[anonymous]

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2019/03/a-detailed-evidence-based-response-to-petcos-ban-on-artificial-food-ingredients/ excerpt below, draw your own conclusions.
“Veterinarians have a responsibility to support and educate pet owners and to challenge unscientific, fear-based marketing ploys like the Petco blacklist. The movement towards dangerous “natural” practices like feeding raw diets and avoiding vaccination is a real threat to animal welfare, and it is exacerbated by companies seeking market advantage through feeding and capitalizing on misconceptions and fear”.

[Pam K]

Recently, I have seen a lot of people say that within the last year that Acana has changed their formula. We have had both of our dogs on Freshwater Fish for years. Does anyone know if or how the Freshwater Fish formula has changed?
Here is a little background on what prompted the question:
This past December our older dog (9yo female), was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. We changed her to 90-95% raw diet, she gets some kibble every so often, but has since done great. Our younger dog (just turned 4) just started having similar stomach issues our other dog did when she was diagnosed. So we are thinking he has pancreatitis too and are taking him to the vet today. He has been on 90-95% kibble diet (getting some raw at dinner time). Last night we decided to feed him a diet more similar to our other dog, and will continue to unless the vet says other wise. I just want to know if I should completely get rid of the bag we just bought.

[Maggs D]

Hi first let me apologise for the long post post but I felt a bit of background info was needed.

I have a golden retriever who will be 7 in May and since he was two and half years old has been having seizures. He was investigated by Neurologists as they started to become more frequent and the medication he was initially placed on wasn’t having any effect. He was found to have diffuse lesions over his brain, they weren’t able to biopsy as they were small and diffuse, and they put this down as a cause for the seizures.
Over the years he has been on various drugs which were increased and for the last few years has been on pheno, bromide and keppra with rectal diazepam for clusters.
His longest GM seizure free period was 6 weeks, but he still had complex partial ones every night lasting a minute or two, but he became so sedated and his drug levels were high that they reduced the meds. The GM’s returned to weekly, so they increased his pheno again which had little effect in fact no effect. He has been fed on Royal Canin in various forms since almost the start of his disease. However in February 2019 we were away visiting relatives and I ran out of his food, so rather than having to transport a large bag back home I gave him human grade food, which consisted of fresh salmon, rice, and vegetables (carrots, kale, and celery).
I didn’t get the chance to order his food on arrival home as it was a long and difficult journey. I was also back to work the next day, so he remained on the home-made diet (meat or fish with fresh raw vegetables).
It came as a shock and surprise to find that he wasnt suffering his nightly partials. This carried on for several days, each night I was waiting for the partials which were worse than GM’s in that he entered into a fear/flight response but with blindness but they never came, neither did his GM’s !!!!!!
It has now been over three weeks and he hasnt had any sign of a seizure, which after almost 5 years it quite shocking !!!!
I researched the raw diet, but have been reluctant to try it as he hasn’t been vaccinated since he started with seizures (I have titre levels done, to monitor his antibody levels).
I have even reduced his pheno as his recent blood test came back with high levels, and have also by complete accident, missed his nightly keppra on a couple of occasions.
This has been a truly very strange, but happy period although I am still waiting in anticipation of his next seizure, as I have lived my life for so long dealing with this aweful disease.
I find it almost unbelievable to have a ‘seizure-free’ dog for almost a month !! He has even started playing with his toys again like a puppy which is a delight.

I can only say this is my experience and can’t say it was his Royal Canin diet that gave him the seizures but it is pretty convincing.
I hope my story helps as seizures are the worst thing to experience for both animal and owner. X

[T R]

I’m starting on homemade raw and making a complete and balanced meal every day is way too complicated. I’m considering using Better in the Raw premix at the moment. Even though they have lots of reviews but their packaging seems a bit untrustworthy. I wonder if anyone has used their products before???

Thank you in advance!

[Samanthia K]

I have a 5 year old old English bulldog that is a rescue. He has the worst allergies iv ever seen. He is on allergy meds and i use salmon oil on his food. I use coconut oil on his sores and he gets baths in medicated shampoo once a week. The only thing that seems to clear him up is when he is on antibiotics. I cant afford the grain free dog foods out there and am thinking of starting a grain free raw diet to see if it helps. His sores are all over from his head down his neck all the way to his back. Right now he has a boil on the backnof his neck that is rock hard and pops and bleeds everywhere. I need help to fix him. He looks and feels miserable and i hate it. Anyone know what i could do to help him?

[Patricia A]

Thank you Vikki for posting this. My other two eat freeze dried Primal Stella’s and Bixbi but Hannah never would eat those. Out of canned, I’ve tried her on several brands and flavors, she’ll only eat wellness supplemental. Her diet now is boiled chicken dark meat, roast beef cut from roast at deli, steak, london broil, salmon, string beans, carrots , watermelon . She will eat a few Bixbi rawbble freeze dried which i’m really grateful for. Their small crunchy and she’s getting proper nutrition from them. When I thought the coughing was just from the collapsed trachea I would sneak her some french fries just for her. Something I never did when she was younger. Now I realize she would cough more after doing that. Didn’t know about her enlarged heart then with the salt being worse thing for her.
So good to hear your Frasier is doing so well on the meds. Helped me make up my mind to take her Monday for the sono and get her meds.
Pattimay22@gmail.com..Really appreciate information Vikki Thank’s

[Vikki A]

Patricia A
My Frasier has had a Heart Murmur for a long time now. His lungs are clear, but he does cough off and on. He is taking Pimobendan for his heart, Benazepril for his blood pressure and Furisemide for the cough. The Furosemide is a Diuretic, so He ha to P more frequently. I also have him on a low salt diet. He, is just like yours, happy and eating and every so often chairing squirrels. He is being a dog. Did you say you were feeding her raw? Do you supplement vitamins and minerals? Send me an email and I’ll send you some information. Maybe ask your vet about Pimobendan (this is the generic for Vetmendan)
vmadair@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Vikki

[Kym P]

Hi all! My doxie was diagnosed with PLE at 9. It was touch and go for months. Steroid injections, antibiotics, expensive kibble made from kangaroo meat. He went from 18 pounds of pure muscle to 9 pounds of skin and bone. After months of trying this drug and that (chemo based cancer drugs, etc) I said enough and switched him to a raw diet of turkey from Darwin’s Pet. In just 1 month I saw a difference! I weaned him off the steroids and everything else and he did great for almost 2 years and started having some trouble. He’s now on steroids every third day and still eating the raw food from Darwin’s and doing great at 12.5 years! I hope this helps!

[anonymous]

Lol They all act like they are starving! Don’t believe it. I give my dogs 1/3 of a raw carrot to chew once a day. Low calorie and the chewing is good for the jaw/teeth.

Not the baby carrots, they are bleached and can be a choking hazard due to their size (dogs may gulp them in one bite).

Fromm has a small breed kibble “Gold” Some of their kibbles have veggies, just stay with grain inclusive. They also have canned foods. You can soak kibble overnight and it will be soft like wet food plus it puffs up and they think they are getting more food.

[anonymous]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190304195236.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fdogs+%28Dogs+News+–+ScienceDaily%29

Excerpt below, click on link for full article

Many raw meat dog food products contain high levels of bacteria that pose potential health risks to both animals and people, finds research published online in Vet Record.
This is a particular issue for infants, the elderly, and those with poor immunity, warn the researchers.
A raw meat-based diet has become increasingly popular for dogs in recent years, because it is seen as a ‘healthier’ and more ‘natural alternative’ to widely available commercial products.
But, unlike commercial feeds, raw meat products are not heat treated or freeze dried to pasteurize their content.

[Teagsmom]

My chi mix just had her annual exam. She’s a senior so I have a complete CBD panel done along with some other tests. Everything came back fine except her ALT count (liver enzyme) was sky rocket! Normal is 21-121 and hers was 501. Naturally I freaked out because she has zero signs of anything being wrong. She had a bile acid test, ULtrasound and the vet tested for Lepto just to rule out everything. Ultrasound came back clear (thank goodness) but vet said bile acid test showed a tad of inflammation. She said this could be due to a food allergy. I had been feeding her Primal raw at night and Instinct Raw Boost with Stella and Chewy meal mixers in the morning. The Stella and Chewy meal mixers are her FAVORITE even though I prefer Primal.

My vet suggested that I start feeding ONLY duck to rule out a food allergy. I didn’t realize how many companies add turkey and/or chicken with Duck. Primal was easy because they make freeze dried duck. I purchased Zignature Duck and ordered Natures Instinct LID Duck. I also got some goat milk and can food to add more moisture. I purchased Rawz Duck and Rawbble Duck can wet food. Both are comparable. This is where my questions come in……has anyone experienced this before and the result was a food allergy? What food do people prefer (Zignature vs Instinct and RAWZ vs Rawbble wet)?

My neighbors had the same thing happen with their small dog. They switched from ZiwiPeak to a low protein kibble and the ALT went down from the high 500’s to normal range. MY vet said high protein food would not cause the liver enzymes to go up or down. If this is true, I’m not sure how to explain my neighbors situation. Since adding more kibble vs solely raw at night, my dog poops at min 3x a day. When on raw, it was 1-2x times a day and much smaller. I will have more info once we test her levels again in a few weeks but am curious if anyone has experienced this and/or has any recommendations. Btw my dogs behavior hasn’t changed. If it’s a food allergy I will be surprised bc her stools have always and continue to be firm. She’s never had Diarrhea- knock on wood. Thanking you in advance.

[Christie B]

Back in December, my mother adopted a 3 year old beagle from a local rescue group. She had been shipped up to NY from KY. Her “story” was that she had been tied outside, used to breed, was mistreated and had no social contact with people. She arrived in NY missing 4-5 of her front teeth. Why they had been extracted is a mystery, but it could have been from her attempting to free herself of the rope/chain around her neck, eating rocks or tooth decay. Despite her rough start, she’s a sweetheart. Tail always wagging.

She has never experienced affection. She jumps up on her hind legs to greet you, but doesn’t lick. She plays well with my mother’s other dog, a 3 year old mixed breed.

But she has this one issue: constant scratching under her neck. From day 1 this has been an issue. At first, the vet that the rescue uses said it could be from the medication she was on (from the dental surgery), or from the flea/tick preventative that they had given her prior to her trip up north, or the dewormer that they give prior to any adoption.

The scratching never stopped and it’s completely random. We’ve brought her back to the vet. They gave her a different antibiotic. No help. We asked if it could possible be an emotional response and she said that dogs don’t do that (which I didn’t believe).

So now it’s been almost 3 months and she still scratches, day and night. I’ve tried anti-itch cream but it doesn’t help. She’s scratching herself raw. She does have separation anxiety. She’ll cry and howl at the front door if you leave. It’s gotten better over time but she does not like being left alone.

And now we’ve noticed accidents when my mother has gone to let them out in the morning. Since no one witnesses it, we don’t know for sure which dog has been peeing. But my mother’s other dog doesn’t have issues like that. And it only happens after my mother goes to bed and the dogs are left alone.

Is there anything that can be done to address the itching?

[aimee]

Hi Linda,

I don’t think there are any perfect chews. There is risk in everything and what may be suitable for one dog isn’t for another.

That said my preferred chew items are food stuffed kongs. For my own dogs I’m not a fan of vegetable chews like carrots or dehydrated potato. Of the available animal based options I choose flat rawhide “chips” larger then the dog’s mouth and trade them out when the dog can get it into the mouth.

I shy away from bone shaped rolls etc as they can break teeth.

I understand that many are uncomfortable with rawhide. Certainly if large pieces are attempted to be swallowed it can result in obstruction. In regards to all the bad press regarding chemical containment, after learning that the same “lime splits” used to make rawhide are used in human food production I’m comfortable with the processing agents used in production and the steps taken to remove them.

As with dog food companies ,there are certain rawhide manufactures with whom I’m comfortable and others that I’m not.

[Heather M]

Hi Liz,
Our 6 year old Borzoi had surgery a week ago for bloat. He had a Gastroplexy, and they removed his spleen as several nodules were found. He still has a hollow cough which we worry about. But the vet says he is O.K. He is on various mediations. He was fed a raw diet, with meaty bones and added sardines and eggs, with a little greens. We are now feeding him a mixture of minced beef with a little veg. and add sardines and eggs as necessary. We put a small amount of natural yoghurt on top. We feed him three or four times a day and, if he does not want to drink, syringe a little water into his mouth at intervals. We are still concerned about the cough, though. Has your dog got a cough?

[Linda A]

Hi all! Thanks so much for all your work and efforts to help us and our fur babies here! I JUST bought these yesterday and read up on here and was shocked at what I’m reading! I sure didn’t want Red Barn Bully Sticks (although they love them) So now back to the drawing board! Please, Aimee, can you suggest a good quality chew such as a bully stick, long lasting? Is there such a thing out there?
Thanks so much for all this information!

[Stacia W]

I have a yorkie.. She had Gastro issues the doctor at that time put her on prednisone after doing research I believe that it does way more harm than good I know that people will probably disagree with me however this is just my opinion and my experience as I have worked extremely hard to keep my dog on track and for the most part it’s worked pretty well except she does have flareups from time to time.
You really have to be proactive for the first so many years I let my doctors keep her on antibiotics and she started to build up an immune to them. They also had her on prescription food which I am not a fan of … Shaking horribly from the pain so finally I decided to do my own thing my research and by lots of trial and error we found what works..your dogs levels have to be tested on a regular basis it can be expensive at least once a year ,if they have flareups it’s really important to know how high their levels are . You need to check on the kidneys as well as the liver as well as pancreas and basically what it comes down to is the diet has to be at a high protein low fat diet. Daisy has been on primal’s raw rabbit And freeze dried when I’m traveling she eats steamed (which you can buy in the bag from like target for $.99 )broccoli cauliflower and carrots she gets baked sweet potatoes in sections (obviously not the whole thing) and rice she Has to stay on a strict diet.
She does have occasional flareups and I will do a round of antibiotics with metronidazole or Flagyl two weeks at a time but it’s not easy and unfortunately it can be expensive . I know people like to cook chicken or talk about cooking chicken but I believe that the protein needs to be higher.
It’s been a struggle but I will tell you after six months of starting her on this diet my vet did come back into the room with her results and was completely shocked.
The last few weeks we have had probably one of the worst attacks that she’s ever had and I did put her back on some meds and the prescription food but she wasn’t getting better so now I’m putting her back on the rabbit in hopes that her levels come down so we will see.
Diet is everything dogs really are no different then people some people could actually learn from this the dog food advisor is a good place to go.
But going the cheaper route with a low-quality food will definitely not end well.

[Patricia A]

Stella and Chewy’s kibble has a raw coating but only for dogs and no vet series.

[Sanne]

Schedule is honestly usually just based on what is convenient for the person. I see nothing wrong with three times a day.

I feed add ons with my dogs food daily and I started when they were pups (anything from raw meat, veggies, tinned sardines, boiled eggs). The only advice I have is to make sure no more than 25% of her daily calories come from added food, that is the guideline my vet set for me. Otherwise you have to make sure your add ons are also complete and balanced. I also would not try adding all kinds of foods at once. Add one thing for a few days and see how she takes to it. If you start adding all kinds of stuff at once and her stomach does not agree with something, you won’t know which food she is reacting to.

We do not have that kibble brand here so I cannot comment on whether it is good or not as I am not familiar with it. For puppy food, I do like Farmina puppy, Annamaet puppy, and Victor puppy

[Sanne]

I don’t give hard chews like antlers because my dogs do not care or realize that they cannot be bitten into smaller pieces. They will try anyway which will lead to broken teeth. Softer chews like lamb trachea and dehydrated fish skins work well for my smaller dog.

My dogs LOVE fruit for treats. Raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are some of their favorites. Baby carrots and broccoli are well liked too. If I do use store bought treats, I tend to stick to “training treats”. These are typically very small so also very low on calories. Dogs do not care how big their reward is so I use small treats in order to not feed a bunch of useless calories.

[anonymous]

For science based information regarding health, vaccinations and such go here: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/

Find a vet that you like and trust, go for routine checkups. Start brushing the dog’s teeth, small breeds have lousy teeth. See youtube for how to videos.

Stay away from those treats you mentioned and boutique type foods.

Try giving him 1/3 of a raw carrot to chew once a day (not the baby carrots they are bleached plus they are a choking hazard).
And be careful gathering information on the internet, lots of misinformation to be found.

Fromm is a good food and they have treats, stay away from grain free, I like the classic or small breed gold for a kibble. https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-small-breed-adult-gold-food-for-dogs

At 5 months the pup is probably still teething, they chew everything in site till they are about 2 years old.
PUPPY PROOF YOUR HOME!

[aimee]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for contributing. Curious, I microwaved rawhide and it shrunk considerably and curled. I microwaved a different brand rawhide and saw no change. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of moisture in the product or different processing. I can’t say I noted much of a smell in either product.

[Susan]

Hi Yelena,

Sounds like you have your answer your dog has “PLE”..
Have you tried a Vet diet, steroids & antibiotics for PLE & see is there was any improvements ??

1 year is a LONG time to have diarrhea everyday, your dog will end up with thickening of the bowel, skinny & malnutrition, he needs weekly B-12 injections & electrolytes put in syringe & given thru the day…. Electrolyte replace potassium, phosphorus, bicarbonate, chloride, sodium and calcium.
You need to see a vet who knows about IBD?? the vet who wanted to do biopsies seem to know what he was talking about.
You need to find out what is wrong with your boy, your going around in circle….

Join face book group called
“Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD)”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/11164787803/

I would be doing biopsies, the quicker you do biopsies you will have answers.

Salvia/fur & blood test for Food Sensitivities/allergies are a waste of money they give false positives results..
Ultra Scan, X rays are also a waste of money at this stage, they will not tell vet what’s wrong, you need biopsies so vet knows 100% what he is dealing with so he can treat dog……

I did Endoscope thru mouth or you can do Colonscope other end, vet took 2 biopsies, 3 days later I had answers finally..
Endoscope is quick easy no pain, dog is back home 5 hours later eating food, running around playing…..

Was your dog tested for EPI?
Join this face book group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/38663535025/
If your dog is tested & has EPI then post a post in the EPI Dog group & ask how can you buy Dianes enzymes but its sounds like you have tried Enzymes
also a lot of EPI dogs take “Tylan Powder” – 1/8th teaspoon put into empty capsule given with meal 2 of the daily meals….. EPI needs low fiber, a diet with potato is best…no grains, grains, rice ferment in stomach & small bowel no good for EPI…

I don’t think a raw diet well help, changing diet would of helped by now…
a Vet Diet + meds would be best to get your dog stable & doing formed poos again..

DIET INDICATIONS

Highly Digestible – IBD
Home-Prepared – Fat intolerance, Food allergy, Food intolerance, IBD, Lymphangiectasia Severe PLE – Modified Fiber – Vet Diet
Colitis – Fiber-responsive, intestinal disease, IBD of large intestine
EPI – Very low fiber diet, digestive enzymes

[Bernice L]

My dog has chronic pancreatitis and bilious vomiting syndrome; after over $5000 in vet bills, including a gastro specialist and all kinds of prescription foods and meds I finally bit the bullet and decided to try raw food that I purchase from my local butcher (they make their own containing chicken, beef liver, ground bone, brown rice & veggies); after two weeks nearly all his symptoms have disappeared and after 4 months he is healthier than ever (he is 5 1/2) — AND the best part, my food bill went from over $200/month to approx. $80 per month. Not one of the vets/specialists ever suggested trying raw and I know it is controversial, but it works for my Freddy — however, I must add that he now ONLY gets treats like apples, blueberries, dried sweet potato, no more junky treats or fatty treats at all. Good luck!

[yelena s]

Hello people. Losing my mind trying to help my 9 yo cocker spaniel. Hopefully, this won’t be too long and someone can advise . So he was on blue wild dog food for all his life, and started getting progressively worse with gas . after some research, i decided to switch foods. started with ollie . it was great at first , but then it gave him diarrhea. after a dose of antibiotics, nothing changed and we figured to change the food again. over the course of last year, went through trudge, open farm, back to blue, to farmers dog. nothing was really helping. then started to cook myself and ended up only giving rice and chicken or meat, or potatoes, pumpkin . no help. did blood test and basically it is showing that he isn’t absorbing proteins, his calcium, albumin and cholesterol is low. two vets want to do ultrasound an then biopsy, thinking it is protein losing enthoropathy . to my questions , what the point of doing this if the treatment is still steroid / anti inflammatory drugs, i get no answer . Went to two homeopathic docs as well. no certain answer there as well, as they treat with food and herbs and acupuncture. added enzymes and clay and herbs. few weeks , no change. one of the doc suggested food sensitivity test NutriScan by Cant type driving. Dodds. Has anyone used it and how accurate is it? any other things that may have worked for you in this kind of situation? I’m thinking may be trying raw food even, but i m afraid to make it worse. any suggestions, would greatly appreciated. he was tested for parasites and it s negative, altho i keep thinking about that since its the original food switch that started this.TIA!

[L S]

Aimee,

Thank you for opening this discussion topic last year. Your original findings made me very curious to learn more about no-hides dog chews. I decided to do a little research for my own peace-of-mind and wanted to share the results with you.

As a graduate of an extensive culinary program, I naturally wanted to crack the recipe for no-hide dog chews. I decided to purchase all of the ingredients listed on the no-hide salmon chew label.

In the first portion of my research study, I wanted to determine if was possible to create the no-hide chew base using only the ingredients listed on the product label. My first several attempts yielded a dough that very closely resembled the no-hide chew base.

In the second portion of my study, I wanted to know if raw hide and no-hide reacted alike under heat (dehydrateration) in a microwave.

I placed a store-bought 4″ no-hide chicken chew in my 1100 watt household microwave for 1 minute on high. The chew dough base browned slighted and shrank by about 1/3 its original length. The dough smelled like burnt crackers and became even more rigid. The chicken coating puffed up, oozed out and resembled something that smelled like fried chicken.

I microwaved a similarly shaped raw hide chew for 1 minute in the same household microwave as I used with the no-hide. The results were hugely different. The raw hide did not shrink at all, nor did it brown. The raw hide smelled like a leather baseball glove.

My study results lead me to strongly believe the no-hide company is being truthful when they say their no-hide dog chews contain no raw hide material. I truely believe the chews are made solely of the ingredients listed on the label.

I am glad I took the time and effort to study the ingredients in no-hide salmon dog chews. Now, I can fully appreciate all of the effort and expense that goes into making these quality handmade dog chews. I feel very confident about the ingredient list on no-hide dog chews and I will continue to purchase no-hide salmon chews for my dog to enjoy.

-Lisa

[Susan]

Hi Cheryl,

Which Flea product did he take?? did you report to FDA

https://www.tumblr.com/drjeandoddspethealthresource/178817671296/fda-warning-flea-tick-products

When you do get a new dog DO NOT use any of these never Flea chews they’re poison,
“Frontline Plus Spot on” or “Frontline Spray” only penitrates 2 layers of the dogs skin, so it doesn’t go into the dogs blood & poison the poor dog… I do not use any Flea products, Heartworm meds, dont vaccinate after the dog is 2 yrs old

Follow “Dr John Robb Protect The Pets”
https://www.facebook.com/DRRobbPTP/
they have found a dogs vaccination last up to 7 yrs, so why are these vets over vaccinating our pets & now if you have a small dog under 50lbs – 25kg check & make sure the vaccination dose is 1/2 the amount..

Follow “Rodney Habib” on his F/B page he post about nutrition, over vaccinating, diets, dog behaviour, why is your dog so hyper its probably whats he’s eating, Rodney & Dr Karen Becker are both a wealth of information to bring up a healthy dog, he’s doing a story at teh moment oldest living dogs & what they ate.. it wasnt dry kibble try & stay away from over processed dry kibble…
Look into feeding a raw diet or if you cant handle raw look at Freeze dried/Dehydrated raw…there’s heaps of good brands around..
https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib

[Susan]

Hi Robin,

Join Monica Segal f/b group called “K-9 Kitchen” group she often post recipes for Renal Failure, Post a Post once you join look in her “Files”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/K9Kitchen/

Also Follow “Judy Morgan DVM” f/b page
https://www.facebook.com/JudyMorganDVM/
Click on her “Videos she has a few Renal Failure videos, post a post or msg Judy on her f/b page about a diet & she will answer your msg or post..

Join “Dogs with renal / kidney failure and disease” F/B group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/582094775463298/
Click on their “Photos” heaps of things people have posted over the years that they have used, feed etc this is where I got these foods from..

Food you can buy without scripts.

“Daves Restricted Fat & Phosphorus wet can dog food”

“Dr Havey’s VEG-TO-BOWL”

But be careful as the fat is often very high in these Renal Failure dog/cat foods, Dogs often suffer from Acid Reflux & need an acid reducer or acid Blocker…
My vet said to add boiled potato to my cat meals, they can’t taste the potato & it adds carbs so they dont lose weight, sweet potato is nice & healthy & sweet also helps with acid reflux, I boil & freeze Sweet Potato pieces & take a few pieces out & thaw in micro wave when Patch isnt well & has his acid reflux & is mouth licking….

What I do when I want to convert fat% in wet can foods or raw diets to Dry Matter fat (Kibble)
I Multiply the fat % by 5 & you’ll get an ruff idea what the fat % is it wont be max fat %
but it gives you an idea how high the fat is, it all depends on the moisture, the lower the moisture the lower the fat% look for under 80% moisture in wet can foods.
or email pet food companies & ask can they convert their fat % into Dry matter..

Here’s a fat, protein, fiber moisture calculator link, click on the 1st link “CA Calculator” save it..

Dog Food Calculators

I wouldnt want to feed a vet diet especially after the high Vitamin D in Hills vet diets,
if later you do want to try a vet diet then look at “Farmina” or “Rayne Canada” vet diets, ingredients are healthier & better quality..

[crazy4cats]

Here is the latest from the FDA on the ongoing investigation into the ever increasing number of dogs and cats being diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy due to their diet:
https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/7887-fda-asks-pet-food-industry-for-dcm-related-information?fbclid=IwAR009PEbLG3fX4AIBKgKh0jEAkbr5_rUHdz6O2D8-75f2NKwKA05fU4VUe8#.XGgfFjOgs88.facebook
PetfoodIndustry.com
Home » FDA asks pet food industry for DCM-related information
PET FOOD NEWS / PET FOOD INGREDIENTS / PET FOOD SAFETY
DCM-dog-foods-FDA
Debbie Phillips-Donaldson
BY DEBBIE PHILLIPS-DONALDSON ON FEBRUARY 14, 2019
FDA asks pet food industry for DCM-related information
FDA needs pet food producers to report on any changes in ingredients, processing or formulation.
3K
In its ongoing investigation into atypical cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) possibly related to grain-free pet food ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking the industry for information related to changes in ingredients, processing or formulation.

David Edwards, Ph.D., an officer with FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)’s Office of Surveillance and Compliance, presented an updated on the agency’s DCM investigation during the American Feed Industry Association’s 12th Annual Pet Food Conference, held February 12 in conjunction with the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

What FDA needs from pet food industry
Specifically, Edwards said, CVM needs information from pet food producers relative to the timeframe when most of the new cases of DCM were reported over the past few years, but mainly during 2018. He asked for input on changes in ingredients used, sourcing of ingredients, processing or formulation.

He also asked that pet food companies, academic programs and organizations such as the Pet Food Institute continue their own investigations on any potential issues with formulas and ingredients possibly related to this DCM situation.

Wide range of dogs reported among DCM cases
Through November 30, 2018, CVM had recorded 290 cases of DCM involving 325 dogs (plus a few cats) and 74 pet deaths, Edwards reported. The cases occurred from 2014 through 2018, but most were in 2018. He also presented demographic information showing a wide range of affected pets. For example, the most frequently reported dog breed was Golden Retrievers, with 61 dogs affected, while another 27 were mixed-breed and 25 were Labrador Retrievers. Other breeds with numbers in the double digits included Great Danes at 16 and Australian Shepherds at 11; Edwards listed 15 other breeds with three to nine dogs affected each.

Related to the variety of breeds affected, the dogs’ weight ranged from 8 to 212 pounds, with a mean of 68 pounds. They ranged in age from 0.42 to 16 years, with a mean of 6.5 years; 59 percent were male, 41 percent female.

Among the cats affected, ages ranged from 0.4 to 12 years; the mean was 5.5 years old. Their weight ranged from 7 to 13 pounds, with a mean of 11 pounds. The cats were 60 percent male, 40 percent female.

Dog foods and ingredients in DCM reports
Edwards also presented data on the types of dog foods and their ingredients in the reported DCM cases. The foods were predominantly dry (269 of the reports), with four raw and one each of wet and semi-moist. In 14 reports, multiple formulations were named; in five others, the foods were unknown.

Then Edwards provided a deeper dive into the formulations and ingredients for 196 of the reports, in which the affected dogs were fed a single, primary dog food:

About 90 percent of the diets were labeled grain free;
Of the other 10 percent of the foods, some were labeled vegan or vegetarian, while some contained brown rice;
A large proportion of the foods contained peas or lentils high on the ingredients list. In fact, peas appeared in 180 of the dog foods named in these 196 reports and lentils in 104 of the foods. Other ingredients presented by Edwards included potatoes, in 63 of the diets, plus sweet potatoes and chickpeas, each in 55 of the diets.
Edwards said that, before FDA issued its alert about these cases of DCM in July 2018, the agency had investigated for contaminants such as metals or improper levels of minerals and other nutrients in the cases reported to date. After the alert came out, FDA then bought some of the products named in the reports and tested them specifically for those same factors, among other things. All the tests before and after the alert were negative.

FDA is continuing its investigation, working with scientists and nutritionists in the Veterinary Laboratory and Investigation Response Network (Vet-LIRN), and also with veterinary cardiologists. The investigation has included nutritional and amino acid analyses of the foods reported and complete health histories of many of the dogs, Edwards said.

[anonymous]

Get them to a veterinarian, ASAP for diagnosis and treatment.

I would stop all raw food immediately. The veterinarian will probably advise a bland diet after GI blockages are ruled out.

The veterinarian will advise what to feed once they are stable, assuming they respond to treatment.
Good luck.

You may find this site helpful.
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=raw+diet

[Ashley A]

Hi forum!

I’ve been searching but haven’t really found many posts on this… my Chihuahua’s have been raw fed for as long as I’ve rescued them (about 2-3 yrs). They’ve done great within the past 7-8 months I’ve introduced RMB (chk feet, wings etc). They’ve suddenly showed signs of GERD/acid reflux. After eating they spit up yellow bile sometimes chunks of food…

Any ideas to help?

They get a homemade ground raw mix in the morning, with solid gold sea meal, calcium and fiber (dehydrated pumpkin and apple fiber).

For dinner they get a RMB, liver, gizzard. They get raw quail eggs 1-3x a week as I read too many eggs can mess up the biotin in their system.

I have a male and female chihuahua, male is 5lb and female is 8lb both could lose a lil weight.

Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks for your tome!

[Christie B]

Yeah, I put the majority of the recipe topper in the freezer. Maybe I’ll be able to use it for my other dog in the future. As for my big guy, he was mopey this morning and gulping, coughing and shaking his head and rubbing his face and sure enough when I checked his ears…yeast infection.

It doesn’t seem to matter what food I put him on. I try different proteins, grains, grain free, limited ingredients….it makes my head spin. I try a new food…seems great. A few weeks later back to the drawing board. It seems to get worse with age.

Do I really go back and try the low quality brand he ate years ago with no issues? Do some dogs just not do well on good quality food?

These are the ingredients for the vet recommended food:

Chicken, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal (source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, oat meal, medium-chain triglyceride vegetable oil, pea fiber, dried egg product, natural flavor, fish oil, barley, fish meal (source of glucosamine), L-Arginine, mono and dicalcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, Vitamin E supplement, potassium citrate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, choline chloride, and sodium selenite

I hate to try it, but I hate how the Benedryl my vet recommends for the symptoms knocks him out. He sleeps during the day while I’m at work, I don’t want him conked out when I’m home to play with him. And he absolutely hates when I have to clean out his ears. The more I try to make the healthier choice, the more it backfires.

Is it bad to try and see?

[Christie B]

Eh, I don’t know if the current topper that I made is going to work. Dogs love it, yeaterday after dinner, my dog started to lick his chops and drool. I gave him a Pepcid and thankfully he didn’t go full blown miserable drool machine. He slept fine, and ate his food this morning. Then right before I left for work, I notice that he was doing that gulping/I’m about to vomit motions. So I let him out and he made a beeline for dead grass to eat. I felt bad needing to leave, but have him Pepcid and crosses my fingers that I wouldn’t have to clean up vomit when I got back home. I checked on him periodically through the day with the pet cam. He was excited to see me when I got home. Fed him, but used a bit of canned salmon instead of the homemade food. And a short time ago he made the vomit gagging routine but no vomit.

Maybe the toppers are too rich for him to stomach.

Back to the drawing board.

[Sanne]

Regardless of what I am feeding I know about how many calories both my dogs need to maintain their weight so that is how much I feed in a day. I mix raw meat, sardines, veggies, eggs etc in their food every day and simply make sure that the added food + dry food = their needed calories. I keep calories from added food to a max of 25% of their daily calories as that is what my vet suggested I stay around.

I always recommend people know how many calories their dog eats from their normal food. Makes it so much easier to know how much dry to reduce if adding canned for example.

[haleycookie]

Anon I’m not sure you even read a single sentence of this post. This dog is a puppy. Neither foods you recommended are suitable for growing puppies.

I would recommend foods like wellness core, natures variety raw boost puppy, Merrick back country puppy, or solid gold puppy. All are good options.

[Sanne]

Just my personal opinions of these brands.. I would not bother with Blue Buffalo. So many people seem to have digestive issues on that brand. I also do not like the company as a whole, seems shady. Orijen and Acana are imo very overpriced for what they are. So much beans/lentils/peas which in my experience are not very easy to digest. My dogs get gas and huge loose stools on foods that use beans/lentils as the starch source. I have had much better digestion results with foods that use rice/barely/potato/sweet potato, that is just my personal experience though. With all the odd cases of DCM/low taurine with dogs on Acana, I would hold off on that food anyway until more is found on that.

I am not too familiar with Innova or Solid Gold. Wellness seems pretty decent. My go to puppy formulas are Farmina Puppy and Annamaet Original Puppy or Ultra. It really is trial and error though, what works for mine may not work for yours. You will only know what works for him by experience.

As for mixing add ins, my dogs starting since they were pups get raw meat, boiled eggs, and tinned sardines added to their dry food. They are very used to this though as like I said this started very early on. I would not add in a bunch of stuff too quickly with your pup though. You could start with just some egg or chicken added in a few times a week and go from there.

[haleycookie]

If he’s been checked by a vet and nothing is found (he’s just being picky) try the suggested above, egg (raw or cooked), some raw (thaw slowly in fridge) or cooked chicken prepared properly as a topper. You can also try raw goats milk to add some fat into his diet, or look for new born puppy dog formula at a pet store and mix that’s with his food. Also whatever brand he is eating try to see if it has a puppy formula and feed him that if he likes it, you can also top with canned puppy food as well for a calorie boost.
The main the would be to make sure he doenst have any ailments first. And hopefully getting him transitioned onto a better quality food.

[Thomas B]

Hello everyone, I’m a newbie here. So, my 11 years old senior dog started losing weight. The only food that he eats is not full of good nutrients also.. I don’t know what to do… I searched for a specific food that helps a dog to gain weight, but I don’t want to waste money on foods that are not helpful at all. I found an article about that and it looks like there might be something that I need. Here is a link to this article if you have the same problem https://petshotspot.com/dog-foods-for-weight-gain/. So what are your recommendations? I tried to feed him with raw food but he vomits a lot and I guess it is hard for him to digest it.

[Patricia A]

Feeding trials are :
Pet food feeding trials are touted by Big Pet Food as ‘the’ standard every pet food consumer should be guided by. Many veterinarians make pet food recommendations based solely on feeding trials. Thanks to two pet food companies, the pet food feeding trial bar has been raised. Can Big Pet Food handle the new standard?

It is common within the pet food industry to tout pet food feeding trials; many (unknowing) veterinarians follow and believe in the propaganda. From the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) website: “Of all the education and resources that Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. provides to veterinarians and their health care teams, the most potentially valuable for their patients are criteria for evidence-based clinical nutrition. Conducting high-powered clinical trials is not simply Hill’s approach to product development but another way the company gives back to the profession—by providing scientific evidence they believe veterinarians can depend on when arriving at informed clinical decisions.”

Although pet food feeding trials are touted as the ‘it’ means of proving the quality of a pet food, there are many drawbacks rarely discussed. Those that take issue with the validity of pet food feeding trials, most commonly cite concerns of length of the trial (only 6 months), simple blood work required to pass the food (four blood tests), and that it is common (standard until now) to use ‘purpose-bred’ dogs and cats tested in a laboratory setting.

The worst – purpose-bred dogs and cats. From the University of Cincinnati website: “Purpose-bred dogs are those that are specifically bred for biomedical research, most often by companies that specialize in producing such animals. Purpose-bred dogs can be either mixed breed or purebred. Purebred animals have the advantage of uniform size, body conformation, and genetic background. The beagle is a popular purebred because of its relatively small size. There are far fewer companies offering purpose-bred cats.”

Most dogs and cats used in typical pet food feeding trials are born, raised, and die in a laboratory kennel. They never have a home or a family to love them. They serve a purpose – to sell pet food – and that is all.

Most pet food companies that utilize pet food feeding trials perform them within their own facilities. Their own purpose bred dogs/cats participate in the trial, the trial is overseen and documented by pet food company employees. Other companies that have touted feeding trials hire private facilities to run the trial. Needless to say, pressure is on the private facility/lab to pass the diet if they wish to have a return customer.

Now to the good news. Two pet food companies have stepped forward and moved pet food feeding trials to a whole new level. To a humane and more accurate level.

JustFoodForDogs has recently completed a six month real-life AAFCO approved feeding trial. JustFoodForDogs hired University of Cal Poly Pomona’s Animal and Veterinary Science Department to develop a new humane and realistic feeding trial that met AAFCO requirements and to run the trial. “According to Dr. Broc Sandelin, PhD, Chair of the Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department, “The field method we developed takes significantly more effort than the standard ‘industry approach’,…the dogs are happy, and the data are scientifically valid.”

This feeding trial enlisted 28 pets – in family homes (real life pets, real life environment). Some of the pets were already eating a JustFoodForDogs diet, some were not. Of the 28 dogs that began the test, 26 completed. The two that dropped out (AAFCO regulations allow 25% of the animals to drop out), did so early because of personal/lifestyle (human) challenges, not related to the pet food. Dr. Oscar Chavez, house veterinarian at JustFoodForDogs, explained each pet completed “Comprehensive Blood Cell Count and Comprehensive Canine Chemistry Panel, looking at over 25 blood parameters” at the conclusion of the study; AAFCO regulations only requires four blood tests.

Dr. Chavez provided the following explanation of the reasoning behind JustFoodForDogs 25 blood parameters: “A typical AAFCO trial is required to measure parameters that look for anemia (low blood red blood cell count) and – indirectly – liver damage. Anemia is a potential end result of deficiencies that may occur if the food is severely deficient. In order to become anemic, the severe deficiencies must have been present for a significant amount of time, as anemia is usually a secondary sign of a more serious underlying disease. That is to say, the deficient food has to first make the dog sick (through malnutrition), then the dog has to become anemic in response to that illness, and all this must happen within the 26 weeks for the standard AAFCO protocol to catch it. The liver parameter AAFCO requires to us to look at ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase) is only one of many used by vets to evaluate the integrity of the liver, and could be normal even though there is insult to the liver. Vets agree that in many cases, using this protocol may actually 1) not catch problems even though the disease or deficiencies may be present, or 2) miss long term problems that did not become evident by this limited testing in the 26 week period. Lets put it this way – most veterinarians would never clear an older or fragile patient for anesthesia, for example, with only the results of the parameters required by AAFCO.”

“By measuring full blood panels, we were able to look for evidence of diseases directly and see – truly – if the food was making our dogs sick within the 26 week period.”

Current regulations guiding feeding trials require the ‘group’ of animal participants on a whole to pass the four blood tests; the 26 dogs participating in the JustFoodForDogs feeding trial each passed individually (and passed the 21 additional blood tests individually too). To read more about JustFoodForDogs feeding trial, click here.

Another raising of the feeding trial bar has been from Answers Pet Food. Though this feeding trial does not meet AAFCO requirements, it is none-the-less a huge step forward.

Dr. Amy Nesselrodt DVM was the volunteer owner of the dogs in this feeding trial (not an employee of the pet food company). The trial ran for one year on Dr. Amy’s four dogs (in real life conditions), unlike the AAFCO requirement of only six months.

Each dog was given a health exam prior to the transition to Answers raw pet food, at six months and at 12 months by an independent veterinarian. Detailed before and after health information is provided by Dr. Amy on her blog , below is a chart from her website.

All dogs passed the trial and experienced health improvement.

Real life feeding trials using pets in their homes are the ONLY way to do a feeding trial – the only way. Anything less is cruel and the results should prove to be inaccurate to meet the nutritional requirements of dogs and cats living in a family setting.

Thank you to Just Food for Dogs and Answers Pet Food for taking pet food feeding trials into a more humane and realistic era. Your turn Big Pet Food.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
PetsumerReport.com

[Susan]

Hi Tom,
“Ketopet” Diet
KetoPet was founded in 2014 as a flagship program under the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Epigenix Foundation. The KetoPet Sanctuary (KPS) was started to give shelter dogs with terminal cancer a “forever home” and save them from euthanization. Some of these dogs were given just weeks to live when they arrived at the KetoPet sanctuary.

In addition to nutritional therapy, KetoPet offered dogs the highest standard of veterinary and oncology care. Depending on each dog’s condition, we used therapies including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, personalized exercise programs, and hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT). These forms of cancer therapy are considered to be best-in-class for humans. We felt it necessary to do everything in our power to help dogs with cancer that came to us at KPS.

https://www.ketopetsanctuary.com/

Remarkably, 55% of the dogs who graduated from the KPS program are still going for long walks, enjoying belly rubs, eating a raw keto diet, and experiencing a quality of life far beyond their original prognosis. Some of these sanctuary dogs are even living cancer-free today.

[Sandy C]

Joanne, I’m not sure who misinformed you that dogs are only allergic to the grain. I hope I’m not too late to respond. As you know dogs are descendant from wolves, coyotes, etc… and what do they mostly eat? Animals and animals are protein. Dogs are more than likely to be allergic to grains than they are to protein. I work as a sales consultant at a pet store and have helped multiple customers about their pet needs. Almost every dog is allergic to grains and Chicken because it is one of the most common ingredient. Nowadays, dogs especially bully breeds are prone to getting allergies towards the food so its always best to rotate the protein not just for allergy reasons, but it also alleviates a picky dog and wean them off of the food and give them more variety because sometimes the company can go out of business, the product can be recalled, or discontinued. Rotational feeding is always best and you can consult with your vet but everyone vet is entitled to their own opinion and may mislead you.

The best optimal food is raw food. Remember dogs are not children/human. They are animals and yes they can eat raw. What do you think wolves eat? Grains or Meat?

My dog is allergic to grains and so are some of my customers dog. High starchy diets can also cause ear affection because its a sugar content and that sugar can also cause yeast infection which is why if you have an yeast infection you can’t eat too much sugar content.

[Christie B]

Are there advantages, other than price, in feeding dry kibble over wet food? I’m not trying to debate commercial feeding vs. raw. More like Brand A kibble formula vs Brand A wet food.

If I understand correctly, on average, wet/canned food has more protein, more fat and less carbs than its kibble counterpart. /choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

I know a lot of people, myself included, mix a small amount of wet food in with kibble to make it palatable for picky eaters. And I’m going over my current pet food shopping list: adult kibble for 1 dog, senior or large breed adult for my other dog, canned food as a topper for both, wet food for adult cat w/ history of urinary blockage, and dry food for cat 2 who flat out refuses to eat wet food. I also use shredded chicken thighs, canned salmon and sardines as toppers.

The worst is the days when I mix in a topper (could be the same can that I used the meal before that the dogs loved) and the dogs are now not interested and I’m left with half eaten mixed kibble that has to be tossed. Or even better, when my smaller dog licks the topper off of the kibble, eats a few pieces of kibble once the bowl is cleaned of the topper and then abandons the bowl.

The average kibble feeding guideline for my 120 lb. dog is 5-6 cups of kibble a day. And I know those values are high and my vet even told me to aim for about half of that if I add some wet food as a topper. My dog seems happy with 1.5 cups twice daily.

But looking at the same brand’s wet food product, it says” Feed ½ to 1 can for every 10 lbs. of body weight per day. That’s 6-12 cans of food! And since wet food is higher in fat, isn’t that even more unhealthy?

The price alone is crazy. How do people with 100+ lb. dogs feed wet without going broke? Or do you just feed kibble?

• This topic was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Christie B.

[anonymous]

@ Christie B

Check out Fromm Classic Adult https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-classic-adult-dog-food
as a base, most veterinarians approve.
Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach is good too.

PS: Forget about raw, forget about supplements, listen to your vet

Suggestions for a topper:
I boil a small chicken once a month in a huge pot, nothing added, then let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
Let it cool for a couple of hours.
When cool enough to handle, remove the chicken and debone, be very careful and throw out small pieces and such as tiny bones could be in there. When in doubt, throw out.
Put the pot of broth in the fridg on cold temp for 24 hours, the fat will rise to the top so that you can easily remove it.
Separate the broth in individual containers or freezer baggies (3 or 4 day supply each) store in freezer.
Do the same for the chicken meat.
Its a bit of work and messy, but cost effective, and you know for sure that there are no added ingredients.
The store bought has preservatives and salt. The more expensive brand in the organic section might be a little better.

[Christie B]

Thanks.

I’ve been researching different ways to introduce and transition to raw (or at the very least away from kibble to something canned or refrigerated). Cost is killer. Two dogs, weighing 120 lbs and 45-50 lbs, equate to a lot of food.

My vet is 110% against raw diets, even long term cooked diets. He’s all Purina Pro Plan, all the time. He doesn’t even like that I’ve given my dogs supplements since normal kibble has everything they’d possible need.

[Bernice L]

Your dog’s’ symptoms are identical to what my Freddy went through for a number of years, culminating last year in over $5000 worth of vet bills, long-term hospital stays and near-death at one point. Finally was referred to a gastro specialist and he was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and bilious vomiting syndrome. After working with some meds and food changes it has now been 3 months with virtually no symptoms. I switched Freddy to raw food (from our local butcher who makes a blend of chicken, beef liver, veggies, brown rice and ground bone for calcium) and within days noticed a huge difference. Despite all the controversy about raw food for him this was the answer. He is still on Metonia as part of the issue with his diagnosis is his difficulty digesting food properly, any food. He also is on Pepcid and 1 tsp of Metamucil a day (although I buy a natural fibre the pharmacist said was better, and cheaper). It sounds like a lot, but not only is Freddy healthier, no bouts of drooling, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea since November, but the food is 1/3 of the cost of his prescription food he had been on, he poops only once or twice a day, nice solid poops, his coat is fabulously soft, he has way less gas (he’s a Frenchton so I thought farting a lot was normal… not!). The Metonia is not expensive, $17/month, dog food now around $80, compared to $255, Pepcid & Fibre combined $10, a far cry from the expenses from before. In addition, it is important to keep their stomachs full so his meals are broken up into 4 a day and ABSOLUTLEY NO KIBBLE, NO BONES, and only low fat treats — I buy dried sweet potatoes and fruit, fresh fruit like blueberries and apples (NO skin as there is a lot of fat in apple skins, who knew?). It may sound strange to say “low fat” when he is on raw food, but it works. The specialist I worked with did not recommend the raw food, that was my desperation, but he did not discourage it either. You can google him, Dr. Gelens in Kelowna BC Canada. Good luck with your dog, I hope this helps.

[Christie B]

Hi madima,

I have a 120 lb. 10 year old American Bulldog mix and 4 year old 45-50 lb. Catahoula mix. Like your two dogs, they have different nutritional needs. I’ve tried to find a food that both can eat (since they literally will investigate each other’s food bowls during feeding time).

My senior dog had had issues with chicken and it’s really hard to find a Large breed Senior formula that doesn’t use chicken. And the ones that do are grain free and tend to use lentils or chickpeas in the first 5 ingredients and my dog winds up with stomach issues when he eats food with those ingredients. He did okay on CANIDAE Grain-Free PURE Meadow Senior Formula for a while.

I haven’t had a puppy in a while so I can’t recommend any large breed puppy formulas.

As for toppers, I rotate between canned salmon or sardines, eggs, boiled boneless chicken thighs or sometimes canned dog food [type that’s 96% *insert protein form*] when it’s on sale… not too much of it because I’m trying get these guys to lose some lbs. I used to buy Stella & Chewy’a meal mixers or Instinct Rawboost mixers, but they were just too expensive in the long run.

[Susan]

Hi Christie,

Tin salmon has been cooked, just make sure you read the Sodium/Salt% look for the
lowest %…. Some can Salmon still has the bone & skin still on the Salmon, remove the skin
& crush the bones they’re healthy aswell…
adding 2 spoon of Salmon a day to dog meals is very healthy…I often mix 1/2 boiled sweet potato feed as meal…

When Salmon is raw it has parasites & needs to be frozen for 3 weeks

[Patricia A]

I think the freeze dried version of raw is always more expensive . Frozen raw is probably the way to go with large breed dogs. I find Primal is great and also use Stella’s. Primal has Pronto frozen bags which has small round shape that is scoopable.I have small breeds so I do the freeze dried. I also stick to the 5* proteins/flavors on the reviews here. I believe these are higher protein vs fat to avoid pancreatitis. Bixbi rawbble is excellent also. Much lower in fat in all proteins/flavors. I find them expensive so I give as treats.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Patricia A.

[Patricia A]

Sounds like a good plan to me Amir. I agree with staying away from Orijen/Acana. I know about the lawsuit but it’s really because Acana was mentioned so many times as being fed when their dogs were diagnosed with low taurine or DCM. Lamb and rice frequently.
Mine get home cooked also. Just some boiled chicken, lean steak if they’re and I’m lucky that day. lol
I do like to switch around the freeze dried though. Primal turkey/sardine and duck. They get Bixbi Rawbble as treats only. Really expensive.
Don’t think kibble will ever be the perfect food for dogs . Grain free or not. Just man made for convenience for pet owners. Not natural for our pets to be eating day in and day out for life.
You have about the same feeding regime as me. I wish us luck. Geesh..I didn’t worry so much about what I was feeding my kids when growing as much I do about these two fur babies. lol

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Patricia A.

[Amir H]

Hi all,
I have a standard Poodle puppy (7 months old). She’s about 32 pounds know. I’m not sure if she’s gonna be above 50 lbs. To be safe I’m feeding her large breed puppy food. She’s been on Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy for a few months now and she’s doing good (I have to add some freeze dried toppers to her food to keep her interested).

I’m thinking of rotating her food to something else just to make sure she’s getting all the necessary the necessary nutrition. I’m thinking of switching her to Stella and Chewy Raw Coated Kibble for Puppies: https://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-food/raw-coated-kibble/puppy-chicken-recipe
I know that Stella and Chewy kibble is higher price, but it’s within my budget.

I wanted to know if this is a good decision or not? Should I just stay on Fromm or for the next 3 months switch her to something else for the sake of rotation.

[Mia F]

Hi! I have a healthy and happy 14 year old shih tzu/jack russell. Right now we have transitioned away from Iams and have started serving her Raised Right’s chicken mix for adult dogs. It’s a perfect fit for us, the only problem is that it’s a little expensive. I’m looking to find a quality cooked food brand to mix with her Raised Right. The problem I’m running into is it seems like all the reputable brands that actually care about dogs only offer raw products. I am not comfortable serving her raw food that is mass-produced, especially given that she is older and her immune system is probably going to decline.

Thanks for considering this.