[Hound Dog Mom]

What is your budget? Unfortunately – while healthier, as Patty pointed out – most dry food alternatives (dehydrated, freeze-dried, canned and raw) are much more expensive than dry dog food. If it’s not possible to feed an entirely raw, dehydrated, freeze-dried or canned diet you can “top” the kibble with these foods or alternate (i.e. raw for breakfast and dry for dinner). Healthy leftovers like lean meat, steamed veggies, eggs or plain yogurt are also a cheap way to dress up kibble and boost the species-appropriateness – just keep the addition of unbalanced toppers to 20% or less of the meal. Unfortunately dehydrated, freeze-dried and commercial raw foods would probably be off the table for someone on a budget but there are some quality budget friendly canned foods. Walmart sells a food called Pure Balance which is rated 5 stars and costs $1 per can, Tractor Supply sells a food called 4Health which is rated 4.5 stars and costs $0.99 per can and Costco sells a canned food called Kirkland Cuts & Gravy which costs $0.79 per can. Home cooked and homemade raw can be done fairly cheaply – but homemade diets do take some research. I agree with Patty about the lack of dental benefits with dry food as well – it’s just a myth that dry food cleans the teeth. The only way to assure dental health is to brush your dog’s teeth regularly or have regular dental cleanings at your vet. Raw bones can aid in dental health to a certain degree, but they’re no substitution for teeth brushing.

[konamisan]

Hello everyone, HELP PLEASE!!!
I posted a comment as you can see back in March of 2013. I read your forum as often as I can. I would please like some suggestions and help with my post. I have her on Ziwi Peaks Venison and that is over with now. My Xena isn’t even digesting this food anymore. She threw it all up after two full hours after eating it. Xena can’t eat any fowls, beef, fish. I gave her some boneless skinless very very low sodium sardines and the girl would have crawled out of her skin if she could scratched like the dickens and had to wear a e-collar for 3 weeks. She can’t eat any form of potatoes either. The pet stores don’t really offer a long line of products and I have to travel by public transportation just to buy her food. I was thinking of putting her back on the Stella & Chewy’s Rabbit Formula.
Thank you,
Desperate Konamisan

[theBCnut]

I’m sure you have noticed that dry doesn’t really keep teeth clean, so if that’s the only reason for feeding it then take a pass. Balanced raw is best. It has fresh specie appropriate food sources. After that, freeze dried, then dehydrated, because they are less processed and are usually a good source of meat proteins. Next would be canned, it is heat damaged but it has appropriate moisture and it is less processed than kibble and less starch than kibble. Last is kibble which is high in carbs and very processed.

For dental health, try brushing and raw meaty bones.

[murphy625]

Hi everyone,
I’ve had dogs all my life and fed nothing but dry dog food. After reading all the posts on this site..my head is swirling around. I am getting a bichon/Shitzu mix, 5 lb puppy, 9 wks old. I always thought wet food was bad for the teeth.. I have budget constraints as well. Can I have your opinions on what is best and what dog food would be good. I just bought nutro ultra dry. Thanks for you input…
Jami

[Hound Dog Mom]

The only pre-mixes I know of that are potato free are Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance, Birkdale Pet Mix, Better in the Raw and Balance It. There’s also My Natural K9 and Wysong’s Call of the Wild but they both contain chicken and if I recall correctly he’s sensitive to chicken?

[FreeholdHound]

Since I’m limited on my kibble options for Harry but I do want to rotate his diet (using Natures Logic & raw at this point) I ordered some of the See Spot Live Longer premix. I like that I can control the protein & avoid chicken/turkey. I looked into the Urban Wolf and HK Preference but both contain sweet potato. Any other suggestions for adding variety?
Jeanne

[SandyandMila]

I finally was able to portion out the green tripe today, WOW it definitely smells different then the other raw green tripe (Bravo) I’ve used!! I was scared the juices were going to splash on me. lol

[SandyandMila]

My Mila (1 1/2 today) isn’t picky at all and I’ve had her on a lot of variety. Kibble [Canidae, Earthborn, Orijen, Acana, Brothers, Wellness, Fromm, Annamaet, (Chicken Soup, TOTW when I’ve had to)] and canned (Merrick, TOTW, Fromm, Canidae, Dave’s GF, Tripett, Wellness, ATG). Freeze dried and Dehyrated: Stella and Chewy’s, Primal, THK, Grandma Lucy. Premade raw: NV, Primal, Bravo. Raw organ/muscle meat, green tripe. And also RMBs:chicken back, turkey necks, pork necks. The only one I wouldn’t recommend is the Canidae Single Grain Protein Plus, although a 5 star food, because of the multiple protein sources and not grain free. (It was suggested at a pet store before I got Mila) You have received great advice above, stick to a single protein source and try to go grain free. Is it just when the dog has chicken protein that you see these issues? Maybe Sadie has a chicken food allergy? Try other protein sources beef, lamb, turkey, fish and also add a little canned pumpkin and plain yogurt (digestive enzyme and probiotics). And once you find a few that work rotate them, being on one type of food for too long can make it easier to form food allergies. Mila does have sensitive skin especially during spring-summer allergy season, I guess that might be a “pit issue”, so adding omega 3s and coconut oil to her food are a big help, and also bathing often is key. I’m using a medicated antifungal antiseptic shampoo right now because her skin was negatively effected after getting her spayed and vaccinated during allergy season, which is a big no-no. (The main reason I’ve switched to raw) But also like Earthbath or any good teatree oil shampoo. Try not to use a oatmeal based shampoo especially if Sadie’s skin has open sores, red, and irritated.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by SandyandMila.

[scottNY]

Wow, thanks HDM. I guess this is the last box of Greenies for this house. I can’t do raw bones [no outdoor space and I don’t want mice or roaches] but I will certainly look in to the natural chews. Does anyone have any feedback on the Smokehouse brand?

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you read the ingredient list you’ll see that Greenie’s are a highly processed and unhealthy product. MOst people recognize the importance of avoiding processed foods for themselves and their children, the same is true for dogs.

The ingredients are:

Wheat flour, glycerin, wheat protein isolate, gelatin, water, rice flour, oat fiber, pea protein, potato protein, lecithin, natural poultry flavor, apple pomace, tomato pomace, minerals (dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, magnesium amino acid chelate, zinc amino acid complex, iron amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex, potassium iodide), ground flaxseed, choline chloride, decaffeinated green tea extract, sodium copper chlorophyllin, vitamins (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin E], vitamin B12 supplement, d-calcium pantothenate [vitamin B5], niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement [vitamin B2], vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], folic acid)

These are basically grains (gluten containing grains nonetheless), vegetable proteins and synthetic vitamins/minerals/amino acids. Why not feed your dog some real food with dental benefits? Raw meaty bones or natural chews like pig ears, bully sticks or dried tracheas. If you insist on feeding a processed dental product I’d at least recommend checking out Zuke’s Z-Bones – while they’re by no means a health food, they’re much better (ingredient-wise) than Greenies.

[ninajenks]

I have been feeding raw since March of this year, I have a Bassett Hound named Lucy, she is 18 months old and weighs about 45lbs. I switched to raw mainly due to itching and shedding like crazy. I started just like all the directions have said…..chicken, then turkey, pork, beef, organs etc. She loves her food, but she is still itching…..the shedding has eased up quite a bit. She has been eating deer for a few weeks and loves it. I was wondering if I could just feed deer for a couple of weeks, since I’ve heard it rarely causes allergies, and see if the itching stops. Then add other meats one at a time to find the culprit. Any suggestions are welcomed, the itching is driving us all crazy!!!

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[pugmomsandy]

Traditional Chinese Medicine or other holistic modalities are not taught in normal vet school. It is learned afterwards if they’re interested! I use “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr karen Becker/Beth Taylor. These recipes are raw or cooked and it includes a vitamin recipe so each recipe exceeds AAFCO guidelines. Even one of my friends at Pugvillage uses these recipes for her pancreatitis pugs.

[sparkles1962]

I have a Jack Russell that I have had the same issues as the Mini-Pin. Had bladder issues years ago, and vet put her on urninary so. For years was throwing up on the food, not an issue for the vet. Then last year started with the pancreatitis. We have been working with a holistic vet, acupuncture, and herbal/homeopathic remedies. Amazing results. But, still working on it. I am now making her dog food. That really helps. I used Darwins raw food/chicken and duck. The only issue I had with that is the small bones, she was throwing those up and it was too costly.

My dog has a duality of chronic inflammatory pancreatitis that is creating damp phlegm in her kidneys and hence bladder stone issues. This is what the holistic vet is working on. It surprises me, that the regular vets don’t even know this. However, I am looking for a good nutritionist vet, for making the appropriate raw diet myself. There is someone online, that you can pay for this service (but I’m a little leary to give my personal info online)! Here is the information I found online, if you are interested. She had some good things to say, such as me feeding a natural diet that included sweet potato is not good for my dog because—if the stones she is forming are calcium oxalate, you should not be feeding sweet potatoes due to their content of oxalic acid. It is also vitally important for kidney health to have sufficient calcium in the diet to 1. meet the dog’s needs and 2. bind excess phosphorus, and in typical, supplemented diets this is usually severely deficient.
Looking online at dog diets with pancreatitis….is overwhelming!!!
— Sabine Contreras
Canine Care & Nutrition Consultant
Creating Healthy Lifestyles for Canines
BetterDogCare.com – DogFoodProject.com

[pugmomsandy]

I bought Epigen from the Wysong website. I use various canned foods as toppers. As far as foods for weight loss goes, I’ve never fed low fat, just normal. I have pugs so they gain weight easily and I get obese fosters too but they still lose weight on regular (5 star grain free) kibble and regular fat canned foods and even home made raw food in which I leave the skin on.

Also I wanted to point out (if you didn’t know yet) about the “body condition score”. You should take this into account as well, not just weight alone. That being said, my pugs are heavy but not fat. They are very strong and muscular. They look like some of my other fosters that weigh 17-20 lbs. They gained weight when I started feeding them higher protein kibble and raw food.

This one is 23 lbs but does not need a diet! For me, I only go by body condition. And he’s been wearing that harness for a couple years whether he was 18 or 23. That photo was last year so he does have new harnesses!

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_2697640x479_zpsbe52d943.jpg

[doggydelight]

While my 8 month, small 9lb puppy seems to be healthy eating canned and dry food, alternately, twice daily. Respecting which I add a very small amount of cooked chicken breast. I am wondering whether to add a bit of raw garlic to her dish, plus alternating the cooked chicken with some canned albacore tuna. There is also talk of occasionally adding a teaspoon of cooked squash to puppy food. Any merit in this – or am I going overboard on nutritional needs.

[julez4you]

Help! My 4 month old GD pup is off to a bit of a rocky health start and I need some advice. When I brought him home from the breeder he had just finished his 1course of antibiotic from a case of puppy acne. He was being fed Purina- so my 1st objective was to get him switched over to a better food- but given my experience with Danes and their sometimes sensitive tummies- I played it safe and switched him to GO! which has acceptable calcium levels but is not very high in protein.

About 1 week after he came home he had a horrible episode of blood in his stool- so vet put him on Metronidazole and bland diet while tests came back. Turns out he had worms (dont recall which one but it was long and white when it came out in stool- so she treated him with dewormer.)

During this this time I was also trying to transition him to a higher protein food slowly and tried adding in HK Love or high meat cans. Both ended up producing loose stools even in small quantities, so I decided to try and do a slow switch to a higher protein kibble such as Canine Caviar. After 2days of adding in only a little bit of the new kibble (1/4 of overall quantity) it was like a water hose. At first I thought maybe it was just something in the formula- so I tried NV LID Turkey (again- only tiny amount) and he had nonstop diarrhea that brought us back to the vet and once again, back on Metronidazole and bland diet.

At this point I’m petrified to try anything new in his diet. He’s currently on straight GO! Duck formula and daily probiotic and enzymes. I eventually want to switch him to raw- but with my older dog 100% raw fed, the expense of having a growing Dane pup on raw too is a bit much.

2 weeks ago, he also broke out with a bad skin infection around his genitals- red, pussy, scabby bumps which I’m sure are the end result of his multiple immune suppressant treatments- and fearful at the thought of yet another antibiotic treatment, I’m trying to treat with medicated shampoo at the moment.

I also want to help boost his immune and digestive health more and have a great organic canine wellness blend from a local herbalist, but since I noticed that one of its benefits is joint/ mobility and it has horsetail and oat straw in it- now I’m wondering if I need to be concerned about added calcium this my be contributing? Any thoughts on whether or not I should continue giving it to him?

Also- if you have any tips on diet or skin problems- I’m all ears. I’m trying to do the best for him but seems that for every good intended actin I try to take- I just end up causing him more problems. 🙁

And at 4 months he still hasn’t had his 3rd distemper or rabbies vac because he’s had something chronically going on since.

Please help! Julie and Bentley

[Hound Dog Mom]

Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction is a good food as far as weight loss foods go – unfortunately it’s manufactured by Diamond. 🙁 This would prevent me from ever using or recommending it. In my opinion, as far as kibble goes, the best formulas designed for weight loss are Annamaet’s Lean, Wellness CORE Reduced Fat and EVO Weight Management. I’d urge you to consider a canned, dehydrated or raw food instead of kibble. Canned, dehydrated and raw foods are less processed, higher in moisture and (generally) higher in protein than kibble making them healthier and more species-appropriate options. They are also great for weight loss because, due to their high moisture content, they are less calorically dense than kibble. As a general rule, most dehydrated foods contain roughly the same number (or only slightly more) calories per cup than a high quality kibble, however they are rehydrated with 1.5 parts water to 1 part mix making an end product with less than half the calories per cup as most kibbles. 1 large can of good (about 13 fl. oz.) will contain roughly the same number of calories as 1 C. (8 fl. oz.) of kibble – with the “stew” varieties generally having slightly more moisture and less calories than the “loaf” varieties. Most lowfat raw foods contain nearly 50% less calories per cup than kibble.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Hound Dog Mom]

You actually don’t want to feed vegetables raw. Dogs can’t digest the cellulose in vegetables very efficiently and for this reason they should be cooked and pureed to in a sense “pre-digest” them prior to feeding. The meat, bones and organs are what you would feed raw with a raw diet but if you’re not comfortable with feeding raw meat that’s certainly understandable. A cooked homemade diet is still much healthier than commercial pet food. My favorite books of those Sandy mentioned is “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet” – while this is more aimed at raw feeders there are many principals discussed that are common to both raw and home cooked diets. The recipes could also easily be converted to cooked by omitting the bone-in meat, adding boneless meat and supplementing with 800 – 1,000 mg. calcium per pound of meat fed. My favorite pre-mixes are See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mix and Urban Wolf. BTW – GOOD choice on going homemade. As Sandy said, it’s not something to be taken lightly but if you do your research and properly prepare the meals you will be setting your dog up for a long and healthy life! 🙂

[Cyndi]

Thanks Sandy! I never win anything, so I was very excited, lol! I don’t think I’ll be returning the quail. It was a bag of 4 & I only have one left. I don’t know anyone that lives near me who feeds raw, unfortunately & my “supplier” is just a small butcher shop who doesnt sell quail.

I could always try to cook it & eat it myself. Ha Ha!! I was definitely joking! 🙂

[doggydelight]

We recently ‘rescued’ a 6 month old maltese/shitzu cross. She is now 8 months and doing well. We feed her twice daily. Every morning she is fed a cup of Nature’s Variety Instant Raw Boost (grain free) dry food(Crude protein 40%; crude fat 20%; fibre 4%;). And in the evening she gets a cup of Wet food, namely Innova Puppy Food(12% protein; 8% crude fat; fibre 1% etc.,). In addition, to each of the aforesaid cup of food I add a tablespoon of chicken breast(Kirkland’s premium cooked chicken breast which comes in a can – specifically for humans – and is very good). It has a 22% protein content, plus a 2% fat content. I always rinse the dog’s portion off under the tap to dispose of any sodium,etc.,
While our puppy thoroughly enjoys her meals I am wondering whether she is getting her full nutritional needs. She certainly gets her protein allowance, but is it too much. Further, while she is 8 months how much longer should we feed her puppy food. I should point out that she defecates and pees regularly. The poohs are invariably firm, while the pees are medium yellow toned.

[labber]

We tried a round of almost every probiotic for “dogs” out there… mercola, purina, micro flora, blahblah blah. I can vouch for Probiotic Miracle. We got the best results with PM and when we decided to stop supplementing for a few weeks all the allergies and poop problems came back. So now all our dogs get Probiotic Miracle every day, which, if you get the 3-pack, it is very affordable (and way cheaper than vet visits!). Been about 2 years now and we have healthy dogs all year round. Last 6 months we’ve also switched over to their raw grain free dog food formula which is cream of the crop in my opinion. Anyway PM is the way to go where probiotics for dogs is concerned.

[Cyndi]

Neezerfan, raw bones don’t splinter. Only cooked bones do. Any bones from chicken or turkey are completely safe for dogs to eat. My dog has eaten a ton of chicken legs and she is just fine.

[jamie_aa]

Can anyone tell me what the calcium levels are in the stella’s raw dog food and what ones are appropriate please? Both of my computers are not letting me look up the calcium levels and i just found out that a local store carries this food. yay!

[pugmomsandy]

For easy homemade, use a premix like Urban Wolf, Grandma Lucys, The Honest Kitchen, and there’s another one by Steve Brown – can’t remember what that one is called. All you add is meat and some oil.

For some recipes, get “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats” by Dr Karen Becker/Beth Taylor or Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet”. “Real Food…” has cooked and raw recipes and a vitamin mix recipe and when made to recipe, it exceeds AAFCO/NRC guidelines.

For something simple, there’s http://homemadedogfood.com/easy-cooked-dog-food-recipe/ It uses a vitamin/mineral supplement and a fat supplement. Although I wouldn’t feed this single recipe forever. I’d give some variety.

You don’t have to stick to one product or recipe long term either. Try Urban Wolf and some other brands for variety.

Homemade food cannot be taken lightly. Although it’s the best, without proper vits/minerals/EFA’s, a poorly balanced homemade diet can be harmful. Do alot of research. I would say use some of HoundDogMom’s raw recipes, but since your’re a little squeamish of raw…that probably wouldn’t work out! She ran her recipe through a nutrient analysis and it is complete and balanced.

When I started raw, I used “Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats”. And I have dog food grinding parties at my house!

[mrmurphy]

Hi Hound Dog Mom
Many thanks to you and the other knowledgeable folks. I have a 5 3/4 month Bernese Mountain Dog that we got from rescue. He was from a puppymill in NE Oregon and rescued at about 3 1/2 months quite emaciated and full of worms etc. His initial weight was 30#. He was 37 # when we got him 5 1/2 weeks ago and is today 54#. He feels good at this weight but I don’t want to see him gain too much faster.

From a lot of reading I am about to break with the recommendations of the rescue coordinator of the Berner club as well as the advice given by Berner websites on puppy food. They all recommend strongly to limit protein. He was on Canidae lamb and rice all stages with 21% protein. I think the arguments in favor of higher protein make sense and am about to switch him to Great Life Dr E’s grain and potate free Duck formula with 27% protein. Holding my breath a bit as I certainly don’t want to cause him ortho problems by doing so but test it out we will. I do appreciate your info on calcium risks. Do I understand that by 9 mos I don’t have to worry about calcium levels anymore in foods?

I am also thinking of adding in some raw food. Do you have recommendations for a good starting point and how to mix and match eg 1/3 raw and 2/3 kibble.
Lastly do you have a recommendation for a specific probiotic?

Would appreciate your thought on these matters.
Thanks so much
MrMurphy

[sfranklin]

I am trying to figure out where to start with the whole homemade food idea. My dogs itch non-stop and I really believe it is from their commercial dog food. Any suggestions on supplements to make sure I have a balanced diet? I saw on Amazon something called Wizpet dog food supplement, I haven’t been able to find anything about it. If anyone could point me in the right direction as to where I can find out more information on supplements that would be wonderful. I am leaning towards the cooked dog food, my dogs now love all raw veggies and fruit (the ones they are allowed to have) so that I don’t have a problem with, I just don’t know if I can do the raw food personally, I may be a little squeamish. Could I do cooked (rare) protein and then raw everything else? I have been reading so much on here I think I am in information overload and am lost as to where to start. Thanks for your time!

[aimee]

I recently found a reference regarding the digestion of cassava starch ( tapioca) which was done in the dog. In an uncooked state (raw) 57.6% is digested before reaching the colon. In the cooked state ( as would be found in kibble) 97.4% of the cassava starch is digested before reaching the colon.

Recueil de Medecine Veterinaire (Mai-Jun 1998)
Foecal and ileal digestibility of diets rich in wheat or tapioca starch in the dog.
Wolter, R. (Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d’Alfort, Maisons Alfort (France). Unite Alimentation Nutrition); Pereira do Socorro, E.; Houdre, C.

[theBCnut]

Micah, who is also chicken intolerant, can handle the rare meal of raw chicken without showing any symptoms, but if I give it once a week he starts showing signs again, like a dry coat, or slightly goopy ears or eyes. So I’ve decided he will just have to be chicken free, because if he is showing such mild signs on the outside but obviously something is still going on, I’m afraid whatever is going on on the inside where I can’t see may be more severe.

[lms1978]

I have a 4/12 old Golden Retriver. I have been feeding her Nutro Max Natural Choice, Recently I switched her to the Nutro Ultra Hoistic Food. She doesnt act sick, or lethargic, or even lacking any energy, but she just seems to have a lack of appitite. She will eat, but when I feed her in the am, it may take her a hour to an hour and 1/2 to finally go to her bowl to eat. Her poops have also been mushy. She hasn’t lost any weight at this point either. Seems like with the Nutro Max, she at least had whole poops. Do you think its the food? I have been debating on putting her on a different food, but am overwhelmed by all the opinions about food, and the companies with recalls I want her to eat the best possible, and may even try switching her to raw at least 1/2 the time. Any thoughts or opionions appreciated.

[InkedMarie]

Thanks Jan, Melisssa & whoever FreeholdHound is LOL!

Freehold: I tried Boone on raw chicken and no luck BUT it was over the summer so maybe that is not the best way to judge. I will try him on some chicken over the winter as long as his ears clear. Sorry Harry’s having troubles, too.

[FreeholdHound]

InkedMarie- so sorry to hear about your Boone. I’m feeling the same way tonight. Calling my Vet tomorrow to have Harry’s ear checked out. He also had a string of ear infections when I first got him- usually it’s his left ear. 3 months ago he had another one, and that’s what started my research and putting him on Natures Logic which is the only food I’ve found w/none of his trigger ingredients. I’ve started adding in raw & he’s been loving it all. I hope I haven’t pushed it too far by giving him raw chicken & turkey bones (triggers), he loves them so much & I want bones for his teeth. Feeling a bit depressed about it all also.

[Juana]

Hi,
I am trying to find information about the suppliers of animal by-products for Hill’s Pet Nutrition. I contacted the company and this was the answer I got:

“Chicken by-product meal consists of ground, rendered, wholesome parts of the chicken. It includes white meat, dark meat, liver and viscera. It is ground into a meal and the bones are extracted. The chickens are sourced from human grade USDA inspected processing plants.
Chicken by-product meal provides a high level of protein, is highly digestible and provides a lower level of mineral content to your pet’s food. It is a very tasty ingredient for both cats and dogs.
Hill’s sources raw materials only from countries where there are reliable safety procedures in place, primarily in the United States, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and several European countries. ”

So, nothing. I would appreciate any information about this issue. Thank you!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Switch the dog to a species-appropriate, low carbohydrate diet. A raw, home cooked, dehydrated or canned diet free of any grains or starches is ideal. If you must feed kibble look for a high protein (>30%) grain-free/white potato free kibble. If kibble is necessary, I think somebodysme made a good suggestion with Nature’s Variety Instinct.

I would also highly recommend starting the dog on a high quality, multi-strain probiotic supplement and an enzyme supplement. Probiotics are “friendly” bacteria that will help to get the body’s microflora back in balance (a yeast infection is an imbalance of microflora). Enzymes will help to rid the body of toxins that can contribute to yeast overgrowth and help the dog to more efficiently digest the food.

Yeast infections can also be caused by deficient levels of IgA and German Shepherds are prone to IgA deficiencies. If there is an IgA deficiency the probiotics and enzymes should help and you may also wish to consider an immunoglobulin supplement (such as IgG 2000 DF or colostrum) and coconut oil (the lauric acid in coconut oil is beneficial to immune function). You vet could test for an IgA deficiency.

You should also regularly disinfect the parts of his body that are yeasty. You can use a solution containing 1 gallon water, 1 C. hydrogen peroxide and 1 C. white vinegar. You can also bathe him using an herbal shampoo (such as tea tree) – avoid oatmeal shampoos as oatmeal feeds the yeast.

Good luck! 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Sorry I somehow missed that post! I brush my dog’s teeth with a spin brush and use Vet’s Best dental gel. My dogs also get raw meaty bones daily. They both have super white teeth and odorless breath.

[somebodysme]

I’m in the same boat so maybe someone will pipe in. A light bulb finally came on with my dog. What I thought was all caused by food allergies are partly allergies and partly yeast. When I get her on a food that she’s not allergic to, the rash on her back clears right up but her feet flare up. The feet are yeast and the back rash is food allergies. Or at least this seems to be what we are figuring out. On a low carb food such as Nature’s Variety, the feet heal but her back flares. On an brand new meat such as lamb and/or rabbit, the back heals right up but the feet flare because the only food I tried was too high in carbs. SO now I will try lamb Nature’s Variety but the problem is that it’s not readily available and she has some stool issues with NV.

So if yeast is your only issue, I’d suggest giving Nature’s Variety LID a try. Of course, most people will suggest you need a raw or cooked diet. I haven’t crossed that bridge just yet…HA!

[shelties mom]

This sound to be a yeast problem, no. 1 thing to do is to address the diet, preferrably an anti-inflammatory raw diet with no grains. Adding a probiotic supplement will help since antibiotics destroy all good along with the bad bacteria, so these drugs often make a bad situation worse.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/03/eating-these-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx

Be sure not to over-vaccinate or over-medicate.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/08/17/stop-using-pet-steroids-until-you-read-these-disturbing-truths.aspx
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/12/23/environmental-allergies-and-your-pet.aspx

Use natural flea control products:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/03/31/dangers-of-flea-and-tick-problems.aspx

Have you tried this product for his ears?

[Melissaandcrew]

I have a Doberman with horrible stomach issues. Her culprit seems to be higher fiber and rice. After dealing with it for years(meds, restricted diets etc) her diarrhea and weight loss resolved on Abady granular, Natures Variety raw and Victor Grain free Ultra Pro.

[FreeholdHound]

Foods that mine have tested reactive to are: chicken, turkey, venison, salmon, whitefish, sweet potato, milk, soy, & corn. I can say I knew most of the above from ugly trial and error with food. I also believe that anything too heavy on peas, beams & legumes can set him off also.
I just recently found Natures Logic Beef Formula and he is doing AMAZING on it. I have tried the Sardine Formula and he likes that one also. There is one more formula I believe I can try which is their Lamb. I am also rotating in raw beef grinds, tripe, or sardines into his kibble.
I want to be able to rotate kibble as I believe that is best but at the moment I am stumped at what other brand to even consider. I will start up my research again after basking in the glory of Natures Logis for a bit 🙂

[theBCnut]

So far with my dog, I know for sure most grains are a problem and chicken is a problem, though he doesn’t have any issues with chicken liver. I suspect that potatoes will be a problem, but haven’t given him potato enough to make sure. And I’m afraid that too many beans, legumes will be a problem for him, because he gets gassy easily, but he has food issues that some wouldn’t call allergies.

So far he can eat Brothers, all flavors except chicken, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free Great Plains Feast, Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit, Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Turkey. And he gets Darwin’s raw except for the chicken, he also gets pork, quail, goat, mutton, sardines, herring, salmon, etc. all raw.

[somebodysme]

Yes, those are all the typical symptoms of food allergies, my dog has all that but my vet told me it was food allergies. I’m surprised the vet didn’t suggest that you change his food…I actually had TWO vets tell me to change my dog’s food. Also if your dog has been on antibiotics and steriods a lot, he may also be suffering from yeast. I’d add a pro-biotic each day.

Now on to what to feed…UGH this is where we are at right now. I first tried Nature’s Variety Instinct Turkey which did OK with the scratching but isn’t doing OK with her stool which it made too hard and she had issues “going”. It’s a good food but just not for my dog.

Have you gone to the review section and read the hypoallergenic food suggestion article? It will shed some light on what are the most common allergens. I would just suggest to read that and try a different food. It’s just hard to tell you what to try because all dogs are different as to what they are sensitive to. If your current food has corn in it, that would be my first course of action is to use a food that does NOT contain corn, see how that works and go from there. It’s a long drawn out ordeal finding the right food but you may get lucky and it’s simple like maybe you are feeding a low quality food and just feeding a better 4 or 5 star food will help fix it.

Here is the link to the article:
/best-dog-foods/hypoallergenic-dog-foods/

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by somebodysme.

[pugmomsandy]

Nature’s Variety Instinct has a frozen raw Bites product that thaws very quickly and would easy and convenient as using some freeze dried foods like Nutrisca freeze dried bites or Vital Essentials freeze dried nibbletts. Raw and freeze dried foods have calorie/serving information so you might just figure out the amount you want to feed that way. X amount of calories in raw and X amount of calories for kibble.

[pugmomsandy]

A low carb/high protein/moderate fat canned food (5 stars list) would good unless you want to try raw food. Dogswell Nutrisca is certified low glycemic and they have a new food that is even lower glycemic than Nutrisca called LiveFree (kibble and canned). http://www.dogswell.com/livefree

You might also want to contact Merrick as they used to have certified low glycemic canned foods too but it’s been a few years and the formulas are different.

I can’t ever get this site to work lately as the scroll bar is stuck (maybe it’s just my computer)
http://www.gripetfoods.com/CertifiedDogFoods.htm

[puppylove]

Replace gradually until you no longer are feeding kibble. (don’t worry, his teeth will be fine!)

Look into a raw dehydrated food, they have these at the pet food store and many are sold online. Usually you can get a discount code for shipping. Believe me the extra cost is worth it and will be made up in trips to the vet later. If you can get one that’s grain free too, even better!

[rileys mom]

I currently feed my Sheltie puppy (Riley) Earthborn Holistic Grain Free – Meadow Feast. I am very happy with the food but I have been reading a lot about the benefits of a raw diet. I can’t afford to have him on a completely raw diet, but I would like to add some raw food to his kibble. I have been looking at Primal and Nutrisca freeze dried raw food. Would it benefit Riley to have a little bit of raw added to his kibble?

If I do add raw how much of his kibble should I replace? I am currently feeding him 1 cup a day split into 3 meals. He is about 10lbs and 6 months.

Thanks

[kaoconnell]

My 9 1/2 yr old irish wolfhound mix was diagnosed with IBD after numerous tests and a endoscopy 1 week ago. Just got the results back and they put him on prednisolone. He is also on Cipro, Sucralfate, pepcid ac tramadol and metoclopramide. He is not eating very well. I have tried many different canned foods (evo..wellness ..prescription gi ones from the vet) but he is picky also. I have also done home cooked and raw. The vet wants his belly to heal up before we do a allergy blood test to see if that is the cause. Im at my wits end trying to get him to eat.. any ideas?? He usually weighs 114.. last vet visit..102. So I’d like to get his weight up also.

[jamie_aa]

Hey I have a question for HDM

I wanted to see if you knew anything about the calcium levels in the Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Diets. My local pet store started caring this and i wasn’t sure if the calcium level would be ok for my Saint Bernard puppy? I was originally just going to buy the BARF Raw dog food online and have it shipped but I would rather go get the food myself.

[theBCnut]

Over the winter, I had 3 or 4 different bags open at any given time and I switched kibbles every day, as well as raw. Right now I’m switching between 2 bags, one week on, one week off. I use Brothers, Earthborn holistic Grain Free, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and I hope soon to also use Nature’s Logic. My dog does best on the Brothers so that is like my fall back food. Right now I’m feeding Brothers Turkey and Earthborn Great Plains Feast, a few weeks ago it was NVI Rabbit and Brothers Beef. As I run out of one thing, I rotate in some thing different. You can rotate however works for you, but I think you should change brands at least every 3 months. That way if one is high or low in something, your dog will only get that extreme for 3 months before you change. I do rotate through a brands different formulas, if they are within the parameters that I need for dog food, but not necessarily one after the other. And I keep looking for new brands to try.

[JLezinsky]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I really appreciate it.

[InkedMarie]

I switch between brands of food and types (kibble, canned, dehydrated & pre made raw) of food. With kibble, I change brands after a bag is finished. Canned is new every can (I use as a topper). Dehydrated stays the same.

[beaglemom]

Hi everyone… one of my pups has fallen into the “late summer itchies” stage and I’m at a complete loss for what to do for her because nothing works. Her only symptom is paw licking/chewing – intermittently. She’ll go for hours seemingly fine and then have a serious itchy paw attack, primarily the front paws. Her ears seem fine, and though she occasionally scratches at them I’d say it’s 10% or less of the time. She’s been getting us up in the morning… will sleep until ~4-5 am and then it’s up chewing the paws.

What does this sound like? She eats an incredibly varied diet, primarily raw so food allergy is last on my list of suspicions… but I can’t rule it out I guess. Stools have been perfect though. We’ve tried rinsing off her feet every time she comes in from outside in either water/baking soda, water/iodine, and recently I picked up some Epsom salt but I’m not even sure it’s worth trying. The foot rinsing does not seem to have an effect, though. I’ve also been giving her half a Benedryl (12.5 mg) OR half of a Zyrtec (5 mg) with meals but neither seems to offer her any relief.

Any input or suggestions are greatly appreciated. It may come down to allergy/blood tests at the vet but they’re my last resort just because of the money… however, I hate to see her suffer like this. If it is a seasonal thing, we’re still at least a month away from first frost. Thanks in advance.