[Cassandra S]

Hi there! I’m new to the forum, but I follow DFA news as closely as possible.

I own two pitbull mixes. Emma is a 2 year old German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix with back leg/hip problems. She has not be diagnosed with hip displaysia, but I have been told to put her on glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. Zooey is a 1 year old Pit Bull/possible Labrador mix…(not quite sure what she’s mixed with.) Both dogs are rescues.

Emma and Zooey both have gas issues. Lately Emma has been vomiting at least 2 or 3 times a week. Occasionally she vomits up pieces of kibble, other times its just foamy with bits of grass. Both dogs are a little picky. It’s been impossible to find a food that they both like. They are currently on Purina Dog Chow (which I hate, but I had to do it because of budget constraints) but I am looking to switch them over to a better quality food that won’t break my wallet (or my boyfriend’s). In the past, I had Emma on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, but she stopped eating it; I then switched her to Nature’s Variety Duck. She liked it for a while but then she started to only eat the freeze-dried raw kibble and not the rest of her food. Then I switched her to Merrick’s Bison and Sweet Potato recipe, but she began to chew incessantly on her legs to the point where she was going bald. This is about the time I rescued Zooey.

Zooey was on Vet Prescribed Science Diet. She ate it and then Emma started eating it. It concerned me because it was a puppy food and Emma has problems with her legs and I didn’t want her to gain weight and create more issues. I eventually put both of them on Purina True Instinct (the turkey venison one?) and they both liked it and ate it up, but again Emma would begin to vomit occasionally. I then switched them to Taste of the Wild, but neither of them would touch it. I tried Merrick’s Pork and Sweet Potato recipe and Zooey loved it, but Emma once again began itching and chewing and I worried for her health so I switched to Nature’s Variety again, which neither of the ate…

Since I just recently moved and changed jobs, money has been tight, so that is the reason they ended up on Purina Dog Chow…

Any sort of recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Neither dogs have allergy diagnoses, but I believe Emma may be allergic to fish (both Merrick foods had fish in them) since she had the itching and chewing problems.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Cassandra –

If you’re an Editor’s Choice member I would suggest checking out the list of recommended budget-friendly dog foods.

If not, a few reasonably priced foods that I hear good things about are Pure Balance (available at Walmart), 4Health (available at Tractor Supply) and Victor (available at some feed stores and online).

[aquariangt]

Authority grain free and fromm Classic are the two that jump to mind- in addition to hdms suggestions

[Travis A]

Cassandra, sorry to hear about your little one’s issues, I have recently discovered Zach’s Quality Dog Food out of Breckenridge, TX. On this site it is rated 4.5 stars, the cost at the most is $37.50 for a 50lb bag, which you cannot beat anywhere for a good quality food. I had to order mine online and took about 7 days to get here and i paid no shipping cost. My 2 pit/boxer/lab boys- i believe i am not 100% on the boxer/lab part but they are about 5 months and have been on it now for about 3 weeks and they eat all of it everytime, seem to not have any issues, stool is good, coat is good, and they are putting on weight at a healthy rate. I was too looking for a budget quality good and this seems to be the best deal i have came across, they have a direct site under their name so i would check it out along with the review on this site. Hope this helps.

[Cassandra S]

Thank you so much for your recommendations!! I had tried Authority on the past, but they wouldn’t eat it, so I took it back.

I’m going to try out HDM’s suggestion Pure Balance and see how they do. I hate that they’ve switched foods so much. If only they weren’t so picky! Lol

[Author]

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