[haleycookie]

Does he have an sensitivities? What is he eating now. Try to find a meat based food, feed two acheduled meals a day, do not over feet, add canned food, bone broths, toppers, etc any fresh meats as well as toppers. Some of my favorite foods are natures variety instinct, canidae ancestral, merrick back country, and essence dog food (at private pet stores only). They are all meat based and would make a good base diet along with the other additions I mentioned. Good luck.

[haleycookie]

I would do the wellness. Highest meat content for a large breed food I’ve found. Has correct calcium ratio as well. Dogs are carnivores. Add as much less processed things into the diet as u can (less than 15% unless it’s formulated for large breeds) Bone brother, canned food, freeze dried toppers. Etc.
if you’re interested in a vet nutritionalists being on staff, natures variety and candiae both employ one and make quality products.
I would also keep from over feeding, should be able to feel ribs under the skin, nice abdominal tuck. And don’t spay or neuter until two years so the growth plates and bones can mature correctly.
I’m also assuming the breeder is a quality one and has had genetic testing etc. otherwise poor genes may cause problems regardless of what u do.

[haleycookie]

Feed what he likes and stop asking so many questions. We’ve all stated what we think and yet you ask another question that’s going to get the same response as the others.

[haleycookie]

Hi Karen g, wholehearted is only carried by petco. Their skin formula has hydrolyzed salmon as it’s only meat source. It is the only over the counter food I’ve seen with hydrolyzed protein. I’m sure there are maybe a few others, but I have not seen anything mainstream.
I’m assuming you’re vet recommended an elimination diet when he prescribed this food right? I don’t believe royal Canin foods are worth a quarter of what they charge nor should the majority of their prescription foods be fed permanently. I’m sure there is a quality food or diet out there that will work with your dog, it will just take time to find. If you can ask your vet about an elimination diet to figure out what causes flare ups with your dog that will help u a lot in the long run.
Susan, who has commented above, has a lot of experience with severe ibd so I would check out some of the stuff she’s suggested as well.

[haleycookie]

If you’re going to go through all that trouble I would just make the food and use a powder dog supplement from balanceit.com, just food for dogs also has a complete supplement you can use for homemade diets. You couldn’t make the meat more than 15% of the diet so you’re dogs diet would be 85% carb from the vegan food which is ridiculous for an animal that doesn’t even require carbs at all.

[haleycookie]

This company isn’t sold in the US. This site mainly does US food reviews. That’s why youll probably never see a review for this food.

[haleycookie]

The lamb is lower rated because lamb is very fatty and has a high water content. Meaning the food doesn’t have a lot of lamb muscle meat left after processing.

[haleycookie]

There are no pet stores anywhere near you?
Canned raw pumpkin is good for digestion. Maybe not the best idea everyday though. You can use any quality canned food as a topper to mix the supplements in. Would be balanced food and free of sugar. Maybe try pure balance canned food. I’ve heard a lot of people whom don’t have pet stores around them that like the pure balance food. Any canned like merrick, wellness, even blue buffalo have ok stew canned foods. I think blue is at Walmart too.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

This foods a little carb heavy. I’d prefer to see it around 60-70-% meat content.
Are u by a chance from Europe? Usually US foods don’t break the ingredients up like this.
DCM seems to largely be an American thing with little to no reports in other countries. If you are from Europe I probably wouldn’t worry or jump to any conclusion. As the fda has stated to not switch foods without first speaking with a vet and having an echo of the heart done. Get them on a high meat food, try less processed foods like canned food, freeze dried raw, and frozen raw. Taurine is found in fresh meat and heart muscle. Not in grains or any other carb on earth.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

I’m confused. Didn’t u already say you tried purina and it made your dogs sick? And you also said you rotate among a variety of grain free foods? Or something to that effect? And yet your dogs do poorly on them?? I’ve read most of your posts on this forum. You seem to say one thing do another, ask a million questions and when you receive answers on both sides of the argument you do the exact opposite of whatever was suggested to you? Can’t tell if you’re genuinely confused or a troll.
Find meat based low carb foods that work for your dog and leave it at that. Have an echo done if you’re that concerned about a problem that isn’t even widely spread. Many many more dogs die from complications of obesity and inappropriate high carb diets and because of idiot owners and backyard breeders who result in the needless killing of thousands of dogs a day in shelters. I’d be more worried about that.

[haleycookie]

Vets in my states program get a max of one class in companion animal nutrition and on top of that it’s an elective so not even necessary to take. It spans from horses down to small animals like guinea pigs and other rodents. Unless he is a veterinary nutritionalist I would take his recommendation with a grain of salt as I’m sure the only thing he knows of is the big three because of how heavily pushed it is on vets.

[haleycookie]

If it’s your first time using a preventative that you don’t know how will effect your dog I see nothing wrong with splitting the dose the first time just to be sure. Seeing as how these meds have been reported to cause massive seizures and even death within 24 hrs of administering. It’s rare but it’s all fine and dandy until it’s you and your dog. I stand by what I said. Bye now. 🙂

[haleycookie]

Breaking it up into two doses in 18-20 hrs isn’t going to make a difference for a three month preventative. Sorry not gonna argue about this lol

[haleycookie]

The Chobani yogurts have added sugar in them. Along with natural sugars from the fruit. I wouldnt give a dog fruit more than once a week to begin with, let along something with extra added sugar. I would still rather a dog get appropriate treats that are meat based or sugar free.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Bravecto doesn’t work that way. It treats for three months out. It wouldn’t make any sense if it just treated for 24 hrs lol. And I would imagine heart worm is in the system longer than 24 hrs, seeing as how giving a heart worm preventative to an already infected dog can be deadly I doubt it has no long term preventative nature to it as this article states. But I was more referring to bravecto. As it has more medication in it and is in the system much longer.

[haleycookie]

My roommates dog has been on bravecto and incepetor his whole life. Every month and three months. No issues. Every dog is different tho. So if you’re worried give half the chew one day then the rest the next day so they aren’t getting such a huge dose immediately .

[haleycookie]

Proplan packaging is garbage. And their ingredients attract meal moths like flies to poop. That’s probably where the infestation thing comes from.

Joanne, if your dog is doing well on the high meat food you have him on now. Why don’t u just keep him on it? If you are that concerned about dcm, get with your vet for blood work and echocardiogram. The fda specifically said to not make diet changes and to get with your vet and have the necessary testing down before changing diets. I would go that route. I highly doubt anything is wrong with what you’re feeding now which is a meat based diet, which will be high in natural taurine. Grain does not provide dietary taurine for dogs.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

@mike s, hi, so most kibbles are 50% + carbs. So maybe even if there is a small amount of already digested grains in the gut of their prey it isn’t half of their meal like the majority of kibbles are formulated these days. Probably less than 10% of their over all diets. So I would say yes grains are pretty foreign. They certainly hadnt been eating corn anytime before the last 100 years. Grains are just cheap fillers. But most any carb is foreign for dogs. They just there to cheapen food and add bulk to keep kibble from falling apart.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Y’all seem to forget the small companies are using quality meat and other ingredients appropriate for a mesocarnivore (not all of them but a lot are). Purina hills and rc are owned by some of the largest food companies in the world. Of course there’s billions to fund biased research. Especially when the majority of their foods are mostly made up of the three cheapest and most prolific grains in the world, corn, soy, and wheat. Of course, OF COURSE there’s going to be lots of room for funding this study that is in their favor. Not as much money for these other companies who started from nothing and are still family owned and buying expensive meat cuts, not the waste of human meat factory farming like the big 3.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

You’re feeding him tons of sugar and you’re worried about the glyphosphate? Instead of the fruit yogurt and Cheerios use chicken broth, pumpkin purée for fiber, and add some cooked or raw egg, or chocked or raw chicken into his diet as a topper. You can also get freeze dried toppers or wet food. I would cut all that sugar from his diet if you can. Or if you’re insistent on having some type of yogurt try organic kefir or raw goats milk. It’s more appropriate for dogs than sugar filled fruit yogurt.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

I would consider not recommending anything, but purina hills and rc as bashing other brands. There are plenty of other options out there of quality meat based foods that far surpass those brands. Posts that are deleted, reprimanded, etc for recommending anything else are indeed bashing the brands.
So my suspicions are correct. Still very close minded, to anything other than the companies funding the research and wsava. It’s unfortunate and clearly has massive conflict of interest.
Taurine problems can’t be solved with grains. Considering taurine isn’t found in grains. A vet nutritionalist could tell you that, but I suppose a nutritionalist is only as good as the company they work for.

[haleycookie]

@sanne, perhaps you are in a different group? I did 100% see several people being told raw and home cooked diets are not a balanced and can still cause dcm just like grain free (which btw hasn’t even been proven yet so…) and they were quickly told to switch to proplan or hills becuase that’s “proper nutrition” and formulated by a nutritionalist.
There were no such link or information you speak of when I was a part of the group. Just non stop bashing of quality foods and raw-home cooked diets. Perhaps they’ve changed their ways now to not be so narrow minded.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Hills is owned by Colgate. Like the toothpaste company. Idk if there are multiple but there is one production factory here in my state. Smells absolutely disgusting when you drive by it.

And of course there’s some conflict of interest in these companies and how they’re the only ones that can fit into wsava requirements. Wsava was make by and for those three companies. I would tread cautiously.

Feed your dog a meat based food (better yet rotate multiple meat based foods) add canned food, raw toppers, raw chicken hearts, bone broth, etc and feed as much fresh foods as possible. Don’t over feed, make sure the dog gets proper exercise, and regular vet visits. These are the best things you can do. I would avoid carb loaded foods such as the big 5 foods being recommended currently. Taurine isn’t found in any type of carb, it’s found in fresh meat and organs. People seem to be forgetting that.

[haleycookie]

Other than the two mentioned I’ve never come across anything else. Usually companies who use grain use massive amounts to cheapen cost. Maybe to add more variety you can look at pre made raw foods or dehydrated foods like spots farms.

[haleycookie]

I also want to add, my cousins last lab died of heart problems and had an enlarged heart at death, she ate Iams religiously her whole life with nothing else. She wasn’t overweight. Regular vet visits etc, and she still had these issues. It doesn’t matter how much things are tested or formulated to a T. No one dog food is perfect just like no one human diet is perfect for every human. Offer variety, offer mostly meat, some fresh veggies. Walk your dog get regular blood work. At the end of the day that’s all you can really do.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Stella and chewy is 100% balanced raw dog food. And a biologically appropriate one at that so no need for anything different. You may look into some of weruva canned foods. I believe some of th dogs contain no veggie matter. I know that cat ones are almost free of veggies but I can’t remember if that dog ones are.
And just a reminder taurine comes from fresh meat and organs. Not grains, not over processed kibble and not peas. So sticking with a meat and organ rich raw diet would be ideal.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Since purina knows so much about nutrition I can’t help but wonder about the plethora of grain free foods they’re coming out with (and already sell) that are pea laden. Seems like they’d take those off the shelf if that’s really what’s causing heart problems

[haleycookie]

@christine v, I left the group I was in for the same reason. These groups are not considering anything but the big four which are all poor excuses for what a dog should be eating. I saw several posts about other types of diets that were all quickly reprimanded and disappeared. Quite sad really.

[haleycookie]

I’d prob go down to 2% until you can feel ribs again. She is pretty much an adult at this point. She may fill out a tad more. When you have her spayed ask the vet to check to see if she has anything solid feeling in her gut to make sure no instructions have occurred. Be sure the only bones you’re feeding are soft non weight bearing bones. I know some people fast one day a week to let their dogs digestive system empty and reset. You may try that. Is she not eating anything at all for days at a time?? If so I’d be concerned about something else going on. If she’s just eating less I would lessen her food amount.

[haleycookie]

The raw ratio to follow is 80/10/5/5. 80% muscle meat, 10% soft bone, 5% liver, 5% other secretory organ. Just cooking up some meat and veggies is completely unbalanced. If you have questions about leaving organs and bones out consult with a veterinarian nutritionalist. They can make proper recipes for you.

[haleycookie]

Goldens, You mentioned your dog has been on wilderness for most of his life. Wilderness is a sub par pea based food. Unfortunately it isn’t a good food for a dog prone to heart and other health issues as it is(anything blue buffalo is really overpriced crud). I’ll stick with biologically appropriate foods and that’s also what I’ll recommend to others. Thanks.

[haleycookie]

I would avoid the big 4. Hills just recently recalled all of their canned food after months of dogs dying and getting sick for overdosing on vitamin d. It was a contaminated vitamin pack a lot of companies got back in late 2018 and most of them recalled quickly before any adverse affects, hills however chose not to even tho they have supposedly the best “safety measures” of any dog food company.
Go for a food that is high in meat content, at least the first 3-5 ingredients should be meat or organs. The fda clearly states this “scare” is mainly related around dog foods that are mostly made up of pea. So lower end grain free foods. There are high meat foods on the market that are very good. Also ad canned food which is less processed and has less vegetable matter than kibble therefore will have more natural taurine present. Add chicken hearts or beef heart in with your dogs food as well. And plain chicken broth.
Taurine comes from whole fresh meat. Not grains. Not peas. Etc. I would focus on making your dogs diet as appropriate as a dogs should be. Meaning less than 30% carbs.

[haleycookie]

Who wants to take a wild guess at the massive amount of dogs who died or became chronically ill from being fed a carb loaded improper diet and subsequently developed diabetes, abscessed teeth, and the large variety of health issues cheap low quality kibbles cause and they’re owners never realized it??? I’ll tell you how many, more than any dog that has been (or will be for that matter) affected by dcm. But you know their vet said to feed it so it must be the best right? Lmfao

[haleycookie]

Hydrolyzed foods are typically for dogs with severe food sensitivities. I would have further testing done before moving to that. I don’t really consider it a long term food to feed either, it’s over priced and full of carbs and hardly any meat protein whatsoever. I also don’t think it’s a very good look for the vet to not want to investigate further into what caused this to happen to your dog and just immediately say it’s due to diet . I would def get a second opinion.
A fresh home cooked (preferably raw tho) diet is ideal. However you have to be sure you’re doing it correctly. A model for raw to follow is the 80/10/5/5, 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, and 5% secretory organ. Cooked is different and I would consult with a nutritionalist before moving to a cooked diet as that is very different than raw.

[haleycookie]

It’s considered “boutique” if it’s not IAMS, Royal Canin, purina, or Hill’s. That’s the long short of it

[haleycookie]

Because there is no definitive proof grain free is the main and only cause at this point.
The reason to avoid carbs (grains and potatoes, peas, etc) is because dogs are facilitative carnivores. Meaning they can eat a small amount of carb but it’s not really necessary. So meat based diets are the most healthy. Meat based foods will be rated higher on this site for that reason.
I would consider 20lbs+ over small breed requirements.
Some Boston’s are quite small and would fall into that category. I’m sure at the end of the day if you feed a proper diet “smallbreed” or not won’t matter much. Just feed the correct amount of calories for your dogs ideal weight and you’ll be fine. “Senior”, “small breed” , “healthy weight”, etc are gimmick words for the most part to charge high prices for a “special” food when in reality senior foods have such a small amount of glucosamine it’s not even close enough to be effective, small breed foods typically are just smaller kibble, and weight loss foods are foods where meat is taken out and replaced with a carb, not the best idea for a carnivore looking to loose weight lol.

[haleycookie]

Dogs can have small amounts of blood in their poop from a variety of things. This sounds like it’s probably a sensitivity to chicken or a switch in the diet. Dogs with sensitive systems can have these symptoms too.
If you’re still wanting to go the raw route perhaps try to slowly mix a premade raw food (nature’s variety, primal, Stella and chewy) and see how that goes. Transition the same way you would with a new kibble. Over the course of several weeks.
There may also be an under lying problem. The answers was a cooked plain broth so I’m not sure why that would cause any upset. I would go to the vet and mention it to them. I would first mention the answers and see what they say. Then perhaps mention the raw chicken later. Traditional vets will immediately jump the gun and blame it on raw as they are trained to support large kibble companies only and that may bring them to a wrong conclusion when something else may actually be going on.

[haleycookie]

Because studies are still in their infancy and there’s no proven connection at this point. I’m sure mike will update on it once there is a real proven study on the subject. Which is far away at this point.

[haleycookie]

Dr elseys makes a cat food that uses gelatin as a binder. It costs an arm and a leg but is virtually carb free for a kibble. I wish more dog foods would come this way. But it would be expensive and I doubt it would sell. 6 lbs of dr elseys cat food is almost 40-50$

[haleycookie]

They aren’t the same. Any further action you take will be up to you. I’m pretty sure Kirkland is made by diamond tho. But again. Not the same EXACT food like you asked.

[haleycookie]

How about reading the ingredient labels on the brands of food? That’ll give u your answer.

[haleycookie]

I like natures variety raw boost, Merrick Backcountry, orijen, canidae ancestry, wellness core raw boosted food, and only natural dog food. These are all going to have more meat. You could even rotate if you think your dog is up for it. I don’t think any kibble is perfect. Add meat based toppers, freeze dried raw bits, bone broths, etc and you’ll be just fine.

[haleycookie]

https://www.grandmalucys.com/blogs/pupclectic/freeze-dried-vs-dehydrated-dog-food-whats-the-difference
This is a good explanation of both freeze drying and dehydrating.
It is raw and as with any raw meat you have to handle it properly. Wear gloves, use good cleaners and hot water on anything the raw food touches. Unfortuently most people do not do this. This is what causes a lot of recalls on raw foods, mishandling.
Freeze dried foods are probably the most expensive of the Raws. I’ve fed nature’s variety to my cats before and they loved it. They had less poop and less shedding. A mixture of the freeze dried mixed with kibble and the frozen raw.
Nature’s variety, primal, Stella and chewy, are all good trusted raw brands to try out. You have a small dogs so it should be cheaper to feed than having large dogs tho. It’s defiently less processed than regular kibble and in my opinion more healthy. It has been in most cases I’ve seen. However every dog is different so it’s wise to slowly transition. You can also rehydrate freeze dried foods or feed them dry.

[haleycookie]

If you look at Darwin’s note about this you’ll see all these lots have been used already. Darwin also emailed everyone of their customers about this issue. They were also not allowed to do independent testing of the samples the fda had to be sure of the contamination as the fda refused. The fda also refused to work with the company on sending out another warning to the buying customers from back in nov-dec.
when Darwin refused to allow the fda to have all their customers information so they could be alerted (privacy policy AND they had already alerted the customers anyway) they threaten Darwin with this warning. No dogs were affected nor were any humans. All food has already been consumed or used so. Kind of a pointless warning really.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by haleycookie. Reason: Spelling errors

[haleycookie]

I sometimes moisten my roommates labs food when I feed him. Bloat is preventable. Tho it is more prevalent in larger dogs. Just make sure your lab takes a long break after eating. Don’t take him out and play or work him hard. Just feed him and wait 6-8 hrs before letting him run and play etc so he has time to digest the food.

[haleycookie]

All kibbles are processed and cooked down to a hard kibbled shape. Nothing in it is fresh after that process (tho I do believe wysong uses mostly fresh ingredients or refrigerated) That goes for Fromm and Wysong. However Wysong has been making foods for almost as long as Fromm has and has plenty of experience. If you’re dog can handle rotation I think it’s a good idea to rotate between not only within a brand but other high quality meat based foods. Wyson epigen is some of the best dog food in my opinion. They own their own production and research facilities and follow the strick rules of the fda, aafco, usda, and haccp in their facilities.

[haleycookie]

What breed of dog is he? How is he exercised? What is his weight now?Most dogs only need 25-30 cals per pound of body weight.
Raw food is only about 4% of their ideal weight.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Large breed puppies (yours are more along the lines of giant breed so more along 2-2.5 years) don’t stop growing til about 1.5-2 years. It’s also wise to not neuter or fix them until that age as well so their growth plates can close properly. The cut off of hormones can cause bone and joint issues early on.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by haleycookie.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Giant breed puppies have no protein requirements. Dogs are mostly carnivorous. Find a good high meat large breed puppy food and don’t worry about anything else. There is no conclusive info on the legume/dcm issue. If you stick with a high meat diet you shouldn’t have to worry about anything. A good food to look into is wellness core large breed puppy, and large breed puppy nature’s variety instinct raw boost. Those are two good options. There are others out there. Take a look at chewy and use the terms large breed puppy. Look for foods that have 3+ more proteins in the top 5 ingredients. And if you want to be extra safe you can e-mail the company and ask where their protein levels are coming from (plant or meat) you can also ask if the calcium ratios are correct for large breed puppies. Some puppy foods are safe but aren’t labeled for large breeds. While some that say all breeds and life stages may not be safe for large breed puppies. So it’s helpful to emails the companies.
It also sounds like you’re using toppers which is a good thing. Trying bone broths and freeze dried raw mixers too. They are both great for natural sources of taurine. I would cut out the processed meats tho. Whatever you use for toppers should be plain, no seasoning, no garlic or onion.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by haleycookie.

[haleycookie]

Champion made the decision because petco is moving away from all foods with artificial ingredients and colors etc. champion has stated they haven’t been bought by Purina. This would be public information had them been.

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