Eagle Pack Reduced Fat Formula

[Andisa]

I have been raw feeding for several yrs, but since my first litter almost 2 yrs ago I began to add some EP dry with their meals most nights, all was fine apart from feeling gulity for using it.

Piper does tend to put on weight easily, so thought I would give her some of the EP reduced fat formula as it only has 9% fat against the others that are 12 % +. I only give the dogs about one cup a day, the rest in in raw foods, and they don't get it every day. She is currently at 43.5kgs, her ideal weight is 42kgs so we are slowly getting there.

She has only been on it for about 2 weeks or less, was wormed and treated for fleas even though I couldn't find any, she had 2 small bald patches the size of 5c piece. She had a vet appt for something unrelated and while I was there I asked them to do a scraping and check for mites and ringworm - luckily nothing was found. They said she may have a skin infection so said to put her on AB's, I thought it was a bit of over kill so put them on the fridge. 4 days later the 2 small patches are now bigger than my hand, she has been scratching something shocking, her coat has got thinner all over and she looks like crap, dull coat. Once I saw her skin I decided to start her on the AB's and gone over everything and the only changes have been the EP reduced fat dry.

I called the shop I got it from and returned it, as I don't feed much it was more than 3/4 full. I swapped it for the Holistic Duck.

I felt really bad, I read the pack and the very first ingredients was ground yellow corn...she has never had a reaction to anything before but then again she has never had this type of food either. Glad I didn't feed her much of this stuff, this was the only thing that I have changed with her so am hoping it caused the problems - if no improvement in a week looks like another vet trip. She usually has the most beautiful coat, I have never seen her like this before.

Any one else had such a bad reaction to the EP reduced fat formula?

Those who are thinking about trying it look out for skin issues if your dog is not used to corn.

[Staffyluv]

It really is such a small difference in fat content (low fat to the normal one) that I would not worry about it - especially if it is not agreeing with your dog.

I used a hills low fat one for my lazy old stafford once and it did not agree with him either but I think that was just because he has always been fed human food (not a dog food boy) apart from the odd doggy treat... His coat looked terrible when he had it...

[Nekhbet]

I dont know what it is about that reduced fat formula but this is what happened to my rottie

phenergen and baths. Since this incident his skin seems permanently ruined he's having to be bathed at least once a week and scratches or nibbles all the time. No idea why he reacted so badly

[Andisa]

Nekhbet - Oh - poor boy . How long was he boy on the reduced fat diet? He look heaps worse than Piper does. I hope he gets better soon and he doesn't stay like that. ;)

Edited July 17, 2009 by Andisa

[Andisa]

Staffyluv - I guess I was just trying to get her weight down a bit easier than cutting her food back again - I so regret this now. Only 2 more kgs and I would have been happy with her. Makes me appreciate the raw diet even more..

Why didn't I click about the friggen corn.

[Nekhbet]

he ate 2 meals of it, the second he got into the bag and had a massive meal of it *bastard animal*

that was a couple of weeks ago, he's settled but STILL itching, his ears are red and a little crusty and needs regular washing or he stinks. He's ruined from it. Paw Paw cream settles him.

his only good diet is RC and he's fine on that, just the Eagle Pack sets him off.

[Clyde]

Poor Piper : (

I feed EP light every summer. It keeps George lovely and lean (around 38kgs) and I've not ever had a problem. He then goes on regular EP in the cooler months and I let him get to about 42 ish give or take.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Clyde

[Andisa]

Thought I should take a pic to show what I am talking about - but after looking at Nekhbets boy think we got out of it lightly.

It looks worse in the flesh than it looks in this pic and thinning in a few other areas - since she has never had skin issues before this is bad enough.

Clyde - glad it works for Geroge, but I won't be trying it again so she better get used to smaller meals to get the last couple of kgs off, just as well she likes kangaroo.

[Erny]

phenergen and baths. Since this incident his skin seems permanently ruined he's having to be bathed at least once a week and scratches or nibbles all the time. No idea why he reacted so badly

The washing so frequently in itself I can't imagine would assist. Sometimes I think we need to let our dogs have a chance of getting their skin PH levels and oils back on track and I do think, as much as it is tempting because we feel we need to do something and sometimes things get worse before they get better, that we have a tendency to jump to chemical (or soap based) application too quickly and too often.

My boy's hives are reducing in severity, numbers and size even though he is still getting new flushes of them. I just use the Calendulum (marigold flower) tea rinse - I dip a flannel into the tea and wipe the areas that have the hives/rash and it tends to take any heat or redness away if there is any or just if he seems to be itching at them. I purposely avoided bathing him since the worst of his hive episodes. I do brush him though (in his case, using a rubber mitt) as this assists with ridding the old skin and also reduces cause for itchiness. Coat and skin have improved considerably.

Edited July 18, 2009 by Erny

[Clyde]

Ouch, that looks very itchy

That is what Advance does to George.

[Quickasyoucan]

It's funny as I have found Eagle Pack holistic is the only one that doesn't do that to Jake. He was terrible on Eukanuba. Just goes to show each allergy is different.

I'm with Erny re the bathing. I rarely shampoo Jake at all these days, he gets a quick hose down after a walk in the mornings and that's it. His allergies are 100% better. He used to have patches like the rotties under his arms ever summer and on his belly.

I guess its a case of you have to go with what works.

[Erny]

It's funny as I have found Eagle Pack holistic is the only one that doesn't do that to Jake. He was terrible on Eukanuba. Just goes to show each allergy is different.

I'm with Erny re the bathing. I rarely shampoo Jake at all these days, he gets a quick hose down after a walk in the mornings and that's it. His allergies are 100% better. He used to have patches like the rotties under his arms ever summer and on his belly.

I guess its a case of you have to go with what works.

Thank you, Quickasyoucan. The only thing with the "have to go with what works" comment (other than it might relate to food/diet) above though is that we tend to think something is working because it might initially appear to ease the problem ("might" being the operative word) but doesn't permit the skin and body to right itself, so in the long term, it doesn't necessarily work at all and/or is not really for the best.

In my boy's case, in the earlier days (ie approximately 2 - 2.5 months ago) I was a bit beside myself wanting to do something to help my boy through his itchies, and seeing his body ridden with hives so badly that he was more hives than he was flat skin was incredibly difficult to ignore. I think sometimes it is a human idiosyncrasy to US feeling better that we are doing something, rather than it being something that we are doing that actually benefits the dog.

Dr. Bruce Syme was the one (whom I'm embarrassed to say I bombarded with emails with every new or worsening symptom) who gave me, shall we say, "courage" to just keep going with doing nothing (other than continuing with the diet I had him on). No baths. Nothing. I think I've said, at least elsewhere on this forum, that I had anti-histamines in the cupboard on "stand-by" should his skin irritate him to the point of him causing self-harm, but it didn't get to that point so the packet I have remains unopened. The only treatment to ease and remedy skin infection is the Calendulum Tea as I've said above. Dr Bruce gave me a write up which confirms the process of skin allergies and to avoid the application of treatments such as baths and creams and such and also explains that we might expect things to become worse before they get better. All of this prepared me to hang in there, as much as I 'felt' for my boy. I'm glad I stuck to the minimalist approach.

Nekhbet - if your boy's skin remains irritated and unimproved even though the originating cause of the skin irritation as you know it is removed, then there is IMO likely to be a reason. And for this reason I think it would be wise to consider that such frequent washing might be prolonging the issue.

[Andisa]

It's funny as I have found Eagle Pack holistic is the only one that doesn't do that to Jake. He was terrible on Eukanuba. Just goes to show each allergy is different.

I'm with Erny re the bathing. I rarely shampoo Jake at all these days, he gets a quick hose down after a walk in the mornings and that's it. His allergies are 100% better. He used to have patches like the rotties under his arms ever summer and on his belly.

I guess its a case of you have to go with what works.

The EP holistic does not contain corn but the others do. The EP reduced fat has corn listed as the 1st ingredients which is what I belive caused Pipers problems.

Mine don't have any problems with the EP holistic either. I don't wash my dogs very often, so should be right there.