[Susan]

Hi Shasta, Ur drawing is mad so is ur cow what’s his name & how old is he, I love cows eyes they are so beautiful, have you ever drawn ur animals… My hobbies were gardening & doing Staffy rescue but since Ive rescued Patch he takes up all my time trying to find out how to fix his health problems & make him better, thats how I found this site, I love our walks everyday, trying to find a new place to go.. it looks like u live in the country, I love the country but I live on the East coast of Australia & there’s not much bush near the water, where I live, so we sometimes drive 20mins to the country, Patch loves bush walking probably cause he was from the country.. When I first got him I took him to the dog beach down the road he spun out watching all these dogs jumping in the ocean chasing a stick, he had never seen the ocean before, now he loves it, I have to keep him on a lead as I cant catch when we have to go home..

[Cyndi]

Lmao!! You guys crack me up!

Patty, you forgot your new hobby of mad scientist creating your essential oils. Is that not going well?

For me, mine are dogs, finding new places to walk with my dog, researching about dog stuff, tattoos, thinking of ways to make the 90 year old woman I work for smile every time I go there, playing that damn hand-held yahtzee game that I’m addicted to, movies, and watching tv. I live a very boring life, lol!

Shasta, that drawing it friggin’ awesome!! I love dragons! You really should do something professional with your talent.

[FreeholdHound]

I’m thinking its 60/40 kibble & raw. With limited options for kibble the add ins have added up- sardines, raw grinds, tripe, necks/feet, beef chunks, etc.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Shasta:
I love your artwork, my brother was a wonderful artist; he drew with charcoal. I always admire people who can draw because I wish I had that talent! I agree with melissaandcrew, I think you should take your talent on the road and draw some pet portraits for people too. I would love to see a pic of your cow tacked up when you get to that point in your training!

I like to read, I have two horses and a barn I tend to, and of course caring for my family, cats and dog. I garden in the summer. Each season I grow sunflowers, cat nip, pumpkins, corn, green beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and various vegetables and herbs. Right now I am growing pumpkins, tomatoes, pansies, johnny jump ups, and marigolds under growing lights in my basement for spring planting.

[Melissaandcrew]

Omg! You can draw wonderfully! You should consider a small business drawing pet portraits for people.

Love the steer! What is his name?

I don’t have many hobbies, I pretty much work. But I enjoy volunteering for animal rescue , grooming bw havior modification etc. Gardening in the warm weather, and hanging out with our pet livestock-horses and goats.

[Shasta220]

Okay, I’m just posting this for fun. What do y’all like to do, well, for fun? (Other than obsess over pet-nutrition, of course!)

I love dog training, I adore piano playing – I’ve studied classical piano for 12 years, and have been playing as the church accompanist for 5 years. I’ve also accompanied choirs and done all sorts of fun music events.
My favorite indoor hobby, by far, is drawing. I’m only good with pencil, and I can only draw animals (canines, equines, and….DRAGONS!!!) here’s one of my dragon sketches:

I enjoy riding horses once a week, and am working on training my pet cow for riding as well (he’s not quite old enough for me to sit on, but he’s good with ground work)

I like virtually anything outdoors such as hiking, shooting, and jogging.

What are some of your favorite things or amazing talents? 😀

[Shasta220]

Bobby, that’s great! We are honestly the opposite, LOL! All three of my dogs (even my super slow picky eater) didn’t mind it at all when I added it. I, on the other hand, can’t stand it. I added about a tablespoon into some water, as well as a tablespoon of raw sugar water. Ahhhhh I couldn’t even finish it! I suppose it’ll be an acquired taste for me.

[Naturella]

Hey, guys!

So, I have a question. Is there a difference (besides appearance and texture) between pate style canned food and stew style canned food? I have given Bruno both kinds (although different brands and meats), and he did great on the Wellness Core canned fish-based one, and when I gave him a Merrick Kiss-Me-I’m-Irish (beef, carrots, and potato) Stew canned on St. Patrick’s Day he immediately got really really soft stool.
Both times he got canned it was mixed in with his regular kibble at the time.

Do you think it’s because of the brand, the meat, or the type of canned, or all of these combined? Bruno has no problems with fish or beef in kibble, canned (like real sardines), raw, or as bully sticks/cow ears.

[pugmomsandy]

You’d have to ask the manufacturer if they test the bone meal for heavy metals. I make my own raw and use Solger brand which is tested and human grade.

[Shasta220]

That’s good when the vet doesn’t get too picky about the topic of food. My vet said the only food he recommends is Hills and one other (maybe RC? I don’t remember). At that time, our dogs were on Dog Lover’s Gold (4 stars) and Nutra Nuggets (3 stars), he said he didn’t recommend anything that didn’t have an AAFCO statement, including those foods. I went home and looked at the bag….pretty sure I saw a statement on there lol! But the vet doesn’t scold you or anything, he sees how healthy the dogs are and can’t complain.

It’s annoying how much they ask about eeeevery food though. They ask how many treats, what type, any people food, cooked or raw, etc etc. Then I said that Loki gets a few raw scraps occasionally, and he just said “scraps lead to an overweight dog…” (He probably noticed that Loki went from 41lb at the shelter to a whopping 43lb after we had him. He still has a thin waste line and could gain 2-5 more lb without a problem…) yeeeeah, I’m reeeeally worried now that giving Loki a chicken leg once a week will make him fat! LOL!

[Walter L]

I’m curious if anyone has questioned manufacturers about heavy metal content in their dog foods? I’m noticing a trend in refrigerated and supposedly high end dog foods putting bone in the top 10 ingredients in their food and marketing it as a “natural” calcium source.

Looking back at the history of calcium supplementation for humans….bones used to be the norm until it was banned after discovering heavy metal accumulation that occurs in bones from livestock drinking less than ideal water sources.

If it was banned for humans…is it really a safe source for our pets? Maybe pets should be getting their calcium supplements from a purer calcium source such as calcium citrate like humans do?

What are your thoughts?

[Shasta220]

I’m not sure how big your water bowl is, Aleksandra, to know how much ACV should go in there. I love using it as a supplement for it’s anti fungal/bacterial properties, but I’ve never tried to put it in water. I honestly wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to drink much, that stuff stinks lol! I’m lucky my dogs don’t care… I accidentally poured about 2tbsp instead of just 1 over my lab’s food, and she didn’t care at all! She gobbled all of it up just the same. I could probably put a handful of dirt over her food and she’d still eat it, though.
(Sorry if it’s a dumb question: what does RMB stand for?) Edit: never mind…. Figured it out, LOL! Raw meaty bone. *does a face-desk*

• This reply was modified 12 years ago by Shasta220.

[theBCnut]

I’m doing 50/50 kibble/raw for meals. All treats are freeze dried or dehydrated meat products.

[T S]

We have two male JRTs (5 & 7 yrs) and a female Labrottie (9 yrs). After seeing ads and getting some samples from a local rep, we tried the Blue Buffalo–dogs rejected it outright. We tried the Wild stuff, various flavors, and inevitably at least one of the three turned up their noses at each flavor of the food. Talked to vets, who sell canned Canin and Hills, about allergies, food ingredient quality, flavor variety. Went back to Fromms, tried three different flavors (chicken, beef and pork), and all three dogs are happy with the dry pork & applesauce formula. They’re energetic, different vets are all REALLY happy with all 3 of their overall health, especially weight maintenance vs activities levels, and their coats, teeth and skin are all great. None smells, they all sleep and BM on schedule w/o problems. We looked at MANY of the so-called ‘holistic’ and ‘organic’ foods. Local pet store guy recommended some ‘natural’ and raw foods, but it made no sense to change from what’s working now. Fromm’s is US made, only US ingredients, and no recalls we know of. We don’t feed them ANY human food, and they almost never get snacks or treats–so no threat of allergic reactions. Labrottie came to us from a poor-quality non-US food diet, and she’s a much happier, healthier, energetic dog now.

[Shasta220]

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

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

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

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

[crazy4cats]

I figured out that I feed about 80% kibble, 12% toppers such as canned, raw medallions, dehydrated (THK), sardines and recently eggs. And the remaining 8% is various treats, such as bully sticks, pig’s ears, raw marrow bones, or treat filled kongs.

[Shasta220]

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

[B D]

It’s been a while since anything was posted on this thread, but I couldn’t find anyway to post on a more recent one that referenced this link.

I’m currently talking with Steve Iea about the quality of his pet food. Information on this site does raise some issues to be sure. Mr. Iea emailed me today that there is no 3D/4D meat in their products and all the beef is on the hoof as it comes in to the plant. He did not address my question about whether the meat and poultry as it comes into their plant is USDA inspected & approved for human consumption. Remember that once meat is processed in a non-human facility, it can no longer be called “human grade”. That distinction can be made however prior to the manufacturing process. I have asked for clarification on that and am waiting for a reply.

I would also like to correct something about charcoal as a denaturing products. Some years ago when I was purchasing goat direct from a packing house in Georgia, the USDA inspector found out that it was for dogs and ask the plant to denature it with the purple ink they use to stamp grades on the meat or coat it in charcoal. I had to go to the head USDA guy for the region in Atlanta to get that request withdrawn. The charcoal has nothing to do with covering up smells, it is simply there to make the meat unpalatable for human consumption as far as the USDA is concerned. If packing houses are using it for other purposes, that is not the USDA’s doing.

Cheers,
‘B’

[Shasta220]

Greenies around here aren’t liked too much, I’ll admit. And I will agree with everyone else – they stink, have gross ingredients, and really don’t clean as well as they say.

Try getting on a routine of brushing daily (or at least weekly if you have a difficult pooch), and you can use raw bones as well as other natural chews. I also went to the extremes of a water additive for my oldest girl, but I don’t think that’s nessicary.

I do, however, love Zuke’s Z-ridge bones. The textur is similar to greenies, but they are made of better ingredients like potatoes, fruits, and natural breath help from plants. Plus they seemed to actually work. I broke a big one in half and gave a piece to two of my dogs – by the time they were done, they have /really/ good breath. Greenies? Not so much. I’m not sure how good they are ever since Purina bought them though :/ all I know is the packaging has already changed (I miss the old packages) and prices have skyrocketed… Ugh!

[Shasta220]

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

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

[Naturella]

Kvee,

I haven’t made treats recently, but note taken – no more nutmeg. Bruno didn’t seem to have any problem or reaction to it though – it was a fairly minute amount for the amount of treats rendered.

As for wheat flour, my goal is to eliminate it completely. I would try chickpea, quinoa, or coconut “flour” (meal), or tapioca starch next time and see what works how. Bruno also likes raw fruits veggies – carrots, celery, radishes, apples, pineapple, mango, banana – he’s a mess, but at least easy to satisfy.

We don’t have much space in the freezer, but frozen treats are something I have sort of tried, and would again.

[Naturella]

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

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

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

[Dori]

Hi Kvee. I should also add that although initially raw (at least commercial raw) may seem more expensive than kibble, you feed much less raw than you would kibble so that makes up for a lot in the cost. Also it’s astounding how fewer visits you make to the vet which is always incredibly expensive. Since my dogs have been eating raw they only go to the vet for their annual physicals. My older girl (14 1/2 year old Maltese has hypothyroidism so she goes ever six months for a thyroid panel check).

[Dori]

I happen to think that The Honest Kitchen is a fabulous food. It’s not a raw diet. It’s dehydrated. You add water to it and let it rehydrate. It’s the only non raw food I feed my dogs. The Honest Kitchen is one of only two pet foods that can legally say they are 100% USDA human grade food, mostly organic fruits and veggies made in a human food plant. They other is Weruva canned foods. Weruva can no longer guarantee that their cans have no BHA so I don’t use them, besides the bha they also contain carrageen (sp?). I always keep The Honest Kitchen on hand in case I have forgotten to defrost raw. Typically I keep Zeal on hand. One of my dogs is allergic to ingredients in their other formulas. Another of their formulas that is good is Preference. All it’s missing is the protein so you an add any protein you want. It’s also good for a change for them to lower their fat intake. Raw has a high fat content. Darwin’s (a home delivered only raw food) has the lowest fat content that I am aware of. I rotate everything with my dogs. Food, supplements, oils, etc. Whatever ingredient they may be missing or low on one product I’m hoping they’ll get from the next. Also I feel it gives them a healthier gut and immune system.

[kvee]

I hope to feed her 100% raw at one point. I am still learning about it.

dchassett, what is your opinion on The Honest Kitchen food as an alternative to 100% homemade raw?

[kvee]

I bought this awesome bone shaped ice trays from safemade pet. They fit perfectly in the stuffing octopus (from the same brand). I do not own a Kong stuffing toy but I’d figure this could work.

I think it’d be a good idea to grind up her raws and some veggies and freeze them?

I love this product for stuffing toys, it is long and narrow and the molds are made with safe silicone. You can freeze it or put it in the oven!

http://shop.safemadepet.com/products/Treat-Tray-Bone-Shape.html

If you do not trust the link just google: safemadepet and go to products for dogs, the treat tray is on the second page 🙂

[kvee]

Aleksandra, I have seen some information on nutmeg being toxic for pooches. Mostly, I remember this warning during thanksgiving (warning not to feed them pumpkin pie). How are your dogs reacting to it?

I do not make any treats with any flour for my dog — although I tried to use garbanzo (chickpea) flour because it allegedly has high protein and it is very cheap. But I am a horrible baker and couldn’t make the concoction work for me.

What I do for treats is buy different fruits and veggies on season and sale. Soak them on water and vinegar and rinse them, throw them in the blender and then freeze the. Susie loves to munch on these.

I also make bone broth. I simmer a whole organic fresh raw chicken with filtered water and a tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) for 24-48 hours. I freeze the broth into ice cubes and give them to Susie whenever she’s not feeling to hot about eating (it seems to open her appetite) or when it’s hot out. She loves those things too.

I hope this help. BTW, lesson learned on the bone broth. I went old-school and did it stove top.. Susie’s father and I had to take turns to watch the pot boil (literally). I am buying a crock pot soon.

[Dori]

I’m doing 100% raw. They seem to do best on raw. I’m not messing with a good thing. It’s taken me too many years and too many grey cells to get to this point. There’s no going back now. Also vet loves how healthy and great they look.

[kvee]

I’m doing 100% dry until she’s 2 y.o. after that I’d do raw homemade (unless I am dazzled by THK). I do not buy Susie treats, instead I give her frozen liquefied fruits and veggies and bone broth.

[kvee]

I’m curious to find out good human consumption grade Bone Meal to use to raw-feed my pup. Any suggestions?

[Naturella]

My first ventures in both coconut oil and coconut butter were from TJ Maxx. My next coconut oil will be the big jar from Costco. Coconut butter I find at a decent price in Kroger. I also only use unrefined (most important criteria), extra-virgin, and cold-pressed. If possible, organic. If not, meh. I put it in my coffee and in Bruno’s food every other day.

But I want to follow this thread and see if there are other options. I may try the whole coconut thing too and let Bruno play with it and then break it and share with him! I LOVE coconut in any shape or form, y’all have no idea… Especially as a raw fruit. NOM! 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

I would say 75% raw/25% processed of some type (kibble, canned, dehydrated). Tonight’s dinner is just tripe with a little canned food just to mix in some supplements.

[Melissaandcrew]

Just curious how/what every one is feeding these days. In other words, mainly all dry, all raw, 50-50 etc.

We have gone from about 75% dry/25% raw/toppers/canned etc to just the opposite. We feed more raw than dry now.

Favorite dry foods to rotate-Acana,Nature’s Variety, Hi Tek, Nutrisource, and a few others sporadically.

Whose next?

[pugmomsandy]

My dogs didn’t have any UTI’s but had a high pH and some struvites. They take Wysong Biotic pH- alternating with Mercola Bladder Support in one meal almost daily. They don’t get it when they eat raw food. I use it when they eat kibble/canned meals. I would recommend getting some urine pH test strips so you can monitor that at home or take in a urine sample to be tested monthly. The urine pH relates to the type of crystal. And my dogs did see a vet, a holistic one. I wouldn’t recommend cranberry juice especially it it has sugar in it. Try a D-mannose supplement. D-mannose attracts a certain type of bacteria from the bladder wall. It’s the active ingredient in cranberry and some other berries.

• This reply was modified 12 years ago by pugmomsandy.

[crazy4cats]

Hooray! I’m glad the infection was caught before it got out of hand. Sounds like you are doing a great job. The cat is very cute. And BTW, I don’t think 11 lbs is really that much for a male cat. Mine are about 13 and 15 lbs and they are not fat! The girls are 9 and 11 lbs. however, the 11 lb girl is chubby. I am trying to work on that! Lol!as for the water, I just turn my faucet on a very slow drip and it just seems to draw them in. I think authority and friskies will be just fine. He probably wouldn’t even have lived much longer had you not rescued him. Good luck.

[Shasta220]

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

[Naturella]

Bobby dog, thanks for the kind words!

Yes, shopping on a budget is a necessity for both my friend and I, but finding fantabulous deals for quality food is a hobby. Luckily, she has 2 dogs – the lab and a Chorkie (chihuahua-yorkie, although he looks more like a bichon…), so she likes to stock up for both of them… She feeds them different stuff, which I find slightly odd, but to each their own, they both eat really good food. The Chorkie is stocked up with Holistic Health Extension Small Breed, Earthborn Holistic Small Breed and Coastal Catch, as well as a bag of Whole Earth Farms – Pork (I think), Halo, Simply Nourish, and Evanger’s. The lab also has a bag of Earthborn’s Ocean Fusion as well, I forgot about that.

To add to that, we both have a bunch of PetCo coupons and wipll be using them throughout the year.

As for me, my little JR-Rat Terrier-maybe Chihuahua in there-mutt is on a mix of Dr. Tim’s Kinesis-Nutrisca Chicken-Holistic Health Extension Grain Free-Now Fresh-Victor Yukon Salmon Grain Free-Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken + Raw Boost-Nature’s Variety Turkey, Duck, and Chicken (TURDUCKEN! 😀 ) + Raw Boost. Some is from his initial mix of the first 3 foods; the HHE bag I got for free from Petland; the Now Fresh I got on sale for $3 for 0.5lbs; the Nature’s Variety and the Victor are free samples. For treats I use those kibbles, or free samples of Victor Joint Health Grain Free and Victor High-Pro Grain free, mixed together. Lined up I have Earthborn’s Coastal Catch, Primitive Natural, and Great Plains Feast to be mixed with ALL FREE bags of HHE Original, Grain Free, and Lamb and Brown Rice, respectively. For later on, I have Victor Ultra Professional lined up to mix with Back to Basics Open Range, and the foods that I have PetCo coupons for, such as Wellness, Canidae, Blue Buffalo (Bruno has done well on it in the past), Avo Derm, Solid Gold, Nature’s Variety, and Merrick. Those last ones I will buy in the end of the year, so they will be next year’s stash.

As for the pet boutiques, I would not purchase food from Store A, even if it’s good. But Store B I really like.

And thank you for the compliment – Bruno is our first “real” dog (when I was little, I had a min pin for about 2 weeks, but my dad couldn’t stand her, so they gave her away… Gina was “real”, but not “mine” for very long…) and I really try to learn about what is good for him and what’s not… We really love the little guy and definitely take better care for him than for ourselves (which is not entirely good, but… eh…). 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi b l:
As this site is my go to for my dog’s diet, catinfo.org is my go to site for my cats’ diet information. Dr. Pierson has a great list (and why she recommends them) of freeze dried choices, canned food, and great information on feeding a semi-raw/raw diet to cats. I highly recommend this site to anyone who has cats. If nothing else, it would be a great starting point to find what you are looking for. Catinfo has an abundance of information on other health issues and general cat care that you might find interesting as well.

My cats’ “kitty crack” has been greatly reduced but they still need their dry food fix. They are older and fairly set in their ways. I hope you check out the site and find what you are looking for!

[pfeiner]

OK – so have been doing some reading etc. about RMB and feeding to my two Labs who presently eat a commercial raw diet. I am looking to start making my own and am fearful of smaller RMB. They eat beef shank/marrow bones regularly with no issue – the older boy is more aggressive w his bones (typical Lab) and the pup is more mellow with his. So… are chicken & turkey necks safe for Labs? What about chicken feet – found them at a market the other day. I had read somewhere that I should avoid wings as they are too small. My market often times has frozen organic chicken bones. Can I feed them? I guess Thanks loads for your feedback!!

[Shasta220]

I don’t know too much…but I read an article once of someone who added activated charcoal and chlorophyll to fix bad breath. I personally haven’t tried it myself (my dogs get kinda smelly breath too, especially after their raw eggs, so I got into the habit of regular brushing/water additives/gel/etc.). I definitely understand not wanting to risk a food switch again. Hope you find something that works!

[Naturella]

Oh, and I forgot – he also told me that I am going “way over the top with all these
“all natural” dog stuff” I get (I assume he referred to not only the additives, but also my all-natural chews (bully sticks, tracheas, hooves, antlers, raw marrow bones, etc.))…

[Naturella]

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

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

And then…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Susan]

Hi Andrew, I too have a staffy with Cannie Atopy Demtosis, first as soon as u see her start to scratch stop her, as soon as Patch goes to scratch I say ‘no scratch’ & go & get his cream & apply where’s itchy also I bath him every 5 days in Malasab medicated shampoo, this is excellent, my boy also gets the yeast itchy ears when he has certin tin foods, ur dog needs a diet the she has never tried before eg..duck, kangaroo,venision,etc they say a hydrolized kibble.. Royal canin has the Hypoallergenic or Sensitive Control, The Hypoallergenic was OK with Patches itch BUT not with his red swollen paws that he’d get after some walks, In the end my boy was put on Eukanuba Intestinal this has cleared his skin cleared his paws as long as its not raining & he doesnt get his feet too wet, no more red swollen feet, but its a vet prescription & yes it has corn, but it seems to work for Patch.. People believe in the raw diet but my boy also has irritable bowel as well & vet said no to the raw as there’s to much bacteria…U’ll have to just keep trying different foods & start looking at the ingredients, & remembering what u’ve tried.. I write it all down.. Patch has a diary.. start to look for kibbles that dont have certain ingredients thats what Ive been doing, Like the carbs.. I was told potatoes are a NO NO. Most of these natural diets have the Patotes, Ive just Introduce the Nutro Natural Choice I think in America its the LID, Im in Australia, this so far has been Good, it has grounded rice, no potatoes or corn Poos are excellent he hasnt started the itching YET & has ears are good but its only been 2 weeks & Im still giving some of the Eukanuba Intestinal kibble with the Nutro, Eukanuba has the Dermatosis FP have you ever tried that I tried it but my boy got the runs from it cause of his IBD…. she may not have a real bad food allergy, it may be more the Pollens & grasses that affect her skin, Google ‘Cannie Atopy’ it will give you the 5 main things that cause skin allergies…but what may work for my dog wont work for ur girl… OH have u tried Antihistamine Tablets that humans take for allergies..My vet gave me a list that I can buy from my chemist when Patch gets the swollen lumps on his body again but so far he hasnt gotten them back this yr.. U’d be into spring now the worst time..Good Luck

[andrew b]

So I have a Staffy who is almost 18 months. She has already been allergy tested, and on a scale of 0-4 scored a 2 on numerous things, different types of grasses/weeds, dust and so on, with yeast also registering. We have also done a food trial prior to intradermal testing with Royal Canin HP and her itching really never got better on it. The main issue is she scratches herself bloody. Her neck, under her arms, her face. It’s a sin. We use Temaril-P when needed and it does help, have tried Atopica which didn’t work at all, have tried a new medication called Apoquel that didn’t work at all. Usually when she’s extremely bad(she was at the vet Tuesday, she sees a dermatologist at UPenn), she comes back positive for a yeast infection on her skin. She also started immunotherapy 5 months ago.

The worst of foods(on a relative scale) she has eaten would be Taste of the Wild as a puppy, and when the itching started around 4 months, we have tried, all for nearly 2 month periods, Earthborn, Acana, Nature’s Variety LID and now back to Earthborn since it doesn’t seem to matter.

Where am I going with all of this? Before I fully delve into trying a raw or cooked diet and seeing if it helps, should I just try the lowest carbohydrate food I can find to try and cut down on the yeast issues? If this doesn’t work, I am going either raw, freeze dried or cooked at the end of May. I was going to try Brothers Complete Allergy Formula but I’ve read it’s fairly high in carbs. Would I be better going with something that is 25% or so carbohydrates based on this site’s calorie weighted analysis, perhaps Orijen or Nature’s Variety Raw Boost, or something else?

We’ve tried so much…supplements, oils, she gets Phytovet CK baths 2-3x a week, and it doesn’t improve unless she’s on Temaril and we obviously don’t want that, but when she’s bleeding and will scratch herself for minutes straight unless you stop her, you have no choice.

Any ideas welcome, especially food related. Thanks all, love the site, been lurkin forever.

[Shasta220]

Bumping and following this one. 😉 I definitely know there are! I’m not experienced enough to recommend anything yet though…what does your dog eat? If it’s a very well-balanced home made/raw diet, then he shouldn’t need too much extra.

[Shasta220]

I know raw bones are the best, but I’ll face it: two of my dogs don’t like raw meat NEARLY as much as cooked, so the raw bone (off of the deer/elk we hunt usually) just stays outside in their kennel, and starts to stink the place up. So we end up smoking the bones (using our own wood chips…) #1. The dogs seem to like it more #2. It’s a lot easier to leave the extra ones on the shelf when they’re smoked (and there’s no room in the freezer to hold extra raw bones usually).
I wonder if smoking them just long enough to preserve the meat-scraps would keep the bone at the same “texture”?

We learned the truth of weight-bearing bones the hard way. Poor Cassy has a nice big hole in her head now, LOL!

[Shasta220]

I know pumpkin is a great addition for a dog lacking fiber, but is there a general rule of thumb for how much to add per pound (or 10-20lb, etc) of dog.

Also, I’m very curious about apple cider vinegar. On a FB page, there are several bull-breed owners who add acv, claiming it’s helpful for joints. I’d like to add some to my dogs’ diets, since it’s very cheap (even for raw/organic), and anything to further help my old girl is great.
Is there anyone on here who gives their dog acv? If so, what are all the health benefits?

[Naturella]

Dori (and everyone),

Bruno is doing much better! Last night poor baby must have been starving because he tried to eat my roommate’s dog’s food, and turned over his empty food dish and was chasing it around and licking it in the bathroom… It was pathetic, so I took it away. He slept all through the night and when taken out this morning, he didn’t poop. I fed him some of his kibble softened with warm water, and left home because I had to attend an event. When I just came home, he looks fine, no poop in the house, and when I took him out, he pooped a good amount and it was soft, but normal-soft, not weird-soft. It was formed and everything!

I think we are on the right track, so I will feed him the same for dinner too. He should be like new by tomorrow, if he keeps going this way! 🙂

Thank you all for the advice and concern, we really appreciate it! 🙂

P.S. Dori, in my research and in speaking with some vets, I was told the total opposite – that small dogs mature faster than large dogs, and can be considered adults by 7-8 months. I am confused now… As far as food goes, he was on puppy food until he was about 8 months or so, then went to all-life-stages food and will be on that for a while. How long should I consider him a “puppy”?

P. P. S. Also, before the treat incident (which were also good for him treats, with freeze-dried liver, bananas and carrots, not like a hot fudge sundae, lol), he was doing great on a variety of additives to his kibble to help with his usually extremely hard stools. He would get a canned sardine once a week, one raw egg/week, an RMB/week, coconut oil every other day, and pumpkin, ground flax seed, yoghurt – a couple times/week, and cottage cheese once a week. Also, natural chews, such as ears, bully sticks, piggy snouts, etc. (not all at once, maybe 1-2/week). So when can I reintroduce those, since he was fine with them (we have been doing this for 2+ weeks).

[InkedMarie]

Aquarian: well, my reasoning is sometimes when a dog is used to a lower quality food and go right to five star, it doesn’t always sit well. I frequently read where dogs go that route, get sick & owners throw their hands up, saying give star food isn’t so good.

The money is an issue, now that you mention it. I’ve fed food that sells for $78 +/- and ground raw that I don’t want to calculate lol; I can’t imagine paying $25 a bag and going up to even $45-50 a bag. It’d be sticker shock!

[Lena]

My 13-14 year old Chihuahua has been eating raw food ( basically turkey, oats and carrots with salmon oil, Vit C, yeast, etc. added ). I would like to feed her a good canned food which is low in protein considering her elevated kidney levels, heart murmur and remaining one tooth. She is picky and recently decided not to eat the raw food. BTW, I always heat the raw food so it is a bit warm though still raw.