[Case]

Have any of you guys used this supplement? If so, I’d like to hear your opinions.

[ab1028]

He never was on a bad food. He has always been on at least a 4 star food. We have tried to find the offending ingredients and found out that bison, beef, and many grains he reacts to. Jasper also likes the rotation because he tends to get tired of food after 2 small bags. We change the food every bag and he does well without any digestive issues. It could just be that it is an itchy dog that needs extra supplements to help reduce it.

[ab1028]

I do rotate foods. Right now he is eating Orijen adult, and he has also eaten Acana Pacific, Wild Prairie, Grasslands, and Now! Fresh. I am wondering if it is seasonal allergies as well. There is also a strong possibility that he is getting bitten from mosquitoes. During the winter, we were supplementing his food with fish oil and he was definitely not as itchy. Not perfect, but not bad either.

Thank you so much for the links!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari:
Glad he’s showing some improvement. Since he is not well I would check with my Vet before administering or supplementing him with anything.

If you do decide to supplement with fish oil you need to find out the EPA & DHA %’s. If it isn’t on the label, check out their website or call them. The PDF link in my post from yesterday has the %’s for cats. I am not sure how often you would want to give it to him. Google it or you could also check out different sites that sell fish oil specifically for cats and read the directions they have posted.

Fingers crossed you find something in the litter box tonight! 🙂

[Case]

Another Recipe for Satin Balls:

Mix a pound of raw ground beef, an 8oz package of cream cheese, a jar of all-natural peanut butter, a dozen egg yolks, a 10oz package of wheat germ and a cup of flaked oats that have been soaked in heavy cream.

Form the mixture into balls and place in the freezer.

Feed the Satin Balls as treats or food supplements as desired.

[Raffaele C]

I have been feeding both my dogs raw food for a while now and they have been doing great on it. But lately my groomer has been telling me that she had to express their anal glands because they were filling up. Their stools are not always hard but it’s never diarreha either; it’s in between. I’m guessing though that their stools should be firmer to help express the glands naturally. I was reading some other posts on the forum and some suggested Glandex so I was thinking about that. But my main concern was that I don’t want to buy a bunch of supplements when I thought that a raw diet should be providing the proper nutrients for my dogs to thrive. So before I go buy a supplement for this issue or start feeding pumpkin regularly, I just wanted to ask you all about your experiences with raw diets. Does a raw diet typically cause softer stool? Is chicken a factor?

[crazy4cats]

Akari-
Sorry, I don’t have any recommendations either. I’ve not really ever had a problem with hairballs. Three out of four of my cats are short haired and one medium. I don’t see any of them licking or grooming much. Thank goodness. I don’t think that the oil sounds like a great idea, but I really don’t know. I remember seeing some sort of remedy at Mud Bay when I was looking at dog supplements. I don’t remember what it was called. But, I think it had some petroleum jelly in it? How is Kitty today?

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
I don’t know about olive or vegetable oils, maybe someone else will have some info for you.

I use coco oil for hairballs and because it has other benefits too. My older cat (not the hyperthyroid kitty) had a terrible hairball issue. It was my fault though because I did not brush him enough. He coughed one up that was the size of a mouse one day. From that day forward I give him daily brushings and coco oil 2x/wk. Most of the time the brushing is only a couple of minutes, but brushing has made the most difference.

I also supplement all my cats with fish oil; it can help with hairballs too. Since they still get some fish in their diet, I don’t supplement anymore than once a week. I use CVS 1000 mg capsules. It’s purified to remove mercury and made without dairy or soy products. The EPA & DHA percentages are the same as other pet products for example Dr.’s Foster and Smith Premium Plus® Omega-3 Gel Caps. I poke a hole in the capsule and squeeze the oil over their food.

I used this PDF from Tuft’s Vet school for dosage amount/lbs, ingredient %, and brand information. The information in it pertains to heart disease so I do not follow the daily dosage instructions. I researched how often and how much to dose the cats from other sources.

http://www.google.com/url?url=http://vet.tufts.edu/heartsmart/resources/omega-3_supplementation.pdf&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=apyOU7TcBNSxsQSvsIA4&ved=0CBcQFjAA&sig2=0_LYv32HiEiInKcfDfNOvQ&usg=AFQjCNHTgzeaTJ04dtmqZQ9Uenp1rqGVCQ

Here’s some information on hairballs:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/01/16/chronic-hairball.aspx

[RescueDaneMom]

I definitely agree with Marie and C4C. Your GSD’s will need more than what is available in a food to help their joints. There are some threads in the Supplements forum on joint supplements. I am currently using some from Springtime Inc.

[crazy4cats]

I feed my dogs Victor’s Joint Health grain free food. It has extra glucosamine added to it. But, like the others have stated, it is probably best to add a supplement to ensure that they are getting the full benefit of it.

[patvl246]

My vet said, if your going to add a supplement, go with “Cosequin DS”

[InkedMarie]

I may be wrong but I’ve read that by the time dogs eat foods that have joint stuff added to it, it’s been cooked out. You’re better to add a joint supplement yourself.

[Alex V]

I do not typically write reviews, but in this case it is necessary. I have had my 8 year old black lab on Dinovite for 6 months and have seen absolutely no results. Yesterday I took him to an allergist to have him checked out. He has a bacterial skin infection and a yeast infection. It’s really sad that we have had him on what is considered one of the best nutritional supplements that is supposed to alleviate and cure these types of problems in dogs…. and also very sad that our allergist vet said it was a waste of money. I would not recommend this product to anyone, don’t waste your money. And to top it off, the 90 day money back guarantee is a joke. They do not want you to return product before 90 days because they say that ” you haven’t given it enough time to do the job” but then after you exceed the 90 days and it still isn’t working, they say they can’t offer refunds because the refund period has expired. So ridiculous! Not to mention their customer service is some of the worst I have ever experienced! Do yourself a favor and stay away from this product and their bullshit scam company!!!

[Kate B]

Hey guys! This is my first time posting. I have a 15 pound schnoodle that I adopted almost three years ago. I’m not entirely sure how old Wilson is as his surrender paperwork had a few different ages on it but I think (as does his vet) he is between 6 and 8 and in good health.

He’s always, always, always been a picky eater. He’s my first dog and I honestly didn’t know anything about feeding a dog beyond kibble and canned at first. I fed him Vet’s Choice Health Extension for a while and then Acana but they took inordinate amounts of coaxing or soaking in water or additional treats (i.e. cottage cheese or some eggs, etc.) to get him to eat. Meal time would become sometimes a 15-30 minute exercise in who was going to be more stubborn. He would also occasionally throw the kibble back up (anywhere from 30 minutes to hours after he ate). Clearly, this didn’t seem like the best possible diet for him anymore.

I had considered transitioning him to raw, using a commercial raw diet like Stella and Chewy’s or Primal. Well, we tried for about a month and he really struggled with it. A) he hated the Primal with a passion and B) had trouble keeping both of the diets down. I instead decided to try home-cooked and use Grandma Lucy’s as a pre-mix. We’ve been doing this for about three weeks and it has been super successful so far which is a huge relief to me. I want him to have the healthiest life possible! I’ve been rotating him through several kinds of protein (chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, eggs, salmon, tuna) and it all seems easy enough to combine with the pre-mix. I give him 4 oz of the pre-mix and 6 oz of protein (I’m using Primal’s recommendation to give protein between 2-3% of a dog’s weight) split across two daily meals. I haven’t been following Grandma Lucy’s pre-mix recommendation (they recommend 1-1.5 cups per day for dogs between 10-20 lbs) because that seems really, really high to me in contrast to the protein. Any thoughts there?

Here’s my question: do I need to add any additional supplements? Like I said, this isn’t raw meat and it’s making me nervous that I might be screwing something up with the calcium and/or phosphorus. I’m assuming I should also add some sort of fish/krill/flax oil as well and would love some advice! So far, I had looked at Wysong’s Call of the Wild as a possibility but wasn’t sure if that was overkill (Grandma Lucy’s pre-mix has 1% calcium). Any advice would be much appreciated!

[spaniel39]

I feed my baby (sophie the Komondor) 130pound
14 months old
Nutrisource large breed lamb
about 1.63 pound
as you get a 30 pound bag
I went through so many and this is perfect
Gets 5 stars dog advisor also
Lamb meal, peas, pea starch, pea flour, salmon meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), potatoes, tomato pomace, natural turkey and chicken flavor, sunflower oil, potassium chloride, dried brewers yeast, salmon oil, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, selenium yeast), salt, choline chloride, taurine, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), glucosamine hydrochloride, tryptophan, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), chondroitin sulfate, yucca schidigera extract, calcium iodate, rosemary extract, yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtillis fermentation product.

[camano43]

Hi: this is my first post to this website although I have been on the email alert list for food
recalls for quite awhile. I have 3 dogs and 2 middle age cats. I try to feed them all quality foods and this site is super to analyze the dog food companies. I have wished for a site such as this devoted to our feline pets, but have not had much luck locating one. Any suggestions? I live in an area that has several feedstores/pet stores but not lots of pet specialty stores for supplements, samples and new product info.

[Case]

Currently my rotation is: Canidae Grain Free Pure, Earthborn Holistic Primitive Naturals, and Orijen Puppy. I use Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete to transition between foods (and to reduce overall price).

All five star rated foods, no complaints so far.

I give a daily vitamin supplement as well, mainly bc my dog loves it.

[LexiDog]

I can’t say anything about the seizures either.

My personal favorite kibbles are Acana Regionals and Orijen. These are expensive but I feel we’ll worth it. I have an active 38 # dog and she was getting 1 1/4 cups of food a day on these kibbles. These can be found at Pet Supplies Plus stores and local specialty boutiques. I was actually surprised to see how many specialty shops were around when I started looking for them.

Other favorites include Wellness Core (found at Petsmart and Petco) and Fromm Four Star (Pet Supplies Plus and boutiques). A lot of people like Dr. Tim’s and Victor grain free but I can not find these in the local stores, so I haven’t tried them. I would have to order them online. I have had great experiences ordering food and other stuff from Chewy.com.

If I had to pick a kibble on a budget, I would probably try Whole Earth Farms Grain Free. This can be found at Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I’m not sure if Petsmart carries it or not because I haven’t been there in a while.

Just remember that not all foods are made for all dogs. Just because my dog does great on certain foods doesn’t mean that yours will. You have to find one that works for you and your dog.

You may want to look at feeding a 4 star kibble before jumping right to a 5. Moose will be going from a plant based diet to a meat based diet and that can cause some upsets. Just remember to transition him very slowly. You can also add some pumpkin while switching. If you buy it from the grocery store just make sure that it is pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Fruitables makes a digestive supplement with pumpkin to help with switching.

As for species appropriate food. Kibble is not one of them because kibble does not contain the amount of moisture needed for a species appropriate diet. The ideal moisture would be a food that containes around 70% moisture. For example canned is better than kibble and frozen raw is better than canned. Google Dr. Karen Becker best to worst foods. There is a video and a list that is super helpful.

Right now I am feeding my girl Primal frozen raw and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated. There are a ton of great foods out there, just need to know where to look. You should keep an open mind about ordering online. I’ve never had a bad experience with Chewy.com.

This is probably way more info than you want but this is only a little bit. Trust me. There is so much info out there it will make your head spin for a while. You can also get into feeding a homemade diet too. Others will have to help with that.

[L T]

My 1 yr old lab developed a small patch on his nose which didn’t seem to bother him, but he did look a little funny with a balding patch. His vet prescribed a topical Ivermectin treatment daily for six weeks with his first treatment at the vet. I am pretty particular about topical treatments and toxicity and questioned him extensively. After doing some additional research (Demodectic is usually immune system related) I decided to not proceed with this course of treatment as the case was mild. The symptom first appeared when he developed a minor cold (sneezing). The patch itself is healing rather nicely without any further intervention. I did supplement his Orijen Regional Red with a small serving of Orijen Six Fish (being careful not to increase his food/caloric intake) as an added boost.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jacob –

Chronic otitis in dogs can have numerous causes – many of which are secondary (meaning the otitis is in fact a symptom of another underlying issue).

If you’ve been battling ear infections for as long as you have I’m sure your vet has already looked into this, but just in case, has a scraping from the ear been examined to check for yeast? Malassezia is a fairly common type of yeast that can infect the ears.

Has your dog’s thyroid been checked (especially would recommend having this done if the dog is overweight). Hypothyroidism can predispose dogs to chronic otitis.

Have you tried a grain-free diet? If not – I’d recommend trying a grain-free diet with a novel protein source (think rabbit, buffalo, kangaroo, etc. – something your dog hasn’t eaten before). Keep her on this for a couple months and see if things clear up.

Supplementing with multi-strain non-dairy probiotics, enzymes and coconut oil probably wouldn’t hurt either.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what could be causing the otitis, however it may give you a few avenues to explore as far as getting to the root of the problem.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Yes – RMBs can most definitely be fed daily. My dogs get a ground red-meat based meal in the a.m. (I make my dogs’ meals from scratch – this is when I add items such as vegetables, fruits, yogurt, supplements, etc.) and in the p.m. they get poultry RMBs and some sort of offal (i.e. a turkey neck with a couple turkey hearts or a chicken back with a few chicken gizzards). RMBs are great for the teeth and also the joints as they’re high in glucosamine and chondroitin. Just make sure to feed an RMB that is an appropriate size for your dog because you want to minimize choking risk. The RMB should be larger than the dog’s mouth – my dogs are large (65-75 lbs.) so they only get large RMBs, I wouldn’t feed them chicken necks. For small dogs, however, chicken necks are great.

Both of these articles by Dr. Becker have some good information on selecting bones:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/05/19/caution-bones-can-kill-your-dog-find-out-which-ones-are-safe.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/09/bone-supplements-for-pets.aspx

Also – if I’m not mistaken, it’s been awhile since I’ve ordered from Darwin’s – I believe Darwin’s actually sells duck necks. Duck necks are larger than chicken necks but smaller than turkey necks – they’d probably work out well for most small to medium sized dogs.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Poultry and vegetable oils are very high in omega 6’s. For most dogs, omega 6’s aren’t an issue. In fact most dogs (and people for that matter) get WAY too many omega 6’s. Ideally, a diet should have roughly a 5:1 ratio of omega 6’s to omega 3’s (some sources recommend a slightly lower ratio, others say a slightly higher ratio is okay) – the diet of a typical America (and most dogs too) is usually closer to 14:1 to 25:1. So it’s necessary to supplement with omega 3’s in order to get closer to that 5:1 ratio.

These articles have some good info:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/12/aha-position-on-omega-6-fats.aspx

How Too Much Omega-6 and Not Enough Omega-3 Is Making Us Sick

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi zolicylus –

Supplementing a raw diet with items such as those suggested above – RMBs, sardines, oils – will not result in the components “digesting at different rates.” Why would a chicken neck digest at a different rate than ground chicken?

In fact, it’s very beneficial to supplement any diet with healthy fats such as coconut oil and sardines, as Sandy mentioned. Coconut oil offers many benefits – it has natural antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties and may help improve skin and coat health. More info here.

Darwin’s does not add a source of available omega 3’s (DHA/EPA) to their foods so it would actually be advisable to feed sardines (or another fatty fish on a regular basis). The only source of omega 3’s in the Darwin’s recipes is flax. plant based omega 3’s (with the exception of algal oil) contain omega 3’s in the form of ALA. ALA is a a short-chain fatty acid that is, essentially, a pre-cursor to long chain omega 3’s DHA and EPA. It is DHA and EPA that the body utilizes and because ALA is poorly converted (in most cases less than 10% actually gets converted) it’s necessary to feed foods naturally rich in long chain omega 3’s (EPA/DHA) such as fatty fish, algal oil or cage-free eggs.

Feeding RMBs in conjunction with a balanced ground raw diet (such as Darwin’s) will provide the dog with the dental benefits they miss out on when eating ground food.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[zcRiley]

Supplementing a raw diet (especially one of the best like Darwin’s) is not a good idea. Different types of foods digest at different rates, so tossing in a bit of this and that will unbalance their digestive tracts. Stop counting calories and instead monitor your dogs’ muscle growth & energy levels. You must feed more Darwin’s to get them to a healthy 12 lbs. Increase the Darwin’s per meal, when they get to 12 lbs. you decrease and maintain. There’s nothing quick & easy about feeding a pet. Darwin’s opened pouches are good in the fridge for 48 hours. Throw the pouch into a well sealed glass container like a large mason jar or a rubber sealed food container.

[LexiDog]

My mom shih tzu is also very picky and he throws up the foamy stuff sometimes too. She softens his hard food in water for a couple hours, mashes it with a fork, then adds cut up chicken tenders and stirs. I have tried to get him to eat just the hard food but he won’t touch it. Maybe you can try softening it and adding the digestive supplement.

[Corey K]

I am new to these forums and hoping for some assistance. I have been doing a lot of research on foods lately as I have two senior bearded collies one with some stomach issues and hoping to find a food they can both eat. In addition, I have a 3 year old 100 lb dane mix who is going through some teeth issues and I was told to soften his food. I see on the website the food calculator but unless I’m missing something, what I do not see anywhere is the calorie content in food. Right now I am feeding him natures’ recipe canned food and chicken with rice. Before the issues, he was eating IAMs large breed food and he ate 4 cups a day. I cannot figure out how much of this current food to feed him. The cans say for his weight he would need 5 but I am supplementing the chicken and rice. Right now I am giving him 2 cans, and one cup each of the chicken and rice. I do not plan to go back to IAMs when the issue is resolved. I guess there is no “cups of food required daily based on weight” way to figure it out?

[Shasta220]

Shih Tzu… Sorry, couldn’t help correcting that one… XP

Maybe try the NutriSource….avoid Purina, as it is a very low quality big-name food. Possibly add some digestive supplements (like probiotics). Canned pumpkin is a great way for a quick fix as far as icky stools go, too.

[Raffaele C]

Both my dogs are on a raw food diet (Darwin’s to be exact) and I need to increase their calories by about 100 to get them to their ideal weight of 12 pounds. I could give them more of the raw food, but I am trying to avoid having to have open packages of raw meat in the fridge. Right now I just split one pack at each meal time between the two of them and then I can just through the pack away. Quick and Easy! To give them each 100 more calories I wouldn’t need a whole other pack so I would have to store part of it in the fridge.

Anyways, I was doing a ton of research and thought about just adding some homemade food items like eggs or spinach or quinoa to supplement them and get to 100 calories. I was also considering giving them a vegan kibble but Darwin’s diet is already well balanced with meat and vegetables so I believe they are getting all their necessary amino acids and vitamins. Can anyone help with some fresh suggestions to supplement their current diet? Or should I just increase their current raw diet?

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you by “too rich” you’re suggesting that the food has too much protein and/or fat – Orijen has less protein and fat than WEF canned. So if your dog does well on WEF canned Orijen wouldn’t be “too rich” for your dog. There are a variety of reasons why your dog may be experiencing loose stools after consuming Orijen. It could be the result of an ingredient sensitivity, it could be that your dog doesn’t tolerate dry kibble well (as opposed to the moist canned) or the dog could just be adjusting to the new food. All dogs are different and some just don’t do well on certain foods. There have been quite a few reports of dogs not doing well on the new Orijen formulas (they removed the white potato and added legumes). You can try giving the dog more time and supplementing the diet with probiotics and a little canned pumpkin, sometimes this can help with loose stools.

[Nancy A]

Hello, We have a mini long-haired Doxie mix (with what, we wish we knew!) who has food protein allergies, and a long-haired Chihuahua mix (again, the mix is a mystery) who has had frequent bouts of pancreatitis (he has been stable for quite awhile now). We prepare the food for our allergic dog using a product called BalanceIT.
https://secure.balanceit.com/
BalanceIT was created by a vet (formerly on the UC Davis faculty) and products include supplements for making homemade food as well as a product that you simply add to a protein source (if vegetarian, either nuts or tofu) and gives you the recipe. I’ve recommended it three times on this forum today alone (I swear I’m not an employee, it just works for us). Good luck–when our little guy ends up in the hospital my husband thinks I need a psychiatrist (I probably do).

[Nancy A]

You may want to consider a product called BalanceIT. BalanceIT was designed by a vet (formerly on the UC Davis faculty). Products include supplements for making homemade food as well as a product that you simply add to meat if you want to make homemade food. I understand from our vets, as well as a recent peer-reviewed study, that it is extremely risky to make food for your dog without the proper supplementation:
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10666
The BalanceIT website includes recipes:
https://secure.balanceit.com/
Our little guy is allergic to chicken and has a tender tummy. Most of the beef-based dog foods are high in fat and also include chicken. We’re happy we found this product.

[Nancy A]

Hello, We have a mini long-haired Doxie mix (with what, we wish we knew!), who also scratched himself silly. We learned from the doggie dermatologist that food allergies rarely respond to steroids (the “P” in Temaril-P is prednisone). His scratching did not respond to steroids, which indicated a food allergy. His food had just about every common allergen (see article on this site regarding allergies). We switched him to a buffalo-based canned food (he hated it) because it was unlikely he had been exposed to that protein (he has a tender tummy and many of the novel proteins and hypoallergenic foods are higher in fat). It took about 2 weeks, but his licking stopped and he was cone free! After 6 months we were told we could add one of the proteins contained in his previous food. Because he loves, loves, loves chicken, I poured some homemade chicken broth on this food. Within about 24 hours, he was attacking his body again. He is now on an all-beef diet, which is hard to find because it seems like there is some kind of chicken in every food or it is too high in fat… sigh.

If you find that it is a food allergy–and you can figure out the offending ingredient–you may want to consider a product called BalanceIT. BalanceIT was designed by a vet (formerly on the UC Davis faculty) and products include supplements for making homemade food as well as a product that you simply add to meat if you want to make homemade food. I understand from our vets, as well as a recent peer-reviewed study, that it is extremely risky to make food for your dog without the proper supplementation:
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10666

With vigilance and a good plan to rule out problems, you will figure it out. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[USA]

Hi Mary C

The highest quality dog food would be one you made yourself using lean pasture raised meats and wild caught fish, fresh organic vegetables and a few supplements.

In commercial dog foods I would rate them as follows:
Raw
Dehydrated
Canned
Kibble

One of the issues with a very low carbohydrate food for dogs is the fat content. Most commercial foods with low carbs are high in fat, some are really high. If your dog doesn’t have any other health issues he or she might do fine with a high fat, high protein, low carb diet. If your dog has other issues such as pacreatitis a high fat diet might not work as well.

I strongly believe that with a diabetic dog the number one priority is to limit carbs as much as you can. After all, diabetes is a failure of the bodies ability to regulate and metabolize ALL carbohydrates and injected insulin cannot currently duplicate the bodies own production of insulin. Diabetes CAN be controlled with the proper diet, the proper insulin regimen and home testing of blood glucose.

So please tell me a little bit about your dog:
How old
Current food and amounts fed and at what times in relation to insulin injections
Current insulin regimen, what type, how often
Current blood sugar readings
Overall health and any issues besides diabetes

Once you develop a routine that works for you and your pup things get easier! Give your pup a hug for me!!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Bryan C –

I wasn’t familiar with the product but I just looked it up. My concern with this product would be that it contains generic “animal fat” preserved with BHA, BHT, citric acid and ethoxyquin. 🙁 As far as puppy formulas go, my favorite is Wysong’s Mother’s Milk (http://www.wysong.net/products/mothersmilk-dog-cat-supplement.php) there are also some great recipes out there for homemade formulas – they usually contain ingredients like goat’s milk and egg yolks. Just curious as to why you’re looking to feed formula to an 8 week old puppy? Formula definitely won’t do any harm but a pup that age should be able to eat solid food.

[Susan C]

My dog almost died before we discovered he has AUTOIMMUNE disease. A life on Steroids means eventual kidney failure. We hope that a diet change will increase the chance of a normal life. He needs additional omega 3 and 6 plus zinc and more that I am not familiar with. Happy to make him dinner, but if there is a dog food that moves us in the right direction, I can at least supplement what I feed him now.
Help!

• This topic was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Susan C.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nicole-
The vet once prescribed this food for my pups also. It is so expensive for what is in the bag. My dogs were having loose stools as well. Turns out they had a terrible long lasting case of giardia. I assume that you have had a fecal test checking for parasites. If the high fiber helps your dog, you could always add it to another high quality food. You could add a little psyllium, chia seed or pumpkin to add fiber. If you decide to do this, please transition very slowly. I am currently feeding Victor grain free kibble. It contains montmorillonite clay which is known to help with loose stools. I have used different supplements that also help. I often use Gastriplex made by Thorne, Fruitables digestive supplement, Perfect Form made by the Honest Kitchen and probiotics that also help. There is a lot of information on dogaware.com for dogs with loose stools and intermittent diarrhea. Please let me know what you decide to do and how it goes. Good luck!

[Shasta220]

Hopefully you’ll have a success story as well!

Don’t feel too bad about the vet situation – we only took Cassy in a few times when she was younger. Not once did they suggest food/supplements, except for Beneful and flax oil (Beneful=garbage. Flax oil-they don’t absorb many of the nutrients). They just continued to give us expensive drops and washes, which seemed to make her worse.

We went several years without going to the vet since we knew it wouldn’t help… We finally had no other option when she got to the point of wearing the cone and sweaters.

The food change was night and day though. She acted /years/ younger, wanting to jump and play again. If I didn’t switch her food a year ago, I’m not sure she’d even be alive today (poor girl is starting to slow back down again. She spends most of the day sleeping on her fluffy bed lol)

[DogFoodie]

Darn it! I posted a response, but it disappeared. I hate that! I’ll try again.

My Golden, Sam, just turned two and he has some food intolerances. He can’t have fish in any form, garlic (apparently) or chickpeas & lentils. He’s eaten a lot of foods that he did great on, once; but, when I feed it again, he reacted. When he’s exposed to something to which he’s intolerant, he develops a red inflamed right ear that quickly turns into a yeast infection in that same ear. The chickpeas and lentils give him horrible gas and loose stools. He also doesn’t seem to do well on foods with lots of fruits and veggies, like Orijen and Wholesome Blend. He does well on Darwin’s raw for short periods of time at a stretch, but I think you’re looking for kibble. I have to pay attention to his protein, fat and carb levels and know what ranges he seems to work best within. I recently started him on Udo’s Choice DHA blend, an omega supplement, and the poor thing had gas so bad it woke me up at night after just one teaspoon per day for a week. There are so many foods I’d love to try him on, but wouldn’t dare; but, it’s very important to me to have multiple foods for him, so I keep trying. So far, the only food he can eat without reacting is MS Lamb. I’m getting ready to try him next on Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Duck next and have my fingers crossed. My Cavalier can eat most anything, but it does seem that chickpeas and lentils cause her to become constipated. She doesn’t have anything that I consider to be “true intolerances.”

So, that said, foods that I trust and that Sam has eaten, at least once, and did well on are Canine Caviar, Horizon Legacy (my Cavalier eats Amicus sometimes which would be great for your little guy), Nature’s Logic, Dr. Tim’s, Brother’s Complete, Wellness Core, Earthborn Holistics and NutriSource. Of these, I most wish I was still able to use the Horizon and Dr. Tim’s.

If it weren’t for those intolerances, there would be many more he’d have eaten. One food I like and tried a couple of different formulas for Sam is Victor. I was disappointed the Victor didn’t work, it’s a great product and the price is a huge unexpected bonus! A couple of foods I wish I could use for him are Go!, Now Fresh, Farmina and Annamaet, but those all contain triggers. I’ve considered fermenting some veggies to add to his foods because I often wonder if it’s the cabbage in the MS that’s one of the reasons he does so well on it. Commercial raw and canned foods are a completely different story ~ are either of those options for you?

[Kim H]

I am so glad I found this list … my Dog is being treated for UTI and did 2nd round of antibiotic as they saw crystals. Dog in years past has UTI goes on meds and then fine. This time they wanted a urine sample after the 10 day antibiotic cycle. My vet suggested it may just be related to the UTI but wanted to know her food. I finally found a food for my itchy, sticky ear dog – Earthborn the Bison blend. So she says well is there a fish in that brand and there is but this dog went thru easily a dozen foods before we realized get her off the chicken ingredient. Vet office suggested a potato and duck and I went with Natural Balance Limited Ingredient potato and duck and after a week of it mixed in with their Earthborn she is itching so I am just beside myself. I did not keep her on duck before as I thought their urine staining on the grass was excesive so maybe she does not tolerate that along with the potato. so I am going back to Earthborn and Nzymes and a bladder support supplement. I am going to rotate her to the Meadow which is Lamb with lesser protein value as my vet seemed to imply the protein level of bison is higher. My head just wants to explode. I have had her and her sister 7 yrs since they were 6 weeks old and when I tell you we have been up and down the food choices I really have. This list is very helpful and the cost has to come in to play for me as well – three dogs to feed – the other dogs don’t have her issues

[Ron M]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this company?
I have looked over their site in the past and they have some interesting looking products.
But I’m can’t find very much info. on them. I know some website have begun to carry their
supplements.

The Most Effective Cat and Dog Supplements

Ron

[Positive Puppy D]

I also agree that Earthborn Primitive Natural is a food I would nominate. When I contacted the company they said their food had no GMO products, no vitamin supplements from China and that all the ingredients were grown in the US and the food manufactured in their own plant. They further support and advocate many ways to reduce our carbon footprint. One of which is that I see FAR fewer poops in my yard! I have been feeding “premium foods” for years and am totally impressed with how much of the food they are eating is digesting, instead of on the ground!

[Mom2Cavs]

OnyxMom…try adding a probiotic/enzyme supplement to his food to see if it helps with the breath. I just adopted another older Cavalier and he will be getting a dental. His breath was stinky when we got him 2 months ago. However, after adding Wholistic Pet Organics digest all plus to his morning and evening meals, his breath doesn’t smell now, even though his dental isn’t scheduled until 6/10.

[weezerweeks]

I noticed when I bathed my yorkie today he was shedding a lot of hair.I noticed this last week but I thought it was because it was the first bath after he was groomed.The only thing different is I have added another canned food to his rotation that he’s never had before. It is Go Fit chicken,turkey and trout stew. He has never had trout before. I also started springtime joint supplements for a switch from mercola’s’ which I love.This is so unusual because he never has this much hair in the sink. I also give him Nordic natural fish oil every other night and krill oil the nights I don’t give fish oil. Any ideas what could be causing this. He’s not scratching at all. Thanks

[Mike M]

I could put this in one of several forums but chose this one since it has more posts.

Our dog – Wally, almost 15, small mixed breed, about 17 pounds, working towards 15.

Health issues – “sore joints” (we have set up a system of pillows where he jumps down from the couch or bed and in fact, I am considering having a trampoline floor installed though it could interfere with our getting around and cause some queasiness and vacuuming issues), collapsing trachea with an extra cough chaser that seems to have gone way down, after a course of antibiotics and changes in his diet and the addition of salmon fish oil.

I am brand new to making my own dog food, spurred on by Wally’s health issues and a change to the formula of Wally’s canned food (Wellness Chicken/Sweet potato) where they seem to be adding more “chicken broth”, effectively a price increase and it changed his poops. Anyway …. good that I’m doing this.

Have been researching and so far, am relying on (because they have the ring of truth):

Hound Dog Mom and others here
“Unlocking The Canine Ancestral Diet.”
Dogaware.com

Will be starting with the Urban Wolf mix and other supplements to add to my meats.

There is a lot to digest re supplements, fat balancing, meats, etc and I will have questions and comments as I go along. Appreciate any input – thanks!

[3dogmom]

Hi all,
I have recently switched my 3 hounds to a raw diet – Bravo performance dog food. I transitioned them slowly from their kibble and they have now been on the raw diet only for about 6 weeks. They LOVE the food!! The problem is that 2 of the 3 are having severely loose stools. The third has looser stools than usual, but not as bad as the others. I have added a probiotic to the mix, Purina Fortifore, which I am giving them each one packet once a day with their meals. I also supplement with Salmon oil, but I am not giving the the recommended dose of that yet because of the loose stools and gurgling tummies. I am wondering if the beef based food is too fatty for them? Should I switch to another protein source? They are a pure basset, a basset-beagle mix, and a blu etick basset mix (he’s handling the switch the best). I have scoured the net looking for help/suggestions, and so far this is the most knowledgeable forum I have found. Any and all help is truly appreciated!

[Mike M]

Yes, I can tell Cyndi. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to provide that level of detail Hound Dog Mom!

For the record, our dog Wally is 15 years old and is smallish, weighing in at about 17.5 pounds, needing to lose probably 2 of those.

Yes, I have read about most of what you suggested HDM, though it is still not clear to me that my dog will “need” liver, given everything else he will get. I did send an email to Urban Wolf – will see if they respond though they do suggest the liver supplement. They just responded, asking if I could give him liver treats but that’s all they offered.

I will have to reconsider adding the sweet potato and rest of the non-meat stuff since much of that is in the Urban Wolf (which I will start using on Friday) but if I do, it will be in “treat” amounts and I will use Wally’s poop status to help monitor. I do understand he needs adequate protein and I’m confident he’ll be getting more than he did with his Wellness canned food, who seemingly just began adding more liquid to their formula.

The nutritional yeast he just likes, if I did add any, it would be occasionally and just a small sprinkle.

Was thinking I should add just a sprinkle of calcium now and again because my plan was to feed Wally more Salmon — which has the phosphorous — than would be in the Urban Wolf recipe. Of course, the diet then becomes a bit less controlled or precise.

I’ve read the fat balancing discussions and it seems a little too much like rocket science to me but I will keep researching that and won’t stick my head in the sand on it. I’d rather not feed him beef but will if I need to.

Any further recommendations or discussion are welcomed ….. thanks again

[Hound Dog Mom]

Liver is a species-appropriate means of supplying several trace minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, iodine and zinc and it’s also a good source of vitamin a and vitamin d. A properly balanced homemade diet should be comprised of about 5% – 7.5% liver – as long as this amount isn’t exceeded the dog isn’t at risk of consuming too much vitamin a. Because the liver (this also applies when feeding kidney or spleen) is a filtering organ, myself (and many others here) prefer to use liver from naturally raised animals. It’s certainly possible to supplement separately for the nutrients liver supplies and exclude it from the diet but, with the exception of someone who can’t get liver or can’t get liver from a clean source, I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t want to include liver in the diet. As for exactly how much of which nutrients the liver is contributing to the Urban Wolf recipe, you’d have to contact the company directly for that data.

Just a few other suggestions.

I would not recommend feeding only turkey or mostly turkey – it’s very important to feed a variety of protein sources and especially important to ensure an equal balance of red meat and poultry is being fed (unless you want to go through a lot of additional work to balance the fats). Poultry is very high in polyunsaturated fats (especially linoleic acid – a short-chain omega 6) while red meats are high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats, therefore rotating between red meat-based and poultry-based recipes is ideal.

You don’t want to add calcium to a pre-mix. Pre-mixes (such as Urban Wolf) are designed to supply a proper ratio of calcium and phosphorus with the addition of boneless meat. As long as you follow the instructions on the package there is no need to supply additional calcium.

Personally, I wouldn’t add additional starches such as yams and garbanzo beans. Urban Wolf already contains potatoes and several vegetables so your dog will be getting more than enough plant matter, you’ll just be diluting the protein further and cancelling out one of the main benefits a home-prepared diet has over kibble – more meat and less plant matter.

Also – just in case you missed it on the ingredient panel – Urban Wolf already contains nutritional yeast so if that’s something you want included in your dog’s diet there’s no reason to add extra outside of the pre-mix.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[LexiDog]

When I bought my girl home she had demodectic mange. We did the Mitaban dip every other week just because I didn’t want to do the oral ivermectin. Looking back now I don’t think it would have made a difference if I did the dip or the oral meds.

Since Demodectic Mange is caused by a weakened immune system, I did what the vet prescribed (Mitaban dips) and did everything I could think of to help her immune system.

I started her on a grain-free diet (I believe it was Fromm Grain Free and then Acana Regionals), gave her BIXBI’s Organic Superfood Immunity Daily Supplement, Vital Digest by Only Natural Pets washed all of her bedding and sanitized her crate. I know that Demodectic Manage is not contagious but I just took the extra caution by washing everything.

I suggest you boost your puppy’s immune system with good food and some supplements along with your vets treatment plan.

[USA]

Hi Tina L,

Demodectic Mange is definitely related to the immune system. It is believed that all dogs have the mites but they are kept in check by a healthy immune system. Your dog may have a late blooming immune system or there may be other things going on.

I would recommend you feed him the best food you can. Take a look at the 5 star foods on the review part of this website. Try to stay below 25% carbs which is still a lot but it is hard to find dry foods with less carbs. Canned foods can be found with less carbs and if you are able to feed a large dog only canned food then that would be a good option. If you want to look a little deeper into the quality of the foods you might want to join the Editors Choice section here. There is a yearly fee but it goes more in depth into the dog food companies on the list. The better his diet, they better he will do with everything life throws at him.

The pills for the itching might have been a prednisone type drug which stops itching by SUPPRESSING the immune system! This is counter productive to BUILDING up the immune system to control the mites that cause Demodectic Mange!

I agree with you on limiting vaccines, flea control and any other toxic meds although at some point if his mange becomes wide spread and he is in constant distress you might have to seek the least toxic alternative. I would suggest you supplement his diet with digestive enzymes to make sure he is absorbing all the nutrients in his food, probiotics to help strengthen his immune system, omega 3’s to help with inflammation and turmeric as an antioxidant.

Good Luck with your pup!!!

[USA]

Hi Leslie

Would you consider making your Jack a homemade diet? If he has no food allergies or intolerances a homemade diet using chicken, beef, turkey, fish, pork and other meats would be beneficial for your pup. You would use lean meats, 10% fat or less. Lightly cook the meats. Add about 20% non-starchy pureed veggies and fruits. Occasionally add some organs and sardines.

Supplement with Omega 3 oils, digestive enzymes, probiotics and a vitamin mineral mix like Steve Brown’s See Spot Live Longer Dinner Mixes and you have the basics of an economical, highly nutritious, species appropriate low carb diet that would help your precious pup do the best he can!! Turmeric is an excellent supplement for dogs with cancer. Slight adjustments to the diet with fiber would depend on the needs of your dog.

This is not that hard to learn and there are plenty of people here to help you along the way! I wish you and your pup the BEST!!!