[LexiDog]

I can’t say anything about the seizures either.

My personal favorite kibbles are Acana Regionals and Orijen. These are expensive but I feel we’ll worth it. I have an active 38 # dog and she was getting 1 1/4 cups of food a day on these kibbles. These can be found at Pet Supplies Plus stores and local specialty boutiques. I was actually surprised to see how many specialty shops were around when I started looking for them.

Other favorites include Wellness Core (found at Petsmart and Petco) and Fromm Four Star (Pet Supplies Plus and boutiques). A lot of people like Dr. Tim’s and Victor grain free but I can not find these in the local stores, so I haven’t tried them. I would have to order them online. I have had great experiences ordering food and other stuff from Chewy.com.

If I had to pick a kibble on a budget, I would probably try Whole Earth Farms Grain Free. This can be found at Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I’m not sure if Petsmart carries it or not because I haven’t been there in a while.

Just remember that not all foods are made for all dogs. Just because my dog does great on certain foods doesn’t mean that yours will. You have to find one that works for you and your dog.

You may want to look at feeding a 4 star kibble before jumping right to a 5. Moose will be going from a plant based diet to a meat based diet and that can cause some upsets. Just remember to transition him very slowly. You can also add some pumpkin while switching. If you buy it from the grocery store just make sure that it is pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Fruitables makes a digestive supplement with pumpkin to help with switching.

As for species appropriate food. Kibble is not one of them because kibble does not contain the amount of moisture needed for a species appropriate diet. The ideal moisture would be a food that containes around 70% moisture. For example canned is better than kibble and frozen raw is better than canned. Google Dr. Karen Becker best to worst foods. There is a video and a list that is super helpful.

Right now I am feeding my girl Primal frozen raw and The Honest Kitchen dehydrated. There are a ton of great foods out there, just need to know where to look. You should keep an open mind about ordering online. I’ve never had a bad experience with Chewy.com.

This is probably way more info than you want but this is only a little bit. Trust me. There is so much info out there it will make your head spin for a while. You can also get into feeding a homemade diet too. Others will have to help with that.

[mogavero1955]

I had replied under shiatsu then read advice on how to post. I am desperate. My vet said science diet for sensitive stomachs but it is junk I’m told…..One of my beagles has beef allergy. The last two years, I have been testing and searching for a dry kibble that won’t make his stomach so loud and gassy in the morning where he wants grass and will vomit. He will eat boiled chicken but I need a limited ingredient, sensitive stomach food. He’s been on Eukanoba Response FP (just disliked after ten years), TOW venison, Acana fish, Fromms fish, Blue Wilderness salmon, Earthborn lamb, Blue Wilderness Chicken SENIOR. He likes chicken and lamb. Problem is the gurgling and he won’t eat in the morning. He throws a few times a week. I hear his tummy across the room. Blood test good, stool test good. HELP!! ,

[mogavero1955]

One of my beagles has beef allergy. The last two years, I have been testing and searching for a dry kibble that won’t make his stomach so loud and gassy in the morning where he wants grass and will vomit. He will eat boiled chicken but I need a limited ingredient, sensitive stomach food. He’s been on Eukanoba Response FP (just disliked after ten years), TOW venison, Acana fish, Fromms fish, Blue Wilderness salmon, Earthborn lamb, Blue Wilderness Chicken SENIOR. He likes chicken and lamb. Problem is the gurgling and he won’t eat in the morning. He throws a few times a week. I hear his tummy across the room. Blood test good, stool test good. HELP!! ,

[Lynn J]

Some people switch from the Orijen to Acana. Same company and good quality. Most dogs will experience loose stools when switching foods, unless you go slowly.

[LexiDog]

Have you had him to the vet to be checked? When my dog was itchy, I took her to the vet and he did a skin scraping on one of the itchy spots to check for mange. The skin scraping didn’t show any signs of mites. Even then she was still treated for Sarcoptic mange to rule that out because the mites can rarely be seen under the microscope. I treated her with Revoluiton and still saw no difference. So it was probably not Sarcoptic mange. Then you have to look at environmental allergies and food allergies.

The one thing that stands out is that he started getting itchy again when you added the Acana Lamb & Apple. If it is the old formula (I don’t think the new one is available for purchase yet) it is grain inclusive. So it could possibly be due to the grains. One way to find out if he is sensitive to one type of food, you could do an elimination diet. I personally have not done this, but others on here have. So they will be more helpful with that.

As you will find out that some types of foods are better than others. For example, canned is better than kibble. Homemade raw is better than canned and so on… You can check out Dr. Karen Becker’s rankings at http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/21/13-pet-foods-ranked-from-great-to-disastrous.aspx

[Zanes Mom]

From what I have read the KY plant will be up and running in 2016 and will supply the US market. Acana Regionals has been a wonderful product for my dog but I too am concerned about the change. Using regional producers can be a good thing but where will the fresh fish come from in western Kentucky? Will they continue to meet European standards and have it passed fit for human consumption? Those are just a few of my concerns and I guess it is time to contact the company. In the meantime I will work on adding other brands into his diet rotation which I know is recommended anyway. I did try Natures Logic but by the end of his first large bag it was a struggle, he didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either. I never thought I would feed home made because we travel but I can see the sense of it on many levels. Sigh!

[Happy Dog]

Glad to have found this site, it’s a wealth of information.

Needing some advice for my dog I adopted from the local shelter last August.
He came with the itches, pink/red patch on his belly, under his chin, face, around the eyes etc. Fur was really coarse yet greasy to touch. Chews his paws till it bleeds.

The fosterer recommended that we put him on a fish kibble. They weren’t sure what he was allergic to but it may have been chicken. So we put him on Wellness Simple –Salmon & Potato. Since then he has gone through:

Wellness Simple
Wellness Core Ocean
Acana Pacifica
THK Zeal
Orijen 6Fish

Topper: Fish 4 Dogs Salmon or Trout Mousse. Cooked salmon or any other fish once a week.

He was on Orjen 6 Fish till recently. We had him on through 3 bags, and he gets 1/3 cup + 1 /4 pack of Fish4Dogs Fish Mousse per meal. Twice a day.
He actually did quite well on it, less itchy, and started putting on weight. Still chews his paws though, I think he may have some allergies to grass. He was also getting quite chunky.

I thought I should started rotating him on different protein so he can eventually get some variety in his diet and went for Acana Lamb and Apple.
Before I committed to the Acana Lamb & Apple, I mixed a can of lamb and tripe to his kibble and he ate fine.

He’s been on it for 2 weeks. I mix the Acana Lamb & Apple (1/4 cup) with the Orijen 6Fish (1/4 cup). I had the kibble serving reduced as he was putting on weight.
I also switched to an oatmeal shampoo.

He seems to be worse now. Scratches more, the dry coarse fur is coming back, pink around the eyes, nose and under his arms, paws. One ear seems to be red inside, the other is fine (is it normal to have 1 inflamed ear instead of both?). Smells more ‘dog’.

So should I ditch the kibble? Or could it be the shampoo?

I was hoping he could eat more than just fish based food. I’d like to have him on a mix of kibble, canned food and homecooked meals 2x to 3x a week. Raw – I can get Primal, Addiction and some THK.

He didn’t do too well on THK zeal though. Went through 2 packs of the Zeal. He was pooping 4x a day (poop had stalks and bits of stuff that.. doesn’t seem digested), ate lots of grass (grazing like a cow), and was losing weight that’s why I put him on 6Fish. I though he needed more protein.

Any suggestions? I could go back to 6Fish, or I could go with another fish kibble like Core Ocean?

[ab1028]

I have used Acana products for my 10 month old puppy and have had a lot of success on it. I bought a sample bag of the lamb singles (when it still contained oats), but he seemed to do better without grains. I think that having their new singles without grains will actually help my dog. To me, having some foods in your rotation that contain legumes is not the worst. I will continue to support Champion pet foods and feed their products.

I have also fed Petcurean products, however my dog seems to like Acana better (he is eating a bag of Orijen right now and doesn’t seem to mind that as well, and he is picky). I used Now Fresh, but he got tired of it after a bag. He has also had some of the Go! wet products and enjoyed that.

[RescueDaneMom]

I agree with Sandy. It’s always good to feed foods from multiple companies because their vitamin/mineral mixes will be slightly different and you can cover your bases that way. I wouldn’t stop using Champion, but I would start to try other foods just in case you don’t want to feed Champion in the future.

I was looking at Boreal Pet Foods yesterday. They are Canadian and the ingredients and profile of the foods looks similar to Acana (but it is legume-based). Another great Canadian company is Petcurean. They make 3 different lines: Now Fresh, Go!, and Summit (not available in the US so I’ve never used it). Between the Now and Go!, I prefer their Go! formulas. Also, Horizon is Canadian- great food and a great company. Their Legacy line is grain-free and their Complete line is grain-inclusive.

Hope that helps!

[Angela R]

Can anyone help me decide what is the best food for my English Bulldog – we live in a hot and humid climate and although she did really well on the Royal Canin English Bulldog food, this is not available in my new country of residence – for ease I changed to the French Bulldog, but this has more fat content and she picked up weight, after trying various options including K9, Orijen and Acana – non of which she either liked or just gave her an upset tummy, we ended up with the Royal Canin Obesity from the vet and she has lost weight, and we are now managing her weight with difficulty. I did not want to keep her on a medicated diet and the vet suggested due to bone issues that I should mix it with the Royal Canin Mobility diet – unfortunately during this time on both of the vet products she was itching, red and starting licking her paws that it drove us all crazy. I understand that it could be allergies from outside factors, but she really has never been quite as bad – I therefore decided to change her again (always changing her diet over time…) and decided on the Zignature brand of dog food which is supposed to be allergy free. Although she loves this food – and has stopped licking as badly her face and paws are still quite red but she is definitely picking up weight again as the fat content is higher again, but my biggest concern is the amount of water she is now drinking on this food, and the amount of poops she is having (she used to eat and almost go immediately – now it is 3 to 4 times a day and sometimes at night which she never did before) and she has a serious gas problem which she also never suffered before and it is causing her some distress… I have just bathed her and noticed some little red spots appearing on her tummy – she is full of “beans” and happy and as active as she can be in this heat and humidity but she seems uncomfortable and does not seem to be able to relax as much as she did before… I really am not sure that this new food is doing her any good and now trying to research alternative options but I just don’t know where to turn? Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I cannot do raw as with the cost of meat here is ridiculous and with the heat and humidity – I just dont trust it and also she was not that keen on the K9 anyway! We can’t get everything here but the latest one on my agenda is the Pronature? Thoughts?

[indietheaussie]

Hi all,

I noticed Acana is changing their Singles line very soon to include legumes over oats and through some research it seems that this is a very controversial change. On top of that, it seems people are very unhappy with Champion overall.

A few years ago, when I worked at an independent dog food shop, I had the opportunity to learn about how they made their food, how they ensure freshness, etc and I was really impressed. On top of that, they were a Canadian company and I really wanted to support a local food, especially given some of their proteins were sourced from literally neighbouring towns from me. I basically intended to feed Champion to my future pup.

Fast forward a few years, I have an Aussie pup name Indie, who came to me on TOTW Wetlands but I switched him off due to the calcium/phos levels and didn’t feel it was fitting for a growing pup. Thought “Why don’t I try Acana?” I was familiar with their practices and they are local so I switched him to Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear at about 3 months old, and he has been on it since. He’s 9 months now, for reference.

He’s done well on the Acana, albeit a bit of a finicky eater and could have slightly better stools (usually when he isn’t eating full meals), and we’ve recently started a rotational diet. He’s actually almost done his first bag of Acana Chicken and Potato, which is when I discovered the Acana formula changes in researching what food to put in the rotation next. Obviously there are still people out there who support Champion, but I read about many who are very against them, and those people have gotten to me. I’m a natural worry wart when it comes to Indie. I mean, what’s the consensus? Is Champion really just going downhill? I’ve never been opposed to other companies but now I’m feeling driven to find an alternative in case they aren’t the company they used to be.

I feel like a fish out of water, like I’m starting fresh in the food world again. I just feel like I am unsure where to go from here. My pup has been on both GF and grain-inclusive and I haven’t developed a preference. Since he’s not a big eater and is on the skinny side, I am inclined to keep him with a grain-inclusive food but I feel like I just don’t know anymore haha. He has no aversion to any protein so the world is essentially my oyster and it’s stressing me out.

I don’t know what advice I’m looking for but if any one has any insight at all. Let me know!

[TJ]

I’m in the same boat, this past month our 1 yr old terrier has become super picky and will graze her food throughout the day now instead of eating it all at once. I’m not sure if it is an age thing or about the same time I started trying Merrick which she has turned up her nose too. Now going back to Science Diet she will eat it but super slow and will run around the house with a bites in her mouth. I think Im going to try a different brand like Fromm or Acana but it has been a frustrating experience trying to switch to healthier foods

[LexiDog]

In no particular order:
Primal
Orijen
Acana
Grandma Lucy’s
Stella & Chewys

I also have been using the Honest Kitchen and my girl is loving it! He sits there and whines for it when it is rehydrating.

[Naturella]

Omg, just 5??? Lol. Well, let’s see… from what I’ve fed… I’d say:

Victor Grain Free (particularly the Ultra Professional)
THK all
Canned Merrick (the minced/pate style ones only – Bruno didn’t do so well on the stew ones for some reason…)
Canned Wellness Core
Annndddd…. I really can’t pick a winner for #5 from the ones I’ve fed so far… I like Earthborn Holistic, Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free, Holistic Health Extension, Nutrisca, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Now Fresh, and Nature’s Variety Instinct… I guess, if I have to elicit a winner it will be Dr. Tim’s…

But, I really want to try Orijen, Acana, Go!, Back to Basics, and Wellness Core (in kibbles). Also TOTW both kibbles and canned, and Annamaet. So I have a long way to go… But so far so good. 🙂

[Nicole K]

I have been battling bad cases of diarrhea in my border collie pup since we got her. We’ve tried every quality food from TOW, BB, Wellness, and Acana. Nothing seemed to work. After ruling out food allergies, Maci was diagnosed with fiber responsive diarrhea and prescribed Royal Canin Gastro. Well….EVERYTHING cleared up and for the first time, our dog (now 11 months old) is having regular potty – no fountain anymore! However, I am not a fan of the ingredients! Has anyone tried anything else that is easily digestible, low fat, and high fiber that isn’t junk? I run her in agility and I’d love to have a quality dog food in her system that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg for chicken bi-product. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

[Brenda P]

Not looking to go grain free, but would prefer oatmeal, rather than rice or barley. Thanks for the suggestion about Fromm, I’ll check them out also. This question is for Betsy-since Orijen and Acana didn’t work for your dog, what did you end up giving them.

[DogFoodie]

Mulligan Stew kibble is grain inclusive also. Are you hoping to switch to gain free instead?

FWIW, neither Orijen or Acana worked at all for my dog that did amazingly well on MS; and of course I realize that wouldn’t be the case generally. Guess I’m just saying Orijen and Acana are great, if they work for your dog, but they certainly don’t work for every dog. : )

[LexiDog]

I love Acana. Orijen and Acana are my favorite kibbles out there. That is a great food. You should also look into Fromm Four Star kibble. The pieces of kibble are smaller and the protein is not too high.

[Brenda P]

To everyone else thanks for your positive replies. With regard to Mulligan Stew, they are only discontinuing their dry kibble. They are keeping their canned products and according to the company they are increasing that line. I did look at Nature’s logic, but I think it had some grains in it that I didn’t want my dog to have–can’t remember–I’ve researched so many. Right now, I’m considering Orijen and Acana. Orijen was recommended to me by Mulligan Stew and Acana was recommended by Dog Food Advisor. My only concern for both of them is the high level of protein. Mulligan Stew was 28; Acana will be 32 and Orijen is 38. I did look on the ASCPA site re protein requirements for older dogs–my dog will be 10 in October–and it said dogs need more protein as they get older and that high protein does not lead to renal failure–which is completely different than what I was told when I got my dog almost 10 years ago.

[Naturella]

Christina, I would say probably give it a few days (2-3-ish) before you add a new ingredient just so you know if he would react for sure. As for tomatoes, I guess you could put them in a blender or food processor for a few seconds until they are pretty much mush, then try them. Make sure the whole elimination diet does not last too too long, as it is not a balanced way to feed a dog, so hopefully within 10-14 days you will know if he reacts to a particular ingredient. If he doesn’t react to any of the ones listed above, I would go with a grain-free diet, or a rice-and-maybe-oatmeal-or-millet-or-barley-as-the-only-grains diet. But grain-free is generally safer for an allergy-prone dog.

One of my classmates and friends told me that her dog was extremely itchy eating Pedigree and Beneful, so I told her what I know, and she got him on a grain-free diet – said the itch has been considerably reduced to just an occasional “normal” scratch here and there. She didn’t do an elimination diet, just straight up eliminated the grains, and she was lucky her dog did not react to anything else. So that is also another way you can approach it – just try a good quality fish-based kibble and add the THK Beams as treats and coconut oil, and see how that goes. I would probably still do an elimination though, just to be sure for myself. But, it may work out that he just needs good-quality grain-free kibble.

In case you want to just try the kibble round, some good grain-free kibbles (I will just list them for your ease, in no particular order) are:
Wellness Core – I want to feed in the future
Holistic Select
Orijen – I want to feed in the future
Acana Grain Free – I want to feed in the future
Victor Grain Free – I feed now
Earthborn Holistic Grain Free – I feed now
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free – I have fed, no issues
Holistic Health Extension Grain Free – I have fed with no issues and I feed one of their grain-inclusive formulas now
Now! Fresh – I have fed a small bag (less than 1lb) with no issues
Nutrisca – I have fed, no issues
Nature’s Variety Instinct – I will feed (have a bag lined up under the sink, lol), and I have fed samples with no issues
Back to Basics Grain Free – I will feed the grain-inclusive one (have a bag lined up under the sink also)
NutriSource Grain Free – I have fed samples with no issue but it is severely overpriced in my area so I’m not sure I would buy a bag to feed it
Taste of the Wild – some don’t like it as it is produced by Diamond and that company had a huge recall issue in 2012 that they handled poorly, but 3 friends feed/have fed it with no issues
Blue Buffalo Wilderness – I have fed with no issues but some owners report tummy and stool issues with their dogs when on Blue food. However, 2 other friends have fed/still feed Blue with no issues.

I am sure others can pitch in with more recommendations, plus, if you can afford it/want to, it really is better to feed canned/dehydrated/homemade/raw. Or you can mix them up – I feed kibble and canned/THK food/fridge add-ins (like eggs, yoghurt, raw bones, etc.). But yeah, just start off with determining what works for Chance, you can always add new things once he is at least on better food. 🙂

[Mary M]

I used BB, the Freedom grain-free for small dogs for several months, and my dog seemed to do fine on it, although she never seemed to love to eat it. She did start to have some vomiting, however, and I decided to switch foods. I thought it was a chicken allergy…she had eaten a chicken-based kibble since I got her, and when I fed her real chicken…(which she had eaten before without problems) she also vomited. So no more chicken for her. She’s now on Acana Regionals, and I rotate the proteins. She seems to like it much better. So I don’t know if she had a true chicken allergy…or if it was the BB. But I wanted to get her off of it.

[Naturella]

Jakes Mom and Bobby Dog, I also saw that on the THK website you can get some freebies quick! I just wish a dollar spent counted for more than 1 point though, lol, but oh well…

Also, Bruno has been loving all his THKs, thank goodness! I opened all of them and put them in freezer bags and I alternate between the four like this: Chicken-Turkey-Beef-Turkey so on one day he only has 2 different ones (like the first 2 one day and the next 2 the next, then repeat, and spiced up with an occasional can of sorts) and the breakfast is always different (raw egg/coconut oil/yoghurt/pumpkin/cottage cheese/kefir – whatever I have in the fridge at the moment). So this way he gets plenty of variety. Plus occasional RMBs and natural chews at night. He’s living the good life, lol (not the BEST life… Not on all raw… But for kibble-fed dog, he’s pretty good I think). I really want to get him on Wellness, Orijen and Acana one day so we’ll see – that would be in like a year at least with all the food we got. 🙂

[Paula D]

Mine switch up between Bravo and Primal raw for dinner, and then rotate,through Orijen/Acana kibble, MaxMeat, Primal and Ziwi Peak dehydrated (usually have a bag of kibble and a bag of dehydrated open and alternate the two) for breakfast, with a can of Tripett for Sunday brunch. 🙂 I do think some dogs do better with slow transitions between one food and another, but I just open a new bag when the old one is finished and don’t see any issues.

Good luck!

[zcRiley]

Try Acana Singles. One protein source (& one source of fruit) as opposed to five of each. Tummy sensory overload. I’d stay far & clear from Purina, or anything 4-star and under. Why? Always look for controversial ingredients that could trigger your dog because it’s not the protein amount. You can do an allergy testing on your pup to be sure (especially if vomiting is involved).

If your dog eats too much protein, some will be excreted in the urine and the rest will be used as calories or converted to fat – causing your dog no harm. However, if your dog has an EXISTING kidney problem, high protein diets are not recommended. High protein cannot cause kidney disease.

My AmStaff pups were born straight into Orijens. Sometimes, I mixed in Merrick, Horizon & Evanger’s to keep it fun. Now at 1 yrs of age, I mix in a little 6Fish (they love that strong smell) & I sprinkle in Cosequin or Omega chews. They are very strong & agile, zero fat, all muscle.

[Zanes Mom]

My 18 month old Bullmastiff does very well on the Acana. He is on Grasslands now but I also use Wild Pairie and Ranchlands ( he doesn’t seem to like Pacifica.) I do add probiotics and digestive enzymes. If the pumpkin helps him I would continue it through the transition period. Good Luck, I hope it works for Davis. By the way I love his name!

[LexiDog]

Going to Acana is a good choice. I had a similar experience with my dog. I tried the Orijen Puppy and it was just too rich for her. I believe I went to the Fromm Grain Free and then to Acana Grasslands after I tried Orijen. I was able to reintroduce Orijen after a while and she did great!
Orijen and Acana are truly top quality kibbles!

[DogFoodie]

One of my dogs did very poorly on Orijen after the reformulation, which resulted in the inclusion of chickpeas and lentils. It could be an issue with an intolerance to some ingredient, of which Orijen has many. Either way, I’d get him off of the Orijen before the problem worsens.

One food that I found was a great sort of”rescue” food is NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice. If you needed to get your dog off of something quick, you could try that while you make a decision on what other food to switch to.

FWIW, I never had luck with any Orijen or Acana foods. What I’ve ended up feeding my sensitive dog is radically different than what I had originally intended to feed him. Start now keeping notes and ingredient panel for every food you feed Davis. I pray you don’t, but you might have a challenging little bigger on your hands like a number of us here do.

[ab1028]

I would recommend going to Acana. Sometimes going from a lower quality kibble to a higher quality kibble isn’t easy on a dog’s digestive system. Acana’s protein levels are a bit lower and it isn’t as rich as Orijen, yet it is of the same quality. Hopefully this will help with the loose stools. While Orijen is a great food, it isn’t for every dog.

[Al D]

HI All First Post,

Davis is my 5 mo border collie and came to me 9 weeks old on Purina one. He is currently 25 lbs.

I kept him on Purina for a few months but had multiple problems with moths in the purina kibble (two separate bags) Other than that he did very well on Purina.

I transitioned him on to Orijen puppy over about 7 days last month but he has not done very well on it.

He has loose stool and occasional trouble holding it down. I know of him vomiting it up two times.

I’ve been feeding him per the suggested portions and have cut that back a 1/4 cup. (Current total per day 2/3c twice a day) + treats.

His energy is good but he is on the thin side. If i up the portions of Origen the problems are worse.

If I mix in some pumpkin his stool firms up but it goes back to runny when off pumpkin.

My Local pet store suggested trying Acana Wild Prarrie – as an easy transition from the Orijen.

My only thought is that Acana/Orijen may be too similar.

I hate switching up his food again but I have to do something for my little guy.

I would consider going back to Purina but have read others having the moth problems too.

I started the transition to Acana today 25% Acana 75% Orijen and will be 100% Acana by this time next week. Im hoping the slightly lower protein and fat will be okay.

DPN

[ab1028]

Jasper is on a grain free rotational diet. Right now he is eating acana Pacifica. He has never been one to get matted before, however he is losing his puppy coat right now and growing in his adult hair.

Thanks for the recommendations on use of detanglers and brands!

[LexiDog]

When I bought my girl home she had demodectic mange. We did the Mitaban dip every other week just because I didn’t want to do the oral ivermectin. Looking back now I don’t think it would have made a difference if I did the dip or the oral meds.

Since Demodectic Mange is caused by a weakened immune system, I did what the vet prescribed (Mitaban dips) and did everything I could think of to help her immune system.

I started her on a grain-free diet (I believe it was Fromm Grain Free and then Acana Regionals), gave her BIXBI’s Organic Superfood Immunity Daily Supplement, Vital Digest by Only Natural Pets washed all of her bedding and sanitized her crate. I know that Demodectic Manage is not contagious but I just took the extra caution by washing everything.

I suggest you boost your puppy’s immune system with good food and some supplements along with your vets treatment plan.

[LexiDog]

Acana Grassland is a wonderful food with lamb. Compare the ingredients and you will see.

[Trang L]

Hi everyone, i really need help choosing the kibble for my little Pokey. He is a toy poodle and 5 months old. I was feeding him Fromm puppy food and currently switching to Acana Paficia. When I mixed the two, his stool was soft until I completely gave him the Acana one yesterday and he didnt bother to eat the food again today. He was so in love with it at the beginning. He would only ate the Acana when I mixed it with the Fromm. However, today he does not want to eat. And he had firm stool following with watery stool. I dont know is it because of the Acana that giving him the problem. I am thinking about try something else better for him. Does anyone have the same problem? Please help me! I am really wrr about my little guy. Thank you!

[Susan]

There’s the low Gylcemic diets that they still can have, that have rice, oats.. Rice & oats are good carbohyrates…..I started looking into all this & it does ur head in lol… Google “low gylcemic diets for dogs” when I googled it, Acana, Merrick, Nutriscia & Orijen came up..I think Diabetic foods are low gylcemic..

[aquariangt]

Acana is great but hardly mid ranged in price-in the states at least. dunno if it’s cheaper in Canada where it’s made. Suburban Gal is right about EB Holistic, it’s very reasonable for it’s quality. Fromm’s 4 Star is less than some. Simply Nourish Source. Whole Earth Farms

[ab1028]

A grain free kibble I would recommend is acana regionals. They come in beef, chicken, lamb, and fish so it is good for rotation. My picky dog likes it and it is made with quality ingredients that are Canadian.

[Naturella]

I agree that a lot of people seem to have issues with Blue Buffalo, and this is not good. However, there are the few (apparently) whose dogs have done well on it. If I were to be asked to make a recommendation to someone about dog food, I would base it off of personal experience and research, and regarding Blue Buffalo, I can say that Bruno did wonderfully on the Wilderness Puppy for about 4 months, until I decided to rotate him out of it, just because rotating foods is good, not because of issues. I would say that I will keep Wilderness in our rotation because he’s done well on it, and because I know of 3 other dogs (in 2 separate households) who also have been feeding Blue (one constantly, which is not that great, the other in rotation) and their dogs have been ok too. Nonetheless, I can say that I have read about many who experience issues with it, but I really believe that it comes down to individual dogs and their guts for the most part. It is important that everyone closely monitors their dog and watch for reactions, then act accordingly. I have never had to contact the company, so I don’t know how their customer service is.

And I think the above goes for just about any food I have fed, or read a lot about. Still, no matter how much I read about foods, I will have to feed it to my dog personally in order to form my own opinion based on experience. There are many many foods I want to feed based on profile alone (and some forumers’ or friends’ opinions of them) – Wellness Core, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Wysong Epigen or Wysong 90, Victor (feeding a bit of it now, but want a full bag to really test it out), AvoDerm Trout (just that one, lol), Taste of the Wild and Canidae Pure (yes, yes, I know about Diamond and the recalls), Merrick Grain Free, Orijen (drool) and maybe Acana, Back to Basics (got a bag in the cabinet waiting its turn to be opened), Fromm, Darwin’s, The Honest Kitchen (when I’m rich, lol), etc. I don’t even know if Bruno’s lifetime will allow me to rotate through them once, let alone twice, lol.

So yeah, that’s my 2 cents.

[FreeholdHound]

Hi Nancy ! Sorry to hear about your boy’s problems. Harry has been prone to loose stools since I got him 2 yrs ago – it is a common Greyhound thing. I went thru MANY kibbles with no luck & thru trial & error and a Hemopet Allergy test found out he’s intolerant to turkey, chicken, salmon, white fish, venison, sweet potato, & oatmeal. And he refuses Lamb. Well that eliminated 95% of kibbles on the shelves.

Nature’s Logic Beef or Sardine formulas & Earthborn Holistic Great Plains Feast are the only kibbles I’ve found that have none of the “avoid” ingredients in them. Harry does best on the Natures Logic Beef kibble. His diet at the track consisted largely of beef & that’s he continues to do well on. I add digestive enzymes & probiotics to his meals also.

I’m waiting to see the new Acana singles line up that’s coming out this summer. The Pork or Duck formulas look promising.

It is sooo frustrating I know. Natures Logic has been amazing. I can’t pick it up locally so I order it online from Chewy.com.

[Nancy C]

I would like to hear more about your Nature’s Logic experience. My GSD has been on prescription WD food for a month due to diarrhea which showed up during transition from TOW to Origen and then to Acana. Had diarrhea with both once I reached 50/50 in the transition. Ended up at the VET, with Metronidazole twice, many loose stools and diarrhea. A mess. I am now at 50/50 Prescription WD (UGH) and Purina Pro Select Sensitive Stomach (which I am not excited about). The Purina Pro is “not bad” but is not what I want to keep him on for long. But he is doing better and I am grateful too for this group of people who so graciously have helped me. I am impressed with Nature’s Logic and have talked to the company. I think it will be the first “real” food I try him on after the sensitive stomach food. There are lots of testimonials regarding diarrhea and GI issues coming to a stop with Nature’s Logic. It looks like great wholesome real food. Please tell me anything you can about it. Thank you. Nancy Calloway

[LexiDog]

TJ – is “SD” Science Diet? Just want to clarify.

As crazy4cats said make sure to check with your vet to see if there are any parasites that are causing the problem first.

Personally, I think that it could have to do with the level of protein and fat in the Merrick GF especially if you are transitioning from Science Diet. The protein and fat amounts are dramatically different. Also, dogs have individual needs, so what may be good for one dog may not be good for another. Science Diet averages around 25% protein and Merrick GF has almost 43% (dry matter) protein with a few exceptions that go as slow as 33.7%. But either way Merrick is a much richer food than Science Diet that their system is not used to.

If the pumpkin is not helping than I suggest you try a moderate protein food between 32% to 35%. Such as Fromm Four Star Grain Free, ACANA Regional’s, Annamaet GF or Born Free. Merrick does have a Lamb & Sweet Potato GF formula that has a moderate protein amount but the other GF’s just go up from there. After feeding the moderate protein food for a while, try again switching to the higher protein levels.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Tigerlily –

Orijen’s LBP formula is actually lower in calcium than Acana. It just barely missed making the list. Orijen provides a range and the lower end of the range actually falls within the safe levels and the higher end of the range just slightly above.

[Gloria M]

I must have gotten the old Acana Singles recipe as it did have oats in it. Did not work out well for my dog. My 75 lb Lab is extremely itchy/scratchy now after two days on NRG Optimum. Should have realized it was oats getting him. He is intolerant of several protein sources: chicken, venison, whitefish and turkey. Am presuming eggs would also bother him if he had chicken intolerance but not sure there is crossover. Any suggestions?

[Tigerlily]

Hi all! I am looking for some information to help assist a puppy buyer of mine. She has a 4.5 month old standard poodle puppy that I bred. I sent puppies home on Wellness Large Breed Puppy because the calcium levels are at least somewhat moderate and advised her to be careful about feeding foods with excessive levels of calcium. (I realize the levels are still higher than the foods on HDM’s list, but because a standard poodle is in all actuality a medium sized dog, I don’t feel that it is as necessary to be as strict – just to choose a moderate food). Anyway, she told me she switched her pup to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. I suggested to her that the calcium levels in that particular food really are quite excessive and that I would recommend Acana instead. She told me that she consulted with a canine nutritionist before switching her pup and that they advised her that Orijen it was a more “premium” food than Acana. She mentioned that the calcium percent in Orijen LBP is no less than 1.2% and no more than 1.5% and Wellness min/max 1.1/1.5%. I explained that that is true, but that the total mg of calcium per kcal in Orijen is quite a bit higher. I just wanted to double check my facts here! Also, did Orijen LBP change their formula? Because what I have seen in the past was 1.5/1.7 for min/max.

[LexiDog]

I am curious as to why everyone seems to love Dr. Tim’s. Is it the price point? I am not sure. When reading the ingredients for their Kinesis GF formula, it seems to have a lot of ingredients that I would not want to give to my dog. Most of the ingredients are dried. It has beet pulp, salt and canola oil. It has a very long list of added vitamins and minerals at the bottom…I understand that some vitamins and minerals have to be added to make a complete and balanced diet…but it just seems like this food has more supplements added to it than good ingredients in the food with the natural occurring vitamins and minerals.

I haven’t fed my dog this brand but don’t really see why I would want to. I have seen people suggest this food to others as a good quality dog food and can’t figure out why.
****this is NOT an attack on Dr. Tim’s****I just want to know why it is so highly recommended. Am I missing something?

I feed my girl Orijen, ACANA, Primal and Stella and Chewy’s. I know that a rotational diet is good for dogs so I have been trying to find another brand that I think is as good as Orijen.

What are your thoughts?

[LexiDog]

Acana just came out with a new recipe for their Singles which are a limited ingredient food. The new formula is grain and potato free. I haven’t seen it on shelves or on line yet but it is coming and will be awesome!! Just be careful because the old formula has oats in it.

Orijen is also a super premium food that is grain and potato free but contain multiple protein sources.

These 2 are defiantly worth looking into. Hope your pups feel better.

[Ryan K]

Thanks for the replies! I have just started to mix in the canned with her dry food. I can’t get her to eat dry alone as is anymore. She just lets it sit. So, I am now feeding her twice a day with both dry and canned mixed together. She loves it. I just bought a bag of Canidae Pure Grain Free Duck and I will be mixing that into her food soon once her Acana Duck & Pear is gone. I wanted to find something a little less pricey since I now have to buy both dry and canned. Hopefully, she doesn’t have any adverse reactions to the Canidae. Never been on it before for either dogs.

[Naturella]

So today I pitched the idea of the amazing deal of 20lbs for $16 (plus 4-5lbs free from NVI) of food to the hubs and of course I got the LOOK and the LECTURE that there is no shortage of dog food anytime soon, nor will all the sales and promotions cease indefinitely… SIGH, I KNOW that, BUT the deal… Anywho, I think I will have to pass on it… It is too good, but I just can’t keep stocking up for this little animal, which doesn’t even eat his full cup of dry/day anyway, so he is extra slow on consumption… At least he’s not one of those pups that you need to watch around food and control their intake. And I feel that he may eat even less over the summer because it is quite hot here in Georgia, SO, the bottom line is – I forfeit the deal to someone else, who will hopefully take advantage of it and can use the PetLand coupon or whatever to get a good deal on foods.

As for me and my dog, we will continue with the endless Earthborn – by fault of yours truly – lesson learned, unless we get another dog next year (or whenever we do really – until then) Bruno will only get a small bag of each food I want to feed him. I will just hope the deals do reoccur often! 🙂

P.S. I am determined to smuggle small “trial” bags of Orijen and Acana to spice up Bruno’s mixes whenever they are on sale at the pet boutique! Now those are small enough to hide easier! Mwahahah! 😀

[Eva L]

I just joined (and I may be stepping in it here), but I’ve had many discussions (with family and friends) about the expense of our dog food…we feed Orijen and Acana. Frankly, I would prefer Orijen alone but one (14 year old “pound puppy”) does better with Acana.

At any rate, I’ve tried explaining that, yes, these foods are definitely expensive…if you ONLY consider the price per bag. However, since our dogs require substantially less food per serving than would be necessary with cheaper brands, the food lasts longer and the cost starts to even out over time.

For reference, our (nearly 9 years old) Pyrenees eats 4 cups of food a day in the winter and 3 cups a day in the summer…has done so for 5 years, since we got him from rescue. I start cutting back when he starts leaving food in the bowl. He’s 120 lbs of muscle. Blood work comes back perfect every year and the vet said he’s at optimal weight and condition for his size and age.

Worth mentioning, he’s our second Pyrenees, from the same rescue, and neither could tolerate grains. (Not sure if it’s breed-related or just happened to be the case with our guys.) I know this because they provided a bag of whatever the dogs had been eating at their foster homes and both had bowel/stool problems which cleared up as soon as I transitioned them to grain-free kibble. On the other hand, buying grain free does limit our options.

I know I sound like I’m beating the drum for Champion Foods, but I simply offered their foods as examples because that’s what we feed. Dog Food Advisor has a number of excellent brands listed that you could try instead. Though, I promise you, all of the highly rated foods will cost more per bag.

In the end, factoring in cost-over-time and lack of food related medical problems…with the attendant vet bills…I don’t think the best foods are actually more of an expense.

Just my 2 cents.

[Lynn J]

Adding to the thread…. my dog do well on Orijen Adult which is primarily chicken/other poultry. I have rotated with Acana Grasslands, but if I want to go to another 5 star food, that is not chicken does anyone have any suggestions and is from a different company. Orijen is really at the top of my price range, especially since the larger bag lasts too long so I need to buy the 15 lb. So, other protein sources, other carb sources, similar protein/fat/carb ratio to Orijen.

[pugmomsandy]

The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal formula does not have chicken. It was an Editor’s Choice in March. Orijen has the 6 Fish formula which is just fish. Acana Singles doesn’t have chicken, I think. Also limited ingredient diets tend to have chicken-free options like Nature’s Variety Instinct. Currently, Merrick’s Whole Earth Farms has a poultry-free formula along with Castor & Pollux. Nutrisource grain free Seafood Select and PureVita.