r/DogFood

Please do not start with me with the anti-grain free thing. She is legitimately allergic. Every post is so condescending about grain free diets because people are eager to act like they know more than you, and having moved twice we’re on her third vet and each time I had to do the “well let’s just try grains again and not change anything else and see” for them to take it seriously, and she suffered each time and it’s just exhausting. I know, heart disease. I’m worried about it too, but she can’t eat grains. It is what it is.

Sorry for the mini rant, I’ve been combing through posts looking for something new since she’s getting older and…🙃

I’ve always had her on a salmon based one but frankly she’s been getting a little stinkier in her older age and I’m wondering if the fish-based diet is causing it, so looking for something lamb based. With no grains. Thank you :)

Severe Sensitivity

Food

Fruits

* Green Apple

* Key Limes

Seafood

* Cod

Nutritional

Emulsifiers

* E 322 Lecithin D (Egg Yolk)

Plant/Environmental

Heavy Metal Salts

* Vanadium Oxide

Skin Care

Preservatives

* 4-Methyl Parahydroxybenzoate – Sodium Salt

Moderate Sensitivity

Flavorings

* Apple Flavor

* Apricot Flavor

* Banana Flavor

* Rum Flavoring

* Strawberry Aroma

Fruits

* Apple

* Lingonberry

* Papaya

* Plum (Red)

* Quince

* Raspberry

Grain Products

* Couscous

Legumes

* Alfalafa Meal

* Kidney Beans

Meats and Proteins

* Chicken By Product

* Freeze-Dried Chicken Hearts

* Freeze-Dried Minnows

* Menhaden Fish Meal

* Partridge

* Pork

Nuts and Seeds

* Sunflower Seeds

Oils

* Walnut Oil

Seafood

* Crayfish

* Mackerel Chub

* Mackerel King

* Red Snapper

* Scallops

* Sole

Soy Products

* Soy Flour

Spices and Herbs

* Anise (Seeds)

* Cardamom

Sweeteners

* Apple Syrup

* Raw Honey

Vegetables

* Beetroot

* Brussels Sprouts

* Endive

* Iceberg Lettuce

* Leek

* Mung Bean Sprouts

* Parsnip

* Pepper (Chili)

Has anyone noticed how the dog food bags are getting smaller? I started buying 50 pound bags years ago, then they went down to 45 lb, then 40 lbs., now they are 38 lbs. However the price is either staying the same or going up. It's not going down with the size of the bags. This is not right at all.

My vet thinks our dog may have developed some food allergies and recommended a chicken free diet to see if her itchy skin improves over time.

She recommended Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach formula which seems to be helping. We went with the Salmon & Rice flavor to maximize the amount of Omega 3 and 6 she's getting. We use a combo of the dry and wet versions. We also tried the Beef version but then we wondered if she had sensitivity to beef so we went 100% salmon.

Today I noticed that Beef Fat is an ingredient in the dry version of the Salmon formula. Should that be a concern if dog has Beef allergies? Or is it the Beef protein that is the real issue and the fat likely doesn't have that (if they refine it properly). And in general are Beef allergies common?

Edit: Thank you to everyone that responded. I appreciate your experience.

We are getting ready to bring a new puppy home. During the process of getting things ready, it dawned on me that we still feed our adult dog 3 times a day. I weigh his food, he’s not over weight, he is however a garbage disposal and would eat 6 times a day if he could. Everything I’ve read while getting ready for the puppy says to cut back to 2 meals a day around 6 months.

I’m curious how many times per day others here feed their adult dog.

What are the most digestible foods available? Looking to see if there’s something cheaper than Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach that is just as digestible.

Does anyone have any dry dog food recs in australia?
preferably food with grains?
Theres not a lot of dog food variety without legumes!
I know about the costco kirkland chicken and lamb flavours and costco has grain free options with other proteins but I’m trying to avoid dog foods with heavy amounts of legumes since its a risk for DCM. I just want more variety. most dog foods only offer chicken or lamb.

Hi, my Shih Tzu is 3 years old, she has an issue where if she doesn’t eat within about every 8 hours she throws up. I believe it’s bilious vomiting syndrome. The issue is she wont eat without being hand fed, if I leave the food out she just wont eat it and ends up throwing up. I’m currently giving her blue buffalo basics skin and stomach small breed adult dog food. She does do well on it but it has to be hand fed. Ive tried every food, every topper and no food entices her to eat. I’ve even tried giving her real chicken or eggs and she does like the food, but it throws off her stomach and makes her bloated and needing to be hand fed more often or it will lead to throwing up again. If anyone has any recommendations or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I currently feed my dogs Justfoodfordogs and it may be giving my dogs dental issues.
We recently had dental done for one of my dogs, and he needed extractions.
Our vet said not to brush his teeth until 2 weeks due to the extractions, and I noticed there is yellow staining on his teeth again.

For context, I give my dogs dental chews, water additives and brush their teeth.

Does anyone have issue with their dog's teeth, with feeding them fresh pet food?

I don't want to continued dropping money on this brand if it's causing more harm than good.

Cavapoo, female, 8 months old now. Since we got her we had her on Royal Canin until 5 months of age. Then she had repeated series of diarrhea/vomits which we couldn't exactly pinpoint to a cause. When we took her to the vet, she had a giardia test, came out negative. Anyway, our vet said that it is possible that she might react to a chicken - so we made a transition to monoprotein lamb kibble which she's been on ever since. Her gut health settled, apart from few vomits here and there, she's been great.

We did notice, however, that lamb perhaps might not be her favourite source of protein. Her excitement for lamb just isn't as high as it was for RC, for example. I do not know whether that is due to her being more mature now, or is this lamb kibble really not as palatable as RC. That being said, we really never confirmed her chicken allergy. Also, at the time she was having diarrhea/vomits, we also gave her some salmon treats, so her allergy could be coming from either of the two. We just did all we could back then to eliminate all possible causes all at once, in order to make her feel better - which at the end, we did accomplish.

We tried few lamb kibble brands, however none of them seem to be her cup of tea. Lamb treats - on the other hand - she eats them without hesitation.

Anyway, we got to a point at 7 months of age when she would stop eating from a bowl. It seemed like this wasn't as exciting anymore, so we did hand feed her a couple of times. In between, we had to switch kibble, as N&D Ancestral Grain - Lamb & blueberry was really not her choice anymore. Now we are on different brand of lamb kibble. We keep her meals interesting by putting kibble inside the Pawzler toy. That keeps her motivated to eat.

We mentioned this to our vet, that she is reluctant to eat and he said "no dog died from hunger with their bowls being full of kibble". This does make sense, however, I do not want to keep her on a food she really does not enjoy. Life is just too short.

Anyway, we were thinking about doing a test to put her on a protein we knew she loved - chicken and see if it works for her? How would you test this if it was your dog? Do you think this is unnecessary and better keep her off chicken - despite her allergy was never confirmed?

TLDR: Puppy was on chicken kibble, until she had diarrhea/series of vomits. Then we made a transition to lamb kibble, but chicken allergy was never confirmed. Would it be the right time to try feeding her chicken again and if yes, how?

My boys are chonky and pushing ~40 lbs. I’m curious how much other Shiba owners typically feed their adult / senior babes per day? Also open to any dry food suggestions that have worked for your Shibas. Low fat kibbles?

I really don't want to change diet since my picky dog actually eats Purina One. My dog is healthy and cleared by the vet. It's just the 16% fat and low 3% fiber that is causing the soft stool and subsequently anal gland issues.

What has worked best for anyone in similar position? Psyllium husk, pumpkin, glandex, Filaquin?

I also noticed the large breed formula has 12% fat and 4% fiber and she is 45-50 pounds. Would switching to large breed Purina One help?

Fortiflora and probiotics seem to do nothing.

She tried Hills Perfect Digestion but hates it and despite having perfect poop she was losing weight because she isn't a food motivated dog and is picky.

If we can do y'all know any single ingredient or limited ingredient treats that Don't contain chicken that are decent? I'm out and need to buy some off chewy for training. I can't get treats from my normal place except for once a month. (He doesn't like the kibble enough for prolonged training and I think what I'm teaching will take awhile Don't need training advice just the treats)

I’m wanting to switch my 8 year old goldens food… he’s getting older and technically a senior. he’s has a sensitive stomach and has diarrhea more often than i want him to. i’m looking into to Purina Pro Plan.. but which one? i see a 7+ sensitive skin and stomach, digestive support, and the senior large dog. which would be the best for him? would the senior bag help with his digestive system too like an all in one?

History: this dog (just turned 5) belonged to my neighbours. She’s a poorly bred pocket bully type who was given to them by their son as he wanted to breed from her. That never happened, and we ended up taking her on full time in August last year as they had no interest in looking after her.

Her diet previously with old owners: cooked beef or pork mince with a handful of dry dog biscuits (any cheap brand they could find). They also cooked things like pork chops and sausages for her. They said she had a chicken allergy.

She had constant chronic ear infections. She scratched CONSTANTLY. Not just her ears but her whole body. She licked and chewed her paws. She was not comfortable at all.

When we got her full time in August, we switched her to salmon dry food and then we decided to test if she really was allergic to chicken. We gave her a couple trays of turkey wet food that had chicken in it and she definitely got more unhappy.

We got her spayed in September, and continued feeding salmon dry food and whatever non chicken wet food we could find (usually beef or occasionally fish). She was prescribed apoquel and ear drops and medicated baths which we stayed on top of and we saw a TINY bit of improvement.

In December, her skin flared up massively. There hadn’t been any change with the environment, we were still using the same brand of stuff for cleaning and laundry etc. We took her to the vet because her armpit areas were bright red and she was scratching herself to the point of almost drawing blood. She lost all hair from her armpits. Vet prescribed Zenrelia, and then said that we should try feeding only turkey mince or pork mince, cut beef out completely, and feed it with rice and veg.

I wasn’t entirely happy with this but we fed pork mince only for a few weeks and cut beef out completely, and her skin improved so much. But after a few weeks of this I just wasn’t happy with feeding her mince, and she started gaining weight.

I started her on the Purina Pro Plan Hypoallergenic diet, both the dry and wet food. I followed the portion sizing. She dropped a bit of weight which was perfect. Her skin is perfect. No more chronic ear infections. Her hair is SLOWLY growing back in on her armpits. She is still prescribed Zenrelia, and she also gets a probiotic added to her food. The difference in her is incredible.

Our vet saw her a few weeks ago and praised what we were doing, said she looked almost like a different dog, and behaved like a different one too. Vet said that what we are doing is working.

But now I’m wondering if I should be looking at moving her on from that food. I was looking at Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon, and I’m wondering if I could start testing that. From the ingredients, there’s no beef or chicken. I know Purina also does a fish in jelly type of dog food, which I was also looking at as I don’t think she’d eat the dry food on its own.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I’m just wondering if it’s best to keep her on this long term as it is working and she is looking amazing, or start testing other proteins. I just don’t want to set her skin off again when she’s so comfortable and happy now.

thanks!

Hi, my dog was recently diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and now needs a low fat diet for the rest of his life. He was on chicken and rice for a bit while it was all getting figured out, and then we slowly transitioned him to a low fat vet prescription food. Unfortunately that food isn’t agreeing with his body. He’s behavioral issues get more intense when on kibble, and then drop off when he’s only on chicken and rice. Prior to his diagnosis when he was on another brand of kibble, he always had those same behavioral issues, so that’s why I’m thinking it’s kibble related, not just that specific kibble brand. On plain chicken and rice it was like I had a different dog! Not perfect, but sooooo much better than before. I’m coming on here because I’m not sure what other options there are. We will be talking to a nutritionist about what we can make our self’s, but I’m not to sure. The only low fat kibble we have in my country is one from Royal canin (which is what we have tried) and one from hills. I’m hesitant to try hills because 1, I’m thinking this is a general kibble issues, maybe something to do with the processing of it? And 2 because many people who have dogs with pancreatitis do not recommend that brand. So I’m really at a loss. Ideally we wanna keep under 7% fat, but there’s just nothing else out there. Wet food is an option, but it’s over $10 a day! Whereas kibble is only about $3 a day! Any help or advice would be appreciated :)

Anyone has an idea of how much is the farmers dog food. My almost 6 years old dog has sensitive stomach and any other type of food gets him sick.
Someone gave us a good amount of farmers dog food and it seems to work good; he haven’t been sick since I started feeding him that food, although I am not sure I would be able to afford it.

I have tried to cook for him but the “healthy food” I can make for him, he hates it and wouldn’t eat 🥴

What's the best Dog food for my 3-year-old cocker spaniel was on Fromm but I heard bad thing's, so we are on Purina one whole body support

I have a very picking non food motivated vizsla, he’ll only eat the food with toppers like vegetable/egg/cooked meat/ect, and will leave kibble all day before touching it no matter what food we give him. He was on farmina grain free venison and then the tropical version for a while but due to cost we switched him to a costco food since switching he’s been more tired than usual and has been shedding like crazy. Any recommendations on food would be greatly appreciate!

My boy was on salmon and sweet potato for 6 years and started gaining weight the last past 2 years from not being as active and being neutered. After going down a rabbit hole on ingredients and brands looking for the right food for him for weight control i decided to go with a small bag of Origin amazing grains fit and trim. I have a little extra money so I want to give him a better kibble.He is 105 pounds He did fine with the transition just really stinky gas. So I decided to buy the big bag and now he won't eat it ugh. Im not sure what to do now has anyone gone through anything similar?