[Patricia A]

Hi Aimee and C4Cats,
It’s absolutely mind blowing how I’m just now noticing these selling ploys. Someone hired in their company to brainstorm words before each ingredient to send subliminal messages to our brains conjuring up images of superior nutrition if fed to our dogs. It’s the same with our food. I always wondered if I should buy “sweet” corn in the grocery store as opposed to “unsweet”. lol Yes, now I can’t “unsee” as you said Aimee. I did write an email to Stella n Chewy’s regarding that taurine statement and that I will no longer be purchasing .
Now still leaves me with a full bag and half of another with their grain free chicken kibble . Trouble is all three were doing very well on this as a base and again with home cooked when appropriate, some freeze dried toppings, boiled eggs in morning etc. It just dawned on me that the grain free came out due to deaths related to mold in grain products. So of course that made all us pet owners feel safe with NO grain in dog food. But now of course it’s back to adding grains because of the DCM controversy. I then look at all claiming they are done and going the way of PPP. So many ingredients listed that told me crap for our dogs’ for SO LONG that hard to get that out of my head. Tufts comes out with this statement regarding human grade food is no different then feed grad.
At the very top of their post Tufts discusses the pet food classification of “Human Grade“. Below is the full quote of this section, Tufts attempting to minimize the significance of human grade pet food.

“Human grade” is much more about the plant the food is processed in than where the food came from. For instance, chicken, whether for people or cats, comes from the same bird. It’s just that “human grade” chicken is processed in a plant or kitchen licensed to produce food for people, while chicken that gets put into pet food — which could include breast or thighs, but also nutrient-packed internal organs and the parts you pick off to make soup — goes to plants that manufacture pet food. All these ingredients work together to meet your cat’s nutrient needs. Just as important, they are pleasing to cats’ taste buds.
More to the point, products marketed as “human grade” are not necessarily higher quality nor better options in any other way. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets the standards for the levels of nutrients that should be in cat food, and that’s a separate issue from the origin of the food’s ingredients.
We should note that “human grade” food for cats tends to be relatively expensive compared to regular cat food. There’s no need to purchase it, either for your cat’s health or enjoyment of meals.”
But Thixton says this: Feed Grade. The FDA allows feed grade pet products (and feed livestock products) to utilize very inferior ingredients, in fact – some ingredients allowed in feed are illegal per federal law but still allowed by FDA. Evidence of this is FDA’s own words – in a response to our (Association for Truth in Pet Food) request of the Agency to stop allowing illegal ingredients in pet foods. The FDA stated: “we do not believe the the use of diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter to make animal food poses a safety concern and we intend to continue to exercise enforcement discretion where appropriate.”

Per the FDA’s own disclosure, feed/feed grade pet foods are allowed to contain diseased animals or animals that died otherwise than by slaughter. All of which – by the way – is a violation of federal food safety laws (illegal, but allowed by all pet food regulatory authorities).

Human Grade. While feed grade pet foods are allowed to use diseased and non-slaughtered animal material, human grade pet foods are required to:
So do I feed human grade or unsee that feed grade can be diseased animals in my dogs’ food?
Also a question about Purina. Do ALL foods manufactured by Purina meet WSAVA standards. And if not why they make a food that they KNOW doesn’t hold the standards of WSAVA and could cause ill health to our pets? I think I mentioned that I”m a caregiver to my mom with Dementia. I’m getting really stressed overtime I look at a dog nutrition forum and read their strong opinions relating to what to feed and then I feel like I’m feeding all wrong even though my dogs’ are doing well with what I’ve been feeding. So should I ignore all that’s wrong with Stella n Chewy’s posts and continue with all the legumes and peas BUT added taurine or should I look for another? Thank you both. Just want to stop over thinking AND this research is causing me more stress.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Patricia A.

[aimee]

Hi Patricia,

In regard to your second comment, I ‘m hoping you can clarify for me.

You are correct WSAVA does not approve foods so I’m unsure why you are asking if certain foods should be removed from the WSAVA recommended list since you seem to recognize that there is no such list. Perhaps you an clarify that point for me.

I’m also usure of what criteria you have suggested (perhaps I can find them on a different thread?) and personally, I think if you eliminate involving anyone with any potential for a financial gain or research funding gain from serving in WSAVA or any other organized foundation there would be no one left to serve! Connections can always be made and no matter how far removed or remote they may be someone will always come along and call foul if they do not like the committee’s findings.

Personally, in regard to sponsors of WSAVA, there are so many pet food companies, how come only three have stepped up to promote the advancement of animal welfare and health?

[aimee]

Hi Patricia,

I’ll address your first question first because it is a good one. IMO the engagement specialist from Purina really dropped the ball. She gave a canned answer instead of a providing the research studies that support the claims. Maybe Purina needs to revisit the training of their customer service agents?

IMO Purina does some awesome research, yet as a company I feel they really fall short in making it known. IMO it should be cited whenever a claim based on that research is made.

The concern I have with this blog, is that IMO as it is written, the blog seems to leave the reader with the impression that Purina may not have any research to support the label claims. I think the point that the blogger should have made is Purina does a lot of research and publishes it regularly to the scientific community but that they need to do a better job in relaying that information to the general public.

Here are some supporting studies I found after a 3 min(?) search. There certainly may be others

Interventions in the Longevity and Maintenance of Long-Term Health in Agine Cats Cupp et al 2008 From the abstract “Cats eating the diet containing the nutritional blend lived significantly longer and showed significantly slower deterioration in a number of clinical health parameters compared to cats fed a standard adult maintenance control diet”

Effect of Nutritional Interventions on the Longevity of Senior Cats Cupp et al 2007 From the abstract “After 5 years cats fed the diet with the antioxidants Vit E and Beta-carotene, dried chicory root and a blend of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids lived significantly longer than cats fed the control diet.”

Cognitive Enhancement in Middle aged and old cat with dietary supplementation with a nutrient blend containing fish oil, B vitamins, antioxidants and arginine. Pan et al 2013
From the abstract: “The cats fed the test diet shoed significantly better performance on three of four test protocols..”

[aimee]

Hi Patricia,

In regard to AAFCO .. is it perfect? Heck No!

The AAFCO profile is based on NRC nutrient recommendations which were established through research. In general, an AAFCO profile requires higher nutrient amounts than NRC to account for variable bioavailability. NRC cautions, when using their tables, if vitamins in the diet are coming from food ingredients and not a premix the numbers must be modified “because the natural forms of some vitamins have low bioavailabilites” In my mind it is a good thing that AAFCO is not identical to NRC.

My concern when a company reports that their diet meets AAFCO, and it does not, based on the information they provide, is not so much that the diet will cause immediate nutritional harm. The concern I have is with the company’s honesty, integrity, overall nutritional knowledge and understanding of food production.

I’ve seen this so many times with so many companies and how they respond can be a deal breaker for me. I don’t expect every batch of food to hit every level every time. There will be variability in ingredients, processing errors etc. BUT when a company sends me an analysis and appears to state that every number in that analysis, they sent to me meets or exceeds AAFCO min and it clearly does not, that to me is a BIG problem. Rightly or wrongly, I think if a company cannot see that the number 2 is less than the number 3 how can I expect them to understand the more complex intricacies of food production… I can’t!

In my experience, this is typically how these conversations go. I thank them for sending the information and ask them to clarify because it appears to me that what they sent does not meet AAFCO. The company often then replies that all of their nutrient levels meet AAFCO min. I may then ask if this is the most accurate up to date information they have or if anything needs updating or could they check the value for nutrient X to make sure there is not a “typo”. And they say everything is accurate and up to date. Then I may say I’m looking at your reported nutrient level for X , you report A, which you verified with me is not a typo and is the most updated and accurate nutritional information you have. The number given is below AAFCO min. which is B. Please explain. Then the company often replies they are in the middle of updating and the information sent doesn’t reflect their current analysis or some such variation of the above. In some cases, within minutes, the company changes the nutritional information on their website to reflect the number I just gave them, or they take down the webpage or remove the sentence I question. If I didn’t take screenshots you wouldn’t believe it. Sometimes the error is obvious, the number reported is less than AAFCO number, other times it is a matter of the company apparently not understanding that they have to correct their diet for energy density before comparing to the AAFCO profile.

Purina did a 14 year long life study using a food that contains garlic oil. I have no concern with the amount of garlic oil in the Purina products I use, I’ve had concerns with the amounts other companies seem to use. I once purchased a product because I wanted their illegal label. I opened it to dump the food and the garlic smell was overwhelming! At min, you could ask if the company put their food through a feeding trial and if so were there any changes in the blood parameters. It is a small number of dogs but something….

I feed a variety of kibble, canned and home cook prepared foods using Balance it. Since DCM, I primarily feed Purina Pro Plan as kibble base. I used to sometimes use a bit of Wellness Core or Annemaet or Iams/ Eukanuba kibble. For moist foods I’ve been using Purina, Hill’s, Eukanuba/Iams and Fresh Pet morsels as a C and B training “treat”. To this I add whatever fresh veggies or a bit of meat, sweet potato pasta/rice etc we have from our dinner.

I have noted coat changes when I rotated off Purina , increased shedding and flakes which she never had before and resolved when I returned to Pro Plan. No stool problems except for when I fed Honest Kitchen and had voluminous stools. I posted pics on that thread that showed the ingredients coming out appearing to me to be the same way as they went in.

Whenever someone says their dog has newfound energy after eating a raw diet what comes to mind was a dog’s thyroid level was something like 5 times normal after being on raw diet. The raw food company swore they were not using any neck trim, but the levels returned to normal after taking the dog off of the raw diet.

[aimee]

Hi Patricia,

You are spot on in your understanding that yeast infections in dogs are secondary to a primary problem. I suppose if dog had an allergy to the type of yeast used in selenium yeast, then exposure to that ingredient could contribute to a yeast overgrowth on the skin. The same would apply to any ingredient in any dog food.

If you go to the Natures Logic thread, you can read about my interactions with that company. I would not feel comfortable using any of the products they make.

I do not agree with Small Batch Company’s philosophy as I understand it to be and based on the current scientific literature, I believe statements made on their website are in error. Additionally, using the nutritional information they provided, it appears that there are either multiple errors in what they reported, or not all products meet the AFFCO min for the life stage they are labeled for, or some combination of those two scenarios. Either way, it does not give me confidence in this company.

[Cara L]

Hello- My Golden Doodle was just diagnosed with this. My understanding the only treatment is steroids which appear to be helping him. I am looking for suggestions as to the holistic supplements you tried & also as to canned dog food. He can open his mouth a bit more but still can’t chew well. Would love updates good or bad on the pups spoken about on this thread. Just trying to gauge where we are at with all this. My boy Griffey is 5. Thank you!

[aimee]

Hi Patricia.

By writing “I agree that kibble should always have synthetic vitamins/minerals since Pet food manufacturers know their food is devoid of nutrition … so they add synthetic premixes. And pet owners know kibble isn’t as good as real food, so they add supplements.” in the post following my post, it makes it appear that you are agreeing with me.

I just want to clarify that I absolutely do not agree with the above statement. As I said, I believe such statements to be marketing spin.

It may interest you to know that in talking with multiple companies of freeze-dried products, I’ve found that some, including some of the companies you mentioned, have reported that after freeze drying the food, they heat and hold it at temps high enough to kill pathogens. Some companies shared they used conventional heat and others apparently by microwave. Yet they still market the food as “raw” which to me is odd since the times and temps they subject the food to are those used to cook food.

I do agree that the more you read the more confusing it can become. It is interesting to me to read publications put out by the pet industry. For example, food rotation is primarily recommended to guard against “out of stocks ” Shop keepers want to condition their customers to feel comfortable switching products so that if they are out of product A, they can sell you product B and keep the sale in house vs you going elsewhere for product A. Which brands they carry has to do with profit margin, availability and exclusivity. If /when a product enters new markets, making it easy for you to get it at other venues, shops will drop the line. Shops want you to have to return to them for purchase. Ditto for why some push frozen raw as “best”(it isn’t easily available online or in most larger stores). If someone else has exclusivity rights to a brand, a line within the brand or for brands that are widely available, shop owners may try to come up with reasons that sound plausible as to why they do not carry that product in an effort to try to switch you to a brand they can get. Shops offer sales contests, brands sponsor same. Get X number of people to switch to brand C (higher profit margin) and win a prize.
So yeah, it is confusing!

[Mary M]

Hey there. My dog had surgery this summer for a broken and infected tooth. Prior to the surgery, I did notice one or other of the dogs (I have 2) was drinking more. After the surgery, the dog in subject, part Aust. Cattledog and part Golden Retriever, was being treated with pain killers and antibiotics and really struggled in strange ways. She was panting and drooling a lot, she seemed disoriented, and was depressed. I attributed a lot of this to the pain killers, but I took her back to the vet and they diagnosed her with an upset stomach, which can cause the drooling. She seemed to recover a bit after taking medication to settle her stomach, but the disorientation did not abate. Finally, one day she ran into the vacuum cleaner, which was left in the middle of the floor and we realized she was having vision issues. Two days later, she was diagnosed as totally blind. They ran several tests and posited that she had either PRA or PRD, which cannot be treated and don’t have other medical issues. Now, a month or two later, she is drinking a lot more water again, is drooling, panting a lot, and seems more disoriented than when she was first diagnosed as blind. I’ve been reading about SARDS and Cushings Disease and it sure sounds like she is suffering from both. I’ve always given my dogs a really nutritious food — Earthborn – Great Plains Feast (bison) — though it isn’t fresh. I can’t afford more testing and am concerned the resulting treatment would also be expensive, so I’d like to try augmenting her diet with foods that might help her with her symptoms. She doesn’t seem to be gaining much weight, so I think I have some freedom with what I try. Any suggestions on what might be good to try would be welcome! I will try the bilberry!

[Mike Sagman]

I understand your concerns. We’ve been concerned ourselves about DCM and legumes ever since we first shared the news about this issue with our readers back in July 2018. Since then, we’ve included a link to this important article on every review and “best” page we publish, including the front page of our website.

In the meantime, we continue to update our article and add important new information as it appears in the literature.

There are still many unanswered questions and much misinformation on this topic, even amongst veterinary professionals. We discuss many of those issues in that same article. And it’s why we still recommend waiting for the FDA to publish its final report.

Until then, you can consider choosing one of the many grain-inclusive options on our “Best Dog Foods” pages. But keep in mind, grain-inclusive foods are the ones to most likely contain aflatoxin. So, we always provide a combination of both grain-free and grain-inclusive brands on every list we create.

Or consider the many benefits of diet rotation. By periodically switching dog foods, you can minimize the unhealthy risks of feeding a single recipe for an extended time period.

Hope this helps.

[aimee]

It has been 2 years since a class action was filed that alleges Earth Animal’s No Hide contain rawhide; the case is still pending.

Recap: On July 27,2017 Susan Thixton raised the question ” Is No-Hide Dog Treat Actually Hide?” on Truth About Pet Food. Also in 2017, the FDA apparently tried to answer the same question, but it appears they could not. Results on sample number 1020257, “4 inch Earth Animal No-Hide Chicken Chews” “were “inconclusive as to whether or not product contains rawhide.”.

In 2018, The Dept of Ag., Penn. investigated. They interpreted the test they had done at Penn State as “inconclusive.” They asked Dr Brooks “to determine whether or not animal hide (skin and related structures) is present.” Dr Brooks was not even able to identify a labeled rawhide as skin saying, “they are no longer identifiable by this method.” I think one reason the rawhide sample could not be identified as skin is because the structures needed to identify skin, like hair and oil glands, are in the layer of the skin that is removed at the tannery. Interestingly though, Dr. Brooks starts his report with “All slides….” indicating that both the rawhide samples and the No Hide samples appeared similar enough to each other that he did not find it necessary to describe them separately. This I feel was a very important finding because a chew made from skin, I would think, should look very different from one made with plants.

“Microscopic examination of dog chews.” was published on June 20, 2020. Susan Thixton made a post about the study. From the abstract “Two products labeled as rawhide free appeared similar to the dermis [ a skin layer].” In the comment section, Earth Animal appears to claim that one of those two products was No Hide. They also report in reference to one of the authors ” She has already been served a Cease-and-Desist Letter by Earth Animal threatening to institute legal proceedings. ” Apparently, in a Sept.26, 2018, e-mail there was mention of a plan to test and submit for publication a study looking at various types of dog chews. That e-mail apparently reached Earth Animal, and the author of the email received a letter dated Oct. 5th, 2018, to “serve as a notice of potential litigation” making it look to me that Earth Animal did not want the researcher to investigate dog chews.

The lawsuit was filed Oct 12, 2020. A quote from the lawsuit reads, “A recent study was published….. According to Defendants, one of their products, a No-Hide chew, was included in the study and was found to contain rawhide….”. In my opinion, that study triggered the filing of the class action because :1. The apparent statement made by Earth Animal . 2.The study is a reference for how chews labeled rawhide and rawhide-free look under a microscope. Broadly speaking, in the study, the chews tested that had a starch ingredient like flour in them, had a blue background, while labeled rawhide samples stained red (H & E stain). Penn State lab reported Earth Animal No Hide stained red with H & E stain.

On Dec.23,2020 Earth Animal reported. “Ms. Beveridge has agreed to put the lawsuit on hold for 4 months, to give the parties the opportunity to develop a mutually-agreeable protocol which will appoint one or more credentialed experts to conduct a site visit.” To the best of my knowledge a site visit did not occur during the 4-month period, and to the best of my knowledge the lawsuit resumed. I have not found any other formal updates issued by Earth Animal.

Two years after filing, the case is reported as pending. My understanding is that judges can dismiss cases for lack of merit. Initially, Judge Janet Bond Arterton was reported as judge and now Judge Omar A Williams is listed. It appears to me that 2 different judges have overseen this case and neither has dismissed it.

It may be years before the legal case is resolved, but until then pet parents can decide for themselves what this product is made from. Reading all the original test results, documents, and e-mails on Truth about Pet Food.is a good place to start if you desire more information about this product. Also, you can test the product yourself. Iodine changes color if starch is present. The No Hide chew roll’s main ingredient appears to be rice flour, a starch containing ingredient. Open a No Hide treat. Put iodine on an inner piece that is free of any of the flavor coating. Also put iodine on the flavor coating, then compare your results.

.

[Mutts and Cats]

I have a dog who started having seizures 2 months ago and I am making changes to his diet in hopes that will help. I’ve eliminated chicken and grains. My latest concern is Rosemary. I’ve read some older posts here on that topic that were helpful, but am hoping for a recent recommendation for foods that don’t contain Rosemary. Most of the food I had been feeding contains it. Even the canned food (Nature’s Logic) and the freeze dried (Primal) contain Rosemary. I am now feeding a combination of canned, raw frozen, freeze-dried, and dry. I have found other brands of canned and freeze dried that don’t contain Rosemary, but I can not find a dry food. Any suggestions?
Also, if anyone has had other revelations on foods/additives that might trigger seizures I would be very interested in hearing about them.

[lizzie R]

Hey, I just found this forum and am excited to hear anybody’s opinion.

I have a 6 year old GSD, 115 pounds, healthy weight. No illness or adverse conditions. I have been feeding him a home cooked diet going on three years. In the very beginning I briefly flirted with raw recommended by a vet, but it wasn’t for me. My current vet is afraid to give any nutritional advice and so sometimes I feel like Lewis and Clark here.

His daily diet:

whole wheat sourdough bread
(I make a 250g flour loaf every other day and split it in two)
14-16 oz beef scraps
(Relatively high fat in the 30-40% range depending on the cut)
8 oz chicken meat and bones
(I boil them into a stock for 24 hours so they mush in your hands, no sharp edges)
1.5 cups of said stock
(Seasoned with celery seed, thyme, parsley, rosemary, shitake)
.5 Tbsp butter
1 duck egg
Half a cup of vegetables of some kind (green beans right now)
A small handful of fruit
(Raspberries right now)
A small handful of leafy greens

At least once a month he will have fish of some kind. Mussels, shrimp or other shellfish

My current philosophy is:

I don’t do supplements because I don’t take supplements. If I can meet my own nutritional needs I should be able to meet my dog’s. My goal is for that not to change.

Just curious what fellow home-cookers think.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read!

[Florentina V]

Hello everyone! I have been researching this topic for a while now, since my dog had his first “gulping crisis” which got us to the ER in the middle of the night. By reading most of the forums, the majority of owners were saying it’s a reflux problem, so after X-Rays, Ultrasounds and blood work that did not show a problem, we decided to go for an endoscopy. Well, it turns out my dog has Follicular Esophagitis, something which is basically very new, from what I understood, the terminology is not even registered yet, but it’s being used as the disease resembles Follicular Gastritis, with the difference that the lymphoid follicles are on the esophagus, not on the stomach like in the latter. To describe it, the esophagus is full of hard follicles which sometimes get more inflammated and they obviously bother the dog and causes the gulps. My dog does not respond to any reflux or acid related medication. We tried this for 2 months to see if there was any change (my dog was waking up a few times at night for a few seconds to lick and gulp and I was watching her all the time to see if she was getting better, but this did not cease). The only medication it reacted to is prednicortone, which my vet decided we should use for another 2 months to lower the inflammation. She immediately responded to it and slept through the whole night. Now I use Flixotide Spray with AeroDawg chamber, because together with my vet, we tried to find something that works long term, without all the side effects of an oral corticosteroid like prednicortone. I give her a daily small dose in the evening, when her sleeping hour approaches. I want to share some things I noticed and talked about with my vet, that may help you indentify if your dog has the same problem:
– the vet told me it is a very new disease, there is not much information you can find, he has only seen few cases and all of them are in the last year
– the gulps happen mostly at night. Most of the time they cease fast, but every now and then the dog may have a big crisis, it can’t sleep/rest, the licking is continuous and the gulping is very intense. At the ER, they gave her a shot of Prednisolone and Dexamethazone combined, which was a big help. Now, if I anticipate a crisis, I just give her an extra “puff” of Flixotide to inhale from the chamber and it seems to work very well
– my dog has atopic dermatitis (auto-immune disease). Researchers have discovered that having one kind of autoimmune disease can lead to another, so my vet told me the follicular esophagitis may be the result of an already flawed immune system
– I also have noticed that if I distract her, she ceases to gulp and gets right back to it when the distraction is over. But, I believe this is not the a solution, as the problem cannot be kept under control this way.
– my dog is on a restrictive diet for years due to the atopic dermatitis and does not eat other things. She is nowhere near essential oils, grass ( we have artificial grass). We tried splitting her meals/ not allowing her to eat in the evening in order to not go to bed with a full stomach. What I want to say is that I ruled out any factors that may have triggered the gulps. Nothing worked. I understand now it is an autoimmune disease and it is not triggered by external factors like the ones I mentioned.
Some of you said you were massaging the dog’s throat and I too have done that in the past. It seems it relaxes the throat and it helps improve blood flow and reduce tissue stiffness and pain, so that is why it works to relieve the dog. As I keep her condition under control now, there has been no need for me to do this anymore.

I really hope this helps! Talk to your vet if you’re getting concerned, maybe schedule an endoscopy if you feel your dog may have the same condition.
I wish your fur babies a happy, healthy and long life!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by Florentina V.

[Windy H]

Hello I’ve been reading lots and sorting thru so much overwhelming information. I’m not a nutritionist nor vet. Just a normal dog owner who wants what’s best for my dogs. Anyway from what I’ve gathered this is how and what I feed my dogs;
-First I choose a good quality kibble (dog food advisor says Fromms and Carna4 are five star). I chose them for their balance of carbs and protein. Also carna4 gently cooks theirs)
-Then I dehydrate meat in a small countertop dehydrator. I’ll add a few pieces into the kibble.
-I make my own bone broth to add to the kibble.
-I also add a few drops of omega fish oil
– and finally sprinkle Carna4 supplement & digestive aid over everything. I’ll add blueberries or veggies sometimes. Or sometimes yogurt as a treat later in the day.

My question; am I overdoing it? Can I hurt them by adding too much protein..? I know it seems like a lot of work but it’s not that bad really. Im trying to avoid feeding them one thing their entire lives. Variety is a good thing.

[MARCIA H]

Hi, First off, thank you for providing this forum and your recall system. That in particular is invaluable.

I have studied dog food, nutrition, and health as an admin on a popular dog food group for nine years but stepped down and away from the group in January. I’ve worked in the medical field my entire life.

I have problems with some of the foods you listed in your Top Dry Dog Foods. First up, Blue Buffalo. They have had several recalls in the past. Listed ingredients include: Deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, etc. First off, I noticed several foods, including Wellness Core, which you rate highly, use brown rice as a second or third ingredient. All U.S. rice, brown, white, or organic, is naturally contaminated with arsenic in the hulls, so I refuse to feed my dog anything with rice in it. Rice is only a cheap filler anyway, so you’re losing zero nutrition when you cut it out.

Also, you have many foods in your Top Dry Dog Foods that rely heavily on grains. Look at Blue above: Brown rice (see above), barley, oatmeal, and the list goes on. Our dogs don’t need grains. They’re carnivores, not chickens. There are many dog foods who use cheaper grains like corn (that would be moldy hog corn), soy, wheat, etc. NONE of these are good for your dogs. Grain-free foods are best.

Orijen and Acana were wonderful foods when they were all made in Canada. Since they built a factory in Kentucky, the food’s quality has greatly declined and, before I left the group I referenced above, I saw many. many dogs get very sick or worse from eating Acana, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Wellness & Wellness Core, and several more of the foods you have listed in your Top Ten.

I’m not trying to cause trouble or be picky, I’m trying to share what I’ve learned about dog foods over the past nine years. Oh, and Diamond food and anything made by Diamond (like Taste of the Wild) — awful foods. Diamond has had several recalls and lots and lots of production issues. I wouldn’t recommend TOTW, Diamond, or anything else they produce.

I could go on and on but wanted to shed some light on what I’ve already read. I hope this information will help at least one person.

[Mike D]

Hi folks,
I have a 2 yr old female German Shepherd (about 65 lbs) who I’ve had a very difficult time finding a dry dog food that she will eat. About 3-4 weeks ago I switched to Victor Hi-Pro and she loves it (finally!) However, a side-affect has been terrible constipation. I mean her poops are super hard and I can see she’s having a hard time. I started adding a lot of warm water to her food to try to make sure she’s getting enough water (she’s not a big water drinker, even though we change her water throughout the day and make sure it’s always available). But that wasn’t working, so I read about adding canned pumpkin to help. I started this 2 days ago, gradually increasing it to about a half a can. I can tell it’s helping, as even though her stools are still hard, they are slightly softer than they were. Also, she keeps biting at her tail/bum area, and it looks a bit red down there, which I imagine is due to the irritation in the anal area due to constipation, but I’m no vet.

Anyway, all that is background info to ask if anyone else has had a similar experience and if so, did you switch to another Victor formula that remedied this?

I’m hoping for a simple solution, like just switching to a different Victor formula (and not having to do the, “get these really hard to find ingredients and blend them up a special way, preparing a week ahead of time…”-type stuff).

Would love to hear from anyone who’s had a similar experience and found a solution.

Thanks!

[Nellie P]

Shelby L you can’t give omeprizole as needed, because it takes a week to start working. You also have to be really careful if you’re giving Prilosec OTC as the pills are time released, so you should try to keep your dog from chewing them if possible. One of my dogs is on it and I have to push the pill towards the back of her mouth so she swallows it instead of chews. Medications that you can give for quick relief from symptoms are Pepcid or Pepto-bismol, but if your dog is on a systemic steroid like prednisone don’t give Pepto.
My two chihuahuas (they’re related, aunt and niece) both have acid reflux issues. My youngest Nilla has been to the vet so many times for GI issues. Her symptoms have ranged from nausea to diarrhea. There really hasn’t been much of a pattern to her symptoms, except that she’s most likely to have an episode at night or after a playtime with my other chihuahua. The really upsetting thing is that when she gets one of these episodes she often paces. She’ll run back and forth the length of our apt until total exhaustion. If we try to stop her she will fight us to keep pacing. We took her to an internal medicine vet, who said it could be acid reflux or IBS. We have noticed that both dogs lick the air and blankets, and Nilla burps quite a lot. Both dogs’ also have extremely loud bowel sounds, and their abdomens feel bloated in the hours after eating. Both dogs eat Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein Dry Kibble for small breeds and occasionally get a RC HP cat treat. I probably give gas-ex every day to at least one, but usually both of them. Nilla takes Prilosec, and has been on prednisone for the last several couple months, and my other dog Minxie takes Pepcid twice a day. Nilla has had an ultrasound which showed nothing abnormal, but I’ve been hesitant to get her scoped since it requires anesthesia. Nothing seems to work long-term for either dog’s symptoms, and I think the longest either dog has been symptom free was a week, but the symptoms always come back. Both dogs are fairly young (Minxie is 2 yrs and Nilla is 1.5 yrs) and it’s horrible that they can’t even enjoy playing since they get sick afterwards. I read in several posts that wetting their food might help so I will definitely try that. I gave probiotics in the beginning and it didn’t seem to do anything, but my vet gave a different kind so I will try them. I haven’t tried them yet, because the vet told me I couldn’t give the probiotic and metronidazole together. But we haven’t given the metro in a while so I’ll give the probiotic a try. I will also give apple cider vinegar a try, but I’m not sure of the dosage since both my dogs weigh about 4.5 lbs each. Has anyone had any luck with those food bowls that are designed to make dogs eat slower? Nilla tends to try to really quickly gulp her food down, which is definitely not helping her burping and gas problems. Sorry this post is so long. If anyone has any other suggestions they think might help, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

[Kate L]

Hi! I know this topic has been covered endlessly, but I wanted to share my experiences with allergies and maybe gain some insight on different kinds of food for my 7 year old staffy, Gumbo.

We adopted Gumbo when he was 2. He was missing hair, his coat was dull and rough, belly and paws were red and irritated, and he was constantly scratching. The only allergy we were informed of was chicken. He was immediately started on a prescription diet of Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein. It helped slightly, but still itchy and red.

After not seeing much of a difference with the prescription diet, I tried a few store bought foods. Zignature Kangaroo, Taste of the Wild (with fish) and Instinct (can not remember which we tried.) Nothing really helped and we put him back on the prescription diet, this time Royal Canin Ultamino. We do not feed any treats-just carrots and cucumbers.

Monthly cytopoint shots started two years after we got him which I would say brought him the most relief. He also got groomed monthly and bathed with oatmeal bath. Still not 100% but the best he had been. His nails were still red, raw and yeasty. I almost feel he has more of an environmental allergy at this point-different times of the year he seems better or worse.

Over the past few months I have noticed the cytopoint injections are not helping at all. I know it is dry in December where we reside, but his itch became unbearable. His breath was rotten. Coat looked terrible. Vet put him on antibiotics for a “skin infection.” The stink and extreme itch went away, but he was still uncomfortable.

Out of desperation I found an article online that said dehydrated beets had helped their dog considerably.
I immediately ordered and I can not even begin to explain the difference I’ve noticed in Gumbo this month. His nails are growing in completely white (which I have never seen before-they are always brown/red/streaky) his coat is gleaming and his energy is great. He is barely scratching himself. If anything he is still licking his paws, but we are trying to be diligent about wiping them down when wet and using medicated wipes and cream. Then we wrap him like a burrito so he can’t lick the cream off.

I know I shouldn’t mess with something that seems to be working-but I am also tempted to try another type of food with limited ingredients. At $100/month and our first baby on the way it would be great to find him a more cost-effective food and I just don’t love the idea of a kibble that is made in a lab. I’ve considered making his food-I just haven’t done enough research and want to make sure he’s getting the correct ratio of protein, vitamins and nutrients.

I just received a sample from Verus. I spoke with the operations manager and she recommended the menhaden fish formula. Gumbo loved it but it immediately gave him terrible gas..
“We truly believe that VeRUS could be the perfect fit for your furbaby. In addition to offering chelated and proteinated vitamins and minerals (where the body can absorb more efficiently than standard vitamins and minerals), we utilize wholesome ingredients without the use of synthetic chemical preservatives, fillers, or by products. Our cooking methods and standards of manufacturing are of the highest possible being that we are manufactured in an EU certified (European Union) facility. This mandates that each ingredient must be fit for human consumption with an increased level of testing to confirm only the best ingredients are trusted and safe to be used in our formulas. Reliability and transparency are the principles of VeRUS with dedication to nutrition being the guiding force.”

So I’m leaning towards trying a full bag of this food but wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on what has worked for their pup. I always feel for anyone going through allergy troubles because it has been something we have been dealing with for years. We really do everything we can for our furbabies! Thank you for reading my novel and any insight you may have.

[MaryBeth P]

Hello, I am new to the Forum and I was informed by Mike Sagman that I can share my information here. Full disclosure, I created a product and now sell it, however, I am a total believer in all natural ingredients–especially Turmeric, in our pet’s diets. Long story short, our dog, Teddy, developed cancer, sarcoma of the mouth, and after 6 weeks of testing, he was given “2 weeks” to live. Prior to that, he stopped eating, so I started doing research on dog cancer and what people were doing naturally. After reading tons of information, I gathered some cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory (human-grade) ingredients and mixed them together and added it to Teddy’s food at every meal. He started eating again and 4 months later his tumor completely eradicated and he lived 3 more years. We have helped other dogs with cancer and inflammation issues. You can read more at http://www.Teddysturmerictamer.com

[Jane R]

UPDATE to my post from 3/3/21: My dog’s licking, gulping episodes. hacking, along with tummy noises have pretty much completely stopped. Over the last 5 months, she has had a couple of episodes that lasted a couple of minutes. At that point I would let her go outside as it’s better to let her eat grass than what she can find indoors. Otherwise she’s been doing great!

So along with trial and error, and results from GI/barium study…The KEY things that has helped her are: 1. feeding her 3 small meals a day (versus 2 larger ones before); 2. no more essential oils, scented candles, scented laundry detergent, etc. 3. strict diet of her dog food (Fromm’s dry Duck mixed with a spoon or two of Purina ONE SmartBlend Tender Cuts in Gravy Chicken & Brown Rice or Purina ONE SmartBlend Tender Cuts in Gravy Lamb & Brown Rice as they are low in fat content), plain cooked chicken breast, Old Mother Hubbard dog biscuits treats, or dry dog biscuit for treats.

I had a barium/GI study done on her at the vet’s and was able to rule out any issues with how her food traveled from mouth through her GI tract…everything was normal. So that’s when I tried the three things listed above and it has been key to stopping the licking, gulping, etc, episodes.

What I’ve learned that can trigger her episodes are numerous things: eating too much at once, eating too fast, any food with higher fat content including all oil related supplements (fish oil, coconut oil, etc), fragrances. I’m also leery of any supplements for her at this point.

Bland is BEST; LESS is more. It took alot of trial and error, online research, vet visits, trying acid reflux medications, and reading all the helpful posts here too. When she has to take antibiotics from the vet, they can upset her tummy so he puts her on a pre-biotic he has at his office along with the antibiotic and it works great!

[Patricia A]

I looked at the Glandex reviews. I always start with the negative ones. So some dogs had adverse reactions to the supplement. But doesn’t hurt to try.
I find there is sometimes no rhyme or reason to why some of my dogs over the years had the scooting and others never had to have the expression of the glands.
Had a Doxie when kids were little and probably not on the best diet with all the table scraps and not knowing back then about kibble quality etc. But he never had soft stool, or anal problems. Lived a long life of over 17 for our Pookie. Had Chloe our first Chihuahua and even though stool was never loose, had the scooting and always needed expression.
My mom came to live with us and hence we also have added to our already two Chihuahuas’. I know my mom was giving her table scraps and even found her dog bowl filled with Pepperidge Farm gold fish due to start of dementia.
So now living with us, she has lost a few needed pounds and on and loose stool has totally stopped with diet I give our other two. So living with my mom she was getting too much fat in diet which also causes my two to have Diarrhea.
I feed a combination of freeze dried in Primal and Stella Chewy’s. Their treat is one Bixbi Rawbble nugget. They get a little Stella Chewy’s Raw coated chicken kibble to stretch the freeze dried since now it’s getting expensive with having three.
I always go by the DFA reviews and only get the 5* proteins because I believe less fat.
Treats are high fiber raw baby carrots and string beans being canned low salt or raw.
I went REALLY, REALLY, REALLY slow when introducing these different brands and proteins. This way I can tell which doesn’t agree and also it takes a few days for digestion to get used to. Maybe stick switch SLOWLY with a few Stella’s kibble. See how she does. Then if want and all good add a little freeze dried in one brand and protein. Stella’s also comes with the freeze dried in the kibble.
Hope this helps her but sometimes it isn’t even the diet .

[Isabella Britain H]

The best thing you can do about bloat is read about it. There is so much info from sources of knowledge, (i.e. research universities)
The other thing is looking at the breed club’s site.

Home

Look under the health tab.
There should be a chair or someone who knows far better than me who can answer your questions.

IBH

[Penelope S]

Here’s the thing….I have a senior dog (going on 14) who was also diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. At the time, he was in major need of a teeth cleaning & that was the reason for the bloodwork. Other than the bloodwork saying something was wrong, he was (& still is) utterly asymptomatic – & as fit, energetic & active as a young dog. We did all the tests, including ultrasound & his kidneys themselves were perfect. Still, the vet didn’t want to do the teeth cleaning…despite all my arguments to the case that dental disease could be a contributing factor. So, I did the whole kidney prescription diet for nearly a year in an attempt to get his levels low enough that my vet would do the cleaning. It was a nightmare for both of us. He HATED – I mean HATED – the food. No matter what flavor or prescription brand I tried. He looked like I was punishing him every time I put a dish of it in front of him. The wet food especially – it smelled like a jar of old pennies so I can’t say I blame him. I could get him to eat it ONLY if I pretended it was a treat & fed him one kibble at a time – so that’s what I did. Guess what. After almost a year on that stuff, his kidney levels barely improved by a fraction of a fraction. His teeth got worse though. Like really a lot worse. Also, because of the super low protein content in these foods, he lost significant muscle mass. I read the ingredients…literally garbage. Wheat gluten, corn gluten, egg “product”, and chemicals…and way more fat (not from quality sources) than the high quality foods I’d been feeding him prior (are muscle wasting & pancreatitis a good tradeoff for kidney disease…?).

Last summer, he almost died. Spent a week in the emergency room after I rushed him there w a swollen face & 103 fever in late July 2020, came home a skeleton (they sent him home to die). Lost a tooth his last day at the ER – & was likely so sick thanks to a nasty abscess. IV antibiotics – heavy duty – the whole time he was there & immunosuppressant doses of prednisone. I syringe fed him high calorie dog food at home for a month, carried him downstairs for potty breaks because he was too weak. He lived though – got stronger. I weaned him off the steroids & did not go back to the prescription food. I started feeding him the food he was on prior to the whole mess – grain free, limited ingredient food, plus green tripe, egg whites…other things like boiled ground meats to vary his diet. Kept his protein high – (because it’s actually BAD to reduce protein in senior dogs & there’s no actual basis for doing so in early stages of CKD), fat moderate, looked up protein sources lower in phosphorus like lamb & beef (in comparison to poultry & salmon). He gained weight, including muscle & his energy levels came back. Most notably, he was excited about meal times again.

I switched to a new vet about 3 months after his ER visit. She said she didn’t understand why the first one wouldn’t do the teeth cleaning way back when. She also said that his bloodwork showed much greater improvement in his kidney levels since I switched back to his old diet compared to tests taken just prior to his ER stay. So we scheduled his teeth cleaning. Before all this started, the old vet had estimated he’d need about 5 or 6 teeth pulled. He ended up losing 14 because they had deteriorated so much in the time since this entire ordeal started. He flew through the cleaning w no issues & was up & running a couple days after. I’m still feeding him the same way & his kidney levels are consistently improving – almost normal levels when I had him tested a couple months after his cleaning. My new vet said I have been doing an excellent job w his diet, is happy w all his bloodwork & now he only has to get it checked at his semi annual checkups (instead of every month like the old vet at $250 a pop). He’s in excellent condition now. He’s a Shepherd/Shiba mix &, when I tell people he’s nearly 14, the reaction is complete disbelief. He keeps up no problem w my 2yr old female APBT mix who is extremely high energy. I have no doubt I will get several more years out of my good boy. Bottom line – do the research, get the 2nd opinions, & never assume your vet (or your own doctor for that matter) know a dang thing about nutrition. Basically find a vet who will work with you rather than one who can’t think “outside the box” or be bothered to keep up w more current research. They sell these foods based on what the manufacturers “sell” them. I wish there was a way to upload photos here – you would not believe the before & after.

[Srah P]

This is my first time posting here, I owned a pitbull for a while so I am familiar with the ins and outs of their nutrition. As you already know, Pitbulls are very active so I didn’t worry that much about protein and fat percentages in my dog food, basically the more the merrier as long as it is higher than 25%.

The one thing you should be careful is the carbohydrates percentages, our dogs don’t need them, and dog food brands are not required to list carbs on their labels so a lot of brands stuff their dog food with a lot of carbs and they can go up to 50% which is crazy, because that’s only sugar, and again our dogs don’t need it at all. Check out these guys: https://dogsupplyinsider.com/best-dog-food-for-pitbulls/ they share pretty good stuff about Pitbull nutrition. With that being said, I hope this answer helps you.

Keep me up with what you do because that would be pretty insightful for me 🙂

[mary J]

It is a widespread problem for dog lovers. A few years ago, I realized that many soy food producers add elements that disrupt the cycle in female dogs by adding additives that cause even greater appetite in dogs. Thus, the dog is eating more and more, but it begins to have health problems. I don’t understand how you can do business so coolly, knowing that you kill animals. I advise you to read about dogs on https://pawbility.com/blue-nose-pitbull/; there is a lot of helpful information collected there for those who are interested in dogs and their health. If you know something more, please share here to prevent something bad

[Gem F]

CORN is NO NO for.any canine, esp w chronic diarrhea! Its totally undigestable & is a CHEAP filler in ANY dog food. I have rescued wolfdogs that are more sensitive to most commercial foods as it is.
NO GRAIN – another NO NO – they use mostly subsitutes that are on the list for Dilated CardioMyopathy – As is ‘Taste of the Wild’, which is technically cheaper made food trying to pass for premium. I’ll stick with FDA’s findings (see post I replied to similar question below).

So far American Natural Pro has been on the top of my list, usually lamb or fish WITH GRAIN (never a recall & no FDA DCM warning ingredients) Others that are similar to note (& still affordable) – Eagle Pack, Victor & a VERY LIMITED few Nutro – but read all ingredients first.

————————–

JUST AS AN FYI – I would be super cautious
about grain-free foods & any ingredients in the 1st top 10 that are pea, legume (chickpeas, lentils, ‘beans’, potato (incl sweet), etc. bc of the FDA & Vet study implicating those ingredients/ types of dog foods to CANINE DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY, after a long list of reported dog deaths & severe permanent damage (also in cats) fir breeds NOT PRONE to DCM. I think they’ve updated their findings more recently as well & they do have charts providing all the names of the DOG FOOD BRANDS also implicated – and MOST of them are big, top brands – esp grain free.

I too am in the same situation w my Wolfhound mix since the day I got him… Haven’t found a food yet, that works on its own (& over his 2 years on earth) have been theu countless brands – esp with the RED FLAG INGREDIENTS in mind. American Natural Premium was close, but then 2 of my 3 started scratching endlessly – so we’re back looking for the one out there that has to exist (fingers crossed! )
As another FYI – just to give your pooch a little break at least (they’ve got to be more than a little sore having such a chronic issue) – get a bag of OLEWO Carrots! Prepare & use EXACTLY as instructed (there are some lazy ppl out there trying to make shortcuts that will not help). A little expensive but soo WORTH IT! I make weekly batches (then refridgerate) & use coconut oil, then mix in either a small can of pumpkin or pureed baby food carrots, sometimes butternut squash so they’re not as dry & mix well (I also make a batch in a gallon zip bag to mix/coat well for 3 dogs at feeding time). It is a total Godsend, though am seriously hoping to find ‘the’ food that we can some day use wout the Olewo Carrots… (& trust me, other types of carrots – pureed, grated, whatever or even just pumpkin on its own does NOT work anything like the Olewo does) Chewy & Amazon (a little cheaper/ bugger bags)

*************

Look into the more recent updates at the FDA on this study that has resulted in those ingredients being responsible. ALSO, aside from how bad peas are – they are also a CHEAP way of mfg’s CHEATING in falsely boosting ‘protein content’ – as the USDA testing dog foods ‘assume’ protein present is animal based… a little loophole they’re going to have to address ASAP as welk!

In July 2018, the FDA announced that it had begun investigating reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods, many labeled as “grain-free,” which contained a high proportion of peas, lentils, other legume seeds (pulses), and/or potatoes in various forms (whole, flour, protein, etc.) as main ingredients (listed within the first 10 ingredients in the ingredient list, before vitamins and minerals). Many of these case reports included breeds of dogs not previously known to have a genetic predisposition to the disease. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN), a collaboration of government and veterinary diagnostic laboratories, continue to investigate this potential association. Based on the data collected and analyzed thus far, the agency believes that the potential association between diet and DCM in dogs is a complex scientific issue that may involve multiple factors.

[MashaT22]

Hi all! Hoping someone out there can help me out.

My service dog has had extreme food and environmental allergies since 2017. Back then, the vet felt he could eat a non-prescription diet as long as we avoided the proteins that he was allergic to. For anyone that has done allergy tests at the vet, they’ll know a 300 for each allergen is severe. My boys tested anywhere from 300 to 2000+, mostly on the upper end of that scale. However, there were still enough types of food that he was not allergic to thankfully which meant I could just avoid what we knew he was allergic to and feed what we knew he wasn’t allergic to. I just had to carefully read labels if I gave him new treats and we kept to the same food formula.

I recently noticed changes in his symptoms to the environmental allergies during/after he was going outside, so we redid his allergy tests again since it’s been a long time. To my surprise (because I don’t see any obvious symptoms after I feed him any food/treats), we learned that he’s now allergic to so many types of food and environmental allergens that he’s practically allergic to himself! Some allergens go as high as 2800 — it’s dairy, some plant based foods/oils, and all proteins they can test for (they can’t test every type of food out there obviously), Amazingly, there are no issues with wheat, corn, etc.

Anyway, the vet initially suggested Ultamino from Royal Canin. Problem number one is that I’m bothered by the main protein is chicken by-product (aka junk) rather than chicken or chicken meal. This is a service dog that needs the best possible nutrition, and the service dog organization told us to stay away from anything listing byproducts on the label. It’s a bit shocking that a prescription diet could theoretically contain who knows what in it. I am also concerned why corn starch is listed as the first ingredient — and I see a similar trend of some weird ingredients being listed as the first ingredient when I looked at some other hydrolyzed brands like Science Diet. Doesn’t seem very nutritious to have weird things like corn starch as the first ingredient.

The second problem is the price. There’s no way I can afford these prescription options. My boy has been eating Science Diet Chicken and Barley formula for a very long time now. A 35 lbs bag is usually $55-$60 and lasts and 6-8 weeks. Ultamino, as an example, is only sold in 19 lbs for $99 each. That means I’d have to spend WAY more on Ultamino for the equivalent amount of pounds (ie, two 19 lbs bags for $200) than what I’m spending now on SD. I don’t mean to put a price on my priceless boy, but I sadly just don’t have that kind of money given my financial circumstances.

That being said, I’m looking for alternatives that may cost less and have the maximum nutrition value possible. The vet told me that any brand/formula I feel is suitable (he knows I’m knowledgeable about canine nutrition and labels) so long as it’s a hydrolyzed formula. I’d prefer a non-prescription option because I have more of a chance of being able to catch sales, apply coupon codes, and not have to constantly request refills — however, I am also open to less costly prescription options that are healthier without byproducts and weird ingredients than Ultamino. It also must be kibble to abide by rules set by the service dog school due to the way they are trained. He cannot eat wet food.

I would also like to understand why the diets I’ve looked at have weird ingredients as the first ingredient. I’m guess it has something to do with the hydrolyzing process, but why would the amount exceed the amount of protein and most of the actual food in the ingredients? It’s concerning to me, and I’d love more information about this if anyone has it.

There is an old topic that is closed to posts where a someone there recommended a specific formula from WholeHearted that is hydrolyzed and sold without a prescription. /forums/topic/nonprescription-hydrolyzed-protein-dog-food/

I am hoping there might be more options being that the above post is from 2018. This WholeHearted formula is a pea-based, grain-free formula that can lead to DCM in dogs. Being that my boy isn’t allergic to grains, I’d prefer a food option “with” grains that so I won’t have to start supplementing taurine and monitoring him for potential DCM issues.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and respond! I’m very passionate about my boy’s health and well-being. He’s perfectly healthy thankfully other than the allergies he developed shortly after I brought him home from service dog school at age 2.5. Any input would be deeply appreciated.

[aimee]

Hi Patricia,

Fair enough, you’d like a more detailed answer. What led me to say that you have been misled by marketing information is because you said you’d learned it was an empty filler. From a nutritional standpoint a filler is something without nutritional benefit. Air, water and fiber would meet that definition, yet even fiber can have benefits for the colon. Corn supplies essential amino acids , essential fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, and energy and therefore it does not meet the definition of “filler”

I would respectively disagree with DFA that corn is only of marginal nutritional value. Certainly it is not a complete food and its primary value is being a source of energy but it has attributes that I believe elevate it from marginal status.

A place to dive deeper is to utilize Pub Med to read the original research on the use of corn as an ingredient in pet foods. This is a decent review article https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34078195/ but the true value is in mining the references and reading those supporting papers.

It has been years since I went through and read all the research on corn. As I recall, one of the unique features of corn is the amino acid profile that is relatively high in the essential sulfur containing amino acids. This may be important when formulating a controlled protein food yet need to meet essential amino acids.

In regards to modifying a diet for kidney patients, controlling phosphorus is key Protein is a source of phosphorus and my understanding is that when using plant based protein the phosphorus is less absorbable. This could be desired for a kidney patient.

For me corn is neither “good” or “bad” it just is… and like anything has pros and cons.

I’d also think that other factors weigh in as to what ingredients are chosen as a means to supply nutrients.

[Patricia A]

James again my bad when just scanned your post . Trying to do my best in caring for my elderly mom with dementia. Just not doing a thorough job of reading between lines and replying in what I always hoped was some tidbit of helpful advice from my past experiences in having owned and cared for dogs since my kids were little.
It’s obvious from your post that you are a VERY responsible dog owner . Should never judge since been there ourselves with spending $1000 and two weeks later another problem which we would resolve when we waited a few days. Can write a book on serious health issues which the vet actually caused. Autoimmune issues from a shot which dog needed bone marrow test to detererimen it was response from a lepto shot. Chloe in for x-rays at 13 because of labored breathing. Showed Pneumonia . Sent home with meds and told she’ll be fine. Middle of the night gasping for air. Passed in car. Healthy puppy given kennel cough immunization before being spayed and came down with a VERY BAD COLD from the intranasal . Then given to my immune compromised(the one with the lepto shot). UHHH VETS: Do no harm but not always the case.

Never considered looking into supplements. So when have time will educate myself . Always prefer more holistic solutions then strong meds which cause more serious side effects then the problem itself.
So having had a Doxie own us. lol my only advice s weight and back issues. I’m sure you’re aware of this though. The yelping when touched could be disc related that is so common in the long backed Doxies. No jumping off couch . Also the pain would cause the panting .
Orthopedic bedding . Sometimes the bottom of the dog beds have no support and they lay on floor.
Wishing Dalilah many more years of a happy healthy life.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Patricia A.

[James H]

Before the inevitable “take her to a vet” responses, I just want to say I’m not able to take her at this time, so I just wanted to see if anyone has had an experience like this with their dogs before.

Heres the deal, about 2 days ago, I noticed that my 14 year old dachshund named Dalilah had puffy upper lip folds. They were both equally visibly puffy.

That same night, she was frantically walking around whining and excessively licking the carpet.

The face puffiness is gone and the carpet licking has stopped, however, for the past day or 2 since this happened, she has been lethargic, and also very nervous and scared. If I touch her with the slightest pressure, she yelps loudly and nips at me.

She also has bouts of quick labored breathing and what appears to be disorientation.

Heres the kicker though, her appetite has been excellent. She eats all of her food and even barks at me to out her food in the bowl faster when she sees me grab her food from the fridge (something shes always done). Here food by the way used to be zignature canned venison limited ingredient formula, now shes on stella and chewy’s raw frozen food beef formula.

She doesnt get around as much as she did before all this happened, but when it’s food time, she gets right up enthusiastically and walks into the kitchen.

I switched her food after this happened, thinking that a more wolf like diet is more biologically appropriate and therefore healthier.

Shes also urinating and defecating perfectly normal.

I dont know if she got bit by an insect or what, but heres what I’ve been giving her supplement wise:

– manuka honey 1tsp per day (umf 20)

– dr mercolas probiotics

– dr mercolas liver and kidney support

– hawthorn berry liquid (in case it’s a heart issue)

– Cbd oil specifically for pets to help her sleep

– Bio C vitamin c with bioflavanoids for pets

– Nordic naturals ultimate omega fish oil for dogs

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this.

Based on all of these symptoms, face puffiness, licking the carpet, acting scared, does anyone have any possible idea of what this sounds like??? I’m completely stumped.

[Anna B]

We’ve been feeding our lab TOTW’s Pacific Stream Canine Recipe for just over a year now. He’s done well with it and never had any issues until now. We just bought a new bag yesterday (Sunday) and fed him dinner. Today (Monday) he ate breakfast and threw up mid/late afternoon. He ate dinner and has thrown up twice since.

I’m convinced it’s the food. He’s not had any treats since starting this new bag of TOTW, and he’s not been boarded or anywhere unsupervised where he could’ve gotten into something. And he’s not been around other dogs to have caught something.

We’ve been told recently by our vet that TOTW is one of the worst foods you can feed your pet, but we just brushed it off and thought “there’s always going to be something wrong with whatever you decide on”. I’ve done some reading about the whole grain-free thing and how TOTW was included in the list of 16 dog foods that were the worst “offenders” of myocarditis. Maybe it’s God’s timing that the vet mentioned what they did and our poor dog is responding the way he is with this new bag of food. Now I’m on the hunt for new dog food that’s made by a trustworthy company…

[Moni T]

Hi everyone i have a 12 yr 4lb chihuahua.
That got diagnosed with tc about a yr ago. My vet came up with a plan which involve getting a pentason shot 4 time in 1 month then 1 shot monthly. Which helped with his cough and although it used for restless leg syndrome the side effect is that it help the trachea maintain from getting worse so quickly.
But a week ago on monday he staring having a coughing fit so i rushed him to the vet they took xray and it was determines that his trachea had servely collaspe so they prescriped this medication call cerenia (it for neaseua but it also trick the brain into not coughing) it a little on the expensive side 6 dollars a pill but my pup is so small the pill can be cut in 1/4 so 8 pills will do a month. Also i did a consult with a specilast yesterday. And they want to try the cough suppersent first before placing a sent. So hes will getting is pentason shot once a month a cerenia 1/4 pill every 24 hr and hydrocodone liquid form every 6 hours. So far so good i heard him cough like twice compared to coughing almost 24 hours straight that was my breaking my heart. So that all the meds i give him .

but i also i bought on chewy.com from zesty paw the 11 in 1 multivitamin it help with his guts his bladder hip joints skin etc. And it helped alot.

Also changing my ac filter out twice a month. Air purifer and scent free laundry detergent. When i clean my floors i vacum right quick n then put in outside for like 10 mins while i mop with a very light scent mr clean. That doesnt upset him at all.
Also i dnt take him outside if i dont have to i have decided to just put pee pee pads down and let him do his business inside.
Also no candle n no smoke near him at all i smoke(im trying to quit for my n his sake) so ive always gone outside but what i do now is have a shirt i put on to smoke and one i switch out of before i even go near him. If u have air plug in from glade i use clean linen and if you have the febreeze plugin i use the downy or clean linen aswell. N you only need 1 you dont need one in all rooms my pup hasnt responded bad at all to the changed ive done for him. He better with everything we switched up

I cannot stress this enough please get them there bordetella shot every 6 months. Kennel cough is no joke if they have tc.

I hope this helps you guys.
And i hope your pups are doing good and well as i hope mine does for a long while to come. And hopefully dnt need surgery just quite yet. Cause that freaks me out thinking about loosing him. But dnt get me wrong i will do it in a heart beat if the doctor tells me its time

Take it one step at a time guys dont give up. Dnt lose hope there new thing always coming out to help improve there condition a little. N also talk to your vet about a raw diet mine recommend it. You can make it at home or buy the prepackaged one already if you can. (Do research first)

[Tracey G]

I am in the same boat. Walter, half shitzu and mutt, developed pancreatitis about 10 years ago after prednisone for allergies. The apoquel was not a help and was expensive. He is now 13. He has been on Hills low fat diet for years with no issues. If and when we tried something else, he had a flare up. We just picked him up from the vet today after having stone surgery. They pulled out a huge stone. It has been sent to the lab, but I’m pretty sure it’s a calcium oxalate stone. I read where carrots and spinach can cause this. He is addicted to carrots, so those have to go. I’m terrified his pancreatitis will flare up on the kidney diet after reading what you all have been through.

Is it possible to use both foods? Will any fat send him into a pancreatic flare up? Like you all, he is our baby. I will do anything including cook his foods. It’s interesting to note there are many other dogs with these issues.

Piki, I too am so sorry about your doggie. What enzyme would the doctor have added? Very curious.

[Closed Acct]

Your dog’s bad breath is a bigger problem than you think! It’s actually a symptom of Periodontal disease caused by bacteria infection. If left untreated, it could even spread to the heart, kidney, and liver. With this kit’s help, harmful bacteria in your fur baby’s mouth will have no where to hide.Now you can rest assured that you don’t need to waste time and money at the vet and still keep your dog happy and healthy. Pet Teeth Cleaning Pen

[Closed Acct]

Your dog’s bad breath is a bigger problem than you think! It’s actually a symptom of Periodontal disease caused by bacteria infection. If left untreated, it could even spread to the heart, kidney, and liver. With this kit’s help, harmful bacteria in your fur baby’s mouth will have no where to hide.Now you can rest assured that you don’t need to waste time and money at the vet and still keep your dog happy and healthy. Pet Teeth Cleaning Pen

[VALERIE M]

Same thing I just went through with my dog. Loose stool coated with a bloody mucous, then right after pooping, a good sized drop of blood.
I read something on facebook about a massive dog food recall and in looking that up lead to the lawsuit, looking up the lawsuit lead to an article on the best food for your dog. That said, “If your dog looks good, eats good and poops good, you’ve found it.” My dog didn’t have any of those three, so I went to tractor supply and got him some 4 Health, kibble and canned. He always liked it, but they were out of stock often and it was convenient to order the RR from Chewy. After the first day without the RR, the blood drop stopped, and the second day there was no blood at all. The third day he had his pep back.
This all happened this week. I find it hard to believe that the food hasn’t improved in all of these years since the first post.

[crazy4cats]

Did You Know? AAFCO Doesn’t Approve Pet Foods

Despite what you may read, there is no such thing as “AAFCO-approved” or “AAFCO-certified” pet foods! The Association of American Feed Control Officials – better known as AAFCO – is an important association of local, state, and federal officials. AAFCO creates model language for definitions, guidance, and best-practices related to the regulation of pet foods, but it doesn’t “regulate, test, approve or certify pet food.” (AAFCO Talks Pet Food). Each individual state has its own feed laws, regulations, and policies and, while most states base them on AAFCO’s Model Bill and Model Regulations, it is the local, state, and federal authorities that actually regulate pet food.

I was recently reminded of this common misconception about “AAFCO-approved” pet foods when a veterinarian asked whether a certain new cat food was a good one to recommend. I have a standard process to answer that question for any manufacturer I’m not familiar with (which isn’t uncommon since there are more than 200 different manufacturers in the United States, with many new ones popping up every year). Rather than making the common mistakes, such as focusing on the ingredient list or ratings websites, my first step is to ask the important and more informative questions we’ve discussed before to ensure the manufacturer has the necessary nutritional expertise and quality control.

When I looked at the cat food manufacturer’s website to try to answer these questions, one of the things that caught my eye was a statement that all their foods were “AAFCO-approved”. This is not new – I’ve seen many other pet foods make this claim and have even heard veterinarians recommend buying a pet food that is “AAFCO-certified.” Hopefully, after reading this post, Petfoodology readers will know that there is no such thing! Perpetuation of this myth by a pet food manufacturer is a red flag and suggests that they probably don’t have a clear understanding of how pet food is regulated.

Since there is not a national or even state agency that approves pet foods or regularly tests every manufacturer’s products, we emphasize the criteria promoted by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association which highlight the importance of nutritional expertise and rigorous quality control to ensure you’re feeding a high quality food to your pet, rather than just one with good marketing. Pet food labels currently provide very little useful information and I find that most pet owners are misreading the information that is on the label. Asking the right questions can help you make a more informed decision about your pet’s food.

Lisa M. Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Lisa M. Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Dr. Freeman is a veterinary nutritionist and a professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She is on the cutting-edge of science, with hundreds of articles in prestigious journals, speaking engagements at national and international conferences, and awards for her scientific achievements. However, she also is passionate about providing objective and accurate information on pet nutrition to veterinarians, pet owners, and other animal enthusiasts.

[Ron L]

I buy as much Aldi’s Pure Being Salmon and Potato as I can find in my local store. My dog Bentely loves it, and it is gonea soon as I put the bowl down and turn my back. He is a 5 year old Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix. He turns up his nose at Pedigree beef chunks in gravy, but will eat Purina 1 Lamb and Rice or Lamb and Vegetables, though without gusto. He will generally eat only half of the kibbles I mix in with the wet stuff. I bought Pedigree beef in gravy at Walmart at $.83/can and he frowned at the bowl, but eventually after hours of protest, ate it later in the day. Too bad, it was cheap.

I do not feel it necessary to buy expensive dog food. As one of my vets said, they joked in school that since dogs are scavengers, and so the only advantage of feeding them expensive food is better feces! I realize that there may be some benefit from expensive food, but I have had several dogs each for 15-16 years, and always fed them moderately priced stuff. It is kind of like Apple and Sony, some brands market themselves as “premium quality” in order to make more profit. I won’t fall for that. Some people feel less guilt and better about themselves when they buy expensive dog food. If you want to be convinced expensive food is better for them, you will be convinced because you want to be. It is like voting if you think about it.

My point is, although he smells of fish when he finishes, he licks his bowl clean when he is fed the Pure Being Salmon and Potato. He does not get the runs from it, and when I run out and he has to eat a substitute, his digestive system tolerates it. It is fortunate Aldi’s is only 5 minutes away.

Bentley, (who is a rescue dog), will practically pry open the lid of the can to get at the Salmon and Potato. I wish it was Salmon and Sweet Potato, (which I think I remember Aldi’s also sold before.) I paid $1.55/can yesterday and found 7 cans mixed in with the chicken/beef mixture cans. You sometimes have to rummage around the open cartons to find the salmon cans.

I NEVER feed my dog chicken. I believe it causes allergies in some dogs, and I am not fond of buying the allergy medication. He has already cost me, after 9 months, what I paid for my first Super Beetle in 1971.

[Joanne S]

For anyone wanting to know more about Ross Wells raw food…

Since the Ross Wells Titan Red and Titan Blue blends…AAFCO for ALS commercial raw grinds…have been discussed lately on threads where people are looking to reduce their costs or because DIY is not a good fit and because I know the two brothers (John and Robert) who own Ross Wells, it crossed my mind that others might be interested in what I know about them. So here goes for starters and any questions just ask…I’ll do my best. But John is very easy to talk to and the absolute best resource since he produces these foods. If you are interested call John at 262-242-0200 to see if there is a buying group near you…they don’t all have an online presence for Google or Facebook to find. Each buying group will add prorated shipping costs and those will vary by group size and location.

Is RW the Cadillac of commercial raw grinds? No. But the RW Titans are a very good pre-made, complete and balanced raw grind priced affordably enough for pretty much anyone who feeds a decent quality kibble. I’ve been feeding RW to multiple dogs for over 15 years. As have many of my friends since RW is local for us. And we all feel blessed to be in RW’s back yard for in person pick up at either their plant in Medford, WI or their office in Mequon, WI.

The reasons Ross Wells products are so inexpensive are as follows. They don’t market their products at all. They recently created a website and it’s very no frills. Most people don’t understand how terribly expensive marketing is. They also don’t ship product below a large minimum order so only buying groups and zoos, etc. can afford to order their products shipped…a huge overhead savings. And their product packaging is very basic. They don’t spend money on pretty. John and his brother Robert are two very down to earth guys who epitomize Midwestern values…they are in business to make a profit but they are not profit driven. And John is constantly looking for low pricing on raw materials. The only downside is that not everyone lives within reasonable driving distance to a RW buying group or to their plant or office.

Ross Wells raw foods do not contain 3/4D meat. Many years ago when RW began producing raw food, they used to make a raw grind *specifically for*, at *their request* and sold *only to* sled dog team handlers who fed tens to hundreds of dogs and to other customers who specifically requested it. These mushers directly requested 3/4D meat in order to reduce their monumental feeding costs. RW has always used only human grade meat for their pet food lines and stopped producing the sled dog line a few years ago when some of their pet food customers had concerns about potential cross contamination.

Titan Red and Titan Blue do not contain charcoal. The RW single proteins didn’t used to contain charcoal but do now because the state forced John to denature them to prevent them from potentially being misconstrued as human food. Ross Wells’ main business is ingredient sales to major dog food companies so once they pick up human grade meats with their trucks those meats automatically lose their legal human grade food status. Chain of custody is very important to the USDA.

There are a few raw food distributors who now stock Ross Wells products but their ship charges can be hefty. You can always call John to verify that he provides product to the distributor you are considering if you’d like to confirm product authenticity.

[Patricia A]

Mary when i read your post this part really stuck out for me. .(. Well now, 2 1/2 years later, we had episodes of vomiting. ( this giy eats so much junk in our yard..rabbit poo for on..as Im right there with him..he finds it..hes tiny and low to the ground and finds whatever..before I can grab him).
It sounds too easy, but is it possible that his foraging habits are at least contributing to his gastro distress ? My one will eat anything off the ground in the backyard. Whether from birds dropping food, found her scraping up kibble that I imagine a squirrel got and buried from strays being fed outside etc. Got her out of the habit of eating her own pooh. These habits would always cause vomiting and diarrhea. I keep a close eye on her in our backyard now.
Maybe a walk instead of letting giving her even a chance to eat from the ground. See if that makes any difference in her gastro distress.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by Patricia A.

[Maria P]

We just adopted an 8 month old shepherd/lab mix that tested positive for distemper. She’s on antibiotics and we do understand that depending on how it progresses, she may not make it. But we are hopeful due to her age, the fact that she did have some immunity since she had one vaccine already, the fact that she’s had it for 4 weeks with no neurological issues, etc. okay- now on to the food part. She’s also extremely picky. She will only pick here and there. I’ve bought everything under the sun (raw, dehydrated, kibble, canned) and she probably eats 1 tablespoon of anything at a time. So I’ve resorted to giving her small things here are there- 2 apple slices, a little cooked egg, some string cheese, a little chicken, a handful of good quality kibble (Stella & chewy’s), lamb lung treats (her favorite). Do you think this is okay while she’s ill? She’s very underweight due to her illness and the fact that she won’t eat. Any suggestions? I feel like I’ve tried it all. (Broth, goat milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc)

[Maria P]

We just adopted an 8 month old shepherd/lab mix that tested positive for distemper. She’s on antibiotics and we do understand that depending on how it progresses, she may not make it. But we are hopeful due to her age, the fact that she did have some immunity since she had one vaccine already, the fact that she’s had it for 4 weeks with no neurological issues, etc. okay- now on to the food part. She’s also extremely picky. She will only pick here and there. I’ve bought everything under the sun (raw, dehydrated, kibble, canned) and she probably eats 1 tablespoon of anything at a time. So I’ve resorted to giving her small things here are there- 2 apple slices, a little cooked egg, some string cheese, a little chicken, a handful of good quality kibble (Stella & chewy’s). Do you think this is okay while she’s ill? She’s very underweight due to her illness and the fact that she won’t eat. Any suggestions? I feel like I’ve tried it all. (Broth, goat milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc)

[Susan]

Hi Sienna,
How is the Budosenide going is it helping?? How’s is her Arthritis has that been checked???

I was at the vets on Tuesday 8am for Blood test + talk with vet about Patch he’s gone down hill again, I was 100% Patch had all the symptom of Cushing syndrome, he’s drinking & drinking water, weeing, has pain – shaking, flinching when I touch him, he’s been following me 24/7, he wont let me out of his sight, crying whinging, up & down all night, he cant settle at night, so I went vet got full Blood test done & they came back all good 🙁
BUT 1 thing vet found was Patch has Arthritis front left paw, she said dogs use their front paws the most & they end up with Arthritis, I knew about his back top of his left leg some type of bone is growing out & he’s on monthly Cartrophen Vet Injections to help with his Arthritis, Cartrophen was doing wonders not interfering with his stomach & bowel no side effects, but now its not helping like it did 2 yrs ago, so now vet wanted to try Provicox 1/4 of a tablet to start with for his Arthritis, Provicox can interfere with stomach bowel & cause GI problems, she said she has had great results with dogs like Patch who suffer with IBD & cant take certain Arthritis medications, Wednesday day he seemed OK after having his 1/4 Provicox tablet but Thursday night I was up 1/2 the night Patches stomach was rumbling, grumbling, normally I make dry dark toast this helps stop his rumbling bowel noises but he wouldn’t eat the toast just wanted grass, he has his sore throat from bad acid reflux again & I think the Provicox has made Acid reflux worse as he’s been swallowing suckling, so I gave him dry Salada lite biscuit broken up in pieces, he likes Salada lite biscuits they have salt on them, they stopped the gasses rumbling thru his bowel & we went to sleep finally.. I ant believe his Arthritis is causing all his symptoms drinking water, weeing, whinging etc the vet said that would be his IBD probably stomach pain. 🙁

Sometimes I just wish it would all end but vet wont put him to sleep yet, she said he’s not ready & covers up his ears, & says don’t listen to your mum Patch he has heaps of life left, lol but he has more bad days then good day with his Arthritis pain, He just turned 12yrs old 20th November…
I’ve been giving him CBD Oil 3 drops on a piece of Salada dry biscuit before bed at night, this has helped & he sleeps thru the night but it didnt help him last night.
I hope the Budosenide is helping, my vet wouldn’t let me try Budosenide on Patch years ago she said there wasn’t enough good research done yet but that was 5-6 yrs ago. H

[WondrousPups]

Hi Sienna!
It’s not strange at all. It’s good of you to update what’s been going on with you and your beloved pup. Glad to hear that both the internist and the behaviorist seem to agree the issues are to do with digestive tract problems. Now you can focus your attentions to healing her gut and helping her immune system to be normal again! That’s good news.

I highly recommend reading two books:

Body into Balance by Maria Noel Groves and
Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care by Randy Kidd, DVM, Ph.D.

Both will give you specific ways to heal IBD, and you will have references on had to refer back to on each stage of your pup’s healing process. They are not big books, straight forward very practical.

Another book you might consider adding to your library is Mosby’s Nursing Drug Reference just because you seem like a person who likes to use both allopathic medicine and herbal medicine. In this book, you can look up each herb-drug interaction as well as drug side effects. So long you are interested in continuing to use herbs and supplements (both for you and your pup), it might be a good one to have. Don’t rely on internet for reliable info. on this one.

I understand you don’t want to get biopsy done right now, but if your pup’s condition doesn’t improve at all in a month or see any blood in her stool, I would get that biopsy done ASAP because there is a possibility of cancer in play. I think that’s why your internist was probably suggesting biopsy as well.

Take care Sienna,
WP

[aimee]

Hi Aastra,

The only way to diagnose food hypersensitivity is by a food elimination trial. I think Ultamino is a good choice to use for a elimination trial. You can read about food allergies and doing food trial here https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951526

Be aware of anything that crosses your dog’s lips. Sources of food triggers that you my not think of could include capsules from medications, sources from scavenging outside, stool consumption from cat boxes or other dogs in the house etc.

Doing an elimination trial correctly is challenging. Good Luck!

[Andrea C]

We have two fur babies: a female husky (9.5 years) and a miniature pinscher (10.5 years) who are both now suffering from chronic UTI’s and incontinence. According to our vet, they are healthy. We have run several blood tests, imagine, urinalysis and we cannot figure out why in the world they are both getting UTI’s so often. Curious if anybody here has similar issues with their dog. We feed them Stella & Chewy freeze dried and kibble mix. The min pin started with her incontinence about 3 years ago and UTI’s started about 6 months ago. The husky started getting her UTI’s (and now what seems like incontinence as well) just recently, about 2 weeks ago. We have no idea if the diet could be a cause for this? they are both indoor dogs and are walked 3-4 times a day.

These are my thoughts:

1. Stella & Chewy – from what i’ve read, there have been a few recalls of their products? i’m wondering if their food can affect their pH balance? i also read some foods can cause urinary crystals and/or possibly affect the kidney’s. is this permanent damage or can it be treated (naturally or medicine), and how?
2. We live in a community with TONS of construction going on. there is so much dust and grime in the air and grass and dirt. could this be a reason?
3. is there some sort of contagious disease or just anything that could have been transferred from the min pin to the husky? some sort of contagious disease that includes chronic UTI’s and/or incontinence? i know bladder issues aren’t usually contagious, but we do find it strange that one dog suffered from these issues first (worsened throughout the 3 years and UTI’s started only 6 or so months ago) and the second dog is..

Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated. Cheers xx

[lynx556]

Finding a dog food for a new pup is SO frustrating!

I adopting a standard poodle about 2 months ago – He’s now 20 weeks old, on Pruina pro plan puppy and he is suffering from IBS (He was not diagnosed) but he has a lot of loose stool.
I ask my vet if they can suggest a food and all they can say is to keep him on a grained food. That’s fine, I’ll do that but what about all of the other details. They said Purina is good….really?! I am considering a holistic vet to discuss this type of thing.

I have been looking at all of these dog foods and there is soooo much crap on the internet about them. There is a list of brands linked to heart disease, kidney disease, renal disease…. I’m also concerned with the ingredients, chicken seems to be popular by the manufactures but I think that maybe a key issue with his loose stool. Another issue I have is with the potatoes and peas, why are they so high on the incidents? I feel like I need to come up with my own food! Raw would be my choice but I don’t think I can afford that.

SO! what are your suggestions for my sensitive tummy puppy?

Thank you for reading and your suggestions!

[Lauren O]

I’m going through a similar issue with my dog. Long story short, she started vomiting one day, I took her to the vet. The vet incorrectly diagnosed her with Irritable Bowel Disease and switched her food to Hill’s Prescription Diet Multi Benefit and put her on a high fiber diet. Almost immediately, she started itching everywhere, to the point of getting a little burn under her arm from scratching so much and losing hair on her leg from licking. I left her on that food for about a month and did as much internet research as I could. I found another food that most people said was a good food for dogs that need high fiber but have skin allergies. So she got switched to Earthborn Holistic Venture Alaskan Pollock Meal and Pumpkin. Two weeks later, she was still itching. I tried another food, that she ate a quarter cup of and vomited. I was ready to scream. The problem is there are SO MANY INGREDIENTS in dog food so trying to eliminate a common denominator is exhausting, not to mention, you have to wait several weeks in between switching. It’s all trial and error with a significant wait time in between the trial and the error. So I was overwhelmed. I wanted to find a food that had the smallest number of ingredients possible. Then I found Just Food for Dogs. They have several different flavors, and if you live in California, you can meet with one of their employees and custom make your dog’s food, however I live in Texas so I had to settle for a pre-made recipe, but the best part is: her current food has 6 ingredients and each of those ingredients-I know exactly what they are. No mixed tocopherols, choline chloride or Rosemary extracts; just cod, safflower oil, broccoli, green beans, russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. And amazingly, Lulu stopped scratching. BUT THEN, Lulu started having potty issues. There isn’t enough fiber in this food. Also, the 9oz bag is $25, so I’m paying roughly $125 a month for dog food, which is pretty expensive for me. I don’t really care about the money, if my dog isn’t scratching and miserable-I’ll pay for it, but with other digestive issues due to the lack of fiber, I had to start doing research again. After studying the list of ingredients of all of the foods that Lulu had problems with, I noticed the one thing that was in every food that wasn’t a vitamin was FLAXSEED.
Tonight I googled dog food allergies to flaxseed and ended up here. Any help, advice, comments, etc would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I keep hitting a wall. I’ve always tried to do the best for my pup and now I’m lost. I’ve always fed her grain free food because I assumed that was the best (I realize now how naive this was) and now I’m reading that grain free diets in dogs can lead to heart failure. Does anyone know anything dog food that I can feed my poor little dog that won’t make her itch like crazy and lick her paws bare?
Sorry for the length- part explanation/part venting.

[Chipy]

Good question, Mitch. When it comes to grain-free and/or pea-free diets, we need consider the overall quality of the food and the root cause of taurine deficiency.

The “grain-free” marketing term refers to processed dry food/kibble that is an extruded, highly processed product; whether it is full of grains or grain-free, it is not healthy.

The main ingredients in the grain-free diets are often peas, lentils, chickpeas and potatoes — carbohydrates typically intended to replace grains – rather than high-quality meat protein. This explains why some dogs became taurine deficient when fed these diets, as taurine (an essential amino acid that supports heart health) is naturally found in fresh meat and organs.

So it’s best to avoid most grains and starches (because they are not a natural part of a canine’s diet) and focus on increasing the amount of fresh meat and organs in your dog’s diet to naturally prevent DCM.

Dogs have much shorter digestive tracts than herbivores and can’t process high-carb foods like grains and starchy carbs very well. This often results in excessive food fermentation and gas.

You can replace starchy carbs with cooked squash or pumpkin, especially for dogs with digestive upset. Grains (including rice) in general can contribute to IBD. Arsenic toxicity in rice is also a serious problem.

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/113943301-how-to-avoid-foods-high-in-arsenic-and-keep-your-dog-healthy

https://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11014993-what-veggies-are-good-for-dogs

The best diet is as nature intends; fresh meat, organs and bones with some vegetables and leafy greens. A varied, species-appropriate diet, along with all-natural vitamins, minerals, omega-3’s and probiotics is the way to go.

It is very rare for a dog to have a taurine deficiency when consuming an unprocessed, fresh food diet because taurine is so readily available in meats and organs. It may need to be supplemented if your dog has been tested as deficient, but overall dogs get enough of this amino acid from fresh food, and from their ability to manufacture it in their own body.

If you are concerned, connect with your holistic or integrative vet to get your pup tested and you can discuss options together based on the results.

Here are some links to a quick & easy Natural Diet Course, and an online Recipe Maker that I hope you will find helpful if you want to learn more about alternatives to processed food. Your dog will love you for it! 🙂 Switching from kibble to fresh food was the best decision we made a few years ago to improve our pup’s health and reduce unnecessary vet bills.

https://peterdobias.com/pages/course-rawdiet

https://recipemaker.peterdobias.com/

Wishing you and your pup all the best 🙂

[Susan]

Hi Isabella,
there might be too much organ meats in the pre made raw your buying read ingredients, also too much bone, my boy cant have too much organ meats- liver, heart, kidney, or bone causes diarrhea with him or the fat is probably toooo HIGH in the raw you’re feeding …
The fat in raw diet, cooked meal & wet can foods & dog rolls hasn’t been converted to dry matter like a kibble has, so when you see say-5%min fat, I times the fat % by X 4 = 20%min-25%max fat you’ll get an ruff idea what the fat is, also it depends on the moisture %, if the moisture is 78% max & under the max fat will less, if the moisture is 79% or more then the max fat will be higher.
Or contact the Pet Food Company & ask them which raw formula has the lowest amount of fat you’d be looking for 3% 4% max fat to get around 10-16% fat, ask can you have the fat converted into dry matter.

Best to make your own premade raw diet my vet said cause most pre-made raw is high in fat, when you make your own raw you control ingredients, organ meats, & fat unless you find a local small business who makes pre-made raw with fresh human grade free range meats.

Turkey & Pork is really good lean white proteins when the fat is removed & buy green fresh vegetables – parsley, broccoli, celery, small spinach leaves, apple, peel de seed cut up apple & put veggies thru a blender, blend into a pulp & put veggies/fruit mix into ice cube trays – 1 spoon & cover ice cube trays, then freeze & take out night before put in fridge or use as needed, add 1-2 veggie/fruit mix spoons to 1 cup meat also buy tin Salmon drain the salmon & put in container & store in fridge, add 2 spoons salmon per meal to help balance diet & add Omega 3 to dogs diet.
Or look for Freeze Dried Raw or Air Dried Raw- Ziwi Peak has their Venison formula for Skin & bowel problems & has the lowest fat% but fat is still too high for my boy, in Australia we have Prime SKD rolls – Kangaroo & Pumkin, Wild Boar & Pumkin, Salmon & Tapioca, Duck & Sweet Potato, Crocodile & Tapioca, Kangaroo & Potato, Turkey & Flaxseed rolls, these rolls are really good for dogs who suffer with food sensitivies then you start an food elimination diet what you need to do.
I dont know if there’s same type of rolls you have in US??
So you’ll know what ingredients your dog is sensitive too?? as food sensitivities cause farts, sloppy poos, wind pains, yeasty ears, yeasty skin, rubbing bum on ground, anal problems, vomiting itchy skin,.
Food sensitivities can take 20mins for dog to react after eating a food, up to 6 weeks to react??
Id start a food elimination diet now Winter is coming best time as environment allergens are at their lowest so less chance confusing results.

“Sudocrem” is excellent its an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, healing cream for skin problems, Eczema, Dermatitis, itchy dry red skin, Sudocrem acts as a barrier & protects skin from Allergens normally dogs who get Hot spot suffer with Environment allergies & yeasty ears, skin paws can be from environment allergies & food sensitivities..my boy suffers with both..
Weekly Cool Baths in a medicated shampoo are the best you can do to wash & cool skin, if dog is really itchy then bath twice a week in medicated shampoo, I use Malaseb medicated shampoo, it kills the yeast & bacteria on skin, days you do not bath buy baby wipes that have aloe extract leaf & vitamin E, wipe the dog down after being outside wipe off allergens, before bed wipe dog down & apply the Sudocrem to stop any itchy skin & heal red itchy skin even ears I use cotton tip & lightly apply Sudocrem & before going outside apply Sudocrem it acts as a barrier to protect skin from allergens.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sudocrem-Antiseptic-Healing-Cream-125g/553023443

I like “Canidae Pure Fresh Pork -16% fat or Canidae Pure Fresh Duck & Sweet Potato 16-17% fat or Canidae Pure Fresh Salmon & Sweet Potato has highest fat% 18-20% fat a lot of dogs doing really well on Canidae Pure formula’s I buy the Canidae Pure Senior for my old boy.

You can also try “Gastro Elm” alot of people say its really good firm up sloppy poos acid reflux etc its Slippery Elm powder, Dandelion Root Powder and Marshmallow Root Powder.
https://www.gastroelm.com/