Petfood

[austrianalps]

Ok, so my GSD is really itchy. We have gone through countless combinations of allergy medicines and dosages and food changes.
Finally we got a allergy panel done and it turns out she is allergic to fish (and fishoil), turkey, wheat, oats, milk, yeast and peas.
We are considering the raw food diet now since our vet said that any of the "fillers" in the kibble cause the intestines and skin to heat up and itch.


Right now she is eating Natural Balance venison/potato, but we kept giving her the fish oil capsules thinking we are helping her-duh!


Are there any raw feeders out there? What do you feed your dogs? Does your dog have food allergies? I'd love to hear.

[Nanuk]

My GSD did when I got him, but now that he's eating Eukanuba for GSD's, I'm not seeing any problems. Get it at Petco or Petsmart.

yes, it's expensive, but it's also concentrated so they eat a lot less to get the required nutrition and the bags last much longer than the cheaper food that's mostly filler. Buy a small bag and try it.

Also, a little vegetable oil on their food helps cut down on the dry skin, too.

[austrianalps]

My GSD did when I got him, but now that he's eating Eukanuba for GSD's, I'm not seeing any problems. Get it at Petco or Petsmart.

yes, it's expensive, but it's also concentrated so they eat a lot less to get the required nutrition and the bags last much longer than the cheaper food that's mostly filler. Buy a small bag and try it.

Also, a little vegetable oil on their food helps cut down on the dry skin, too.


Thanks for the tip. I'll try the oil, but she is allergic to the brewers yeast in it.

[JiveTurkey]

That's a lot of things for a poor dog to be allergic to!

[Nanuk]

Then give her cooking oil...motor oil...any kind of oil. Just a capful or two. Much dog itching comes not from allergies (no matter what a vet says) but plain old dry skin.




Oh--and don't really give the dog motor oil.

[austrianalps]

That's a lot of things for a poor dog to be allergic to!

I know, isn't it? I feel bad for her, she is just really uncomfortable. There is no eruptions, irritations or dry skin at all, just really hot skin and lots of biting and scratching. It's hard to watch her like that.

I am getting very intrigued by the raw food diet. From all I have read and heard it is THE thing to do for skin problems. Especially the GSD owners swear by it.

It's also nearly impossible to find a kibble that does not have any of these ingredient. I have spent a lot of time reading labels lately.

[austrianalps]

Then give her cooking oil...motor oil...any kind of oil. Just a capful or two. Much dog itching comes not from allergies (no matter what a vet says) but plain old dry skin.

I meant the brewers yeast in the Eukanuba food.

[Zeke]

I tried feeding the BARF diet and my pup wouldn't eat it. I've just switched her to Nutro Senior and she is doing very well and loving it.

[Nanuk]

I tried feeding the BARF diet and my pup wouldn't eat it. I've just switched her to Nutro Senior and she is doing very well and loving it.


Why would you feed a dog barf?

[austrianalps]

Why would you feed a dog barf?

Bone And Raw Food Diet.

There is a lot of pro/con opinion out there. I am still up in the air about it all. I would not have a problem with handling meat, but its really expensive for two large dogs and inconvenient with clean up and feeding area and stuff. Yet, I want to do whats best for my dog.

[Zeke]

There is a raw frozen diet for dogs. Raw diets are very expensive, even the price of kibble has jumped up.

Have you tried cooking food for your pups? :D I have a list of doggy diets some place.

[Black Dog]

I had Bear on the raw diet for a while and he did very well on it. I was using the frozen kind that I bought from Midas Touch. Once I went full time into coffee it got to be too expensive.
I've heard that if you have time to do BARF using meats and minced veggies that you buy and prepare yourself it can actually be cheaper than buying regular old dog food. The thing to do is buy meat from the store just before it gets past it's sell-by date. Apparently they really mark it down just to move it. I don't have time to prepare it that way but wish I did.

Jo at Midas Touch is very knowledgeable on the subject if you'd like to call her. Phone: 540-955-9690

[itsapyr]

I feed Taste of the Wild. Totally grain free. Most dogs love it. I have a good friend who is a pet nutritionists and she highly recommends this brand.

http://www.dogfoodguru.com/

You can get it at Gowers Feed.

[austrianalps]

I feed Taste of the Wild. Totally grain free. Most dogs love it. I have a good friend who is a pet nutritionists and she highly recommends this brand.

http://www.dogfoodguru.com/

You can get it at Gowers Feed.


Thanks for the tip. It looks really good. I just checked out their webpage. Unfortunately they don't have a food for my dog. All of their kibble either has fish or peas in it. It does look like a great food though.

[itsapyr]

My friend Dana who is the pet nutritionists feeds totally raw to her own pets. So check her out. Its funny but none of my dogs like it. Go figure.
Dana even feeds her cat raw.

There is also a site I think it is call rawdogranch.com that has some good info if you go that route.

[lar]

I didn't realize those expensive dog foods are more concentrated therefore you feed less. Interesting.

[itsapyr]

Its best with most of the good high quality kibbles to weigh them instead of going by a cup measure. Most of them weigh more than 8 oz per cup.

Canidae and Eagle Pack and Evo are 3 other good brands.
You May want to also check out this shop

Midas Touch \A Unique Health Food Store For You And Your Pets
1025 West Main Street
Berryville, VA 22611
(540) 955-9690

They carry premade raw foods and lots of really high quality pet food

[beckythemom]

Ginger, our golden retriever, was originally on a more expensive dog food and the vet said it was drying out her skin. She had a horrible skin condition to the point where she'd get up from laying down on the carpet and there would be white flakes wherever she was resting. He advised us to switch foods and add a little melted bacon grease or lard to her food a couple of times a week. We have been and she hasn't had any issues since.

[amscook]

I just brought home an 80lb doberman a couple of days ago. The foster mom gave me a huge bag of 'California Natural'. I only feed him 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup for dinner (seriously!) She said this food doesn't have any fillers in it, which is great because the fillers are what dogs get allergic to.

You can get it in Berryville, Leesburg or Shepherdstown. Here is the link:
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

[austrianalps]

Thanks for the tip amscook. Unfortunately she is not supposed to have rice. The vet advised us that any kind of carb stays in the intestinal tract longer than protein and causes the body to heat up. When she examined Asta she said that her skin is basically burning up-very hot.

So no rice, wheat, corn or those meals. I called her to ask about potato and she said only sweetpotato-but better would be no carbs at all.

All the California Natural have rice or fish (which she is allergic to).

We are doing a food trial with Natural Balance Venison Sweetpotato right now. She is still itching, but I need to give it a few weeks.

I'll keep you posted. Thanks everybody for the tips and keep them coming if you think of any more, please! :)

[Zeke]

I tried Wellness fish and sweet potato and it was to rich for my pup. Have you tried it? I see it has Rye flour in it so I guess that's a no-no. http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_complete_health_fish_sw eet_potato.html?page=dog_wellness_dry_fish_sweet_p otato

[caroline]

When my husky SiSi was recovering from giardia they had us put her on a bland food diet of hamburger and chicken and beef stew baby foods i don't know if that is nutritionally complete for a long term but SiSi sure liked the hamburger. Good Luck! I am sure you will find the perfect food. Is there some topical creme the Vet can prescribe for relif in the interim?

[austrianalps]

I tried Wellness fish and sweet potato and it was to rich for my pup. Have you tried it? I see it has Rye flour in it so I guess that's a no-no. http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_dry_super5mix_complete_health_fish_sw eet_potato.html?page=dog_wellness_dry_fish_sweet_p otato

The fish is a nono in her case. Thanks though.

I really like Wellness. I am gonna check out their Venison food.

[Pat_13]

Have you tied a raw diet?

I use to use it and it was very easy and worked well. I would make up a vegetable paste in the food processer for about a weeks worth and store in the frig. i would then feed a protion of veg and raw meats (chicken necks and backs mostly) bone and all. I would get frozen boxes of meat from a local distributer and store in a large freezer until needed.

[Mazinger]

My shepherd gets itchy ears and i still haven't figured out what he's allergic to. My suspicion is wheat since it seems to flare up when I feed him certain treats.

The vet told me that next time it happens to just go ahead and do an allergy test.

I feed my dogs raw food, but not regularly.

Have you looked into the honest kitchen products? Very simple ingredients.

[hillbilly]

This thread has made me pay attention to the weight gain of my cat, Bootsie. She is getting old. Now when she flips over to have me scratch her tummy, I realize that I am no longer scratching her tummy so much as kneading it.

[global1000]

We've been feeding our dog raw food for about 10 years, ever since we brought her to the vet and they called her "3-legged lame". The vet told us that there was nothing they could do for her except for surgery, and even that might not be a viable option. Since that time (and feeding her only raw), she's never had an issue with her legs & she never had to go under the knife. We found out about this way of eating through a holistic vet seminar -- in fact, I believe, Jo (from Midas Touch) was also involved with this group at that time. It's fantastic!

What we do is give her raw chicken legs -- the stuff that's on sale -- and occasionally, we'll give her beef. What we like is at Walmart, in their frozen meat section, you can get a bag of individually frozen chicken legs for like 3 bucks or so (she doesn't like thighs for some reason). When we give her a leg, we thaw it out by putting it under warm water -- she loves it! And, as I say, since she's been eating only raw, she's never had a leg issue -- she's a mix of lab & golden retriever.

She's now 15 -- and unfortunately, we recently found out she has a mass that is pushing against her trachea which is causing severe breathing problems. It's a tough situation -- there's nothing that can be done -- so, we're just keeping a close eye on her to make sure she's comfortable and not in pain. My kids are heartbroken -- so are we -- she has been such a dear friend to us. It's tough.

Anyway, just wanted to give you more thoughts about the raw food -- it's the only way our dog has survived as long as she has. In fact, the vet just recently told us that her legs, heart, lungs, etc. are excellent (this was seen through an x-ray) -- it's just that darn mass. It sucks to get old.

[austrianalps]

Global1000 I am so sorry to hear about your dogs mass. Hope she is comfortable and in not too much pain. Its so hard when you get attached to those critters. I know what you are going through, they are like kids to me. Hang in there and enjoy the time you have with your pup! :rose:

Thanks for the raw food advice-I appreciate it.

[June]

Has anyone tried feeding their cats raw food? Does it work the same way?

[toberah]

Has anyone tried feeding their cats raw food? Does it work the same way?

A few years ago I had a cat that had horrible dandruff. Tried the raw diet, and we always joked that she was waiting for her dinner guests to arrive: Sam and Ella. Even when it was warmed she would still wait a couple hours to eat it. :P

Eventually we switched her to a dry premium food, I think it was Natural Balance? Kind of pricey, but totally solved the problem.

[June]

G & I went to the Super Pets Expo in Chantilly on Saturday. It was awesome! There were lots of vendors with specialty pet foods and most foods are sold locally. Here are some that may be helpful to your dog, AA:

Dogswell (our dogs loved the sample they gave us!) www.dogswell.com (http://www.dogswell.com)


Evanger's - www.evangersdogfood.com (http://www.evangersdogfood.com)


Wolfie's (this is a raw food diet...they didn't have take home samples but were giving the dogs that were there samples on a spoon!) They are local to Virginia at 703-929-79009 www.wilddogfood.com (http://www.wilddogfood.com)


Nature's Select (offers free home delivery!) www.gonaturesselect.com (http://www.gonaturesselect.com)
They are located in Lorton, VA (571)323-6247