Hey thanks guys. Patty, I agree with the peanut butter, as I did in the past. Wasn’t sure about their other treats.(your reviews have been a big help with my choosing dog foods, thanks.)
Ohbichon, thanks again for the local location help, and I agree with her being more involved in making treats herself. I use venison I harvest myself for meat in treats. All natural the way it should be. Only downside would be the pesticides the farmers use, but I eat it, and dogs love it. Anyone have their own recipes for treats they’d like to share, be glad to hear. Or direct me to another forum area about it, appreciated. Ill defininately check out zukes and the others mentioned as well. Thanks again for your politeness and help. So glad I found this site š truly knowledgable people that care for their babies as I do! My vet gave me a complimentary bag of large breed puppy science diet, went in the garbage. Also vet tech tried to give my baby a treat for being good, I took it from her politely and put in the trash when she left. Know one feeds my baby anything but me or my fiancĆ©. I don’t know what’s in that stuff?
Absolutely!! I always give it and take it with food, because it’s pretty strong stuff. Just google canigivemydog dot com or natural-dog-remedy dot com to learn more.
kms-
Here is my two cents. I agree with Losul regarding the antibiotics. I personally think this might have started because of the rounds of antibiotics he had initially. Every time our rottie has had chemo and been on antibiotics afterwards it takes forever for his stool to return to normal. We give him double doeses of probiotics with every meal while on antibiotics and for weeks afterwards before backing it down again. It takes a long time for their gut to get back to normal after everything has been killed off. I don’t think he truly has colitis. I think his system has never been able to get back to normal. I would go back to doing the double doses of probiotics.
Regarding his food, I remember you fed him a bland diet of chicken and rice once for awhile, right? Did his stool get any better with that? I was told that barley has a good amount of fiber and can be better than rice. I feed our rottie chicken and overcooked oatmeal and it works for him. Homecooked food might be easier on his system than kibble right now.
I feel for you. Stay strong. I’ll be keeping Augie in my thoughts. š
duke the boxer –
Thanks – I’ll look at that but I hesitate about grains because I read several places that that they’re inflamatory and not good for colitus dogs. The diarrhea did start aroud day #5 on the NVI Rabbit (so maybe it’s the food?) – but it also coincides with when I stopped the double doses of theraputic Probitoics and went down to maint (so maybe it’s that?). I talked to the vet tech who ran his stool the other day and she said that he had a “moderate” amount of Clostridium in it “more than is normally found”. So it could be that too? or a combo of them all????? She said they are really stumped.
I have been reading about how digestive enzymes can sometimes cause diarrhea in dogs with Colitus, so i stopped them on Fri night to see if anything changed. It has only been 24 hrs, but no change so far – still 100% diarrhea.
I can give him anti-biotics (SMZ TMP), but I know that they could be what caused the Colitus in the first place. (Although I was not giving probiotics back then). Or I could change the food again? fast him?
Summary… 6 mo old Weim who has had soft stools since we got him at 9 wks. Has had Colitus for the last couple months after 3 rounds of anti-biotics (for high bacteria in stool). Currently has full blown diarrhea (for the last 5 days) and stool test shows no parasites but a moderate level of Clostridium. He’s eating NVI Rabbit (day #6), taking probiotics but no Digestive enzymes. Outside lab results of his stool are not due till Wed or Thurs.
Pattyvaughn, RescueDaneMom, Duke and anyone else – what do you think? Thank you.
Ok, davinoj again, on second look the calcium looks a bit high. We are struggling because we are trying to feed a product without any fillers like tomato pommace or “natural flavors” in the listing and can’t seem to get a product with everything in it. I guess that’s why some go Raw. We just don’t have the time. We seriously need some help trying to decide. Also, we need to avoid chicken and turkey we’ve been told for our Bouvier and to stick with foods they would have had in the wild such as beef and fish. Help!
Hi there, just checking back in, any thoughts, comments etc on the food I posted the link to at Colorado Natural Pet ?
Thanks all
WC
kms i know you didnt want to try another chicken based food but id really recommend trying nutrisource large breed chicken and rice. duke went from straight diarrhea to firm stools within the next day of going to nutrisource. Its not something that i stayed with nor do you have to stay with it but maybe it will help stabilize his stomach and firm his stools enough to get a regular routine. just a thought
Augie’s vet appt was yesterday. He is 38 lbs (gaining about 1 lb every 7-8 days). He has had diarrhea for last 3 days for no apparent reason (no pattern, no changes). The nearest “change” to that was when I reduced the probiotics from Theraputic dose to Maint about 3 days prior to that. So yesterday, they tested him again for everything (hook, whip, Giarddia, Coccidia, Clostridium,….). They tested a stool I brought with me – plus they took a fecal. Both stools came back clean except for a little Clostridium. Vet said he feels that he has had ongoing bouts of colitis ever since the antibiotics back in Oct. Even despite trying 2 different foods, adding probiotics, digestive enzymes and pumpkin, it has not resolved. Vet sent part of the fecal to an outside lab to see what they can find. It will take 7 days for results. If they do not find anything, he thinks we should see a specialist and they will prob want to do a colonoscopy.
I’m trying to see if the diarrhea resolves itself, but seeing no improvement. Today was same thing. The vet gave me a prescription for SMZ Tmp, just in case the diarrhea does not improve in the next day or so – but I fear that will just make it worse. I don’t even know what to say at this point. He’s eating, drinking, playing, sleeping normally – and no vomiting at all. I still hope he just needs a combination of healing and a food that will agree with him, but that is looking less and less likey every day. Right now, he has full blown diarrhea and that worries me. I do have a tube of Pro-Pectalin (he took that to help solidify the stool when this first started back in Oct) , but I really hate to give him anything new at all right now.
i would love to feed duke the annamaet aqualuk formula but its so expensive for a college student like me -_- i do eventually want to try the salcha but i want to try another protein thats not chicken for dukes next bag. i will probably either get one of the earthborn formulas or the pet pantry food. In all honesty i just want a food that is rich in meat protein and not so much the fillers and plant proteins.
I’m not sure if you are feeding grains or not. I’ve fed my big guy Annamaet and Earthborn Holistic with great success. My grain-free picks from the list would be: Annamaet Aqualuk (fish), Earthborn Meadow Feast (lamb) or Earthborn Coastal Catch (fish). Canine Caviar Wilderness (venison) or Open Sky (Duck) look good too- never personally fed this brand but I like the looks of it. My grain-inclusive picks would be: Annamaet Option (salmon and venison) and Victor Select Lamb Meal & Brown Rice. I’ve never heard of Pet Pantry dog food so I googled it. It looks like a pretty good food. I think the Buffalo and Duck would be worth a try. I’m currently feeding The Honest Kitchen and raw to my Dane and he is loving it. The Honest Kitchen Love is beef (though it’s pricey). Let us know what you end up with and how it goes. š
I love Earthborn, so Coastal Catch is easy for me to recommend. I’ve been very curious about Fromm’s Beef Frittata and Salmon Tunalini, but I haven’t tried them yet. If you are not staying grain free and price is no object, Carna4 Duck would be high on my list. Also look at Annamaet’s foods. They are a good company.
Hey patty im sorry to bother you but i have been looking at the list over and over and i cant decide what to get. I wanted to switch from chicken and turkey as that has been his last 2 foods and i believe he is allergic to turkey since his nose and feed are pink always. I was looking at the pet pantry buffalo and duck dog food. also i was looking at zignature trout meal and also i was looking at the earthborn meadow feast and costal catch. Can you please maybe recommend preferably a beef or fish based dog food? I would love you forever š and this isnt specific to Patty anyone who is reading this and has a large breed dog please chime in what food you have used that isnt chicken based
Thanks Betsy & Patty
Here is the link to Colorado Natural Pet, you will see they sell Ammamaet (not Salcha unfortunately), Precise but also have their own CNP food which is what I am referring too. Its made at the same processing plan with the oversight of the receipe by the same nutritionalist as Ammamaet. The difference is that CNP is made to order every 4 weeks, uses less packaging and passes on the savings by the looks of things. Please do let me know your thoughts as I really do appreciate the feedback
I have asked them to provide me the amount of calcium per 1000 KCAL and should have that info soon
http://www.coloradonaturalpet.net/shop/product-category/dog-food-2/
Thanks
WC
Hi Wildcat 1,
Congrats on the new puppy!
What brand of food is it that you’re referring to? Maybe we could take a look at some additional information about the product to get a better idea of its overall quality.
Whether or not you go with a grain inclusive or grain free food doesn’t matter too much as long as it doesn’t have a ton of it and the dog does fine on it. Many of us use growth foods for the life of the dog. There is nothing in a growth food that an adult can’t have and often the growth foods are better quality at the same price. Growth and All Life Stages are the same thing. If a food meets the requirements for Growth, the company can choose to have it labeled for All Life Stages.
I would not use a food just because the same guy that formulated another food, formulated it. Make sure it has less than 3.5gm of calcium per 1000kcal.
Have fun with your pup! I love GSDs.
Hi all
I
have been reading this topic and the dogfoodadvisor reviews with great interest as I am about to welcome home a new GSD pup. I want to start on a higher quality food than I used in past (Blue Buffalo) and this current pup supposedly is on Eukanuba large breed puppy.
Hound Dog Mom did some great work and without her spreadsheet this would seem like an even more impossible task š I also read with interest the threads about calcium levels and was about to pull the trigger on Orijen Large Breed Puppy until I saw the potential issues there with calcium. So, with that said I narrowed it down to Annamaet as the one I want to try, specifically Salcha.
Once i looked into local availability I found a company producing something with the same nutritionalist as Annamaet and thought I might give that a try.
This particular company has a couple of products one of which is a grain inclusive puppy specific (28% protein min, 17% fat min, 3.5% fiber, 1.16% calcium dry) specific, the next is an all stages grain free (turkey, chicken, catfish) which is 29% protein, 14% fat 3.5% fiber 1.49% calcium or they have a grain free duck and bison which is 30% protein, 16% fat, 4% fiber.
The questions I have are:
1) Grain free or grain inclusive for puppies ?
2) If grain free as puppy I assume there are still grain free solutions for when they get older (needing leaner food etc) ?
3) Better to go with puppy or all stage food in general ?
Thanks so much all
WC
Thanks Patty. I am trying to figure out the calcium level for a 5 month old large breed puppy who is eating canned food.
Duke the Boxer –
I got this for Augie and it has slowed down his eating significantly. He used to wolf down 1.5 cups of food in less than a minute. Now it takes him a good 8-10 minutes. It’s harder to clean than a regular stainless steel bowl, but well worth it. In case the link below doesn’t work, it’s called the “Pet SkidStop Slow Feed Pet Bowl” – found it on Amazon.
Hi Angie and congrats on the new “baby”! You’re on the right track with choosing to go raw for your little guy. Neapolitan Mastiffs are prone to hip dysplasia which can lead to arthritis as they get older so it’s important to choose on a good diet as a puppy to prevent a lot of vet bills (and heartache) down the road. Here’s a good article from raw dog food diet guru, Robert Mueller that explains how diet can help prevent hip dysplasia in large and giant breed dogs: http://www.barfworld.com/blog/?p=2422.
Best of luck to you both š
Does any one know about the calcium levels in canned food? Would one be able to calculate using the same method as for the dry and raw? Also, is the canned food usually “all life stages” and appropriate for a puppy? Sorry if this has been asked and answered already.
Hmm i definitey think that could be the issue. At night i usually watch him eat and make him slow down and swallow his food every little bit. In the morning my mother feeds him early and she doesnt watch him and if hes not watched Duke will devour the food within 5 minutes
He might be eating too fast or gulping air. Is it real soon after he eats? One of mine used to do that in the morning. I always figured that his tummy was so empty that he was inhaling his food. I started giving him just a handful of his food, then a bit later a little more, and then the rest of it. He stopped vomitting. I eventually started just pouring his kibble all over the bottom of his crate to make him eat slower. I also started saving a small amount of his evening meal to give right at bed time so he wasn’t going as long before getting more food in his stomach.
hey Patty, Duke is not 7 months and 51 pounds! So excited. I started to notiece some weird patches and i took him to the vent and it turned up to be demodetic mange or demodex. After he went on the medicine for the mange thats when he gained the 8 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks. But recently sometimes in the mornings he will throw up some or all of his food. It is not everyday or even every other day so thats why its confusing me.
Any thoughts? He is transitioning into wellness core puppy which he had been on before and never had these problems. Could it be food related?
HDM doesn’t come here very often. She is busy with school and other projects.
Here is her list of foods that are OK.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?srcid=0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk&pid=explorer&efh=false&a=v
NVI raw is not one of them. The end of the list is the raw foods that made the list.
Question for Hound Dog Mom.
What do you think of feeding an English Mastiff puppy Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen food. We are looking to blend a kibble and a more convent pre made raw food. The dry kibble will be Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit
Would love some thoughts.
If the vet finds nothing, stop everything except the food for a few days and see if that helps. In a perfect world, you can’t give too many probiotics, however the probiotics have other things in them besides just probiotics. If he is sensitive to the other stuff in probiotics, or digestive enzymes, then taking him off of them for a few days should help. It may do nothing at all, but then you would know that they aren’t contributing to the problem. I would take him down to the normal dose of probiotics now anyway. By now he has got to have what his system can support in his system. Right now, I feel like straws is all we have to grasp at. Basically, this has been going on long enough that I feel like if you can think of something different to try, try it, just wait until after the next fecal check.
Hmmm… This is a really tough one. I wonder if he can’t handle fiber and needs to go off of the pumpkin and perfect form altogether. I guess if it were me I would keep him on the prefect form until the vet appointment, and if the vet doesn’t find anything in his stool, I would take him off everything but the food for a bit and see what happens. It is true that it can take longer for things to work all the way out, but in my experience you should be seeing some changes by now.
mfulton7 –
Thanks. I appreciate your feedback very much and need all the help I can get. I hope “more time” is what it comes down to – that would be a huge relief. I think I’ve read so many threads where people said they noticed a change in stool fairly quickly, that I assumed this was another dead end. It has only been 6 days since he has been on NVI Rabbit @ 100% (plus I changed the protein source), so maybe he just needs more time to adapt to the food and for his gut to heal. I will rule out parasites again while I’m waiting.
All –
When first starting out on perfect Form, does the stool get worse before it gets better? I gave him PF twice per day for the last 2 days and his stool got progressively softer. Last night, it was even to the point of runny – like a thick tomato juice. This morning, it was half formed and half soft again. I’m just wondering if this is normal or if there is something in it that doesn’t agree with him.
kms- sorry for cutting in here. My opinion is that your dog hasn’t been on the new food long enough. If a dog food isn’t working for your dog it takes a few weeks to figure it out. My vet recommends at least 6 weeks, I can usually tell if it is working by 4 weeks with my dogs. That being said my dogs have been on quite a few different types of food. Most recently we had brought a dobie home and she hadn’t had firm stools. We tried 2 different foods with her and she still had runny stools. Now she’s been on the new food EB meadowfeast for 3 wks and her stools have finally started to firm up. In my opinion you need to wait it out a little longer. If you really want I’d have the stool tested but if it comes up neg then stick with the food a little longer at least 4 weeks. I hope this helps!
I made a vet appt for this coming wed – will have a fecal sent out. Also, I started Perfect Form last night. He ate it right up – no issue with taste. So far, he has had 3 stools – all 3 softer/runnier than normal. But he has only had 2 doses, so it’s prob too soon to tell. As far as pumpkin, I’ll stop that today.
I like everything I’ve read about Honest Kitchen products and would be willing to try. Also have been reading about Primal, Darwin and NV frozen and freeze-dried raw. My biggest fear is that things could get worse at a critical time in his development. I’d also have to face both my vet and breeder – who aren’t really in favor of my direction so far (in terms of going to a kibble rotation diet and also for heading toward raw down the road). But I’ll keep reading and taking baby steps. Another reason why I’m so thankful for this forum.
The NVI Rabbit uses chicken fat as a preservative and it’s 4th on the ingredient list. So NVI Rabbit is not 100% chicken-free, but it’s fat instead of meat. I don’t know if that changes anything. In other words, can I still rule out “chicken intolerance” – or could that small amount of chicken fat still cause a chicken intolerance? I really hope his system just needs more time to heal, as Pattyvaughn sugggested. It’s just that I’ve never had a dog who didn’t have worms or diarrrhea at some point – and it has always been remedied quickly. So I keep worrying that it’s something more serious.
I’ve read on threads where people go back to grain-inclusive and the stools get better. Why is that? I thought grains were not good for a dog. The reason I went grain-free is because I thought it would be healthier and the food would be less likely to trigger an allergy.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
kms.
I still think his digestive system is just off from everything before, but it’s best to check and make sure. After you have tried Perfect Form for a bit, try to find chia seeds at the health food store or try a little psyllium powder. Maybe pumpkin is not the fiber for him, for that matter, stop the pumpkin while he is on Perfect Form.
Interesting. I don’t think he’s sensitive to chicken then since he hasn’t improved on the rabbit food. That sounds like our rottie right now. He’s still recovering from a nasty reaction to his last chemo treatment. The drug did not agree with him at all. I think it killed off everything in his gut. We’ve been feeding him 3x a day with probiotics and enzymes in every meal. We had him on Nutrisource Weight Management for the high fiber (12%) which helps his diarrhea. Now he’s got mostly solid poop with the runny stuff at the end because we switched him to the Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural (2.5% fiber) with no transition time. He just decided he didn’t want to eat the Nutrisource anymore. I was thinking that fiber might be the issue with your guy but that doesn’t make sense either. You tried 2 higher fiber foods: Orijen at 6% and NVI at 7%. I’m kinda stumped. Hopefully the Perfect Form will start helping. After you run out of NVI you could try NV Prairie LBP to see if he does any better with grains. I also wonder if he might do better on a dehydrated food like Honest Kitchen. It might be easier on his digestive system than kibble. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Those are just some thoughts I had. It sounds like all you can do is trial and error right now until you can definitively rule out parasites again.
No – he was not scratching, biting, or chewing at all when on the chicken-based foods. There was no sign that anything was wrong, other than his stool. His stool back then was the same as it is now – starts out formed and then goes runny. Oh and he does it in 2 squats almost every time – first he pushes out the formed stool and then he walks around for about 10 seconds and squats again to push out the runny stuff…
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by kms.
Yes, mix the PF into a paste and add it to the food with the pumpkin, probiotics, and enzymes. I don’t have any personal experience with parasites but I know it can take awhile for dogs GI tracts to recover from damage. It’s possible you just haven’t found the right food yet. Do you think he’s allergic to chicken? Was he scratching/biting/chewing when he was on the chicken-based foods? That’s good that he’s not doing it now.
RescueDaneMom, Hershy and PattyVaughn –
Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I’ll get a stool sample to the vet asap. The last time he was tested and clear of parasites was 10/22 (that was after we had completed 2 doses Strongid and 3 rounds anti-biotics for roundworms and Clostridium). At that time (10/22), they tested for worms, Coccidia, and Guiardia and he was good. But it’s possible he picked something up since then (although I watch him like a hawk and he is always on leash in yard).
Also, I’ll start the Perfect Form today. Just to verify, I am going to make a paste out of the PF and mix the paste into his meals along with the pumpkin and Probiotics and Dig Enz’s, right?
What is you gut on this? Does it seem like he may have parasites again – or is it starting to look like a problem with his lrg intestine – or just not the right food yet? or does it sound like an issue with chicken/chicken fat? He has not been scratching, biting, chewing and is eating/drinking normal.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by kms.
kms- Thanks for the update. I was wondering how it was going. The Perfect Form is perfectly safe and I would suggest starting it ASAP. It is not sold in some states because of the herbs that it contains. Some states are weird about what they will allow in. For example, many of the Acana varieties of dog food can’t be sold or shipped to the US because of the “botanicals” they contain. I’m not sure why it is such a concern. I don’t know if they have an issue with them being non-native or what.
If I were you, I would try the Perfect Form and give it two weeks to see if there will be any improvement. I would keep up the double doses of probiotics. If things haven’t changed in two weeks then I would consider changing to a different food.
Just wanted to update. I’m starting to get more worried. We made the last transition step yesterday and are now at 100% NVI Rabbit. It was a 9 day transition. Still doing digestive enzymes and 1 heaping tblsp pumpkin at each meal – plus a double dose of Probiotics at each meal. Meals are twice per day (1 1/4 c NVI Rabbit per meal) – plus I use 1 c for treats throughout the day – so that’s a total of 3.5 c per day (he’s a 35 lb, 6 mo Weim). Other than the improvement in the quantity/frequency of stool and less fishy smell (which is probably due to the dig enz’s, not the food), it’s the same. The first part comes out nice and formed – and second part comes out like pudding. It has only been 2 days now that he has been on it @ 100%, but shouldn’t I have seen gradual improvement the whole time we were transitioning? or am I not being patient enough? It just seems like most people see a improvement right away. I’m getting worried that it may not be the food. He has now been on 4 foods (Eukanuba Puppy Growth, Chicken & Rice bland diet, Orijen LBP, NVI Rabbit) and all 4 resulted in the same thing. The first 3 were chcken based and the last is rabbit based (although it does use chicken fat as a preservative). His last antibiotic and negative fecal were 40 days ago – so the antibiotics are long gone from his system – and he has been on a double dose of Probiotics for 2 weeks. The really weird thing is…. in all this mess, he HAS had some days with great stools. He had 3 days in a row at one point while on the chicken/rice bland diet – and then he had about 3-4 days in a row when on Orijen – but there was no pattern that I could see.
Should I start looking for another food or give this food more time?
Could the 1 c I’m giving as training treats be messing him up because they aren’t being given with dig enz’s and prob’s?
Is 1 1/4 c (sometimes 1 1/2 c) too much to feed in a meal (ie. should I feed him 3 times/day instead of 2 times/day) I moved to twice per day feedings about 1 month ago at the suggestion of the breeder – she said it would give his GI tract more time to rest.
Should I stay on a double dose of the probiotics?
Do you think I need to see the vet?
I got the Perfect Form – should I try adding that now? I got concerned when I saw that it’s not allowed to be sold in some states. Can you shed some light on that?
I know that’s a lot of questions and I really appreciate any and all advice.
Hi Blue Eyed Girl
RDM gave you some great advice. Any treat that is just meat will be low in calcium, but just make sure you keep treats to under 20% of the diet, then you don’t have to worry. Rotation of foods helps to keep the intestines healthy and support a wider range of probiotics. If you have agreed to keep her on the SD for 2 months, I would still go ahead and get the next food and after she is settled in your house start adding in 25% of the new food. That way you can start getting some of the better quality in to her and she can have a really long transition to the new food, just in case she does have a sensitive stomach. BTW, rotational feeding cured my sensitive stomach girl. I can feed her any thing, any time I want now with no upsets.
Hi BlueEyedGirl-
First, if you want to upload a picture as your avatar you need to go to gravatar.com. You can also add a picture to a post using photobucket. Copy and paste the image link into your post and it should show up.
Now onto the food…Wellness Core Puppy is a great food, but it is a BIG step up from Hill’s. To play it safe, you might want to gradually step up the quality food. You could start with Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy. Nutrisource has a reputation of being an easy food to switch to. Then you could transition to Wellness Core. 3-4 foods in a rotation is good. That would be my minimum. If your dog doesn’t have intolerances or allergies then you could find many foods to keep switching through.
Because you don’t know if she is a large breed or not, I would play it safe and feed large breed puppy appropriate food. Feeding lower calcium won’t hurt a small/medium breed dog. In my opinion, it’d be better to err on the side of caution.
I think that the amount of calcium that they get from treats is pretty negligible. However, if you are very concerned, I think dehydrated/freeze-dried tripe would be a good choice. Tripe has balanced Ca/P and I believe it is lower in calcium than some other treats. Freeze-dried liver may also be good.
There are more knowledgeable members on here that can give you more feedback and correct me if I’m wrong. I hope this was helpful to you. Have fun getting ready for your pup. It’s so exciting getting ready to bring a new dog home. š
Hello –
Thank you all for the wonderfully intelligent conversations and to HDM for curating the list of LB Puppy Dry Foods. I have tried to read as much as I could, but with over 50 pages, it is quite overwhelming. I apologize in advance if my questions are redundant.
We are hoping to adopt a Boxer/ Great Dane (?) (Maybe Catahoula Cross?) mix from a local rescue this weekend. (I was hoping to be able to add her picture to my profile to show off her blue eyes, but I can’t seem to figure it out right now).
The food she is currently on is Hills Healthy Advantage Large Breed which appears to be borderline for Calcium, but it rates quite low for quality (Two Stars. oh – the irony that it is considered a vet exclusive product).
She was placed on this food as she had as her foster mom says “a wicked case of diarrea” when she came into her foster home. According to her foster mom, she seems to be doing quite well on this food and she has requested we keep her on it for the next couple of months.
After reading all of the information here, I am wanting to transition her to a higher quality food for the remainder of her puppyhood. (She is currently 38.3 pounds and leggy with pretty marled markings at just four months, thus I am leaning to the Great Dane mix).
I have a few questions –
1) I am considering the Wellness Core Puppy as the beginning food to transition her to. Although we transitioned our previous dogs with foods for interest, is there another medical reason to switch out the foods? Is a 3-4 food rotation sufficient?
2) If it turns out that she is NOT a large breed mix (maybe Catahoula), is there any danger or adverse results from feeding a medium calcium food?
3) Are there any training treats that are recommended for large breeds that follow suit with the calcium content?
Thank you so much for your help. There is so much to collect in time for her arrival on Saturday! I want to be prepared. Any advice you can offer is appreciated!
D
YES (those on this list are definite options)
California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy
*Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Dr. Timās Kinesis All Life Stages
Dr. Timās Pursuit Active
Eagle Pack Puppy (yellow bag)
Eagle Pack Pork Meal and Chicken Meal (large and small bites)
Eagle Pack Power
Earthborn Puppy Vantage
Earthborn Small Breed
Earthborn Costal Catch
Earthborn Great Plains Feast
Earthborn Primitive Natural
Fromm Gold Small Breed Adult
Fromm Gold Puppy
Holist Select Radiant Adult Health Lamb Meal
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Adult
Merrick Classic Real Lamb, Brown Rice and Apple Adult
*Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Large Breed
Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
Natureās Variety Prairie Kibble Chicken and Brown Rice
Natureās Variety Prairie Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
**Nutrisource Performance
**Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Small and Medium Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Grain Free Heartland Select w/ Bison
Nutrisource Grain Free Seafood Select w/ Salmon
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken
**Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken Large Breed
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb Large Breed
Precise Endurance Formula
Precise Natural Grain Free Chicken
Vets Choice Health Extension Little Bites
Vets Choice Health Extension Original
MAYBE (foods on this list are more for sale watches or when I have a bit more money to spend)
By NatureāPork
Castor and Pollux Beef and Barley
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers SoulāLarge Breed Puppy
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers SoulāPuppy
Eagle Pack Original Lamb Meal
Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Adult
Earth Born Vantage Adult
Earthborn Ocean Fusion
Earthborn Meadow Feast
Fromm Gold Adult
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken Meal and Rice
Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Adult
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
Merrick Classics Beef, Whole Barley and Carrot Adult
Natural Balance Ultra
Nutricource Adult Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Adult Lamb and Rice
Precise Sensicare Lamb Meal and Rice
Precise Chicken Meal and Rice Foundation
Premium Edge Weight Reduction
Wellness Complete Health Chicken
Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato
NEED MORE INFO (these need more digging to find calorie counts)
Natureās Recipe Easy to Digest Fish Meal and Potato
Natureās Recipe Large Breed
Natureās Recipe Easy to Digest Chicken Meal, Rice, and Barley
Natureās Recipe Healthy Skin Venison Meal and Rice
PetGuard LifeSpan
* Just over 4 cups for Dweezle
** Less than 4 cups for Dweezle
Cherikeeusa, right now I’m feeding Nature’s Logic kibble to my F1 Goldendoodle but I’m getting ready to switch him to a raw diet. I’ve been doing a LOT of research and raw greatly reduces the risk of bloat. Pork and chicken are both fine for dogs. I’m looking at Tucker’s Bones as my raw diet and it is pork-based.
I will be getting my large-breed puppy in about a month. My pup is a Goldendoodle, a Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle mix; they are well known to have a propensity toward grain allergies. I would like to provide a rotational diet for him, adding homemade meals (Sojo balanced) as well as grain-free, white potato-free dry foods topped with canned foods, sardines, etc. Can anybody help me with what sort of time-table for changing up his meals should be? Also, I’ve seen someplace that pork is a definite no-no, and chicken has a fairly high risk of allergy. True? Or…? In addition, any suggestions you might have for which brands I should start with would be very helpful. A full dietary plan would rock since I know next to nothing! LOL! I know…newbies suck right?!
The issue with peanut butter is that since it is grown in the ground, it can carry aflatoxin. As an occasional treat it won’t matter, so rotate kong filling with some plain yogurt, canned food, etc. then freeze. A small amount of things that are not balanced for calcium don’t matter.
Hello everyone! I have an 11 week old lab puppy I’ve had for two weeks. After reading all the great information on here, I decided to feed him the Annamaet Salcha. So far everything is great.
My question now is regarding peanut butter. Is it safe to give puppies, and if so, what kind and how much. I’m having a lot of issues with him barking in his crate when I leave for work and would like to give him a kong toy with frozen peanut butter hoping it will keep him busy during the first moments that I leave, that way he won’t be so anxious.
First I want to know if it’s safe for puppies, and then if giving him a small amount (to fill the kong) daily would off-set any of the calcium / phosophorus %. It would then defeat the purpose of all the research done with the food.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He barks forever and I want to find something that will calm him during my absence. Can’t be toys (other than kongs) as he already chewed one up and swollowed a little piece the other day! Almost had a heart attack – and he hasn’t even starting teething yet! I’m in SO much trouble!!! LOL!!
I have a Great Dane and my mom is taking care of my brother’s rottie. We used to have both of them on Dasuquin with MSM for large breed dogs made by Nutramax. http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/dog/dog-joint-bone-health/dasuquin-for-dogs It worked very well but was very pricey. Last time I bought it on Amazon it was $80 for the 150ct bottle. They come in beef flavored chewable tablets which makes it easy to give. The rottie ate them like treats but my Dane was picky and I had to crush them up in his food. Now, I buy the same components (glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, and ASU) from swansonsvitamins.com and give them to my dog crushed in his food. It costs me about $25/month now instead of $64 (I was giving 4 tabs per day so the 150ct lasted about 5 weeks).
Since I posted to the list the other day about Merrick I thought I would share what they provided regarding Calcium. Obviously this food will not go on HDM’s list for large breeds.
Dry Dog Food
Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult -2.50
Beef, Whole Barley & Carrots-Adult 2.50
Lamb, Brown Rice & Apple- Adult 2.50
Large Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.36
Small Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.50
Puppy-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.28
Senior-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.20
Grain-Free Chicken 2.50
Grain-Free Buffalo 2.50
Grain-Free Duck 2.50
Grain-Free Pork 2.32
LOL!! One of mine is intolerant to the tomato in the NVI Rabbit, but he still had great stools. Have you tried any other rabbit foods? Just wondering if it was the rabbit or something else that caused the loose stools. Mine get rabbit raw and it is one of the raw meats that they do best on.
kms, I forgot to mention that as long as he is gaining weight, I wouldn’t try to rush it. That alone can cause diarrhea.
Mine have great stools on rabbit, so it is definitely an individual dog thing. I’m not sure I would wait to transition just because you don’t know that the poor stools aren’t because of a food intolerance, just transition slowly, unless you see that his stools start getting better just from the change, in that case you may want to speed up the transition.
yeah i rotate wellness core puppy. In my rotation is Dr Tim’s Grain Inclusive, Wellness Core Puppy, Earthborn Costal Catch and my final food that i was rotatin was the nv rabbit but i need to change it out for another food since duke didnt do well on it. But every dog is different so maybe your dog will do much better than duke. Also the Wellness core is turkey and chicken.
