53 replies to this topic

[bfisher88]

Damnit Gary!

[JHolmes763]

Our Golden mix was getting sick on a lot of foods, so we finally ended up with AvoDerm. Made with avocados.

I'm not a veterinarian, so I don't know what's best, but she didn't get sick on this food.

Edited by JHolmes763, 04 April 2012 - 03:41 PM.

[bfisher88]

Been doing some more digging on this and the TotW really may help and is what I just switched to. Went to the lower protein bag with salmon instead of the meaty one. http://www.amazon.co...33643892&sr=8-3

Was selling for under 45 bucks per bag last month.

[BlindedByScience]

I have 2 puppies, both pitbull mixes. My oldest is a Rottweiler/Pitbull who is 10 months old now has a super sensitive system. So being a chef I make the dog food they eat, their coats, skin, eyes are shiny and bright and most of their problems have cleared up.

The food is super simple and they go bananas for it, I mean literally, bullshit. They think it's gold, and it's cheap to make.

1lb Ground Turkey
1lb Brown Rice
1lb of mixed vegetables (No corn)

Steam the turkey in a large stock pot on low, add vegetables and rice, stir until incorporated, add about half a gallon of water. Simmer until rice is tender and allow to cool. Store in the fridge or freezer in airtight containers. Dirt cheap, very easy, very good for them. Out of habit I always try the dog food, it tastes bland, but damn do they love it. Consistent bathroom breaks, healthy and happy. Mass produced dog food is complete sh*t.

We're going to cook up a batch of this for our old dogs; poodle is 18 and the pom mix is 14. They've done very well on Iams all these years, but this will be a nice treat for the older ladies in the herd...

Thanks - B.B.S.

[engspot]

We use Nutro for our lab who has food allergies. Our dog is sensitive to corn and wheat and tends to do better on their large breed lamb and rice formula.

She used to get a really bad rash on her skin and her ears would get pretty red and infected. It took us a while to pinpoint the allergens, and apparently our dog also has some seasonal allergies in the spring. After talking to the vet, you can either pay for an allergy test or just try to limit what the dog eats and keep track of any reactions when new things get added to the diet.

[desertcgar]

We have a 4 y/o male and a 2 y/o female. My wife jokes about stopping at one as the female is sooo much more protective than our male is. But you are right the best dog I ever had.

[wkoti]

I have 2 puppies, both pitbull mixes. My oldest is a Rottweiler/Pitbull who is 10 months old now has a super sensitive system. So being a chef I make the dog food they eat, their coats, skin, eyes are shiny and bright and most of their problems have cleared up.

The food is super simple and they go bananas for it, I mean literally, bullshit. They think it's gold, and it's cheap to make.

1lb Ground Turkey
1lb Brown Rice
1lb of mixed vegetables (No corn)

Steam the turkey in a large stock pot on low, add vegetables and rice, stir until incorporated, add about half a gallon of water. Simmer until rice is tender and allow to cool. Store in the fridge or freezer in airtight containers. Dirt cheap, very easy, very good for them. Out of habit I always try the dog food, it tastes bland, but damn do they love it. Consistent bathroom breaks, healthy and happy. Mass produced dog food is complete sh*t.

We're going to cook up a batch of this for our old dogs; poodle is 18 and the pom mix is 14. They've done very well on Iams all these years, but this will be a nice treat for the older ladies in the herd...

Thanks - B.B.S.

Anything I can do you help, I love dogs and I want to see every dog getting the best they can. I also make dog treats, PM if you want that recipe too.

[PJ the Comic]

I have 2 puppies, both pitbull mixes. My oldest is a Rottweiler/Pitbull who is 10 months old now has a super sensitive system. So being a chef I make the dog food they eat, their coats, skin, eyes are shiny and bright and most of their problems have cleared up.

The food is super simple and they go bananas for it, I mean literally, bullshit. They think it's gold, and it's cheap to make.

1lb Ground Turkey
1lb Brown Rice
1lb of mixed vegetables (No corn)

Steam the turkey in a large stock pot on low, add vegetables and rice, stir until incorporated, add about half a gallon of water. Simmer until rice is tender and allow to cool. Store in the fridge or freezer in airtight containers. Dirt cheap, very easy, very good for them. Out of habit I always try the dog food, it tastes bland, but damn do they love it. Consistent bathroom breaks, healthy and happy. Mass produced dog food is complete sh*t.

We're going to cook up a batch of this for our old dogs; poodle is 18 and the pom mix is 14. They've done very well on Iams all these years, but this will be a nice treat for the older ladies in the herd...

Thanks - B.B.S.

I must say our old dogs have really improved since we switched them to the homemade dog food. Instant weight loss, better coats and wet noses almost from the start. It is inexpensive to make, doesn't take long to prepare, and it has got to be better for them than any processed food. We make one batch a week, usually on the weekends, and we have food for the entire week. I add a little oil to the mix for their coats and include a vitamin supplement right in the food. They love the food.

PJ

[bfisher88]

How much does it end up costing you per pound? Mine is on 6 cups per day which can get steep!

[wkoti]

What's the mix Rod if you don't mind me asking?

[wkoti]

How much does it end up costing you per pound? Mine is on 6 cups per day which can get steep!

I guess it depends the cost of the ingredients, I get to order from a wholesaler, so my ingredients vary and are typically cheaper, but for what I found it's just under $3 for a pound of turkey, $1 a pound for vegetables if you buy frozen, but if you by fresh seasonal vegetables the price is reduced, and rice is dirt cheap $15 for a 50lb pound bag.

I make bigger batches at 15lbs of ingredients, 5lbs of turkey, 5lbs of vegetables, 5lbs of rice. Each batch costs me roughly $20, it yields about 30lbs of of food. That's about $0.67 a pound of food if my math isn't wrong.

$14 for 5lbs of turkey
$5 for 5lbs of vegetables
$1 for 5lbs of rice

Edited by wkoti, 05 April 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[wkoti]

A little testimonial and a little puppy porn.

These dogs are built like bricksh*t houses, solid muscle, extremely lean, very healthy.

[bfisher88]

My little beast at 8 months.

[broblues]

Rod, I would certainly like to know what worked for you, when you find out.

[Rod]

I will keep you posted. For now, she is only eating Natures Domain, which is similar to Call of the Wild, only quality ingredients/no grain. No more treats for a few months as well, as that could apparently be causing issues.

[MaytagMan]

We have English Bulldogs, and they are also prone to issues... our boy Zeus has some redness and such in his paws that he licks at - to the point that we had him on a steroid for a little bit, and it seems to have toned down. Our girl Zoe is good to go with no issues, so that is good.

The boy we had before, Monte, sounds like he had similar issues to your dog. He would lick and itch, and after going through food after food, he finally settled on one of the Natural Balance recipies - can't recall which one at the moment as we lost him a few years ago.

On the bulldog forum I used to post on Innova and Orijen also got good reviews from people with sensitive dogs.

The real pain is transitioning between foods (doing a slow 3-4 day changeover) and then waiting a couple of weeks to see if there is a change.

Best of luck - hope she feels better!

[MadMonk]

My Rottie has always had Canidea.

As for allergies, are you certain it's food?

If so, try some of the natural stuff (Like Canidea)....if not, you may have to make the pup some food.

Big bowls of what someone wrote above may be in order.

I'll talk to my buddy who's had 3 pit's.

Good luck,

Canidae is great food. My dogs have always done best on it. Go to the following website: www.greatdanelady.com . Linda Arndt is probably the leading authority on dog nutrition. She used to endorse Canidae, but not now. Thing is, with kibble, the Allergen is sometimes not what Vets or Experienced folk would think. One of my Danes wound up being allergic to Plastic. Single source of protien and carb is always a good start, and the Blue Buff Wilderness better than nothing, to start. What really pisses me off about Vets and Dog food companies is the outright lie that human food is not good for Dogs. With some breeds being thousands of years old, they were mostly developed eating human food, and there was no such thing as "Dog Food". Main thing is to give them a well balanced diet of protiens, carbs, veggies and fruits. Linda has a lot of good info, and really does know her stuff. I just sometimes think she may go a bit overboard with some of this where it costs more to feed a dog than a person.

Edited by MadMonk, 07 April 2012 - 04:08 PM.

[MarkQ]

We've got an English Bulldog also. She's been on Vet's Choice Holistic Health Extension Original since she was a puppy (1 & 1/2 years) with no problems. We've been lucky so far with no allergy problems. I still stay away from anything with by-products, wheat, corn or soy in it as a precaution. It's good you're watching the treats as well. Some people watch the dog food and then give their dogs Milk Bones or some other garbage treat.

My only other sugestion would be to add a probiotic to her rotation. I did this about 2 month ago when our dog had to go on antibiotics and I can tell the difference. Her breath doesn't smell any more and the tear stains she used to have are gone. I give her #1 PB 8 capsule a day (and I take #2). Probiotics are supposed to promote a healthy immune system. I don't know if it will help your dog, but it won't hurt.

[MadMonk]

Probiotics are definitely a great thing to give your dog.

[MaytagMan]

We've got an English Bulldog also. She's been on Vet's Choice Holistic Health Extension Original since she was a puppy (1 & 1/2 years) with no problems. We've been lucky so far with no allergy problems. I still stay away from anything with by-products, wheat, corn or soy in it as a precaution. It's good you're watching the treats as well. Some people watch the dog food and then give their dogs Milk Bones or some other garbage treat.

My only other sugestion would be to add a probiotic to her rotation. I did this about 2 month ago when our dog had to go on antibiotics and I can tell the difference. Her breath doesn't smell any more and the tear stains she used to have are gone. I give her #1 PB 8 capsule a day (and I take #2). Probiotics are supposed to promote a healthy immune system. I don't know if it will help your dog, but it won't hurt.

Totally agreed on the treat thing... when we do give our dogs treats, it is usually a single piece of their kibble... of course, they are just has happy with an ice cube.

Good info on the Probiotics - thanks!