[joanne l]

I use canned salmon for my dog once a week with white rice, I never heard about it. Yes it is cooked. It is human grade salmon in a can.

[joanne l]

Dr. Harvey’s is another good one. Very nice customer service and great quality. All their food is human grade so it is expensive but worth it. I like it better than the honest kitchen.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Tom, I did hear some negative reviews on Earthborn, I don’t mean to discourage you but that is what I heard. Honest Kitchen seems to be good. Do you need grain free? Only b/c the FDA warning was on grain free diets and DCM in dogs. Is your dog doing good on what he is on? I forget to mention I am transitioning my dog to Health Extensions it seems like a good food. Also they do have grain free and it doesn’t have a lot of legumes in it also I don’t think is has peas or potatoes, which is good. Take a look on chewy’s website and read the reviews and the ingredients.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

unfortunately, Tom all dog food needs a binder to make it. Even the “biological appropriate Ojien” has fillers in it. I don’t like Orjien though. So the only thing to do is find a dog food that don’t contain as much fillers. Example maybe just 2 like say, brown rice and oatmeal. Some of them sneak in about 4 or 5 so you have to read the ingredients. But if you find one that has peas or legumes listed 4 or 5 times, no matter how far down the list I wouldn’t buy it. Ojien has legumes list 5 times on their menu. Also, grain free is not really the best.

[joanne l]

Hi Peggy even though Natural Balance has been bought out, if your dog is doing good on it then I wouldn’t switch. But keep a close eye on the ingredients and the kibble. If you notice any changes see if the dog is okay with it. If not Wellness makes a simple ingredient diet as well. Good Luck.

[joanne l]

Hi Ryan, I think that was causing problems, because dogs and cats are sensitive to smell and their lungs are breathing in things they shouldn’t. My dog will sneeze if I use carpet fresh, so I put him in the yard until I am done. Also, the smell of cleaning products bother him. I am glad you unplugged them, plus you had a lot of them in the house. Even I can’t use them they make me sick and I will cough or not be able to breath right. I found that out when I went over a friend’s house and they had 4 of them plugged in and I had to leave, but they understood. So please don’t use them anymore.

[joanne l]

I have never heard of this food. You say you bought it a dollar general?

[joanne l]

Hi Crazy4cats, I was feeding pro plan lamb and oatmeal S.S. one for 3 months. The fiber is 4%. I think sometimes he does better with less fiber, like 3% that I have seen. If I go up in the fiber more stools come out and he is hungry all the time. So like I mentioned he has been on Lamb and oatmeal sensitive skin and stomach one for 3 months. After eating it for a month he started licking his rear. I can’t fully say if it is the food or not. But he has not been licking at his rear like he was. Occasionally he will do it. Another thing is when I add probiotics it seems to help a lot. But right now I need to find something he enjoys, I would love to give him his Purina back but I am not sure. I can’t use anything with chicken in it or turkey. Plus I have tried the beef one but it is the savor pro plan with those rubbery feeling pieces in it and he threw up after eating so I am at a lose with Purina. I don’t like the Savor I only like the Focus ones, but they don’t have many choices with that one. Thanks for your concern.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

I am degusted right now, since Vonn HATED the holistic select food I bought Health extensions lamb and guess what he doesn’t like that either. He was never picky until he ate Purina. He loves Purina but I think that was causing anal gland issues because when I stopped it he stopped licking at his rear. Now I am at a loss. Before Holistic Select I tried merrick and he hated that too. So what he is doing now is he will not eat breakfast but he will eat dinner b/c by then his is hungry. Help! I can’t keep buying foods and bringing them back I am tired plus I hate to see food go to waste when dogs are starving out there.

[joanne l]

I read chewy’s reviews from customers and they love it. Sometimes I read the dog food advisor one, but they get confusing, plus some people nit pick on the company for other reasons and not the food. So I read the reviews on websites that sell it and see what people think about it. I am more concerned about the product than getting personal with the company if that makes any sense.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Did anyone hear or use health extension dog food?? It looks good chewy sells it. I am looking for a back up food for him. I am thinking of this food or Victors. I know Victor’s is good from what I hear from you guys, but health extensions no one ever really talked about this brand. Just trying to find out if anyone ever used it. The ingredients look great. Oh and their grain free doesn’t not have too many legumes either. But I would still use grain in.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Did the Vet suggest a RX can food diet? If so I would go with that.

[joanne l]

Also, I forgot to mention about exotic meats, be careful with them as well. These diets have not been around long enough to know how they will work. Do your research and choose wisely, don’t depend on marketing and hear say. There is a thread about canine heart disease that people have talked about. Look through diet and health and you will find the thread.

[joanne l]

Hi Patti, I have been following this to. I feel as though grain in diets been around for a long time and pose no threat to dogs, unless they have an unusually allergy. I was never a fan of grain free diets from the beginning, I don’t feed comfortable in feeding legumes to a dog. Legumes contain certain properties that prohibit minerals and nutrients that they need. Furthermore it is so far from a Canines diet anyway. Tried and true is the way to go. And yes some dogs are really allergic to the protein not the grains. If your dog is okay with grains than I would just feed a grain in diet until this is under control. I know this is frustrating to a lot of people, but going back to the old school ways may make people understand that grains are not bad, unless of course a dog has an allergy. As far as gluten free goes that is just a gimmick, most dogs do NOT have celiac disease. I have read that people that don’t have celiac disease should not eat gluten free, because gluten is good for you it has nutrients that you need. OF course if you have celiac you should avoid gluten. We all have to educate our selves because companies will do what ever sells.

[joanne l]

Hi Susan, I did call holistic select and they want me to send them some of the food so they can test and see it. They were very nice about it. And chewy did send me another bag. So I think I am going to change brand. Right now it seems to be okay, even with the smaller kibble. So maybe if it is the puppy formula it is the lamb one. But I need a kibble to be consistent. So maybe I will try the wellness simple or I was looking at Health extensions it looks good and I think in the past I got samples of it and Vonn liked it. But at the time I wasn’t ready to change foods. I don’t think you have that one were you live, but you can review it on chewy’s website. Thank you for taking time to help me.

[joanne l]

Update on Vonn’s food: I am still using the Holistic Select lamb and he is fine, I just bought another bag and the kibble is so small, like puppy food. So chewy sent me out another bag to replace it. I feed it until I got the replacement one. In the past I experience issues with inconsistent food and every time the dog got sloppy poop. Now here we go again with different kibble, but so far his stools are not bad, but I only gave it to him 2 days. My question is does anyone experience inconsistent food?? If so believe me get another bag. I think every company has this problem. But anyway, I am thinking that they put puppy food in the bag by mistake when they were making it. Other wise I don’t know what happens.

[joanne l]

I never heard of it, but the stool doesn’t sound normal so I would not feed it. Please get another brand.

[joanne l]

Susan, I called the company about Holistic Select concerning the smell. They were very helpful they mailed me something to put some of the kibble in so they can test it. Well anyway they got back to me and said you are right it did smell off. They told me air could have gotten in the back so it started to oxidize. She said it would not harm the dog, but told me to get another bag and gave me a 10 off coupon. So I did get another bag and it smelled fine. However, my dog been eating it and he seems to being doing okay but he just don’t like it. In the meantime I want a food back up and I was looking at Victor, which I know you mentioned before and or health extensions, that also looks good. I would like to know if anyone had experience with Victor dog food? It is reasonable, price wise, hope it is good quality.
P.S. Thanks for responding about Pet Fresh, I would give him that with the dry food.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

thank you I will try it.

[joanne l]

Hi I would like peoples input on pet fresh dog food, the log form one. I want to try it, so I can switch up with can food.

[joanne l]

Thanks a lot Sanne, the wellpet products seem to be pretty good, I had my dog on Purina but had to switch because he develop anal gland issues. Now he is on Holistic Select made by Wellpet and things seem to be clearing up. I give him the grain in one.

[joanne l]

Thank you very much, I do like wellness, do you know what the difference in ingredients are in the wellness? Just curious to see the difference.

[joanne l]

Wow Sanne this is interesting, what brand of food do you guys feed? I live in Philadelphia and I do think it is some kind of quality control here. Since you and Susan said dogs don’t have that kind of problem this is concerning here in the US. I would like to know your feedback on wellness dog food and firstmate.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Good point Patricia I forgot about the exotic meats. I never did trust exotics meats.

[joanne l]

I feed Fromm in my rotation along with Holistic Select and I think it is a good choice. I think TOTW might be going down hill because now they sell it at Petco. They never sold it in big box stores so my guess would be the quality went down. But anymore you just can’t tell even by that. Anyway try Fromm. Hope everything works out.

[joanne l]

I read it. It is about certain ingredients a dog should not have. This doesn’t have anything to do with dog food itself. It is for us to know, so we know not to give these ingredients to a dog.

[joanne l]

First mate sounds good. I would steer clear of Orjien and Acana. There is to much going on with them. Lawsuits and all. I also hear a lot of people complaining about the Kentucky plant food as well. Good Luck to you.

[joanne l]

Hi Susan, I am going to do a little research on taurine and toxins and see what I come up with. Well I just briefly read that toxins can cause heart problems. I guess that goes without saying of course. And from what I understand there are dogs with DCM and have normal taurine levels and there are dogs with DCM that have low taurine levels. So it could be a combination of two things: 1. legumes which prohibit nutrients if consumed on a daily basis.
2. toxins. Which of course can be harmful to the heart. Well anyway, this lawsuit on champion pet foods is big and still going on. I keep checking for updates on it. I don’t feed it but I like to know what is going on.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

try cooking the organ meat, as far as can food I don’t know what is the best. Right now I am feeding Natures Instinct can food. What breed is your pup? Then I will be able to answer how much can food her or she should get. I know a lot of people feed raw, but I just can’t do it. The only thing I feed raw is beef, but not the organs. I rather cook the organs but that’s just me. If you cook the organs you can mash them in the can food.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Thanks for the update. Is this a brand? or is it all beef foods?

[joanne l]

Dogs can have an allergic reaction to many things. It may not be the protein or carbs in the dry food, but it could be other ingredients. Example: certain preservatives, added coloring and flavoring, minerals, and such. Also, not to mention hidden chemicals in the food. So it is complicated.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

I also stated to let the vet know. With any serious condition you should ask the vet, that goes without saying. Fresh chicken breast has minimal sodium, plus when boiling it can reduce it as well. You drain it before serving.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

If you don’t like science diet ask your vet about Royal Canine. Also cook some chicken breast for her. Boil it and cut it up and store it in a container and give her some with the dry food. That is good quality protein. Like others have said Rx diet is best because with this condition you need to be careful. But I feel fresh cooked chicken is best to give with the dry food. Since the vet said she needs more protein. If you do give her fresh chicken cut a little back on the dry food. Also, tell your vet what you are doing so they know. Best of luck to you. I hope she will be okay. Oh one more thing when you boil the chicken put a carrot in there and boil together and mash the carrot into the chicken, It can store in the refrigerator for 4 days. Fresh is always best.

[joanne l]

Dr Harvey makes dehydrated sweet potatoes they are great. There expensive but they are human grade and it is nice big slices of them and my dog loves these. He chew’s on them but they don’t last long enough to keep them busy but that’s okay they smell great as well.

[joanne l]

Tell me about it I feel like pulling my hair out too. My dog started with anal gland issues since I put him on Purina. I switched him to Holistic Select grain in and he is fine, maybe there was something in Purina he is allergic to, but who knows. I just go by observation. My dog never had anal gland issues before so I knew it was Purina because after eating it for a month or so it started gradually and I didn’t catch on until it became worse so I figured it was the diet. Also my neighbors dog started having issues too and she is feed Purina, I know Purina does work for a lot of dogs but not mine or my neighbors dog.

[joanne l]

Hi there, please don’t give her anymore Purina can dog food. It is the worst!!! Keep the fat down, continue with Rx diet if it helps her. They have Rx can food if you like (low fat). Also, cooking for her is great too. But when you think she is ready for regular kibble, try Anameat go lean, it is I believe the green bag. Read the ingredients and check it out on chewy.com It says “go lean” on the bag. I read some reviews and the customers that had dogs with this condition raved about it. Hope everything gets better!!
I just want to re comment here, the food I suggested has 9% fat which is good protein is 30% which is high but I don’t know how much protein a dog can have with this condition ask the vet about it. Also, anytime you change foods do it as slow as you can. But I would really keep her on Rx low fat diet until she is really getting better. With this condition she really needs a special diet for now. Most regular can foods are not good for her, except the Rx can food for this condition. Also if you cook for her boil the meat and drain all fat and add some white rice. Chicken breast is the best it is low in fat just like someone else mentioned. Take care.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

You make a good point, however since these recent cases were seen in dogs with the grain free diets and the FDA is on this we have to wait and see. If people want to avoid all “fillers” than you can’t feed dry dog food. Which in some cases that is not feasible for some people. These cases were found in a University Hospital so we have to trust what they are observing. Since their observation was found in dogs being feed grain free we have to trust what they are seeing. We can assume a lot of things but observation is key.
Now I do agree that you need to feed a high quality food that you trust, without cheap ingredients, I feel a good wholesome grain in diet with a trusted brand is fine. With their findings I think I would still prefer grain in for now. On the other hand you can choose a brand that has grain in and grain out and rotate so the dog is not getting grain free all the time. What I do believe is that dogs should not consume legumes on a daily basis because of the Phytic acid that legumes contain. Plus they are so far out of a canines diet!! More far out than grains.
Furthermore, some of the dogs that were feed grain free and had DCM, when they switched their diet back to grain in their results improved. And those results were from the University Hospital. So I would suggest not to be ignorant to what they are finding, they are doing their best to help these dogs. Again we have to wait and see before we assume anything. To me when the FDA gets involved it is a sign of concern.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

My point was that Goldens are prone to this condition, but the ones that were feed Pro Plan DID NOT have DCM. It seems that some of the higher end foods they ate and were tested positive for DCM and low taurine. Are you missing something here? I do understand that it is not ONLY a taurine deficiency. The point is that in some cases dogs were low in taurine, the dogs that were feed Pro Plan did not have low taurine or DCM.

[joanne l]

Wow this is getting worse. Poor customers paying top dollar to get this crap! That is awful!! And you think by paying such a high price for dog food that you would get good stuff, apparently not. Oh well they were going down the drain anyway.

[joanne l]

I wonder if champion pet foods wants to sell to get out because of the FDA warning? Because I heard their brand is one of the ones on the list for suspicion with DCM. But anyhow it is a crying shame how these big companies take over and not to mention that all the money they have, they could certainly afford the best quality. However, they won’t buy the best. Furthermore, these poor small companies give the best quality and they don’t even have a small portion of money that these big ones have. What a SHAME! Seems like the more money they have the cheaper they get and the ones with the least try to get the best. Unbelievable. The only thing I can say is greed.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Hi Lynne. another one is Health Extensions Venison grain free look it up on chewy. Looks like a great food I might try it later on. Good Luck! Please read about yogurt for gas. The weight loss is from feeding just fish and potatoe. Fish as you know can make us loose weight if eating on daily basis. Keep up the beef and rice until you find something and when you do, please do it slowly, because if you don’t any dog can get gas or upset tummy. So when trying a new food, give her the homemade beef and rice then a tablespoon or 2 of dry food mixed in for a couple of days, then increase it to 1/4 of cup and hold it there for a few days and so on. Be patient because slow and steady wins the race.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

I hope everything is okay, the only suggestion I can think of is adding pro and prebiotics to her food I hope some one here will help with a food suggestion. If I see any I will let you know. I found on chewy, Nutro Limited Ingredient diet lamb and sweet potatoe. Protein is 22% and fat is 12% and fiber is I think 3.5%. What brand was he eating? If the brand you use doesn’t cause gas I would stick with that and add some fresh beef *boil it and drain the fat) and give with dry food for weight gain.

Ask your vet about fiber content in dry food, I think too much fiber is not good but it depends on the dog. I would think too much fiber can cause gas. I know yogurt will help too. Give a tablespoon with meals.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Hi Susan, I know what you mean. Purina does use tasty spraying because it does smell good. And your right he is not used to these other foods. I want to try chicken again but I am afraid. You maybe right it probably was the Purina chicken that made him sick because I just talked to a neighbor that feeds Purina Lamb and than tried the chicken and his dog got mushy stools. His dog doesn’t even have a sensitive stomach so I think that it could of been the problem with Purina chicken. I am giving him castor and pollack “chicken” treats and he is fine also, this food is USDA certified organic and the treats are too. Maybe my dog needs the highest quality of chicken for him to accept it. I do give him fresh chicken and he is fine. The price of the castor and pollock food is 79.00 for I think a 20lb bag, so you know by the price it is good chicken and good quality ingredients. I know it is expensive but in order to make USDA certified food it cost money, if it were cheap than I won’t trust it. I hope he can eat a dog food with chicken in it, because I think he would like it better. I may try this food, and again I am still nerves about chicken in dog food. Also I did try Fromm’s chicken and he was fine for a week than mushy stools so I don’t know what to think that is why I am afraid to try chicken.

[joanne l]

HI Susan, yes it is the one from a week or so ago. Usually if I wouldn’t feed it, but I even tried a sample bag of Nutrisource and he won’t eat that either. So I mix the Purina and holistic select and he will eat it b/c it is mixed. I been watching his stools and the way he acts. So far his stools are better and he is not vomiting so maybe it is okay? I think he is so used to Purina that I would have to find something that beats Purina in taste. He is not licking his bottom hardly so I am convinced it maybe the Purina causing anal issues. So, do you think since he is not sick than it is okay? I bought a 4lb bag and only have 1 1/2 cups left. So he ate most of it mixed I don’t know if he would be willing to eat it straight up without the Purina in it. If he doesn’t I will have to find another food. The one I was looking at is called Health Extensions it looks pretty good they sell it on chewy, but not in any stores near me. Let me know what you think about this food and about the holistic select is okay considering what I mentioned him eating most of it. Thank you much!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Did anyone ever have dry dog food that smells like paint?? I am just starting to use holistic select lamb and it smells like paint of some sort.

[joanne l]

Hi Christie, you can try Castor and Pollack they have organic chicken with grains. Also, Natures Instinct (the be natural one’s have the grains). Wellness has a few with grains. These can be bought at Petco or PetSmart. When you transition make sure you do it slowly, depending on the dog it can take 10 days to 3 weeks to fully transition. Mine I do 3 weeks b/c that’s the way he needs it done. Other wise if he is doing good on BB than leave it, but if not try these.
Oh and one more thing, I wouldn’t feed grain free right now b/c of the FDA reports to be on the safe side. Hope everything works out.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Hi Vernessa, I have two foods in mind, 1. Natures Instinct LID diet and you can rotate the flavors, or Merrick LID and rotate the flavors because maybe he needs to be rotated and these foods you can do this and they are not too rich. I know a few dogs that did great on these two foods. I hope your dog gets better soon. There is another which I am trying now is Holistic Select it is for digestive health. Go on chewy and see the reviews with the ones I mentioned. A lot of people with dogs that have issues did great on the first two I mentioned and look at the reviews on the other one. Hope it works out.

[joanne l]

Hanna how about Anameat? they have chicken and rice I don’t think it has flaxseed in it.
I am looking to for new food. My dog is having anal gland issues too. My vet seems to think it is b/c of soft stools and or allergy. That’s why I am switching too. Nutrisource I heard is good but not sure about the flax. Are you switching to grain in? I myself want peoples opinion on Nutrisource. Hope someone else can help you too.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[joanne l]

Hi Susan, I decided to try Holistic Select first, it is the lamb and oatmeal. Well anyway I put a little bit in his food the first 3 days than a little more. The out come is he don’t like it, but just by mixing the dry food with his other dry food I already see improvement like , not licking his bottom so maybe it is the pro and prebiotics in this food that is helping? But I can’t continue it b/c he hates it. It does smell weird. Well now I am thinking about Nutrisource lamb and rice since it is almost similar ingredients and maybe he will like it better. What do you think?

[joanne l]

Hi Bobby, I don’t necessarily agree that companies should add taurine, but on their behalf they don’t want to take a chance I suppose. However, I do agree that adding taurine is not quite the answer as I mentioned Purina pro plan don’t add it and the dogs are doing fine. I feed Pro plan myself, and I just wanted to explain that if these dogs are eating pro plan and do not have DCM that raises a question that how can it be a totally taurine problem with these other dogs? I am on Purina’s side with this only b/c I know a lot of Goldens that eat pro plan and were tested for DCM and their test result were clear. So Purina is doing something right without the taurine added. Doesn’t that make people think that it is not just a taurine problem!! It is a shame that these companies are going crazy adding taurine like mad. And CrazyCats I agree the other companies don’t have much of the knowledge they need to make a good balanced dog food, years of experience is key to some of these issues. Also, too much fiber in grain free foods can’t help dogs absorb nutrition like they need to. Like Anon mentioned. I guess the bottom line is grain free foods have not been around long enough and maybe it is a poor diet for dogs in the long run. I myself with chose grain in diets for now.
All I can say is dogs make their own taurine period!! If the grain free diets are prohibiting taurine absorption then, I would not feed it even if companies are adding taurine that is just putting a band aid on the problem and giving dogs a over load of supplements, I don’t really like that idea. Diet change IMO is key right now! Oh and one more thing, that is like us eating something that steals our nutrition and then taking a bunch of supplements. That is crazy, I would just not eat those foods.

[Author]

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