[Kathleen C]

Wow, I had never heard of this brand before until I saw the review here on The Dog Food Advisor just recently. I see people have been talking about it for years! I want to try to get my chicken allergic dog off of Royal Canin phony food and onto some whitefish Tender and True. Anyone out there using the fish, either whitefish or salmon? Although I worry maybe more about the heavier salmon fish than the whitefish, is that actually a problem?

[Kathleen C]

Lilia M: It’s your understanding then that your dog was allergic to the white fish and that caused the problems? After just 2 days of trying to switch my dog to salmon based food his stool became much softer again; not very, like diarrhea, but maybe a worry. I gave up on the salmon. I hate the idea of Royal Canin, but worry about stomach problems. A friend suggested going to a beef or lamb food to stay away from chicken, however all those have chicken in them too. Dog food is a quagmire of stupidity. If chicken is main source of allergies to large percentage of dogs why does dog food have so much chicken in it? I don’t think even the Dog Food Advisor can answer that. I’m finished with trying to switch this dog away from RC. I should be happy something works.

[Kathleen C]

Did Mike bring the rating down for the Wellness Whitefish dog food because of the fear of DCM? I had the feeling from what he’s said before about the worry that he didn’t. Because he didn’t rate that food I can’t tell by looking at Chewy, just by reading the reviews.

[Kathleen C]

My dog can’t eat chicken so I need to change him to something else, like Wellness Whitefish and sweet potato. Why is it rated 3.5 instead of higher like most Wellness products? I do not like feeding my dog anything lower than 4.5 but would like to see if I can switch Jack away from the weird food the vet has him on because of the chicken problem. He does not have a urinary tract infection as far as I know. Thank you.

[Kathleen C]

Extra note on the previous entry: Jack loves Royal Canin, but he’s a Boston and he eats anything, even his poo

[Kathleen C]

I went onto a site earlier asking about feeding your dog 3 meals a day and wound up complaining about my dogs extreme diarrhea and his being diagnosed as allergic to chicken. The vet convinced me to start feeding him Royal Canin. I want to thank Mike for sending me an email with information about allergies and how to find out what your dog is allergic to. I personally do not believe Jack is allergic to chicken, but I’m now starting another Royal Canin Hydrolyzed dog food with lower fat. The email also contained Mike’s list of best allergy fighting dog foods but it contained the Royal Canin and my vet has made me so frightened of switching to real dog food again that I can’t bring myself to do it. What gets me is the third ingredient is chicken fat.

[Kathleen C]

I started my 11 year old Boston Jack on 3 meals a day when he came down in March with, as of right now, an unknown reason for severe diarrhea and the vet convinced me to switch him to Royal Canin, which I did not want to do. I still believe there was something in his senior/small dog Wellness food that may have caused the problem. Whatever, the vet believed the RC Hydrovised (?) food would cure him and even control his weight. It cured him, I guess if there was a problem, but did not control his weight. The bag shows 17% fat but she says when you subtract the water 10% that brings it down to 8%??? I never have heard of that math! Anyway, Jack is now used to eating 3 meals of 1/4 cup per day, but because of weight gain I’m going back to 2 meals a day. Calorie content with RC is low, but I can’t accept percent of fat amount vet says. However, getting back on Subject: I see no reason not to feed 3 times a day unless it leads to weight gain like Jacks. I will give him maybe 1/3 cup food twice a day and see if that helps weight. I would rather find a good no chicken to change him to but very hard to do so. Oh yes, during all this expensive vet testing stuff she has discovered he’s allergic to chicken. At 11 years of age I doubt there’s any time at all when he was not eating chicken! What causes that???

[Kathleen C]

I like the idea of canned but have never used it with my Bostons. I gave him a can of the small Dogs in the Kitchen which is 10 oz and he loved it of course. The pet store where I get it is giving me a 5% discount for being a regular customer ( which makes it cheaper than Chewy’s plus no shipping) and letting me mix and match the DITK type which will be fun for Jack I think. If this works out cost wise I may stick with it. Thank you for your help i this.

[Kathleen C]

haleycookie: I feed kibble now, but want to change because of his teeth right now. The Weruva 10 oz can has 182 calories in the can. But if you’re supposed to feed by oz. two of those would be 20 oz a day., right? 182 cal would be 3 of those cans plus. That will be very expensive and seems even more crazy. The 14 oz is also Weruva but a different type and has 267 cal. AM I figuring right when they say oz and they would be twice a day? 20 oz twice a day? Thank you for answering.

[Kathleen C]

I keep reading you should feed your dog one ounce of dog food for each pound your dog weighs or should weigh. My 9 year old Boston weighs 20 pounds but I’ve been told he should weigh 18-19. I’ve kept him at 20 pounds by feeding low fat and calorie food. He seems to gain weight easily. I list him as overweight and not active on the calorie chart where you can check how much to feed. I’ve always fed my dogs kibble, but Jack had some teeth pulled yesterday while having them cleaned and I want to feed him soft food until his mouth is not sore. I look at cans of food with 14 oz of dog food in them and I can’t believe my Boston should be eating that much food at once. And that’s not even as much as the calorie counter says to feed him. That seems like a huge amount of food. Is this what I should be doing if I want to switch over to wet food?

[Kathleen C]

I’ve had my dog on Annamaet Lean for several 4 lb. bags and he has only gained weight, not lost. I am going back to the Wellness Core Low Fat since he at least stayed at 20 lbs and didn’t go up to 21 as with Annamaet. I can’t seem to get him back down to 19 lbs no matter what I feed him. It’s probably my problem not his because he begs every time he sees me eat. His treats are all low fat low calorie but it’s very easy to hand out an over abundance of that kind.

[Kathleen C]

I know Jack goes 3 times a day. If he goes first thing when he gets up and eats breakfast and then again when we go for our walk I know I don’t have to watch so closely until late afternoon or even evening. Timing is everything.

[Kathleen C]

My dog, Jack, started eating his poop about a year or so ago. He just eats his own so far, but my previous dog, Duffy, would eat other dogs if given a chance. I never caught him doing anything like this, but did catch Jack so knew it is happening. Someone suggested feeding him pineapple chunks and it would make his poop taste bad, but I never had the nerve to give it a real try. I believe they start because they are hungry. Jack is always wanting to be fed and he has gone up to 20 lbs when he was 18 1/2 when I got him and the vet said that’s right weight. I feed him 1/4 cup kibble 2 times a day with low fat treats and green beans during the day. He will often go a few ounces over 20 and I am very careful when feeding him until I get him back to 20. I’ve tried to get him to lose a pound, but I’m too easy a mark for him and when he looks at me with those big eyes and whines I give in. It’s all my fault. I thought if I could get him down to 19 lbs I would start feeding him a larger amount of food, but this has not occurred.

[Kathleen C]

I would like to know why Cesar dog food is listed in the online site under the Tuscan Naturals brand when I’m checking for ingredients. Is there some kind of relation between the two companies that make the food? I know I’ve heard Cesar is not a very good brand.

[Kathleen C]

I forgot to check to be sent follow-up emails.

[Kathleen C]

I feed my dog Wellness Core and I’ve been told by someone who keeps close track of what they feed their dog that Wellness has had a product discovered with something toxic. They recommended I switch to Tuscan Naturals Simply Pure. I’m not sure I want to do that since the ingredients are: chicken meal, brown rice, rice, chicken fat, olive oil, etc. I’ve always heard dog kibble should have 2 to 3 meats listed at the beginning of the ingredient list. I only have my dog on Wellness because it’s low fat and the Tuscan is 11% minimum. Has anyone fed their dogs the Tuscan Naturals? It’s listed on the site as just 3 1/2 stars. Wellness Core is 5 stars.

[Kathleen C]

Really enjoyed Dr. Becker’s videos! I was so surprised that Annamaet Lean Reduced Fat only has the one meat, chicken meal, then goes to field peas, chickpeas, potato, tapioca, etc. Wellness in their Core grain free reduced fat,: deboned turkey, turkey meal, chicken meal then potatoes, peas, etc. Also, what she said about freeze dried food makes sense to me now. I’ve been wondering if changing from kibble to canned might be a good way to make him feel fuller and maybe more likely to stop begging so much and losing the pound he’s over. Maybe freeze dried would be good too. Anyone out there feeding freeze dried who can give me ideas about weight lose with this?

[Kathleen C]

I get Annamaet from Chewy, 5 lb at about $14 plus shipping. Anyway it worked out to about $18. Much cheaper than Amazon even with Prime. It’s good and he loves it.

[Kathleen C]

Blue Buffalo has a lot of different ingredient foods. Each is maybe different in protein amount. What did you dog get sick on?

[Kathleen C]

Thinking about my last message, I’m thinking about putting Jack back onto Wellness Core Reduced Fat, but after the Diamond scare I’m not sure it’s OK to do this. Any signs of more Wellness problems? Thank you.

[Kathleen C]

Is there anything in our dog’s food that we should be feeding them? I don’t cook for myself so do not cook for the dog either. It’s discouraging.

[Kathleen C]

I wrote in on June 30 about having trouble getting my dog to lose weight. Not a Large Breed Puppy, but still wanted some info on Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Annamaet Lean and Light. I was able to control my dogs weight with the Wellness but not with the Annamaet or the Weruva, which he was on for awhile. Annamaet has less protein and probably more carbs than Wellness and I would like to find out if Wellness is back to its better pre-Diamond reviews or if there have been any recalls lately. Also, does the higher protein less carbs of Wellness make that much difference? Remember that Wellness actually did give out their carb amounts when questioned about it and they were much lower than the Advisors guesses.

[Kathleen C]

No, but I just checked Amazon for the Blue Dog treats and according to many the quality has gone way down. Any comments about that? Have they been sold to another company recently? Is Fedwell a brand?

[Kathleen C]

Are these low cal and low fat? Are they both found online? I get his kibble through Chewy.

[Kathleen C]

I keep trying to find dog treats recommended on the site but so far have had no luck. Are there any out there available that can be recommended or have they all been recalled? I got some Zukes again with no problem but are they still safe?

[Kathleen C]

Canola oil is the only thing on that list you wouldn’t eat? I usually get mayonnaise with Canola oil. Like Z B I wouldn’t eat anything hydrogenated. I doubt very much if any animals should. This is going back to the vet for a refund. Thanks everyone for your help.

[Kathleen C]

This isn’t the right place for this question, but looked all over and couldn’t find better. I picked up some treats at the vet this morning. Purina Pro Plan Vet Diets: Gentle Snackers. I didn’t see the ingredient list first or I wouldn’t have gotten it. However, can you tell me if anything hydrogenated is OK to give a dog or any animal? I know it’s not good for me, can we feed dogs this? The mere name Purina should have warned me I know, but it’s just a treat.

[Kathleen C]

I’ve used all except Dr. Tim’s to get Jack to lose weight and Wellness Core is the only one that he kept the weight off on a regular basis. I changed because I was trying to find out if he was allergic to chicken. He’s not. I’m now using Annamaet Lean and if that doesn’t keep his weight down I will go back to Wellness.

[Kathleen C]

I’m sure Dr. Tim’s does have grain free, but I emailed them and was told the low fat one I was going to use was not grain free. That’s the question I was answering. It sounds like a great low fat food and I would have loved to get it, but my idea for changing food was to see if, for some reason, he was unable to lose weight because he was now eating non grain free kibble. Dog food is much harder to figure out than human food.

[Kathleen C]

Dr. Tim’s is not grain free, if that’s important to you. There is nothing Jack will turn his nose up at, even lettuce.

[Kathleen C]

Jack and I play tug a lot. He has 5, count them, 5 murdered squeaky toys. I gather them all up and throw them when I can get all of them away from him. He loves that. I can walk him in Home Depot, Tractor Supply, and the pet store. He has been a little less house trained in the big stores like that. Even lifted his leg in the feed store. I really have to watch him. He’s extremely house trained but these places just tempt him.

[Kathleen C]

OK, I neither have a large and giant breed dog nor is he a puppy, but at my local pet store they sell Old Mother Hubbard treats. I didn’t look to see if they contain green tea, but after reading this I certainly will not buy any for my Boston Terrier. Glad I checked here first.

[Kathleen C]

If my dog, who should weigh between 18 and 19 pounds and is now close to 20, ate almost a cup a day he would weigh 50 pounds. He gets 1/4 cup twice a day with some low cal treats like green beans, carrots, some very low fat treats from my local pet store that I can trust. If I can get him back to 19 pounds I plan on giving him 1/3 cup twice a day, but I have to have some results first.

[Kathleen C]

Dr. Tim’s dog food was around 250 cal per cup if I remember right and that’s low. I didn’t try it because I wanted to get back to grain free to see if that was why my dog wouldn’t lose weight. So far going from Weruva (not grain free) to Annamaet (grain free low fat) has not made any difference. Of course it’s so terribly hot here that we aren’t walking like we used to either.

[Kathleen C]

I now have Jack on Annamaet lean and so far no weight loss. I’m having the same problem with my Boston as Christine W. has with her Pug. I did better with Wellness Core Reduced Fat. I still need a safe low fat/calorie treat. Any suggestions I can get at the pet store or feed store?

[Kathleen C]

I used Wellness Core reduced fat for Jack for a long time and had no trouble with weight gain. Switched to Weruva when it was learned Wellness was using Diamond pet food company. I’ve now switched from Weruva to Annamaet lean and light grain free since Weruva was not grain free and that is the only thing I can figure is why I can’t get this dogs weight down again. He’s now right around 20 pounds and that I cannot allow to continue. Once you relax and accept the higher weight everything tends to explode weight wise with the Bully Breeds, and don’t let his looks fool you, Boston Terriers are Bully Breeds. They are half English Bull Dogs in just about every way.

[Kathleen C]

Well, just found out Dr. Tim’s low fat kibble is not grain free so looks like the local humane society will be getting that when it comes today. However, Annamaet low fat kibble is grain free and I ordered that yesterday from Chewy.com and it should be here next week. Since the whole idea of changing from the Weruva is so I could get Jack back on grain free to see if that’s why he’s gaining weight it doesn’t make sense to switch to another grainy food. Annamaet also has lower fat. One thing I hate about Chewy is they ship ground rate and it takes forever to get delivery. Neither of these two brands are sold by Amazon or it would be here tomorrow. Big difference.

[Kathleen C]

Shawna, unfortunately the Dr. Tim’s I’ve ordered has less protein than the Weruva, but also fewer calories and less fat. I’m hoping those differences help and don’t hurt. The calorie count is the smallest I think I’ve seen at around 250 per cup or so. Most seem to have over 300. Whatever, I’m going to try it out since Jack has gone up to 20 lbs and I can’t allow this. Also, the company says the food has 40% carbs.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Kathleen C.

[Kathleen C]

Well, Dr. Tim’s fat is 8-10% and the fiber is max 10%, so except for the lower protein it may give me a bit more control over his weight even with more carbs. Also, maybe the carbs will fill him up more and he won’t be after me to feed him every time I move. Thank you for your help. I’m going to see if Chewy can send me a small bag to try out.

[Kathleen C]

theBCnut: Someone said something about he might be holding water. I thought they were kidding, but is this something I should look into? Also, does anyone know about Dr. Tim’s dog food? Is this something I could start him on? It’s low fat but the company says the carbs are 40%.

[Kathleen C]

My 5 yr old Boston ate grain-free food his entire life until the last few months when I switched him to Weruva Caloric Harmony with Venison from Wellness Core Low Cal and it even has fewer calories than the Wellness, though a little bit more fat. Now I can’t keep him from gaining weight. I haven’t changed anything else and use low fat treats as well. He has gained between 1/2 and one pound and nothing I do seems to get him back down to the 19 pounds the vet says is desirable. Can this change be the reason? Should I get him back onto a low callorie grain free food kibble.

[Kathleen C]

This is not a large breed puppy, but I’d heard Wellness has pulled away from Diamond and may be coming back to its previous good quality, though not sure yet. I can’t seem to keep my dog from gaining weight on the Weruva kibble and was thinking about going back to the Wellness Core Reduced fat. Any thoughts on this? It’s about the only low fat dog food I felt safe in using. The Weruva has more fat, fewer calories and carbs, but still seems to keep my dog at least 1/2 lb over what I want him to weigh. The vet says he should be around 18-19 lb and I’m trying for 19. Half a pound on a small dog can seem like more.

[Kathleen C]

My dog eats Weruva kibble and loves it. Lower fat and calories, high protein, low carbs.

[Kathleen C]

I have two questions. I bought one of those little grass containers they do for cats and my dog loves it. This way I can give him some grass instead of letting him eat it at the dog park because I’m very suspicious as to whether or not they spray for weeds there. Also, I’ve reported before that he eats his poop. It was suggested I use pineapple chunks to try to stop that. I want to start doing that again since I didn’t really give it a good try the first time. However, I gave him too much I think because he pooped in the house, which is very unusual and he must have had an upset stomach. So, How much of the grass and the pineapple chunks should I give him? Thank you.

[Kathleen C]

OK, Interceptor is for fleas and ticks, right? But is it for heart worms too?

[Kathleen C]

I’ve received no return information for my previous questions. Is there anyone out there?

[Kathleen C]

Is Interceptor any better or less expensive than NexGard? Our new vet keeps trying to get me to buy it and it looks as though the first purchase is a lot less expensive. But how costly does it get later?

[Kathleen C]

I never thought about giving oral flea products that way, but reply 66233 from Milissaandcrew is right. “Running pesticides through the bloodstream to get to the skin” does sound dangerous. I always used Frontline Plus before until my dog got Cushings and began losing her hair right where I put it between her shoulder blades. That scared me away from the liquid. Now I’m nervous about the chew. Seems everything we do for our dogs turns out to be against our dogs.

[Kathleen C]

Is it any better than Heartgard Plus or less expensive? My dogs have used Heartgard for years but my vet sent me a message about Interceptor and there’s a special sale. I use NexGard for fleas and ticks. Not sure I want to introduce anything new into Jack’s food dish at this time if no difference.

[Kathleen C]

Michael B, regarding Weruva made in Thailand, the new bag of kebble I just picked up says Product of Canada. Any idea what’s going on? Is it Thailand or Canada?

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