[DogFoodie]

My Golden reacts to fish, among other things, and his ears immediately get yeasty when he eats any fish. My Golden doesn’t have any true allergies, but plenty of food intolerance / hyper-sensitivities. I’d look for a new limited ingredient food that is a different animal protein and binder and is as different as possible from what you’re feeding currently.

[DogFoodie]

Maybe I missed something Peggy, but why are you choosing to use flax rather than fish or some other form of oil for the Omega 3s?

[DogFoodie]

Did you use it continuously until the ears were clean?

My Golden as a pup didn’t have problems with ear wax, but he did with yeasty ears. His ears were never particularly malodorous, but it was definitely yeast and was typically isolated to his right ear. The material in his ears would be a dark reddish brown.

[DogFoodie]

The EC list for Champion links back to the Orijen product review. Regional Red has been rated. It received a five star rating.

[DogFoodie]

I’ll be curious to see how he’s doing on the foods you try. I hope you’ll come back and give us an update on his diet and his condition.

Good luck!

[DogFoodie]

Regional Red has already been rated, Paul. Look here: /dog-food-reviews/orijen-dog-food-adult/

Here’s the EC page for Champion: /reports/champion-petfoods/

[DogFoodie]

What about a dehydrated food that you reconstitute with hot water like The Honest Kitchen. It has texture to it that he would probably appreciate and you could make it as thick or as soupy as you need. FreshPet would be like the size and shape of kibble, but softer like real food.

Poor little guy.

[DogFoodie]

You might consider offering him some Stage II baby food. It’ll provide some nutrients (although not complete and balanced) and help to stimulate his appetite in an easily digestible form that he’s able to eat while he’s in discomfort. Look for meats in broth and be sure there’s no onion added.

As he continues to recover, maybe some watered down canned food might appeal to him.

[DogFoodie]

That’s the article I was referencing, Dori. Thanks for posting the link.

Edit: Auto-correct changed my unhealthy fats to unhealthy data above.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by DogFoodie.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Peggy,

I would do a bit of research on peanut butter. I was reading in Dog’s Naturally a few months about why we should steer clear of peanut butter. Peanut butter almost always contains aflatoxins. It’s also high in lectins, unhealthy data and sugars.

[DogFoodie]

I was going to order some and tried several times, but their special “introductory rate” has never worked for me. I was sort of turned off by them anyway, so I let it go and moved on.

[DogFoodie]

I presumed that he was referring to BDN, since he’s mentioned previously that he used their products and since it was the brand mentioned in the title of the thread.

[DogFoodie]

Just for comparison, Wellness Turkey with Barley & Carrots has 22.2% fat on a DMB and Wellness Core Weight Management has 15.9% fat on a DMB. But, it was just a suggestion.

[DogFoodie]

Sorry, meant Wellness Core Weight Management. It’s basically reduced fat canned Core. http://www.chewy.com/dog/wellness-core-grain-free-weight/dp/37176

[DogFoodie]

What about Wellness Core Reduced Fat?

[DogFoodie]

Do you see the kcals per cup or ounce on the can? That’s the information you need to calculate his portion for the canned food. Do you weigh or measure out his portions?

Extras add up quickly. You need to also figure out the calories of the extras you’re adding.

[DogFoodie]

I feed my dogs raw chicken and turkey bones all the time, but I would never give them knuckle bones or other heavy weight bearing bones like a femur. I would worry about mine breaking a tooth on those. I still supervise them, but I have significantly less concern over soft, consumable bones like chicken wings, chicken necks, chicken backs, lamb trotters, turkey necks or chicken feet. Cooking changes the composition of the bone.

[DogFoodie]

Cooking a bone changes the structure of the bone will cause it to splinter. Bone splinters are dangerous. You should only offer your dog raw bones. I don’t give my dogs weight bearing bones either because they’re aggressive chewers and weight bearing bones are too hard for them. Here’s a thread about raw, meaty bones: /forums/topic/eating-raw-meaty-bones/

[DogFoodie]

What?? That’s so wrong, Michael! So sure, auto-ship is great, saves you money, yadda yadda, but if you cancel you pay. How many shipments worth of auto-ship did they charge you for?

[DogFoodie]

Oh gosh, Cheryl. I’m so sorry for your loss. :'(

[DogFoodie]

Take another look at the NVI LIDs. There’s actually not a chicken formula, so you were probably looking at their regular NVI formulas.

Here is the NVI LID dry, canned and treats page at Chewy.com: http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=dog+nature%27s+variety+instinct+limited+ingredient&nav-submit-button.x=0&nav-submit-button.y=0

[DogFoodie]

Mabel A is a spammer associated with a website for which “she” had been posting a link. It looks like “her” comments that contained the link have been removed.

[DogFoodie]

I’d suggesting trying a limited ingredient food other than what the vet is offering first. The products you’re feeding now aren’t single sources of protein and have lots of potential allergens. Food intolerances are tricky. Sometimes you have to dig deeper in the list of ingredients to figure out what is the actual problem. It’s taken a long time for me to figure out that my dog cannot only not have any form of fish, but he also cannot have garlic, tomato, flax, chickpeas, lentil and I’ve just added barley to the list.

The only way to figure out what those intolerances are is to do a true elimination diet. Allergy tests are notoriously unreliable and give both false positives and false negatives.

The limited ingredient diet that I’ve had the best luck with, by far, is Nature’s Variety Instinct LID. Choose a protein that your dog hasn’t eaten before. As long as he can handle that, peas, tapioca and canola oil, you should be good. Wellness Simple has too many problem ingredients in it (fish) that my dog doesn’t tolerate, so I was never able to use it. It’s a good product though, and worth a shot. I’d prefer it over Royal Canin and Science Diet any day.

[DogFoodie]

It’s an admirable pursuit, s k! Keeping digging! 🙂

[DogFoodie]

At the time the list was assembled, the Calcium in the Orijen LBP formula was too high.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Mabel,

What’s your connection with Generic Frontline Plus dot com? You mention that you’re associated with the website. Do you receive a financial benefit from the site? I notice you’ve referred to it in each of your posts.

[DogFoodie]

Great news, Akari!! 🙂

[DogFoodie]

I wouldn’t feed them either. I don’t feed bones that aren’t raw and I thought that smoking was akin to cooking anyway.

You’re better off offering something like these lamb trotter bones from MPC:

https://www.mypetcarnivore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=99&virtuemart_category_id=17&lang=en

[DogFoodie]

I use raw tripe from MPC. It truly smells like dirty socks. It’s really not horrible though.

[DogFoodie]

Hi Cheryl,

I used their product locator last night and couldn’t find it in any stores near me and I’m in the Chicago area. I also couldn’t find it on any websites that ship to the US. It’s a new product and is made in Canada, so I suspect maybe it’ll be a while before it’s available here.

[DogFoodie]

I’ve looked at it before (on their website), but never tried to find it in the store or online because it contains ingredients my sensitive pup cannot have. I think it looks great.

http://petkind.com/tripedry

[DogFoodie]

Thanks for sharing this, Sandy! It’s very intriguing!

I always thought that when Sam barfed a bit of bile in the morning, after a meal of raw the night before, it was because his stomach had been empty for too long, now I’m thinking that.

[DogFoodie]

I second the Nut’s recommendation for NVI LID! It practically worked miracles for my dog with food intolerance issues. As long as your dog doesn’t have an intolerance for any of its ingredients (which are very minimal) it can be a real lifesaver.

[DogFoodie]

I make bone broth, but it’s such a pain. Last time, I ended up with only about 12 ounces, but it was beautiful gelatinous stuff. I let it set and sliced it. It’s very concentrated so I mix a piece in with some hot water to pour over their food. The dogs love it. I used a big bag of chicken necks that I ordered from MPC. They were frozen together and had some freezer burn. Bone broth has tons of glucosamine and other healthy stuff.

Personally, I wouldn’t use the onion at all. My good friend’s Bichon died a slow, painful death from liver failure in October after eating a small amount of raw onions. Onion is more toxic than garlic. I’d save the onion for your soup. It’s not safe for your dog.

[DogFoodie]

No offense guys, but I just feel compelled to throw this out there. If people truly knew what it was like to try to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I’m not so sure they’d joke about having it themselves. OCD is a very painful and potentially debilitating mental health disorder.

[DogFoodie]

Go to this site: http://en.gravatar.com/ to set up an avatar for Word Press.

[DogFoodie]

Yay for Cavaliers! I have one too, Melissa. They’re so sweet.

[DogFoodie]

Oh, OK. When mine gets an ear infection as a result of his food intolerances, his ears get very gunky and the discharge is dark brown.

So, again I vote for Zymox. I’ve also used Halo and like it a lot for generally ear cleaning. Another ear cleaner I’ve heard people rave about, but I haven’t used is For Animals K9 Ear Solutions Liquid Health. Here’s a link to it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/For-Animals-Solutions-Liquid-Health/dp/B000OUY5L6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1420745690&sr=1-1&keywords=for+animals+k9+ear+solutions

[DogFoodie]

Hi Kris,

Is there a reason you’re not using an animal protein during your elimination diet?

[DogFoodie]

Hmm, something isn’t working for me. For example, I checked to exclude fish, but I still get foods with fish as a primary ingredient; ie: Back to Basics Whitefish and Potato; and Blackwood Grain Free Salmon and Potato; Wild Calling Rocky Mountain Medley Trout Lamb and Turkey; Wild Calling Western Plains Stampede Whitefish; Nutrience and Zignature. And, even though I check to exclude chickpeas and lentils, I still get foods that contain them, like Zignature.

The tool helps to narrow down the list considerably and of course, I’d double check the ingredients myself before I purchased it; but I wonder, am I doing something wrong?

I’m totally not trying to be a downer here! I sincerely appreciate all of your hard work and the effort you’re making to perfect his tool. I think it’s great! It’s incredibly helpful and very useful.

[DogFoodie]

Nature’s Logic is also China-free.

[DogFoodie]

I like Zymox without the hydrocortisone as well. It contains enzymes that breaks things down amazingly well.

You’re calling it wax. Is it wax or is it brown, yeasty stuff?

[DogFoodie]

Awesome, Rachel! Thanks for updating us. I’m going to give it a try again today!

[DogFoodie]

Ditto what the Nut said! It’s important to choose a food off of the list she mentioned to ensure you’re pup is not receiving too much Calcium, which can result in skeletal disorders like hip and elbow dysplasia. I’m currently using NVI LID for my dog with food intolerance issues and give it a thumbs up!

My hats off to you for giving your sons the opportunity to have pets. I think a lot of parents in your shoes would forgo a pet, thinking it would make their lives too complicated. Pets add so much to our lives. Thanks for giving your boys the opportunity. 🙂

[DogFoodie]

Hi Fade!

I am a rotator also. I believe rotating foods supports a healthy variety of friendly bacteria in the gut, which is where the majority of our immune system resides. Changing foods periodically also avoids prolonged exposure to less desirable ingredients and results in a wider variety of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

When I change foods, I prefer to change animal proteins and binders. This round might be duck and peas and next might be venison and tapioca. Switching foods, but staying within a specific brand often results in a change in a single protein only. Look for several brands you like. Are you aware of the unique Calcium needs your LBP has and feeding accordingly?

Be grateful your pup is a self-regulating eater! I have two who would probably eat anything they were offered and end up obese as a result. Let her body condition be your guide as to how much to eat. Here’s a scale you can use to score her: http://www.stateofpethealth.com/state-of-pet-health/overweight-obesity/dog/body-condition. If she’s too thin and failing to thrive, but eating properly, that’s a different story.

There are so many brands I really like. I have a dog with food intolerance issues who does great on Nature’s Variety Instinct LID, so I give NVI a big thumbs up. I think very highly of Dr. Tim’s, Go!, Now Fresh, Wellness, Brother’s Complete, Horizon Legacy, Earthborn Holistic and Victor.

[DogFoodie]

Hi David,

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis.

I know C4C has experience in dealing with Giardia. I hope she’ll see this and weigh in.

In the meantime, here’s a thread you might find useful:/forums/topic/puppy-with-giardia/

You can always go to the forum home page and specify search terms.

[DogFoodie]

Hi David,

You’re looking at an old list. I believe this is the most current list. It’s on page 36. It includes grain inclusive, grain free and raw. I agree with the others about Fromm. It’s a solid manufacturer.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/preview

[DogFoodie]

Wow, Dr. Tabitha! I signed up to receive your blog updates by email and received your elimination diet PDF. What a great document! Elimination diets that aren’t done correctly are worthless. If anyone needs proper guidance in conducting an elimination diet, they should visit your site!

[DogFoodie]

Hi Dave,

The way I figure, if a manufacturer failed to respond to HDM’s simple request for nutritional information, I’d rather not feed their products anyway.

[DogFoodie]

I don’t buy rawhides and prefer bully sticks also. I’m curious though as you mentioned the product was recommended by Whole Dog Journal. Here’s the link I’m thinking you might’ve read: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/12_5/features/Best-Rawhide-Chews-For-Your-Dog_16120-1.html.

I haven’t read the article yet, but I consider WDJ to be reliable source of information.

[Author]

Posts