Blue Buffalo Lamb and Brown Rice, Wellness Lamb, Barley and Salmon and Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.
We put our grain-allergy dogs on Taste of the Wild kibble and canned, and the change was amazing! The wee dog is about 6lbs. and can eat the kibble just fine. 30lb. bag runs $47. They scarf it up and no longer itch/chew/stink/go hairless, so it must be working!!
Be careful feeding your dogs a lamb-based kibble. I had just read something a few weeks ago (put out by a Journal of VM) about lamb and liver (can’t remember - I know - no help!) problems.
Also, be careful with barley in dog foods. Many dogs are severely allergic to barley, and it will cause those “lovely” gunky and stinky ears.
[QUOTE=maunder;5557296]
This is a timely topic for me (and thanks Louise for pointing me to it).
My Jack Russell has been itchy for months. He’s always been on a skin and coat supplement because he tends to lick and bite his feet if not on something good. This year it’s gotten worse so the supplements don’t keep him comfortable. Never fear, he’s been to the vet and is on extra pure fish oil, brewer’s yeast with garlic and also anti-itch pills. These things tone the itch down but I want to see him much happier.
I’m looking to change his food from Nutro Max and Pedigree canned (he’s been on them for years and years and itch only started this year) to a non-grain formula.
I know the Countrymax store carries a few varieties of the grain free or natural foods so I’m taking a trip up to look at them again. I’ve had HUGE vet bills with an old dog that has passed and a young dog that needs surgery so I’m ashamed that I haven’t switched yet.
If the food change doesn’t give him relief then it’s back to the vet specialist for testing. My vet warned me that this is extremely extensive and expensive (she laughed at her rhyme, dear vet ;)).
Keep the suggestions coming.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think you necessarily need to go grain-free.
Did your vet talk to you about doing a food trial to rule out a food allergy? Food allergies aren’t as common as environmental allergies (I assume environmental allergies were what she was hinting at with “extensive and expensive testing”), but they are a lot easier to fix.
I’m always a little leery of the Grain Free foods as: 1) dogs are omnivores and 2) all the dogs I’ve seen on them have been obese.
Grains are NOT usually the culprit in a food allergy - the protein source is. The allergies also tend to develop after a dog has been on the same food for some time.
If you want to do a “true” food trial, (which you’ll have to discuss w/ your vet first) you’ll want to go with one of the prescription diets – Iams Fish and Potato, Hills D/D or Z/D, etc. If you want to do it yourself, pick one of the limited ingredient foods with a single protein source – like California Natural. As someone mentioned above, the OTC foods are all produced at the same plant, so you may have some cross-contamination. During the food trial, that is all your dog can eat – no treats, no table scraps, etc.
I don’t remember all the details for a true food trial (it’s been a while since I thought about dog nutrition, haha) so I’d recommend that you call and get the details from your vet…but it’s worth a shot.
More info about food trials (I think this is in the public domain section): http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2499
[QUOTE=jetsmom;5555679]
Taste of the Wild High Prairie formula worked for my itchy dog. It’s Bison and Venison/Grain free.[/QUOTE]
THIS ^^^ its a good price for the weight of the bag, small bites, and its a great source of proteins and grain free.
try adding salmon oil to your dog’s food.
Food allergies are almost always to a protein, so being ‘grain free’ isn’t the be all end all.
A food trial involves feeding a hypoallergenic diet EXCLUSIVELY for 8-12 weeks. The truly hypoallergenic diets are usually a hydrolyzed protein, usually soy or chicken. A hydrolyzed protein has been smashed into little bits on the molecular level to sneak past the immune system.
Most of them taste like poop 
[QUOTE=Dry Clean Only;5558204]
Most of them taste like poop :D[/QUOTE]
…And are uber expensive! :eek:
[QUOTE=Ben and Me;5557710]
If you want to do a “true” food trial, (which you’ll have to discuss w/ your vet first) you’ll want to go with one of the prescription diets – Iams Fish and Potato, Hills D/D or Z/D, etc. If you want to do it yourself, pick one of the limited ingredient foods with a single protein source – like California Natural. As someone mentioned above, the OTC foods are all produced at the same plant, so you may have some cross-contamination. During the food trial, that is all your dog can eat – no treats, no table scraps, etc.
I don’t remember all the details for a true food trial (it’s been a while since I thought about dog nutrition, haha) so I’d recommend that you call and get the details from your vet…but it’s worth a shot.
More info about food trials (I think this is in the public domain section): http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2499
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=143[/QUOTE]
No offence but Iams and Hills are lousy foods.
[QUOTE=jetsmom;5558246]
No offence but Iams and Hills are lousy foods.[/QUOTE]
Here we go again…
According to whom? Dogfoods.com? Can you please elaborate on “lousy”?
PS – Guess who now owns Innova/California Natural/Evo? 
If your dog has a specific medical problem, like a food allergy, or renal failure, or liver failure, then in my opinion, you should really go with the food that has the research to back it up – not with advice from an internet forum.
But what do I know? 
For what it’s worth, I feed my dog Wellness. But I do think that in the cases of medical problems (like the food trial for a food allergy that I was describing), you should go with science, not with “Well Sally Sue down at the grocery store said that she got all better with snake oil, so I’m going to use snake oil too!”
Made me look. Proctor and Gamble! There goes the quality down and the price up.
I love Wellness food. My dog eats Duck and Rice crunchy food for breakfast and dinner. She eats Salmon and Rice crunchy for lunch. She eats Duck and Sweet Potato canned with her meds morning and night. Her coat is very soft for her breed and she is maintaining a good weight for her high energy self.
You have to find what works for you. By the way, my dogs are on a grain free limited diet and they are most certainly not fat. They get the appropriate amount for their size. No more. No table scraps (except for the occasional banana or tomato that the lab manages to steal).
I’ve got a 10 year old chow/GSD that allergic to corn, wheat, and is sensitive to poultry. Every 4-6 months she gets “bored” with her food and just quits eating it so I switch food around. Her stomach never gets upset with changing grain-free foods over night.
I’ve had her on Before Grain Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Wellness CORE, Canidae grain free Bison (she didn’t really like that one), EVO (before P&G bought them and the quality/food changed), and just bought a bag of Nature’s Instinct rabbit.
My hound is on Natural Balance and doing well on it. He’s allergic to chicken and lamb. We had him on California Naturals herring/potato formula, but then after P&G purchased Natura, I decided to change. I simply don’t trust P&G to do anything that might cut into its profit margin.
So we did NB’s fish/potato formula for a while, and then hound’s ears started bothering him again. He’s now on the venison/potato formula and, touch wood, is doing fine.
With premium foods, you will probably find that they are generally higher in protein and calories than grocery-store brands, so you may need to adjust your portions accordingly. As far as some dogs being overweight on grain-free diets … there are fat dogs on Ol’Roy and fat dogs on Orijen. It’s usually more of an owner issue than a food issue. :rolleyes: If you feed your dog a lot more calories than he uses, he will gain weight.
It’s easier to try to figure out what the culprit might be if you avoid foods with lots of extraneous stuff in them. Apples, carrots, alfalfa, currants, etc., all sound fun, but if you’re not sure what your dog’s allergic to, it’s easier to rule out ingredients when there’s only seven things to choose from instead of 47. This means you have to consider table scraps, treats and access to “food” from other sources, including the stools of other dogs.
Picking a food with a different protein is a good place to start. I think most of NB’s options for dry kibble also come as canned food, so you should be able to stick to your one protein source. I imagine you’d see improvement fairly soon; it took 10-14 days for my hound’s allergy symptoms to resolve.
Good luck figuring something out. I know how frustrating it can be!
The top three allergens for dogs is corn, wheat and soy. Make sure that your dog’s treats don’t have any of that in it.
I like California Natural for LID and they now also make a grain free.
I feed mine Taste of the Wild then use Evo 95% can for toppings
[QUOTE=Ben and Me;5558251]
Here we go again…
According to whom? Dogfoods.com? Can you please elaborate on “lousy”?
!"[/QUOTE]
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1062&cat=7
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1774&cat=7
Both foods are rated as 1 star foods…about as poor quality as you can get. Main ingredient is corn, and they use known carcinogens.
[QUOTE=Due’s Mom;5558540]
The top three allergens for dogs is corn, wheat and soy. [/QUOTE]
MYTH:
“Soy and corn are common food allergens and it is best to seek pet foods without these ingredients to avoid problems.”
FACT:
The most common food allergens for dogs are: beef, dairy, and wheat. These three ingredients account for 68% of canine food allergies. The most common food allergens in cats are: beef, dairy, and fish. These three ingredients account for 80% of feline food allergies.
From:
http://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=468
FYI – the above is a great website for more info on diets, itchy skin, flea control, etc, etc, etc, etc. It is operated as an adjunct to VIN, which is a very well-regarded vet-only website.
[QUOTE=jetsmom;5558612]
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1062&cat=7
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1774&cat=7
Both foods are rated as 1 star foods…about as poor quality as you can get. Main ingredient is corn, and they use known carcinogens.[/QUOTE]
Are there any veterinarians, nutritionists, or scientists involved in the ratings given by that site? Have they done any peer-reviewed, double-blinded studies assessing the quality of the 6* food over the 1* food?
I have played around on the website before, and I do like their common-sense approach, but it makes me a little nervous that they’re passing judgement (and are regarded by so many on the internet as the #1 authority on dog food) without any scientists on their board.
Like I said before, I feed my healthy dog Wellness, even though I could get Science Diet or Purina for free.
But, I know that if I came down with…say…cancer, I would definitely trust the tested, proven drug over the .com website recommendation. Similarly, if she was diagnosed with kidney disease, she would be on one of the prescription diets in a heartbeat. The prescription diets have been studied and the research backs them up. You just can’t say that for the other foods. In some cases, they are the best option.
However, I know I’m not going to change people’s minds…just wanted to point out what’s gone through my mind as I’ve weighed all the options for my own pup, listened to lunch talks from food companies and taken independent veterinary nutrition classes.
Final post for the evening…
These topics (and others like them) always remind me of Kent Allen’s article from this summer.
[QUOTE=Ben and Me;5558644]
Like I said before, I feed my healthy dog Wellness, even though I could get Science Diet or Purina for free.
:)[/QUOTE]
Just curious, why you feed Wellness (which is a 5 star rated food), when you could get SD for free, which happens to be a food a lot of vets push heavily…You must believe that Wellness IS a better food…
