[DogFoodie]

Hi Leslie,

I’m sorry I don’t have any advice to offer, but I read your post the THK thread and I just wanted to say that I’m sure your friend is smiling down on you from above as you care for her pup so lovingly and with such care and compassion.

I also wanted to bump your thread because I know there are others here this evening that can offer their wonderful advice.

[DogFoodie]

I posted this a while back; this is the list that I use, which Susan Thixton created and originally posted 06/06/2012: http://truthaboutpetfood.com/who-makes-what-in-pet-food

[DogFoodie]

Last I knew, the Kobe varieties were canned by Evanger’s. I have no hesitation to use the varieties caaned in Thailand, but would never use those canned by Evanger’s. I bought a can of the Kobe before I realized and never had the courage or felt right feeding it so I threw it away, unopened.

[DogFoodie]

Brother’s Complete makes a really nice Venison & Egg Allergy Formula.

[DogFoodie]

No kibble can be carb free, it would have to be a raw product.

[DogFoodie]

I asked Blue Buffalo to tell me exactly from where do they source their vitamin / mineral premix; this was their response:

Hi Betsy,

Thank you for taking the time to contact BLUE. Our foods all are manufactured
here in the USA. Many of our ingredients, such as our grains and meats, come
from the USA except for our lamb and venison which can be free range from New
Zealand. Where possible our suppliers are instructed to source their ingredients
from the US. Where the ingredients are not readily available in the US, such as
many vitamins, minerals and nutriceuticals, our suppliers will only work with
reputable foreign companies, and subject all ingredients to rigorous quality
testing. We do not source any ingredients from China. All of our ingredients
are USDA approved and inspected.

I hope this helps!

Take care,

Tracy
Blue Buffalo Co.

I responded that no, that the response didn’t help and asked my question again.

Talk about spin. She tells me that when ingredients aren’t available in the U.S., their suppliers work with reputable foreign companies. But, she tells me that “we” don’t supply anything from China. She fails to tell me whether or not their suppliers procure vitamins / minerals from China. I’m sure they do, but it’s fun watching them try to make it looks as if they don’t.

[DogFoodie]

I have no hesitation to buy online.

Chewy.com and Wag.com, are my two favorites. Chewy in particular has excellent prices and outstanding customer service. If you ever have a problem with an order you place with them, they’ll make it right. Both Chewy and Wag have excellent return policies also.

[DogFoodie]

Halo refuses to disclose their co-packer, they say it’s proprietary. I don’t seem them being chosen for Editor’s Choice.

[DogFoodie]

Why are you planning to wean off of the Prozac if it’s working?

I don’t have any experience with dogs with cognitive impairment, but the overwhelming majority of my clients have mental illness.

[DogFoodie]

It’s the pot calling the kettle black. I think both are deceitful.

[DogFoodie]

Personally, I think they’re lying.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tKir4DEQvAoJ:truthaboutpetfood.com/pet-food-customer-service-test+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

I just emailed them and exactly from where they source their vitamin / mineral premix. Lets see what they say, if they respond at all. My guess is, they won’t.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by DogFoodie.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Melissa,

Here’s the review for Victor Grain Free: /dog-food-reviews/victor-grain-free/

And, here’s the review for Infinia: /dog-food-reviews/infinia-dog-food/

[DogFoodie]

Hi 3dognight,

I’d highly recommend Wholesome Blend or Horizon Legacy and / or Horizon Pulsar.

I know your prices are higher than prices in the US, but both are excellent quality; and here, budget-friendly foods. Both are made in Canada.

I have used both and think highly of them.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Robert,

First, how awesome you adopted them together! They must be thrilled to have stayed together.

I have to say, I agree with Marie and Sandy. I’m not a fan of Natural Balance. For those who need it as a last resort due to intolerance allergy issues, it’s a different matter. The product is owned by Dell Monte. They’ve been know to have some QC issues; for example, some limited ingredient product have been found to have proteins other than those listed. Not good if you’re feeding a dog with food allergies.

Since you’re not aware of any intolerance issues, you have lots of great choices. In addition to those Sandy mentioned, I’d also add that Canine Caviar has tiny kibble. And, Wellness, is a great product, made in-house at WellPet, and they have lots of both grain inclusive and grain free options for toy and small breed dogs.

[DogFoodie]

So, Blue Buffalo denied that they sourced any vitamin / mineral premix from China?

[DogFoodie]

Oh Jan! I’m so sorry that poor Ru is having health issues. I know he’s in good hands and getting tons of love there with you.

[DogFoodie]

I’m using Nature’s Variety Instinct biscuits at night right now. I’m sure you’d like the ingredients. They’re grain free and have few ingredients, but they’re not big. I just got out the tape measure, they’re two inches long. Another product I use for years is Vital Essential freeze dried niblets. I only use the tripe, because the only ingredient is tripe and one of my pups has some intolerance issues and he tolerates these perfectly. They look like large breed kibble, so rationing out portions to both my little and big pups is easy.

[DogFoodie]

Hi cdubau,

You should feed your pup a controlled level of Calcium until he’s reached at least 80% of his adult size, at which time he begins to regulate his Calcium uptake. For a large breed puppy, that’s at least eight to ten months of age.

[DogFoodie]

Congrats to your daughter on her new pup! I’d say the weight she’s at currently seems on target for an eight week old lab.

One thing your daughter should keep in mind is that there are actually only two AAFCO nutrient profiles, one is growth, the other adult maintenance. Growth is the same thing as “All Life Stages.” Foods that are labeled for puppies are growth, or ALS, foods. Growth foods are suitable for dogs of all ages, but adult maintenance foods should only be fed to adults.

I could be mistaken, but I highly doubt that HDM has any foods on her list that aren’t ALS foods.

One more thing your daughter might want to pick up when she’s out is a can of plain, canned, pumpkin puree for the inevitable new puppy loose stool.

[DogFoodie]

Most vitamin / mineral pre-mixes are sourced from China. Where did Blue Buffalo say they source their vitamin / mineral pre-mix from?

Blue Buffalo refuses to disclose who ask of their co-packers are. Wellness is a quality product manufactured in-house at Wellpet.

Use Blue Buffalo if you want. Make sure to read others experiences with it and the quality control issues from using multiple co-packers so you know what you’re getting into first.

I’d never feed Blue Buffalo.

[DogFoodie]

That is fascinating Aquariangt! I’m going to put in a link to your other post from the Fromm thread: /forums/topic/fromms-gold-holistic/#post-40495.

I believe in a lot of alternative Eastern medicine practices and take my Sam for chiropractic with a TCVM practitioner. We discussed acupuncture for him, but decided against it at the time. I haven’t discussed Chinese herbals with my TCVM vet yet. I have been looking at some Hebsmith products that interest me, but I am reluctant to add anything to Sam’s diet right now. The nearest TCVM food therapist is not far from me, but it’s a crazy drive into the city with Sam.

I’m not sure what’s going on with my Sam, I can’t pathom nhat he’s reacting to everything and after speaking with Shawna, I’m wondering if it could be a detox issue. I have one food left in his rotation that worked for him like magic last time we used it. It’s Mulligan Stew lamb and he’s currently eating Victor Lamb Meal & Rice, but I have also noticed that Sam pants a lot in the evening and feels warm to the touch. Sometimes his ears feel hot, both of them, not just the yeasty one. I have one food that interests me that he hasn’t tried, NV LID and I was thinking of trying the duck, because it’s a cooling food. He tried B2B duck before, but he was very young and the heavy organ content was a bit too much for him at the time.

I plan to put Sam on Mulligan Stew starting this weekend and pray that it works like it has before, but something so far hasn’t been working and I’m going to give a lot of thought to food energetics, and pursue that direction.

I love knowing that others have had success with food energetic and am really eager to hear more about others experiences!

[DogFoodie]

Sorry! I knew that, but my auto correct obviously preferred cooking and I’ve taken out my contacts! LOL!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Aquariangt,

When you say one of yours good hot on lamb, what exactly do you mean? I may be wondering the same about one of mine.

Sorry for the hijack!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Jan,

What symptoms is your vet trying to treat with cooking foods?

[DogFoodie]

Actually, I don’t believe any of the varieties of Nature’s Logic kibbles contain sweet potato.

[DogFoodie]

Personally, I’d never patronize Petland, they sell puppy mill puppies in their stores.

[DogFoodie]

I love them both. The kibble sizes are very similar, both tiny, perfect for everything from toy breeds on up. I use the CC Lamb & Pearl Millet and Chicken & Pearl Millet; and all of the Nature’s Logic products. I like that both use gluten free pseudo grains and choose both over grain free products that contain legumes. I’m OK with peas, but try not to over do them. My sensitive pup cannot do chickpeas or lentils. CC is a great more limited ingredient product. I love that NL is a whole food product with no added synthetic vitamins or minerals.

All that said, I can now no longer use either for my sensitive dog who cannot do fish, fish meal or fish oil and apparently, his newest sensitivity, garlic, which is in the CC formulas I was using. NL contains sardine meal. I’ll tell you, is very hard to find a fish free food – CC is fish free. I’ll continue to use both for my dog with no food intolerance issues. The fact that my dog can no longer eat either, in no way diminishes my opinion of either.

[DogFoodie]

What was the diagnosis?

If you’re dealing with yeast in the ear, you might want to reconsider what you’re feeding. The first sign of my dog’s food intolerance is usually a gunky right ear.

[DogFoodie]

It wouldn’t hurt to try a bit of extra fiber in the diet. Plain canned pumpkin is a good source as well as ground chia seed or psyllium. You could even use plain Metamucil.

While it could be a fiber issue, it could also very well be an allergy issue. I have a pup with some intolerances and smelly anal glands are always a big red flag that he’s reacting to something. I would investigate any possible food intolerance issues right away.

Was she having any problems when she was eating the Orijen or has it just been since the switch? Remember intolerance can be to proteins or other ingredients. There are foods that are high histamine that produce the same type of response. I have a friend whose dog cannot eat anything with tomato.

[DogFoodie]

I also don’t think I’d try to flush it out, it might just force whatever’s in there further down into the ear canal. Poor pup. He must be miserable.

[DogFoodie]

There are several threads with lots of great information and links. If you click on the forums tab, you’ll see the search box. Type in titers and go from there!

[DogFoodie]

Hey Naturella,

You might reconsider those annual vaccines in favor of titers. Mine get the year rabies vaccines, but nothing else. We ran titers last year at their annual wellness visits. This greatly reduces their unnecessary exposure to toxins.

[DogFoodie]

Nature’s Logic makes a whole food supplement called All Food Fortifier that contains taurine.

[DogFoodie]

Hmm, I could’ve sworn THK was on the list also. Maybe it was on the March list, but not the April list.

[DogFoodie]

Oh my gosh, it definitely has hit home for me. I hate what he and Turbo are going through, but appreciate immensely him sharing their experience with us.

Patty, do you think that chlorella would carry that same cautions as milk thistle in this case?

[DogFoodie]

Are you certain that Evanger’s cans Canine Caviar? Last I knew, Performance Pet was the co-packer for Canine Caviar wet food.

[DogFoodie]

Hi kvee,

I wanted so badly to use an alternate methods of flea control this year. I purchased Mercola Natural Flea and Tick Defense, which was later recommended by my integrative vet also.

But, my primary defense was to be Springtime’s Bug Off Garlic. I chose the granules, which is just garlic; but, they also make a chewable with other ingredients. Sadly, my dog with some food intolerance issues had a reaction and I wasn’t able to continue the product. I know plenty of folks here have mentioned that they’ve used this product with amazing success. If you have concerns about garlic, visit this link and be sure to click on the “studies / etc.” tab for lots of great information and studies about giving your dog garlic: http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/bug-off-garlic-dogs

[DogFoodie]

LOL! I know Bobby Dog! I was just thinking about that very same thing.

I was out cutting down my ornamental grasses and doing a little mindless Winter clean up since the weather is finally breaking and my mind was wandering. I kept thinking how Sundays will just not been the same for six long months! It’s probably for the best though…, I’ve developed this very weird obsessive crush on Daryl. ; )

[DogFoodie]

Hi Jake’s Mom,

If you order from Swanson, they have excellent prices on all of their products including coconut oil and they have a huge selection: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/q?kw=+coconut+oil.

Swanson has various promos including percentages off when you sign up for emails, BOGO, free shipping for order over a certain amount, etc. They’re an excellent company. I placed a huge order at Christmas and made up baskets of Bob’s Red Mill products (Swanson has a huge selection), dried fruits, other foods and goodies for a few Christmas gifts.

[DogFoodie]

Hi cdubau,

It’s on page 15. Here you go: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

[DogFoodie]

Hey! I was right!

[DogFoodie]

That’s funny! I recall Dr. Mike saying that in the video as well and wondered also.

I think it might be Whole Earth Farms.

/dog-food-reviews/whole-earth-farms-dog-food-dry/
/dog-food-reviews/whole-earth-farms-grain-free/

[DogFoodie]

I’m assuming he’s had a check-up and is healthy.

Something else, in addition to the suggestions above (especially canned, home-cooked, dehydrated, commercial raw or pre-mixes) would be Abady granular. Here’s a link to their site: http://www.therobertabadydogfoodcoltd.com/ToyBreed_5.htm

OK, their website is strange and no, the product has never been reviewed on DFA; but, I have used it and there are other regular posters here who have used it with success. If you’re interested in the product, I’d call Abady directly, they’re very helpful over the phone. I’ve called them myself and they were very friendly and knowledgeable.

Abady granular is a different texture than kibble, it looks very much like soft brown sugar but, it still contains starch. Your dog would just sort of lap it up. The bonus is that Abady granular is a very high calorie food at about 735 kcals per cup. If your pup tried this and liked it, at least he would be getting his calories.

When I bought it, I got mine here: http://www.1800whiskers.com/, but I’m sure there are other places you could find it.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Florire,

Is your guy neutered or intact?

Hi Tabitha,

Great to have you with us!!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by DogFoodie.

[DogFoodie]

OK, then, that works for me, too. They’ll get the HW preventative on the first of the month and milk thistle for a week starting on the tenth.

I don’t think I would’ve ever been this vigilant if it weren’t for Losul sharing his experience with Turbo.

Thanks Patty!

[DogFoodie]

That’s helpful information. I just learned exactly how Lufenuron works as well. : ) Thanks very much.

So you think it would be safe to give milk thistle for a week beginning at day nine? Would you do it if you were me?

[DogFoodie]

Ah ha gotcha Patty! Thank you so much! I thought I recalled the waiting period was longer, but couldn’t recall how long. I think with so much uncertainty, I’ll skip the milk whistle while I’m using Sentinel.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Bobby Dog,

I just ran some errands and hoped I had missed the part I just saw ~ the midseason finale. I hate Herschel’s death.

[DogFoodie]

Hi guys, I’ve never read this thread since I don’t have cats, but a thought occurred to me today.

We know Diamond makes some of the 4 Health for dogs. Do they make the cat food as well?

[DogFoodie]

My vet sells monthly heartworm doses. When Sam, my Golden, was a tiny puppy he worked through several weight ranges within a period of time. I guess since those rebates come through the very, my vet gets the rebates and passes the savings along up front.

[Author]

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