[aimee]

Hi Kristin,

My dogs primarily eat commercial pet food along with some home cooked. The home cooked I add is primarily vegetables… all the colors of the rainbow, along with some lean meat. Primarily the home cooked is from my dinners but occasionally I’ll steam and puree large batches of veggies and cook meats specifically for them and freeze it to use as needed.

In regards to vets recommending consults if you are home cooking, I think all vets have a duty to recommend that the diet be evaluated to ensure the needs are being met. In fact I’d think they open themselves up to malpractice if they don’t make that recommendation. Similarly, if raw feeding, they have a duty to inform of the parasite and infectious disease risk. This is needed not only for the health of the patient but also extends to public health. Vets won’t get in trouble with AVMA, that has nothing to do with it, but they can lose their license and a huge chunk of change if they are sued if a person in the home comes down with illness traced back to the dog’s raw diet and it isn’t documented in the record that they advised against it. In fact just had a conversation about this at the vet. The CDC was involved, there was an outbreak of Salmonella in the household, 3 children were ill. Same strain in the raw food as in the dog’s poop as in the children. Thankful he had it documented in the record that he discussed risk with owners and advised against raw food.

[Lisa R]

My 7 year old chocolate lab has had a rising BUN count in his blood. His creatinine level is increasing very slightly, not proportionally in the manner the vet would expect if if we’re kidney disease. Additionally, his BUN continued to go up on RX kidney food and meds. The vet is baffled and doesn’t understand what the issue is.

I think it’s related to his diet in some way. He has always been, as my vet called him, a “fat magnet” since we rescued him 3 years ago. He gained a ton of weight very quickly when he first came to us, despite never being fed table food, etc, and continued to gain on small servings of RX diet food (from not quite 80 lbs to over 100). Currently he is on a very low quantity of weight mgmt IAMS, supplemented with green beans to fill him up. He was losing very little, very slowly and finally showed a big decrease in weight when we eliminated rawhide from his diet (unless it’s kidney disease and it just happens to coincide with the elimination of rawhide).

I think there is some dietary issue and he needs a different kind of food or supplement….maybe there is some intolerance for food we are feeding him and he needs grain free or salmon or freeze dried or something…but I don’t know what to try. The vet is advising against anything high protein in case he does have kidney problems but I’ve reqd every that is not necessarily a factor in kidney isses for dogs. But she doesn’t know what we should try.

Any thoughts?

[theBCnut]

Oh brother!! High protein does not cause hip dysplasia, no matter what bogus ideas you have come up with to try and explain your point of view. Try doing a little actual research on the current studies into the causes of hip dysplasia. Try starting with Dr Larsen, but don’t stop there.

Then go to your own dentist and ask what causes plaque build up on teeth. He should tell you that it is caused by starch in the diet. If he says anything else, get a new dentist. Kibble is 30% or MORE starch. Kibble fed dogs have to get their teeth cleaned just as much as other dogs and more than raw fed dogs, which are eating a HIGH protein diet.

No dogs don’t have to have high protein diets, but they don’t have to have starch at all. Replacing so much of what constitutes a natural diet for a dog with starchy kibble should not make sense to anyone. It’s like saying people should live off cereal bars and nothing else.

[Elizabeth A]

I’ve been ordering strictly pastured, organic meat and poultry deliverd to my home through http://www.uswellnessmeats.com for my family’s consumption. They also sell “pet burgers” which is mixed raw organ meats/ muscle meat that comes from solely pastured, organic animals. It is raw, delivered frozen in 1 lb bags, costing about $5 a pound. I give it to my older dachshund as a treat to supplement his canned Wellness diet. He loves it! I think it releases his “inner wolf.” haha Just wondering if anyone else has come across this product. They also sell pastured beef bones of varying sizes with the marrow. Some of their beef comes from Tasmania/New Zealand where the air/pasture/water purity is high. Just passing it on. My doxie is a rescue dog I’ve had since he was 4 and now turning 16–still full of life!

[pmsuperstar84]

LeahT, I live in Lexington and work at a holistic pet health store. We do special orders all the time for stuff we don’t stock on the floor. In fact, I special order my cat’s raw diet from one of our distributors. I know there are a tiny handful of stores like us in the state but they should be able to order as well. What were you looking for?

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Aimee,
I just read your post on THK & need a pre-mix for my schnauzer as she cannot digest kibble,
I thought THK was the best, but if nutritionally it won’t be adequate for her, can you suggest something better.
I do top it off with lightly cooked ground turkey breast or low fat beef-she seems to be doing ok with keeping the food down. I have tried all in the grain-free line except the beef.
we have been transiting very slowly.
Now I worry she will not be getting the proper nutrient profile if she continues to eat this.
I am not a great fan of canned food, that’s why I thought this was the one.
My other choice is the Royal Canin Vet diet hydrolyzed protein. Urghh.
Freeze dried or raw is not an option due to her other health issues.
thank you in advance for any info you can give me.

[jakes mom]

Just when I’m thinking about trying to put Jake on raw meat and dinner mixes I find out I can’t get SSLL. What are your opinions on the Honest Kitchen mixes? Price wise and quality wise? And which one? There are 3 to choose from. He’s a 30ish# beagle/bassett mix with no allergy issues or anything, I’m just thinking about better food for him. I’ve upgraded his kibble since I found this site altho I’m glad to know at least I was never giving him the 1 or 2 star stuff! Also added RMBs which he loves, but I’m not quite ready have a freezer full of bunny and quail. So I thought meat and the mix would be a good compromise if it’s not terribly pricey. Would that be comparable to a bag of 4star kibble? I’m betting he might drop a pound or 2 on the new diet, too, which would be good for him. He’s gained a couple of pounds since my other dog went to the bridge, Mom’s overcompensating I guess.

[Kristin C]

One of my dog’s ate her poo for the first 4 years. She was on Blue Buffalo (puppy, then wilderness). We switched her to a raw diet last year, along with the occasional Orijen kibble and she no longer eats it. From what I’ve read the flavors in kibble don’t digest and so poop tastes just like kibble to some dogs. Unless your clients are willing to change diet then picking it up right away is about your only option.

[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.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Barbara,

Yes, I would suggest that you go back to square one and complete a proper elimination diet. Did you conduct your elimination diet using veterinary guidance? Here’s an article that will give you an idea of what your elimination diet should look like: http://communityvet.net/2010/03/diy-elimination-diet-for-the-dog-an-cat/

Elimination diets take a long time, many months, in fact; and require strict discipline. If your diet wasn’t conducted like the one in the article, it’s time to reconsider starting fresh.

You’ve mentioned some other items that your dog cannot have that you didn’t originally mention. Were those ingredients that you unearthed or did they show up on your dog’s allergy test?

Once you’ve identified his allergies, you can safely begin looking for foods. A raw diet, either homemade or commercial is great, but not if it contains any of his allergens. You could consider looking at Rayne customized diets, if you’re unable to find a commercial diet that meets your requirements or are not comfortable making home-prepared meals that contain none of his allergens, and are most importantly, properly balanced.

[Akari_32]

Food for the next 72 days!

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/9ED9755D-F378-42C5-8076-CDC2820623C0_zpsinsoiy6d.jpg

The single 5.5 oz cans on the left are for raw in the morning and and a can at night. The rest of the meals are 3oz cans in the morning and 5.5 oz cans at night. Two funny combinations that’s happened during sorting:

Wellness in the morning, 9Lives at night:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/63C91AD6-7959-41F4-B1EE-4B00423A09AF_zps90rbtcqp.jpg

And raw in the morning and Friskies Sausesations at night:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/BBD4B1CC-ADCF-4DAC-8021-A5D1ED5F6BF3_zpsfmr8rsvk.jpg

I can’t decide which is worse LOL Only at my house…. Both of these are the last cans, Btw. I try to spread out the super junk as much as I can, that why I still have these. The rest of his food is good, though! Or at least decent for the most part lol

Halo Impulse, Wellness, Authority Flaked Turkey, some sort of Blue Buffalo Healthy Gourmet, Newmans Own, Sheba, my two selected Friskies Special Diet and Fancy Feast varieties each. Oh, and some Insticnt Pride. I think there may be one more, but I’m not sure… lol

[Barbara P]

Thank you DORI, DOGFOODIE and KAREN, for your input. DF – I have tried an elimination diet but continually changing ingredients was hard on his bowels (and my carpets) when I was working. I retired in June and am now trying to address his food and behavior concerns. Are you recommending that I go back to that after investing the expense of the allergy testing? Do you think this would this be helpful to me, or would it be better for him to try the commercial raw/ homemade/freeze dried as Dori recommended. I believe you mentioned you have a golden too and they are know for this. KAREN – Thank you for the info about the kibble. From that statement I deduce that the reason he is turning prematurely white in the face since beginning the latest kibble must be the starch, would you agree? DORI – It sounds like you have been through with your Katie, everything I have with my Colby. I know nothing about how to make homemade meals that are complete and balanced, and am worried about choosing raw foods that might not be. Do you use a certain brand or do you mix them up?

[Akari_32]

You guys know I’m always on the look out for a deal, and to better the dogs diets at the same time. I was surfing around and came across Hare Today. I know several of you guys use it, so I decided to check it out.

I’ve figured out that I need to keep it at $3.89 and less, to keep the price competitive to what I am doing now, which is See Spot Live Longer, and sale meats (lots of sale whole roaster/frier chickens @.@). Which should be easy, I think.

However, what is shipping like? Is there a “free shipping when you spend so much” deal they do? I need to stick with less than $30 a month. If it needs to be bought in bulk, thats fine with me. Shipping is a huge factor on this right now.

What makes me really like this idea, though is that the prices are cheaper than in store (which means nothing if shipping is too much lol), and I can get Bentley more than mass amounts of chicken, because the variety here sucks. Its either chicken, beef, chicken, pork, chicken, maybe some random organ someone ordered at Publix but never picked up, more chicken… Everything but the chicken and some pork is just so pricey, $5 a pound and up! I’m thinking he is still having problems with chicken though, because even though he’s been on raw for some time now, he still breaks out and gets red and itchy and yeasty at times. I know the grass and rain and other pollens has something to do with it, but I can’t help but wonder if completely cutting out chicken would help him even more, or maybe cutting out the pre-mix, if its something in the SSLL.

If I can cut out the SSLL, are the meat/organ/bone grinds on Hare Today balanced? Like this beef blend, for example?

“Ground Beef/Organs/Tripe/Bone, 5 lb $19.20

Hormone and antibiotic free beef. This is approximately 80% meat, 7% tripe, 7% organ [heart,liver, lung, and kidneys] and 6% bone.
Fine Ground

This food is low in Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6, Phosphorus, Zinc and Selenium, and a very good source of Protein and Vitamin B12”

I would think yes, but I figured I’d make sure. According to the calculator, he’d only need about 3.84 oz. He currently gets a 5 oz chunk of whatever meat I give him and SSLL, and a little coconut oil because the princess won’t lap up the SSLL anymore without the coconut oil, or a good deal of blood from the meat. Rotten little dog lol

Also, since I’m considering cutting chicken from his diet, should I also cut out other birds, and stick with beef, pork and maybe fish? He didn’t really like fish based kibbles when he was a puppy, and he’s not a huge fan of fish oil, but maybe he’d like raw fish? The whole sardines or anchovies, or whatever they were, on Hare Today are right in my price range at $3.85 a pound, and I know whole fishes are balanced meals. I’d also like if you guys that know the site better than I do to recommend some goodies that are in my feeble price range. Mixes of meats to make balanced meals are also good, as well. Just keep the average price per pound in my price range 🙂

As far as bones and RMB, I can just get those in store, I think. Some prices are cheaper at Publix than Hare Today, so I’ll price shop for bones first before deciding where I’ll buy them.

I’d also like to know if there are any other sites like this that may be cheaper, or have other things. I’m also looking at complete freeze-dried and dehydrated meals, if anyone can recommend any that are going to be about $30 or less a month for an 8 pound dog.

Thanks a bunch guys!

[Susan]

DogFoodie, peas are high in Lectins like lima, beans, sweet peas, cow peas, potatoes, tomatoes, lentils, sweet potatoes, the list goes on..

Barbara, I found sweet potatoes & potatoes made my boys ears itch, he would shake & shake his head while walking, scratch & scratch his ears, I had to do a elimination diet to find out what foods made him itch scratch & have diarrhoea.. its worth it in the end..

Like Dori said the best is either home cooked, commercial raw or freeze dried..
kibble is the worst to feed as it has starchy ingredients that bind the kibble….

[DogFoodie]

I think it seems odd that the same thing is happening to both dogs at the same time.

Any chance of changing to a different brand of commercial raw or even a home cooked diet?

I have no first hand experience with UTIs or crystals, but wondered if something was going on with one of my dogs when she started licking herself, so I started both of my dogs on Mercola Bladder Support. The batch that Mercola is shipping expires in February, so I’d wait until they have a fresh batch on hand if you decide to consider it.

[crazy4cats]

I think that is weird that your pups got crystals while eating raw food. However, after one of my cats blocked due to crystals, I have been researching causes for them. There are other reasons besides just diet. Definitely, make sure they continue to get a lot of moisture and plenty of opportunities to go potty. Also, feed two or three times a day to keep their pH levels in check. I believe that stress and anxiety caused much of my cat’s issue. Have you made big changes at home recently? Any new pets or people in the house, or changes to their routines?
Prescription food, both canned and dry has helped rid my cat of his crystals. I’m giving him about 75% prescription food and 25% regular diet. I am going to gradually decrease the prescription over a year’s time and reevaluate his urine regularly.

Crystals in dogs are not as serious as in male cats as their parts are no where as likely to get blocked as cats. However, they can make it painful to pee as they are like little pieces of glass. Can you feed them the Royal Canin temporarily or with the raw until the infections and crystals are gone? Also glucosamine has been recommended to me by more than one vet for bladder support. Good luck to you. It can be worrisome, can’t it?

[stephw4]

I have 2 mini-dachshunds ages 7 and 9. They are not overweight in fact one only weighs 5.5 lbs. Both of them have had recurring urinary tract infections with struvite crystals. My dogs eat a raw diet (Natures Instinct) with NO grains at all. They also get plenty of water. My vet wants me to put them on Royal Canin urinary support food. For obvious reasons I don’t want to do that. Any suggestions on what to do?

[pugmomsandy]

Hound and Gatos Pork

houndgatos.com

Grandma Lucy’s Artisan Pork, Venison and Bison, Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Rabbit and Goat

grandmalucys.com

Great Life Dr E’s Buffalo (has salmon oil) and Pioneer Naturals Pork

doctorsfinest.com

Addiction Perfect Summer Brushtail and Outback Kangaroo, Fig’Licious Venison (dehydrated), canned Black Forest Rabbit, Hunter’s Venison Stew:

https://www.addictionfoods.com/products/dog-formulas/raw-dehydrated/perfect-summer-brushtail

Merrick 96% Pork canned

merrickpetcare.com

Tucker’s Pork and Bison (raw)

tuckersbones.com

Bravo Blend Pork, Bravo Boneless Bison and Venison, Bravo Basics Rabbit

http://www.bravorawdiet.com/dog_frozen_blends_pork.html

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

[theBCnut]

Since senior dog’s ability to get protein out of their diet decreases by as much as 50%, they need more, not less, high quality protein. Most senior dog foods assume your dog is in advanced stages of kidney disease and decrease the amount of protein. We don’t suggest senior food for healthy seniors. A good quality All Life Stages food is ok for kibble, but canned, raw or fresh is best.

[Richard W]

Everything JamieK typed is accurate. Being around dogs all day, working in a pet store, etc. doesn’t make one an expert on nutrition. No offense intended at all. Dogs evolved to be scavengers, getting nutrition from plant and animal sources. That makes them omnivorous.

Since plant-based foods contain more vitamins and minerals per calorie compared to animal-based foods, there are legitimate reasons to consider vegan or mostly-vegan diets superior.

The question of digestive enzymes or gut flora could tip the balance back toward meat, but that is largely unexplored territory. Humans have comparatively large digestive systems, but that is more because our ancestral diets contained large amounts of raw plant matter (more energy required to digest). Assuming that vegan dog food isn’t raw, and is prepared to optimize digestion and nutrient uptake, it could certainly work.

Again these are just the facts. If you disagree then your notion of common sense is flawed.

[DogFoodie]

Thank you, Charlotte, for adopting a senior who was obviously in need of a loving home. 🙂

I’ve had the very best luck, by far, with Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diets. I can’t use the NVI LID canned foods, because they contain flax, one of my dog’s triggers. My dog isn’t a fan of raw, which is OK with me for various reasons. Raw is a great way to go if it’s an option for you. Lots of folks have great success with raw for dogs with food intolerance / allergy. It’s OK if you choose another route.

If your pup is OK with peas and tapioca, you’re good to go with the NVI LID There are several proteins to choose from…, our best are duck and turkey. I’m not a fan of the lamb only because the protein is lower and the pea protein higher subsequent to a recent formulation. That said, if lamb was the only option for my dog, I’d use it. NVI also makes a LID with raw boost in the lamb formula only.

I continue to look for other foods to rotate with the NVI LID. I just had another strikeout, so we’re back on the NVI until things stabilize, then we’ll try something else again.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jerry –

There’s nothing really wrong with the Blue Buffalo Health Bars, they’re definitely a big step up from treats like Milk Bones, but they aren’t exactly “healthy” despite the name. They’re really high in carbs. While they’d certainly be fine for an occasional treat, if it were me I’d search for a more protein rich treat. I like to give my dogs freeze-dried raw “complete” foods (e.g. Stella & Chewy’s, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Primal, etc.) which typically come in small medallions or nuggets, air-dried ZiwiPeak (also a complete food) or “jerky” type treats with a high meat content from reputable companies (e.g. Etta Says, Bixbi, The Real Meat Co., etc.). I wouldn’t give raw carrots as treats, most dogs don’t need the extra carbs in their diets and raw vegetables are digested very poorly by dogs.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I know that I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people on this site.
I haven’t posted in sometime but the regulars were very helpful when my Pepper came to me 3 years ago.
We have been through MANY ILLNESSES-I have fought for my angel every step of the way-but as she is aging the chronic inflammation she suffers from reared it’s ugly head again.
I have tried many foods and she adjusted to the amicus senior kibble that I would give her soaked of course wit a topper of boiled organic chicken or grassed beef or bison.
she was doing fine. A few weeks back the regurgitation and then vomiting started along with a touch of diarrhea.
Blood work x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing- next step endoscopy which her internist is not too anxious to do given her age & her numerous other health issues.
He feels it is her diet and you guessed it wants me to try the veterinary prescription foods-now understand I am not trying to get in a battle with these vets-my Pepper is my main concern & if this junk will keep her going I WILL DO IT. I looked at the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein wet & dry & got sick when I read the ingredients!!!
Can anyone guide me in an alternative-she has been eating organic pumpkin or sweet potato with organic ground turkey (as DR. Karen Becker) suggests, but I can’t keep her on this forever- I thought the Honest Kitchen base mix might work but she threw that up also.
I asked the Dr to put her on Reglan because I feel Pepper has a motility issue-she doesn’t digest her food completely, she has been on the Reglan since Monday & hasn’t reguritated or vomited. I know there are advocates of raw feeding, but, to me & I may be very wrong -she is just too old to start her on raw feeding.
I think since she is taking the Reglan, I may try to re-introduce a tsp. of the Honest Kitchen grain-free base mix again and see what happens.
Thank you for any help anyone may give.
Cheryl,Pepper & Mille-Belle

[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 😉

[aimee]

Hi Michelle R.

My experience with Natures Logic was /is very different. I considered using the brand as my dog is on a diet of venison. I went to the website and was very concerned by what I found. The company inserted words into quotes which changed the meaning of the quotes, and it appeared that they only had one product analyzed and then posted those results for all the products.

I’ve talked with Mr Freeman on the phone and in person. In person was very telling!! I asked him about inserting words into quotes and he looked up and off into the distance, stroked his chin and in with a long drawn out affect said as best I remember “Oh… did I? Gee… I’ll have to look into that” When I asked about the nutrient analysis all looking the same he looked down and started to chuckle and said well yes, he only had one product analyzed, the chicken formula and then just changed some numbers here and there for the others. I asked him about the low Vit D levels in his diets and he told me to let my dog sit at the windows when the sun came through and my dog would make all the Vit D she needed. When I reminded him that dogs only make insignificant amount of Vit D and it is a requirement of the canine he said something like “Of course they make Vit D, probably when the researchers tested them they had the dogs locked up in a room in the dark without any windows.

Pressing onward, I asked him about the calcium levels in his diets and the effect on growth for large breed pups. He said you can feed a puppy all the calcium you want they would only absorb what they needed. When I reminded him that puppies can’t regulate calcium absorption which is why they need a controlled level in their diet he told me to feed a high calcium food and measure the calcium level in the blood .. it would be fine. YIKES !!! So I tried again and reminded him that yes the calcium level in the blood would be normal despite the effect the diet had on the C- cells and calcitonin levels. He didn’t know what those were. Then he handed me a copy of Dog Naturally magazine to use as a reference instead of the NRC Nutrient requirement of dogs and cats. I found that downright scary!

I asked who formulated his diets and what that person’s education was. He formulates the diets and his degree is in marketing. Suddenly it all became very clear!!! He doesn’t know anything about nutrition because he is in the business of marketing not in the business of nutrition!!

Combing that with him telling me he doesn’t do any type of ingredient testing and he didn’t seem sure of what post production testing was done as far as quality control pretty much lowered the boom of doom onto that company for me.

He is good at what he is educated in .. marketing. Well except for promising things he never follows through on. Like posting correct nutritional information on his website. I think it was last year that he told Dr. Mike he had each individual product analyzed and the data would be posted shortly. But the information really hasn’t changed much…. except for a few numbers here and there.

After talking with Mr. Freeman and evaluating his company I can see why the company isn’t on Editors Choice. The food has a great concept but poor execution in my opinion.

[Andy B]

Thanks for your help. I called Darwins. They make a raw diet. They told me I can use everything they have except the duck, due to it having sweet potato. I’m learning a lot about dog nutrition after countless hours on the computer. I’d love to feed both my bostons a raw diet but it’s very expensive so I would need to use a 50/50 mix of raw and a good quality kibble. However my dog is extremely allergic to certain foods. I had a blood test done due to him having three seizures. I was feeding him at the time “natural balance” sweet potato and fish formula which had peas also in it. His treats were old mother hubbard peanut. That’s when he started having seizures at night. I had the vet do the allergy test and he’s exGood! I’m glad I did test. I wonder with everything we were feeding him if he was going in aniphilctic shock ( sorry don’t know spell) peas listed as the fourth or fifth ingredient. It seems I can’t find a kibble without peas, & Orijen is the only one having it toward the middle of there ingredients.

[Dori]

Michelle R. I agree with you completely about Nature’s Logic. Nature’s Logic is the only kibble in my rotational diet for my three dogs. Everything else I feel is commercial raw and home made raw. ☺️

[Andy B]

We just received His Blood work back and hes Extremely allergic to sweet potato’s & peas. Also has to be grain-Free and rosemary free. Anyone have any ideas for me for a Dry Kibble? I was thinking about using a half raw diet from Darwin’s raw diet and a kibble mix. It is extremely hard to find a kibble with not having these ingredients.

[stephanie b]

We just found out our Boston has some severe allergies to specific foods (sweet potatos, green peas, barley) we were looking to start on Darwins raw diet but also wanted a good quality kibble (pref grain free). Any suggestions?

[Dori]

frostyrockyk. Your vets can make all the faces that they would like, the decision on what is given to your dog is yours, not theirs!!!! Whether it’s vaccines or food, it’s your decision. Just stand strong. Your dog has already had all the vaccines it needs. You can have them do titers if you wish though they are not cheap. The only acception to no vaccines is the rabies vaccine. It’s required by law. Just make sure what the county that you live in requires. I have heard that there are a few counties around the country that will accept titers for the rabies vaccine but, personally, that has not been my experience. Some are one year and others just require three year. Mind you it’s the exact same vaccine, it’s the paperwork and tag that changes. If you can get away with the three year rabie’s vaccine then that means less chemicals going into your dog. My vets are not always crazy about my choices for my dogs but they know they are my dogs and not theirs. I don’t do vaccines other than the three year rabies and I feed raw diet. The vets don’t like it but I could care less what they like and what they don’t.

[pacer1978]

Hello All,

I haven’t been on in a while, but I recently switched one of my dogs to a 100% raw diet (over time of course). However, I’m just not sure how much I should be feeding. I started it 3 weeks ago, supplementing with Dinovite, because of severe paw licking (to the point she has bad sores). We are guessing she is over 10-13 years old since we took her in about 4 years ago. She is a little “porky” to begin with, but I’m wondering if she just has a wide chest. I’m not really sure if she is overweight or just “girthy” for her size. I’ve noticed her waist tapering a little, but I want to ensure that I’m also not underfeeding her. She was last weighted in about 40 lbs. when I took her to the vet and I’ve been told by vets she was a little overweight. She is considered a medium size dog. The best guess I can give is either part Corgi and terrier. I don’t see any place to submit a photo otherwise I would do so. I’m not really sure how much she should weigh, but I’m thinking if I’ve been told she was overweight, then she can afford to lose 5-10 lbs. If that is the case, how much raw should I be feeding for a 30-40 lb medium dog per day (preferably in oz)? Anyway, I feed my dogs twice a day so they are eating smaller meals (my other two are Weimaraners and they suggest this for bloat). Thank you!

[Akari_32]

Dori, she should probably weigh about 12 pounds, so with her joint problems, I’d say she’s about good where she is now. I can see her ribs when she bends, so she’s not scrawny, but not quite at an “ideal” weight either.

I have tried giving her the glucosamine with out food, but because it’s a capsule, with everything powdered inside, she spits it out as soon as it breaks open and looks at me like in trying to kill her. This is the same dog that is on a wrapper that falls on the floor in half a second flat and tries to run off with her prize. So I figure over the food is better than nothing, especially since it’s about twice as much as she “needs”. I have seen an improvement since starting her on it, but she needs some anti-inflammatories or something, I think.

She’s doing good on the wellness simple small breed salmon, btw. No more messes in her cage at night since removing canned food from her diet! Yay! I feel like I have only dog ever that can’t eat canned food LOL

Yes, I’m just trying to do right by her. If she decides to live for another 5 years, then I’ll do what I can do to keep her comfortable and moving. If she decides she’s had enough next week (though I hope to God not! She’s my baby lol), then so be it. We took a walk this morning since it was warm enough for her to tolerate, and she loved every minute of it, and did her wiener dog run for a good quarter of it :p She was feeling it by the time we got home, though, limping on all four legs up the drive way and to the door. Poor thing lol

Don’t worry about how long your post is! I need help with this joint drama dog. I’m open to all sides of the situation :3

[Laura M]

Hi Nancy – I just recently purchased an e-book on the subject of Home Prepared Diets for Dogs – Cooked Diets from the Whole Dog Journal website. I haven’t gone through it much yet, but I rely heavily on the Whole Dog Journal for information. Maybe you are a subscriber as well, but if you go to their home webpage at the bottom it says “products” and then click on e-books and you will see a series of e-books on preparing food – part three is for cooked diets. They also have raw and a mixture – so if you decide to do raw I’m sure it would be great info as well. Good luck!

[Jenny Rellick]

No. Raw diet dogs eat bones every day, and they have just as much calcium. If your puppy is going through the elk antlers fast, costing you a lot of money, you might invest in a moose sntler segment. The large size adds a challenge for the dog to hold onto it (they are heavy.)

[Douglas E]

I have read this entire thread as well as similar ones. Look, other than broad brush strokes, animal nutrition has been much ignored for the majority of pet-human history. Heck, the same can be said for HUMAN nutrition. Only within the past 40 years has our nutrition become the topic of serious scientific inquiry. This has been a natural development in thought from deeper insights into cellular biology, biochemistry and immunology. The science of human nutrition is quite new.

How then can we expect to understand other species’ specific nutritional needs? We hardly understand the human organism yet in that regard. If human nutritional science is in its’ infancy, canine nutrition is only embryonic. That research it further complicated by gross breed differences, historically poor food quality diets, congenital and/our genetic weaknesses from severely poor breeding, medical thought that simply treats symptoms and a new problem- canine geriatrics.

A dog in the wild would typically have a life expectancy less than half of our pets’. Nutritional deficiency plays a major part in that mortality. And no, an all raw and only carnivorous diet is not what a dog would get in the wild. While dogs are highly adapted to having a majority of the diet be animal proteins, they have a much greater variety. Even from only consuming prey animals, they will eat the contents of those animals’ intestines and stomach(s) which would include “probiotics,” yeasts (naturally occurring intestinal fauna,) and various vagetation such as primitive grains. Those grains would be partially digested, yes, so raw gains would likely be less digestible. Canines would also eat the high fat organ meats, hair, skin and bone. It is important to note that the high need of calcium, as well as other bone minerals, for dogs is well noted these days. It is necessary nutritionally for Canines to occaisionally consume vegetable, or even mineral, matter. Not only must they do so to enable gut function, they must do so for biological need. Not all needs are met by prey. This is why in the absence of adequate herbivorous prey, dogs will suplement by what pet owners would consider pica.

All that being said (now that I have presented myself in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral the Very Model of a Modern Major General, ) the answers are not simple. But the guidelines are.

1. Use common sense, canine nutrition is imperfect at best
2. Do not presume to be an expert, or that human remedy necessarily applies
3. Do not rely on diet to cure medical conditions that may really be microbial or parastic infections, disease or biological defecit aside from nutrition
4. Realize that isolating an immunological response, whether from allergic reaction or not, is a difficult and time consuming process
5. Use keen observation when using any new food source or additive, including veterinarian recommended treatments. Don’t simply go with the flow thinking that treatment course is the fix-it for sure (OK, preaching to the choir I think there…)
6. Each dog is as different biologically as we are. If it does improve health in some, it may not in others or it may actually be detrimental
7. A business, or product, that is intentionally or negligently harmful will not survive. Caveat Emptor
8. etc. etc. etc…

Here’s hoping great health to all you and all your furry families

D

[Naturella]

Not a Boston Terrier owner, but a small terrier mix owner nonetheless here! 🙂

I think that what you should do is try several different brands and proteins and find out what your furry friend does well on, and then rotate between brands and protein types.

I feed a rotational diet and I am constantly trying new things with my Jack-Rat mix Bruno. Brands that have small-breed (smaller kibble) sizes include Wellness (small/toy breed formulas), Victor, Annamaet GF, Earthborn Holistic GF has been small enough for my boy, Nutrisca too, Castor & Pollux, Holistic Health Extension, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and many more. I have fed most of the above as well as other brands with great success (except for NVI, my boy got sick on the rabbit formula, BUT I would try this food again).

You could also add canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried to kibble as a topper to spice things up, or as a regular thing. Wet food is better than dry for dogs anyway, so if you can feed just canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried, go for it! I usually feed Bruno “soups” of kibble, warm water, and canned, dehydrated, or freeze-dried as a topper, or coconut oil, yoghurt/kefir, raw egg, canned sardines, etc.

Good luck and keep us poster or let us know if you have any more questions.

[tecknik]

What some don’t realize is that your dog’s allergies may not be food related. That turned out to be the case for my dog. Here I was trying all different food concoctions, then the useless Dinovite and it turns out my dog has many environmental allergies including Wool, willow, dust mites, mold mites and about 20 other things.
I’ve always had her on a raw diet (Abady) which is helpful and keeps her coat nice and shiny. (less poop as well due to minimal carbs, too) I also add unrefined coconut oil for more nutrients as well as a good dog vitamin.
As for dog treats, I buy $3.99lb london broils or stew beef then grill it medium rare, then cut into bite size pieces. I will buy in bulk and freeze the remaining. It’s a little work but not that much and if you look at the ounces of a bag of good dog treats, you will find that you are paying over $10 a pound! (usually $4 to $5 for a 6oz bag of treats) It’s the best type of treat to give your dog and you know exactly what is in it.
For my dog’s treatment, we first had the allergy testing done. Yes, it is expensive and thank God I have insurance so I get reimbursed. ($500 because dog has to have anesthesia)
Second step was to remove as many of her allergens as possible from the environment. That meant giving up my two brand new wool carpets. :/ Now I clean an extra day a week as well to ensure there is no dust.
Third step was medication to cure her symptoms. She had ear infections, yeast infections and sores from all the scratching. The doctor prescribed a slew of medicines including prednisone which really stopped her scratching. Unfortunately, this can not be used long term because it can be harmful to the liver and other organs.
Fourth step (and this is where we are now) Allergy shots. It started every other day and now we are at once a week. The scratching is down to a minimal and hopefully over time her immune system will work against her allergies and she will be a happy dog for good.

[Akari_32]

As a member of Purina For Professionals, I was cruising the site out of curiosity and checking out the prices that I can get different foods for, for the giggles. Well, I clicked on the JM and was actually surprised at how good it looks compared to the other VD. Four of the first six ingredients are animal proteins, and it meets the low-fat requirements that Ginger needs, but has that higher protein I like to see.

https://www.purinaforprofessionals.com/canine-jm-joint-mobilityr

She’s always limping around, and has been favoring one her shoulders and been reluctant to get on and off the bed lately (she has doggy stairs). She’s on about 350 mg of glucosamine a day, but it’s not really helping much, and she’s really nasty when she’s in pain. I’m to the point now where if something helps her, I want to use it. This is a pretty decent looking food, and the reviews on it say it does help with their dogs joints.

Since the clinic I was at when I got my membership is closed now, I’m going to email and rep and make sure I can use another clinic’s prescription. She’s cool, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, seeing as the food is delivered to my door, and not the clinics anyways.

If I’m able to use another vets script, do you guys it would be a good choice? You all know I’m not particularly a Purina fan, but I’m really to the point where I’m grasping at straws to affordably keep this dog pain-free, diarrhea-free, and mobile. She may be 14, but she’s got so much spunk left him her, I just want to do whats right by her. I’m still unsure if I would use just this, or if I would rotate it ever other bag. Still haven’t quite figured out how she does on rotation now that I’ve taken all the canned out of her diet and reduced her fat intake. Thats the next step.

I’m unsure if the shopping part of the site is just for logged-in members or not, so please let me know if that link doesn’t work, and I’ll just copy/paste everything here.

[Susan]

Hi, has ur boy been wormed?? What food is he eating & are his poos sloppy or real hard when there’s blood & what colour is the blood lite or darker red ?? my boy was pooing lite red blood when I first got him, he was 4 years old, it wasn’t every day about every 10 days, sometimes there was a streak of blood on the outside of his poo & the poo was firm, sometimes his poos were sloppy or sometimes had jelly on the poo, vet said Colitis, he’d also have a rumbling, gurgling bowel early hours of the morning then do his jelly poos with blood, I had to stop the raw chicken necks for breakfast & I had to put him on a lower fat diet, in the end vet said IBD.. but ur boy is only 4 months old he still a pup, my boy is 6 years old now…

[USA]

Hi Bri,

It’s good to see you feeding raw twice a week. For most dogs this is a big improvement over ANY kibble!

Heart – I notice the meal you added the liver to was Beef Heart. Even though heart is a muscle, it is a different kind of muscle than the breast or leg or thigh, etc. The heart is a non-striated muscle, while the muscles everyone usually thinks about are all striated muscles.

I like to say that nutrient-wise, heart is about halfway between regular muscle meat (breast thigh, etc) and the much richer organ meats (liver, kidneys, etc). Now that is just an estimate. The point is that heart is richer than breast but not as rich as liver, so it should still be used in moderation (up to 20% of meal).

As others have said, the calcium in the Dinner Mixes is calculated based on meat without bone. So the extra calcium that would come from you adding bones is not needed, and could actually be detrimental!

This is what Steve Brown had to say about adding organs to his Dinner Mixes:

“Thanks for the note.

Yes, it’s okay to add muscle meat and some organ meat, but please don’t
add a lot of liver. Keep the liver to less than 10% of the total meat.
Adding up to 20% hearts is fine.

Steve Brown”

On a side note (cause I’m a dog man), constipation can be pretty common in raw diets ESPECIALLY if they contain bone! Your cat probably could use some fiber added to the Darwins to ease any constipation issues. I use a couple of different types. Psyllium husks are very fiber rich and I add no more than 1 teaspoon per pound of food. Flax, Chia and Hemp seeds are not as rich in fiber as Psyllium, but they are also good for the skin. I add about 1 tablespoon per pound of meat.

Keep up the Good Work!

[L P]

I have always wanted to raw feed but don’t have the time or resources to do it myself. However lately a frozen raw food brand has been available here in Spain, it is the only one, and I want to feed it to my dog and my cat (who currently eat Orijen kibble).

I need opinion on if this food is appropriate and complete for my pets: I would be adding taurin powder for my cat, as well as completing with raw bones from time to time.

Here is a link to the catalogue (see pages 3 and 4 for food pictures): http://www.dietayum.com/img/cms/catalogo-dieta-yum.pdf

Since it is in spanish, here is a translation of all their menus (I have asked, and the grinded meat includes bones and organs, and all the meat is human grade):

Chicken & cow menu: 60% chicken, 19% cow, 9.9% carrot, 5% beet, 5% turnip, 1% olive oil, 0.001% garlic.

Beef menu: 79% beef, 9.9% carrot, 5% beet, 5% turnip, 1% egg shells, 1% salmon oil, 0.001% garlic.

Salmon menu: 20% salmon, 59% cow, 8.9% carrot, 5% beet, 5% turnip, 1% egg shells, 1% salmon oil, 0.001% garlic.

Turkey menu: 60% turkey, 20% lamb tripe, 9.5% pumpkin, 9.4% apple, 1% olive oil, 0.001% garlic.

Lamb menu: 19% lamb, 60% chicken, 9.9% carrot, 5% beet, 5% turnip, 1% olive oil, 0.001% garlic.

Puppy menu: 40% chicken, 20% green tripe, 15% cow, 5% salmon, 5% beet, 5% carrot, 3.9% sardines, 3% turnip, 1% egg shells, 1% seaweed (spirulina), 1% olive oil, 0.001% garlic.

Thanks in advance for your opinion and help!

[theBCnut]

First, you need to know that while your puppy is growing is not a good time to experiment with whether or not you got the diet balanced right, so I always suggest commercial raw meals or using a premix to which you just add the correct amount of boneless meat.

I don’t think there is really and argument about whether or not veggies are necessary. It is known that they are NOT necessary, but that isn’t the same thing as beneficial. Some dogs have constipation issues on a raw diet and veggies add fiber to help with regularity. Veggies also offer different antioxidants that may help if your meat source is not as pure as you could wish. Veggie have micronutrients in them that may be missing from over grazed soil and so missing from meat animals. Adding veggies make up for some of what would be missing if you don’t feed tripe.

Bone, meat, and organs are supposed to be specific amounts of the diet, and you can do that feeding organs a few times a week, but organs are rich and in some dogs cause stomach upset if too much is given at one time.

[Kelsi P]

You may want to look into a raw diet- many folks with dogs diagnosed with IBD/IBS, chronic colitis, etc., have experienced great results with raw. Your vet may not like it, but many vets are catching on and will recommend it. Try a holistic vet.

[Alicia A]

There are a lot of questions out there about supplements, minerals, probiotics and what to feed dogs.
I have my dog on a raw food diet and add in supplements which are natural and she is thriving.
Highly recommend checking out the following website; http://www.peterdobias.com
There is some great (free!) information on taking care of our dogs naturally and some original products along with other brands that are recommended for a range of things including proactively taking care of dog’s health and also what to consider when there are issues.

[CSollers]

FWIW, our Pugs are thriving on a raw diet.

[Kelsi P]

Hi there- I know you posted this a while ago, but I just stumbled across this post. I had the same problem with my dog as a puppy. Unexplained chronic diarrhea, having to make a bowel movement several times per day (5+ per day!), etc. We went through tests (bacteria, parasite/amoeba, fungal) antibiotics, food changes, enteric support supplements- the whole gamut. The vet couldn’t figure it out…. He was put on a prescription diet for a short while and while it helped calm things down (with the combination of flagyl), it didn’t stop. Nothing worked until I switched my dog to raw food. Seriously- the bloody diarrhea, gastric upset, vomiting, etc., stopped within a few weeks. Maybe it’s worth a try for your dogs? I am lucky in that my vet is open to raw diets and she hasn’t said anything negative because it’s helped my dog. My dog simply cannot handle any kind of kibble, regardless of the make and recipe. Good luck to ya.

[Cynthia R]

My 12.5 year old boxer had advanced arthritis in his knees and began staggering. We had to put up a baby gate around stairs because he staggered and fell down them:-(.
You may want to consider adding fish oil to his daily supplements.
My vet had our boy on 3 grams of fish oil daily (helps with joints along with many other benefits, so all my dogs are given this daily), loading dose of glyco-flex lll (our vet also likes phycox), prevacox, tramadol as needed the last year of his life. I raised him on a grain-free diet(raw).

[Susan]

Look for a low carb food, my boy was licking & licking his paws & his paws smelt like corn chips, real yeasty & when he’d walk on wet grass, his paws would get red & itchy…..His 2 front paws are the worst, he can’t eat potatoes, Sweet Potatoes Peas, no starchy foods….also bath him & his paws in Malaseb Medicated Shampoo its an anti-fungal shampoo kills the bacteria but doesnt dry out his skin & the Malaseb relieves his itch & red paws & stops his smelly paws, so no licking…
Your best to feed either cooked or raw diet so u can control the amount of carbs he’s eating have you looked at “K9 Natural” freeze dried food. This food was invented for itchy dogs, has no beet pulp either, here’s their link to have a read….
http://www.k9naturalusa.com/ the Chicken & Venison has the least fat%

[oepth]

So I’m getting a puppy in a week (mini aussie – yay!) and I definitely want to feed a raw diet. I’m close to My Pet Carnivore so getting the meat / triple / grinds isn’t an issue. I also want to feed morning kibble – mostly because I want her to work for her food using food puzzle toys. She’ll be about 25 lbs as an adult so that will mean she’ll get about 12 ounces of food a day. (3% of 25 lbs)

Can someone recommend me a menu? Here’s what I have:
Morning
– Orijen Puppy Kibble (4 ounces)

Lunch
– Chicken neck (4 ounces) OR

Dinner (rotate amongst these options or so)
– Green tripe (starting with grinded version and then moving on to the real thing) 2 ounces + whole grind chicken 2 ounces OR
– Beef liver 1 ounce + whole grind chicken 2 ounces + chicken gizzard 1 ounce OR
– Whole ground duck 2 ounces + Beef gullet 1 ounce + Green tripe 1 ounce + 1 ounce vege puree

Does this menu sound ok? More liver/offals? What kind? Also I’m adding Salmon Oil (Grizzly brand) and Solid Gold Sea Meal Powder.

Thanks for any feedback!
Cheryl

[Susan]

Hi Vicki, you have a beautiful girl, I have a English Staffordshire Terrier, he’s also short & real stocky, he too suffers from the stinky yeasty skin, paws, ears, mostly his paws now…

Everyone will tell you, put her on a grainfree diet. WRONG… Grainfree doesn’t work for yeasty itchy dogs… they have replaced grains with Starchy Potatos, Peas, Topioca, Sweet Potato, (a bit lower in starch) Legumes etc…
I had to do an elimination diet to find out which foods were causing Patches problems, I found Potatos, Sweet potatos, Peas, Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats, Banana all made Patch itch even causing diarrhea (pototes) anything that was high in STARCH & Gluten, so now I try to keep Patch on a Gluten & Starch free diet….

You seem to be doing everything right, Maybe try the Antiseptic rinses with Betadine (Iodine) this really helps Patches red itchy stinky paws, it kills the bacteria..I use Detol Antiseptic lotion instead in a shallow bath, it works out cheaper then the Betadine you need the water to look like ice tea with the Betadine, you end up needing a whole bottle, where with the Detol antiseptic lotion, I only need a couple of caps to a shallow bath..

Now you need to start on the inside with her Diet…..

Kibble is NO GOOD, to make kibble they need binders to bind the kibble together Peas, Potato, Sweet Potatos, Rice, Oats, legumes etc these all are high starchy carbs causing yeast problems in dogs, the best way is no kibble… feed either a cooked diet or a freeze dry diet or both… no kibble….. 1 for breakfast the other 1 for dinner, I boiled chicken breast & add little boiled Pumkin for breakfast…

Have you looked at freeze dried foods like “K-9 Natural” instead of kibble, it has NO GRAINS, NO POTATOS, GLUTEN FREE, NO HIGH STARCHY CARBS…alot of people swear by K9 Natural, once you get ur girl off kibble the nightmare will start to end for both of you….. K9 Natural also makes treats, they do freeze dried & raw ….click on the product you want to have a look at & all the ingredients will come up……the chicken or the venison has the least amount of fat %…..even find another freeze dried brand with the same ingredients that K9 Natural uses if you can not find K9 Natural in pet shops…
here’s their link its worth a try…
http://www.k9naturalusa.com/

Good Luck with Gracie Mae