Premium Food For Maltese

[nikkiandkuma]

I have a 7 year old Maltese, who is the sweetest little girl ever. Over the past few years she has developed the odd digestive upset, vomiting occassionaly (like this morning on my work carpet). She has been to the vet and everything gets the all clear. The vet has suggested she may have a food allergy and that I should try to feed her premium food with little fillers.

She is currently on Royal Cannin but is still vomiting.

I have visited US forums and gotten heaps of reccomendations but have been unable to find these US brands in Oz. Kuma has no weight issues, so does not need a lite diet, if anything she is prone to losing weight quickly with exercise.

Any suggestions on food brands and where they are available would be terrific.

Thanks

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

What food brands have you sourced on the net and where do you live?.

[nikkiandkuma]

What food brands have you sourced on the net and where do you live?.

I am in Western Sydney, my nearest large shopping area is Penrith. I have been recommended California natural, nutro, chicken soup for the dog lovers soul (which gets superb reviews in the US), eagle pack among others which don't come to mind.

My vet suggests that Corn can be a high allergy food and best avoided, everything I have looked at contains corn!!

[bloss344]

It's so frustrating that we can't get so many of the premium foods available in U.S. Eventually I'm sure we will. My Bob has food intolerances and I have yet to find a commercial food that he can tolerate. He too is sensitive to corn along with chicken, beef and kangaroo. OH gave him 2 cornflakes a few weeks ago and we had an almost instant ear problem and upset tummy. His first ear infection was after the vet gave him I/D food for a tummy upset, it also contains corn.

Eagle Pack have a couple of their Holistic Foods which don't contain corn apart from that I wouldn't have a clue as to any others that don't. Oh, Evo has no grain at all I believe.

Perhaps you could speak to your vet about an elimination diet. Most of the commercial foods have so many ingredients that it's really impossible to pinpoint what is causing the problem when you are feeding them. Although corn is a common allergen it could be anything that your dog is allergic to.

The other thing that comes to mind... Is your dog only vomiting in the mornings, and what is in it? I need to give Bob a bit to eat before bed to have something in his stomach overnight or else he gets acidy and vomits in the morning.

[nikkiandkuma]

It's so frustrating that we can't get so many of the premium foods available in U.S. Eventually I'm sure we will. My Bob has food intolerances and I have yet to find a commercial food that he can tolerate. He too is sensitive to corn along with chicken, beef and kangaroo. OH gave him 2 cornflakes a few weeks ago and we had an almost instant ear problem and upset tummy. His first ear infection was after the vet gave him I/D food for a tummy upset, it also contains corn.

Eagle Pack have a couple of their Holistic Foods which don't contain corn apart from that I wouldn't have a clue as to any others that don't. Oh, Evo has no grain at all I believe.

Perhaps you could speak to your vet about an elimination diet. Most of the commercial foods have so many ingredients that it's really impossible to pinpoint what is causing the problem when you are feeding them. Although corn is a common allergen it could be anything that your dog is allergic to.

The other thing that comes to mind... Is your dog only vomiting in the mornings, and what is in it? I need to give Bob a bit to eat before bed to have something in his stomach overnight or else he gets acidy and vomits in the morning.

Kuma gets fed at night and can vomit at any time really. When I changed her to RC her vomiting stopped for about a month only to start up recently. But the thing that strikes me as strange is that she was fed last night at around 7pm and vomited her prtly digested (mostly undigested) last nights dinner at 10am this morning. Why would it be sitting in her stomach like that?

I have heard good things about EVO, do you happen to know who stocks it? I currently shop at petbarn for dog food and I am sure I haven't seen it there.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

You have mentioned Nutro as one you have been recommended. It has NO CORN, no chemical preservatives, no animal by products and no colourants, and is either chicken or lamb based.

It is avail. in some stores in NSW, have a look at www.nutro.co.nz, then scroll bar on left will take you to suppliers in NSW.

Please feel free to pm if I can help any further.

[mita]

Our Gracie, the tib (10 yrs), has a tendency to skin allergy ...but controlled with no colourings or preservatives in her food.

But lately, she'd had digestive upsets from food...more the other end. I gave her some Supercoat dog biscuits & there followed nights of loose bowel movements...tho' first she threw it all up.

She'd done well for some time on Tuckertime, a dog roll only available at vets. But I've just changed her dry food to Hills over 7 for small breeds. The vet said to see how she goes...but added that her own dog has a far more food-sensitive tummy so she gives him a special dog food. Next time I'm in that clinic, I'll ask this vet what this product is...obviously would be available in Australia.

Edited June 10, 2006 by mita

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

You'll only find EVO at Pet's Paradise in this country b/c the company gave PP an exclusive deal. I'd suggest a switch to Eagle Pack Holistic if you can source it (shouldn't be impossible but look at the higher end suppliers) or if you wish to continue shopping at PetBarn, I can recommend Dick van Patten's Natural Balance organic formulas. It's a great food at a reasonable price and one I recommend if you can't feed a raw, whole foods diet.

[panda]

You can order Eagle Pack Holistic from http://www.petdeli.com.au/cms/DesktopDefau...445&ItemID=3695 Eagle Pack Holistic Select don't contain corn. The duck is ideal feeding solution for dogs with digestive issues / food intolerance and dogs with skin allergies. Phone number for Petdeli is 1300 138 843. This is one of the best dry foods available in Australia.

Free Delivery to orders above $60 in Sydney metro area. Charges for deliveries to NSW country areas (any areas outside of Sydney metro) and Interstate are charged at Australia Post rates which is calculated automatically at Check Out.

Here are the prices inc gst.

Holistic Chicken 7.5kg = $73.54, 15kg = $108

Holistic Seafood 6.8kg = $67.90, 13.6kg = $110.19

Holistic Lamb 7.5kg = $62.82, 15kg = $116.40

Holistic Duck 6.8kg = $61.33 13.6kg = $114.10

[KitKat]

I'd also consider ProPlan's sensitive kibble...it's based on salmon and i have seen and heard only good reports on it...warning...it does smell fishy tho! so make sure to seal the bag or place it in a sealable container...lol

[blacklabrador]

Try raw chicken mince. It might be more agreeable with her digestive system. It is generally just minced up chicken carcasses. It probably isn't enough for a balanced diet for her, but if whatever she is having now is making her vomit then it's a better start. Start with that and if it works then add some kind of dry food until you reach a compromise.

Of course there might be a more serious problem behind the vomiting so a vet check might be in order.

[bloss344]

Kuma gets fed at night and can vomit at any time really. When I changed her to RC her vomiting stopped for about a month only to start up recently. But the thing that strikes me as strange is that she was fed last night at around 7pm and vomited her prtly digested (mostly undigested) last nights dinner at 10am this morning. Why would it be sitting in her stomach like that?

I have heard good things about EVO, do you happen to know who stocks it? I currently shop at petbarn for dog food and I am sure I haven't seen it there.

Do you only feed Kuma once a day? Small dogs often do better on several small meals. A lot of people feed twice a day. Kuma may digest her food better in small batches.

Did you change to RC dry food because of her vomiting? What were you feeding before?

Food usually is in the stomach for 4 - 8 hours and continues through and out the rear end in 24 - 48 hours, so obviously there is something going on if there was undigested food after 15 hours. Has your vet run blood tests for liver or kidney disease? Sometimes the first indication of a problem is vomiting.

BlackLab's suggestion of raw chicken mince is good, with the bone in it Kuma will get calcium and phosphorus. Of course it will only help if it's not chicken that she is sensitive to, or if she can tolerate the fat. As chicken is in most dog foods it's now become a common allergen. If you think it is food allergy and want to do an elimination diet what you need to do is feed something that she has never had before. Most people use one novel protein and one novel carb source, say something like rabbit and sweet potato, nothing else. Don't worry about balancing the diet for several weeks, dog's can exist just fine up to 8 weeks without a balanced diet, they have a lot of reserves to fall back on. These sensitive dogs are quite a challenge. It took me a while to get Bob's very sensitive tummy under control.

Evo is available at Pets Paradise and Pet Food Direct. Another thought if you don't want to do a home prepared elimination diet on her, there are prescription diets from your vet that are as close to an elimination diet you will get in a bag, they still have quite a few ingredients but are designed to be used for sensitive dogs, and don't have nearly as many ingredients as the regular diets, to confuse the issue when you are trying to figure out what is causing the problem.

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Bear in mind that Pet Food Direct IS Pets Paradise.

So if you want to boycott a less ethical supplier, and you think PP is the only villian, it helps to know that PFD is PP under a different name. ;)

[nikkiandkuma]

Kuma gets fed at night and can vomit at any time really. When I changed her to RC her vomiting stopped for about a month only to start up recently. But the thing that strikes me as strange is that she was fed last night at around 7pm and vomited her prtly digested (mostly undigested) last nights dinner at 10am this morning. Why would it be sitting in her stomach like that?

I have heard good things about EVO, do you happen to know who stocks it? I currently shop at petbarn for dog food and I am sure I haven't seen it there.

Do you only feed Kuma once a day? Small dogs often do better on several small meals. A lot of people feed twice a day. Kuma may digest her food better in small batches.

Did you change to RC dry food because of her vomiting? What were you feeding before?

Food usually is in the stomach for 4 - 8 hours and continues through and out the rear end in 24 - 48 hours, so obviously there is something going on if there was undigested food after 15 hours. Has your vet run blood tests for liver or kidney disease? Sometimes the first indication of a problem is vomiting.

BlackLab's suggestion of raw chicken mince is good, with the bone in it Kuma will get calcium and phosphorus. Of course it will only help if it's not chicken that she is sensitive to, or if she can tolerate the fat. As chicken is in most dog foods it's now become a common allergen. If you think it is food allergy and want to do an elimination diet what you need to do is feed something that she has never had before. Most people use one novel protein and one novel carb source, say something like rabbit and sweet potato, nothing else. Don't worry about balancing the diet for several weeks, dog's can exist just fine up to 8 weeks without a balanced diet, they have a lot of reserves to fall back on. These sensitive dogs are quite a challenge. It took me a while to get Bob's very sensitive tummy under control.

Evo is available at Pets Paradise and Pet Food Direct. Another thought if you don't want to do a home prepared elimination diet on her, there are prescription diets from your vet that are as close to an elimination diet you will get in a bag, they still have quite a few ingredients but are designed to be used for sensitive dogs, and don't have nearly as many ingredients as the regular diets, to confuse the issue when you are trying to figure out what is causing the problem.

I switched her to RC because she was on Supercoat before and was having trouble keeping weight on, so I thought I would give it a try. She has always had vomiting issues but not constantly, she tends to go through stages. She has been vet checked and had a full blood panel done, the only thing they said was she needs a dental, she has some tartar which needs removing.

She is no better or worse (vomiting) on RC than what she was on Supercoat. This week I started feeding her raw chicked mince for breakfast and Pal tinned (I know, it is y\terrible but doesn't make her sick, it wil only be short term).

[nikkiandkuma]

Bloss,

Thankyou for your very detailed response, I started to write a response to you before but my power went out and it doesn't seem to have updated, so:

I have started over the last few days feeding raw chicken mince in the morning and pal (cringe, please don't hit me) wet food at night. SHe has not vomited since I started this on Sunday, but sometimes she goes a good stretch without being sick.

She has had a full blood panel done, just less than a fortnight ago, I took her to the vet because she seems to yoyo in weight a lot. It was the vet who suggested that Kuma has a sensitive tummy and told me to try a diet low in fillers esp. corn. So the hunt is on for just such a food.

She is full of energy and doesn't not seem unwell, she has never been a picky eater (as maltese can often be) and will eat anything I put out for her, the problem is keeping it there.

Nikki

[nikkiandkuma]

Bear in mind that Pet Food Direct IS Pets Paradise.

So if you want to boycott a less ethical supplier, and you think PP is the only villian, it helps to know that PFD is PP under a different name. :D

Thankyou for that bit of info, I would like to avoid buying anything from PP and now also PFD, why won't these pet food companies think about their marketing strategy, I would like to try Kuma on the food but would not spend money in a PP store.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Nikki

Nutro's Chicken and Rice is formulated for dogs with a sensitive stomach and those prone to digestive upsets, and it has no corn.

Please pm me if you want to know who in Sydney carries it.

[Ashka]

The only commercial food I know of without any grain or fillers is ZiwiPeak. It's an air dried raw meat food from over the ditch in New Zealand. I pay NZ $25.50 for 1 kg bag, amount fed is very little in comparison to most foods.

I understand it's available in Australia, USA etc.

http://www.ziwipeak.com/aboutus.php

All the best.

Edited June 13, 2006 by Ashka

[t-time]

Under the circumstances, I would also second the Eaglepack or the Ziwipeak. I've heard Nutro is also excellent but have not used it myself.

Sounds like the chicken and Pal :D is working but curiously, Pal has fillers and well, she's obviously not allergic to chicken

I'm going back to there being some sort of bowel/stomach blockage This would not show up in a blood panel unless there was a toxin build-up in her organs (kidneys/liver). Perhaps a lazy valve in her stomach leading to her intestine or something? I'm not a vet by the way...but you say she has always been a bit chucky? This leads me to believe that it might have recently become worse - perhaps due to her age?

What's coming out the other end if she's not digesting her food?

[Mooper]

Bear in mind that Pet Food Direct IS Pets Paradise.

Is this true?

I know Vet Products Direct have a link to petfooddirect.com.au on their website. And a bit of digging tells me the webmaster for petfooddirect.com.au is the same person as registered the ABN for Vet Products Direct, in Qld.

I can't find any link between Bates Pets Paradise (or its many other names) and Pet Food Direct

If they are linked, they're mighty sneaky about it!