[Naturella]

Several, actually! You could really help us out by letting us know her breed, age, weight, and maybe hair length.

Also, I know fish oil is another supplement widely used by forumers to help with skin and coat issues. So are canned (or raw) sardines. Coconut oil is a great supplement, I use it myself, but you may need to adjust the amount depending on her weight. Fish-based foods are also known to help skin/coat issues.

As for my Rat Terrier mix (13lbs), I give him a teaspoon of coconut oil every other day, a canned sardine once a week, a bath every 2 weeks, and I “condition” him while he is still somewhat damp with a mix of coconut, olive, and sunflower oils, in which there are vitamins A, D, and E dissolved. So I rub that on his coat, trying to reach the skin until he doesn’t feel greasy and it makes him super soft and shiny. Also, he is currently on a fish-based food, so that will probably be good, but he has no particular issues to begin with. I did think he was excessively dandruffy when I brushed him, but that was supposed to be normal as I elevated all his dead skin by brushing him. Otherwise I don’t see any flakes.

Excess dandruff may be due to an allergy or something too, or just be how your dog is – sometimes, even all measurements do not quite help resolve the dandruff issue.

Hope others chime in with more advice or corrections of anything I may have misspoken about! 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari:
I totally understand that you don’t have the best area to feed raw, me neither, but it sounds like Kitty may like raw to me. If you tore off a piece and he ate it, I would say he probably likes it or is at least curious. My cats do not even entertain the idea of eating something they don’t like. lol I would keep giving it a try, tearing the meat off of the bone might be more appealing to him, maybe even try a different meat. Try feeding a little peice of raw maybe once a week to start with and see how it goes. You can always freeze some portions so it doesn’t go to waste. I will be trying some raw for my kitties soon!

I have never used a cat fountain, but I would take the suggestions of Jake’s mom and Bcn and keep introducing him to it by leaving it off most of the time and turning it on little by little. Peaking his interest and getting him used to the fountain could just be a matter of more time and patience. I wouldn’t give up on it, give him time to get used to it.

I don’t know of any type of water additive.

Earlier in this thread you wrote you made his food almost soupy in consistency by adding water. Do you still do that? You can also try mixing the meat water into his wet food. That extra flavor might appeal to him. Did you make bone broth or did you boil the meat? Just wondering what you ended up making.

If he is not drinking enough water I would suggest doing anything to get fluids into him consistently (nothing harmful of course), so if it has to be fish flavored water then let it be fish flavored water! Look over the suggestions from catinfo for getting kitties hydrated. There’s also clam juice and Catsip too.

If you feel his urination habits have changed or seem abnormal I would not hesitate to take him to the Vet. You can’t fool around with UTI’s. I will add that the size of the litter balls you described are on average what I remove from my litter box; sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. But what is normal for my cats might not be Kitty’s normal litter box habits.

[ken r]

I am skeptical that this is caused by dietary fat. For one thing, a high fat diet, if its increasing triglyceride levels, should be increasing them more pre-fast than post fast. For another, a dog thats just eating so much fat in his diet that its screwing with his triglyceride levels that much should be obese too.

What did the rest of the lipid panel look like?

First off, i would make sure that this is a dietary issue, not a secondary issue to another condition. Ask for a thyroid panel and a test for diabetes (an under or an overactive thyroid both cause elevated fasting triglycerides, as does diabetes).

If this is a diet issue, its far more likely to be caused by carbs than by fat. Dietary fats do increase triglycerides after a meal for a pretty simple reason — dietary fats _are_ triglycerides… and right after you eat them before your body figures out what to do with them theyre sitting around in the blood stream. This is precisely why triglycerides are tested after a 12 hour fast.

However, If your dog has a very high _fasting_ triglyceride level, and that is caused by his diet, fat is not the most likely culprit. Carbs are. Though a high fat diet causes triglyceride levels to spike, it actually lowers fasting triglceride levels. A high fat diet can cause obesity. And obesity causes high triglyceride levels. But in non obese people (and dogs), a high fat diet causes lower fasting triglycerides.

If obeisity isn’t an issue, you should be looking for a low carb, not a low fat, food. First of all because a low carb diet is proven to lower fasting triglyceride levels, and second of all because a low carb diet is better overall.

In order of preference, you should be looking for

1. a grain free, low carb food,
2. a whole grain only low carb food (note — brown rice is better than white rice, but it is not a whole grain)

Also, 2 things to potentially add to your dogs diet —

1. Marine (not plant) derived Omega 3 fatty acids — these have a profound effect on triglyceride levels. I broke open a full fish oil capsule daily for my boy, but he weighed 150 pounds. I have no idea what the appropriate dose for a 22 pound dog would be..

2. Soluble Fiber — metamucil is probably easiest. I used a tablespoon. But again, that was for a person-sized dog.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 11 months ago by ken r.

[klynnway@aol.com]

Hi Wanda,
After almost a year I have helped Jasmine with a hypoallergenic diet (Royal Canin Potato/Venison. One of the causes can be a food allergy, and it turned out to be chicken which is in a lot of dogfoods. She LOVES the food and it is possible that is an issue with your dog, but I only found out by starting a novel diet which she never had. She is still on metrodonizol and Ursodial but doing very wedll on the combo. I found that probiotics and most supplements were contrary to her disease. I also believe she is allergic to fish so fish oil also throws her off. I can almot guarantee he will love the food!
Best wishes,

Karen

[pugmomsandy]

Just because a dog is “senior” doesn’t mean it has these problems. All those problems can potentially happen at any age. I’ve fostered many dogs under 5 (even as young as 1 yr) with joint/eye/digestion/ear issues and have needed hip/knee surgeries and prescription eye and ear drops. A healthy senior can eat regular food (adult, maintenance and all life stages, puppy food). I have a 14 yr old with no active health issues. He is blind and deaf which he was already when I got him last year at 13. He is not on any medications and eats the same foods as all the other foster dogs I have. I use 3.5-4.5 star kibble and top it off with 5 star canned foods which is normally at least 43% protein. He even gets some raw food which I usually make without any plant matter. The dogs get joint supplements and vitamins, antioxidants, supergreen supplements and fish oil. My personal dogs don’t get chemical pesticides which has been linked to some cancers nor do they get unnecessary vaccines. You might want to research “over vaccination”. Try looking up Dogs4dogs dot com, b-naturals dot com, wholedogjournal dot com, dogsnaturallymagazine dot com. These are just a few of the sites pertaining to more “natural” care of dogs. If one of my dogs had late stage kidney disease, at that point I would change the diet, but I wouldn’t change the diet just because they’re a senior in general. Some things possibly connected to cancer is chemical laden commercial kibble, vaccines, the constant application of poisonous pesticides (heartworm and flea/tick meds, fertilizers), even air pollution.

http://dogs4dogs.com/

[Alexia M]

Hi everyone!
My 5 year old Akita/Pit mix went from 91 lbs to 76 lbs in 10 months by increasing exercise, switching to Wellness Core Reduced Fat, and counting her daily caloric intake. She is now at her ideal weight and I was wondering if I should switch her to kibble that is no longer low fat. I asked my vet, but he said he recommends she stay on a low fat kibble. The reason I want to switch her back to regular kibble is because though she has lost weight, her energy level is pretty low. I know that fats are an energy source so I thought that might help. Also, about 24 hours ago she started chattering her teeth periodically. I have a vet dentist appointment on Monday, but was wondering if it could be from a nutrient deficiency. I currently supplement her feed with fish oil and Cosequin DS plus MSM daily. Do you think switching her back to a “normal” fat kibble will benefit her overall health? Thank you for your help!

[Bobby dog]

For canned meats avoid MSG, soy oil, and lots of sodium. You would want it to be packed in H2O with minimal ingredients listed on the label. And you would not need alot of canned meat. I know I listed a tuna water recipe for you on this thread somewhere (from catinfo) and I believe she used one can of tuna mixed with H2O.

If you want to buy fresh meat what kind do you think you will use? Ground or whole? If you are looking for something simple I would get ground meat (you won’t need much) and lightly cook it in a frying pan.

Let’s say lightly fry a 1/4 lb of lean ground meat. No other ingredients needed. When it is just cooked (maybe a little pink in color) take it off the burner and let it cool. When the meat is cool enough to touch, dab it with a paper towel to remove as much excess fat as possible. Then put it in a bowl big enough to add H2O to. At this point I would say how much water you add depends on how concentrated you want it to be.

Lightly baking chicken or turkey (bone in or boneless) would be another option. You could also give canned wild caught Mackeral or Salmon (packed in H2O) a try. I know you don’t want to use fish (and good job steering clear of any fish by the way), but if it is temporary I don’t think it would hurt him.

These are all just some ideas for you. I haven’t made kitty meat H2O, but I would make it for my kitties if I needed to quickly. As I wrote in the other reply I make a bone broth which takes 24 hours. I always have some in the freezer. Sometimes I make flavored H2O out of it, sometimes I give it to them full strength, and sometimes I just mix it in their food.

[Akari_32]

I have a question for you guys…

I changed the litter to the Blue Buffalo walnut stuff, and at first he didn’t really want to use it, but gave in a few hours later and then hasn’t seemed to mind since (this was two nights ago). I’m noticing that since switching to this litter, he pees in really small amounts, like when he had his UTI.

He did get locked in the roommates room all day one day, but he peed in her cloths, so I don’t really think he had to hold it long, if at all that day. He’s also been out side a few time and got hot to the point where he was panting (he really likes it out side….), but I made sure to extra water (on top of the water I already add) to his food after wards.

So, I mean, there have been a *few* instances were he could have gotten a UTI, but I don’t really think it was enough to cause one (two play times outside with lots of water afterwards, and a day locked in a room where he found a place to pee anyways). My thought is its the new litter, and he’s sort of unsure about it. I just noticed last night that he was peeing in small amounts, and thats the night after I started using this litter. Since then, I’ve been adding lots of water to his food. Like, he’ll lap all the water up, eat some of the food, then leave, and I’ll sneak in and add some more water before he comes back. And I’ve started back feeding him smaller meals (so that he has more chances to get water in while eating). How long is it ok to let this go on before going to the vet? I know cats don’t like drastic changes in their litter, and some are just spoiled rotten when it comes to adjusting, but if it is a UTI again, I want to get it taken care of as soon as possible.

And I know some people said fish water to get him to drink. I don’t really want to do anything with fish, so can I do, like, chicken broth, or beef broth, or something? Its the same idea, and less smelly, right? lol I’m also still looking for a fountain waterer, but he didn’t seem to thrilled about the running sink water, so I don’t really think he’d go for a fountain…

*side note: I hate this litter and once this stuff is gone, I’m not going back! My room smells like coffee and cat pee!!*

[Dave H]

Hi and thanks in advance to those who help.
A couple of weeks ago I got a Jack Russell girl approx 2 to 3 years old from a rescue home, she is not yet spayed but wiil be soon. She weighed 6 kg and was very boney. I fed her for a week on commercial dog food but then read a horriffic article about what goes in it and the adverse effect it can have on their health so I decided to cook her fresh food everyday. She is now 7kg and looks so much better so I guess this is about the weight she needs to remain. I walk her 3 to 4 times a day and she does quite a bit of fast running during this time, I would say she does about 3 or 4 miles a day. I would like to know if the following daily feed is ok. It fills a bowl 6inches in diameter by an inch in depth which she has 2 of each day. 500g lean meat or fish blended with something like carrot, swede, broccolli and then either brown rice or potato with skin on I add 200mg calcium and a teaspoon of olive oil, she also has some lactose free milk and of course freshwater.
She is now very alert and has boundless energy !
Many thanks , Dave

[Alissa D]

We’ve always had trouble finding a food my Yorkie will eat. She’s extremely picky and won’t eat for a day or more if it’s not something she likes. We just got the results of her allergy tests back and along with numerous environmental allergies she’s allergic to milk, chicken, beef, barley, flax, lamb, soy, venison, and peas. I’ve been to every pet store in the city and haven’t found a single dry food. She refuses to eat any wet dog foods except for a few of the cheap ones she can’t have anymore. The vet wasn’t helpful at all with finding something. For now we’re cooking her ground turkey, pork roast, sweet potatoes, and eggs because it’s all she’ll eat. We’re looking for dry food so it can sit there without spoiling until she’s hungry enough to eat it. So far I’ve only found two kinds of food online that she can have, Canine Caviar duck and chick pea and Taste of the Wild smoked salmon.

Does anyone happen to know of any foods she can eat or might even like? I ordered the Canine Caviar one since she doesn’t like fish but she probably won’t eat it. Smaller kibbles that aren’t rock hard would be good too since a bunch of her teeth never grew in and she has a hard time chewing. Smaller bags that we can freeze would be helpful because she’s allergic to storage mites as well. Thanks for your help!

[Akari_32]

He’s been on just about every food I can find around here, with all different proteins, and various grains and carbohydrate sources. I don’t think its so much a chicken and grain allergy as it is a pollen allergy (I’m sure he’s got a little bit of a chicken/grain intolerance, but I think he’s got more of an environmental allergy). He got much better over winter (and he was on Purina One most of the time then), and then when it started warming up and the grass grew back and crap started blooming, he got itchy again. He used to hate fish, so I never fed him anything with fish, but he seems to really like this Pure Balance, so he’s either gotten over it, or he just doesn’t like certain fishes… But anyways, I had mom try him on it because I thought the fish base would help his skin out, and it certainly has. And since he doesn’t like fish, I haven’t subjected him to any fish oil lol

[Naturella]

I’d like to second the oils thing – Bruno gets coconut oil every other day, plus a canned sardine once a week, and on occasion, some raw fish. Plus, he’s on a fish-based food now. Since the coconut oil addition, though, he has been super duper soft! 🙂

[Shasta220]

Definitely see how he does, but compare ingredients. As itching is almost always a sign of food allergies. Hair loss and red skin most definitely sounds like an allergic reaction. Do you remember foods that you previously fed him that made him flare up? Try finding those on here and compare the ingredients to Pet Botanics, and to Pure Balance. A bit of detective work 😉 I know it seems like a lot to do, and it will probably take a while. But once you can get it figured out, and have a list of all the culprit ingredients, it should be easier to find a food that won’t make him worse.

Also, maybe to help the hair growth, try adding fish and coconut oil? I absolutely adore those…my dogs get fish oil daily, and coconut oil 4-5 days a week. Even my super sensitive greasy-but-flaky skinned lab has improved leaps and bounds on it.

[Shadow@01]

Hi there

I have a 8 month old Australian Shepherd bitch which I bred myself. Sire & dam has no skin allergies, neither any dogs I trace back to in the line. 4 puppies out of 7 in the litter seem to be having a bit of a skin allergy so I am thinking the reason for the allergy might be genetic, rather than just be a seasonal thing.

All this time I have been feeding Royal Canin Junior, supplementing with Salmon oil capsules. I am thinking of switching over to ACANA PACIFICA ( 60% Fish / 40% Veg / 0% Grain). This being a all life stages food, would this be highly recommended for a growing active working puppy? I would like to see if the no grain, chicken & beef makes any difference to her itchy skin.

I have received feedback from another source that all lifestage feeding is not recommended for a growing puppy, especially a working puppy.

Any thoughts on this???

[Shasta220]

It depends on what your dog is sensitive to. Usually the most common things for sensitive dogs to avoid would be most grains, and then sometimes even potatoes or chicken. Try something grain free and without chicken. If he does well on that, add either chicken or grain back in and see if it affects him. There are lots of other things dogs can be intolerant to, from tomatoes to fish! See if your vet can do an allergy test, or try an elimination diet.

Also try adding some coconut oil for an extra skin-boost. 1tsp per 10lb of bodyweight, but start with only about 1/4 the amount, gradually building up.

Many people do home made diets for sensitive dogs. The Honest Kitchen is one of the favorites around here I know.

[Shasta220]

As some of you know, I’m starting a little treat-making business to sell at farmers markets.

I am horrible at coming up with catchy names, so I’d like your help! The name needs to be:
No more than 3-5 words long
Something to let people know they’re healthy, holistic, organic, etc but not necessarily using those words
May include a name: Shasta, Cassy, or Loki (I’d rather no name unless it just sounds so darn good)
If you have several name suggestions, please post!

To further give you an idea, here are some of my flavor names:
-Lucky Loki’s Lifesavers (promotes fresh breath and digestive health w herbs, chlorophyll, and charcoal)
-Coat Care (with coconut oil, flax, fish oil, etc.)
-Green Goodness (with various green veggies)
-Pumpkin Flax
-Classic Peanut Butter
-Apple n’ Oat

Not too motivated to help me? I’m offering a prize to the winner! Whoever makes the best name will win a free pet-drawing! Sorry, I won’t mail you one, but I will draw it and post the drawing for you. Here are a few of my pet portraits (I only do dogs. No cats, birds, reptiles, etc)

[Sharon Buchanan]

MastiffLove ~

First, I hope more people will chime in here with helpful advice. Now, to get to your questions as best I can.

It looks like your family is adding a lot of new members to the family. How great for all of them to be able to grow up and play together – and be fed raw. Looks like you’ll have your own little support group!

1. From all my reading on forums and Facebook, finding green tripe can be tricky. Some places ban the sale of it directly to consumers while others seem to be able to get it locally. I’m currently getting mine from MyPetCarnivore.com. I’m hoping that when I find someone who will sell direct, that they’ll also be able to provide the tripe. You’ll just have to ask and if they can’t, perhaps they’ll know where to get it.

2. Sure, you can grind necks. They aren’t terribly meaty, but they’ll grind easily enough. You should be able to start giving them whole when your pup gets a bit older. Chicken necks are tiny and I give them whole to my seven month old cat. I’ve been giving whole duck and turkey necks to Mystery since I started raw, he was 10 months at the time – he’s getting a turkey neck as part of his dinner tonight.

Different nutritionists/homeopathic vets will have various opinions on what, when, how and why to feed certain ingredients. I tend to lean toward Kymythy’s advice at the moment. She raises Newfies and feeds them raw as early as four weeks. The proof is in the health of her pups and adults.

3. I’m still not feeding veggies or “super” greens. Not a “purist” or anything but I wanted to first be sure I was feeding correctly the balance of meat/bone/organs and then get a blood panel or hair sample analysis – I’ll be scheduling that next week. Mystery’s only issues are a skin flaking problem – solved with coconut oil, and motion sickness – I’m still working on that and hoping he’ll grow out of it. So, until I get an analysis that says he needs more of this or that, I’m holding off on supplementing. I do give Mystery garlic for natural pest control and I also supplement with curcumen and vitamin C because Goldens have a high cancer mortality rate. I know a lot of people use “super” this and that as well as create their own veggie mashes. I would lean toward making my own purees since I believe nutrition from the source is best.

4. Most fruits have a lot of sugar in them. I would avoid most or feed them judiciously. I’ll share a banana with Mystery from time to time as well as give him apple slices, but not as a regular part of his diet. Here’s a basic chart that lists not only veggies and fruits that are toxic to pets but also plants as well as symptoms to watch for: http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/toxic.htm. And of course, you’ll find other sites that list fewer or additional foods.

5. Ah, SWEET potatoes. I haven’t read anything that shows a good reason to add most starches. That includes potatoes, peas, some beans. Many of these veggies convert starches to sugar when cooked. I used to give a tablespoon of pumpkin when our Sunset would have loose stools, but Mystery has had no problems there – and especially not since going raw.

6. I must defer to Kymythy on adding anything at all to an eight week old puppy’s diet. If you’re balancing 80/10/10 your calcium/phosphorus ratio is in perfect sync. Adding anything may not only increase the amount of calcium but may throw off that balance. Mess with that ratio and excess calcium can be deposited on the outside of the bones causing a number of issues. We had no idea that there was an issue with LBPs and calcium when we got Sunset 11 years ago. Before she was two, she required double-hip surgery. We got her from a backyard breeder (another ignorant move on our part), didn’t know much about hip scores and fed her what surely is on the one- or two-star lists here at DFA. I’ve been ultra focused on calcium since before I got Mystery.

An excerpt from Kymythy’s book, Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats:
By the time the young are ready to go to their new homes, they should be eating whole necks and regular meals with all the extras, and you may discontinue the enzymes and probiotics (although they may help counteract the digestive stress a youngster endures when going to a new home). Youngsters may be fed three times per day from eight weeks until four to six months old, then twice daily from four to six months old until one year of age, and once daily after one year of age. Giant breeds of dogs may need to be fed twice daily occasionally during growth spurts from one to three years of age. Either feed two complete meals or one complete and one of meaty bones (bones with ample meat) only. Observe your pet and adjust amounts accordingly. Do not feed so much that the stomach becomes overly extended. Do not let your pet become obese. A very thin layer of fat over the ribs is healthy, but too much weight puts extra stress on growing bones, joints, and hearts. A healthy wild animal is a lean animal. If your pet needs to lose weight, reduce its food intake. If it needs to gain weight, increase its food. Keep in mind that growing youngsters will eat more per pound of body weight than adult animals.

Schultze, Kymythy (1999-10-01). Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats (p. 67). Hay House. Kindle Edition.

Note the information on probiotics and enzymes is directed toward breeders who feed and wean pups to raw. If your puppy has been weaned to kibble, you might want to add some kefir to his diet for a time.

7. See #6, but I will take a look at the three products you mentioned for future use. I am not trying to discourage the use of any supplementation, just use caution and be sure you’re feeding only what is essential and beneficial.

8. I’m assuming you’re referring to the products in question 6 and maybe 7, not 8. LOL! I couldn’t find a guaranteed analysis of the Urban Wolf Balancer so I would be very wary of adding it. They do provide a recipe that uses their products with an analysis and it looks good. If you feel a strong need to supplement… Questions regarding their recipe ingredients might include, where do they get their fish oil from; is it guaranteed not to contain any toxins; if you use “canned” fish, do the cans contain BPA; if natural ingredients are better, why so many dried/powdered ingredients in their mixes? This is the hard part for me – giving my money to companies that sell premixes and toppers when I can just hit the market for fresh ingredients.

9. When you’re deciding on recipes, remember that your eight week old puppy is capable of handling chunks of raw meats, organs and bones. Even if he’s been weaned onto kibble before you get him, there should be no need to transition him as he hasn’t developed an addiction to the sugars and starches yet. I’d been feeding my kitten a kibble diet for about five months when I decided to transition the cats. Since he’d been stealing raw food from the dog, I went straight to raw with him and he jumped all over it, including chicken necks and other appropriately sized bones. I feed grinds only when the weather’s so bad that I can’t even put Mystery on the screened deck, usually when it’s too cold. The cats get fed in the tiled bathroom since they don’t feel the need to drag food all over the place – yet!

Any time you freeze or cook food, you’re going to lose a bit of nutritional value. Most of us have large freezers because we buy in bulk so frozen it is. Be sure you thaw foods and try to bring them to room temp before feeding. As Alpha in my house, I pull food from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter until I’ve finished my coffee – then they get to eat. I know some people feed frozen foods but I wouldn’t do that to a puppy. Ever get brain freeze from drinking a shake too fast? Imagine a puppy’s digestive system trying to warm up frozen meat. There may be other opinions out there on this, but I would definitely feed three times a day for the first six months and then move to twice a day until he’s at least a year old. You should be feeding him 10% of his current weight until that exceeds 2-3% of his target weight.

I love Mercola. There is a chart floating around that shows who is fighting GMO labeling and who is supporting it in WA. I use it when I go shopping and yes, some of the products I’ve purchased in the past come from companies fighting WA. Let me know if you can’t find it. I get that having to label a product 50 different ways could put a hardship on business so I would support a federal label that is nothing less than FULL disclosure. That said, I don’t trust the FDA or any other governmental agency to have my best interest at heart. I’m a big fan of personal responsibility. The government assumes I’m ignorant…, I believe it’s a choice. (Whoops, gone political.)

I’m glad you were able to find a farm so quickly to meet your raw needs. Don’t forget to pick up chicken feet, green tripe, testicles, heart, kidneys… Go for goat and rabbit as well as chicken, turkey and beef. Something that I would have gotten wrong is differentiating between what are considered organs and what is not.

Organs: Liver (5% of the diet), kidneys, spleen, brain, thymus gland, panaceas and testicles (the other 5%)

Not organs: Heart, Gizzard, Tongue, lung, trachea, green tripe (all considered as part of the 80%).

Another site for learning more about feeding raw is here: https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=116. It’s a culling of articles from a variety of sources.

I better turn my attention to the vacuum and washer now or I’m going to be overrun by tumblefurs. I look forward to seeing you on Facebook soon.

[RescueDaneMom]

Transferring my answer:

Hi MastiffLove,
I am answering your questions based on what I do and my knowledge and experience.

1- Yes, it is called green tripe. You may be able to get it from a butcher. For human consumption, they bleach the tripe which removes all the good stuff for our dogs.

2- Yes, you can grind necks if you don’t want to feed them whole.

3- Some people see vegetables as being optional. It is up to you if you want to include them. Remember that freezing can damage the enzymes in food so don’t keep food frozen for too long. I try to only have food frozen for a month or less. The Spirugreen is not a replacement for veggies. It is a green algae supplement. I wouldn’t freeze it. I would add it right before feeding.

4- I would puree fruits. You can feed in pieces but you will notice that some will come out just like they went it (example- the skin of the apple won’t be digested very well).

5- Sweet potato is a starchy root vegetable that has carbs. It can be used as a nutritious filler to bulk up meals for dogs that need a lot of food. It also contains high levels of vitamin a, vitamin c, and manganese.

6- Urban Wolf is a pre-mix that is meant to be used with meat only (no bone) as it contains enough calcium to balance the meat without bone. I believe Dr. Harvey’s is more of an herbal supplement and can be added to meat with bone.

7- I would suggest rotating different products for your supergreens. Try one then a different one. Variety is good!

8- Did you mean adding the product from question 7? From that quote I would think that adding some veggies is ok but not to overdo it. You wouldn’t want 50% of your pup’s diet to be veggies. I’d think you’d be ok having 5-10% veggies in the diet.

9- I would not freeze supplements like greens or fish oil. They may loose some of their effectiveness. I add my supplements right before feeding. I have the meat and/or meat/veggie mix portioned and frozen, then I thaw what I can use in 3 days.

I hope that helps.

[Sharon Buchanan]

MastiffLove’s Questions transferred from /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/page/66/

Hi Sharon! I will be looking into the facebook group after we get our puppy, Zeus is his name :), cause our teens don’t know about it yet and adding that group to our facebook will certainly give them a hint lolll
Someone wrote (i think it was you!?): “Last week I found a farm that grass feeds, no GMOs, but they do feed grains in the three weeks prior to slaughter (I’m still checking to see if that is standard practice and if not, why it’s done and whether it effects the quality of the meat (other than the tripe) – more questions for my conference list)”
What were you told?

We will buy in bulk, meaning half a cow, lots of chickens (loose fat removed), half a pig (less pig since it has more fat)(will add organs to those) for a start and later on i will add more types of meats as i find farmers or producers around my area. I will make this food for my 8weeks old English Mastiff puppy BUT my wife’s parents are getting a Colley puppy in July and later on during the summer a German Sheppard puppy, also a friend of ours is researching for a good breeder of Great Danes. That being said we would be 4 different dogs on the same recipe.
1- Can i get Green Tripe from a meat manufacture(not sure if thats how its called)?
2- Can i grind necks?
3- instead of using pureed vegetable can i use a Supergreen powder mixted with the meat then freeze?
4- Should fruits be pureed? or chopped in fine pieces is ok? (like apples for example)
5- wy use Sweet potatoes, isn’t it a source of carbs? Should it always be boiled or can it be oven baked?
6- Thinking of buying in bulk therefore i would have the company to grind the meat including bones…would using:
URBAN WOLF Balancer give a too high output on Calcium and an unbalanced Calc./Phos.?
or
Should i use Dr. Harvey’s Formative Years for Puppies?
NOT to forget my puppy is 8weeks old!
7- As for Greens should i use Mercola’s SpiruGreen Superfood and/OR Swanson’s Sprouted Flax Powder mixed with Wheat Grass Powder?
8- Kymythy Schultze a certified clinical nutritionist said:” Calcium can go out of solution when feeding too many vegetables. Keeping normal acidity (low alkaline) in the digestion by avoiding veggies in puppies keeps calcium in solution and won’t deposit excess on the bones.”
(p.s.: thank you Sharon Buchanan for the quote!)
Would adding the product from Question 8 result in unbalancing my pups acidity?
9- i would mix everything up in large batches (some batch will have some ingredients and some will have different ones to “balance” it out in day on day off type of feeding), and separate in individual portion size for an 8 weeks old large pup in air tight sealed bags and then into the freezer. Doing so would i loose any efficiency of certain foods like greens and fish oil?
*** End comment: I was happy and felt like applauding Mercola.com for funding 300,000$ for the Washington State GMO Labeling Initiative, they are one of the companies, amongst many others, that i buy products from as supplements for my puppy raw diet. http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cornucopia.jpg ***

[RescueDaneMom]

Hi MastiffLove,

I am answering your questions based on what I do and my knowledge and experience.

1- Yes, it is called green tripe. You may be able to get it from a butcher. For human consumption, they bleach the tripe which removes all the good stuff for our dogs.

2- Yes, you can grind necks if you don’t want to feed them whole.

3- Some people see vegetables as being optional. It is up to you if you want to include them. Remember that freezing can damage the enzymes in food so don’t keep food frozen for too long. I try to only have food frozen for a month or less. The Spirugreen is not a replacement for veggies. It is a green algae supplement. I wouldn’t freeze it. I would add it right before feeding.

4- I would puree fruits. You can feed in pieces but you will notice that some will come out just like they went it (example- the skin of the apple won’t be digested very well).

5- Sweet potato is a starchy root vegetable that has carbs. It can be used as a nutritious filler to bulk up meals for dogs that need a lot of food. It also contains high levels of vitamin a, vitamin c, and manganese.

6- Urban Wolf is a pre-mix that is meant to be used with meat only (no bone) as it contains enough calcium to balance the meat without bone. I believe Dr. Harvey’s is more of an herbal supplement and can be added to meat with bone.

7- I would suggest rotating different products for your supergreens. Try one then a different one. Variety is good!

8- Did you mean adding the product from question 7? From that quote I would think that adding some veggies is ok but not to overdo it. You wouldn’t want 50% of your pup’s diet to be veggies. I’d think you’d be ok having 5-10% veggies in the diet.

9- I would not freeze supplements like greens or fish oil. They may loose some of their effectiveness. I add my supplements right before feeding. I have the meat and/or meat/veggie mix portioned and frozen, then I thaw what I can use in 3 days.

I hope that helps.

[MastiffLove]

We will buy in bulk, meaning half a cow, lots of chickens (loose fat removed), half a pig (less pig since it has more fat)(will add organs to those) for a start and later on i will add more types of meats as i find farmers or producers around my area. I will make this food for my 8weeks old English Mastiff puppy BUT my wife’s parents are getting a Colley puppy in July and later on during the summer a German Sheppard puppy, also a friend of ours is researching for a good Great Dane breeder. That being said we would be 4 different dogs on the same recipe.

1- Can i get Green Tripe from a meat manufacture(not sure if thats how its called)?

2- Can i grind necks?

3- instead of using pureed vegetable can i use a Supergreen powder mixted with the meat then freeze?

4- Should fruits be pureed? or chopped in fine pieces is ok? (like apples for example)

5- wy use Sweet potatoes, isn’t it a source of carbs? Should it always be boiled or can it be oven baked?

6- Thinking of buying in bulk therefore i would have the company to grind the meat including bones…would using:
URBAN WOLF Balancer give a too high output on Calcium and an unbalanced Calc./Phos.?
or
Should i use Dr. Harvey’s Formative Years for Puppies?
NOT to forget my puppy is 8weeks old!

7- As for Greens should i use Mercola’s SpiruGreen Superfood and/OR Swanson’s Sprouted Flax Powder mixed with Wheat Grass Powder?

8- Kymythy Schultze a certified clinical nutritionist said:” Calcium can go out of solution when feeding too many vegetables. Keeping normal acidity (low alkaline) in the digestion by avoiding veggies in puppies keeps calcium in solution and won’t deposit excess on the bones.”
(p.s.: thank you Sharon Buchanan for the quote!)
Would adding the product from Question 8 result in unbalancing my pups acidity?

9- i would mix everything up in large batches (some batch will have some ingredients and some will have different ones to “balance” it out in day on day off type of feeding), and separate in individual portion size for an 8 weeks old large pup in air tight sealed bags and then into the freezer. Doing so would i loose any efficiency of certain foods like greens and fish oil?

*** End comment: I was happy and felt like applauding Mercola.com for funding 300,000$ for the Washington State GMO Labeling Initiative, they are one of the companies, amongst many others, that i buy products from as supplements for my puppy raw diet. http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cornucopia.jpg ***

[DogFoodie]

Darn it, I looked through every single Merrick dry product and every last one of them contains fish or fish oil. Many of them also contains lots of fruits and veggies, which Sam also doesn’t seem to do well on. There are so many things I’d like Bella to try, but I can’t justify buying more while she still has Sam’s hand me downs. It would be so much more fun to have two dogs that can eat almost anything like Bella. Poor Sam.

[Akari_32]

Iams is one of the worst foods out there, actually. And the easist way to get around canned food with fish in it is to just not buy any with fish. Huh. Imagine that. Dry food is terrible for cats because of the higher level of carbohydrates needed to bind the food together, as well as it being just that– dry. Some canned foods (like Iams) can actually be just as bad with carbs. Feeding just boiled meat is extremely imbalanced, as it doesn’t provide all of the nutrients your cat needs to stay healthy. Now, if you were to add supplements yourself, then that would actually be better than any commercial diet, but you would first have to know how much of what nutrients to add, and they can be costly.

[Alexa H]

Just so everyone knows my vet said to only feed a cat a small amount of wet food a day. It actually has way to many fish products which can hurt their liver. She said it’s better to feed dry and boiled chicken and other meats. Also, I just switched from a crappy dry cat food to authority which looks to be a pretty good food for the price. It’s cheaper than iams, and iams cat food is no where as good as iams for dogs. Which is what I feed my dogs.

[Bobby dog]

The pic is adorable. I love when they help out and lie on top of or get into things we are working on! He looks very happy and content. Very nice stash by the way!

I saw that Pedigree peaking out of your stash. Pedigree is actually what brought me to this site. My Vet sent an e-mail to all her clients about illnesses she had been treating that could have been avoided with better nutrition. She made up lists of suggested foods and what to look for in foods. I saw I was feeding my cats poorly. Then I looked into Bobby’s food and found I fed a good kibble, but not good canned; I was feeding Pedigree. So I went on a search and found DFA.

Bobby was yeasty, smelled like a bag of fish flavored Fritos, was scratching all the time, and had a red groin and tail area. I always put organic coconut oil on him, gave him baths once a week during flea season, and used a flea med but was fighting a losing battle. It never dawned on me to look into his diet. A month after I stopped feeding Pedigree his skin problems were almost gone. He is sensitive to fleas and still had small red bumps from bites, but his skin condition was 200% improved in my eyes. I mostly feed 4Health and Pure Balance canned now, you can’t beat the quality for a $1.00!

I just started a fresh garlic regimen for Bobby trying to stay ahead of flea season. Since he is not a smelly and itchy mess I am hoping he will not attract the fleas like he has the past two years. Fingers crossed!

I also saw the Purina One for dogs in your cabinet. I have been slowly putting together a grocery store list of canned foods based on ingredients alone from Purina (like the Pro Plan and One list I made for cat food). The only “One” variety that made my list was the Classic recipes. The Tender Cuts in Gravy contain meat by-products, wheat gluten, corn starch modified, soy flour, and added color. The ingredients I don’t like in the Classic Round Recipes are meat by-products and carrageenan. Neither line contains chelated minerals (I look for that in food) but the Classics would work for me if they have coupons or good deals on them. Here’s my Purina One canned dog food list if you’re interested:

Purina One Smart Blend Classic Round Recipes canned – non-chelated minerals, meat by-products, and carrageenan in each recipe:
Beef & Brown Rice
Chic & Brown Rice
Lamb & Long Grain Brown Rice
Turkey & Barley

My mom knows I have been changing my dog and cats diets so she started picking up Purina food for me with her coupons. At this time in her life the only outing she makes is to the grocery store; she is a coupon queen in her own right. She could not remember what I look for in pet food so I decided to work on a grocery store list for her. I do love and appreciate that she is thinking of us so the least I could do is make it simple for her!

[MastiffLove]

We will buy in bulk, meaning half a cow, lots of chickens (loose fat removed), half a pig (less pig since it has more fat)(will add organs to those) for a start and later on i will add more types of meats as i find farmers or producers around my area. I will make this food for my 8weeks old English Mastiff puppy BUT my wife’s parents are getting a Colley puppy in July and later on during the summer a German Sheppard puppy, also a friend of ours is researching for a good breeder of Great Danes. That being said we would be 4 different dogs on the same recipe.

1- Can i get Green Tripe from a meat manufacture(not sure if thats how its called)?

2- Can i grind necks?

3- instead of using pureed vegetable can i use a Supergreen powder mixted with the meat then freeze?

4- Should fruits be pureed? or chopped in fine pieces is ok? (like apples for example)

5- wy use Sweet potatoes, isn’t it a source of carbs? Should it always be boiled or can it be oven baked?

6- Thinking of buying in bulk therefore i would have the company to grind the meat including bones…would using:
URBAN WOLF Balancer give a too high output on Calcium and an unbalanced Calc./Phos.?
or
Should i use Dr. Harvey’s Formative Years for Puppies?
NOT to forget my puppy is 8weeks old!

7- As for Greens should i use Mercola’s SpiruGreen Superfood and/OR Swanson’s Sprouted Flax Powder mixed with Wheat Grass Powder?

8- Kymythy Schultze a certified clinical nutritionist said:” Calcium can go out of solution when feeding too many vegetables. Keeping normal acidity (low alkaline) in the digestion by avoiding veggies in puppies keeps calcium in solution and won’t deposit excess on the bones.”
(p.s.: thank you Sharon Buchanan for the quote!)
Would adding the product from Question 8 result in unbalancing my pups acidity?

9- i would mix everything up in large batches (some batch will have some ingredients and some will have different ones to “balance” it out in day on day off type of feeding), and separate in individual portion size for an 8 weeks old large pup in air tight sealed bags and then into the freezer. Doing so would i loose any efficiency of certain foods like greens and fish oil?

*** End comment: I was happy and felt like applauding Mercola.com for funding 300,000$ for the Washington State GMO Labeling Initiative, they are one of the companies, amongst many others, that i buy products from as supplements for my puppy raw diet. http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cornucopia.jpg ***

[losul]

Hi Darcy, just wanted to say that kidney/urinary tract bacterial infections can bring on on a higher PH in themselves, as these bacteria produce enzymes that create a more amenable alkaline environment for themselves.

Just some other thoughts you might investigate, not sure how much basis they have, l’m also wondering about the liquid kelp. Don’t know how much you are giving of this, but I imagine it would be a concentrated form of kelp, and much more bioavailable. Not sure if/how high iodine amounts and thyroid activity can effect PH, but I would also imagine the liquid form would also be very high in calcium and magnesium, 2 minerals that are very alkaline.

Excess vitamin D/A could maybe be a factor also?, not sure how much cod liver oil you are giving. I prefer to use small amounts of whole meat liver (5 to 7%, from quality sources for A, D, and B vitamins) in the diet, and then use other fish oils (sardine, krill, anchovy, salmon) for omega 3’s.

Lastly what quantity of ground eggshells are you adding to a pound of meat?

[Bobby dog]

Out of the Purina Pro Plan and One canned food lines, the flavors I listed are possibilities for my cats. I listed the ingredients that I don’t like to see in pet food but are however included in the selections below. Out of the One line the only one I would feed is the Classic. The Savory, Smart Blend Healthy Metabolism, and Pairings recipes all include wheat gluten, corn starch, meat by-products, soy protein, artificial color & flavor, K3.

No matter what I might say about Purina, the cats do like their canned cat food. So here are the lines and flavors that I would feed under the Pro Plan and One canned foods. I hope that it can contribute to your list. 

Purina Pro Plan:
Finesse – K3, artificial flavors, meat by-products: Chic & Liver

Savor – K3, artificial flavors, fish, meat by-products:
Beef & Carrots, Chic & Spinach, Salmon & Wild Rice, and Turkey & Veg

Focus – K3, added color, artificial flavor, fish, meat by-products:
Chic & Beef (lists salmon in recipe), the kitten Chic & Liver

Purina One:
Classic – all but Classic Turkey contain fish, all recipes include meat by-products, artificial flavor & color, corn oil, and K3:
Classic Turkey (no fish), Classic Beef, or Classic Chic

[Akari_32]

Eh, not really lol It’s a minor addition to my daily pet care routine: feed dogs, feed reptiles, clean reptile tanks as needed, make sure wet hides for the geckos are kept wet, feed goldfish tank, feed betta tanks, feed community tank, feed ponds, clean fish tanks weekly, replant any plants the goldfish tore up (little brats)… Its endless, really. If anything it’s more annoying trying to prepare his food with him always underfoot, trying to “help” LOL

I’ve heard such mixed things about toilet training cats. I think he could do it, though. He’s pretty smart (completely retarded at time, though, but thats beside the point :p)

Mom left the iPad here this week, so I have internet while she’s out of town (rather than just on my phone). I can get cracking on my list sooner now 🙂 Gotta finish homework, take a potty break (should probably do that the other way around LOL), and then I’ll get going on that. I also have some Rachael Ray food coupons I want to print while I’m printing homework stuff. The iPad is on an unlimited data plan. Muahahahahahaha!!! >=3

[MastiffLove]

Hello again, so i’ve been reading, studying, analyzing and calculating like a madman since my last post. I am thinking of going with Royal Canin Giant Puppy since it has a low calcium % at 2.287/1000 kcal with a 0.82%:0.67% calc/phos ratio. I would add a canned topper or fresh meat to boost the proteins. Also to this, i was thinking of adding a probiotic formula and a dash of fresh fish oil and if the stool is too “soft” i’d regulate with pumpkin. Comments? Suggestions? Warnings? Praise?

Now question is, considering a rotation with added ingredients/supplements what would be a good starting schedule e.i. 3days on 4 days off for probiotic formula and so on….also what would be a safe amount of for each of em? What would be a good topper high in proteins?

p.s. Thank you for all your hard work and knowledge Hound Dog Mom.

[Susan]

Have you tried the elimination diet where he just eat 1 food for 1 month like kangaroo or chicken or fish Etc then if that meat seems ok then after 1 month add something new here’s a diet for yeasty itchy skin
1cup ground beef human
1/4 cup beef liver or kidney
2 eggs scrambled or boiled
1/2 cup steamed or boiled broccoli
1/2 cup cooked yellow crookneck squash
1/2 cup yogurt
serve meat cooked or raw combined with the cooked vegetables eggs & yogurt, If serving the meat cooked wait for it to cool before stirring in the yogurt..
intstead of the beef mince u can use chicken mince, pork mince or a tin of salmon or mackerel drained..
This was from this book called ‘Raw & Natural Nutrition for dogs’ The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals by Lew Olson PhD… an excellent read explaining all health problems & what to feed dogs, there was more meals for skin problems, I just borrowed it from my Library…its raw & cooked Healthy meals, also a good shampoo is needed like Oatmeal shampoos..

[theBCnut]

Orijen LBP has too high calcium

A percent is a proportion, no matter what volume you are talking about. If something is 1% of X then it does not matter if you are talking about a single kibble or a ton of it, one part out of every one hundred parts will be X.

I know this is a long thread, but you need to read at least the first few pages of it and read the links. That will answer a lot of your questions and will provide you with a list of foods that have appropriate calcium levels. You will have to figure out which of them are available in Canada, I’m afraid. I believe the people who are on here regularly from Canada have small dogs, so don’t follow this thread.

Make sure that you feed your puppy to keep him lean/thin until he is completely mature at around 2 1/2 years old. This helps his joints to develop slowly and helps to keep the stress of carrying too much weight off of them until they are completely formed. Also make sure he doesn’t overdo exercise, which is another big factor in joint development.

Add fish oil. It’s anti inflamatory and the omega 3s in it are easily damaged in kibble.

Good luck.

[mountainhound]

There’s really no need to add vitamins if you feed commercial food since it’s already fortified. You can add whole foods like raw eggs or fish oil, but giving synthetic ones like the tablets you see sold at big box stores can lead to vitamin overdose.
there are some holistic premixes that also incorporate whole foods like flaxseed and kelp, I would use those instead.

[Shasta220]

I’ve posted a thread or two with some canned questions… My Maddy is a spoiled littl girl, and I just started her on canned food a couple months ago.

I’m curious as to what favorite brands are, and is it safe to switch brands regularly without a transition? She has free choice of dry, and then gets about 1/4-1/2 of a 6oz can daily. I wanted to keep her on just one or two brands, then switch the flavors out since rotating meat sources is good. But Ms. Picky Pants /only/ likes foods with poultry as the first ingredient. So I thought that changing the brands would be good since some have liver as the 2-3rd, some have fish, etc.

So far I’ve tried Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, and Felidae. So far her favorites are Felidae and CS, she likes NB, but not as much as the other two. I’d like to try a few others as well, since I’m using DFA’s canned ratings as a guideline – I’d definitely assume the same brand would produce the same quality for both cat and dog foods.

Also, I am getting a bit concerned as far as oral health goes. She eats little-to-no dry anymore, and doesn’t bat an eye at our other cat’s raw bones. Brushing is obviously out (that’d be a miracle to see – a cat who’d allow you to brush its teeth!), so the only thing I can think of (other than regular dentals by a vet) is water additives? Does anyone have a favorite brand? So far, about the only one that I have tried is TropiClean… (I had an organic one, I looooved it. But it was in a specialty store far away, so I doubt I’ll be able to get it again) I’m not too impressed with it, honestly.

[Shasta220]

I’ll have to admit – my dogs are almost all dry, with occasional additions (apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, eggs, fish oils, other supplements). When I move out though, I will probably get into about 75% raw with them, because I love love LOVE the results I’ve seen. But for now, I don’t have the money, resources, or space to start three med-big dogs on raw.

[Shasta220]

I love apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, raw eggs, and I always keep a good joint supplement around for my old girl.

I’m curious – most glucosamine/chondroitin is sourced from shellfish, correct? Would crayfish count as well? Whenever we go camping, we catch loads of the lil buggers. Would it be safe to give the cooked shells to a dog (consistency is a lot like an eggshell), or would they need to be ground…or should they just be avoided altogether?

[Naturella]

At the moment we feed Bruno about 75-80% dry mixed kibble and about 20-25% additives: pumpkin, yoghurt, cottage cheese, flax seed meal, coconut oil/butter, canned sardines, and one raw egg/week and an RMB/week (right now I rotate between chicken backs and pork neck bones).

With the amount of dry food brands I want to rotate between, if I don’t mix it would probably take AT LEAST 1/2 of Bruno’s life to go through all of them ONCE, if not more time than that. There are many high-quality kibbles out there and he seems to adapt well in rotation. He does love his raw too though! 🙂

It is my husband and I’s dream to own land and a farm one day – doesn’t have to be huge, just enough to raise goats, some sheep, chickens, rabbits, and, if by a lake – ducks and maybe fish. We would like to grow our own fruits and veggies, at least some of them. (I only have 10 fruit/nut trees in mind, no more. LoL Not counting the bush fruit/nut-giving plants.) We would like to hunt our food – deer, ducks, geese, pheasants, rabbits, fish, whatever, and know where our food comes from. So THEN, I would like to be giving maybe 80% or more balanced raw with supplements. I really hope we get there some day. 🙂

[Susan]

Thank-you Melissa & Aimee, Patch had a blood test 3 weeks after a flare up, I asked for one, He was on the Metronidzole last December for 2weeks, this stopped the fermenting smell that was coming out of his mouth & stopped the sloppy poos, now his mouth smells normal again, vet gave me a script if I run out.. I cant get the R/C Venison/Potato here is Australia I tried & rung R/C up when he was first ill, we just have the Low Fat, Sensitivity Control, or the Hypoallergengic..Ive tried the Hypoallergenic & the Sensitivity Control & they made him worst. He’s good at the moment he’s playing running, but all he has eaten is his toast for breaky, Ive just boiled a chicken breast, its cooling maybe thats why he’s running around he knows he’s having chicken, Ive tried this before boiled chicken, I’ll try it again & see how he goes this time, I need a kibble with No Fish Oil, no Flaxseed, nothing with oils, I dont think there are any, Oh, when I looked in the supermakets the real cheap kibbles have no fish oil or flax seed etc, maybe that mite work.. I did find a low fat 8% called ‘Opitmum’ invented by a vet here in Australia but it has Chicken By-Products, everytime I read the ingredients I put it back…But being a rescue dog I’d say he was feed a real crap diet, cheap diet… Ive never given him the supermarket kibbles, he mite do better on mostly grains he does good on toast..just gave him his chicken so far no pain yet or licking… I never gave him his Zantac either..How much chicken do I feed a 17kilo dog, I dont want him losing weight.

[Shasta220]

I’ve not dealt with weight problems much, but the only logical thing I could think of is to get some extra fat and protein in there. Possibly adding coconut/fish oils and raw meats? Abady sounds like a good additive as well.

[Susan]

Ive read that dogs can digest animals fats, chicken fat etc, & they dont digest oils as well sunflower, canola, vegetable etc. this is saying the opposite that dogs digest vegetable & fish oils better then animal fats, which one is it, are animals fats better or are oils better for digestion when in a kibble, I’ve read when its a animal fat it must say the animal, chicken fat etc but not just say animal fat as u dont know what animal its from & could be diseased etc.. I thought chicken fat etc would be better then canola, sunflower oils etc..
Did anyone read about liver, it can become toxic to the body, my boy cant eat liver treats as he gets diarrhea…

[Shasta220]

I would probably agree with smaller, more consistent amounts of Omegas. My lab used to get the same problem – greasy skin AND dandruff. I figured “oh she’s just a lab, the grease is normal.” So I increased her fish oil intake. It somewhat helped with the dandruff, but then she has really nasty skin. Now she’s on a good routine and almost never gets the dandruff or grease.

[Naturella]

Sue66b, thank you for the advice! I can definitely increase the sardine intake and the coconut oil too, I can maybe alternate 1 day sardine, 1 day coconut oil? And I use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap – Almond on him, it is supposed to be oil-based and not dry up his skin… And I use oatmeal conditioner after, but I can switch to doggie oatmeal shampoo to try it out. I was trying not to use shampoo every week when I wash the dog park dirt off so that I don’t dry his skin up too much… But I can if needed. I can also start brushing him daily, it will help with his shedding too.

I am also going to begin switching him to a fish-based food (Earthborn Coastal Catch) in a few days/week, so there will be even more Omegas and oils in his daily intake.

Thank you again, Sue, and any other advice will be also much appreciated! 🙂

[Susan]

Change the food, or change the flavour with a few different ingredients & see if it still happening, there’s an ingredient thats either giving her stomach acid or making her feel un-well, something that wasnt in the Merrick, this has just happened with my boy, the poos a great but after eating he wants his grass, so I looked at the ingredients again & realized it has fish oil & rosemary extract in the kibble, so its either the fish oil or the Rosemary, I keep smelling fish on his breath after he’d burp.. I google side effects to fish oil & rosemary in dog & it said both can give acid reflux, direhhea etc, now I have look for a new kibble again, the thing is you’d think they wouldnt eat it after they feel off…

[Naturella]

Hey, guys! I need to vent… sorry to burden you all, but it’s happening…

So today I was grooming Bruno (with the Furminator – that dog sheds like an avalanche!), and my roommate saw me so he came to offer precious advice. He did help me finish Bruno up cause it was a bit of a struggle – he doesn’t like being groomed and I wasn’t doing it quite right – he was in my lap when he should have been in front of me. Either way, it all went ok, until my roommate was almost done with Bruno and noticed his doggie dander.

And then…

He began lecturing me on how I feed my dog “a bunch of random crap” (referring to the additives I have been giving him to help with his hard-ass stools, and just for general health supplementation, such as yoghurt, pumpkin, flax seed meal, coconut oil, canned sardines, raw egg, RMBs, etc.)!!! He then continued on saying how his brother’s dog (a rottie) lived to 14.5 years old (“when the average lifespan of rottweilers is 10 years”), and how he thrived on ONE food for his WHOLE life, and it was… Can you guess? THE SCIENCE DIET!!!

His next advice was that I need to not mess with my dog’s GI tract by giving him my random crap, because:
a. I will spoil him and he won’t ever eat just dry kibble again.
b. I will mess his digestion up
c. I will mess his skin and coat by adding the stuff I add.
He then went on to brag about his dog, who has only been on Science Diet as well, and how she has no pet dander and how she is the “epitome of health” according to his vet and how whatever he’s doing, he shouldn’t change ever (and he plans to do exactly that); how she never has tummy troubles because he has found one food that she likes and does her so much good and he will never change it… And how I SHOULD DO THE SAME, how I need to choose between Nutro, Blue Buffalo, or Science Diet, and find something Bruno likes, and keep him on it forever!!! GAH!

In between some of his tirade I managed to sneak in a word or 2, such as: “The random crap I feed him is to help with his stools, and is carefully researched and selected to fit my dog’s dietary needs” – response “Yeah, but you give him too much of it, plus, hard kibble is designed to be balanced and give the dogs all they need, so they don’t really need any other crap, additives, or soft food, for the a, b, and c reasons above.”
Me – “I am about to put Bruno on a fish-based food soon” (referring to his pet dander).
Him – “Why?”
Me – “Because fish is really good for dogs’ skin and coat, and has Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, just like flax seed (minus the Omega 6) and coconut oil.”
Him – “… Yeah, but lamb is better. Casey (his dog) has been on brown rice and lamb and her coat is so shiny and soft (not nearly as much as my dog’s, I promise), and she has no pet dander, and she loves the food, and you really shouldn’t switch his food so much.”

Maybe he is right, maybe lamb is indeed better, but can someone please explain how it could be better than fish, in regards to Omega 3 and 6, and skin and coat benefits?

As for the rest, the convo ended with him saying that he doesn’t usually like to tell us (my husband and I, which he NEVER tells him – he only speaks to me about the dog) how to take care of the dog, cause he feels like “we” (read “I”) get pissed off, but he wants us to do what’s best for Bruno…. I don’t know how I didn’t lose it and yell at him that I already am, and that all I do and feed is because I do daily research on it, and educate myself on what is good for Bruno… I just thanked him for helping me with the grooming and went to wash my dog…

Sigh, annoyed… The other problem/reason why I didn’t pour some emotions and knowledge down his head, is because:
a. he clearly won’t take it
b. he is helping us financially with the place a lot, i.e. paying more than us
c. I’m a chicken (or, how I like to think of it, I pick my battles).

SO, this is it… I just really needed to vent… Sigh, I will go walk my “messed-with” dog… Poor guy, having all kinds of variety with his food… I should be ashamed of my dog parenting skills… LoL,.. Sigh….

[Shasta220]

I don’t know too much about fish, but whenever we go fishing, we cook the whole fish in tin foil and give our dogs the remainders. Usually we gut the fish and throw the remainders away, but I’m sure if you cooked it then it’d be fine.

I honestly would never feed my dogs raw fish, as my lab has come within a few hours of death from eating a raw fish, and my dad once had a Dalmatian that died from eating a live fish.

Sorry for adding a question – but can anyone explain to me how/when/why raw fish can kill dogs, and if it’s ever safe to give a raw fish to a dog? The vet explained it when we took our dog in, but that was almost 10yrs ago, so I honestly can’t remember a thing he said.

[Bobby dog]

Hi, congrats and he is gorgeous! As far as how much to feed your kitty, if you are going to feed wet and dry food I would suggest you check out the feeding guide on the dry food you are feeding him. For example, Wellness has a guide on their bag suggesting how much to feed your cats if you are feeding only dry or a combo of wet and dry according to your cat’s weight. When you decide on an amount just observe your cat’s body condition and adjust your food amounts accordingly.
I have had cats ever since I can remember and still have lots to learn. I have two 15 yrs, one 14 yrs, one 11 yrs, and one 6 yrs, all stray cats. I wish I never fed them wheat, corn, soy, fish, or dry food. I lost two that were 15 years old about four years ago to illnesses that bad nutrition surely contributed to; digestion problems, obesity, and the male had urinary tract issues throughout his life. I have one cat that was diagnosed about five years ago with a hyperthyroid; he requires daily meds now. I have slowly changed their diets over the past five months, but at their ages change is difficult so they still need their fish and dry food fixes. Most importantly I have weaned them off of Friskies. I might not ever be able to completely ween them off of fish or dry food. If I paid more attention to their diets I truly believe I would not have had the vet bills I had over the years. About four years ago an emergency room visit in the middle of the night for my male cat’s urinary tract infection cost me about $2,000 to get him well.
My advice is to feed them the best wet diet that fits your budget. Avoid soy, wheat, corn, and fish. Stick to poultry, lamb, rabbit or beef if possible. If you are going to feed dry find a good quality GF dry.
I am with Crazy4cats, my go to website is catinfo.org. My other favorite is the naturalcatcareblog.com. They have a great list of dry and dehydrated foods and the reason they recommend them. I feed wet three times a day (totalling about 3-5 oz./cat) and give them a small scoop of dry once a day. I am on a very tight budget as well so I only buy food that I either have coupons for, on sale, or on the 50% off shelf. I feed Natures Variety raw (when they e-mail coupons), 4Health from Tractor Supply, Merrick, Wellness, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic (chic only, K3 is in the other varieties), Blue Buffalo, and Evo. I am always trying new canned foods using the information I learned about food from catinfo as a guide. I also feed them boiled chicken two or three days a week as one of their meals to help keep costs down. For dry I have been feeding Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (bought with the $5 coupon from their site of course) because there is no fish meal in the recipe. I just bought a bag of Merrick GF chic on sale which they seem to like.
Sorry for the long post, maybe something I have written will be helpful for you. Good luck, he’s one lucky kitty!

[Dori]

I like Mercola supplements. I use Mercolas complete Probiotics for Pets and Mercolas Digestive Enzymes. I trust both Dr. Mercola and Dr. Karen Becker. I also supple with Nature’s Logic Sardine Oil two or three times a week. If I give my girls whole canned sardines in water than I don’t add the Sardine Oil. I do supplement with Coconut Oil every day. Coconut oil does not, it is my understanding, interfere with their diets or any other oil. Coconut Oil is more of a antioxidant. Works differently than fish oil. I prefer sardine oil to other oils and my girls do well on these supplements. One of my girls gets glucosamine/chondritoin daily and supplements from Ark Naturals (Grey Muzzle) for heart and cognitive function (that’s my 14 year old girl). Oh, my 14 year old Maltese gets Nzymes antioxidant daily. Hope any of this helps. It’s what I do for my girls. Works for them anyway.

[pugmomsandy]

Do don’t have to supplement every meal since the canned food is complete. Try NL and the joint supp for one meal, prob/enz in the second meal. Fish oil two or three times a week, especially if you’re using a human dose, he’ll get more than enough.

[pfeiner]

Hi All –
I have been feeding Primal to my two Labs for a while now. When I read the menus on the advisor, I have to admit I get somewhat overwhelmed. I am looking for alternatives to Primal only because it is so expensive. I have heard that Darwin’s is a good product and less expensive than Darwin – any thoughts?

Am I correct in that if I choose to make my own, I can purchase a mix such as the one HDM suggests – “See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix” and just add my organic foul or beef? Some of the posts suggest adding fish oil in addition to the mix. Do you all agree? Should I be adding anything else?

Thanks in advance for your help –

[Mom2Cavs]

What you are giving him sounds like a good plan. The Nature’s Logic fortifier is a whole food supplement and I believe should not be “too much”. I really don’t know if you mean you might overdose him on something or if it’s too rich. But, either way, it should be a healthy supplement to add if he tolerates it. All the rest are fine, too. The doses for all these supplements for such a small dog should be small, as well. If you are worried about changing the taste of his food and him not eating, then you could use something else to help deliver the supplement, like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc…. to put some of the supplements in and give as a treat. As for the joint supplement, you could always get one that is packaged like a treat and give it that way, so it doesn’t have to be mixed into his food. The coconut oil would probably be licked right off your finger as a treat, and if the fish oil is a gel cap you could wrap it in something, like cheese, or use cream cheese and cover it and give as a treat, as well. The probiotics and enzymes shouldn’t change the taste of the food. And as far as him being healthier without all the supplementation….sometimes supplements can cause issues, like allergic ones, or loose stool, etc., so it is a choice you have to make, whether or not to give, and if you do want to give supplements to try to find those that the dog can accept either in his food or as a treat. I should know all this because I have smaller dogs who don’t eat that much food and I do like to give supplements. Lucy, my Mixed Breed, has a rare type of skin cancer (I believe she’s in remission, atm, yay!) and she takes a liquid maitake mushroom supplement in her canned/dry food every morning. I was very worried she might not take it in her food and I’d have to get creative, but she has with no problems…very good, lol. I also give Standard Process supplements, which are powders, and sometimes they will give a little loose stool, so I back off a little. If I feel I’m overloading them with supplements I tend to break it all up between morning and evening or give as a treat during the day. Sometimes I don’t give a supplement every day, but every other. I also evaluate their supplements at times to determine if I still need to give something or if I can stop for awhile. I also like to rotate supplements, too. I will give Wholistic Pet for awhile and them I’ll switch and give Nature’s Farmacy stuff, or Springtime, Inc. I’ve used cream cheese to give pill type supplements to Lucy because she’s picky. The Cavaliers tend to just eat anything I give them lol. These methods have worked with my dogs and I hope some of the suggestion help.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 1 month ago by Mom2Cavs.