Grain free food? Taste of the Wild or Canidae?
I'm thinking about switching Orion and Laika to grain free food. Orion loves his Purina One but recently started having HORRIBLE gas, especially when he sleeps. Bad gas I can live with, but Laika recently started to be insanely itchy. She has raw patches under her arm pits from where she's scratching and she practically can't function. She can't walk from point A to point B without stopping multiple times to scratch. I've washed her with anti-itch shampoo and conditioner, it even had hydrocortisone in it, and the scratching stopped for about 30 minutes then started up again. She's very uncomfortable and I've heard a lot about food allergies causing this. She also has had soft poop since I got her. Their food has corn in it so I'm wondering if that could be the culprit so I thought about switching to grain-free foods. A lot of grain free foods are for adult dogs but Canidae and Taste of the Wild are for all life stages. Is this too high protein for my pups? Has anyone else used these foods and if so, how did your corgis do on it? Anyone's dogs have a grain allergy?
And what about AvoDerm? It doesn't have corn it it but it does have rice bran and oat bran. And I've heard avocados can be toxic. I've also heard good things about the Blue Buffalo puppy food, it doesn't have corn in it, its grain source is whole ground brown rice, whole ground barley, and oatmeal.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Nickel on
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All three of my dogs are on "Taste of the Wild" & have been since puppyhood. I can't say enough good things about it. My dogs never have gas, do not experience any type of itching, their coats are shiny & Maggie got glowing reports from the vet at her annual check-up w/vaccinations visit this last Saturday. Maggie (our Cardigan) is 3 years old and gets 1/2 cup in the morning & 1/2 cup in the evening along with bananas, pumpkin, green beans, apple, pineapple, carrots, etc. They will also get grain-free treats 2-3 times a day. None of our dogs' have ever been overweight. I can't say enough good things about "Taste of the Wild"!! Good luck & please keep us posted on Orion & Laika.
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Permalink Reply by Kieu Huynh on
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I second Taste of the Wild! They have three different flavors (Bison, Fowl and Salmon). I do a rotation every couple months and my dog has tried all three and loves it. My pup used to have soft stools all the time with Wellness. With TOTW, she's been doing great and her stools are always firm, her coat is shiny, and best of all, she loves the food.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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Orijen is definitely my top recommendation. A lot of the grain-free foods just substitute potato for the grains, so the level of carbs and starch is exactly the same. It can help with grain allergies but it's not substantially changing the way you feed your dog. If you want to actually move to a more biologically appropriate ratio, Orijen is the best of the kibbles (right now). I feed and recommend raw most of all, but in terms of the grain-free foods Orijen seems best.
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Permalink Reply by Monica, Orion, and Laika on
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I've read lots of good things about Orijen but there's kind of an availability issue around here. I know of feed stores and pet stores that sell Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, and Canidae but I'd have to search around for somewhere that has the Orijen puppy food.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Gotta give a shout-out to Orijen as well; and not just because it's an Albertan product and I'm a loud and proud, born and raised Albertan, lol. Their website has a list of suppliers internationally - I see on your mycorgi page you live in Texas? You'll find all the Texan suppliers here.
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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on
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I was concerned about an availability issue, but thankfully there is a specialty store that sells it. I just switched Baxter to Orijen and he LOVES it. After adding it to his food during the gradual change, he would lay down next to the container and roll around barking and pawing at it. I've never seen him act that way before, so I figure he must really want more.
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Yeah I figured I wouldn't have an issue once I'm back in Austin (Austin has like 12 dog parks, San Antonio has 2, Austin is way more dog-friendly) but I'm working in San Antonio until school starts up again. The Pet Supplies Plus relatively close to my house in San Antonio I found out does supply Orijen but when I went over there last night they were out of the puppy food so I went with the Taste of the Wild and so far they seem to at least be enjoying the taste :) So we'll see if this clears up Laika's skin problems.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Dogs respond to stress with softstool, Laika may need more time to settle in her new environment. It may also take time to get use to the new food.
Unless you've already ruled out other causes and confirmed grain allergy, try a spoon of oil first, her skin may be dry. How many baths have she had in the last month? Everything from carpet powder, grass, cleaning solution to fleas can also cause itchiness.
You are correct, Avocado is toxic to many animals, there was one recorded case in dogs, but I rather not risk it.
Blue buffalo is very rich, Mocha has a sensitive stomach and was not able to tolerate it, he did well with one bag then not so well the next, the result was not consistent. It was on the recall list in 07, they denied it at first and then issue a recall days later.
Canidae contract out their dog food to Diamond Foods, the same company that makes Costco Kirkland signature (07 recall), Solid Gold (Fraud in 88) and Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance (07 recall) and (june 2010 recall). Canidae changed their formula without notifying anyone at first and caused a huge pr mess in 08.
Taste of the Wild is probably the best of 3. Yes it is also made by Diamond, but at a different plant. No official recalls thus far and is well received by other dog food health nut. I did receive an email from the Orlando Pet pantry last year, the volunteer informed me that TOTW wanted a batch back due to higher than normal protein levels.
My current bag (July) is Orijen made by Champion. No recalls yet, so far so good. Read the FAQ, there are some great info and lingos, forgo brand loyalty :)
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Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on
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A GSD breeder-friend of mine highly recommends Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul. It also got high marks on a pet food rating site w/ a lower cost than the others: http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogtable.html
Has anyone had any experience with this product?
It got 5 stars as did Orijen, and Taste of the Wild, but its cost was only $$ compared to $$$ and $$$$ for the others. Canidea rated 4 stars with a $$ cost.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I've heard it's good also! I think I have given mine sample bags and they've liked it...I guess I'll have to check more but the only problem is that I have to drive 60 miles to get it!
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That's a lot of driving! You might want to look at this website and see if there's comparable food at comparable prices w/ less driving. When you factor in the gas miles, it's hardly going to be $$.
http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogtable.html
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