[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sheeklouch –

Orijen is a wonderful food (it’s actually the best dry food out there – imo), however (unfortunately) none of their formulas are appropriate for large breed puppies – they are all much too high in calcium. For this reason, I’ve never fed Orijen to any of my pups but I have fed it to my adult with great success.

Gertie my now two year old female ate The Honest Kitchen (Zeal, Love, Thrive) and Tripett until she was 8 months old. Mabel, my newest addition, who just turned 7 months old has been on a controlled calcium homemade raw diet since she came to me at 8 weeks (my other two dogs eat raw now as well).

I think that most dogs do well on high protein foods (Gertie and Mabel both ate >40% protein on average) – if your dog is having loose stools with high protein foods I’d suggest trying a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin, a multi-strain probiotic and digestive enzymes at each meal.

Assuming you want to stick with a dry food, here is a list of recommended foods. Sometimes it’s trial and error and you may need to try a few foods before you find on that works for your dog. Some dogs are just more sensitive than others.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFY183Q0NVRXlidWc/edit

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sharyorkie –

I’m not sure what your budget is – but raw, homemade, fresh cooked (like Fresh Pet), dehydrated (like The Honest Kitchen), freeze-dried raw, air-dried (like Ziwi Peak) and canned foods all seem to appeal to picky dogs more than kibble. They are all more expensive to feed than kibble, but also healthier and more species-appropriate.

If you need to stick with kibble, I’d recommend trying something like Tripett (canned green tripe) – you can add just a spoonful or so to some warm water, mash it up to make some gravy and then completely coat the kibble. I’ve never heard of a dog that didn’t love green tripe. I’d try this trick with any of the 4 or 5 star kibbles.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Glad to hear the Tripett worked! I figured it would, I have yet to hear of a dog that turns their nose up at green tripe.

[Hound Dog Mom]

mom2goldens –

Supplementing with digestive enzymes can help with gas.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Pennypea –

Any of the 4 and 5 star foods would be a good place to start looking. Here’s a great video on choosing dog foods:

Part 1:

Part 2:

[Hound Dog Mom]

Oh, it’s fine – I just wanted to clarify about the hip dysplasia in case you didn’t understand. Some people actually think it’s something old dogs get.

All healthy dogs should be on a high protein diet, even the less active ones. I’d look for a grain-free food with at least 30% protein – supplementing with high quality canned food and/or healthy leftover and/or fresh raw is a great way to improve the quality of kibble as well.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi again!

If you’re just using the canned as a mix in I wouldn’t be too concerned about the calcium. A trick to stretch the canned out is take just a couple spoonfuls, mash it up, mix in some warm water to make a liquid and stir in the kibble and coat it all in the liquid. If you can find it Tripett is great for a topper and can get even the most finicky dogs to eat – a little goes a long way. Also, since it’s just canned green tripe the calcium levels are very low. It’s not a bad thing if you have to add canned food to get him to eat, canned food is (generally) much healthier and more species-appropriate than dry food.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi HuskyMom9710 –

First of all, if your dog is 4 years old she can’t develop hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is a developmental orthopedic disease that happens during puppyhood. If a dog is going to have hip dysplasia it will have it by the time it’s full grown – however, if the hip dysplasia is mild the dog may not show symptoms until later in life. There’s no foolproof way of preventing dysplasia but responsible breeding (only breeding dogs that have ofa or penn hip clearances), controlling calcium levels during growth, keeping the pup lean while it’s growing and not over exercising the dog while it’s growing can drastically decrease the odds that the dog will develop hip dysplasia.

What are you feeding your dog? A high-quality species-appropriate diet is the foundation of good health. Grains are inflammatory – so if your dog isn’t on a high protein, grain free diet currently I’d look into switching to one.

Supplementing with Omega 3’s (fish oil) can help with inflammation. Some other natural anti-inflammatories are turmeric, boswellia, yucca, bromelian and tart cherry. Digestive enzymes given on an empty stomach can help inflammation (like medizym). Glucosamine, chondroitin, msm and hydraulic acid can help to maintain and regrow deteriorating joint tissue and fluid.

Some supplements I’d recommend:
1) Wysong Arthegic for inflammation (sea cucumber, turmeric, boswellia, devil’s claw, yucca, ginger, red pepper, cetyl myristoleate) with Wysong’s Joint Complex for joint maintenance (contains collagen and msm).
2) Welly Tails Hip and Joint Rx (omega 3’s, tart cherry, glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, hydraulic acid, green lipped mussel).
3) Vet’s Best Advanced Hip and Joint for maintenance (glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, hydraulic acid) with Vet’s Best Muscle and Joint for inflammation (bromelian, boswellia, turmeric, yucca).
4) K9 Joint Strong (glucosamine, chondroitin, msm, turmeric, cetyl myristoleate) – also have a version with white willow for pain relief.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi bella5255 –

If your dog is in the early stages of renal failure he shouldn’t need a reduced-protein diet. You don’t want to reduce the protein levels until the final stages of renal failure (when your dog is uremic – BUN is over 80 mg/dL, creatinine is over 4 mg/dL and the dogs is starting to show clinical symptoms of nitrogen buildup). The high quality protein provided by a homemade diet will not be hard on the kidneys in the way that low quality rendered proteins in most kibbles would be and is fine for dogs that have not yet become uremic – reducing the protein levels during the early stages of kidney failure will do more harm than good. I would just feed a standard balanced homemade diet and use very lean meats. Fish oil has has shown to help with kidney disease – because your dog has pancreatitis though, don’t give too much. Glandular supplements can help – Standard Process makes a great supplement called “Canine Renal Support.” Another supplement that I see recommended frequently for dogs with renal failure is “Vetri-Science Renal Essentials” – it contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs shown to be beneficial for dogs with renal failure. Here’s a link with some good info: http://dogaware.com/health/kidney.html (there’s even some sample homemade diets for dogs with kidney failure here).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Altoid –

Cooked bones shouldn’t be fed as they are likely to splinter – they are more likely to cause intestinal perforations or blockages. Bones should always be fed raw. If your dog is a light chewer heavy bones such as marrow bones and knuckle bones would probably be safe, if, however, your dog is a strong chewer I’d stick with bones that are entirely consumable called “raw meaty bones” (chicken backs, chicken necks, turkey necks, etc.). Strong chewers can break and/or wear down their teeth over time if given dense bones such as marrow bones and knuckle bones. Don’t leave the bone out for more than an hour or so, whatever your dog doesn’t eat can be stored in the fridge – use within three days.

[Hound Dog Mom]

joanellenapril –

In order to get the sodium level of a food you would need to contact the company directly, it’s not something that is typically disclosed on the package or product website. Have you had your dog’s kidneys tested? Increased thirst can be a sign of kidney failure.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hey James –

Two other kibbles that just came to mind that I thought you might want to look into – Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken and Artemis Maximal. Both have 42% protein and 22% fat – so should equate to about 18% carbohydrates.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi vas4511 –

Here is Dr. Mike’s review for Blue Buffalo Life Protection:

/dog-food-reviews/blue-buffalo-dog-food-longevity/

It’s not a bad food, but it’s definitely not one of the top foods. I personally think Blue Buffalo is overrated and overpriced – you could get a better quality food for the same price or an equal quality food for less.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’m not sure if you do any online shopping but most brands can be found somewhere online and now there are a lot of online site that offer free shipping so it’s not cost prohibitive to have heavy bags of food shipped. I’m in the middle of nowhere and do a lot of my shopping on sites like Pet Flow, Wag, Natural K9 Supplies, Chewy and K9 Cuisine.

[Hound Dog Mom]

DieselJunki –

I’m sure there are several issues at play here all playing a part in this condition but NV Chicken (assuming you’re talking about the Instinct variety) is extremely high in calcium – the AAFCO max. calcium level allowed in food is 2.5% and this food is 2.49%, the level of calcium recommended for large breed puppy growth is generally 1.2% or below (so this food has over twice as much calcium as veterinary nutritionists recommend for large breed growth). The NV Instinct Rabbit formula and the Limited Ingredient Turkey formula are within the recommended calcium levels.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi DieselJunki –

It looks to me like your pup is knuckling over. You breeder gave you horrible advice, supplementing with calcium and reducing the protein will not help and could potentially make the issue worse. Calcium needs to be in balance with phosphorus – the ratio needs to be between 1:1 and 2:1 calcium to phosphorus. Commercial foods have a balanced ratio, so by supplementing with addition calcium you will likely throw the ratio off. You never ever want to supplement a balanced diet with calcium (unless advised by a veterinarian) and especially not for a growing puppy. Too much calcium in the diet actually contributes to developmental orthopedic diseases, such as knuckling over. Knuckling over, along with excess calcium, can be caused by overfeeding, having your pup walk around on inappropriate flooring (slippery floors) or by feeding low quality foods containing nutrients that have a low bio-availability. The good news is, if this is knuckling over (which I suspect it is) it can easily be reversed with no permanent damage. Get your dog on a balanced quality food with appropriate calcium levels and monitor intake (DO NOT overfeed). Also, get your pup to a vet asap! The vet should check to see if the dog has any parasites or underlying issues that could be causing nutrient deficiencies and the legs may need to be splinted for awhile. The following is some info on knuckling over:

http://vri.cz/docs/vetmed/51-2-71.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2905020/ .

You may also want to check out the articles posted on large breed puppy nutrition (if you haven’t already):

/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi wtjham –

A healthy dog should be able to switch foods cold turkey with minimal digestive upset. All three of my dogs eat a homemade raw diet and get something different at each meal, none have any issues. When my oldest dog used to eat kibble I switched to a new brand at the end of each bag (about every 3 weeks) and rotated through different canned food toppers daily with no issues. My newest pup (just turned 7 months old) came to me at 8 weeks on Pro Plan – I switched her to raw cold turkey and she had no problems. To decrease the chances that your pups experience digestive upset you may want to mix in a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin and give a probiotic supplement during the first week or so of the switch. Good luck and congrats on the new pups!

[Hound Dog Mom]

What type of stones did your dog have?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi dave and AngieH –

The difficult thing with colitis is that it can have many different causes and it can be acute or chronic. Dietary changes often can help ease the symptoms of colitis. Most dogs with colitis respond well to increased levels of dietary fiber and/or a hypoallergenic diet. Many dogs with colitis also seem to better tolerate foods that are lower in fat. When trying a new food make sure that you don’t feed anything else to your dog during the trial period (no treats!) and give the diet three to six weeks to see if there is improvement (remember, the improvement won’t be immediate and in some cases your dog’s diarrhea can even worsen in the initial stages of the switch as the dog is becoming accustomed to the new food).

For increasing the fiber level, rather then looking specifically for a high-fiber food, I would recommend just adding some canned pumpkin or psyllium to a high quality food. Both are high in fiber and will increase the overall fiber content of the food being fed.

For choosing a hypoallergenic diet you want to pick a food that has a protein source and carbohydrate source (if applicable) that your dog has never been exposed to. Making a homemade food is a great option here.

Two supplements I would definitely start immediately
1. Probiotics – these will help replenish the good bacteria in the dog’s digestive tract and keep pathenogenic bacteria in check.
2. Digestive Enzymes – These will give the dog a boost in digesting their food so the dog’s already stressed digestive system doesn’t have to work as hard at producing its own enzymes.

Some other supplements you may want to try that have proved successful for some dogs suffering from colitis:
1. L-glutamine – An amino acid that helps to repair the mucosal lining of the digestive tract.
2. Slippery Elm – An herb that helps to sooth the digestive tract and relieve inflammation.

I think in the case of colitis, that a high quality home-prepared diet would be best and most easily customizable to the dog’s individual needs. However, here are some commercial foods that are hypo-allergenic and lower in fat that may be worth considering:
1. The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal – Dehydrated, fish-based food, 9% fat on a dry-matter basis.
2. Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Rabbit – Freeze-dried food, 15% fat on a dry-matter basis.
3. Nature’s Variety Instinct – Limited Ingredient dry foods are all under 20% fat on a dry-matter basis and include a turkey, duck and lamb variety.
4. Addiction’s Dry Foods – salmon-based, venison-based and lamb-based options, all around 13% fat on a dry-matter basis.
5. Addiction Dehydrated Foods – brush-tail, kangaroo, venison, lamb offerings, all around 9% fat on a dry-matter basis.
6. Addiction Canned Foods – brushtail, venison and salmon are only 10% fat on a dry-matter basis.
7. Great Life – Dry foods Buffalo Rx and Duck Rx are both 13% fat on a dry-matter basis.
8. Tiki Dog – canned food with some low fat hypoallergenic options.
9. California Natural Grain-Free – kangaroo, salmon, lamb and venison options, all 13% fat or less on a dry-matter basis.

*Some of the foods I recommended are a little low in protein for my taste, unfortunately when feeding a commercial food most of the foods that are lower in fat and that contain a novel protein also contain less overall meat and thus less protein – this is why I think homemade is the best option. If you are feeding one of the lower protein dehydrated or kibbled foods I’d highly recommend adding one of the recommended canned foods to boost the overall protein content. Also, this is not an exhaustive list – check out the foods Dr. Mike has reviewed on DFA and you’ll likely be able to find more – these are just some brands that first came to mind.

Good luck!

[Hound Dog Mom]

That was a really interesting article, however it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Dogs may be able to digest carbohydrates more efficiently than their ancestors, but is there any proof that a dog does better on a high carbohydrate diet versus a low carbohydrate diet with higher levels protein and fat? Is there anything proving that carbohydrates are superior to fat as an energy source for dogs? Dogs may digest carbohydrates fine – but what are the health implications of long term consumption of the lectins, phytates and gluten that can be found in many carbohydrate-rich foods?

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marmaduke –

I just sat and typed a nice long response answering your questions, posted it and it disappeared (so if a duplicate response shows up later that’s why). 🙁

So here it goes again…

I get my meat from several sources. I occasionally buy meat from the grocery store, I order some hard to source items (such as certain organs and green tripe) from Hare Today and My Pet Carnivore, I get unwanted meat (usually bone and organs) from hunters (my dad actually gave me a whole deer this year!) – but most of my meat comes from a wholesale distributor that supplies restaurants, grocery stores and large dog kennels. I have to order from the distributor in 300 lb. shipments but it’s worth it – I pay about half the price I’d pay at the grocery store. As for fish – be very careful! Certain types of fish can carry a parasite that causes salmon poisoning in dogs if the fish is fed raw (and no, it’s not just salmon that can carry this parasite). I rarely feed raw fish, occasionally I’ll feed raw sardines because I know they’re a safe fish but that’s about it.

To answer your question about organ meat – organ meat is as high, if not higher in protein than muscle meat. However, organ meat should only make up 10% of your dogs’ diet – 5% should be liver and 5% should be other organs. Organ meat is extremely nutrient-dense – it’s necessary to include in the dogs’ diet to supply certain vitamins and minerals, but the levels are so high that too much organ meat can be toxic. Keep in mind – green tripe, gizzards and heart are NOT organ meat (some people make the mistake of thinking they are, so I wanted to clarify to make sure you understood) and can be fed as muscle meat. Organ meat would include: liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, lungs and brain.

I wouldn’t feel too bad about not being able to get pre-made raw – I think homemade is much higher quality and you’re able to feed more variety and have better control over the ingredients. Formulating menus – while time consuming – has actually gotten fun for me, I think I’d get bored feeding pre-made! Here’s a link to some typical menus that I’d serve to my crew of three bloodhounds:

/forums/topic/menus/

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marmaduke –

I love Carlson’s products – I think they make some of the highest quality fish oils. I give my dogs their cod liver oil a few times a week for extra vitamin d – I wouldn’t feed most cod liver oils due to excessive vitamin a and Carlson’s is the only one I’ve found without excessive levels.

I get my meat from several sources. I do buy meat from the grocery store on occasion (Be VERY careful with buying fish – depending on the type of fish and where it came from it could have salmon poisoning. I personally don’t feed raw fish very often – occasionally raw sardines, but that’s it.), I occasionally order from hare-today.com and mypetcarnivore.com (I can get a lot of difficult to find offal from these places), I get unwanted parts (usually offal and bones) from hunters (I actually got my dad to give me a whole deer this year 😉 ) – but mostly I get meat delivered from a wholesale distributor. I order shipments of 300 lbs. at a time from a wholesaler that also sells to grocery stores, restaurants and caters to large dog kennels – I can get a lot of the stuff I need (chicken backs, turkey necks, hearts, gizzards, livers, ground beef, etc.) for about half of what I’d pay in the grocery store. The only downside to buying in bulk is everything just comes in huge 40 lb. boxes – I have to divide it all up myself, but it’s worth it considering how much money I save.

To answer your question about offal – offal i very high in protein, about the same amount if not more than muscle meat. Organ meat should only constitute 10% of your dogs’ diet – 5% should be liver and 5% should be other offal. Organ meat is VERY nutrient-dense – it’s necessary to feed in order to provide adequate amounts of certain vitamins and minerals but it’s easy to go overboard. Many of the vitamins and minerals found in organ meat, while necessary in small amounts, can be toxic if fed in large amounts. For example, liver is extremely high in vitamin a – vitamin a is a fat soluble vitamin so extremely high levels fed over an extended period of time can cause toxicity. Remember green tripe, heart and gizzards are NOT organ meat – a lot of people think these things are organ meat, but they’re not and the amount fed of these things doesn’t have to be restricted (like it does with true organ meat). The things that would count toward your dogs’ 10% organ meat would be: liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, spleen and brain.

I wouldn’t be too upset that you can’t get Darwin’s or other pre-made raw foods – homemade is much higher quality, more customizable and you can feed more variety. It is time-consuming to make food from scratch, but I’ve gotten to where I think it’s fun to formulate new menus – I would get bored feeding pre-made. If you check out this link you’ll be able to see some typical menus for my crew of three bloodhounds:

/forums/topic/menus/

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Dr. Mike –

This is a great question and I think it will make for a great discussion as everyone’s criteria are so different.

First off, in answering it for myself, I’m going to assume we’re looking for dry dog foods – otherwise I, obviously, would give preference to raw foods.

1) The first thing I look at it protein content. I won’t typically consider a food with under 35% protein – however if the food fell between 30% and 34% but had several other exemplary qualities I may make an exception (I would never go under 30% though).

2) I then look at fat content. I typically like dry foods with at least 15% fat (I feed much higher fat levels with raw, but dry foods are generally fairly low in fat).

3) I then look at ingredients. I always want a meat ingredient first – no exceptions. I prefer a fresh meat followed by at least one meat meal – but I would not rule out an otherwise good food if it only contains meat meals. Although there are some exceptions, I typically won’t feed a food that contains by-products. I never feed a food that contains any unnamed animal ingredients – such as animal fat, animal digest or animal by-products. I won’t feed foods with grains and look, instead, for foods that use potato, tapioca, legumes or pseudo-grains (or some combination of these) as a binder. Other ingredients that I look for and would not feed to my animals are: chemical preservative (such as BHA), menadione, artificial colorings, propylene glycol or any sort of sugar (sugar, molasses, honey, etc.). I also prefer to see a short list of added vitamins, minerals and amino acids – this tells me that much of the nutrition is derived from the ingredients in the food itself and there’s less reliance on synthetic supplements.

4) I then look at the company. I won’t rule out a company if it’s had recalls, but I do take into consideration how many recalls the company has had, how far apart they were and how the company handled the recalls. I like a company that is open about where they source their ingredients and that doesn’t source from China. I typically call or email the company’s customer service before feeding a food and if either a) I don’t get a response b) the customer service rep seems knowledgeable c) customer service is rude or d) I get the impression the company is giving me the run around when I ask a question – I will not feed the food.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Betsy –

Very good questions!

To give my opinion on your first question – my answer would be that it depends on what kind of food we’re talking about. If we’re talking about kibble – a food in which a carbohydrate binder is required – I would put foods that utilize pseudo-grains as binders on the same level as “grain-free” foods that use potato, tapioca or legumes. So if, for example, there I had two kibbles to choose from and each had an equal amount of protein and fat, one used millet as a starch and one used tapioca – I would give no preference. As for a homemade diet in which it’s possible to not use any starches, no I wouldn’t add any pseudograins (unless they were sprouted!) or any other starches for that matter.

To answer your second question – yes, pseudo-grains are susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. But, keep in mind, it’s not only grains and pseudo-grains that can be contaminated with aflatoxin. Many seeds (such as sunflower seeds and cottonseeds), nuts (coconut, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts), spices (turmeric, ginger, chile peppers, black pepper, coriander) and even dairy products derived from animals fed feed that contained aflatoxin are commonly contaminated with aflatoxin.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Melissa –

These are the foods I would recommend:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFY183Q0NVRXlidWc/edit

Any of the foods on my list would be appropriate for all life stages. All life stages is the same as a formula that is labeled for puppies or growth. The Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch and Meadow Feast are both grain-free appropriate for large breed puppies. I know I looked into Performatrin Ultra grain-free and either the calcium levels were too high or the company never responded to my inquiry about calcium levels (I can’t remember, I made the list quite awhile ago). I wouldn’t feed the grain-inclusive Earthborn because it’s too low in protein, I think the grain-free varieties are much better. All the foods on my list are grain-free, but whether you want to feed grain-inclusive or grain-free is really up to you. I personally think grains aren’t appropriate for dogs and feed all my dog grain-free. If you do go with a grain-inclusive food be sure to check the calcium level (under 3.5 g. calcium per 1,000 kcal.) and try to find a variety with at least 30% protein (anything below that is really too low, especially for a puppy – imo).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Marie –

Welly Tails has some good supplements you might want to check out. They have a powdered joint supplement which I have used on my dogs in the past and liked – it has glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, green lipped mussel, hydraulic acid, tart cherry and omega 3’s. They also have another supplement (haven’t used this one) called senior dog vitality which has glucosamine, msm, hydraulic acid, green lipped mussel, omega 3’s, digestive enzymes and 6 strains of probiotics. I’m also a big fan of Wysong’s joint supplements – they’re sold for people but can be used for dogs too and come in powder filled capsules, you can just open it up and sprinkle it on the food. They have one called Arthegic that helps inflammation, it has boswellia, sea cucumber, turmeric, ginger, devil’s claw, yucca, red pepper and cetyl myristoleate. Their other supplement is called Joint Complex and supports the joints, cartilage and connective tissue, it contains proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and MSM. I think for a dog with severe arthritis the Arthegic and Joint Complex would be very effective if used together.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Marmaduke –

I give my dogs 1 tsp. of an animal based omega 3 (sardine oil or anchovy oil generally) and 1 tsp. of a plant based fat (flax, evening primrose, borage or sometimes sprouted chia or coconut oil). I split 2-400 i.u. vitamin e capsules between the three of them – so that would be about 267 i.u. each per day. For a large dog anywhere between 100 and 400 i.u. per day should be adequate, however I wouldn’t go over 400 i.u. per day. I have large dogs, since you have golden retrievers that are probably around the same size as mine these doses should be fine for your dogs.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Setrina –

Grains are not species-appropriate for dogs. Dogs have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates. A dog’s diet should be high in protein, moderate in fat and low in carbohydrates. Most (not all, but most) grain-inclusive foods are low in protein and fat and high in carbohydrates. Grain-free foods tend to be higher in protein and lower and carbohydrates – but you still have to be sure to check the label, there are some companies that just remove the grains and replace them with equal amounts of starches like white potato, tapioca or peas (these aren’t species-appropriate foods either so you want to look for a food with minimal amounts of starches). Because a grain free food will contain some sort of starch, just make sure protein content is at least 30% so you know there’s a high volume of meat in the food. Some other downsides of grains are that many contain gluten (a common trigger of sensitivities), they contain lectins, antinutrients and phytates and grain-inclusive foods are more likely to be contaminated with alfatoxins.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Betsy!

I don’t have an issue with quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth or millet. These are actually “pseudo-grains” (not true grains) and they’re all gluten free. I would have no issue with feeding Nature’s Logic (in fact my cats eat Nature’s Logic) but I would not feed the Mulligan’s Stew for a few reasons: 1) too low in protein, 2) too low in fat, 3) contains cane molasses (sugar!), 4) oats are often contaminated with gluten, 5) rice, as we know, can be contaminated with arsenic and this contains brown rice which is said to be higher in arsenic than white rice. I also don’t have an issue with sprouted grains of any sort. I recently started including sprouted grains in my dogs’ raw food occasionally – the sprouting processes eliminates all the bad things grains are known for (lectins and phytic acid, etc.).

[Hound Dog Mom]

Check out the raw food thread. All three of my bloodhounds – ages 7 yrs, 2 yrs, and 6 mos. – are on a homemade raw diet. I have several of my recipes posted in the forum and there are also some links to some informative websites and some reading suggestions from myself and others.

[Hound Dog Mom]

i can’t see them, it says “content unavailable” 🙁

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Rambo and Fancy –

Some people rotate between “flavors” of he same brand and others rotate between different brands entirely. I think the dog gets more benefit from rotating between different brands. While there may be minor differences between different “flavors” of the same brand, often the ingredients are pretty similar. Rotating between different brands entirely will expose your dog to a greater variety of ingredients.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Mrs4444 –

Sorry to hear about your dog. Below is a link to an article by Dr. Becker that discusses pano. Dr. Becker says she’s had success supplementing with proteolytic enzymes, calcarea carbonica, arnica and Standard Process’ Musculoskeletal Support. Another poster on this site has a golden pup with pano and I believe she’s supplementing with turmeric and omega 3’s and having luck with that. Also, make sure you don’t let your pup play too hard – heavy activity can aggravate the condition.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/02/27/three-common-bone-growth-conditions-in-puppies-and-young-dogs.aspx

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Beth –

Cutting it up while it’s still frozen or partially frozen is fine. If the chub is small enough that he’ll eat it within 3 days though, you can just thaw the entire thing and keep it in the fridge.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi risuchan –

If the two foods you are considering are The Honest Kitchen and Flint River Ranch I would DEFINITELY go with The Honest Kitchen. THK is one of only two pet foods that are certified human-grade and it’s minimally processed (much more species-appropriate than kibble). I fed two of my dogs a rotation of Love, Zeal, Embark and Thrive for about 6 months before switching them to a raw diet – it’s a great food. FRR is mediocre and incredibly overpriced for what it is – with FRR you’re paying a premium price for a mid-grade food, THK is expensive too but at least with THK you get what you pay for.

[Hound Dog Mom]

HPP stands for “high pressure processing.”

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/22/sterile-raw-pet-food.aspx

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Beth –

I’m glad to hear Butch is doing better. Of the brands of pre-made raw available to you I would recommend Primal (red meat varieties only) or Bravo. Nature’s Variety Instinct, the poultry varieties
of Primal and Stella and Chewy’s are all HPP (which I’m not convinced is a good thing..). None of them are bad, but the red meat Primal and Bravo would just be my first choices. Have you tried mixing green tripe into his old food? Green tripe usually entices dogs to eat.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Gumbo and Roux Mama –

I consider any dog that will be 60 pounds or more at maturity to be a large breed. If your pup is 8 months old and only 40 lbs. she’ll likely be a medium-sized dog at maturity, but definitely on that medium/large borderline. Feeding a small or medium sized dog as a large breed won’t hurt, so if you’re unsure there’s no reason you can keep the dog lean, limit calcium and limit strenuous exercise, etc. As for her weight, just google body weight scores for dogs and you’ll be able to find pictures of what a good weight should look like. I personally keep my dogs on the lean side, probably leaner than most keep their dogs – I’d rather see my dogs borderlining underweight than borderlining overweight. I think with large dogs any excess weight is just excess stress on the joints. You should see a waistline when you view the dog from above, an abdominal tuck when viewed from the side, you should be able to feel the ribs but they shouldn’t be protruding. A good indication that the dog is underweight is if you can see the hip bones – if you can see these she’s too thin.

[Hound Dog Mom]

There’s no reason you can’t mix proteins. However I prefer to serve only one protein at each meal, then the dogs aren’t getting exposed to the same ingredients at every meal and their bodies can have a break from certain foods.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Marmaduke –

Are you cooking the fruit/veggie mix? Dogs don’t produce cellulase (the enzyme required to digest the cellulose in the plant material) so fruits/vegetables should be cooked and pureed in order to break down the cellulose. There’s no trick to preparing green tripe, you jut feed it. Tripe has a naturally balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1:1 so you can feed as much as you want. I think feeding your chicken mix as one meal and tripe as the other would be a good idea.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi jodysworld33 –

I’d checkout The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal formula – it’s low fat and high protein. Dehydrated foods are also much less calorie-dense than kibble because of all the water you add. Any low fat canned food would be a good option as well.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi astroweeks –

I know that for a dog with SBS you want to make the digestion process as efficient as possible so adding a high quality digestive enzyme supplement and multi-strain probiotic supplement would be a good idea. I would also add some unfiltered apple cider vinegar – vinegar is an acid and will help the food to breakdown easier in the stomach. I’ve also read that fiber can help SBS dogs by slowing down the digestion process – so maybe some canned pumpkin would help. I’m not sure if you’re giving him any nutritional supplements, but depending on how bad his digestion is you may want to talk to your vet about adding additional vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids to ensure he’s not becoming malnourished. If possible, I would also look into getting him on a higher quality food that’s higher in fat and more calorie-dense to help him put on some weight. I haven’t read a whole lot about SBS so, unfortunately, that’s about all the help I can give you. Maybe someone else will chime in with some more suggestions.

[Hound Dog Mom]

cakes42257 –

Science Diet Healthy Mobility is junk. You can get the same benefit by feeding your dog a quality food and supplementing with a quality joint supplement. Glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM are all great for joint maintenance, but you may also want to consider adding a natural anti-inflammatory – such as turmeric, boswellia, yucca, tart cherry or omega 3’s.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Marmaduke –

The first thing I would recommend is having the dog checked by the vet – occasionally stool eating can be due to intestinal malabsorption or intestinal parasites. If medical causes are ruled out I’d supplement with a quality enzyme and probiotic supplement. Some dogs don’t secrete enough enzymes naturally so they consume feces because feces are rich in enzymes – although enzyme deficiencies are more common when dogs are on processed food diets. Enzymes can help with gas as well. You could look into a supplemental stool eating deterrent – but check the label as most contain MSG. The other thing I wanted to point out is that you should not be feeding only chicken – this is not enough variety and your dogs will not be getting all the nutrients they need. Ideally, an even mix of red meat and poultry should be fed. At the very least I’d recommend alternating chicken with beef but the more different meats you can feed the better. While flax is a good addition to poultry based meals, you need an animal-based omega 3 as dogs don’t convert plant-based omega 3’s to DHA very efficiently. Lastly you need to add some vitamin e – this diet provides no vitamin e. Hope that helps!

[Hound Dog Mom]

No I don’t have facebook. How I post pictures to the forum though is by uploading them to photobucket, it gives you the image code to post.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Matt –

Dogs are scavenging carnivores – they are designed to thrive on a diet of primarily meat but can eat plant matter if necessary. Surviving is not the same as thriving – a dog can thrive on a meat based diet, while it can merely survive on a plant based diet. If you looks at a dog’s design – their teeth, jaws and G.I. tract are those of a carnivore. Nutritionally speaking, dogs have a requirement for 22 amino acids – however their bodies are only able to produce 12 of these amino acids on their own, the other 10 must be obtained through their diet. These amino acids are most readily found in animal-based protein. Dogs and cats also do best on animal-based fats, they are inefficient at converting plant based fats into a usable form. I agree with Marie that it seems every dog that is fed a vegetarian diet or vegan diet is fed as such because that’s how their owner eats. While I have complete respect for humans that decide to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, it is my personal opinion that it is extremely selfish and irresponsible of them to force this same lifestyle on their dogs or cats.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi DieselJunki –

Congrats on the new family member! 🙂

Amierican Bulldogs would be considered a large breed, so you should feed them as such. Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit would be a wonderful choice for your new pup – the calcium levels are right where they should be. All three of my dogs now eat a raw diet, but my oldest used to eat kibble and I used Nature’s Variety Instinct in my rotation frequently – he loved the food and did well on it. All of Nature’s Variety Instinct foods are approved for “All Life Stages” meaning that they meet the nutrition requirements of any age dog – puppy right through to senior. Any 4 or 5 star canned food would make a great topper – as long as you’re only using a little canned to mix with the dry you shouldn’t need to worry about calcium levels too much. My only other suggestion would be to pick at least one or two other dry foods to rotate with – rotational feeding is much healthier than feeding the same food continuously and if you get your new pup accustomed to rotational feeding while he is young it will be easier to change foods later on. If you check out the “Diet and Health Issues” forum and go to the sticky “Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition” topic you’ll find a list with other 4 and 5 star grain-free foods that would be a good choice for your pup.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’m so excited for you! I can’t wait to see pictures. 🙂

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi momtopoms –

Fruits and vegetables really aren’t absolutely necessary if everything else in the diet is balanced and the Nature’s Logic supplement does have some freeze-dried fruits and vegetables in it, so this would probably be enough. However, some other options that you could try:

1) Wysong has a supplement called “Wild Things” – it’s a powder made of freeze-dried fruits, vegetables and super greens: http://www.wysong.net/products/wildthings-dog-cat-supplement.php

2) Essex Cottage Farms has a supplement called “Garden Vegetables”, also a freeze-dried powder: http://www.efarms.cc/Products%20Page.htm

3) Nature’s Farmacy has a whole food supplement called “Cornucopia” and 3 tbs. is the equivalent of a pound of fresh fruits and vegetables: http://www.naturesfarmacy.com/store/details.php?prodId=321&category=

Also, if your dog doesn’t mind pills you could also consider fruit and vegetable concentrate pills made for humans (just read the ingredients list carefully to make sure there is nothing toxic to dogs – such as onions or grapes). There are many different brands that make these, but some I can think of off the top of my head that would be safe for dogs would be Puritan’s Pride 10 Vegetable Multiplex, Wysong’s Salad and Schiff’s Fruit & Vegetable tablets.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi lonimck –

Check out Earthborn Primitive Natural – it’s 5 stars, grain-free and contains chicken, turkey and fish just like Acana Wild Prairie. It runs about $48 for a 28 lb. bag

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