[Panya V]

Hi from almost three years in the future! 😀

In case anyone sees this and needs to know: We ended up switching him to something that was discontinued shortly thereafter, and now he eats Earthborn Holistic Weight Control Grain-Free kibble. It meets the necessary dietary criteria for us and it’s available at local stores so we can just run out to pick some up if needed [the discontinued kind he had before had to be ordered online and we got sick of that pretty quickly]. Now that he’s almost 10 years old he’s starting to have joint issues so our vet recommended we drop him down to 15 pounds to take some pressure off his joints, and that was super easy to do by just adjusting the amount of kibble per day. I now weigh him and our cat regularly to make sure they’re staying where they need to be, adjusting if not.

Speaking of the cat… I’m actually the one who’s allergic to fish and now the cat’s food is being discontinued too — finding fish-free cat food is so much harder than finding fish-free dog food! I don’t know who decided that all cat products had to have fish or fish oil in them, but my swollen lips and itchy, rashy skin don’t appreciate it! 😛 [Both of these pets love to ‘give me kisses’ all over constantly (they’re very jealous of each other) thus the need for fish-free food and treats!]

[sienna11711]

Hi all, any bit of advice or insight?

9 year old spayed female boxer, 56 pounds, eating 3 cups of Victor Professional Formula daily.

For the last 9 months we have been dealing with:

Behavior-wise
-restless
-sleeps a lot less during the day, wakes up earlier to eat
-clingy, doesn’t stop following me
-frantic and fearful when outside
-extreme reactivity to dogs that gets WORSE with more food (I know this sounds crazy)
-flinches when being pet
-will nip at strangers who get too close to her body (not always, still likes people a lot and always wants to say hi)
-will nip if you try to pick her up or move her
-doesn’t play or cuddle
-pees a lot on walks

Digestion/health-wise
-ravenous, always looking for food
-eats other dog’s poop on walks
-previously regurgitated kibble everyday, hours later
-previously struggled with chronic UTIs (low immunity)
-frantic in the AM about eating
-drinks excessively after checking empty food bowl
-shedding excessively
-anal glands leaking and peeing herself while she sleeps
-fat such as fish oil makes her nauseous / may vomit
-cannot digest real food period (ie. rice and boiled chicken, cooked veggies, cooked ground turkey, or raw meat)
-with the above food her stool is orange and slimy
-stool has changed over time since adoption at age 7 from pooping way too much but now it is normal, firm, brown

Labwork
-consistently low T4 despite using levothyroxine, took her off in Jan 2020
-T4 goes up into normal range when she is on anxiety medicine
-extremely high/out of range TLI
-high cPL
-has, at times, had very high PSL randomly
-no diabetes, no cushings, NOTHING glaring us in the face

-We have tried every digestive supplement you can think of and many different foods including grain free, with grains, dehydrated cooked, dehydrated raw, actual raw, and actual cooked
-We have worked with an animal behaviorist who does not think this is purely behavioral
-She lost 8 pounds eating up to 2 pounds of raw a day
-She is much less reactive on cooked food and raw, but will rapidly lose weight and be even hungrier
-We have also tried Hills Science Diet wet food for IBD, orange slimy stool
-She can only really “digest” kibble

Chronic low grade pancreatitis was brought up to me on another forum but her stool is totally normal, so not too sure.
I do think that whatever “this” is affects her thyroid function but the thyroid itself is not the root cause- vet agrees
I just recently began putting enzymes in her food and incubating 20 min with warm water– will see if any improvement

[Patricia A]

Jude when it comes to kibble you need low carbs and higher protein. Hard to find a kibble low in carbs since it needs a starchy binder to hold it together. So maybe do away with kibble altogether.. I have a Chihuahua who tends to get chubby . My other Chihuahua is the same size and is fed same amount and stays slim. Yet, the chubby one is much more active. I think the secret is cutting food down. I never go by what they say on bag. I feed kibble as a VERY VERY small portion of food. Kibble is what tends to put the weight on my chubby one and now that weather is hot here and they get less walks I cut down to just a few along with their freeze dried food. I used string beans and one freeze dried as a treat. I stick to 5* proteins and brands as per DFA reviews. They also get home cooked LEAN boiled white meat chicken, fish(salmon) in tiny amounts, lean steak when we have. Bits of watermelon etc. But secret is cut down on food smaller portions gradually. Then when weather permits a walk as much as a 17 can do comfortably.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

There are different types of stones with different reasons for formations. However, hydration is a big key in all stones to prevent recurrence. Helpful article below for Calcium oxalate stones.
Nutritional management of Calcium Oxalate stones

While it can be difficult to completely prevent your dog developing calcium oxalate stones (particularly if they have a genetic predisposition to it), there are some things that you can do to decrease your dog’s chances of developing bladder stones, and to prevent them coming back in dogs who have previously had them.

Keeping your dog well hydrated is vital. This dilutes their urine, which in turn dilutes the levels of chemicals that promote stone formation, and so decreases the chance of your dog developing bladder stones.

You can help your dog drink more water by placing a few bowls of fresh water in different locations around the house. Always make sure the water is fresh and that you change it regularly.

In the ideal world we are aiming to maintain urine specific gravity <1.020. I always encourage my clients to buy a refractometer, which makes it very easy to measure your dog’s urine specific gravity.

The food your dog eats also impacts on the development of calcium oxalate stones.

To decrease the chances of your dog developing bladder stones, you should avoid feeding foods that contain high levels of oxalate such as spinach, sweet potatoes, organ meat and brown rice. Instead, include foods with lower oxalate levels like apples (peeled), wild rice and meats and fish in their diet. It’s also a good idea to boil vegetables and discharge the water before giving them to your dog – this helps to reduce the oxalate levels in them.

Restricting calcium is another strategy for reducing oxalate levels in the urine – a reduction in calcium should be accompanies by a similar reduction in oxalate levels. However calcium restriction should be done very carefully, as too much restriction can be damaging and may lead to health problems including osteoporosis.

Other dietary measures that can be taken to help prevent formation of calcium oxalate stones are reducing dietary sodium (salt) and avoiding excess vitamin D. This is because excess sodium and vitamin D promotes excessive urinary calcium excretion. Therefore moderately reduce dietary sodium, stay away from high sodium treats and do not supplement with vitamin D.

Vitamin C supplements are not recommended because when vitamin C is metabolised and broken down, it produces oxalate – therefore avoiding vitamin C supplements avoids an increase in oxalate levels.

Vitamin B supplements are water soluble and are excreted in the urine. Therefore in all cases of urinary tract stones it is prudent to give a vitamin B complex supplement.

There is still some debate surrounding magnesium and bladder stones. Some studies have shown that magnesium in the urine impairs formation of calcium oxalate stones. But other studies have shown that when given to healthy dogs, magnesium supplements resulted in an increase in urinary calcium levels. So because there is no definite consensus, restricting or supplementing magnesium is not recommended and so both should be avoided.

It’s important to note that not all of the oxalate in your dog’s body stems from their diet. Some is produced naturally by your dog’s body, mainly the liver. Nonetheless, avoiding incorporating foods with high levels of oxalate in your dog’s diet is an important preventative step against calcium oxalate stones.

Including fiber in the diet may reduce absorption of some minerals and so should be considered as part of any dietary changes being made. However, take care not to increase levels too much which can result in overfeeding.

Calcium oxalate stones cause the bladder to become inflamed by rubbing up against the bladder wall. To help reduce this inflammation, you can give your dog fish body oil supplements. However, avoid liver oil as this contains vitamin D which should be avoided (see above).

There are a few veterinary prescription diets designed to (theoretically) reduce the likelihood of calcium oxalate stone.

You can also prepare you dogs food at home using the same high quality ingredients that you eat. There are several health benefits of making your dogs food at home. By feeding your dog a home-prepared diet rather than a dry kibble diet, you can increase the amount of water they are drinking. And as mentioned above, increased water consumption makes urine more dilute and can help prevent stones forming.

A home-prepared diet is also the only way you can truly control what is going into your dog.

If you’d like to try cooking for your dog, the best way to ensure that the diet is meeting all of your dogs nutritional needs is to get your recipe from a qualified nutritionist. Dietary manipulation to address a health problem should be done by someone who will work with your dog.

[Alice H]

Hello everyone. I am a dog groomer and I came across this thread. I have had many issues with own pets and clients pets and having itching issues. While I was grooming dogs I would pay close attention to what their vets would say about an issue I had refer them to. Most of the time it was due to rashes, ear infections, itchiness (mostly feet, belly, butt), copper collor around eyes, mouth and feet and a few other issues. I had one mini poodle that had the most swollen, red, and inflamed ears and feet I’d ever seen. She was so itchy her vet had put her on a medication to just simply stop the itch (I wonderd if it stopped itch, what else was it stopping and affecting?) because they didn’t know what to do. I like more natural ways to try and combat things. Years ago, as a female myself I heard that women can get too much yeast “down there” and become very itchy from an overload of yeast (yeast infection) and it seemed similar to my dogs problems. I did some research and found out that sugar is the main source of yeasts food. Now, straight yeast product in particular is even more crippling to the system than just straight sugar is. Now if you go and read the back of MOST kibbles, you will find that they all add almost over 2 different types of yeast product to their kibble to “keep it together” and it’s usually towards the end of the ingredient list, some even have it as one of the first 5 ingredients. I have changed many of my clients dogs to NATURAL BALANCE (DUCK AND POTATO) with absolutely WONDERFUL results. Itching and rashes/redness can subside within a few days if the yeast and sugars have been eliminated from the diet (I have personally experienced this myself as well). I personally have my two dogs on this brand of food as well and I recommend it. Just make sure there is absolutely no yeast in the food OR TREATS you are feeding your dog. Now, back to the mini poodle I mentioned earlier, she had the worse case I had seen so far. She was on a very limited diet and pretty much only ate canned and kibble food. Sometimes it would seem better and sometimes would come back with a vengeance and her ears were almost swollen shut the poor girl. Vet didn’t know what to do either. I finally asked the owner, is there ANYTHING even a small amount that you feed her of anything else, ever? And she goes, well… My husband feeds her a piece of toast each morning but it’s plain, there’s nothing on it. And I said, that it! It’s the bread. Take that away from her diet and see me again in a couple weeks. She came back and she was amazed and how different her dog was.. Her skin was perfect. Her ears, perfect. No more copper color, no more chewing her paws.. No more pain. I was so happy! And ever since then I have been telling people about the dangers of yeast overload and the dangers it can cause. Yeast overload can minick an allergic reaction so the owner things it could be something more serious like maybe the poultry, fish or grains, when infact it was the yeast the whole time. Eliminate anything that can “turn” to sugar in the body. Dog biscuits or any crunchy dog treats are almost straight yeast/starch and full of things that can turn to sugar in the body, so watch out for sugary treats as well. Coconut oil is a great, natural relief from yeast rashes and yeast related problems. It is good for the coat as well, you can feed a tablespoon to your dog a day to keep their system regulated from yeast, but it does work better topically for yeast specifically. Coconut oil is also antibacterial and antimicrobial so you can use it just about anywhere (on you as well) your dog is having issues as a bit if relief from the itchiness, it kills the yeast. A lot of ear infections also stem from the yeast diet (I advise against coconut oil in the ears, talk with your vet first and see if it’s an option for your specific dog). If your dog has ear infections often, or has itchy, copper colored feet, or red inflamed itchy rashes it could very well be suffering from yeast overload. Remove anything that can turn to sugar in the body, that would include treats and people food as well, like breads, noodles, crackers, tortillas, chips and even potato turns to sugar and will feed the yeast that naturally reside in the body. Starches do turn to sugar during digenstion. If you have a dog with no itch issues, but has tear stains, it could also be suffering from overload of yeast and cause that discoloration of the fur. The yeast in the saliva is what stains the fur.
Also, if your dog is scooting and doesn’t have worms or diarrhea it usually means their anal sacs are having an issue or they are full and/or impacted and need attention. Vinegar is also a natural way to neutralize areas that are common with bacteria like private parts. And on a side note, a tiny spray of your favorite liquid fabric softener on your dog just before the rinse of a bath can make your pup smell so good for a several days at least. Try not to put it directly on their skin. Rinse very well.
I hope I have helped you all in some way. Have a wonderful day.
Peace, Love and Happiness.

[Patricia A]

Hi Tom…You can look at Budget friendly dog food at this site here on the Dog Food Advisor. /best-dog-foods/budget-friendly/
Also, I know my senior dog when at that age really enjoyed some plain boiled white meat chicken, string beans and very lean hamburger mixed in with her kibble. This way you can possibly get a higher rated 4 or 5* kibble and stretch it by giving a little less kibble with simple homemade cooked food. However, please go VERY SLOWLY with any transition of any new type of food as not to upset his stomach. Good luck and since your profile photo has you with a good catch I say happy fishing to you since I also enjoy fishing.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Patricia A.

[Susan L]

My 14 year old Norwich terrier was on Hills brain food bc I saw he was getting some cognitive issues. Then 5 months later he stopped eating, bloated and diagnosed first w cancer then hospitalized for pancreatitis and all blood and ultrasound tests showed this. Sadly his organs started to shut down and he developed vasculitis and SIRs. He had to put him down which shocked me and broke my heart to this day.

I wonder if the Hills diet was too high fat for him and I should have given him something else? My vet didn’t really say. I also gave him Dosequin advanced hip and joint and fish oil. Yes, he also had too many treats.

Thanks everyone!!

[STEFANIE]

Hi Eszter, and everyone else:

First of, hope everyone is doing fine and staying at home. We are facing difficult times, but Im sure we will all get by in a couple of weeks (or months, depending on the evolution of a number of facts that right now are very unpredictable). Here in Brazil, and in my city Rio de Janeiro, the government has imposed rigorous restrictions, which part of society has been collaborative, and another part is just simply not aware of how serious this is. All in all, we have started our quarantine in a very early stage, and we are all hoping this will bring us a positive outcome in the medium-long turn.

As for your dog Eszter, I am very glad he has overcome all of these surgeries and is out of risk. In our case, my Border Collie (Maui) had a really really hard time with the post-surgical phase – we really did not know he would survive at all. He had aprox. 75% of his small intestines removed (basically all of his jejunum and ileum – only his duodenum was kept). In Brazil there were no registered cases of survival for dogs/cats that had this amount of small intestines removed, so he is really the first recorded case here – which is a victory, but was REALLY hard since we had NO IDEA of how to handle the first couple of months.

Since his ileum was removed, we did in fact suffer with his fesses. In the first two months, he went to the bathroom on average 20x a day, in practically liquid form. He lost A LOT of weight since the first surgery (he had 3 in total), and after his 1 month hospitalization, he only weighted 9kgs! (he started with 17kgs). He was practically skin and bones.

Now, it has been almost 2 years since he was released from the clinic, and since then we had a LONG JOURNEY. But this is a story of success, and now Maui is VERY strong. He weights 21kgs, all of his vitamins are great, and he goes to the bathroom 2 or 3 x a day! His stool is still very mushy.. the first one of the day, we can collect, the other 2, is king of a puree.. which makes is hard, however, since he got his ileum removed, there is almost no expectation that his stool will someday get back to being 100% “collectable”. He does ingest and absorb most of the good vitamins, what is the best part and it very clear since he is healthy, strong and his exams are all good.

It is hard to say exactly what will be best for your puppy… since every case is singular, but in our experience some things were essential for this positive outcome:

1) cooked Home food instead of kibble: We cook it weekly . Daily portion is about 1.2kgs (separated in 3x of 400g each). In summary each portion contains 1/3 meat without fat (in Brazil we use a meat called “Patinho” and “coxão mole” and “lagarto” – all red meat. We tried giving him chicken, but it led to 3 or 4 infections or gastroenteritis, so we never tried again. Fish was also ok, but I though he did not gain weight); 1/3 carbohydrates basically sweet potato, cassava, and a little of parboiled rice, and 1/3 vegetables: carrot, chayote, zucchini, beets, spinach or kale, string bean…

2) Pancreatin: With every meal, we give him a capsule of Pancreatin. Humam type (https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Pancreatin-10X200-250-Capsules/dp/B000776KK0)

3) Food supplements: With every meal, we give him a serving (In Brazil, we use the brand called Food Dog : https://www.petlove.com.br/suplemento-vitaminico-botupharma-pet-food-dog-adulto-manutencao/p/destaque?sku=1949715&utm_campaign=GS_&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsrKigKmx6AIVghGRCh3VlQutEAQYAiABEgLdP_D_BwE)

4) Probiotics: it really depends on your dog which type is best, and the amounts…

5) B12 vitamin replacement: in the beggining every week, and now he takes the shot every 1 or 2 months;

6) Metronizadol (in Brazil, called “Flagyl”): Initially I think he took 400mg per day. Now he takes 250mg every 3 days – which is still a lot, but it keeps him from getting intestinal infections.

I think this is it. If you wish to send me an e-mail, please feel free. I had great help from Karen and Abby (they are part of this forum too). We exchanged many many emails, info and experiences since both of our dogs had similar problems – this was a HUGE relief for me and I am very VERY thankful for all the help I had from them.

Wish all of you the best,
Stefanie and Maui
email: [email protected]
instagram account: @brotherscolliebr

[alberta H]

Cant’ be dried food only wet… thanks though… like the canned of this but it does have herring oil….due to her allergy for fish not sure that will work but sure worth a try

[Birdie30]

Hi Devin,
That menu looks pretty good. 🙂 I would suggest a bit less oil and maybe cook the veggies a bit more (not sure how lightly you’re cooking them) as I’ve read that veggies do not get absorbed as nutritiously if they’re not cooked. It also helps to blitz or puree them rather than giving them whole, for some reason. You can then add bone broth to make a kind of slurry.

The reason I suggest less oil too is because oil is fatty, and too much fat can upset the tummy. You might want to also try, instead of veggie oil, fish oil. I use a sardine/anchovy oil , and it’s done wonders for my dog’s fur and coat – so soft and shiny! I believe there are fish oils you can get that also supply Vitamin E.

For the egg, another variation you can try is to soft-boil the egg so that the yolk stays fairly intact and runny. The yolk is very nutritious and cooking it does deplete some of the nutrients (from the heat). And finally, instead of eggshells, which could be sprayed with pesticides, you can instead give her a bone meal supplement. It’s a powder and provides plenty of good calcium/phosphorus supplements that your dog needs. Otherwise, lookin’ good!

[Robbie M]

My dog is approximately 10.5 years of age (rescued from southern Cali in 2012 wasn’t sure of age brought him to Canada) he’s a boxer cross either staffordshire or pitbull likely pitbull. His hips have never really been in their sockets per se they are just held in place by muscle which he had lots of but now as he ages I worry. Also don’t want him to be sore or stiff or inflamed. Anyways I put him on Orijen Senior and he has shown good results, we also feed him a scoop or 2 of pumpkin every day, and his food is given 3 time’s a day with 2 scoops am 1/2 scoop afternoon and 2 in evening which equals to about 2.25 or 2.5 cups per day. Pumpkin usually goes in the AM and the afternoon he gets a tiny bit of tuna sometimes as well as a cracker with a bit of peanut butter n a couple small pieces of apple. And at night we top it with a bit diced apple/cucumber/carrot with an emphasis on the cucumber. His snacks are the orijen Six fish which he gets about 1-3 pieces a day. Oops and finally he gets CBD which I generally squirt 10mg onto a mini wheat and that’s twice a day. So with all this taken into account i bought him a bottle of grizzly joint aid with these ingredients:

Active Ingredients, per ounce
Glucosamine Sulfate (crustacean source) 1500 mg
Chondroitin Sulfate (porcine source) 1250 mg
Methyl Sulfonyl Methane (MSM) 1250 mg
Krill Oil 560 mg
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) 10 mg
Inactive Ingredients
Water, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid. Each pump is 0.12 ounces and he gets 4 pumps per day.
He seemed to do well on it but I wanted to make sure it was good.

I’m considering switching it for alpha omega sinew which has:

Ingredients (per 1 scoop [5 g]):

Vitamins:
beta-Carotene………………………………………………………………… 600 mcg (1000 IU)
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine hydrochloride)……………………………………….. 2 mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)…………………………………………………………. 2 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide)…………………………………………………….. 20 mg
Vitamin B5 (D-Pantothenic acid)…………………………………………….. 5 mg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine hydrochloride)…………………………………….. 2 mg
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)…………………………………………………………. 200 mcg
Vitamin B9 (L-Methylfolate)………………………………………………. 300 mcg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)…………………………………………… 100 mcg
Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic acid)…………………………………………………. 100 mg
Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)……………………………………………… 12.5 mcg (500 IU)
Vitamin E (d-alpha Tocopheryl acetate)………………………………… 16.8 mg AT (25 IU)
Vitamin K2 (Menaquinones)………………………………………………. 10 mcg
Choline (Choline bitartrate)…………………………………………………. 10 mg
Inositol (Myo-inositol)…………………………………………………………. 10 mg
Rutin………………………………………………………………………………. 10 mg

Minerals:
Boron (Sodium borate)……………………………………………………. 250 mcg
Calcium (Calcium citrate)…………………………………………………… 50 mg
Chromium (Chromium polynicotinate)……………………………….. 100 mcg
Copper (Cupric gluconate)……………………………………………… 1000 mcg
Magnesium (Magnesium citrate)………………………………………… 50 mg
Manganese (Manganese sulphate)……………………………………….. 2 mg
Molybdenum (Sodium molybdate)…………………………………….. 100 mcg
Selenium (L-Selenomethionine)…………………………………………. 10 mcg

Silicon (Sodium metasilicate)……………………………………………….. 1 mg
Zinc (Zinc citrate)……………………………………………………………… 1 mg
Minerals are in elemental quantities.

Phytonutrients:
Boswellia serrata (Frankincence Resin)…………………………………… 25 mg
Curcuma longa (Turmeric Rhizome)………………………………………. 15 mg

Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil’s Claw Root)……………………. 20 mg

Accessory nutrients:
Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorella Broken Cell)……………………………….. 100 mg
D-Chondroitin sulphate……………………………………………………… 500 mg
D-Glucosamine sulphate………………………………………………….. 1000 mg
Hyaluronic acid……………………………………………………………….. 50 mg
Hydrolyzed collagen……………………………………………………….. 1000 mg
L-Glutamine…………………………………………………………………… 50 mg
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)……………………………………………. 400 mg

Enzymes**:

alpha-Amylase……………………………………………………….. 15 mg (330 FCC DU)
Cellulase………………………………………………………………… 10 mg (35 FCC CU)
Lipase……………………………………………………………………… 35 mg (42 FCC LU)
Protease…………………………………………………………………… 40 mg (720 FCC HUT)

**Enzymatic Units
FCC (Food Chemicals Codex)
FCC CU (Cellulase Units)
FCC DU (alpha-Amylase Dextrinizing Units)
FCC HUT (Hemoglobin Unit on a Tyrosine Basis)
FCC LU (Lipase Units)

Additional ingredients:
Apple fibre, Citrus bioflavonoids, Spirulina.

The only issue with the sinew is I don’t feed him wet food but that actually leads to another question. Would it be a bad idea to say lower his dry food content a bit and use the Orijen Freeze Dried pucks as a topper instead of other stuff? Or is that too much for an old boy. I’m just trying my hardest to keep him as healthy and mobile as I can to keep his muscles as strong as possible around the hips. He’s always been fairly slow but never overweight I walk him about 2-3km a day at a relatively lax pace he likes to sniff a lot. We often break it up into two walks about 0.6 km early afternoon and about 2-3km at night. Hoping even with the slow pace this will keep his muscles from deteriorating too much. Really considering a water treadmill as I’ve been told that’s a good way to keep muscles without much strain. Sorry. I know that’s a lot to unpack and everything but I truly appreciate the feedback as I’ve been given very sound advice from this website before. Thanks again again my apologies I just love my guy so much he’s been like my best friend and helped me through some serious trauma and the ensuing insomnia and ptsd that goes with it.

[Carolyn B]

I can’t believe how old this post is, really hope you found a solution for Timber!

I’ve had two huskies and both were intolerant to chicken, beef, AND lamb. Even boiled chicken and rice would give them diarrhea. I found that unique proteins like venison, bison, quail, etc do not bother their digestive system. And they thrive on fish-based kibble. I wonder if you have tried something without chicken, beef or lamb? It’s not as easy to find kibble without it, since those are the cheapest and therefore most common in dog foods. I fed both of my dogs orijen six fish.. very pricey for kibble but huskies don’t eat as much as most dogs for their weight, so it was $90 a month for two dogs. Not that bad.

Also, 50 lbs is not small for a well bred Siberian husky. People breed them bigger.. but breed standard is 45 to 65 lbs for a male. My male had champion lines and he was just over 50 lbs at a healthy weight. My female was around 40 (breed standard for females is 35 to 55).

[dogsforever123]

I don’t know much about senior specific dog foods so imho if all the dogs are happy and healthy with the current food you usually feed them then there’s no problem feeding them all the same thing. However, senior dogs do need extra care and that’s where supplements can come in. These days, there are so many types of oils like CBD and fish oils that have a variety of health benefits. There’s also flax seed oil which when combined with cottage cheese has actually helped dogs suffering from diseases like arthritis and even cancer. It can help keep senior dogs thriving and happy for longer. There’s a company in Florida that specializes in this wellness protocol. Switching to senior food is probably a good option, but you should also do some research into supplements to see if they might be a good idea to add to your dog’s diet.

[Chipy]

Hi Daniel,

It’s so great that you are interested in starting raw feeding your pup. I normally create raw recipes and meal plans for my pup with this online Recipe Maker; https://recipemaker.peterdobias.com

It will help you build healthy meals for your dog with the ingredients you have available. It provides guidance on amounts of each ingredient and which ingredients are best for dogs.

They also have a human grade fish oil that I have been using both for my pup and myself. It’s toxin-free and sustainably sourced; https://peterdobias.com/products/feelgood-omega

Wishing you and your pup all the best,
Chipy & Judi

[Susan]

Hi,
have you asked vet about “Cartrophen vet” weekly injection given for 1 month, Cartrophen vet is all natural, injection is given under thick section of dogs skin near neck & it finds the dogs pain.
My boy suffers with IBD he cant take steroids, high omega oils, medications etc they cause diarrhea, acid reflux stomach ulcers so vet said NO to any meds, Patch is 11yrs old after his 2nd Cartrophen injection Patch was running around like a young pup, I have to tell him to slow down & stop jumping up your going to hurt your back, I couldn’t believe the results.
Cartrophen vet caused no side effects, I’m feeding Royal Canine Intestinal Low fat vet diet at the moment with Canidae Pure Senior kibble, I feed 1/2 & 1/2 mixed together, in Australia our R/C comes from Europe, France they use dried meats, no meat meals & ingredients seem to be heaps better then the American R/C.
I also feed Tin Salmon with boiled Sweet potato for lunch & his vet diet= Canidae is high omega 3 oils, he also eats Canidae Pure Senior, Wellness Core Senior or the Wellness Core Large breed its high in Glucosamine & Chondroitin, start adding Glucosamine & Chondroitin with diet it helps rebuild joints. If you’re going to give a fish oil buy Krill Oil Capsules instead, Krill Oil Capsules are better then Fish or Salmon oil, I also buy Freeze Dried Green Lipped Mussels & give 1-2 Mussels a day as a treat, Patch seems to handle foods that are high in Omega oils but not the supplements, just be careful as Supplements & Meds (NSAID) can cause acid reflux, diarrhea, stomach problems..

What is Cartrophen Vet?

[Bee W]

i started feeding my dog (a mini schnauzer) raw food because i thought its the best for him. the reason i started doing so is because he doesn’t do well on dry food, and stars to have serious stomach ache after a month or so with the dry food (we tried a few companies/ brands). after feeding him a month or so with raw i started seeing blood in his urine so i rush to the vet and the vet tells me that i have been feeding him with a diet that contains too much protein. during that month i saw great changes: he was more energetic and less hungry, stopped looking for food when we walk outside. The vet recommended me to give him more complicated carbs like sweet potato, brown rice and etc. then i talked to a pet nutritionist and she told me it’s better to cook the meat because of different bacterias. she told me what should be the proportion between the meat, organs , carbs and vegetables and to add cooked eggs, sardines, fish oil and coco oil every day. i did what she told me and now his protein levels are okay. So i kept on going. two mounts later he acts as if he’s hungry all the time, always digging in our trash, trash outside and looking for random food. i don’t think it’s a behavior problem but maybe more nutritional. maybe i should give him raw meat again but with carbs and vegetables. please share your experience with. what do you think i need to do?

[GSDsForever]

Olessia’s diet for Izzy, with EPI + diabetes, has been *something* like this (check w/her):

80% homemade/20% Annamaet Lean

Fresh, cooked homemade portion: Lean Meat/Fish, Sweet Potatoes, 1/3 Raw Egg, Fat Free Cottage Cheese, Fish Oil
+ Vitamins/Minerals and Bone Meal

Note: Annamaet Lean is a high protein, low fiber, low fat food, grain-free.
30% Protein/7% Fat (<3.5% Fiber)
It does have legumes as primary ingredients, along with the meat (chicken, duck, herring meals), + tapioca & potato. It IS an excellent company.

LEAN FORMULA

You might explore adding a very small amount of grain to this recipe, to be grain inclusive as you & your vet prefer. Using the Annamaet Lean, with its legumes, at 20% of the diet is likely a lower risk (for DCM).

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by GSDsForever.

[Daniel B]

Hello All,
I’m interested in starting raw feeding my 45 pound, 2 year old, neutered, mid activity, healthy golden doodle.

My desire is to make about 2 weeks’ worth of meals for him at one time and then vacuum seal them in bags and freeze them.

I’d like to have chicken (bones, skin, organs, and fat), boiled sweet potatoes and carrots, human grade fish oil and sunflower oil, and a couple of eggs with the shell. Lastly I’d like to add a bit of seaweed and flaxseed all ground up and vacuum sealed for easy storage.

From my research it seems like all of these ingredients together should provide a very healthy daily meal for my best buddy.

The place I’m running into issues is how much of each of these ingredients I should do for a healthy daily meal. Can anyone give me some pointers or a place to go for more help?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
-Daniel

[anonymous]

Here you go!
Just add a little bit of chopped up boiled egg (no shell) and a splash of water

https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-classic-adult-dog-food

INGREDIENTS: Chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, pearled barley, oatmeal, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), menhaden fish meal, dried whole egg, beet pulp, cheese, flaxseed, brewers dried yeast, potassium chloride, salt, calcium sulfate, dl-methionine, l-tryptophan, taurine, chicory root extract, yucca schidigera extract, sodium selenite, sorbic acid (preservative), Vitamins [vitamin A acetate, Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin B12 supplement, choline bitartrate, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin], Minerals [zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, magnesium sulfate, copper sulfate, cobalt carbonate, calcium iodate, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, magnesium proteinate, cobalt proteinate], dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product.

PS: I just reread your post. I would stay awy from grain-free unless a veterinarian that has examined your dog specifically recommends it.

[Patricia A]

I believe that the consensus is out that feeding kibble for dogs whole life is not the best nutrition for them. Don’t believe the true cause as of yet has been found regarding DCM and grain diets. Many companies add a ton of legumes in their food displacing animal protein. When the dog was switched to a food that was high in meat(animal protein) their hearts returned to normal in some cases.
Then you have grain inclusive. A starch is always needed in kibble to hold it together.
This is a quote from a site I frequent. “On the other hand, some plant material such as rice, soybean meal and corn have some, although limited, usefulness in the meat eater’s diet. Corn, wheat, soy, rice and barley are not bad or harmful to dogs and cats. These plant sources are simply not good choices (we do get to choose what we feed our pets, don’t we?) for the foundation of a diet to optimally nourish animals what are, have been, and for the foreseeable future will be meat eaters.”

Best if you feed kibble get your pet SLOWLY used to several brands and proteins and rotate every few bags. Even between grain and grain free. There are many toppers you can add such as freeze dried in various brands. I use Primal, Stella’ , Bixbi rawbbles . Frozen raw is less costly in these same brands. Also, use toppers of home cooked when appropriate. Boiled chicken, string beans, fish, steak etc. when your also eating this.
I don’t believe you can go wrong with a variety of foods that agrees with your dog.

[Susan]

Hi Genevieve,

Oh poor Ollie, video was hard to watch,
I called this the Gulps.
yes this is BAD acid reflux coming up into the throat/mouth, please give either liquid Mylanta or Slippery Elm – 4mls so it soothes Ollies esophagus & pushes the acid down, or I give a dry biscuit “Jatz” wafer biscuit.
I wonder if Ollie has LES??
Have you done Endoscope & Biopsies??
My Patch suffers with IBD – Helicobacter, LES, Environment Allergies, Food Sensitivities.

Same as you we tried most things…
Vet Diets – didn’t help cause of the high Omega Oils, Beet Pulp & Pre-biotics Patches acid reflux seem to get worse.
Carafate made him feel sick, he’d gulped grass after taken Carafate.
Zantac, – taken 18months it worked then it didn’t work like it wasn’t strong enough.
Slippery Elm Slurry 4ml works & helps soothe the esophagus & settle stomach..
Buy Slippery Elm powder, put 1/2 a teaspoon in a cup, boil jug & slowly add boiling water & quickly stir till you have a slurry, not too thick or too thin so you can pull up 4ml into a syringe, make sure its not hot when you give to Ollie, it cools quickly.
Omeprazole-20ml for 1 yr the Omeprazole helped then it didn’t some days.
Patch went down hill November 2017 after we moved, I nilly put him to sleep but before I put him to sleep I woke up 1 morning & thought i’ll do another Endoscope & Biopsies to see if he has stomach cancer?? His other vet quickly admitted him for the next day 10am, he had gingivitis back molars from the acid coming up esophagus into his mouth he eats kibble 🙁 wet foods makes his LES worse, he gulps up wet digest food, wwhere dry kibble stays down better & when it digest it moves onto his small bowel instead of being burped back up, he doesn’t have Megaesophagus.
His Endoscope showed he had red inflamed esophagus & red wind pipe this is what made him really ill & not his happy go lucky self, when I heard his vet say he has red inflamed throat & wind pipe, it broke my heart, he was suffering like this & Staffys are bad for telling you they are in pain, they hold a lot of pain my vet said 🙁
I thought the Omeprazole was reducing his Hydrochloric acid?? his Helicobacter had come back mildly not bad like it was 6 yrs before when I had rescued him, the vet said the Omeprazole must of kept it at bay, then the vet said he thinks his Lower Esophageal Sphincter Flap in between his stomach & esophagus isn’t closing properly & the acid is washing back up into mouth causing Gulps, red esophagus etc
I suffer with GORDS, LES & Barrets Esophagus & I take Pantoprazole twice a day, my Gastro Specialist said Pantoprazole seem to work best for people who suffer with LES & GORDS so I told Patches vet Simon can we PLEASE try Pantoprazole instead of the Omeprazole, Patch has 2 vets his easy going lady vet who has a more Holistic approach & then Patch has Simon who does Patches Endoscopes, Biopsies & removes Patches lumps, he’s very very good vet educated all over the world but he agrues with you & says all PPI – acid blockers are ALL the same BUT they’re NOT I agreed back lol we argued for 1 hour, Omeprazole didn’t agree with me, neither did Parriot & Pantoprazole worked straight away so all PPI must work in different ways, even my Gastro specialist said people all react different with PPI – acid blockers but Simon said its just a way the big drug companies make more money.. Oh well I have proven him wrong cause
my Patch started to get better & hasn’t vomited in 20 months since taking Pantoprazole, he started on 20mg taken in morning, morning is best to take a PPI my Gastro special told me, a PPI doesn’t have to be before breakfast but it is better, so as soon as Patch wakes up around 6.30am I give his 20mg-Pantoprazole with a syringe with water so the tablet goes down his esophagus then he eats 10-15mins later.
End of Summer every March cause of Patches Allergies all thru Spring & Summer Patches Immune System is over worked & then it crashes & he has a IBD Flare EVERY March (I live Australia) causing bad acid reflux again so I had to increase his Pantoprazole last Summer so now he has 20mg-Pantoprazole every 12 hours

He’s a new dog, no more vomiting, no waking up early hours of morning wanting to gulp grass, no more Helicobacter..
I feed 5 smaller meals, Kibble 7am-1/2 a cup kibble, 9am-1/2 a cup kibble, 5pm-1/2 a cup & 7pm-1/3 a cup kibble & at 12pm lunch he gets wet food but not much 1/3 of a can at the moment he loves his Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat wet can food but I get Paper towel & soak up all the oils when I get out the loaf from the can, as omega oils can cause acid reflux & Dr Judy Morgans old dog who has just passed age 18 yrs old kept having Pancreatitis Flare & it was the fish oils she was adding to his diet..

You will find Vets cant diagnose & wont be able to really help when it comes to the Stomach problems, my vet tells me Susan you know there’s no tests or blood test to know what’s happening with Patches stomach unless you have Endoscope & Biopsies, Biopsies will give us answers to what’s wrong with stomach/small bowel, this is probably way no vets have any answer & have to guess what’s happening with Ollie 🙁
Have you ever done the Triple Therapy meds?
Metronidazole, Amoxicillin every 12 hours with a meal & a PPI once a day in morning taken for 3 weeks.
Keep diet low in fiber, low in carbs, low/med fat & med protein & feed small meals & ask vet about LES a lot of aging dogs suffer with LES but we think Patch had LES when I rescued him age 4yrs old..

[pugmomsandy]

Puppy food generally has more fat content and calories. You can also add some oil to his meals (salmon, other fish oils, coconut). Oils are high in calories.

[a c]

My dog has pancreatitis a couple years ago. I rotate between Annamaet Lean and Candidae platinum less active formula as base. I add boil chicken tenders, fresh vegetables, sometimes sardines or fish, and warm filtered water to the food. My dog is not allergic to the chicken though.

I still keep a few cans of Hill’s ID cans(the original flavor)on hand for occasional flare ups. Hill’s prescription can food had massive recalls this year for high Vitamin D content, so make sure you double check the lot number and the date for safely.

[Robbie M]

Hello everyone and thank you ahead of time for taking the time to read through this. Again I know that nobody is a veterinary nutritionist but it seems to be a good pool of fairly knowledgeable people who love their dogs, but I have a question none the less. My dog is a rescue dog we believe (and Our vet also thinks so) to be a 9-10 year old boxer crossed with either sttafordshire or pit bull) we drove down from Vancouver, British Columbia to San Bernardino in Southern California once we saw he was going to be put down if he doesn’t get adopted in the next few days.😭😭😭☺️he is getting much much slower now and walks very slow, we know that he has bad hips and we were actually told that they are not even in a place where they should be but that it was held in place by muscle built around it. I’m getting concerned that I should be doing everything I can logically do to help him. He gets sore and I can tell. So with that in mind i was given a about 30 packets of Lickz it has fish oil and glucosamine. But I recently find out his food doesn’t have enough meat content. Since we Feed him veggies like carrots, brocolli, as treats veggies are not as important to be in his food. Also if you have any suggestions for treats and or supplements. Sorry for such a huge message but for those who took the time to read through this and give their feedback as my dog is very very important to me.

[Patricia A]

Aimee I agree that I didn’t get very technical with the questions for the vet. I was just trying to point out that some owners think the brands sold at the vets MUST be superior in some way since of course vets know what food is the best. I thought this also at one time. And MOST of the time if asked what should I feed my “healthy” dog your vet will I believe 9 times out of 10 suggest the ones in their practice. Why is that when again 9 times out of 10 the vet cannot even tell you the ingredients listed on the labels they sell?
Honestly, so many of these companies are so gimmicky and people fall for it. Like the dog food manufactorers who sell specific kibble just for different breeds. Like a Chihuahua on the bag and then for your Shitzu, poodle, yorkie etc. are specifically made for just for that breed.Really they want us to believe that a diet for a Yorkie would be different then a Chihuahua. People are gullible.
Here are the four ingredient labels I asked the vets to rank. Can you guess which one is the prescription diet?
Also regarding prescription diets for dogs interesting article below.
Food #1
dog food ingredient
Food #2
Prescription Diet Dog Food
Food #3
prescription diet dog food 3
Food #4
Prescription Diet Dog Food
The Answer: Prescription Diets Revealed
Now, if there’s one thing I can say about my veterinary friends, it’s that they don’t follow direction very well! Only one of the vets actually ranked all of the foods as asked. But the rest had some very interesting things to say about the prescription diet.

So to start, here are the rankings in order from best to worst from Dr Marty Goldstein, author of The Nature of Animal Healing:

Food #2 ranked first because it contains all whole foods

Food #4 ranked second because it contains meal but otherwise contains whole foods

Food #1 ranked third, thanks to the by-product rice, by-product meal and overall low quality ingredients

Food #3 ranked last, based on the use of corn for its first ingredient, followed by by-product meal.

And if you haven’t guessed already, the prescription diet in that list is Food #3.

Want to hear what some of the other vets had to say about the prescription diet?

Dr Jodie Gruenstern: This food was the lowest quality in the list. It contains GMO corn, soy (lots of it!), which is a common allergen, synthetic vitamins/minerals, shavings (if you didn’t know, the ingredient cellulose is literally sawdust), natural flavors, which usually mean MSG.

Dr Jean Dodds: Poor quality food: the first ingredients are corn, which is often GMO, and chicken by-product meal rather than whole chicken. Flax and soy are phytoestrogens.

Dr Judy Morgan: This is a Pet Store Food. Corn is the first ingredient, no muscle meat used, only by-product meal, synthetic vitamin/mineral supplement, corn and soybean are GMO, waste fillers are abundant. Overpriced in my opinion, considering the poor quality, cheap ingredients used).

Dr Dee Blanco: This one starts with corn to increase inflammation, then adds lighter fluid to it with soybean products and poor quality protein. Then it tries to make up for the poor quality foundational ingredients by adding synthetic supplements of the poorest quality, such as calcium carbonate, folic acid, ‘generic Vit E supplement’, etc. Looks like they added l-tryptophan to calm the nervous system down after putting the body into overdrive inflammation. Natural flavors?? Could be an entire cadre of carcinogens, allergens and toxins. Argh!

Dr Peter Dobias: The worst recipe – first ingredient is corn, then by-product, then flavors, wood chips. It may not be supermarket food but a veterinary diet right?!

So, as you can see, our vets didn’t exactly think the ingredients in the prescription diet were high quality. In fact, they thought many of them would be harmful.

So why exactly do we trust our vets to prescribe diets when this is the best they can offer?

And, more importantly, why are vets gullible enough to think these foods can do anything to change chronic health issues in dogs, such as allergies, kidney disease, or in the case of this particular food, joint disease?

If we really want to look at the quality of these diets, I think the first place to start is who’s making them?

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Tree
The major players in the prescription diet category are the major players in the regular pet food category:

Hill’s Science Diet
Purina
Royal Canin
Iams
These companies are hardly renowned for quality ingredients. In fact, most veterinary diets are manufactured by companies that predominantly manufacture lower quality grocery store foods. The same company that makes lower quality foods like Alpo and Beneful is also making prescription diets. How much better do you think the veterinary food would be?

Let’s compare two Hill’s foods: a regular food (Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Adult) and a prescription food (j/d Canine Joint Care).

The regular pet store brand:

Hills Ideal Balance
And the prescription food:

Hills JD
Now, a 30lb bag of the regular food is $47.99 at Petsmart. The prescription diet dog food can also be purchased at Petsmart for $84.95 for a 27.5lb bag. It’s twice as expensive!

Now, you might be thinking this is because the prescription diet was formulated and tested with a specific condition in mind.

This is completely false.

While an over-the-counter food with a health claim (such as controls weight) is subject to FDA regulations and enforcement, the FDA practices “enforcement discretion” when it comes to veterinary diets.

Put another way, this means the FDA has not reviewed or verified the health claims on any veterinary diet.

Did you catch that? There are very few ingredients in veterinary diets that aren’t also in other regular diets. In the example above, I’d say the pet store brand is a better quality food, wouldn’t you? The prescription diet contains by-product meal (which comes straight from the rendering plant), lots of soybean and corn products (a cheap replacement for animal protein) while the regular food contains more expensive, higher quality ingredients.

Apart from fish oil, what food ingredients exactly would help dogs with joint pain? As Dr Dee Blanco stated, this food would actually cause inflammation.

And fish oil is a terrible addition to pet foods. It’s much too fragile to be added to processed foods and as soon as the bag is opened, it will oxidate and cause inflammation in your dog.

Ironic isn’t it, when the food is supposed to be treating inflammation in the first place?

[Related: We’ve got 5 reasons you should dump fish oil. Click here.]

Consider The Source
Those two diets are made in the exact same plant. The manufacturer uses the same suppliers.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that the quality of ingredients will be the same?

I challenge the pet food industry to prove that chicken by-product meal, soybeans, brewers rice and powdered cellulose have been extensively researched and proven better than the higher quality foods used in most regular pet foods.

So if your vet ever says your dog needs to be eating a prescription diet, ask him to review the ingredient list. Then ask him for hard evidence that the foods in the prescription diet are any better than those in regular diets.

I think we know what the answer will be.

And if you’re one of the smart 60%, then I know you already know the answer!

It’s nothing but Bull$hit.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

Let’s say you made an appointment with your vet strictly for a consultation on diet for your dog. Then ask that first off I would like you to tell me what are the necessary vitamins/minerals and percentage that needs to be in the food to keep my dog healthy. Also if I had a large breed puppy how would those percentages change if at all. How many more calories does he need when feeding then a small breed puppy? What should I look for as the first through 5th ingredient on the dog food label that should point me to the best food? What should I be on the alert for that should NOT be on their ingredient label that would suggest a low quality food? You know what the vet would say to these questions? You think any vet not trained strictly in animal nutrition would know these answers. I think not.
Take it a step further and bring in a dog food he suggests such as royal Canon, science diet etc and cut out the name and show him only the ingredient label.Also take in let’s say freeze dried also and some other brands with only the label.

So Royal Canin adult dog foods first few ingredients are:
Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, oat groats, wheat, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, natural flavors, dried plain beet pulp, fish oil, calcium carbonate, vegetable oil, potassium chloride, salt, etc.

And here’s Science Diet recipe (website states vet recommended)
Chicken, whole grain wheat, cracked pearled barley, whole grain sorghum, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken meal, pork fat, chicken liver flavor, dried beet pulp, soybean oil,

Now I’m not trying to plug a dog food. I get my starting point from Dr. Mike and go from there. But let’s take Bixbi Rawbble whose first ingredients are this: Salmon, whitefish, chicken and ground bone, pumpkin etc.

Grain inclusive Stellas ingrediens: Chicken, chicken meal pearled barley,oatmeal, chicken fat, brown rice etc.

Primal ingredients: Turkey, turkey necks, whole sardines, turkey hearts or turkey gizzards, turkey livers, organic collard greens, organic squash, organic cranberries, organic blueberries, organic pumpkin seeds, clery, sunflower seeds etc.

So does anyone think he would know which one was Royal Canin just by looking at the label. Would he pick Royal Canin or Science Diet as being what he feels the highest quality after seeing the first few ingredients of the others? Unless I’m WAY off on what I understand to be ingredients to look for on a dog food label for the best nutrition for my dogs, then I would HOPE his pick would be the others over Royal Canin and Science diet which vets push in their practice.
What I’m attempting to put across here is that the MAJORITY of vets who sell Prescription diets as in Science Diet, Royal Canin etc at their practices and suggest that food have no idea what is even in the ingredients and wouldn’t recognize which brand are those and which are others by just looking at the ingredients. They have salesmen from these companies and correct me if I’m wrong please and get kickback each time a bag is sold.

[Patricia A]

Let’s say you made an appointment with your vet strictly for a consultation on diet for your dog. Then ask that first off I would like you to tell me what are the necessary vitamins/minerals and percentage that needs to be in the food to keep my dog healthy. Also if I had a large breed puppy how would those percentages change if at all. How many more calories does he need when feeding then a small breed puppy? What should I look for as the first through 5th ingredient on the dog food label that should point me to the best food? What should I be on the alert for that should NOT be on their ingredient label that would suggest a low quality food? You know what the vet would say to these questions? You think any vet not trained strictly in animal nutrition would know these answers. I think not.
Take it a step further and bring in a dog food he suggests such as royal Canon, science diet etc and cut out the name and show him only the ingredient label.Also take in let’s say freeze dried also and some other brands with only the label.

So Royal Canin adult dog foods first few ingredients are:
Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, oat groats, wheat, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, natural flavors, dried plain beet pulp, fish oil, calcium carbonate, vegetable oil, potassium chloride, salt, etc.

And here’s Science Diet recipe (website states vet recommended)
Chicken, whole grain wheat, cracked pearled barley, whole grain sorghum, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken meal, pork fat, chicken liver flavor, dried beet pulp, soybean oil,

Now I’m not trying to plug a dog food. I get my starting point from Dr. Mike and go from there. But let’s take Bixbi Rawbble whose first ingredients are this: Salmon, whitefish, chicken and ground bone, pumpkin etc.

Grain inclusive Stellas ingrediens: Chicken, chicken meal pearled barley,oatmeal, chicken fat, brown rice etc.

Primal ingredients: Turkey, turkey necks, whole sardines, turkey hearts or turkey gizzards, turkey livers, organic collard greens, organic squash, organic cranberries, organic blueberries, organic pumpkin seeds, clery, sunflower seeds etc.

So does anyone think he would know which one was Royal Canin just by looking at the label. Would he pick Royal Canin or Science Diet as being what he feels the highest quality after seeing the first few ingredients of the others? Unless I’m WAY off on what I understand to be ingredients to look for on a dog food label for the best nutrition for my dogs, then I would HOPE his pick would be the others over Royal Canin and Science diet which vets push in their practice.
What I’m attempting to put across here is that the MAJORITY of vets who sell Prescription diets as in Science Diet, Royal Canin etc at their practices and suggest that food have no idea what is even in the ingredients and wouldn’t recognize which brand are those and which are others by just looking at the ingredients. They have salesmen from these companies and correct me if I’m wrong please and get kickback each time a bag is sold.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.

[joanne l]

Here it the ingredients for Annameat Option:
Salmon Meal, Brown Rice, Millet, Rolled Oats, Lamb Meal, Pearled Barley, Canola Oil, Menhaden Fish Meal, Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E)), Dried Tomato Pomace, Sun Cured Ground Miscanthus Grass, Dried Apples, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, Flax Seed Meal, Lecithin, Marine Microalgae, Salt, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Fructooligosaccharides, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, L-Carnitine, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Betaine Anhydrous, Iron Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate.

This is Holistic Select:
Anchovy and Sardine Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Rice, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Oats, Flaxseed, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Pumpkin, Salmon Oil, Cranberries, Apples, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Papayas, Choline Chloride, Blueberries, Pomegranates, Vitamin E Supplement, Inulin, Dried Kelp, Zinc Proteinate, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Zinc Sulfate , Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Ground Cinnamon, Ground Fennel, Ground Peppermint, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Dried Lactobacillus bulgaricus Fermentation Product,

[Patricia A]

Melissa I’m confused with your vet after all the testing and specifically a biopsy that he can’t give a definitive diagnosis of IBD? Ask for a copy of the test results also. Did he mention CJ needing to go on any meds such as steroids? Which food did the vet suggest Melissa?

Before you switch the food he suggests, try one more time of the just WHITE meat boiled chicken and white rice. NO VEGGIES at all just a few days and see how he does. I don’t believe in prescription diets myself for reasons here: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/worlds-biggest-dog-food-scam/
I’m curious of which food he will suggest now. Please keep me updated.
Once IBD has been diagnosed, Wakshlag favors gradually switching a dog’s diet, if the main proteins have been common ones such as beef, chicken or lamb. The dog would be then fed a novel protein or hydrolyzed diet.
Yogurt is high in calcium and protein. It also can act as a probiotic, which can be good for the digestive system. If you are going to feed your dog yogurt, it should be plain and free of any added sweeteners, both natural and artificial.

Diet vs. Medicine

IBD cannot be cured and is often treated with antibiotics or other medicines designed to stop the gastrointestinal immune system from overproducing antigens. Most vets, however, prefer to manage the condition through diet and may prescribe a commercially made food or give you recipes to home-cook your dog’s food. Each dog is different and some will require a specific diet with only a few ingredients. Consult your vet before feeding your dog any homemade meals designed to manage his IBD.

A Proper Balance

Cooked meals for dogs suffering from IBD need to contain a good mix of proteins, fats and fiber. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish and flaxseed oil, may help decrease intestinal inflammation and thus ease symptoms. Fresh meat or dairy protein sources, such as cheese, rabbit, venison and duck contain proteins that are broken down into more digestible nutrients.

Fiber and Fat

While some dogs with IBD do better when they eat more fiber, others do better when fiber is reduced. Vets often recommend fiber supplementation when IBD affects the colon, as fiber improves stool consistency and reduces the growth of harmful bacteria in the colon. Typically, high fiber foods, such as vegetables, are lower in fat. While fiber can trigger more bowel movements, the lower fat content from higher fiber diets often reduces diarrhea in dogs with IBD.

No People Treats

An important part of treatment for your dog’s IBD is keeping her away from people food. That means no table scraps, no bites of your sandwich and no feeding her bits of food that happen to fall on the floor. Also, avoid giving her most commercial dog treats, such as biscuits, which can be full of fillers and ingredients that will aggravate her stomach. Natural chew toys, or rawhides, also are out, as she likely will swallow pieces that flake off while she chews.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Patricia A.

[Peter G]

I am feeding that to my gang for a while now and they love it. Carried by local Albertsons here. Any feedback for that?

Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Pea Protein, Rice Bran, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Peas, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Flaxseeds, Dried Egg Product, Dried Carrots, Oatmeal, Dried Sweet Potatoes, Fish Oil, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate), Choline Chloride, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, L-Threonine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Folic Acid), Citric Acid (Preservative), Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative), L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract.

ingredients from here:
https://www.instacart.com/safeway/products/17805301-open-nature-dog-food-chicken-brown-rice-recipe-15-00-lb

Peter

[GSDsForever]

joanne,

Thank you; you’re very kind to say that. This is rough, isn’t it? This trying to find a high quality, safe food that is grain inclusive . . . while needing to avoid a major common ingredient like chicken (or in Jessica’s case, gluten grains)?

I know of another line’s formulas that many, many top show people in GSDs have fed for a very long time . . . safely and happily, + dogs doing well and looking great. But it has CHICKEN (and barley, which wouldn’t work for Jessica’s needs either).

Bummer to hear yours didn’t like the EP/HS. Were you feeding it straight up, no additions?

Have you tried Annamaet?

I typically add to dry . . . wet foods (canned or fresh), good oil. I also add warm water most of the year. Do you think that would help yours to eat? I’m currently adding sardines in oil, as I want the protein & fat a bit higher anyway. We’re trying to see if she can handle fish, with her food allergy/allergies.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by GSDsForever.

[anonymous]

My sympathies. I was tested for celiac as well, it was ruled out.
Gave up sugar, processed foods, I am vegetarian for the most part, no dairy, no red meat. Occasional fish.
Pescatarian, except I use homemade chicken broth to make soup.
I feel much better.
Of course, everyone is different. Bread has ever been an issue.

My dogs love chicken, fish, meat based kibble plus I give them boiled chopped chicken meat or boiled egg as a topper to the kibble and always add a little water.

PS: I tried raw for my dogs back when and it resulted in emergency vet room visits

No thanks!

[Robert B]

Agreed….(and thank you).

I did miss alfalfa which is a legume. Since writing that post about a month ago, I have found some other foods that I have tried that omit these. This is the rotation that I am trying.

Annamaet Option
Ingredients > 1%:
Salmon Meal, Brown Rice, Millet, Rolled Oats, Lamb Meal, Pearled Barley, Canola Oil, Menhaden Fish Meal, Menhaden Oil, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Apples, Natural Flavor, Dried Chicory Root, Flax Seed Meal, Lecithin, Marine Microalgae, Salt.

Dr. Gary’s Best Breed Lamb with Fruits and Vegetables
Ingredients > 1%
Lamb Meal, White Fish Meal, Brown Rice, Millet, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Canola Oil, Egg Product, Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Water Crest, Spinach, Natural Flavor, Lecithin, Calcium Carbonate, Kelp Meal, New Zealand Green Mussel, Cranberries, Blueberries, Salt.

Dr. Tim’s Kinesis
Ingredients > 1%
Chicken meal, brown rice, pearled barley, whole oat groats, chicken fat, dried plain beet pulp, dried egg product, rice bran, ocean herring meal, catfish meal, ground whole flaxseed meal, chicken liver meal, dried porcine plasma, salmon meal, menhaden fish oil, dried carrots, dried celery, dried beets, dried parsley, dried lettuce, dried watercress, dried spinach, salt.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by Robert B.

[crazy4cats]

I would consult with a certified veterinary nutritionist or check out http://www.balanceit.com for homemade balanced recipes.

I use Nordic Naturals or Welactin fish oil for my two along with their kibble with a little canned mixed in. Recommended and approved by their vets.

[GSDsForever]

Hi Christine. Though I’ve never fed TOTW, I’m also in the same boat looking for a new food, in light of the latest safety information re DCM.

I personally would not feed another GF formula, from another implicated company on the list (Earthborn) — even though this one does not appear to contain legumes or potatoes. I just think it is an unnecessary risk. And the carb base (tapioca/pumpkin) is still relatively more novel, less traditional and proven safe.

Re joanne’s recommendation, I can tell you that I also am considering the Holistic Select fish formula (Anchovy, Sardine, & Salmon) — though in my case, the vets and I are going to have to move my girl to any change in protein (for her) with a lot of supervision/planning, thought. She’s had pretty extensive & damaging/threatening allergic reactions and that’s scary.

I’ll share what I know re HS.

This HS line has existed for 20 yrs, and Eagle Pack (its sister company that it split off from), since 1970. Neither company has ever had a recall or major safety incident. They now are under Wellpet (Berwind family corporation), with Wellness, though operating rather independently.

HS exclusively uses its own manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Indiana (dry food). (Cans are made by Simmons.)

HS informed me that they have a full time nutritionist on staff who formulated all the foods and remains involved. I asked if it was a veterinary nutritionist, i.e. board certified as DACVN. I was informed by phone that it is a PhD in animal nutrition. (I probably will follow up in writing to confirm and clarify.)

HS readily provided me with amounts of Taurine, prescursors Methionine & Cysteine. They stated that they have had no cases reported to them or to the FDA of DCM/heart issues from those feeding their foods.

The base looks good, as pretty traditional with primarily rice (brown and white) and oats, with a little pumpkin at #10. (Flaxseed rounds out the carb base at #8. ) They noted that 69% of the formula’s protein is animal protein (fish). Aside from the of course wild sourced sardines & anchovy, the salmon (#5 ingredient) is 96% wild and less than 4% farmed with their efforts being to have 100% wild caught fish in their formulas.

If I feed or include this formula, I would be adding sardines boosting the protein/fat and contributing some fresh/real food, along with continuing my rx’d therapeutic dosing of EPA/DHA via the wild Alaskan salmon oil I add to the food. (I use & recommend Grizzly’s brand.)

joanne, just fyi, the Annamaet GF formulas, and specifically the Aqualuk, were implicated in the FDA incident reports, and contains concentrated peas & legumes. The company was much less cited . . . which may speak well of the company . . . but still. I’d steer clear of their GF legume base formulas.

[joanne l]

I agree the best omegas is salmon oil or fish oil.

[Susan]

Hi Ashley,
sounds like he had bad acid reflux, what he had eaten for breakfast was still in stomach not digested properly & it would of smelt awful so imagine the taste when he brought it up, you should of let him eat some grass not much about 1 mins worth or gave 1 piece of very brown dry toast. .. or give ant acid med Zantac/Pepcid, or 5ml liquid Mylanta would of relieved discomfort straight away…
Why Magnus wanted to eat & eat was to take away the acid taste in his throat & the bad taste after vomiting acid & undigested food that came up his esophagus, bad acid reflux can cause stomach ulcers, burn throat/esophagus & wind pipe when bad..
Next time this happens do you have liquid Mylanta, get small bottle keep in the fridge give him 5mls in a 20ml syringe this helps straight away, then after 20-30mins give him a few plain dry biscuits, or white breed made into toast cut in pieces, or buy Slippery Elm Powder make into a slurry..
Put 1/2 a teaspoon slippery Elm powder in a cup, boil the jug, then slowly add boiling water & stir quickly till you make a slurry, don’t make it too thick cause you need to pull up into a syringe.. you make it thin but not too thin or thick, you don’t make a paste…
Give Slippery Elm Slurry when dog has nausea, has just vomited to line his esophagus & stomach, when he’s mouth licking, swallowing, has upset stomach or diarrhea..

With kibble you don’t want Protein % too low under 25% as the carb % goes up when protein & fat is low low.. High carbs can cause acid reflux as well.. I feed 25% + Protein, 13% max -Fat & Fiber-5% max, Carbs -30% & under.

Have a look at “Wellness Core Large Breed Adult” Patch does really well on Wellness Core L/B & Canidae Pure Wild formula’s for his Acid reflux…
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/core-large-breed-large-breed
Wellness have their “Wellness Simple” formula’s, Patch did well on the Simple Turkey & Potato kibble, I have found Patch does best on Potato Grain Free diets for his acid reflux you just have to work out what agrees best with your dog
Also be careful with Omega Oils, Fish Oil, Salmon, Oil, Coconut Oil, Linseed Oil these oils can cause acid reflux, same with high fiber diets, some of the low fat weight management kibbles are high in fiber low in fat.. make sure you check the fiber stay under 6%
also High Kcals kibbles are very dense & harder to digest, so stay under 370Kcals per cup

also feed 3-4 smaller meals a day, so his stomach isn’t empty too long
I feed 7am, 12pm, 5pm & a very small meal 7-8pm-1/4 a cup kibble..

Here’s the Wellness range, its often on special this is when I buy it, when I have my 25% off voucher.

For Dogs

Here’s the” Acid Reflux in dogs” F/B group, Acid Reflux is very common in dogs, my vet said she see at least 1-2 cases a week, owners don’t know what wrong or happening with their dog.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1635198406751056/

[Patricia A]

Robert since kibble is a VERY small portion of my dogs’ diet I can’t make a suggestion if you feed this exccluviley. I only use as a base and I always rotate with at least two manufactors/brands as well as different proteins/flavors. No problems with digestion since I do it VERY slowly. When I’m about 1/4 done with one bag I start introducing a few kibbles of the new one. I use toppers always. Be it boiled chicken, lean steak if they’re lucky that day lol, string beans, boiled fish if we have such as salmon . Didn’t catch any keepers on the party boat or they would have enjoyed some fresh Fluke. Watermelon is their favorite. Don’t be afraid of giving real food as a topper for kibble also. A little at a time to see how well he does.
Most of the time they get a topper of Primal. I stick to the 5* lower in fat.NO legumes or potatoes in Primal. https://primalpetfoods.com/collections/canine-raw-freeze-dried-formulas. Some dogs are prone to pancreatitis with the higher fat proteins. I use turkey/Sardine, Duck, rabbit at times in the freeze dried. Just break up and moisten with warm water and add the dry kibble on the side. Again I started with a little piece and GRADUALLY added each to my rotation. I use Stella Chewy’s https://www.stellaandchewys.com in rotation freeze dried again in turkey, chicken and venison blend. All 5* by the advisor. NO LEGUMES or potatoes in their freeze dried. They have a very popular f/b page and pets are doing very well with these freeze dried toppers.I feel good about giving variety and my Chihuahuas’ are healthy on exams. Hope this helps .

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

jill b in answer to “don’t know what a boutique food is.” Dr. Lisa Freeman, a veterinary nutritionist at Tufts University, coined the term “BEG” diet, for boutique, exotic and/or grain-free. “I think all of those are suspect at this point,” Freeman said.

Exotic diets have unusual meats such as kangaroo, alligator, bison, venison and the like.

Best think you can do for your dog is variety and that goes with kibble also. Nothing wrong with at times at your convenience to substitute fresh food and lessen the kibble for that feeding. Nothing exotic just some boiled chicken, string beans, a little sweet potatoes, lean steak, lean, drained hamburger, plain broiled fish, watermelon etc. Always important to start with VERY little to see if it’s agreeable for your pets digestion. Find three brands and flavors of kibble. Maybe every two bags rotate with the other brand/flavor. Again VERY slowly until he gets used to each. Maybe when you’re down to 1/4 of a bag start putting in a few kibbles of the other brand/flavor. See how he does.

When you can’t give fresh as a topper use some freeze dried such as Primal. Very convenient and with both Primal freeze dried or even Stella and Chewy’s you don’t have to worry about the peas and carbs . AGAIN just a little piece of the nugget or pattie with a little warm water and give less kibble on side of bowl that day. My pet supply store has no problem with a full refund if they don’t do well with one of the flavors or proteins. So between the maybe two kibble rotations, toppers with fresh food at times, the freeze dried topper your dogs getting variety in nutrition and tastes. Absolutely no reason to feed only kibble to your dog its whole life.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

Sandi I feed Primal freeze dried also as a topper to kibble for my Chihuahuas. If you go to Primal there is a calculator under F&Q column. You put in your dogs current weight then if you want weight lose, maintenance, gain etc. Then choose which protein/flavor he’s eating. I put your dogs weight in and checked weight lose. It came up with your dog needs approx 900 calories a day to lose weight.
So now you have to figure out calories from the kibble and the nugget to see if it comes close to that.
I also want to add that each flavor/Protein is different calories. I also go by dog food advisor who I believe rates the lower star flavor/proteins by protein to fat ratio. So I stick to the 5 stars which I believe he gives to the lower fat. However the CALORIES are different for each flavor/protein. So even though the lower fat might be better for dogs prone to pancreatitis, the higher caloreis in some of the flavors might induce weight gain if you don’t look at back of bag to adjust nugget for this.
So I broke it down for you which I did awhile ago for my two since the one eight year old gets chubby easily . Also I don’t give chicken since I boil my own for them as a topper . When I cook steak, fish etc. they get that as a kibble topper instead of the freeze dried.
I stick to the turkey/sardine, duck and at times rabbit. More calories with the duck so i give even less kibble. I also use Stella and Chewy’s in turkey and venison blend.
Here are the calories broken down to ONE nugget highest to lowest

Duck 51.6 calories per nugget 5* on advisor because I believe because of ratio of fat/protein
Beef 51.1″ ”
lamb 49
pork 44.5 5 star
qual 44.5 5star
rabbit 42.8 5 star
venison 42.8 5star
turkey/sardine 38.5 5 star
Hope this makes sense and I helped.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

I think the plus side to these foods is you can see what you’re getting in the pouch unlike kibble.. Don’t think anyone is going to spend this amount and get a pouch of mostly potatoes vs meat. I feel good about giving mine a food I trust to be nutritionally complete and then top with really some of the same food as these expensive fresh food delivery companies. Doesn’t take much to boil some chicken, lean hamburger or if they are lucky steak Plain oatmeal in morning or pieces of hard boiled egg. I have sweet potatoes for dinner they get a tiny bit. Low salt string beans /carrots for my one that’s always hungry and follows me into the kitchen. Summer we go fishing and if we’re lucky they’ll enjoy some fresh fluke that day. Even my 17 year old loves her watermelon also . I wish I fed this way to my first dog Pookie. . The thinking then was Never give “people food” to your dog.
Anon I read that it is not feed grade food and not made a a dog food facility. I think it can be for human consumption before they add the nutrient packet.
All of our ingredients are human-grade and sourced from reputable food suppliers, local farms, and other human food purveyors that meet USDA standards. We never use feed-grade ingredients, and we don’t process our ingredients to be shelf-stable, ensuring your dog is getting the highest quality, most natural nutrients available.

The Farmer’s Dog creates recipes that are simple in nature. Every recipe uses clean USDA proteins, mixed with simple produce, and balanced with vitamins and minerals. That’s it. Our board-certified veterinary nutritionists carefully formulate each recipe to be 100% complete and balanced according to AAFCO standards, and we use all human-grade ingredients and processes to do so.

[anonymous]

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Appeal_to_nature. excerpts below

Notably, the appeal to nature is often implicit in marketing, simply by using terms like “natural”, “all natural”, “natural goodness”, “organic”, “pesticide free”, or “no artificial ingredients”.
Deconstruction
Appeal to nature is a fallacious argument, because the mere “naturalness” of something is unrelated to its positive or negative qualities – natural things can be bad or harmful (such as infant death and the jellyfish above), and unnatural things can be good (such as clothes, especially when you are in Siberia). Another problem is the distinction of what is “natural” and what is not, which can be murky: crude oil occurs naturally, but it’s not something you’d like poured on seabirds or your garden. The word “natural” itself has no exact definition and can be used in multiple ways, thus allowing equivocation.

[Owen J]

Proper nutrition of dogs should be as close as possible to the diet of wild animals. Dogs should not be fed boiled dishes such as cereals, or high-calorie baked goods. In order for the intestinal microflora to be maintained in a normal state, and the body was able to perform protective functions, it is necessary to have raw foods in the dog menu. First of all, it should be meat and offal, less often should be given fish and fish products. Sources of vitamins and fiber are vegetables and fruits. After all, a decrease in immunity is a direct path to diseases such as obesity, allergies, cardiovascular disorders, and others.
https://herepup.com/best-dog-food-for-toy-breeds/

[Christie B]

My American Bulldog mix has a history of occasional stomach upset that causes excessive drooling that I have to use Pepcid to treat. I thought it was pretty random, usually occurring 1-2 times a month. But I’ve noticed that it tends to happen as we get towards the end of a large bag of dry food (my vet had suggested rotating every 1-2 bags). Rotation helped a lot, as did avoiding chicken.

It seems that issues starts once we’re a few weeks into a bag of food. Picking up stools yesterday, I noticed that they were pretty soft and one had mucus inside. Both dogs have been going to town on eating grass, but that’s pretty normal for them (and I don’t use any chemicals on my lawn or garden). Could it have something to do with sticking with the same formula for too long? I’ve been rotating every 2 bags, but maybe I should rotate every bag instead…

My vet also suggested Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Formula .
Do any of the ingredients look suspect?

Salmon, barley, ground rice, canola meal, oatmeal, fish meal (source of glucosamine), animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, brewers dried yeast, salmon meal (source of glucosamine), natural flavor, sunflower oil, chicory root inulin, salt, fish oil, Vitamin E supplement, niacin (Vitamin B-3), Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B-5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), folic acid (Vitamin B-9), Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (Vitamin K), biotin (Vitamin B-7), potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Vitamin C), and choline chloride

[joanne l]

I called Health Extensions and they said the dog could have some diarrhea. She said nothing in their is toxin. However she is not a vet so here are the ingredients:Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Primrose Oil, Fish Oil, Choline, Inositol, Phosphorous, Linoleic Acid, Arachmadonic Acid, Wheat Germ Oil, Lecithin
At least this should settle your mind a little. Just call the vet and see what he says.

[Jaky S]

I’ve been feeding Titan for 4 months. My dogs are thriving and its way more affordable than when I was preparing homemade raw/cooked. Eggs add fatty acids. Fish is a source of natural vitamin D and omega 3. Wheat germ oil adds vitamin E and omegas. If you are feeding raw without supplementation your foods will typically be low on iodine, vitamin d, magnesium, manganese and vitamin E. That is why dog food manufacturers supplement.

[Patricia A]

I know exactly how your feeling Stephanie. I was going nuts too between the recalls and now this DCM AND the thousands of brands and then reviews. Whether to give canned etc. Just going nuts with it all. I have three Chihuahuas’. One will be 17 in June. She has Mitral Valve disease . She still has quality of life. However she inspects her food for a few minutes in case I snuck in one of her heart pills. So at this point she gets all home cooked and I’ve found trick with her pills. Morning is wrapped in little piece of bread with a tiny bit of melted cheese . It works for NOW at least. Then comes boiled chicken, sweet potatoes mushed into a little canned fromm pate. At this point I am so glad she’s eating again and not trying all night with all kinds of foods, cans etc.
Then I have my other two. One eats everything, anything. My other is a little picky. I can just HOPE I’m doing the best for them. I have been giving a little Stella chewys kibble along with a little Stella’s freeze dried or freeze dried primal as topper. I just add a little warm water so it’s much easier then cans. Not that costly since they are small dogs. I like to mix the protein AND the brand so it’s variety and also I feel safer if one brand lacks “something”. If we have chicken I just boil a little for them and skip the freeze dried and just add the kibble. Same with steak, fish etc. For treats I give Bixbi Rawwble. They are just tiny, round freeze dried. I throw them a few at night. So far so good with health and stomach. Fingers crossed. I’m finally relaxed and not always searching for something better.

[anonymous]

No, I have not tried it as I am a vegetarian and avoid red meat for my dogs too.

They are doing fine on the Salmon La Veg as a base for now. I do add a little boiled chicken or scrambled egg…

My terrier was fine on the Adult Classic, however my allergy dog does best on a fish based food and it’s easier and cost effective to go with one formula.

[John S]

I’ve fed every puppy I’ve had in my life all stages food and they’ve all lived long healthy lives. I cant comment on puppy food but in my experience I see no need. I feed all life stages with around 21-22% protein along with probiotics and fish oil and all my dogs have been very healthy with no real medical issues. That’s feeding everything from a standard dachshund to a pitbull and a Belgian malinois. I also switch proteins with every bag I buy and have zero issues. Switching proteins is something people dont do enough. Not only does it reduce the boredom with what they eat but it gives them more nutrients and aminos from the different types of protein. Just stay within the same formula and the proteins dont cause any gastrointestinal upsets. I think what’s more important than the type of food is just feeding quality food. Get the best food you can afford and your dogs will be good

[Christie B]

On the topic of “the big 4”, I think it’s important to go beyond the parent company and look at the ingredients on the bag to determine what food you should buy. Some product lines within a company are better than others. I don’t think you can rank Dog Chow the same as Pro Plan or Pedigree the same as Nutro.

Ingredients are important. 3 Chicken Formula Dry Food Ingredients Lists:

GROUND WHOLE GRAIN CORN, POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL (SOURCE OF GLUCOSAMINE AND CHONDROITIN SULFATE), CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (SOURCE OF OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS [PRESERVED WITH BHA & CITRIC ACID]), MEAT AND BONE MEAL (SOURCE OF CALCIUM), SOYBEAN MEAL, GROUND WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, BREWERS RICE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, DRIED PLAIN BEET PULP, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, DRIED PEAS, ZINC SULFATE, DL-METHIONINE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN [VITAMIN B3], BIOTIN, DRIED CARROTS, L-TRYPTOPHAN, BHA & CITRIC ACID (A PRESERVATIVE), BLUE 2, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN B5], RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], RED 40, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE [VITAMIN B6], COPPER SULFATE, SODIUM SELENITE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID

Chicken, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal (source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, oat meal, medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil, pea fiber, dried egg product, natural flavor, fish oil, barley, fish meal (source of glucosamine), L-Arginine, mono and dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, Vitamin E supplement, potassium citrate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, choline chloride, and sodium selenite

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, White Rice, Oatmeal, Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat, Menhaden Fish Meal, Flaxseed, Dried Whole Egg, Cheese, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Monocalcium Phosphate, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Sodium Selenite, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics.

So the first one is a mess of “poor quality” ingredients and artificial colors. I would give that food a hard pass every day. In fact, I know someone with a Lab who has fed this food for the dog’s entire life. This 10 year old has a lot of joint and mobility issues.

The second one has the dreaded by-product label (at least it’s poultry and not ‘meat’ ) and lots of grains. Fish meal can be found a ways down the list for a boost of glucosamine.

The third has chicken and chicken meal as the first two ingredients, a plus for sure… and then Barley, rice, more rice and oatmeal follow…not ideal.

Are any of these GREAT food choices?

Every single time I go to the pet store, I wander the aisles reading ingredients lists. All I see are legumes and potatoes. Are they causing DCM? There’s no concrete evidence one way or the other yet. Was the my dog doing fine on Chicken and Rice for the first few years of his life before I found this website and gasped at the low rating his food received? Absolutely. Did I switch the grain free after reading through these forums? Sure did. Has he done ok with switch, all these years later? Nope. He’s developed allergies and sensitivities. But is it because of grain free formulas? I haven’t found concrete evidence proving that x and y caused the issues.

It’s a learning process to find what works best for your dog. Some can’t have grains, some can. My vet suggests feeding him boiled chicken and white rice when he’s not feeling well. Is my vet stupid or just telling me what he knows from his 30+ years of experience might help my dog. Has he called grain free food evil? No, but he cautions against it only because the inclusion of legumes and potatoes are ‘relatively’ new to animal nutrition and there isn’t enough research and studies done to prove that they are safe in the long term.

He told me that he’s always given his dogs Pro Plan but have never pushed me to purchase any of the big 4 brands. In fact, he said the best thing I can do is read the ingredients list myself. And to transition food properly. And if my dog has issues after eating 1-2 bags of a food, to look at the current ingredients and find a food that’s different.