[Akari_32]

He’s definitely doing better. Got a bit of a ways to go, but we’re getting there for sure.

I agree with you on the chemical and such side of that. What I meant by average is brands (like Pro Plan and Hills) that promote themselves to be the best of the best, and have minimal (chemical, etc) additives to them, but also have some thought and research behind them. Not that I think either of these brands are overly good, but they do have their places, and at this point I’m about ready to try anything. But I do know to stay away from certain things. The price point on these two Pro Plans is great. Like $15 a case usually. That’s something we can definitely handle. It’d be good for keeping the cost down and for some variety.

All I said to them (all of them) was that I needed a low carb food. I’m thinking Hill’s response was them thinking they were going to get my money anyways. Silly Hill’s– I’m not that stupid LOL

I know small breed foods typically have more calories per cup, which is great in my case for Haley, my 11 year old 60 lb lab mix. She can’t stomach too much dry food at once, so toy and small breed foods are typically a good choice if I can’t get a puppy or other higher calorie food. And large breed puppy foods, if formulated properly, have certain calcium and phosphorus levels and ratios. Beyond that, I don’t know if makes any difference giving large breed food to small breed dogs lol

[Akari_32]

Hey guys. Just updating. No baths in a few weeks, but his hair is growing back really well (new growth is about an inch long), and his skin is no longer red all over. Still red at his paws and up his hind legs some, and around his nose, but his body is back to pinkish-white, and he is chewing and scratching much less (and doesn’t smell nasty all the time). I’ve been giving him 3/4 of a can of By Nature 95% one day, and the next day he gets the rest of the can, and 1/4 cup of THK, mixed with however much water it needs to thin it back out to the consistency of just canned food.

He does need a bath right now (some one *cough* mom *cough* cleaned up pee in the hallway around his cage and then thought it was a good idea to put the pee towel in the cage because she didn’t want to walk it to the laundry room…), and I’ll use his medicated shampoo, and then wash him with his new shampoo and conditioner (supposed to be really good for their skin and coat, and has keratin in it– I’ll get the name of it in a bit).

I’m looking at some other foods to add in to his diet. I’ve emailed several companies and asked for the as fed carb values of their foods. My answers so far:

Purina Pro Plan:
“We appreciate your interest in our products. Please know that this information is not something we have readily available and takes time on the part of our nutritionist to determine. We cannot provide it for each and every one of our products.

However, if you can narrow your choice to a particular flavor or two, we’ll be happy to fulfill your request. Please understand it may take some time to process this information. We appreciate your patience.”

What the crap is that?? You don’t keep this info on hand?? Yeah, ok. Anyways, I went through the review side, and picked out all the four star formulas. More than they asked for, but whatever. My thought on the Pro Plan is that maybe an “average” food rather than a “fancy” food would do him some good. Some dogs don’t do well on high quality foods– we all know this. One of those if its ain’t broke sort of deals. Just an idea for a back up food. It’ll take some time to get an answer from them, I’ll assume.

Hill’s:
“Thank you for visiting HillsPet.com and sending us your message.

Due to your special pet’s medical condition we would suggest that you speak to your veterinarian for a food recommendation. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. offers a full line of therapeutic products which are formulated for the management of certain health issues that can develop in pets. The product that will work best for your pet depends upon his or her individual circumstances and is something that your veterinarian will have to help you to determine.

We appreciate your interest in Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. If we can help in any other way, contact our Consumer Affairs Department toll-free at 1-800-445-5777 8AM-5PM CST, Monday-Friday or revisit HillsPet.com.

Sincerely,

Consumer Affairs
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc.”

I was hoping to get some values on Ideal Balance. Another “average” food sort of idea. But looking at the values on the can today at the store (they have dry matter basis on the Hill’s website), I’m ditching this food. Way too low protein and just 4.5 and 5%. And toooooooons of carbs. Each can has a protein source, and then three or four carbs sources. No thanks!

Nutro:
” Dear Danielle,
>
> Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Our canned food for dogs average about 5% carbs. Canned food is low in carbs because they are primarily water or broth (around 78%). We do not make anything that will have lower values than 5%.

……

Hi Danielle-
None of our dry foods will have a carbohydrate level as low as 15%. They average 30-45%. Canned food, by nature, will have the lowest carbs, as they are primarily made of water/broth. The Ultra™ and the Natural Choice® Chunks & Gravy formulas have the lowest amounts (approx. 4%). Hope this information helps!”

All of the Nutro Natural Choice and Ultra cans are right in our price range, at $21 to $28 a 12 can case. The Large Breed recipes seem to be the best looking as far as how much to feed, and protein values. And if the carb values they gave are correct, they are right where I want to stay. Very nice looking line. I don’t tend to follow the whole dog’s size and age marketing thing, but he’s only 8 pounds. Would a large breed (puppy and adult food) be fine for him? He’s two years old, and should be about 8 pounds (he’s probably 7-ish).

And theres always EVO. Good price point, but high fat. Not a food I’d have him on all the time. Maybe I’ll use it to keep his weight up. I’m having trouble keeping his weight up with out him eating us out of house and home. I’m trying to do the best by him and by moms budget. $20 a case where he’s eating the whole can every meal is not helping the budget issue. The By Nature is great, but its not high calorie enough, and I don’t think high fat enough, either. He’s an active little guy, and needs something that can keep him beefed up.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts or input or anything, throw it out there!

[David T]

I am considering switching my 2 year old IW food (Blue Buffalo Large Breed) to one of the editors choices recommendations. I think Blue Buffalo has been giving my IW infrequent (1-2 times every couple of months) diarrhea. I have heard that Blue buffalo mixes there vitamins separately which can cause abnormal dose in the dry food. I like Blue because of the low calcium <1.5%. However, I have noticed that a lot of the editors choice brands have very high Calcium levels in their food. From what I have read, (on this site) it is recommended to stay below 1.5% Calcium. Are there any dog food brands that are high quality and tailored to large/giant breeds?

[losul]

Aw debi, it’s just these type of situations that is so heartbreaking, and especially knowing that I can’t really be of much help. I can’t imagine how bad you must feel and especially to be hit suddenly with it. Under these circumstances, it’s hard and awkward for me to try and touch on the subject, but I will try in some small way.

This just goes way beyond any advice I could give you, I couldn’t begin to tell you, about prognosis, and whether it’s an end stage thing. I think if possible, you should work with a good vet, and preferably a holistic/integrative vet that also has an understanding of these things, like milk thistle,to make good decisions. There’s just so many factors involved, such as the cause of liver failure, i.e. disease, leptospirosis or other baterial/viral infections, acute or chronic, poisoning by things like aflatoxin, mycotoxins, poisonous mushrooms, degree of damage, degree of discomfort to your dog, medications being given, cancer etc.

Ordinarily, the liver has a very remarkable ability to regenerate damaged cells, if there is still enough of it healthy, and it’s not overwhelmed. Unfortunately symptons of disease/faiure, don’t often show up until much of it’s capacity has already been damaged.

So much is still unknown about the mechanism’s of action from the compounds, most notably silymarin, in milk thistle . I have some rudimentary knowledge, the little that was passed down to me, and some that I have researched, but I really don’t know anywhere near enough. It’s said to be a potent antioxidant and has anti-carcinogenic properties. It’s said to to help liver cells regenerate, protect them from damage, reduces iron in the liver which can contribute to damage, etc. There is evidence that it inhibits certain enzymes in the liver, including some involved in metabolizing certain medications. In the case of some acute poisonings, and if milk thistle is given soon enough, it could partly be the inhibition of some these same enzymes that prevents the liver from metabolizing those hepatotoxins and harming the liver? (I don’t really know that’s just speculation on my part). Why it apparently worsened the jaundice and lethargy in your dogs case, I could really only speculate as to that also.

Oh God, I wish I could be of more help. I’m so sorry. My thoughts and best wishes are with you.

[MastiffMomma]

Hi everyone–I hope someone can help me out here! My mom has a 9 year old JR/Chihuahua cross who has had diabetes for about a year now. He is currently on Royal Canin Moderate Calorie Gastrointestinal Veterinary Exclusive dry and wet food, and has been on this since he was diagnosed with diabetes. He currently takes 8 units of insulin twice daily, and weighs about 15lbs.

Since adopting my own dog (mastiff/German shepherd/ lab cross) I have begun researching dog food and ingredients, and after reading the label of my mom’s dog’s food I am concerned that he is not getting the nutrition he needs. The first ingredients are brewers rice, chicken byproduct meal, corn, and brown rice. There are also several other ingredients noted as “controversial” according to DFA. This food is also quite expensive for the number of poor ingredients it contains ($40 for an 4kg bag of dry food, plus the canned food to mix with as he is a picky eater).

I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a low calorie dry dog food that would be suitable for him? I know it’s difficult to put a star value on therapeutic dog food, so something with higher quality ingredients and no byproduct meals would be excellent.

Thanks in advance!

[Elizabeth P]

I am reading Good Old Dog by faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. On page 28 it says: “Finally, make sure the wording includes something about how the food went through “animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures” rather than simply was “formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.” It’s perfectly legal to create a food according to the accepted formula. But it means the food was never actually tested in dogs with an AAFCO feeding trial.”

I am feeding a 5-star Wellness food, but can find nothing on the bag about feeding trials. Is there a list somewhere of foods that have gone through feeding trials? Or is this not as important as the authors of this book state?

[Dori]

Hi Cyndi. I’ve been reading this forum and wondering what, if anything, I can add. One…..Wait until blood test results come back. I hope that you had your vet do a complete CBC and also thyroid work up. Thyroid lab results always take a few more days to come back then the rest of tests. Hannah has been hypothyroid for years (loss of hair, etc. etc.). Another thing is that if you can afford it please don’t go with Bravo (recalls and other issues that I have heard about from friends that used to feed Bravo). Primal is an excellent choice. Obviously so is Darwins (in the long run, cheaper that most commercial raw diets). Also Answers Detailed, Stella & Chewy’s Raw, Natures Variety Instinct Raw. Obviously there are many other fine quality commercial complete and balanced raw diets. Please wait, breathe, and wait for test results. Then……weigh your options. The last option you should go with, imho, is kibble, especially with a dog that has been eating raw. Wait and see what’s going on with Bailey before jumping ship. Keep us posted.

[losul]

Hi Cyndi.

Read your post and sorry to hear about Bailey’s problems. This might be far-fetched, but I’m going to put it out there anyway.

After reading what you are feeding and reading others initial thoughts about thyroidism brought something to my mind. Hypothyroidism, is more often the case and Hyperthyroidism (high thyroid) is pretty rare in dogs. I’m not knowledgeable about thyroid problems, but after some research, I found indications that hyperthyroidism can cause hair loss just as can hypothyroidism.

Awhile back, Aimee (thnx Aimee) brought up a study in which certain dogs that were fed raw diets developed hyperthyroidism-high thyroxine levels (dietary hyperthyroidism). It turns out that these dogs were either eating tracheas and gullets or eating other meats that had the thyroid glands inadvertently ground up with them. Anyway that study much impacted me, and it would never have occurred to me if Aimee had not brought it up. At the time I was feeding MPC’s beef tripe supermix sometimes (it kind of sounds like you are using it, and as a staple?). Anyway, MPC’s ground beef tripe supermix has 10% trachea and gullet in it. I was concerned enough that I inquired to Paul about it a couple of times, wanting to make sure they were careful not to include the thyroid gland in the supermix. I wasn’t reassured that it didn’t have thyroid gland in it, so I quit feeding it. I still buy some things from MPC, but nothing with trachea or gullet, and not chicken products for other reasons. Just got a new order Friday, it even included goat gonads ( ouchee).

At first this study might sound like another raw feeding bash, but I see no real apparent conflicts of interest in it., it has happened with humans also, “Thyrotoxicosis factitia, as this is called in human medicine, has been reported in people eating hamburgers containing ground beef thyroid or eating excessive amount of sausages containing thyroid hormones (Malvinder and Sturge 2003, Conrey and other 2008, Hendriks and Looij 2010).”

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-5827.2011.01189.x/full

As I said, it might be far fetched, as it seems like other symptoms might be present if it were hyperthyroidism, maybe even weight loss and hyperactivity. But if you were to get her checked, and it would turn out to be HIGH thyroxine levels….. Also know that if it were dietary hyperthyroidism, it is easily reversable.

Cyndi, there is another possible problem I can see. Are you using the pre-mixes such as SSLL with a complete grind- meat, bones, organs and tripe? Those pre-mixes are really designed to use with muscle meats only- no bones or organs. Alot of folks would say that the MPC beef tripe supermix (if that’s what you are using) is (or should be if in right proportions) completely balanced by itself. I would say it should be very close to balanced, and shouldn’t ever have the full supplementation that you are adding with the pre-mixes, IMO. The pre-mixes add all the vitamins/minerals needed in absence of bone and organs. For just one thing an overabundance of calcium/phosphorus, if you are using bone in grinds with the pre-mixes. You aren’t using cod liver oil also, I hope? I think excessive calcium, especially along with excessive vitamin D, can be a cause of hypercalcemia. Parathyroid and thyroid glands attempt to regulate blood calcium/phosphorus.

Whatever it may be, I hope Bailey gets better very soon!

[Bobby dog]

How is everyone’s summer going? The rabbit moved out a few weeks ago. There is a small bunny that I see sometimes when I am mowing. I like to think it’s him/her. Lol Now I have a nest of baby swallows in my barn. I have a family move in each year. The first nest was attacked by a black snake earlier last month. Needless to say I now look up before I walk into the barn now. Yuck, that was creepy to see that snake hanging from the rafters eating those eggs.

Sharon: I hope you are having a better time with flea meds.

So I did a little shopping this week. Stopped at the pet store and Bobby got many sample bags of Stella & Chewy’s “Carnivore Crunch” beef treats. Huge hit with him. They are about 1 x ½” long and are tube shaped. He also got samples of Precise Naturals GF Lamb, which he loved, and samples of PMI Exclusive Lamb & Rice and Chic & Rice recipes.

I found one new dry kibble for the kitties, Simply Nourish Source GF Chic & Turkey, they all love it. I like the shape; it is a small “T” shape, not too thick. I also got samples of Fromm’s Salmon ala Veg and Beef Livattini. They hated Salmon ala Veg, haven’t tried the other. It is half the size of Wellness kibble, round with two flat sides. Still searching for a third kibble for rotation. KLN’s Pure Vita might be a posssibility and the store is also selling Natural Planet Organics (both from Nutrisource’s parent company). Even though Organics is not GF I still might give it a try.

I tried the Freshpet Roasted Chicken too. Only two cats would eat it and they never cleaned their bowls. I mixed it with their usual canned and tried feeding it on its own. Archie ate a little then begged me for other food. Still trying to introduce it to them, but I don’t think they are going to warm up to it.

They had by Nature Organics Chic & Mackeral on sale so I thought I would give it a try. All the cats loved it. I am going to try the plain chicken flavor next. It didn’t have a bad regular price $1.39/6 oz. I don’t think it comes in this size anymore though.

The last food I tried was Purina’s new Beyond canned. Found it at my Wal-Mart for $1.07/can. Can anyone say overpriced? I picked up the GF chic pate’ and the GF turkey with gravy by mistake. I didn’t read the label properly because I don’t like to feed food with gravy. I fed both flavors, they loved them. The turkey with gravy is a small chunk style food with not too heavy gravy. I’ll feed the GF chic pate’ again, not the turkey because of the gravy; another food for the rotation.

[Susan]

Hi Vanessa, when I first rescued Patch he’d clear a room, it was awful…I put him on a dog probiotic & changed his food… have a look at the Wellpet Range, they make “Holistic Select” & “Wellness” kibbles & wet, the Holistic Select has a grainfree Adult & Puppy health Salmon Anchovy & Sardine meal or there’s Deboned Turkey & Lentils, maybe he cant handle the high protein so pick a kibble with a bit lower protein….but the Royal Canin is full of crap & probably the same price as a good quaility kibble, make sure you read the ingredients when picking a new kibble & pick a kibble that has different ingredients to the Blue Buffalo cause something is giving him bad gas which isnt good..also try some wet tin foods aswell, kibble is over proccessed & harder to digest, even some nice home cooked meals or raw.. he’s a link to the Holistic Select range
http://www.holisticselect.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog#category5

[Bobby dog]

Yessssss you should be excited, silly question! I am excited to be driving by one, can’t wait to shop there. Remember Akari said they have the best popcorn ever? lol I hear they also have high quality meat that comes close to being organically raised (but it is not certified), my neighbor (the caterer) picks up TJ’s coconut water for me. A case at a time, I love it and it is the best price I have come across for pure coco water with only vitamin C added. For pet food I believe their dog kibble is Bench & Field and I have read fairly good reviews on TJ’s canned cat food.

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
Are you looking for a new printer? Or want me to check on generic cartridges for your HP? Or both? I had an old HP printer that I tried generic cartridges on and they didn’t work with it. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but the HP cartridges were the powder type ink as opposed to my Canon’s being the liquid ink cartridges.

Just an FYI, I don’t know if you read one of my last posts reviewing some new foods I tried. Science Diet was on sale at the pet shop (this should make you proud for sharing your coupon tips!) so I looked on their site for coupons which they did offer and still do:
http://www.hillspet.com/products/products-special-offers.html
Coupons and sales right? lol I looked at the SD canned and there were very few that fell into my cat food criteria; the regular GF Science Diet canned being one of them. There’s also a few Ideal Balance that were okay, but they weren’t on sale and there were no coupons offered. The GF’s are pate’ styles even though the picture looks like it’s minced. Maybe check the regular SD recipes also to see if they are what you are looking for in canned food.

[Vanessa B]

Our 5 month old french bulldog has brought so much life and laughter into our home, and we all love him to pieces!! However, his gas is so horribly bad – room clearing bad… Wake you up from REM sleep bad… Melt this skin off your face bad!! We feed him Blue Buffalo Wilderness 100% grain free for puppies (at the recommendation of our local pet store Manager). I spoke to the lady I bought him from last night, and she told me that what I am feeding him has too much protein for him. She also said he needs to be on adult food. She suggested I transition Rocco (our Frenchie) to Royal Canin Bulldog 24. Here is some background: Rocco has ONLY eaten the dogfood I mentioned earlier… No table scraps, no people food. I have never tried yogurt in his food – I understand how yogurt helps our human guts but the fear of not knowing 100% what it may or may not do to Rocco’s belly makes me hesitant.

I will certainly take her advice into consideration, but I was hoping to possibly obtain further advice/knowledge/suggestions from this online community! Thank you all in advance for taking time to read my post! Any and all thoughts are welcomed! We are at the last little bit of his Blue Buffalo Wilderness bag of food so this is a good time to start transitioning him. I am looking forward to reading everyone’s thoughts!

***I am helping my husband with some outside work today so if you post a question for me just please know that I will respond to it but it might be a little while before I am able to log back into this site.

[Patty C]

Thank you, Cyndi & crazy4cats. I’m glad to learn about the 20% rule; I can calculate the 20% of what each dog gets and add that. I measure what I feed them every day for two main reasons: first, concerning the budget so that I know how many days before I must buy more, and second, to help keep their weight under control.
For a while I will probably start a few more threads so that I can get advice in making the correct changes; I’ve been doing the same low-budget thing for years, feeding all my beasts what has turned out to be not-so-good food, and it is difficult for me to make these changes when all choices are not equal.
Thanks again for your answers here; I hope to hear from you in my other questions.

[Akari_32]

I just finished my summer class. It was only a 10 week course.

I must have missed the added color the first time! I see it now. Derp lol Authority doesn’t look bad, but I already tuna Wellness in my rotation, so I don’t want any more fish than he’s already getting. Same deal with the Max Cat. I will run them both through the carb calculator though, and dig a little deeper into the ingredients (PetSmart has stopped putting the ingredients for ALL their foods online, and just has one flavor to represent each line and style), and see what I come up with. I’ll get on the lap top and do it, and report back. I need to start buying today, regardless of what I find. I’ve got to squeeze any new food in get him used to it ASAP or my room will be smelling gross for a while lol

I did have a little cheapy printer, one of those little $20 ones that came with ink and everything. We had for years and years and it finally died. My brought home the business printer, and we’ve always had problems with it. It’s supposed to be some fancy wifi printing cell phone thinger deal (we hook it up to the computer, though), and all it does is give us error messages that it doesn’t know how to function, has to align the cartridges every time you turn it on (and THAT takes like 10 minutes and the thing sounds like it’s going to explode or something)– it’s terrible. I have to go online and look up error message more often than not. I don’t know what mom did to fix it, but hopefully it’ll stay working lol Replacing the company printer is not my job lol

What brand do you have, Bobby Dog, and where are you getting these cheap cartridges?? We pay like $35 for a black one for this piece of crap printer. It does print a lot, though. …. When you can get it work….

I’m going to school to be a vet tech at the moment. Hopefully in the future I’ll go to be an actual vet. Just a money thing right now.

[Naturella]

Darren,

This thread here should help: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/#post-47810

It has great info on large and giant breed puppy nutrition, as it is very important to balance the calcium and phosphorus ratio right. On page 17 or so there should be a document you can download with acceptable foods for large and giant breed puppies.

Good luck with the new pup! 🙂

[Akari_32]

So I’m wondering if this all isn’t stemming off of a sight issue? We were walking yesterday, and walked past a few signs that stand up like those plastic wet floor signs, and she got real serious and started hunting them (stalking, head down and ears forward). She’s not a stupid dog. She’s knows when something’s alive, or not, and she’s always stalked birds, squirrels, etc, but never random *things*. Then she did the same thing to a lamp post. That got me thinking, maybe her peeing actually is marking, because she can’t see as well as she’s used to? You know, leaving a scent trail? Trail markers? Lol She only peed once on our walk last night, but we walked where we usually walk with the exception of where she peed, which we don’t get that way very often (the other night we walked a completely different area than usual, and she peed a bunch of times). If it is a sight thing, then she wouldn’t have marked where we normally go because she already smells us there. I’ll keep watching her on our walks and go from there. Do a few test runs by going where we normally go, and by going somewhere new, and see what she does. I just barely have the money for a vet visit, but I don’t want to subject her to a car ride and poking and prodding, and spend the money if I don’t have to.

[Liz K]

Thank you all for your kind responses! It really helped me last night. I still didn’t get much sleep and woke up at 6:45 this morning to get her ready to take her to the vet, which turned out to be quite the ordeal, which I feel compelled to detail here as I learned a very valuable lesson today.

I usually take Izzie to a place called Three Trails where she has seen by the same doctor since she was a baby (she’ll always be MY baby). I called one of my good friends crying hysterically and she told me Izzie’s normal doctor wouldn’t be in as he is off on Thursdays (she takes her pups to the vet a LOT). She recommended that I take her to another place, we’ll just call it IAH for short, since they opened at 8 and I had to work today. We (my mom, Izzie, and I) ended up getting there shortly past 8 this morning and this place did not smell good. Not like dog, not like cat, just yuck. We sit in the waiting room and there is this beautiful, sweet, goofy big dog and she just feels compelled to talk…and talk…and talk. It wasn’t bothering us or anyone else. Dog’s bark. It’s what they do. A nurse came out and asked who was barking and said let’s just get this done and took her back immediately. I don’t know if she was annoyed or what, but that should have been my first clue. We get back into the room where the doctor doesn’t even pet her, doesn’t really ask questions or anything. I am in tears because I think that my baby has cancer. He then proceeds to tell me that all lumps have cancer in them. That doesn’t ring true, but it also scares me half to death. He sticks a huge needle in there twice (doesn’t look at anything under the microscope) and says it’s not bleeding and there is no hair in it, so it’s good. I mentioned the microchip and he said that wasn’t where they insert them. I asked what it could be and he gave a lot of random answers and recommended we cut it out. He said we could do it today or we could wait a bit, that it wasn’t urgent. My mom looked at me and said we’ll wait. I was a frazzled mess and so completely miffed that I left the vet with more questions that I had when I went in. We get to the car and my mom looks at me and says that there was no way in hell she was leaving our girl with him. We were so unbelievably upset that people actually send their kids to this guy, not to mention that our friend had recommended him. I decided to try to go to Three Trails and see if they had a walk in appointment available.

We get there and they didn’t have a walk in appointment available but after explaining to them what we had just gone through, they agreed to squeeze us in. We only waited about 45 minutes and then got back into the room. The nurse, whom Izzie generally loves, tried to stick the thermometer up her butt and Iz was none too pleased because she had just been poked on. The nurse was super understanding and tabled that for a bit. Dr. A comes in and we start explaining and she seemed a bit perplexed at the idea that I had just come from a vet and was now coming to see her. She seems to start to understand the issue after we explain more about what happened. The first thing she did was get to know Iz and then scan her microchip. Guess where the microchip was? In the middle of that lump. It had moved from the initial injection. She scanned it twice, which is two more times than the previous vet did. She starts to explain what she thinks it is and also adds that she had a lot of injections at her last appointment and it looked like an injection sight reaction. She said reactions to microchips are rare, but they do happen. She eased my fears as I was crying asking about cancer (google is a dangerous beast when you’re afraid). She explained every thing in detail, told us what we were going to do to get her better and laid out the next steps should it not work. We left with Benadryl, Prednisone, Pill Pockets and most importantly, peace of mind. I only spent 40.00 which I thought was a bargain considering I had just went to a “vet” who charged me 20.00 for nothing.

I keep getting told that Three Trails is more expensive. And you know what? Maybe they are. But isn’t it worth it to know that my baby is okay and have her be comfortable? And I don’t find them to be that much more expensive than any other place. She’s happier there, they re friendlier and they know her. I didn’t even have to tell Dr. A about the microchip. She just looked at her records and knew. The biggest lesson I learned today is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. She’s been going to Three Trails for all of her life, and as long as I can help it, will go there for many years to come.

[Corinne M]

Hi Liz,
I just read your post – I’m so sorry, I know it is anxiety producing to find a lump on your dog!! Here’s what I know, hopefully it will make you feel better until you can get to the vet…I’ve had Golden Retrievers in the past who developed fatty tumors (lipomas) as they got older. That was back in the days before I was feeding homemade & raw. The vet would always say that its nothing to worry about, it was common for the breed and as long as it didn’t bother the dog leave it alone. Back then, that’s what I did – and I can honestly say that those dogs lived long happy lives & for the most part I don’t think the lipomas ever really bothered them and certainly didn’t interfere with their quality of life. Then about 4 years ago, I had 2 Golden Retriever puppies – and 1 of them developed a lump that was BIG. And he was young. My initial thought was, “well, he’s a Golden & they are prone to these things”. But it just felt really wrong to me in such a young dog – and sure enough, when the vet did a needle biopsy on him, the result was different, this time it was not fatty, but was blood filled – called a sarcoma. Turns out this dog had a really weak immune system, and the lump was right at the injection site where he had his latest vaccines. The good news is, we caught it early and it alerted me to a bigger issue – his immune system. That’s when I changed diet, vaccines, etc. When you go to the vet, you’ll know more – it may be just another fatty bump, but the location seems to indicate that maybe its related to the vaccine or the chip implant. His body may be responding to the foreign “stuff” that was injected, and the bump may resolve as his body recovers and assimilates it. But if it’s a reaction, that’s something to pay attention to – most dogs don’t get a reaction, so you may want to look into why yours did this time. Maybe it’s a fluke, or maybe there are ingredients in the vaccine that your dog doesn’t tolerate well. That was the case for my dog. But there’re some things that I’ve discovered along the way – first, not all dogs can tolerate the “one size fits all” vaccine protocol. And there are alternatives, such as titer testing, following a “minimal” protocol, and using only thimerosal-free vaccines when you do have to vaccine. I’ve had many friends tell me their vets “don’t do” titer testing or thimerosal-free… but there are labs that you can use, where you get the lab order from them, have your vet do the blood draw & have your vet send the blood to them for titer testing. It’s no different from what your vet already does – they are just shipping to your lab of choice instead of to their usual lab. Same thing with the vaccine – you order it and have it sent to your vet in advance. The other thing is, the reaction my dog had gave me a “heads-up” to have his immune system checked. There’s a great organization called Hemopet (www.hemopet.org) that did a comprehensive immune system analysis on my dog & the director, Dr. Jean Dodds did a personal review for no additional cost – she sent me a report that explained the results in great detail and provided me with a list of supplements to correct his immune deficiency. She talked with me by phone & email over the next couple months while I got my dog stabilized at no additional cost. It completely changed my dogs health and was money well spent!. As an aside, the immune testing order form doesn’t come up on their website so you’ll have to call or email and ask them how to order it. Again, your vet draws the blood and sends it to their lab or to Cornell University…I forget which, but the order form has the shipping instructions on it.
Bottom line – the fact that you caught it so early means you can deal with it and get to them bottom of it. Taking charge over it will go a long way toward alleviating the stress and anxiety you are feeling right now. I promise!
Best to you & your pup!

[Lilmonster]

Never mind about my first and second questions everyone, they’ve been resolved!

FYI to any other newbies out there feeling lost or thinking about buying one of the recommended raw books, Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs & Cats just arrived in the mail today, and taking a quick flip through it I already feel so relieved. I was on the fence about buying it because I had already read Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet and still felt confused, so I was worried that getting another book with more information would just add to the overwhelmingness. Fortunately, it’s really well organized and gives menu plans that are easy to follow, as well as detailed information about essential and optimal vitamins and minerals. While Steve Brown’s book is also very informative, it wasn’t quite as straightforward, at least to me.

[Corinne M]

Something happened today that really moved me & I thought I would reach out to the dog community and see what happens. Tell me your thoughts – also, share any resources you know about, please.
So here’s the story: I make my own dog food but sometimes I rotate to a commercial (complete) or commercial supplements and I don’t like my ingredients to go to waste – so today, I realized I had enough egg shells on hand to make about two months’ worth of calcium supplement, which I don’t need right now – so I decided to look on Craigslist to see if anyone in my dog community might need it.
On Craigslist, I accidentally came upon a post that said “I NEED DOG FOOD” – it was a few days old, but I sent a reply asking if they had gotten what they need. Turns out, this lady is sort of having a hard time financially, is renting a room from a church & most of her needs are met except dog food. She has 2 weeks before any funds come in. I told her I could bring her a couple weeks of dog food, and I said she could just “pay it forward” for someone else’s pet someday. Well it turns out that she was involved in running a “death row dog rescue” for 20 years – the 2 dogs she has are, as she calls them, “former inmates”. It got me thinking – I know that there are so many people in this country just barely getting by, and I’ve heard from shelter workers that its not uncommon for pets to be surrendered by loving families who just can’t keep up with food costs. After a little research I discovered that “ Meals-on-Wheels” have begun to include pet food delivery, particularly to low income senior citizens because they found that many of their clients were sharing their meals with their pets out of desperation.
So it occurred to me to reach out to the food pantries in my community & the local “Meals on Wheels” to donate pet foods for them to distribute as needed. Maybe someone who reads this will do the same. ..I hope so.
Best, Corinne

[Liz W]

Thank you Cyndi for “bumping me up” as you can see if you follow this thread “USA Dog Treats” has given me some very good suggestions and validated what I’ve already been trying to do.
Thanks so much for the suggestions USA Dog Treats! I didn’t realize that even after I hydrate the Honest Kitchen and Kibble well, they could still swell more or cause bloating. Thought that by hydrating the HK the day before and keeping it in the fridge it would be fine. Something obviously was NOT fine and I too have wondered if I didn’t soak the kibble long enough or what. I don’t want to make the same mistake again.
I started back on the three meals a day NO Kibble and NO HK for now… I may have to adjust the amounts as he has some catching up to do but I don’t want to increase the amounts too fast. I think an ideal finishing weight to keep him a bit leaner would be between 110 and 114. That is what I’m going to shoot for. I am presently feeding him about 12 -13 oz morning and supper and a lunch of about 8-10oz. I will adjust the amounts as slowly as I see if he begins to put on weight.
I just introduced frozen fresh green tripe to each meal… so far only about an ounce or two in any one meal. He loves it and I was told it’s extremely easy to digest and will provide all needed enzymes to his stomach. Do you agree?
I haven’t introduced probiotics at this stage as I’m not sure what to try or when… don’t want to make too many changes too quick but he just came off of an antibiotic 12 injection. I’m not sure if that’s as hard on the stomach as taking it orally but I’m sure there is some adjusting that is going on in his whole system. What do you think of using Acidophilus & Bifidus that I keep on hand in the fridge for myself as a probiotic for him?
The meat source I have found here in Canada that I like, is called K9 Choice (www.k9choicefoods.com) They sell in bulk 40lbs which is a bit more affordable for some of what I feed but what I like most is that the balance is right (approx 80/10/10) fat % is also very good and the animals are all raised on their own farm land and are grazing, free roaming and living long lives before they are humanly slaughter in a very non-stress producing, fast, humane way… away from the other animals. I like it that all the animals get to be the way nature intended, not crammed into feedlots/pen or horrible conditions. Although they are not listed as “human” consumption, I have talked to the owner and he said he believes his meat products are far more “healthy” for man or dogs than what is being sold in grocery stores due to the condition and treatment of their animals and the way they are “processed”. I would really like to believe him.
I will look into Steve Browns pre-mix when we travel in the States. I’ve never seen it here in Canada but I will check the website and see if they deliver here. I know Honest Kitchen also makes a premix (same hydrating issue I guess) but they did tell me to rehydrate and then refrigerate and it would not swell in the stomach. It would work for me to just take the pre-mix when I travel and then just add hamburger or what ever kind of ground meat I could get. Something I didn’t think of, so thank you so much for that tip. If I do the premix and ground meat, or on sale roasts!… how much sardines would you feed a 110lb dog? I used to add sardines and then stopped and substituted fish oil tabs that I was taking but couldn’t tolerate. (lousy fishy taste after)
I have never exercised before or after eating… my dogs always have rest periods of an hour or more before or after even if we are only taking a gentle stroll.
Another thing I do think you are right about… he drank too much water after his meal the night he bloated. I am now a fanatic to remove all but a cup of water because he likes to kind of rinse his mouth after he eats. Then I put out about a 2 cup bowl and freshen it up in between meals. I do believe this was another contributing factor to that horrible event.
Yes, the vet did attach the stomach to the rib wall and explained that it should never flip and twist again. He did say bloat however was still a possibility. He also had his spleen ripped away so it had to be removed which I guess is another bad thing that doesn’t always happen. My poor boy.
I did give him a big HUG from you… you are a saint to take the time to help me and encourage me. All I want is for this boy to have a few more good years with us.
Thanks so much for all your help… much appreciated.
Liz and Mr. Lou!

[Lilmonster]

Hound Dog Mom –

Hi, after I read your above response I posted a question to you in a separate topic that I started with questions regarding switching my pup to raw, but realizing I probably should have just asked here since I’m not sure if you’ll see the other one. Copy & pasted below. Thanks!

– I know you can’t add the See Spot Live Longer dinner mix to bone-in meats, but am I also correct in assuming that if I begin adding RMBs in the PM and continue to feed boneless ground meat + See Spot Live Longer mix in the AM that it would be too much calcium? Ideally I’d like to continue using the SSLL simply because it’s the easiest way for me to not have to worry that her nutrition is unbalanced while I’m still learning to balance her meals myself. I did see the most recent topic mentioning CarnivoreRaw but that’s a bit out of my budget. **Hound Dog Mom, do you use the Twinlab Daily One with or without iron? Also, I noticed the Twinlab does have calcium in it, does that not matter because the amount is so low? If I choose to go the multivitamin route, can I then add other things like fruits and veggies and such without worrying about overloading on a specific vitamin/mineral or will I have to be careful with what I add?

[Karen D]

Hi everyone! My name is Karen and I have an almost 4 month old mini dachshund. I am brand new here and hope you can help me out!

He is eating Blue Buffalo with some cooked chicken breast now. I have 3 cats that have eaten raw for 5 years…2 years ago we moved them to Blueridge Beef. We have to keep him separated from them or he will race over there to gobble it up faster than you could believe LOL!

He starts in August and my question is how much should I feed him? He is almost 6 pounds now..projected to be 10-12 pounds according to what his parents weigh. I read 2.5% of that….so does that mean about 2.5 ounces per feeding (3x’s a day)?
Also, BRB only has 1 organ meat in it (liver). Do I need to add something else? This is the total break down of their puppy mix: ground beef, chicken, green tripe, beef heart, chicken bone and beef liver. I add a supplement to my cats’ food too (Kitty Bloom). Should I add the Dog Bloom to this?

Thanks in advance!!

[Cyndi]

Awww, well I’m so glad I inadvertently helped! If I can handle feeding raw, anyone can, lol! I did the same as you and read a whole lot of the posts in raw feeding forum before I asked questions. Thank god for google, because that’s how I found this site. The people here gave me the courage to finally say ‘Ok, I’m gonna do this’, although it did take a while.

Just keep asking questions. Sometimes they may not get answers, and other times you get a ton of help. Just depends on who sees your question. Good luck to you and welcome to DFA. Like I was told a long time ago, “It will be ok, you’re here now”! (wish I could remember who said that to me, but they were right! 🙂

[Akari_32]

I live in Florida, so it’s about a billion degrees outside this time of year. They have a whole insulated garage they can get into, and a large kiddie pool kept in the shade and cleaned out almost every day. Haley spends most of the day in the garage. The other dog has a nice hole dug out in the mud where he spends most of his time (naughty brat). A good portion of the yard is shaded in the afternoon from the house and fence, but mid-day sun does beat down pretty harshly. They tend to stay holed up until the evening, and who can blame them?

I will watch her for a few days. My card number was stolen, so I currently have a whole entire $5 to my name until it’s straitened out, though I do have money stashed away in case something medically urgent pops up (but I’d rather use my pay check and not my stash). My first thought was a UTI as well. Hopefully it’s something as simple as that, and nothing age related. I’m not ready for that, yet– she’s still my little baby we brought home 11 years ago!

[Dori]

Hi Lisa. So glad you went with the NV Instinct Raw and that he is keeping it down. Please give it some time while he adjusts to his new food and puts on the needed much needed weight and while his gut heals. Please keep me posted as to how your dog continues to do on the NV Raw. I’m glad you read my post when you tried the NV Dry that it had Turkey Meal in it. I’m hoping that his issues are mainly poultry and grain based intolerances and now he will begin to get well. : )

Also glad to read that you are using a scale. You might be tempted to feed him more than you should just cause he’s too thin, but don’t do that. You can feed him less than you normally would while he heals and eventually on your scale and on NV Feeding Guide you can put in the weight that you believe he should be and then figure it out from there. Remember, raw feeding is less than dry kibble. Just give him a little time to eat and keep food down. Again, please post and let me know how he’s doing.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Dori.

[Lilmonster]

Hi everyone!

Another lurker here eager and (almost) ready to make the switch to raw. Like other newbies, I have so much respect for everyone here for not only committing so much time and effort to their fur babies, but also taking the time to answer endless, potentially stupid questions from nervous dog moms like me! I would never even have known about raw diets, let alone been able to work up the nerve to take the plunge if it weren’t for this forum, so thanks to all of you!

Some background info: My fiancé and I just adopted our little one, Lily, two months ago from a rescue. She’s 41 lbs and the vet estimates her age at around 1, much younger than the rescue thought – her teeth were pretty yellow when we first got her but presumably because she wasn’t given anything to chew on to clean plaque, so they thought she was 2 yrs 8 months (!), which leads me to think she sadly may have been malnourished as a puppy since they were feeding her as an adult. As soon as we gave her bones and chew toys her teeth became pearly white. Anyway, we switched her to Fromm’s Surf and Turf kibble when we got her, but we noticed she started itching more and more. Took her to the vet to ask about the itchiness as well as a suspected UTI, but the diagnosis for the itching was understandably vague. We’re not sure if it’s a food allergy or environmental – she doesn’t have fleas, and we’re pretty sure it’s not a yeast issue. She doesn’t smell yeasty at all and I think the vet would have picked up on that. So after a recent bout of diarrhea due to too many high fat treats after a training session, I figured it would be a good time to begin the transition to raw after her system cleared up. I fasted her for a meal then fed her a mixture of white rice and pumpkin for two meals, which brought her poos back to normal, then began feeding her a 50-50 mix of ground turkey and pumpkin with the See Spot Live Longer mix added in. The vet is holistic and also trained in Chinese medicine, and she suggested that I switch to beef instead of turkey since chicken and turkey is considered “hot” and could be contributing to the itchiness, so yesterday I made the switch to ground beef and her poo was still fine this morning. But then I remembered reading somewhere (I think on preymodelraw) that it’s not recommended to start with beef, but I think for the time being I’ll stick with it just to avoid changing her diet too many times (unless anyone here would strongly advise against starting with beef?). At the moment, her daily food (divided into two meals) is 1 lb 90% lean ground beef + 2 tbsp SSLL + 1/2 tsp hempseed oil + 1 tsp coconut oil (just started adding it) + 1 human probiotic. She is also currently on a one week course of antibiotics for the urinary problem.

I have Steve Brown’s Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet, ordered the Dr. Becker’s book, and have read through many of the threads on this forum but like other newbies I’m getting lost in all the information and feeling as overwhelmed as Cyndi was in the thread where she first started, lol. I’m thinking of sticking to the ground boneless meat with the See Spot Live Longer mix for a bit while I figure out all the supplements that are needed and place my meat orders. A few questions that I’d really appreciate if someone could help out with:

– I know you can’t add the See Spot Live Longer dinner mix to bone-in meats, but am I also correct in assuming that if I begin adding RMBs in the PM and continue to feed boneless ground meat + See Spot Live Longer mix in the AM that it would be too much calcium? Ideally I’d like to continue using the SSLL simply because it’s the easiest way for me to not have to worry that her nutrition is unbalanced while I’m still learning to balance her meals myself. I did see the most recent topic mentioning CarnivoreRaw but that’s a bit out of my budget. Hound Dog Mom, do you use the Twinlab Daily One with or without iron? Also, I noticed the Twinlab does have calcium in it, does that not matter because the amount is so low? If I choose to go the multivitamin route, can I then add other things like fruits and veggies and such without worrying about overloading on a specific vitamin/mineral or will I have to be careful with what I add?

– This may be a bit much to ask, but if one of the veterans has the time to respond I would be so grateful. Could someone make a list of the essential vitamins/minerals (or alternatively, foods that will provide those vitamins and minerals) that MUST be added to a diet that consists of boneless meat in the AM and RMBs in the PM, and the approximate amounts? This is the part I’m feeling especially in over my head with. Vitamin D, vitamin E, fish oil, manganese, so many different things I’m seeing that they need, it’s hard to not feel kind of scared to do it all from scratch, which is my eventual goal. I think I’m having a hard time figuring out what is absolutely necessary vs. optional but ideal.

– So from what I’ve read so far it seems to be a good idea to start her on chicken backs and quarters, then begin alternating boneless meat every other meal. How many meals should I feed the backs and quarters before I begin incorporating boneless meals? Also, should I already be giving her supplements during this time, or should I wait until she adjusts then begin adding supplements. As for stuff like organ meats, heart, and green tripe, how long should I wait before beginning to incorporate those? I promise I have read the other threads, but I’ve seen a few different recommendations on timelines so I thought I’d pose the question again just so I can be clear about it.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to take the time to answer my questions!

[Corinne M]

Hi Jennifer,
I’m so glad to hear that the info was helpful – I remember how hard & overwhelming it was for me to learn about pancreatitis when it my dog was going through it. So it’s nice to know that someone else can make use of what I learned. I’m sorry to her about your experience with the vet – I think I just lucked out with mine. But I don’t want to leave you with the impression that your vet did anything wrong in prescribing Prednisone, because I think that it’s something that is widely used to treat specific problems, but just like any drug or herbal remedy, there are times & cases when it’s just better to avoid it – an argument could be made that giving your dog a corticosteroid so that he’s not in constant misery from the itchiness is a compassionate thing to do. The flip side is, there are risks associated with using it and if the “itchies” can be eliminated through diet & supplements maybe that’s worth trying.
I also don’t know why they are pushing Royal Canin – maybe they’ve had other dogs do well on it and think it’s the right thing for Milo. But I agree with you, if you suspect it’s triggering allergies it’s worthwhile to look at other foods.
My dog’s are doing great on what I feed them – I alternate between homecooked, home-prepare raw, and commercially prepare raw. But here’s the thing – I only started doing this about 4 years ago because one of my dogs had a blown-out immune system & I had to learn how to feed him in a way that was anti-inflammatory, avoided chemicals, avoided allergens, etc. etc. And to be honest, I have made mistakes along the way that could have done more harm than good (for example, I got the phosphorus/calcium ratio totally wrong for awhile and only discovered it after labwork came back with creatinine levels waaaaay high – I could have caused kidney failure in my dogs if that had not been caught & corrected). And I still consider myself to be learning – so I keep a close eye on them and read everything I can get my hands on and keep it simple and safe. I will do some research for you & report back what I find, but in the meantime, keep up your search for a nutritionally complete & balanced high-quality commercial food that meets the requirements for Milo’s pancreas.
I do think a simple boiled chicken & rice diet is useful when dogs are sick – fewer ingredients to upset their system. But, the recommended fat ratio for a dog with damaged pancreas is REALLY specific so I would only home cook right now if I knew for certain that the recipe I used was safe in terms of fat ratio. The recipe I used after Max had pancreatitis was formulated for me to deal with his other issues but I’ll look for info on a basic safe recipe for you.
BTW: Thanks to the other posters who found my post helpful. I learn so much from you all and from this website! I really appreciate the resources & people here!
Corinne

[Jennifer H]

Thank you, everyone for answering my post. To be honest with you, I never really researched dog foods until he ended up with Pancreatitis. We have always had poodles and none of them ever had issues until Milo. It was when the Pancreatitis happened, that I found this site and began to truly research dog foods. I agree with you magnoliasouth that Natures Recipe is not the best food. I really do not feel right feeding him something I can not eat and is not the best after educating myself on what is truly in pet foods. Truly, I do not know what caused the attack, I am just going by what the vet said, that pig ears are high in fat. Milo had only eaten his grain free dog food, grain free treats and a pig ear before his attack. My neighbors were aware of his allergies and I have again made it clear that he is to have nothing to eat. The vet said that it would be hard to determine exactly what caused the attack, they are just speculating the pig ear is the cause of it. As for the Royal Canin, i stopped it within about 2 days of purchasing the case of it from the vet. I now realize that the vet promotes that junk.

I have looked at the list of low fat/low sodium on here but I am still worried that some of them may still be too high in fat for him. My other worry is with a lot of the limited ingredient diets, there is a lot of starchy foods instead of grain, which promotes yeast. I am still working my way through the list and was not aware of the other thread with the low fat/low sodium foods, so I will look at that as well.

Corinne, your post has been so helpful to me, with lots of information. I do not feel it was preachy at all, but very very helpful. Unfortanately, I am not at all happy with my vet. There answer was and still is “royal canin”. Most of the time, I am speaking with a tech. My vet has dismissed my concerns about Milo’s food allergies and continually states that it’s “season allergies”. Not to seem more knowledgeable then the vet, but I know how Milo acts when he is having a food allergy. I am looking for another vet in the meantime. I did give Milo some Benadryl, but I did not give him the Prednisone after the attack. I honestly didn’t know it could cause Pancreatitis, and I am now wondering why the vet did not know this as well. They actually gave him Prednisone for another issue in April, so I am wondering now if that is what caused the pancreatitis.

With all my recent research, I did read about the pancreatic enzyme, which I am starting to give him. I would love to fed him a homemade diet w/ supplements. Another area I have read a lot about. Corinne, is there any pointers you can give me? Or maybe steer me in the right direction of recipes, supplements, etc. to begin dong this? Also, I have read that Chicken and Rice diet is ok to feed him, while I know it is not balanced, would it be ok to feed him this diet until I have his food situation under control?

You have given me so much direction, I am very thankful and plan on getting to work on as much as I can right away.

[Susan]

Hi Regina, My Patch didnt do good on the Eukanuba tin low residue, I looked up the Eukanuba tin low residue & the Iams Tin low residue & they have the same ingredients, also when I put it in the fridge the next day you’d see the white fat that had hardened on the side & top of the food, the fat is too high at 4.5%.when you converted to kibble fat thats around 21% fat thats high…There’s too many ingedients also in the low residue tin, there’s fish, chicken liver, chicken & beef..Have you tried cooking a low fat meals….I give Patch light Tuna in spring water drained then mix in a bit of boiled pumkin for breakfast, he does real well on the Tuna better then on the boiled chicken breast…also have you looked at the Low fat diets in the review section, look for something lower then 3% fats in wet foods….also you say that Alf wont eat kibble, have you tried soaking the kibble in water to soften, then draining the water off.. I do that with Patches Eukanuba Intestinal kibble & the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal kibble, have you tried adding some low fat tin food or some tuna on top of the soften kibble, to make him eat…..I know when Patch had his gurgling stomach/bowel I’d make him a piece of dry white toast with a little bit of thinly spread honey on the toast & his bowel would stop gurgling & rumbling, its gases going tru his bowel, also Royal Canin make a tin food called (Gastro Intestinal Low Fat) its only 1.75% fat, maybe try the Royal Canin low fat tin food, Ive read a few people on the Dogpancreatitis yahoo group use the Royal Canin low fat tin food with great success…I hope Alfie gets better…but look at the fat % content, it took me 1 year to realise that it was the higher fat% making Patch ill, the stupid vet didnt even realise until I saw another vet that said lower his fat under 9%..I did then Patch started to get better again & no more rumbling & gurgling stomach/bowel..

[Corinne M]

Hi Jennifer,
I completely feel for you – it can be overwhelming trying to digest all the information out there when you just want to make your pup feel better! I had a Golden Retriever who had a bout of pancreatitis, and I learned a lot in the process – maybe some of it can help you.
First I had some concerns about Milo reading your post – and I want to address them without sounding preachy or condescending, so please understand that I am approaching this as if you have the level of knowledge that I had when it happened to my dog (very little knowledge). So forgive me if some of this is just plain simplistic and maybe obvious.
I never learned what caused the pancreatitis in my dog – there are theories, but the best experts I talked to said it could have been just plain old bad luck. What there seems to be agreement among the experts is that, once a dog has a single an episode of pancreatitis, everything changes – dietary needs, vaccine protocol, immune support, medication sensitivity, everything… FOR LIFE. That sucks, right? But it’s assumed that the pancreas is now more fragile or less efficient than it once was, and the goal becomes avoiding another bout of pancreatitis.
So you’re already working on the first step – which is diet; low protein, highly digestible, etc. etc. Essentially, a diet that doesn’t stress out his pancreas.
A compromised pancreas essentially means a problem in the digestive tract, which is why I wanted to respond to you. Digestive problems are often tied to things you are describing in Milo, like food sensitivity, itchy skin, loose bowels, yeast infections & immune deficiency. A healthy pancreas releases digestive enzymes into the digestive tract which then help to breakdown the good food you feed him so that his body can utilize all those wonderful nutrients. So the first step that you are already tackling, “what high quality food can I use?” is critical! Unfortunately, I don’t know – I feed homemade – but I trust that you will get some wisdom from this site & through your research will get that answer. But the NEXT steps are equally important, and here’s where I hope my experience can help you.
Part of the dietary changes you must make is supplementing with pancreatic enzymes. Ask your vet or do some research. I used a formula that was specifically recommended for my dog based on tests run by his endocrinologist – and my dog was a 90 pound, 14 year old Golden – so I can’t tell you what’s right for Milo. However, I can tell you that minimally, Dr. Pitcairn’s book says just pick up a human grade digestive enzyme from the vitamin store and give ½ capsule with each meal. That would be better than nothing.
Without proper food digestion, the best, highest quality diet won’t give Milo the nutrients he needs. So don’t skip this step.
Next, vaccine protocol. Dogs with compromised pancreas should follow a more “minimal” vaccine protocol. Ask your vet, or google Dr. Jean Dodd’s vaccine protocol to get additional information.
Immune support: here’s where I think Milo really would benefit from your research and discussions with your vet. The food symptoms you describe (itchy skin, loose stools, yeast imbalance, etc.) sound to me like two things going on: 1) problems in the gut – which will be dealt with thru diet & supplements; and 2) a weak immune system. The skin is a wonderful organ for telling us when our dogs’ immune systems are struggling. A dog with a healthy immune system will be pretty resilient when it comes to yeast & other skin flare ups. A balanced complete diet, fully digested with the help of enzymes may go a long way toward giving him relief – but you probably need to look into some immune support supplements to help him recover initially. Ask your vet, or look into having his immune system tested at http://www.hemopet.org the lab report will include a review by Dr. Dodds who can suggest a specific immune support protocol for Milo. I used Moducare (Thorne Labs) plus other specific herbs & vitamins.
Medication sensitivity: And here is where you are not going to like me…Prednisone is not something I would give to a dog 30 days after pancreatitis. I absolutely understand why it was prescribed (to make your itchy dog less miserable), and frankly, I don’t know of any substitute that will do the trick. The problem is, Prednisone is a corticosteroid and can actually trigger a bout of pancreatitis. It is absolutely not safe for Milo right now…sorry. Google it or ask your vet if this seems like questionable advise – but I can’t stress enough, NO PREDNISONE.
I hope you take this in the spirit offered – advice from a fellow pet owner who adores her pets. And hope Milo is on the mend soon!
Corinne

[magnoliasouth]

Hello all! My daughter works for a vet and can get Royal Canin at an enormous discount. She has her dog on Satiety right now and I have to admit that she’s doing very well on it, despite the ingredients it lists. But that’s not my question. lol!

My dog has severe skin allergies. To be honest, food changes haven’t affected it in the least. I’m thinking she’s actually allergic to grass. Still, the vet wanted my dog to go on the RC Anallergenic food and until now, she had been eating Wellness Ocean Formula.

The problems are the ingredients listed in the Anallergenic food.

Corn starch, hydrolyzed poultry by-products aggregate, coconut oil, soybean oil, natural flavors, potassium phosphate, powdered cellulose, calcium carbonate, sodium silico aluminate, chicory, L-tyrosine, fructooligosaccharides, fish oil, L-lysine, choline chloride, taurine, L-tryptophan, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], DL-methionine, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), histidine, trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

How weird is it to have corn starch as the primary ingredient? What exactly is “hydrolyzed aggregate”? I thought corn and mystery “poultry” are allergens?

Now my daughter did ask about the hydrolyzation and was told that it has something to do with processing it to remove allergens. Not sure how true that is.

The thing is that I’m a human nurse. I know full well that just because a vet’s office sells a particular product, doesn’t mean it’s the best product. It’s all in what they get out of it. Sadly a lot of people don’t know this. I swear I think it should be illegal. It’s the same thing as lobbying, which I think also should be illegal. Decisions should be based on opinions, not money. Sorry, I accidentally launched into rant mode… and I digress.

I’ve asked my daughter to speak to the RC sales rep. In fact, this is specifically what I texted her:

Subject: Questions to as your RC sales rep. 1. Why do they use meat by-products? 2. Why aren’t meat products the primary ingredient in any of their foods? 3. Why is a corn product the primary ingredient in the Anallergenic food, when corn is a primary allergen? 4. What does “hydrolyzed poultry by-product aggregate” mean and define “poultry”? If “poultry” means chicken, why is that (also a primary allergen) in the Anallergenic food too? I have more, but we’ll stop there for now. Just tell her I’m not trying to grill, I’m trying to understand and give her a chance to explain it to me.

Perhaps someone here knows the answers already or can make suggestions or whatever.

[magnoliasouth]

First off, love this site and all the work you’ve put into it. I don’t buy a dog food that I haven’t read about here first.

There are a lot of foods though that you haven’t reviewed and I can only imagine why. There are just so many! That said, it would really be nice if there were a way to analyze them ourselves, or at least, get an idea. Is there any way you can list ingredients on a page, in alphabetical order, with basic information about them?

You could still list the controversials in red so most users would know right away.

Take for example Dried Potato. You say:

The X-number ingredient is dried potato, a dehydrated item usually made from the by-products of potato processing. In most cases, dried potato can contain about 10% dry matter protein which can affect our estimate of the total meat content of this recipe.

It could say that, but because you won’t know what number ingredient it is, it would be helpful if we learned when it was important and when it was not. For example, how different would the importance be if the first ingredient was dried potato or if it were the last ingredient? Or what about the 7th?

Another thing – and this would go with your reviews too, but it’s important for users to know this – is a warning on which manufacturing countries are a danger. Most of us know that Chinese manufactured dog food is a serious no-go. Not everyone does though. Also, to take that a step further, what ingredients are particularly dangerous in a country such as China? Or is it any ingredient?

Again, this would be helpful for your users who are researching foods you haven’t yet reviewed. Also by putting it on one page (or if you don’t want that the user could choose to “view all” or “print the bad ingredients” or whatever) they can then print it and take it with them when looking at what dogs foods are locally available to them and quickly find the ingredients. I say this because not everyone can afford to buy online and not every town has a Petsmart.

Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to make suggestions, and for your hard work. 🙂

[Jennifer H]

My toy poodle, Milo, had Pancreatitis the end of May. A few years ago he was diagnosed with Wheat Allergies and our vet at the time recommended Natures Recipe Grain Free Dry Dog Food. He had been eating that food for years without any issues. He is prone to occasional ear infections. He has been seeing his current vet for less then a year. When he came home from the hospital after the pancreatitis, the vet sent him home with Royal Canin dog food and the tech at the vet said that after he was finished eating the Royal Canin they sent me home with, that he could go back to eating his regular pet food. He just need to not eat anything that was high in fat or salt. My poodle is big. He weighs about 17lbs. He is not overweight for his size, just a big poodle. A neighbor was feeding him pig ears without our knowledge so I thought perhaps this had caused the Pancreatitis. Anyway, I tried to put him back on his regular food and he refused to eat it. It was a dry kibble. I brought this to the vets attention and at that time they said they wanted him to remain on Royal Canin. I purchased a case without reading the ingredients first and I couldn’t believe I was feeding this to my pet. Milo has changed eating this food. He is constantly hungry. He begs for food, pesters you until you give him something more to eat and he has begun to scratch non-stop. He has been getting non-stop ear infections, biting and licking his paws and has very loose stool. I have left dry food down for him to eat, but he will not eat it. The symptoms he shows with the ears and biting/licking are usually signs I have seen in him in the past when he had food allergies. I returned to the vet and they did not think this was a big deal. The vet tech actually commented that it sounds like my dog likes the Royal Canin. (um, no I don’t think so either) They gave me more prednisone and told me to give him 1 Benadryl, twice a day, every day.
On the Benadryl, all Milo does is sleep. He acts spaced out. He is still scratching like crazy. I have read so much information on so many topics that my head is spinning. I feel so bad for my little guy and I am at a loss as to what to do for him. I have looked into different pet foods, but most of the high quality foods that are grain free are loaded with starch or fat. Any advice anyone could give me would be so much appreciated. I have tried diluted vinegar rinses and it seems to help for the night, but the next day he is back to scratching non stop. Is there any foods out there that are low fat, with no starch and no grains? I have tried a few brands that have quality ingredients, but I have found they have a lot of starch (potatoes, sweet potatoes, in gravy) and while he has enjoyed the food, it is not helping with the itching. I would prefer ingredients that are ok for human consumption (I don’t want to eat it, but I want him to have the best). I have tried MyPerfectPet, but it is loaded with potatoes and he has scratched even more. I have read so much that my head is spinning and I am at a loss. I just want him to be happy and healthy. Thanks again in advance.

[Jennifer H]

My toy poodle, Milo, had Pancreatitis the end of May. A few years ago he was diagnosed with Wheat Allergies and our vet at the time recommended Natures Recipe Grain Free Dry Dog Food. My boy has been eating that food for years without any issues. He is prone to occasional ear infections. He has been seeing his current vet for less then a year. When he came home from the hospital after the pancreatitis, the vet sent him home with Royal Canin dog food and the tech at the vet said that after he was finished eating the Royal Canin they sent me home with, that he could go back to eating his regular pet food. He just need to not eat anything that was high in fat or salt. My poodle is big. He weighs about 17lbs. He is not overweight for his size. A neighbor was feeding him pig ears without our knowledge so I thought perhaps this had caused the Pancreatitis. Anyway, I tried to put him back on his regular food and he refused to eat it. I brought this to the vets attention and at that time they said they wanted him to remain on Royal Canin. Milo has changed eating this food. He is constantly hungry. He begs for food, pesters you until you give him something to eat and he has begun to scratch non-stop. He has been getting non-stop ear infections, biting and licking his paws and has very loose stool. I have left dry food down for him to eat, but he will not eat it. The symptoms he shows with the ears and biting/licking are usually signs I have seen in him in the past when he had food allergies. I returned to the vet and they did not think this was a big deal. The vet tech actually commented that it sounds like my dog likes the Royal Canin. They gave me more prednisone and told me to give him 1 Benadryl, twice a day, every day.
On the Benadryl, all Milo does is sleep. He acts spaced out. He is still scratching like crazy. I have read so much information on so many topics that my head is spinning. I feel so bad for my little guy and I am at a loss as to what to do for him. I have looked into different pet foods, but most of the high quality foods that are grain free are loaded with starch or fat. Any advice anyone could give me would be so much appreciated. I have tried diluted vinegar rinses and it seems to help for the night, but the next day he is back to scratching non stop. Is there any foods out there that are low fat, with no starch and no grains? Thanks in advance.

[Susan]

Hi Regina, when they start getting so skinny & cant eat with spewing or diarrhea, who cares that the prescription diets are rated very very low on this site.. like Patch the Low Residue Eukanuba Intestinal was the only food that helped him in the end, within 2-3 days of being on the Intestinal, Patch was doing a normal poo again…He didnt do good on the low residue Intestinal Plus wet tin, poos were still sloppy.. when I looked the fiber was 4%, I thought maybe that was the problem but when Ive tried other wet tin foods he was doing very sloppy poos as well, so I thinkits the fat % now its too high, so I try to stick around the 10% fat now.. Patch is still on his Eukanuba Intestinal & Im soooo slowly adding the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal, its good to know that there’s another kibble that he can eat as well as his Eukanuba that breaks up very easily…..Ive read that Eukanuba is made Switzerland & Iams is made South America..have a look on ur bag & see where ur Iams is made, I’m curious, maybe that’s why they use different ingredients, all I know is it has helped my boy, there’s even a Eukanuba “Sensitive Digestion” that isnt a prescription diet & sold at Pet Barn, the only difference is the fat & its 13% where the Intestinal is only 10% fat & Chicken & Turkey is the first ingredient intstead of corn….Ive told a few dog owners at the dog park that had their dogs on the Hills Sensitive Stomach, now their dogs are pooing real good.. now I’ve told them about the Wellness Simple limited ingredients & hope it also works for their dogs. We dont have Iams here in Australia only the Eukanuba & Eukanuba prescription diets. I hope Alfie is feeling better & gets better soon…

[desiree s]

hi,
i converted my 8 yr old papillon to raw food about 6 months ago.
However his recent blood test showed extremely high kidney BUN readings of 41mg/dl and low creatinine readings of 0.4mg/dl.
My vet has always been against raw feeding and instructed me to immediately switch to a low protein renal kibble diet.
However, after much calculation i realised my raw home made diet only has about 15% protein..
Here is the recipe i use for 28 days of food:
Raw chicken breast and minced 1878g (56%)
Raw beef minced 336g (10%)
Canned green tripe 390g (11.6%)
Chicken heart and liver 252g (7.5%)
Romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, carrot 504g (15%)
Topping of steamed pumpkin or sweet potato.
2 tspn ground egg shell
(No bones given as he has no teeth and refuses to try and chew bones)

As he is fed about 120g of food each day, i calculated his protein intake from above should be about 18g.

Am really confused as he is extremely picky and loves his raw food but his blood test results show such risk of kidney problems that i am afraid to continue with raw feeding too!
Is there something wrong with my recipe?

[spaniel39]

Hi Hound Dog Mom et all:
I just can’t seem to keep Sophie the Komondor’s stools firm;
Have her on Nutrisource Large Breed Lamb, which she loves; not really giving her
treats; She does go the the dog beach and park (where she could pick up something
whether a “bug” or eating something bad); but been tested for Giardia, etc
(which I know doesn’t always show) so I just do a course of Panacur or Metronzadole.
She is happy, healthy, but Pudding poops
I read a thread about D. Earth, adding a tablespoon to her food daily. could try that.
In addition, she gets probiotics (Coagulans Bacillus) and NWC total Biotics.
Also done the boiled chicken/rice/sweet potato/canned pumpkin
Thanks!

[Corinne M]

Personally, although I feed my dogs raw, I wouldn’t presume to try to convince anyone to do the same. It’s messy – and sometimes it’s just a pain in the neck! When I am busy (or lazy), I buy prepared raw dog food that includes only high quality, human-grade ingredients and I find the warnings and disclaimers about “contamination” slightly hilarious since it’s the same stuff I buy at the butcher’s counter to feed my family. Some of the “cautions” make it sound like I’m bringing a nuclear weapon into my kitchen – when in fact it only contains fresh, ground meat & vegetables.
If you are avoiding a raw diet because the of the safety questions, I can tell you that high quality, fresh, human-grade foods are safe for you to handle & for your pup to eat. If, on the other hand, you are avoiding raw dog food because your pup had a hard time digesting it, I would tell you that there some great resources (this website especially) that can give you some suggestions on how to transition your pup off commercial kibble if that’s your goal. And, if you and your pup find kibble works best for you, there are also some great articles here about how to select an excellent quality dry or freeze dried dog food. In the end, the fact that you are even posting on this site makes me think that you are probably already feeding your pets a lot better than 99% of pet owners out there because you are clearly concerned with nutrition & wellness.
Best of luck in whatever path you decide upon.
Corinne

[Corinne M]

Hi Ashlee,
I feel compelled to respond to your post because I also found this site when I got interested in dog nutrition after one of my dogs developed health issues…and to be honest, it hasn’t been an easy road. However, I can tell you that the journey has resulted in major improvements in all of my dogs’ health & wellness. And I’m committed to continuing the journey – but it’s daunting at times, expensive (but the costs are offset by reduced vet bills), and sometimes overwhelming. I made some mistakes along the way, mostly in trying to get the supplements right & balancing the calcium/phosphorus ratio in homemade/raw feeding – but fortunately, my dogs are healthy and thriving on a natural diet. So if my experience can help others to avoid some of the pitfalls along the way, that would be great.

So here’s my 2 cents based on what I read above: I would start with Cookie, since she has cancer & arthritis (and is over weight) I think she’s in greatest need. This may be “off subject”, but the first thing I would do is cease any vaccines completely. Her immune system is compromised by the cancer, so your vet should be able to give you a waiver if you need one in order to keep her “tags” current – if your local jurisdiction wont accept a vet’s waiver, you can pay for titer testing in lieu of vaccination. But to be honest, I don’t think you would/should have to go thru that expense ( I can elaborate if you need help getting around city requirements). Next I would get a consult with Dr. Jean Dodds at Hemolife http://www.hemopet.org/veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory.html
you can do this by phone or email if you are not located in southern California. Call her and explain Cookie’s situation & that you are looking to switch her diet. She can tell you what labwork would be appropriate to determine a course of action (especially testing Cookie’s immune system & inflammatory issues) you can print the lab order from her website & have your vet do the blood draw & have your vet send it to her for the testing. Ask her to call you with the results and her recommendations – she can tell you what supplements to use to assist with Cookie’s immune support & inflammation/ arthritis. I would ask Dr. Dodds about raw feeding for Cookie – if her immune system is an issue, you may want to buy a high quality prepared raw food like Bravo Balance http://www.bravorawdiet.com/product/balance/index.html and *lightly* cook it – just enough to be extra safe. Of course, getting Cookie’s weight down to optimum level will help with the arthritis – if you feed her the Bravo Balance at the amount appropriate to her *ideal* weight, her weight should normalize in a few months without her feeling deprived. Bravo’s website has a feeding calculator you can use to determine the amount to feed – just remember to plug in her ideal weight, not her actual weight. Here’s a link: http://www.bravorawdiet.com/product/feeding/howmuch.html
I only suggest a prepared raw diet because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of feeding a “nutritionally complete” raw diet – and it sounds like Cookie needs help ASAP. As for cost, assuming Cookie’s ideal weight was 60 pounds, you would feed 1.2 lbs of food per day and I think a 5 lb chub of their balanced brand is like $27 – so her food would be about $42 per week. When I make raw/homemade my cost is about $2 to $5 per pound, depending on my protein source (and not including cost of supplements). Expensive – but I’ve saved a TON on vet bills; my dogs never get skin issues or yeast infections anymore.

As for the other dogs and your journey to switch to raw, there are some great resources here on this site and suggestions for other resources – just read everything you can get your hands on and learn about the diet/wellness connection. If you find it challenging at first maybe switch first to a home made diet, then take the leap to raw when you are ready. At least with home cooked you have control over your ingredients & can deal with specific ailments (like Mia’s yeast infections) by eliminating foods that are common culprits for yeast imbalances.
Best of luck to you in your journey!
Corinne

[Alina S]

Hey, all. I’m new to this forum, but I have read a lot of articles here already! Unfortunately, I have a lot of health-related questions for this post, so I apologize in advance. It would be great if I could get as much help as possible, though. 🙂 I’ll start with a list of his background information, then move on to a semi-detailed list of my health concerns for him.

-Rottweiler/Shepherd mix (at least, we think. He almost looks like he has some Corgi in him.)
-1 year old
-30 pounds
-Adopted from local animal control on Tuesday, 7/15/2014
-Was at the shelter for a month
-When he was found, he was covered in ticks
-Tested positive for whipworms
-Up to date on all vacs
-1/2 tin of Nutro Ultra patte per feeding
-1/2 cup grain free Science Diet per feeding*

*I know everyone hates Science Diet, but it’s what the shelter was feeding, and I didn’t want to switch dry foods on him right away.

Took him to the vet Friday, 7/18/2014
-Gave me medicine for whipworms
-Said he looked fine otherwise
-He’s getting neutered on Friday, 7/25/2014
-He’s getting tested for heart worms and tick-borne diseases on that day, too.

Now, onto my list of concerns…

-Loose stools
He doesn’t have full out diarrhea, but his stools are very watery and hard to pick up with a doggy bag… They just smear over the grass and it’s awful! I did some reading and it seems like both whipworms and lyme’s disease can cause diarrhea. The whipworms are under control (hopefully,) and we’ll know about the lyme’s disease this Friday. So,
-are his stools loose because he’s still getting used to his new home? Should I be worried?
Any feedback on combating this problem now and in the future would be greatly appreciated.

-Whipworms
I read that the reinfection rate for whipworms is very high. After the dewormer, and after his heartworm test, he will be on HeartGard Plus. Will that be sufficient for protecting him from whipworms, or will this be a consistent problem? Am I looking at any long term damage from the whipworms?

-Limping
I just took him to the groomer’s today. I do not know what went wrong, but he is now limping very badly on his right hind leg. When he stands, he stands just on his very tippy toes of this leg, and if he’s walking/running, he either limps on it, or just hops on his 3 legs and avoids using it all together. I’m going to wait and see if things get better tomorrow morning, before I call anyone.

-Can I wait until I bring him to the vet this Friday to ask about it? He does not seem to be in pain. He does not cry or squirm when I touch his paw, his leg feels fine, his hip sockets feel even to me, the pads of his paw are fine. His nails do look really short, but I can’t find evidence of blood. Do short nails cause limping?
-What should I do about walks?

I’ve been taking him out onto the leash and just moseying around the front yard, but that is not giving him the bathroom time that he needs. He is running around and playing, and shows a lot of eagerness while outside and even chased after a rabbit, he’s just limping. Is it okay to walk him like normal, so he can relieve himself fully?

I’m really sorry about all these questions, but I thought it would be best to make one long list. Feel free to just pick and choose a certain topic to answer; don’t feel pressured to answer all these questions. This is my first “adult” dog, meaning I am doing this all without the help of my parents (I’m in college,) and I want to do everything right so I don’t have mountains of vet bills later on.

Thank you so much!!

[Corey K]

thank you for the feedback. I actually tried the raw diet, and the highest end foods with him prior to the issues and he will not touch them. He seems very picky and also will not eat canned food. I was just reading about the cranberry supplements and may give them a try. He eats IAMs large breed for ages 1-5 now because it’s the only thing he will consistently eat. I am confused about one thing I’m reading. I keep reading that the struvite crystals do not need treated unless there is an active infection. He does have an active infection and is on an antibiotic. My vet tested his urine a week after the begin of antibiotic and it was back to normal. I plan to keep him on the antibiotic for 4 weeks. Why does it say that the crystals are only dangerous if there is infection – is that simply because the infection needs treated? Or do the crystals behave differently or pose a different threat if accompanied by infection? So confusing!!!

[Melissaandcrew]

Lisa- Well, lets review here-All the foods she has recc have not worked. In addition, your dog is now skeletal on the verge of staving to death from lack of nutrition. Since there are plenty of raw, freeze dried and dehydrated foods on the market that do in fact meet AAFCO regs etc, it seems to me she is just against anything other than the old kibble foods. I am not recc that you go against vet advice, as that of course would not be appropriate. I can tell you however, that if it were my dog, I would have already tried it. Its sure as heck better and more nutritious than boiled chicken long term.

[Debbie L]

I’ve only tried faw meat with a dog once, a female Collie, but she had a sensitive stomach and it made her vomit. So if I did not add canned to her dry food I began to add cooked meat again and she was fine. She loved to eat green frogs when she could catch them, but they made her sick and vomit every time. Apparently raw food was not for her.

My concern about feeding raw is the potential for parasites, E.coli, Salmonella, etc. I know in the wild animals (carnivores) have no choice but to eat raw foods. But since dogs are removed from the wild are their systems still geared to handle foods raw? I haven’t tried raw meats on my two males.

On the human aspect, I believe about a year ago I read where the FDA was not as thorough inspecting meats as in the past. That makes our foods not as safe as they once were. So, the bad elements in raw meats could be passed on to dogs and cats as well.

I just don’t feel as safe about feeding pets raw foods as it was say 10 years ago.

[Ysabella J]

Hey everyone,

I have a 3 year old, 65 pound Golden Retriever. For about the past 4 months or so I have noticed her licking her behind a lot more than usual. I would say about 3-4 days out of the week and usually when it happens it is multiple times during the day. I know that she is licking back there due to anal glands because every time she does it, out comes the nasty smell.. I took her to the vet, they expressed her anal glands and said they were small, nothing abnormal about them.. She had never had this done before. Well 2 days after I brought her in she started licking again. I started adding pumpkin to her diet regularly with no help. She is fed Orijen kibble & Merrick canned food for breakfast and Stella & Chewy’s raw for dinner. I haven’t switched her diet in over a year. I am really not a big fan of bringing her in every 3 weeks to get her anal glands expressed after reading an article published by Dr. Becker. She doesn’t scoot at all whatsoever, it’s just the licking… I can’t find much information about this online, so now I am here.

Anyone have any advice? I am open to anything… Thanks in advance!!

[Anita L]

Bobby-dog told me about this thread. Here’s my couponing for today: HTHs someone.

Hello my friends!
I’m pretty sure this is a good deal so I wanted to share. Not sure if there is a place for this kind of post. (if so, let me know so I’ll know for next time).
as seen on: http://www.southernsavers.com/2014/07/petsmart-b1g1-30-5-30-10-60-15-70/
PETSMART is running a great sale right now. They have select products up to 30% off thanks to their “BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR“.
Along with that sale, there is a promo code that is buy one product and get the next one 30% off. The code is “GET30714“. This deal can be applied to the already on sale items!
On top of all this you get $5 off a $30 purchase, $10 off a $60 purchase, or $15 off a $70 purchase.
Shipping is FREE your order is over $49 or you can opt for in store pick up! The sale ends 7/20.
🙂
After I order 1 bag of food, I qualified for free shipping so I was excited. Plus I needed a couple more things and found deals. Now I don’t have to go to the store!
Good Luck and happy shopping! 🙂

[Anita L]

Hello my friends!
I’m pretty sure this is a good deal so I wanted to share. Not sure if there is a place for this kind of post. (if so, let me know so I’ll know for next time).

as seen on: http://www.southernsavers.com/2014/07/petsmart-b1g1-30-5-30-10-60-15-70/
PETSMART is running a great sale right now. They have select products up to 30% off thanks to their “BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR“.

Along with that sale, there is a promo code that is buy one product and get the next one 30% off. The code is “GET30714“. This deal can be applied to the already on sale items!

On top of all this you get $5 off a $30 purchase, $10 off a $60 purchase, or $15 off a $70 purchase.

Shipping is FREE your order is over $49 or you can opt for in store pick up! The sale ends 7/20.

🙂
After I order 1 bag of food, I qualified for free shipping so I was excited. Plus I needed a couple more things and found deals. Now I don’t have to go to the store!

Good Luck and happy shopping!
🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Anita L.

[BRT]

Thought I’d post an update. So, the NV Instinct Boost Venison kibble was a huge fail. My boy was itching like mad. He was only on it a few days. I don’t know what it was about the food because he used to to eat Natural Balance Venison without any problem years ago. Anyway, I went back to the pet store and under the recommendation of a salesperson I left with Zignature Trout and Salmon. I read some reviews on here about that food and got a little scared because some people were saying it caused diarrhea in their dogs. But, I took a chance and fed it to them and on top of that had to switch cold turkey.

So, now a week later, they are both doing great on it. My itchy boy isn’t itching. He doesn’t wake up in the morning and immediately start licking his bottom. At first the quantity of their stools were huge, but it’s gotten much better. I’m so happy and I hope this works for us for a while. Now, the plan is to get them acclimated to this food for a couple of months and then incorporate Vital Essentials Fish Entree as one meal. That was also recommended to me by the salesperson. I feel like I’m on a good path. I’m not sure if his tear staining will clear up, but I’ll take what I can get.

[Susan]

Hi Melissa & Iusol, Im not pushing no one to take Predinsone, I hate the drug..Its a band aid drug that covers the health problem, it just supresses ur immune system, puts you in remission but with IBD it does help with some dogs when the bowel is so badly inflamed…. as long as the dog is only on the steroid for 1-2 months, no longer… I have had so many arguements when I join a group called IBD about this drug these ladys dogs were dying from IBD & steroids were the only thing that helped save their dogs, well that’s what they told me & now Im starting to understand the drug a little bit more… like my vet says she hates the drug but it does save some dogs lives when nothing else has worked….I have Auto Immune Disease LUPUS & I was put on Predinsone in the begining of my illness when I was younger & it made me very ill…..If I was Lisa I would be asking my vet so many question & yes Iosul Patches vet 1-2 months ago wanted to put Patch on Prednisone, I said NO.. I even posted a post 1 month ago asking for help on forums, in the end I ended up doing my own research about IBD & I join a group that have dogs that have IBD & Im starting to undersatand this rotten disease a bit better now…a dog just doesnt get IBD & then you change its diets & oh he’s all better now, he can eat anything now…if that has happened with anyones dog (like I have read on this site a few times) then their dog has never really had IBD, it either had something else wrong (parasites) or he had IBS.. there’s a big difference between IBD & IBS, I think people get this mixed up as Im learning..also alot of dogs owners on this site are very blessed & have very healthy dogs & their dogs can eat a high protein diet or a high fat diet.. when I first join this site I’d read people were feeding their dogs this & that I thought WHY cant my boy eat that or eat this so I asked the vet about putting Patch on a raw diet, my vet nilly had a heart attack as Patch was very sick at the time & I didn’t understand that his bowel needed to heal & rest not put more fat into his diet… then I’d read on this site that vet diets aren’t good, so I tried changing Patches vet food, then Patch went back down hill again, that’s when the vets wanted to cut him open, I said NO….Finally I though stuff it, the vet prescription diet has helped my boy get better it may have corn in it but it has made him poo normal, he’s playing, he wants to go for his walks, he’s a happy 5 year old dog acting like a puppy & he’s not crying in pain….I still dont want him on his Eukanuba Intestinal but sometimes they do need the balanced vets diet just for a little while to get better, then you can slowey change their diets but on this site ur made to feel guilty cause ur dogs on a vet diet….sometimes there’s some people that come on this site so desparate for help they will do anything they read… giving vinegar to a sick dog is not a good idea, I google info on ACV its good for some dogs with minor problems but not real sick dogs..but until you have a really sick dog, I think no one should really being saying do this or do that, like I wrote ASK ur VET about Metronidazole or Prednisone the vet will either say, oh NO he doesnt need that or no we think chewy has this.. I always write what has happened with Patch & what did worked with Patch on post, if that person wants to try what made Patch better good-luck to them, I wish when I came on this site 1 year ago I got some good advise, I think a couple of ladys did help a little Paddy & Crazy for Cats had some real good advice but I couldnt get that kibble being in Australia.. When I read Chewy’s story it sounded just like what Patch & I was going thru last April 2013…sorry for the book