[Lyndel M]

Hi again,

Thank you for all of your comments. However, can I say that I was responding to another member’s query as to how to stuff chew toys when she is using a raw food diet and I provided with options from my own my own research and provided a link.
However, given some of the confusion that, i) it is cruel to make a puppy work so hard for its food by giving all of its food in a chewtoy, ii) that they can’t get all of their nutritional needs met from a chewtoy due to the difficulty of getting all of food out, especially the raw meat out; iv) the raw food may go off or the chew toy become contaminated with raw food left in there and cleaning difficulties etc. Yes! I agree to most of those responses.
A puppy has very specific needs indeed. He/she needs a balance of 70% protein, 20% carbs !0% veg/fibre. Their protein should also include 10% organ meat, with only 5% of that being organic liver.
I am going on my own research and as most of your know there are many benefits to using stuffable chew toys and food puzzles. Dr Ian Dunbar (a UK vet and one of the first positive dog trainers) recommends that for the first few days to a week only feeding you puppy either by hand or in chew toys to teach them i) bite inhibition;ii) to teach the a chewtoy habit so they only chew on appropriate chew toys. However, in his day in the 80’s kibble was viewed as the best food for all dogs and he did feel his puppy’s chewtoys with kibble.

We do not intend to feed all of my puppy’s meals in a kong and we will not be leaving our puppy unsupervised…ever! We have used chew toys with previous pets and of course know the importance of cleaning. While our puppy is getting positively conditioned to his portable crate, his chew toys will be in there for him to chew on for entertainment and teaching him to self-sooth for those times in the future when he will need to be on his own. Outside of his crate (which by the way, will only be used in this way for the first few weeks), his food will be hand fed and given as treats in his training sessions.

I have found and spoken to a holistic vet in my area and will of course be guided by her expertise. We will also be supplying certain omega -3 & 6 rich oils for a shiny coat and skin health and other vitamin supplements. We love and have always loved dogs, however, this will be the first time that we will be introducing raw food into the diet after our growing awareness of how poor the quality (even premium) commercial dog foods are. Given the controversy around raw vs cooked food, my partner and I have decided to offer a mixture of both home cooked and raw food.

As most of you know that daily physical exercise is essential for a healthy pet, I am a big advocate of not allowing our pet just sit all day with nothing to do except sleep and wait anxiously for us to come home for his walk. So chewtoys are great for reducing anxiety and boredom and providing mental stimulation.

As our pup grows, we will of course be providing some of his meals in bowls and some in puzzles, kongs etc and some still by hand.

It is great to see though that some of you who are concerned about the issue of animal cruelty are being outspoken about this, we are all definitely on the same page there. I am passionate about preventing cruelty to all animals and humans. Have a good day!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Shawn:
What’s your budget? Where do you shop, on-line, brick & mortar, or both? Are you opposed to any brands?

I feed quite an array do to very finicky kitties that like what they like. So I can provide you with my list that consists of grocery store to higher priced brands. I keep carbs low for UTI health and mostly feed grain & fish free, but to keep them eating consistently I throw in grain inclusive as well as foods containing smaller species fish.

Other cat lovers will be by with their fav’s too!!

[Naturella]

Welcome to DFA! It can be overwhelming, yes, but sometimes the best way to learn is just by trying some of the different ideas people post that appeal to you, see how it works with your dogs, and tweak the thing or choose something else.

I just posted the below info for someone else, lol, but it is altered to fit your questions. I am not a professional or anything, I can just tell you what I think and do:

I think that no single dog food is perfect, and different foods have varying amounts of protein, carbs, and fat, but Victor is a high-quality food and all the flavors within it seem pretty good to me. If you want, you can also rotate both within a brand (basically switch up the Victor flavors), or rotate the Victor brand with other good foods, like Dr. Tim’s, Earthborn Holistic, and Annamaet, among others – this will offer your dogs a variety in the formulas, tastes, vitamins, etc. The kibble sizes in most of these foods are pretty viable for a Chihuahua to handle, but I am not sure about Dr. Tim’s – the kibbles may be a bit big for a 4-lb dog.

If you choose to rotate brands, give it at least 10-14 days, adding a little bit of new food to the old at a time, and watching the stool – if stool is good for 2 days or so, add more new food, take more old food out, and so on. If stool is not good, back down the amount of new food, up the old food. When they get used to rotating, you can switch brands with every big bag (what I do, but with small bags, lol). For now, you can switch to a brand, then exhaust most of the flavors within the brand just so they don’t have too many changes at once, then go to another brand. Also, you can add canned plain pumpkin to aid their digestion in the process, or a supplement called Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen (THK). I swear up and down by it – anytime my Bruno has an upset tummy, it tightens him back up in a snap! But don’t overuse the Perfect Form – use it only as needed, and the amounts to feed are on the package, as well as on THK’s website. Which leads me to…

… if feeding Perfect Form with kibble, you will need to add some water to it. It will look like a greenish soup of kibble, lol. But, with that said, extra moisture added to dry kibble is always good for the dog. You can add plain lukewarm water, yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil and water, or canned food (and water). Any mix of kibble and canned is fine as long as the dog’s tummy is ok with it and as long as you adjust the amount you add and remove the appropriate amount of kibble so that the caloric intake stays about the same. So introduce the canned slowly, and not while transitioning between brands. You can also add dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried foods and water to kibble as toppers too, canned sardines (no salt added, in water only), fresh vegetables and meats, some fruits, and the above suggestions. Make sure you add NO onions or any grape products (grapes, raisins), some mushrooms.

For my 15-lb terrier mix I feed 1/4 cup of dry kibble twice/day, each time with some different topper from the ones mentioned above. I use coconut oil (twice/week), raw egg (once/week), The Honest Kitchen dehydrated foods (4 recipes, each one once/week), Big Dog Natural air-dried food (once/week), yoghurt/kefir (twice/week), 1/2 of a 3.5-oz can of sardines (once/week), 1/2 of a small can of dog food (right now either Weruva or Wellness, twice/week, no kibble at said meal), and a raw meaty bone once/week. All toppers minus the egg, sardines, can of dog food and the RMB I give a teaspoon of. And I add warm water to the mix in all meals. The dehydrated/air-dried foods kind of require it, lol. Bruno loves his “soups” (that’s what kibble and water and toppers look like) and he is slim, but muscular – his body condition is great, his coat is great, and he loves meal time.

So you can implement some, all, or none of the suggestions, or tweak them to fit your dogs’ needs. Good luck, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions. 🙂

[Naturella]

Oleanderz, thank you for the kind words! You are such an eager-to-learn doggie mommy, it is awesome! 🙂

Ok, let me first say that I completely second Dori’s suggestion to NOT start rotating foods before she is well recovered from the surgery and back to normal, stool included. Sometimes stress, or the pain meds, can affect the stool, so if you had just started introducing a new brand of food, you wouldn’t know what’s causing the stool change.

But, after she has fully recovered from her surgery, you can start introducing and transitioning her to a new food of your choice. I think that no single dog food is perfect, and they do have varying amounts of protein, carbs, and fat, but all 4 brands are high-quality foods and will offer her a variety in the formulas, tastes, vitamins, etc. Like Dori said, if she’s gaining weight, feed her less, exercise her more; if she’s losing weight, feed her more, and still exercise her – she will be gaining muscle mass, which is healthy.

Now, for the rotation – it really depends on how her tummy’s taking it. Give it at least 10-14 days, adding a little bit of new food to the old at a time, and watching the stool – if stool is good for 2 days or so, add more new food, take more old food out, and so on. If stool is not good, back down the amount of new food, up the old food. When she gets used to rotating, you can switch brands with every big bag (what I do, but with small bags, lol). For now, you can switch to a brand, then exhaust most of the flavors within the brand just so she doesn’t have too many changes at once, then go to another brand. Also, you can add canned plain pumpkin to aid her digestion in the process, or a supplement called Perfect Form from The Honest Kitchen (THK). I swear up and down by it – anytime my Bruno has an upset tummy, it tightens him back up in a snap! But don’t overuse the Perfect Form – use it only as needed, and the amounts to feed are on the package, as well as on THK’s website. Which leads me to…

… if feeding Perfect Form with kibble, you will need to add some water to it. It will look like a greenish soup of kibble, lol. But, with that said, extra moisture added to dry kibble is always good for the dog. You can add plain lukewarm water, yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil and water, or canned food (and water). Any mix of kibble and canned is fine as long as the dog’s tummy is ok with it. So introduce the canned slowly, and not while transitioning between brands. You can also add dehydrated/freeze-dried/air-dried foods and water to kibble as toppers too, canned sardines (no salt added, in water only), fresh vegetables and meats, some fruits, and the above suggestions. Make sure you add NO onions or any grape products (grapes, raisins), some mushrooms.

Finally, where to find Victor dog food: sportdogfood.com Victor GF and Farmina N&D GF are the best options, but Farmina is on the pricy side. Victor is pretty affordable.

Oh, and for the boxes – hope she gets some flying discs in her BarkBox or whatever other boxes she gets! 🙂

Ok, sorry for the novel… Good luck, keep us posted, and let us know if you have any more questions! 🙂

[Oleanderz]

Melissa- Good idea, I didn’t consider what the negatives were for leaving her unspayed in the long term. Thank you!

Dog Obsessed- That definitely is another good reason to as well. The reason why I was able to get Luci that easily at my age is because her mother wasn’t spayed and their owners dealt with two litters of puppies beforehand thanks to the tresspassing neighbors’ dogs. They couldn’t keep a majority of her litter, so they just handed the puppies to the SPCA. The last litter was a litter of 7 but they only sold 3 and my Luci was the last one because she was polydactyl –or has an extra dew claw on each back paw.
Thanks for the facts!

Naturella- Thanks! Back when I got my first job it was really hard for me to find this brand!! and a good enough one to keep her regulated and energetic. Before Earthborn my mom and I would actually buy her Beneful–cause of the cost. Never again, I fed that to my long since deceased Chow-mix King and it did nothing for him in the long run.
Thank you for the rotation suggestions!(You’re so thoughtful! Thank you for remaining GF with them too!!) They would all be safe enough to switch out from Earthborn; also how often should they be switched? For the past few years, I’ve been switching between every 28 lb bag for a different flavor of Earthborn. Another question, I don’t see the Victor brand food on Chewy.com, but I fould it on Dogfoodadvisor. Where do you happen to buy it, if you don’t mind me asking?
Earthborn has the most protein, Annamaet has the most carbs and they’re all relatively similar with the amount of fat. Do you think I should switch to one with a lower protein content since Luci only gets 3 walks a day? Sorry for the barrage of questions! I appreciate any and all help!!
Yeah, boxes are awesome, I just figured there was some sort of catch to them or something for how cheap I pay for them every month. Also how I found out Luci likes flying Discs. That must be the reason why BarkBox is all over youtube. I’ll check it out!

Dori- Yeah, it was rather weird for me to wrap my head around the idea of them too. Sounded like an easy way to scam me or harm my dog. Last thing I need.
Really? Thank goodness, I appreciate the reassurance. How did he feel afterward, like they have to put him to sleep or give him pain medicine? And how long would she have to wear that cone? I really don’t want her to hate me, dislike going to the vet, or be in any sort of discomfort. I don’t know how she’d be without me there if she needed help walking and where I am now I’d be a nervous wreck! Also would I need to put her in a cage afterwards? She’s hasn’t been in one of those since she was boarded during a move at her vet hospital.

Thanks for all the help!!!

[Akari_32]

This really is the only vet diet I would ever consider feeding to any animal. The protein levels are decent, the fat and carbs are lower than most other foods, and its got all that good joint stuff in it. I just wish it had slightly better filler-type ingredients. But its Purina, what are you gunna do? Corn is their thing…

Girl, I’d take mud over sand spurs any day! Those suckers get into the inside of your pant legs and shoes and hide there until the most inopportune times! And Ginger is not a happy dog when she’s in pain! It took about a minute to get her pinned down enough to where I could safely remove the sand spur from her toes with out losing a finger LOL I’m just glad that the blinds weren’t open at the house that we stopped in front of. They’d’ve probably thought I was killing her XD

[RethaCarole]

Ron,

Thanks for starting this post. Again, you are not the only one feeding Pedigree. I have been feeding it to my rescued Lab (Miley) for 8 years now and she was recently diagnosed in November with diabetes (420 glucose level) and immediately started her on insulin (11 units) 2 x per day. While a lot of her symptoms have subsided and she went from 80 pounds to 70 pounds, her glucose level will not drop below 300. I have been researching different dog foods for a few days now and was appalled by what I have read about what is in Pedigree and the low nutritional value. No wonder her glucose level will not drop. I feel like such a horrible doggie mom. Because there are so many dog foods on the market it is so difficult to find one for a diabetic dog that is low carb, low fat, low on the Glycemic index, less than 20% of the calories are from the carbs and costs less than $50 a bag. The brands that have a specific line of diabetic products do not get very good ratings either. Because of all this research, I found this website in the hopes of finding something better to give Miley. So if anyone has any experience or suggestions, I would truly appreciate the assistance. My head is swimming right now.
Thanks in advance,
Retha

[weezerweeks]

No low protein has nothing to do with PH. when the ph is high it is to alkalinity and when it’s low it’s too acidity. So in my opinion it’s the ingredients in the food. I know that when my yorkies ph was 8 his diet was too high in carbs. He was on longevity by bb and it was high in carbs.He was also on kibble and when I switched to canned with low carbs his ph dropped. I personally would never use anything by Blue Buffalo again. To many people have had too much trouble with this brand. Good luck

[weezerweeks]

My yorkies PH was 8 last year and he had sturvite crystals. I switched him to all canned with below average carbs and his PH this year was5.5 which was a little to acidity for me but it had dropped that much. I would definitely get him off the CD because that should just be short term not a year. It is not a very good food in my opinion. Maybe someone on hear that knows a lot more than I do can give u suggestions. I just know what worked for me.

[Susan]

Hi sound like he has IBD, I would try a vet diet as these diets are formulated for these type of problems…they have to right amount of soluble fibersn the right amount of fat%..the diets you have mentioned have toooooo many ingredients, you will never fix the problem…
Every time your dog has diarrhoea you are causing irritation to the bowel & then this will cause inflammation of the bowel (Colitis).. My boy has IBD I have him on a vet diet, I had to in the end, even if you put him on a vet diet just for 3-6 months to let everything settle so you can start to work out ur next stop..this will not just go way..
You have to work out, does he have allergies to a certain foods, does he need a lower fat diet, does he need less fiber or less protein???
With vet diet they just have 1 hydrolized protein that has been broken down & 1 carb, I’d go back to vet & either try Royal Canin Hydroallergenic diet or their Allergenic diet or the Hills Z/D ultra or the D/D diets… like I said he doesn’t have to stay on these vet diets forever, just to calm everything down & let everything heal…. also boiled rice is a no no as the boiled rice irritates the bowel more, grounded rice is OK in kibbles buyt not boiled rice..if he gets diarrhea from pumkin, then I’d say he needs a low fiber diet, I feed the vet diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” not the plus just the Intestinal, its a low residue diet that breaks up real easy & digest real easy & is low in fiber…my boy wasn’t digesting his food he’d vomit it up 6-8 hours later that was the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, he didn’t do well on any Royal Canine vet diets..the R/C didn’t seem to digest & the kibbles were very hard…. I have him on the “Eukanuba Intestinal” within 2 days poos were firm again, once he was pooing good I waited about 6months & tryed the premium foods from pet shops, He just doesn’t do well on them, vet said that they are formulated for healthy dogs that don’t have stomach & bowel problems….. Now I’m trying the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble, its suppose to heal & help the bowel, you don’t have to pay to see the vet again just ask the ladies at the front desk can you put him on a vet diet like the vet wanted before & google the vet diet food & see which has a low fiber, The Hills Z/d Ultra has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber so I haven’t tried it yet where the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble has more soluble fiber & less insoluble fiber… you need to work out is it his small bowel with the problem or his large bowel…. with the small bowel they need less fiber, if its the large bowel that has the problem, then he needs more fiber…..

There’s a really good group on Face Book called “Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disorder” you should join you get a lot of help from that site also another on Yahoo called “IBD Canines” a few ladies on the Face book group are going thru the same thing with their dogs, 1 was just put on the Royal Canine allergenic, I think its called & she is trying enzymes & has gotten her dog doing nice firm poos.. another lady is trying the Hills Z/d & her dog is doing really good now & remember only try 1 thing at a time, other wise you wont know what helped & what didn’t, if you need more help.. go to the Face book group, You will get help there……if you really don’t want to try a vet diet try the “Brother Complete allergy” egg recipes… here’s his link but after trying the Brothers complete & if it doesn’t work then please try a vet diet

http://www.brotherscomplete.com/VENISON-EGG-ALLERGY.html
a few ladies have their dog on the “brothers complete allergy” its working for their dogs & do not give any other foods while trying a new diet wait until dog is stable with no diarrhea.. Good Luck

[Kelley P]

It’s called Butchers Selects. These are the ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), corn gluten meal, dehydrated gravy, natural flavor, salt, natural beef flavor, potassium chloride, chlorine chloride, dried peas, dried carrots, color added (red #40, yellow #5, blue #2, yellow #6), minerals (zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, mangfnous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate), vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, Vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), riboflavin supplement, folic acid (Vitamin D3 supplement)

The brand website is http://www.butchersselects.com

[Naturella]

I will honestly admit that in the beginning when we adopted our Bruno, I got on the “grainfree” bandwagon and really did think grain-free is necessary and better. Now I know better thanks to the above ladies and many more, and as far as dry food is concerned, I’d look for high-protein, low-carb foods, with loads of meat as first few ingredients. Many of the foods I have stocked up on happen to be grain-free for this year, but it is not a rule at our household to keep it this way.

I do eventually want to work up to feeding balanced raw though, which I consider the ultimate best/species-appropriate food.

[Akari_32]

It’s just under $20 for a case on P4P (and shipping is $4). You should really try applying! You never know if it’ll work.

Did you see the Dietitic Management canned food? That actually looks better than most “premium” foods as far as protein and carbs goes. It’s really high protein and super low carbs. It’s not something I would mind using just to use, provide it didn’t have anything in it that would hurt a cat that didn’t have diabetes (haven’t looked that far into it lol).

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/AB8B8041-2B80-4D54-8E1C-EA319DFAC45E_zpssst3pzit.png

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Akari_32.

[weezerweeks]

My yorkie had sturvite crystals but no uti’s so I switched him to low carb canned food with water even added to it and we have been clear since. I would think u would have to get rid of the Uti and crystals before the supplements would help.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Dominick:

Here is a reply I found to this question from a few years ago that I agree with. I know there are several others that feel differently about grains. Hopefully they will chime in also and give their opinions in order for you to make good decisions when feeding your dogs.

December 14, 2012 at 7:30 am #10877 REPLY

Hound Dog Mom
Participant
mcaponigro –
I agree. I think some are led to believe a grain-free or grain-free/white potato free food is automatically superior or “species appropriate”, which isn’t the case. There are some wonderful grain-free and white potato free foods, but many more that are low protein, high carb and in no way species-appropriate. Whether the binder is grain, potato, tapioca or legumes – one must keep in mind that none are appropriate foods for a dog (carnivore) to be eating. The most important thing when feeding dry food is – in my opinion – focus more on maximizing meat content and protein content rather than picking a food based on which binder it uses. It’s also important to remember that just because a food contains an ingredient that is high glycemic doesn’t necessarily mean that the food is high glycemic – for an example, Orijen – which contains white potato – is one of the few foods certified low glycemic by the glycemic research institute. I think the only way one can truly avoid these high carb fillers is to go with an all meat or all meat and non-starchy vegetable canned food or feed a homemade diet free from grains and other starches.

[Akari_32]

I only use very food specific products, mainly out of cost necessity. Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Giblets and Speical Diet Beef and Chicken (both super low carb. They make up about 1/2 of the cats diet), Tidy Cats litter, Gingers PVD JM (which is belping her soooo much!), and every so often I’ll buy Purina One canned food for both the cat (only like two flavors) and dogs, Pro Plan dry for the dogs and canned for both, and just a few flavors of Fancy Feast for the cat (can’t remember which ones). I used to have dry One Beyond on my sometimes list, but they’re too expensive now. I’m really not that fond of Purina as a whole, but when you don’t have much money and the animals out number the humans buy about 6 to 1 (including the fish and reptiles lol) you have to be oportunistic lol I do really like Tidy Cats though! :p

*edit* And I guess you could count the Zukes dog and cat treats, since they’re owned by Purina now, last I heard. Lol

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by Akari_32.

[Susan]

Hi, try a low carb diet with no potatoes or sweet potatoes, my boy gets real itchy stinky ears when he eats kibbles with sweet potatoes, I prefer kibbles with rice as a lot of the grainfree kibbles have either potatoes, sweet potatoes & peas that are very high in starch…. The Earthborn Grain free kibbles (Large breed, Meadow Feast, Great Plains) has no potatoes or sweet potatoes they use Tapioca instead but does have peas… have you looked at Freeze dry foods like K9 Natural http://www.k9natural.com/

[crazy4cats]

Hi Weezerweeks-
So glad to hear the kitties are doing well. You are so awesome for saving them! Here are some more low fat, low carb canned choices for your pup (compliments of BDog from another thread):

Fromm’s Shredded Beef 12.2% fat, 22% carbs
Tiki Dog Kauai Luau 15.24% fat, 8% carbs
Tiki Dog Lahaina Luau 13.18% fat, 13% carbs
Tiki Dog Maui Luau 14.28% fat, 17% carbs
Tiki Dog Tonga Luau 15.55% fat, 11% carbs
Weruva Marbella Paella 15.8% fat, 7.2% carbs
Weruva Bed & Breakfast 12.4% fat, 23.6% carbs
Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken 15.4% fat, 9.7% carbs
Wellness Core Weight Management 15.9% fat, 16% carbs
Good luck with your zoo!

[Dori]

Hi weezerweeks. Thought I’d jump on in the conversation since all three of my girls of teeny tiny also. Lola 5 lbs., Katie 6 lbs. and Hannah 7 lbs. Have you ever given thought to feeding commercial raw foods to your yorkie. I know that commercial raw foods are way more expensive than kibble but you don’t feed kibble at all. You feed canned foods which aren’t typically cheap. Since you’re only feeding a 7 lb. yorkie the frozen food would last you a good long while in the freezer. Just take out the night before what you would feed him for the next day in the fridge to defrost. All three of my dogs were a little on the chunkier side before I went to commercial raw diets. Since feeding commercial raw diets (3 years now) they have all thinned out to their present weights and maintain that weight all the time. I also give them organic (when possible) fruits and veggies as their treats. It doesn’t seem to change their weight at all and Hannah is a real couch potato. Hannah, my 7 lb. 15 1/2 year old Maltese, is hypothyroid and has been for probably half her life if not more and her thyroid level always tests normal. The diets are high in protein, fairly high in fat and very low in carbs. Some people think that because the fat % is so high they will get fat, or have all sorts of medical issues, pancreatitis, etc. etc. In actuality, the opposite is true. As to the fat content in foods. I have said this so many times I need to make a recording…..It is not the amount of fat in their food (or ours for that matter) it is the quality of the fat in the food. Your dog will lose the weight, stay at a nice lean weight, will not act like he’s hungry or starving day in and day out. I can’t say enough good things about the commercial raw dog foods. They have made a world of difference in all areas for my three dogs.

[weezerweeks]

I have been using the suggested foods for weight loss on this site(article written by Dr. mike.not th suggested low fats. I have to watch out for carbs because Bailey got sturvite crystals when he was on kibble high in carbs.

[weezerweeks]

Crazy4cats yes that’s the calories from most of the food sometimes the cans are more. I only feed him canned or freeze dried. I add different things to his food but it still doesn’t add up to about 130 calories.He hasn’t lost any weight if anything he gains.I feed him the canned food that is above average protein and below or near average fat and carbs. His main canned food is the wellness stews but I also feed him Go Fit, Frommn gold,Weruva, dr Harveys oracle. I’ve tried HK but he hates that. I’m thinking about putting lotus in his rotation.It’s hard to find the 4 or 5 star canned that has the protein,fat,and carb count I like.I guess he’s ok but just wish he didn’t act hungry so much. Thanks for commenting.

[Bridget A]

My Cairn was recently diagnosed with small kidney and bladder stones. We are going to try dissolving them by special diet. Vet recommended Hill’s Prescription Diet Canned food. Can you recommend another nutritionally comparably BRAND and also, a dry food that is grain and white potato free that is low in carbs?

[Gina D]

I have an 11 year pit/boxer mix named Kia. Before I list all her health problems, please don’t assume I should put her down; she is happy, plays ball, chases the cats and is obviously still enjoying life. The second she seems sick(er) I will put her down.

She has Cushing’s Disease, she was diagnosed probably about 4 years ago. She has been on trilostane and is doing fantastic. Her tests always come back normal for what she has health wise.

She was diagnosed with Diabetes about 2 years ago. We switched her food to Science Diet WD, a low protein diet. I took her sugar and gave her insulin twice a day.

About 3 months ago she was diagnosed with cancer, either a fibrosarcoma or osteosarcoma. From all the research I did, I decided the surgery would be too hard on her, especially with the type of surgery.

Okay, so now that you know most of her history, my vet wants to change her diet. I think her thinking is let’s treat what is (probably) bothering her most and to get some weight on her, rather than give her the low fat stuff.

My problem is finding food for her. I have always given her dry, vet wants to change to wet. Prescription diet makes nd for cancer,but it is $3 a can. I have no problem mixing it with something, but for a 75lb dog, it is just too pricey.

Vet said high protein, high fat, low carbs wet food. I think I may have to mix a good dry in because of $$$. Vet also suggested puppy food but it high in carbs. I am really frustrated trying to find a happy medium of nutrition and a high/medium quality wet/dry food.

Sorry for the book. You all know how our 4 legged friends are family! Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

[Bobby dog]

Alright, then it sounds like you just need to find a tasty food for him. At Petsmart take a look at Nutro Ultra, Nutro Natural Choice, Simply Nourish, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Nulo.

Here is a download that provides a menu for adding fresh grocery store foods to your dog’s diet. I follow this meal plan using the fresh foods as toppers for several meals rather than feeding it as a single meal:
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

If you reconsider adding a canned topper to your dog’s meals, reduce the amount of kibble so you don’t over feed. Here are some canned and tub foods available at Petsmart: Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux, Freshpet, Innova, Nature’s Recipe, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nulo, Nutro, Simply Nourish, and Wellness.

Also consider diet rotation. Find at least three different kibbles your dog likes and does well on. Providing variety may help keep his interest in his food. I change kibble brands after each small bag and also switch to a different protein and carb. Here’s some info about diet rotation:
/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

[Dori]

Cheryl,
The commercial raw frozen foods that I use in rotation are:
Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen (if you can’t find it, please call them and speak with Jacquie, she’s the owner, and she’ll let you know who sells the food in your area. Don’t go by the store locater on their website because a lot of stores carry their goat milk but not their food and they are listed in their store locater because they do sell Answer’s Detailed just not the food).

Primal Pronto and Primal Formulas. Vital Essentials Raw. Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw.

Stella & Chew’s Raw (I feed this once in a blue moon. My dogs eat it but I’m not crazy about it. I come back to it periodically to give it a try because it does get good feed back from posters and is highly reviewed on this site and wonder if I’m just missing something). I will say that the company has a great reputation.

Commercial Frozen Raw foods are, by nature, high in fat. None of my three toy dogs have issues with high fat so it’s not a concern of mine. Beef, in my experience, will always be higher in fat than other proteins. If memory serves me, I think Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw and Vital Essentials Raw are probably lower in fat than most others. As I said, my girls don’t have issues with high fat diets. I have always contended that it is not the quantity of fat in a diet, it is the quality of the fat. Now, with that said, I don’t feed foods that have a higher level of fat than they do protein. I’m not paying high prices for fat. You have to keep in mind that the lowest % of fat that I feed is probably around 38% and up to around 58 – 59%. You have to know your animals and what they will be well with and can tolerate and thrive on. That goes not only with fat but protein and carbs as well. Also I think I’ve told you that I do not feed any food that has poultry, fowl, of any sort. One of my girls is highly intolerant of all forms including the different chicken and turkey fats that are put in some foods. Interestingly enough, she has no problems with eggs so long as it is no more than once every two to three weeks, maybe longer.

Moving on the Freeze Dried, I feed Primal Freeze Dried, Vital Essentials Freeze Dried and again, once in a blue moon I’ve wanted to like Stella & Chew’s Freeze Dried.

Dehydrated Foods: The only dehydrated food I feed is The Honest Kitchen. I’ve tried a lot of the others and for one reason or another I don’t like them.

There are, of course, foods in all categories above that I don’t feed for my own various reasons but that doesn’t mean that because I don’t care for them or how my dogs do on them, that they are not going to do well for other dogs. Katie, my allergy girl, has a list of food intolerances as long as my arm that I must avoid. Katie is the reason that I went to commercial raw foods and my other two dogs were lucky enough to come along for the ride and thrive on their diets. Dogs, like people, are all different. We all react to different ingredients differently. Some issues I have with some foods may not be an issue with others or may not be any issue for their dogs. (I don’t mention cats because I don’t have any. I’m allergic to animals which is why my dogs have always been of the hair variety and not fur). I am, fortunately, in a position that I can feed all 5 star rated commercial raw, freeze dried and dehydrated foods from companies that I trust that (in my opinion) have quality ingredients and quality customer service.

Ask away, I’m happy to help with my experiences and my trials and errors of which there have been many along the way. I’ve pretty much got all the kinks worked out for Hannah, Katie and Lola. I’m hoping that Millie and Pepper are well. Though you didn’t take Shawna’s advice years ago I’m glad you’ve jumped on board now. Better late than never as the saying goes.

[Dori]

Thanks RescueDaneMom. I’m always on the lookout for foods to add into rotation but have never known anyone that fed Tucker’s. If I can find it locally I might give it a try but it does seem high on carbs. No??? I feed a high protein, probably pretty high fat (higher than I would like) but really low carb rotational diets. I was concerned with the high carb % on the DFA’s dry matter review. Any thoughts? Thanks again.

[Akari_32]

Yeah well next time she needs ear drops or a nail trim, I’m calling you! She won’t look like such an angel then…. Lol

Blood test is going to be $130-something and dental a little more. Extractions are extra, though I wasn’t told how much. If a blood test was only $40 here, I’d have one done just for the giggles. Lord knows there’s more wrong with her than just meets the eye, and I’m sure theres something nasty going on with all the tumors on her body. But very few people want a dog this old with her list of problems, both mradical and behavioral, as long as hers, so I just deal with them as they come.

Cats can’t even hardly digest carbs, so what good would that even do? Raw diets are actually shown to reverse a lot of diseases in cats and dogs. Canned with low carbs (less than 5%) would be the next best thing. Vets all think high protein is too hard on the kidneys when in reality it’s usually high protein with not enough water that is so hard on them. Protein takes a lot of water to be properly broken down and processed. So do carbs, so why add carbs and take that water away from digesting what the body really needs (protein)?

[Susan]

I didn’t know she bites, she looks like a little angel…. its around $80 for the pre anesthesic blood test & it cost about $450 for dental cleaning, $40 extra for each tooth removed… My 13 year old cat Jeremy needs it done but I had blood test done last week cause he has been drinking & drinking water, it came back he has Kidney failure, so I’m not going to have his teeth cleaned now, vet said just make him comfortable & lower his protein & increase his carbs, but I’ve read the opposite to increase the protein, I told the vet this & he said high protein diet is to much work on the kidneys…I don’t know what to do……

[Akari_32]

I’ve tried all that keeping his paws clean after going out and it never helped. Here in FL it’s pretty much a losing battle if there’s an environmental allergy involved. I am about to take out chicken from his diet and see how that helps. He’s got about a month of pork in the freezer. Should be long enough off poultry to see if he improves any at all.

As far as treats, that’s a hard battle with mom. I’ve got her limited to three treats a day, and I’ve got them on Zukes, the little tiny ones the size of a pencil eraser. Moms the kind of person that means well, but is behind the times on the fact that there is more knowledge on pet nutrition and health care these days. All four dogs have her *trained* on where the treats are, and she loves to give them treats. So I do my best to create a happy medium in the treat field. She’s more of the just-feed-it-some-food-and-move-along type. We had some issues between the two of us when I first brought Bentley home with her just wanting to feed him Puppy Chow, and me getting free/cheap Innova (right before the first buy out, when they were still good). Thankfully she does see that all of his skin issues are diet related, but we are still working on the treat front of that. Even she compliments how much better he looks now that I’ve figured out carbs were such a problem with him. It’s a slow process with her LOL

Since we’re on the topic of fish, i just found out that the Publix I work at has whole smelt, that are like 4-5 inches long. They’re frozen in what’s probably a 2 lb bag. If they are plain, would this be a good something to add to his diet? Can they be whole, scales, bones and all?

[jakes mom]

Well I hesitate to post anything else here but I just got the KBPF and thought I’d list the ingredients for anyone who’s interested. It’s been a bad weather week in Ohio, lots of long commutes and snow shoveling and below zero temps so I have not had a chance to buy any meat to make the mixes. I have a few days off next week so will give it a shot then.
For the Better in the Raw mix: egg yolk, calcium lactate, beef liver powder, gelatin, whey protein, psyllium husks, EFA from fish oil, taurine, kelp, barley grass, Vitamin E succinate, Vitamin B complex.
Nutritional info based on “as fed” mixed food using ground chicken (average daily meal size 1/4 lb) :
energy 133 kcal
protein 17.29%
carb 1.2%
fat 6.0%
ash 3.19%
calcium 231 mg
phos 74 mg
mg 74 mg
sodium 144 mg
Potassium 201 mg
The U-stew mix for cooked meat has the same ingredients as above plus digestive enzymes.
The company suggests turkey, chicken, beef, venison, lamb or pork with 20% or less fat content.

[Akari_32]

Aimee, is there a way of knowing what pre-mix it was that the dog was fed? This has been something that concerns me with Bentleys such strict no-to-very-low carb needs and the fact that SSLL is the only affordable mix that meets his needs. I so wish I could find at least one other to rotate with, or be able to do complete raw, but cost and local availability do not allow me to do that on both fronts.

At least I have no problems with THK– Bentley doesn’t like it LOL Haley and Dweezle are currently getting less than a cup mixed between them in their kibble most nights though. I have a box that I forgot about that expires in February. Whoops! LOL

It’s interesting you say how well your one dog does on Pro Plan. I’ve used it several times in the past (coupons, you know lol) and I also can’t deny the results I see with Haley and Dweezle. However, it’s not something I use often because A) it’s Purina and I’m really not a huge fan, despite how it may seem, and B) Haley drops weight like she hasn’t eaten in months on foods with too much corn in them, and she drops it fast, so I have to pay attention to which ones I buy. It’s easer for me to just not buy it (at least not in bulk). Takes away the guess work lol

[Shawna]

Hi Kim S,

Pugmomsandy sent me an email letting me know you might have some questions for me. Thanks Sandy!!

Nitrogen trapping has been very very useful in helping to keep Audrey feeling well. When her breath gets a bit funky or she seems depressed I give her Garden of Life Primal Defense probiotics and Fiber35 Sprinkle Fiber as the probiotic (both are products marketed for humans). I tried other “fermentable” fibers (like barley, apple pectin etc) but Sprinkle Fiber had the best results.

The product I absolutely MUST have for her however is Standard Process Canine Renal Support. She’s been on it for over seven years. I can explain why I feel so strongly about this product if you wish — kinda technical.

Some other things that I rotate in her diet are spirulina, chlorella, food grade activated charcoal, burdock root (another really good fermentable fiber (but she got tired of the strong taste)), milk thistle and more. I mix five or so super foods/supps with an equal amount of enzymes and sprinkle on most of her meals.

Turmeric would be very beneficial for dogs with kidney disease as well but sadly Audrey doesn’t tolerate it well.

Giving ultra clean (like RO) water is important too. Evian water is both clean and a good source of a specific kind of calcium called calcium bicarbonate. Mineral waters higher in calcium (and lower in sodium) have shown some benefits for kidney disease.

I would recommend raw to any that can feed it, gently home cooked if raw is not an option or canned if raw and home cooked are not options.

Absolutely no chemicals like flea/tick or heartworm meds and no vaccines (including rabies).

I’m not sure how much info you’re wanting so sorry if I went overboard. 🙂 There’s tons more I can tell you if interested (like keep oil soluble chlorophyll on hand in case of anemia).

[Cait Y]

Ok so I have lurked here for a little over a year, and recently started making my own raw cat food via Lisa A. Pierson, DVM because one of my boys almost died after getting into the Dry food AGAIN and his whole GI system blocked up because he cannot handle the lack of fluids in dry food. He is such a picky eater that I had put off the raw diet dreading that he would turn his nose up at it like he did the other high quality raw/semi cooked food I tried buying him. He LOVED the home made food, he even batted off his BFF to eat his food too!
HoundDogMom, other raw feeders please bear with me I know that the whole shebang I know as of now it is 6 pages long. I am trying to paint the whole picture with the dogs, their special needs and what is causing me confusion with the Raw feeding books I have read. There is so much going on right now in my personal life that I am having a very hard time understanding this and if anyone could help point me in the right direction or even a book or website or from experience I would be so very very grateful.
The biggest reservation I have about feeding Raw to the dogs (who LOVED the scoop of homemade cat food I gave them as a test) are the bones and sadly the limited ingredients I can use for my Special Needs Hound.
I have a 14 yr old Walker hound (Forest) who has like no teeth left and was just diagnosed with cushing’s disease but has some pretty abnormal liver tests because of the damage that was done while he went undiagnosed. His liver is so enlarged it displaces his stomach sideways and upwards which makes EASILY digestible food a must. He cannot have food high in phosphorus, copper or ammonia which means little to no red meat and lots of poultry, eggs and pork. He also has problems with chronic Constipation so I would have to be VERY careful about the amount of bone I add to his diet but I also want enough in there to give him the nutrients he needs. Since he is older he also burns a LOT of calories, He is on Vital Fresh pet Turkey or Chicken and gets 1.5 lbs a day. I don’t know what is causing him to burn so many calories except for old age or maybe his body is trying to repair itself – all he does is lounge in the lawn and do his hound dance for food – people or animal whichever he can mac on at the moment lol
My 3 yr old yellow lab (Nova) is also a high calorie burner but she is super active, we do scent tracking, retrieving, and lots of walking/running on the grass. She will go until she drops which I have never seen before, so now I watch her very closely for signs she is over heated. She eats up to 2 lbs of the above dog food a day but is still losing weight on occasion when her activity jumps up again. She has always had double the amount of Eosinophils in her blood that she should at a “normal” rate. She has been checked for parasites so the best I can come up with is that she might have GI issues going on intermittently – she doesn’t transition food gracefully and really doesn’t tolerate even high quality kibble (after research it’s not such a mystery anymore) which is in part what turned me onto Freshpets Vital.
To top it all off I have a Four month old female lab puppy (Ellie) that is still growing. I have her on 2 lbs of Freshpets vital but I am worried that she is not getting something in her diet as well. She has three white lines running across her nails – each nail on every paw. In my experience when the horses have white lines or even indents it means either they were very very sick or have a mineral/vitamin deficiency of some sort. I know when Ellie came to us she had a severe infection of hook and round worms. Her infection was so severe at 8 weeks old that the vet said she would have died untreated – thank you OCD and taking her to the Vet the same day she was brought home lol. They were resistant to the normal worming meds and for 2 months we battled with getting them under control and gone. If Dogs are like horses that would cause the lines because of how sick she was during this (Great going Lemon law Florida) yet I also worry because I know parasites in small animals or even large can cause a huge system imbalance with nutrients which hinders growth.
OK Limited ingredients – because of Forest I have to stick to Chicken, Turkey, and Eggs as a main protein source due to his liver problems and because Rabbit in completely unviable to me unless I want to raise them myself. I have no local butcher – the closest one is three hours away so Chicken and Turkey liver will have to do for organ meat – sometimes I can get chicken hearts once in a blue moon. For Fats I have to choose VERY easily digestible fats from an animal protein because with Forests Liver problems his biliary system can be overloaded very easily and that would be disastrous. Maybe I can add some duck occasionally to his diet?

Copper Issues:
If ammonia restriction is required, feed less red meats and organs since they produce the most ammonia. You may not want to eliminate them entirely though, as they have important nutrients that help with liver function.
Instead, cut back. Feed more poultry, fish, eggs, and pork. If feeding red meat, even in small quantities, buy the absolute best quality you can afford. Preferably grass fed, antibiotic, and hormone free.

Meats generally low in copper are:
• Beef (muscle meat, not organs)
• Eggs
• Turkey (white meat)
• Chicken (white meat)
• Rabbit
• Fish
Meats generally high in copper are:
• Lamb
• Pork
• Pheasant or Quail
• Duck
• Goose
• Salmon
• Organ Meats
When feeding organs for copper issues, some animal livers contain more copper than others. Beef liver is higher in copper than chicken or pork livers. Regardless, the zinc and b vitamins in liver help to reduce the risk of copper toxicity. Though if your dog has an issue with copper, opt for chicken or pork liver. (http://primalpooch.com/raw-feeding-guidelines-dogs-liver-disease/)

I have read Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet and Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Health of Dogs and Cats. I have some major issues with either of the books, UtCaD is so absolute – if you feed this protein then you need this oil. First of all Canola Oil? Corn Oil? Soybean Oil? Walnut oil? Flax and hemp seed oil? I own horses and I would NEVER give them Corn oil with the GMO crap going around I don’t trust Corn or Canola at all. If I am not comfortable feeding to my strict Herbivores I am definitely not OK feeding it to the other animals. By the way the 2,000 lbs animals have had major GI upset from Canola, Corn, Soybean and Flax seed oil. I’ve given it to them in small amounts – 3 tablespoons a day and I have seen a massive systemic effect that made me take them off of it immediately. It was supposed to give them the right ratio of Omega’s 3 and 6 plus help my older guys move and keep weight on since it was winter. The recommended Ratio of 6 to 3 fats are 10:1 to 5:1 for dogs – I have read that small fish or Krill are the best to supplement dogs with because of the low contamination rate and it should not carry Salmon Sickness. Soybean oil is also something I would never give my dogs or humans or anything because of the way it can mimic hormones and interrupt the function of the Thyroid. Also Kelp is recommended a lot, but there are so many negatives that came out during the feeding kelp to horse’s fad that I will not touch the stuff. If it can affect the horses with the amount of iodine to the point horses became toxic I don’t trust the manufactures. It was not that kelp was being fed in large amounts there was absolutely no regulation on what type they harvested or what it contained. Missing link for dogs is a product I am familiar with and they do make it for dogs with trace minerals but it is flax based. Won’t this completely mess up the balancing? Does anyone here feed this instead of kelp?
The Missing Link Ultimate Skin & Coat:
Active Ingredients (per tbsp)
Flaxseed Dried Kelp
Glucosamine Hydrochloride (Vegetarian) Zinc Monomethionine
Freeze Dried Beef Liver Lecithin
Blackstrap Molasses Chromium Yeast
Rice Bran Selenium Yeast
Primary Dried Yeast Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6)
Sunflower Seed Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Dehydrated Alfalfa Garlic Powder
Dried Carrot Yucca Schidigera Extract
Shark Cartilage Powder* Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Freeze Dried Fish Protein Powder Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1)
Freeze Dried Oyster Powder Folic Acid
Barley Grass Leaves Powder Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)
Guaranteed Analysis Amount
Crude Protein (not less than) 18%
Crude Fat (not less than) 28%
Crude Fiber (not more than) 15%
Moisture (not more than) 10%
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) 450 mg
**Linolenic Acid (Omega 3) 1000 mg
**Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Cat/Dog food nutrient profiles.

Also if everything is so precise that does not leave room for error such as what if the chickens were raised on Florida soil which is heavy in limestone and deficient in other areas – rather than let’s say somewhere in the bread bowl what about if they were fed a corn based feed and another batch was fed free range? If the meat analysis is different it throws everything off and we all know that meat from south Fl is very different than meat from MI or IN – same principle goes with growing vegetables even organic. How much of a God Factor is there for the abundance of some micronutrients and lack of others? UTCAD also has an abundance of some nutrients way over the NRC guidelines – are dogs different in the fact that they can rid themselves of excess things very easily? I know in humans and horses Vit E and Selenium can be deadly because it builds up in fat and the body doesn’t flush it out like the water-soluble vitamins?
Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Health has a lot of oat meal, rice, beans?! Half and Half milk, whole milk, whole wheat bread corn? That sounds not so great for dogs and especially not for cats like it says it can be. What about kidney beans? With feeding my dogs I have learned they do OK on rice occasionally when they have an upset GI but if they are on a diet with rice too long they get backed up. Also the beans – the dogs seem to have issues with digesting them like people sometimes do – why are there so many carbohydrates? Why cannot I do sprouted microgreens or carrots or even baked potatoes because I know the dogs tolerate those vegetables very well. Also Brewer’s Yeast? Isn’t yeast as a whole bad? It’s in everything and I know Nova already is prone to yeast infections in her ears and when she gets a UTI – Also can Brewer’s yeast cause or attribute to bloat? Milk – isn’t milk products bad if they are in large amounts such as 2 cups milk plus 2 cups rolled oats and 2 eggs and calcium powder? Everything to me seems so skewed.
Also RMB are out of the question – Forest cannot eat them and Nova and Ellie are gulpers – they came from a large litter and it would be just my luck to end up in emergency surgery with one of them. I have a grinder to which I can grind the bone up with the meat and I know the purpose of the bone was for dental health but if I make Meat Jerky and other goodies can I replicate that without worrying about emergency surgery or broken teeth?
Since I own a grinder already for cat food why cannot I grind bones to supplement their food with? So far in my research the basic recipe and consensus I have come across is as follows:
16% Organ meat
10% – 25% Bone
The rest of the food would be muscle meat and muscle meat
Meat is very high in phos and the bone is high in Cal which means the Cal to Phos ratio should be 1.2 to 1.5:1 although 1:1 to 2.5:1 is ok as well. I just need to make sure the dogs consume more Cal than Phos but the question is do I need to add bone meal or can I grind my own bones to supplement?
Here is what the Article analysis the bone content to be in prey animals:
Bone Content In Raw Foods
When sourcing bones for your dog’s diet, it’s a good idea to know the approximate amount of bone in commonly sourced foods. Here is a quick guide to help you keep your dog’s bone content in the right range; between 10% and 25%.
Chicken Whole chicken (not including the head and feet): 25% bone/Leg quarter: 30%/Split breast: 20%/Thigh: 15%/Drumstick: 30%/Wing: 45%/Neck: 36%/Back: 45%/Turkey/Whole turkey: 21%/Thigh: 21%/Drumstick: 20%/Wing: 37%/Neck: 42%/Back: 41%
Pork Feet: 30%/Tails: 30%/Ribs: 30%
Beef Ribs: 52%
Rabbit Whole rabbit (fur and all): 10% Whole (dressed): 25-30%

From this can I remove the proper amount of bones or add more bones in to balance or would you suggest a bone meal powder? Also I have yet to factor in the percentage of vegetable/fruit/microgreens in the recipe – I am just so lost so if HoundDogMom could help or someone else could chime in I would be so grateful. I am trying very hard to learn as much as I can but between the animals and two sick family members and special needs animals by the time I have a moment to sit down I am out like a light for the night or my brain is so frazzled everything looks like it was written in French. Am I over thinking this? I just don’t want to screw Ellie up – she has already had such a bad start with the worm infection – and Forest needs nutrients to rebuild his liver correctly and I wanted to see if this change in diet would help Nova’s Eosinophils come to a normal level. Also has anyone ever seen white lines on every toenail that grows parallel with the skin? Any help would be so appreciated there is just not a lot of room for error with Forest right now with his liver Alt levels 4 times what they are supposed to be. They cannot stay on the Freshpet much longer because to feed the dogs its 19 dollars a day and that’s not a very good long term solution.
Thanks so much everyone~!~ I Hope everyone had a great New Year and wonderful Holiday
`RedMare

[Dog_Obsessed]

@Tabitha Because you’ve brought it up here, I wanted to ask what you think about the Wysong Egigen kibble. It is made without any starch or binders, and has very low carbs. The thing is it has the unspecified ingredient “meat protein isolate” in it, which was scaring me off because it was unspecified. I think it could really help in situations like this though. What do you think about this food? Thanks!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Bryana,

I also have a Golden who started out much the same way as yours. I believe the vaccinations may have contributed to some of his early issues. It was my intention to spread vaccines out and I recall once the vet acted like, “Oops, I actually got a combo vaccine ready.” Of course, I let it go. I wish that I had insisted and that I hadn’t gotten unnecessary vaccines. My Golden had an infection in each ear at just a few months old and was at the vet sick with lethargy and diarrhea. I suspected vaccinosis. Yes, the vet put him on the I/D garbage as well. Since I can’t change that now, I only vaccinate for rabies and I titer for immunity to core vaccines.

As for food, my Golden had digestive issues as a young pup also. It seemed everything gave him diarrhea. Plain canned pumpkin can help firm up loose stool. Goldens are known for having sensitive stomachs and food intolerance / allergy issues. I’ve determined that my Golden has food intolerance issues. He cannot have fish, flax, tomato, chickpeas or lentils. He does better with moderate protein, fat and carbs and a bit lower fiber. I’m not suggesting your Golden has these same intolerance / allergy issues, but it’s my guess he’s intolerant of something and what you’re saying is the end product. You have to figure out what they are, which is the tricky part and it takes a lot of time. Can you compare any ingredients in the food he was eating too see if there are common ingredient that could be the culprit?

Also, your Golden is a large breed puppy that has unique nutritional requirements. You must feed him a controlled level of Calcium. You should also avoid over-exercising him to avoid stressing growing joints and you should also keep him lean while he’s growing.

Here’s a link to another thread in the forum that explains this in more detail, read the first few pages at least: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

On page 36, there is a Google document with a list of foods with appropriate Calcium levels for large and giant breed puppies. It was posted on 10/22/2013, at 4:22 PM by Hound Dog Mom. You should choose a food from this list: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/page/36

One food in particular that I might suggest is Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey.

[Dori]

Hi Barbara. Sorry I haven’t chimed in sooner, it’s been a very busy day. As I’ve mentioned to you before, it has been a very long road to achieving a quality to Katie’s life. My favorite and most trusted commercial raw foods are: Primal Raw Formulas (the formulas are the only one of their foods that are complete and balanced), Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Foods, Answer’s Detailed Raw Foods (a bit difficult to find but any pet store that carries their raw goats milk should be able to order in the food for you), OC Raw, Stella & Chewy’s (I go back and forth with my feelings about the taste of their food for my dogs but as a company they are top notch), Vital Essential Raw, Nature’s Logic Raw. With all of this said I continue to always be on the look out and continue to tweak Katie’s diet. The companies that I mentioned are the ones that I feel very confident and comfortable with feeding to my dogs; but you always have to be on the look out that if any of these foods you feed to your dog don’t agree with them, look for different ingredients in the foods that may be the culprit. Katie cannot have any fowl whatsoever. Sometimes a food may be labeled “bison”. Please make sure that there is no other animal protein in the food. Sometimes some companies will add chicken fat, turkey fat, or some poultry to up their protein requirements for their label. Also some companies may have an over abundance of peas or some other ingredient which may bother your dogs. I have not found that to be the case with any of the above mentioned companies and foods. I do have to be careful which foods from these different companies I feed my dogs because Katie cannot have poultry of any sort, duck, lamb, quail. I stay away from all those. The only kibble that is fed to my dogs on very rare occasions is Nature’s Logic Kibble. They are not strictly a grain free food because their formulas contain millet which is a pseudo grain. For some bizarre reason Katie, who cannot tolerate any grain whatsoever, doesn’t seem to have any reaction to millet. It started out as an error on my part. I thought Nature’s Logic was a grain free food. It wasn’t after some time that I found it contained millet which I didn’t realize it was grain free. I was looking for a kibble that she might be able to eat because my husband who, on the rare occasion has to feed my dogs, is very squeamish and hubby is a bit on the lazy side, and just wants to be able to scoop a food and pour into their bowls. It doesn’t happen often because I don’t like feeding them kibble. Anyway, if I can be of further help please ask away and I will do my best to answer any and all questions that I can.

Just a quick add on to my post is that I do rotate brands, proteins within brands, etc. etc. My very favorite of all commercial raw foods is Primal. Without a doubt I have no qualms about recommending Primal Formulas. Primals Pronto Formulas are also an easy way for you to transition into commercial raw feeding because they are small little bits that you can scoop out frozen and put in bowls and wait till they soften (approx. 15 minutes) and then feed. I have three dogs…..5 lb. Yorkipoo, 6 lb. Maltipoo and a 7.3 lb. 15 year old Maltese. They have been eating these high protein, moderate to high fat, low carb foods for approx. 3 years. None have developed any issues from eating high protein, moderate to high fat foods. Many will scare people into believing that some foods have too much fat to feed dogs. It’s not the quantity of the fat or the protein for that matter, it is the quality of the fats and proteins in the foods. Huge Huge difference. As I’ve said, I have spent years figuring all this out, researching ingredients, companies, supplements in the foods and I’m very confident that I feed my girls high quality foods with high quality ingredients from companies that I trust implicitly and companies that, to my knowledge and investigation, have never had recalls.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dori.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Okay, thanks. I might buy the THK treats and other ones like it sometimes, and just think of them as “junk food” because they are high-carb. They are also super low-calorie though, so that helps.

[T]

The traditional Chinese veterinary medicine people have an interesting way of looking at this. Many ear infections qualify as “damp heat.” Foods that engender dampness include sweet and starchy foods. Therefore, in pets prone to dampness, avoiding damp-causing foods (lower carbohydrate level) is often advised. Damp DRAINING foods are sometimes used and these include: alfalfa, barley, Job’s Tears (a grain), and pumpkin- amongst many others.

Dry kibble dog food is usually thought to add to the problem when considering health from an TCVM perspective.

I agree with what BCNut and Susan said, too, an elimination diet trial with real food would be a really good idea, too! I’m working on writing a PDF that tells how to do a version of elimination diet trial.

I wrote an article on my blog about this recently:
http://naturalalternativesvet.com/food-allergy-in-dogs-and-cats-2

Tabitha

[Akari_32]

I would suggest you take up couponing. It’s easy, as long as you can do a little math and spare some time to search for deals. I get a lot of high quality food for $1 a pound and less. It’s a great way to take advantage of sales. Check out the thread i started on that. Everyone shares good coupons they find, and we all share our shopping sprees.

/forums/topic/coupons/

If you don’t have the time for that, Pure Balance is a pretty good food, as is Purina Beyond (a bit more expensive, but it’s higher calorie, so you feed considerably less), Rachael Ray Zero Grain or Simply Nourish (available only at PetSmart). There’s also Nutrisource, Dr Tims and Victors if you can find them, and Wellness isn’t too bad with the coupons they usually have right on their website if you don’t mind buying several small bags.

Momma dog will need to be on a good puppy food, and she will need to eat more than usual. I also urge you to get her spayed after her puppies are weened, and also ensure the pups are placed in homes where they will be spayed and neutered as well. They will live longer, healthier lives when spayed and neutered 🙂

As for the cats, it’s best to get them on canned food, but not all cats will eat it. Go for as high protein and low carb as possible. A pretty good “rule” to go by: if they make good dog food, they make good cat food. Here is another thread of mine, dealing with cat foods:

/forums/topic/cat-food-recommendations/

[Akari_32]

Oh boy, this’ll be fun lol

Haley and Dweezle: Natural Balance Ultra Small Breed. Only got it because it was $1 a pound after coupons– I’m not very happy with, so after the two bags I have are gone, I’ll not buy it again. However, they like it. But they like anything, regardless of how eatable it is lol They also each get a salmon oil pill in their food. Next will be Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Senior and Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult, mixed 2:1. These dogs are 60 and 130 lbs, btw LOL after that will probably be Ideal Balance puppy, then Wellness Core Puppy and Small Breed mixed, then who knows. I have a good sized stash to chose from. I try to keep it interesting.

Bentley: SSLL mix, with coconut oil (won’t eat the mix plain, the little brat!) and a nice de-boned raw turkey leg. He gets a random pick of turkey or chicken (bought whole and cut up and separated into white meat, dark meat, and bone-in meat), ground pork, or beef or chicken hearts every day.

Ginger: half Wellness Small Breed Simple Salmon and Potato, and half Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Healthy Weight. She’ll be moving to Purina Veterinary Diet Joint Mobility when I have the money in my account to order it, her Wellness Simple was running out, so I’ll put it off a bit longer, so she’s not switching arounf too much. Her stomach just can’t handle it. Nothing Purina is my first choice except for a very select few of the canned cat foods due to cost, but I’m at my wits end at what I can do to help her poor old joints, and not break the bank (not that there’s much of a bank to break at this point…). I can get it less than what the same size bag of Wellness is, so it’s worth a shot. Her treats today was a half of an Amoxicillin pill in the morning and tonight. She eats it like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever tasted, so I just let her think that LOL

Usually they all get some form of Zukes or Pet Botanics treats, but no one got any of those today, except the cat, who did high-fives, shakes, and up’s for his G-Zees treats :p He also got 3oz Wild Kitty raw cat food mix (made with chicken) for breakfast, and a 5.5 oz can of Friskies Ocean Whitefish as a very special treat. I don’t do fish or any other Friskies other than two flavors of Special Diet for him very often, but I’ll grab something fish based every now and then for something that isn’t turkey, chicken or beef. Gotta have something different when your crazy mommy limits you to very specific flavors from very specific brands lol I’ve also been giving Bentley a few pieces of Natures Variety Instinct Raw as a treat a few times a day. He loves to eat the little pieces still frozen. I think he likes the texture, and the fact that it’s red meat, something I can’t afford for his rotation very often. Innova Prime Red Meat used to be his favorite kibble before we realized he had carb allergies and before Innova got bought out.

Just a side note on the Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health forumlas: I’m extremely happy with all of them. Typically, even in the rest of the Wellness line, senior and diet foods are just complete crap, but these are comparable to other puppy and adult grain inclusive foods. They have good protein (close to 30%), and low fat (which is what my three old farts need), and are still high calorie (high 400’s!). Would definitely recommend either of these to anyone with a dog that needs a low fat diet, or to any owner who likes to feed lower fat diet food, small or large breed. It’s pretty decently priced, too, especially if you have coupons 😉

[Dog_Obsessed]

Yup! THK Quickies only have 1.1 calories per treat. Buddy Biscuit also has grain-free itty Bitties, but they are still quite carb-heavy. THK also makes dog cookies, some of which are quite low-calorie.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I give my dog treats. Most of the treats are store-bought mostly or all meat treats, though I sometimes make homemade treats, (recipe ideas here: /forums/topic/has-anyone-made-homemade-dog-treats/) or buy treats with more carbs that I think of as “junk food.” If I have given her a lot of treats, such as for training, then I reduce her food appropriately. I wouldn’t really recommend Milk Bones or Busy Bones (I assume you mean the Purina ones), because they are mostly grain fillers. For ideas on what to look for in a dog treat, check out this topic: /forums/topic/your-most-recommended-dog-treats/

As for treats contributing to weight gain, that could certainly be possible. From what I understand treats should not make up more than 10% of the overall diet. It can help to break treats into tiny pieces for training, or use lower calorie treats.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

[Dog_Obsessed]

It’s okay. IMO weight loss formulas are just marketing hype. High-protien, low-carb diets can help with weight loss, but feeding less and giving more exercise is really the key. One trick for getting inactive dogs to be more active is to throw their kibble, one piece at a time, so that they have to chase it. Lily loves this, but if I do it with her whole meal then she seems really hungry afterward, so I don’t do it with more than half the meal. Also, I’m not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but feeding food in an activity toy can encourage dogs to be slight more active, and also mentally stimulates them. It sounds like you’re on the right track, good luck!

[Susan]

Hi Kathy, which Hills I/d are you feeding…. the Hills I/d low fat GI Restore 7.4%-fat, protein-25.9% carbs-59.3 or the I/d Gastro 13.9%-fat Carbs-50.5% protein-26.3%
You can feed a different food but read the fat% protein% & carb% on the Hills I/d that your feeding & pick another food with the same amount of fat% protein% & carbs% …. you don’t want your girl the have another attack…… also wet food is better for pancreatitis..

[karren w]

Hi I live in the UK and am having a nightmare getting food for my dog she is an american bull dog she is 9 months old she carnt have chicken /wheat /potato’s/sweet potato’s /rice / or she get yeast ears .and her whole body is itchy. She is on orijen six fish at the moment as its got the lowest carbs in dry food you can bye in the UK .we are giving that for 2 meals and 1 meal of just meat .we are also giving her coconut oil and fish oil to try and help her . at the moment we are doing a bit better her ears are all good but she is dead itchy. Dos anyone no any other foods in the UK we can try .

[Susan]

Hi Walt, I don’t know if I mentioned “MALASEB” medicated shampoo, bath his paws in the Malaseb as this kills the yeast & bacteria that’s living in his paws & stops the smell…also wash his whole body & give a massage for about 5-10mins while his paws are covered in the Malaseb shampoo & soaking…..Malaseb is for yeasty skin & wont strip their good oils like other products do making the dogs skin dry. Iodine does make their feet real dry… I only used Iodine when Patches paws were red & sore which he hasn’t had since washing in them in Malaseb…I have to wash Patches stinky paws every 5 days, its hard if you fill a bath then you cant soak the paws & my boy is soooo scared of baths, I don’t know what happened in his past… I’ve had him 2 years now, I can not wash or put water around his head, he starts to panic, so I use a wash cloth around his head… when you get a kibble make sure the Carbs are LOW & make sure you start writing down the first 7 ingredients that way u’ll notice what carb works & what carb make his smell worst eg: potatoes, peas, (starchy carbs) as soon as you find the right food his paw problem will go away, I have to keep my boy on his vet diet due to IBD, like vet said, she’d rather stinky paws then diarrhoea.. Ur boy has landed on his feet, one very lucky boy….

[crazy4cats]

Recently I read a great interview by Dr. Becker with Dr. Lisa Pierson, feline guru. The topic was feline nutrition. She stresses three important factors for a healthy diet:
1.) moisture
2.) protein from animal sources
3.) no or very low carbs
While I thought I was following these guidelines pretty well, one of my male cats ended up with a urinary tract blockage due to Struvite crystals that caused bladder spasms. Very scarey! After a 2 1/2 day stay at an emergency clinic and a huge bill. He’s doing really well.
I’ve been feeding him prescription food and his crystals and blood in the urine are gone so far. He was also on a muscle relaxer for the bladder spasms and an anti anxiety med. He’s off the muscle relaxer, but might keep him on anti-anxiety long term.

When reading the interview, I learned that Dr. Pierson recommends using DL-Methionine as a separate supplement rather than prescription food. She states that it is better to acidify the pH with this pill and feed a higher quality diet that is healthier for the cat.

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on this medicine? I think I’d like to ask my vet about it, but fear I’ll be met with resistance. Any thoughts, anyone?

Btw, I’d like to note that this condition is much, much more common in male cats than females or dogs of either sex due to their internal plumbing. Don’t want to scare anyone!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Rob-
Do you feed any canned or raw food at all? If not I’d definitely start. By increasing moisture, it helps to flush out the crystals. Try to find the lowest carb, highest protein canned food you can afford and mix it in and add water. Also, You may want to use the prescription dry food for a while to help dissolve the crystals. After that, I believe Wellness Core is a good food for maintaining pH levels. Good luck!

[Bellalab]

Hi all. I am curious to know if anyone has ever come across a dog that cannot tolerate ANY digestive enzyme. I have a Lab/Bulldog mix. She is almost 2 years old and she has been quite a challenge since I adopted her. She came to me on Pedigree kibble. I wanted to get her off that ASAP and slowly introduced TOTW. She did okay for 5 months or so and then had a horrible bout of colitis. During this time, (after a vet visit and meds) I fed boiled chicken/rice and things improved until I starting adding the kibble back into the diet. With each increase of kibble, the stools became worse. I experimented with several brands of kibble – slowly introducing which ever one I was trying but after about the 1/2 cup mark, runny stools. I finally gave up and started cooking for her. I rotate chicken, beef, turkey. Vegetables include peas, carrots, green beans. I use a limited amount of carbs – pasta, barley, sweet potatoes and not much of this is given. So far I have tried Dr. Mercola’s products, Enzyme Miracle (and probiotic miracle), Animal Essential enzymes, and Digestive Enzyme/Probiotic by Pet Health and Nutrition Center. While on the any of these there have been stool issues especially the Enzyme Miracle. That led to another vet visit with bloody stools. She has been on the last item I listed for about a month and problems are starting again. If I keep her off the digestive enzymes she is fine. Right now as far as other supplements all she is getting is fish oil and calcium. And the last few weeks all she has done is itch and chew. Since stopping the enzymes she is finally getting better with that too. Why aren’t enzymes helping her? I just don’t get it. She also had nasty diarrhea when taking heartworm meds so I stopped those. She cannot tolerate flea medication – makes her extremely loopy. I love her to pieces – she is the sweetest dog and so smart. I just feel so bad that she is so sensitive to things. But digestive enzymes???????

[Susan]

I found boiled chicken breast with a bit of Pumkin made my boy gain weight & stay on as soon as I feed tuna & pumkin he lost weight again, so back to chicken & pumkin for breakfast, also use as a topper on the kibble, sardines in spring water are good for skin… also stay away from potatos tomato, peas, legumes, lentils grains etc, foods high in Lectins they can cause problems with the gut…try a gluten free, hypoallergenic kibble thats low in Carbs for the itch,
also a good shampoo like “Malaseb” medicated shampoo, kills any bacteria on their skin & doesn’t strip their good oils, leaving dog itch free & soft, I bath every 5-7 days as soon as Patch starts rubbing on the carpets & itches..