[Michelle D]

I have been through several types of food with my 1.5 year old Beagle. When he was a puppy we had him on Science Diet and then Fromm. He had urinary crystals and was placed on Royal Canin Urinary S/O. He had problems with scratching his face, chewing paws and ear infections. I chose not to use the Apoquel the vet suggested and asked if food could be changed. After neutering him at a year old with the vet’s approval, we took him off the urinary diet and put him on Victor grain inclusive Ocean Whitefish. The itching and ear infections stopped but he gained weight and had gastritis a couple times. He was placed on Science diet canned low fat gastrointestinal and had some paw chewing and face scratching so switched to Pro Plan Sensitive Salmon. The itching, paw chewing occurs when he goes outside sometimes but not nearly as bad as it was. However, he needs to lose weight. He is a 15 inch Beagle and 37 lbs. The vet only wants him to have a cup a day and said I could use green beans. They only like the Big 3 food companies so I am limited on recommendations. Of course he acts like he is starving all the time and has started some bad behaviors in an attempt to steal food. I am searching for a weight management food, but most have chicken. I am not sure if the allergies were to chicken, corn, wheat or soy…they possibly could be environmental also. I have read up on so many foods here and then read reviews with scary stories in the comments sections and just don’t know which way to go. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

[anonymous]

Regarding allergies, your best bet is to go to a board certified Veterinary Dermatologist (asap) for exam/diagnosis/treatment.

Continue to work closely with your General Practice Vet regarding GI issues.
It’s not the chicken (just my opinion based on my experience with a allergy dog)

This is a good weight management food, run it by your vet https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-weight-management-gold-food-for-dogs

Add water to all dry food, and use wet/canned food when possible.

PS: They (dogs) all act like they are starving, no matter how much you feed them. They are scavengers. Don’t be fooled 🙂

[haleycookie]

How about doing research of your own? Find a low carb food and feed that. You’re dog will be more satiated and loose weight while keeping muscle. Vets usually don’t know much about nutrition unfortunately. The big three are all filled with carbs which will lead to weight gain in most dogs if not careful. As far as allergies go. My lab has seasonal allergies outside so I have to wipe his paws off and his lower belly if he walks in grass while outside. That helps a little but some of those allergies aren’t possible to completely get rid of.

[anonymous]

PS: Maybe these articles will help http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

[Michelle D]

Thank you so much for the suggestions and articles. I really appreciate it!

[Michelle D]

After researching, I have narrowed it down to 2 foods:

CANIDAE All Life Stages Less Active Formula Dry Dog Food or Fromm weight management Gold. I

tend to over research and have found positive and negative/scary reviews on both. Has anyone here had success with either of these foods?

Thank you!

[anonymous]

Fromm, yes. This is a good food. It tends to be a little bit higher in fiber, so you may see softer stools at first.

But this should go away as the dog gets used to the new food after a week or two.

Weigh once a week, you will see a difference soon.

[Michelle D]

I went to purchase the Fromm from the only dealer that sells it locally. The owner said they are not purchasing any more and it was listed as a DCM brand, so I purchased the Canidae. I started with a small amount mixed in with his regular food and within an hour, he was scratching at his mouth. So, I am guessing it is possibly a chicken allergy he has after all. The Pro Plan Sensitive Salmon he is on now is great for the itching, but it is causing him to gain weight (even with only a cup a day). He is also scooting and leaking anal gland fluid even though I had them expressed less than 2 weeks ago. I will go back to the drawing board trying to find a chicken free dog food with grains that is not as high in calories and fat as what he is on now.

[Patricia A]

Michelle D try Stella & Chewy’s. It’s a very popular brand with many selection including grain inclusive and limited ingredient selections. Here is their f/b page . As you read you can see many people post that their dogs do really well on this food. Worth a try but introduce slowly . Feed a little less and try to exercise your beagle more. Hope this helps.
https://www.facebook.com/stellaandchewys/

[Michelle D]

Thank you!

[anonymous]

https://www.gofromm.com/

[Author]

Posts