[Akari_32]

Food for the next 72 days!

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/9ED9755D-F378-42C5-8076-CDC2820623C0_zpsinsoiy6d.jpg

The single 5.5 oz cans on the left are for raw in the morning and and a can at night. The rest of the meals are 3oz cans in the morning and 5.5 oz cans at night. Two funny combinations that’s happened during sorting:

Wellness in the morning, 9Lives at night:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/63C91AD6-7959-41F4-B1EE-4B00423A09AF_zps90rbtcqp.jpg

And raw in the morning and Friskies Sausesations at night:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/BBD4B1CC-ADCF-4DAC-8021-A5D1ED5F6BF3_zpsfmr8rsvk.jpg

I can’t decide which is worse LOL Only at my house…. Both of these are the last cans, Btw. I try to spread out the super junk as much as I can, that why I still have these. The rest of his food is good, though! Or at least decent for the most part lol

Halo Impulse, Wellness, Authority Flaked Turkey, some sort of Blue Buffalo Healthy Gourmet, Newmans Own, Sheba, my two selected Friskies Special Diet and Fancy Feast varieties each. Oh, and some Insticnt Pride. I think there may be one more, but I’m not sure… lol

[Sabema]

I can’t tell you how helpful this topic thread has been. My Tucker has been dealing with ‘the gulps’ for almost 4 years now.

At first the vet though it was a heart issue so he was extensively tested. (He never has a really bad episode while we’re actually at the vet’s office.) All results came back normal. Kennel Cough has been given as a diagnosis so many times I’ve lost count. Multiple X-rays, ultra-sounds, barium tests, scopes all with no real results or answers.

His episodes usually come once every 3 months, always in the evening. I’ve found that giving him a Benadryl and Pepcid immediately when I notice the symptoms begin can help. Also, I burp him after every meal and constantly when he’s having a really panicked episode where he’ll look for ANYTHING to consume.

He’s currently in day 4 of a longer than normal episode and we’re both exhausted. I can’t believe so many people experience this with their dogs and so few vets have ever heard of it. It can be really disheartening, it’s so scary to experience (for both of us). We have another appointment with a specialist in two weeks – I’m taking this thread with me since it has so much good information. Sincerely, thank you so much for everyone who has posted. I’m really at my wits-end and desperately looking for some answers.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Sabema.

[Dog_Obsessed]

Interesting. I had seen that AvoDerm had avocado in it. It has a very small amount of avocado oil in it. Here’s what the ASPCA says about the use of avocado in dog food:

I noticed your avocado information in the recent issue of ASPCA News Alert. Do you have any information about the safety of avocado in pet food?

– Nicole K.

Good question, Nicole. As you read in News Alert, avocado leaves, fruit, seeds and bark contain a toxic principle known as Persin. The Guatemalan variety, a common one found in stores, appears to be the most problematic. Other strains of avocado can have different degrees of toxic potential.

Avocado is sometimes included in pet foods for nutritional benefit. We would generally not expect avocado meal or oil present in commercial pet foods to pose a hazard to dogs and cats, but we advise against giving avocado flesh or peel to dogs and cats, as mild stomach upset may occur if the animal eats a significant amount. Ingestion of the pit can lead to obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract, which is a serious situation requiring urgent veterinary care.

First they say that it contains Persin, which is toxic to dogs, and then they say that besides the pit, the biggest risk is stomach upset. And BCnut said that the biggest risk, besides the pit, was the fat. Now I’m confused.

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

I know that I can get some advice from the knowledgeable people on this site.
I haven’t posted in sometime but the regulars were very helpful when my Pepper came to me 3 years ago.
We have been through MANY ILLNESSES-I have fought for my angel every step of the way-but as she is aging the chronic inflammation she suffers from reared it’s ugly head again.
I have tried many foods and she adjusted to the amicus senior kibble that I would give her soaked of course wit a topper of boiled organic chicken or grassed beef or bison.
she was doing fine. A few weeks back the regurgitation and then vomiting started along with a touch of diarrhea.
Blood work x-rays and ultrasound showed nothing- next step endoscopy which her internist is not too anxious to do given her age & her numerous other health issues.
He feels it is her diet and you guessed it wants me to try the veterinary prescription foods-now understand I am not trying to get in a battle with these vets-my Pepper is my main concern & if this junk will keep her going I WILL DO IT. I looked at the Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein wet & dry & got sick when I read the ingredients!!!
Can anyone guide me in an alternative-she has been eating organic pumpkin or sweet potato with organic ground turkey (as DR. Karen Becker) suggests, but I can’t keep her on this forever- I thought the Honest Kitchen base mix might work but she threw that up also.
I asked the Dr to put her on Reglan because I feel Pepper has a motility issue-she doesn’t digest her food completely, she has been on the Reglan since Monday & hasn’t reguritated or vomited. I know there are advocates of raw feeding, but, to me & I may be very wrong -she is just too old to start her on raw feeding.
I think since she is taking the Reglan, I may try to re-introduce a tsp. of the Honest Kitchen grain-free base mix again and see what happens.
Thank you for any help anyone may give.
Cheryl,Pepper & Mille-Belle

[Bobby dog]

Hi kelsey s:
Wal-Mart has Pure Balance stews for $1/can and small tubs for 68 cents each. Here’s a thread that has suggestions for kibble sold at Wal-Mart. There is also info on where to find coupons for a few of them:
/forums/topic/need-advice-about-walmart-brands/

Like Akari suggested, stop by the coupon thread for sale info. Come over to the cat food thread, we have lots of budget friendly suggestions for cat food there. 😉

Consider rotational feeding. I feed my dog this way so he gets a healthy variety. Find at least three different brands of food with different carb and protein sources that your dogs do well on and like eating. Once your dog is used to eating a variety you never have to worry about a recipe changing and the possibility of your dog not liking it, a recall (can happen to any food at any time), or your food just not being available. The added benefit is that you can take advantage of sales and coupons to help with your budget. You can read more about it here:
/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

Edit: Also check out Tractor Supply and local feed, hardware, or garden supply stores. One line of food I like that you might find at feed stores is PMI Nutrition. If you can find it check out the Exclusive and Infinia lines. Here’s a store locator: http://www.pminutrition.com/main.html
Tractor Supply has 4Health kibble and canned food (99 cents). I would recommend the GF turkey, beef, or whitefish kibbles. Print a list of the 3, 4, and 5 star foods from the review side and take them with you to where you shop for food to see what is available within your budget.
3 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/3-star/
4 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/4-star/
5 star food list: /dog-food-reviews/dry/5-star/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Bobby dog.

[Akari_32]

I would suggest you take up couponing. It’s easy, as long as you can do a little math and spare some time to search for deals. I get a lot of high quality food for $1 a pound and less. It’s a great way to take advantage of sales. Check out the thread i started on that. Everyone shares good coupons they find, and we all share our shopping sprees.

/forums/topic/coupons/

If you don’t have the time for that, Pure Balance is a pretty good food, as is Purina Beyond (a bit more expensive, but it’s higher calorie, so you feed considerably less), Rachael Ray Zero Grain or Simply Nourish (available only at PetSmart). There’s also Nutrisource, Dr Tims and Victors if you can find them, and Wellness isn’t too bad with the coupons they usually have right on their website if you don’t mind buying several small bags.

Momma dog will need to be on a good puppy food, and she will need to eat more than usual. I also urge you to get her spayed after her puppies are weened, and also ensure the pups are placed in homes where they will be spayed and neutered as well. They will live longer, healthier lives when spayed and neutered 🙂

As for the cats, it’s best to get them on canned food, but not all cats will eat it. Go for as high protein and low carb as possible. A pretty good “rule” to go by: if they make good dog food, they make good cat food. Here is another thread of mine, dealing with cat foods:

/forums/topic/cat-food-recommendations/

[Dori]

Dog Obsessed. Just to reiterate what Bobby dog just said. Through the years my dogs, most especially Hannah of late, have had X-rays, CT scans, MRI’s. Never has she she or any of my dogs been sedated. I guess I missed that part of your post. Jeesh! I’ve got to stop skimming through posts and threads and start reading word for word. I just want to add that very few dogs fit the description of being extraordinarily calm for any testing. They usually have the vet and a couple of techs in the room. The techs hold the dog in position as the vet takes the films or whatever. Or another tech take the film or whatever. Unless it’s a very small practice that you take her to and there aren’t enough hands on board to do the job.

[theBCnut]

The wormer should have already cleared his system, so it shouldn’t have been that, but there are any number of reasons that dogs vomit. After a dog has vomited, they should have no food or water for a few hours, then give about 1 oz of water and see if they keep it down, if so then they can have a little more water about an hour later and then SLOWLY reintroduce food and regular water. If they vomit again after leaving them with no food and water for a few hours, they should see a vet. That’s a sign of a blockage, or other serious condition.

[theBCnut]

I’ve always heard about how mineral profile is so important with crystal formation, but for dogs and cats, unless you go into reading research papers, there isn’t much info out there about specifics. If you are reading about standard care for goats or sheep, you can’t help but learn that struvite crystals form when the calcium/phosphorus ratio is off from feeding high grain diets(would be the same when feeding meat without adequate bone, I suspect). In sheep and goats, they recommend keeping the C:P to at least 2:1. I wonder why it’s so much easier to get these kinds of preventive recommendations for large animals than for small.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Jessica –

If you’re an Editor’s Choice member check out theEditor’s Choice Puppy Foods – there’s a list of foods appropriate for large breed puppies.

If you’re not an Editor’s Choice member, there’s a large breed puppy thread in the general forum area that can be found here.

There a few different routes you could take to try and get to the bottom of the loose stool issue. First and foremost (if you haven’t done this already) be sure to get a stool sample to the vet. Coccidia is very common in puppies and will cause loose stool. If you can rule out parasites, you can then look into switching foods and/or supplementation. You can try simply switching to a different brand, if this doesn’t work you may need to consider a food intolerance and start trying foods without ingredients that are common culprits (e.g. chicken, grains, etc.). You may also wish to try supplementing with a good quality probiotic and/or adding some additional fiber (a spoonful or two of plain canned pumpkin usually works well).

Good luck!

[Dori]

frostyrockyk. Your vets can make all the faces that they would like, the decision on what is given to your dog is yours, not theirs!!!! Whether it’s vaccines or food, it’s your decision. Just stand strong. Your dog has already had all the vaccines it needs. You can have them do titers if you wish though they are not cheap. The only acception to no vaccines is the rabies vaccine. It’s required by law. Just make sure what the county that you live in requires. I have heard that there are a few counties around the country that will accept titers for the rabies vaccine but, personally, that has not been my experience. Some are one year and others just require three year. Mind you it’s the exact same vaccine, it’s the paperwork and tag that changes. If you can get away with the three year rabie’s vaccine then that means less chemicals going into your dog. My vets are not always crazy about my choices for my dogs but they know they are my dogs and not theirs. I don’t do vaccines other than the three year rabies and I feed raw diet. The vets don’t like it but I could care less what they like and what they don’t.

[Walt R]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Four questions. First, if the issue is possibly a yeast infection on his paws, is it spread then via his licking and that is why the bed linens smell so bad (in addition to his feet) or is it possible that the issue is the saliva and as he licks his feet he’s also licking the blankets because he DOES lick the blankets, floors and everything else?

Secondly, there have been some recommendation for food/changing diet. Can anyone recommend a specific brand/formula (or 4) that is a touch on the less expensive side? Simply put, we are not in a position to spend $70 or $80 for a 30lb bag of food. We are more in the $30 – $40 range for 30 pound bags of premium foods and then stock up when it goes on sale.

Third, i see a lot about foot baths with recommendations for for specific product lines as well as home made remedies such as peroxide, vinegar, iodine and water (various combinations, I’d have to go back and look for the exact recipes.) Can anyone recommend one over the other or have a specific product in mind? My only concern about iodine is whether it will stain his white paws and/or the bath tub.

Lastly, i actually enjoy bathing the dog, blow drying, grooming him. When we got him he was deathly afraid of adult males. The first thing we as a family did was bath him and then i took over from there. It took a bit but now we are absolute buds. Unfortunately if you put him in a room with my wife on one side and me on the other and we both call him, she wins. She likely always will, but that does not mean i’ll ever stop trying! 🙂 So, i enjoy the time with him, caring for him, bathing him, etc… because i can tell over the past 2 years that it’s made huge inroads with trust, amongst many other things.

Thanks again for allow in my questions and thank you too so very much for the idea’s and suggestions.

Walt

[Nancy M]

theBCnut,

Gee, I’ve been keeping you pretty busy haven’t I? I apologize. I’m just rather flabbergasted over yet another issue with this puppy. As you mentioned, I think it’s got to be something with this food. Along with the excessive stools, I think pup and I would be better off with putting him back on the food he came to me on, IF I CAN FIND SOME IN STOCK SOMEWHERE. I don’t think this TOTW is working well for him right now. Strange thing too, I just fed him his 3rd meal of the day, and he’s already looking around for something else to eat. Don’t think this stuff is satisfying him for some reason, amongst other issues. The feeding guidelines for his age and weight calls for 1 1/4 c – 2 cups a day. He’s eating 1 1/2, wanting more, but pooping it out almost as fast as he’s eating it. And his little belly is just FULL. I can’t believe the digestion process and drinking all this water, even though that has decreased “some”, isn’t overworking his system! I don’t think the vet will have much to offer really, but I will probably take him in just to get him checked over, just to be on the safe side.

This is crazy…….thanks again for spending your time with me!
Nancy

[Dori]

Actually a dog the size of Sadie, carrying around an extra 2 to 3 pounds is a lot of weight. Isn’t there any way that they can have Sadie eat all her meals away from the other dogs. Would your parents be open to the idea of not free feeding the dogs. Put their food down, feeding Sadie in a separate area and leaving it down for 15 to 20 minutes and then pick up the bowls regardless of how much they ate. Even if they ate none of it. If they do that for both their meals they can have them retrained in a few days to eat their food as soon as the bowls are put down. Then there is no worry as to who’s eating whose food or how much each are getting. They can put their food bowls down as soon as they get up, leave down while they are getting ready for work and just before they leave pick up all the bowls. Do the same at dinner time. The dogs are taking their time eating because they know there will always be food around. Once they realize that when there is food available if they don’t eat, it’s going to disappear. Really is the best way to feed dogs regardless of any situation.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Walt R]

Hi. We got a rescue dog about 3 years back. It took us nearly a year before we found food that he liked and we liked. His issue was that he was always stinky even though an indoor dog. He also had room clearing gas. It was truly awful. We tried many different varieties/blends of dog food and he was, at one point, being bathed weekly it was that bad. But, we finally found the Purina Pro Plan Select Sensitive with the Salmon. It took only a matter of days and the gas was gone. In addition, he no longer smelled bad all the time and his baths were now 8 – 10 weeks apart. The dog is a pointer mix and is now pushing 5 years old. He has always been a dog that likes to lick. You walk past him or he you and out comes that tongue. He’ll get ya. LOL. He also licks the sheets, and carpet and his feet, etc. It’s never been a problem for us.

Anyhow, over the past 6 months something has changed. His feet start to smell like Frito’s. But, so do the bed linens and other things, because of his licking. His breath is not bad. If he licks your hand, it’s not bad. But over time, it adds up and we’re having a hard time with it. In addition, because of this, what becomes, an over powering smell of Fritos… he’s back to being bathed every 2 weeks.

His overall coat smells fine. His head and neck are fine. His feet on the other hand… UGH. Same with the bed linens and where he likes to sleep throughout the day.

I can’t help but think it’s his food.

Again, his breath is fine. His coat (other than feet) are fine. Still no gas and he still likes the food.

I don’t know if there is a vitamin supplement we should give him, if there are breath drops that i see online that we can give him or if we should change food.

Unfortunately, i have 100lbs of his food in the basement as it recently went on sale at $10 off per bag. It was hard to pass up. Now… I may be regretting that decision.

So, i found this site. I read up on the Pro Plan Select and it didn’t get very good reviews. Out of the nearly 200 brands/formula’s posted as 4 stars and above, Purina wasn’t even on the list.

A friend has recommended Zsignature Trout/Salmon, but OMGoodness, that is seriously expensive food.

So i thought i would reach out here in this forum and ask if anyone else has experienced this kind of thing.

I do not think the dog has any yeast infections. He doesn’t have dry, red or cracked feet and there aren’t sores on his body. He had a vet check in October and everything is good. Even his teeth are good.

I did read though, that the Pro Plan Sensitive Salmon does contain yeast. So, could that be it? The yeast is in his saliva, he’s licking thinking things and then the Yeast is fermenting for lack of a better expression?

And if that is maybe the source of the issue, why now? Why after being on this food for over 2 years, would this happen now?

And again i ask, if it’s possible it’s the yeast from the food, which clearly isn’t harming him… would breath drops work, or a vitamin of some kind and if not… are there recommendations for FISH based foods that we can try? Fish based food so far is the only one, that resolves his coat and gas issues.

Sorry for being long winded and thank you for any help you can provide.

Walt

[Cristi C]

Molzy, we had problems like this with our cat. No vet could help us. She chronically threw up but had no other problems. Her appetite was fine but her weight was very light. She was hyper and nervous. As she aged, she began to have more problems besides her vomiting and nerves: she began to lose all her fur, gulped a lot in the evenings, and had developed focal seizures in her face (also in the evenings). At his point we switched her to a grain-free diet, made in the USA, and changed her litter from corn to wheat. She calmed down, her vomiting decreased, and her fur began to grow back–but her gulping got harder and more frequent and her seizures, more frequent as well, began to spread to her front legs. Last week we replaced her wheat litter with clay litter. The gulping has stopped, the seizures stopped, and she is calmer and happier than I have ever seen her.

In other words, the key to our cat’s good health was removing her from all contact with grains. Not only can she not eat them, she cannot touch them. She eats Core Wellness foods But here’s the thing: she can only eat the fish variety. No poultry or other meats. I believe it is because poultry and other meats eat grains. And I think the problem is toxins, whether GMO, fungus, or pesticide, in those grains. Our cat is just the canary in the coal mine.

[Nancy M]

Thanks for your opinion BCnut, I tend to agree with you. I wonder why they make this puppy formula with such a high fiber; seems like all pups would have this same problem. Although I have noticed a little slow down in water consumption since yesterday afternoon.,Maybe this is a form of adjustment, or maybe it’s not really a good thing. I’ll have to watch him closely today before I decide to do something different. I have cut back on the amount of each feeding though, so maybe that’s helping. Fortunately, I am readily available to him, and make it a regular routine in going outside to relieve himself, we just have to do it more often. Although I have wondered how this affects his urinary system as well. He’s been really doing great on potty training since I got him and my particular set up is much easier than most situations. He just goes to the door and I’m right there to let him out and he’s right there in the spot he needs to go.

I hate to change him back to the Victor; just another change for him right now, plus the holidays are not a good time to have an upset puppy. I might try to locate a small bag of it though and reduce the amount of this new food for awhile longer though. Or maybe replacing some of the dry, with the same formula in the canned, might help too. One or the other should help, without tummy upset, I hope.,

Thanks again for responding……..
Nancy

[Kayla]

I’m so worried, this never happened to a Dog that I ever had before! He isn’t sick or anything. I just took him about again and he pooped again (stool still is normal) and only one of those little suckers was there! I took a picture…only to show Vet if I need too.

What should I do now? Is it serious? I read online that they need to be seen by a vet for treatment asap.

I found this?

Should I try this medication or vet?

[Dori]

Hi Akari. Sorry, I don’t know how I missed this entire thread other than to say life gets crazy around the holidays.

You mentioned that Ginger weighs 11.2 lbs. Has you vet told you what her optimum weight should be? It is very very important to keep dogs that have musculoskeletal problems on the thin and trim side. Every added ounce overweight adds to their pain and discomfort.

But this is really what I wanted to tell you. You say that you are dumping the glucosamine/chondroitin in her food. Glucosamine/Chondroitin should never be given with food. It most definitely needs to be given either one hour before food or two hours after. Otherwise it WILL NOT WORK! That is one of the main reasons why foods that are marketed as being good for dogs with arthritis and contain glucosamine/chondroitin don’t work. They also don’t put enough in to be beneficial but even if they did, the supplement must be given one hour before meals or two hours after twice a day or more often if indicated. That could very well be the reason you are not seeing any improvement with Ginger even though you are giving her the supplement.

Just trying to help.

If you do decide to go with the Purina JM you still need to give the supplement one hour before her meals or two hours after. I don’t have an opinion on the food. Obviously you know it’s not a great food by anyone’s definition but you have financial constraints and are doing the best your pocket book will allow. She’s a senior dog that you don’t have a lot of history about. If you can find one single food that she does well on, give her the supplement the way it is suppose to be given, then I would do that for the remainder of her life. The object is to find some quality to her life. It’s not about how many years you can add to her life, the concern is how well she gets to live the time she has left in her life. She obviously has musculoskeletal issues, she’s had them since you got her and since there’s no way to really know what happened to her before you got her to know what exactly is wrong with her or to do expensive CT scans, X-rays, MRI’s, surgeries, if they are indeed called for, you do the best you can through a food that doesn’t upset her digestive system and give her supplements. My advice to you would be, for right now, to keep her on the Wellness that you are feeding her before you switch her food since her tummy seems to be doing better and start the supplement as it’s suppose to be given and see it it makes a difference. I think it will. Another supplement that you can give her, if money allows you to, is Sam-e. Though it’s marketed as a liver support supplement it is a great anti-inflammatory. You would still need to give her the glucosamin/chondroitin. Sorry my post is so long I was just upset with myself for not noticing your thread on this issue and just happened to catch the sentence where you mention putting the supplement in her food bow.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Dori]

Bobby dog. I have seen the info on line and also in the pamphlet that comes in the box. Probably would say it on Novartis’s site. Says it kills 5% of adult fleas on the dog. It’s not a particularly large amount of adult fleas at all but better than none I suppose. HW, flea larvae and all the worms it covers is really more my concern. Adult fleas you can pretty easily get rid of if caught fast enough in the bath I think or would hope so from what some of the posters have said. Just glad I haven’t had to worry about fleas and, again, I hope I haven’t jinxed myself and the girls. I have a real aversion to insects of any sort. YUK!!!!!!!

There are other ingredients in Sentinel Spectrum so I’m just thinking that I don’t know which of the ingredients would kill 5% of the adult fleas. Bobby dog, the info is on Sentinelpet.com I just went to their web site to make sure I had read it correctly.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Douglas E]

I have read this entire thread as well as similar ones. Look, other than broad brush strokes, animal nutrition has been much ignored for the majority of pet-human history. Heck, the same can be said for HUMAN nutrition. Only within the past 40 years has our nutrition become the topic of serious scientific inquiry. This has been a natural development in thought from deeper insights into cellular biology, biochemistry and immunology. The science of human nutrition is quite new.

How then can we expect to understand other species’ specific nutritional needs? We hardly understand the human organism yet in that regard. If human nutritional science is in its’ infancy, canine nutrition is only embryonic. That research it further complicated by gross breed differences, historically poor food quality diets, congenital and/our genetic weaknesses from severely poor breeding, medical thought that simply treats symptoms and a new problem- canine geriatrics.

A dog in the wild would typically have a life expectancy less than half of our pets’. Nutritional deficiency plays a major part in that mortality. And no, an all raw and only carnivorous diet is not what a dog would get in the wild. While dogs are highly adapted to having a majority of the diet be animal proteins, they have a much greater variety. Even from only consuming prey animals, they will eat the contents of those animals’ intestines and stomach(s) which would include “probiotics,” yeasts (naturally occurring intestinal fauna,) and various vagetation such as primitive grains. Those grains would be partially digested, yes, so raw gains would likely be less digestible. Canines would also eat the high fat organ meats, hair, skin and bone. It is important to note that the high need of calcium, as well as other bone minerals, for dogs is well noted these days. It is necessary nutritionally for Canines to occaisionally consume vegetable, or even mineral, matter. Not only must they do so to enable gut function, they must do so for biological need. Not all needs are met by prey. This is why in the absence of adequate herbivorous prey, dogs will suplement by what pet owners would consider pica.

All that being said (now that I have presented myself in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral the Very Model of a Modern Major General, ) the answers are not simple. But the guidelines are.

1. Use common sense, canine nutrition is imperfect at best
2. Do not presume to be an expert, or that human remedy necessarily applies
3. Do not rely on diet to cure medical conditions that may really be microbial or parastic infections, disease or biological defecit aside from nutrition
4. Realize that isolating an immunological response, whether from allergic reaction or not, is a difficult and time consuming process
5. Use keen observation when using any new food source or additive, including veterinarian recommended treatments. Don’t simply go with the flow thinking that treatment course is the fix-it for sure (OK, preaching to the choir I think there…)
6. Each dog is as different biologically as we are. If it does improve health in some, it may not in others or it may actually be detrimental
7. A business, or product, that is intentionally or negligently harmful will not survive. Caveat Emptor
8. etc. etc. etc…

Here’s hoping great health to all you and all your furry families

D

[Naturella]

I am not getting a new dog anytime too soon, but this is good info to know, so just posting here so I can keep an eye on the thread! 🙂

[Akari_32]

I’m not looking at just the main ingredients. Yes, I think Brewers rice and corn gluten meal aren’t quality ingredients, but looking at the bigger picture, there’s a good amount of animal protein in the food, and elevated levels of omega, glucosamine and antioxidants that I could not achieve on my own. Patty, you’ve said yourself quality comes second, and using what works for each dog is the priority. I’m not looking for “this food has a couple questionable ingredients, it’s absolute garbarge,” I’m looking for objective replies on if this food does or does not do what it’s supposed to do. I know how to pick quality dog foods, but I’m really just beyond that at this point with Ginger. The poor thing needs something more than I’m doing right now, and I’m grasping for straws at this point.

I can’t afford to spend any more on supliments (and dog food) than I’m already spending, and if I dump anymore glucosamine pills on this dogs 1/2 cup of food, she’s going to think I’m nuts. It’s bitter and she hates it. That said, if there is a commercial, non-prescription food that doesn’t charge out the nose and does what this is supposed to do, by all means, suggest away. I’m looking at $15 a bag without coupons, or including shipping.

Btw, have you two *seen*, say, Hill’s joint food? Now *that* is nasty stuff. Purina looks like it’s made of gold compared to Hill’s. Just saying.

And Aimee, thank you for the link. I wish I knew half of what they were saying! Seems like products like this do actually work, or at least help, though.

Bobby Dog and Aimee, you’re right about rotating. I forget how long it takes to see results with joint supliments lol I hate to keep her one food, but I think minimal switching around is best. Once I find something for her I like, I will have to just keep her on it.

[theBCnut]

Even if you get freezes, you still need to give heartworm prevention again one month after the last possible exposure. If you don’t get freezes, you are supposed to be able to watch the temp and stop giving when the temp is consistantly lower than whatever temp the larva need to develop. I can never remember what that temp is supposed to be, because whatever it is, we don’t stay cold enough long enough here. But the info is here on another heartworm med thread, if you want to search for it.

[Dori]

I’m with you Marie. I REALLY dislike SoJos. THK is the only dehydrated food that I really really like. I have used others but always go back to THK and keep in rotation. Even a couple of my local pet stores that carry Sojos don’t recommend the food. They’re small stores so they can pretty much try all the food in the store (not the owners so no choice as to what they carry) and they dislike the Sojos.

I’d like to add on the freeze dried and dehydrated foods in general that I have fed, and continue to feed, I have never seen any undigested bits in any of my three girls poop. I check all of their poop every single time. I sometimes wonder if people seeing identifiable bits of ingredients in their dogs poop if the dogs gut is not as healthy as it could be. Could it be that 90 – 95% of my dog’s meals over the past three years are raw causing a healthier gut and, therefore, able to digest pretty much digest everything and anything? I really don’t know. Just a thought I’ve wondered about.

Sorry about all the edits. I really should remember to read through my posts before hitting the submit button.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Dori.

[Nelson P]

Hi everyone,
It’s the first time I post on this thread but have been learning a lot from reading it (specially from HDM). So, first of all thanks! Now, hopefully you guys don’t mind if I ask for a little more help. I have a 3 months old Golden Retriever. I have been feeding him Royal Canin Golden Retriever Junior (recommended by the vet.) but as you all know, it’s not the best choice. I want to do better. Unfortunately I don’t have the time or money to feed him a proper raw meal. Not now, maybe in the future (who knows). Good Canned is also very expensive (maybe I can add it as a topper sometimes). So I have to stick with kibble. Would like to choose from HDM list but I live in Europe (Portugal) and we don’t have those brands here (stores or online) and buy it from a international online store would also be too expensive for the shipping. I had to look for other brands and try to stick with the guidelines I learn here. As sad as it may look I couldn’t find too many brands to choose from (there are plenty but not that good). Basically I found 2 options: Orijen/Acana large breed puppy (I know it’s borderline with the calcium levels) or Naturea. Naturea is a portuguese brand but they produce there food in a UK factory tucked into a rural area (as they stated in their website). They have the same Biologically Appropriate concept that Champions have. It’s possible none of you ever heard about this brand (I too didn’t know them until yesterday). I don’t know if I can post the website here for you guys to help me analyse their food so I’ll copy/past their Technical Information:

Composition:
Chicken (includes Fresh Deboned Chicken and Chicken Meal), Sweet Potato, Egg Powder,
Chicken Fat, Potato Protein, Lucerne, Linseed, Chicken Gravy, Salmon Oil, Minerals,
Vitamins, Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane, Chondroitin Sulphate, Apple, Carrot,
Tomato, Spinach, Psyllium, Rosehips, Camomile, Burdock Root, Peppermint, Marigold,
Seaweed, Cranberry, Dandelion, Fructooligosaccharides, Aniseed, Fenugreek, Yucca
Schidigera Extract, Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Sage.

Animal Ingredients (63%):
Chicken Meal (low ash) 31.17%
Fresh Deboned Chicken 13.85%
Egg Powder 8.22%
Chicken Fat 7.36%
Chicken Gravy 1.73%
Salmon Oil 0.86%

Typical Analysis:
Crude Protein 32%
Crude Fat 21%
Crude Fibre 3%
Moisture 8.5%
Carbohydrates 27.5%
Crude Ash 8%
Metabolisable Energy 387 kCal/100g
Calcium 1.21%
Phosphorus 1.04%

Coat, cardio & Joints:
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) 3.09%
Linolenic Acid (Omega 3) 1.07%
Glucosamine 889 mg/kg
Chondroitin 625 mg/kg
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 889 mg/kg

Other Vitamins, Amnio Acids & Minerals:
Vitamin A 25730 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 1730 IU/kg
Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol acetate) 231 IU/kg
Vitamin B1 10 mg/kg
Vitamin B2 23 mg/kg
Vitamin B6 10 mg/kg
Vitamin B12 127 mcg/kg
Biotin 323 mcg/kg
Folic acid 1.73 mg/kg
Niacin 35 mg/kg
Choline Chloride 240 mg/kg
Pantothenate 20 mg/kg
Potassium 1.04%
Sodium 0.36%
Chloride 0.63%
Magnesium 0.1%
Zinc (as zinc sulphate monohydrate) 285 mg/kg
Zinc (as chelate of amino acids hydrate) 342 mg/kg
Copper (as cupric sulphate monohydrate) 41 mg/kg
Copper (as cupric chelate of amino acids hydrate) 51 mg/kg
Manganese (as manganous sulphate monohydrate) 112 mg/kg
Iron (as ferrous sulphate monohydrate) 309 mg/kg
Iron (as ferrous chelate of amino acids hydrate) 21 mg/kg
Iodine (as calcium iodate anhydrous) 1.58 mg/kg
Selenium (as sodium selenite) 0.51 mg/kg

Sorry for the long text. I need to decide on a food sooner than later to start the transition. In the future I would like to rotate different brands (If I can find good ones), and add toppers as suggested here. But for now I really have to decide. Origin, Naturea or other world available brand? Can you help me? So afraid to make the wrong choice. Any other advice on dog/puppy health would be great 🙂

P.S. As for the toppers, besides eggs, tinned sardines, plain yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, and veggies what can I add without throwing off the balance?

[Bobby dog]

Kayla:
Some of the ingredients that would make me pass on this treat would be sorbitol, carrageenan, and artificial flavor.

The best thing to do is make your own treats. There are simple recipes that don’t take much time or too many ingredients. You can make biscuits, meatballs, or even jerky, and dried fruit/veggies in your oven. You can find treat recipes on the DFA forums or the Internet.

The next best thing to do is look for treats that only have a few ingredients that you easily recognize and don’t have to Google. Freeze dried treats or dried fruit/veggies would be examples of treats with minimal ingredients.

If I have to Google any or most of the ingredients of a treat chances are they are not what I want to feed my pets. I stay away from treats with added sugars, artificial flavors or colors, thickening agents, artificial preservatives, added starches, and probably some other things I can’t think of right now. Read those labels and know what you are feeding! 😉

[Susan]

Hi Melissa, thank-you for info….I’ll have to ask Patches vet if its Lymphocytic Plasmacytic Enteritis but on Patches lab report from his biopies its just says “Moderate to Chronic Lymphocytic Gastritis” not Lymphocytic Plasmacytic enteritis, God I hope it isnt, when I read about it, it doesnt sound good, when I looked it up there’s so many Lymphocytic this & Lymphocytic that…… I had to look up Lymphocytic Gastris in humans, comes up with Celiac & Helicobacter for humans….. I found 1 study done on 5 cats, 3 cats already had FIV & 2 cats had L/G helicobacter, they put them all together to see if the cats with a low immune FIV got infected with the Helicobacter, all 3 cats did catch H/B….. I spoke with 1 lady thats dog has got L/G her dog had to be treated with antibiotics 3 times to kill bacteria as the helicobacter kept coming back & then he was put on a steriod for just 6 weeks for the inflammation from the Helicobacter… when Patches vet rung with results he did mention something about a short course of steriods, there’s some inflammation but he didnt go into details….. he said Patch probably had this a long time & caught it when he was a pup, if the helicobacter was treated back then, he’d be a healthy dog now but it was never treated,……. so I’d say the helicobacter has done some damage now being left un treated for so long, poor boy..
Tylan isnt big here in Austrailia, but there’s one lady in Western Australia her vet orders in the Tylan & she has given me the details to give to my vet, she did say that she is buying Tylan online but in big quanties enough to last 3 years, a bit too much just yet..He’s on the low residue diet but I’ll have to ring Eukanuba & ask is it Gluten free, I wish he could eat potatos, it would make life easier & he could go on a grainfree diet kibble, Ive contacted Susan Lauten a pet nutritionist, I dont know if she is good but a few people from the IBD group use her when their dog cant eat vet prescription diets…
Ive read for humans, if I can find the right diet, you can get better…….
I suppose these vets will learn on Patch, as its rare, I hope so & he hasnt suffered for nothing..so when another dog comes in with Patches symtoms, they think twice & give the dog an Endoscope & biopies, I only done the Endoscope & biopies cause the ladies in the IBDogs group said being scoped & having biopies done is the only way i’ll find out whats happening with Patch, I just wish when I wanted Patched scoped last year the stupid lady vet listen & booked him in, she just said ur wasting ur money, they probably wont find nothing, he needs to be cut open & biopiesed, I saw her when I was picking up Patches Meds & I said did you see Patches results she said yes…. Im still angry about it all..

[DogFoodie]

Boy was I ticked when I got my Mercola Bladder Support this week. It has a manufacture date of February, 2013. There’s no expiration date on the package and I can’t find any information about it on their site. I originally figured the three containers would last me a year, but they’re already almost two years old now. Very annoyed…

[Dog_Obsessed]

There is a site called Leilah’s Laughs that has lots of good dog humor and poems, here are some of my favs:

Poem for new puppy owners:

Poem for New Puppy Owners

Posted on Acme Pet by Bravehart on October 10, 1998 at 11:25:22:

Don’t smell crotches, don’t eat plants,
Don’t steal food or underpants.
Don’t eat my socks; don’t grab my hair,,,
DON’T RIP THE STUFFING FROM THAT CHAIR!!

Don’t eat those peas, don’t touch that bush,
Don’t chew my shoes, what IS this mush!?!
Eat your cookies, drink your drink,
Outta the toilet! Outta the sink!

AWAY FROM THE LITER BOX, IT’S FOR THE CAT!
(and must you kiss me after that!?!)
Raising a puppy is not for the lazy,
Those rugrats are funny, but also quite crazy.

Don’t despair through the toil and the strife.
“Cause after three years you’ll get back your life!
So lets go for walkies, so you can do your “thing”
And maybe I’ll get back my diamond ring!

-Author unknown

The 12 days of christmas puppy style:

A Puppy’s 12 Days of Christmas

(Be sure to read down to Day 12)

On the first day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
The Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the second day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the third day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Seven scraps of wrapping paper
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Eight tiny reindeer fragments
Seven scraps of wrapping paper
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
My wreath in nine pieces
Eight tiny reindeer fragments
Seven scraps of wrapping paper
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Ten Christmas cards I shoulda mailed
My wreath in nine pieces
Eight tiny reindeer fragments
Seven scraps of wrapping paper
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me
Eleven unwrapped presents
Ten Christmas cards I shoulda mailed
My wreath in nine pieces
Eight tiny reindeer fragments
Seven scraps of wrapping paper
Six yards of soggy ribbon
Five chewed-up stockings
Four broken window candles
Three punctured ornaments
Two leaking bubble lights
And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

A dozen puppy kisses
And I forgot all about the other eleven days.

Here is the link to the site(warning: some of the jokes are not kid appropriate, so don’t show to kids without reading first): http://www.wonderpuppy.net/1lists.php

[Naturella]

@Akari_32, I think you’re right, I may have to tell them the problems of messing with my stuff and then cancelling my order and what not, just cause it did shock me to no end she’destroy coupons before anything was done. And claim I didn’t have what I said I did.

@InkedMarie, also just waking up so let me try to explain coherently, lol.
Here is what I was prepared to do:

I had 4 $5-off any bag of Specialty Brand (Castor&Pollux, Wellness , and Nulo included in the list) dry dog or cat food (that said “not valid with any other offer”), and 4 Wellness manufacturer $7-off any bag of dry dog or cat food (that said “one per customer”) stacked together. I had 3 C&P manufacturer coupons (that said “one per customer”) for $5-off any bag of Organix or Ultramix, each stacked with the $5-off Petsmart specialty brand coupon mentioned above. I also had a Nulo manufacturer coupon for $3-off any 4.5lb bag of food that said nothing that I can remember, stacked with the $5-off Petsmart coupon mentioned above. I also had a ton of the Wellness manufacturer coupons for $2-off any wet food, that said “one per customer”.

When I went to the register I figured I’d split my order and do all the Wellness stuff first as I also had a Petland $10-off $25+ purchase that I was going to ask if they’d match, as well as a Petsmart receipt coupon for $5-off ANY $5+ purchase I would ask them to use if they wouldn’t match the Petland coupon. I had 4 bags, 6 cans, and 6 Petite Entrees of Wellness altogether. So after she scanned them all, I gave her the 8 total dry food coupons and 12 coupons for the wet food. She started looking at them antsily, scanning here and there, putting papers everywhere, and ripping the Petsmart $5-off specialty brand coupons as she went! Close to the end of the transaction she decided she would only take six of the wet food coupons, not 12, and that she would claim I only gave her 2 Petsmart coupons, not 4. Luckily, I found an extra one in my bag and gave it to her and she decided she wouldn’t take it, and that she couldn’t do this, wasn’t comfortable, etc. I asked her if she preferred to do separate transactions for each bag. If you know me, you’d know I am a very accommodating person, so I would do whatever they felt was better for them. Well, because I was there the day before and did basically the same thing, she assumed maybe that I’m trying to use coupons to “rob” their store, lol, so she decided that, as a manager, she couldn’t handle my coupons and didn’t want this checkout on her record, so she asked an assistant to come check me out and cancelled my order, wrote on my extra $5-off Petsmart coupon that I had 2 more, and got another lady over.

The new lady was very polite, so she started reading through the coupons and decided that I can only use ONE of each of the Wellness dry and wet food period, as it said “one per customer” on them, and she did let me use the $5-off Petsmart coupon with them. So first actual transaction was one bag and one can of Wellness with the 2 Wellness and 1 Petsmart coupons. Then I wanted to do a C&P bag, with a C&P coupon and a Petsmart coupon, but then the lady decided my C&P coupon wasn’t authentic cause it was printed off a printer, and the coupon said “reproduction of coupon forbidden” (as did the Wellness). I explained that I got it online and she said I can’t trust online coupons. Um, the Wellness coupons came online too! Hello! Very few places send actual coupons in this day and age! Either way, she wouldn’t take it, so I proceeded with one bag of Nulo with a Nulo coupon and a Petsmart coupon just fine.

At the other store I tried to do basically the same and see what happens and the lady there let me use one $7-off Wellness coupon, one $2-off wet Wellness coupon, and one Petsmart coupon together for a bag and a can of Wellness. Then she saw the Petsmart coupon said “not valid with other offers” so she wouldn’t combine it with anything anymore and I should’ve stopped shopping, but I was getting confused so I ended up with 2 bags of C&P at only $5-off and 2 more cans of Wellness with each transaction of a C&P bag, with the Wellness coupons for wet food applied.

Hope this makes it more clear… If anything, I’m not contesting coupon policy, just the very first lady ripping my stuff and lying about how many Petsmart coupons I had.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Naturella.

[InkedMarie]

Naturella,
I’m still trying to wake up so maybe I’m not understanding what you were trying to do. Can you explain, one transaction at a time? Let me explain lol. IF you had say

Three $2.00 coupons off any bag of Wellness dry food, I do not think you can use more than one coupon per bag. Usually the bag says that.

IF you had a buy one bag get one free coupon, you *can* use a. $2.00 off of the one you buy but you cannot use a coupon off the free one. I’ve had these BOGO coupons and have argued with managers about using a coupon off of the one I’m paying for. I win. Always do lol.

This is non dog related but in the 80’s when my boys were small, Pizza Hut had a “get your pizza free if it’s not ready in 20 minutes” deal. We knew our local PH do we ordered a pizza with more toppings than we normally would have. Went to get it and our stopwTch was 20:36. The worker refused our free pizza, saying it was only 36 seconds over the 20. I ask where it said there was an X amount of a grace period. I ask for the manager. Maria comes out, says “hey Marie” lol. I explain, we get our pizza for free. Back then, Steve was sort of mortified that I challenged them. He’s grown since then!

[Akari_32]

The thing with coupons is that their terms and conditions refer to other like coupons (manufacturer vs manufacturer, for example– apples to apples!). Unless the coupon explicitly says “Not combinable with any other offer” it can be used with other coupons (like stacking a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon for the same item. At that point, its up the individual store if they’ll take a store coupon along with such a manufacturer coupon). Working for Publix, we get a lot of coupon training as cashiers.

I had one manager at PetSmart the other day tell me “You’re already getting $15 off, what’s the problem?” when I had handed the cashier $20 in coupons on a $20 order and she messed up in entering them, accidentally entering one to add $5 rather than take it off. I’ll tell you what the problem is, mister! Ima come over there and smack you in a minute! LOL That chick’s lucky she got you instead of me :p

[Naturella]

Finished my paper and took Bruno on a refreshing walk! Woohoo. Ok, back to DFA!

Bobby Dog, I can imagine that they at least get scolded for mistakes in taking coupons… But come on, some the original prices these foods have are just deadly! Some are well over $20 for a 4- or 5-lb bag…

Either way, Akari, I know everybody does it (coupon stacking), but it does say on the coupon not to, and I am sure that not everyone cares about that, but apparently people here do. As for the first manager lady who was checking me out, yeah, she just freaked out and refused to give me service basically and didn’t take the time to explain (like the other 2 ladies) that they won’t do what the coupon says not to do… So I could call and report her but I don’t remember her name. I may go back there for my Nulo cans just to get her name, lol. And the cans. Or just the cans. Whatever.

Either way, I know this is probably normal, to have bad coupon days, I know I have read about a few of yours with mean managers… And I will be so happy to have another dog, eventually, just want to be able to give him or her the proper resource availability should he or she, or Bruno ever get actually seriously sick. Food I will always find ways to provide them with. 🙂

[Naturella]

@Akari_32, thank you so much for the words of wisdom and encouragement!

Your words actually made me think, though… I wish I had animalS, but I only have AN animal. And a small one at that. I really don’t NEED to be stocking up like I am, when there are people with much more limited resources, with more animalS, who they also need to feed. I could say the same thing you did, that “I have animalS” to a rude associate or manager and they may never even know the truth, but then it would not be the truth… And I do try to donate some food and spread the savings by giving others coupons, so I do try to give back… I guess I just wanted to be sure Bruno has plenty of good food, variety, etc, and there is a note of just being excited to score a deal (apparently it could become addictive). But for me to not end up on Hoarders (cause I fail at couponing, lol, so no Extreme Couponing for me), I need to stop shopping (and dog food is really the only thing I stock up on). But dog food has expiration dates, and if I want my little guy to be healthy, he won’t possibly be going through food that fast. One day we will have another dog with Bruno, just not yet. And that’s okay. And Bruno will be fine with the food we have for a long time.

I am happy to learn how to do it and I keep trying to let others know, and have prepared stacks of coupons (same as I had and same as the ones I used for Snowy) for some friends with multiple pets, so I will give them those to try their luck at their local stores, and I hope they score like I did for Snowy. One of them has one large dog and 2 cats, and another – 5 dogs, so THEY do need the savings. I did too, but for now, I truly am good. 🙂 I will keep looking for deals for my friends AND Snowy though, so as long as I am NOT shopping for myself (Bruno), I will be fine. In a few months I can do another big trip for Snowy, so that’s something. 🙂

As for reporting the manager, meh… What can I say? “They were rude to me because I was trying to “cheat” the system and get away with a great deal”? Corporate would probably promote them! LoL. But like you said, karma will get them, and plus, I am sure they are just also looking out for themselves, wanting to do things right, and keep the job that allows them to feed their animals (possibly, if they have any). So yeah. No hard feelings… Well, maybe just a tiny bit, but it’s okay… 🙂

[Naturella]

Hey, all!

Popping in for just a quick update, because I have a paper to write and I am so disappointed in myself and today overall…

I went to the same store I did yesterday, loaded up 2 Original Wellness COREs, 1 Ocean, and 1 Wild Game. 1 C&P Organix GF and 2 Ultramix GF. One Nulo. 12 cans total – 6 small cans of CORE and regular ones, and 6 of the tiny petite entrees. I went up to the register, and divided up the stuff in 2 transactions, Wellness stuff first, C&P and Nulo second.

The lady scanned all the Wellness stuff, then I showed her all the coupons, and she got so… confrontational. She was scanning them and ripping up the Petsmart ones after she scanned them. Then she said she scanned only 2 Petsmart ones and 4 Wellness ones, and I KNOW I had 4 Petsmart ones attached to each Wellness one. Well, she was ripping them up so I couldn’t prove it! Good thing I had an extra Petsmart one, so I gave it to her, and I gave her the stack of 12 $2-off any canned Wellness coupons, and she started freaking out, she scanned 6 of the $2-off ones and said she’s not doing any more, and she said she’s not going to take my extra $5-off Petsmart coupon either! So I would have returned 2 of the Wellness foods if she wasn’t going to give me the whole deal, and she was just trying her best to get me to argue with her, like so hard! She was rude, confrontational, and I was NOT going to argue at all. I was very polite and calm the whole time. She said she remembers me from yesterday and that she does not feel comfortable letting me do this with the coupons. She said she will cancel it all because she doesn’t want it on her record and get someone else to check me out. Maybe this is a good place to mention that she was a MANAGER, and she said she’s rather have an ASSISTANT check me out. I also didn’t want her to cancel the transaction as it wasn’t that bad, like in the $30s for 4 Wellnesses and 12 cans, but she didn’t care. Before signing off, she made sure to let the assistant know I “did this yesterday and I’m trying to do something funny with coupons again, and that she can’t handle it, she’s uncomfortable, and doesn’t want it on her record”.

When the assistant lady came, she was very polite, and I told her how the other manager from yesterday, the male one, checked me out with no problems at all, and she said that he shouldn’t have and she hopes he doesn’t get in trouble for it. I said I hoped so too.

So she began checking me out, and read every word on every coupon. In the end, I only got Wellness CORE Original and one small can of Wellness with the $2-off, the $7-off, and the $5-off coupons, and she said I can only use ONE of the $7-off of Wellness (per customer), and ONE of the $2-off for canned food (per customer). I said ok. I also got a dry Nulo for a total of $8-off with a Nulo coupon and the $5-off Petsmart coupon on a different transaction. UGH. At least she was polite, albeit super meticulous. Also, she said I couldn’t use the Castor & Pollux coupon cause it wasn’t original (?!?!?!) and that I can’t trust online coupons cause they are false, and on the C&P coupon it says “reproduction of coupon strictly prohibited” so she wouldn’t take any of them. Seriously?! How are you going to say the coupon is not original?

Ok, so I went to another store after regrouping to try it again. The cashier there was very kind, also kind of meticulous though, and she also read everything, but she was kind of confused, so she let me use the $7-off coupon of Wellness with the $2-off canned, and the $5-off Petsmart one for one bag and one can of Wellness together, and then she said she can’t combine coupons cause it says so on the Petsmart coupon, so I need to choose between the manufacturer coupon and the dang Petsmart coupon. So I did another transaction with one can of Wellness and the $2-off coupon, 1 bag of Ultramix on a super sale (expires soon), with the C&P coupon, and another bag of Organix with the C&P coupon (I shouldn’t have gotten it, it was just $5-off, but I was getting so confused). So all in all, I did 5 different transactions, 2 stores, and spent $44.00 for just 5 bags of food and 4 small cans… I am very disappointed and apparently store enemy #1 to my closest Petsmart, lol.

Anyway… Back to paper… blah… I guess for me it just depends on the cashier, cause I don’t want to argue, because I can’t really argue what the coupons says, it just depends who will let me get away with what. Either way, after 6 cans of Nulo for $3 that I WILL get, cause I have the coupons to, no more shopping, like, ever, for real, and I fail as a coupon student… Le sigh…

[Akari_32]

Good job, girly! Check and see if your store has the holiday 6oz CORE cans on clearance for $1.27 like mine does! Use that two dolla off canned coupon than came in today’s wellness email, and make some money!

You can certainly go back in there and do the same thing tomorrow. As long they get paid, they don’t care what you do with your pet perks.

One note about the kibble size, I don’t know how Bruno does with larger kibbles, but anything that wellness makes that isn’t marked puppy or small breed has massive sized kibbles. You might want to feel how big they are through the bag before you decide what you want. The puppy CORE (and obviously the small breed) has small kibbles, but the other ones are all dime sized in diameter.

The store here has stopped letting me do multiple transactions. Even if it’s just two small ones. I’m about ready to kill the managers there. Actually, just the one. He’s always mean. Doesn’t like to let people just do what they’re doing. Not really sure how all these rude people get to be managers!!

[Avery M]

Just this monday my boyfriend and I picked up a 10 week old australian shepherd. This is the first dog I’ve been entirely responsible for and I’m definitely consider raw as an option (especially if I can find an affordable way to do it). I’ve read some articles and watched youtube examples of other people’s meal preps. So far what I’ve gathered is that is that I should slowly introduce and then rotate a variety of meats (I was thinking chicken, turkey and beef) as well as adding organs several times a week, and meaty bones daily. I’ve also noticed many people disagree on whether any vegetables are necessary. I have several main questions: Do I need to rotate the kind of animal the organs and bones come from like I do the meat? What, if any, adjustments do I need to make for her given that she’s a puppy? Is their a substitute for the green trife (I’m not sure if that’s what it’s called, I believe it may be stomach of some sort?) like a probiotic or something? I’m not sure where to get that.. If there is anything else I should know or advice to give me that would be great. Thank you.

[Nancy M]

I’m back on here again! Now asking if anyone has had much experience with Victor dog food. I’m currently feeding a puppy/adult formula; specifically the Hi-pro Plus. Not to repeat myself, but the Sheltie pup I got about 2 weeks ago was already on it, so because my mini Aussie pup is now a year old and ready to change over from Diamonds Naturals puppy formula, I decided to just put her on this same formula. For a couple weeks, the Aussie has aquired very itchy skin but other than that, went through the switchover just fine. The Sheltie pup remains doing well on it. I’m planning to change the Aussie over to something else as soon as I know for sure the food is causing her allergy/itching problems.

BUT, BUT, BUT………I have also noticed excessive stools, I think. It’s rather ridiculous in my opinion. It’s like, what the heck is staying in there? I clean my yard everyday, and since this morning again, I’ve cleaned up no less than 3 – 4 stools, EACH dog, already and it’s only 4:00 in the afternoon! This doesn’t seem right. Plus, the Aussie has lost about a pound of weight since she got on this food. I’ve started giving HER a little more because of the weight loss and then of course, the puppy is growing, so I’ve added a tiny bit more to his meals trying to get him down from 4 feedings a day to only 3. But it seems this stuff is almost going right through them. Sheltie pup is now almost 13 weeks and HAS continued to put on weight, but it’s minimal (which I would say is a good thing), but I’m concerned about all the stools and my Aussie’s weight loss, on top of the itching/allergy issues.

Can anyone give me some input and experience with this food?
Thanks for your help, as always!
Nancy

[Dori]

For de-matting the very best product I have ever used and still due is called Ice on Ice. You spray some onto the mat, mush it around a little into the mat and then with a detangler comb (the teeth are metal and they roll) it combs right out. As you know I have Hannah in a full coat and Maltese’s are notorious for getting mats especially if you’re nuts (like me) and keep them in a full to the floor coat. Their hair is very cotton like so is always getting matted. This is by far the best product I have ever come across in my life. It’s amazing truly. You can find it on Amazon and you can read up on it on the site. It’s also a finishing no rinse spray. Doesn’t particularly have any odor that would bother you. Doesn’t build up on the hair which is great.

Dog Foodie, just wanted to mention that I’m a dog owner that does not believe that neutering and spaying permanently changes the texture of their hair. I have had neutered or spayed every single dog I have ever owned and believe me there have been a lot and not one time was any of their hair or fur affected.

Have you tried feeding him canned sardines packed in water a couple of times a week. Amount per meal would depend on his size. I use a small can twice a week and divide the can among the three dogs. On days that I don’t feed sardines, I add a little splash of Nature’s Logic sardine oil in one meal of their day. It has made an enormous difference. I truly didn’t ever see that the coconut oil made any difference with their hair. I give it to them but for other reasons. I also give them only a tiny bit of coconut oil, if I give the recommended amount they all get diarrhea. No thank you! It was when I started adding the sardine oil to their food and sardines to their diet that I saw a drastic difference. Also, the only kibble in rotation is Nature’s Logic Sardine formula. It’s pricey but if you feed rotation it’s not too much of a big deal. Of course, again, it depends on the size of your dog.

Anyway, try the Ice on Ice by Chris Christensen. It’s a leave in detangled and finishing spray. I have found that it’s also fantastic when I’ve given any of the girls a bath and find that I missed a tangle before the bath which is ridiculously difficult to get out when wet, I just spray the mat generously, work it into the matt and comb it out.

[Dori]

Akari the reason I think she may have an infection is the sudden teeth chattering, acting anxious and distressed and also Ginger suddenly wanting to be very cuddly with you. And let’s not forget the poop incident. Some of those symptoms looking at them separately might be explained away but they’ve have all come on together. A sign that something is going on internally. Before refilling her antibiotic I would take her into the vet or at least call in and speak to vet and let him know what went on. Vet may tell you to just refill that antibiotic or recommend a course of a different one. Most vets will want to see the dog but since your vet knows about Ginger and has already seen her a few times you may get away with a phone call. Remember there are different antibiotics for different infections. Having worked at the vet you know that one antibiotic is not a cure all for all infections. Don’t you wish it was that easy? I sure do. Do you happen to have The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form at home. If you do I would start adding 1/8 of a teaspoon into each and every meal of hers. The recommended dose says to add more but I find that their recommendation is way to high. I’ve never given the girls anymore than 1/8 tsp. and sometimes just a little sprinkle. I find it works much better than pumpkin, or anything else out in the market. When Katie was at her worst with the food allergies and everything and the constant diarrhea (what a friggin mess…..I feel for you girl having to have cleaned up that mess) I used it all the time. I think through the years with Katie I had tried everything on the market until I came across The Perfect Form.

I’m glad you’ve taken her off canned food. The canned food may simply have too much fat in it for her. Also canned foods generally have guar gum and/or carraggean (sp?) which may be ingredients that she also can’t deal with. I’m glad her poops are better today. I’d keep her off canned foods forever and ever. Like I said, if she does well long term on the Wellness Small Breed Salmon and Potato then I would just keep Ginger on that and forget about rotating foods with her. It’s really not worth it in the case of a dog like Ginger. It’s, no doubt, much too difficult on her gut which I’m sure is in bad shape due to her previous owner or owners and what they fed her.

Even if her poops are better today I’d still get her checked out just to rule infection out but somethings up with all those sudden symptoms coming on at once. Again, please post her progress. Worried about Ginger.

If you don’t already have my email address this is it. dora@hassett.com If you want to email me and send me your address, I have a few extra dog beds around that I haven’t been using. (I’m a bit of a dog bed addict). Dog food addict. All things dog addict. You get the picture. They’re in good condition and since I have small dogs that would be the perfect size for Ginger. : ) They can all go in the washer and dryer.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Akari_32]

I’m also worried about her being in pain. She actually seems to be feeling better today. Seems more peppy. Ran around the house a few times whenever she thought I was going to the kitchen, and when I leashed her up to go out side, she ran to the door, as well as running back in when I opened the door to go back in side. Also ran to her eating spot when I went to put her bowl down, and did less sleeping today.

Just curious, what makes you think she’s got an infection? She’s got another refill of antibiotics that I’ve been considering refilling because her mouth is getting stinky and nasty again.

I have stopped giving her canned, and am just soaking her food in some warm water. Already her poops are better. Not sure what it is about the canned, but I think that was a lot of her problems. The problem with finding something that works and sticking with it, though, is that I haven’t found a dry food that works for her. But for all I know, it could have been the canned that wasn’t working. Canned in general may just be something she can’t have. So far her poop looks good on this Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon and Potato with no canned. They’re small, light in color and well formed. It’s only been a few days I stopped the canned, so that could still change.

However, with her improvement today, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the Purina One canned wasn’t agreeing with her, and now that she hasn’t had in a few days, and it’s out of her system, she’s feeling better. I work tomorrow, so I’ll see how she feels Thursday and go from there.

[Victoria W]

I was going to package the heart into 6 oz. servings to freeze since that amount will make feeding like the ABC day pdf suggests easier. I am unsure how much of everything else, liver and other organs to add to the weekly meal plan. I am thinking along the same amount 6-8oz spread between 2 or 3 meals a week where I would replace some or all of their canned food with the organ meat….does that sound like overdoing it? I think I read somewhere on here in a post that too much liver causes problems because of the huge amount of protein it has in it. So with that in mind I was going to use the following ratio for grinding up the organ meats : 1 part liver, 1 part kidney, 1 part stomach/tripe, 3 part lung/other meat, 6 part heart….for a total of 6 oz.

I have the Min Pin chi mix baby inside, and the outside babies are a little of this a little of that mutts tbh lol. I live in SE Missouri on 40 acres and we have family that come and hunt our property because it is close to a conservation area and LOTS of deer stay on our property all the time….in fact its an everyday thing for us to have to honk our car horns at a few so we can get out of our drive/road. I absolutely love deer meat and I cant wait to eat some of the tasty looking burgers we made last night lol :p

[Akari_32]

Well I’m late to see this, but hope you had a good Thanksgiving, girly!

Just stopping in here to let you guys know I bought a TON of those new Wellness Duo’s (none of the fish ones, naturally) and Kitty loves them! Eats a whole can in about 30 seconds flat lol I’ve also got my sample of Wild Kitty Cat Food that I have to get some ground meat to try him on. I was going to buy a whole can of Oasis+ Feline and put him on raw, but I just don’t think I could afford it, even with cheap meats like chicken thighs and what-nots. I also don’t think the freezer can hold much more animal food, much less human food LOL I can’t even buy my favorite frozen pizzas that are BOGO this week because the poor thing is so tiny and already packed full of Bentley’s food!

Oh! And I’ve also cut him back from two 5.5 oz cans a day to a 3 oz can for breakfast and a 5.5 oz can for dinner. He was 13+ pounds at the vet when we went that last time! Fatty… LOL Which is pretty bad for me because I’m all about proper portion sizes for the critters. He’s very hard to judge, though! His fur stands straight out and hides any curves he’s got, so I can’t really tell if he’s a good weight or not until I apparently take him to the vet for a UTI and he weighs almost 4 pounds more than when I got him in March LOL *rolls eyes* But he’s back down to what I think looks like a good weight now. I’ll have to weigh him and see what he’s at right now.

[Susan]

Look for a low carb food, my boy was licking & licking his paws & his paws smelt like corn chips, real yeasty & when he’d walk on wet grass, his paws would get red & itchy…..His 2 front paws are the worst, he can’t eat potatoes, Sweet Potatoes Peas, no starchy foods….also bath him & his paws in Malaseb Medicated Shampoo its an anti-fungal shampoo kills the bacteria but doesnt dry out his skin & the Malaseb relieves his itch & red paws & stops his smelly paws, so no licking…
Your best to feed either cooked or raw diet so u can control the amount of carbs he’s eating have you looked at “K9 Natural” freeze dried food. This food was invented for itchy dogs, has no beet pulp either, here’s their link to have a read….
http://www.k9naturalusa.com/ the Chicken & Venison has the least fat%

[Dori]

Just read an article on line that Petsmart acquired Pet360 which owns PetMD.com as well as Pet Food Direct. Apparently Petsmart hadn’t decided yet what to do with it all or how to maximize potential for its stockholders. I believe Pet360 has other pet companies under its umbrella also.

I’m not crazy about Petco buying Foster and Smith.

Well, two or more companies that I will no longer give my money to. I do not shop in any stores that sell animals. I also try to frequent local smaller stores in my area. I like to keep the smaller stores in business so I try to do my small part for them. They also have such smaller stores that their inventory moves quickly. Nothing every old and rancid. Nothing even close to expiration dates. I recently convinced them to start carrying Natures Logic Raw which I’m thrilled about. They say I spear headed the movement (actually meaning I badgered them into it) lol. They also said that they well knew that I’m a long time raw feeder with really high standards and knew the only kibble I ever purchased was Natures Logic so they started ordering whichever proteins I would ask for so that there must be something to Natures Logic. I then started bugging them for the raw. Voila! They installed a third freezer to house it. They now carry the entire line. I’m now starting to bug them about Answers Detailed Raw. Those are things that can be accomplished with local small businesses that you could never in a million years do with a Petco or Petsmart.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[USA]

Hi BC,

Please stick to the facts of what actually happened here! You said:

“For yeast, my favorite kibble is Brothers Complete. It was formulated specifically to help yeasty dogs.”

And I asked:

“Can you please explain how this formula will “help yeasty dogs.
Any references you could present to back up this claim would be greatly appreciated!”

You then flew off the handle and along the way made FALSE accusations about me:

“It’s very rude of you to ask a question for no reason other than to try to start an argument, as you are well aware. You already know the answer, this has been hashed over numerous time here with you smack in the middle of it.”

1) I dearly hoped that I could ask you a question about the comment you made that brothers “is formulated to help yeasty dogs” without you starting a fight.

2) I do NOT know the answer to the question I asked you, AND I have never been “smack in the middle” of any discussion on DFA about brothers and the claim that “It was formulated specifically to help yeasty dogs.”

3) You and I and the other regulars are just a tiny percentage of the people who read these comments. Most people who visit DFA have NO IDEA what you are talking about when you refer to things that happened in the past!!

I ask you kindly to please refrain from making FALSE accusations about me, Thank You!

[Barb R]

I have been using it for years after reactions to the topical spot flea treatments. Dog had seizures.
i get it here.
http://www.earthworkshealth.com/
No fleas. I just dump some in an empty shaker
and spread from the neck-ear area to the base of the tale and rub it
in. You may want to apply outside cause it can make a mess if the
dog decides to shake after applying it.

[DogFoodie]

Ditto what my friends, Marie and the Nut, have already said.

The Nut mentioned that yeast is a big part of food intolerance and I just wanted to say that once I fully embraced that, I finally found the answer for my dog. Start by keeping a list of everything you feed your dog and make notes about your dog’s reaction to the food. Keep the ingredient panel off of the packaging (because ingredients change) and soon, you’ll start seeing problem, common ingredients pop up.

Hang in there, it can be very frustrating; but once you figure out your problem ingredients and eliminate them, your dog will have so much relief. It’s worth the effort.

Now, that said, the very best food I found for my dog with food intolerance issues has been Nature’s Variety Instinct LID, but that’s because it contains none of his triggers. If it contains none of your pups triggers, it could be great for her too.

Good luck!

[theBCnut]

Now, I’m going to say something that sounds like the opposite of what others are telling you, but bear with me. NONE of those things caused the seizures. Epilepsy, diabetes, renal and/or liver failure, brain tumors, poisoning, these types of things cause seizures. Those other things only trigger seizures, but the underlying problem is already there.

Your dog need to be checked out to make sure the seizures are from epilepsy, because any other cause left untreated can kill your dog. If it is determined to be epilepsy, then chemical exposure, stress, and a number of other things can trigger the seizures. So as was mentioned, getting him off flea meds, heartworm meds, clearing out cleaning chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, scented candles, air freshners, etc. can reduce or even eliminate the seizures, so it’s important to do as much of that sort of thing as possible, especially early on when you can see if it is making a difference. Cleaning up the diet is really important too. Go natural as much as possible.