[Tracy W]

I have a 3-year-old Husky named Cookie who struggles with food and environmental allergies and yeast infections in her ears. I have tried her on all sorts of different foods, and I’ve found she reacts negatively to beef, bison, lamb, and chicken. She did very well on Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals Farmhouse Blend (which is pork and fish based), and she also did well on Holistic Select Duck and Holistic Select Sardine & Anchovy, and Lincoln Biotech’s Zinpro (expensive!!!!!). The problem is, she doesn’t like any of those foods very much. In fact, my mother-in-law and husband feed their dogs beneful, and Cookie LOVES it, although it doesn’t agree with her. She even likes my chinchilla’s food, but doesn’t like her own. :-/

I guess I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations of foods to try for her that won’t break the bank? I’d consider doing raw if 1) I knew how to source it affordably and 2) I knew she would still be fed raw when I go out of state.

Some of the kibbles that don’t work include:
Wellness Super5
All of the TotW
Nutro LI Venison
California Naturals, with grain
Exclusive
Precise, both chicken and lamb
Verus opticoat
Earthborn Holistic, various recipes including the potato-free ones
Merrick – she did OK on it but there was fur in the duck-based kibble. Fur? Really? They make ducks with fur now? And Merrick told me it was natural. :-/
Whole Earth Farms
Diamond Naturals
NutriSource

I was considering The Honest Kitchen’s Keen, but I’m concerned about the potatoes, and I have nowhere to get it locally. Does anyone have any suggestions?

• This topic was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Tracy W.

[aquariangt]

wowza! That’s a lot, sorry-you must be so frustrated! The one that comes to mind is Fromm 4Star Grain Free Pork and Pea

Nature’s Variety Instinct LID diets may have something for ya as well-Natural Balance if you’re ok with them. Simply Nourish has an LID Sweet Potato and Salmon-I like the company but only use the source line myself- it’s low in protein so you’d probably want to top it

[DogFoodie]

I’ll second the NVI LID recommendation. My dog with food intolerance issues did great on it. It’s basically the only thing he’s eaten to date that he truly did well on. I used the duck variety. They’ve recently reformulated and I wasn’t thrilled with the change to the lamb variety – I’m not fond of the press protein they put in it, but fortunately they didn’t add it to the others for some reason.

[LabsRawesome]

Victor Yukon River. Grain/GMO free. Around $40 for 30lbs if you can get it locally. http://www.midamericapetfood.com/victordogfood/pdf/Brochure-GF-Yukon%20River%20Canine.pdf Check Victor’s site for stores in your area. victordogfood.com

[Tracy W]

I am incredibly frustrated. 🙁

I was looking into Nature’s Variety, but their raw is too expensive for me right now. Maybe I can give it a try if next year goes better – I’ve heard good things about it.

I will look into Victor Yukon River. I haven’t heard of that one!

Thanks for all the help. If anyone else has any recommendations, please let me know.

Also, does sweet potato negatively affect dogs prone to yeast infections?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Tracy W.

[InkedMarie]

Tracy, if you want to feed raw, look at Darwins.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Tracy:
All of the food recommendations you have received are excellent choices, raw and kibble! Hopefully you can find one that works.

I just have one suggestion for you. I understand budget requirements and even though NV raw might not be in your budget right now as a main diet I would like to suggest maybe try feeding it on a rotational basis. I feed my dog kibble with canned, lightly cooked fresh meat, or commercial dehydrated/freeze dried/frozen raw food for each meal. Most of the time the raw he gets is used as a topper in place of canned food rather than an entire meal of raw (budget issues, lol). I try to feed raw weekly; sometimes more often sometimes not. Regardless of how often I feed raw, he does love it and I believe the variety is good for him.

Check out NV’s website. If you sign up for news letters they send out monthly coupons for their products. Most of the time it’s for their frozen raw. I buy small bags and feed it to both my dog and cats. Check out Darwins too as InkedMarie suggested. I have not fed that brand, but it is recommended by many posters on DFA.

[pugmomsandy]

I suggest topping the kibble she does well on with some canned food to make it more appealing. There are several options in canned foods that are single protein and limited ingredient. You could even make your own bone broth with pork bones.

[Barbara O]

Nature’s Variety is wonderful food. Their dry is great…You might feed it and then add a little of the raw…My friend’s dog is medium size and she feeds one of the large packages of raw duck a month. She crumbles up just one of the patties and mixes it in with the kibble, adding water to make it a little soupy…If the dog has no egg problems, crack a raw egg and mix it into the feed…after all, it’s the perfect protein….How many cups a day does your dog eat? The only reason I like to feed the kibble is because my dog is so big that I want to make certain he gets the vitamins….and oils she needs…If you start building the immune system, many of the allergies will subside…Also..there’s yeast and there’s yeast…

I can see the problem with lamb, chicken, and bison, as they are what is called “hot” foods..and chicken is a food I even have to curtail for myself as it can cause inflammation in the body. I am surprised with beef…Duck is not a hot food…it is more neutral…maybe you could purchase a 5 lb bag of Nature’s Variety Instinct…their dry kibble…grain free…and feed it to him…buy a very small package of the frozen and add only one small patty, this is for a little boost in protein and for flavor….I sometimes give Roger several of the genet’s Primal, thawed and mixed into his kibble….It’s not expensive this way…oh…he still gets an egg each feeding…I think Primal and Nature’s V are about the same in cost…Nature’s Variety has had sample frozen packages…you might try them as they’re cheap….Toby’s 3 lb pkg of Primal is $16.00…and it lasts about a month. He gets 2 of the little rectangles a day, along with his precious shaved, preservative free turkey meat…people lunch meat…He will eat the beef but he loves the turkey…I like the Primal because it has veggies in it along with the supplements they need…And…if you found two foods he really likes, you could mix them together….What does he eat, 2 cups per meal?

[GSDMom]

Tracy, check HK’s site, they have a new pre-mix called “Kindly” that is potato, fruit and grain free! I’m going to try it for my allergy dog. Hope you find some answers soon!

[Tracy W]

Barbara – Yeah, beef really lights Cookie’s ears up, so to speak. If I feed her beef or bison her inner ears get so red and goopy. 🙁

I don’t think one package of raw a month will break me up, so maybe I’ll buy some. I have tried topping Cookie’s food with canned, and I also give her yogurt as that helps fight the yeasty ears. Typically she eats the canned food/yogurt and then gives me a look and leaves whatever kibble hasn’t been touched by the topping. *sigh* I haven’t tried mixing egg, but I will try that. I didn’t know I could give her raw eggs, but I have given her sardines and she loved those.

Cookie weighs about 65 pounds, so depending on food that puts her anywhere from 2-3 1/2 cups of kibble. The 30 lb. bags of Grandma Mae’s and Holistic Select lasted between 3 weeks and a month for her, and that was with me feeding the other 4 dogs her food for a day or two. In reality I could probably feed her less than what the bag says, as she isn’t as active this time of year; she could stand to lose a few pounds anyway.

Making broth is a great idea. I will be sure to do so next time we have turkey or pork.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I feel like I have something to build on now.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Tracy W.

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