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From 4Star is excellent, and Canidae Pure has a grainfree for small breeds, however, their regular grainfree Pure is fine for small breeds. I feed both Fromm a and Canidae Pure. Wellness has a Core small breed and a Simple small breed that are also good.
Actually, I believe Dr Morgan didn’t formulate the food originally. She did find out about it and decided to work with the owners to tweak the foods so they would be single protein only versus Turkey and Pork, for example. Also, she did help formulate the gently cooked because she had dogs that needed cooked food rather than raw. I’ve used Allprovide and love it, as do my 4 dogs.
I am feeding Fromm. They have 3 lines…..4 Star (most expensive), Gold, and Classics (least expensive).
I also like Sportmix Wholesome…..does have rice. Three flavors, Chicken, Fish and Lamb.
Both of these can be ordered through Chewy.
Here’s a few that I like.
Sportmix Wholesome. Comes in Chicken and Rice, Lamb and Rice, Fish and Rice. You can get it at Tractor Supply or order from Chewy.com. It comes in 40 lb bags for about 30-36.00. You can get the chicken flavor in a 16.5 lb bag for about 15.00.
Tractor Supply also has their own brand called 4Health that’s good, too.
I also like Fromm. They have 3 lines and the least expensive is th Gold and Classics line.
Hope this helps.
My youngest, 2 yr old Jasper, has IBD diagnosed by ultrasounds, blood tests, xrays. No endoscope as of yet. He presents with protein loss and anemia. He vomits when in a flare. Currently he’s eating Fromm Whitefish and Potato with Firm Up and pre/probiotics and enzymes added. He also gets Standard Process Ferrofood and a herbal supplement called Blood and Energy for his anemia. Other foods he can eat are Sportmix Wholesome Fish and Rice and a food from Drs Foster and Smith called Digestion…..it’s actually vegetarian. Currently he’s not on meds but we have given him flagyl, cerenia, Pepcid or Prilosec in the past. At the beginning (almost 1.5 yrs ago) he was on some prednolisone and Tylan.
Mine are going on week three of eating Zignature Duck with great success. I use the dry with 3 of my Cavaliers and the other, the oldest, also gets Zignature wet mixed in. Can’t recommend it enough!
I’ve been using NuVet Plus for about 7-9 months now. My newest Cavalier came with a bottle. I asked my holistic/integrative vet about the ingredients and she approved of them so now all the dogs get them. My dogs have bee doing fine with them. I feel they’ve helped keep them regular, helped with allergies and coat condition. They have not done any harm.
I have fed FreshPet and Vital to my dogs and cats here and there, mainly to my cat. After reading this I’ve decided to not buy it anymore. Sometimes I’m not too keen on the smell of it (I buy the bagged cat food nuggets). It smells too much like lunch meat to me at times. Also, sometimes my cat isn’t as keen to eat it as others (she’s mildly picky, not too much). I just feel there are other foods that are just as good to feed, like The Honest Kitchen or Stella & Chewy’s.
Thanks for the info. and please keep passing it on. Most people on this site (at least the regulars) wouldn’t feed Beneful if they were paid to do so. It has horrible ingredients!
Even though I’m not a fan of Evanger’s I’d go back to it for now if it was working so well due to her being shown. I used to feed Evanger’s a lot (and so did the breeder I got my dogs from). I still like the way their food looks on paper, but after the owners’ dubious activities I’ve not used them on principle. I am a firm believer in feeding what works, though, and monitoring the dog for clues that the food should be changed. I do also like Victor dog food. Currently, I feed either Wellness, Nature’s Variety or Fromm, along with Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried. Good luck!
I also recommend Wellness Simple formulas. Nature’s Variety has limited ingredient formulas that are good, too, especially if you also want to go grain free and eliminate potatoes.
The eezwalker is a favorite of mine because it is made of soft fleece that doesn’t chafe or bind. It is highly adjustable and has two buckles that buckle up high on the dog’s sides/back. Very comfortable for the dog and doesn’t slide around. I also have American River mesh harnesses for my dogs, as well. They’re nice, too. Like I said…..wardrobes fit for kings! LOL!
I only use harnesses for my Cavaliers. I have many that I love. Let’s just say their wardrobe matches that of any royalty, lol! Anyway, some of my favorites are these:
I love, love these for my dogs!
Oh, yeah, another is the snugfit harness from Pinkaholic.
And http://www.parkavenuedogs.com
Hope this helps!
Actually, If I were you I’d go to the Editor’s choice or the 4 or 5 star reviewed foods and look to see what is available to you and start your research there. I also order online sometimes, if I can’t get the formula of food I want locally. Chewy.com is a great place to start there. Good luck!
I have 3 senior dogs and one that is a year old. They all eat the same food. I recommend Fromm, Wellness, Annamaet, Victor, Naturej’s Variety, Nutrisource.
Hi! I get my probiotic from amazon or where ever has the best price. I order lots of stuff from Chewy.com. As for the Vet Classics chew, I either buy it from my vet or online. I just search for it because it’s not all that easy to find. Vet Classics is actually the same company as Natur Vet, which even Petco carries, but their chews don’t contain the colustrum….they contain everything else, though. I have a couple that have anal gland problems and these chews have kept those at bay. My holistic vet carries and prescribes Standard Process, but my crew doesn’t seem to accept them all that well. So….I do like Vetri Science products a lot. I have used their Cardio Strength, their Probiotic Mega and this Probiotic BD. The Cardio Strength are capsules, the Probiotic Mega is a capsule but the Probiotic BD is a tablet chew. I do give probiotics, no matter what kind, or brand, I’m using every day. So far, I’m happy with the Probiotic BD. Btw, I don’t think Perfect Form has probiotics in it. I haven’t given the NuVet Plus, yet, but I may in the future…..Idk.
I’m sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a question about Nuvet Plus, as well. Jasper, my new Cavalier, who came to me a couple months ago at 9 months old came with a bottle of Nuvet that was in the contract of his breeder. I had read some great reviews and some not so great. I haven’t given him the Nuvet, but have started giving him the same things my older dogs are getting. They are currently getting a probiotic from Vetri Science called Probiotic BD and they also get a chew from Vet Classics that has colostrum, turmeric, quercitin and other ingredients in it called Skin and Coat chew. He seems to be doing well. He also is eating Wellness Simple kibble topped with Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried Meal Mixers. Should I use the Nuvet or just give it to someone else? Thanks for your help. 🙂
Hey, all! I did email Chewy’s about the shorter expiry date on the bag of Aqualuk and they are sending me a new bag! I’ve emailed them once before when this happened and they made good. I will definitely keep ordering from Chewy’s!
The problem with most groomers is that you have to leave the dogs in their care and just trust that they are taken good care of. I have a groomer for my Cavaliers and he grooms them once a month. I do brush them if needed in between times. So far, he has done a good job and I haven’t had any “odd” behaviors by my dogs. I’m always worried, though, when I drop them off…..it’s always in the back of my mind that something could happen. But unless I’m going to stay and watch them being groomed, which is impractical, then I have to trust my groomer to some extent, at least. I always explain about any matting, and exactly what I want done. Then I just have to have some trust. If it were me and I did use this groomer again I would explain what has been happening with your dogs and even ask to come back a little early or just show up a little early to see how they’re doing. There is no easy answer for this. You may have to find another groomer. Have you checked to see if there is a mobile groomer that can come to your home? That might be a better solution for you if possible. Good luck to you and I understand your feelings about this.
I order from Chewy’s all the time. I have to get my Wellness Simple from them as no one locally carries it. This last order I put in two small bags of Annamaet, the Salcha and Aqualuk. The Wellness Simple has a great expiry date, over a year out. The Salcha has a great date, at least a year out, but the Aqualuk is only good till April of this year! I didn’t want to use it first, but I may have to…..could send it back but that’s a pain, too. I wanted to continue with the Simple for awhile because they usually eat Simple Small Breed, which is Salmon, and I ordered the regular Simple Turkey to see if they’d eat it (larger kibble size) and if they did well on it. I think I’m just gonna do the Simple Turkery and either use the Aqualuk as treats or give it to a friend of mine that I always give kibble to….very disappointed with it’s date. Chewy’s is usually fantastic, but maybe all their Aqualuk had that date? Maybe it’s not as popular as the Salcha or Manitok.
I actually use Stella & Chewy’s meal mixers to top my dogs’ kibble. I add water. It comes in 4 flavors, beef, chicken, turkey and salmon. I’ve used turkey and fish. My dogs love it and their doing great. I tried Orijen FD and while they loved it it didn’t work for them….stool too loose. I’m going to stick with Stella & Chewy’s
for now. The meal mixers are small bitesize nuggets but I also like their patties.My 2 senior Cavaliers with MVD see a cardiologist who did echo cardiograms on them, not MRIs. While it was still expensive it was cheaper than MRIs. There is such a thing called Care Credit that I’ve used. It’s a credit card meant just for health issues (human and pet) that charges no interest if you pay it off by 6 months. Quite a help to us.
I have some of the broths, but haven’t used them yet…..keep forgetting about them! I’ll have to get them out.
Cavalier owners use snoods due to long ears getting into food. I have some but don’t use them anymore because I keep their ears shorter.
Today my dogs had Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon & Potato for their kibble, topped with Ark Natural’s Gentle Digest probiotic and Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers Turkey. I add a little water to mix up. They’ve been eating this for awhile now. Sometimes I’ll add Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers Beef or Fish formulas but when I tried to change freeze dried to Orijen the pup had major diarrhea. Btw, he came to me with a case of coccidia and whipworms (yuck!). He’s through with his meds and will go back to the vet later in January to see if more is needed. I think he’s doing okay, though. I do believe him and Rupert need grain free definitely because I tried to use some Wellness Small Breed Adult and got “not so good” results with them. I have to order the Simple from Chewy’s because no one around me carries the line anymore.
Petbrosia does have 2 base formulas. They cannot add or remove ingredients from them. The only way they “customize” is to increase or decrease the amount of said ingredients. For instance, Laverne, had the Salmon grain free with 25 % protein and Rupert and Hazel had the Salmon grain free with 30% protein. Some of the other percentages were different between them, too. Laverne is 2 years older than Rupert and Hazel. The ingredients for all three bags of food were exactly the same and in the same order. Hope that helps. Imho, it isn’t really that customizable. I think the formulation is okay but with too many lentils and beans for my taste. My dogs seemed to like the sample bags fine, however, I only used some of the food as treats. I would also like to see some limited ingredient base formulas.
When I was in Petsmart the other day walking Jasper around I was looking at their Wellness. The manager always talks to me because he loves my dogs and he was interested in the new one. I asked him why they didn’t carry the Simple Small Breed in the store and he said he didn’t know but I could order it from Pet 360 since they merged with them….I didn’t know about Petfooddirect, though. Hmm….
I have Cavaliers, who as a breed are known for anal gland problems. I have two that tend to have issues. I found that it is definitely food/fiber related. I am feeding grain free and found a supplement from my vet that has helped better than anything I have found, yet, even the Firm Up. It’s from Vet Classics and is their Allergy skin and coat chews. I give them 2 a day and have not had any anal gland problems since. I get them from my vet and have ordered online, but they are getting harder to find. Vet Classics is the same company as Natur Vet, though, which has the same product avaliable at Petco. The only thing the Natur Vet product is missing colustrum as an ingredient, which I think helps a lot.
Steve, you really are already feeding a top-notch food. And giving her the supplements is the right thing to do, as well. You might want to switch to Fromm’s 4Star line and use their grain frees. I have 3 seniors and a new 9 month old pup and all of mine are eating Fromm 4Star, atm. I’m alternating between Lamb & Lentils, Salmon Tunalini and Pork and Peas. I’m also topping with Stella and Chewy’s meal mixers, the Salmon, Turkey and Beef. I think you are doing good things, already, for her. Maybe someone with more knowledge can post.
My cavaliers all have car seats. The girls have the Lookout car seat. Rupert has a different one because he gets car sick if he looks out the window, so I bought him the Pup Saver. It is crash tested and actually faces backward and low on the seat. He rides in the front passenger side. The girls ride in the backseat. The Lookout isn’t a crash tested seat, but I like it better than most. All are buckled in and wear kurgo car seat harnesses.
THANK YOU for doing this! I just used it and it’s great. I did find that even though I checked I didn’t want sweet potatoes it still included foods with them. I also think you should add potatoes to you list, and perhaps peas and lentils and chickpeas. I do so appreciate all the work you put into this. It’s a fantastic tool!!!
I’ve used Ark Naturals chews and I like them alot. I like Ark Naturals in general. I believe I do have a bag of the NB chews, unless I gave them away. I haven’t tried them, yet, because I just don’t trust Natural Balance anymore.
I also use gauze to brush my gang’s teeth. I like Earthbath’s dental wipes, too, but they are kind of expensive….so mostly, I use gauze wrapped around my finger. My dogs have smaller mouths and it is easier than a brush.
Petbrosia (dog version) has two base formulas. You cannot take ingredients out of the formulas. They just tweak the amount of each one for your dogs weight, age and activity requirements. For instance, if Hazel is young with no allergies then her nutrition profile for the grain free salmon might be 32 % protein and 16 % fat and 2 % fiber with calories of say 480 a cup while Laverne, who is older and has some mild allergies might have protein of 26 %, fat of 13 % and fiber of 2 % with 415 calories per cup. The ingredient panel reads the same ingredient list for both dogs. So……long story short, you can’t really customize ingredient wise. They will just change percentages of each ingredient to fit your dogs supposed needs. I hope that makes it a little clearer. Imho, it is a little misleading with their marketing. I think it’s a decent food and average price compared to foods like Orijen, Wellness, etc. But, don’t go into it thinking you are going to get an individualized food ingredient wise.
sunnyd….here is a site (for Cavaliers, I have 3) that is good reading about CHF and all the meds you are giving your little doggie. I’m not sure you have to worry so much about the sodium contents of your foods, seems like I read that somewhere on this site. http://www.cavalierhealth.org
While Holistic Select is a good food it really isn’t a limited ingredient diet. I use Wellness Simple Small Breed and love it.
This may be a question that’s not necessary…but do you use plastic bowls to feed out of? That’s the first thing I think of when I hear chin rash. Sorry if this is not the case.
Wellness has their Simple line, which I like. I am using their Simple Small Breed formula with my Cavaliers. It is Salmon based and the only flavor, atm, in the Simple Small Breed line. The regular Simple line has other flavors, but not all of them are grain free so you would need to check.
I also top my dogs’ kibble with canned food. I use Wellness, they have a 95% line that is just meat. I use other brands at times. Right now I am using Freshpet Vital, a lightly cooked food that is grain free and comes in roll form. I chop it into chunks and top their kibble with it, and add in their probiotics, fish oil and a little water. Not a speck left in their bowls. They do have some that are limited, the Turkey, Beef and Bison, and Whitefish rolls. I alternate flavors with the dogs.
I have two dogs that seem to have flea allergy dermatitis, and one of them also has mild food allergies as well. I am also using an allergy chew from Vet Classics (I bought at my holistic vet), but you can buy it online and also from Naturvet (same company). These have quercitin, colostrum and other things that seem to be helping them, too. Right now all are doing well…..hope I didn’t just jinx us, lol!
Hi, Cav lover! I have 3 and all 3 of mine have murmurs. Hazel has a grade 2 that was early onset and hasn’t changed in 5 years. She’s 7 now. She is on no meds at this time. Laverne is 9 and was diagnosed with a grade 3/4 about a year ago. She is on no meds at this time. Rupert is 7 and was just diagnosed this past April with a grade 5 and MVD. 🙁 He is doing fine, atm, and is on enalapril. I do give supplements like coq10 and fish oil. I have used others in the past, in supplements like Bio-Cardio by Thorne and Cardio Strength from Vetri Science. My vet likes to use Standard Process glandular supps. and I’ve used the Cardiac care one. I do know that homecooked or raw would probably be best but I do as good as I can for them. I am feeding a rotation of base kibbles, Wellness Simple Small Breed, Fromm Salmon Tunalini. I add canned foods like Fromm 4Star, Wellness 95% or Stews, Simply Nourish and also Fresh Pet Vital. They are great eaters! You can also find tons of info. at this site: cavalierhealth.org. Good luck with your pup, they are a special kind of breed!
One more thing…..I do know that Wellness makes a Small Breed Senior (only comes in 4lb. bags, though) that is lower, controlled sodium but it’s not grain free (if that’s a concern, may not be). Actually, pretty much all of Wellness Small Breed formulas have decent salt percentages (not outlandish).
If you emailed Sportdogfood.com then I get it. It says on their website, I believe, that they only service certain states. Lucky me, I live in Ohio which is one they will send stuff to. I don’t know where you live but that may be it.
Hi all, I’m glad your dog ended up okay. Of my 3 Cavaliers, only 1 reverse sneezes (Laverne). Stella, my Cav at the bridge, reverse sneezed, too. I’ve heard it has to do with the dog maybe having allergies, or the shape of its upper palate. Anyway, it’s harmless and I just put my hand over her nostrils to get her to mouth breathe and all is well. 🙂
