<p>Here’s a review of Nutro Max Large Breed Adult:</p>
<p>The first ingredient is a named meat product, in meal form. It is the sole meat ingredient in the food, and is followed by five grain products ahead of the fat content. This gives us very little confidence in the meat content of the product.</p>
<p>The grains are of mixed quality. Rice is decent quality grain, but rice flour (in dog food, commonly a byproduct of human food production) and rice bran are both grain fragments we consider primarily filler. Wheat is one of the most common sources of allergy problems in dog food, and in flour form (in dog food, commonly a byproduct of human food production) is a grain fragment. Corn is a further low quality ingredient. It is a difficult to digest grain that is commonly associated with allergy problems. Corn Gluten Meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. In plain English, that bit of the corn leftover after most of the nutritious bits have been removed.</p>
<p>Poultry fat is a further low quality ingredient rarely found in anything but very low quality foods. Poultry fat is an ingredient of unidentified origin for which it is impossible to determine source or quality. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as obtained from the tissues of poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words “used as a preservative”.*</p>
<p>Beet pulp is controversial filler which appears to be used in large quantities in this food. It is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required. We would prefer to see the use of whole eggs rather than egg product in the food.</p>
<p>We note that this product includes synthetic vitamin K, a substance linked to liver problems and that is progressively being removed from better quality dog food products.</p>
<p>I would highly, highly recommend you try a high-quality no-grain food. The foods you find in grocery stores and large chain pet stores are not just average, they are garbage. They have ingredients similar to the worst types of human junk food. </p>
<p>I may have missed it, but do you know what foods your dog is allergic to? You can find high quality foodswith different meats, etc. </p>
<p>I would also strongly recommend you Google “dog food forum chat” and ask your question there. It is a very pro-raw feeding forum, but they have a great canned/dry food section. I don’t feed raw (although I would like to try it), and still find people there are very knowledgeable about the dog nutrition. </p>
<p>If you don’t believe the reviews I cited earlier or just want more information, try to find a forum dedicated to dog nutrition. People on CC, while very helpful, are not, for the most part, really into researching dog nutrition. You are getting some good answers. But you are also getting answers from people who may not be aware of what goes into the dog food you get at a pet store. </p>
<p>As for vets, a lot of them have not had to take a nutrition course in decades, if ever, and a lot of those courses/conventions are also sponsored by Science Diet or other brands. </p>
<p>You really have to do your own research. Most importantly, don’t buy food with by-products or grains or a long list of ingredients you can’t understand - the list should be short and simple. </p>
<p>Orijen has done wonders for many people. I love it for my dog. But it’s not the only good brand. You may want to try a few of the top ones: Wellness Core, Blue Buffalo, Innova Evo, just to name a few.</p>
<p>I’ve said this in other threads but I’m a huge fan of Orijen/Acana (same manufacturer) myself too. Don’t be dissuaded by the price - because the meat content in high quality foods is much higher than the supermarket junk, you actually need to feed much less (can be up to 2/3rds less). So you aren’t paying that much more, and the savings in vet bills is huge.</p>
<p>downtoearth - Be careful with that garlic supplement, it’s a VERY dosage sensitive additive for dogs. Too much and it causes gastrointestinal issues and destroys red blood cell count. I would say switch to a grain-free food first as a priority. You should keep up on the heartworm meds though if you’re in an area with a lot of mosquitos.</p>
<p>Our dog has allergies, we have used “better” food for her always and while I agree it is probably better for the dog in the long run, it hasn’t helped at all with her allergies.</p>
<p>OP, if you are using Benadryl for the itching, add some fish oil to his food as well. The combination of the 2 REALLY helps our dog and itching. We get some canine ones from our vet and just squirt the stuff inside the capsule on to her food. For a larger dog you could probably just put the gel cap into the food without breaking it open.</p>
<p>The “dog” fish oils are the same exact stuff as the human ones, just more expensive. Also, my 12lb sheltie chews the capsules just fine, but YMMV. Costco fish oil works well because the concentration is fairly low compared to most.</p>
<p>Yes, overall they are getting better, but we’ve had to go back to the cone with an old cloth diaper wrapped like a bib around his neck that does a good job of collecting moisture. Our house is too big for me to keep a continual eye on our dog and it only takes a few swift scratches or bites to open things up again. My concern is that when we take the cone off he scratches, which means there’s still an itch there. :(</p>
<p>Have you tried scratching him with the pads of your fingers (so it’s gentler, no nails)? When he tries to scratch there himself, just use your hand to nudge his leg/head away. And keep it up consistently every time you see him scratching or every few hours. I do that for my dog now and it works pretty well.</p>
<p>CollectivSynergy–our dog can chew them fine too, however, she thinks they are a treat and will take them to her “rug” where she eats her treats–which don’t stain the carpet like the fish oil does :D.</p>
<p>Haha, there is that. My dog brings it to her mat, but she keeps it in her mouth somehow after puncturing it. She’s always been curiously neat though when eating and grooming herself. Almost cat-like. I guess I should appreciate that more.</p>
Well, yeah that works, but I just can’t watch him 24/7 and since there is no hair there, it just takes one or two scratches to open the spot. He tends to hang out on the cool tile in the hallway, not in the rooms I’m in. He’s not one of those dogs that follows his people around… And I’m not going to follow him around even for a few hours just to correct him. ;)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.medi-vet.com/GenesisTopicalSpray.html--this[/url]”>http://www.medi-vet.com/GenesisTopicalSpray.html--this</a> is what we use on our dog. It really helps. You do need to put rubber gloves on if you are going to rub it in because it will soak into your skin too. I think it says to use it for no longer than 2 weeks or something like that. We usually only have to do 4 or 5 days during the worst of allergy season for her though. For a hot spot, it might only take a couple days.</p>
<p>thanks for all your advice. it has led me in the right direction. We met with the vet for 1.5 hours. He has topical sprays, antibiotics. The area around the hot spot is shaved. he hates the spray (noise) but I think it is helping. I will revisit the garlic supplement. I did learn also that the fish oil potentiates the benadryl. although I have switched him to claritin. the vet also mentioned allery tests, shots and cyclosporin. I a not too interested in that. The vet also said to feed him a meet he has never had before. he is 10 so I cant remember everything we have tried, but I do know he hasnt had buffalo. I will change his food for the quality. not sure if it affects his alergies either. thanks again this place is a wealth of knowledge.</p>
<p>Personally, if it were my dog and he had never been on a grain free diet, I would try that in something ordinary like chicken before I would jump to something exotic. Cutting out the grain may be enough. If you change too many things at one time, you don’t know what’s working.</p>
<p>We are cone-free and not-scratching! I put a scarf around our dogs neck to deflect neck scratches and all spots have baby hair on them and he no longer starts when we touch the areas. What a difference a week makes!</p>
<p>Well, my Springer, who I carefully feed only non-grain ocean type dog food, ate a stolen loaf of whole wheat English muffins last week and now he has the hot spots I dread. We had guests last weekend and I don’t think they believed me that my dog will steal food off the counter if they leave it within reach. I have seen over the years if he eats a loaf of bread (we only buy whole grain wheat) or in this case, whole grain English muffins, he will break out in itchy spots within 3 days. This time he only had minor itches after 3 days, but now 6 days later, I can clearly see the red hot spots on his belly and his ribs by his back legs. I couldn’t find the Vetericyn at my local pet food store, so instead purchased Sulfodene. I dabbed that on all the hot spots and he is still not gnawing at them three hours later. I’ll see what happens during the night as that is when he seems to attack himself due to the itchiness.</p>
<p>If he wasn’t so cute I would just let him itch, since he did this to himself, but H and I now have an empty nest so this little thief will get all my daily love and attention.</p>