[LexiDog]

The only ones I can think of are Nutrisca, Live Free, some of the Great Life.

[LexiDog]

Thanks for the great tip Akari!! I just received my order today. They are in the new packaging and exp 2/15.

[LexiDog]

Going to Acana is a good choice. I had a similar experience with my dog. I tried the Orijen Puppy and it was just too rich for her. I believe I went to the Fromm Grain Free and then to Acana Grasslands after I tried Orijen. I was able to reintroduce Orijen after a while and she did great!
Orijen and Acana are truly top quality kibbles!

[LexiDog]

I stand corrected on the raw. However I should have been more specific stating that if you want to go with a kibble LiveFree would be a good one. Not that it is the BEST choice overall but a good one for kibble.

[LexiDog]

I paid too.

[LexiDog]

If you are not into making a homemade food (I am not at this moment but may later consider it), you can try commerical raw dog food. Stella & Chewys and Primal are wonderful. Those are what I feed my dog.

Kibble – Dogswell Live Free has a low glycemic impact becuase they use peas and chickpeas for their starch. Compared to Science Diets W/D (Glucose Management formula) which has 51% carbs, Live Free looks pretty good. Their canned food is supposed to be even lower in carbs.

I just emailed them to find out their carb & ash content. Below is what they replied with:
Carbs
LIVE FREE Puppy Chicken 21%
LIVE FREE Adult Chicken 23%
LIVE FREE Senior Chicken 24%
LIVE FREE Adult Lamb 21%
LIVE FREE Adult Salmon 22%
LIVE FREE Adult Turkey 22%

Ash
LiveFree Puppy Chicken 7.8%
LiveFree Adult Chicken 7.7%
LiveFree Senior Chicken 8.8%
LiveFree Adult Lamb 8.7%
LiveFree Adult Salmon 8.7%
LiveFree Adult Turkey 9.7%

Hope this helps!

[LexiDog]

When I bought my girl home she had demodectic mange. We did the Mitaban dip every other week just because I didn’t want to do the oral ivermectin. Looking back now I don’t think it would have made a difference if I did the dip or the oral meds.

Since Demodectic Mange is caused by a weakened immune system, I did what the vet prescribed (Mitaban dips) and did everything I could think of to help her immune system.

I started her on a grain-free diet (I believe it was Fromm Grain Free and then Acana Regionals), gave her BIXBI’s Organic Superfood Immunity Daily Supplement, Vital Digest by Only Natural Pets washed all of her bedding and sanitized her crate. I know that Demodectic Manage is not contagious but I just took the extra caution by washing everything.

I suggest you boost your puppy’s immune system with good food and some supplements along with your vets treatment plan.

[LexiDog]

Weight Diet sound right.

[LexiDog]

W/D is a low fat glucose management dog food by SD that is supposed to be for diabetic dogs. The ingredients are: Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Mill Run, Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Lactic Acid, Caramel color, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Flaxseed, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C) , Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, L-Carnitine, Iodized Salt, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, L-Threonine, Beta-Carotene, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors.

[LexiDog]

Acana Grassland is a wonderful food with lamb. Compare the ingredients and you will see.

[LexiDog]

If he’s teething try putting some water on his food and letting it’s it for a while until it is soft. His teeth could be hurting.

[LexiDog]

It says “We recommend any of these brands of large breed puppy diets: Science Diet, Eukanuba, Eagle, and Nutro”. Large breed puppies and explains why these are recommended based on the protein, fat and calcium to phosphorus levels. I am sure the recommended foods are appropriate for large breed dogs but I am sure that there are quality foods out there with way better ingredients.

My poor friends dog is on the W/D diet because he is diabetic and says that he poops 6 TIMES A DAY!!! That is because he is eating just corn!! There are better foods out there especially for diabetic dogs.

SD Rx foods are garbage

[LexiDog]

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago IL. Currently have one dog, Lexington or Lexi for short. She’s a 2 yr old Lab mix. According to the doggie DNA tests she is mostly Lab with some Staffordshire Terrier and Rat Terrier. Adopted her from a local rescue group. We do nose work and she has her NW1 title and received the Harry Award. The Harry Award is given to the most outstanding rescue dog that demonstrates extraordinary ability and spirit in nose work at the NW1 level. So proud of her! We are soooo ready for our NW2, just keep getting wait listed in all of the trials I enter because there are so many entries! Gotta keep trying.

How do you add a picture to your profile? I need to get my baby’s picture on here. I love looking at everyone’s pictures and know that all of these pups are being taken care of so well!

[LexiDog]

All right! Just wanted to make sure it was ok. Thanks!!!

[LexiDog]

Yeah, I think the Merrick Classics would be a good place to start! I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but remember to do the transition slowly over a period of several days. Fruitables makes “Switch” to help transition that is just pumpkin. I used their Pumpkin & Ginger digestive supplement because it has other ingredients like ginger to help calm upset stomachs.

Good luck! Let us know how it turn out!

[LexiDog]

Plato’s Farmer’s Market treats are fairly large with good ingredients. My dog likes the Chicken & Vegetables one.

[LexiDog]

Orijen is probably the best kibble out there. Merrick Grain Free is all good and a little less expensive.

Grandma Lucy’s Pureformane line is a great freeze dried line.

My girl inhales her food too. When I give her commercial frozen raw, I only give her 1/3 of her meal at a time spread out as thin as I can get it on a small plate so she has to work for it a little. For kibble, I use a portion pacer ball in her bowl. Basically a big ball in her food so she can’t gulp it down too fast. Dog Games has an interactive feeder bowl shaped like a 3D flower with a bunch of nooks and crannies so she has to eat her food a lot slower. Sometimes I will put 1/2 her meal at a time in her Kong Wobbler toy. She loves it and makes her eat slower.

[LexiDog]

TJ – is “SD” Science Diet? Just want to clarify.

As crazy4cats said make sure to check with your vet to see if there are any parasites that are causing the problem first.

Personally, I think that it could have to do with the level of protein and fat in the Merrick GF especially if you are transitioning from Science Diet. The protein and fat amounts are dramatically different. Also, dogs have individual needs, so what may be good for one dog may not be good for another. Science Diet averages around 25% protein and Merrick GF has almost 43% (dry matter) protein with a few exceptions that go as slow as 33.7%. But either way Merrick is a much richer food than Science Diet that their system is not used to.

If the pumpkin is not helping than I suggest you try a moderate protein food between 32% to 35%. Such as Fromm Four Star Grain Free, ACANA Regional’s, Annamaet GF or Born Free. Merrick does have a Lamb & Sweet Potato GF formula that has a moderate protein amount but the other GF’s just go up from there. After feeding the moderate protein food for a while, try again switching to the higher protein levels.

[LexiDog]

Thanks for the info. I did visit the website before I posted my question. Just wanted some other opinions. Thanks again!!

[LexiDog]

Look into Orijen. I love that food! High calories and full I goodness!!!

[LexiDog]

Acana just came out with a new recipe for their Singles which are a limited ingredient food. The new formula is grain and potato free. I haven’t seen it on shelves or on line yet but it is coming and will be awesome!! Just be careful because the old formula has oats in it.

Orijen is also a super premium food that is grain and potato free but contain multiple protein sources.

These 2 are defiantly worth looking into. Hope your pups feel better.

[LexiDog]

Digestive enzymes are a great idea! I don’t think they can prevent but certainly wouldn’t hurt. They do make ones specifically for dogs and should have the dosages by weight on the container.

My girl had elevated pancrease levels, not full out pancreatitis. So I have done a lot of research and comparisons on low fat dog foods. I can see how you are getting frustrated tryin to find an appropriate food for her that she will actually eat!!! Getting her to eat it is the hard part. Do check out DFA’s Suggested Low Fat Dog Foods list. You might be able to get some samples of the Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Chicken from a specialty store.

[LexiDog]

Since Millie doesn’t really care for dry kibble, look into Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Chicken and The Honest Kitchen Zeal formulas. There are a very few frozen raw formulas but they are hard to find and tend to be expensive. I’m not a huge fan of Bravo! but hey have a turkey formula that does not have a lot of fat. Primal has Venison and Rabbit that are low for raw but I find these to be expensive. Good luck! Let us know how things work out.

[LexiDog]

Primal has a great starter kit that has lamb, beef, chicken and duck. There are only four oz of each but it is not expensive and has a variety. I personally like primal because of the quality ingredients and amount of produce seems to be more than other commercial raw.

See if he likes any of the other proteins.

[LexiDog]

My dog loves treacheas too but unfortunately she would throw up the cartilage pieces. They looked like little pieces of shaved plastic about an inch and a half long. I don’t give hem to her anymore. These were the dried ones. Would it make a difference if they were raw?

[LexiDog]

I wonder how that would work with frontline or revolution. I have to research this. Thanks for the suggestions and ideas!

[LexiDog]

She’s a 37 pound lab mix. We did the DNA test and it said that she has stafford shire terrier and rat terrier too but is probably at least 70% lab. She is black with a little bit of white with short fine hair. She is 2 years old.

I know Primal has a Turkey & Sardine formula I could try and increase the amount of coconut oil a little.

Someone said that they give their dogs the brewers yeast tabs…Would that help with her coat? I don’t know.. I’m not really into giving her too many supplements and what not.

[LexiDog]

I don’t know but, I want to ask the same question about quinoa. Is it better than potato, chickpeas or lentils?

Grandma Lucy’s just came out with a new line called Valor which includes quinoa.

[LexiDog]

Sorry I didnt see that you already tried the Annamaet Lean. Look into Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Chicken.

[LexiDog]

You can also check out Annamaet Lean and Honest Kitchen Zeal. Also, Orijen Senior. I had to throw that in there even though it has a higher fat percentage just because I love Orijen.

[Author]

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