[sippmanjr]

How do I safely add sardines and eggs into my puppies diet without changing the amount of calcium they will be getting. I have looked at nutritionals on sardines and it seems they do have a solid amount of calcium. Also what other raw natural foods do you think I should be adding into her diet and how do I go out about that. Obviously the base of the diet will consist of dry but I definitely want to add natural raw in as often as I can and as early as I can. Also , chew like Elk and Deer antlers have calcium as well. I just want to make sure they are not getting an abundance of these minerals from the toppers or treats.

[Cyndi]

Those treats sound ok to me, but I’m not one of the “experts” on here. I do like you do, ask questions and do what I’m told, lol! I find it a lot easier that way. Your puppy is adorable, by the way. I’ve always loved boxers. Boxers and bloodhounds are the absolute most adorable when they’re puppies. I came out of a store one time and some guy had a boxer puppy in the front seat of his car, no more than like 9 or 10 weeks old. I stood and waited til he came out, it was only like 2 minutes, and told him he had to let me hold his puppy, lol! I could not resist. I would have stood there for an hour, if I had to. That puppy was just the cutest damn thing ever!

[Cyndi]

I’ve just been going by what people on here feed their dogs for treats. I buy Vital Essentials Freeze dried Niblets that I use for treats & I also have a bag of Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Treats. I also make my own Turkey or Chicken little meatball treats that my dog loves. Ever since I switched my dog to a raw diet, 5 months ago, I don’t buy any of those crappy treats anymore. Some of those Purina or Del Monte treats are made with chemicals and poison, I’ve read, just like their dog “foods”.

http://goodnessgracioustreats.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/where’s-the-beef/

[Duke The Boxer]

Im very weary of the food and the treats i give my little guy. I just bought some of the THK beams and he absolutely loves them. Only problem is that his stools are somewhat softer again. Could it be cuz the beams have 88% protein? i know that the NV Rabbit im feeding him now is too rich in protein and was causing him to have loose stools. I have since then been mixing dr tims and the rabbit and his stools were a lot more firm.

[InkedMarie]

If you are someone who pays attention to what your dog eats for food, you should pay the same attention to treats, especially if your dog has issues. I have one dog who can have Milk Bones but I don’t give them. Heck, mine eat The Honest Kitchen treats. Talk about spoiled!

[Duke The Boxer]

are milk bones bad? when i take my puppy to play with my friends older dog he always gives my little guy milk bones. Also Cyndi and Marie can you look at the treats i posted in the treats section. I want to see what you guys think of the ingredients and what not. Thank you 😀

[Linda]

I have an undersized toy poodle. She was underweight and sluggish and a poor eater when I brought her home. She has thrived on Hill’s ID canned food, occasional kibble added, and Milk Bones Mini treats. At one point I was unable to find the Minis, and switched to the next larger size… I believe Small. She developed very severe constipation. When the vet took an X-ray after nothing we tried seemed to cure this, we could see a compacted, granular substance in her colon. It suddenly dawned on me that this must be the larger size of Milk Bones, which are more dense than the Minis. When I switched back to Minis again, all signs of constipation disappeared. I am posting this in case anyone else has or may have this situation in the future. In toy dogs there’s not a lot of margin for error!

[weezerweeks]

Melissaandcrew and anyone. My yorkie is still sick(see above) He is not throwing up but he has soft stools and terrible gas which he never has. He will not eat his hk at all. He will eat a little of his canned merrick. I do the pumpkin,yogurt,digestive enzymes and it hasn’t helped. He has been on hk and merrick canned since June before that he was on bb longevity kibble. I’m wondering if maybe merrick is too rich for him and too high in protein,he is a 7lb yorkie. He was doing great on the dry longevity until he got sturvite crystals so went with low carbs. Maybe he needs lower protein. Anyone have any canned suggestions or maybe I should go back on kibble with canned. I don’t know what to do. If he he’s not better by Monday I’m going back to vet and have blood panel and urinalysis done. I don’t know what to try to feed him tonight. He still wants his dr. Harvey’s sweet potatoe chew and his GL pumpkin treats. Any advice would be appreciated.

[lorienzt]

Exclusive Amazon Links to Huge Savings and Brand New Releases!

Be sure to bookmark these special links that were given to me by an Amazon insider. He said that they must be used to get these very special deals and savings that cannot be found anywhere else!

Amazons Everything Halloween Store:

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=as_acph_cc_hallo_91_111?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&node=258061011&tag=amersorigsavi-20

Amazons Markdown & Clearance Outlet (Save up to 80%!):

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=as_acph_cc_out_310_on?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&node=517808&tag=amersorigsavi-20

Amazons Huge Discounts Dog Food & More!:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_acph_pt_treatss_77_on?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&rh=i%3Apets%2Cn%3A2619533011%2Cn%3A!2619534011%2Cn%3A2975312011%2Cn%3A2975434011%2Cp_n_is_sns_available%3A2617006011&tag=amersorigsavi-20

Amazons Newest Released Toys Store (The Hottest Toys of the Season!):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/toys-and-games/ref=as_acpost?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&tag=amersorigsavi-20

FINAL TWO DAYS: Name Your Own Price for Groceries and Dining Out! (FREE!!!!!)

http://freegroceryplan.com

[Sallynova]

Seriously, do yourself a favor and consider an all natural, organic, grain free food. We use Dogs For The Earth Dehydrated Organic Dog Food. I actually talked to the owner of this company who is an animal nutritionist and I will never switch foods again. Many, many health issues are cause by improper nutrition like skin sores, loss of hair, GI issues, itchy paws, goopy eyes – I was amazed at all the problems proper nutrition can solve – all my neighbors and friends have switched to this food and we have all been so happy. You should read their web about all the ingredients they use. We get our food delivered every 2 weeks and we get their treats too. I can’t remember all the stuff in it but everything is organic 100% and it’s all based an the exact nutritional requirements dogs need. It’s perfect – once you try it you’ll never switch back to anything because that’s what happened to all of us.

[Sallynova]

Dogs For The Earth Dehydrated Dog Food – if you buy the large bad and break off bits of the biscuits for treats. My dogs love this stuff and so do all my friends dogs and it is super healthy. They have I think 4 flavors and a couple different treats and my dogs go crazy any time they see their food packets. I know it’s all organic and they use human grade food and its grain free and its super healthy. I wish more people knew about this food because it has helped a lot of dogs with allergies and skin problems too. Best thing is to look on their site http://www.dogsfortheearth.com there’s so much information and it is owned by an animal nutritionist and they ship it everywhere. You can get it on amazon too but we get regular deliveries every 2 weeks. We love this food and try to tell everyone. I think your Little Bichon will love it too!

[Gina]

I tried several brands of food and my male kept getting diarrhea until I put him on the lamb and rice limited ingredient food. I have tried other types of foods since then but he gets diarrhea and vomits. Maybe it is an allergy of some sort. Even treats that were sweet potato and chicken upset his stomach. They have both been on this food for a year. I have not tried probiotics but I will now. I will also start using canned food as well as kibble. Thank You

[Dr. Vickie]

Skin is a reflection of what is going on inside of his gut, except his guts look and feel worse!
Feed him wild caught pacific bone in canned pink salmon from your supermarket, organic egg whites, no grains, no starch (carrots and peas are starches folks) or sugar for that matter (my guess is that he is not preparing to race the Iditarod, at least not soon 😉 ) If he is playful and active and not overweight you can add some organic canned plain pumpkin for energy. Cooked organic green beans, all other kinds of organic greens are great too and very important, plain greek yogurt. Sprinkle a high end holistic dry food or wet along with for added nutritional support that uses wild salmon only as a protein base and no grains. To give him some variety if he needs or wants it, you can try grass fed beef/bison/buffalo but I would keep it to salmon until you are sure he is stable before I would add these food items. Some starch in the formula is “ok” but less is more. One fish oil capsule one-two times per day for at least three months then cut back. There is such a thing as too much omega 3 over time. (Note, flax is far to weak of an omega 3 source for him right now. It is helpful once the omega 3:6 ratio has been fixed and that takes up to one year in my experience).
Treats? SOME banana, cut apples, berries of all kinds. Frozen or cooked green beans are safe too and nothing ever got fat off of green beans. EVENTUALLY, other grass fed animal protein choices will be back on his plate but for now, no!
His WORST food choices will be lamb even if it slept in the lap of Jesus it will cause issues; grass fed corn fed it does not matter. Corn fed critters, mainstream beef, CHICKEN and all parts. Even your buddies 6 point buck he shot yesterday is suspect for your dog ( been baited for months with corn feeders ).
It’s note easy, or cheap but it will work I promise.
Give him a pat for me!

[Duke The Boxer]

Also I want to add that he said the treats were raw and then dehydrated so it still has most if not all of its natural enzymes and probiotics. The treats looks really good and the person who formulates all of biostareq’s products was super friendly and a answered any question I ha. He even asked for a picture of duke and he sent me one back of his new Australian Shepard. What I like most from their company is their customer service. But I ordered the honest kitchen beams to try them out since many people have had wonderful reviews of the fish beams.

[liciakaz]

Hello all I posted in another post about potato free and read through the sticky I may have missed something but I was just wondering if anyone knows of a food that it completely grain free, chicken free, and potato free? I’m talking all variety of potato, white, sweet anything? I have two huskies who I believe may be suffering from zinc responsive dermatitis and the vet I have talked to says to start out with a complete diet change before trying any tests as she says the skin biopsy needed is ridiculously expensive and she has had success before with this condition just by changing foods and treats. The diet change is needed especially since I have noticed the lesions appear after a couple weeks of heavy oats consumption as I work for a small business making oat based dog treats and have had many to bring home lately and they are on american natural premium original which also has oats. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Duke The Boxer]

I don’t mean to derail this thread so I started another topic in the dog treats section. Can some of you who are more knowledgable than me in canine nutrition comment. Here is the thread.
/forums/topic/biostareq-k9-dog-star-fish-treats/
I have emailed the company and their formulator was very friendly and responded very quickly. He said that the ratio of phos to calcium was one to one and also the fish meal they use is free of any mercury. Any thoughts? They also has a liver meal treat.

[Sully’sMom]

So, Pattyvaughn, a followup question:

If I switch to Earthborn Great Plains in an effort to figure out allergies, how do I handle treats, bones, chews, etc? We usually give quite a variety of treats when we’re training, sort of like a trail mix variety so he never knows what he’s getting. I only give top shelf, high quality, made in US treats, but still….there’s quite a mix!

[Duke The Boxer]

Hey DFA community i wanted to see what you guys thought about this treat i found.
http://biostareq.com/formulas/canine/dog-star-fish-raw-food-treats
It says its made from Menhaden fish meal which ive read that supposedly arent exposed to high levels of mercury because of their depth that they live at. Only thing i saw is that it has 9.29% ash.
Serving: Per Treat
Crude Protein (min) 33.00%
Crude Fat (min) 16.7%
Crude Fiber (max) 5.85%
Moisture (max) 10.15%
Ash (max) 9.29%
They also have a liver meal dog treat for the same price with less ash. Also i might add that my dog is a puppy american bulldog boxer mix so hes gonna be a large breed and i am worried about high ash levels.

[Akari_32]

If I didn’t have such a mixed lot of dogs, I wouldn’t see a problem with it, but since I do, I’d like to ask and see what you all think. Prepare for super long post of stuff!

We have three dogs, one my moms, and two are mine. Mom has an 8 pound, 1 year old, Jack Russell/Maltese. He’s got a super high metabolism. Eats a whole cup of food, yet remains slightly (by less than a half pound) under weight, by my best guess, seeing as he was only supposed to weigh 4 pounds to begin with. It’s hard to keep any meat on him because he’s such an active nut. On top of regular food, he gets a couple treats a day (Zuke’s Hip and Joint and Denta Sticks), and every month or so, all three dogs get a raw meal replacement (turkey neck/back, pork hock, etc).

My dogs, 9.5 year old 130 pound Rottweiler/Austrailian shepherd, and 10.5 year old lab/retriever mix, are outside dogs, much to my dislike. I sneak them in a few days a week when moms working out of town. As soon as money starts looking better, I’ll be getting my own place, where they will be indoors, always. Haley, the lab mix, does have trouble keepig weight on when fed according to the bag these days, but is otherwise healthy. I’ve been feeding her about 5 cups, as aposed to the 2.5-3 she used to get, and that’s doing the trick. Dweezle, the rott mix, also eats 5 cups, for perspective. Neither of these two are very active, but I have recently taken to taking Haley and Bentley (the puppy) on nightly walks, because that dog can drive just about anyone up a wall! He drives poor old Haley nuts LOL Dweezle, do to his dog aggression, can’t be taken out often. He absolutely hates the neighbors dog (in his defence, no body in our neighborhood likes that dog), and has gotten in some trouble with them (thankfully they didn’t press charges…). Can’t risk running into them on a walk.

Because money is currently tight, I do coupon for my dog food. I try to keep the bulk of it Wellness Core (Original), but recently got a great deal on Racheal Ray Zero, so that’s what most of their food is right now. I also got paid to coupon for Purina One Smart Blend (both chicken and lamb for something different), so I have tons of that, as well. Because I do not want the Purina to make up the bulk of the diet, and I’m running low on the Racheal Ray, I need to buy either some more Wellness or more Racheal Ray. I have great coupons for both, so I just need to do some math and decide which is cheaper at the moment.

I have been trained over my research of dog foods to avoid reduced fat type foods because they are typically lower quality (those in my price and couponing range, anyways). Curiosity got the best of me, and i checked out the Reduced Fat Core on this site as well as a few others, and was surprised at how good it actually was, better, IMO, than the other Wellness foods. My concerns, though, are that with two outdoor dogs, and Florida’s “winter” creeping in on us, as well as a feisty littler terrier puppy, would the reduced fat formula be a suitable staple for my dogs?

As far how feeding time goes, I mix all three dogs food in a large bowl with a large can of Pro Plan (coupons for one free can, so I’ve got tons!) and an egg. Haley has some problems digesting large quantities of dry food, and Bentley has trouble eating lager kibbles when they aren’t a little wet (when he doesn’t get fed at the same time as the other two, he gets his food wetted with water). Their dry food is currently 6x 6 pound bags of RR Zero, 2x 6 pound bags of RR Just 6, and 3x 3.5 pound bags of Purina One (and 4 more bags of RR and about 30 more bags of the Purina stored). Their diet can also include, but is not limited to, Blue, all other kinds of Wellness, Hills (SD and Ideal Balance– neither ever in bulk), and anything else that gets store coupons to mix with manufacturer coupons (not usually much else, though).

Any thoughts on the reduced fat Core would be great. If you don’t think it’d be a good choice for my case, please feel free to suggest something else! I’m open to anything. Shoot all your ideas my way!

[beagleowner]

Ok more about Henry Beagle. Filling the marrow bones was a good idea for awhile but he gets the fillers out so fast it is a quick fix. We buy the marrow bones and he goes thru them in a shirt time. His jaws are strong. I need a treat that I can feed him and keep him busy for awhile. I did buy treats at Tractor Supply that was turkey chew that kept him busy for longer. It listed ingredients as turkey and blueberries and other fruit. I will look them up again and see what you think. They were listed as made in USA and all natural.. He follows me constantly barking. The only salvation is his bedtime is 10 pm and he quiets down and goes to sleep around that time. He is like a little baby. Any good chews out there that are safe.

[theBCnut]

About 15% bone is good, so yes you would need to add boneless meat.

It depends on how the liver is dried, how much damage was done. Dehydrating damages a bit but not usually as bad as cooking, it depends on the temp they dehydrate at. And freeze drying damages a little, but not much. You have to be careful about how much you give, it’s easy to give too much when it’s dry. I like to use dried as training treats. I think it’s duck liver that I’m using right now.

[theBCnut]

Vital Essentials makes a freeze dried dog food that mine go crazy for. I use it as training treats. The chicken variety has chicken, chicken bones, and chicken organs in it. The beef has beef, beef bones, and beef organs in it. And the turkey has turkey, turkey bones, and turkey organs in it. They are dry like a kibble, but not as oily. I love it! On Fridays, we do agility and my dogs get about a whole meals worth of treats, but they have never even had a loose stool from it. And because it was meant to be a stand alone dog food, I don’t worry about unbalancing my dogs diet.

[theBCnut]

For training treats, my favorite is Vital Essentials Freeze Dried dog food and I also make my own by baking chicken or making little meatballs and baking them, but those get your hands messy, the VE doesn’t.

HDM hit all my favorites for large breeds, which are the 2 by Earthborn and the 2 by Nature’s Variety. I love Brother’s Complete and Nature’s Logic too, but they will have to wait until your pup is done growing.

[jewels]

Thanks! I forgot to ask about training treats. This puppy is very full of himself and is going to need a lot more training than my last standard. I don’t want to undo any good I’m getting from the right food by using poor training treats. This pup is highly food motivated so I’m sure I’ll be using treats alot. I always cut them in to tiny pieces but I’d still love to know if there are any particular brands/types recommended to go along with these feeding guidelines. Thanks!

[dawne]

My boy is an adult, male, very small ( 11 lbs.) Bichon Frise. He was diagnosed with stress colitis a few weeks ago. He has been eating Purina EN Gastroenteric kibble that the Vet suggested and is doing well on it. Which kind of scares me. Not thrilled about it being Purina. He was eating Blue Buffalo small bites with a bit of Nutro Natural Choice Wet food added. That mix took me 5 yrs. to figure out. ( he is a very finicky eater) Sometimes boiled chicken. He seems to like the Purina okay. Not sure if he likes it or is just super hungry since I no longer give him treats. Since I continually train my boy, I was wondering if anyone knew of a very small training treat that would be gentle on his stomach. He loved Zukes and Bill Jack treats. I honestly think it was the Bill Jack treats that disturbed his stomach. Sometimes during training you forget how small little dogs digestive systems and stomachs are. I have found Nutro Natural Choice Sensitive Stomach Biscuts. My boy likes them but they are so large hence not conducive to training. Thanks!

[PugsleyOtisMom]

In July I switched my pugs to the “Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain Free Duck & Turkey Diet” kibble. Instantly their allergies improved and I noticed a big difference in their health. However, I have had to cut their food down to half a cup a day because they are gaining so much weight! Otis my one year old pug went from 18lbs to 21lbs(OVERWEIGHT) and Pugsley my 5yr old pug went from 25lbs to 28lbs! If you are a pug person you know that is A LOT of weight to gain. I understand the food is high in protein and that is what is making them gain the weight, but I can’t keep resorting to cutting their food down.
I don’t want to switch their food but if that’s what I need to do I will do it. I did see that Natures Variety Instinct came out with a healthy kibble, has anyone tried it? If anyone knows of a different brand of food out there that is healthier but the same quality please let me know. Also, if anyone knows of a cheaper healthier food that would be great. I love my pugs, but spending $60+ bucks a month on their dog food is just not feasible.
Also, please do not lecture me on how much I am feeding my pugs or that they need more exercise. I have had issues with my older pugs weight for years. They get lots of exercise(walks everyday) and no extra treats. The main issue is I do live in Louisiana so them being outside more is just not an option.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’m sure the calcium content of S&C freeze-dried formulas are the same as the frozen but if you’re just using them as treats you don’t need to worry about calcium content.

[pugmomsandy]

Generally, meats are acidifying and increasing the protein in the diet can help with struvites. Try using meat treats like Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Crunch or Kisses, Vital Essentials freeze dried nibbletts, Fresh is Best dehyrated meat treats, Pure Bites, or some safe jerky. But you also want to increase fluid intake with these dried treats and overall to flush out the bladder. A wet food diet might be better. When her UTI is gone and she’s on regular food, give her urinary tract supplements. There is one called Wysong Biotic pH- and Clear Tract or Berry Balance, etc.

http://www.wysong.net/products/ph-dog-cat-supplement.php

http://www.wysong.net/pet-health-and-nutrition/urinary-problems.php

[koa’smom]

I’m sure this has been addressed, but are there any freeze dried raw foods that are ok for large breed puppies? My trainer has recommended Stella and Chewys Lamb dinner “cakes” for training purposes because they are healthy, nutritionally balanced, very tasty and easy to break apart for small treats and the pups love them. Does anyone know the calcium content?

[mikeyd]

New member and thanks1 My 7 year old Beagle Honey recently had bladder surgery to remove hundreds of struvite bladder stones. Vet put her on Hill’s prescription WD food to help get her urine Ph to where it does not let the bacteria from her UTI feed and therefore produce the stones. I am trying to find a homemade treat recipe that will not negate the effects of her new food. I contacted Hill’s and they gave me two recipes making their food into a treat which is OK but I want to try dehydrated sweet potatoes, chicken jerky, etc but I am not a chemist and have no idea what I can use. The vet said the same thing. He has no degree in chemistry. Anyone out there in the same situation as Honey is and have a home recipe for this particular problem?

[sparkysgirl]

So i am planning on making a homemade dog treat business. These would be wheat-free, corn-free, low-glucose, lactose-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. The ingredients will all be human grade products and all different flavors. What do you guys think of it? Also all the ingredients used will be listed and customized if allergies are a problem.

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[Chip]

Hi there, I just posted a question right before you about some problems my dogs are having as well. My advice would be to check out Honest Kitchen. It really helped my dogs with digestive issues until recently when I screwed things up by trying to introduce a different brand of food because they were getting bored with my mixture of Blue Buffalo Freedom and Honest Kitchen that I had been feeding them for the past two years. Here is a link… I really love this company, how it conducts business, treats it’s workers, and creates awesome food for you good buddy: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products

[somebodysme]

I have some frozen turkey necks that I stashed after we started on the LID foods. I’ve reached the point of trying new things and have been 0% successful so far! GAH! First the bone and now the antler. She actually had some deer antlers which I’m now thinking that were the cause of her occasional flare ups. I told me husband that I’m actually GLAD that she reacted so bad to that antler because(it opened my eyes) I had not for one second suspected that the deer antlers she’d been chewing could possibly have been the cause for her occasional flare ups but now I’m pretty sure that’s it. I know it wasn’t the cause all along because she’s only had the deer antlers for a couple months.

Have any of you ever heard of a dog being allergic to antlers? She chewed quite a bit of “marrow” out of it and by the evening, she had hives and a large raised welt above her tail. The hives were all over her back. Then she also had a huge blood filled pustule on the bottom of her foot. The good thing about her not having any treats or anything is that I can say 100% that the antler was the cause because she gets nothing else.

[PrincessPiper]

Click on the look inside and if you scroll down to page 109 you will see some examples of the recipes that are offered in this book. I’m new to raw feeding so I’m buying this book and I’ve heard that this book is a good one, too.

I think I’m going to start out with prepackaged and pre-mixes to get me started and after I read this book hopefully I will become a little more adventurous. 🙂

I have a 3lb one year old yorkie that absolutely hates dog food so I started homecooking for her while I research raw. She currently gets premade raw for her evening meal and I cook her breakfast. She gets chicken feet (we raise our own birds) for treats.

Good luck in your quest!!

[HabanaJoe]

I agree with Patty as well. My caveat would be to try to avoid food with grains….corn, soy, wheat etc.
We experimented…slowly with various brands and settled on Blue Buffalo or Wellness..both canned and kibble. Of course, every time we buy, we do check ingredients as companies are known to change to something cheaper and keep the label looking the same.
I would suggest that you show your boyfriend what “meat by products” are and let him know that they can have adverse effects on a dog.
We also stay away from any glutens for protein enhancing agents and only buy food that is made from ingredients here or in Canada. (no chinese). Check any treats you buy as well, as a lot of companies are putting an American flag on the package to make you think it’s made here. When you read the fine print, it says “made in china”. (poisonous ingredients a few years ago related to gluten).

The little extra spent on a quality dog food will pay you back in the long run with fewer vet bills and fewer skin problems for your pup.
Good luck with your new family member!

[InkedMarie]

I can’t answer your questions but THK makes two chew type treats. One is haddock, the other catfish.

[DogLover25]

Okay I called and they emailed me this answer within minutes of my call with a complete nutrient profile for Oracle, the new food. Maybe this well help answer your question.

“Thank you for your email. Oracle has 1.12% Calcium. (Attached please find the complete Nutritional Analysis for Oracle).

We add Calcium Citrate to all of our pre-mixes including Canine Health, Veg-To-Bowl and Fine Ground Veg-To-Bowl. This is the best and most highly absorbable form of Calcium.

There are also deep green leafy vegetables in all of our foods which have lots of calcium in a whole food form.

The Calcium/Phosphorous is approximately 1 to 1.2 when the pre-mixes are made according to the guidelines that we provide with each bag of food. Keep in mind that the meat is the largest source of phosphorous and the amount of meat added to the pre-mixes can be adjusted to the specific needs of your dog. This is one of the wonderful benefits to making your own fresh food for your companion. For puppies, the Calcium/Phosphorus is about 1.1; 18 months to 7 years old dogs about 1 – 1.2; Older than 7 years about 1 – 1.4.

Please feel free to call us directly at anytime and speak directly with Dr. Harvey, who will be happy to guide you to make any of our pre-mixes specific to your dog’s needs.

Thank you for contacting us. We are always here to provide help and guidance.

Yours in Health,
The Team at Dr. Harvey’s.”

I don’t know why anyone else would have gotten another response. As I said, this company has always been very responsive and helpful to me and my dog loves their food and treats.

[jackieshoes]

I have an 8 year old teacup chihuahua that weighs 4.2 pounds. She has been on Beneful Incredibites for some time now and ONLY likes the chewy ones. She picks them out and comes and finds me to feed her more if there aren’t many in there. I had no idea what kind of JUNK they put in dog food until I changed my English Bulldog from Prescription Diet to Castor and Pollux UltraMix (totally different dog).

I have been on the search for a food that she will eat, as she is very very very picky. She turns her nose up at things most dogs would woof down in no time. She doesn’t like cheese (unless its string cheese), any treats I have ever purchased (except marrowbones and she only gets a few of those a month), greenies, green beans, bananas, carrots, etc. She just turns her nose up and walks off. I want to find a good food that is relatively chewy (but not wet) that she will eat – but want it to be a QUALITY food because I want her life to be as full as possible. She is still full of life and acts like a puppy most days running around and chasing things – so no major health issues. Except we might be a little overdue on a dental, but I’m between jobs right now so that will have to wait.

I appreciate any input and recommendations!

[Molzy]

Hello! I’ll apologize in advance for the length of this post.

We adopted an Australian Cattle Dog (Quincy) at the end of July. He is a year-and-a-half old neutered male, and we were told he was given up due to not being housebroken. I am beginning to suspect that the real reason may have be what I can only describe as his gulping disorder.

For the first two weeks at home he was totally fine. We switched him from Science Diet to Merrick Lamb and Rice, which he gets twice a day. We did have to board him about two weeks after adopting him due to a family wedding, and it was after this that he started his first episode of gulping/swallowing. Usually at night, he will begin frantically swallowing and gulping. Quincy will frantically search the house for carpet fibers to pull up, and will eventually vomit and then re-eat his food if we don’t get to it in time. This went on for about a week the first time – we brought him to the vet, they said he looked fine, and that it was probably just all the changes in his life. I did give him a gas-x one night, because he was swallowing so much air I was concerned about bloat. He ate some carpet this first time, when I fell asleep with him out of his kennel (he normally sleeps in bed with us, but when he is having these bouts I have learned to kennel him so that he can’t get into anything). He threw the carpet up about 3 days after that.

At that point, we thought he just had a sensitive stomach. So, when we switched his food again (our other dog has an iron stomach, and had done well with us rotating food, so we already had a bag of grain-free salmon from Nutrisource), we weren’t all surprised when the symptoms started up again. This time I gave him a couple of doses of pepto-bismol to ease his tummy troubles, and about 6 days later he stopped vomiting. I should note – when he vomits, it seems associated with these bursts of gulping/swallowing/licking. I thought it was him having an upset stomach and panicking about it, but the vet thought it was odd that he is willing to eat his vomit right away, and that a nauseous dog wouldn’t do that? I am beginning to think that the actual issue is the gulping/swallowing, and the vomiting may be a side effect of that, rather than the other way around.

I switched him to rice and boiled chicken, and he seemed to get better. We put him back on Merrick (chicken and rice this time, because they were out of lamb and rice), and he did fine for about a week. Then last week, he threw up again (he had had a minor bout of swallowing, but nothing like he normally gets). We fasted him for 36 hours, and brought him to the vet. Again, his stool and activity is normal. The vet gave him an anti-nausea shot, and sent us home with some anti-nausea pills and canned science diet ID (for gastro-intestinal health). He was fine for about 3 days, and then last night had one of his worst bouts of swallowing/gulping yet. He didn’t throw up at all (that I know of, I did fall asleep for a little while), but did try to eat a rope toy. I kenneled him for the night, and this morning he ate grass like crazy.

His bouts tend to start at night when we’re going to bed, and he works himself up into a frenzy. Once it starts, it tends to last for multiple days, and kenneling him seems to work to calm him down a little. Our other dog (LoJack) has been totally fine through all of this. They are never outside without my supervision, and he doesn’t get human food (except for the two occasions he has stolen it off of the counter). I haven’t been feeding treats for a few weeks now, but tonight had to give him some zukes at training class. The only other thing would be that he did start HeartGuard and Frontline, but both of those started after his initial attacks. One last thing I should mention is that he plays a LOT with my other dog, and they usually wrestle and play tug of war every night before bed, but will often stop for >2 hours before going to bed. I haven’t felt like there was any correlation between them playing and one of these attacks. When we walk he is on a gentle leader or harness, but he is on his collar when on his tie-out in the yard. I remove the dog’s collars when they’re wrestling so that they don’t hurt each other.

Has anyone dealt with similar symptoms? What did you do? My Internet searches have found that others have this issue but I haven’t found anyone who has solved it. We will probably do blood work and an X-ray next to rule out anything normal, but I want opinions from others on possible nutritional changes that could help. I refuse to switch to science diet unless I absolutely must. I’m considering trying raw, but currently scared of anything that might upset him, since I’ve been cleaning vomit for the past month it seems! I do natures variety raw with my cat, and our other dog has been on grain free nutrisource or merrick for the past year.

Thanks for any advice, I appreciate it!

[theBCnut]

I got VE to use as a replacement for raw when I went on vacation, but it turned out that my squeamish husband thought that Darwin’s looked enough like ground beef that he could handle it. So I’ve been using the VE for training treats. We do agility on Fridays, so sometimes those training treats are enough to be a meal.

[pugmomsandy]

I use it as a meal sometimes when I don’t have any raw thawed or any kibble! Mostly I use it as treats or as a topper.

[pugmomsandy]

Tripletsmom,

What size is your dog? Mine are small, but they still eat turkey necks, duck necks, chicken feet, chicken legs, beef or bison marrow bones from Primal and baby back pork ribs. The pork ribs are much softer. My dogs can eat those but they can’t eat beef ribs. You might also try oxtail. Being a tail, it won’t have a dense bone. As far as salmonella, I don’t worry about it for my dogs either. I just wash my hands and the fork. I don’t even wash their bowls every meal anymore. They get washed once a week. I don’t think there is a way to get rid of the salmonella without cooking it. I give them bones outside in the yard. When the meat is gone, then they can chew them inside.

[Mom2Cavs]

As you all may remember, I’ve been battling things with Laverne. She would have anal gland issues and goopy eyes, she would lick her forearm and scratch her back sides. Sometimes she would lick her back knee?…I guess that would be what it’s called lol. She would scoot only sometimes. Her stool would be loose to full blown diarrhea at times, except when we tried NV LIDs…then she was too constipated (they all were) and the other symptoms were still there. Finally, one of her breeders told me that her brother and mother could never have poultry! So….I’ve been working on getting poultry out of the house. We have tried Zignature, still didn’t do the trick (maybe I didn’t give it long enough). We then went on Holistic Select grain free. Things were a little better. Now, I also top with canned food (and something tells me sometimes it may be the canned that’s causing the problem). I’ve narrowed the canned down to a few kinds whereas I was using quite a lot of different kinds before. Things were a little better, still not where I would like, though. In there as well I used some Natural Balance I had in the dog closet to see if it would be better than the Hol. Sel. I had the Lamb & Rice and the Swt. Pot. & Fish. Things were even a little better. I used to like N.B. but am leary of it now..bummer. When I finished with the N.B. I transitioned in a small bag of Acana Lamb (from the dog closet, of course!) This is what they are on now. We’re only on the first day with only Acana Lamb & Apple as the kibble, but so far so good. I’ve stopped treats for the time being, as well. I’ve been using the kibble, which they all readily take (even picky Lucy…don’t know how long this will last). Today I gave Acana topped with Wellness 95% Salmon for breakfast and only dry Acana for dinner. I think that’s my plan….kibble and can for breakfast and dry for dinner. They also get part of their dry right before bedtime as a snack. It’s really too soon to tell but today has been fine with this arrangement. I pray it keeps on working….I like Acana and maybe eventually I can use other flavors, like Ranchlands. I’ll keep y’all posted. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Oh, I wanted to mention that I did order some Big Dog Natural in beef. While the dogs all loved it very much, it really did a number on Laverne’s bowels!! Too, too much for her so…..we will not be using it in the future.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 3 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[theBCnut]

Triplets Mom

A lot of us here feed raw so feeding bones is normal for us. I don’t worry about salmonella in my dog at all, I just take precautions for us humans. I also feed raw rib bones, they are softer than marrow bones, but still take some chewing. Mine really like turkey necks and they have a lot of cartilage, so act as a joint supplement too.

[beagleowner]

I got the herbs for Henry’s lipomas from Pawhealer. Holly is the herbalist that made the Dissolve and even a Custom Dissolve for Henry. His lipomas are extremely large and the Custom Dissolve did liquefy them but they did not go away. I felt that continuing that route was senseless so did more research. Found a company by the name of NuVet that has a chewable tablet with a money back guarantee if not satisfied. My Vet had heard of the company, looked at the ingredients and suggested to try it and she also researched further and suggested on two week intervals to add tumeric, milk thistle and Sam-e every 12 hours.

I started the NuVet Sept 1st and have seen the lipomas getting smaller and in fact one has disappeared. I feed home made dog food to Henry of 85/15 beef or lean turkey plus vegetables. He is improving. Since he also has weakness in his hind legs, I am considering getting he joint formula from NuVet as well. I like the NeVet better than Pawhealer because they explain and list each ingredient and Pawhealer would not do that.

Feel free to check in with me. Henry is 14 and is doing well. I do give him marrow bones and then refill them with his food or pumpkin forva nightly treat. Keep in touch.

[treizi]

Thanks for everyone’s responses so far!

So when you mention low fat, are there certain #’s he should be staying under when looking for food? I’m not sure where Lotus falls on the calorie scale, I generally have just been concerned with grain and recalls. I’ll add that he’s a good weight, no concerns have ever been stated by the vet either and he doesn’t get additional treats beyond the occasional item off the cutting board from a salad dinner or dried sweet potato pieces about once a week.

Is there a digestive enzyme that you’d recommend as well? And is there a supplement that might assist with a reoccurring slipped disc or aggravation?

Just as an update, his stools are back to normal and he’s mostly in nice shape as well. All bulging in his belly seems to have gone away, though his back does seem to randomly bother him. He’ll go up on his hind legs without complaint (on his own, I’d keep him on all 4’s if I could) but he seems aware of back pain at times as his ears will drop and he’ll tense if you rub back there. He has reinjured himself in the past (much worse than how he acts now) and we’ll crate, prevent jumping, keep him quiet for about 2 weeks (per vets instructions) and that works, but if I can help build him up in any way with supplements, I’m more than willing to do so.

[Triplets Mom]

Hello all — brand new to this forum, and I don’t get to post very often, but my dogs’ diet is one of the all-consuming concerns of my life right now due to their health needs, so I’m surely happy to find you all!

To “beagleowner” – if you’re still following this group, I’m very interested in the comment you made about giving your Henry herbs to liquify his lipomas. What herbs? How much/how often/how long (quantity/dose/duration)? Did the lipomas go away yet? How did you know they had liquified?

And to anyone giving their dog soup/marrow bones, what animal do the bones come from? I’ve spent a total of around $6,000 on two separate dental incidents from two of my three dogs chewing beef bones (usually steak bones like a T-bone, sometimes beef rib bones). But poultry bones which are soft enough to not break teeth cause me concerns re salmonella since cooking bones to kill bacteria causes them to become splintery/dangerous. Is there anyone here with these concerns who has found a good solution? Is there a way to kill the bacteria on poultry carcasses OTHER than cooking them?

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to doing a lot more reading as I am able to get online!

[BijouMama05]

Arquello1062 – The treats you bought don’t seem to be the ones pets are having trouble with since they don’t contain Rosemary in any of its forms (extract, oil, leaf, etc.). The one I have states the ingredients as chicken & rosemary extract (nothing else). They are Full Moon Freeze Dried Chicken Treats, not the Full Moon Chicken Strips. I did contact the AAFCO with all of my data, vet reports and much more regarding rosemary and dogs (including thousands of adverse reactions in dogs & cats who eat this ingredient in pet foods, treats & human foods/meats) & it has been put on the radar of the FDA/CVM, the vet toxicologist in Tennessee & other watchdog groups by them. I tried to get numerous pet food companies, watchdog groups, pet food advisory groups, etc. to take notice, but no one would take me seriously or take the time & everyone kept ‘passing the buck,’ saying the responsibility belonged to someone else. So, I did all the research (medical, scientific, GRAS, AAFCO, FDA, CVM, AVMA, consumer affairs, hundreds of different foods & treats, etc.) & sent it to all the appropriate agencies in the hopes that someone would finally listen & do the right thing for the pets we all love. Finally someone listened. It was a whimper, not a bang, but at least it was a noise and I can only hope that it got the attention of the right people. I can only hope that something will finally get done about the use of rosemary as a ‘flavor enhancer’ in pet food & its acceptance as a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) ingredient for pets, especially when it is known to cause such severe reactions within hours of ingestion in thousands of pets (vomiting, diarrhea, electrolyte imbalance & hypoglycemia [from vomiting & diarrhea], etc.). Rosemary has been known to be a bile stimulant for over 100 years & in small dogs & cats, those with digestive problems, GERD, colitis or sensitive stomachs, health problems, older pets, puppies, diabetes, etc. this excess bile would definitely cause the extreme symptoms seen when rosemary is consumed by these pets (but not as often by larger or healthier animals).

[Arguello1062]

I just bought the treat this Friday at Walmart, so far nothing has happened. The ones I bought are chicken strips and the ingredients are chicken, brown rice syrup, vinegar and green tea extract. In the back of the package in the pink bottom section their is a web site http://www.fullmoonpet.com and a 1-888-970-FULL number. I have a 10yr old Llasa Apso and he weights 18 pounds. I was giving him before blue buffalo treats and saw these ones that kind of look the same w/the same ingredients but cheaper. I will let you guys know if anything happens

[theBCnut]

I use Vital Essentials Freeze Dried nibblets for training treats, but I haven’t seen this one before.