Hi,
That is a hard question because sodium amount is not always specified on food levels but I think you’re best bet would be to feed raw like primal, stella and chewy’s, Nature’s variety are excellent foods and raw is all natural no salt, and has excellent health benefits in general! good luck!!
-Ana S.
pet nutrition expert/advisor
pupcatnutrition.com
@pupcatfacts
Hello,
My name is Ana I am the owner of a small pet nutrition consulting business called Pupcat Nutrition Consulting I am a pet nutrition expert/advisor. Dogs with pancreatitis have very fragile immune systems, avoid high protein and high fat diets, feed small frequent meals through out the day, and less or no processed diets and avoid dry foods and rotation. The next thing PLEASE STOP feeding science diet it’s killing your dog! Here are some suggestions: lean meats,(bison,chicken,turkey) low fat treats, try senior formulas they have less fat and less protein. Here are some awesome brands that will transform your pup forever!! ok , your best bet would be dehydrated raw, I recommend Honest kitchen preference or all except thrive mix with canned for extra moisture and flavor try senior formula canned like merrick , and natural balance(try to stick with 4% fat or less) avoid grocery store pet foods. and it would be beneficial to add a probiotic/prebiotic to aid digestion, like PROZYMES is a really good one I like. and remember there is a transition period when switching foods (7-10 days) for more info on honest kitchen go to thehonestkitchen.com and for more real nutrition facts follow me on twitter @pupcatfacts and on facebook or at pupcatnutrition.com
good luck!!
-Ana
I use Superflex, which is a velvet antler supplement. The glucosamine and condrointin are naturally occurring. I also have been taking it myself since 2005. It’s GREAT for senior dogs, skin issues, musculoskeletal issues/injuries, and really helps with the pain from arthritis and hip dysplasia. http://www.natraflex.com
Do a search for “low sodium” and you will find a couple suggestions. There aren’t many because dog food companies are not required to report sodium, so you have to call individual companies and ask for their as fed level.
The vet told me I should be feeding my 13 1/2 year old cocker spaniel low salt as he is now a heart patient. She told me to get a food with .20% or less sodium…the food I was giving him was .36%…what food do people out there use for the dogs with heart problems?
I subscribe to an independent supplement testing service called ConsumerLab.com. They mostly test supplements for human consumption but they sometimes test pet vitamins. Recently they tested a dog multivitamin called PetNaturals Daily Best for Dogs. This vitamin failed their test because of too much lead in a daily dose, less vitamin C than claimed and and a smaller than claimed weight per vitamin. I use a different named vitamin called Canine Plus Senior for Dogs but it’s manufactured by the same company. They manufacture under various names. The company is called Vetri Science Laboratories a division of Food Science Corp. I noticed recently that the pill I give my dog has shrunk in size too even though it’s supposed to be the same. When talking to the company rep I’ve always felt they were being evasive to my questions. I’m going to try to get a refund on my vitamins because of the poor test results. Thought you should be aware of the lead problem.
My older girl is not an enthusiastic eater either and I have resisted taking up her food dish because I worry that she won’t eat at all if we just set it down during mealtimes. Kibble tends to stay in her bowl for about 2 days as well. We have yet to find a kibble that excites her and sometimes she will eat the toppers/wet food from around the few scattered kibbles in her dish.
When she is picky I mix a can of wet food with some pumpkin and yogurt and then freeze it – she goes nuts over her frozen food [that she barely picks at at room temp or warmed] and I feel easier knowing she is getting some nutrition in.
You may want to start collecting free samples of kibble from local pet stores – they will help introduce variety and you may find something that excites him.
Yes, have the vet do geriatric blood work, but you may be seeing the first signs of canine dementia. A change in food wouldn’t hurt, not necessarily senior food, a lot of them are rubbish and marketing and totally ignore what a senior dog’s actuall needs are. Seniors often digest proteins less efficiently and can need up to 50% more high quality protein. One way to meet this need is to start topping his food with canned food or protein rich fresh food toppers like eggs, sardines, kefir, lean meat table scraps, etc. If you have been feeding once a day, you might want to go back to feeding twice a day, so he doesn’t have an empty belly.
If he is starting to get dementia, the first thing to go is inhibition, so they start doing thing that they formerly wouldn’t do because they knew you didn’t like it. Which can mean that they also revert to puppy chewing on inappropriate things, so watch for that sort of behavior and if you start seeing him reverting, he may need to be crated while you are gone, to keep him safe.
My Golden is 8 years old and has recently been exhibiting some strange behavior. He has been eating the same food for quite some time now, but I’m beginning to wonder if he has some dietary deficiencies. He eats Canidae (not a senior formula). Lately, he has been stealing food off of the counter tops (bread, granola bars, etc.) and I suspect he has also been eating poop outside (sorry, I know that’s gross).
This food “stealing” isn’t totally uncommon, but it’s become much more frequent in the last few months. He is in good health, is at his optimal weight and gets good exercise. Besides what I’ve mentioned above, his attitude and behavior have not changed at all.
Help! Do we need a different food or should I have a vet investigate what might be happening internally? In other words, make sure there isn’t something going on that he doesn’t seem to have symptoms for? Do older dogs have special dietary needs that his food isn’t meeting?
Thanks!
My 11 year old lab mix suffers from kidney disease. My vet has recommended that I feed him Hills Science Diet KD but I noticed the ratings were not very good. Would Wellness Super 5 Mix Just for Seniors be a better alternative?
That’s probably the case.
Thank you for the links. It helps a lot !
Now we’ll let her try dr.harvey’s first.Then see if she could take the vegetarian ones.
Thank you so much for helping. ^^
My vet suspects that my 7.5 year old Great Dane, Max, has arthritis so he put him on Rimadyl (200mg/day). He’s been on it for about 2 months now and I have noticed that it’s helping. He doesn’t take as long to get up from laying down anymore. However, I know that Rimadyl can have very nasty side effects if used long term. I want to take him off Rimadyl and put him on something else. First question is: can you stop Rimadyl cold turkey or do you need to wean off it like you would Prednisone? Second question is: what supplements would help him like Rimadyl does?
Max is already taking the following:
4500 mg Glucosamine HCl
3000 mg MSM
1200 mg Chondroitin sulfate
300 mg ASU
My understanding is that Rimadyl lessens inflammation. I was told by a friend that I should slowly wean him off the Rimadyl and start giving him Dog Gone Pain (aka DGP). I did buy a supplement from Swanson’s that has boswellia and tumeric in it (300mg of each). I also bought Actiflex 4000 on recommendion (from pugmomsandy I believe), which has boswellia in it. I’m still waiting for the delivery.
Max is my first dog so this is my first experience with a senior with arthritis. Any suggestions or tales of experience are welcome. Thank you in advance. 🙂
-Caroline
A lot of glucosamine is sourced from shellfish. Do you think she could have a shellfish allergy? They make vegetarian glucosamine and joint supplements. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/q?kw=vegetarian+glucosamine+-+shellfish+free
I don’t think any supplements will conflict with kibble. You should be fine adding whatever supplement you decide to try right into her kibble. Sometimes herbs can have a strong smell (and taste I’m guessing) so you may have to add a little canned food or something else yummy to mask the smell/flavor.
Hi, everyone, thanks for helping.
She been taking glucosamine+chondroitin tablets for over a year, it works for her. But then, she could take it no more. At first we thought she does not like the taste, as it’s bitter. We tried all other brand, instead of giving tablet, we brought glucosamine in powder or liquid form, and we found there is something she could not tolerate in glucosamine products. her tounge wouldn’t stop licking like getting choked,utill it went white, it happened whenever we gave glucosamine to her , either instantneously or later of the day. If we not giving her that, it does not happen at all.
To maintain her joint health, we still give that to her for quite awhile , untill our dog refused to have it anymore.
She is having dry kibble for meals, and i wonder if it’s right for us to add the herbal medicine to help her with it. I mean most herbal medicine seemed made intend to be added to whole food.Would it be in conflict with commercial dog food?
i would also like to try all the products you guys recommend.
thank you for helping without you guys, all i know i could give her is glucosamine and herbal medicine, now we got wilder choice. i believe there must be something suitable to maintain her joint health from what you guys recommend.
thank u guys !
First off, thanks for adopting a senior dog! She is one lucky girl! Sorry to hear you’re having troubles.
I have been struggling with a similar issue with a dog we adopted in July, Quincy, a year-old cattle dog. While Quincy isn’t officially diagnosed, it is the best answer I’ve come up with for his symptoms (my vet is not concerned because he has never lost his appetite or shown other negative effects…he just swallows/gulps obsessively during an “attack”). His attacks will last multiple days once started, and seem to get worse due to a build up of gas from swallowing air (he will get bad gas and the belches after a day or so).
Patty, we tried Braggs and we were still having issues. Quincy gets 1 cup of Honest Kitchen mixed with almost two cups of water. I was adding a little over a tablespoon, was I adding too much? We did this almost every day for over a month.
We are now trying Pepcid (but I don’t want this to be a long term solution – I just needed a week or two to calm down and stop feeling defeated by this thing!). No major attacks, a little swallowing here and there. I don’t think it’s the miracle I was hoping for, so I will probably wean him off after he’s been on it for a week (he is 40lbs and gets half a tablet, 30 minutes before each meal).
He is definitely better since switching him to a wet food, on kibble he will have MAJOR attacks where he gulps until vomiting. The severity and frequency has decreased since August when we switched him to canned food. We also add a probiotic/enzyme to his food, but if anyone has a recommendation for a specific brand I would appreciate it!
I’ve read that smaller meals spaced out is best. I have hesitated to try this only because I don’t know if my job will always allow me to come home at work, but I will probably start trying that next week, since right now I work 5 minutes from home.
Good luck, it is very hard to watch them when they aren’t feeling good!
I agree with what PugMom said, Patty too. IMO, most senior foods are too low in protein.
Beside feeding my senior an all-life-stage food(s), I give him Actiflex 4000, fish oil, Jarrow True CMO (cetyl-myristoleate) and liver/kidney support, probiotics and some Springtime Longevity or Fresh Factors.
Anyhow, I like using Nutrisource grain free Lamb Meal and Nature’s Logic Lamb Dinner and Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Lamb or Grandma Lucy’s Artisan Lamb, Canidae Pure Elements or Canidae Pure Land.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by
pugmomsandy.
You know, I hadn’t even considered changing foods until the vet (not the one we usually see) encouraged me to put him on a senior diet this week. My dog is an eleven year old lab and he’s in excellent health (besides his deteriorating vision.) It seems so silly to me to go messing with his diet now anyway. I think I’ll give our usual vet a call. Thank you!
Generally speaking, we don’t recommend senior foods. Many of them are based on bad science. Seniors can have difficulty in utilizing the protein in their food and actually may require as much as 50% more protein than a younger dog, yet most senior foods decrease protein. They also don’t have a therapeutic dose of joint supplements in them, but they advertise as if they do, which keeps owners from giving their dog what it needs in that department. Senior foods are a marketing gimmick, not a need.
Can anyone recommend a lamb based senior dog food?
Yes, I’m using a combination of PetFlow, manufacturer websites, and DFA’s Dog Food Calculator to determine whats available, how many calories per cup it is, and how many cups it’d take to feed 130 pound, fixed, senior, lazy bones Dweedle-weedle. Him and Haley have the same activity level (almost negative :p) and Bentley’s one-ish cup a day doesn’t really add up to much compared to them, and I barely even notice any extra in the food bills (taking into account my couponing, as well).
The Wellness sale ended about a week ago, I think. The ProPlan sale at PetCo ended on the 23rd.
Good luck with your new food mix 🙂 My guys tend to not care, as long as its just a tiny bit eatable LOL
I use Springtime Inc advanced joint care for my dogs and one of mine has luxating patella and she limped at times and since giving her Springtime once a day it is amazing the difference. She can run like when she was young. Great product.
I buy plain cetyl-myristoleate (Now or Jarrow brand) from swansonvitamins.com.
I would try raw chicken or turkey necks. They are mostly cartilage, so they have all those cartilage building nutrients in a natural form.
What do you mean by not tolerating the glucosamine? Is it not working? Does it make her ill? I have a Great Dane so I really have to support his joints. I have never used glucosamine by itself. I’ve always used it in a combination formula with MSM, chondroitin, and ASU. I’ve just recently started adding in herbs as he has arthritis now that he’s an old man.
Some herbal formulas for dogs that I know of are Dr. Harvey’s Ortho-Flex Joint Ease, Herbsmith’s Soothes Joints, and The Honest Kitchen’s Lithe Tea.
For more info on using herbs for joint care see this article: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/herbs-for-canine-joint-care/
Other things that help joints are cetyl myristoleate, hyaluronic acid, perna mussel (green-lipped mussel) powder, and eggshell membrane.
What I have learned in my search to find what works for my dog is that every dog is different. I have tried products because people tell me how great they are and how they worked for so and so; however, they didn’t work for my dog. It is all trial and error. You have to try everything. Try something and give it a couple weeks to see if there is any notable difference. If it doesn’t work, scratch it off the list and move on to the next thing. I wish you luck in finding what helps your pup. I hope I was at least a little helpful. 🙂
vet recommend us giving glucosamine to our senior dog on daily basis.
But her body could not tolerate glucosamine in any brand any form after taking it for over a year.
In order to maintain joint health , and her achilless tendon, what supplement can i give her now?
herbal form joint supplement good for dogs?
Since I posted to the list the other day about Merrick I thought I would share what they provided regarding Calcium. Obviously this food will not go on HDM’s list for large breeds.
Dry Dog Food
Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult -2.50
Beef, Whole Barley & Carrots-Adult 2.50
Lamb, Brown Rice & Apple- Adult 2.50
Large Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.36
Small Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.50
Puppy-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.28
Senior-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.20
Grain-Free Chicken 2.50
Grain-Free Buffalo 2.50
Grain-Free Duck 2.50
Grain-Free Pork 2.32
It’s healthier to have a varied diet and to not become dependent on just one food. Recipes change and then dogs have trouble adjusting to the new formulation when only given one food long term. After your dog has been switching often, he shouldn’t have a problem with it. Give him probiotics with each meal. Why would you want him to only eat one food every day of his life? Different meats have different amino acid profiles to offer. I can’t leave food out at my house because a have pet vacuum cleaners. It sounds like he is not interested in his dry food or his treats. Time for a change. Mine LOVE to eat! Any food, any form, any time.
http://urbanpawsmagazine.com/archives/59
Thanks for that advice…
One question though I keep reading that it’s important to switch food types around and not have a consistent diet. Is that true? I always thought consistency was better for dogs digestion/stomach issues.
Also my dog is a very picky eater, even with treats he only eats his favorites when teased. So I keep his food/kibbles out all day and he barely goes through a small bowl in a day or two even.
Would you suggest I don’t keep food out? Should I change between dry and canned food? He’s got a sensitive tummy, the times I feed him cooked meat or chicken, he might get diarrhea the next day.
Sorry for my endless questions.
If money was no issue what would you say is my best bet to experiment.
Thanks a bunch.
You can find a similar food to Life’s Abundance for less $$ like Nutrisource grain inclusive line small/med breed puppy formula (yes, for your 8 yr old). If you’re willing to feed something better than kibble though, look into some dehydrated/freeze-dried foods like The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy’s or Dr Harvey’s Oracle. These are less processed than kibble. If you can home cook for your dog, then those brands I just mentioned have a Pre-mix where you just add your own meat and some oil. I give my dogs probiotics, sardine/krill oil, super greens powder supplement, colostrum, Springtime’s Bug-Off/Longevity and some joint supplements. Mine also get fresh food like raw meat, scrambled eggs and raw sardines and leftovers of meat/some veggies.
Hi, I am at the stage where am obsessing about the health and longevity of my dog.
He’s a short haired Russian Toy Terrier. Almost 8 years old. Not neutered. He has always been healthy with very few issues. The occasional constipation/diarrhea followed by anal gland infections when he’s fed fatty fresh chicken. However recently I’ve noticed his skin/ coat changing. He has more bald spots and white hairs and has finer hair especially around his ears, neck and feet. He doesn’t itch nor seem bothered by them. His energy levels are great and his weight has always been stable(5.5 lbs). He’s been eating Royal Canine for chihuahuas and the occasional greenies and Macs&buddy treats. Not taking any supplements.
Now I’m wondering if I’m doing enough for his health. Was thinking of switching his food to Life’s abundance. Any advice/recommendations?
This is my first forum convo. All advice would be much appreciated especially since it’s from others who love their pets as their children like I do.
Thanks a bunch.
Hi all.
I have been round and round the dog food debates for over 20 years and have fed homemade, kibble, canned, freeze dried, raw, and premix. Right now my senior Papillon with CHF and my 8 year old collie with an unstable gastric system are both on Essex Cottage Farms Gastro formula. Every dog I have put on this food has done extremely well. Yet…it does not appear to meet AAFCO or NRC standards. I do not know if it is complete or not. The science eludes me….but I am wondering if there is any feedback on this issue I might use.
thanks.
The gas is from not being able to properly digest the new foods. This can happen with all foods – old and new. You can help their digestive tract by adding probiotics to their meals and digestive enzymes until they have healthier guts. I don’t like to feed just one food as this sets them up to have unhealthy guts since they are only exposed to certain ingredients and therefore only know how to digest those certain ingredients. Rotate through several foods to offer variety (4 and 4.5 and 5 star foods). And you can feed them an “all life stage” food. I personally prefer Whole Earth Farms Puppy (for all life stages) to feed the seniors as they require more quality protein. It only has 28% which is not high by any means. There is also Merrick Classic which is good for all life stages (even the senior recipe). For Premium Edge (made by Diamond so be aware) I would not chose the Senior or Lamb recipes. It’s (the Premium Edge review is coming up for an update and the Lamb formula will not be 4 stars). For Healthwise, mark off the Weight Control formula. For Diamond Naturals, I personally would mark off the Adult Lamb Meal and Rice and Senior 60+, Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal, and Lite Lamb Meal formulas. Diamond Naturals grain free and Nature’s Domain (at Costco) is OK at 3.5 stars. They’re more like 3.75! Just like any company can have a recall (like Diamond has had several), don’t become dependent on one food or brand in case you have to change and dog food companies can change and do change their recipes from time to time. Even my 14 yr old foster (and my other nine pugs) eats a variety of different kibbles, canned foods, dehydrated foods, and raw foods without being gassy. I fed them probiotics and enzymes at one time fairly regularly but now they don’t need them every day as they have healthy insides now. Sometimes I just pour a little multi-strain kefir (Lifeway) on their food for the probiotics and they get a powdered probiotic supplement a couple times a week.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by pugmomsandy.
Hi everyone…
I’m hoping to get a little advice/opinion on which is best. We have 3 dogs – 2 Jack Russells (ages 14 and 8) and a Lab/Golden Ret mix (age 7) – so all Sr dogs, all indoor spoiled babies. We had been feeding them Purina One for the last 5 years until I came upon this sight and realized what a fool I was. They are stinking little furkids…always farting. We had tried at one time the Kirkland brand that got 4 stars but the farting was the stinkiest and worst ever so we did not buy a second bag. I narrowed our choices down -due to budget – to:
-Whole Earth Farms Senior
-Healthwise
-Premium Edge Lamb/Rice/Veggie (no Sr because it got less stars)
-Diamond Naturals (I like this because it comes in the largest bag)
I bought the Whole earth farms for the last 2 months and the dogs like it but it hasn’t helped their gas problems. They do eat less of it, which is nice though. So I thought I’d go with my second choice – which was Premium Edge – and see what effect that has on them.
So- My question is: Which of these 2 (or even 4) are better? They all seem pretty comparable to me but any wise opinions would be helpful! Thanks!!
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This topic was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by
jas84047.
I’m also a sucker for senior dogs. We’ve adopted four senior dogs.
I wrote a long reply earlier, but the commenting software ate it when it automatically logged me out. The gist of it was vit C is made by dogs but a little extra might help a senior dog, cod liver oil supplies vit A in large amounts and vit D, which are fat soluable vitamins that the body can’t get rid of if you give too much so I wouldn’t add them to kibble much, Magnesium is supposed to be balanced with zinc and calcium and I don’t know what the ratio is. I really like to add a super green to my dogs’ foods like spirulina or kelp, they have loads of micronutrients that the dog food manufacturer are not required to make sure the dog food has.
I am so pleased with both the price of merricks whole earth farms food and the quality. The senior canned food is gobbled up by my two in no time, and the finicky chow who won’t touch a hot dog wiener, loves it. The cans up until last week were $1.99 in Canada, but now are $2.39 per tin. I guess I should have bought a couple of cases last week when I was shopping.
Revised list. Not too different. Took some off, and added markers at the beginning of each different food.
-Dr Tims’s Pursuit Active
-Dr Tim’s Kinesis ALS
-Avoderm Natural Chicken and Brown Rice
-By Nature Active
-By Nature Pork
-California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
-California Natural Low Fat Chicken Meal
-Canidae Life Stages ALS
-Canidae Beef and Ocean FIsh Meal
-Castor and Pollux Ultramix Beef and Barley
-Castor and Pollux Large Breed
-Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul ALL
-Eagle Pack (all but reduced fat and senior)
-Earthborn Puppy Vangate
-Earthborn Small Breed
-Earthborn Primitive Naturals
-Fromm Gold ALL
-Holistic Select Vital Senior
-Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken
-Holistic Select Radiant Adult Lamb
-Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed
-Holistic Select Anchovy
-Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Chicken
-Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
-Merrick Whole Earth Farms Adult
-Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
-Merrick Classic Beef
-Merrick Classic Lamb
-Merrick Classic Chicken
-Merrick Classic Adult Large Breed Chicken
-Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
-Nature’s Recipe Adult Lamb and Rice
-Nature’s Recipe ETD Chicken Meal and Barley
-Nature’s Recipe Venison
-Nature’s Recipe Large Breed
-Nature’s Recipe ETD Fish Meal
-Nature’s Recipe Healthy Weight
-Nature’s Variety Lamb and Oatmeal
-Nature’s Variety Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
-Nutrisource Lamb Meal and Rice
-PetGuard LifeSpan
-Precise Naturals Grain Free Chicken
-Premium Edge Healthy Weight 1 Weight Reduction
-Solid Gold Wolf Cub
-Vet’s Choice ALL
-Wellness Complete Health Chicken
-Wysong Adult
-Wysong Growth Puppy
-Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato
Would a few of you guys care to make a top 10 (or however many) list for me from my 4 mile long thing here? I think I’m over the Grandma Lucy’s (btw, they told me I could BUY samples from them. What the crap good does BUYING samples do for me?? I don’t have the money for that crap, that’s why I asked for some! ‘Tards…).
Small to medium kibbles would be best (for Bentley– Haley and Dweezle do fine on the smaller piece), a few adult-appropriate puppy foods perhaps, and different meats. And please don’t give me all the more expensive ones.
Dr Tims’s Pursuit Active
Dr Tim’s Kinesis ALS
Avoderm Natural Chicken and Brown Rice
By Nature Active
By Nature Pork
California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
California Natural Low Fat Chicken Meal
Canidae Life Stages ALS
Canidae Beef and Ocean FIsh Meal
Castor and Pollux Ultramix Beef and Barley
Castor and Pollux Large Breed
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul ALL
Eagle Pack (all but reduced fat and senior)
Earthborn Puppy Vangate
Earthborn Small Breed
Earthborn Primitive Naturals
Evanger’s Chicken and Brown Rice
Fromm Gold ALL
Grandma Lucy’s Artisan Grain Free Pork
Grandma Lucy’s Artisan Grain Free Chicken
Grandma Lucy’s PureFormance Chicken
Holistic Select Vital Senior
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Lamb
Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed
Holistic Select Anchovy
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Chicken
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Adult
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
Merrick Classic Beef
Merrick Classic Lamb
Merrick Classic Chicken
Merrick Classic Adult Large Breed Chicken
Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
Natural Balance Ultra
Natural Balance Fat Dogs
Nature’s Recipe Adult Lamb and Rice
Nature’s Recipe ETD Chicken Meal and Barley
Nature’s Recipe Venison
Nature’s Recipe Large Breed
Nature’s Recipe ETD Fish Meal
Nature’s Recipe Healthy Weight
Nature’s Variety Lamb and Oatmeal
Nature’s Variety Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
Nutrisource Lamb Meal and Rice
PetGuard LifeSpan
Precise Naturals Grain Free Chicken
Premium Edge Healthy Weight 1 Weight Reduction
Solid Gold Wolf Cub
Vet’s Choice ALL
Wellness Complete Health Chicken
Wysong Adult
Wysong Growth Puppy
Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato
We switch our hound to Fromm gold reduced activity senior dog food. Never used Fromm until then but it has greatly reduced her poop amount . She’s 65 pounds.
Check into Missing Link and Nature’s Logic (supplements), and See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mixes and The Honest Kitchen Preference (Premixes that when combined with meat are complete and balanced). Of course adjust your fat amount.
Are there any other viatimin subsitutes that I can use aside from DinoVite? Something I can pick up in a petfood store, or any other choices? I recently took my dog off of Sceince diet, and like I said previously, am concerned that her current diet isn’t nutritionally balanced, but I also want to explore my options as quickly as possible.
I have several dogs. I have 2 or 3 bags open at once. So technically, they are eating 2 familiar foods when I open a new bag. I used to only have 2 bags at once, but with fosters, they allow me to open 3 bags (I use about 300 cups a month). Even using only 2 foods, you wouldn’t need to transition since one of them will always be something “old” when you add food #2 because I’ve never had 2 bags of food go empty at the same time, there’s always one “old” food in there. I usually make a “mixture” so I can make it how I want – the amount of “old” food and the amount of “new” food. It’s like always being in transition, I guess. When I’m too busy to make a “mixture”, they get a scoop directly out of one bag so that would be just that food, no mix. I also have fosters so they don’t get a food transition at all. I give probiotics/enzymes, ground psyllium for loose stools and they just have to eat what I give them which is 4.5 to 5 star foods. I just don’t want you to be discouraged if there is tummy troubles. A switch can be done, quickly or slowly. And poor quality foods can have sugar and MSG or other addicting ingredient which can make transitioning difficult when they refuse to eat the new food! You can do a mix of our old food with some new food until they can get off of the old food. I can’t seem to give up Ramen noodle with at least 5 sources of MSG in it!! Bad, I know!! My dogs have been eating mixes for at least 2 years so they can eat single foods any time. They actually eat different kibbles, different canned foods, raw food, dehydrated food, anything, no problem. That is (hopefully) what you can achieve by starting to rotate. I even got a 13 yr old foster that was eating Hill’s W/D when I got him and I put him straight to my regular food, supplements and he’s fine. He’s 14 now and still eats 4.5 to 5 star kibbles and wet food (canned, dehyrated). Seniors should get more wet foods BTW. Sometimes I give ground psyllium or chia seed with canned foods to make the stool more formed (solid formed vs soft formed). I have 5 fosters right now who did fine with no transition. BUT some dogs do have trouble with it.
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This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.
I think you can also push out the marrow from the marrow bones. I have several empties laying around I could mail you. Also you can find cow hooves for chewing on. Try looking at http://www.bestbullysticks.com/home/bbs/smartlist_86/made_in_the_usa.html They have an American Made section. Merrick makes bully sticks also.
Marrow bones, i.e. leg bones are VERY high in fat and so are spinal bones with spinal tissue included. Ribs have a boney matrix in them.
Shes a golden retreiver-border collie mix, so about 50-55 pounds. I could try a rib, I was under the impression that any bones would have bone marrow, which is really high in fat(?), but like I said before I really have no idea. I will do some research/ ask my vet about the rib bones. It is difficult cutting fat out of a dog’s diet!
What size dog is she? Maybe a chicken or turket neck with the skin removed. That’s a tricky one because most edible bones are also where the fat is. Maybe if you could get a raw rib and remove the meat and fat from it, it would do.
Okay thank you both! I read about coconut oil and do plan to use it. Are there any other meats I can use in small amounts? I bought chicken liver yesterday while at the store but just read that they may be too high in fat? She’s a 50lb dog, so I think I might be ok adding in small amounts every few days, but I honestly have no idea, I haven’t ate meat or had to cook it for anyone since I was a young teenager, so I’m sort of lost here.. I’m also wondering if there are any safe bones I can use to help her clean her teeth. I was feeding bully sticks and Z bones but I am having trouble finding bully sticks that I know are sourced in the US and they stopped selling the Z bones at any of the pet stores around here- any other ideas here? I can’t do anything like antlers, the bully sticks are even a little hard for her to chew..
I would be leary of the feeding requirements on the websit. Note it states to feed a 2-5 lb dog the SAME amount, whether its a pup, adult or inactive senior.
How much does your pup currently weigh?
Here’s the feeding chart for the product you’re using:
Daily Feeding Guide
Weight Senior/Less Active Adult Puppy
LB (KG) cups (8oz) cups (8oz) cups (8oz)
2-5 lb (1-2.3kg) 1/8-1/4 cup 1/8-1/4 cup 1/8-1/4 cup
5-10 lb (2.3-4.5kg) 1/8-1/4 cup 1/4-1/3 cup 1/4-1/3 cup
10-20 lb (4.5-9kg) 1/4-1/2 cup 1/3-2/3 cup 1-3-3/4 cup
20-30 lb (9-13.6kg) 1/2-3/4 cup 2/3-1 cup 3/4-1 1/4 cups
Edit: Shoot, it looked fine when I wrote it, but when I post it everything gets bunched up.
