Re: The dreaded food query... [quote author=bbrown link=topic=9374.msg134668#msg134668 date=1420400873] I'd also see if CSJ have a grain free option as I know plenty of people happy with CSJ. [/quote] Just to confirm - yes, Pongo is on CSJ and it seems really, really good (and surprisingly cheap). They have pretty much zero marketing costs because they only sell online or through breeders; a 15kg bag (which lasts him a more than a month) costs about £15. Going by what is on the website (I am no expert!) they are pretty committed to natural ingredients and 'good' stuff. Also the treats that they sell are great - Pongo will sell his soul for them.
Re: The dreaded food query... Mine are now on Burgess Sensitive Lamb and Rice and have beautiful, solid poos ;D
Re: The dreaded food query... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=9374.msg135179#msg135179 date=1420555964] beautiful, solid poos ;D [/quote] something to aspire to !!!! ;D ;D ;D
Re: The dreaded food query... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=9374.msg135179#msg135179 date=1420555964] Mine are now on Burgess Sensitive Lamb and Rice and have beautiful, solid poos ;D [/quote] I have a bit of a poo fetish myself, but not sure I'd ever refer to them as "beautiful"
Re: The dreaded food query... I think we are all obsessed with poo! We had a vet visit last night. She's got antibiotics for the lump/sore on her foot and if it doesn't improve she has to go back for sedation and they will cut it open to explore and see if there's s foreign body in there. I spoke to the vet about her itchiness and she said that her skin and cost are in good condition and in her opinion doesn't look like she's been excessively chewing at her feet etc as she would expect them to be more sore and swollen. So maybe I will hold off on the food change for now, until this thing with her foot is cleared up at least, and see how it goes. Maybe I'm just worrying too much.
Re: The dreaded food query... Good news and hope her skin heals quickly. In case you do decide to swop food in the future, Albert is fed Millies Wolfheart too. It really is excellent quality and up there with Orijen and Acana etc. Albert is a very itchy dog with dry skin and dandruff. I give him piriton (vets advice) and 10ml Yumega plus oil, 1000mg evening primrose oil capsule, plus tsp organic raw coconut oil every day. That and the change to Millies food has worked wonders. Good luck Jan
Re: The dreaded food query... i am feeding milly on james wellbeloved but am concerned that she poos a lot and do wonder if she gets much goodness from the food if this is the case the only poo she eats is my friends dogs who are raw fed
Re: The dreaded food query... i had noticed milly was the same as your dog biting her feet and itching as i had been thinking about raw feeding i decided to go for it there are 3 groups on facebook one directs you to info from ann ridyard there is a 4 week transition chart on there and is very good milly was on jwb and pooed what seemed like twice as much as she ate and she also used to drink huge amounts of water also much better now
Re: The dreaded food query... Food is a minefield. I think if everythings right food wise other than skin I'd hold off changing. If allergy is suspected then it's always best rather than switching between kibbles to try a diet trial using a novel protein source and a novel carb source. Hills make d/d which I think is venison and green pea ie. stuff a dog is unlikely to have had before. But home cooked salmon or venison and sweet potato would be a suitable equivalent if that would be totally new. We feed james wellbeloved and I'd say Amber poos less than your average dog, 2 or 3 times a day and generally pretty small and firm. I hear good things about wainwrights (but I've only ever used their treats - which are great) and you can buy that in lots of places.
Re: The dreaded food query... Far better to be feeding a natural food such as Raw than foods that in some cases are laced with chemicals , The small fortune that is spent on high end kibble could be better spent on Raw feeding . Although i do accept that in certain areas of the UK and beyond that Raw can be more expensive , We are very lucky that we have a large supplier fairly local to us so only spend about £25 a month .
Re: The dreaded food query... My friend has a dog who was miserable with itching and scratching. Her vet put her on benadryl, which only made her poor dog so tired all the time. I told her about a product called dinovit, It work better then she could have imagined. No more intense biting herself and scratching. You can do a search on the inter net, it is really good. It is a powder you add to the food. I hope this helps and your dog feels better real soon!
Re: The dreaded food query... Raw feeding is a mine field. Some people report great results but it's very difficult to get right. Can't guarantee the vitamin/mineral composition of what you feed and there's a high risk of bacterial gut infection. Remember all the reasons we don't eat raw meat!! As a vet Im uncomfortable with lots of bone feeding as it often causes problems, which we then have to deal with. I would always advise a good quality kibble. The argument that 'raw' is what a dog is designed for is a bit false as the modern dog is very far removed from its wolf ancestors. Dogs are supposed to be able to run around and give birth naturally, you've only got to look at Bulldogs and some other breeds to see how different the modern dog is.
Re: The dreaded food query... [quote author=A.Causer link=topic=9374.msg143139#msg143139 date=1423683110] Raw feeding is a mine field. Some people report great results but it's very difficult to get right. Can't guarantee the vitamin/mineral composition of what you feed and there's a high risk of bacterial gut infection. Remember all the reasons we don't eat raw meat!! As a vet Im uncomfortable with lots of bone feeding as it often causes problems, which we then have to deal with. I would always advise a good quality kibble. The argument that 'raw' is what a dog is designed for is a bit false as the modern dog is very far removed from its wolf ancestors. Dogs are supposed to be able to run around and give birth naturally, you've only got to look at Bulldogs and some other breeds to see how different the modern dog is. [/quote] I'm interested as to what problems are caused by bones and how much is "lots of bone feeding"? I'm also not sure highlighting a bulldogs inability to give birth without c-section is particularly useful as it's pretty clear that we've b******d up some breeds for the sake of looks and bulldogs definitely fall into that category. Has any of that fundamentally changed what constitutes a suitable diet though? I certainly don't make that connection. I'm a kibble feeder by the way but mainly because I'm too lazy to feed raw
Re: The dreaded food query... The worst thing I've seen as a bone complication was a bit of bone lodged in the oesophagus where it narrows around the base of the heart. Surgery to remove it involved opening the chest cavity which meant the dog needed the nurse to msnually ventilate the dog throughout surgery. I have also seen punctured intestine caused by nine causing massive infection within the abdomen. A lot of raw people Ive spoken to feed chicken wings and other bones several times a week. As for Bulldogs, an extreme example I know but I meant to illustrate that each breed has undergone hundreds of years of selective breeding to get to where they are now, so to use the argument its natural I find a bit silly. Working huskies tend to get raw diets but they are far more like their wolf ancestors. Its a lot of effort to do raw and so many ways it can go wrong. I don't think most people have the time to do it right and even done correctly there is still some risk involved.
Re: The dreaded food query... Ours was on Arden and was itching all the time, so I swapped him over to Millies Wolfheart. I also started him on Yumega Plus oil for itchy skin (you can buy on Amazon), his coat is so glossy (people often comment about how shiny he is) and his itching has stopped. I've since put him on Skinners and he still isn't itching so I'm assuming it was Ardens and the Yumega has helped.
