[GizmoMom]

After adopting my dog from the shelter, the first vet I took him to told me it’s fine to feed Beneful, and raw feeding was just a hype.

Of course, that was the first and last time I saw him. I looked for a new vet right away!

Some vets just don’t care what you feed your dog. If your friend was feeding bad food, and was being supported by his vet, it’s going to be very hard for you to change his mind.

If you gather some info on how Beneful is making dogs sick, or how often they get recalled. Your friend might listen if you have data to back you up.

[GizmoMom]

I think I’ll try them and see how it goes.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Patty. I’ll try again. For now he’s doing okay on THK. I’m going to stop cooking it and feed it raw.

I’m also looking at this food. What do you think of it?
http://www.feedthis.com/

[GizmoMom]

I think Gizmo is allergic to See Spot mix. I decided to switch cold turkey from THK Preference to See Spot mix. Still using ground bison. He was chewing his feet and scratching his ears about 5 minutes after eating. I haven’t add any oil yet. The only change is from THK Preference to See Spot mix.

[GizmoMom]

USA Dog Treats, Thanks for all the info!

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Patty. I could try it.

[GizmoMom]

That’s interesting! I’ll try the plant based for now. Since he’s allergic to fish, he might be allergic to calamari.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks so much!

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Pugmomsandy. The first fish oil I tried on him contains anchovy and sardine. His eyes got really red and he was scratching at them. Same thing happened with the salmon oil. I guess no more fish oil for him.

I am giving him coconut oil. Do I need to add olive oil?

[GizmoMom]

See this website about homemade diet for dogs.
http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

I’m not sure about pregnant dogs, hopefully someone can answer.

[GizmoMom]

There’s a discussion about food for large breed puppies on this thread.
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/#post-32766

[GizmoMom]

Thanks. I guess the dry coat could be the weather. Our heater is also on all day.

I’ll try to gradually increase the fat and see how he does.

[GizmoMom]

JASTECH, Thanks. I know I can release his AG manually. I prefer not to do it though. I usually take him to the groomer to get it done when needed.

RescueDaneMom, Thanks. I contacted THK and they said I can double the meat if I wanted to. As long as the meat stay within the recommended ratio (min. 1:1, max. 2:1), the balance will still be there.

Another question I have is the meat I add too lean? The bison I’m using is 10% fat. His coat has been drier than usual. Should I use meat with more fat? Maybe 15% or 20%.

I just started adding coconut oil to his food to see if it helps.

I think Gizmo is allergic to fish oil and salmon oil. When I gave him fish oil, his eyes would turn red and he tries to scratch them. Same with salmon oil.

I haven’t try flax oil. Not sure if he’s allergic.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks both of you.

I thought I’m weird for taking diary of his food and BM. Weighing it would be a bit much for me!

He is going more often on THK and the stool is larger than on raw or freeze dried. I noticed it helped with his anal gland issue though. When he was on K9 Natural freeze dried, his stool was so hard and small. His anal gland was always smelling.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Patty! He doesn’t need to lose weight. Last time he saw the vet they said 15lbs is a perfect weight for him.

I’ll probably up his food a little.

[GizmoMom]

I weighed him today. He has lost 1lb. Should I be worried? He’s been on the food for 15 days.

Since he’s so fluffy, it’s hard to see his body condition. I felt the side of his body and didn’t seem to be different than before.

[GizmoMom]

I just noticed I typed in incorrect info on my first post. 1/2 cups of Preference is 166.5 calories.

The total is still 282.5 calories.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 7 months ago by GizmoMom.

[GizmoMom]

Patty, I think you’re confusing him/her with someone else.
/forums/topic/five-dogs-need-good-reasonably-priced-dry-dog-foodo/#post-32432

[GizmoMom]

Thanks!

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Patty. He doesn’t seem to mind the amount of food he’s getting. It actually looks like it has more volume than his other food.

[GizmoMom]

Just wanted to add that I will be rotating proteins in the future. I am monitoring him to see if this helps with his allergies.

[GizmoMom]

Acana is a 5 star food.
/dog-food-reviews/acana-dog-food-grain-free/

I’m not sure about pregnant dogs though.

[GizmoMom]

rhonda, look into PMR (Prey Model Raw)
http://preymodelraw.com/

Or home cooked meal.
http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html

[GizmoMom]

Royal Canin is a low quality food.

[GizmoMom]

That’s an interesting question. I guess wild dogs don’t eat just birds. They would have more variety than that.

[GizmoMom]

This page has a list of approximate bone content in each cut of meat.
http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html/_/raw-chat/common-cuts-a-photographic-guide-to-raw-meaty-r15

[GizmoMom]

If the stars are not specified next to the recipe, it’s the same as the main rating. In this case, it’s 3.5.

Other food that has different star ratings will show next to the recipe. See this page as an example.
/dog-food-reviews/earthborn-holistic-grain-free/

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by GizmoMom.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks everyone!

[GizmoMom]

Thanks Pattyvaughn!

Should I give him the whole get or puncture it and try to give the dose based on his weight?

Should I be worried of overdosing my 15 lbs dog if I give him the whole gel dose for 20 lbs dog?

[GizmoMom]

The size of Earthborn kibbles are pretty small. They are good inexpensive kibbles.

[GizmoMom]

Thanks for the answer.

[GizmoMom]

Is porridge bad? I just made some from chicken and white rice to give to my dog. He’s been having diarrhea and the vet told me to give him boiled chicken and rice.

[GizmoMom]

Fewer poop is normal, but I think it’s too soon to be giving liver. The liver is probably causing the diarrhea.

If you follow this guideline, organs should only be introduced at week 7.
http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html/_/raw-chat/how-to-get-started-feeding-a-prey-model-raw-diet-r19

• This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by GizmoMom.

[GizmoMom]

These are some of the foods that don’t have the ingredients you wanted to avoid.
/dog-food-reviews/ziwipeak-canned/
/dog-food-reviews/natures-variety-instinct-dog-food-canned/
/dog-food-reviews/hound-gatos-dog-food/

[GizmoMom]

/dog-food-reviews/ziwipeak-dog-food-dehydrated/

[GizmoMom]

I thought dogs can’t eat mushrooms.

Ingredients on this page:
http://balancediet.com/index.php/supreme-dog-kibble/supreme-63/supremetm-m-dog-super-food-all-breeds-all-ages.html
“Shitake Mushroom, Reishi Mushroom”

Plus that’s a lot of fruits in the ingredient list.

[GizmoMom]

Have you consider switching to raw or pre-made raw? My picky dog ate it right up. When he was on kibble, he was very picky and refuses to eat. Now that’s he on raw, he eats everything. Even when I switch him to new brands of pre-made raw, he doesn’t hesitate to eat.

Go through this list and see which one you might want to try.
/dog-food-reviews/raw/5-star/

[GizmoMom]

Try these food. No potatoes, no dyes. They do contain some type of fish oil, not sure if you’re avoiding the oil too.

/dog-food-reviews/dogswell-nutrisca-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/dogswell-nutrisca-freeze-dried/
/dog-food-reviews/fresh-is-best-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/natures-variety-freeze-dried/
/dog-food-reviews/smack-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/vital-essentials-dog-food-freeze-dried/

You can go to this website. There’s a product finder that will let you choose the ingredients you want to avoid. The database is not complete. They only have food that the store carries. It should still be helpful.
http://www.petfoodexpress.com/products/search/

[GizmoMom]

I have a small picky Shih Tzu too. When I first got him from the shelter, they were feeding him Purina One. I switched him to other healthier kibbles, and he’s been eating better, but still picky. Once I switched him over to raw, he’s been licking his plate clean every meal.

These are the kibbles I’ve tried. They’re all listed as 5 star food.
/dog-food-reviews/dogswell-nutrisca-dog-food/
/dog-food-reviews/earthborn-holistic-grain-free/

He was very interested in the kibbles the first few days, then he would turn his nose up. I have to crumble some treats on top of the kibbles, and he would eat them. These are some of the ones I use to add to his kibble.
http://amzn.com/B000Z3ODTG
http://amzn.com/B001NIZUA8

I switched him to Ziwipeak and never had to add anything. He loves the food.
/dog-food-reviews/ziwipeak-dog-food-dehydrated/

Ziwipeak was getting too expensive, then I switched him to PMR, and never looked back. I still add pre-made raw to his diets for variety.

[GizmoMom]

Nevermind. Just found this thread and it pretty much answers my question.
/forums/topic/tuckers-brand-anyone-heard-of-them/

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