[Cyndi]

meky6ra and Zach M this reply is for both of you. I have been feeding my 50lb. girl a raw diet for a little over a year. Here is a thread, in this Raw Dog Food topic, of mine that I started before I jumped in to raw feeding…

/forums/topic/help-with-starting-my-dog-on-a-raw-diet/

There is a ton of information on this site, especially in all the threads in the Raw Dog Food Topic. I asked questions, did a TON of research and was scared to death to start feeding my dog raw, lol! But, I did it, and my dog is healthy, happy and I am so glad I did. It is pricier than feeding kibble or canned food, but their are so many resources out there and raw feeding groups that can help cut down on the cost. I chose to feed my dog homemade raw, but there are alot of commercial raw products available that many people use and love.

Zach, You could start by giving your dog a turkey neck or a chicken back. It’s mostly bone, but has some meat on it. Your dog can consume the whole thing, bone and all. Unless your dog is a very voracious chewer or a gulper, you shouldn’t have any problems at all. Your dog will figure out how to crunch and chew the bone up and it is very good for their teeth.

Good luck to both of you! Take the time to ask questions and research and then, take the plunge…..your dog will love you for it! 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Cyndi.

[Debbie S]

Where do I start? Some background – back in 2013 our home consisted of two parrots, a cat, Mandy a 13 yr. old female Sheltie, Shadow an 11 yr. old male Sheltie, Roxie a 4 yr. old Pomeranian and two parents. About Sept. 2013 I was stupidly giving the dogs Milo’s Chicken Jerky (small pieces), when Mandy became ill. She was vomiting, had diarrhea and was very lethargic. We admitted her to the Vet hospital and she was put on IV’s for a couple of days but there was no helping her at this point and it was recommended putting her to sleep. We did and I started researching and found about the chicken being from China! I felt horrible and wanted to die right along with Mandy. I had obviously been poisoning my babies and Mandy wasn’t strong enough to fight it.
Fast forward to May 2014. We had been feeding Blue Buffalo Senior Grain Free dry and Blue Buffalo Family Favorite Recipes (various chicken/turkey flavors) mixture twice a day. Every single treat that we gave was made in the U.S.A. Shadow stopped eating any treats that were hard, would eat around the kibble and started acting strange even for him. At that point we started cooking chicken breast and white rice. (Then we find out rice can be toxic also). None of the dogs ever turned down the sweet potato that I give daily to the parrots. We took him to the vet thinking he may be having teeth problems. Nothing. Maybe a slight gum infection so he was put on a mild antibiotic. He still had his slight heart murmur but nothing to worry about. Exactly a week later on May 7th he was really restless, couldn’t find a place to lay down and about 11:30 pm he came out of the bedroom panting extremely heavy and drooling, I knew immediately something was wrong, woke up my husband, and called the vets for the emergency location. We hopped in the car, with me carrying him and he was panting louder than I’ve ever heard anyone breathe. We were almost there when Shadow bucked up into my chest and flopped down. He was gone.. supposedly by heart attack and they pronounced him DOA.

Now we only have Roxie and she has been as depressed as we are. She’s normally a little pig with treats and always cleaning others bowls if they walked away. She basically stopped eating, laid around and was totally depressed. Knowing this, we gave her time because she wasn’t acting ill and since she was a little overweight it wouldn’t hurt her to not eat as much as normal. Then she started turning down hard treats, and not eating the kibble in her food just like Shadow did. We took her to the vets after a couple of weeks of this because I was so anxious after the last couple of years and losing two of our babies. The vet took X-rays and a full panel of blood work. When he laid her on her back, her tongue turned blue so he was concerned. But her blood work was perfect and the only thing showing on the X-rays was the extra fat she was carrying which is effecting her breathing and probably the cause of her blue tongue.

We changed her food because she has to lose 1.5 – 2 pounds so we tried Hill’s Ideal Balance Slim and Healthy Adult mixed with the comparable canned food which was weird for us because we had always steered away from anything of Hill’s. Now after reading about it I want to stop feeding her that even though she loves it and is eating well again.

I need advice on what to feed a large framed five year old Pomeranian currently weighing 11 1/2 lbs. who needs to weigh no more than 10 lbs. She has arthritis starting in her knees and has just recently started constantly licking her lips. In the past we have just let them run the fenced back yard using the doggy door but I’ve started taking Roxie on nightly walks to help the weight loss along.

I’m thinking of Wellness Core Reduced Fat & the canned Weight Maintenance mixed or one of the Merrick choices. Any suggestions are appreciated since this seems like a very intelligent group.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Debbie S.

[losul]

Trying this all over again, leaving out the last link this time…..

Hi Sueb66. The test for EPI would be a specific test for it, not included in ordinary blood work. I think in the U.S., Texas A.M. still does most of the current testing. If there is a B-12 deficiency and it is EPI related, no, an ordinary human B-12 supplement for it would
NOT work well at all. There is more info on the EPI sites, I provided to Jerry. Notice what the vet says about EPI in discussing IBD in the first link below, except she refers to it as PEI instead.

I can truly understand your frustration, and wanting to get a more reasonable solution than a surgical biopsy, and/or treatment with steroids which seems extreme, scary and a last/near last resort, I would be too. To be fair though, I can imagine your conventional vet(s) probably get frustrated also, and would much rather get a clearer diagnosis and treatment plan.

I don’t really know exactly how long all this has been going on, exactly what diagnostic testing has been already done, what has been ruled out and what has not, what medicines/treatments/alternatives/supplements have been tried, how much and whether you have adhered to your vets’ reccomendations etc. I also don’t really know what kind of diagnostics, drugs, supplements, foods etc. are available there in Australia. I can’t really say what i would do, as I’m not in your shoes, and so much is unknown. All one can do is research as best as possible, see that hopefully all the bases have been covered, learn risks, gain more knowledge, come up with some possible answers/solutions/alternatives, and make good decisions.

IBD is a pretty generalized but often complex condition, that can have several root causes and much interconnectibility with other issues. It basically means a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Left uncontrolled it can lead to more serious issues. I would guess the vets have explained that to you? A more holistic or integrative vet may come to some of the same conclusions as your current vets, but would likely differ on exact course(s) of action/approach. Perhaps you should still seek one out or try the one you mentioned?

Hopefully pointing you to some additional articles may help some;

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=598&S=0&EVetID=0

http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2006&Category=&PID=16071&O=Generic

http://dogaware.com/health/digestive.html#ibd

[Dane H]

Hey,

New to the forum! My dog, Makai, is a 3 year old red heeler/Shepard/unknown mix. I started feeding him Blue Ridge Beef about 6 months ago. He has lost about 10 lbs since and looks pretty thin, so I have increased his food intake to 1.5 lbs per day split into 2 meals. I order in bulk to get a discount and get 15-2Lb chubs at a time. I order a even mix of a fattier beef, a leaner beef, chicken with bone, venison with bone, and a natural mix which has organ meat in it. I mix it all up and make 12 oz balls which is 1/2 of 1.5 pounds. This is all I feed him. I have noticed him drinking ridiculous amounts of water! I feel like it is much more than he used to before eating this new diet. I read that they will often drink less water when doing raw food because of how much water is contained in the raw meat. He also strains to poop sometimes I think because the chicken with bone and venison with bone feels like there is quite a lot of bone in the meat. I am worried I might be missing an integral part of his diet here, and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. I am worried he is having issues, because I am having to let him out to pee like 6-8 times a day! It’s insane. Plus I can’t seem to get him to gain any weight.

[Bobby dog]

Sharon:
I had to check my spreadsheet. I fed Verus back in the fall when I started researching pet food. Remember when I wrote I had delusions of not feeding fish anymore? Well my cats liked the recipes I fed them from Verus, but most recipes include fish so I crossed them off the list. lol I have to re-visit them because they had alot of good things going on like human grade ingredients and BPA free cans to list a few. My cats don’t care for lamb so I never tried it. They loved the beef, chic & liver, and salmon recipes though. It looked like I was going to try the chicken or turkey pate’s next before I crossed them off my list. 🙂

On another subject, not that I am trying to change your mind about crack lol, I do feed several Fancy Feast recipes. The two I mainly stick to are turkey & giblets and tender liver & chicken feast classic recipes because they do not contain artificial colors and have the least offensive ingredients. There are some other flavors that don’t have added color, but they contain sodium nitrate for color retention, so I mainly stick to these two flavors. The one flavor of Friskies that C4c and me feed is the poultry platter because it does not contain added color. You never know when you might need some crack to get a kitty to eat. lol

C4c:
Akari stopped by and gave a recommendation to aquariangt, but no updates.

[Susan]

Hi losul, I just read the first link on EPI & Patch has all those symptoms, wet burps,vomiting indigested kibble, always hungry, looking for scraps on our walks,Temperament changes, he has started to fight back if a dog bites him first, bad aggression, failure to gain weight, gurgling loud bowel noises, abdomin discomfort after eating..Ive quickly read & I never saw anywhere about taking Prednisolone, so maybe its good that I never gave him the Prednisolone, Patch had a blood test last year September but he never fasted for the blood test blood test came back all good.. with the Vitamin B can he take human vitamin B.. Im sick of dealing with vets they just read Patches notes & what the other vet has written & was doing, then just say the same thing…I found a holistic Vet but she’s at the same vets pratice that Patch was going too, so they all talk & will come back with the same crap IBD…

[Susan]

Hi Iosul, May I ask a few quiestions, Patch had an ultra scan last Thursday cause he was vomiting up only his kibble for 2 days & had his pain under right side rib cage again…his Ultra Scan came back all good, this new vet said IBD like Patches first vet has said but Im having troubles believing that he has IBD as Patch suffers more stomach reflux & burping, I feel that Patch has GERDs this new vet wants Patch on Prednisolone 30mg daily for 2weeks then we reduce, I told him about Patches stomach & Patches bad acid & bringing up his chicken & pumkin when he burps so I put it on toast now & this keeps it down, he just said give him Zantac as well then he said that the Prednisolone will fix his red paws, I told him that his paws go red only when it rains & he walks on wet grass as we’ve had rain again for over 1 week, now Patches paws have cleared up again cause there’s been no rain plus I try not to walk him on wet grass…Ive read that Prednisolone isnt good for dogs with Pancreatitis or Stomach problems as it can cause stomach ulcers, I still havnt given Patch his Prednisolone, Ive been giving him his Zantac again & Patch seem much better..see I stopped his Zantac about 2 months ago as he was doing much better & all his reflux went away he stopped waking up in the middle of the nite with Patch swollowing & swollowing acid, it all stopped only some mornings he’d be a bit burpy, The only way to see if he has IBD is to cut him open like his other vet wanted to do & I wouldnt let him as Patch doesnt have no diarrhea no more since Ive worked out that he needs a low fat diet, Im even wondering does he have pancreatits as the ultra scan came back all good but the Pancreas mite be getting better & not be swollen as Patches pain did start 2 weeks ago when I started moving, he started following me like I was leaving him behind, I feel that he started to stress himself out & has givin himself acid thru stress.. I have GERD & he seems to have alot of my symtoms.. first vet tried Losec 20mg but Patch had a reaction on the 2nd day his gums went white & he was acting real weird & falling over, I had to carry him home from the beach that morning maybe 20mg was too high for a 18 kilo dog he was 18kilo back then now he’s around 16-17 kilos …what would you do if Patch was ur dog, you mentioned supplements Ive read abit about L-Gutamine but I live Australia do I go to the health foods store & use a human one also what do u mean when u say incubating. I give Patch a probiotic every moring Ive been doing that since last August..Ive been too scared to try any oils at this time, I dont want to aggravate his stomach in anyway..

[Mike Sagman]

Sorry for having to temporarily take this blocking action. However, our forum software doesn’t use the same filtering system as the rest of our website.

As I’m sure you’ve already noticed from our reviews, we really like the brand of dog food you’ve mentioned here.

Unfortunately, we have a chronic troll that continues to slander and libel the owner and his brand. So, for now, we’re intentionally making it as difficult as we can for this individual to carry out his/her subversive agenda.

Please be assured, we’ve recorded all IP addresses, fake emails and other data related to these events and we continue to report this information to both private investigators and law enforcement officials. Ultimately, we’ll all finally know the real identity of this person.

Thanks for your patience.

[crazy4cats]

I’m so sorry to hear what you are going through. I remember how stressful it is. I actually had a couple of anxiety attacks when I couldn’t seem to get my dogs better. And you are right, my (previous) vet also recommended Forti Flora. It actually worked pretty well for my pups. But, after looking at the ingredients and reading about it, I discontinued. EF is in many, many dog foods. And also in a lot of probiotics for dogs. There was another poster a while back that made some negative posts about EF as well. It didn’t seem to cause my dogs harm, but obviously it must to some. I certainly hope you can get rid of the bacteria it has caused and get your doggy better! Good luck!

[crazy4cats]

Some of the stores may still have some of the cuts in gravy left. You can call or ask your store if there is any inventory at a neighboring store. Otherwise all the regions have the new turkey stew on order. The Midwest states have already been getting theirs. I haven’t tried it yet. I bought four cases of the old stuff though that should tide me over until we get the new stuff! There is a review on the Natures Domain Turkey Stew on the other side of this site. Check it out! I think you will be pleased.

[DogFoodie]

So, it sounds like you’ve possibly dealt with other intolerance / allergies that your pup might have had previously. Is that the case? At first, I thought this was his first reaction ever, to anything. It seems like a dog that has any intolerance / allergy, is likely to have more.

I’d probably compare the rest of the ingredients just to be sure. I’d hate to see you rule out pork. Maybe keep it in your back pocket (figuratively) to try again another time just to be sure. My thought was that it could been another ingredient or an environmental allergy…, or depending on the type of reaction, it could’ve been a problem with the food (an ingredient, a chemical, preservative or some sort of chemical reaction).

And, I don’t believe you have to have had prior exposure in order to illicit a response. I have a pup whose food intolerances have me confounded. I believe his food intolerance issues started as a result of vaccinosis as a tiny pup. He’s just turned two and there are very few foods I can feed him. I never know what he’ll react to and I always have a food spreadsheet going.

[Barbara]

I cannot edit or delete my earlier comment (which is completely frustrating to me!) and now have read many of the posts from people much more knowledgeable about feeding raw to dogs than I am. I now understand why they feed their dogs raw and it really is better…but I guess I would rather spend my extra time with my dogs exploring the outdoors than all the trouble involved in making raw from scratch when I cannot afford the high prices of commercial raw and “freeze dried” options… but I do completely respect the time you take to make the effort of feeding your dogs raw.

PS I realize now that there must be a “time limit” on editing your comment even though there has not been any responses… It seems that you should be able to edit longer like in the non-member area…

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Barbara.

[Dori]

Mom2Cavs. I think prednisone is a horrible medication. What I do want to say now that Lucy Mae has been on it for a month, if you are going to stop the prednisone you have to wean her off of it. You can’t just simply stop. It won’t be good for Lucy Mae. You should possibly call your vet and tell them that you are absolutely going to stop the prednisone and that your call is not for discussion on that issue, that your call is what is the best way to wean her off. Don’t let them convince you to keep her on it. It’s your call and yours alone what you want to do about Lucy Mae, not theirs. Also, google, weaning dog off prednisone. There’s a schedule of how to do it, it’s just not coming to mind right now. I’ll try to google it also for you.

Edit: If you type in on google Wean Dog Off Prednisone, you will find a lot of info on how to do this. It is extremely important to not stop abruptly. Abrupt discontinuation of the drug can cause a metabolic crisis. Please call the prescribing vet and/or read some of the articles and posts on line on the subject and learn how to do it properly to not make matters worse for Lucy Mae. I know your first instinct is to just stop. Please check it out.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Dori.

[Mom2Cavs]

Terrible medicine! Lucy Mae, who has skin cancer, has just been put on prednisone about a month ago by my holistic vet. We held off as long as we could. She is now in last stages. I knew about all the side effects, but boy, this medicine has changed my once great house dog into a raving lunatic! She went from a dog that bothered absolutely nothing in the house to raiding every trash can in the place. She can barely reach the counters but is constantly trying to surf them….and actually stole a whole loaf of bread off by the tiniest part of the package that was sticking off the edge, she ate most of it before I found her. We have to be very careful where we put stuff now, when never before. She’s panting all the time, too. She has not become aggressive, thank goodness. She has always been a little moody, so I was worried about it. The vet told me that this medicine will eventually stop helping her lymph nodes. So, after the last pills yesterday I’m not giving her anymore of it. We will let God take care of her and nature take its course. It’s very sad to watch how this medicine affected her, let alone the cancer itself. It will be devastating when it’s time to let her go, but I know then she won’t be in pain and misery any longer. Even though that time is still a little ways off, I’m preparing myself and family. 🙁

[Dori]

Once again, I wanted to thank everyone that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers.

We took Hannah to her vet this a.m. where she was supposed to have a “traumatic catherization” of the nodule in her bladder. Before doing so, routinely before anesthetizing, they do a chest x-ray to check the lungs. They found a mass on the lobe of one of her lungs and her vet did not feel comfortable anesthetizing her. She is consulting with her other vet at Georgia Veterinary Specialists, plus the radiologist there and also an oncologist to come up with a plan. They have all said that surgery is not an option. They could possibly, not sure, do an aspiration during an ultra sound by the radiologist of the mass in her lung lobe to find out what it is. Chemo and radiation, of course, are not options for her either due to her age and her liver issues and, of course, there is the issue with her bladder. Neither my husband nor I would put her through any of that anyway. There may or may not be medications to try to slow the progression of either of these issues if they knew what they are. But, they can’t know what the bladder issue is without the catherization which they cannot do without anesthesia and, of course, they cannot do that because of the mass in the lung lobe. It appears through the x-ray that part of the mass in lung lobe is calcified so it may have been there for a long time but they don’t know. I’m hoping that’s a good sign because she doesn’t have any symptoms of lung cancer. As I said, things have gone from bad to dramatically worse. We just want her to be well and do the very best we can for her as she has done for us. In the mean time I will give her whatever supplements, and healthy foods I have always done. I’m reading a lot of books on canine cancer and doing the best I can. I will start cancer supplements one at a time for three days before introducing any others. Meantime I will continue her liver health regime. Of course, for me, I think there’s a lot of wine in my future. I will continue to pretend I’m happy and peppy in from of Hannah, Lola and Katie pretending that life, as we know it, is perfectly normal. Again, thank you all of DFA for your love, guidance and support. Love, Dori

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Dori.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Dori.

[Scott C]

Amy,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I admit that my post was borne of frustration, yet I stand by what I said.

It is a matter of record that American food (specifically, American manufactured or processed for) is increasingly less-safe. US Companies contaminated 15% more nations’ food supplies with human food that subsequently had to be recalled in Q4 of 2013 than ever before (ExpertSource), involving 860,000 pounds of food (compared to half that, one quarter earlier, the previous worst statistic on record). In 2010, 500 million (not a typo) American eggs were recalled, due to Salmonella poisoning (USDA) and 1906 US-manufactured food product recalls—all due to contamination of one kind or another—occurred between 2011 and 2012.

Selecting only one American company, Tyson Foods pled guilty to 20 felony counts of violating the Clean Water Act (2003), admitted to have continued contaminating the water supply for four years after federal search warrants were executed against them in 1999. In 2013, Tyson was cited four times by the US Department of Labor for OSHA workplace safety violations in which a human dismemberment occurred and may have entered the active production chain. In 2005, an undercover agent video-documented that Tyson was knowingly allowing chickens to be scalded alive in its plants, and dead animals tossed through the air “for fun” by employees. In 2008, federal courts found Tyson guilty of two counts of knowingly and intentionally using fraudulent labeling to claim that their products were anti-biotic free for over two years.

Now, an argument could be proffered that these are violations, so regulations are in place and adequate. The fact remains that American law is written to favor corporations who do the violating, as the duration of these ongoing transgressions suggests. (Tyson’s quarterly profits more than doubled in the second quarter, to $213 million US, and while prices have increased, cost savings were a significant factor. Having demonstrated that it saves costs by doing things like illegally contaminating the ground water, Tyson is not to be trusted with our health. Not Ever.)

So, one of my primary points is that I don’t trust American regulations in the way I trust Canadian regulations, specifically because Canadian law is so much more invasive to corporate operation than is American law. And one presumes that it is this, not the goodness of their hearts, which drives Champion’s move to open a plant in this country. It will be far easier for Champion to provide a much lower-quality product at much lower costs with much lower risk of being caught for having done so here in the United States than ever in Canada. It will also be far harder to detect a drop in ingredient quality until it is too late. American law and regulation cannot even guarantee safe food for our children; how could we ever have the hubris to assume it will protect our pets?

It may be, of course, I readily acknowledge, false to say that whatever Champion produces in Kentucky will be a priori garbage. My fear may be completely unfounded. It is only a fear of the future, after all.

I merely state that it will not be *my* pets who die when this turns out to not be the case. You may, of course, put your own pets at whatever level of risk you deem acceptable. For ourselves, we searched for months for a food we could trust as the result of laboratory tests and an environment of government regulation and we thought we had found Champion. In moving to Kentucky, Champion abandons virtually everything that made it our choice. They leave behind Canadian (often, wild) game ingredients, raised on healthy diets, near or in uncontaminated waters, processed humanely through systems exceeding Canadian government standards for human food, in facilities carefully and strictly monitored by a government which properly _shuts_down_ companies that seriously violate public health (rather than fining them a mere 3% of their quarterly profits, or, if you prefer, 0.0203% of their annual revenue). This is akin to setting the penalty for robbing a bank at something like $50 and pretending it’s a deterrent.

If you feel I’m being overly dramatic by using a criminal metaphor, read the above, again: They _pled_guilty_ to 20 _felony_ counts of violating public safety by contaminating lakes, rivers, and groundwater. Their penalty was $7 million. You can do the math.
———————–

Case,
For three reasons, I’m saddened that you have chosen to introduce the proposition of quantifying agreement or disagreement with my view.

First, thousands of you disagreeing with me will not shield your pets from toxic food, should my worst fears be realized.

Second, thousands of you disagreeing with me in a public forum monitored by Champion will simply reinforce the perception of the US being a trusting, safe environment for business, and encourage the worst from them, should my worst fears be realized.

Third, thousands of you disagreeing with me will serve no purpose other than to end the discussion. “Let’s vote on it,” has long been teamspeak for “I’m tired of this topic, let’s pretend we have an answer and move on.” Yet will your disagreement with my perspective keep my dogs safe? Will Amy’s reticence to think ill of Champion until the damage is done prevent that damage from occurring?
———————–

Everyone,
Here is the bottom-line:

The American Veterinary Medical Association has recorded over 914 pet food recalls from American companies in the last two years. NBC News has reported over 1000 dogs dead and over 4800 animals sick in the past six months from jerky treats alone. In 2002, the peer-reviewed American Journal of Veterinary Research found that the FDA was wrong in its earlier finding that pentobarbital residues in dog and cat food were from euthanized cattle, re-opening the serious allegation that the pentobarbital in American dog and cat food was, in fact, from… rendered (euthanized) dogs and cats. The semi-sacred Royal Canin brand is facing a class action suit over toxic levels of vitamin D in its products. American laws–the lack of them–allowed the FDA to find in 2005 that Diamond Pet Foods was releasing food containing up to 1,851 parts per billion of the deadly mycotoxin, aflatoxin. Acceptable levels are twenty (20) parts per billion. Over 100 dogs died because proper testing costs money and isn’t required.

Trusting these profit-makers to care for your animals is no longer reasonable. Trusting American regulations to protect your animals is no longer rational. Champion may be a good company today, or it may be that Canadian regulation keeps them honest. Without knowing which is true, I must see the move to American as a large step down a slippery slope. My intuition tells me this is the narrow end of the wedge.

We will buy Orijen until it is no longer made in Canada, and then I will stop buying it.

Fundamentally, I believe we should all actively question and challenge—and not merely trust until someone’s beloved pet lies dead. After all, that’s why this website exists in the first place.

Respectfully yours.

[Scott C]

For those of us who are stuck living in this corporate-owned United States of America and whose dogs love and have thrived on Orijen products, this is nothing short of a disaster.

Champion may choose to “wheel out” the fact that they are a small private company whenever it suits their purposes

(for example, to decline answering questions in an FAQ which they created, themselves… such an odd thing, to identify a question only to answer it by saying, “we’re a private company and won’t answer that question”)

but they are certainly behaving like a corrupt corporate giant.

The reality of Champion shifting its USA market products to production in financially destitute Kentucky, enjoying a tax credit in a state where they can pay “market competitive” wages to financially destitute employees, purchasing land from financially destitute owners, and sourcing ingredients at “competitive” prices from financially destitute farmers means that all of their high-sounding rationale boils down to “we can’t make enough food in Canada because we’ve grown too popular, and it will cost too much to employ Canadians, build Canadian factories, and purchase safe Canadian ingredients, so we’re cheating out on all of you loyal customers south of the border.”

Of the questions they do answer, the majority of answers in Champion’s FAQ about sourcing ingredients are vague “weasel-speak” and the entire concept fills me with dread.

American food ingredients may not–depending on whom you ask–(yet) contain actual toxins, like some Chinese (et al.) products do. However, the American diet is one of the worst on the planet among First- (or Second-, depending on whom you ask) World countries. That wretched level of nutrition is nevertheless largely in keeping with the quality and inspection standards and recommendations that multi-billion dollar agribusiness has purchased from the United States government. Would anyone who can afford to do otherwise ever buy Tyson chicken again, or trust Kellogg to provide a healthy balanced breakfast, or eat Wonder Bread? Clearly, not.

Does this mean that all American foodstuffs are corrupted? Clearly not (yet), but as the cliche’ goes, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Indeed, there are strong, and likely successful, movements in our Congress to specifically deny the American people information about where the ingredients in their food are sourced, because such information is “bad for bid’ness.” If passed, these laws would allow corporations to respond to inquiries with something like, “Our food products are made to meet or exceed government standards and we are not required to release information regarding ingredient sourcing to the public.”

Why, then, would those who are blessed with the option of spending $100/month per dog on dog food (which is roughly what Orijen Regional Red costs) EVER consider it acceptable to trust our beloved pets to foods (like Purina, or Science Diet, or what have you) made with unreliable US (or, soon, “worldwide”) ingredients, meeting untrustworthy US guidelines for healthy nutrition, in factories held to unreliable US standards of sanitation?

I have sent a letter to Champion explicitly asking whether the reality of this change is that their Canadian products will only be available in Canada, Europe, and Asia, as their FAQ suggests. I will share whatever reply I receive.

Certainly, for us, if “Made in Canada” becomes “Made in USA” we will stop purchasing Champion’s products immediately.

[neezerfan]

Help! I’ve had my rescue guy Reo for 3 months now and he’s always been kind of anxious, pacing and spinning and generally nervous. He’s always slept in the kitchen because I need a break from him at night and after the first few days with us, he’s been OK with that. Tonight, I don’t know what set him off, but he was howling, barking and banging against the cabinets. I ignored him till 2:30 but DH needs to sleep so I came down stairs. Reo was in such a tizzy, pacing and panting. I didn’t talk to him or make eye contact. I gave him Benedryl (looked up appropriate dose), then put some chicken and pumpkin in a Kong. I’ve been sitting where he can see me but ignoring him. He’s been quiet but still pacing and panting behind the gate. Not really interested in the Kong. Actually, it’s been an hour since the Benedryl and he’s starting to lay down and be calm now.

I had already been looking at both Rescue Remedy and DAP spray for him but I don’t know if those things work. Has anyone tried them? Good or not? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Corey K]

Thank you for all of the feedback. Think I still need help so will give more specifics in hopes that there might be some easy answers but I fear not cause things at my house are far too crazy! I live with my husband and adult daughter and between us we have 4 dogs. 3 of them have food issues that cause me questions:

Missy – 12 year old bearded collie – Would eat nothing but frozen Bil Jac her entire life until she got acid reflux issues 6 wks ago and changing her food was extremely tough. She is now eating (begrudgingly) one cup of natures’ recipe easy to digest chicken dry food, one half cup of rice and one half cup of either boiled ground chicken or boiled ground beef per day.

Max – 11 year old bearded collie – no health issues – will eat ANYTHING including what he finds in the back yard when he beats me to it. He is currently, happily eating two cups per day of the natures’ recipe easy to digest chicken dry food.

Frankie – 3 year old dane mix – he is currently eating IAMS large breed proactive years 1-5. Many days he wants nothing to do with it. Also concerned about what I am reading about IAMS testing on animals, but the plus is they do sell it in 50 lb bags at my Costco. I tried mixing in canned with the dry and he wants nothing to do with the wet food. He is having some teeth issues, with mild gingivitis and we are working on that so not sure if that is factoring in.

Last but not least my daughter’s new puppy Rerun – he is 4 mos old. Rerun is half beagle and half siberian husky – now 30 lbs – vet estimates will be around 60. She is currently feeding him Kirkland signature puppy. He does not seem to like it. He eats very little of it and wants no more.

I feel like 60% of my life right now revolves around feeding dogs and it is becoming more difficult to manage than I can handle. Of course with the 4 of them in the house, feeding is an event, not just an all day graze – you eat what you are given or you dont get any – but now that everyone but Max has decided to become picky – it now involves each of us coralled to a designated space with our charge for the better part of an hour to hour and a half while we coax whichever dog we have to eat so that we can go on with life.

I know that most might want to provide the advice that we just have too many dogs, and I’ve talked way long enough without going into why we have this many dogs at this time in our lives lol! I think I’ve read enough to have learned that the better the quality of food the less tasty. Do I need to find a middle of the road senior food that is palliative enough for my older dogs to eat and wont bother their stomachs? (is there such a thing?) If I can coax my dane to eat the IAMS for awhile longer, what happens when he gets to 6 years old – the bag says 1-5 and he’s almost 4 and weighs 100 lbs. What about this puppy – do we start trying other puppy foods to find one he likes? We tried adding canned (have only found adult canned where I shop) and he then eats the canned and spits out the dry. Very sorry for such a long post – and look forward to any suggestions!!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Laura,

These are some tips that were sent to me by the company when I first transitioned my dogs to Darwin’s, a commercial raw. They’re ideas specific to their product, but you might find some of them useful.

You can try these tips if you haven’t already (singly or in combo):

1. Adding cheese or canned food is usually a good trick to start with. Also adding spices can increase interest.

2. You can feed Darwins very warm. You can either float it in its bag in hot water or, at least to start, cook it a little on the stove or in the oven. This will release some of the fat molecules in the meat and hopefully overcome some of the veggie smell. Also put just a small amount in the bowl. No sense wasting food and also a small amount might be less intimidating. Add more if your dog eats the first offering.

3. Mix either straight ground meat or some healthy table scraps into the Darwins. Some people find that mixing ground meat into the Darwin’s at a ratio of about 30-50 percent warm Darwins with 70-50 percent fresh ground meat for a few days will convince their dog to start eating Darwin’s.

4. At first only feed the meat variety that your dog is used to eating. Also, it seems that many dogs take to the turkey and chicken faster than to the beef. It might be the smell of the meat itself or it might be that the beef contains bone meal instead of ground pieces of bone and some dogs don’t like the smell of bone meal. Also, I think the red meat variety smells more of organ meat than do the chicken or turkey. Unfortunately the veggie smell is the first noticed smell and it is the same in all Darwin’s varieties; so dogs who didn’t like their first meat variety might think that all the Darwin’s is the same since it all smells the same. That’s when using trick 3 is helpful to get them started by cutting the percentage of vegetables and, thus, reducing the smell.

5. Warmed chicken or beef broth poured over the food to make a soup or stew sometimes works, if your dog will eat a very wet food. Some do not like soup.

6. Make sure your dog is good and hungry and don’t feed anything else if the Darwin’s is refused. Just try again next meal. . Easier to get a child to eat broccoli if he or she hasn’t had access to McDonalds for the past few meals.

7. Cook the food like a meat loaf (325 for 30 – 40 minutes or so) and start there. You can mix in raw Darwin’s with the crumbled cooked loaf slowly until you are transitioned. Or mix the crumbled loaf into the food that your dog is used to eating and then transition to raw once you have convinced him/her to eat it cooked.

8. Adding Green Tripe to our meals is an excellent idea for notoriously picky eaters. It is highly palatable, and considered a “superfood” for dogs. We do offer Green Tripe in 1lb packages, and can be added to your standard order any time.

[spaniel39]

Mimi, thanks
My Sophie is so sweet too; I knew the importance of socialization given the protectiveness
factor as an adult and I think I went too far.
If she sees anyone walking towards her or across the street, she will sit and “smile”
and wait to greet them. Impossible to take her/walk her anywhere lol
but I don’t mind, She is just starting to form her “cords”
I didn’t read your post carefully. Sorry, didn’t realize you had been on raw.
I found it much too expensive and kibble has come a long way (Acana, Orijen, etc)
and you can always supplement it with a tablespoon of a good canned lamb/duck/etc.
or in Sophie’s case last night, a big extra lean, Hamburger!
I forgot to mention Evangers!
They’ve done research for decades on large breeds
They have a meat lovers with Rabbit, not real expensive, my dogs loved!

[arwyru24]

Here it is! At my local store they started closing out the dog stuff months ago, and then the cat stuff has been more recent. I had my eye on a 17lb bag of Canidae that I was going to donate if the price got low enough, last I checked it was 21.99 and I had a $4 coupon from their calendar I got , well last I went there it was marked down to $9.99 but I missed it, someone had already snagged that last bag, but it would have been a phenomenal deal at 5.99.
It was at Petco that I got some great deals a week ago or so… a 3.5lb bag of Purina One for $1.98, and cans of Iams at 40 cents a can or so, but it seemed like the clearance stuff went pretty quickly and I never got deals like this lady did.

http://www.pennywisepaws.com/

[Tina]

I know most canned dog food has carrageenan as one of its’ ingredients. The information that I’ve read so far explained that it is controversial. Is there any canned dog food out there that is both pâté and carrageenan free? Wellness canned dog food has carrageenan in all four of its’ pâté formulas and it seems that most pâté brand canned dog food has carrageenan in it as well. Is carrageenan really that bad? Does carrageenan have a taste to it?

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
The links for the shampoo aren’t working, they take me to the sale page, oh noooo! If I only had a little extra money, I can’t stand to walk away from a good sale! lol

I quickly looked at a few shampoos I think there are a few affordable options for you. You want to try and match at least one of the active ingredients in the Malaseb or Nolvasan shampoos otherwise, IMHO (FWIW), you are just throwing away money on nicely scented shampoos that are fine for bathing, but no other benefits. You have a few of those shampoos in your house for him now so I would focus on getting something medicated.

Any soap will kill fleas when it comes into contact with one. I used Dawn dishwashing soap before because I was at my friends house, who has no pets, and Bobby rolled in something disgusting and I had to bath him immediately. Quite a few fleas bit the dust that day lol. Crossing my fingers, no fleas right now and we are in flea season too. The last few years when Bobby’s fleas became unmanageable I would pour and rub in olive oil (just regular store brand) all over his body beginning on his collar area (not his head) and let him run around outside for about an hour with it on. It was my version of a hot oil treatment for him. lol It really moisturized his skin, but I really used it for killing fleas; like a flea dip. The oil pretty much instantly kills the fleas.

This info is for Sharon too (if your reading). I stopped feeding by Nature because they wouldn’t disclose their co-packer, but I think I just recently found who it is. I always thought their recipes looked great. I would buy them again at this time. It is up to you of course, but I think this is a great option for your little guy.

I am going to check out those shampoos, be back in a little bit. 🙂

[Dori]

Shawna: I’ve been giving them whole house filtered water for years. Hadn’t been giving them HW medication until losul had HW diagnosis and I started in again. Stupid Stupid Me!!!!
I have read about the issues with HW medication and bladder cancer just yesterday and a few of the sites specifically name Sentinel and that is the brand I’ve used for years. Obviously I’m never ever using HW medication again. Dogs are all on 3 year rabies vaccination. Hannah at almost 15 years old and bladder cancer will never get it again. I have read everything I can and everyone’s posts here and well wishes and kind words and, of course, they all make me cry knowing everyone is so caring and loving. Just breaks my heart. I’m just a weepy mess right now. My husband and close friends keep telling me what a wonderful life Hannah and I have given each other for 15 years and, selfishly, I just don’t want to hear that kind of talk. That means everyone of them is resigning them to the fact that it’s the end for Hannah and I just can’t deal. She’s the only thing that got me out of bed after my son, Matthew, passed and she’s my last tangible connection to him. It’s just too damn hard. I’ve ordered tons of supplements today and read every site that everyone has guided me to, thank you, thank you, thank you everyone. I’m now concerned of having ordered too much and making matters worse my overdosing her on supplements.

Shawna, I know how crazed and consumed your life is with your family both human and furry, so please let me know when might be a good day and time might work out for you for me to call you. I’ve been feeding all the girls raw for over a year and I think that I want to continue feeding commercial raw as I’ve been doing. Just to let you know Hannah has never had a urinary tract infection in her life, no bloody urine and her urine tests are still clear. They only discovered this because of doing ultra sounds checking her liver because of all four liver levels being so high. They have all come down significantly. Still high of normal but not sky high like before. Okay. I need to breathe right now and attempt to pull my self together because all three dogs are too attuned to my stress. Love to all and from the bottom of my heart I thank you all.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Thanks for the link Ann. The brand hasn’t been reviewed yet so I’ll forward the link to Sandy so she can add it to the to-do list (if it isn’t on there already).

[losul]

Dori, most of what I have read strongly suggests that transitional cell carcinoma in the urinary tract is possibly entirely environmental and in canines it’s suggested that’s it’s suspected causal agents may be certain flea control products and cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide is ironically used as a chemotheraphy and autoimuune disorder agent. There are other predisposing factors such as repeated urinary infections, dogs required to hold their urine for lengthy periods, etc.

Causes
Flea-control products (organophosphates and carbamate) and cyclophosphamide.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cancer/c_dg_urinary_carcinoma

[Omayra R]

Hello all.

My sister adopted a puppy last month and he is the first dog to be our family member. He will be 3 months old tomorrow (June 8th).

We were told to feed him dry mixed with wet 4 times a day, up until July 19th. After that, 3 times a day dry.

His dry is the Blue Buffalo holistic life protection brand, and his wet is Wellness for puppies. For training treats we have Organix peanut butter cookies and Fruitables pumpkin and apple flavor.

Now his poop is finally coming out solid, but at the end it’s a little mushy. From my understanding, poop must be solid and not that smelly. At first he was pooping diarrhea, but that was before he got his deworming shot. After the shot, no more diarrhea but would like it his poop to be more solid and a tad bit smelly. This morning he pooped a lot! He hasn’t pooped since. I asked my sister how often does he poop now and she hasn’t been paying attention, so bare with me. As I don’t live with my family and the dog. I stay over the weekends to watch over him. Since I have a more flexible schedule, I can take him to the vet etc.

I notice after he eats, he gets itchy. I’m wondering if he has any food allergies? I know this mix is prone to skin sensitivity. I want that itching to stop. Also read that tear stains are more proned to his food, not breed. We clean his eyes often but would to see that decrease. It’s not excessive though.

Can anyone here suggest me a new diet, please? I’m looking into the raw brand route but i’m not sure how many times a day with these foods. Sorry, this all so new to me.

I’m also in the process of looking for a well reputable holistic vet. I’m just do terrified of all the horror stories with vets and diets I’ve been reading online.

We want the very best for our little guy.

Thank you 🙂

[Akari_32]

Thanks guys! I’ll look into prices for canned foods (could do coupons or whatever depending on the brand), and commercial raw. What other brands of commercial raw have you guys seen in chain stores other than Natures Variety, and what did they cost? I’ll also add those links to my list of things to read.

For his shampoo, we have and use several. It’s just sort of whatever we pick up when manage to drag him into the tub (he really hates baths lol). We have Grreat Choice Oatmeal Shampoo, a couple sample packets of Beyers stuff (shampoo and conditioner– some sort of lipids and oils thing), and some Neosporin human body wash, which helps the most, but obviously isn’t a dog shampoo, so we don’t use it often.

Would a medicated shampoo need to come from the vet? Is there anything I can make at home to help him? I’ve started using coconut oil for Alec, and it’s helped clear his tummy out. I could butter up Bentley with a homemade coconut oil shampoo or something lol

And yes, I’ve been using honey. But just like everything else, it helped for a few weeks, and now it does nothing. He likes it though.

Oh, and I have THK trial things, too. They are kind of low protein, though, so that would leave me to believe they may be higher in carbs? (Which is why I’m not sure if I want to a premix or dehydrated complete meal).

[Shasta220]

Very interesting topic to read over! All of the above posts are perfect help… Have you tried adding raw honey? I’ve heard of many allergy problems disappearing from adding that.

What do you bathe him with, too? I know a couple dogs that had nasty problems that turned out to not be food related at all. They got a bath with that Malaseb shampoo and were fine.

Ultimately, I’m sure the raw diet would be the best, but there’s always the possibility of that too. Can’t hurt to try 😉

[Bobby dog]

Hi Leslie R:
Canned food is high in moisture, maybe stews have a little more moisture than pate’? IDK Check out these brands: Wellness Core, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, By Nature 95%, Hound & Gatos, and EVO & EVO 95%. Some of these canned foods may not be supplemented with vitamins, they are only for supplemental feeding. I am not sure if they are what you are looking for, but they could be a place to start. Some canned foods that are low in carbs may be high in fat. You didn’t write what kind of health he is in, other than his diagnosis, so these may or may not be good for him depending on his current health condition.

Also, I read the other suggestions you received about making homemade food for him. You could always look into feeding both homemade and canned as well.

Here’s a DFA link about calculating carbs in dog food that may be helpful:
/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-carbohydrate-content/
I love JRT’s, good luck finding what he needs!

[Akari_32]

He gets very little in the way of actual dog treats. He usually gets a bit of people food for treats. I yell at mom for giving him jelly beans quite often… Other than those, he gets veggies and meat scraps. Right now, his treats are Wellness Toy Breed cranberry something-or-anothers. They were on clearance lol Oh, and he steals the cats food if he leaves it and it’s not up high. Alec gets mostly Wellness Grain Free.

The only commercial raw diets locally available are Bill Jac (not sure how good that is) and Natures Variety, which is not cost effective at all (I’ve already looked into that.). There may be other brands that I’ve over looked, though.

What if we were to feed like, half raw, half Natures Variety Instinct kibble? That has freeze dried raw coating, and all sorts of good stuff in it. Would supplements be needed then? (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to avoid supplements, I just know they can be costly, so if I can find a way to balance his diet as cheaply as possible, I’d like to take that route).

[Case]

I read where somebody was questioning the year-round availability of fresh local ingredients…Is it possible to have fresh locally grown fruit and veggies in Canada in winter? What about free range poultry? Wild caught fish?

Just wondering what you guys think.

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.
I’m a 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight, unhealthy and are very picky.
I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned and when I asked him he said the “all life stages dog food is bad for dogs and will end up killing dogs and even cats. So I got really scared and after loosing 2 dogs 2 cancer I wanted no part of it and would do my best to get people off All Life Stages dog food. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. While working there I would convince people to change their dogs all life stage dog food for something else and it worked. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.
I’m a 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight, unhealthy and are very picky.
I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned and when I asked him he said the “all life stages dog food is bad for dogs and will end up killing dogs and even cats. So I got really scared and after loosing 2 dogs 2 cancer I wanted no part of it and would do my best to get people off All Life Stages dog food. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. While working there I would convince people to change their dogs all life stage dog food for something else and it worked. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

[Dori]

Well guys, finally got Hannah’s diagnosis yesterday after months of testing and ultrasounds and many specialists. Last month on one of the routine ultrasounds to check re elevated liver levels it was discovered that she had a small cyst like something or other at the entrance of her bladder. At that time they had a slim hope that it was just a clot from the needle that they used the day before to extract urine for sampling. Yesterday’s ultra sound showed that it is still there. It has not gotten any bigger, but not smaller and feel that if it had been the clot from needle aspiration for urine it would be long gone by now. The vets conferring in Hannah’s case including her own, feel that what we are dealing with is a transitional cell bladder carcinoma. Needless to say this has blown me away. Her liver levels have continued to go down, still high of normal, but no longer in the 400’s. This bladder carcinoma has nothing to do with the liver, it was just found coincidentally while trying to figure out the liver issue. Next week they are going to do a catheter removal of cells of the tumor/cyst to be able to diagnose it properly. If this is the case then there is no surgery that can be done but there is a medication that has been known to help and slow down the progression. They talked about steroids but have decided that that would be contraindicated because of the liver issues involved with steroids and she already has elevated liver levels. I keep thinking maybe it is still the blood clot and she’s healing slower because of her age or whatever is going on with her liver. Don’t know. I’m just in shock and freaked out at the moment. Don’t know what to do about any of it.

Meanwhile you would never think that there is anything wrong with her. She remains totally asymptomatic for anything. She is still her old self, running, jumping, barking, playing, eating and drinking. Hard to believe anything is wrong with her at all. So, of course, I’m questioning this procedure next week. They have to anesthetize her to do the procedure. Anyway, any thoughts or experiences on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I’m so happy to have all of you out there to tell my (Hannah’s story) and get some feed back. Thank you all.

[Dori]

Hi Serena. I don’t feed any kibble but definitely canned would be better. Kibble food generally has a lot of different ingredients in them similar to most kibble foods including whatever binder they are using to keep the kibble in tact. Your dog could still have issues with canned food depending on what her ingredient intolerances are but it’s easier to keep track of ingredients and intolerances. A lot of dogs with allergies and intolerances do better on canned, imo, than kibble.

When I first started doing an elimination test with Katie, the first ingredient was chicken. Then discovered that she is badly intolerant of all fowl. It’s not the same with red meats. Beef, Bison, Kangaroo, Rabbit, Goat, Lamb, Vennison will have completely different reactions from each other. Katie cannot eat Lamb or Goat but she does fine with all the others so far anyway.

If you’re going to switch to canned food please try to make sure that the cans themselves are BHA free, No Carragean (sp?) and also look for the least possible ingredients made from human food ingredients. My rule is that if I can’t pronounce or would not eat it myself then my dogs don’t eat it either. Another way you can feed your dog is to try rotating with freeze dried foods. Closer to raw, but not exactly. There again, keep in mind what the ingredients are (human grade) and what he may have an issue with. I’ve had my hands full with Katie and her allergies and intolerances since I got her at 9 weeks old. She’ll be 5 years old on 6/24/14. It’s been a challenge and she and I have suffered through it. She always comes up with something she once ate that can no longer tolerate. Some of her latest have been alfalfa in any form and kelp in any form. So you just have to keep trying.

Oh, with the canned or any food, just cause it says Beef doesn’t mean that they haven’t added somewhere in the ingredient list chicken fat or lamb or some other protein so please please please read all the ingredients. Good Luck. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I’ve been busy with my older gal Hannah, almost 15 year old Maltese who was finally diagnosed yesterday with bladder cancer so, understandably I’m in denial and totally freaked out. My best to you and your dog.

[neezerfan]

I know how you feel. I think most of us are a little paranoid about our dog’s food and that’s why we are here. It does make you wonder if you should stop feeding it. I found this discussion; /dog-food-reviews/honest-kitchen-dog-food/ . Scroll down and read from about 2 weeks ago. There was also a discussion about one of the minerals being possibly too low or maybe reported incorrectly on the package but I can’t find a link to that right now. I still feed it as part of the rotation!

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.
I’m a 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight, unhealthy and are very picky.
I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned and when I asked him he said the “all life stages dog food is bad for dogs and will end up killing dogs and even cats.” So I got really scared and after loosing 2 dogs 2 cancer I wanted no part of it and would do my best to get people off All Life Stages dog food. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. While working there I would convince people to change their dogs all life stage dog food for something else and it worked. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Tina.

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.
I’m a 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight, unhealthy and are very picky.
I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned and when I asked him he said the “all life stages dog food is bad for dogs and will end up killing dogs and even cats. So I got really scared and after loosing 2 dogs 2 cancer I wanted no part of it and would do my best to get people off All Life Stages dog food. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. While working there I would convince people to change their dogs all life stage dog food for something else and it worked. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.
I’m a 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight and are very picky.
I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

[Tina]

I’m sorry for my posts last night.

I’ma 26 year old married women who lives with her parents because I can’t afford to move out. My mom is anti-natural dog food and doesn’t believe that it can help with any of the dogs problems at all. I had 2 of my dogs die of cancer in the past and all of my dogs have skin issues. My cats are overweight and are very picky.

I’ve gone and researched my butt off from books to the internet and even going to pet stores and reading the labels of each and every dog food out there. When it came to All Life Stages dog food I found lots of research and most of the answers came out to be both good and bad. My mom says to “ask the vet” he has all the answers but my vet is very old fashioned. Working at Petco for 3 years helped as well because you found out about the truth of these dog food companies and pet stores. They sell you anything that is on sale or has a deal with that company. Please help me and tell me the truth of dog food.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Tina.

[Mike Sagman]

I have already posted the answer to this question to the very best of my ability many times. Both in the forums and on our FAQ page.

Just the same, I’ll repeat it again for you here.

Editor’s Choice designation is based upon the subjective opinions of this editor and our research staff. Removing a company from the list should not be interpreted as the discovery of some crucially important finding.

Choosing brands for Editor’s Choice is based on as many facts as I can put together. And I’m perfectly willing to disclose those facts when appropriate.

However, it’s also based upon subjective opinion, insider tips, hunches and everything else I might personally know at any point in time. Yet sharing these unprovable notions publicly would be irresponsible — unfair to the companies and misleading to readers.

For legal and ethical reasons, I will never knowingly publish any unprovable (non-factual) opinion about any company anywhere on this website just to appease a reader’s curiosity or expectations for an explanation.

And that’s not ever going to change.

However, being able to freely add or remove products from Editor’s Choice without concern for avoidable legal consequences will allow me to do a much better job of helping you choose great brands while also protecting your pet from potential harm.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Mike Sagman.

[Akari_32]

Well I had a fun day today. And by fun I mean terrible, for both my mental and financial well being. -_-

Left for class like normal this morning, everything was good, blah blah blah. Got home, cat was in his usual spot on the couch. Went over, said hi, took Bentley out to go potty, and decided to take Haley for a walk. I was gone for like 30 minutes, came home, kitty-kitty was waiting in the window (where he’s not supposed to be unless the blinds are up, I might add). He came over to me, said hi and hung out for a few minutes, checked out the terrifying giant monster (yeah, right lol) that is Haley, decided it was best if he just left the living room, got half way to his cat tree, made a really nasty sound, and puked all over the place.

Like. Everywhere.

More than any cat should ever puke.

So I kick Haley out to the yard and lock Bentley up, and clean the mess up, and I look over at Alec, and he just looks terrible. Laying spread out on his side, looking litterally like some sort of road kill, kind of hic-upping, or something like that.

I figured maybe something was stuck i his throat, so I’m trying all kinds of things to get him to try and throw up again or cough it out, or something. At the same time I’m calling my vet. Which, go figure, it’s 5:04. They closed at 5. I call our secondary vet, and they’re closing in 5 minutes by the time I get their number. So they told me to call the emergency vet. By the time I get to the emergency vet, it’s been 45 minutes since he threw up.

They took him back right away and gave him an exam, and what not, while the lady at the desk took all my info and whatever medical history I could give them.

First they came in with a huge long list of crap. Xrays, tests, shots. Like $600 worth! I was like, that ain’t happening. I know this game! Not that i said that or anything. I was on the verge of tears since I realized something was wrong with him lol Even still, I didn’t have that much money to name, so clearly that wouldn’t work anyways.

But, we finally settled on xrays, a few shots (antibiotics, subq fluids, anti nausea) and staying over night on an IV. We were worried that he could have fluid in his lungs, or something lodged in his throat, since his breathing was terrible, and his gums were white. X-rays showed neither.

Turns out, he’s got something (she couldn’t even tell what– she sent it off to be looked at) lodged right at the end of his stomach. It was the same color as the bones were, and pretty big. I can’t think of anything that he could’ve gotten that would match up with that. So that changed our plan again. For the cheaper at this point, thankfully.

She didn’t want to give him any anti nausea medicine because she didn’t want to mask any symptoms of him trying to rid of whatever’s stuck in there. Makes sence. And she didn’t think he needed to stay overnight, either. So she gave him some fluids, told me to keep him confinded, and said no food or water tonight, and go to the regular vet in the morning for a follow up if he got worse and didn’t get any better.

Dished out $360 and went home, and got him set up in Haley and Dweezles cage (it’s huge) with a towel, bed and litter box, and there he’ll stay till morning I guess.

He’s looking better as the fluids absorb. He can support his weight now and isn’t all limp anymore. His breathing has slowed, but still looks a little labored. And he’s responding to my touch, and leaning in for cheek scratches. When he purrs is real gurgley and wet sounding, but he’s looking much better. His front half looks like a little fury sausage :p He doesn’t look sick any more, just more like sleepy-drugged kitty (he’s not drugged, though), but he’s alert to sounds, which I know is really good.

So yeah. That was our fun adventure for the day. I think it was worse for me than it was for him, though. I’m such a baby when it comes to animals being sick or injured. I was like crying all the way to vet, all the while making fun of myself in the back of head for being such a retard *rolls eyes* :p

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Martha –

Not all foods that are highly rated will be included in the Editor’s Choice. The star ratings take into account the ingredients and general analysis only – not the company itself. You can read more about how the Editor’s Choice companies are selected here.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[Bobby dog]

Hi camano:
Welcome to Akari’s cat food recommendations thread that we hijacked from her! lol I second everything that Akari and C4c wrote! If you get tired of reading through this thread or just don’t have the time, just post a question, we all pop in at one time or another to comment. I have fed brands from grocery stores, Wal-Mart, pet store chains, feed stores, and specialty stores. I keep a list of them; mostly so I don’t waste money buying something they don’t like again. So if you are thinking about trying out a food and want to know if anyone has used it before, just ask, one of us has probably fed it before.

Here’s some links to the pages I reference mostly on the catinfo.org site that C4c mentioned:
Home page: http://www.catinfo.org/
Commercial Foods: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods
Cat Food Nutritional Composition Charts: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm

If you have a budget to keep in mind, check out Akari’s “Coupons!” thread under off topic forums. You’ll find info on sales, coupons, and deals on pet foods there. If you have any coupon questions, Akari is the person to talk to. We discuss our pet food scores on this thread too though:

/forums/topic/coupons/

My five cats’ ages are between 6 -15 years; one has a hyperthyroid. I feed grain free kibble and canned food; I also rotate both foods. I feed mostly low carb foods and try to stay away from gravys, sauces, starches, glutens, grains, fish, and artificial ingredients. They are addicted to fish so I feed it a few times a week.

For kibble I feed Wellness Core Turkey & Duck, Innova Nature’s Table, and Merrick Chic. I am currently feeding EVO kitten & cat food that I got a B1G1 free deal on. Looking for something to replace Innova since Mars bought the P & G pet division.

Right now for canned I am feeding Wellness Complete Health Chic or Beef & Chic, Tiki Cat Sardine, Natural Balance Turkey & Giblets, Innova, Triumph Trout or Turkey, Pro Plan Select Chic & Liver, and Sheba pate’s without fish. I always have Friskies Poultry Platter, Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets, Chic & Liver, Tender Beef Feast, and Fish & Shrimp Feast Flaked on hand and sometimes Purina One Turkey Pate if I have coupons.

I am trying out Grandma Mae’s canned and all my cats like it. It’s GF but there is fish in all the recipes. The flavors all have similar ingredients just switched around. It went over well so I will probably buy it again. I have to rotate the better canned foods because they get tired of them, so next month I will feed other brands; but, they always eat their Purina. lol

If you are comfortable ordering on-line, check out the on-line retailers mentioned on this site and sign up for their e-mail updates. Chewy, Wag, Petflow, Petco, Petsmart, I know I am forgetting some. Those sites sometimes send through sale info and free shipping deals. A lot of them give discounts for first time customers and discounts for auto ship orders. I tend to only order on line when I definitely know it is a food my guys will eat and of course it has to be a better price than what I can get it for at a local pet store. I have ordered from Petco and Petflow without any issues. Petco.com has great deals about every other month. They will do no minimum purchase deals with free shipping and handling. They also sell smaller bags of kibble for half off during these sales. Another deal Petco does sometimes is buy $100 of products and you get $30 off your order with free S & H.

[Naturella]

Good job, Harper’s Mom! 🙂

Ok, guys, so my donation includes:

TOTW High Prairie Puppy – 5 lbs – $13 from PetLand
TOTW Pacific Stream Puppy – 5 lbs – $13 from PetLand
NutriSource Grain Free Lamb – 5 lbs – $14 from PetLand
NutriSource Grain Free Seafood Select (Salmon really) – 5 lbs – $15 from PetLand
2 free Castor&Pollux Organix Adult Samples – free from a health food store
4 cups of Bruno’s food mix – Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch:Vets Choice Holistic Health Extension:Victor Yukon Salmon in a ratio of 3:1:0.5 in the overall mix – free-ish from my stash, lol
4 J&W Small Chew bones (the nylon ones) – @ $.97/piece from PetSmart
3 rope toys – @ $.94/piece from WalMart
3 chew/rope toys – @ $.94/piece from WalMart
3 tennis balls for fetching – two @ $.99/piece and one @ $.01/piece from PetSmart
2 clickers – @ $.99/piece from PetSmart, but I already had them, so free-ish, lol
1 frisbee – @ $.99/piece from PetSmart
1 stuffed turtle toy – free gift from Petland
1 Small Greenie – free gift from Petland
8 Meow Mix Souffles – @ $.49 or $.50 from Target and PetSmart respectively

All for: $38 (includes also 12 more Meow Mix Souffles for friends’ cats, not the shelter ones)!

Here’s how it adds up: for the PetLand foods I had a coupon for $10-off a $25+ purchase, and they have a one-time promotion of buy-any-TOTW-bag-get-one-NutriSource-Free! So hence the cost of the NutriSource is nulled and for about $17 (with tax and stuff) I got 20 lbs of good food! And added the extra stuff, that can be used as treats! 🙂

Now, I just pray TSA doesn’t raid my bag and snatch it all up, cause I’d be sad… And hope the animals in the shelter like it all! 🙂

For reference – 4 bags of food, plus 2 plastic bags of toys, samples, and cat food, cost me under $40, while 2 non-full plastic bags of gifts for the family and friends cost me over $70. So I think I did good! 🙂

P.S. I think PetLand hates me though… sigh… Meh. lol

[Mr Corbette G G]

Although I have joined the Editor’s Choice area, I am finding it still difficult to select a good food for my cane corso. There is still a lot of choices to review even in the Editor choice area. What is really confusing and misleading is the Editor’s Top picks displayed above shop at an online retailer in the gray box that is displayed once a food choice is made. Once clicked its asking for subscription fee that already has been paid for Editor’s choice. Is this another area to subscribe to or is it just another description for the Editor’s Choice? I am considering ZiwiPeak dehydrated, there are no “red” controversial ingredients listed, any feedback?

[Susan]

Hi, when I first rescued my boy he would have the gurgling Bowel, I took Patch to the vets & vet said it was Colitis & to put him on a low fat diet, so vet put Patch on the Eukanuba Intestinal this kibble has stopped the gurgling bowel & rumbling, its a low residue kibble that breaks up easily & the fat% is 10%..I also could hear his bowel from another room & he too would not eat when this was happening of a morning he’d only eat grass also I would make him a piece of dry toast with either honey thinly spread or a fish paste very thinly spread as soon as he’d have his toast the gurgling would stop..Try a kibble with a low fat% 10% or under also watch what you feed at night… I dont give Patch no treats, nothing at night after his Eukanuba Intestinal kibble, this has also helped him….Have you tried the Wellness Simple range Limited ingredients they have the Duck & oatmeal & fat is min-11% u’d have to email Wellpet & ask what the max fat% is, they have the Simple Healthy weight at 8% fat its Salmon & Peas formula Im not sure about the peas thats why I havent tried as peas would give more wind pain..Ive been introducing Patch to the Holistic Select Senior also made by Wellpet cause the fat is min-10% I emailed Holistic Select & they said that the max fat is 11.98%.this kibble is a Hydrolized kibble & breaks up real easy.. I found when Patch ate real hard kibble he’d get the noisey tummy/bowel, so what I do know if I try a new kibble I boil the jug I put about 2 kibbles in a class of boiled water, I count to 40 sec then I get 2 small teaspoons & I place 1 of the kibbles that was in the boiling water on one spoon then I get the other spoon & push down, a good kibble should crush easily, a hard kibble wont crush & sometimes flings away..thats why I put 2 kibbles in the water just in case this happens but the Holistic Select Senoir or any of the Holistic Select kibbles are nice & soft after being in water after 40sec as the protein is hydrolized better on their digestion, Ive been trying to work out Patches health now for 1 year & we have it just right at the moment with the Eukanuba Intestinal & the Holistic Select senior Chicken meal & rice I only mix the Holistic Select & Intestinal for his lunch meal at the moment, But he was just on the Holistic Select for about 7months before I found the Holistic Select Senior, I did try a few other brand kibbles but they were too hard to digest.. Good-Luck also watch the fat if you give any treats or meats I do boiled chicken breast & boiled pumkin for breakfast as the rice irritates Patches bowel I have also tried the Eukanuba FP as Patch has itchy skin & the fat% was 15% too high gave him the rumbling tummy/bowel then diarrhea, the Eukanuba Intestinal is for their tummy/bowel & for skin problems it cleared all his itchy skin up but at the end of summer he gets seasonal allergies from pollens & grasses & there’s nothing you can really do for that except put him in a plastic bubble & keep him looked up all summer Lol

[Raffaele C]

I’ve been wanting to try alternate methods for preventing fleas/ticks for quite some time now but had a lot of difficulty finding reliable information. I didn’t even think that I could ask for some advice on these forums but then I came across the Off Topic. I did read through a few threads on here already about this but I was hoping to get a clearer and specifc recommendation for a natural flea/tick prevention program (specific product links, times of year, etc). Both my small dogs are on Frontline and are due for another dosage so I am hoping to try something new soon.

I’m really nervous about making this transition so I want to make sure I do it right. Can anyone help offer some advice?