[gdijess]

I have a 9 month old rottie who I am looking to add some other brands to his food rotation. He does have a few diet restrictions and I unfortunately am limited as to what I can get.
He is Allergic to Chicken and Lamb and definitely does better on limited ingredient diets. I prefer to stick to grain free foods but I am open to other options. He gets really gassy on fish foods (He’s currently on Zignature catfish right now) He does have quite a few sensitivities that we are trying to work out but I’m still not sure as to what they are.
He does best with Pork, Bison, Venison, Duck, Rabbit, and Beef as far as proteins go. He does okay on potatoes but I prefer sweet potatoes or peas in his food instead of potatoes. The food has to have appropriate calcium and phosphorous levels for a growing large breed puppy, He is already 100lbs and still has some growing left to do. (I don’t mind doing this part, I just want some other brand recommendations. I’ve combed this site up and down and haven’t found a one that I have access to yet. )
He does the best on Zignature Pork, but he has also been on nutrisource large bread puppy chicken and rice, Zignature Lamb, Natures Domain puppy, PureVita Duck and Oatmeal, and Taste of the Wild South West Canyon.

I wanted to add Acana Duck and Pear as well as Earthborn Holistic Venture Rabbit but unfortunately I can’t get it where I am at. (I work at a pet store and I order the dog food for the store so I can get quite a few different brands.)

I know I am probably pretty picky, but I’m just looking for other options because he does get bored eating the same kibble and I don’t want to risk him developing any other allergy or sensitivities.

[Susan]

Hi,
have you looked at “Canidae” Pure Wild formula, it’s Pork & Canidae Pure Sky is also really good dog food, Canidae grows all their veggies & fruit, if you go onto Canidae’s f/b page you’ll see their video….It’s good you’re rotaing his kibbles, it will strengthen his immune system, have you see how high the fiber is in the Earthborn Venture formula’s?? some formula’s are very high in fiber, I dont know how your boy does with his fiber but my boy who has IBD, Food Sensitivies & Skin Allergies doesn’t do well on high fiber diets..
Below is Canidae’s site, click on link then scroll down a little look to your right & you’ll see all the pages “Under the Sun” first & then all “Canidae’s” formula’s…
Canidae did really well when their kibbles were tested last year for Toxins & Contaminates, so did Canidae’s cheaper brand called “Under The Sun”, if I post the link or name for you to see all the popular dog foods that were tested it gets blocked google, “T0xins #n Pet F*0ds” & you’ll see a site come up that completed a study of 1,084 pet food products from 80 brands.
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

[gdijess]

That is for replying! I’ve glanced at canidae’s formulas, but never looked too closely since most of their formulas use some sort of chicken or lamb in them. The only one he could have would be the pork and I would prefer having other proteins as options! But I’ll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the suggestion!

[gdijess]

I should also add that the only food in satisfied with that he has been on is the Zignature Pork. The other foods listed are ones that he has tried and hasnt done well on. (Vomiting/regurgitating, hot spots, chewing on his feet, other skin issues, super gassy, and just all around uncomfortable.)

[anonymous]

I like Zignature, prior to that my dogs did well on Nutrisca as a base.
No potato, no grain
https://www.chewy.com/nutrisca-grain-free-salmon-chickpea/dp/35033

How about Zignature kangaroo?

[gdijess]

I was looking at nutrisca as an option but the only one he might be able to have would be fish and fish just tends to make him gassy and stink. It also uses eggs in the food and I’m 80% sure he’s sensitive with eggs. (If it comes from a chicken I avoid it at all costs. Its his worst allergy.)
I’m looking for another brand besides zignature, just so he doesn’t get bored with the same brand. I love zignature it’s one I highly recommend anytime somebody comes into the pet store where I work. He gets the canned zignature kangaroo as a treat every once in a while. Its actually going to be in his rotation here soon, I have some bags at work I’m going to be able to take for free since it’s been sitting and nobody wants to feed it. (They see Kangaroo and freak out lol) I think he might be sensitive to one of the ingredients in some of zignatures flavors, since he does better on pork than he does the catfish or turkey.

[anonymous]

How long has this been going on? Because I have a dog with environmental allergies, I had good results, but, only after going to a veterinary dermatologist.
I thought it was the food too, tried all kinds of things with poor results, my dog is doing well now on ASIT allergen specific immunotherapy times 5 years.
Turns out she can eat most foods but does best on Zignature whitefish (before that Nutrisca salmon) as a base.
So, I would consider going to a specialist if her symptoms go on for more than a year (4 seasons) without significant relief.
Food allergies are rare, environmental allergies are usually the culprit.

[gdijess]

It’s definitely a food allergy since all the symptoms are usually gastrointestinal. (Minus the hot spots and chewing on the feet. Which is what he gets when he eats lamb.) He does have allergies to smoke (I learned that after we had some really bad wildfires this last summer here in the pnw)
He does best on the Pork Zignature, he just gets bored and I don’t want him to develope any issues with that food because it’s already hard enough to find foods without chicken or chicken products in it. I am a creature of habit so I know for a fact it’s his food causing these symptoms. Not to mention it’s pretty much all the classic signs of a food allergy.
These issues have been going on since I got him at 8 weeks old in July. He has a clean bill of health from his vet, so there isn’t any parasite issues. It might just be that he is sensitive to them and it’s not a full blown allergy, but I refer to it as that because a lot of people don’t seem to know the difference. He’s just a sensitive dog lol

[anonymous]

I understand, my little dog was the same. At age 4 we ended up at the emergency vet times 2, then a veterinary dermatologist (we didn’t like him).
We tried another veterinary dermatologist (within a week of seeing the first one) with excellent results.
BTW: Dogs do not develop allergies from eating the same foods day after day.
RIDICULOUS! My dog now eats chicken almost every day!
For science based veterinary medicine go here http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=allergies
PS: Allergies get worse with age, not better.
You may want to notify the breeder (if you know) it’s a hereditary condition, best not to breed this dog.
Good luck

[anonymous]

“It might just be that he is sensitive to them and it’s not a full blown allergy”

That is an allergy! Only an intradermal skin test performed by a veterinary dermatologist can determine how sensitive your dog is to the allergens and what if any treatment is recommended.

Here is a good article, keep in mind there are even newer treatments available since the article was written
http://www.nevetdermatology.com/canine-atopic-dermatitis-treatment/

[gdijess]

There are definitely no plans on breeding him, he is the only puppy from this litter with allergies. The rest do terrific on their foods. I call some of his sensitivies allergies and the others just sensitivities die to the severity of the reaction. I have no access to an animal dermatolist unless I want to drive 4 hours.
I’ve seen proof both way for the evidence of developing allergies. But regardless I want him on a rotational diet because he gets bored and I have to get him food toppers to even eat his food when he doesn’t want to, and that can get pricey.
Thanks for the sites for information.
I’m mainly looking for other foods that my dog might be able to eat, so if you have suggestions please feel free to share.

[anonymous]

“I have no access to an animal dermatolist unless I want to drive 4 hours”.

Not true. You don’t want to go to one, so be it.

But they are everywhere. Just ask your vet for a referral.

https://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?ids=16_Find_Dermatologist

PS: I have no food recommendations as food has NO effect on environmental allergies.
You may be trying to treat the symptoms, GI distress is a symptom of untreated environmental allergies.
The immune system breaks down and the dog is vulnerable to all kinds of stuff.

[gdijess]

I just said it is NOT environmental allergies. And the site you gave me said that the closest one is actually 4 and half hours away. My dog’s vet is a large animal vet because the only vet that treats dogs and cats teaches at a school and never has time to see new clients, not to mention is actively trying to push for BSL in my area. I live in a small town that’s main focus is agriculture, so most people here don’t care much about their dogs and dont want to spend anything more than like 30 bucks on the animal. Half of the people here in town have never even seen a rottweiler. I’m not going to let somebody who has zero experience anywhere near my dog, especially if they are terrified of him. (Which happens more often than not) Driving to another state to see a dermatologist is not something I can do. I work in a job where its nearly impossible to take time off. I work two different jobs, so I’m working 7 days a week. (He gets to come with me) Its also something that isn’t needed because MY DOG HAS A FOOD ALLERGY.

Thank you for commenting on my post but since you have nothing else useful to say I would request that you stop. Have a wonderful day!

[anonymous]

Sorry if I offended you. I was just sharing what worked for my dog.
Of course, every dog is different
We only have to go to the specialist once a year, 2 hours round trip and totally worth it. Otherwise the specialist is available by phone and communicates with my regular vet if need be, so far that has not been necessary.
I wish you the best of luck.

[InkedMarie]

What do you mean you are limited to certain foods? Plenty of places online carry a good assortment of foods: Chewy, PetFlow, Pet Food Direct, Amazon…

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by InkedMarie.

[gdijess]

You weren’t “just sharing what worked for your dogs” You were berating me and claiming that I didn’t know what was wrong with my dog and completely ignored what this thread was suppose to be, Dog food recommendations that fit the parameters that I listed.
I would recommend reading through everything again before posting and think to yourself, “is this what the op is needing more information on and asking for?” If not it’d be better to leave it. Otherwise you sound like you are accusing people of being terrible pet owners for asking advice here.

[gdijess]

I order pet food through where I work, which makes these high quality foods easier for me to access. The warehouse we get the food through only carries certain brands, they don’t carry and champion brand foods at their pnw location and just discontinued carrying earthborn holistic. I don’t support chewy due to them being bought out by petsmart. I also don’t support amazon for similar reasons. I haven’t heard of the other sites but I will take a look at them.

For a bag of pork zignature (27#) I only spend around 45 bucks (give or take) because of my discount. My discount makes it so I can afford to feed a 100lb dog high quality food.

Also there is the whole “allergy thing” I’m trying to find foods that dont contain any of my dog’s allergens.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by gdijess.

[pugmomsandy]

Earthborn Holistic Venture has limited ingredient kibbles but I don’t know if they are appropriate for large breed pups.

[gdijess]

That’s one that I wanted to get him on, but unfortunately it’s not available in my area.

[Author]

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