Dry Dog Food Recommendation Needed

[Salukifan]

erm...crushed up bone :laugh:

and hooves & horns ..... :)

Yep, its a byproduct of slaughtering.. and something I'd avoid feeding.

[Salukifan]

Why cook everything???

I looked at that , and thought that there are lots of folks who dislike feeding/keeping raw food .. esp in countries where there are salmonella risks?

Maybe it covers off on dogs with depressed immune systems. I suppose that would be the case for some of the dogs these diets are intended for.

[Yonjuro]

...Really! Wow, how silly of me :laugh: Look HW, I didn't recommend raw for this person so get off that merry-go-round!

Trying shedding the persecution complex. I'm not out to lynch you. I'm not being a smart arse.. its a genuine question. Why cook everything???

I have merely offered an alternative. I am sure that it would be possible to make an efficacious meal using raw ingredients, however I didn't wish to suggest such a controversial ingredient into this equation. This is a whole different debate.

Why cook everything???

I looked at that , and thought that there are lots of folks who dislike feeding/keeping raw food .. esp in countries where there are salmonella risks?

This... and it is probably easier to cook and combine the ingredients to prepare these meals and then freeze them.

[megan_]

Yonjuro - a lot of people on this forum feed their dogs RAW - myself included.

However, people get a bit tired of having their choice - dried - run down all the time by a few raw zealots. This happens every few months when someone finds the dog food analysis website and post it up like it is the gospel. People are sick and tired of being called lazy for not feeding raw. I feed my dogs about 1/2 raw and 1/2 dried because I don't have a PhD in animal nutrition and don't want to miss out on nutrients. My dogs are happy and healthy. I spend most of my free time with them and they learn agility and obedience. They are walked daily and do tricks and tracking to keep their minds active. I am not a lazy owner and it is tiring hearing that cry from raw zealots.

[Yonjuro]

Yonjuro - a lot of people on this forum feed their dogs RAW - myself included.

However, people get a bit tired of having their choice - dried - run down all the time by a few raw zealots. This happens every few months when someone finds the dog food analysis website and post it up like it is the gospel. People are sick and tired of being called lazy for not feeding raw. I feed my dogs about 1/2 raw and 1/2 dried because I don't have a PhD in animal nutrition and don't want to miss out on nutrients. My dogs are happy and healthy. I spend most of my free time with them and they learn agility and obedience. They are walked daily and do tricks and tracking to keep their minds active. I am not a lazy owner and it is tiring hearing that cry from raw zealots.

I understand where you are coming from. However I haven't pushed raw at all in this thread. The links I first posted for information were primarily dry foods (many of which are available in Australia), if I were a zealot I would hardly recommend a site that gives unbiased reviews on dog food nor a retailer that sells primarily dry food.

I am all for people making an informed choice on the whichever food model or brand one wishes to take, I will say for the record that I do not believe that a raw diet is right for every dog. Nor do I believe that someone who likes to research food and nutrition is a zealot.

[yellowgirl]

Hi all, I am hoping you can spare me hours of research here! Casper's just had his 6-monthly vet check (I prefer to have him checked twice yearly now that he's no spring chicken). A blood test showed that his kidneys are taking a bit of strain (don't ask me the technical terms!) and the vet has suggested I change his food to a low protein one. I also need it to be low in fat and gentle for his sensitive stomach.

I know I'm asking for a lot but if you can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. I'm currently feeding him Holistic Select for Seniors and 1/2 Barf (usually rabbit) patty per day.

As always, thanks in advance.

My 12 year old crestie girl was diagnosed with renal failure about 2 years ago. I did a lot of research into what she needed. What has worked wonderfully for her is the Nutro Natural Choice Lite dry food http://nutro.com.au/dry-dog-food-light.aspx and the Tucker Time roll http://www.tuckertime.com.au/ingredients.asp

Unfortunately a raw diet was too rich for her but she's been doing beautifully on these two products for over two years now.

All the best with Casper :)

[LisaCC]

I note all ingredients in the recipes are cooked.

I wonder if the cooking part is essential for some reason. ????

HW, I'm not entirely sure why, but when Sam had to have his IBD diet he needed to have his meat cooked. Possibly for easier digestion?

Edited July 18, 2013 by LisaCC

[White Shepherd mom]

Thank you all for this passionate discussion ;) I appreciate all your feedback! I will ask my vet whether he thinks the Hills k/d food is adviseable considering Casper doesn't actually have kidney disease.

Yesterday I went through the "lite" and "senior" foods on Pookinuk and put the protein and fat levels into a spreadsheet. Next I'll pick the ones with the lowest percentages and look at the ingredients list before making my shortlist. I will give priority to the foods mentioned here as I believe in using what has been recommended by people who do their best by their dogs. I will also look at reducing the amount of dry he gets and mixing it with some home cooked low protein food. I believe this should give him the most balanced diet that is beneficial for his ageing body.

lils mum, I have been giving Casper Milk thistle tablets since the age of 3 when he started on anti-seizure meds which apparently damage the liver over time. His liver showed some strain earlier this year for the first time so I doubled his Milk thistle dosage and 6 months later his liver has shown improvement.

yellow girl, I think Nutro Lite was one of the foods with the lowest protein/fat levels so will definitely look into that too.

Yonjuro, thank you for the home cooked recipes. The fat content is a little high, I try and keep it much lower than that due to his past bout of pancreatitis.

It is because you are all so passionate about your dogs that I ask your opinions, even though they vary you give me different avenues to explore. I thank you for that.

eta: someone asked why I'm looking for dry food. Reason is that dry food forms a big part of his diet and I'm looking to replace it with a more suitable dry food.

Edited July 18, 2013 by White Shepherd mom

[Yonjuro]

Great WSM,

I am happy that you are getting somewhere and I wish you the very best of health for your dog :) ...and yourself of course :laugh:

[yellowgirl]

Hi all, I am hoping you can spare me hours of research here! Casper's just had his 6-monthly vet check (I prefer to have him checked twice yearly now that he's no spring chicken). A blood test showed that his kidneys are taking a bit of strain (don't ask me the technical terms!) and the vet has suggested I change his food to a low protein one. I also need it to be low in fat and gentle for his sensitive stomach.

I know I'm asking for a lot but if you can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. I'm currently feeding him Holistic Select for Seniors and 1/2 Barf (usually rabbit) patty per day.

As always, thanks in advance.

My 12 year old crestie girl was diagnosed with renal failure about 2 years ago. I did a lot of research into what she needed. What has worked wonderfully for her is the Nutro Natural Choice Lite dry food http://nutro.com.au/dry-dog-food-light.aspx and the Tucker Time roll http://www.tuckertime.com.au/ingredients.asp

Unfortunately a raw diet was too rich for her but she's been doing beautifully on these two products for over two years now.

All the best with Casper :)

I forgot to add that she has a calcium supplement in the morning as well! The calcium level needs to be higher than the phosphorus. Also low fat, low protein, low salt and no preservatives.

The Nutro Lite and Tucker Time combo also works well for the bubs I've had come in with pancreatitis, IBD and other health issues. Raw food has been too rich for these guys as well and the cooked roll seems much more gentle for them.

[rubiton]

OUr dog who is now 14 has been on the medication for kidneys (and heart murmur - same pill helps both) due to high levels several years ago and the vet advising to change things then to stop it noticeably worse and manage the issue. I had her on the KD food for a year or two but 12 months ago had major issues with it upsetting her. It may have been the batch as I tried it on the other dog and seemed to upset him too. And that was the replacement bag. I preferred the Royal Canin one but they stopped that one here in Aust. KD seems to be the only one unless another supplier has started recently.

Anyway I have her on the Pedigree and Supercoat mature dog food (the supercoat originally had protein at 17 percent but they changed it sometime ago to 20 percent) but at that its lower than anything else offered. She is also on the optimum wet healthy weight canned food.

Her blood test last month came back with her kidney levels back within the normal levels so the medication and the food are doing the job (last year her levels were up and she was on the upset gut food at the time or in the weeks just prior) - you must check each bag though as I've seen 'senior' and 'mature' food with really high protein even some of the 'better spoken of' brands.

The RAW/BARF diets are way too rich and fatty for her ever to have. We have to be careful with bones as they can often cause an upset about 3 hours later