[Nadine H]

I did a lot of reading today and decided to get a bag of Purina pro plan focus large breed puppy. I have spent so much trying to find the perfect food and I’m really starting to wonder what I’m doing. The Farmina is good but is it that good that I need to pay over 200 a month.
I’m just not sure. My vet recommended the purina, he has danes and thats what he feeds. I read hundreds of reviews today from people that are having very good results. We’ll give it a try, I still have two bags of the Farmina so it’ll be a very slow transition and fingers double crossed that it works out. Thanks for your help pitlove!

[pitlove]

Hi Nadine-

Farmina looks like a fairly good company. I see they are dedicated to research and have a staff of qualified people formulating their diets. Especially if it agrees with your pup, I would continue to use it. They do also make a chicken and pomegranite in a large breed puppy formula, that might be more appropriate for him than the adult one.

As far as the feeding guidelines go, it looks to be an extremely high calorie food. This is likely the reason for the low seeming feeding guidelines. If you do decide to up his food intake make sure to check that hes not gaining a lot of weight. It is best to use a low energy density food for large breed puppies to help with weight gain, but if you have done fine thus far in keeping him lean I’m sure he will be ok.

Purina Pro Plan is what I use for all my pets and they do best on it. There is no ingredient in Pro Plan that concerns me in the slightest. The reason the feeding guidelines are so different is because of the kcals/cup. If you fed him the Pro Plan Sport 30/20 which is 475 kcals/cup he would eat about 4cups a day if fed as an “inactive” dog. It would be a little higher if fed as a “typically” active dog.

[a c]

This is very scary. My puppy has been on Orijen(same manufacturer as Acana) puppy food for about 2 months now. I hate to think I am feeding him the poison. Where can I take the food to get it tested? I wish Clean Label Project would publish their findings in detail info.

I never use Orijen made in Canada, so I don’t have anything to compare to.

[Jeff D]

We have 5 1.2 year old Anatolian Shepherd Pyrenees mix. One 12 weeks old and we’re getting an English Mastiffs puppy in 4 weeks. I am taking before and after pics starting when my food comes in. Any feedback will be appreciated. I will update on a monthly basis.

[a c]

I use Orijen puppy since he was 6 weeks old with no problem. Tootsie roll stool. 3-4 times a day. Groomer noticed his beautiful fur. I have heard a lot of bad things about Orijen lately. I am trying to mix some Horizon Amicus puppy to Orijen puppy food. So far so good.

I wish I can feed a Orijen senior to my 10 years old. Unfortunately, it may be too rich for her. She has pancreatitis history. Our vet put her on Purina One Smartblend Healthy Weight Management. I feel so bad to feed her that, but don’t know what to do. I do add a little Natural Receipe wet food to make it taste/smell better.

[Susan]

Hi Ashley,
My boy didn’t do well on the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Digestion, read the ingredients in the Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy, I bet you there’s a ingredient or a few ingredients that’s she is very sensitive or intolerant too & can not eat, also write down the ingrediets & the protein, fat & fiber % in the Purina Pro Plan Large Breed formula, the ingredients are not the best in the American Purina Pro Plan formula’s…
Keep a diary just in case you need it later to look back on if this keeps happening…

Can you afford to buy the Hills I/d Digestive Care dry kibble formula the matching formula to the I/d wet tin your feeding at the moment? it comes in a dry kibble as well you could buy a cartoon of the I/d wet tins & a medium size bag I/d Digestive Care dry kibble, enough to last 1 month so you can start introducing the new kibble as well that you want her on?
My boy does real well on the Hills I/d Digestive Care wet & dry formula I use this or the “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb kibble when Patch has diarrhea & his poo’s will not firm back up, both formula’s fix his stomach, bowel & get him back on track again, the Hill’s I/d Digestive care has vitamin B’s, electrolytes & antioxidents what’s needed for diarrhea, to make their Intestinal tract healthy again….
Your better off sticking with the food she is eating at the moment & doing well on, then after 2-4 weeks when she is doingreal well, then start introducing a limited ingredient large breed puppy formula with around the same protein% & fat% & fiber % as the vet diet kibble she’s been eating, but if your feeding wet tin food then your not going to really know what percentage she does best on when eating a dry kibble?? just stay around the 25 % in protein nothing over 27-28% in protein & not too many meat proteins, stick with just 1 meat protein in the new kibble, less is best..

“Canidae” has a few Large Breed Puppy formula’s with grains like the vet diet she is eating at the moment has, I would be taking back the Purina Pro Plan Large Puppy & getting a refund or exchanging with something else, then you have to slowley introduce the new kibble over 10 day period, I start with under 1/4 of a cup new kibble added to under 1 cup old kibble feed this for 2 days & use old kibble for treats for training the first 4 days, do not buy any other brand treats that have different ingredients cause the more different foods you feed then if she has diarrhea again you will not know which food has caused the diarrhea…. then you feed 1/3 of a cup new kibble added to her old kibble, you take away 1/3 of the old kibble to make 1 cup, feed for the next 2 days, if poo start to go sloppy then you go back to 1/4 a cup or what ever she was eating & doing firm poo’s on…
Here’s “Canidae” life stages, large breed puppy, Turkey meal & Brown Rice puppy formula
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-large-breed-turkey- meal-brown-rice
Another good kibble to start with is “California Nutural” Chicken & Rice or Lamb & Rice Puppy both these formula’s only has 4 ingredients…. the Californiia Natural puppy would have been good to feed when the diarrhea first started…. http://www.californianaturalpets.com/brands/california-natural

[Ashley K]

Hey all! New puppy mom here – I’ve had my 9week old lab for a week now – and I’m super struggling.

The breeder was feeding our pup Puppy Chow, which as soon as we got her on the 31st we started mixing with our choice of Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. She loves the taste! She was fully switched over in about 2 days, as we ran out of the puppy chow. On Wednesday, she started having pudding-like stools. That evening they switched to straight liquid. For about 30hrs, she bounced between straight liquid and pudding like texture. We went to the vet, and they recommended using Hill’s Science Digestive Care wet food for a few days, then mixing her kibble back in slowly once we reached the third can they gave us. For timeline: weds the diarrhea started, Thursday afternoon we started on the Digestive Care food. Saturday Evening/ Sunday we started mixing kibble back in, and now on Monday the diarrhea has returned (pudding, now liquid.) We’ve been using her Pro Plan kibble as training treats, a training treat for potty. Sometimes she gets puppy teething rings and such but we held off on that during the upset tummy, but started them back once her poops were fine on the new Digestive Care food- she had instant improvement. Now, to be clear, the breeder never mentioned any stomach problems, and when we first got her her poop was fine. All fecal tests were normal. The vet started her on an antibiotic just in case. I believe the kibble is to blame however. Once she starts getting a fair bit, the poop gets bad again. I sent my SO to the vet to pick up some more of the Digestive Care food and we’ll just give her that til her tummy is better.

Now however, I’m trying to figure out what different food to give her!! I don’t mind spending a fair amount on this food, but I don’t want to do anything TOO crazy. I also really want to stick with kibble, not wet or raw or anything. I’ve heard a little about grain-free foods – but I’ve also heard plenty of mixed reviews about their poops on this as well as added cost, etc. I just have no idea! I was under the belief that I should try and stick with a large breed formula, but my puppy is a female…she’s 9 weeks and she’s only 8 1/2 lbs. Her mom weighs 60-70lbs and her dad is over 90+ – the breeder is expecting her to be about her mom’s size. But could it maybe be the protein amount that is upsetting her, since she was seemingly fine on cheap puppy chow?

I was going to head to my local Hollywood Feed tomorrow and see what they recommend, but I wanted to also poll a larger audience. A friend of mine recommended Fromm Large Breed Puppy so I was thinking about going that route?

Also to note- no vomit, she’s very excitable and seems to feel/act well…except for when she’s having a lot of the diarrhea, then she seems dehydrated and pees a lot less.

Please help. <3

[anonymous]

I say NO.
NO dairy products. Dogs don’t need them and they can cause diarrhea.
A bite of cooked lean broiled chicken would be a better choice for a snack (IMO)

Here is an informative article, excerpts below (out on context) click on link for full article. Hope this helps.
https://dogpack.com/blog/dog-care/can-dogs-eat-cheese

The internet is divided when it comes to feeding Fido cheesy treats. One camp says it’s fine in moderation, and others forbid it altogether. As with any new food, run any questions by your vet ahead of time.
There isn’t an easy answer for this; some dogs will be fine with cheese, and others may be super sensitive to it. Even dog owners who swear by cheesy treats admit that it should be an occasional indulgence, not a regular snack. The fat and calorie content of most commercial cheeses will pile on the pounds, and smaller dogs especially may end up gaining excessive weight.
While some cheese products are better than others, there are certain cheeses that should be avoided altogether.
Like humans, some dogs are lactose intolerant. Any cheese consumption for a lactose-intolerant dog is likely to end up in:
Horrible, never-ending streams of diarrhea
Farts so foul that your indoor plants will wither and die before your eyes (along with your nasal hairs)
Vomiting, Exorcist-style
One sad puppy
And yes, I’m one of lucky few who found out my dog was lactose intolerant the hard way! It goes without saying that a lactose-intolerant dog should avoid all dairy products.
Can Dogs Eat Blue Cheese?
Blue cheeses, like Gorgonzola, Stilton, Roquefort, and other French favorites should be added to your list of no-no foods for Fido. When blue cheese starts to get super-ripe, it can produce roquefortine, a potentially lethal toxin for dogs to consume. There have been documented cases of dogs dying from consuming old blue cheese, so keep it 100% out of your dog’s way.
All cheeses can produce roquefortine if they’re old enough, so if your dog has “rescued” any cheese from the trash and starts to demonstrate any of the following symptoms, take them to the nearest animal hospital at once:
Shivering
Spasms
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Lethargy
Neurological symptoms (i.e. confusion, aggression, etc.)

[Carter K]

I have been feeding Orijen to my Golden Retriever since he was a puppy. I never had a single complaint with the Canadian food. It consistently came vacuum sealed, and opening the bag you could see that the food was moist and rich in nutrients.

The new formula from Kentucky is so lousy I can’t stand it. I had several bags that the color was extremely light colored, the pieces were very thin or small, and there was an abundance of food particles all over the bag. I was getting ready to switch, when I bought another bag. FINALLY, I got a bag where the kibble was larger, darker in color, and appeared to be the same type of quality as the Canadian plant. I thought that perhaps they had corrected whatever issues they may have been having at the Kentucky plant, but I have not been able to find another bag of this quality since.

Orijen sent me a long-winded response about using “fresh ingredients” and how this causes variation in the food; however, this was never an issue with the Canadian formula. At this point, I don’t know what to feed him as I had previously been so thrilled with Six Fish as it has kept him lean, his muscles strong, and his coat beautiful. If there was SOME way for me to still buy the Canadian food I absolutely would! 🙁

[pitlove]

Hi Kathleen-

When dealing with a breed that can potentially have genetic related diseases, it is important to make sure that the breeder you are purchasing your puppy from is doing health testing on the parents and can provide you with health clearances on the parents and health stats on generations further back. Make sure you have seen OFA/PennHip scores clearing the parents of HD before committing to the puppy.

I would also say that if this breeder is still basing her feeding recommendations on an outdated myth, I might reconsider this puppy. This tells you that she has not continued to keep herself updated on current research, but instead goes with “what works”. What appears to work, does not always actually work especially if health testing is not being done.

While protein is a non-factor in the growth of large breed puppies, I still feel moderate protein levels are better tolerated by most dogs vs excesssively high. And yes, calcium and over nutrition should be the major factors being looked at when choosing a food. That being said, you will need to keep the puppy on the same food the breeder is using for 3-4 weeks and then slowly transition to the food of your choosing to prevent stress related stomach upset.

[Elise S]

That’s one of the problems every breeding has their own opinion of what is the “Best feeding program” only based on thier experience. Some people swear by a for but when you really start to read about it’s not something I wasn’t my dog on.There doesn’t seam to be one general train of thought. Are hip/elbows getting better or worse, if better because of diet what are people feeding.

Because of this unusually giant breed with the average life spam of 7-9 yrs. Weve seen huge improvements in the overall health of the breed. With correct health testing, breeding, exercise and yes diet, we’re starting to see these guys life long healthy lives 11-13 yrs.

When I breed a bitch I monitor and control everything about her food from the day she goes into season. Giant breed puppy foods can be just as hard because of to much protein. Some breedersput puppies on senior foods for lower protein, but I don’t believe the puppies are not getting calories and calcium.

[Elise S]

I show, and breed English mastiffs. There are Hugh different opinions on what to feed!
This is a low energy, exstreamly fast growing, big boned breed.
We are talking about a puppy going from 1-2 lbs. at birth to 25-30 lbs. in 8 weeks, over 150 lbs. by 1 year. Adult average weight for a male is 210-250 lbs. I even have a 20 month old male that’s already 275lbs. He is exception to the rule. Correct exercise is very important even for these guys that grow so fast, low energy, and can get over heated fast.
For more that 8 yrs. I’ve driven myself nuts reading dog food labels. Most dog foods I find are for energetic dogs about 100lbs. Maybe up to 150lbs.
I’m not ready to go raw, it seems you can just as easy give them the wrong ratio of nutrients.
I have 8 mastiffs so cost is some what of an issue but I put there health first. Small pieces of kibble can be a problem with choking even for slow eaters.
I’ve heard there are some ingredients that are considered “hot” foods. “?”
You can have a 200lbs muscular football player or a 200lbs couch potato. Developing muscle without putting to much pressure on fast growing joints is a trick.
With all this in mind slow growth low protein is a must.
Low energy is easy to get over weight.

Dose anyone have any suggestions?

[Tyla M]

Hi everyone!

I am new to this forum but am looking into freeze dried food for my pup. I have some questions…my girl is 3.5 months and I just hate feeding her all kibble after reading all about it. Are the fat content and calcium percentages appropriate for a large breed puppy ? Also, how do you calculate these items. For example, a rehydrated guaranteed analysis may be 15% protein and 15% fat….fat….if you’re looking at patties, do those amounts get tripled of you have to feed your dog 3 patties?? Please help! Haha I’m going crazy ! Thank you

[Orlando T]

Recently while searching for a quality puppy food I encountered on the Editors Choice page Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain Free (Dry) as a recommended puppy food. The food appears to be more of a small breed than a a puppy food but I’m no expert. I started feeding this food to my puppy but a week ago before realizing that Merrick’s does not actually list it as a puppy food. Please verify list accuracy and advise.

/best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/best-dry-puppy-foods-5-star/

Thank you,

[Courtney M]

Thank you Susan for all this information! I had emailed Canidae the other day and they said they still use Diamond as well as Performance Pets and Hamilton Pets to manufacture. When I asked for which foods specifically were made at the Diamond plant I got told all the foods are made at all of those plants, except for the Under the Sun.
She is doing GREAT with the Canidae Pure puppy she’s on now so I’m hesitant to want to change despite my concerns.
I was only going to use the Fromm Gold which doesn’t have much of a legume base (duck, chicken meal, chicken, brown rice, barley) . She was on the Gold Puppy when she was little but she did have some gas, and with how active she is I would probably need to feed her a lot more Fromm then the Canidae to keep her looking good.
I had looked at the Zignature before, but has more protein then I think she needs, she was on Merrick and Acana for a short time and she has nasty poops with higher protein.

[Courtney M]

Looking for suggestions between Fromm Gold and Canidae Pure. My 11m ACD has been on both puppy formulas but will be switched to adult after this bag of Canidae Puppy is done. Just looking for opinions and pros/cons of each. My main concern with the Canidae is the Diamond manufacturing, which is a fairly big thing. But otherwise she eats it great and has great poops and energy. My concern with theb Fromm is mostly the limited distribution, and I would be feeding her almost double what the Canidae requires. She was on the Fromm Gold Puppy from Dec-Feb when she decided she didn’t want to eat it anymore, so I would probably be mixing in canned. But they have no big recall history, and they manufacture their own foods. Just curious how others feel these brands compare and which would be chosen! Thanks!

[Susan]

Hi Amanda,

When you get your puppy the food you have finally picked & thought was going to be the best food for your new pup, may not agree with your pup, he may start doing sloppy poo’s on this food….you’ll need to know what he was eating when you get him so you can slowly introduce the new food with his old food…
The best way to avoid any food sensitivities/intolerances is by rotating foods & introducing new foods to your pup diet, by allowing short exposure to a wider variety of proteins types, meat, grains, veggies, this way the immune system is primed to a larger range of potential allergens, which strengthens the immune system & may reduce the risk of allergies, food sensitivities developing, this is very important for young animals, hopefully your pup will have an iron stomach & be able to eat everything by the time he’s an adult, in the beginning still feed his regular puppy food then once he has settled in & is doing really well start to add 1-2 tablespoon of fresh healthy human food, whatever you’ve cooked for dinner as long as it’s a healthy meal with veggies & some meat, when your giving him a treat give him something that’s healthy, instead of a process treats, a few small bite size pieces of peeled apple, blueberries etc that’s when I started introducing different foods to my boy who has IBD & food sensitivities, I gave the food as a treat in the beginning…..

What breed will your pup be? will he be pure breed or a mongrel?? this will play a big part in his health & what health issues he’ll inherit….
Follow “Rodney Habib” on his face book page, click on link below, then watch “Why it’s so important to offer your pet FRESH human food”
https://www.planetpaws.ca/tag/healthy-food/
On your right once you have clicked on the link above are helpful video’s Rodney has made over the last 2 years, since he found out his 14yr old dog Sammie now 16yr old had cancer & now is cancer free… start following 1-2 people who you like in the pet world & this will stop a lot of the confusion… Also join a few healthy nutrition pet groups like “Canine Nutrition & Natural Health” “Planet Paws” & “K-9 Kitchen” the people in these groups will be able to help you if you need any help about puppy nutrition…

[a c]

I feel the same way. Buying puppy food shouldn’t be this complicated. I got my puppy almost a month ago when he was about 6 weeks old. I was told by the breeder that they feed him puppy chow kibbles soaked in the water. I went to the grocery store the same night to buy him some food. I looked at the label of puppy chow and I can’t make myself buying that. It’s full of meat by products and fillers. I also looked other puppy food. It’s the same. I left store with 2 cans of Caesar wet food because I have to feed him something.

I went to a pet store the next day. I was told Orijen puppy food is the best one. He has been on Orijen puppy food with no problem. However, I like to have at least one more puppy food to rotate with. I also heard a lot about Orijen lately that is may not be as good as before since the production has been moved from Canada to Kentucky. It’s very frustrated and confusing.

[Amanda D]

I am so lost. I’ve gone down the a rabbit hole and am overwhelmed. I have look at and priced so different foods it’s ridiculous. I’ll look at one, then another just to go back to the first and then again the third and them a fifth. Like I said overwhelmed. So my fist issue is choosing a brand. Now it’s age stages. My puppy at adulthood will be between 20 and 25 lbs. Do I feed puppy the regular adust, puppy then small breed or small breed for all life stages…

Foods that I seem to come back to are Castor & Pollux Organix, Natural Ultramix Grain-Free and Fromm Gold. I am on a budget. I am disabled, autistic and on ssi. But I want to feed the best I can afford. I want to try and stay under $50 for a 30ish pound bag. I’m not above ordering online. also if I go with a puppy formula, I would like use an adult or small breed formula from the same brand. I want to stay away from grains and Chinese and Japanese foodstuffs. If anyone can help me or point me in the direction of a good quality food I would be forever grateful! I have been at this for months and I am exhausted!

[Susan]

Hi Nataya,
I don’t think you’ll get many raw feeders on DFA, a lot feed kibble, there might be the odd poster that may help……are you going to make your own raw diet or buy the pre-made raw diets? homemade is the best this way you know what they are eating where the meat is coming from….
Start doing research & follow people like “Rodney Habib, Dr Karen Becker & Steve Brown, Dr Karen Becker is bringing out another new book with simple easy to make raw meals, her old books have all sold out & people on Amazon are asking ridiculous prices for her old books…. look at Steve Brown book called “Unlocking The Canine Ancestral Diet” your local library can order in books, I borrow books from the library or they order in books I’m interested in then after I have read them & like them I buy the book…
Here’s Rodney Habib’s link, once you follow Rodney you’ll get in the loop…
https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib

Join some raw feeding groups on face book, just make sure these diets are balanced properly, vets are normally against raw feeding only because a lot of people don’t balance the diet properly & the vets see all the health problems that can occur from a dog or a cat not eating a proper balanced raw diet, I live Australia & a lot of Australian’s feed raw & dry kibble + raw meaty bones at lease twice a week…. a lot of our Australian made kibbles advise to add raw meat, raw meaty bones with their kibbles….
I went thru an Animal Nutritionist Jacqueline Rudan the maker of Natural Animal Solutions(NAS) products, this is her Maintenance Diet I followed minus any bone or organ meats cause my Staffy Patch has IBD, food intolerances & skin allergies…
http://naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/Shop/2016/03/15/maintenance-dog-diet/
I added her Digestavite plus powder to balance the diet, Patch was very hungry when we first started feeding the raw diet I was feeding 3 smaller raw home made meals a day, Jacqueline said, he has to get use too eating a raw diet after being feed a high carb process kibble, they stay fuller longer when they eat kibble..

Your making the best decision for your dogs health, with the Great Dane pup I would see what the breeder is feeding him & make sure you find an Great Dane breeder that raw feeds her dogs & pups, this breeder will be able to help you with preparing a raw diet
for a large breed pup…. sometimes its better to feed large breed pup a good quality large breed puppy kibble + raw until they’re 1-18mths then put them onto a full raw diet once they have finished growing, you have to be careful with large breed pups that their bones don’t grow too quickly the breeder will explain things a bit better then me….

There’s a lot of raw feeders on Lew Olsons F/B group called “K-9 Nutrition”
or Monica Segal F/B group called “K-9 Kitchen”
Make sure you take before & after photos of your Pit Bulls, you’ll see a big improvement with skin coat & all over health once they’re eating a raw diet…
Good-Luck

[Susan]

Hi Jenny you go girl, educate your vet about pet food nutrition….Jenny ask Anon101 what she feeds her dogs??
She does NOT feed Science Diet, she does NOT feed Royal Canine & Purina she does NOT feed, yet when someone post a post asking what should I feed my new large breed puppy, she says feed it Purina Focus… I bet she has never even read the poor ingredients in this puppy formula…
Anon101 feeds Zignature a premium food that I kept recommending to feed dogs with allergies all last year, she doesn’t feed any of these kibbles with cheap ingredients from china……

Anon101 why don’t you feed your dogs the Purina Sensitive Skin & Stomach or the Science Diet Sensitive skin formula if it’s so good, why don’t you practice what you preach??

[M N]

Hello, I have a 16 month old German Wirehaired Pointer. I am currently feeding him free-choice TOTW Wetlands formula. I started him on TOTW High Prairie Puppy at 7 weeks and switched to the adult Wetlands formula at around 9 months as we were struggling to keep weight on him. Currently on the Wetlands formula he will swing between a 3 and 5 on the 9 point scale, depending on how active we are that week. Overall I have been very happy with TOTW.

Lately (since about March-April) I have been hearing a lot about dogs getting sick on TOTW. Naturall,y this concerns me. Also, with summer upon us and the increased training and exercise that comes with it, it has been a little harder to keep weight on him. As summer progresses and we start conditioning for hunting season I suspect it will get even harder. This combines to have me again looking to change foods.

Initially when I was looking at switching I was looking at the Black Gold Salmon and White Potato because it was available locally and looked good on paper. We tried a bag this spring and he seemed to do okay on it, but we never fully transitioned as my local feed store stopped carrying it. I also considered Victor Nutra-Pro, but again there was no local supplier for it. When I mentioned this to the owner of the feed store he told me that if I wanted him to he would order either of them for me on their regular shipments, he just needed 1 week notice and would have it in for me.
I also looked at the Sportdog formulas this spring, but they didn’t ship directly to my area and the cost through Amazon was more than I was willing to pay. Now I see that Amazon has 50lb bags in the Large Breed and Active formulas, both of which are at a price that I find reasonable.

I understand that there are alot of quality foods out there, I am looking at these foods specifically due to quality, availability, and cost (under $1.50 a pound). Another reason I am looking to switch is I have another puppy coming this fall, and I feel TOTW has a higher calcium content than I would like to see for a large breed puppy. The 4 formulas I am looking at seem to be a better all around fit for me, with the exception of the large breed which the kibble may be a bit big for a puppy. The Victor may be higher protein than I want/need, and is not a grain free, but does advertise a higher percentage of protein from meat than Sportdog (90% vs 76%). The Sportdog Large Breed has a lower fat than content than the others (14% vs 18%) which leads me to believe it may not alleviate my weight maintenance struggle. 30/20 protein/fat seems to be the “standard” for active sporting dogs. I would prefer a grain free food, but obviously I am not dead set on it, otherwise I wouldn’t consider the Victor.

I am leaning heavily towards the Sportdog Active, assuming I can actually get it in 50lb bags. Which would you recommend and why?

$45/40lb – https://victorpetfood.com/product-items/nutra-pro/?portfolioCats=133%2C135%2C134%2C153%2C159%2C160%2C162

$35/30lb – http://blackgolddogfood.com/natural_grain_free_salmon_dog_food.htm

$72/50lb – https://www.sportdogfood.com/elite-grain-free-active-dog-puppy-30-18/

$67/50lb – https://www.sportdogfood.com/elite-grain-free-large-breed-30-14/

[a c]

Hi, I am new here. I feel very frustrated and don’t know what to feed my girl.

I have a 10 years old miniature schnauzer who had an episode of acute pancreatitis back in end of April. Miniature Schnauzer are pron to pancreatitis. She was on antibiotics and fluid therapy for 3 days. The vet put her on Science diet ID can food for few days and told me to transition back to her normal diet after that. The lab report from end of May suggested she level was back to normal.

She has been on Science Diet food since she was a puppy. I thought Science Diet was the best dog food out there. How dumb am I? I thought about switching her to something else.

I went to a local pet store in mid May. I was told the best dog kibble food for my girl is Orijen senior. They also sold me the idea of raw diet. I purchased Stella and Chewy’s duck frozen patties. I feed my girl half Orijen and half raw with additional blue berries, zucchini, or pumpkin. Her stool was firm but every so often with a little greasy look.

Once I finished the bag of Stella and Chewy’s duck. They told me to try Primal lamb frozen nuggets. I also brought a bag of Primal freeze dried nuggets in turkey & sardine for easy travel. I have also tried Honest Kitchen Force. Then, I noticed the fat level on Orijen senior is high, so I cut back on the kibbles. This is where problems begun. I noticed her stools are more greasy and even looser.

To make long story short. I put her on plain chicken and rice with a little pumpkin starting yesterday. I noticed she is not passing stool during our twice a day walk. She has been doing it very regularly for the past month and half after the pancreatitis. She just had a yellow, greasy, loose stool about a hour ago.

I am very frustrated right now. I don’t know what to feed her. I made a call to my vet’s office. I was told they will put her on Science Diet ID or Purina EN which I knew both of those are full of carbs, fillers, and by-products. What should I do? Can anyone help?

[Randy D]

My son’s puppy, who I am babysitting for a time, was labeled as a lab mix by the rescue org he adopted from. I got him on Fromms LBP formula, but I’m not sure he is actually going to be that big. I, along with folks at three different pet stores we’ve been to, just don’t really see lab in him. Most say hound of some type, or who knows what.
Will feeding him lbp food be detrimental in any way if he isn’t going to be that big?

[HoundMusic]

All life stage foods are better, IMHO, than puppy foods for certain breeds. I’ve grown pups on 21% protein feeds from around 4 months old, and those are always the ones who grew without a single problem. When I experimented with very nutrient dense puppy feeds years ago, I saw hitching, uneven growth and joint conditions in later years. Puppy foods, in my experience, can exasperate or cause problems in susceptible dogs, so I personally prefer to use an adult food with more moderate protein and mineral levels.

[Simon W]

I’ve been feeding Beneful to my 15 month old Dachshund since April. We had some issues when he was a puppy with certain foods causing hyperactivity or vomiting, and his coat tends to be dull. He doesn’t have either problem on Beneful, everything seems perfect, and I know it’s not “highly rated”, but I was in a financial bind recently and had to temporarily downgrade.

Even though Beneful worked for him, we’ve been looking to get him onto something better, but still budget friendly, and are slowly transitioning him to Canidae. Today was his first 100% Canidae day. He’s been “mushy” all day, not very active or alert. But about two hours ago, the neighbors shot off fireworks, which he both heard and saw from the kitchen window. Normally, he’s technically not afraid of fireworks, but they unnerve him a little bit. Soon enough, he’ll get over his fear and starts yapping at them like he’s so brave (lol!), then gets over it in a few minutes.

Tonight, though, he FREAKED OUT. Almost broke his neck trying to run away, could not settle down or be comforted, and had to be locked in a windowless part of the basement (where his toys are and he usually sleeps at night) just to get his behavior slightly under control. Two hours have passed, though, and he’s STILL barking every few minutes, pacing, and unsettled. I have never seen him behave like this before. We had some difficulties in finding a good puppy food for him, and after trying Iams, he went off the walls and became aggressive. I thought it was crazy to suspect the food in that instance, but the behavior did go away after it was removed. Now I’m wondering if this extreme reaction to the fireworks, which is completely uncharacteristic for this dog, could have something to do with his recent diet change? Any help or advice is appreciated!

[Susan]

Hi Melissa,
sounds like you have a puppy with a very sensitive stomach/bowel, he may suffer with skin allergies as he get’s older, there’s a few Goldendoodles with sensitive stomach & skin on a Face Book group I belong too….
Food sensitivities/intolerances can take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks to react to a certain ingredient & have Intestinal stress… sounds like there’s an ingredient in the Fromm he’s sensitive too..
My boy has skin allergies & food intolerances & can’t eat high fat meals, tapioca, beet pulp, liver, barley & high fiber kibbles & too many proteins & ingredients he gets stomach up sets, acid reflux, sloppy poos/diarrhea & he wakes up 2am, 4am or 5am crying at the front door to be let out to have diarrhea, sometimes you can hear loud grumbling noises coming from his bowel (Wind)….
You’ll have to start working out what agrees with him & what doesn’t, keep a diary & write down foods, kibbles etc that don’t agree with him & try & work out if there’s an common ingredient, I ended up doing a elimination food diet..

I’ve had great success with “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it is a single protein formula with just lamb meal & has limited ingredients, grain free & is a all life stages formula, has the matching wet tin food…… https://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

When a dog knows a food/kibble causes pain, upset stomach, wind, nausea they’re hesitate to eat it or don’t eat it at all, listen to your dog when he doesn’t want to eat something, he’s telling you, mum this makes me sick, offer to feed something else, he might prefer a wet tin food, cooked, raw or rotate between 2 brands of kibbles that’s what I do, so he doesn’t get sick of eating the same kibble formula, Patch gets Canidae Pure for breakfast & TOTW for lunch & dinner…but you have pup I don’t know how it works rotating Puppy formula’s if it’s Ok….ask & email the kibble company, they would know….
TOTW have vet nutritionist that email back & give advise…

Canidae is another food I feed the Canidae Pure Wild Boar, all the Pure formula’s have limited ingredients.
Canidae have a 3 large breed puppy formula’s, 2 in their “Life Stages” formula’s dry & wet tin, Canidae have a new Large breed puppy Turkey & Brown Rice that has only 1 protein Turkey Meal that’s not too high in protein or fat & can be feed all stages of life Puppy, Adult & Senior large breed…
http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-large-breed-turkey-meal-brown-rice-dry-formula
or Canidae Life Stages Large breed Puppy Duck Meal & Lentils wet & dry
or Canidae’s “Under The Sun” Large Breed Puppy Chicken dry

Maybe try a kibble that has limited ingredient & only 1 protein & see how he goes, no more then 8 ingredients so there’s less ingredients to cause any problems .. Read the ingredients, fiber, fat & protein % in the Nutrisource Puppy formula & the Fromm Heartland Puppy & see is there heaps of ingredients? how many different proteins? is the Fat, Fiber & Protein on the higher end?
Best to buy from a Pet Shop this way you can take it back for a refund & try another food if he doesn’t really want to eat it…..

[John I]

My totally anecdotal experience.
For, 3 Bouviers des Flandres(2 male, 1 female).
Catelyn(70lb), she’ll be 3 this November.
Butkus(130lb..high weight, 100lb current weight), he’s 13 and will be 14 next March 2018.
Harley(90lb), lived to be 11years, had bone/joint birth defects. His back went out and he couldn’t stand or control his bowels @ the end.

I fed Harley and Butkus Blue Buffalo for 11 years. I had no health concerns and no soft stools. Catie has had soft stools as long as I’ve had her. I’ve had her checked by the vet several times, nothing has been diagnosed.
VET Recommended: 1TBsp Metamucil plain, this worked a little.

FOODS I’VE FED:
ToTW High Plains puppy: I fed this as recommended by the breeder.
BB Salmon/Sweet potato: Switched to this to match Harley and Butkus lifetime meals.
Victor Hero: Switched after some BB recalls. I was looking for U.S. made, reliable company. Butkus had no issues, and the food has glucosamine. Catie still had soft stools.

LOCAL Recommendations: From locally owned Pet food dealers were Probiotics, using goat milk or green tripe.

CURRENT DIET:
Tripett Beef: pure green tripe a very stinky suplement. I feed once every 2-3 weeks(Catey only).
Orijen Regional Red(US): Very high ratings, controlled ingredient sources, U.S. made in KY. Pricey @ $95/25lb bag. Butkus 1.5 cups morning and night, Catie 2.25cups morning 1.5cups night.

Both dogs have firm stools.

[Susan]

Hi Kathy, have you seen a vet that specializes in IBD?? what works for one dog doesn’t always work for another dog, if you go onto the “Review” section “Natural Balance” there’s a few dogs that are doing well on Natural Balance…
Sometimes a dog needs a lower fiber diet when they have bowel problems, I cant see the Glucosamine firming up her poo’s, it’s best to give the Glucosamine & Chondroitin tablets your self & add to her diet, add tablet with one of her meals, this way she gets the proper amount she needs, the amount of Glucosamine in a kibble isn’t enough for her bones & joints…..
What colour is her poo’s ?? When it’s the small bowel with problem, poos will be real yellow & sloppy, (S.I.B.O) when it’s the large bowel poos are darker & look like cow patties, your vet needs to do tests & work out is it food intolerances is she reacting to a certain ingredients??? does she need a vet diet with more In-Soluble fiber or more Soluble fiber?? Royal Canine Vet diets have a few vet diets low & high in fiber, then you’ll start to get a better idea what the problem is??
My boy didn’t do well on the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Digestion, read the ingredient list it’s not good, it doesn’t digest easy, so don’t always believe what they right on the kibble bags..
Two really good kibbles that have worked for Patches IBD are “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, a grain free, single protein, (no other proteins just Lamb meal) limited ingredient kibble…
“Canidae” all life stages, Large Breed, Turkey Meal & Brown rice, Adult, Puppy & Senior formula’s it’s new in Blue packet on page 4.. it has 750mg/Kg Glucosamine, but your still better off adding your own Glucosamine to your dogs diet.
http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
I would be trying the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & see a vet to put her on a course of Metronidazole tablets for 21-28 days to kill any bad bacteria she may have in her stomach & small bowel & just feed the limited ingredient TOTW kibble or their Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon has less fiber at 3% a lot of dogs with EPI & IBD & IBS do really well on the TOTW Pacific Stream & Sierra Mountain, I don’t know why?? maybe cause the water TOTW use is Purified or the probiotics they use are the right ones for dogs with Intestinal Stress I don’t know but TOTW was the only kibble that helped him do firm poos where the vet diets made him itch & smell cause he has food intolerances to most of the ingredients in vet diets. TOTW & Canidae are both money back guaranteed kibbles & wet tin food..

[Megann D]

Okay, please go easy on me….I’m new at raw and I am very confused about my puppy’s reaction to raw. He is a 4 month old standard poodle.
We started him on raw bone in chicken (wings, leg quarters, breast and feet) after reading about raw for weeks. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find chicken backs near me. Anyways, we’ve been feeding him for about 2 weeks like this. By now, I thought he would be more adjusted, but its not getting better. He has soft serve during the day and then at night for the last 4 nights he has been waking us up crying to go out around 3-5am and having what I believe is “cannon butt”…aka diarrhea. A few mornings he also vomits bile (I think hunger pukes?). He loves eating his food, and other than being a little extra tired he seems pretty normal. He’s eating his food still, and drinking water.
I’m wondering if its just that the chicken itself doesn’t sit well? Like maybe too much sodium or something, or just doesn’t do well with chicken in general? I am also wondering if he potentially could have giardia? Early on he was having a bit of blood in the stool. I am considering taking him to vet if this doesn’t get better soon though! Has anyone had this happen or have any advice?
I really want to do raw, but its been kind of horrid so far!

[BigHeart]

My kids and I were planning on getting a dog soon, but sibling 5 month old 37 lb Greater Swiss Mountain/Lab mixes took us by surprise while I was at a shelter. These two super-sweet-eager-to-please puppies had been there a while because of their size and were fast moving up the kill list. We have plenty of room, land, and love – so I adopted them. They have some temporary health issues from being at the shelter, and I’m sure they’ll continue to have significant vet bills after their rough start at life. I transitioned them from the Purina puppy chow the shelter feeds, to Nutro Max Large Breed Puppy food and they’ve been on it a little over a week. They are still having really soft stools/diarrhea. My question is, the increase has my pet budget considerably stretched and I’m a single mom of 3 kids. Does anyone have recommendations on a good quality large breed puppy food that is on the lower end of the price range? Anything under $30 for 25 lbs would be incredibly helpful.

[Susan]

HoundMusic,

I think it’s ridiculous you feed a sick dog a high fat, low quality mince especially when the dog is vomiting & has diarrhea, say that dog has Pancreatitis??..
When was the last time you went to see a vet specialist for a dog with Intestinal problems IBS, IBD, Pancreatitis?
Your talking about feeding litter Puppies, introducing puppies to food….Read original post I’m talking about dogs with intestinal STRESS, sloppy poo’s with mucus & then diarrhea, not 4-6 week old puppies being weaned onto food, even then I still wouldn’t feed a sick puppy any cooked hamburger mince or boiled rice…. When you have a SICK dog with Intestinal Stress feeding greasy hamburger mince with boiled rice, rice has pointed corners that can irritate the bowel…..who’s not to say the dogs in this post aren’t sensitive to chicken like my boy is?? one of the poster’s dog became a bit better after being put on a vet diet while the other dog got diarrhea after eating the Hills wet tin food, like my boy did after eating one of the Hills Intestinal health vet diets, this sounds like food sensitivities to me, food sensitivities/intolerance can take anywhere from 1 day up to 6 weeks to react & show symptoms….Food sensitivities normally start when the dog is around 6-8 months old….
I’m pretty sure when Rich took his dogs to see vet, the vet didn’t suggest to go home & feed some boiled hamburger mince with boiled some rice, if he did I would be changing vets & seeing a younger vet who’s up to date with more modern methods, it sounds like Rich vet knew what he/she was doing & did all the proper tests needed to rule out parasites, parvo, infection etc & placed the dogs on a antibiotic (Flagyl/Metronidazole) & a vet diet till Rich works out what to feed them both….if the dogs were placed on a Hydrolyzed diet or a single novel protein, single carb vet diet I do not know, probably not cause one dog had liquid diarrhea after eating the vet diet…..

I’ll stick with what my Specialist vet recommended to feed, 1 lean novel protein + 1 gluten free carb (Sweet Potato or Potato) he suggested to cook white boneless fish or lean turkey breast + boiled sweet potato, if I didn’t want to cook he recommended feeding a vet diet “Royal Canine” Hydrolyzed wet tin food, Sensitivity Control, Duck & Tapioca dry, PV-Potato & Venison, PR-Potato & Rabbit or PD-Potato & Duck & then when dog is stable & doing firm poo’s start an elimination diet & add 1 cooked ingredient for 6 weeks with their vet diet food….these vet diets are 100% balanced with the right vitamins, minerals, enzymes & you’ll get to the root of the problem by doing an elimination diet like I have done in the past with my IBD boy, when you look at the ingredients in these vet diets you will not find any hamburger mince, chicken, rice….. Sweet Potato + 1 lean novel protein seems to work best for Intestinal health problems especially when you think the dog has food intolerances….
You have your opinion & I have mine…..

[Susan]

Hi Rich, click on this link, Clean Label Project,
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/ scroll down & read the kibbles & wet foods that had the most toxic chemicals, arsenic, lead & cadmium, most were pet foods that had fish as the main protein, last yea I started feeding Patch the “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy, Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines made by Well Pet who make’s Wellness another kibble Patch did well on then went down hill after 2-3months, his stomach & bowel seems to know when a kibble isn’t right & something is wrong, now I know why after reading the Clean Label Project… all last year Patch was doing really well eating TOTW Roasted Lamb + different cooked foods that I add to his diet for dinner, then Spring come around, cause Patch suffers with Seasonal Environment Allergies, I start to feed a fish based kibble thru the Spring & Summer months the year before I feed an Australian made kibble “Meals For Mutts” but this year I started to feed the Holistic Select G/F fish kibble instead the man at the pet shop recommended the Holistic Select he feeds it to his 2 Staffys that also have allergies then after 2-3 months Patch went down hill after eating the Holistic Select, he stopped eating it, he was doing sloppy cow pattie poos, up all hours of the night pooing, bad wind pain, whinging, I saw his vet, she put him back on the Metronidazole & I put him back on his TOTW Lamb kibble, his poo’s firmed up within 2 days.. then 1 month ago I see Holistic Select kibble on the Clean Label Project it’s 10th, contains the highest amount of harmful environment and industrial contaminants & toxins.. I nilly died & Holistic Select is a 5 star kibble on the DFA….
This is why over time it’s best to find a couple of different brands of pet food with a different protein that agree with your dogs & you rotate between the 2 or 3 brands so if 1 brand isn’t being made any more or has something wrong like toxins or lacking vitamins, not enough omega 3 etc your dogs are not on the one food long enough, eating the same food 24/7 for years & years & suffering long term health problems…..

What kibble works for one dog may not work for another dog, if your dogs were doing sloppy poo’s with jelly mucus on them it’s normally food intolerances, or the protein may be too high, after doing a food elimination diet with my boy, it was chicken, corn, corn gluten meal, barley, boiled rice he can not eat, his IBD vet specialist said when I’m looking for any kibbles or wet tin foods make sure it has 1 single protein with limited ingredients so there’s less chance he will react to an ingredient, she said if after 9-12 months he’s doing really well on the same kibble, its best to introduce new foods into his diet, sometimes a dog will start to react to an ingredient in the food you’ve been feeding for years, so I rotate kibbles now & I add different foods to his diet for dinner or as treats but I didn’t do all this straight away it has taken over 3-4 yrs to get to this point where Patch can eat anything now as long as it’s not any foods he’s sensitive too…also sometimes a 5 star food won’t be the best food for your dog, if it’s a 3 stars food & agrees with your dog & the ingredients all look good then that’s OK, Dog Food Advisor gives less stars sometimes cause the protein is under 25%, there’s nothing wrong with the kibble, but the lower the protein the more carbohydrates that kibble will have….

[CockalierMom]

Hi Rich,

I have a different viewpoint and experience from anon101. Based on the experiences that I have had, your initial instinct of going with a limited ingredient diet would be the best to start. The Acana you were feeding had lentils, beans, chickpeas and peas. Any one of those ingredients are a candidate to cause poo issues and I would limit as many of those ingredients as possible. My girl that had problems with soft and runny poos when she was a puppy now does fine as long as I stay away from grains and a limited amount of chickpeas–green peas do not bother her. She eats Wellness Simple Turkey or Salmon, and I sometimes add a little Wellness Complete Grain Free, with Honest Kitchen Preference and my own cooked meat as a topper. My other girl that had serious food issues eats mostly Honest Kitchen and a few Wellness kibbles. As you and I both know, Honest Kitchen is not a supplement or a scam.

Although Natural Balance LID diets are lower protein, they truly are limited ingredients with only one protein and one carb source. I use to feed their Kangaroo and Potato formula before it was discontinued. My personal opinion though is to try Wellness Simple first.

[Rebecca S]

I am a first time dog owner and I have done more research than I care to admit on dog food… Even made an extensive exel sheel on them 😬. I am not entirely grain-free is a necessity (see it similarly to the paleo fad for people). I have no clue what the protein/carb/fat should be. My puppy is about a year old and is about 10lbs. She is an aborable schnauzer/poodle mix. She is currently on wholehearted food from petco but I would like to change it. I was really looking for small breed specific food but it is hard to find at a good price. The MOST I can spend (being a poor college student) is 1.60 a pound but I would rather 1.20 a pound. My question is: What is the best food for the value for a small breed dog.
Thanks in advance!

[Tabitha K]

I’ve got a 3 year old husky golden retriever mix and since he was a puppy, he’s been on the denali and Rocky mountain blends from blue buffalo. He’s about 60 lbs so the 22lb bags didn’t last too long but was right at the cusp of what we could afford.
We ended up finding and rescuing a golden retriever lab mix around the same age as the goberian and found out he’s allergic to chicken. He’s 75lbs. Now we have switched jobs and moved onto feeding taste of the wild lamb and rice formula (after swapping from authority bc the lamb and rice formula is too hard to find) and my goberian is only eating half of his food if that much. We have tried everything from letting him skip meals to adding broth and slowly taking out to try to adjust him to it but there’s no use. He would rather starve than to eat anything less than the good stuff.

Any ideas on a food VERY similar to blue buffalo in taste and quality that offers big bags without breaking the wallet? -MUST OFFER OTHER VARIETIES BESIDES CHICKEN-

[caleb v]

I have a 12wk old black lab who right now is eating orijens puppy food which i believe is BARF.

I want to switch him to raw foods that i prepare for him.

To give some background i plan on starting him on chicken only. I have a hookup for organic free range chickens for good prices.

I plan on only feeding him just the meat parts and then if his stools are doing well and his energy levels don’t change in a bad way then ill introduce some organs to him. A week after I introduce organs i will slowly add different meats. such as pork, duck, turkey, beef, lamb, and etc.

Once organs are introduced his diet will be 80% meat 10% bone 5% liver 5%other organ(green tripe, lungs, etc.)

Could someone please let me know if this seems like a good way to do this and my last question is Should I be grinding up his meats and bones together and feeding it to him this way or should I feed it to him whole?

Thank You!

[LEELINA M]

My puppy “Minnie” also began regurgitating her ground beef meal. Someone suggested lightly cooking the beef. It worked. Maybe she was tired of the taste. I also switched the type of bowl when feeding the beef I put it on a plate or shallow bowl. Sounds weird but it worked. I also added a table spoon of canned pumpkin after heating it to cool it back down and mask the scent for her. She eats a fully balanced RAW diet with different protein every day so i figure lightly cooking only the beef isn’t hurting. You should be feeding her an array of other protein so maybe she’s sick of the taste. I personally say to try switching to chicken, lamb or pork. Once a week start adding a new protein.

On YOUTUBE Rodney Habib “Homemade Dog Food Recipe” is what I follow as a guideline and I change up the protein plus I feed RAW MEATY BONES every other day. Since Minnie is a puppy I also add more calcium and other things to balance this for a growing puppy but it is balanced for an adult dog.

Sounds like maybe there could be a Leaky Gut Issue that is causing the initial inflammation. Go to dogsnaturallymagazine.com “ultimate guide to fixing hotspots naturally” for a list of things to feed to help repair and prevent leaky gut. Good luck. I hope everything works out ok. Keep up posted on her progress to Raw 🙂

Love, Leelina

[LEELINA M]

Dear Ashleigh,
I’m so sorry if you’ve been discouraged by negative postings. I’m also new to RAW and finding more hurdles than helpers. The problem is everyone thinks they know everything rather than just sharing what they’ve learned. I hope you are still looking into and exploring the world of raw. Here is what I’m learning and would like to share…. Obviously every dog(like every person) is different but what works for most should work for all, barring complications. I’m feeding raw with a spin. When Minnie first came home I started her on an organic GROUND WHOLE CHICKEN WITH ORGAN MEAT AND BONE. I’m lucky enough to live in an area of Southern California where that is available to me, made by NATURAL MONARCH. Knowing that she also needs other protein sources i went seeking online and now I follow Dr. Becker. She’s a traditional vet gone holistic and i like that. She has a youtube video with Rodney Habib that outlines a raw food recipe which i follow but i change up the protein. I like that this recipe doesn’t call for too many supplements. In addition i feed Raw Meaty Bones every other day. My puppy is super finicky so we’re only doing Lamb Chops, Pork Spare Ribs and Beef ribs with the occasional Chicken Wing. She refuses to eat chicken sometimes as well as chicken feet and turkey necks. She’s kind of a butthead 🙂 but we’ll keep trying. In all my research I have learned that EVERY MEAL DOES NOT NEED TO BE BALANCED! Just work on balancing over the week. Also, Human grade is best. Dog food or food intended to for pets does not have that same regulation. i don’t care what anyone else says. Let those guys eat dog grade food instead of human graded. Even sale meat is ok for animals, as you know animals have different enzymes in their mouths as well as guts to combat the bacteria and parasites that we as humans cannot without cooking it first. If in doubt just cook the protein in question and feed everything else raw. Minnie doesn’t like the taste of ground beef(youtube recipe) but i already made a giant batch so i cook it then add a tablespoon of pumpkin to kill the scent and smell and she loves it. I also add lots of parsley, kale and mint to ward off any leaky gut issues. Dogs that get sick and /or die from bacteria already have had compromised immune systems so please don’t be turned away by nay sayers. Here is a sample diet of what Minnie eats but keep in mind that she is a growing toy breed puppy and eats 3 times a day but only eats 6.5% of her body weight per day (18 weeks as of today between 6 & 7 ounces per day)
sidenote, I’ve started mixing in the rodney habib video recipe into her already ground chicken mix plus as said before pumpkin to the beef mix after lightly cooking it. The beef, i only heat the beef.

Monday… Lightly cooked Beef mix with pumpkin then a pork spare rib the Natural Monarch Raw Chicken with mix

tuesday… Ground Turkey with rodney habib mix then ground chicken mix

wed… ground beef mix then ground turkey mix then a beef rib

thurs… chicken mix then a lamb chop then chicken mix again

fri… beef mix then turkey mix

sat… beef steak with bone then chicken mix then turkey mix

sun… chicken mix then lamb chop then beef mix

Upon writing it out, i see that i obviously feed lots of ground meat but that’s because Minnie is a spoiled puppy. I feed her enough Raw Meaty Bone to have the benefit of the nice breath and clean teeth and gums plus the calcium from those and her chicken has ground bone as well and the egg shells provide sufficient calcium. I plan to introduce more WHOLE proteins after 6 months. It is safe to fast dogs for a day after that point. But right now she’s just too small and too dang picky.

Pulsing spinach, kale, parsley and other super green veggies into your mixes is also sufficient however, i also juice so i mix in the pulp into Minnie’s food.

I hope any of this was helpful.
Love, Leelina

[Susan]

Hi Melodie,
you need to see a proper IBD vet, one that specializes in IBD, also have biopsies done to see WHY this is happening with your boy?? I can fully understand what your going thru, I have a IBD Staffy with skin allergies & food sensitivities.. have you joined any Canine or dog IBD groups on Face Book?? you’ll get a lot of help or there’s a UK IBD group as well…
After trying most of the vet diets that fixed the sloppy poos but caused skin problems or bad acid reflux & vomiting & bloating some vet diet kibbles just sat in his stomach & he’d vomit it back up 7 hours later & these are vet diets that don’t digest???..
I finally found “Taste Of The Wild’ Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb kibble for my boy last year thru the EPI f/b group, you need to work out does your dog do better on LESS fiber or a diet with MORE fiber, my boy does better on low fiber diet & a low carb diet, normally dogs with IBD do better with less fiber especially if they are bloating & low carb diets, get a small bag of “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy, Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal Grain Free kibble its low in carbs 28% fat is 13-14% & just has fish as the protein or try the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb kibble it has the matching wet tin food as well & the TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble is a single protein kibble, it just has Lamb no other proteins, don’t feed any kibbles that have more then 1 protein or too many ingredients, wet tin food is better but watch the fat% as the fat% is different to the dry kibble fat% stay around 4% fat & under for wet tin foods, that’s around 14-16% fat if it was a dry kibble.. but only feed 1 thing at a time wet or dry till you work out if it agrees with your poor boy..
I rotate Patches kibbles now he can’t stay on the same kibble for too long, 1-2 months he starts reacting with pain & starts whinging, & now he cant eat his cooked lean pork rissoles anymore, vet said it’s his IBD & he gets put back on Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 10-21 days, so now I’m trying the Hills vet diet I/d Digestive Care wet tin food, Ijust feed it for 2 of his meals, I feed 5 small meals a day, he can NOT eat more then 1/2 a cup of kibble at 1 time he does the same & bloats & gets PAIN & whinges for me to rub his stomach pancreas area, so he gets either TOTW Lamb, Canidae Pure Wild Boar, or Holistic Select Salmon, kibble 1/2 a cup at 7am then at 9am 1/2 cup same brand kibble again then 12pm 1/2 a small tin of the Hills I/d wet food, we are trying the Hills wet tin Vet Diet & the vet just ordered today the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic wet tin food to see if he does better on the Royal Canine cause with the Hills I/d wet tin Patch gets his red paws from the chicken, corn starch & I have to take out all the carrots cause carrot makes his ears itchy but he doesn’t get his pain on the Hills I/d Digestive Care & at 5pm he gets another 1/2 cup kibble & 8pm the other 1/2 Hills I/d wet tin food heated up in micro wave, feeding 5 smaller meals a day & daily walks as well Patches pain seems heaps better, soaking his kibble in water cause bad acid reflux for Patch, then I read it’s no good soaking kibble & leaving any water in the kibble bowl, so I stopped doing it… have you tried the Vet Diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” Low Residue kibble?? its very very low in low residue fiber & the kibble breaks down real easy like the TOTW, Canidae & Holistic Select kibbles do….
I do my kibble test, get a glass of very warm water now put 2 kibbles in glass of warm water, a good kibble will float to top of water & a good kibble will only take about 15mins – 40mins to soften all the way thru do not feed any kibbles that take longer then 50mins to go soft all the way thru take the bag of kibble back & say ur dog wont eat it, most kibbles have a Palatability money back…I’m always asking for sample emailing kibble companies for sample so I can test the kibbles & see if they go soft within 40mins..
I asked one of Patches vets could he do a Endoscope & biopsies 3 yrs ago with Patch to see what was wrong, they put camera down the throat into stomach, it’s painless I just had it done yesterday & they get biopsies from stomach & sometimes the vet can go into the small bowel & get a biopsies as well if the flap isn’t shut, if you can afford this do it, biopsies tell you so much, you will get some answers what’s happening, why hasn’t your vet tried more vets diets you have just tried Hills & Purina HA which is like the Hills Z/d formula, Royal Canine has a better range of vet diets & has their Hypoallergenic wet tin & dry kibble, Hypoallergenic kibbles break down easy & the stomach doesn’t have to work as hard, You might have to do what I do by the end of the month, I have to start a new kibble formula, TOTW has been the only kibble he does real well on no itchy skin, firm poos & NO stomach pain, maybe give the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb a try, it has the least ingredients or TOTW Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon kibble or TOTW wet tin food, but I’m pretty sure the America TOTW Pacific Stream has Garbanzo beans (Chick Peas) these can cause gas, wind & bloating, I try & stay away from Lentils, Chickpeas….. Costco has their Kirkland Signature, Salmon & Sweet Potatoes it’s made by TOTW & heaps cheaper then TOTW, you know the Purina HA works so there’s 1 kibble to rotate with when he’s going down hill again & seems unwell, you just need to find 2 more kibbles, I use the kibbles mentioned above, Spring/Summer I feed the Holistic Select Salmon/sardine kibble cause of Patches skin allergies the extra Omega 3 is good for their skin & stomach/bowel… I’m leaving the Purina HA till last it’s the only vet diet Patch hasn’t tried yet, we have just gotten the Purina HA here in Australia…
Keep us up dated, I’ll post the links to the dog IBD f/b groups tomorrow, I have to go to bed it’s late….

[Aaron m]

I created a profile just to post this and I apologize in advance if it’s a little too much TMI.

I have been feeding My cat Orijen Regional Red for about two years now and she has always loved it. She always seemed really active for an indoor cat and loved to play. i noticed early on when Inwould clean her litter box that her “movements” were very small and almost resembled that of a rabbit. I was later told by my vet that it was because the food was so high in protein and contained very little fillers.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and Imnoticed that A.) My cat’s “movements” smelled much stronger and B.) I immediately noticed that they were much bigger and fuller- resembled what I would expect from a small puppy. I immediately went to the bag to check it and turns out it is a bag from the Kentucky plant.

I had noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was a little more lethargic and this on top of the changes in her litter box is enough to have me go get a newmfood tomorrow which is really sad because she truly loved the Canadian version.

Think I’m going to give The Honest Kithen a try as I am reading really good reviews for it.

[Susan]

Hi, yes there was 1 lady on the “Reviews” section, her dog was reacting to the new US Acana but I don’t remember what formula it was??? also are you feeding the US Acana or the Canadian Acana? the US was sold to new owners…
It will all depend on the dog, 1 dog might be fine eating this formula then another dog may be sensitive to say the chickpeas, lentils, peas, or beef etc so your dog must be sensitive to an ingredient now you have to work out which ingredient it is. Look for a limited ingredient kibble with a single protein….
It’s hard working out skin problems it can be environment or food & its weird you have just started this new formula & he has the hive like lumps, but its also the beginning of Spring as well… It’s taken me 3-4 yrs working out my boy & he has Seasonal Environment allergies & food sensitivities.. He does best on Taste Of The Wild Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & Holistic Select Adult/Puppy Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines grain free & now I’m trying the Canidae Pure Wild so I have a few kibbles I can rotate with, so he’s not eating the same protein 24/7 then reacting to something in that kibble…

[Susan]

Hi can you buy each dog their “own” bowls, all different colours, make them all sit, call each ones name & give him/her their dinner in “their” bowl, the way your feeding them at the moment you don’t know if one dog is eating more then another dog, if one dog isn’t eating much one day & is feeling off…..I have a kitten 11months old & dog the kitten is very impatient when her food is being put into her bowl, so she is feed first up on her scratching post thing, Patch is feed in the lounge room so I can sit down on lounge & put a few kibbles in his bowl at a time, other wise he gulps all food under 1 min, he has IBD mainly stomach…..

For your old boy have a look at “Canidae” Pure Meadow Senior kibble, it’s easy to digest & has only 7 ingredients, excellent for dogs with sensitive stomachs, I would send Canidae a email asking what is their lowest Phosphorus kibble, normally large breed puppy formulas are lower in Phosphorous & ask can is their large breed puppy formula Duck Meal Brown Rice & Lentils formula wet & dry be feed to your girl with Kidney problems, its 0.80% Phosphorous & kibble size is nice & small, all Canidae formulas have small easy to digest kibbles…
I know when I’ve emailed kibble companies asking can my 8 yr old eat their new large breed puppy formula, they have all said yes, puppy formulas normally aren’t over 30% -protein, fat isn’t high & have DHA which is excellent for skin, joints, eyes, brain, heart etc so it will also be good for a senior dog as well….
When I emailed “Taste Of The Wild” last week, 2 vets emailed me back within 24hrs asking further questions about my boy health problems, then they recommend which formula’s NOT to feed, so you could give TOTW a try & have a look at their wet tin foods for your young pup, dry kibble isn’t good for dogs with kidney problems, wet food is better…
If you email Hills or Royal Canine or Purina, ask can a vet nutritionist please contact you…

I don’t know if all your dogs can all eat the same formula??? this is Canidae’s Large Breed Puppy, all Life stages formula & it’s low in phosphorous, email Canidea & ask them, it come it wet tin as well..
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-life-stages-large-breed-puppy-duck-meal-brown-rice-lentils-dry-formula

• This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by Susan.

[nicolette k]

I need some recommendations for a low phosphorous, medium protein dog food

my 4 small breed dogs ranging in age from 13 to just 9 months old have been on blue buffalo wilderness chicken – my senior canine does better with a ” no grains diet” – he gets occasional gastritis and has a sensitive stomach.
My youngest- a yorkie – age 9 month has been diagnosed with early kidney failure. The vet recommended switching her dog food: lowering protein content and finding a low phosphorous food.
My main issue is that all 4 of my dogs share one food dish and graze through the day – there is no way to feed my puppy separately short of locking her up for the rest of her days. So I need to find something that works for all of them …
We are not aiming to bring down protein too much but the vet argued that she would like to see it more around 20-30 than over 30. I know this is controversial but she is an experienced vet who sees a lot of small breeds and she argued that her tiny patients seem to do better with slightly lower protein content. Anybody out there with recommendations as far as kidney diet goes .

[Susan]

Hi, it normally will say on the kibble bag or wet tin food what to feed, go online to the kibble brand/name & have a look at “feeding guide lines”
I just looked in my “Taste of The Wild” kibble book Puppy Formulas & it says 3-5lb puppy at 6-12weeks feed 1 to 1 1/3 cups, a 3-4month puppy weighing 5-10lbs 1 1/4 to 2 cups …about 4-5 smaller meals thru the day, then when fully grown you feed 2 meals a day…. So about 1 cup of kibble a day, just divide the cup kibble into small meals, maybe go to Pet Shop & ask staff & get some grain free wet tins & the matching kibble, “Wellness” does a Toy Breed & Small Breed Puppy formulas…Someone might know more information….

[Jo C]

Hi, we just got a puppy we’ll actually my son brought home a puppy. He is so little he has to be under 5 pounds. They say he’s 8 weeks old but I was wondering how much to feed a puppy under 5#. I’m used to bigger dogs and this little guy is a chihuahua. I’ve been feeding a little st a time cause I’m scared to over feed him. Any suggestions?

[Susan]

Hi gee poor boy, I just looked at the Fromm Gold Weight management, it has too many ingredients, to many proteins, grains & fish oil & the fiber is too high, like the Wellness Core Reduced Fat was 8.5% fiber, you need a kibble with limited ingredients, so there’s less ingredients to cause the acid reflux….
For 2 yrs I struggled with Patches Acid reflux & finally I’ve worked it out, in the beginning had Endoscope + Biopsies done & he had the Helicobacter-Pylori infection plus IBD, Patch started taking Zantac (Ranitidine) a more modern ant acid medication then the Pepcid is, with the Pepcid you might find the Pepcid wont really help much, Patch takes Prilosec (Omeprazole) now, so if after the 10days on Pepcid & the blood test doesn’t find anything wrong with liver gallbladder or pancreas, I’d ask can you try Prilosec 20mg x 1 a day in the morning & see if he’ll write a few repeat script you can get from chemist, it will be heaps cheaper, also you can’t just stop the Prilosec if taking more then 20 days it needs to be reduce slowly.. I was giving the Losec for 4 days then stopping & seen how Patch went but after 2 days Patch would have his acid reflux again, I was giving liquid 1 teaspoon liquid Mylanta nights Patch wouldn’t settle…. I kept feeding low fat kibbles but when kibbles are lower in fat they are higher in carbohydrates & normally have grains, rice, oats, barley, millet, bran etc these are all soluble fibers, soluble fibers sit in the stomach longer & ferment, same as weight management kibbles they put more soluble fibers in the kibble so the dog feels full longer & they normally are higher in fiber as well & can cause acid reflux, so best to stay away from weight management kibbles…….Insoluble fibers pass thru the stomach quicker, it doesn’t sit in the stomach & ferment like soluble fibers do, insoluble fibers bulk up the poos, also prevent digestive disorders like IBS IBD ….. I have found kibbles with sweet potato, potatoes & peas worked the best but a lot of these new grain free kibble are using chickpeas, lentils & garbanzo beans these are harder to digest & higher in fiber, my boy can’t eat kibbles with chickpeas, Lentils especially if they’re 2nd 3rd 4th 5th ingredients… fish oil & salmon oils can also cause acid reflux, best to look for kibbles with canola oil & fish meal instead of the fish oil/salmon oils…
I found the fat can be around 12-15% max, the higher the fat the lower the carbohydrates are, stick with kibbles under 40% carbs, it’s a lot to look for in a kibble but there are a few grain free kibbles out there that have more insoluble fibers, low in carbs & are 12-15% max fat…
Holistic Select Adult/Puppy Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines grain free has only 28%-Carbs, 13%-fat & kcals-341per/cup & just have fish & potatoes peas not too many ingredients..
if your on face Book join this group called “Canine Pancreatitis Support” https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740/
look in the file section & there’s a list of foods from 12% fat down to 6 % fat, I looked & the 4Health Turkey & Potato has about 8 ingredients, fat was-14% kcals-337 per/cup, 39%-carbs no grains,
there’s the 4Health Mature 7+ the fat-10% protein-20% fiber-3%, kcals-320per/cup but it has grains you could always give it a go & see how your boy does…. this is why I feed Taste Of The Wild Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb, it’s the only kibble that works, it only has 1 protein Lamb, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas, egg, limited ingredients & canola oil, carbs-38% & Kcals-337 per/cup, but I think TOTW puts Salmon Oil in their TOTW formulas for their American customers, but if nothing is helping him you could give the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb a try & the Prilosec tablet in the morning… First I feed TOTW Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon & Patches acid reflux stopped straight away, but he was taken the Zantac but it wasn’t working great, the fiber is only 3%, fat-15%, protein-25% Kcals 360 per/cup 39% carbs… but he seems to prefer the Lamb kibbles maybe the fish kibble doesn’t agree with him as much as the Lamb does.. also feed smaller meals thru the day not just 2 large meals a day, I feed 5 small meals a day, 7am-1/2cup TOTW Lamb Kibble, 8.30am-Losec tablet, 9am-1/2cup TOTW kibble, 12pm-1/3cup kibble, 5pm 1/2 heaped cup kibble & 8pm 1/3 cup TOTW Kibble… the best is a cooked diet, I was feeding lean pork rissoles + sweet potatoes for dinner so his stomach isn’t bloated with kibbles thru the night…
Good-Luck, keep us updated what’s happening..

[Susan]

Hi, gee poor boy he must be in comfortable, sometimes the Pepcid doesn’t work cause their acid reflux is real bad & they need a stronger ant acid reducer, the Pepcid (Famotidine) worked the first week for Patch but then after 1 week it wasn’t working…..Zantac (Ranitidine) was developed mid 90’s a bit better then the Pepcid, Patch was on the Zantac for a while while I tried different kibbles, but I wasn’t trying grain free kibbles cause the fat was over 12 % he didn’t get better, he was still grinding his teeth at night, uncomfortable changing beds thru the night, waking me up wanting grass…
If the Pepcid works but doesn’t work good enough, I would ask vet can you try 20mg Losec (Omeprazole) just give for 4 days then stop, give once a day in the morning, then see how he does, then when you see he’s getting uncomfortable again give a losec tablet with water, I push the tablet down throat back of tongue & I have a 20ml big syringe & fill with water & slowly squirt the water in side of Patches mouth so the Losec tablet goes down his throat, I even rub throat downwards to make sure pill isn’t sitting in his throat & goes into his stomach….Omeprazole (Losec) is a Pump Proton Inhibitor (PPI) once you take a PPI for more then 20 days you can not just stop taking it, it needs to be reduced slowly, PPI are the best for bad acid reflux especially as they get older…Patch is on 20mg Losec permanently, I found he did so much better when taking the Losec when I’d stop the Losec his acid just came back with in 2-3 days..
Blood test wont show up any health problems to do with the stomach & small bowel, but yes the liver, gallbladder & pancreas will show up thru blood test, the only way is to have a couple of Biopsies done of the stomach & small bowel it’s the only way by doing an Endoscope & Biopsies, I wish I did it first in the beginning, the money I wasted doing blood test, Ultra Scans, trying vet diets that made things worst cause most vet diet are high in carbohydrates & high in soluble fiber grains that makes the acid reflux worse…..
A cooked lean diet is the best this way you can control ingredients, carbs, fiber & fat etc… Finally after 2 yrs of trying every single kibble, I found TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, limited ingredients, I had never tried it cause the fat is 15% max, now I feed 5 smaller meals a day, 7am-breakfast 1/2 cup TOTW kibble then walk, then I give Patch his 20mg Losec around 8.30am then 9-9.30am another 1/2 cup TOTW, 12pm 1/3 cup TOTW, 5pm cooked lean pork rissoles + boiled Sweet potatoes or 1 heaped 1/2 cup TOTW Lamb Kibble & at 8pm 1/3 cup TOTW kibble, the fat in the TOTW is 15%max but the Kcals per cup are 338 very low & the Carbs are low at 38% Carbs the TOTW kibble & the 20mg Losec has stopped his acid reflux FINALLY…..
I just looked at the ingredients in the Fromm Weight Management formula, gee there’s too many ingredients, too many proteins & has fish oil, & fiber is 7% too high, you need to look for a grain free, limited ingredient, low fiber around 4-5%, & fat around 12-15% the lower the fat the higher the carbs, so you need to increase the fat a bit to reduce the carbohydrates, grains are soluble fibers, you need foods like sweet potatoes that are insoluble fibers, so the food isn’t sitting in the stomach fermenting, insoluble fiber passes thru the stomach quicker, where soluble fibers sit in the stomach longer, no good, Patch use to vomit the kibble back up all undigested when he was eating kibbles with grains….. The Wellness Core Reduce fat kibble is very high in fiber 8.5% that would have made his acid reflux worse…I wanted to try the wet tin Wellness Core but the fiber was too high. So I cook instead.
It’s taken me 3yrs to work it all out finally, if the Fromm kibble doesn’t really work, take it back for refund, just say he stopped eating it, the fish oil is probably giving him acid reflux, now he won’t eat it…… I can only feed kibbles with Canola Oil…..NO fish or Salmon oils they give you acid reflux, the fish oil repeats on you, you burp it back up… the Australian TOTW has no Salmon or fish oil but I think the TOTW made for America has Salmon Oil, I live Australia….
Patches acid reflux was good when eating the Holistic Select Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines grain free kibble, the fat is 13%, Kcals 341per/cup, carbs are only 28% so if you do have to take back the Fromm look for the Holistic Select Adult/Puppy Salmon Grain Free formula, if you email the kibble companies they email you the max fat, max fiber & carbohydrate % its very hard to find kibbles that are low in carbs, low Fiber, low Kcals per/cup & medium fat%..
I stay away from weight management kibbles the fiber is to high to keep the dog feeling fuller longer & they use soluble fibers that stay in stomach longer to feel fuller longer then the food starts fermenting in stomach, but weight management kibbles may work for your boy.. you wont know untill you try a few different kibble, how I knew was I’d feed a cooked meal with sweet potatoes, no rice no grains & Patch wouldn’t get his acid reflux then feed him a grain low fat kibble for dinner & he’d be grinding his teeth, the acid must come up throat into his mouth leaving an awful taste in mouth, In the beginning he had a real sore mouth & throat when the acid was real bad from the Helicobacter-Pylori infection, I wonder if your boy has the Helicobacter? now there’s a blood test for humans, I had to have the Endoscope + Biopsies 3 yrs ago for Patch but for myself I just had a blood test last year, I suffer with GORD’s real bad acid reflux, then I was put on a PPI, Somac it’s like Losec all my symptoms went away within 2-3 days + a diet change & eating smaller meals thru the day, if your on Face Book join this F/B group called “Canine Pancreatitis Support” look in the files & there’s a heap of low fat foods, a lot of dogs with Pancreatitis suffer with acid reflux as well..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1435920120029740/
I just had a look, on f/b Pancreatitis group you might have been better buying 4Health Turkey & Potato formula instead of the fromm, it has less ingredients, no tomato pomace, no fish or salmon oils, no garbanzo beans, no chick peas or Lentils has only 8 ingredients, the less ingredients the better, less foods to cause acid reflux, the Kcals are 337 per cup, protein-24, fat-14%, Carbs-39% or there’s 4Health Mature 7+ the fat-10%, Protein-20% fiber 3% Kcals-320% per/cup but carbs are 49% & it has more ingredients then the 4Health Turkey & Potatoes..
Good luck, keep a diary, so you can look back what & when he ate ?? & what meds were given, keep us up to date what’s happening…

[Susan]

Hi, Canidae has brought out a few new grain free formula’s one is Pure Meadow Senior, my neighbor just order a bag of the Canidae Pure Meadow & it smells & looks really good, she gave me 2 kibbles so I could do my kibble test to see if the kibble digest easy & yes after soaking the 2 kibbles in very warm water the kibbles were soft all the way thru in
15-minutes, so very easy to digest, my boy has IBD & can’t eat chicken 🙁 so I’m looking at the new Canidae Pure Wild Boar….
Ingredient’s Canidae Pure Meadow Senior are, Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, peas, potatoes, a 50-75lb dog only needs 2 & 1/2 cups per day…
There’s also “Holistic Select” Chicken Meal & Rice Senior Health, same the kibble digest real easy was soft within 15mins….
Holistic Select Senior Ingredients are, Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat, Anchovy & Sardine Meal….
You could rotate between the 2 kibbles, Holistic Select Senior has grains & Canidae Senior is grain Free the fat is 10%min in both kibbles & protein is around 26 to 28% min…
Just make sure when changing from your old kibble you look for new kibble around the same amount of fat, protein & fiber %, you can go up a few percent but don’t go from feeding a kibble that was 20% protein to a kibble with 30 + % protein, same with the fat % don’t go from 10-12% fat up to 17-20% fat….You can get some digest problems but your dog might be fine & is OK..
Canidae- http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Holistic Select- http://holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog
I feed my senior boy he’s 8yrs old “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb & he gets a cooked meal for dinner or lunch about 5 times a week + Yakult probiotic drink, Almonds & apple, a few peeled pieces apple as a treat, tin salmon in spring water with sweet potato, K-9 Natural Green Lipped Mussels treats, just make sure you give foods that are high in omega 3 fatty acids, & supplements for joints like Green lipped Mussel + Turmeric, Sasha’s Blend, Rose Hip Vital, there’s a few on the market, make sure you give with food they can cause stomach reflux….
Dr Peter Dobias has just brought out a new Omega 3 oil supplement, that has no mercury made from Calamari, it took him 2-3 years to make, it’s all on his F/B page Called “Dr Peter Dobias, Natural Healing For Dogs” he has a 15-16yr old dog that runs around like he’s a puppy same as my 8yr old he runs & acts like a young puppy…. Diet is the key to a healthy dog…

[Richard K]

Hey everyone. I have wanted to feed my dogs raw for a long time but I don’t think I can afford it. My dogs have always had 5 star rated wet and dry dog food mixed like now I feed them Wellness limited ingredient diet dry and Holistic select wet food mixed in and it costs me about 70 dollars a month but I know raw is much better for them plus I have tried many many kinds of 5 star rated dry and wet dog food an my dogs only eat it cause they are very hungry because they don’t really like any i have tried. I have 2 small dogs both weight about 15lbs. Can anyone tell me a raw or freeze dried food I can feed them that won’t cost me much more than what I’m paying now? Or is that totally impossible to feed them raw or freeze dried for around that same price per month. I am on disability so I have limited income an i cant afford to go much higher. Both my dogs are in pretty good health. My pomeranian is 11 years old and acts like he is 4 years old or less. My shi-tzu is 10 years old and he isnt as active as my pomeranian and he does have some medical issues but the vet says he believes that he was inbred at a puppy mill. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.