Dry dog food

[sherryk]

ok here we go again… my basenjis have sensitive stomachs tried alot of foods eventually had to put all 3 on science diet sensitive stomach at 60.00 per bag. all did well on it along with good table scraps. there coats did seem too dull though. mixed up a batch of rice, hamburger pumpkin and carrots. they loved it but the 8 year ol remale would vomit after eating it. i am thinking of trying the taste of the wild brand because of the high protein content. i keep hearing pros and cons about every dry food out there , also the foods with the potatoes, my dogs will not touch. before i make alot of bad choices, what do the majority of you recommend?

[tanza]

All I can say is that any SD that I have seen is mostly grain? What is the ingredients that are listed on the package. What is important is the order they are listed

[Buddys Pal]

Yes, read the labels. whole chicken, beef, venison, bison, even fish. No corn, gluten or other fillers should be in the first 3 ingredients listed. Soy used in dog foods is usually lower quality. No by-products because this can be anything-ground up beaks, feet, feathers, fur- I won't go on…....Nutritional specialists in the veterinarian field would recommend fish or bison if your dog seems to have an allergy to chicken (after you've changed foods to avoid gluten etc). another rule of thumb-if you've seen the commercials, billboards, and popular marketing tools for a food, then the $ does not go into the quality of the products. Be an informed consumer.

[sherryk]

Thanks for the tip on taste of the wild dog food. I introduced to my 3 mixed in with their science diet sensitive stomach. And as you might of guessed they all picked out the taste of the wild and left the rest. So now i'm stuck with a 65.00 bag of science diet, but if it makes my little friends happy, so be it. My biggest worry is the problem i've had with the anal glands on my 3 year old female and my 5 year old male. Will this new food be better or worse for that problem? Any suggestions ? Thanks again from sasha, nicki and kandi ps how much food is too much to feed, yes i admit my male is extreemly overweight because i have always free fed them all the time.

[MacPack]

Check the calorie/cup of your food (may have to write the manufacturer to get that info) and feed accordingly. I feed 1/3 C twice a day of Nupro Ultra low fat, reduced calorie which seems to agree with mine and they like it. We had to go 'low fat' after Nicky's pancreatitis last year, and Chipley's weight gain (now on thyroid meds). We have fed "better" foods but this is chicken, chicken meal and brown rice as first ingredients so I am OK with it. Lots of good foods out there, read the labels, look at fat and calories. You may have to feed the overweight one separately. I free-fed for 30 years and for the first time I have had to measure and feed but it isn't hard once you get into the habit! I mix green beans with their kibble to give extra bulk and they love the beans!

[agilebasenji]

I feed my guys Taste of the Wild, Grandma Lucy's (dehyrated food) or Honest Kitchen (also dehydrated). Digital is fed homecooked, but in a pinch, I can feed him the G'ma Lucy's. (He's in early stage kidney failure, non Fanconi related, just old 15.5yrs). The dehydrated foods seem expensive, but since they are dehydrated, you are really getting more. For example, the 3lb bag of G'ma Lucy's makes 17lbs of food. Might be worth looking at. The Gma Lucy's Pureformance is not potato based and you can find it (like anything else) on Amazon.

[wizard]

I feed mine taste of the wild (as does my breeder) - all three versions - and they have done fine with good coats and no anal gland problems.
I feed barely 1 cup to my 4.5 yr old and 1-1/3 cup to the 1.5 yr old as he is a running maniac. The male is still in coformation so he needs to stick to his diet and he's doing well.

[tanza]

May or may not help the problem with anal glands. Were the stools well formed and hard on the S.Diet? Grain free foods tend to make a firmer stool therefore when passed will help to empty the anal glands.

I have never free fed… that way I know exactly what each are eating. And once you get in the habit, it is not difficult. And it really makes for better eating habits and health, IMO

And looking at the ingredients of the science diet sensitive stomach, OMG... I can't picture that helping the situation, not till the 4th ingredient do you even find a meal source. Most dogs with food issues find that it is fueled by Corn and Wheat.....

Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Egg Product, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Lactic Acid, Soybean Oil, Oat Fiber, Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Iodized Salt, L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Tryptophan, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

[dcmclcm4]

I would not feed an Intestinal Prescription dog food unless absolutely necessary. If your older girl is still having problems even after changing foods, perhaps a food intolerence test is needed. I believe food allergies can cause a lot of problems in dogs. Make sure you research the ingredients of the food before buying.

Jennifer

[bewler]

A couple months ago, Taste of the Wild had their second recall due to salmonella in the kibble so I started doing some research to find another brand. I found a good website called Dog food advisor (http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/) that ranks food with very specific information about each including the different dietary varieties, etc.

[Buana]

I really don't know about brand in your country but did you tryed fresh? (barf for instance?)
Most dogs with allergy's or bad stomach do very well with this diet.

We feed fresh for over 6 years now and it's great, never have any issues.

About Salmonella, it's in most dogfood as most chickens are affected with it BUT the stomach of a dog is much different than a human and they can handle this salmonella way better than we can. Besides that the (I really don'tknow the correct english word) sour is way stronger than with humans.
Salmonella in kibble is a bit worse than salmonella in fresh meat due to the process of making the kibble but it's in most kibble.

I don't know if you have brands like Acana, Orijen and Wolfsblut.
Just like Taste of the wild, it contains no grain and that is really important in my opinion.
It's a bad ingredient (makes it cheaper) and dogs can get issues with their stomach due to these grains.

[Kipawa]

When Taste of The Wild had the salmonella recall, due to a plant that makes it and many other dog food brands having salmonella contamination, I switched Kipawa to Acana kibble. He loves it.

His coat had more shine with Taste of the Wild bison, but by adding Omega oils to his food, curry comb brushing him daily (very soft bristles), and of course petting him a lot, his coat is looking superb.