground beef. I followed the advise from (http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade2.html) to understand the proportions needed (lean meat:bone:fat:organs).
Now let me provide potential answers for some of your questions.
How much raw food per day should I feed him? Raw diet is more nutritious than kibble and canned food so there is not need to feed them as much. Based on your dogs desired weight I would estimate 3-3.5 oz daily.
Should I start out getting packaged raw food? It tends to be more expensive and if there are good meat markets in your area with a good selection, you can buy what you need at a lower price.
Should I just give him the bones or grind them up? Most dogs can handle bone (make sure they are uncooked) but one has to be careful since choking can still happen. Avoid chicken necks since they can cause choking in small dogs. Pork necks are a good option since they are meaty and dogs can easily break them (at least medium-large dogs). Now since you have a small dog you can give him small pork neck bones but not too small that he will try to swallow it whole. Supervision is key here.
What meats can he eat? chicken, beef, pork, venison, rabbit, turkey, duck, lamb, etc
What should his daily, weekly, etc… diet consist of? The article in dogaware.com provides a very straightforward guide to establish your weekly dog diet, in summary it states that it should be 30-50 % meaty bones, 45-65 % lean meat (including eggs and dairy products) and 5% or less of organ meat.
How slowly should I introduce him to raw food? Start slow mixing 3/4 of of his usual food with 1/4 of raw. Increase slowly over a 2-4 week period.
What meats are good to introduce/start out with? Chicken is usually a good start and lean ground beef is also good. Do not feed him chicken with the skin since it will be too rich for him.
What things should I get to start out with(what kind of meat grinder, what kind of storage containers, etc…)? I don’t use a meat grinder and most likely you can ask your local butcher to do the grinding you need. I ended up buying a freezer for his food and I thaw enough for 2-3 days inside the refrigerator. I keep thawed food in a closed large glass container inside the refrigerator.
How should I handle the meat? I have a cutting board, knife and other utensils to handle his food which I do not use for anything else. I wash everything with plenty of dish soap and hot water. I obviously I wash my hands thoroughly after handling raw meats. How much will this cost per month? For my 62 pound, I spend in average $70 a month. What veggies and fruits should I include in his diet daily, weekly, etc…??? About 6 months ago, I found out about a dog raw food vendor that distributes a great variety of raw food in NJ, CT, MA, NH, and VT. (http://www.topqualitydogfood.com/). They don’t mail so one has to picked up at specific services areas where they stop and it is once a month only. Anyway, they have meats mix with veggies and fruits which I give to my dog. You can see more information about giving vegetables and fruits to your dog. Keep in mind that vegetables should be preferably cooked and give as a puree mixed with meat for better absorption. How much low-fat cottage cheese, veggies, etc… should I feed him daily, weekly, etc…??? Cheese is as an occasional part of his diet but I dont feed him daily perhaps once a week but not too much.
What kind of fish can he eat? most fish except salmon or trout fromPacific Northwest. I feed my dog Chilean Salmon.
Should I add fish oil or probiotics or whatever else to his daily, weekly, etc… diet?? It is recommended to complement his diet with fish oil. I am not sure about probiotics, though.

I advise you to take a look at the books recommended if you can or at least check the websites. Also, try to connect with owners of small dogs that feed them raw. I strongly believe it is the best diet for dogs but it requires some learning from the owner.

[Akari_32]

Nails are done! Whoo! I tried to do them myself, but my clippers are just too small. I did trim them, at least.

But today at the vet, we had some down time, so I walked home and grabbed Ginger, and walked back over. Managed to muzzle her in one try, and got her flipped on her side to hold her down very easily.

I feel like if we had rushed into this sooner, she would have been so stressed and scared. But she didn’t even growl or try to bite. I held her down while the tech I’m shadowing did the cutting. When I get some bigger clippers, I’ll try it at home again, when it’s time to do it, of course. I’ll have someone hold her while I cut. Hopefully, though, daily walks will keep them down at this point.

Speaking of walks, when we were walking home, I started up the driveway, and she was still walking down the sidewalk LOL She really loves to walk. We walked about a half mile yesterday, and we got home and she was just so happy. I’ve never seen her eyes so bright, despite the fact she was so so tired out her tounge was almost touching the floor, even with her head held up LOL I always say I hate Flexi leashes, but I do walk her and Haley on one. She has such little legs that she lags behind if she’s not running (you know she’s excited when she’s running LOL), and I don’t want her to tangle in the leash. She also stops abruptly for potty breaks, and I don’t want to jerk her (and hurt her) on accident. And then Haley just needs a quiet verbal command, or even a just hearing the lock start to click on the leash to know what I want her to do. And neither of them approach random people we pass, either. But you’ll never catch me walking a dog like Bentley on a Flexi leash! He’s stupid enough to run out into the road or run up to dogs that clearly want to eat him. The only Flexi leash I would consider for him is the Flexi City, which is a 6ft retractable, and is absolutely genius. But I ain’t paying $20+ for a leash, so that’ll never happen unless I find one at goodwill (where I got my other two full size ones lol). He gets tangled in his leash all the time because he can’t just walk in a straight line like a normal dog. I hate walking him sometimes, but someone’s gotta do it… Lol

Anyway… Lol Ginger is doing good, and eating well. I started her on a 1/2 teaspoon of keifer every day, and her poops look much better than they have been. Not all runny and smelly like they’ve been the last week. I think I’ll just keep her on it every day. I’ve been giving it to Bentley as well, the same amount, to mix the SSLL mix into, along with some canned food and coconut oil or fish oil. I also need to up her food, I think. I’ve been giving her 1/3 cup with a couple tablespoons of canned Wellness Senior (my free cans! LOL), but I think I’ll start giving her a little more of the dry, especially since she loves walks so much. Gotta keep some meat on her bones.

That’s all I’ve got for now, I think. She’s passed out on the couch, sleeping off her nail trim lol

[TheNaturalDog]

I do not recall if this formula is manufactured by Diamond, or not, but it’s an option.

Solid Gold Holistique Blendz
Protein, Min 18%
Fat, Min 6%
Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calories per cup, 340

Oatmeal, Cracked Pearled Barley, Peas, Ocean Fish Meal, Potatoes, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Dried Eggs, Dicalcium Phosphate, Flaxseed, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Salt, dl-methionine, Choline Chloride, Salmon Oil (source of DHA), Taurine, Dried Chicory Root, Parsley Flakes, Spearmint, Almond Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sesame Oil (preserved by mixed tocopherols), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Kelp, Thyme, Blueberries, Cranberries, Apples, Lentils, Quinoa, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Calcium Panthothenate, Riboflavin, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Rosemary Extract

[charles h]

Hey,

Thanks again for the replies…

She did have her monthly worming tablets about a week and a half ago.

The injections she had was one for antibiotics, one for Anti-inflammatory (as she was passing blood due to swollen intestines) and one for anti-diarrhea. I mean they work to a point as in she is not passing blood, she didn’t have diarrhea anymore, etc.

She does seem to be gaining weight well and when she is not ill I do tend to feed her a slightly higher % of her adult body weight to help her gain. We had her weighed about 2 months ago and she was 22Kg, six weeks later she was 27Kg so 5Kg in six weeks seemed like good weight gain to me. She has had two bad weeks so she might have lost some weight again now…

However she was fed with about 300 grams of plain raw chicken last night with some bone. She has not been sick or had any diarrhea, so no stool sample taken however I’m prepared with my little pots to collect it if she has another bad turn.

Moving forward I’m going to purchase these two items from amazon:

As well as keeping her on a chicken only diet with some fish oil to keep up nutrient levels. After four weeks of this I will judge if I believe she is better and ready for another meat to be added to her diet.. I’m also removing the Chicken skin to try and reduce fat levels as I know they can be hard to digest and cause loose stools…

What does everyone think of my plan 🙂

Charles

[DogFoodie]

Hi Jennifer,

The yeast (Malassezia) infection is secondary to the seborrhea. The seborrhea could be the result of a medical issue (like thyroid) or allergies, either environmental (flea bite dermatitis) or food related. If it were thyroid related, you might see issues related to weight loss or gain, as well.

First, I’d like to ask some questions: about how old do you think she is; how long have you had her; did she have the condition when you adopted her; has it ever improved or gotten worse (do you know what caused the change); how long has she been eating the Purina and has she ever eaten anything else? How are her stools?

Without knowing the answers to those questions, my first thought is that changing foods is such an easy way to see if that’s the culprit, that it’s worth trying.

I would choose a simple grain free food that contains a single animal protein. I would choose a protein that your dog hasn’t eaten. She’s been eating lamb, so maybe try something like duck or rabbit. Look for a food that that doesn’t contain other high histamine ingredients like tomato. I would avoid fish oils, in the event that fish is a problem as fish oil, in theory shouldn’t contain protein, but it isn’t a guarantee; same goes for chicken fat. Chicken is a common problem ingredient, so I might avoid all fowl for right now. Look for something that contains none of the ingredients she’s getting now.

I’d recommend Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet in either duck or rabbit. Some other good limited ingredient foods are Zignature, Back to Basics, Wellness and Earthborn Holistics. I’m not a huge fan of Natural Balance or California Natural, but both are affordable.

Figuring out food allergies or intolerance, is very time consuming and can be very frustrating. Keep notes on what you’re feeding and how she reacts to it and be patient, give the new food time to work. A true elimination diet is a lot of work and can be very challenging to do. Feeding a limited ingredient food is easier and keep in mind that treats can be problematic as well.

[Kristin D]

I want to start feeding my 5 year old Miniature Dachshund,Oscar,raw or cooked food. Any advice at all would be SOOOOOO helpful!!!!!:) Oscar is a couple pounds overweight right now because I was on vacation for a week and he stayed at a family member’s house. She didn’t walk him because I didn’t think about asking her to(silly me!!! *Face palm* Lol!!!)and she has a dog who grazes, so Oscar would always eat some(probably most)of his food. Right now he weighs 13 pounds, but I would like to get him down to about 10 pounds(I walk him just about everyday, so he should be back in shape in no time!!!). Now for “some” QUESTIONS!!!!:D YAAAAAY!!!! Lol!!!;P How much raw food per day should I feed him??? Should I start out getting packaged raw food??? Should I just give him the bones or grind them up??? What meats can he eat??? What should his daily, weekly, etc… diet consist of??? How much of what should I feed him weekly, daily, etc…??? How slowly should I introduce him to raw food??? What meats are good to introduce/start out with??? What things should I get to start out with(what kind of meat grinder, what kind of storage containers, etc…)??? What are some good books I should read??? What are some good sources(websites)I should check out??? How should I handle the meat??? How do I clean up and things like that??? Where should I get the meat??? What should I look for in the meat??? How much will this cost per month??? What veggies and fruits should I include in his diet daily, weekly, etc…??? How much low-fat cottage cheese, veggies, etc… should I feed him daily, weekly, etc…??? What kind of fish can he eat??? Should I add fish oil or probiotics or whatever else to his daily, weekly, etc… diet??? That’s it for now!!! Don’t worry, I’ll be back with MORE!!!!:D Lol!!!;P Thanks guys!!!:D

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Kristin D.

[Naturella]

Cotons mom,

I have a 13.5-lb JR-Rat Terrier mix, so he’s right in between the sizes of your two dogs.

Once a week I give him either a chicken back, or a beef/pork neck piece (RMBs) as a meal (Sunday night). For recreation, I have given raw marrow bones, about 2-inches long, maybe a bit less, from my local Publix (they sell the longer ones and the short ones, they call them soup bones). Chicken backs and beef/pork neck pieces also come from there. I have noticed Publix is very responsive to customer demand and I believe they have had customers request those pieces so they decided to sell them. I would also give Bruno raw chicken necks, and turkey neck pieces. I have given him a rabbit neck before too.

He has never choked, and he works on them diligently. The marrow bone he gets once a month, so he doesn’t get excessive fat from the marrow especially because I also feed coconut oil a few times/week and canned fish once/week. Once the marrow is gone, sometimes I would take the bone and fill it with a variation of “doggie ice-cream”) – plain yoghurt, coconut oil, turmeric, peanut butter, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of ground flax seeds as a base, and either some berries and/or bananas, or some canned pumpkin/sweet potato. Blend together, fill the bone and freeze it, and give once/week until it is time for his next marrow serving – that’s what I do at least. Bruno loves it to bits.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Naturella.