Where have I been?? Just opened the new bag of “Original” I get through Chewy. I immediately called them trying to get some old stock and was out so I went with Red Formula until I find a replacement. They were nice enough to refund and say to give to my local shelter but after reading the reviews of sick pets I can’t in good conscience even do that. I’m thinking the FDA should be informed. Last year they pulled pretty much all the treats coming from China off the shelf and that’s what needs to happen with Orijen. right now I’m thinking Champion didn’t do due diligence at the Kentucky plant of testing the quality before releasing to the public. Having our pets determine by sacrificing them to sickness and even possibly death is reprehensible and they need to be held accountable. To really make a statement, the distributors need to stop selling the product until Champion fixes the problems. When enough of them refuse then Champion has no choice. Thes small local pet stores are the ones to suffer. So I’ll be making a ton of calls to Champion, FDA, Chewy again and local stores. This reminds me so much of the Pharmaceutical company’s, to have the patients be the R&D and when patients start dying then they take it off the market. I’m a hardliner on this stuff. It’s not about just switching to a new food, it’s about keeping new, unknowing consumers informed so they don’t sacrifice their pet. Chewy needs to remove the reviews asap because it’s no longer the same product as before. It’s all new so the reviews aren’t reflecting the true quality that is was before. It’s deceiving imho. We all want the same, to have happy healthy and safe pet kids. That’s our job to protect them. Yes, a soap box, but I’m incredibly upset for Champion for being completely irresponsible on this. My heart goes out to all who’ve suffered…
my GSD pinched a nerve in his back a few years ago on a slick wood floor. He limped for about four months. Was overweight at the time. 106lbs. Have since covered the floors. In order to help him loose weight faster to help with the limping issue I put him on raw food diet. And cut out ALL treats. He always loved to swim and I have lake nearby and he could do that with limp. He has been at about 90 lbs since then. Feed him Merrick for the last several years. Recently tried Zignature as the local store was offering buy one get one. Both dogs have done really well on it. My GSD has Pannus now. And eye disease. Has to have eye drops now every day for life. This disease came on at the same time I had tried Costco dog food/and had him vaccinated. Either one of these things brought it on or it just happened. The other dog got hot spots from the Costco grain free food. Do not ever feed Costco Grain free. Reviews are horrible too. And if you ever need prescriptions sign up for Good RX. They have saved me tons of money.
On your review of Waggers Tender-moist 5 Stars you state it is a “Can Food” It is in fact not, now or ever.
That being said, there will be a can line launched on this line ( My Little Lion/Wolf) in 2017
The My Little Lion/ Wolf is a tender-moist line of food and treats for cats and dogs and was acquired in 2016 by American Pet Nutrition. Note the name Waggers is no longer attached to this line.
http://www.mylittlewolf.com
I am looking for a low oxalate / low fat diet for my 6 lb Yorkie who recently had surgery to remove bladder stones that were calcium oxalate stones.
Initially the vet recommended Royal Canin SO, but this food appears to be too high in fat and it left her lethargic with runny stools. Prior to this she was on Royal Canin Low Fat GI and she stayed regular on this and seemed to have no problem although I think it left her hungry because she was always looking for treats. This was a reason why the vet had suggested vegetable treats like carrots, broccoli etc. Now I wonder if the carrots contributed to the stones.
If there was the perfect commercial canned food on the market one with no sweet potatoes, no soy, no carrots etc that is also low fat I would like to know. I am open to preparing a homemade diet also but so far I’m finding it quite a puzzle. Most of the recipes look complicated and many have high oxalate ingredients.
Thanks, Pam
I haven’t ever fed weight management food to my dogs, I simply adjust their intake (back) & cut back on their treats. One thing I did notice that helped a lot was when I stopped letting mine free-feed & started feeding them only once a day. My mom used to give her doxie baby carrots & green beans to help control her weight. From everything I’ve read, skip the weight management foods – they aren’t worth it.
I feed my dogs Happy Howie’s premium beefy 4″ Burger treats. They are made in the USA and do not have many ingredients. I also like their sausage links. My dogs love these treats. They are not cheap, but we try to only give 1 or 2 a week. I have a Great Pyrenees, Staffordshire Terrier, Collie mix and a pointer mix. They have been eating them for about 3 years with no problems.
The money you are spending on treats, and I assume you are treating a lot, would better be put toward a vet check. I agree that supplementing dog food with low calorie vegetables is the way to go. My dogs love Brussels sprouts and green beans and also carrots. I would hope your vet could help you out with a payment plan if you sincerely want to get your dogs to a healthy place, which you obviously do. Best of luck!
Maureen,
I applaud you for realizing that the dogs need to lose weight. Nutro is a very low quality food, one I wouldnt feed. Wellness Core reduced fat and Annamaet Lean are good foods to use.
Treats….use some of their food for treats or look forvery low calorie treats. Dogs don’t know or care how big a treat is.
For exercise, you can buy or make a flirt pole. You can roll balls inside the house as well. Do you have a trusted family member who can walk them?
Your dog who is aggressive with food: feed her in a crate or in a different room. If you think she has a thyroid issue, you need to get her to the vet, you cant leave that unchecked. Call your vet, explain what is going on with the financial issues and ask if you can make payments.
In the red line above, click “FAQ” then click dog food calculator. You will need to know the amount of calories in the food to figure out a starting point.
Hi,
I seem to have a problem making dogs fat. Suzie needs to drop 15-20 pounds (boy was she difficult to pick up and weigh–49#) and the mother dog and one of her adolescent ‘children’ both need to drop some unhealthy fat. I have never been really clear about what amount I should feed my diet dogs. For the 50# one to I use the ‘lose weight’ for 50# or do I use the ‘lose weight’ for what she should weigh?
I have had all my dogs on Nutro Weight Mgt since my normal weight dogs decided they would rather eat the diet food than Fromms??? Very odd. I put down four bowls, one with Ultra and that’s the only one they ate, also my Ty with the skin problem seems to be cured.
I have a problem walking them because of a disability and the poor homeless dogs in my neighborhood whose attitude is unknown. I realize this is my fault because of the TREATS! I will try to find the amount of calories in the treats and add it to the recommended number of calories I calculated. (and subtract it from their food or skip the treats).
I feel very bad about my idiocy in fattening these poor sweet dogs and I am going to fix it. My fattest dog can eat her dry food out of a ‘maze’ bowl just as fast as she did with a regular bowl and she is becoming very aggressive over any food she finds, and she was always such a gentle dog and very active. Sigh. I can’t afford to take her to the vet to have her thyroid checked, but if dogs are like humans whose nails don’t grow very fast when the thyroid is underactive, then she is hypothyroid ($78 for the test) as I rarely have to trim her nails, they just don’t grow..
Thank you for this great site. I just joined because I had $17 in my checking account. Thanks for the discount;-)
Sincerely
Maureen Martinek
“I had cleaned them with my great little $12 Amazon dental kit!”
Umm, that item is no comparison to a professional cleaning. Brushing the dog’s teeth once a day may help though, see YouTube for how to videos.
Tums? I would go to another vet and get a second opinion. Also, be very careful about taking advice from well meaning posters on the internet. A lot of false information out there. And, I would never give a pet over the counter meds or supplements unless recommended by a veterinarian that has examined the pet. You can make things worse.
Excerpt from:
https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/tums-safe-dogs-bf44a10fade507c#
“The active ingredient in TUMS and many other antacids is a chemical called calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is not only a medication, it also occurs widely in nature as one of the main substances that make up limestone.
Calcium carbonate treats an upset stomach because of the effects it has on stomach acid. Calcium carbonate is a basic substance. This means it has a high pH, which is the opposite of stomach acid, a substance with a very low pH. When a person or animal is given calcium carbonate it goes to work by neutralizing stomach acid. This happens due to a chemical reaction that takes place between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid, the main constituent of stomach acid. When this reaction happens, calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid switch their chemical partners, forming calcium chloride and water. Calcium chloride is insoluble and passes through the digestive tract, while the water formed by the reaction results in a healthier pH level.
Unfortunately, dogs digest foods much more quickly than humans do, so the chemical reaction between calcium carbonate and stomach acid does not occur fast enough to treat the animal’s upset stomach. By the time calcium carbonate treats the symptom, the dog has typically already digested and passed whatever food was causing the problem in the first place, making this a harmless but relatively ineffective treatment for the animal’s ailment”.
PS: I would call your vet and leave a message for her to call you back, I would question the Tums and ask why she didn’t suggest Pepcid? Not that it is a miracle drug, but, it might be slightly more effective in reducing symptoms (based on my experience and what I have observed). Anyway, I would communicate with your vet and ask questions.
Hi Nancy, you need to try a food with the same fat, protein & fiber % & similar ingredients to the vet diet, minus the crappy ingredients also has the food she doing well on have Beet pulp?? what vet food were you feeding her that she does great on?? Was the Merrick a wet tin food??
Food sensitivities take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks to show any symptoms, I rescued my boy & this happened with him, 4 yrs later finally over the years I worked out what he can eat & can’t eat, also you need to strengthen her gut, order some Purina Forti Flora probiotic & start her on 1/2 the recommend dose for 1 week then slowly go to proper dose by 2 weeks….you need to start an elimination diet, so you start with a vet diet that agrees with her for 2 months, no treats, no other foods to make sure she is still doing firm poos, maybe try the vet formula in a kibble, kibble works out cheaper then the vet diet wet tin foods but the ingredients very, wet diets have better ingredient to their kibbles, I had Patch on the Hills I/d Digestive kibble for 1 week everything was great 2nd week he was doing sloppy yellow poos that stunk, so I took back the Hills vet diet & got a refund, she needs to be on the vet diet for around 4 months to make sure everything is going great, then you add 1 new cooked ingredient, say boil chicken for 1 month no reaction then add boiled sweet potatoes for 1 month & still the chicken, every month add 1 new ingredient while still feeding the vet diet minus some of the vet diet replaced with ur cooked food, it takes time but in the end you will know what foods she is sensitive to….
Keep a diary, what foods wet & kibble you have tried, so you can look back if needed..
“Holistic Select” formulas kibbles they are for digestive health, & have single proteins formulas with rice & beet pulp like vet diets, Patch is eating the Holistic Select Adult/puppy, Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines Grain Free kibble it just has potatoes & peas, there’s no lentils, no chick peas at the moment poos are great & only 2 poos a day but back in the beginning he ate the Holistic Select Adult Duck meal & Rice formula kibble it has beet pulp & rice like the vet diets have, the Holistic Select wet tin foods are too high in fat around 6% when converted to dry matter (Kibble) 6%-fat is about 30% fat if it was a kibble, vet diets fat % is lower in wet tin formulas then some of the normal brand wet diet formulas sold in pet shops, if your feeding a wet tin vet diet then you need to try wet tin foods, not kibbles or try the vet diet in a kibble & see does she have the same problems??
Have you tried the vet diet in the kibble formula??
It’s stressful & it takes time, like I said 4yrs, I’ve had Patch & I needed to find a brand food (kibble) he did well on & keep him on that food for 6 months then so slowly add 1 new food to his diet…also vet diets have higher or lower soluble & insoluble fibers, where pet shop foods are all made the same for dogs with a normal bowel with no health problems also most vet diets aren’t grain free, so you need to look at foods like “Canidae” Life Stages “Platinum” it has brown & white rice & turkey, similar to the ingredients to the Hills I/d formulas also Canidae make a wet tin food called life stages Platinum, the fat is low, the protein is low like the vet diet tin food, so is the fiber. another thing normally rescue dogs are feed supermarket crappy diets, then when feed a good quality higher fat & high protein foods they have diarrhea cause they are not use to eating so much fat & protein, that’s why they do well on the vet diets cause they have the gluten corn meal & crappy ingredients as well.. look at the kibbles with rice not the grain free formulas for now..
Holistic select site http://holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog
Canidae site http://www.canidae.com.au/dog-food/ scroll down for the Life Stages formulas
It takes time & slow & steady when adding new foods, add 1 thing at a time over 1 week so you know what caused the problem if you have a problem like diarrhea or sloppy poos..
D Mannose treats and cures mine, a lot of women say the same thing in the reviews- there’s several thousand human reviews on there, and a lot for the dog one too. This is the first time I’ve used it for a dog though I don’t see why it would be much different. I use the test strips, same ones the dr uses, to check before and after. So far this corgi loves the doggie ones listed above, the first day she wouldn’t eat it without it being in food. The next day on she has snatched it out of my hand and crunched them up like a cookie begging for more. I’m amazed because she is picky. Even raw meaty beef bones (totally organic from a steer we raised and butchered) she takes in her igloo to hoard and takes a few bites now and then. I think it depends on the bacteria and how you treat them. Once a day would not cure a UTI. But several throughout the day, possibly 2 days if it is very severe would in many cases. You can tape a baggie to the dog’s hind end and take her for a leash walk to collect urine and test it with a pregnancy test or test strip. D Mannose only works on UTIs caused by bacteria(about 80% of UTIs are from E coli bacteria). If the UTI is from something else (about 20% of them are) then D Mannose would not work. If you read the Amazon reviews for human D Mannose there is a lot of info about treating both types
Hi,
Does anyone here free feed? I’m interested in trying this with my cavalier but I’m afraid she will just gain weight. When she was a puppy she would just pick at her meals but then as she grew up she became a chow hound and will now eat anything. I’m wondering if she became this way because I didn’t leave her food out so she ate a lot because she didn’t know when food would be left out. Just a thought.
The only problem with this is she can only have 2/3 cup per day. (besides treats) she eats her ration in a slow feeder bowl within five minutes so I’m concerned she would just keep eating until there would be no more food. Is there a way to train her to just eat when she’s hungry? Perhaps if she saw a lot of food in her dish she would only eat a little bit
at a time.
Has anyone had any luck with this style of feeding?
We have a GSD that is a picky eater and won’t eat dry food by itself. She is a rescue and during her first year, eating or I should say “not getting to eat” was a problem. She is eating a Merrick dog food now that she loves, but it is causing her to gain weight, even though we feed her a reduced portion size. The Vet is on us, telling us she will break down in her senior years if she doesn’t get 10-20 lbs. off, but she is getting less than the daily recommendation as it is now. She doesn’t like people food, won’t eat dog treats, so she truely is getting only what her daily feed is. We are at a loss as to what to feed her. Any ideas are welcome!
Thanks!
Hi Kerrin, your best to make a balance raw diet or buy the pre-made raw diets or cook.
I feed my dog a cooked meal (Dinner) & rotate between “Taste Of The Wild” “Holistic Select Adult/Puppy” Fish grain free & Canidae Life Stages the Canidae Pure grain free gave Patch his pain, it may have been the Chickpeas & higher protein % but Canidae Pure formulas would be excellent for healthy dogs, the Canidae Life Stages has the big 44lb (20kg) bags at a very good price…Canidae uses human grade ingredients, kibble size is nice & small for dogs that gulp & don’t chew, easier to digest…
My Patch just turned 8 yrs old, he has no joint pain that I can see, body & coat looks excellent, the only problem is he has IBD mainly his stomach, to look at him you wouldn’t know he has IBD & is ill some days…..I put Patch down to being so healthy & getting better from cooked meals, fresh foods, peeled apple pieces as treats, Almonds as treats, broccoli, kale, egg, spinach parsley all cut up & mixed with lean pork mince or extra lean beef mince & made into 1 cup size rissoles & baked in the oven, sweet potato boiled & added to rissoles as well after cooked, I cant think what else I feed him, I feed what ever I’m eating & I rotate between kibbles, changing the proteins mainly feed Fish & Lamb kibbles, I stay away from chicken if I can, chicken is very high in omega 6 & low in Omega 3…
Omega 6 is pro anti-inflammatory & Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory & as we know chickens are pumped with hormones to grow quickly.
A balanced raw or cooked diet is the best to feed a cat or dog, kibble is just easy for us… have a look at Ziwi Peak Air Dried, Canidae Pure or Life Stages, Victor Super Premium or Sport Dog Elite, the Sport Dog Elite is similar to the Victor but cheaper, the Sport Dog Elite link I have isn’t working but it shows the Sport Dog Elite formulas & compares them to the Victors formulas….
http://victorpetfood.com/
Poor appetite is often a red flag, a sign that something may be medically wrong with the dog.
I would take him to the vet for a checkup and lab work, plus, whatever else your vet thinks is indicated. Once you diagnose what is wrong with him (or rule out), you can decide with the guidance of your vet what food would be best. Your dog is a senior, therefore vulnerable to all kinds of conditions that may be treatable. At the least, your vet should be able to advise you as how to keep him comfortable.
Do you want to eat when you don’t feel well? Didn’t think so.
PS: If your dog has had a full checkup within the last 6 months, just a call to the vet for advice may be helpful….
BTW those freeze dried liver treats and such may be high in fat and sodium, discuss with your vet.
I only give freeze dried organ meats (livers) & chicken breasts. Purebites makes some great treats. There is no need for all of the other crap they put in treats. The dogs get enough of that in their food & supplements.
O yes! Any organ meat is great for your dog. I don’t give any treats except freeze dried livers. And if I have some hearts, livers, etc. I’ll cut them up & give them to him, all except gizzards, I get those (I really like them).
Hi we just recently got a cavachon puppy and we’ve tried every treat out there and he doesn’t like any of them. So we decided we would try cooked chicken just broiled without salt or anything and he won’t eat that either, is that unusual? We’ve found that he likes apples, cottage cheese and regular cheese other than that we can’t figure out any treats to use to help us with training. Any suggestions? And honestly is it normal for a dog not to like chicken?
I totally agree with crazy4cats. But, for a very sensitive stomach, I would like to add onto zcRiley suggestion.
Where I work, Zignature is one of the main options we would recommend when dogs have:
(a) unknown allergens but consistent allergic reactions to other brands (even the best such as Orijen Single-Protein diet), and
(b) stomach problems that aren’t clearing up with other single-protein/limited ingredient diets (possibly unrelated to allergies, just sensitive).
They specialize in limited ingredient diets that try to eliminate as many possible allergens and sensitives from their product while still being as nutritious as possible (note: probably because of this it is not a meat-based kibble like Orijen, unfortunately). I always recommend starting with Turkey or Duck (lean meats are easiest to digest) because it is the most economical and easy to find treats for if your dog has great success with it. I would recommend waiting on anything with Venison or Kangaroo as these are not only more expensive but useful if your dog has problems with everything else (i.e. last resort). You can also try pairing any new food with unpasteurized goats milk for the added digestive track probiotics (especially since its a puppy).
Note that any changes in diet will take a few weeks before noticeable effects may be seen with more time needed the bigger the dog (although your dog will probably see improvement after a week or so if its helping). Once you find what the problem is, you can transition them to a product that closely matches your dogs needs or stay on it.
Hope this helps! Wish you and your puppy much luck!
Hello all,
I am new to the forum so hopefully I am posting in the right section. We have recently put a deposit down on a Yorkie who is going to be smaller than the average Yorkie. The breeder does not breed for teacups, he just happened to be a tiny guy. The breeder says she will feed him Royal Canin puppy food, which I am not a super big fan of. We are fairly new to being dog owners but I want to make sure Little Toby(our Yorkie) is eating good quality ingredients. I have been doing A LOT research on my own and there are so many dog foods, it is overwhelming. I want to get a good puppy food for him and then eventually transition to a small breed dog food. We will be getting our little guy in about 2 weeks, the breeder wanted to keep him longer because he was so small, to ensure his health.
I am looking at doing this for the puppy food: Here
Then I am looking to transition to this dog food when he is an “adult” Here
I am very open to any suggestions and I could definitely use help on what treats to get as well. I would like to get the little guy some treats(for potty training) and something to chew on to help his teething and teeth down the road. I don’t want bad quality items that can cause health issue. I also don’t know if I should get a higher content of protein or fat food for an undersized Yorkie. The breeder thinks he will only get about 3lbs, I am hoping he can get up to 4 or 5lbs. His health is good and I want to make sure he has a nice healthy, happy life.
Thanks,
Jason C
Well, the past week or so I’ve been feeding Instinct kibble with tripe+Sojo’s in one meal. The week before, I was feeding canned (Tiki, Weruva, or Nutrisource) with Primal raw frozen in one meal. For treats I was giving Stewart freeze dried raw and Nature’s Logic dried lung and Merrick Backcountry freeze dried raw. My next shopping cart will have some Wellness cans and Nutrisource kibble or Nature’s Logic kibble. I have fed Wellness Core, Zignature, Pro Pac Ultimates, Fromm, Grandma Lucy’s, Vital Essentials.
agreed!!!! i am always very confused by people say they loooove all animals but directly support animal abuse by buying factory farmed meats for themselves and their pets. i started my own dog treat business because i have always had a hard time finding treats in stores from humanely raised meats. i would love a humanely raised category on this website that i could post to my treat facebook page for my clients to refer to.
anyway… for the people here who obviously actually DO care about the welfare of farm animals as well you can check out my website: https://dolceardesiatreats.com
I have no information at all about the mass this vet felt other then her telling me it doesn’t appear to be related to the anal glands. She said anal glands can abscess and get cancerous but this seems to be along the rectal wall above or around that general area. She didn’t say anything was an emergency or that I should rush to get an x Ray or treatment ASAP. She just said that when I bring him in for his next anal gland expresssing that she will feel it to see if it has gotten larger. She said to watch for irritation and if he shows signs of struggling to defecate or continues to scoot his butt then I should possibly run him in sooner for the biopsy which would involve putting him under and prolapsing the anus to use a needle and aspirate the mass for a sample. I am wondering if this could be a hernia? His diet has been massively changed since his slipped disc issue as well. He’s had a life of strict grain free- high quality dog food but since he has been on tramadol, Prevacox and gabapentin his appetite is pretty much destroyed. He’s been living off peanut butter (I hide his pills in it), canned chicken and tuna fish and some raw hide chews which he only eats the coating off of and leaves the actual rawhide. So, I don’t know if this is dietary related? I ordered some Glandex to see if that helps his anal glands in the meantime. I doubt he will eat them though. He’s seriously so uninterested in dry kibble or even most scraps. Should I just stop giving him tuna, bones and treats and force him to only eat kibble? This is so frustrating. This whole experience has truly shown me that I don’t think I can handle another dog again. It’s so much emotional and financial stress and trauma. I love my dog though so I’m trying my best for him.
Hi Kristen-
I spent about a year and a half doing what you are doing right now, with my pitbull. I was switching foods constantly, looking for the lowest carb foods, no potatoes for a while, no grains, high protein. It did absolutely nothing to help him because I had been given very wrong information about why and how yeast forms.
Yeast naturally grows on the dogs skin and when their immune system is healthy, the body regulates the yeast and keeps it under control. The opposite happens when the immune system is weakened, often times because of allergies, but other reasons as well. Though many people will continue to perpetuate the myth that carbs “feed” yeast because they break down into glucose, this is untrue and therefore simply limiting carbs without having an understanding of what is causing the immune system to be suppressed is pointless.
If you believe food is an issue, you will need to conduct a proper elimination diet, which it sounds like you may have attempted at one point though I don’t know what food you used to attempt it. When doing one properly, you will either need to homecook one novel protein and one novel carb for 2 months straight or use the veterinary theraputic diets whos proteins have been hydrolyzed. Hydrolyzation of the proteins breaks them down into their component amino acids making the immune system unable to detect them, thus not causing an immune system response. During this time they of course can not have anything but that diet. No treats, no flavored meds, nothing. An elimination diet is the golden standard for diagnosing food allergies. Those who have told you allergy tests for food allergies are unreliable were correct, they are. Often times yielding false negatives and false positives.
I personally chose the veterinary theraputic diet to do my pitbulls elimination diet (Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein) and he greatly improved, thus telling me food was a component to his allergy issues. He is now eating a fish based, grain inclusive food with almost 50% carbs and is yeast free during the winter months. Unfortunetly when June hits in the south here he does get a little worse again leading me to suspect environmental allergies on top of the food issues. But for that I bathe twice a week in Malaseb shampoo to kill the yeast. I’ve been successful with this regime for 8 months now.
Barb,
I think Amicus is a smaller kibble. She should be feeding an adult or all life stages food. It seems that alot of picky eaters are small dogs & I believe that most are owner-made picky dogs. I suggest she put the food down, leave it for 15 minutes then pick it up. The dog gets nothing else til the next meal: no people food, no treats, nada.
Hi Newmom, follow Rodney Habib on his Face Book page he’s a Pet Nutrition Blogger, or on “Planet Paws” F/B site, https://www.facebook.com/PlanetPaws.ca/?pnref=lhc
I’ve learnt so much about healthy feeding & Rodney has a his videos, how to make frozen Coconut oil with Berries treats & freeze also videos about kibbles being unbalanced & are very high in omega 6 & very low in omega 3, causing health problems in dogs, like skin problems, joint problems etc he has a video at the moment about chicken, “Is chicken bad for your dog” cause chicken is so cheap a lot of kibbles are chicken, the problem is chicken is high in omega 6, Pro anti-inflammatory & very low in omega 3 which is anti-inflammatory & dogs start scratching & people think my dog is sensitive to chicken, like me, every time Patch ate raw or cooked chicken, he got a red swollen back paw & started to itch & scratch his body, but when he ate a premium kibble with chicken in it, he was OK???, now I’ve realized the kibble was probably balanced with omega 3 it was 1/2 of the omega 6 what it should be & Patch didn’t get his red swollen paw & itchy skin….but when he ate raw & cooked chicken it was tooo much omega 6 causing his red hot paw & itchy skin, so now when I buy a kibble I rotate between different brands & different proteins,
I read the Omega 6% & 3 % & make sure the omega 3% is either 1/2 of the omega 6% or nilly 1/2 of the omega 6%. Rodney said if it doesn’t say on the bag of kibble or on the kibbles site then send the kibble companies an email & ask them for their omega 3% & omega 6% & tell these kibble companies what it should be & I will not be buying your crappy unbalanced kibble till you improve it… we need to stand up to these big kibble companies & show them we are not stupid & are educated about our pets diet..
I give raw almonds about 3 almonds a day for a dog a day, I eat 1/2 an Almond & give Patch the other 1/2 of Almonds I give as a treat & his coat has become real shinny, google foods that are high in omega 3, I also give some peeled apple pieces as a treat, dogs that have skin problems also need Vitamin C in their diet…. you can buy Dog Vitamin C in Australia we have Natural Animal Solutions http://www.naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/education.php
There’s a lot of good info on Jacqueline Rudans site she’s a animal Naturopath..
Go to Aldis & look for Tin Sardines in Spring Water or Olive Oil you can give 3 small sardines a day added to one of his meal, Sardines have Vitamin, A, C, D, B-12, B-6 Calcium, Iron & Magnesium, sardines are very healthy to add to your dogs food, Aldis sell tin of Sardines for 59c in Australia…I’d add Sardines to a meal instead of buying any fish oil supplements…unless they’re made in New Zealand
They did a study on Fish Oils in America & 70% were rancid they were off before the bottle was even opened, they tested a fresh just opened bottle of fish oil capsules & they were rancid off..then they tested New Zealand Fish oil supplements & the New Zealand made fish oils were fresher & hadn’t gone rancid yet….
I like giving fresh whole foods instead of supplements, also for skin problems make sure your bathing weekly baths in a good medicated shampoo I use “Malaseb” medicated shampoo on my boy, the Malaseb shampoo kills any bacteria on their skin & soften their skin/fur when you bath you wash off any pollens & allergens on the dogs coat, Patch feels so soft after his bath, when Patch is real itchy cause of environment allergies I have to bath him twice a week to relieve his itchy skin & red paws…
AnonymousInactive
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Hi Sally Z,
I am not sure how much cheaper you want to get when feeding raw meat to your dog. Eventually the cheaper you go the less quality and safety you get.
Nothing wrong with store bought meat or poultry. I feed that to my dog but I COOK it first. Nothing wrong with feeding your dogs cooked protein. As long you you add the necessary supplements afterwards to balance it on a weekly basis.. I have discovered that feeding cook food is cheaper than feeding my pup raw. Supermarkets always have sales on fish, turkey, pork, and chicken.
Heck I am now feeding my pup raw food once a week out of the month and the other weeks I feed him cooked proteins.
Anyway in regards to bone replacement you can use eggshells, calcium seaweed (found on Amazon-the bottle lasts for months cost is less than $20), bone meal powder (found on amazon just make sure it does not have added vitamins.
Organ is cheap to find at supermarket just slighlty braise them to kill any bacteria. Or what I like to do at times is I make liver and organ treats by putting them in a dehydrator.
Or you can buy pre-made dehydrated organ and liver treats online. Just make sure they are 100 made in America and are organic free range.
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This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by
Cannoli. Reason: added more context
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This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by Cannoli. Reason: typo
Hello!
We’ve built an app that will identify harmful pet food ingredients and recalled pet food by simply using your phone to scan the barcode of the pet food product!
My name is David Santa and I’m one of the founders of the Safe Pet Treats app. Our goal is to provide every pet owner in America with a tool to help protect their pets from harmful ingredients, recalled pet food and to raise awareness about the dangers in pet foods.
Check out this quick video for more details.
http://bit.ly/YouTube_Vid_SafePetTreats
Features:
*Instantly identify harmful pet food ingredients
*Instantly know if the product has been recalled by the FDA or manufacturer
*Personalize and add up to 10 additional ingredients to avoid
*Receive instant notifications as soon as a product has been recalled
*Save time at the pet store by not having to read every single ingredient
*Search for your favorite pet food product to see just how safe it is
The app is free to try for 24 hours and after that it’s a small monthly or annual subscription. Currently our database consists of 36,000+ pet food products and it’s growing every day!
We would love to know what the DogFoodAdvisor community thinks about the app so please let me know!
Special thanks to DogFoodAdvisor for allowing us to post on their awesome website!
http://www.safepettreats.com
I can’t take the credit for this ideal, found it somewhere else, but it does make a lot of sense.
If you buy a high quality canned food for your dog or cat you can use it for a supply of healthy treats!
All you need to do is open the canned food and spoon a little treat size amount on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
Now put the cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen. After they are frozen you can move them to a container that is airtight and back in the freezer.
If your pup doesn’t like them frozen you can also thaw them a little so they are chewy but firm.
Ha! It is your thread, so you can take it off topic! I’m not really a lot of help regarding treats. I shop sales and with coupons. So I don’t really have a certain one that I buy. I try to buy small ones because my dogs are a little chubby and don’t need extra calories. Especially now with the time change coming and weather getting bad. Their walks won’t be as consistent. They do get a bully stick once a week to chew on. We get them at Costco.
Thanks crazy4cats!
This will be a little off topic here but what do you use as treats for your puppies?
Just wondering….
Hi Paige-
Here is the package insert for IVERHART MAX Chewable Tablets: http://www.virbacvet.com/pdf/product_pdfs/IVERHART_MAX_Chewable_Tablets_Insert.pdf
It contains ivermectin, pyrantel pamoate, and praziquantel, so it treats heart worm as well as round, hook, and tape worms.
Sometimes products with inactive ingredients will not list them, but still list the % of inactive ingredients. So this product may not have any. You also may want to check the list of side effects to see if her reaction matches one of the listed side effects. Otherwise you might want to call Virbac and ask if there are any inactive ingredients.
All Canine Carry Outs® chewy dog treats are made right here in the USA. All major ingredients, including the meat, come from the USA. Like most pet companies, they source a limited amount of minor ingredients from other countries due to limited availability in the U.S. They do not source any of our ingredients from China.
I started my dog on HR last month. He has always been a thin, small dog. He loves the HR dog food and treats. He has gained weighted/filled out, poops less, etc. I’m very pleased. 🙂
Any ideal where I can find HONEST ratings for Dog Treats?
We had a horrible experience with the dreambone (no rawhide) alternative treats this weekend. Both of my dogs began vomiting and having bloody stools shortly afterwards. One was dead in about 24 hours in a pool of blood from her mouth. I submitted an online report to the FDA in hopes these will get recalled.
You might check out http://www.pawtree.com/arkansaspets and do a quick pet profile. They offer great natural dog foods, treats, supplements based on your dogs needs. They may have what your looking for.
you might try doing a pet profile on her at http://www.pawtree.com/arkansaspets. They have natural pet foods based on your dogs needs. Along with treats, etc.
Zignature Limited Ingredient Formula Dry Dog Food (Turkey, lamb, or duck)
Key Benefits:
Grain-free and limited ingredient formula
Gluten-free diet
No potato, chicken or eggs
Complete and balanced diet for all life stages
Made in the USA
Stay away from all grains, brewer’s yeast and oatmeal anything. Same for treats. Yeast also feeds on oatmeal based shampoo. Bath in Aroma Paws honeysuckle and jasmine formula, all natural. Order food from Chewy.com, ingredients and reviews listed on everything.
Stop all the medications, it weakens the immune system. Wipe out ears daily with a tissue, q-tip out the yeast. Get ear drops from vet and keep at it.
My 11 mo old Glen chews at her toes and scratches her ear. This is a recurring problem and has been treated with medications each time. A vet suggested changing her food/treats and I am looking for the proper dog food. She started with a standard dry food the breeder used and then I used Horizon Legacy Puppy Grain Free. I don’t remember a real problem then. After we got another puppy (Vizsla) I stopped the Horizon (I could only get it in 8 lb bags) and switched to Wellness Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal. It was a few months before I noticed the chewing and scratching, so it may not be a food allergy, but I’m going to try changing her food. Also, the Blue Buffalo Health Bar treats (all varieties) need to be changed. Does anyone have a recommendation/suggestion?
Hey there, back again!
This is slightly off topic, but you all have been so helpful, thought I’d ask.
After we switched from Purina One LBP (chicken based) to Lamb and Rice, Freya’s itching did seem to decrease. I made the misteak of getting excited about home cooking and tried multiple new proteins (beef, pork, tuna) and she’s super itchy again. It’s been almost two weeks since she’s had anything but her kibble though, with the exception of some beef liver treats I made, and she’s still itchy. She did eat some chicken based cat food (in the form of cat vomit :/) and I noticed that the lamb and rice has “poultry by product meal” and I wonder if she’s sensitive the that.
She’s not really itching or chewing holes in herself and her poops seem good,so I’m aware it’s possibly not a food thing at all, but I’m going to switch her to EBH Coastal Catch, just to see if maybe she does better without grains. I don’t really have anything against grains, and I don’t really think it’s terrible for dogs to have them, but her current food has multiple and I want to figure out if maybe it’s one of those, as her symptoms seem slightly closer to a yeast issue.
Thoughts?
Make sure you have a vet visit done, to make sure he’s healthy.
We adopted an obese dog & used Wellness Core reduced fat food with great luck. If I needed such a food now, I’d use Annamaet Lean. Make sure your dog isnt getting table foodor many treats. If you need to treat, use the kibble.
Good luck!
Ok, I’ve gone and gotten myself all worried and worked up now!
Here’s the story: I have an 8mo old female GSD who came from pretty large stock. She was on LBP food until about 6mo when I switched her over to Purina One Lamb and Rice, partly because I had read it was recommended to switch large breeds earlier (old info, I know) and partly because she was SOOOO itchy on a chicken based food. The switch to lamb did seem to help with the itchy skin, but now I’m all stressed out that I’ve messed up her growth by taking her off puppy food too soon. I’m thinking of doing her half and half on the Purina and TOTW puppy.
I guess my questions are:
Will it help/make any difference to add puppy food back in at this point? Should I switch her back to all puppy?
I know TOTW isn’t the very best, but it’s pretty good for my price range. I’m not really anti-grain and still make some toppers/treats with cooked grains.
I guess I just need some more input…..
My pure bred bichon frise began forming bladder stones at age 5yrs. He was fed an all organic, home cooked meal, mostly consisting of pasture raise chicken, beef or pork, white rice, and veggies. Duck, chicken, beef and fish treats.
I followed the vets advice and had the stones surgically removed, and the stones returned within a year. I was furious. The vet then told me they commonly recur, and I set out on a mission to find a non-invasive way to get rid of them.
Bladder stones cannot be treated with ultrasound because of all the liquid in the bladder. So I coupled WD Cusick’s breed specific diet with Chinese herbs, passwan (Mandarin for ‘break up stone’), and all 5 of his stones were gone in 3 weeks.
I love these breed specific diets!
Hi Brian, I wrote this without seeing that you had replied.. and I said some of the same things.. Will a dog die on pro plan probably not… but for me I want to do better by my dogs. It is like us eating the way we do.. will we die… no.. But we will live more flexible, more lean and healthier on better food. I just don’t believe that any processed food is good because so much is lost in the high heat cooking. the bags have already sat somewhere for months before you even buy it. I make organic treats that go to stores and a distributor wanted to represent me.. and my treats had to last 12 – 18 month!!!! I don’t want my treats to last that long. It is the same with dog food. In my humble opinion
I have a 2 and a half year old mastiff. He is absolutely lovely and has been more or less in good health his whole life. He isn’t on an 100% raw diet, though a lot of what I give him throughout the day is raw meat/slightly cooked meat/meat-based actually good quality treats (I do heavy research before buying anything lmao)
Anyway, so my dog loves steak. So do I. Steak used to be a birthday treat, but since we moved into a place on our own and it’s just the two of us– anyway, he gets steak a lot now. He’s all about that. Lol. I cut his portion into pieces to give him before I season or cook my portion.
Anyway, at the nearby farmer’s market, I recently bought a calf heart (organic, grass-fed, very nice looking) — I haven’t had full on raw beef heart before and neither has my dog. It was frozen when I purchased it and it’s been frozen up until I tossed it in my fridge to thaw. Seeing as it’s a muscle, I figured he would view it similar to steak.
I cut him a couple pieces today because he seemed interested, but he wouldn’t touch it!
This is the first time he’s turned down (meat) raw food of any type. He’s usually only the type to turn down most fruits and vegetables (that are safe for dogs of course) lol.
Did he just think it smelled weird or something? Raw heart does smell rather strong even to me– so I’m sure it smells a hell of a lot to him. But he really likes his other smelly treats– like the green tripe sticks by Barkworthies. So, do you know what’s up?
I’m about to soak some pieces in apple cider vinegar because I read a few places that it would cut down on the smell. But yeah. I was fully planning on sharing this bounty with him. Haha. I don’t know why he isn’t interested. I’m half worried something is wrong with the beef heart I bought and that’s why he won’t eat it, but everything checks out and it seems really fresh.
He loves chicken hearts and all that good stuff.
Anyway, any ideas?
Thanks. 🙂
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This topic was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by
Sirius K.
My sweet wheaten terrier suffered from the same mysterious symptoms for about three years before I put her to sleep because the symptoms were distressing to her and the vet tried everything they possibly could. For two years I tried different things with her: Pepcid, gas x, and she had her blood tested numerous times. Nothing was ever found. She “appeared” to be a healthy 4 year old. I changed her diet to boiled chicken and rice and never gave her any additional treats. I never did try the seizure medication. The vet thought it was a seizure disorder. It would start out of the blue: frantic gulping, wrenching, vomiting white foam, and the worst part was that she consumed ANYTHING in her path. There were two times when she ingested something that caused an intestinal blockage that involved two ER visits with extensive stays. The scariest thing occurred when she was overnight at the ER, inside her kennel. She had an IV in her leg and ATE the IV needle and all the gauze. She vomited it up hours later. She must have had an episode while there…alone and scared out of her mind. It was so traumatizing for both her and I. I didn’t know what else to do, so I sadly said goodbye to her and laid her to rest.
It was four years ago, I think about her every day. I can’t believe after all these years that the vet’s still have no clue as to how to treat these episodes. One thing I did think about was the correlation between applying frontline and the occurrence of yet another gulping episode. Frontline now states that their product can cause seizures in dogs. Perhaps you should see if that could be the culprit. I wished I had tried that….
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This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by
Madison V.
My 14 year old Old English Sheepdog is pretty much at the end phase of her life and we are all heartbroken over it. She has been fairly sick over the last few weeks with a lack of appetite and her hind legs giving out. Our vet has said that she has nerve degeneration in her spine that is causing her back legs to gradually slide out from under her. With a small dog this is a bit easier to handle with carrying them and getting them around but with a 65 pound dog it’s not that easy. I wondered if there was any supplement that people have given their dogs for aiding the nerves in regenerating or getting better? I read that the mushroom Lion’s Mane is great for humans but haven’t heard how much a dog could tolerate. I would love to keep my dog going cause she’s so vibrant despite her age and these new hindrances. We love her so much and this has been a rough couple weeks with thinking the end is near. Is it a waste or stupid to try new supplements at this point? I brought her in to the vet today thinking it was the end for her after a long night of heavy panting and only eating canned food that she KNOWS has no pills in. She has suddenly become a detective with finding her meds hidden in wrapped treats and spits them out and it’s just crazy! But, he said that although she is old and not feeling well he thinks she looks good and can go a bit longer and he didn’t recommend euthanasia which was a relief. I don’t want to prolong her pain or make her stick around just to avoid that decision.
Any recommendations for senior dog supplements for the nervous system would be great. Also, she is allergic to brewers yeast so I have to avoid that ingredient. Thanks!
