First I’ll say what I’m feeding, then I’ll tell the saga of my dog and why I’m very in favor of the two brands (so far) that I’m about to extol. The first is Orijen’s Amazing Grains Six Fish dry kibble. The second is Essence’s Limited Ingredient Ocean Recipe dry kibble (haven’t tried canned yet, but have some coming). Right now I’m also feeding Essence’s Ocean & Freshwater canned.
Okay. So, how I got to these particular brands and foods:
My dog is 8 years old. From the time he was a little fella, I fed him TSC’s 4Health brand. Over the years I have moved around to different lines and products within that brand, mostly searching for something that would help him with some pretty bad skin allergies. Finally landed on the Sensitive Skin and Coat (or whatever it’s called…white package with husky on it) and his scratching and itching and hair loss, etc. stopped. Hallelujah! He ate that for a few years.
Last summer, I started noticing him having issues breathing, his energy level dropping a lot, and some weight loss. I watched him closely for a few weeks, and soon noticed that he was breathing from his abdomen, seemed to be uncomfortable and out of breath most of the time, and he wasn’t eating or drinking (or pooping or peeing as a result) very much at all. Time for the vet.
Long story slightly less long…he wound up at an emergency vet clinic that has the resources to deal with a pretty severe case of pleural effusion (fluid in his chest). He was bad enough that he had to be put in an oxygen chamber for a little bit. They drained the fluid to get him more comfortable and did a lot of tests that came back okay, but said that cancer couldn’t be ruled out. I was devastated.
We came home with a dog that felt better but with no clear idea of whether the fluid would return, how much time he had left, etc. It took several weeks for him to return to even what he was before going to the emergency clinic. He still wasn’t eating much, so I tried everything including Ollie (which he’d eat sometimes, sometimes not), home-cooked, just canned, etc. He wouldn’t touch his 4Health kibble anymore, but would at least try to eat the canned and some Ollie’s. I knew this wasn’t going to be sustainable, so I went on the hunt for some kibble that might work. I bought Orijen’s Amazing Grains Six Fish. Brought it home and he refused to eat it…still very picky…still not quite himself.
Weeks passed and I just kept feeding him canned and Ollie’s and eventually he started having more of an appetite. His breathing was better, but still not exactly normal, so I watched him obsessively. He went to the vet for some routine stuff and she seemed to think he was okay, though he hadn’t really gained much weight back (but it wasn’t like he was starved).
Eventually I started just putting a little dry food out again to see if he’d try it, and he did! This was probably two to three months after being treated at the emergency clinic. I fed him the rest of his 4Health kibble, thinking that was what he was used to, and he ate it, but his weight still wasn’t where I wanted it, and he began scratching like mad…to the point he was chewing the hair off of his butt/tail, etc. He was miserable. I was perplexed as this was the one food that had helped cure him of his itchiness before.
On a whim, I decided one day to open the bag of Orijen back up and offer him some of that. He scarfed it down like it was filet mignon! I was thrilled and continued feeding him the Orijen kibble and the 4Health canned for the time being. In a week he was looking better than he had in a long time and had noticeably more energy. He was still a little itchy, but nothing like he’d been before.
I started doing more research about various dog foods and looking for something comparable to Orijen’s Amazing Grains Six Fish but not quite as expensive. I came up with Essence’s Limited Ingredient Ocean Recipe. I bought some from Chewy and have been mixing it with the Orijen that I have left. I also bought Essence’s Ocean & Freshwater canned that I mentioned above (by mistake, I thought I was getting the canned version of the kibble…getting that on the next shipment). My dog loves it all, eats it like it’s the best thing ever, and he has gained his weight back, is shiny and no longer itching/scratching, and has tons of energy!
The dog I thought didn’t have long to live is laying beside me right now, breathing easily, healthy as can be. He’s 8 years old and he wears me out with his energy and insistence on playing tug-o-war with his rope or chasing his frisbee, or wanting to go out to the barn.
Sorry for the novel. And while I’m sure there are plenty of options, I do know that the Orijen Amazing Grains Six Fish uses oats and the Essence Limited Ingredient Ocean Recipe uses quinoa and has taurine listed in the ingredients. Both are packed with animal protein from the fish. Neither has rice.