[Maureen A M]

Hey aquariangt,

Did I spell that right? Can’t even spell my name today. I was flummoxed by the person who replied to my post about Blue Buffalo because their website NEVER mentions that the food is sourced or made in the USA. The person who answered my post said she/he had spoken to some one who worked for Blue Buffalo. Sure, I”d say the brand I worked for was made in the USA. ANd…..if it is why arent’ they proudly announcing it on their packaging?

Aaaaagh. One of those days when the rescue puppies peed on the couch while I was rinsing out the mop from their other ‘accidents’. I was only gone four hours and they have puppy pads. I love all the rescues (4), but I want to get back to my four old guys who are now terrified of their mother who tends to scream a lot. Like when couch cushion is pulled off the couch so it can be peed on???? Why not just pee on the damn thing while it’s still on the couch?

Oh my. IF I had a bigger house and more money (don’t we all) I”d keep them. The little rescue girl is still so afraid that if I touch her she pees. I try to pick her up and stroke her and talk quietly to her and she’ll let me get kinda close to give her treats. She has something wrong with her leg and limps a lot. I hope she finds a good home. Our ‘RICH’ persons animal rescue organization’s executive director told me to have them put down. I’ve had them three months. Guess I didn’t offer to make a donation. And, if I won the lottery I wouldn’t give them a penny. I know people who are able to turn in dogs ‘with’ a donation.

Grrrr.

Hope your day is better than mine. Your dog is cute, border collie? I have a part border collie. She is so FAT and I mean FAT. Part of it is lack of exercise since my disability I haven’t been able to walk her and she eats as is she will never be fed again. She’s lilke a vacuum. But Border Collies are so so so smart. She learned to open the back door whenshe wanted to come in and has nipped at my calves (calfs?) to make me move faster.

I am taking your advice and not buying Blue whatever anymore.

[LexiDog]

If she still throws up…you might have to go back to the beginning. Give her regular food and the just start off giving her Darwins as a treat after she has had time to digest her regular food. Then cut back in her regular food and increase her “treats”. But I wouldn’t try feeding them together because you know that doesn’t work. 🙂 Hopefully you will reply that everything stayed where it should have with the 100% Darwins.

[CircaRigel]

Agreed. A lot of those Petsworld foods and treats are definitely not premium and have alot of fillers your dog doesn’t need. As for Holistic Select, while mostly premium, it contains green tea extract… Wellness, Eagle Pack, Old Mother Hubbard, and Holistic Select all began putting it in all of their foods recently… but there’s a problem. I found a fair bit of research on PubMed that shows it to cause liver toxicity in dogs. Granted, the doses are higher and its worse if given in a fasting state, which wouldn’t be the case in food products, but I still wouldn’t want to risk my dog by touching the stuff.

Galen, my 6-month-old Shiloh is now on Canidae Grain Free Pure Sea for kibble, and Trippett (Green Beef Tripe, Tripe & Venison, & Duck Salmon & Tripe) for his canned food. I decided to follow the recent research that suggests giant breed pups may do best on an adult diet that has the low calcium and phosphorus, as it doesn’t have a lot of extra empty calories. I chose the Pure Sea formula because it has few key ingredients, the first 3 are meat and meat meals (fresh smoked salmon, salmon meal, menhaden fish meal), and is absolutely LOADED with Omega 3’s (brain food and excellent for the immune system, plus anti-inflammatory… perfect for a service dog in training like Galen, or a service dog). It also has the highest rating from Dog food Advisor, and includes probiotics and even some enzymes, like cellulase, which increases the bioavailability of polysaccharides as an energy source. The tripe in Trippett also contains digestive enzymes, which again is beneficial for digestion and increasing the bioavailability of nutrients.

Everything I feed Galen is for a reason. Even his treats, which are Sojo’s Simply Lamb… Only one ingredient- raw lamb, conveniently freeze dried.

[Susan]

Hi Sue, my boy gets the red around the bottom of his mouth, what I did was change diet & be careful a lot of these grain free diets have Peas, Potaoes, Sweet potatoes that make skin worse, I buy the Huggies Thick Baby Wipes the Cucumber & Aloe after Patch finishes eating I get a baby wipe & wipe his bottom mouth & chin as the food & spit must irritate his skin…I also bath in Malaseb medicated shampoo weekly baths, here’s the raw diet that made Patch all better http://naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/natural-diet.html scroll down till you see “Skin Allergy Diet” & click pick a protein that your girl has never eaten before also pick 2-4 veggies & 1-2 fruits, I picked Kangaroo & broccoli head, 2 carrots 5 celery sticks & 1 apple to start with…. peel then cut up veggies & fruit & put thru a mini processor & blend so the raw veggies & fruit are real fine stop before they become water/pulp, then I had to add 2 heaps spoons veggie/fruit mix to 1 cup of raw Kangaroo meat freeze the rest of the veggie/fruit mix into 2-3 spoon sections & take out the night before put in fridge for next day.. Patches red paws, stinky itchy body started to clear up within 2-3 days I couldn’t believe his red paws went away just after 2 days on the raw diet vet kept telling me he has environment allergies to pollen & grass…. then I bathed him in the Malaseb medicated shampoo its excellent & I haven’t needed to bath him for 1 month since starting the new raw diet… I don’t know if your girl has yeasty skin or environment allergies or food intolerances…Raw is best then cooked if you cant do the raw.. if you feed a kibble you need a limited ingredient hypoallergenic kibble something like “California Natural’ Hypoallergenic limited ingredient kibble.. try the Lamb & Rice it has just 4 ingredients, here’s their link to have a look they also have treats on the same page… The Science Diet Grain Free Ideal Balance has Potatoes & chicken…. if you don’t see any improvement take back for refund & get the California Natural & give that a go if you don’t want to feed a raw or cooked diet… I do both cooked for breakfast & a hypoallergenic gluten free kibble for dinner http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products

[Sue L]

I have 2 blue nose pitbull females.They are my children since I lost my 7yr old Bluenose to cancer last summer and he never ever complained about anything up to the day he passed.I got my new babies right away because I was so lonesome without him. Their names are Ava and Nina,Ava is blue/grey with white paws .belly and nose and my Nina is almost totally blue/grey but I’m having issues with Ava’s skin ,mostly where she’s white ,she’s raw .Vet has given her steroids, Benadryl ,A&D Ointment but still around the side of her mouth is so red and raw ,please if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to contact me . They are both weaning off puppy chow grain free to Hills science Diet and grain free treats are also given to them .Please help if possible !

[John O]

My 2.5 year old lab, border, pit bull mix has consistent bouts of loose stool and some impressive gas. We have been feeding him Taste of the Wild High Prairie (which he likes a lot) but after ruling out any treats or other items he ingests, we are concerned that it may be the TOTW.
Any recommendations or suggestions?

[Bobby dog]

Here’s a few links about what is safe for dogs. As with everything, there are things you might find contradictory or questionable. Always check with your Vet when in doubt:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control

Welcome 🙂

Here’s a recipe for making sweet potato chews:

Homemade Sweet Potato Dog Treats

[crazy4cats]

Jeanenne-
Sorry to hear about your situation. I have only experienced crystals with one of my cats and it was a frightening experience. He had a blockage and spent three days at an emergency clinic. Luckily he survived. I did feed him the Rx food afterwards and slowly weaned him off over an eight month period. I was so worried it would happen again.

Sounds like the vet is recommending the Royal Canin SO partly due to the fact that they are not sure if they are struvite, oxalate, or another type of stones yet. Royal Canin helps prevent both as it is lower in magnesium and has ingredients that promote urination. If they are struvite crystals, most often Hill’s c/d or s/d is recommended due to it’s ability to dissolve the crystals by making the pH more acidic. Oxalate type cannot be dissolved. They need to either be flushed out or surgically removed. Either way, more moisture and opportunities to urinate are very important to keep the crystals flushed out of the urinary tract.

Honestly, reading that you regularly feed Beneful, I think that the Royal Canin is a step up anyway. In my opinion, you can still give your dog the fruit and vegetable treats as long as you keep them to 20% or less of his diet. I have read a ton about crystals, but admittedly mostly the feline variety. But, one of the biggest factors that they are learning is that they are often brought on by stress or anxiety for cats. I would venture to guess that there could be some correlation in dogs as well. You mentioned that you just moved and that could have brought on some stress. Our pets don’t like too many changes in their routines. My cat had his emergency right after we got back from vacation. I don’t think my son was very good at keeping him on his routine and he had some separation anxiety.

After the stones are analyzed and you know what you are dealing with, maybe you could talk to your vet about being referred to a vet nutritionist. There is also a website called Balance IT, that helps people with pets that have health conditions formulate a specialized diet. Your vet might not know that you are willing to take on that task.

In the mean time, I would try to get your dog to eat the Royal Canin. Preferably the canned if you can. Increase the water intake and potty breaks. And, if possible, maybe you could increase to feeding three times per day. That is another change that I made that seems to be helping. Three smaller meals rather than two. That helps to keep their pH levels more consistent.

I wish you well!

[Jeaneene S]

I really wanted to put this in the “Struvite Crystals” thread – but for some reason that particular page always shows me as *not* logged in, even when I log in from within that thread.

Anyway, I could use some help. I have a 10 1/2 year old male Siberian Husky who has – his entire life – been on Beneful dry dog food and never had any health problems AT ALL. At one point I tried to change to the Blue Wilderness (thinking it might be better for them), but he and my 10 1/2 year old female Husky had the worst diarrhea I’ve ever seen, so it was back to the Beneful kibble. (I’ve always heard dry kibble is best for dental health, which is why that’s all I’ve ever used)

Now, this past February my big boy had what appeared to be an awful UTI. So the next day, I got a good urine catch (looked super cloudy, but just yellow) and took it and him to the vet. Vet found no crystals but lots of blood (at the microscopic level) in his urine, and did an xray, but didn’t find anything wrong. She put him on antibiotics and it was gone.

On May 1 we moved to a new house, and got a new vet – had all the dogs’ files brought to the new vet (I brought them myself so I knew they wouldn’t get lost). Then, on Memorial Day, I noticed he looked like he was having a hard time urinating again and to my horror it looked as if he was even peeing blood. Immediately called the new vet and explained what it *appeared* to be; she said that even though they were closed, she would call in an rx for Amoxicillin for him. No more than a few days of being off the antibiotics, and we started having problems AGAIN (thankfully not peeing blood this time). So, hubby took him to the Vet this past Monday and with a different kind of xray, she found 1 stone the size of a quarter, 3 stones the size of a nickel, and about 15 smaller ones. Needless to say my big boy went in for surgery yesterday morning (I am picking him up today).

Now the vet is telling me that I have to put him on the Royal Canin SO food (which she has already said he’s been turning his nose up at the vet’s), and the only treats he can have is if I take the Royal Canin SO canned food, cut it up in to squares and bake them into “treats”. We’re talking about a dog who is used to his mommy throwing a steak on the grill to mix in with his food (well, him and the other 3 girl dogs in the house) … getting bell peppers, apples and other fruits/veggies as treats, having watered-down applesauce popsicles, etc. Now she’s saying he can never have any of this ever again AND I have to give him this food that appears to me to be very poor quality and that he doesn’t like?! I’m having a very hard time accepting this.

I asked the vet at the Petsmart (where I am having to get the food) for a second opinion – and oddly enough – he seconded that opinion. How do I tell his regular vet that I don’t approve of this dog food, and that I’d LIKE to try a more vitamin-based/holistic approach as well as make his food for him which I feel would be better quality – not to mention cheaper – and where I can add the necessary added vitamins and minerals and would still prevent any further bladder stone issues.

Should trust both his new vet and the Banfield vet at Petsmart (his previous vet – when I called her last week also said he may have to go on a special diet for the remainder of his life too, so that makes three)? I’m willing to make his food, give him the supplements, test his urine … ANYTHING! Or am I just being unreasonable? And would it be “wrong” to go against the vet and do what I *think* is right?

• This topic was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Jeaneene S.

[Dori]

I have three spayed dogs. There has never been even the slightest disagreement amongst the three. They are each others BFF’s. They pal around together all day long and cuddle up together on the couches and insist on squeezing in on the various dog beds together even though there are several in every room of the house. They chase each other, wrestle (never ever has it turned into a fight), play tug….funny to watch all three playing tug together), chase toys always allowing who ever gets it first to keep it. They don’t steal each other’s food or treats. Two, my younger girls (6 years old next week) also have been playing their version of hide n seek since they were only weeks old. My opinion, and it’s just that, my opinion is that a lot has to do with the energy in your home to begin with. My home is calm and stress free (as much as can be anyway) and the energy has been commented on by a lot of people that come inside our home.

Also, spaying them never caused any differences in them be it metabolism, incontinence, personality or whatever. They remained the same as before the spays. Perhaps not all veterinary surgeons are the same.

Your family, human and fur, are just beautiful. Is there a possibility that you keep both a male and a female?

One more edit: The three girls, two almost 6 years old and one almost 16 years old are the the sweetest most affectionate with each other and even more so with my husband and I. Even if one of us leaves a room for a moment they follow us around. Hubby calls me the Pied Piper. As I was about to say, even if I leave the room for a moment they follow me. If I go out to get the mail or put out the garbage and come back they act like I’ve been gone for months. They’re a huggie kissie little group. Just like their human parents? The three love to snuggle up on us whether we’re sitting reading, watching t.v. or in bed.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Dori.

[Dori]

cindy q. My three girls have been on commercial raw diets, nothing processed including treats for the past 4 years. I rotate their food with every meal. I don’t mix proteins either. I always have 3 or 4 bags started in the freezer at the same time. Different brands, different proteins.

The reason I had stopped feeding Darwin’s awhile back was they went through a change. They increased the fat, lowered the protein and raised the price. The whole idea did not sit right with me. I recently came across Darwin’s on Amazon with free shipping. Same Darwin’s and ships from Darwin’s facility also. You have to buy it in the variety packages though. You can’t specify just one protein. Since I rotate as frequently as I do and my dogs are accustomed to very high proteins, moderate to high quality fats, and low carbs there has not been an issue with Darwin’s. Actually it has less fat than a lot of the other frozen raws I have in rotation. I was just annoyed of the changes that I mentioned above. Now that I don’t have to pay for shipping it makes it easier to not be so annoyed with the company.

[Dori]

I rotate between brands and the proteins they make with the exception of any fowl as one of my dogs is intolerant of all fowl.

Primal Frozen Raw and I use their freeze dried as treats
Vital Essential Raw and I use their freeze dried tripe as treats
OC Raw Frozen
Answer’s Detailed Frozen Raw
Nature’s Logic Frozen Raw
Steve’s Frozen Raw
Darwin’s (recently put it back into rotation)

I’m sure there are others I use in rotation but can’t think of them at the moment.

[LexiDog]

Wow! Your pup is sooo lucky to have found you!! Some people on here have suggested Satin Balls. They are high calorie treats/supplement food to help dogs gain weight. You make them and I am sure you could modify the recipe so that they are grain free.

I’m so glad he ate last night!! That is progress! Are you going to try to thaw it out a little bit more each day so he will be eventually eating it thawed? That might work.

[chris]

I wanted to add I fed him some ricotta cheese today on top of his Merricks and he enjoyed that a ton. I know one of you posted a link to taking kefir and fruit and making frozen treats out of it. I was wondering what fruits are best or are allowed for that matter. I know some fruits including grapes especially dogs can’t really have. I have a garden of my own that I have strawberries and blueberries growing all naturally as I don’t use pesticides or anything. Was wondering if they would be okay to use.

I also have home made sweet potatoes growing and was going to mash them up and put them on his food once in a while. 🙂

[zcRiley]

I haven’t heard that. Your dog is lucky to have different food types per day. Can you imagine eating the same food for years and years? I feed raw dehydrated for breakfast, a 5 star kibble for lunch and another 5 star brand for dinner. As a side (not mixed in), I rotate a canned food daily. The stools are medium sized firm and I make sure the total daily amount matches their activity level for the day (lots of swimming as summer approaches!). Dasuquin Advanced as treats and deer shank bones in between. Vet visits are a thing of the past. Just watch for any allergic reactions when introducing a new food.

[Ronald]

I will try to calculate the amount of calories per serving..

I asked the wife and she said yes we’d ask the Vet to do the blood work for Thyroid

Just hate seeing her like this, she is active when were out around the lake and the woods, but I also guess the extra treats need to be stopped..

Thanks for your feedback..

I’ll report back with what I find out..

Ron..

[Jen W]

My dogs all enjoy Nylabones, they’re a bull terrier x basenji cross and two pit bull type dogs. They are between 44 and 79lbs, respectively. They all can chew for hours and get a variety of goodies.

I have nylabones for all of them and they all use them frequently, you can sandpaper them down a little bit to get them smoothed out and not so horrible to step on.

We also use bully sticks, bully slices, pig ears, cow ears, and like – my little one doesn’t always care for them, but the two larger ones love the flavorful real treats. They also all get knuckle bones and such once in a while as well and if a small piece is broken off they’re tossed.

My little one, Kay has an antler and she enjoys that sometimes, but it isn’t her favorite treat. she is very selective, one day she loves it the next she could care less.

If antlers, and something strong is what you are after, I would steer clear of the deer and go for a larger animal. My friend’s lab mix annihilated one of Kay’s antlers within twenty minutes. It was a split shed, you could see the spongy inside and they just tore it to bits.

Acadia Antlers has moose antlers, natural sheds and they come in flavors and have other projects. for the items it really isn’t a too bad deal. I’ve had it on my mind to order from them just haven’t but their reviews seem to be great. Just have to worry about power chewers who will do it at any and all costs and will break a tooth.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Ron-
Your dog is very lucky that you saved her! Sounds like she is living the good life. 20lbs overweight is probably hard on her though. You could definitely cut back on the treats! The dog food calculator reads that she should be getting about 950 calories a day for a dog with typical activity that should weigh 40lbs. Do you know how many calories are in a cup of her kibble or the cup of wet food that you are feeding have?

Yes, think about having a full senior blood panel done at the vets on Monday. Sometimes older dogs can have thyroid issues that make it very difficult to lose weight. Let us know how the vet visit goes.

[crazy4cats]

Yeah that doesn’t sound like much food. How much should she weigh? Do you give her treats during the day? How is her activity level? Have you considered having a blood panel done to check her thyroid levels? How old is she?

[scottNY]

Thanks, C4C and LM. My friend is feeling kind of doomy and gloomy at the prospect of having to put his best friend through more painful [and expensive!] surgeries down the road. I am trying to help get him some more ideas and, hopefully, a more positive outlook. I did read that article you mentioned above, C4C, and although informative about cystine stones, it doesn’t talk much about day to day management in terms of food, good treats to use, etc. This is the type of advice I am hoping to get here from the good, animal loving people in this community.

LM, some good advice, too, thanks. His stone pathology showed all were 100% cystine, but I think the specialist is a good idea if my friend can afford it.

Thanks again!

[DANNY K]

Ok, I have read and read and read, and have yet to find the “safest” chew treat available. Seems like everyone has had issues whether e coli, salmonella, chard, or choking. My pup is a very aggressive chewer/eater. So we gave him Nylabones the breeder provided, I think they were gone in minutes. I am afraid of bullysticks or anything as he will demolish them and probably choke. I want no nylon, plastic or artificial crap. Then I hear the hard stuff can mess up there teeth.

Is there any solution?

[Lisa M]

I have a poodle that I’ve been through food and skin allergies with also, so I feel your pain. I have been going through this for six plus years, and within the last month, I came upon a lady with a holistic pet food store in Boca Raton, FL who has been invaluable. I had been feeding my dog venison and I believe he has become allergic to it. He’s also allergic to all novel proteins. She recommended rabbit and a probiotic, and it appears to have taken care of not only the allergies but the reflux he was beginning to have. Her web address is holisticpetcuisine.com. After years of reading pet food labels, and having to email the parent companies to see what “liver” or “flavor” might refer to, she speaks the language fluently. Her name is Barbara. She sometimes recommends a raw diet, which I have heard mixed feedback on from both sides, but tend to cook the food. Be sure no treats from China, and no cross over ingredients in treats that have proteins your dog might be allergic to. I feel your pain. I have found that not even vets can deal with these issues very well. Email/call Barbara. She will be a new best friend.

[Naturella]

Pitlove, if I fed my RMBs in a yard, I would not be worried one bit about grass and/or soil getting on them unless I’m using some chemical or toxic pesticides. If you are not, i think grass and dirt are ok. Maybe someone else can confirm or refute that though.

As for Chris, I second Bobby Dog – adding fresh foods to kibble is pretty good. I add coconut oil (UNREFINED raw organic extra-virgin cold-pressed is ideal but as long as it’s at least unrefined it should be okay), yoghurt/kefir, raw egg, canned sardines in water, and the RMB in addition to the canned/pouches I mentioned earlier. I also use some treats and natural chews here and there.

[Naturella]

Oh, and Chris… Orijen told me they won’t send me samples as you can buy their trial sizes from a few places online or in stores that carry Orijen. So if they send you some, let me know!

But I have had luck with Annamaet (samples of the GF foods and a full-size bag of treats – which are formulated almost like the foods themselves, so they are close to complete and balanced, if not that), Wysong (many samples), Canidae (a whole small bag of Pure Sea and a full-size bag of PURE treats), Dr. Tim’s (one Sample), Brothers’ Complete (bought samples from their website, they sent me double the order), Victor (bought samples from sportdogfood.com and ordered 5 of each instead of 3 (the limit), but they still sent them to me), Dr. Tim’s (sent me one sample), and I think this is it.

[Bea]

I’m also always asking for advice on which treats are safe for our parts. Sure would be nice to have such a site. I always look at the labels when looking at the treats. Even some made in the USA have fructose which is not good. I never ever buy anything from Asia or Mexico.

[Naturella]

Chris, that sounds like a good lineup! Don’t sweat it too much, just make sure that the unbalanced additives (sauerkraut, yoghurt, kefir, frozen treats and other unbalanced treats, and unbalanced canned green tripe) altogether do not constitute more than 10% of the dog’s diet. For me, I feed about 1tsp or 1tbs (depending on how generous I feel) of unbalanced toppers, but Bruno only gets those at breakfast Monday-Saturday, for dinner he gets balanced canned as a topper so it’s fine. On Sundays he gets a balanced breakfast of kibble and canned and for dinner he has RMB, and now will be getting some AllProvide raw too! 🙂

And farm-made human and doggie ice-cream sounds great! 🙂

And I love me some free dry and canned samples! A lot of the samples I got are lower-protein – in the 20s %, or up to 31%, but that’s fine by me for sporadic surprise meals or treats, which is what I use samples for too.

[chris]

So for supplements I wrote down to try:
Sauerkraut
Plain Yogurt
Swanson’s soil-based Organisms
Canned Green Tripe
Kafir

I’m going to try each and see how it goes. I read a lot up on it earlier and heard from a good amount that I should start very slow in it to get there stomach use to it. So figured I might give 1/4 cup each time for now.

I’ll definitely be trying those frozen treats Bobby Dog! I have a dairy farm near by that started it’s own home made ice cream straight off the farm. They recently started making there own dog ice cream and I was buying him a container of that here and there the past few weeks.

Naturella- Yeah, my local pet store has boxes of free samples soon as you walk in the front door and he tells us to take as many as we want. There mostly little sample bags of natures variety, natures balance, and canidae, no canned food or treats sadly.

[Pitlove]

Thank you Naturella thats exactly what i was talking about as an idea for Chris to do! You stated it perfectly. Rather than blending the foods just feed ANY food you find interested that you’d like Sparky to try for a couple weeks or however long it lasts for then switch!

Chris- The supplement I have is made by the Honest Kitchen and its called Perfect Form

http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/treats-supplements/supplements/perfect-form

i have the 5.5oz jar. I dont follow their instructions for how much to feed. i just do about one pinch on my kittens food and two or three pinches for the dog. i felt it their guildlines where far too much. maybe im wrong but idk this has been working for me. you can feed it however you want. I got the Kefir at walmart for a little over 3$. there are feeding guidelines for that on the internet too. they tell you to cut the number in half when first giving it to get their stomach used to it.

[chris]

Hello Naturella, Nice too meet you and thanks for the reply!

I’m really interested now in the Elk antlers after searching a good bit on them. Also chicken and duck feet is probably something i’m also going to go a head and try. Fish skins I heard are very good fast treats as well. Hooves, you’re probably the first person I ever heard mention those to me. I had a kong and I stuffed it with so many different things and he did good with it for a while then like lost full interest in it. However, maybe if I start stuffing it with things he really really loves then he might get his interest back. Before I was only stuffing it with canned food, raw kibble, jerky, little easy things. I always thought Peanut butter would clog his rear end up since he already has the stomach issues. I’ll have to try the Canned Tripe and see how he likes that. Thanks again for the recommendations and the reply as I really do appreciate it!

[Naturella]

Chris, hi. For my Bruno, I use quite a few things – deer or elk antlers (not the split ones as he can power through them pretty quickly), and stuffed and frozen Kongs and Kong-like toys (like C4C said, they do last a while, and you can stuff them with anything you can think of – from canned food, to wet kibble, to canned pumpkin, yoghurt/kefir, peanut butter, or any mix of the above). Right now I stuff mine with canned green tripe. I have used Himalayan chews when he was a puppy, and even more recently, but the most recent ones would splinter and not last him very long. So I may not get him any more of those, unless I buy a Medium or Large ones (he is a small dog, but the small Himalayan chews don’t put up a fight with him). So for long-lasting, digestible, and beneficial chews, I’d go with antlers.

I think hooves are my second favorites, and they are stuffable too! Bully sticks are my third favorite, as well as fish skins (for the skin and coat benefits), but they don’t last as long. However, all of the natural chews and treats seem to be easily digested by Bruno – tracheas, pig, cow, and lamb ears, tendons, etc. Chicken and duck feet work too but he’s really quick with those. They all seem to digest very well. Tripe swirls and freeze-dried chews/treats work well too.

Also, I think Halo has a pumpkin-based “dental” chew that may be easy on the tummy. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Naturella.

[Pitlove]

Ill also note that aside from the yak chews and deer antlers the only treats in my house for my cat and dog are freeze dried raw treats. very easy to digest, made with only one ingredient and made in the USA. I use PureBites, however there are many out there. Nature’s Variety makes them for example as well and I know Blue Buffalo just came out with some but I would stay away from Blue products.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Pitlove.

[c-monkey]

Hi Heather, my Buddy has Osteosarcoma (not Mast Cell). We just found out that the cancer spread to his lungs. He’s on a second round of “chemo”, and believe it or not, he’s feeling better than he was before starting the chemo (chemotherapy is very different for dogs, they seem to tolerate it far better than we do). I feed him FreshPet grain-free slice and serve on top of good dry food which I vary from month to month. I don’t worry as much about the treats (I did at first, but grain-free treats start to get expensive, and many of them he wouldn’t eat).
I strongly recommend a curcumin supplement. I use Curcuvet, found on Amazon. Buddy was given 1-3 months to live last October after his amputation surgery, and he’s still happy, jumping around and enjoying life today. I also give him “k-9 Immunity plus” treats, about 6 per day (he’s approx. 71lbs after the surgery).
I understand about being “in his face” too much, LOL! I am forever fretting if Buddy behaves in any way different than usual. Just don’t forget to relax and enjoy your time with him too (that’s what everyone tells me too, sometimes we forget when we are all bunched up with worry).

Good luck and keep us posted!

[chris]

I think this would be an excellent idea. There are tons of treats as I can understand it would take some time. But overall I believe at starting at the most commonly top rated ones would be great to leave those know what treats are excellent for there pets. For instance I actually just started a thread asking about a good treat for a dog that has stomach/bowel problems. Hopefully I can get some feedback relating to that sort of problem. So, yes I really do hope this gets added in the future as i’m sure it will help! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I might rethink the bully stick, for a dog that has a sensitive stomach….you do know what body part it comes from, right? Greasy, fatty and treated with who knows what. Just saying.

I would give no treats to a dog that was having frequent bowel movements. A healthy dog usually has one or 2 bms a day, in my experience.

I give my senior dog 4 small meals per day, he’s bored and has a little dementia going on, sometimes he goes to the fridg and barks at it? If I ignore him he goes back to his dog bed and naps till the next meal time.

[Naturella]

I also love feeding a variety of foods to my terrier mix Bruno. Since my husband and I have adopted him in 2013, he’s had, in no particular order of dry foods: Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy, Nutrisca Chicken & Chickpea, Dr. Tim’s Kinesis GF, Holistic Health Extension Original, Blue Allergix, and Lamb & Brown Rice, Earthborn Holisitic Coastal Catch, Primitive Naturals, and Great Plains Feast, Back to Basics Open Range, Wysong Nurture with Quail, Nulo Medal Series Lamb & Lentils, Castor & Pollux Ultramix Duck, Victor Salmon, and samples of Fromm, Victor, NutriSource, TOTW, Wysong, Orijen, Acana, Nature’s Variety Instinct (the Rabbit formula he was supposed to eat but it made him very sick, but other samples he did great with), Hi-Tek, Nature’s Logic, and many other foods I can’t recall ATM. Lined up we have Wellness CORE Ocean and Original, more Earthborn, Canidae Pure SEA, Castor & Pollux Organix GF, and right now he just got on Dogswell LiveFree Salmon.

For toppers we used The Honest Kitchen Embark, Force, Keen, and Love, and Big Dog Naturals Green Tripe (air-dried). I have used various canned foods too, like Weruva, Green Cow by Solid Gold, and Green Tripe from Petkind, and also some more dehydrated/air-dried like Sojo’s. Now I use some small Merrick dog cans and some cat food pouches and cans for some of the toppers along with coconut oil, yoghurt, raw egg, canned sardines, and a RMB for his Sunday dinner. I also almost always add extra water to the food when served with a topper so he eats “soup” most of the time. Sometimes I just give him plain kibble as part of a training routine or from a puzzle toy to stimulate his brain. He likes it just the same!

He gets regular treats (Fromm, Canidae, Yummy Chummies, and Think! Alligator and Crawfish Jerky, and also kibble as treats (a different brand and flavor of the main food he is on at the moment), He also has a few natural chews like cow and lamb ears, beef tracheas, bully sticks, pig snouts, fish skins, antlers, hooves, etc.

Sorry for the rant, lol, but yeah, rotations are awesome, and Bruno loves the daily variety, and I love how he looks and feels (shiny and soft). I used to take 10 days or so to transition from one food to the next at first, then about 7 days, then 3, then 0. Now he switches so quickly because he eats a constant variety of foods and treats.

And LM, I guess you can see the replies of a person, but it will be hard to follow an Editor’s Choice topic reply by reply from individual authors. And some topics are EC exclusive.

[Pitlove]

I don’t know much about Cloud Star, however I do know Zuke’s just got bought out by Purina, so they might have started adding cheaper ingredients. The only treats I feed in my house hold (if they get treats) are freeze dried raw treats you can get at places like Petco called PureBites. Its just one ingredient (i do turkey breast for the kitten and beef liver for the dog), made in the USA etc. They can be broken into smaller pieces to use for training. i used them for clicker training my kitten.

PS just realized I mentioned these treats in my above post

[Bea]

I have an 11 week old puppy and I have tried Cloud Star Chicken and Zukes training treats and they both gave him soft stools to almost diarrhea. I don’t know what to use to train him maybe just his dog kibble.

[Pitlove]

does your vet think that it could be environmental? i thought for a long time that my dog was allergic to chicken because of him constantly licking his feet. came to find out he A) had a yeast infection under his nails and B) my vet felt it was most likely environmental. possibly grass and pollen. ive been trying to get better about wiping his feet off when he comes in from outside and we did a anti-fungal shampoo soak and meds for the yeast infection. he licks still but its not NEARLY as much as before and he eats whatever protein source he wants including chicken.

i would suggest switching the food and the treats and finding a food that is completely devoid of the same ingredients that are in the BB Wilderness and the treats. If you notice a change then it i’d say its the food, if not talk to your vet about the possiblity of an environmental allergy. those are far more common than food allergies.

also I would check into the recent problems Blue has been having and decide for yourself if you still want to support them as a company. you can find the info on google about the outcome of their lawsuit.

[Karen K]

She eats Blue Buffalo Wilderness for small dogs and their cookie treats, and some beef jerky treats, so she is grain-free. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. These ear infections just keep coming back…..the vet puts her on Mometamax ointment, which takes care of it in the short-term, but it comes back within a month of stopping the ointment. Poor thing is constantly itching her ears and licking her feet, which are quite red most of the time. Has anyone ever tried coconut oil on their feet for the irritation? I really wish I could get to the source of the problem. My vet thinks food is not an issue, and I completely disagree with him, but don’t know what else to do.

[InkedMarie]

Karen,
What are you feeding your dog? What treats & supplements does she get?

[Naturella]

I can’t help but wonder if maybe they get a lot of food during the day (dry and canned mixed, AND treats)? I know that some dogs become less motivated to switch back to kibble if they get a lot of food, or the kind of food they are used to (wet vs. just dry). And while I am a huge proponent of feeding moist food all the time, while implementing some of the great advice above, maybe you can think of whether you could find interesting ways to feed just kibble by putting it in a treat-dispensing toy such as a Kong (Wobbler), a Barnacle, or some sort of interactive toy/puzzle for dogs. For my dog, I do this once or twice a week, and sometimes, I just scatter his portion of kibble all over the floor and let him go all over the place to eat it. Lucky for me, he is very food motivated, and would eat just dry from his bowl at feeding time if I served that (I’ve tried). So you can try to introduce some interest by putting kibble in some toys and seeing if it works.

Also, if/when you do training, you can use kibble as treats and feed them their portion, or some of it, during training time. That works for me too.

But do try to stick with wet kibble (even with just water or chicken broth), it is much better for the dogs for the reasons other stated above. 🙂

[idunnowhat2callmyself]

Okay, I’m just going to throw this out here because I’ve found this to be a remarkably useful website, and if there’s anyplace I might productively ask my question, it’d be here. I apologize in advance for the length of it.

My family’s got four dogs currently: One small, one medium, one medium-large, and one large. It’s a nice range. I try to order higher-quality kibble brands to offset the lower-quality ones sometimes brought home by other people. A month or two ago, I had a two-hour phone conversation with my aunt, who’s got one small dog on a raw diet (with wet canned stuff in the mornings.) I’d hoped to simply be able to follow her precise regimen, adjusted for our pack…and got a half-page worth of notes during that convo in Microsoft Word. I should’ve figured it wouldn’t be simple, and I suppose I could start ordering some whole rabbits or tripe or turkey necks and supplements or any of the other various things I jotted down from the site she mentioned…but the whole thing still seems so overly, excessively complicated and worrisome. She said that she hadn’t even told her vet about the switch, but had been at it for about a year now.

A few benefits stood out: Cleaner teeth naturally, because no matter how much toothpaste or how many correct-ingredient-inclusive wipes I use, nothing removes the ‘icky’ stuff (which is worst on the oldest dog.) My aunt also noted that cleaning up after them is much easier thanks to the raw–and since that job typically falls to me, I’d really appreciate that. AND potential weight loss/healthy-weight management, as well…I almost always opt for the low-fat variety of everything to be on the safe side. Fortunately the hefty Brittany did recently move down to a smaller dosage of heartworm med, and can suddenly fit behind the sofa again–so I guess it finally paid off.

I’ve given the pooches everything from the raw-coated kibbles to Stella & Chewy patties to Fresh Pet to Honest Kitchen “green slop” (we’ve had that huge box for over a year now), to dozens of kibble brands that all seem essentially identical–and so on and so forth. When I try to look up which kibble or commercial raw food to try (assuming that cans would disappear far too quickly to be worthwhile), I am instantly overwhelmed and confused–I see loads and loads of brand names and packaging and shapes, but all of the food and flavors appear to be the same. I have no idea how to even tell which to buy. The sizes and portions and pricing baffle me–how am I to tell what will feed multiple dogs of various sizes and breeds for more than a couple days? We usually get a new big kibble bag about twice a month. I simply cannot tell what the raw equivalent would be…and even for dry food, I’m now kinda stumped. Every time I’m asked to order another bag, I freeze. How to choose?!?! My list’s grown so long, and we’ve tried so many…now I usually go with whichever has the best price per pound at the time, and a decent rating/reviews. I wish I could just find the perfect brand to consistently turn to, and continuously rotate through their flavors and treats. (Deciding which treat to pick up becomes a whole other can of worms, and I’m just like, “Gods, why, why, why must this be so bamboozling?! Why the hundreds of redundant choices? The dogs don’t even care, they just want our stuff!”)

Only one of the four dogs eats neatly (my Saluki, who has a snood. 😉 The other three are slobs, knocking the bowls around and splashing before they even touch the floor. The little Beagle frequently flat-out refuses to eat from a bowl, insisting that the food be spilled onto the floor for him. Also, my mom’s a clean freak–and I’m a bit of one myself at times. For these reasons, I knew that any attempt to transition would be tough and drawn-out, if not impossible. I knew I’d have to discover the cleanest, neatest, easiest, least odiferous method.

Now, before I got older and started performing more research into these areas, my parents…well all right, let me just put it this way. The two Beagles we had at the time I was born ate cheap supermarket kibble and human leftovers, lived in the backyard, never once to my knowledge had their teeth brushed (the one had green teeth and rancid breath) or nails trimmed or even saw the vet…yet both lived happily & health-problem-free for 16-18+ years (we can’t be exactly certain because they were adopted from a shelter.) Thus it can be very difficult for me to convince these guys, no matter how many times I reiterate what the healthy-food brochures say, to go out of their way for “special frou-frou dog food” or anything they’re unused to.

WHEW. Ever so sorry to unload all that frustration here. Any advice, recommendations, or assistance that anybody ever feels like dropping would, of course, be most appreciated.

[L T]

Check your local (not chain) pet stores, they may stock this or get it in for you routinely. Champion has a free bag program after 10 bags your 11th is free. Doesn’t have to be the same kind, but the free will be the smallest size you have on the card. My local one in Virginia deals directly with Champion and manufacturers of other high quality food, in other words they don’t sell food you can find in the chains. Also, as I said before the feeding guide for Declan at 87lbs is 3 1/2 c daily. I feed him roughly 2 1/4 c daily and he has maintained that weight for over 1 1/2 yrs. He goes to doggy day care (play time) 3x week and is considered pretty active. My local pet store rep and I talked about the amount and he recommended factoring in other food/treats and underfeeding the kibble. Declan does not seem hungry, but as a typical Lab he will never turn down the opportunity for a morsel. Good luck. I have tried the 6 fish and it worked out fine (you definitely know it’s fish in the bag), but since Declan doesn’t have any allergies I went back to Regional Red (Orijen) or Ranchlands (Acana). Keep us posted!

[Dori]

Sorry James S. Just saw your earlier post. I’m glad at least the diagnosis was for the more treatable one. What treatment has your vet suggested? Yes, Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen is a frozen food and one of the one’s I feed my dogs in rotation.

As to a list of commercial raw frozen foods, these are the ones that I use in rotation. I rotate brands and proteins within brands with the exception of fowl. One of my girls is intolerant of all fowl.

Answer’s Detailed Raw Frozen (Not always easy to track down but any store that carries any of the products can usually order it in for you from their distributor)

Primal Raw Frozen Formulas (My favorite of all frozen raw foods)
Vital Essentials Frozen Raw
Nature’s Logic Raw Frozen
OC Frozen Raw
Darwin’s Raw Frozen (only available on their site on auto-delivery plan)
Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen
(Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen will be the easiest to find as pretty much everyone carries it including the large stores like Petco and Petsmart.)

The others on the list are typically found in smaller more local type pet food stores.

I’ve recently won a bag of Steve’s Real Frozen Raw (very excited about that) and I’ll see how that works out with the girls. It just arrived yesterday so I’ll defrost some for their dinner tonight. I’ll let you know about that one after they’ve eaten it for a while.

The only two freeze dried foods that I use, but only infrequently, is Primal Freeze Dried and Vital Essentials Freeze Dried. I use Vital Essentials Freeze Dried Tripe Treats as their treats when I call them to “come” from the yard. I keep a jar with them near the back patio door and it’s the only time they get them.

I forgot to add that once in a while, not often, I feed The Honest Kitchen Zeal formula. It contains no fowl, no potatoes, no alfalfa. Is GMO free. The Honest Kitchen is made with all human grade ingredients and made in a plant that only processes human food. It’s all documented and the FDA allows them to use the information on their packaging. It’s the only company that the FDA has given it’s approval to.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by Dori.

[Lacy R]

Thanks everyone, and I will look into those treats

[jella]

Dear LT, I finally found the list with ingredients. Thank you for your help. I did receive an email back from Orijen an Acana telling me that all their products including the treats contain alfalfa. Fiber for the dogs. What do you think about the alfalfa being in it? With so many pesticides, etc. in grains I am not sure. I didn’t realize that dogs needed extra fiber or that much. Still undecided about this one because of the alfalfa.

[Pitlove]

glad to hear hes doing better! Im really careful with treats usually. the only ones ive got in the house at the moment are PureBites freezed dried raw treats. there is only 1 ingredient and they are made in the USA. I use the turkey breast for my kitten and beef liver for the dog. you can break them up into smaller pieces for training if you still are giving treats for pottying outside.

[Lacy R]

My pup is doing much better. Didn’t give him anymore of those treats and once he got it out of his system his stools are normal now. Yes my pup has had vaccinations and is dewormed. Just got more vaccinations yesterday. And there was no change to his diet because I’m giving him the same food he’s been on which is science diet for puppies. So the treats were the only thing different other than the fact that we have well water. I’ll find a better treat alternative in a few weeks when he is older. And I only gave him the treats when he would go potty outside. Thanks for all feedback!

[jella]

Thanks everyone it sounds like I am getting some great advice. But I can’t seem to find out where these ingredients lists are for these brands. My vet would like for me to bring a copy of what I choose along with his treats. Big Hoss does need dog food to help his hair grow back in places. He is a short haired lab so he has a few places where he scratched. I heard give coconut oil with a food or cookie for their hair. I guess it is ok for him. They didn’t mention it on his list. Well he is shredding a paper bowl that I fed him his egg in this morning. I sometimes let him do that for entertainment so I guess I better sign off for now and go pick up the pieces. LOL

[jella]

Dear zcRiley, I emailed your company to ask about their treats and dog foods this morning. Haven’t heard anything back yet. Would you tell me where you got the list of ingredients for that KiwiPeak so I can show his vet if I choose this one. I am supposed to take her a copy.