I know awhile back someone on here was feeding their basenji Pedigree. Owners need to be educated, educated, educated so they make good/excellent choices for their dogs.
As we all know here, feeding becomes very personal… but these foods with corn and other "fillers" are like feeding your children a complete diet of junk food.... Hopefully people will come to understand the value of a good quality food for their pets.
I heard in the news that arsenic can be linked to certain types of cancer. Still if there are high concentrations of arsenic in rice, it does not makes sense to feed it to your dog everyday.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/arsenic-and-rice-yes-again/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews
Oakley was on the Iams intestinal sensitivity formula because I tried taste of the wild ( of all kinds) and he was still having stool issues, combined with a puppy bout of giardia…he did well on it but I didn't feel good about the ingredients. From there I tried nature variety and he wasn't a fan. He has been sensative stool wise with many of the high quality foods so now we use Fromms and he is terrific. He loves all the varieties ( I mix two kinds at a time..one of their grain free versions with a grain version in order to get a reduced grain diet; stool issues if none or too much!)
His weight is steady and his coat has never looked shinier, smoother of softer. Lastly, he loves the taste and I don't have to coax him to eat.
I agree with not free feeding OR feeding from the same bowl. Since yours have issues (whether it's weight or sensitivity) knowing when they ate and controlling how much will allow you to better navigate around the health issues and possibly identify the cause of some as well!
It might be a combination of food and seasonal allergies. The food/biscuits might be a slight problem but then added to the seasonal allergies, the allergies become major. Arnie has allergies and he rarely gets treats because of this and his kibble dog food is his treat.
Does your dog also have a rash on his stomach area or the inner part of his rear legs? Arnie usually starts off with this and then if he is biting his feet I know the allergies are bad. He has not had this for a few years though! I would clean the area and this would help tremendously. Allergies are difficult to diagnose.
The allergy season here in OH has been extended because of the crazy weather. If you have leaves on the ground that are/were wet, there could be mold, fungi, etc. on them and your dog is getting it on his paws.
Jennifer
Also - does anyone else's Basenji drink in threes? When Cody drinks he goes "lap, lap, lap, pause, Lap, lap, lap". For some reason this just cracks me up. Maybe because he's so consistent. Or maybe I need to get our more! LOL!
