[Pitlove]

ive used the clump and seal too and i just got my kitten on the Dr. Esleys Kitten attract. the grainuals are really really soft and fine. she seems to love it and its got the same great clumping power as the Precious cat. only reason I switched was to hopefully stop the peeing outside the box problem and so far so good! no accidents in more than a week now. I also noticed with the Kitten Attract that she is tracking a lot less even on her litter mat.

[Pitlove]

Grain free is typically best Jamie. HOWEVER, grain free doesn’t always mean carb free. So be very careful about just trusting a bag of food to be species appropriate because it doesnt have grains in it. Dr. Mike has the dry matter basis carbs on each of the reviews on this site which is very helpful for selecting one that is low in carbs. usually when the protein goes up the carbs go down, but again making sure that the first three ingredients are whole meats or meat meals. That will mean that the majority of the protein is coming from animal protein and not plant protein.

jakes mom- thanks! i think im gonna try out the Winn Dixie near me today and see if they have it. I’d love to get my dog and kitten started on it

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

bdog- kinda off topic but not. are you only able to find kefir at all natural stores? i was gonna try to find it in a local grocery store as the nearest Trader Joes or Whole Food is near Baton Rouge and New Orleans (Im in Louisana), but I’m thinking they won’t have it.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

Linda- Rotties! i love them. we also have a Rottweiler along with our Pitbull a chocolate lab and an English springer spaniel. Sam, our Rottweiler (technically he is my boyfriends parents dog, so I dont get to control what he eats unfortunetly but i still think of him as my dog since I give him the most attention as hes the outside dog) is 2 probably almost 3 years old now. The bf’s parents have had all the dogs on Purina ONE lamb and rice since forever. The family dog has always been Rottweilers and unfortunely all but maybe one passed away at around 8 years old. Cancer, e-coli poisoning, you name it its happened to our Rottweilers. If it were up to me and I got to choose his food I would feed him the way I feed my Pitbull who is also prone to the problems that large breed dogs have as he is 66lbs at a year old. I do what is called a rotational diet with my dog. I certainly have him on Orijen’s Adult Dog and after that bag is through i’ve got EVO lined up next for him to try. I also feed him wet food. Now that your Rottie is far past the point where you have to worry about the calcium levels not being too high or too low to prevent rapid growth thus causing many different skeletal related disorders, you can kinda give him a nice variety of foods. If you are on a budget as someone who is retired and need to stick with kibbles, definitely go for the 5 star rated ones. I know a lot of people on here have issues with Taste of the Wild. I BELIEVE its manufacture by Diamond which has a long recall history and a terrible reputation. You want to make sure that the kibble is as species appropriate as you can get if you, like myself, can’t feed a raw diet, which would be the healthiest way for any dog to eat. Species appropriate for ANY dog of any breed being high in animal protein, at least 30% or more, moderate in fats, and low in carbs. Foods that I like and have and will use in my rotation for my pitbull are Orijen (all of them), Wellness CORE, Nature’s Variety, Merrick (GF only), EVO, Grandma Mae’s GF. I’m still working on my list but that is what I have so far.

As for raw, if it is something you are interested in, PLEASE make sure you do A LOT of research before feeding raw because it is possible to make your dog very unhealthy by not feeding a COMPLETE and BALANCED raw diet.

Also to help with the transitions to the food, you can add probiotics to their diet, like canned pumpkin and kefir. I also use a supplement thats premade in a power form made by a very great company called The Honest Kitchen. They use human grade ingredients and make their food in a human grade factory. Its called Perfect Form. Probiotics help build healthy flora(bacteria) in your dogs gut to make transitioning to a new food pain free for you and your dog. Just like with humans dogs should be able to eat a different food or protein every meal if not every couple months without digestive upset. Dogs whos stomachs are already sick and lacking those bacteria that make their gut strong due to being fed the same food day in and day out are the ones who get loose stool and vomitting when you switch their food. Instantly the owner blames the food and switches them back and never switches the food again under the claim that their dog has whats commonly called a “sensitive stomach”.

The joint supplements are a great idea. Glucosamine is a great supplement for joint and hip problems. Cancer, I feel, and I think others do too can have a lot to do with a poor diet. A lot of poor grade dogs foods do contain ingredients that are carcinogenic even for humans and without variety in their diet they are being fed those toxins for years and eventually is catches up with them. The rotational diet helps prevent that and the build up of allergies as well. If your Rottie is already allergic to a protein source like chicken, you are going to want to be very careful with the food you choose as many have chicken meal or chicken fat hidden in the list of ingredients. Its all about reading ingredients but more importantly HOW to read the ingredients and the GA, which is why this website is so helpful. But like many here including Dr. Mike will tell you, its a jumping off point. Once you find a good food, you want to look further into the company that makes it, the co-packers, the recall history etc and make sure that you’re not being fooled into thinking its a good food based on the ingredients. Also knowing where the company sources from is important, what with all the problems we have been having with China lately. Avoid China. Thailand on the other hand is ok.

I really hope that I’ve helped a little and that others will contribute or correct me if I’m wrong about any of my points. I love Rotties so I’m glad to be able to give you some direction with his health!

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

no problem! i wish you the best of luck with finding a quality food for your old girl. Ill leave you with a suggestion for a food that I really like and Im currently using, which would be Orijen. It is high in animal protein moderate to low in fat and has 0% grains potatoe or tapioca starch. Some don’t like the use of lentils in it, however so far i’ve had great success with it. it’s on the more expensive side but it’s worth the money. they use human grade ingredients, the company that manufactures the food is award winning, all their meats poultry and fish are sourced regionally in Canada where the food is made and delivered to them fresh every day.

[Pitlove]

Senior dog food is one of the worst things to happen to the commercial dog food industry. basically senior dog formulas came about after protein started getting this bad reputation that it was making less active dogs fat (which is usually most senior dogs). However, what people didn’t udnerstand was that it was not “protein” that was the culprit it was the TYPE of protein. Proteins like corn can not be fully digested by dogs and thus end up breaking down into sugar and end up getting stored as fat creating the weight gain.

I found an article for you by a holistic vet that most of us on the site are big fans of for her all natural and holistic outlook on pet nutrition. She discusses the nutrition needs of senior dogs in this article and discusses the flaws in commercial dog food marketed towards senior pets.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/05/surprising-findings-from-tufts-study-of-37-senior-dog-foods.aspx

[Pitlove]

Hi jamie f- I’ve got a dog with a sensitive stomach that i am also using Origen Adult Dog for and wet food from a variety of different brands. Hes a picky dog and doesn’t like only dry kibble. One reason I would stay with the wet is because of the moisture content it puts back into your dogs diet that they lack with only dry kibble, which can lead to organ damage from minor dehydration. I completely understand the budget, I don’t have a fancy job and make just a little over minimum wage so I’m always looking for quality wet food thats lower in cost. Ive found that walmart carries a 5 star quality wet food called Pure Balance and Tractor Supply carries a 4 star brand called 4Health. I’ve had great success with both and they are cheap. The vomiting could be almost anything. and given that its not after every single meal with wet food i doubt that is the culprit.

However, if you are dead set on an only kibble diet try doing a rotational diet where you change their protein source and brand often to give them variety and add a probiotic like the Honest Kitchens Perfect Form or some canned pumpkin to help build up the healthy bacteria in their gut to be able to handle the food change. Eating one brand of food their whole life can be very unhealthy and just plain boring for dogs. just like a human dogs would probably tell us if they could that they want some variety in their life!

[Pitlove]

I have a year old pitbull featured in my avatar picture. he was for a long time the pickiest dog. i tried all sorts of different foods and combinations of dry and wet and i felt like all hope was lost for finding him something that he WOULD get excited about. i’ve always fed the same amount, that hasnt changed, but lately after i changed the way i prepare his food (using the kibble as a topper instead of wet food and using the wet food as the main source) he is excited to eat, hes licking the bowl clean and looking for more. i think your dog is going through the same thing. labs are food lovers, i don’t think shes hungry i think she loves her food! and is excited about meal time. our kitten does the same thing. meowing all the time acting like we don’t feed her, so i tested her one night. i fed her her normal 3oz can and then gave her another and she barely touched it. i had to throw out 90% of the can. so i know shes not hungry she just loves to eat just like some dogs! she gets the same way as your lab. very excited about meal time.

i dont think your dog is hungry. i think she loves food. as for her weight, if you get her on a high animal protein, moderate fat and low carb diet and cut back on how much she is eating she will lose weight. i suggest the Wellness CORE.

[Pitlove]

I went and read over the ingredients to what I think is the senior formula your lab is on. is this it? http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/product-details.aspx?pet=dog&pid=58

if it is, my first problem with it is that the protein is too low. senior dogs have a higher protein requirement to fight off catabolic responses in their bodies. secondly what is making you think she is still hungry? if in fact she is she might not be able to digest the grains and turn them into useful nutrients and energy. For me personally the only line I like from wellness is wellness CORE. it is the most species appropriate for any healthy dog with no known medical conditions. the gas could be from the protein source. i know someone whos dog has gas with pork so maybe for her it’s chicken.

[Pitlove]

This is Purina’s attempt at an all natural dog food. It doesn’t look terrible, but like Marie and Dori said, i think most of us by principle don’t feed Purina products mainly, at least for me, because the company has not proven to be a very trust worthy company and I believe they source from China for their meats. Not 100% sure about that though.

[Pitlove]

Hey guys,
was reading through the front few pages for some help with a question about pano. i kind of got most of my answer but i guess i still have some questions..heres the story

i work at petco as some of you know already and i had a customer today whos 5 mo lab has already been diagnoised with pano. her vet recommended a senior dog food that was low in protein because she explained that high protein can cause over growth in large breed puppies. i thought that sounded weird but i really didnt want to completely be rude and go against her vet (since im in a professional setting) but i did mention to her what i know from Hound Dog Mom about calcium levels etc. i read through some of the articles HDM posted and saw that the protein theory was debunked but some vets still hold on to that. why is that? lack of education about recent research or what? SHOULD a dog that already HAS pano be on low protein? or is that not true either? i guess i’m wondering if the low protein diet her vet recommended was because the dog already has pano and its no longer a matter of preventing it

[Pitlove]

Hi Linda K- Like Jake’s mom said, most of the breed specific foods out there like Royal Canin’s breed specfic lines are a marketing tool. You pay a premium price for a low quality food full of corn and by-products. It is true that some breeds have disorders that genetically they are prone to that you can combat through diet. Example is large breed puppies needing proper calcium levels between 8 weeks and 8 mos. That being said, most large breed puppy foods are actually NOT formulaed with those proper calcium levels and typically have far TOO much calcium. However when you compare most brands that make breed specific formulas there is nothing breed specific or species appropriate about them at all.

A few questions for you to help you better. What breed of dog do you have? Is the dog healthy as far as you know with no known medical conditions? Does the dog have any known allergies to grains, certain protein sources, anything like that? What genetic disorders does the breed have that you would like to take action against to help lower his/her odds of getting?

Ill be happy to try to help when you write back!

[Pitlove]

i never pay attention to that. the only thing you need to make sure of is that you get a food that has proper calcium and Hound Dog Moms list is a good start. I can link it so its easier to find since its kind of buried in that thread and I have it bookmarked.
https://docs.google.com/a/selu.edu/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit

As long as the nutrient profile is correct you can feed whatever. I have one food currently for my 66lb pitbull thats small bites just because it was 50% off at my local pet boutique and ive been wanting to try the brand and they were going to stop carrying it (EVO is the brand). its just smaller kibble which means ill have to feed a little more but not much.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

bdog- ya i know you were. that makes sense though as to how he got a UTI because of that. I was wondering if codex’s problem had to do with something like that or with the actually dust from the litter or something else. was curious about that. what litter are you using now? i’m assuming it’s working good. im trying that dr.esleys kitten attract. my GM said it was good and worked well for her cats. i’ve got my fingers crossed. open to more litter suggestions though.

[Pitlove]

sorry to hear the diagnois. i agree with marie and also with your choice to try raw with her. a holistic vet could actually help you with making sure that your raw meals (if you aren’t doing something that’s premade like Dori suggested) are complete and balanced. remember, the best food you can feed is a complete and balanced raw diet and the worst food you can feed is an unbalanced raw diet.

i wish you the best of luck with your girl and her diagnois

[Pitlove]

my kitten is using the litter box when we are here. the times shes peed outside the litter box is when we are gone. she has peed on the bed twice and by the time i found it later that night it was dry. so she knows to use the litter box. someone mentioned to me at work that their dog pees in the house when they arent home because he has seperation anxiety. im wondering if she has that. if we are in the bathroom or outside she cries and cries til we come back inside or let her into the bathroom.

[Pitlove]

Hi codexstark- C4C did a great job answering you. I also will give you some input as well. From the research I’ve done UTI’s are mainly caused by the build up of struvite crystals that will block the urethra. I have had a male cat in the past that ended up having a UTI. He ended up on a prescription food, however through my recent research I’ve discovered that a leading cause is a lack of moisture in their diet (i.e all dry food diet). Cats by nature don’t drink enough water. Dr. Pierson, who is the vet who started catinfo.org which C4C mentioned says on her site that she would rather see a cat eating a wet food full of by-products like Friskies than to ever see a cat eating dry food. I personally have never heard anything about litter causing UTI’s, so that is new info to me. Can you give a source for that info? Was it your vet or someone else or something you had read on the internet? I’m very interested for more info on that topic.

My kitten has been doing well with that litter, however she has peed outside the litter box about 4 times now. It hasn’t happened in a few days though. (fingers crossed)
C4C had a good idea about transitioning to different cat litter, however I personally have never done that. I never even thought about it like that. Ive always just put the new litter down and I have yet to have a cat that wont take to the new litter instantly.

I’m using the Dr.Esley’s Precious Cat which is a clay litter with very little dust. Its amazing at clumping all the urine which was not true of the Blue Buffalo walnut litter I had her on before. Dr. Pierson suggests the Dr. Esleys because of the clumping power of it. It’s also unscented which encourages litter box use. Be sure to clean the litter box at least 2 times a day and spot clean if needed.

I should have made my own litter box honestly. I ended up with a large one from my work (petco). its been working fine but I like the idea of the storage tub litter box a little more.

I hope me and C4C have been some help. Keep us updated!

[Pitlove]

glad to hear hes doing better! Im really careful with treats usually. the only ones ive got in the house at the moment are PureBites freezed dried raw treats. there is only 1 ingredient and they are made in the USA. I use the turkey breast for my kitten and beef liver for the dog. you can break them up into smaller pieces for training if you still are giving treats for pottying outside.

[Pitlove]

Tim M- The link that Ellen just posted above is the link that you want to check out in terms of which food would be best to start your lab off with. Hound Dog Mom has done painstaking research to figure out which brands had proper calcium levels and calcium to phos ratios and this is her most updated list.

It consists of grain-free and grain-inclusive food options. I would definitely start there! Also you should know that all these foods are 4 and 5 star quality.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

you don’t have to only stay with orijen even though it is a great brand. if you do why don’t you try the regional red or the tundra like you said? I was going to suggest six fish but you said they don’t like fish. Have you looked into Nature’s Variety? They have a venison and Lamb formula.

Ya Weruva pretty much always has chicken in it. Maybe try something that is LID with just duck, vension, lamb etc?

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

somebodysme- see a doctor about a chill pill. I have fed BB and my dog didnt have side effects either. however he stopped eating it one day. i think you missed the point where i mentioned how BB is very overpriced and they have been dishonest for a year about what is in their food. me and many other people do not like giving money to a company who can’t even be honest about what is in their bags. it’s not my “expert advice” its my opinion. and i’m not alone in the feeling. plently of people on this site and in this thread dont feed BB anymore.

c4c (who I respect on here) and you might have given your dogs popcorn in the past but its not one of the human foods i choose to share with my dog. again my opinion. and it’s also my opinion that im not surprised he got an upset stomach with all the butter on popcorn. not saying its dangerous for them to eat just saying i can see how their stomach could get upset from it. no reason for the temper tantrum.

[Pitlove]

somebodysme- are you really surprised that your dog can’t tolerate popcorn? not even sure why you would feed a dog popcorn at all. some dogs and cats will LET you know if the food is the culprit. My kitten as an example throws up instantly after she eats (this has happened only 2 times in her life) when she cant tolerate the food. And from there on out I simply stay after from that food because I don’t want to play russian roulette with her stomach.

From the sound of it the OP did pin-point that it could be the treats. Or it could be feeding TOO many treats, say because of a training class that uses a treat based reward system.

And Im with Marie on this one. Why throw away your money? Blue is one of the most overpriced 5 star foods out there for what it actually is. Their treats included. Theres much better choices out there that are 4 or 5 star quality.

[Pitlove]

ya guess they finally admitted that there was meat by-product in some of their foods and that it had not been correctly labeled on the bags. I don’t feed Blue either or get their treats at all anymore. My dog hated Blue Wilderness. Most people on here will not feed anything made by Blue.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

Hi jake’s mom-

I don’t have any older animals (dog is 1 yr old on Monday, kitten is 7mo), but I do give them the Honest Kitchen’s Perfect Form for their digestion and also because I want to get my dog’s stomach healthy enough to transition dry foods without blending.

I was highly considering giving him Dogwell’s Healthy Hip treats with Glucosamine or some type of supplement for it because of my fear of him getting hip dysplasia. He comes from a bad breeder and I know I wasn’t feeding him food with proper calcium levels and he is a large breed dog. I don’t feel like preventitives can hurt, but thats just my opinion. I’m still fairly new to proper animal care. When I was younger we always had cats but neither my mom nor I really knew anything about animal needs health wise. Now that I’ve got animals that I am soley responsible for I’m trying to do the right thing by them.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

bdog- no problem. ill be happy to share any insider info i get as we tend to get the new lines before a lot of people know about them. its pretty nice 😀

I was pleased with Iams. Never thought much of them but the purrfect delights line seems decent enough to me. I’m happy with no anonymous meat by-products.

[Pitlove]

on another note. Iams purrfect delights isn’t too bad. I got a can for my kitten after reading over the ingredients and she did well on it. thinking about getting the variety pack at walmart. its the only line without by-products in it

[Pitlove]

bdog- no not really secret per se but they aren’t advertized. I would assume you could ask the store about it. I would call and at least ask when Wild Pursuit would be avaible. as far as i know there are no other new cat foods that are going to be introduced just Wild Pursuit.

[Pitlove]

not sure how it works by you guys, but my store (Petco) where I work just did their reset on all the dog food and introduced a few new lines including Wild Pursuit for dogs. The cat food reset is going to be done in June at our store and in our district. I think they will introduce cat Wild Pursuit then unless they have extra shelf space.

It is brand new and replaced their old Alpha Dog/Cat line

bdog- ask if they have it in the warehouse. I know my store does. ask if you could try some cans even though its not on the shelf

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

im gonna give WEF another try when its time to get more cat food. i think i misjudged the quality of the food

[Pitlove]

C4C- dani (my kitten) is my champion eater. This is only her second time ever throwing up period. The other time was right after the Nature’s Variety Beef Formula and I totally knew I shouldnt have given it to her. It looked horrible. Probably a bad batch of the beef as i had no issues with the rabbit chicken or duck. You could definitely be right but since I know that she has a strong stomach and can tolerate anything I feel its the food/tuna. I was questioning whether or not to buy it in the first place since it was an all fish variety pack. I would like to maybe try tuna again, but i also don’t want to feel like im experimenting with her stomach. maybe a recipe where tuna is like…third on the list? and if she handles it then maybe it was a bad batch of the Tiki Cat.

edit: oh and i forgot to that the first time she threw up in was like she ate and then within a minute threw up.

The litter is great as far as i’m concerned. It clumps really really well, better than any other litter i’ve used and she has stopped playing in it! yay!

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

great advice aquariangt and something i totally missed. definately don’t wanna just hop into the 5 star food from a lower quality food. go slow and you will see good results!

[Pitlove]

There is literally nothing breed specific or species appropriate about any Royal Canin food. Most people who know me know that I believe that Royal Canin are the MASTERMINDS of marketing. Since pet parents often rely far too much on the front of the bag to tell them what food is best for their dog, be it that it has their breed of dog on the cover, has “real meat” and “veggies” on the cover, says small breed, large breed, adult, large breed adult, etc they often miss the ingredients which is where all the important stuff is. Oh and the GA (guarenteed anyalsis). I took the time to compare all the RC breed specific lines and found that aside from very slight protein and fat differences all the food was exactly the same, rotating the same first species innapropriate ingredients (whole ground corn, by-product meal, brewers rice, brown rice, corn gluten meal).

I would absolutely get her on a 5 star food. High in ANIMAL not plant protein moderate in fat and low in carbs. I’ve seen far too many overweight dachshunds and I know how easy it is for them to gain weight. As long as you know that she is healthy and has no known medical needs at this time this diet is fit for every breed of dog. Also PLEASE do not get hung up on the front of a bag. Worrying about if something says small breed or not or puppy or adult. As long as the nutrient profile is correct those things are not of much value. I have been feeding both my cat and dog adult and they are still a puppy and kitten and they havent had any issues. Also the small breed formulas are just smaller kibble sizes so you can go that route if u find that she is having trouble eating a larger kibble, just wanted to make you aware that small breed doesn’t mean its formulated differently for a small dog its just small kibble pieces. I also add a probiotic to their food to help with maintaining healthy bacteria in their gut to process the food better. I use Perfect Form made by the Honest Kitchen.

One thing the breeder did right was the suggestion of adding wet food to the diet. When on an all dry kibble diet dogs can live in a state of constant minor dehydration and later in life can face organ damage. So restoring some of the moisture to their diet is always a good thing. Soaking the kibble like you have been doing works too. We did that for our American Staffordshire Terrier when he was young. Seemed to help him be motivated to eat as well as digest the food. I believe there is a couple people on this site who use Kirklands wet food and seem to have no issues with it. Personally I do Whole Earth Farms stews, Wellness Core and I’ve tried 4health and will be trying other brands as well.

Another good thing to do is to find several brands that will work for her and rotate between them giving your dog variety and also different protein sources as to avoid building an allergy to one as dogs are not born with allergies, they get them through overexposure.

I wish you luck with your new baby! Feel free to ask questions here. There are tons of knowledgeable people that frequent these forums who have years of experience with dog nutrition and managing their dogs diets including fosters. And they are more than happy to offer help and answer questions.

[Pitlove]

wow so looks like Tiki Cat or at least the Tuna ones are a no go. my kitten threw up one of the tuna recipes this morning. And i’ve got 10 more cans that all have tuna in them that I can’t feed to her now. Wondering if it was the food or she cant tolerate tuna…

[Pitlove]

oh also was looking at Muse on PetSmarts website. The cans are going for 1$ each on there, not sure if that is the same price as in store as online tends to be cheaper. the broths are regularly 1.49$ on the site with a sale of 1$ right now. If that was the regular in store price that wouldn’t be terrible

[Pitlove]

bdog- I really like Wellness CORE pate cans. I’ve got a case of those and I do WEF stews for my dog as well. they are 1.99$ a can at work but i also get a discount for working there. got lucky and got 22 cans for a 1$ each at the feed store near me because they were going to stop caring the brand. thinking about giving WEF cat another try. i saw on a review that if the sauce in the pate has hardened into a geletin its not a bad thing and thats what my issue was with WEF the first time around, but for .99$ a can at work thats a good deal. unfortuneatly the only thing ive got access to is a Sams Club card and it’s not mine so i’m not sure I could use it to go check out the cat and dog food section without the card owner being there (no idea how those bulk stores work). i just got a variety pack of 12 of Tiki cat off chewy.com, however they are all fish. I think this is gonna be my last time getting her so much wet food with fish in it. normally she gets chicken, turkey, beef, duck, rabbit, things like that. i prefer to stay away from fish too. i stay away from fish for the most part with the dog too.

jakes mom- glad your boy is doing good! did the vet give you any tips to putting some weight on him or is that not really possible with the thyroid problem?

[Pitlove]

bdog- ya I have seen pure balance at walmart. wasn’t really sure about the cat food. it comes in like that weird tub almost. i tried 4health GF and she barely touched it but my dog liked the grain inclusive 4health. I think i’m gonna try pure balance though. i’m starting to want to stay away from stews and just go for pates. thankfully both my cat and dog like pate. i agree that stews tend to be a whole lot of nothing for a high price.

ps have you tried the WEF canned food yet?

[Pitlove]

I guess Muse doesn’t look terrible?

[Pitlove]

we sell these at work haven’t gotten a complaint about mold yet. hopefully it’s a fairly isolated situation

[Pitlove]

All dogs no matter what breed in order to maintain proper weight and dietary needs as long as they are healthy with no known medical conditions usually do best on a food that is high in protein, moderate in fat, and low in carbs.

I’m sure if you gave us more info as to your situation (e.g income, how much access you have to pet stores, do they have a wide selection, do you prefer to order online) we could help you out a lot better.

Yes, typically canines do better with a grain free food, however, like most people on this site who are regulars will tell you, just because it’s grain free does not mean it’s species appropriate for a dog. A lot of companies that have gotten on the “grain free” bandwagon have replaced the corn, soy, wheat and rice in their foods, with high carbs like potatoes into order to bind the food together. So you need to pay close attention that the protein is not less than the carbs and the fat % is not too high either. Also, you need to pay attention to where the protein source is coming from. For example, a food that has 30% protein but you don’t see a whole meat or meat meal listed as the first second and third ingredients. That means they are using plant based proteins, which are not species appropriate protein sources as dogs are carnivores.

A few brands that meet these needs that are not avaliable at a commercial pet store like Petco would be Orijen, Acana, Wysong. Some brands that commercial stores do carry are Merrick, Nature’s Variety and Wellness CORE.

These are just ones I can think off the top of my head and that are apart of my dogs rotation. Most of us also use a canned wet food for the added moisture content and many people on here do raw homemade meals too. However if you think about going that route please do your research on how to create a balanced raw diet for a dog before just slapping together some chicken and veggies and calling that a meal.

edit: here’s the direct link to the google.doc aquariangt was talking about
https://docs.google.com/a/selu.edu/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit
these are foods that have the proper calcium levels for large breed puppies

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

bdog- i completely understand what you mean. i dont think any of the regulars here or even people like me who havent been on this forum for too long, but visit it everyday would assume that you are telling any of us that how you feed is the only way to feed. i came to this thread to look for some budget but healthy options for canned food for my cat and its been very helpful! the point of this thread has been well maintained

[Pitlove]

bdog- i appreciate what you said a lot. and i really hope you didnt take my inquiry into the health of your cats as an implication that you are feeding them wrong. that was not my intention!

i agree with you 100% about by-products, they are in a raw diet which i would feel comfortable feeding my kitty and puppy if i had the time and better resources. like you i hate the anonymous meats as well. i was thinking about only using those products if it is an extra hard month money wise and i can’t afford an expensive food for her. they sell grandma mae’s near my work for .95$ a can and 4health GF is .69$ at the Tractor Supply near my house so those are also cheap options for me.

I also live in a state that is very humid in the summers and I haven’t had problems with fleas on my AmStaff yet. My kitties have always been indoor only. I used to live in a city and in an apartment so i didnt ever have an option to let them outside so i just grew up having indoor cats. my kitten right now is indoor as well, though i take her on her harnass in the yard and let her walk around sometimes. despite living in a feral colony for the first few months of her live on a college campus she does not seem to enjoy being outside lol. i’ve taken her on walks with us when we walk our AmStaff and she just cried the whole time and clung to me. poor girl.

[Pitlove]

Bdog- Thanks for the list and the email notice from Purina. I would feel completely comfortable with a lot of these foods if they didn’t contain meat and poultry by-products. Everytime I see those words I literally can’t get past it and can’t bring myself to buy it. But then there is always that problem of money. Feeding an all canned diet to my cat and doing canned and kibble for my dog and trying to give them good quality food is killing my wallet. She has a much better stomach than my dog does, but I still don’t know how to get past the by-products. How have your cats medical history been eating those foods? I know that Dr.Pierson says by-products aren’t all bad because a cat WOULD eat them in the wild, and it does make me feel a little better reading that email from Purina, but do you think they legally HAVE to be honest about that to a random consumer?

[Pitlove]

Thanks BC I sure hope so! It’s been a couple days and she’s still doing it

[Pitlove]

Hmm good to know. I was looking into The Honest Kitchen and actually ordered some samples from them too. Grandma Lucy’s looked good too

[Pitlove]

C4C- I just got back from PetSmart with my dog haha. Sometimes Petco doesn’t have everything I need or I can get it for cheaper somewhere else and thats even with my 20% discount at work!

Bdog- It’s awesome lol My cat who just passed away on Christmas Eve of last year was a picky eater and picky about his cat litter as well. He ended up with a UTI (probably from being on dry food) and stupidly (because I didn’t know any better) agreed with the vet to have him on Royal Canin’s Urinary SO Moderate Calorie dry food. He died at 5 years old. Now I don’t know if the food had anything to do with it (we have no idea why he died, seemed healthy, but he was overweight), but around the time we got our new kitten was the time I started looking into better food, mainly for my dog. The place I got my kitten from had her on Blue Buffalo dry, some kitten formula. She has only ever had that dry food and Nature’s Variety and when I started her on NV is when I found out she shouldn’t even be on dry at all. Switched her over to an all wet diet instantly. I got lucky that I found that info early in her life. I’m also lucky that she is a “teacup” as the vet called her and only weighs 5lbs at 7 mo so a 3oz can of wet fills her up. Tested that by giving her a second can one night that she barely touched. I completely understand your story as I lived it with all my other cats. After I lost Hugo this past Christmas I poured all my energy into my dog and vowed to give him a longer life than Hugo had. Hugo was my whole heart and I miss him greatly, but his death prompted a change in me to do better for my animals. So I thank him for that and all the joy he brought me.

oh and ya WEF makes cat food now! We just got their complete and full line in at work. The cans are .99$ at my work, but Petco is expensive. Though I doubt many other places are going to have it. Chewy.com doesn’t even carry it yet. I feed WEF canned in my rotation for my dog as well. Got lucky at the feed store I go to, they are going to stop selling WEF as it wasn’t a good seller for them and I got 22 cans for $1 each!

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

My little girl is only 7 months old and no health problems so I guess I have a lot less to worry about. I remember having my senior cat, but that was before I had a clue and he ate an all dry diet of probably bad food ( can’t remember what it was). The only food she has had stomach issues with was Nutro Natural Choice. The main ingredient that I noticed in all of them that she has never had was Pork Broth. Maybe the culprit? Other than that her poops stay good on any other canned food.

Edit: Just read your post about WEF. I tried it the minute we got them at work (Petco). I wasn’t that happy. The pate sticks to the top of the can and the “sauce” was completely hardened already. Could be a bad batch delivered to my work. Willing to try it again though.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

Dog Obsessed–

“I find it interesting that in the article that C4D provided, it says that regular expression of the anal glands can make problems worse because they will then will fill up faster. Has anyone else heard of this?”

Yes I have. I worked in a grooming salon where anal gland expression was part of the groom/bath service. My grooming salon manager told me that if you don’t need to express the anal glands because you haven’t seen “scooting” or other symptoms of impacted glands it’s best not to start, because when they defacate they should naturally release the anal glands.

I’ve never done my dogs glands. Haven’t had a problem yet, however he is only a year old. The older dogs that used to come to the grooming salon where the ones where I noticed the most problems with their anal glands. One was so bad that I could feel how hard the sacs were when I went to express them per the owners request that nothing came out. I recommended an internal extraction at the vet’s office.

[Pitlove]

Bdog- Thanks so much for sharing all the info. I have read through catinfo.org and I do agree with Dr. Pierson about wet vs dry (my cat is on all wet). My cat is my champion eater. She is not picky at all so thats not my problem. I have an odd work schedule and don’t have the time to feed all raw for both my dog and cat like I would love to, so for the kitty I do all wet to at least make an attempt at feeding her right. I change her canned food all the time. She’s eaten Merrick, Nutro, Nature’s Variety, Grandma Mae’s and I just got some clearance cans from PetSmart of Max Cat and Innova to tid her over til my shipment of Tiki Cat and Weruva come in for her. Just always looking for new brands to try her out on. I would love those lists if you want to share!

[Pitlove]

I’ve noticed a couple of you use Friskies. I’ve always been under the belief that that food was of extremely poor quality. Can I ask why Friskies? If I’m wrong or if it hasn’t caused any problems for your cats it would be a great cheap option for me as I feed an all wet diet for my cat. ( just finally completely phased out the kibble so happy about that!)

[Pitlove]

Kind of sad that Joe B couldn’t actually stick around and have a back and forth conversation like an adult about this topic. He came here simply looking for someone to agree with him which I find really sad and unnerving especially for the health of his dogs.

Obviously the vast majority of us here do understand the new research that developed that dogs are in FACT scavenging carnivores, not omnivores. Doesn’t mean we can’t be civil and have a conversation.

I was raised from the time of birth as a vegetarian because my mom was. I was never given a choice as to whether or not I wanted to eat meat and it never bothered me until I got older and wanted to have some control of my life. I could never imagine forcing a diet on my cat (especially my cat) or my dog just because it was my diet.

I was thinking about it the other day because I work at a pet store that sells live mice as feeders and everyone always thinks its so gross. But I sat and thought about it and was like wow you know what ya sure I love all animals and I feel some sympathy for the mice but it’s amazing that the only creatures on this earth that we allow to eat the diet they are meant to eat are reptiles, fish (when they are given feeder fish), some birds (i think). Yet when it comes to a dog eating his ancestral diet (raw MEAT) we freak out. People have told me that other pet stores have tried to make them feel guilty for feeding live mice to their snake or would not sell them live mice. I told them I think it’s fantastic.

Truly I do wish people could see the importance of this concept for dogs and cats too.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Pitlove.

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