MontanaES@groups.io | Dog Food Question (2024)

Jody R

I'm not happy with Blue's current food and want to switch her to something else. Even with a Salmon Oil supplement her skin is dry and flaky. She had digestive problems in the beginning like some of the other ONB dogs - her system couldn't seem to handle the "rich" foods.

Have others who had this problem been able to migrate to a higher protein kibble with less grains? I've been considering "Taste of the Wild High Sierra", though it is very expensive and would like something more reasonably priced. Tractor Supply has their own brand (also made by Diamond): "4Health" which has a 4 star (out of 5) rating from www.dogfoodadvisor.com. The price is really good ($30 for 35 lbs). Is anyone familiar with the brand?

Since I supplement with chicken a lot for training treats and my table scraps I have always tried to go with a red meat based kibble – does that matter?

Any other recommendations for kibble?

Thanks,
Jody Richwagen
ONB Blue
Valley Forge, PA

I use Taste of the Wild High Prairie I only feed ½ twice a day with yogurt
on it for both of my adult dogs. My pup who is 16 weeks eats 1 cup twice a
day. None of them are ONB dogs so I can’t speak to that subject.

Kathi Tesarz

National English shepherd Rescue

ktesarz@...

www.nesr.info

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life
you have lived." Helen Walton

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From: montanaes@... [mailto:montanaes@...] On Behalf
Of Jody R
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 9:08 PM
To: montanaes@...
Subject: [montanaes] Dog Food Question

I'm not happy with Blue's current food and want to switch her to something
else. Even with a Salmon Oil supplement her skin is dry and flaky. She had
digestive problems in the beginning like some of the other ONB dogs - her
system couldn't seem to handle the "rich" foods.

Have others who had this problem been able to migrate to a higher protein
kibble with less grains? I've been considering "Taste of the Wild High
Sierra", though it is very expensive and would like something more
reasonably priced. Tractor Supply has their own brand (also made by
Diamond): "4Health" which has a 4 star (out of 5) rating from
www.dogfoodadvisor.com. The price is really good ($30 for 35 lbs). Is anyone
familiar with the brand?

Since I supplement with chicken a lot for training treats and my table
scraps I have always tried to go with a red meat based kibble – does that
matter?

Any other recommendations for kibble?

Thanks,
Jody Richwagen
ONB Blue
Valley Forge, PA

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Katydid has done very well on Taste of the Wild for the past year or so. We switch flavors every so often (like when someone buys the wrong color bag without reading it) but have been sticking with the salmon lately because our new guy, Hank, has some itchy skin problems and we hoped the fish oil would be helpful.
Katy never had any digestive problems, and she's far from picky! She gets 1/2-3/4 cup of kibble twice a day, which she supplements with cat food whenever possible.

Right now both dogs look great. Katy's coat is soft and shiny and her skin is healthy. Hank is finally getting a decent coat and his skin is far less itchy and flaky.

I'd say it's worth the expense to try it.

Jane Connors

ONB Katydid
NESR Hank
Taunton, MA

I have gone to grain free just about completely now. I feed canned food in the morning and kibble topped with beans or pumpkin and Grizzly Salmon oil in the afternoon. I also will give them some raw items from time to time since I buy my beef and lamb directly from farmers and ask for everything. I buy grain free canned food from pet food direct when it's on sale. Usually Natural Balance, Canidae. I also get Chicken Soup brand canned which has rice but has a lot of protein and is a good value. My local feed store carries it and I pay less than a dollar a can.

The kibble I use is Taste of the Wild. I rotate the flavors and buy it at Tractor Supply. I know the conventional wisdom is not to change what they're used to but it has never been a problem for my dogs. Besides veggies and salmon oil, I also give them pet tab vitamin and glycoflex. All three have shiny coats. My Kapsa dog Angie has never had trouble with foods once all her million parasite issues were resolved.

I'm not familiar with 4Health. Check the ingredients - the first three ingredients should include a specific meat or meal not something vague like "poultry by products" which usually means feathers, feet, etc. Diamond had a big recall awhile back but I haven't heard anything negative lately.

btw, "dandruff" is often a sign of hypothyroidism. When Decker started having it, I had him and Ellie tested and sure enough, both need synthroid. The pills are cheap and solved Decker's skin issues and Ellie's obesity. I check thyroid function once a year. You might want to check Blue's.

Sue Hammer
Woodford, VA
Angie

I'm not happy with Blue's current food and want to switch her to something else. Even with a Salmon Oil supplement her skin is dry and flaky. She had digestive problems in the beginning like some of the other ONB dogs - her system couldn't seem to handle the "rich" foods.

Have others who had this problem been able to migrate to a higher protein kibble with less grains? I've been considering "Taste of the Wild High Sierra", though it is very expensive and would like something more reasonably priced. Tractor Supply has their own brand (also made by Diamond): "4Health" which has a 4 star (out of 5) rating from www.dogfoodadvisor.com. The price is really good ($30 for 35 lbs). Is anyone familiar with the brand?

Since I supplement with chicken a lot for training treats and my table scraps I have always tried to go with a red meat based kibble – does that matter?

Any other recommendations for kibble?

Thanks,
Jody Richwagen
ONB Blue
Valley Forge, PA

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Laura

Jody,
If you are up for it, you might want to go raw, completely raw. I feed my dogs a very balanced raw diet for less than $1/pound. I have a local slaughterhouse/butcher (well, kind of local) and I can feed my dogs human grade food for that. He's not organic, but all local.

If raw is not for you, I would recommend a kibble with NO GRAIN whatsoever. Unfortunately these are usually pricey. If you can find it, Horizon (out of Cananda) has a Legacy line that is grain free. And of course Orijen has some (all?) grain free options that are excellent.

Good luck.

Laura Vinogradov
Lutz, FL (where we are (!) wearing coast and shoes)
foster mom of Paige (ONB) who lives the life of Riley in ME
pushover for Jilly and Sheba

Peche and Curly both eat Taste of the Wild Salmon and they have very
luxurious coats but it's pricey and I'm a poor grad student. I too
wish there was a decent alternative. Luckily they're not fussy and
will eat just about anything but I've gone out of my way to feed them
the good stuff from Day 1. Since it's nutrient dense I don't have to
feed them huge quantities of it but that also means they like snacks
maybe a bit too much, especially Curly who often wolfs his food
without even chewing it.

Barbara Gillies
Chicago IL
ONB Peche and Curly-dog

I feed y dogs raw and make it myself from Kymythy's Schultz's book "Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats", been doing it for over 10 years. buy chicken carcasses at.59 a pound and freeze and make the veggies in a batch and freeze packets.

That being said, friends with a standard poodle with a sensitive stomach use the new premium kibble from Costco. they said it is grain free and their dog does very well on it.

Ann Cassidy
Bodega, CA
NESR Kitchi, ONB Bibi, ONB Twende and Max an Aussie rescue.

I also use Taste of the Wild for Banjo and my other ES Blue. Banjo's coat is very full and shiny.
Jane BehrmanDelano, MNONB Banjo

To: montanaes@...
From: jmmc224@...
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2012 06:39:07 -0500
Subject: Re: [montanaes] Dog Food Question

Katydid has done very well on Taste of the Wild for the past year or so. We switch flavors every so often (like when someone buys the wrong color bag without reading it) but have been sticking with the salmon lately because our new guy, Hank, has some itchy skin problems and we hoped the fish oil would be helpful.

Katy never had any digestive problems, and she's far from picky! She gets 1/2-3/4 cup of kibble twice a day, which she supplements with cat food whenever possible.

Right now both dogs look great. Katy's coat is soft and shiny and her skin is healthy. Hank is finally getting a decent coat and his skin is far less itchy and flaky.

I'd say it's worth the expense to try it.

Jane Connors

ONB Katydid

NESR Hank

Taunton, MA

mimigwen@aol.com

The Dobes in our house are great on a grain free diet, but not the ES's.
Their coats get dry and flaky. Shiner in particular NEEDS grain or she is
EVIL about stealing chicken and goat food. I think grain free in theory is
good, but not for every dog.

Mary waugh Swindell in Boyd Tx

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

On 01/05/2012 09:07 PM, Jody R wrote:

I'm not happy with Blue's current food and want to switch her to something else. Even with a Salmon Oil supplement her skin is dry and flaky. She had digestive problems in the beginning like some of the other ONB dogs - her system couldn't seem to handle the "rich" foods.

Have others who had this problem been able to migrate to a higher protein kibble with less grains? I've been considering "Taste of the Wild High Sierra", though it is very expensive and would like something more reasonably priced. Tractor Supply has their own brand (also made by Diamond): "4Health" which has a 4 star (out of 5) rating from www.dogfoodadvisor.com. The price is really good ($30 for 35 lbs). Is anyone familiar with the brand?

Since I supplement with chicken a lot for training treats and my table scraps I have always tried to go with a red meat based kibble – does that matter?

Any other recommendations for kibble?

Maddy was a mess on kibble. Even the high-quality stuff we feed the
other dogs, she had terrible diarrhea. (We now feed the other two the
Canadian brand Orijen's Regional Red and 6 Fish Dog, but we have also
used Wellness and other brands that I don't now recall in rotation.) One
consequence is that Maddy has been exclusively on freeze-dried food ever
since (Stella & Chewy's, Nature's Variety Raw, and Addiction). But in
speaking with some of the other ONB owners, it may be that the diarrhea
we saw in Maddy in that initial time was more a stress issue. We've been
slowly working kibble into her diet (Orijen, just like the other dogs),
and so far, so good. She tends to either constipation or diarrhea, so we
keep a close eye on her poops.

I'm not familiar with "Taste Of The Wild High Sierra", though Heather
has previously said nice things about Diamond generally.

--
Rob & Helen McMillin
/Dramatis personae:/ ONB dogs: Libby (2 yr.), Maddy (7 yr.); and Romeo,
our 3-year-old Saluki-like thing
/Location/: Rossmoor, CA

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On 01/06/2012 04:54 AM, Laura wrote:

Jody,
If you are up for it, you might want to go raw, completely raw. I feed my dogs a very balanced raw diet for less than $1/pound. I have a local slaughterhouse/butcher (well, kind of local) and I can feed my dogs human grade food for that. He's not organic, but all local.

We bought about a lamb and a half from Judy Hase in Oregon, and the dogs
have been the main beneficiaries thereof. Lots of fun for them because
they can pretty much eat the bones whole. I think Maddy may have torn
something inside because once got a little blood in her stools after
eating some of those relatively small raw bones, but it never came back
after 24 hours.

--
Rob & Helen McMillin
/Dramatis personae:/ ONB dogs: Libby (2 yr.), Maddy (7 yr.); and Romeo,
our 3-year-old Saluki-like thing
/Location/: Rossmoor, CA

First thing; as over the years I have moved up in quality of food, I have fed less, cleaned up less smelly & smaller stools. I check www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ every so often. Georgia Peters with 10 dogs uses TOTW plus cottage cheese. I have 2 ONB dogs & 2 Brits. (29to 47 lbs) I feed TOTW & rotate the flavors. They get a fish oil tablet (costco) once a day. I feed a strait cup twice a day when gone & add a half cup when home ( we do about 3 human miles a day when home off lease), I add a teaspoon of yogurt or cottage cheese each time & add a 1/2 tablet of glucosamine ( not sure it helps) every other day. My Brit was becoming a ruff coat & after I Started this ( at first a oil tablet twice a day) They also get a 1/3 of a pig ear nightly.) Her coat went back to a smooth coat & her color came back. People thought I got a new pup. Will add that Metra had ended & I started taking them out in the county when home.Â
Several stores in this area have added TOTW & have had it on Special. It may be the best cost per lbs of any top rated food.

Â
Brian /ONB / Billings
ONB -- Dick & Bashful
Brits --- Lola & Copper

________________________________
From: Jody R <jody@...>
To: montanaes@...
Sent: Thursday, January 5, 2012 10:07 PM
Subject: [montanaes] Dog Food Question

Â
I'm not happy with Blue's current food and want to switch her to something else. Even with a Salmon Oil supplement her skin is dry and flaky. She had digestive problems in the beginning like some of the other ONB dogs - her system couldn't seem to handle the "rich" foods.

Have others who had this problem been able to migrate to a higher protein kibble with less grains? I've been considering "Taste of the Wild High Sierra", though it is very expensive and would like something more reasonably priced. Tractor Supply has their own brand (also made by Diamond): "4Health" which has a 4 star (out of 5) rating from www.dogfoodadvisor.com. The price is really good ($30 for 35 lbs). Is anyone familiar with the brand?

Since I supplement with chicken a lot for training treats and my table scraps I have always tried to go with a red meat based kibble – does that matter?

Any other recommendations for kibble?

Thanks,
Jody Richwagen
ONB Blue
Valley Forge, PA

Hi Jody -

I'm getting in late on this discussion but I want to put in a good word for Taste of the Wild. Pog, my 3 year old ONB dog and my 8 year old Aussie absolutely THRIVE on it! Pog gets 3/4 cup AM and PM, and Craic gets 1/2 cup AM and PM. Mornings, I add cottage cheese and a fish oil capsule, and in the evenings, I add green beans (steamed frozen as I don't want the salt found in canned) or pumpkin, and sometimes a bit of cooked ground turkey for 'taste'<g>

I alternate (and sometimes mix) the salmon and the bison/venison.
And the dogs' health,energy and coats are awesome! I'm also able to keep their weight at a perfect poundage! They do lots of hiking and compete in tracking and agility.

Since I work part time at a training establishment, I can get the kibble at a bit cheaper price. But if I couldn't I'd cut my money spending somewhere else - my dogs' are healthy and happy!

Carol McQuade
Craic (going on 9 AND going to AKC National Championships!)
Pog, ONB (waiting in the wings for HIS try at Nationals!)
Missoula, MT

Brian got me started on feeding a better quailty food and turned me on to the Dogfoodanalysis.com website. Trouble was I thought by reading labels I was feeding a pretty good food. After visiting the website I never have fed a real quality food. Their analysis takes all the guess work and bias out. With so many dogs and dog customers easier cleanup was a big motivation. I feed Taste of the Wild rotating through the flavors. Wetlands (duck) was a little rich at first so I stayed away from it till recently because of soft stools, but they seem good with it now. I feed my dog customers TotW even if they don't get it at home without problems. It was just one of the high end foods availible in our part of town and now three stores are carrying it and haveing price wars! I take advantage and by several bags at a time. I do put "starter food" on top, but just a spoonful, more for the smell than to fill up on. Dogs have few taste buds and great noses. "Starter food can be anything (dog safe) shredded cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese (active cultures for the gut) butter, coconut oil (rids tapeworms) fish oil, piece of lunch meat, peanutbutter, leftovers ect...one can of tuna shared by all 10+ dogs. What I don't buy is expensive dog treats shaped and colored for the people that smell like plastic. The cost per oz. is higher than meat. I do feed raw meat, antelope, deer, elk, beef bones ect... I do think you need to build the gut for your dog to be able to eat raw especially if he has had antibiotics in the passed with probiotics, active cultures, and kelp. Even with the better dog kibble I still give oils and brewers yeast with garlic (with vitamans) at least weekly. Shedding is really affected by quality food. They will eat less of the high end kibble but maybe not at first. I would feed a dog the same amount as his "not so good kibble" until he gets filled up on what he has been missing, then cut back. There is a difference, it gets easier to spot a "corndog" after seeing what good food can do. When you know better you can do better!
Georgia Peters
Redford & Rex
Billings, MT

Barb B and Brian have also helped me with keeping your dog at a healthy weight, measure amounts and adjust, check your dogs weight often too.

I am a big proponent of keeping a dog's weight down! I feed by weight
and exercise. If a dog starts to put on weight her food is reduced. If
she works harder today, her food is increased. My dogs get a lot of
exercise so they need a certain number of calories. I want them to have
a high protein, meat-based diet, with no corn, wheat, soy and enough
energy to keep them going. I have been feeding Diamond Naturals Extreme
Athlete mixed with TOTW, 2-1. The Diamond food has some rice for
carbohydrates. I also give them a fish oil capsule daily. This is great
combo for us when I can keep Lucy OUT of the chicken food! I can tell a
difference in her coat when she's been able to sneak the layer pellets
for a week or so! (but she's much more satisfied!)

Margaret Proctor
Lucy & Matilda
and new foster puppy Airen
Apex, NC