Hi everyone,
My 10 month old Springer Spaniel is currently eating Go! FIT + FREE Grain Free Puppy. I love this food and she does well on it, but there is only one problem: she smells like a fish.
We have talked with a vet. It isn’t a health issue, it just makes her smell a bit fishy. It’s definitely bearable if we can’t find her a better food, but fish kisses and fish farts are gross.
Thoughts on fish free, grain free dry foods? In the 50 to 75 price range would be ideal.
My Springer puppy (18 months) does pretty well on Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear. No grain, no fish. She’s not a good eater and this is the only one she will eat with any regularity. You might also try Fromm and Orijen if you don’t find an Acana flavor you like.
I also use Stella and Chewy’s raw patties in the Phenomenal Pheasant flavor.
I’m not sure where you are, but I use Performatrin Grain Free. No grain or fish. My guy loves it, but he’s a lab and loves everything…
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/performatrin-ultra-grain-free/
victor grain free active dog and puppy
http://www.victordogfood.com/all_life.html#
US sourced, no fish -in that recipe.
I use Rocketpetz as a supplier: excellent service, but there are quite a few on-line sources.
Check out Pinnacle peak grain free, too. I’m not sure if that is fish-free.
Our dogs do well on the Acana Wild Prairie. As far as I can tell, this is the least expensive of the Acana flavors. When the store is out of this, I’ve purchased the Acana that has Bison-I think it’s Rangelands. They love that, but it is more expensive. Not sure about the fish content in either but I believe the Acana line is grain free.
TOTW has some fish meal in the nonfish version, but it is so far down on the list I suspect it is not going to impact puppy farts 
I get it at TSC, reasonably proced especially compared t the other grain free alternatives at Petco/Petsmart
We feed Merrick in our household
Look at the grain-free Merrick options- they have a protein/fat level that is equivalent to the Go fit puppy (36/18) and somewhat similar ingredients but a lot less fish.
Thanks everyone!
I looked at the acana but I am (perhaps mistakenly) hesitant about limited ingredient foods. It seems to me that it would be better to be feeding a range (aka multiple meat sources within the food) than just one meat source. Thoughts on this?
it’s a good idea to rotate foods- particularly across brands. Just in case one brand is low in not-well-studied micronutrient Z, the next brand might have enough of it. Or that’s the theory. The few doggy nutritionists out there all recommend rotating brands and adding a certain amount of fresh food (10% or so) to dry kibble diets. You can rotate through different meat sources and different grain sources, too, while doing this.
The idea behind a limited ingredient diet is if your dog suddenly develops an allergy, you can just move to another food. Since most dogs never develop food allergies I’m not sure how useful this concept is in real life.
Don’t forget to give your pup fish oil. Dry kibble never has enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Normally we rotate between Acana’s Ranchlands, Grasslands, Pacifica (the only one with fish, I think?), on a 5 lbs basis with half always coming from their Lamb with Apple to cut the calories. I haven’t noticed her smelling like fish and I’m pretty sensitive to smells but it could be personal body chemistry there. Since Shelties can have pancreas issues and we don’t know our her family history, we like to keep the levels of fat and protein moderate. Right now since she’s recovering from oral surgery, so she’s on Canine Caviar’s Duck (only duck and sweet potato) with Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-bowl with Proden Plaque off for added supplement.
Our sheltie is a bit of a special snowflake with allergies so I highly recommend scoping out dogfoodadvisor for quality/ingredients/nutrition. I spent a good while on there looking for wet food brands the other week.
Don’t forget to give your pup fish oil. Dry kibble never has enough omega-3 fatty acids.
If you can stand the odor, a sardine every day or so is good for them. And they DO love them.
But since it’s fish odor that the OP objects to, perhaps this is not good advice.
Thanks! This has been very helpful - I think we are going to give Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear a shot… or perhaps the Ranchlands / Grasslands type. The later do have fish, but less than what she is currently on.
What about wet food? I know this is better for cats, but is it preferable to dry for dogs as well?
I give them a tablespoon of the Wellness Chicken canned dogfood along with their Acana kibble. They also get a sardine and a little hard boiled egg whites. I soak their kibble as well.
I feed Now, which is made by the same people as your Go. I feed the senior weight management option, I don’t think there is fish in it. I bought the fish one one time and never again, it smelled so bad.
Wet isn’t necessary for dogs. I use the raw diet to entice my picky eater to eat regularly. You can add a little for flavor but the action of chewing kibble is good for the teeth.
I’m a Springer owner, a DVM and have tried most foods on the market. Feel free to PM me to commiserate on dog food choices.
Well we picked up a bag of Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear last night and started mixing it in this morning. Apparently its good because she ate her whole meal without stopping, whereas normally she can take it or leave it. Fingers crossed she does well on it.
Thanks for your help everyone!
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