[Vicki B]

My dogs have been on Acana free range chicken for the years I have had them…. but…. it has changed and with the lawsuit….. not trusting them so much anymore. My labs hair has been shedding ALOT more than normal and the Boxer has been throwing up/pudding poop. Had blood drawn on him and exray and all seems o.k…….I have switched my boxer to Merrick grain free lamb and he loves it…. but his poop tends to be softer….. not as firm as expected most of the time. Now I hear about issues with high calcium in Merrick… whats that about???

I have been think Zignature, although I know they have not been around that long…. just not sure what to try. I want to keep them healthy ……. Suggestions please……

[InkedMarie]

Late to the thread but when my youngest dog came home at 9 weeks, he went directly to ground raw with bones for dental health.

[Spy Car]

Please stop trolling the raw feeding subforum.

Moderators, please don’t reward this behavior by locking this thread.

Sorry that you don’t like legumes or offal. There is nothing offensive in my posts. Please stop with these antics.

Bill

[Spy Car]

@Linda,

I’m so glad my posts have helped you!

You will never find “spleen” in markets (under that name anyway), but you may find them as “melts.” My advice is to seek out so-called “ethnic” markets or supermarkets if you have any in your area. Markets that aim at Asian, Latino, Middle-Eastern, or Russian/Armenian clientele are much more likely to carry odd bits.

I have a market that sells sweetbreads (pancreas and thymus glands) very inexpensively, which surprised me, as sweetbreads when well prepared are a great delicacy for humans.

As one gets into raw feeding, finding ways of sourcing inexpensive items that diversify the dog’s diet tends to become part of the experience.

Since my Vizsla, the same size as your dog at about 60 lbs, has such powerful neck and jaw muscles due to raw feeding since 8 weeks, I generally serve his food straight from the freezer. And he loves his food! The is no hyperbole when I tell you that he leaps high into the air (almost 4 feet up) when it is meal time.

Not thawing promotes better chewing, is more convenient, and reduces risks of cross-contamination. It is not “necessary,” and if your dog doesn’t like it there is no need. But many dogs who come late to organs and are averse to them when thawed will eat them when they are served frozen (it is a texture thing in some cases).

I do need to put some work into cutting and bagging fresh ingredients as “portions” in preparation for packing into the freezer. But the actual mealtimes are a snap. I just grab an assortment of prepacked portions, open, and serve.

As you spend time trying to roughly balance meals (incorporating the ideas and bone percentages above) try to think in “portions” and rough fractions. Individual meals can be a little over or under the target goal of 10% bone, as the most important thing is to maintain balance over time. If you go “bone heavy” one day (say you serve a chicken quarter with one portion of “meat” one day), then go lighter on bone the next (maybe a neck or a wing with relatively more meat).

After a time this “balancing” really does become second nature. You won’t need “math” as you become confident with your powers of estimation.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to help you Linda.

This is a very good thing that you are doing for your dog.

I’d like to hear about your progress.

Bill

[LINDA F]

Here I am again! I stand corrected on my initial opinion of whether or not feeding a puppy a raw diet is good. I have gotten so much valuable info from Spy Car! He easily broke it down so that even this old lady can manage the raw diet. I trust this man completely. I think the only thing I could add to this is, if you are going to go to a raw diet for a puppy, you would need to be vigilant in a weighing your pup every week! Since puppies can and will have growth spurts, it would be absolutely necessary to keep adjusting the amount of food in order to ensure that the pup would be getting all the required meat, bone and organ meat so that his body has the necessary building blocks to nourish a healthy growing body. I am still searching for a market that sells beef hearts or kidneys! The existence of Spleens or the other secreting organs seem to myths so far! LOL!! I do not want to go to a packing house because I do not trust that those organs are handled properly and that they might be tainted. I checked out the Monster Mash from Raw Feeding Miami. This seems to be a perfect solution for me. They say that the mix is complete as far as the 10% organ requirement. They also advised that the mix arrives cold and can be divided into smaller portions and refrozen safely. As Spy Car advised, I am adding the meat, bone and organ requirements for one meal in a zip lock baggy and freezing them. Then all I have to do is place tomorrow’s meal in the refrigerate to defrost over night! I will pick out one day a month to prepare meals for the entire month! At that point, raw feeding will be almost as easy as opening a can or pouring a bowl of kibble! I am not experienced enough yet to know exactly how much of the Monster Mash I will need for a month but since they have a 15 lb minimum shipping charge, I will just order 15 lbs to see how many zip locks it makes! I know if my math skills were better and my mind were as sharp as it once was, I could figure this out but, alas, it is what it is! Again, kudos to Spy Car, who has been beyond helpful in untangling this sometimes very confusing raw diet that my old girl just loves!
Linda

[Spy Car]

It is necessary to balance nutrients like calcium and phosphorus, but feeding a 80/10/10 diet keeps minerals balanced and the organs supply all the nutrients a dog or puppy need to thrive.

It is far more optimal to start a pup on raw—during a time when excellent nutrition is most critical–rather than feeding pups a junk food diet. Just like it would be a bad idea to raise a toddler on Happy Meals from McDonalds, feeding commercial kibble is a very substandard way to feed a growing pup.

Raw feeding is actually extremely popular among large and giant sized dog owners as it promotes slow steady growth, lean muscle development, reduced body fat, and strong joints.

Bill

[Spy Car]

@ Patty R, starting my (now 4.5 year-old) Vizsla as an 8-week old puppy eating a balanced PMR diet from day one is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Like anyone who is conscientious, I had read a great deal of conflicting information, including the scare tactics on such disreputable websites as “SkeptVet.” I made a deal with my wife that we would proceed, but would abandon the raw diet if there were any problems.

Instead, both our highest expectations have been surpassed. Our dog has thrived. His teeth are still pearly white, he’s super lean and very well muscled, and has both great energy and endurance, but is also calm when he’s not working and winds down in the house. His coat is soft, his eyes are clear, the amount of stool is scant, and I’m frequently told he “looks like a supermodel.”

Our vet (very traditional) has breed knowledge (she actually owns my dog’s grand-sire) and she is extremely happy with both his condition and his bloodwork.

I’ve owned may great canine athletes in my long years owning and training dogs. I only wish I’d know about PMR style raw feeding sooner, I have some feelings of guilt that I fed my dogs such crap in my former ignorance of optimal canine nutrition.

There is no comparison between the condition achieved with feeding a dog what their species was shaped by evolution to thrive on vs the unnatural cereal-based products that are supplemented with plant proteins and rendered meats. The differences are not subtle. When I meet a raw fed dog I know it without a word form its owner. I’ve had other raw feeders (complete strangers) come up and say “I see you raw feed.” It is that obvious a difference.

Feeding a balanced raw diet is the best thing one can do for their canine companions.

Bill

[Susan]

Hi Heytsu,

Change vets ASAP sounds like you have a vet that doesn’t know what she is doing??, some vets are awful, same happened with me with my Boxer years ago, now I have a rescue Staffy named Patch who has IBD we had to see 3 vets before we found a really good vet that wasnt into just feeding these vet diets, vet diets don’t agree with some dogs…. Vet should of prescribe “Metronidazole” antibiotic for stomach & bowel taken twice a day every 12 hours with a meal… for 14-21 days

Alot of dogs who have IBS/IBD symptoms do very well on a grainfree dry food that has limited ingredients & have Sweet Potato & Potato & only has 1 meat protein, what country do you live?
I live Australia & we get the Royal Canine Sensitivity Control & so does Europe/UK
My Patch did really bad on all the Hills & Royal Canine vet diets, the only vet diet that worked was the Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue dry kibble, take vet diet food back & get a refund & see another vet, go on a day your vet isnt there & say I do not want to see her again, thats what I did when Patches vet wouldnt listen & change him form the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic vet diet, it only has 1% fiber this could be the problem, something is wrong with your dog..
I did Endoscope & 2 x Biopsies you need to do biopsies so vet can see whats wrong, Ultra Scan is NO good, its a waste of money as it still doesn’t give vet any real answers, Ultra Scan is good if dog has a blockage, the biopsies are the best to do..

Do NOT give any boil any rice as boiled rice can irritates the bowel more sometimes, its very old school boiled rice, now vets recommend boiled potato or sweet potato its more gentle on their stomach & bowel, especially when the bowel is already inflammed, boil some peeled cut up potato & add a lean cooked white meat, like turkey breast, chicken breast or lean pork… feed 3-4 times a day…
Resting the bowel for 24 hours is good to do, Patch had to rest his stomach & bowel for 48hrs you must give electroytes in water every hour in a 20ml syringe if the dog isnt eating long for a long period of time, look for vet that specializes in IBD & is supportive & more into holistic ways & not into pushing vet diets as they can make things worse… rest stomach & bowel 24hrs then restart food some boiled potato or sweet potato & turkey breast 1/2 & 1/2, feed 4 small meals..no treats nothing just the boiled sweet potato or potato & a lean white meat..

Join this facebook group, “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support” You’ll get heaps of help..You dont have to fed raw diet to join group…
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/

When you say Surgery, what type of surgery did your dog have & how old is he??

[Susan]

Hi Patty,

why they say dont feed puppies a raw diet is like Tyrionthebiscuit said, it’s hard to balance a growing dog diet, especially large breed puppy, their bones can grow too quickly & cause osteo problems later when the pup is a fully grown adult, so they say to put the large breed pup on a large breed puppy formula till the dog is 18-24months, then when dog is fully grown then start feeding the large dog a raw diet…
You have a small breed pup you should be right, there’s heaps of balanced premade raw diets & freeze dried dehydrated raw on the market…..
299 most popular dry dog foods are tested every 3 months for heavy metals & contaminates, these 3 brands came 1st, 2nd & 3rd they got 5 stars when tested for toxins, heavy metals & contaminates..

* “Buckley Liberty” Freeze-Dried Dry Dog Food the Beef, Lamb & chicken formula’s
* “CaniSource Grand Cru” All Life Stages Dehydrated Raw Dry Dog Food their Turkey, Lamb & Meat formula’s
* “BIXBI Rawbble” Freeze-Dried Dry Dog foods, their LAmb, Duck Chicken & Salmon formula’s
another good brand I hear people saying is really good is “Answers” fermented raw..

Join a few raw feeding f/b groups there’s Lew Olsons “K-9 Nurition” Lews book is excellent for starting home made raw.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/371592139642185/
Monica Segal “K-9 Kitchen” https://www.facebook.com/groups/K9Kitchen/
also has a few books that are good aswell..
Why alot a vet are against raw feeding is cause they have seen the bad when a raw diet isn’t balance properly like Rickets, Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium or phosphorus.
Good luck you’re on the right track feeding a raw diet…

[LINDA F]

To Patty,
I am a novice at this. From what I understand, a lot of people are feeding their puppies on a raw diet, However a puppy’s dietary needs are different from adult dogs and the ratio of meat to bone to organ meats is different. I have an old pit bull and she had almost stopped eating her kibble and any wet food that I used to entice her to eat. I tried some raw chicken drumsticks with bones, raw chicken wings with bones, raw chicken thighs with bones and an occasional raw chicken liver and she perked up immediately. However, I was told that I was feeding her way too much bone and enough meat or organ meats. I was not feeding the proper ratio but Spy Car’s post really helped me understand how to do it correctly. By the time I memorize all the ratios and I get the hang of feeding the proper ratio to my old girl, my Morkie puppy will have reached her first birthday. If my old girl is still thriving on the raw diet, I may introduce the Morkie to the raw diet and see if she does as well. However, and this is strictly my own opinion and I am in no way qualified to give you professional advice, but I am going to wait for my Morkie reach one year before I begin introducing her to the raw diet. Just be aware that feeding a raw diet is more trouble than just pouring some kibble in a bowl or opening a can of dog food. Good luck!
Linda

[LINDA F]

To Spy Car,
Oh, thank you so much! I am printing this mail for reference until I develop an eye for what I’m doing. The way you explained it makes it so much easier and I’m pretty sure I can do this now! I was just overwhelmed and confused by all the conflicting info I found when trying to research a raw diet! My old pit bull just loves the raw chicken and she is doing so much better. Now I will be more confident that I am not killing her with it.
Again thank you for taking your time to help a stranger.
Linda

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

If you can properly balance for a puppy, you can feed it to them. Most people find it too hard or worrisome about balancing for a puppy’s needs so they feed a premade raw/freeze dried/can or kibble until they’re an adult.

I did premade raw and freeze dried with my terrier as a puppy.

[anonymous]

You can believe Science Based Veterinary Medicine.
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=raw+diet

Nothing is being sold at the above site. No membership fees. No supplements No books. Nothing.

[Patty R]

I have just joined this site and have read a number of comments. The one thing worrying me about a raw diet is that I saw a complete article extolling the value of raw food feeding on which the last sentence was basically, “PUPPIES should not be fed a raw food diet.” I have a four month old miniature Schnauzer and don’t know who to believe. Based on what all of you have seen, is it best to wait until the puppy is grown before starting?

[Spy Car]

Linda, it is not super complex, but there is a ratio of minerals (calcium to phosphorus) that needs to be maintained.

You can do that by making soft edible bone about 10% of the diet.

Here are some bone percentages of common chicken parts:

Chicken Breast (with ribs) 20%
Thigh: 21%
Leg Quarter 28%
Drumstick 30%
Chicken Wings 46%

You can balance by eye. Say you are feeding a drumstick. They are 30% bone. If you figured in parts of 10, a drumstick would provide 2 parts of ten in meat and one part of 10 in bone.

So if you fed two portions of boneless meat that are approximately the same size as the drumstick, you’d have 3 parts of meat from the first portion, 3 parts of meat from the second portion, plus 2 parts of meat from the chicken drumstick. So 8 parts of ten altogether, which hits the target of 80% “meat.”

The drumstick would provide the 10% soft edible bone.

No need to weigh this. You can estimate.

The last 1/10 is organ. You can (despite what someone told you) feed liver every day. However, only half the organs should be liver. The “other” should be things like kidney, sweetbreads (thymus and pancreatic glands), melts (spleen), etc).

To make my life easier I freeze organs in sizes that match 10% of the diet and then alternate days. The first day is a “lever day” and the next is an “other” day. If you can only get beef kidney, that’s OK.

Don’t be dissuaded from beef heart because of one story on the internet. Beef heart is highly nutritious and tends to be inexpensive. Fatty pork like leg, shoulder, and butt are economical too.

Do add new proteins slowly. Smaller to larger pieces.

It is not super complicated to balance bone. If you take a little time to estimate (by eye and using the weight on meat packages as a guide) you will soon find portioning second nature. Meals can be a little over or under on any given day, the key is to be in the general ballpark over time.

Overfeeding bone over the long-term can lead to very bad health consequences. It is one of the legitimate criticisms of raw diets if and when people don’t feed in reasonable approximation to 10% bone. 10% bone and 10% organs, combined with 80% meat, will give your dog the most optimal nutrition.

Carbohydrates in a canine diet directly reduce stamina and energy. But cutting these out as much as possible you should see the renewed vigor you’ve already noticed maintain or increase. Unfortunately, many “senior” dog formulas start cutting protein and fat (and increasing carbs) at the life stage where older dogs are already losing energy. It is the worst possible approach and one that will advance lethargy.

I hope this helps you.

Bill

[heytsu l]

Hi,

My dog has been having loose stool issue for a few months now. He has been on Orijen since he was a puppy, which was fine but after his surgery and switch to the adult formula things have not got back to normal. I’ve tried feeing him a raw diet but he kept regurgitating and then refused to touch anything raw all together, switched back to dry food this time Belcando lamb and rice formula ,which improved the situation a bit but the stool still wasn’t great. After that I’ve been feeding him Terra Canis grain free cans ,which he loved and things were similar as on the lamb & rice dry food; I still had to clean his butt multiple times a week because of soft or runny stool.

The vet suggested Royal Canin Sensitivity Control, which made things better the first week or so but after that things kept getting worse. His stool went back to loose and he kept licking the floor ,which he has never done before. They tested his stool for parasites and it came out clear. Now the vet told me to feed him Royal Canin Hypoallergenic formula for six weeks exclusively. And then if that doesn’t work, we will look further.

He has been on this formula only two days and he has woken me up at five in the morning both days, desperate to potty with full blown diarrhea. He also shakes his head, and scratches his ear a lot. He has been farting all evening yesterday. The smell was horrendous. Could he just be adapting to the new food or is it already showing that this is not the right type of food for him? I’m a little lost as far as what the best thing to do is right now. I want to listen to my vet but it’s been going on for so long with little to no testing done that I’m starting to get a little impatient. How long before I can safely say the food is making things worse/ or at least not helping? What can I request from the vet other than a blood test (she didn’t want to do it until we try this food)?

[Patricia A]

Thank’s for the info Susan. I stopped Stella’s raw coated small breed chicken when I read about the DCM with peas/legumes. Went back to Fromm but the gold formula. But didn’t really feel good about giving Fromm anymore . I really rely on Dr. Mike with his ratings and he consistently gave them a 5 in kibble.Also they really liked Stella’s and even my 16 year old eats it. So I just went back to Stella’s as a base and just wanted an understanding as to why it’s a meat based kibble vs plant based . So thank you for explaining that.
I use very little as a base mixed with freeze dried. I alternate with Primal, Stella’s and now Bixbi Rawbble. Just looked up Answers and ingredients very similar to the Bixbi.
Thank’s for suggestion. Like adding into my rotation.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Patricia A.

[Susan]

Hi Patrica,

Which Stella & Chewy formula are you talking about? I quickly looked up a few of the Stella & Chewy different formula’s & they all seems to have 2 meats as 1st & 2nd ingredients, the Raw coated Kibble Chicken formula ingredients look OK
Chicken, chicken meal, chickpeas, peas, chicken liver, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), chicken heart, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil,

If a dry kibble said, Chicken, pea/corn, lentils/chickpeas, tapioca/potatoes etc I would NOT buy it as the meat protein being “chicken” isnt a chicken meal & ingredients are listed when they’re raw not cooked so after the chicken is cooked it shrinks, 70% is water so the Lentils/chickpeas come 1st then either the peas/corn or the tapioca/potatoes come 2nd then the Chicken moves up the ingredient list depending how heavy the other ingredients are?…So I stay away from these type of pet foods now, Patch doesnt do well on high carb diets..
But if the dry kibble said Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey meal, Potatoes, Peas, Chickpeas then you know this dry kibble is higher in meat proteins not plant proteins. I wish these pet food companies had to list all the protein % in all ingredients, Earthborn Holistic Venture kibble does & I think Victor does aswell..
You’d think it would be the same with a raw food…but NO cause the raw doesnt get cooked so the meat proteins stay at 1st & 2nd ingredients etc same with freeze dried/dehydrated raw ingredients they are not cooked, maybe this is why DFA gives Stella & Chewy 5 stars?? or his dog eats it & does very well on Stella & Chewy lol

Make sure you have at least 2-3 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd 3rd & if lucky 4th ingredient, my Patch has improved so much since eating a higher meat protein kibble, I use to think he couldn’t handle a high meat dry kibble, I’ve worked out it was the Kcals they were toooo HIGH, the higher the Kcals the more dense is the dry kibble so it’s harder to digest & as they get older their digestive tract slows down.. Patch gets his pain stomach/pancreas when Kcals are over 370Kcals per cup so now I look for at least 2-4 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd, 3rd ingredients then a carb.

I belong to an Dogs with IBD Raw Feeding Holistic Support f/b group & I always see people recommending “Answers Fermented Raw” Answers is suppose to be “very good quality” raw food, I read about all these very sick dogs with IBD doing really well since coming off their vet diet (well that isnt too hard lol) or a premium dry kibble & since starting Answers raw food & their Fermented Goats milk these dogs is doing very well…
Have you tried Answer pet food ? I want to try the Goats Milk I’ll buy human quality goats milk.. Patch gets some of my cup of tea every morning so I’ll replace the tea with warm goats milk instead & see how he goes…
https://www.answerspetfood.com/products.html

[LINDA F]

Hi Susan!
Thank you so much for your response. No, she was not on Zignature then. Funny you should suggest Canidea! I had been feeding feeding all my dogs Canidea All Life Stages Multi-Protein kibble for many years and was well pleased with the Canadea. However, when my old dog, Kayli, stopped eating almost anything and I found out her liver values were so high, I thought perhaps she might be more tempted by some other brand. I only changed all the dogs over to Zignature about 6 months ago. She still would not eat much and was still losing weight and muscle mass and I also tried Fromm’s Gold but the results were no better so I put them all back on Zignature and was desperate so I decided to try the once a day raw feeding. It is the ONLY thing that seems to have worked for her to tempt her appetite and increase her energy levels. She’s a much happier dog now and in fact, when it starts getting close to noon and I walk into the kitchen, Kayli thinks I am about to give her the raw chicken and will come trotting into the kitchen. When she sees I am doing something else and not getting the raw chicken parts from the frig, she will get an almost disappointed look on her now gray face, and go back to the living room! My son worked at GNC for years and he checks out all the food before we try it out on the dogs. He said Zignature seemed to be a healthy alternative to the Canidea. However, again, thank you so much for taking your time to try to help.
Sincerely,
Linda

[Kerry M]

Hello all, I apologize in advance, this is going to be a long story. My boy Sam is a 12 year old beagle. He had been on Wellness Core for a couple of years when I decided to put him on a raw diet (not a commercial one – gave him chicken and turkey necks, pork necks, beef, etc, with the recommended ratio of organs, bones, and meat). I started that in June of last year. In March, he started coughing and had trouble breathing, so we rushed him to the pet ER where they diagnosed him with congestive heart failure. The day after we brought him home he was unable to urinate, and we took him back to the vet and he had a bladder stone blocking his urethra. They were able to flush it back into his bladder and put him on Royal Canin SO to dissolve it. At the time they said his white blood cells were elevated, and tested him for a bladder infection, which came up positive. For the last six months he has been on different antibiotics trying to clear up the infection, and we have been seeing an internal medicine specialist for about a month now. They did an ultrasound and he still had the bladder stone, and put him on Hill’s S/D, despite the high sodium content that would put a strain on his heart. He had a urine culture again last week that again came up positive. The specialist called me today and said the bacteria is now resistant to all medication and she feels that he needs surgery to remove the stone. Naturally I am terrified to let him go under anesthesia with his heart condition, but I know if the infection continues it can lead to kidney issues. If anyone can weigh in with experience with resistance to antibiotics and/or pets having surgery with CHF, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

[LINDA F]

Hi Bill!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! I was afraid the bones might be a problem but every time I tried to get a straight answer, they would start talking about calcium and phosphorus and what % to what % of meat and then adjust that to the dog’s weight plus adding a certain % of green veggies and fruits, and my eyes would roll back in my head! Just teasing but as you read in my posts, I am an old lady and unfortunately I also have macular degeneration so trying to get a scale with numbers large enough for me to read but still capable of weighing things less than 10 lbs is near impossible. Also one of the posts I read on this site stated her dog was doing fine on a raw diet until she gave it a beef heart and now the dog is critically ill! I’m already as skittish as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs about feeding her the raw diet so I certainly do not want to add something that could be dangerous to her! Could I just substitute deboned chicken thighs instead of the legs and thighs with bones? Would just one chicken wing with bones and two deboned chicken thigh with a couple of gizzards/hearts and a quarter cup of beef or chicken liver every day be okay for the once a day raw feeding while she is still eating 14 oz of wet food and approximately 1-2 cups of kibble where she will still get some of the minerals etc she needs to flourish? Was the guy who said feeding liver everyday incorrect and not dangerous after all as long as I do not feed her too much liver every day? I am simply incapable of weighing her raw food every day and adding more measured items at the right % of each. I have always been very independent so I hate to keep harping on my age and the limits on my abilities but I order my groceries from Walmart and once a week my son will come over and drive me to the pick up dept to pick up my ordered groceries before he has to be at his work. He often works 6 days a week. There are not many butcher shops in the small town where I live. He does not have time to drive me around to meat markets to buy the things that Walmart does not stock. They do not carry beef hearts but they do carry beef liver! I have shied away from buying roasts or large cuts of meat due to having to cut them up and weigh them to get the right proportions. I could easily cut up the beef liver and feed her a quarter cup or half cup, whatever would not be dangerous for her. Using a measuring cup is no problem since I have individual measuring cups and can tell which is which. Measuring by weight is another matter altogether. I really do appreciate your post and it has confirmed my gut feeling that perhaps I was including too much bone. But, lordy me, does that dog love to crunch up those bones! She is okay with the thighs and drumsticks but does not relish them as much as she does those chicken wings! Surely one wing with bones is not too much bone in her every day diet? She weighs about 65-70 lbs. If I cut out the kibble and wet dog food, she would not get enough food to satisfy her hunger and I simply cannot measure all those items in the proper percents to put her on a completely raw diet. She was pretty close to giving up until I added the (to me) small amount of raw food to her regular diet. Before adding the raw diet, she sometimes would not really eat much for several days at a time. Now she is eating almost all the wet food and almost all the kibble and every bite of the raw chicken every day! I truly apologize for being such a pain but I honestly appreciate what you have suggested. I forgot to mention that she is also on thyroid medication which she gets twice a day. Sincerely, Linda

[Spy Car]

Linda, great to read about the beneficial effects on your old girl. Reducing carbs and increasing fat and protein is the dietary means of increasing energy and muscle building.

I’m not a bit surprised you are seeing benefits.

I have one quibble with the raw feeding approach you are using thus far. Too much bone. Way too much bone. The target percentage should be about 10%. You are probably pushing 28-30%. No done harm in the short term, that that much calcium to phosphorus will cause a mineral imbalance. You need to add more meat to this mix. Preferably that would include some red meat (beef heart is very nutritious and often inexpensive) and some fatty (cheap) pork (like leg or butt).

I’d also add beef kidney at 5% of total diet. The organs provide the vitamins. Supplements are unnecessary, but organs are critical.

If you make these adjustments you could stop the kibble.

I hope your dog feels better and better.

Bill

[LINDA F]

Hi! Okay, here is my story and do not take this as informed or a professional opinion. I have kept 3 dogs in my home for most of my adult life and I am now 75! All dogs are seen by my vet several times a year including a full “WELLNESS” check up once a year. I currently have a 12 year old rescued pit bill that is so sweet and a joy to have around. On her last check up, her liver values were very high. So my trusted vet of 20 yrs told me it could be a mass in her belly, Cushings Disease or liver disease. I asked what can I do. His first recommendation was to do a liver ultra scan which did not show anything out of the normal except it looked that it might have “sludge”. His next step was to advise a liver biopsy which due to her age and need for anesthesia, could be fatal, plus it is costly. Or we could do a stomach exploration but the same warnings were in effect and again very costly. So I asked a simple question, what treatment would be employed should it be a stomach mass or Cushings? He said he would not really change what he was already we were already doing. I then told him that since the tests were so expensive, I did not need to know the name of the exact malady that was killing her if it would not treated differently. I then asked him would he do if it were his dog? His reply was due to her advanced age and the very large risk anesthetic posed to her, that if it were his dog, he would not chance it. Twelve years is a respectful old age for a dog and he would just try to make her comfortable and happy for her remaining time with us. Now she did not appear to be in any discomfort but of course with a dog, you cannot always tell that. It’s not like they can tell you “My tummy hurts”. However I did notice that her energy levels and appetite were dropping and she began to lose weight and muscle mass. I have a friend who is a certified dog trainer. I was whining to him about feeling useless to help my dear old companion and he suggested that I try a raw diet. I told him at 75, I am really not up to weighing meat to combine with a list of dog supplements that have to be purchased and are sometimes hard to find, then measure all those to mix with steamed vegetables to go along with the raw chicken parts. So I just made this diet up. I feed her one can of a premium wet food for breakfast around 6am. She sometimes eats all of it and sometimes just nibbles at it. Around noon, I feed her one raw drumstick, one raw thigh, and one raw chicken wing, all with bones. I buy the same chicken as I feed my family so I am hoping they are safe for her! I also buy a package of hearts and gizzards and a package of raw chicken livers. I add to the raw chicken a couple of gizzards and hearts. I read from a raw diet blog that you should not feed raw livers every day but 2-3 times a week. I can manage that! She eats every scrap left in the bowl and then licks it to make sure she got every morsel! Then at night I give her a cup or two of Zignature kibble. Again sometimes her bowl is licked clean in the morning, sometimes it is just nibbled on but over all, she mostly eats everything I put in her bowl! Wonders of wonders! She has put back the weight she had lost and is building muscle mass! No, she is no where near gaining enough weight to make her fat but her energy levels are up, her coat is shiny and she once again seems to be really enjoying her life. I figured if all these premium diets touted that they have all the proper amount of supplements a dog needs and she usually eats almost everythingl, that perhaps I don’t have to kill my own old silly self trying to keep her alive and happy! Just to make sure you do not misunderstand me, if she were my one and only dog, I would probably be able to do all the searching for supplements and weighing etc but I also have a year old Morkie and an 8 month old Rottweiler that I feed twice a day. I do not feed the other two dogs a raw diet. As a treat once or twice a week, I will feed the Morkie a chicken liver or a heart or a gizzard but since the Rotty is a large breed dog and still growing, she does not get any raw chicken parts. The other two dogs have no problems eating wet dog/kibble each day and are thriving so no reason to rock the boat for them by changing their diet! I don’t know if I am doing the right thing with my old pit bull. All I know is that for the last two months, since I began the diet above, my old pit bull seems eager to eat. She looks forward to her early morning walks once more, is alert and even goes out to play with the two young pups. Now, she does not chase them as she would have when she was younger, but she seems to enjoy trotting a few yards as they streak by her while she is wagging her tail and barking! I may be doing all the wrong things and hastening her death but my conscious is clear since she appears to be enjoying her life now and before she just looked and acted old and feeble. Again, this is just my own solution and it has NOT been approved by any professional. Please no hate mail but I would welcome any comments or suggestions that do not require a large amount of my own decreasing energy levels. Oh yeah, at first I tried adding the freeze dried raw food by Stella (?) to their Zignature kibble but none of my dogs really cared for it.
Thanks for reading this long email but I think it’s an old age thing! LOL!!!
Sincerely,
Linda

[Susan]

Hi Jill,
I had a Boxer Angie she had Mast Cell Tumors diagnosed age 8yrs old, she wasnt her happy self, no more she was sleeping more, didn’t want to go on her daily walks or come in the car shopping, her poos became black, vomiting blood, so I took her to see the RSPCA vet where I adopted her from 6yrs before, the vet asked me has she eaten breakfast this morning, I said no Ang eats breakfast at 11am, the vet said I want to remove these lumps ASAP now they don’t look good, I said but I seen another vet where I live about 1 yr ago, the vet said not the vet on Darby st, please say no, I said yes, we always walk past to go to the beach & one day I seen her out the front with another vet who was visiting from America, I stopped & I showed them both her wierd looking lump on the back of her leg, they BOTH said its nothing, its just an old lady wort, its nothing to worry about, this RSPCA vet just shook her head & said if these lumps were removed 1 yr year ago the cancer wouldn’t be as this advanced….Angie had a few Mast Cell tumors 1 on back of her leg & other lumps & bumps all were removed she looked a Quit, full of patches everywhere, 1/2 of her nipples were removed, when I came to take her home that afternoon, the vet said we have removed more then we thought, she wasnt allowed to come home & had to stay the night the poor thing….
She had another operation as some of the Mast Cell Tumors came back within 3months of removing, my mum said, let her go Susan, I said but she looks good, the little bit of weight she had lost made her her perfect weight 30kg, then she was cancer free BUT she didn’t get better, so the RSPCA vet said you can do Endoscope to see if she has Ulcers from the Mast Cell Tumors as the Mast Cell sets off histimines that attacks the stomach..So I was reffered to another vet that had the Endoscope Camera, it became the vet practice where I go now & take my Staffy Patch who has IBD…
My Angie never got better it was all down hill, I wish I listened to the first vet from the RSPCA when he said, I can put her to sleep on the back seat of your car, I thought to myself, Im not putting my Angie to sleep on my back seat of my car… I was thinking what will I do without my Angie, I cant put her to sleep its all too quick, the same vet did say to me, you have to be strong Susan, Angie sounds like she has been there for you 6 years now? so its your turn now to help her…. I couldn’t put her to sleep, my daughter couldnt PTS either, so I wasted another few thousand dollars doing Endoscope, she had no ulcers & the stupid vet didnt do any biospies, so the Endoscope was pointless but I didnt know all this back then 2009 now I do….
Angie was put on ant acid meds Zantac & Carafate, other medications Valium, Pain meds that made her feel very sick, nausea, vomit, I dont think she could take the Prednisone she took something else similiar, I cant remember the name its started with S she was also put on Hills Z/D dry food in the end & this caused extream stomach pain & she refused to eat it, I told the new vet & he said, Oh she’s just spoilt she’ll eat it, I have found male vets are heartless when it comes to a sick dog, I prefer lady vets & lady vet nurses..
We had had another sleepless 1/2 of the night again up 12am-3am, Angie crying with her pain, so I ended up ringing a mobil vet 8.30am Saturday morning, the mobil vet came 9am & he said gee are you sure she is sick, she started running around all excited we had a visitor, the vet said, she’s in really good condition, then I showed him Angies vet folder, all her tests, her operations, all the meds we had tried & they didnt help etc then he gave her a valium injection, then I talked to Angie for 20mins told her we are going for a walk to the beach I’ll see you at the beach Ang & the vet put her to sleep, he said she’ll have green dreams now…Finally she was painfree… I couldnt fix my Angie, she never had a sick day in her life until she turned 8yrs old, she could eat anything, she was a beautiful dog, a real lady … 🙁

The Nature’s Logic canned rabbit food you’re feeding is 7%min fat, when you convert that to dry matter (Kibble) this is around 35-40%max fat, this would be too high in fat for Nilla, you’re better off cooking & making her a bland diet with lean white meats like Turkey breast, lean Pork, I know you said No pork but the Natures Logic wet can rabbit food has Pork liver in it, she’ll probably do really well on pork, alot of IBD dogs do very well eating sweet Potato, white Potato, Gluten Free Pasta, I know she needs to have some fat in her diet to gain some weight, but is Nilla still on Predisone & the ant acid blocker Losec? if not put her back on the Losec 20mg given every morning, also you cannot just stop the Prilosec once its been taken for 3-4 weeks it must be slowley reduced as all the hydrochloric acid come rushing back into stomach all at once until the stomach acid go back to normal..Taking an acid blocker might make her want to eat again or reduce the fat in her diet with cooked lean meals & see does she get her appetite back again?? My IBD boy takes Pantoprazole 20mg now its an ant acid blocker, he did take Losec for 2 years then it didn’t seem to work…..
If you still want to feed wet can food look at either a low fat vet diet Royal Canine HP or Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat or Hills I/d Low Fat Stew can food, as these wet can foods are under 8% in fat so they’re 1.7%-2%max fat is written on the canof food, so when converted to Dry Mater (DM) they’re 7-8% in fat & wont cause as bad acid reflux…
No wet can foods or premade raw food, fat % protein % fiber % is converted yet…
or look at “Walk About”
http://walkaboutpetproducts.com/dog-food/
“Walk About” has Rabbit, Kangaroo, Boar, Quail, Duck, the fat is 2%min & isn’t converted, the moisture is 82% so when you convert the fat it will be higher, when you see 78% Moisture this is better, the fat will be a bit lower…. I converted the fat in the Walk About Rabbit formula & it’s around 11.11%min fat, same with the Walk About kangaroo formula, The Walk About wet can foods are heaps lower in fat then the Nature Logic Rabbit formula.. It’s best to email Walk About or other dog food companies who sell wet can foods you want to try & ask them can you have the fat convertion to dry matter please.
eg- when you see 5%min fat, 78% moisture on a wet can of dog food, this 5%min fat when converted will be around 20%min fat to 26% max fat…

Here’s a Dog Food Guaranteed Analysis Calculator link, save it…

Dog Food Calculators

If you can cook, cook & freeze small meals, I make rissoles balls, I buy 1kg = 2lbs of lean 5 star Beef or Pork mince low fat, I whisk 1 egg, add to the beef mince some freshly chopped parsley & add about 1 teaspoon parsley, then I chop a few small brocolli heads & grate 1 small peeled carrot, mix all together & make either 1/4 cup size rissole balls or 1/2 a cup size rissole balls & put on a foil lined baking tray & bake for 15mins take out drain any water/fat turn over the rissole balls then bake for another 15mins till ready do not over cook as you’ll have leather rissoles, you can eat these rissoles with some mashed potatoes, I also boil 1 peeled cut up sweet potato then boil then cool & freeze those sweet potato in a sandwich clip lock bags & make sure the sweet potato pieces aren’t touching each other if they do touch then when frozen just wack on kicthen bench while still in sandwich bag & they should separate, you can add 1/2 cup size rissole ball & about 1/3 cup boiled sweet potato then I put 1 rissole ball & the sweet potato pieces in a blender & blend your dog will really like the rissoles, you can make turkey breast mince into rissoles & add some boiled Sweet Potato, theyre really nice, also scrambled egg make Nilla 1 scambled egg, what ever your eating as long as its not hot chillie, curry etc she can eats some & feed about 4-5 small meals a day get her back into a rountine & ask vet about ant acid medication..I use Quick eze chews as well for my IBD boy he comes & tells me & looks at the draw that has his meds in it…
The Canine Nutritionist will help but be careful with omega oils as these can cause acid reflux & then Nilla may not want to eat again so be fully intune with Nilla so you know whats wrong, also with the Walk About wet can foods you can boil some potato & add 1/2 wet can food & 1/3 boiled Potato this the potato should firm up her poos..

I hope you find answers & fix Nilla up but if you look into Nilla eyes & they have lost their spark, put her to sleep…its the best thing you can do for Nilla…

[haleycookie]

If yours dogs won’t let you brush their teeth I’d go with raw turkey necks. Maybe once or twice a week. Then attempt to brush the other days if you can. Softer treats like bully sticks, trachea, etc aren’t really hard or long lasting enough to make a difference. I also like whimzees and nylabones for dental chewing as well.

[anonymous]

Just brush their teeth once a day and listen to your vet when he recommends that a professional cleaning (maybe once or twice per lifetime).
No need to take a chance on those other things mentioned. Yuck!
Per the search engine:
/forums/topic/dental-chews-greenies-or-pedigree-dentasitx/#post-119699
PS: Have you tried raw carrots? Not the baby ones, they are chemically treated and a chocking hazard due to their size.

[JoAnn B]

They are 30 lb cockers, 11 yrs old and I give them 6 inch ones. I did stop and no more grass eating. I don’t know what to give them to chew for their teeth. I won’t give them rawhide or beef bones etc. Any ideas? I did buy greenies and they are OK with them but they are gone in 5 minutes.

[Susan]

Hi Albert,
are you on facebook?
in “Search bar” put “Canine raw feeding”, or “K-9Kitchen” run by Monica Segal
or “K-9 Nutrition” run by Lew Olson,
alot of people in these groups make Jerky meats & have a dehydrator…
I tried making Sweet Potato in the oven on very low temp, years ago but my dog just gulps it & doesnt chew & enjoy his jerky meat or his dried Sweet potatos, so I stopped cause he has IBD..
Why do you want add the preservaties? I’d leave out the preservatives, especially if you have aging dogs.. For longer storage, use vacuum sealed bags will allow the jerky to last 1-2 months.
Here’s the link

How to Make Beef Jerky in a Dehydrator

[Dennis C]

hello everyone!
I have 1 dog and 1 cat.
both were adopted. the dog came first, given by a neighbour.
the cat was a stray kitten that my brother picked up and nursed to health.

we adore them and give them as much love as we can afford
Mixing dry food with raw food diet. this is because my dogs and cats have different preferences occasionally.

the cat is a lot more picky than the dog.

kiekie (my dog) loves raw bones and raw organ meat (chicken liver, chicken hearts, pig kidney etc)

[Spy Car]

To follow up on what Susan wrote above, when my (now 4.5 year old) Vizsla was a pup, we fell in with an informal group of fellow dog owners who met up almost daily in what we called our “puppy club.”

Although our meet-ups are far less frequent than they used to be, we still get together from time to time.

The way my dog has aged vs his classmates is quite obvious to all. He is the only one who is raw fed (and has been since he was 8 weeks old).

You get better teeth, better coat, less body-fat, more muscle, and gleaming vitality. The differences in condition are not subtle.

Bill

[Susan]

Hi Harry,

Listen to your brother, a raw diet is the best diet you can feed a dog or a cat..
Dogs & cats have a short digestive tract, it’s made to digest a raw diet, their intestinal tract was not made to digest a high carb, high fiber dry dog food…

Over time watch & you’ll see the difference in both your dogs as they age if your dog continues eating a dry diet, your brothers dog will have a shinner coat, more energy, less pooh, he’ll be leaner & not over weight & look healthier…

Your pup is a large breed dog, his bones are still growing till he’s 18-24months, might be better to feed him his balance “Large breed puppy” dry food until he’s 18months, still give him raw meaty bones as a treat, unless you contact a animal nutritionist who can formulate a raw diet for a growing pup…
Sky Car knows heaps about raw feeding, he can give some advice…

Are you on facebook join a few Canine Raw feeding groups,
also follow “Rodney Habib” & his “Planet Paws” page look at his Video’s https://www.facebook.com/pg/PlanetPaws.ca/videos/?ref=page_internal
Also Follow “Steve Brown” when you follow Rodney you will get to know everyone.

Have you seen all the Toxins Contaminates & Heavy Metals in dry pet foods?
Google Toxins in dogs foods, a site will come up they test the most popular dry wet treats

[Spy Car]

IMO a balanced PMR-style raw food diet (no plants) is the best thing one could do for their dog.

The difference in condition and vitality is not subtle.

Bill

[Patricia A]

On a positive note you don’t have to worry about legumes and potatoes in most of the commercial raw foods.. I feed Primal, Stella Chewy’s and Bixbi Rawbble freeze dried which all got 5 stars by the advisor. Might be more cost effective for you though with the raw frozen patties in these brands. I stick to the proteins which the advisor rates as 5 stars These are the ones with a lower fat ratio .So with Primal I stick to Turkey/Sardine protein and the duck, rabbit and venison. I also rotate with the rabbit and venison in Stella’s. Bixbi Rawbbles is freeze dried and expensive. My 16 year old that has gotten VERY picky so she gets the Bixbi in Beef and salmon/chicken which she loves. I switched slowly and now I can rotate these brands and proteins without a problem.

[Nate D]

I actually did contact Sojos and Grandma Lucys and they both told me with dry matter basis they had no low fat options.
I did however go with Dr Harveys Paradigm. They also have Raw Vibrance that is low in fat.

[harry k]

I have a 1 year old Tamaskan Husky and he is fairly large. I typically feed him NutroMax puppy dog food, but lately my brother has been talking up the raw diet he has been feeding his new Doberman. I was about to switch my dog over to Nutro Wild frontier adult dog food since I’ve been giving him puppy food still, but now I’m considering a raw dog food diet. I looked up some articles online and the opinion on it is pretty split both ways. Anyone who is alot more informed on this please share your knowledge!

[Julie M]

Natural low fat raw definitely the way to go for you. There are many low fat meat proteins, being in Australia kangaroo is very low fat. Grass fed human grade beef, goat, rabbit, bison in US all should be low fat. And to maintain they ideal weight, I feed 2.5% of my dogs weight per day. There are many natural raw feeding sites with some great information. In Australia we can also buy frozen ready prepared Barf meals which are great for those who are time poor

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Julie M.

[Julie M]

Best grain free food without question is a natural balanced raw diet. I tried all the dry dog foods, but after 10 years on a natural diet, I have never regretted it. Probably the only person who did was my vet, because my dogs usually only visit him once a year, and that is for their annual checkup. I have converted so many people over the years, among them several who have had “yeasty” ear infections which virtually disappeared after the swap

[Julie M]

I have two 11 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The first year of their life they had ear infections, and the last 10 they have had none. I also looked after a friends 2 Cavaliers while she was away on holidays, both had ear infections and constantly needed their ears cleaning. The last 3 years none. The only thing done differently was their diet, natural, not processed. And that means no kibble. Met another lady today, constant ear problems, asked her what she was feeding, I knew her reply, (dried food) Told her about what I feed and she can’t wait to put her dog on a natural raw diet. And these are not just isolated cases, heard the same from many people. And if your dog can’t handle certain proteins, then I guess it’s a process of elimination. It’s not just their ears, they are just so healthy, only time they visit their vet is for an annual checkup

[Melanie B]

Dear Tamara,

I know exactly how you are feeling. 4 years ago, our Sheltie,

Cooper, was diagnosed with Idiopathic Chylothorax. I had never heard of this before. We did opt to have the plural ports surgically inserted, because his lungs were so diminished. We pulled fluid from his chest for approx. one year. I also did a lot of reading about this disease. Because of the fluid buildup in the chest, the chest can become inflamed. So, we started him on 3000 mg of Rutin daily (1000 mg 3 x’s daily). Also, started him on Raw Unfiltered Honey, and sprinkled Ceylon Cinnamon on top (the only cinnamon dogs can have), this is for the inflammation. About 1 Tablespoon of honey with a good sprinkling of cinnamon on top of the meals.. breakfast and dinner. I found Nutro dog food to have the lowest fat count. My dog would not eat the food the Dr recommended.. it was really dry. This was and still is our regimen. Fast forward, our Cooper is now 9. We no longer have to pull fluid, his lungs are again in great condition. You would never know he had ever been sick. I know this is not the case for all dogs diagnosed. But, I wanted you to know this is not necessarily a death sentence, as I had thought. So, we followed the above regimen, along with lots and lots of prayers, and our boy is doing wonderful.

I wish you the absolute best with your baby!!!!!

Sincerely,

Melanie

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

——– Original message ——–

From: Dog Food Advisor <[email protected]>

Date: 9/16/18 5:51 PM (GMT-06:00)

To: [email protected]

Subject: [Dog Food Advisor] Low-fat healthy diet needed

Tamera S wrote:

Been reading through all these posts and could find any recent from Nancy M. I was wondering how things turned out for her baby. Any of these babies really. We are heartbroken, as our 3 & 1/2 year old Sheltie has just been diagnosed with Idiopathic Chylothorax. The specialist I took him to terrified me, and he will not be going back to them even if we decide on surgery. When I told them we wanted to try least invasive options like Rutin and a low fat diet first, she wouldn’t be listen. Then came back telling me they nicked Scout’s lung when draining fluid so now his chest was filling with air! They wanted to keep him overnight, I refused to let them, he is fine, no symptoms they said he would have because of their incompetence. I feel they where just a surgery factory. My regular vet closed her practice and moved out of country on the Friday before this all happened. We are $2000 in. No surgery, just drain and diagnostic. No answers. I have talked to a Holistic doctor and he recommended supplements to ssupport his urinary tract as well. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We love our baby and want to do the best we can to give him the full and active life he deserves.
TIA
Tamera

Post Link: /forums/topic/low-fat-healthy-diet-needed/#post-121737

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[Nancy P]

Hi. I’ve posted here before regarding my two Schnauzers and Dr Marty’s raw freeze dried diet. I guess I’ve been giving this to my dog Kimmie fir about 9 months now. She still loves it and is doing well. Her skin and coat are doing great. Skin issues were the main reason for starting her on this brand of food. She’s had vet work ups in the mean time and all seems to be going well with her. Keeping my fingers crossed that good health continues.
I also had my other dog, Zoe, on Dr Marty’s. She loved it and was doing well but I decided it was getting too expensive to have both dogs on this diet so she had been getting a mixture of vital essentials, Turkey flavor, and Fresh Pets vita chicken and veg. Zoe is doing well and enjoying her meals.
I also added digestive enzymes to both dogs. Somebody on this forum suggested that earlier on.
I hope all of our dogs stay healthy and happy.

[Susan]

Hi,
The only way to know 100% what foods your dog is sensitive too is to do a food elimination diet..
Feed just 1 meat protein & 1 carb for 6 weeks & see does Sophie react” if Sophie doesnt react to the meat protein & carb your feeding then you can add another new ingredient into her diet but you can NOT feed any treats etc, it can take anywhere from 20mins for a reaction to show or take up to 6 weeks to see reactions but my boy reacts within 20mins raw chicken makes his back paw red hot & swell up but if I fed him chicken in a dry kibble he itches, red paws & smells less but he doesnt get the red hot swollen back paws, probably cause dry kibble meats have been broken down & cooked till there’s no real chicken protein left so he doesnt react to the chicken in a kibble as bad…

If you dont want to do raw or cooked elimination diet then best to use a Hypoallergenic vet diet this way you know 100% these vet diets haven’t been cross contaminated….

Baths – make sure you bath weekly or twice a week or as soon as Sophies starts to itch bad, baths wash off any allergens on skin, paws head etc also baths relieve the red itchy skin, I use “Malaseb”medicated shampoo weekly with Patch & I use baby wipes, Cucumber & Aloe wipes & I wipe him down after his walks or after being out the back yard, I use creams like “Bepanthen” Antiseptic Soothing cream for his red itchy rash on stomach & around his doodle from the grass & I use “Sudocrem” on his red paws & inbetween his toes at night is best to apply cream just before bed check out sophies whole body & head he a few baby wipes & wipes her down then apply a cream to any red itchy areas, the Sudocrem acts as a barrier & protects his skin & paws so best to re apply before she goes outside you will start to see a big difference & relieve her itchy skin… its all about routine, wash cream etc & you can get a control on her itchy skin this all helps her a bit & if Winter is coming this is when you start the Elimination diet …
Do you have any roll/loaf kept in the fridge section, that has limited ingredients like FreshPet Vital & try this & give Sophie bath twice a week or weekly, use the creams & baby wipes days she hasnt had a bath & see is she better but the roll loaf must only have 1 meat protein & a few carbs as you wont know what she is reacting too..

Dogs who suffer with food sensitivities normally have Enviroment Allergies aswell, so its not just the food making Sophie skin itch, she could be sensitive to a certain grass, a tree in your yard or neigbours yard, pollens, dust mites, flea salvia, this makes it very hard working out what is making the dog itch, Keep a Diary write every down at night, then look back thru the diary as the years pass & you will start to see a pattern, she might be more itchy thru the Spring & Summer months & in the cooler months she is better ?? this is seasonal environment allergies, with food sensitivities the dog gets bad wind, farts, sloppy poo’s, diarrhea, vomiting,& yeasty smelly ears, paws, skin,….
Its best to see a Dermatologist or a vet that knows about skin & food senitivities..
Best to do food elimination diet in the cooler months when allergens aren’t as high, this way its easier to work out what Sophie is reacting too…

Just becareful with Zignature its very high in Legumes especially the Kangaroo formula..
Join this f/b group “Taurine-Deficient Dilated Cardiomyopathy”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1952593284998859/
then go into their “files” click on
“2018-09-07 Copy of Diet and Taurine.pdf”
you will see all the dry food brands these dogs were eating when they got DCM Heart problems, the cases marked in light orange, “Orange = DCM or CHF w/o low Taurine; diet related” are diet related & the Zignature kangaroo is has 2 Orange cases, 2 GSH, Id say 1 has passed away by know as he was given 6-8months to live & that was 2015….
Years ago Zignature Kangaroo formula was really good it had more meat proteins then plant proteins then Zignature changed their Kangaroo formula & added less kangaroo meat & more Lentils & now dogs are ending up with heart problems & some have died, they cant absorb the Taurine…
They don’t know if it’s the Legumes blocking the Taurine, they dont know whats happening yet till they do more research, so until then best to fed a dry dog food thats less then 20% in Legumes maybe try a grain limited ingredient formula??
“Wellness Simple” has their Lamb & Oatmeal, Duck & Oatmeal, or Turkey & Potatoes Salmon & Potatoes formula’s these formula’s have very limited ingredients, just feed the same food for 2 months, no treats, no cooked foods, nothing then if she start getting better & she’s not reacting, then after 2 months add 1 new ingredient thats cooked or raw o her diet, no wet can foods as these have cross contamination ingredients..

[Susan]

Hi Rose,
sorry about the long post i started it around 10am then kept adding to it then finally posted it 2pm lol
“Holistic Select” has change all their formula’s & have added lentils chickpeas, these Legumes up the protein % so the pet food companies add less meat proteins in their food, that’s why I always make sure there’s 2-3 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd & 3rd ingredient, so my boy is getting meat proteins & not a heap of plant proteins, Legumes also up the fiber % in a dry kibble, make sure if you feed a dry dog kibble there isn’t anymore then 20% in Legumes, No Lentils/Chickpeas in the first 5 ingredients..
These are the first 5 ingredients of Holistic Select® large & giant breed dry kibble..
Lamb Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Chickpeas, Lentils, Peas, Chicken Fat,
when Patch eats Lentils he gets instant diarrhea & chickpeas cause bad wind/farts for 1 week then he’s OK. He does best on Sweet Potatoes & Potatoes kibbles & chickpeas have to be 5-6 ingredient… The Wellness Core Large Puppy formula has Potatoes, it has Lentils as 6th ingredient, your boy might be OK with Lentils?
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/core-puppy-large-breed-puppy
you could always try it then take it back to Pet Barn if he gets diarrhea they have a money back guarantee & say he won’t eat it now cause he had diarrhea & get the Wellness Complete Health Large breed Puppy formula, it’s Monday so Wellness is on special $109 at the moment till Wednesday midnight, you click on “Click & Collect” & pick up from a Pet Barn closest to you.
https://www.petbarn.com.au/dogs/dog-food-dry/wellness-core-large-breed-dog-food
Or Wellness Complete Health Large Breed Puppy Food – 13.6kg – $99.00
https://www.petbarn.com.au/dogs/dog-food-dry/wellness-large-breed-puppy-food-13-6kg,

I’ve been thinking of getting te Wellness Complete Health Adult formula next, it has 3 meat proteins as 1st 2nd & 3rd ingredient then Oatmeal then peas so there’s less then 20% in Legumes…Pet Barn also has offers, when you join their “Friends For Life” Loyalty program, I just got a $20 free voucher free & a free bath & a free nail clip.. so I got a 2.5kg bag of dry kibble for $2..

I just looked up Holistic Select Australia as some US pet brands ingredient list are changed to come into our country, so when you look up an American brand kibble look up their brand name & put Australia after the brand name, so your getting the Australian Ingredient list…. also when you look at pet foods online pet store some of their ingredients list are the old ingredient list & the new ingredients haven’t been updated yet…

The FDA in America has put out an warning as few large breed dogs in the US that were eating high legume dry kibble diet have ended up with DCM – heart disease..
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/FDAInBrief/ucm613355.htm

Some dogs have died, they were very young 1-2 yrs old, they have noticed the dry diets were high in Legumes, Legumes are blocking the Taurine & the dogs aren’t absorbing any Taurine, they still dont know 100% what has gone wrong, a healthy 30 month old Rotti just died 8th August, an 1-2yr GSH has died he was given 6-8months to live & that was 2015….Maybe your better off feeding healthy grain formula until the FDA works out what went wrong, or a grain free formula that doesn’t have no more then 20% Legumes (peas), dogs didnt have these heart problems when grain free diets first came out & had Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes & Peas……
You’ll have to do research & make your own decision….
We haven’t been warned about DCM in dogs in Australia. But then again we’ve had toxic pet foods dogs have died & we still dont have any recalls, so I dont know what to think anymore.. I’ve msg our Pet Food Review man on his f/b page & he doesnt seem to think there’s a problems until we get more info, my vet said the same thing….
Golden Retrievers & Labrodors are known to get DMC not rottweilers & German Shepherd & the other large breed who are on the list… there’s a f/b page called “Taurine-Deficient Dilated Cardiomyopathy” look in their “files” for “2018-09-07 Copy of Diet and Taurine.pdf” it has the list of foods & dogs that became sick & died….. The cases that are in a light Orange = DCM or CHF w/o low Taurine; diet related, dogs heart problems were diet related, where the cases in yellow aren’t diet related taht they know off??We dont have these brands dry formula’s in Australia that were involved.

Here’s the proper ingredient list to the “Eagle Pack” Giant/breed puppy formula, Phosphorus 1.00%min, Calcium 1.50%min,
http://www.eaglepack.com/product-orignal-dog.aspx?product=82#.W58JIPZuI5t

Here’s “Wellness Complete” Health Large Breed Puppy link,
Phosphorus is 0.90% so it’s under 100%, Calcium Not Less Than 1.30%min
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/complete-health-large-breed-puppy

“Stay Loyal” Large Breed Puppy
Phosphorus is 0.70-0.90% Calcium 1.10-1.30%
https://stayloyal.com.au/large-breed-puppy-grain-free-dog-food.html

To meet the more rigid safety guidelines for large breed puppies, a dog food must contain

1.2 to 1.8% calcium

1.0 to 1.6% phosphorus

Calcium-to-phosphorus ratio 1:1 to 1.8:1

Here’s the DFA Link info above & a list of Large Breed Puppy Brands DFA recommend Eagle Pack, Wellness Core, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams & Holistic Select Giant breed formula but this list was written before the DMC scare.. Maybe the Holistic Select giant pup breed is OK or NOT OK cause the formula has been changed now, I dont know
/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

They recomend to feed a large growing puppy a balanced dry large/giant breed puppy kibble till he is fully grown 18-24mnths then if you want to feed raw then start him on a raw balanced diet but there must be people who fed their large/giant breed pups a raw balanced diet, I know most Australian either feed a raw diet or they feed both raw meat, raw meaty bones & a dry kibble..

Stay Loyal is Australian if you join they send out monthly emails, they recommend to fed raw meat + raw meaty bones with their dry kibble & to fast dog 1 day a week Sunday, as it re sets the immune system, Robert & David are up to speed raising healthy large breed pups, I’ve emailed Robert Belobrajdic about Patch & his IBD & Robert emailed me back within 12hrs, Robert breeds South African Boerboels, Boerboels are very large dogs. Im pretty saw they’re raw feed aswell as their Large Breed Puppy dry food……..

[Kim K]

I also signed up for Dr. Marty buy 3 bags of Dr. Marty Raw Dog food MADE IN THE USA cost $125.00. I started feeding to to my cocker spaniel last week. Well big major problems this past weekend September 15 and 16, 2018, when I saw my dog poop with blood in it. Each time she poop out came blood or if she tried to poop blood came pouring out of her. Sunday morning letting her out after we woke up to go to the bathroom her poop was nothing but blood. I used toilet paper to clean it up and took pictures of it as well as poop that she did on her walks on 09/15 and this morning 09/16.

After we got home I had to make an emergency trip to the Emergency Animal vet on Sunday morning after our walk. The emergency vet diagnosis my cocker spaniel (12 years old), with E-Colitis, ran test, had to flush her system out of saltine, inject her with gel medicine, and came home with antibotics and 2 cans of wet id dog food. If I would have waited until Tuesday (09/18), when we were schedule to to go our vet, my dog maybe have bleed to death. I have been feeding her homemade dog food since 2010, but figure this food would help me in always making her homemade dog food. Well I’ll just keep making the homemade dog food for her as least I know what is doing into her food and into her mouth.

SO if you are thinking about trying Dr. Marty RAW Dog food out think twice. I contacted the company about this they said that they were so sorry that this had happen and was told that they are refunding the $125.00 back to me and told me to keep the other 2 unopened bags of food. I told them that I will mail them back to you. I decided to do homemade dog food when all this recall in dry dog food all the time and my dog has gotten 3-Colitis from the dry dog food because it was bad.

[Rose B]

Thank you Susan~
I’ll definitely try changing his diet since you suggested it. First I’ll check with my vet, then i’ll check out these other kibbles. Also I am transferring Caesar to raw; just once his stools firm up. That’s truly my goal. Im 100% Pro raw.

And to certain commenters who thought my hatred with giant puppies foods is a poor choice. It really isn’t, my breeder who’s been breeding for 46 years; and the only cases he’s had a dog of his experience hip-dysplasia, is when (although with every good intent) a owner has chosen to go that route, Giant puppies just really can’t handle the food (Royal Canine apparently is the worst). Same goes for kibble in general; his healthiest dogs eat raw. I don’t doubt their is most probably a perfect kibble out there for me (somewhere) but raw feedings for all my breeders dogs has worked successfully and more financially in his favour. (It might just be a Mastiff thing)
But All in All, i do want whats best for my dog~ so I’ll still be on the look out.

(update)
Oh and sorry I forgot to mention; when I frequented the vet, I did everything! and visited alot; got his stool sample checked-nothing.
So it must be the food! I’ve been given the okay by my vet?
how does Holistic Giant breed sound?

[Patricia A]

To get his appetite going how about good old scrambled eggs with a little american cheese mixed in. Also boiled salmon. Has a strong smell and might get his appetite up. Very lean steak mixed in with kibble. I have a 16 year old and she is hit and miss with her appetite. These food always work. Fromm is also a favorite . Small breed Gold.
My other two get freeze dried Primal/Stella’s. She won’t eat that at all. BUT I recently purchased Bixbi Rawbble Chicken n Salmon freeze dried. Very expensive but she loves it dry.
Hope this helps.

[Susan]

Hi again,

here’s the Slippery Elm Slurry,
Formula:
Slippery Elm Gruel is made by the following Method:
1. Put 1 tablespoon of Slippery Elm Inner Bark Powder in a small Bowl or cup.
2. Slowly stir in 1/2 – 3/4s of a Cup of Boiling Water, making the Mixture into a Paste.
3. Add a little MORE Water to thin-out the Paste to the consistency NEEDED for a Poultice.
4. Add enough Water to make the Paste into a Gruel, that is THICK, like Cream of Wheat!

Then I cover the cup up with cling wrap or foil & put in fridge then when I need to use again I take out about 1 spoon of the slippery elm paste it turns toa thick jelly, put 1 teaspoon in a cup & slowly add a little bit at a time of boiling jug water until its smooth again & the paste can be sucked up into a syringe pull up 5ml & put side back of teeth/gums so he swollows, its soothe throat esophagus & stomach then about 20-30mins give is meal

Join this f/b group
“Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292537937935806/
Heaps of support help & holistic information, I know its a raw holistic feeding group BUT we all dont feed raw, the dog needs to be stable & 100% doing well, then the dog comes off his vet diet, cooked or premium dry food onto a raw diet …
A few dogs in this group wont eat & have no apetite, very skinny, Doodles are normally have big appetites so something is wrong with your poor boy & he’s learnt if I dont eat, I wont get ??? my pain, nauseaous or wind pain etc… sometimes its good to rest the pancreas, stomach/bowel for 24hours but not for your boy..

“ROTATING” encourages the dog to eat when a dog is not eating & doesnt want to eat the same boring food 24/7, changing foods can also make a dog fussy but when you have a dog that wont eat everything needs to be tried…
Rotating foods strengthin’s a dogs immune system, especially when they have IBS/ IBD they need to strengthen their immune system & try as many foods, it has made Patches immune system so much stronger now, when I keep feeding Patch the same dry dog food nothing else for 3 months + Patch starts to react to that food, I’ve been seeing this in a few IBD dogs, my vet said she has a few IBD patients that start reacting when they eat the same dry dog food, this is when food allergies/sensititivies happen after a dog has just eaten the same food 24/7 year after year….
at first Patch would take 3 weeks to introduce a new dry food, now it only takes Patch 2-3 days & he’s eating the new dry food, as long as there isnt any “new ingredients” he has eaten before or Im not sure he is OK eating them…
it really depends on the dog, listen to your gut you know your dog best..you’ll know what to do..

Ask vet about Mirtazapine, Mirtazapine is most commonly used as an appetite stimulant for dogs and cats that are refusing to eat. It is also prescribed for the long-term treatment of various patients who are experiencing nausea, vomiting, and anorexia..

also you could post a post in the IBD holistic group & ask what do people give & do to encourage their dog to eat, there’s 1 lady at the moment Emma she is having problems her dog is very skinny & is not putting on any weight, the vet has said to stop the feeding the raw food for the moment, vet has put her dog on a Holistic Duck dry food…
Groups are good cause everyone is sorta going thru the same thing & you pick up so many good idea & some quirky ideas that work….

Good Luck I hope you get some answers 🙂

[judy w]

hello everyone, i have been following recent posts from email notifications after signing up on this thread in July. i got confused because i think there are two Melissa T’s? or maybe it’s just more symptoms of the ways my brain has been not fully functioning right from stress levels.

i am sad to hear about dogs and owners going through health conditions, trying to help, and sometimes, the help, the medicine, causes its own serious medical problems.

the thing that is most frustrating for me about this is the way that many vets, not all, are kind of in denial of the risks related to adverse effects. There should be informed consent when giving a medication even when risk is believed to be small. The risks should be discussed with the owner so that they can know the risks they are choosing to take in advance, not to overreact if risk is small but just to be aware because their individual pet is not a statistic but someone they know well. The owner is the one who is at home with the dog 24/7 and knows that dog individually, and in that way, even though the vet has the training and education and clinical experience, the owner has experience with their individual dog and can be in a better position to know when something just isn’t right.

i deal with this with my own doctors too. i always search for doctors that are openly cautious about medications, and when they recommend them, they also address the risks and say something like “if you see anything that concerns you, call me right away.” i have mostly had the opposite experience with doctors, because that is their training and they believe it is the best judgement and want to reassure patients that they know what they are doing. Some are better than others at being collaborative with patients and pet owners.

in the case of Galliprant, it’s so new, there isn’t a lot of clinical experience with it, so no vet should assure a patient when side effects come up after being on the treatment for weeks, that it can’t be the medication that’s causing it, especially a new medication, but all medications are always being learned about and while there are statistical generalizations from pharmaceutical company research required by FDA for approval, those are still generalizations, not absolute universal outcomes, there are a percentages of dogs that have had adverse effects, or effects that are not understood, serious enough to be mentioned. when 10% of those they studied get diarrhea and vomiting, my dog could be one of those, because they don’t know what the risk factors of that are or how to predict that in each case.

When my dog’s vet really pressured me to give him Galliprant in mid July when i posted here before, we didn’t know what was wrong with him or what was causing his sudden stiffness and difficulty moving. i read over one of the posts and i had written that she, the vet, had said that in addition to having a painful spine, he also had a distended abdomen. We talked about her doing an ultrasound, a technician came in twice a week, and i was planning on having it done the following week.

As it turned out, i took him for his second acupuncture treatment with the new holistic vet, for his back pain, and she examined him and said “no acupuncture today.” She commented on his distended abdomen and said she would like to do abdominal x-rays. she did and she showed me that his abdomen looked abnormal, there was detail you can usually see that was not clear on his xray. she went over some different possibilities of what might cause that, there were about 4, one was heart related but as she said, he had just had chest x rays and exam at the cardiologist a couple of weeks before and that cause didn’t show up. We all three, me, regular vet and holistic vet, thought the heart would be the most likely cause because he has advanced mitral valve disease. She said the only other possibility that wasn’t ruled out yet was cancer of the abdominal wall. 🙁 so, that seemed to be the most likely theory, and she said get him in to see an internal medicine doctor ASAP to find out what is going on.

i got an appointment for the next day at the specialty clinic with an internal medicine doctor and she did an abdominal x ray, she said it looked like the fluid in his abdomen was related to heart dysfunction. His cardiologist was there and took over and did full cardio eval and said Zack had right side congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, severe, and he said he could remove the fluid from the abdomen which would make him feel better, so he did that and said they removed 800 ml of fluid. wow, that’s a lot. poor baby. no wonder he was having trouble moving around and eating his food. After the fluid was removed, he began to gradually get more normal, he was put on a diuretic, furosemide (Lasix), and also pimobendan (vetmedin) which is a dog medication for the heart (no human version). my memory is confused, think there were just those two. Either that week or the following week he started sildenafil which is better known as Viagra, which can be used for pulmonary hypertension to lower it.

Zack gradually became more normal and is pretty normal now. for me, there was so much stress about giving him the medications, they definitely have potential adverse effects , the diuretic can damage his kidneys, etc, so i had to give it to him but not unambivalently, and my own stress level about everything probably played a part in me having a lot of trouble remembering which medication to give when, and also, i found sometimes i would give him a pill and later find it on the floor, and he would then not have that dose since i didn’t know which dose he didn’t swallow.

i got an app called Medisafe that someone told me about that helps me remember what time to give which pills. Gradually the level of crisis went down but for a long time, i was thrashed by it, and at the beginning of when Zack first got his symptoms, i went to a specialist doctor appointment for a spreading skin rash i had for many years, other dermatologists had not diagnosed what it was, and that day, right at the beginning of Zack’s crisis i was told i have a cancer, a cutaneous T cell lymphoma, and i was reassured that most people don’t die from it, and the treatments aren’t bad, and that day, i started having whole body light treatments three days a week, so that was going on while i was trying to find out what was wrong with Zack, seeing three vets, two of them multiple times, and also trying to research the cancer thing on the internet and not feeling very good about what i was finding, scary treatments. then i got my biopsy results, he had taken three biopsies and sent them to two top labs in other parts of the country and when they came back finally after two weeks, he said it didn’t show results that confirmed the cancer, and now they were calling it some unusual kind of psoriasis, and the treatment is the same so the light therapy continues, but that was a load off my shoulders, to help with trying to find out what was making my dog deteriorate with some mystery cause. it doesn’t mean i don’t have the lymphoma thing, but at least i don’t have to know that i have it for now. One of the lab reports said it was eczema and not the cancer, the other one just listed off a bunch of possibilities of what it was and did not include the cancer, or eczema either.

i only gave Zack the Galliprant one time. He had increased panting and it lasted all night when normally he would sleep throughout the night. Heart failure has panting as a symptom, but he had never not slept all night before, or since. i will never give him Galliprant again, partly because i don’t like any medication that is long lasting, Galliprant is 24 hours. i would rather give it more frequently, like 3X a day, i just feel safer that way, though not convenient.
If he gets osteoarthritis or other pain from the musculo skeletal system, that’s different, i’d have to consider it, but if i did give him an NSAID, it would probably not be a 24 hour one, and one bloody vomit, it would be back to the drawing board.

i don’t fault my vet for wanting to try Galliprant because Zack seemed to be sore and stiff, she gave me her best advice and she did not invalidate my concerns and i will continue to go to her if needed. But if i had it to do over, i wouldn’t have given Zack that one 24 hour dose, he didn’t even have back pain, it turned out. What he had, as far as i know, just guessing, could be made worse by Galliprant. So it’s good that i was so scared of it all along.

As some other people have mentioned, when a pet is sick seriously enough to need a vet, part of the stress for many of us isn’t just these helpless babies dependent on us to find solutions and get them better, but also it’s expensive, and that just adds to the stress. I have dog pet insurance for Zack, i pay $145 a month, and i paid a similar amount his whole life, even though he was healthy and rarely went to the vet, but i knew he had that mitral valve disease bred into him, his breed, almost 100% will get mitral valve disease and 50% die from it by the age of 5 ! 🙁 We have been so lucky, his wasn’t symptomatic until he was 11-12, and pretty mildly, until June of this year, he’s going to be 13 in a couple of weeks, i thought he wasnt’ going to make it that far when that vet said it might be cancer of the abdominal wall.

So, his vet bills for the month of July came to $2700 paid upfront as i filed a claim. they pay 80%, but it took a month and a half for them to pay it, yay, they paid the whole 80% but i didn’t know until then how much they would pay. So stressful. now i can pay off the Care Credit balance , relief.

it’s so good that there is a discussion site for this subject, because for the many who need meds like Galliprant in their efforts to help their dogs have good quality of life, it’s important to be aware of potential adverse effects and to know what’s going on, even when some vets insist it can’t be the medications. It’s discussions like this one that are informative in a way that isn’t learned in medical school, to help both doctors and owners work together even when at odds to have the best result.

[Susan]

Hi,
you have a very smart dog, he knows what foods cause pain, nausea etc & now will not eat, my boxer was the same with dry kibbles & raw Kangaroo, if it smelt weird & caused any stomach/bowel problems she wouldnt eat it ever again, where Patch he keeps eating & eating foods that cause gas/farts, nausea, sloppy poos etc, I have to be a mind reader & work out what is causing his pain his acid reflux etc but when I first rescued him he didnt want any thing to do with dry kibble, when I offered it to him he’d just walk off, he liked cooked food, loaf rolls, raw meaty bones & wet can foods….

Slipery Elm has to be made into a slurry/paste, pull up into a syringe about 5ml =1 teaspoon & you give 20mins before a meal not with the meal…

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) Deficiency, has your dog B-12 been tested?
When Vitamin B12 is injected, the vitamin is readily absorbed by the blood and can get to work immediately. If your dog doesn’t have any problems with cobalamin malabsorption or there is no vitamin B12 deficiency, you can give oral supplements available in 100-, 250-, 500-, 1000-, and 5000-microgram tablets.
Ask your vet about him not having any apetite & can you do the weekly B-12 injection for 1 minth & see if there’s an improvement in his appetite a lot of ogs who have IBD EPI who have low appetites are givenB-12 weekly injections to make them want to eat….

Have you tried wet can foods or those good premium loaf rolls?? I know vet diets are expensive but next time you see vet get 1 can of Hills I/d Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetable stew. I have the I/d cans in the cupboard & the Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat wet cans in the cupboard. https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/pd-id-canine-chicken-and-vegetable-stew-canned
I rotate foods, I dont feed the same food for all of Patches 5 meals a day..
Are you feeding more then 2 meals a day? I know he isnt much of a eater but smaller meals of a few different foods thru the day he might want to eat them? a dry dog biscuit offered a few times a day, break biscuit in 1/2, we have a cat & as soon as Patch hear’s Indy getting something to eat he comes running to see if he can have some aswell & normaly he cant thats why the cat is getting the food cause Patch cant eat it.. she/cat is my garbage disposel bin..

I feed the Wellness Core Large Breed Adult dry for breakfast, Patch finally gained weight eating the Wellness Core & the cat keeps stealing Patches Wellness kibbles so they must taste good as she doesnt pinch any of Patches other dry kibbles, for lunch Patch use to get a small can of the Hills I/D chicken Rice & Vegetables wet food or 1/3 of the can of the Royal Canine Intestinal wet food but he kept getting his acid reflux on & off after eating the wet can vet diets & they’re low in fat so Id say its all the Omega oils, they are very high in Omega Oils so now Patch gets 2 big Dog Biscuits, My Boxer use to just look at food & gain weight she where Patch has problems keeping on his weight, I remember Angies vet asking me, what is she eating she’s over weight, she needed to lose 4kgs, she use to eat 1/2 of what Patch eats, she was bigger & he is smaller, I told vet she eats cooked meal, what we eat, & sometimes she eats some dry kibble but not much & she gets a dry dog biscuit maybe twice a day, the vet said do you know 1 of those dry dog biscuits is = to 1 Hamburger for a dog, I said what a Hamburger he said YES start halving her biscuit, so she is just getting 1 dog biscuit a day or completely stop these dru dog biscuits as they are high in fat, so now Im giving Patch 2 big dog biscuits for lunch everyday he loves them, I either feed the Purina Lucky Dog Biscuit Bones, Canidae dry Biscuits or you can get Hills Ideal balance Treats they’re smaller or Hills Vet Diet Hypoallergenic Biscuit treats.. https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/ib-soft-baked-naturals-with-chicken-and-carrots-dog-treats..
If you dont want to feed a wet can vet diet then look at Hills “Ideal Balance” Chicken & Zucchini slow cooked wet can food.. https://www.hillspet.com/dog-food/ib-slow-cooked-chicken-and-zucchini-stew-adult-dog-food-canned#accordion-content-054167331-2
or look at Costcos Kirklands Signature Turkey & Pea Stew wet can food its very popular. Just make sure any wet can foods are 4% in fat not any higher, wet can foods fat protein fiber % havent been converted to dry matter yet so when you convert say 5% fat thats around 20%min to 26% max fat, so 4% min is around 12% fat min best to emal the pet food companies & ask them for max fat concerted to dry matter, they will give the exact max % you dont want to feed him foods that cause pain in stomach or wind pain in bowel then he will become more fussy….lean limited ingredient foods..
http://www.kirklandsignaturepetsupplies.com/natures-domain-brand

All Hills Science Diet wet & dry formula’s are very palatable if your dog refuses to eat then return to pet shop for a refund if you have bought a carton of wet can food, rotate, 1 day feed the Hills Ideal Balance for Dinner then the next day for Dinner he eats a different wet can food or try FreshPet Roll, Stew, Cooked Roasted meals?
https://freshpet.com/dog/freshpet-select

Still feed his Farmina dry food, Farmina is a good food, are you feeding him the LAMB DIGESTION N&D Quinoa Functional Canine formula & the N&D Quinoa Skin & Coat Venison formula
https://www.farmina.com/us/eshop/dog-food/n&d-quinoa-functional-canine/429-digestion-lamb.html
its isnt rich or too dense like the other Farmina formula’s, my Patch gets his stomach pain as soon as a dry food is over 370Kcals per cup he whinges & wants me to rub his stomach/pancreas area…

What vet diet did he eat? maybe put him back on the vet diet & feed the matching wet can food rotate in his diet so he gains some weight & feed 4-5 smaller meals a day & give a few dry dog biscuits thru the day aswell as treats or as a dry dog bisciut as a snack before bed, eating then going to sleep gains weight…

I always ask Patch “Which One (kibble) do you want to eat” & I show him 2 different dry kibble brands in their air tight containers with their lids off, he sniffs the containers then he licks the side of the container that he wants to eat or I get out 1 kibble from 1 container & another kibble from the other container, I have 1 kibble in one hand & the another kibble in my other hand & I let him sniff them & ask him “which One”& he takes teh kibble he wants to eat, thru the day he eats about 3 different brands of foods… If I just feed him the same dry kibble day in day out he starts to react & gets his IBD stomach pain & starts whinging & lifts his right paw & wants me to rub his stomach area I thought he had Pancreatitis when I first rescued him, he has all the symptoms but now 5 yrs later Patches vets says he has Stomach pain its cause of his IBD…

If you join the “Dogs with Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD – Raw Feeding & Holistic Support” F/B group, go to their “Files” scroll down 11th pdf & click on “Digestive Sensitivity and Dog Size.pdf”
it’s research done on small breed dogs & large Breed dogs, what happens when these dogs eats the same dry kibble, how both breeds digest the same kibble different, now I know why Patch does heaps better with his IBD when he eats a Large Breed dry kibble the Large Breed kibbles have fibers formulated for large breed Intestinal tract so the dog doesn’t get bloat, the Large Breed dry formula’s seem to agree with Patch the best…..

[Reese B]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know what the NRC or aafco state the maximum calcium levels should be in dog food?
On a whim I picked up a new dehydrated dog food for my dog to try (lifeforce dehydrated raw beef), but I just noticed that the calcium is listed as 1075 mg per 25g.
A serving for my dog would be about 75g, which would have 3225 mg of calcium?!?!
That seems like an awful lot of calcium for 1 meal, doesn’t it?
She’s only 50lbs, so I think her recommended daily intake is only supposed to be 1250mg.

Can anyone help? Am I totally off with how much calcium she should be getting? Or is this food really really high on calcium?

I know excess calcium in puppies can cause a lot of problems, but what about adults? I’ve only given her 1 meal of this food, and I’m not sure I should continue. Any thoughts? I know there are a few members on here with superior knowledge on nutritional levels.

Here is the complete nutrition profile of the food:

Guaranteed Nutritional Analysis

Protein (%) 43.27
Calories (kcal/100g) 412
Fat (%) 7.52
Iron (mg/25g) 14.38
Calcium (mg/25g) 1075.2
Zinc (mg/25g) 8.3
Phosphorous (mg/25g) 80.03
Potassium (mg/25g) 2790.9
Magnesium (mg/25g) 0.5
Sodium (mg/25g) 490.2
*based on dehydrated amount

[Amelia Z]

Hi Cockaliermom
Taurine is not usually in annual blood work if it was their annual checkup. You should have their taurine checked and send it to UC Davis. Your vet can draw and you can send it.
Instructions, pricing and submission form is here:
https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/labs/amino-acid-laboratory