| Judynyc
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ladybugnessa wrote: LegalBeagle wrote: Purina One is way better than Beneful, which is the dog equivalent of eating at McDonald's every day. :oops:
vet says it's fine...
Vets don't know a lot about nutrition. The only course they get in vet school is given by the makers of Hills....and we all know that Hills uses a ton of corn in their foods.....bad!! :evil:
Just like we do for ourselves, being proactive and not relying on vet's advice on nutrition is a wise thing to do.
Hey Nessa...way to go on getting into Health!! Did you post a link or the article itself? |
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Sun May 27, 2007 2:46 pm |
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| LegalBeagle
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Judy, I do read WDJ and I have in the past fed Evo, Wellness Super 5 Mix, California Natural, and Eagle Pack. Mine do better on Purina One sensitive systems, and it's much less expensive. There's no ground yellow corn and no bad preservatives, and it's salmon based, with a good clean protein as the first ingredient. It was recommended to me by a breeder I respect very much who is also quite active in rescue. I don't think there are ANY other Purina foods, or grocery store foods, that I would feed, though. My dogs love it and are in great health and perfect weights.
I agree that vets usually don't know much about nutrition. I think they take one class????
Nessa, you are nice to say that. I will feel like a success when I get below 200 lbs and probably not a minute before. :oops: It has been a long and arduous journey, that's for sure. I delude myself into thinking it's been fun, too. :lol: |
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Sun May 27, 2007 4:17 pm |
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| JSCsMom
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Hi, guys...
I am glad I stumbled across this thread... If you don't mind, I would like your input, since you all seem to know what you are talking about...
I have an 8-year old GSD with an autoimmune problem, more than likely due to diet. I had heard "not so good" things about Hills, so I fed him IAMS exclusively, and almost 3 years ago, he developed an itching problem... No matter what we have tried, he scratches... We have changed his food, and he seems to be doing a little better, but the only thing that REALLY controls his itching is prednisone. I know it is not good for him, but the alternative is to have him put down, because he really is suffering when he is in a full-blown itch/scratch cycle... He even stops in the middle of a pee to scratch! He will chew himself raw and bleeding... and he makes me sad.
Right now, I am feeding him either Eagle Pack or Royal Canin, both of which look pretty good, ingredient-wise... but he's still scratching. We have avoided all treats, etc that have corn, white rice, etc in them, and even feed him plain yogurt trying to boost the "good" gut bacteria... He has been treated for a skin infection, fleas, mange, and everything else but still no luck...
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Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:09 pm |
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| Judynyc
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JSCsMom wrote: Hi, guys...
I am glad I stumbled across this thread... If you don't mind, I would like your input, since you all seem to know what you are talking about...
I have an 8-year old GSD with an autoimmune problem, more than likely due to diet. I had heard "not so good" things about Hills, so I fed him IAMS exclusively, and almost 3 years ago, he developed an itching problem... No matter what we have tried, he scratches... We have changed his food, and he seems to be doing a little better, but the only thing that REALLY controls his itching is prednisone. I know it is not good for him, but the alternative is to have him put down, because he really is suffering when he is in a full-blown itch/scratch cycle... He even stops in the middle of a pee to scratch! He will chew himself raw and bleeding... and he makes me sad.
Right now, I am feeding him either Eagle Pack or Royal Canin, both of which look pretty good, ingredient-wise... but he's still scratching. We have avoided all treats, etc that have corn, white rice, etc in them, and even feed him plain yogurt trying to boost the "good" gut bacteria... He has been treated for a skin infection, fleas, mange, and everything else but still no luck...
IME.....go for a grain free diet totally.....there are many food out there that use poataoes as the carb soiurce and this works well for many dog wsith skin and or digestion issues.
Natural Balance makes a good duck/potato forumla that I've got one of my dogs on. Thats what I'd try if I were you.(petco has it)
Califorinis Natural makes a good kibble that I've got another dog but it has brown and white rice....
He's gorgeous....let me know how it works out for him. |
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Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:46 pm |
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| JSCsMom
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| Thanks, I will try that and let you know... I appreciate the advice! |
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Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:00 pm |
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| annecolorgreen
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JSCsMom--
I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but my sheltie was on Iams for years and had a real problem with itching. I didn't realize it until I read your post, but she's not had any problems since we switched her to Purina One a few months ago. Hmmm.
~~anne |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:43 am |
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| Kimboroni
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| (bump) |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:02 pm |
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| LegalBeagle
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Old Mother Hubbard Super 5 Mix Wellness Blend has a fish and sweet potato formula that is great for allergic dogs. Maybe try that?
Evo is a totally grain free dog food, as well. I am pretty sure it's made by the same people who make Innova (Natura Pets). |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:59 pm |
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| Judynyc
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LegalBeagle wrote: Old Mother Hubbard Super 5 Mix Wellness Blend has a fish and sweet potato formula that is great for allergic dogs. Maybe try that?
Evo is a totally grain free dog food, as well. I am pretty sure it's made by the same people who make Innova (Natura Pets).
Yes...those are good ones too....as are Soilid Gold's no grain kibble called Barking at the moon.and Natural Balance's duck/potato.
Corn and wheat are big culprits of skin allergies, ear infections and eye stain in dogs and many dogs cannot eat any grains at all....my senior dog has been diagnosed with IBS and has to eat a no grain diet. She is on Rx IVD venison/potatao. |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:00 pm |
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| LegalBeagle
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| Do you mean Natural Balance? |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:03 pm |
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| Judynyc
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LegalBeagle wrote: Do you mean Natural Balance?
Yes...I'm an idiot!! :lol: |
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:25 pm |
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| JSCsMom
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I bought him a bag of the duck and potato Natural Balance, and he likes it a lot (which really isn't much of a surprise... I don't recall him ever turning his nose up at a meal). I am not sure if he is itching any less or not. I think it will take longer than a month to notice a difference.
Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions... I appreciate the advise! If this doesn't work, I will be trying one of the others! |
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Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:46 am |
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| carolie
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This thread is very interesting to me cuz one of my two GSDs is quite prone to ear infections/gunkiness. I switched their food to the Purina One for sensitive stomachs when I saw LB's suggestion here. They both really like it! In the ingredient list is something called "corn gluten meal" though. Is that something I should try avoiding for her? I know the suggestion is to get rid of wheat and corn, so......? Also, I was checking out another food at PetSmart called "by Nature". They make a pork & sweet potato formula that says it is wheat, corn, and soy free. My pups seem to like the fish flavors though (maybe cuz it's strong & a little stinky!) A friend uses Nature's Select. Here is the website....I was considering the salmon and sweet potato version. Any opinions and advice would be welcome! TIA.
http://www.paulspetfood.com/dogfood.htm
If I can figure out how to post a picture here, I'll do that. My babies add up to 223lbs worth o' dog. :roll: My female is 117lbs alone! I luv 'em though! :D |
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Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:25 am |
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| Judynyc
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carolie wrote: This thread is very interesting to me cuz one of my two GSDs is quite prone to ear infections/gunkiness. I switched their food to the Purina One for sensitive stomachs when I saw LB's suggestion here. They both really like it! In the ingredient list is something called "corn gluten meal" though. Is that something I should try avoiding for her? I know the suggestion is to get rid of wheat and corn, so......? Also, I was checking out another food at PetSmart called "by Nature". They make a pork & sweet potato formula that says it is wheat, corn, and soy free. My pups seem to like the fish flavors though (maybe cuz it's strong & a little stinky!) A friend uses Nature's Select. Here is the website....I was considering the salmon and sweet potato version. Any opinions and advice would be welcome! TIA.
If I can figure out how to post a picture here, I'll do that. My babies add up to 223lbs worth o' dog. :roll: My female is 117lbs alone! I luv 'em though! :D
Your girl is HUGE!! WOW! How are their hips doing?
I would not give my dogs any food that has corn gluten in it...that is what can cause all the problems....so do choose a food that does not have it in the ingredients.
There are many foods available now that are grain free and use potatoes, white or sweet, as the carb, just because of the fact that dogs do not do well on grains in general.
There are some dogs who can eat anything and not have any issues...but dogs that show up with chronic ear infections and skin issues, need to not have any grain in the diet at all!!
Good Luck! :D |
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Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:16 pm |
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| carolie
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Wow! Thanks for the quick answer. :) I'm ready for a new bag of food anyway so I'll switch over to the by Nature one for now and see how she/they do. It's a small little kibble too so they love that. Funny but all my GSDs have loved the small bite stuff. They have never eaten the bigger bite stuff as well.
As far as hips go, they seem to be fine. We've had them both xrayed already so we'd have a baseline for the future. I got them both from a GS rescue at different times a couple of years ago so we aren't really "sure" how old they are. We think Harley (my 106lb male) is around 5-6 now. Luca (my 117lb female) is a funny story. I picked her out one weekend when my daughter was gone. So, when she got back we went to pick her up from the vets office who had just spayed her my daughter was like, "HOLY COW....how old did they tell you she was?!?.......look at those EARS and paws!" When we took her to our vet for her checkup that weekend, our vet told us he'd argue with anyone who said she was over a year. He figured she was more likely about 10 months or so. The rescue had guessed around 2 yrs or so! She was 77 lbs when I got her (and not fat!) so I'm sure that's why they were thinking closer to an adult. Within a couple of days I knew my vet was right! Her puppy behaviors were QUITE evident. :shock: hehe My daughter loves to tell people that story..... |
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Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:59 pm |
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