[kms]

Pattyvaughn –

Thank you so much! The rotation I’m thinking about is ….Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit, Earthborn Wholistic Catch, Wellness Core Puppy, and I’ll look for one more that is beef or turkey based to maintain the variety.

I do, however, have a big bag of Orijen Large Breed Puppy Left (more than I would need to get through the transition). Should I use the Orijen as treats and/or Kong stuffing? Or can I finish off the Orijen bag before I start the transition by feeding something like half Orijen and half balanced canned food that is low in calcium (to offset the Orijen)? I would have to kinda transition to that mixture though. He seems to have a sensitive stomach/GI tract. He has been pooping a lot since on Orijen (4-5 times per day – some firm, some runny) – might be due to the higher fiber content (6%) of Orijen? Also, he has gas and breath that smell like “fish” (weird, cause Orijen is mostly chicken – herring is 4th on the list). Do you know what this means? Thanks again for all the help.

[InkedMarie]

I can only tell you that I am as careful with my dogs treats as I am with their food.

For the most part, they only get The Honest Kitchen treats & chews.

[kms]

Duke the Boxer, RescueDaneMom and PattyVaughn –

Thanks for responding so quick. I started to try to learn about the various probiotics and enzymes on the supplements thread and just got totally overwhelmed at all the choices (think my brain is full). So I ordered Mercola Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes, since that is what I’ve seen recommended the most here. But I’m going to try the Biostareq Terra Biota K9 and Dr. Langer’s also – sounds like supplements can be just as trial and error as the kibble.

PattyVaughn –

When I cut “back to a couple times a week” – do you mean cut back the probiotics AND the digestives enzymes or cut back probiotics only?

I saw on Mercola’s website where they recommend that you feed the Digestive Enzymes a couple hours after each meal, not at each meal. Is that what I should do or just give it with the meal?

As far as the pumpkin, I will up the dose. He’s 32 lbs now, so that’s 3 tsp pumpkin – is that 3 tsp per meal or per day?

As far as the 20%…. He eats 3 c kibble per day, so adding a 20% topper would mean a little under ¾ cup, right? And that means I should decrease his kibble by 20% to account for the topper, right? (I feel like I’m asking stupid questions, but I need to make sure).

Should the meat be raw or cooked? I use chopped cooked chicken for training treats, but he has never eaten anything raw – I’m worried it will upset his stomach.

Thanks so much to everyone – I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere!!!

[gsdmommy89]

RescueDaneMom:

You’re right. I completely forgot about the NV Large Breed. I didn’t know that about NutriSource. I know I’d have to try different foods to see which one he does best with, but in your opinion should I go with something grain inclusive then? He seems like the type with a sensitive stomach. Although with treats he does very well, no matter what type they are.

If I go stick with grain inclusive, should I try the NutriSource or NV Large Breed?

[kaylee1989]

I know there are a couple questions already about Red Barn products, but I am looking for more answers. I have been giving my dachshund their products on occasion. Yesterday, I just bought about 4 of their products, because his birthday is Friday. I wanted to surpise him, since he LOVES chewing on bones and things like that. Well the place I bought them from had a sign saying “Made in USA” but he told me that they had chicken treats from China. Kind of gave me a red flag. So I call them, they discontinued those chicken treats (they weren’t associated with the recent recall). They do however have treats made in USA, Paraguay, and Canada. A big question I forgot to ask is if they have any ingredients sourced from China or another country. I also decided to throw away the product from Paraguay although my dog has had it once in the past :/.

Does anyone else give their dogs these products? Is there anything good or bad anyone has to say about them? (I currently have peanut butter barn bagel, barky bark, knuckle bones, pig ear, and have given him femur bones etc in the past.) It really stinks that it’s so scary to even treat your dog anymore. Also if anyone has any suggestions for anything else I could buy him to chew on..please let me know. I also bought some bone like treats made out of bull hide or something? I know rawhide is not the best, but this guy told me if it’s made from bulls it’s better..I don’t know if he’s pulling my leg?)

I also have antlers, kong at my house for him to chew on. I’ve tried nylabones, but not impressed. He LOVES to chew though and loves new things to chew on especially and I feel like I can’t take that joy away from him. That’s why I decided to buy the Red Barn products. If it was a bad decision though, I will not give them to him.

Thanks for your help.

[RescueDaneMom]

FreeholdHound- Wow, he’s gorgeous! Mine is a dufus at times too, lol. Yes, Max is definitely an XL model. He’s 36″ at the shoulder and 155 lbs. I’d say he’s a pretty average size for a male Dane, maybe even on the smaller size. I’ve seen some truly XL Danes (200+ lbs). I’m doing partial raw as well. I haven’t tried raw tripe yet, just the canned tripe by Tripett. He loves it but boy it sure does stink. I can’t imagine how much worse the raw stuff probably smells. That’s good to know that the VE tripe treats don’t smell as bad. I bet Max would really like those. I’m definitely trying them next.

[Naturella]

My Bruno is probably more like your Haley and Dweezle. He is like a vacuum cleaner and would eat anything. He likes fishy food actually (has had canned as well as fish skins as chews), as well as red meat treats/chews (bully sticks), and his chicken-based kibble. This actually makes me happy so far that he has liked anything and has not been picky toward food/meat type.

[FreeholdHound]

RescueDaneMom- yep that’s my boy Raced as RC Danger but as he’s such a dufus he’s now called Harry. I can see you truly have an XL model (gorgeous!!). Harry has become a tripe addict since I started partial raw feeding. At least the treats don’t stink to high hell as the raw tripe does.

[RescueDaneMom]

FreeholdHound- you made me LOL! That’s good to know. I’m always looking for good treats. My Dane, Max, loves the Orijen and Stella & Chewy freeze-dried treats. I will try the Vital Essentials next! Is that your greyhound in your avatar?

[FreeholdHound]

I ordered a bag of Vital Essentials freeze dried tripe treats when I was on Amazon last. To say they’re a hit would be an understatement. I now have a Xtra Large Greyhound following me everywhere, whining , & being a pain in the a**_ looking for another one. I think I’m going to have to stock up.

[InkedMarie]

Plavoie,
Go to the dog food ingredients forum here, on top, you’ll see a stickie with grain and white potato free foods. That might be a good place to start. Keep in mind, you’ll need to watch everything your dog eats, including treats & supplements. With one of mine, I have to be very careful….he gets one type of salmon oil because most others have preservatives that I don’t know if its soy based (he can’t have soy).

Also, you mentioned not wanting to go to the vets because they’ll put him on steroids. You are the dog owner, you can say NO.

[cara]

I’m ashamed to admit that I still shop at Walmart (I’m trying to break the habit, I swear) — but they’ve recently DRASTICALLY increased the number of dog treats that they sell that are “made in the usa.” Now, I know that doesn’t mean the ingredients COME from the USA, so I emailed the company that makes the chicken jerky that I just bought there (Betsy Farms, out of Idaho) and was told that they source their ingredients from the US, as well.

I felt good about that, but still uneasy, given the fact that Bailey’s Choice is located about 5 miles from my house, and they’re finding salmonella in their chicken jerky.

I decided to research “Betsy Farms” a little further, and am disappointed to find that they’re part of a bigger company: True Science (truescience.com), but they say their products are USA sourced and made, as well.

Anyone know anything I should be aware of, about this company? Or are we okay (fingers crossed) ?

Thanks

[theBCnut]

I don’t want to imply that I won’t suggest foods, but my dogs are doing best on foods that are in no way budget friendly, so I don’t have a lot of budget friendly foods that I am good with.

That being said, yes, feeding different kinds of food is better than feeding one kind. The more different variety, the better. Raw is best, but your dogs can get some of the benefits of raw by getting a little raw in their diets, a turkey, duck, or chicken neck each week or a can of sardines. Dehydrated foods are great but very expensive. I use them and freeze dried foods as treats. Homemade is great too, but you have to do it right or your dog will end up sick from not getting certain nutrients. Kibbles are actually the most processed dog food, but there are some great kibbles at a good price. I don’t think they are as inexpensive as Pure Balance, but they are better quality. I like NutriSource and Earthborn.

I hope someone else will post some more ideas for you. What I usually tell people is to print up the list of 4 and 5 star foods and take it with them to all the different place around that have dog food. Take notes about where you find what and for how much. When you are on a budget, but want better for your dog, you can try adding some of a better quality food to whatever your base kibble is, or adding fresh foods like eggs, yogurt, lean meats, etc.

[Mom2Cavs]

Yes, my Cavalier that has allergies has anal gland issues as one of her symptoms. She can’t have poultry, at least chicken, but just to be safe I’m staying away from all poultry. I am using grain free, poultry free dry and canned foods. I also make sure any supplements or treats don’t contain offending ingredients. Since I’ve done this her symptoms are gone.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[BijouMama05]

Rahat – These treats are not strips, but are small chunks (for lack of a better word) of freeze dried chicken breast ranging in size from only barely larger than a crumble to around 2 inches in length. The treats you are talking about sound more like the jerky type treats, which quite frankly with all the recalls I wouldn’t suggest anyone feed to their pets regardless of where they are made, what brand they are, or what ingredients they are made from (just to be safe). Anyway, the Full Moon Freeze Dried Chicken Treats contain only two ingredients: Chicken & Rosemary Extract. The amount suggested for a dog the size of a toy poodle (according to the package directions) is 1/2 a piece per day. (This is because rosemary extract is irritating to the digestive tracts of animals when consumed in large amounts, so dosage must be restricted to prevent vomiting & diarrhea!). So, this treat would NOT be suitable to feed as a meal replacement for a toy or teacup breed (or any breed for that matter.) As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t suggest that any pet owner feed commercial treats as a replacement to any meal, when there are so many other safer & much more nutritious things you can give them (raw carrots, pumpkin, apples, boiled chicken, green beans, etc.).

[Rahat]

The Dehydrated chicken strips that are ideal for anytime healthy snack there non greasy and easy to break. Is not a meal replacement although it is recommended for small and teacup breeds as one of the several meals a day required for them as they are prone to have low blood sugar. It’s perfect for a between meal snack. For larger breeds it’s a perfect healthy treat for anytime! Its important to supervise your dog while eating any dehydrated treats.

[DogManDan]

i know how you feel pugsmomandy, there’s this one time back in college where cash isn’t an easy access, some of my friends would share some of their doggy treats to feed my dog and me eating a canned tuna which is way cheaper than the treats that they are receiving from donor friends LOL.

yes patty that counts 🙂 before i always cook extra just like as a family in a house of mom dad and for the babies ( i mean dogs)

okay melissaandcrew, luckily i stumbled upon this while was browsing the net, i only listened to my vet but unfortunately his 2 hours from me so i’m educating myself on what not to feed my dogs 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

Tip #5 tells you how you can make your own jerky strips. You can also make them in a dehydrator. Petflow has jerky treats for sale also sometimes. Last week Etta Says Duck jerky was on sale. My dogs also love the fish jerky (Rawsome Pets and The Honest Kitchen). Frankly I haven’t given my dogs any kind of chicken/duck jerky for over a year or two. Now I give them Vital Essentials freeze dried nibblets.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/11/16/chicken-jerky-treat-casualties.aspx

[peg]

I go really nervous after reading from the comment just before your’s. Would you tell me how you make your treat or where to go to get the recipe? I sure don’t want to chance my Eskie getting sick and she does love the chicken jerkies from Full Moon.
Thanks for your help.

[Zaggynut]

After finding out about the recall, I became slightly nervous considering my dogs love these treats. This made me look for a remedy to this problem, which is I made my own jerky for the boys. Surprisingly they enjoy my homemade treats much better then the store bought one, plus I know exactly what is in them.

[ransom]

So much good info. I’ll read all the links, thanks for taking the time to help. I think I’m going to go the route of upgrading my grain inclusive, then moving towards grain free. I like the idea of kibbles above for treats. Getting enzymes and probiotics tomorrow. Hug your hounds!.

[pugmomsandy]

I like using Vital Essentials freeze dried nibblets and Dr Becker Bites for treats. The VE is actually food, not just empty calories. For small dogs, some really small kibbles are Nature’s Logic, Amicus, Nutrisource small/medium breed puppy and Nutrisource grain free Lamb and Nature’s Select Hi-Pro and Nature’s Select Grain Free. Some other good brands that I haven’t used in a while are Merrick Classic and Merrick Grain Free and Merrick Whole Earth Farms and Fromms. I don’t know the kibble size of these. Annamaet grain free looks good too but haven’t tried it yet. Need to use up a couple bags before buying some more!

[pugmomsandy]

I ended up mixing foods because I couldn’t decide what food I wanted to use since there’s a million kinds out there! So after 3 years of trying things out, my staples are Nutrisource (grain free and small/med breed puppy), Nature’s Select (local) only the grain free or Hi-Pro formulas, Brothers Complete, Merrick (local), occasionally Nutrisca (some issues with their chicken from China and possible farmed salmon) so I just get their Lamb food, Vital Essentials freeze dried nibblets and I’ve thought about Victor because they are local too (made in Texas). For cans, I use Merrick, Wellness Stews, Weruva, Nature’s Logic, Hound and Gatos and sometimes Nutrisca lamb. Dehydrated foods I use are The Honest Kitchen, Addiction (with Big Dog Natural), Sojo’s (with Big Dog Natural) and I make my own raw food with duck, goat, tripe and organs and supplements and they eat whole raw sardines and sometimes RMB (raw meaty bones) like necks, pork ribs and chicken legs. All foods have their pros and cons and not all dogs do well on certain foods. For me, these work. I am thinking of boycotting Dogswell though. Too many issues with their treats and they use chinese chicken. Actually, I think I’ll scratch them totally off my list now… and Sojo’s uses some dried veggies from China so that’s going to have to go too when my bag is gone. It is frustrating sometimes trying to find good foods with good ingredients. I’ve probably used about 20 different kibbles in the past 3 or 4 years (my dog is 6 now). He’s such an inspiration for me to make homemade!! I lub him so much!! He has his own freezer full of goodies!

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Naturella]

Patty,

Yup! And yes, Brian is super sweet! (I am not biased, I promise!) 🙂

And Micah is very cute! I usually try to distract Bruno with something chewable while taking pictures of him, lol, but he also is good at looking at whoever is behind the camera if they call his name. 🙂

[theBCnut]

I assumed it was you, your pup, and some sweet guy, whether boyfriend or husband, I wasn’t going to assume.

My avatar is Micah, my pup with food intolerances. It is actually one of 3 pictures I took one after the other, but the only good pictures I have ever got of him. He’s far too busy for a silly thing like pictures.

[theBCnut]

I used to use them all the time. They used to be one of the best biscuit type treats out there. But I haven’t really checked them out in many years, so I don’t know how they compare anymore.

[Naturella]

Oh, Patty, in my avatar are my boyfriend Brian, myself, and Bruno. I figured it was somewhat self-explanatory, but just to clarify – this is us. 🙂

[beagleowner]

Has anyone heard of or tried Old MotherHubbard P-Nutteroven baked dog biscuits. They are stamped Made in Canada. Bought them at Tractor Supply. They are located in Tewksbury. MA and connected to the Wellpet Foundation. They sound good but wanted to make sure before feeding them to Henry Beagle.

[Naturella]

Thank you, Patty! Yours is really cute too! 🙂

[theBCnut]

Love your avatar, by the way.

[Naturella]

Patty,

Point well taken, thank you!

[theBCnut]

The only thing I have against “natural chews” is that a lot of them have actually been treated with chemicals. RMBs are people quality food.

[Mom2Cavs]

Was the bacteria clostridium? Anyway, probiotics/enzymes daily can help keep the balance of bacteria in check. I would use it with the Fromm once you have him back on it. I use a few different brands of probiotics/enzymes, switching it up every now and then. Right now I’m using Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus, which I like a lot. They get it with every meal. It mixes in great with canned food or water. I’m feeding TOTW Pacific Stream topped with canned food. I’ve also started giving them a Fresh Factors chew from Springtime Inc., which is a whole food vitamin supplement. This is mainly for my Mixed Breed, Lucy’s, benefit. She has cancer. But, it doesn’t hurt the Cavs at all to get it. I have to give Lucy’s with cream cheese, but the Cavs take the Fresh Factors like treats. I actually don’t give the coconut oil all the time…I’m very inconsistent with it actually. Bad mom :). I am also thinking about trying Fromm again…the Beef Frittata grain free…and if I do, I will mix it in very, very slowly.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Naturella]

Sandy,

Thanks for the info! Good to know that the dehydrated chews are still good and useful. I plan on alternating with RMBs (for the teeth cleaning) and try to give low-calorie chews such as Himalayan Dog Chews and antlers for chewing entertainment when feeding RMBs.

[pugmomsandy]

The non-RMB items you listed I use for chewing entertainment and teeth cleaning and results in caloric intake and some have useful things like glucosamine and chondroitin. RMBs I use for food (meat/fat/bone/cartilage/blood) and teeth cleaning.

[Naturella]

So, I made asked this question under another topic, but I feel like it deserves its own.

Here it is:

What is your stance on natural chews, such as bully sticks, dehydrated meaty bits (gullet strips, tripe and tendon pieces, etc.), antlers, Himalayan Dog Chews, and so on, versus raw meaty bones (RMBs)? Which is better? I know which is less messy, but still, I want to know which is better for a dog, and the one that is worse, how much worse it is? Or (ideally), are they sort of close/equal in the purposes they server (chewing entertainment and nutritional value)?

[pugmomsandy]

Look into Rawsome and Snack 21 and Pure Bites. They have fish treats. Instinct has rabbit biscuits (not soft though).

[theBCnut]

Google The Honest Kitchen. They have some GOOD fish treats.

[ahhorner]

Hey guys, so my dog, copper, can’t have a lot of things, but mostly can’t have grains and white potatoes, and the only protein he can have is fish or rabbit and I am unable to find any jerky or soft treats that feature salmon or rabbit, but don’t have grains or white potatoes. Wanted to see if anyone out there knew while I try to hunt something down online. Thanks.

[Naturella]

Akari,

I see, thanks! And yes, I will only scout really good deals on those items myself, and only use them as treats/spare delights. If you have a blender or food processor, you can mix and grind up some organ meats and mix in their kibble (what I plan on doing). I want to give him organ meat at breakfast daily, or at least every other day or something, provided I find good deals on it. I have found international markets to have an exceptional variety of meats and organ meats at delightful prices, I just need to find the time to get to my “local” one 30 min away from where I live.

But, live in Georgia, and we have both Kroger and Publix all over the place, in fact, there is one of each on the same street parallel to my street, so they are 3-4 minutes away each. Is any of there stores region-specific? (Forgive my lack of knowledge, I am not a US native.)

And thanks regarding where to find instructions on the profile picture change. 🙂

[peg]

I just read all the reports on the Full Moon Freeze-Dried Chicken Treats, but I use the ones that are not freeze-dried and they do not have Rosemary in them and if you call the 888-970-full telephone number, you do get an answer. My American White Eskimo loves them and gets one a day. I started using them because she is allergic to wheat/grain. Have used them for several months with no problem.

[Naturella]

Akari_32 (and everyone),

I am in the same boat – I am operating on a SUPER limited college student with no student loans (due to being an international student, I can only legally work only on campus, and only 20 hours/week, and I have them filled with my Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), which pays $730.00/month) budget, but I want to feed my Rat Terrier-Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix pup only 4-5 star dog food. So far so good – we scout deals on petflow.com, chewy.com, and amazon.com, as well as pet stores, and we have fed him Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (1 small bag), Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy (1 small bag), Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy 11 lbs bag mixed with Vet’s Choice Holistic Health Extensions Original 4 lbs bag (got it for free at PetLand). When my boyfriend and I got him, he was about 4 months and 6 lbs, on Purina something (yuck), but we got him on Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy, which was recommended to us by the PetSmart associate in case of allergies in puppies, and then we put him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy. Toward the end of that first bag, we noticed that his coat had gotten shiny. We kept him on it, and then I discovered this amazing website, and learned about dog food rotation, so we have purchased his next food – Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free 11 lbs, and Nutrisca Chicken and Chickpea 4 lbs, which we will mix and feed to him. Now he is about 7.5, almost 8 months, and he is about 11 lbs. Other foods I have on my list are Acana Regionals Grain Free (so expensive!), Back to Basics (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), Victor, Taste of the Wild, Orijen (so expensive!), Wellness Core, EVO (so expensive!), Innova Prime Grain Free, Earthborn Holistic Grain Free, Wysong Epigen 60 and Wysong Epigen 90 (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), and Timberwolf (so expensive, to use mixed with more affordable food), as well as any of the Grain Free 4- and 5-star foods on this website. I also feed him all-natural chews and treats, such as bully sticks, ears, tracheas, gullet strips, fish skins, Himalayan Dog Chews, and homemade treats of berries, pumpkin, peanut butter, and yoghurt. These, I think, also contribute to his beautiful coat and good health. He also gets an average of 1 dental treat/week.

So, the bottom line is, I want to monitor this thread for more ideas on good places (online or offline) to buy affordable high-quality dog food 🙂 .

Also, since I got him, I have been putting in hours/week researching this website and others, and educating myself on dog food nutrition. I was wondering if anyone knows of any dog/pet nutrition classes in GA, USA. I would love to be certified in this area and maybe own my pet food store (that would sell good pet food) one day.

Also, another question – we have our pup on Trifexis, for 5-10 lbs dogs, and recently (this past week) he started itching and scratching a lot. His skin looks good, but I don’t know if he is developing an allergy to something, or it is because his Trifexis effect is wearing off faster now that he is about/over 11 lbs, and they only gave him the 5-10 lbs pill last time at the vet. I have also used the FURminator tool (borrowed from a friend, they are soo expensive) on him twice, once a week for about 10 min, and I bathe him (Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap – Almond, and oatmeal puppy conditioner) once every 2 weeks.

Thank you, all!

[Hganurs]

Hound dog mom… Please advise.
We have a 13 week multi generation labradoodle ( this is our 4th one, and our last 2 lived to be 15 years old till this year). We are mixing ( transitioning ) some leftover Life’s abundance puppy kibble given by breeder, and changing over to Kirklands puppy kibble ( we had never had an issue with our 2 that ate kirkland for 15 years). But naturally, we took him to puppy class at Petco and the mgr saw him licking his paw and said ‘ he has food allergies…, here you need to switch him to Merrick … Try the lamb…’ She was very knowledgable about staying away from foods that cause allergies ( corn, chicken , wheat). So we paid $50 for a 30lb bag of kibble !!!! We have not opened it because I’m JUST not convinced that we need to change food. He has a vet appt in a week and his treats for training adont have corn in them either. Side note is we are getting another doodle puppy in April so we need to keep the food the same since they will be eating together.
Thank you

[theBCnut]

Paprika, garlic, and salt don’t bother me in the least, but I don’t have a need for my dogs to get vegetable glycerin in their treats. It is for texture, but I personally don’t think it improves the texture at all. Personally, until they figure out what the issue with all the jerky treats is, I’m staying away from them unless they are homemade.

[crawdad]

I am very skeptical when it comes to pet treats and some of the ingredients in the true chews draws questions like vegetable glycerin, paprika extract, garlic extract, salt and other ingredients I think are known to be very harmful to dogs.

Please let me know if this is a good product to use for my dog

Sincerely
Dog owner

[weezerweeks]

I give my dog Dr. Harvey’s sweet potato chews. I called them she said the potatoes are U.S. farm grown and nothing comes from anywhere but the USA. I use to get foster-smiths chews but they are from China.I hope these are safe. They also get grandma Lucy’s baked pumpkin treats that’s it. Am I safe?

[Mom2Cavs]

I’ve gone through this kind of thing with Laverne, one of my Cavaliers. She had diarrhea/loose stools and rumbling stomach and inappetance, along with anal gland problems, tearing, licking forearms and scratching her sides. What helped was definitely adding probiotics/enzymes to her meals and also taking her off all poultry. She is much better now. I also went through various foods to find one that did the “trick”. It took awhile. I know the food I’m currently feeding is not recommended by people on this site due to it being a Diamond food, but it has seriously worked for Laverne, and the other dogs are doing great on it, too. I’ve been using TOTW Pacific Stream and I’m also now mixing in their Sierra Mountain flavor. I do add canned food as a topper (a couple tblsp.) with each meal, plus probiotics/enzymes. The cans I use most are TOTW (poultry free) and Wellness stews/Simple line (poultry free). I’ve also started adding some coconut oil…no real reason, except I had some on hand and just wanted to use it up….and it can’t hurt. The dogs poop twice a day and there is no licking, itching, coats are good and soft, no anal gland problems, tear staining, etc. Their energy is fine and they love the kibble, even eat it as treats. I will keep feeding this food as long as it works. I am aware of Diamond and will be vigilant. Sorry, I went on too long, lol! Anyway, the point is that you should probably try a different food, preferably one without at least chicken, start adding probiotics/enzymes and go from there. While I love Fromm, and I used to feed it quite a lot, I think it has too many ingredients, at least for my dogs. They never did all that great on it, come to think about it…..stool quality was never the way it should’ve been. They also liked it but never loved it. Great company, though! Another thing I would like to mention….when my dog started having a rumbling stomach in the morning it helped to give a snack right before bedtime. I used to use a biscuit treat of some kind, but now I just give about a tblsp. of their kibble. I don’t think I need to do this anymore, but they are used to getting it and no harm done, lol.

[pacer1978]

I’m sorry if these questions were already asked. There are so many posts, that I feel it may just be faster to ask instead of reading through every topic on the forum. I am mostly a kibble type since that is convenient and fast, though I do feed my dogs premium kibble: NV, NP, Earthborn Holistic, and Fromm for instance.

Here are my questions. If I do incorporate raw into their diet, how do I go about doing that? Where do you purchase this from? Is there a butcher you go through? How much does it cost typically? I have stayed away from raw thinking it would be unsanitary and very expensive. Plus, I try not to give my dogs bones since they inhale their food and seem to cough and gag a lot after eating one. My thought is that it gets stuck in their throat. Not to mention, I will come home to a pile of bile with sharp bones in the mix and that freaks me out. I’m afraid the sharp bones will do damage to them. Sometimes I will purchase the NV raw patties and freeze dried food and sprinkle or chop that up into their food, but probably don’t do it often for it to make any difference. I’m sure that their raw food is not the same anyway since it is probably still processed in some way.
I know many of you here believe 100% in the raw diet, but I remember when I first investigated it, I had read articles that didn’t support it. One lady explained how she switched to raw and her dog ended up extremely sick with contamination. Any ideas on that? I feel right now with supplements, treats, and premium kibble I am spending so much on their food as it is. I want the best for my dogs, however. I feel you shouldn’t take them on if you can’t provide for them the best you can. Who knows…maybe the raw is cheaper than what I’m spending right now. On the other hand, I’m the main person that handles the feedings in my house. I doubt on the nights I’m at school my husband will have the patients or agreeableness to feed and deal with raw food. Anyway, just looking for your thoughts on some of these questions. I always thought raw was too difficult to feed since there really isn’t a place for me to purchase this other than my grocery store. For some reason, I figured most people purchased it another way. Thanks for anyone reading!

[hwhalen]

I’ve been giving my 4lb, 2 year old, healthy Maltese Royal Canin Xsmall Adult” dry food as the breeder recommended that brand since he was a puppy. I’ve tried others including Merrick (which he would not eat at all). I’ve been very leery of all foods given all the recent issues. Recently I was introduced to Evangers Grain-Free dry food via a boutique dog shop. He loved the sample he tried and the treats. I’m just wondering a) should I move away from Royal Canin since it had under 3 stars rating; b) would Evangers be something suitable for this breed and size; c) which of the grain free dry is best? I’m very nervous about trying new foods and of course like everyone wants to give my dog what’s best. Thank you.

[beagleowner]

new mom, so glad to hear you are trying the marrow bones for treats. My beagle won’t eat green beans.. I even tried to hide them in his homemade food but he could distinguish them. I see your dog had a neck injury, well Henry fell and tore his ACL. Surgery is not an option because of his age. He is on pain pills and limps around. He does sleep a lot and I put his meds in very small pieces of braunschweiger and works like a charm. Wetting is a problem. I read that the meds he is taking can cause incontinence. So we got pads for hi,. Sometimes successful, sometimes not. I did find a chew at Tractor Supply called RedBarn Naturals Joint Firmula Bully Slices. Thry last a long time and Henry had strong jaws. My Vet looked and studied them and approved them for Henry. You may want to consider these if you can find them. They are made in the USA. Website is http://www.redbarninc.com