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Search Results
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Topic: Portion size recommendations
I am trying to figure out how much I should be feeding my dog per day. I know there is the recommendation on the side of the bag, but I am curious whether that recommendation is for neutered or intact dogs. I know that desexed animals generally need 30% less calories per day than their intact counterparts, but I also understand that simply reducing my pets food intake by 30% can lead to nutritional deficiencies if the food is not formulated to be fed as such. I attempted to reach out to the food company to ask them this exact question, but they responded vaguely, saying:
“*Pet food* is approved for all life stages. With the exception of Optimal Weight and Senior Health, these are formulated for adult dogs only. Our formulas meet the nutritional standards established by the National Research Council and AAFCO to ensure a feed has all known required nutrients in proper amount and proportion based on a dog’s life stage. We recommend following the feeding guidelines listed on the label as this can vary depending on the *Pet food* Recipe you are feeding, these measurements are given for their daily intake.”
However, AAFCO recognizes only three life stages: growth, maintenance, and gestation/lactation. My understanding of foods labeled as “all life stages” is that in order to qualify as nutritionally complete for all the recognized life stages, they must be formulated for the one that has the highest calorie requirement, gestation/lactation. I am wondering if I should then be feeding my dog less than it says on the bag. If so, by how much? I am hesitant to consult my current veterinarian about this because in the past they have labeled my animals as either under or overweight seemingly based purely on weight alone without factoring in body condition or activity level. I really just want my pets to be healthy and to do right be them.Topic: Low Carb option
Any help is most appreciated.
I have 2 dogs: a 13 1/2 yo pittie mix and an 8 yo catahoula mix. My senior boy has health issues and is underweight at 93lbs and my catahoula is overweight at 52lbs.
My dogs are extremely picky eaters. My senior boy has a large tumor under his skin (front chest) that the vet would’ve liked to remove but given his age and health issues, has a wait and see approach. She did recommend switching to a food that has a lower carbohydrate percentage in case it turns out that the tumor is cancerous.
I had switched both to The Farmer’s Dog but after 2 months it just wasn’t affordable.
None of the dog food brands list carb percentages on the bags. And short of calling every manufacturer to get that info, does anyone know off hand any brands that are typically low carb.
The only wrench thrown into the situation is that after feeding my dogs Merrick for years, the 8 year old developed a heart murmur 3 years ago. At the time the vet I went to urged me to stop feeding her grain free food. I switched them to a grain inclusive brand that was recommended (that I wasn’t fond of) but after 3 years and OTC supplements, the heart murmur has improved.
So while I’m not against grain free as a whole, I am weary in choosing a food that is pulse heavy.
In the “BEST” ratings of senior dog foods, you give four and a half stars to “Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind Adult 7 Plus Senior” food. The second ingredient is “poultry by-product meal”. The next ingredients are “corn”, “rice”, and “corn gluten meal”. Based on every article I have ever read about dog food ingredients, this product is an almost perfect recipe to destroy a dog’s health.
A commenter stated that Dr. Mike Sagman is no longer affiliated with your website; and your website is now owned by “WAG”, which is apparently a dog-walking corporation.
I will never again look to your website for any advice.
Topic: Post-op Dog Food
My senior dog will be having her TPLO surgery on Thursday. I was wondering if there’s a specific food I should feed him before and after the surgery. I’ve read a lot of information about TPLO surgeries at https://tploinfo.com/ which is very helpful as well. I was just wondering if there are foods that he shouldn’t eat after the surgery. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks a lot! 🙂
My 12 year old girl who used to eat anything and everything came down with HGE in November, a few weeks after getting a puppy. I was pretty good (not perfect) about making sure she didn’t eat my puppy’s food (Orien Large Puppy 16% fat) because she is overweight and will eat it all. I was feeding a mix of Kirkland Nature’s Domain (16% fat) and Authority Grain Free (22% fat) as well as fish oil for the last few years. I then switched her to Orijen Senior (15%) fat about a month or so before the puppy. I did also give her some treats more often (puppy training) but not a ton. After the first bout of HGE, I stopped the oil and she seemed great. Right after Christmas – I let her and my puppy lick some turkey drippings out of a pan and she also had a real bone (the dried kind from the feed store). I noticed a little bit of blood but solid poop. I switched her to Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal (over the course of about a week, still 1/2 and 1/2). About two weeks after I noticed her stools got looser and then real bad diahhrea. Took her to the vet the next day (after feeding straight GI food and electrolytes) and she had really bad bloody/water diarrhea. She is getting better but the vet thinks I need to switch her to a low fat diet the rest of her life.
I am on the fence because she was eating much lower than she used to. I also saw her drinking some water in big dishes I leave out for my tortoise and chickens, which had sat out a couple weeks. I think it might be a bacterial thing. However, they messed up and never tested her stool and she now on antibiotics so I won’t ever know.
That said, I don’t like Royal Canin GI because it’s slaughterhouse waste and I think way too low fat (5%), but I would like to get her on some lower fat food as well as a good digestive gut health food. But, most gut health foods are 12% or more. The low fat foods (dog food advisor recommended) for low fat that have lower fat are Nulo Healthy Weight and Merrick but neighter seem particularly focused on gut health. I could always get extra pre and probiticvs but it would be bnice to have them in one.
So, – food recommendations? Pre and probiotics recommendations? Experiences with HGE?
I am new to fostering and got my first foster last week. I will mostly be working with rescues that pull small/senior dogs from a high-kill shelter in my area. I have been told by most rescue groups to put the dog on any kibble, because they don’t know what they were being fed in the shelter.
I would like advice on what kibble to choose, that I can feed to multiple fosters. I will be getting another foster in as soon as this one’s kennel cough clears up.
I do not generally feed kibble (in the past I fed raw/homemade), so I’m not sure how to proceed.
My current foster is very underweight and has terrible skin. I have her on Open Farm Grain Free Salmon kibble.
Thank you for any advice.
Ok here’s the main question, is there a dog food out there that will work for both a senior and a puppy, that doesn’t contain wheat or corn that will not cause to much weight gain for the senior?
A bit of the details
Jax is a 6 year old (ok he’s not really senior but he has some senior problems) chihuahua/pitbull mix (yes i know, laugh, but it’s cute!) with hip dysplasia and who could stand to lose about 3 of 4 lbs. He also definitely has a wheat allergy, but his current food also doesn’t contain corn or soy and I’m pretty sure he’s at least sensitive to those as well. Currently he’s on 4health weight management, which is working well-ish for him but I still can’t feed him the full recommended amount without him getting really fat really quick and with his hip issues that’s really not a good thing.
Niko is a 5 month old lab/husky mix puppy I will be getting soon from a neglected/borderline abusive environment. He is currently on Purina One, no known allergies or medical problems that I know of yet, however he is on the thin side even for a gangly puppy. I am not sure how much of this is due to neglect and not getting enough exercise and how much may be due to food.
Ideally of course I’d love to only have to get one food for both of them, however with them having much different needs right now I highly doubt I’ll be able to find that.
Any suggestions for either one would be highly welcome!
Thanks!
Are there foods that address both allergy and kidney problems? And ones that are not terribly fattening would also be beneficial.
Hi everyone,
We recently had our 9-year-old chocolate lab allergy-tested and he came back with the following things testing positive and their HERBU scores are:
Barley: 14
Chicken: 29
Fish Mix: 45
Lamb: 19
Milk: 19
Pea: 27
Peanut: 57
Pork: 24He was previously on Hills Prescription Metabolic & Mobility which is $106 for a 24lb bag to try and help him lose a little weight and with him being a labrador retriever, the mobility was to help stave off joint issues. I’m having a hard time finding a food that doesn’t have some ingredient in it that he is allergic to. Do you guys have any advice?
Thank you!
My dog has allergies and they effect his skin badly. I was informed by my vet to go grain free. That helped some but he was still having some major issues with loosing his fur and odors and well as bad skin. He was really starting to look like he had mange. Vet says no Potatoes. He has yeast and Potatoes feed yeast. Ok so I go find a food that has no grain and no potatoes. His skin is healing within days of this switch. But now he smells like cat pee. We do not have cats and he is a senior dog who does not hang outside long enough to roll in cat urine. I googled it and turns out it is common in dogs who are sensitive to high Omega 3 & 6. So now I need to find a dog food that is Grain Free, Potato Free, and low in Omegas. NO I’m not going to feed raw and NO I’m not going to cook for him. I barely have time to cook for myself let alone my doggo.
Orijen dry grain free, for month of Oct. YOU gave a 5-STAR rating.. At the same time,
(Petful), reported a class action lawsuit recently against Orijen, for high amounts of Arsenic, Mercury, and Lead.. So which is it, a 5-STAR rated dog food..? Or a Dog Food company, with major legal problems..? CAN NOT be BOTH..Topic: Mixing two dry foods
I feed my 12 yr old lab mix “Science Diet Senior Vitality” dry food, and she eats it fine. So, she’s 83 pounds and could afford to lose a few pounds for her health. “Science Diet Perfect Weight” dry food formula has less calories. Both are chicken based. Can I do half and half of each, so that I cut the caloric intake by at least some from half of it being the lower calorie “Perfect Weight” formula? I like that she likes the “Senior Vitality” AND that it has, supposedly, good nutrition for an older dog. But, I want her to take in less calories. Is there any real downside to giving her a 50/50 mix of both? Thanks
Hi everyone. I have a soon to be 17 year old female chihuahua.
Her vet advised she should go on a limited ingredient diet because of allergies and age.
She has the fresh pet refrigerated food now but what similar food would be good for her?
She prefers the refrigerated fresh food over kibble and has some teeth missing so she likes softer foods best. Thanks for any suggestions you can give.
I notice you don’t have a separate “small breed, senior” dry dog food category.
With that said, what small dog, senior, dry, grain inclusive food do you recommend?
Thank you for responding
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I have a 14 year old Jack Russel Terrier who eats just about anything, hhe is in good health and pretty ideal weight. We have been feeding him him small breed kibble, no specific brand, tried staying with Nutro but would switch it up cause he needed to get bored…. Now we have an 8 week old great dane, who came with Diamond naturals puppy food. She has pretty much refused to eat her kibble, but instead prefers the JRTs, cheaper less quality food. Even when topped with large breed puppy canned food. I know the great danes diet is critical for her health. can my senior JRT eat her food and still maintain a healthy life? My jrt has always been a nibbler only eating a little here and there so I can’t just take the food away out of their reach…
Hi –
I’m looking for some advice on home to help my senior dog. She recently was diagnosed with the beginning stages in kidney disease. The vet put here on Royal Canin and then Adyzol (spelling?) She got horrible diarrhea and after several more trips to the vet and a handful of medications she was still suffering from the runs. I stopped giving her the Adyzol which has helped some but she’s still not back to normal. Any suggestions would be appreciated.Thanks
EMMHi Everyone,
hoping someone here can provide some advice guidance/recommendations. I have a 13 yr old Shiba whom we just adore, who started having major vomiting /eating grass issues last April. We had him do rounds of tests at a bad vet with no resolution. I suspected he might have food allergies and got him on a protein he had not eaten and food that was grain free. He did GREAT ont his new food majority of the covid summer (had him on Just food for dogs DIY Venison and Squash).
He recently had a very bad episode of vomiting, loose stool and no appetite in November. We got him to the emergency vet and their team there recommended we put him on Ultamino by royal canin for IBD. He eats the kibble but itches and itches/licks his paws 45mins after feeding, and he’ll do this for quite some time (1-2hours sometimes more). I think something in the food is irritating him, but I don’t know what.
I called the vet and she just said to try a different food. However all the Royal canin Hydrolyzed brands seem to have the same ingredients… I can try a different brand… Does any one know of any Limited ingredient Hydrolyzed protein foods? He’s allergic to grains , chicken and beef (those are the ones I know of)
Blue Buffalo makes one (Hydrolyzed Salmon, grain fee, preservative free) , but the vet said there is no science or verified results on that brand that is proven effective for IBD and that the ingredients I think I am getting might not actually be the ingredients I am getting… I heard allergy tests are not reliable. Any advise would be much appreciated! I feel like I am running out of time to get him better since he’s a senior pup
many thanks!
KerHello, my dog is a maltese, 10 years old and lately she has allergies. I’ve been feeding her from day 1 with Orijen (red, but now Senior). I am looking information for Acana Lamb & Apple, and if it is suitable for a 10 years old dog.
Thank you!I am trying to get my dog off his RX diet of Hills Low Fat ID. He has been on it for a few years now and it has really helped his reflux but I really want to get him on something less full of fillers and more healthy but he struggles whenever a kibble has high omega 3 oils. I notice if the oil content goes over 2% it really causes his reflux to go nuts. Does anyone know of a good food for a senior dog without the high oil content? I’m struggling. Any thoughts? I’m also curious as to what amount of protein a senior dog his size should be getting? He’s 11 and he’s 25 pounds. He’s a dachshund terrier mix.
Reaching out on here because I’m at a loss on what to do. About a month and a half ago my dog (8ish year old chihuahua cross) started having small sneezing fits as well as “reverse sneezing” with unilateral discharge. I had an appointment anyways to get some pretty major dental work done and upon initial examination the vet found an infection in her mouth which he attributed the sneezing to. She was put on 2 weeks of amoxicillin and healed up great from surgery however the runny nose did not go away, it seemingly got worse. About a week later I took her in for an X-Ray as I was still worried and it came back clear, she was also given another antibiotic which did not work. The vet then suggested a rhinoscopy which I went ahead with. The specialist told me her nasal passages were too small and too swollen to scope but he flushed her nasal passages and she was given yet ANOTHER antibiotic and a steroid to reduce inflammation. The histopathology results from the cells they flushed from her nose came back as nothing alarming, just red blood cells and epithelial cells from her nose. She did alright for a couple days after the scope and now it’s back to bloody, green discharge from her right nostril, difficulty breathing, sneezing, reverse sneezing. My next step is a CT scan however I have to wait a week after she finishes her steroid or else a false negative may arise if they do perform a biopsy and this is also the 3rd time she would be sedated in less than two months which I know is very hard on older dogs. I’m just at a loss as to what’s going on and I don’t know how no one can figure out what’s going on. I’ve tried steaming her in my shower, benadryll and natural allergy drops with absolutely no avail. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar with their dog or if they know anything else I could try to reduce the swelling and inflammation in her nasal passages. I would also like to note she has not lost her appetite or energy during all of this, she’s acting just like herself minus the struggling to get air in through her nose. Any advice would help 🙁
Topic: Small breed or Senior
I have three littles, two are Shih Tzu and one is Shih Tzu and Bichon mix. They are all seniors at ages 9 and 10. I’ve been feeding them a small breed dog food for many years, but am wondering if I should switch them to a Senior formula. Any thoughts on which way I should lean, small breed versus senior? Thanks!