<p>We got a puppy a few months ago; for breakfast and dinner have been giving him one the frozen raw brands the breeder had used and recommended; for lunch he gets high-quality kibble. The frozen raw formula is expensive but convenient, only requiring that I remember to thaw some in the refrigerator ahead of time. The high-quality kibbles such as Castor and Pollux, Fromm, and Merrick (we have been giving him Fromm for the past couple of months and I know there are a lot of other good brands too–reading labels has been very enlightening) are also relatively expensive. In our case the dog himself was something of an indulgence (husband always wanted one) so might as well spend the money as his food as well. He seems to like everything put in front of him.</p>
<p>There is an informative Web site called dogfoodadvisor.com that analyzes commercial dog foods and ranks from one to five stars. There is also a new book in my local library coauthored by the well-known people-food nutritionist Marion Nestle–doesn’t take a position for or against one specific type of food but is very interesting.</p>
<p>This is great information. I just recently lost my 10 year-old black lab to an aggressive cancer of the spleen. He never had problems with diarrhea except once when he was 1 or 2. It ended up we had a plant in the back yard that looked a lot like long grass and he was eating it. When we moved it to the front yard his stomach problems stopped. He was incredibly healthy his whole life (never even an ear infection) and we even ran a 10K in June. But he ate the Iams large dog formula his whole life. I wonder if possibly this could have contributed to his cancer.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear you lost your long time pet, tx5. </p>
<p>For those who buy Wellness brand, be sure to sign up for their monthly e-newsletters. They include coupons for $3 off the bags (can’t remember the minimum size) and $1 off cans and you can print as many as you need. Also, I’ve found that some pet supply stores will issue frequent buyer cards where you earn a free bag after you purchase a certain number. I know Wellness participates in the program at my local feed store.</p>
<p>If you google “dog food carcinogens” you’ll find tons of sites with information. For a pretty complete looking list of ingredients to avoid check out dogfoodproject.com</p>
<p>I don’t sell Iams, Euk, SciDi or Purina … they just don’t meet my quality standards. The grocery store aisle is full of stuff I wouldn’t feed my dog also. Everything in my shop would be considered a natural food with no corn, wheat, or soy, no byproduct meal, and no chemical preservatives. Beyond that, there are some more expensive foods and some less expensive foods – they are all a little different. When I do a dog food consult I try to figure out what the dog has been eating and why the owner wants to switch food.</p>
<p>In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that Natura has been one of my favorite food manufacturers for years. Unfortunately, Natura, who makes California Natural, Innova, and Evo, has been purchased by our friends at Proctor and Gamble. My staff and I are watching them closely to see what changes they will make to one of the best quality foods out there. P&G did buy Natura’s manufacturing facility, certified to human grade standards, along with the brands and formulae, and much of the staff stayed on. So far.</p>
<p>My two dogs (boykin spaniel and golden doodle) eat Euk low fat kibble. I have not been able to get it for a while and haven’t been happy with other low fat kibbles for them. Any recommendations?</p>
<p>cnp - I would appreciate it if you would review this page from one of the links provided above and give me your opinion, based on your experience with your customers:</p>
<p>The reason our dog has been on a renal diet is due to episodes of kidney stones that needed to be removed when she was younger (last episode was about eight years ago). After the second episode, we put her on prescription early renal stage diet, and she has not had any stone since.</p>
<p>CNP55: I applaud your integrity. I shop at a local store that does the same. When I feed kibble, I feed Wellness.</p>
<p>I mostly cook for my dogs. My research leads me to believe that vegetables should be cooked lightly for maximum bio-availability and meat should be raw. I mostly cook veggies in broth and pour it over frozen meat. I prepare the meat once every few weeks and freeze in single-serving sizes. I add oatmeal when my dogs are getting thin. I try to weigh them every few weeks and keep their weight in a narrow range.</p>
<p>I find my older dog’s IBD responsds beautifully to lots of vegetables in her diet. I mostly feed her the stuff in the refrigerator that’s slightly past its prime. I get a box of veggies from the CSA every week, and what we don’t eat goes to the dogs, so none if wasted. </p>
<p>At the recommendation of the vet, I add probiotic, flax seed oil (salmon oil would be better, but the older dog is allergic), and a multi-vitamin supplement.</p>
<p>Bonnie, Euk is also a P&G brand and I believe is made in the same facilities as IAMs. There were some Euk product included in the recall a couple of months ago. </p>
<p>I just got off the phone with Iams. They are opening a case and want my vet to call them. They told me to hang onto the food in case they want a sample. They offered a refund for the food – I didn’t discuss vet bills with them, decided to see how the case/vet discussion went first. I really mostly just want them to figure out if this is or isn’t caused by the food, as I wouldn’t want anyone else’s dog to get sick.</p>
<p>They did say that some of their production problems that have reduced deliveries are NOT related to the recall, but are due to some kind of upgrade going on at the same time. Maybe true, but that does not mean other lines of their food don’t have a contamination problem as well. I will reserve judgement for now…</p>