Commercial Foods-The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tell us what commercial foods have worked for you and which have caused problems; information, questions, warnings and advice on dog food companies, ingredients, brands, and switching foods.
(Recall information now in it's own discussion here in The Food Group)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Marcy, could you try a premium brand of dog food that has lamb or salmon as the protein source instead of chicken? Make sure it's a lamb & rice or salmon & rice blend, the rice will be easier on her digestion than a grain-free food.
Also, pick up a bottle of evening primrose oil capsules in the vitamin or supplement section of your grocery, drug, or health food store. They have to be swallowed, but they are absolutely harmless, don't smell at all, and contain a lot of EFA's for dry skin & coat. Jackdoodle's dermatology specialist turned me on to them, they are the best.

[Marcy and Cocoa]

I am going to do both of those things. I am also going to have a conversation with the vet about what her feelings are about all of the negative commentary on the Hills Prescription DD. I know the quick answer is going to be that you can't trust everything you read on the internet and the information there isn't geared to your specific dog, but when the reviews are uniformly negative, it does raise concern ...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Unfortunately, veterinarians, along with human doctors, receive only the most perfunctory education in diet & nutrition. It surprises many people to learn that most MD's take the same basic nutrition classes in college as any other health care worker, including nurses & gym teachers. And that's IT.
Here's the way to approach the issue with your vet. Don't mention "negative
commentary".Don't mention the internet at all. You can mention that you have been reading some books about canine nutrition by respected animal nutritionists (...you can mention Marion Nestle if you need to), and you are wondering exactly what ingredients the Hills food has that could not be found in a high quality commercial food that you can purchase in the store. The vet will not be able to answer this question, because she doesn't know. The only thing she will be able to do is push the company's brochure at you and parrot the advertising..."well, it says here that..." Don't accept this. Very politely continue to ask about the specific ingredients...what they are, why they are more beneficial, and why you wouldn't be able to get the same benefits from a premium quality food at the store. When the vet is unable to give you a reasonable answer as to why you should buy the Hill's, she may back down from pushing it.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Hi Marcy, I totally agree with both Karen and Lynne and the advice they have shared. If home cooking is not a solution for you may I suggest you take a look at Orijen 6 fish. It is very high end, but I know of several who have had horrible allergies and skin problems, on benadryl every day and they have been very successful with the 6 fish. A year later one friend has been able to move to the ACANA with the same results.

One thing I would like to add is that often when you see such conditions you may see an immediate improvement with a food change, sometimes 3 weeks or so into it you may see a flair up. Usually a knee jerk reaction is to change again which I would like to suggest you wait out a bit if you can. Your furkid did not accumulate this condition in a couple of weeks and it may take a little while to work itself out of the system. What you should see despite a flair up is a gradual increase in the intervals in between and less severity. Also see if you can find out if the omega 3's, or any others are 'cold pressed', this method allows for more usable benefit as extraction via any other method minimizes it. Let us know how it goes, you can be sure there will be more to follow and can benefit greatly from your experience and feedback.

[Marcy and Cocoa]

Thanks very much to all for your advice. I did have another conversation with the vet and as you all expected, she did not offer much in the way of firm reasoning for this food vs another of better quality with similar ingredients. "My dogs have been on the Hills Prescription for years and I have been very pleased ..." She only said that she has seen good results with skin problems using this food. She has suggested I give it several weeks to see if it has any positive effect on the dry skin condition. I think I will let it go for a few weeks and if it works, will then switch to the Origen 6 or similar. My instinct is that food is not the issue. She has had this flaky skin (not red spots or flair-ups) consistently since I got her and she has had a number of different foods in that time. I would be more anxious if she seemed uncomfortable, but she does not seem itchy or in any discomfort - just flaky! We shall see....

[Missi]

So I have read through all of this, I promise. I've had Lizzie for 2 days, she is 13 weeks old, weight just over 11 pounds, and has been living with the breeder for her whole life (except for 4 days I had her at 8 weeks) Anyway, thanks to the research on here and other sites, I really wanted to start her on the Innova Evo puppy food. I sent a bunch of sample bags back to the breeder with her, but she said that Lizzie didn't like it, but did like the Royal Canin puppy food (Which she mixed with the eukanuba puppy she feeds all puppies). I' m trying to get her off the eukanuba as soon as I can, but right now am feeding the 50/50 royal canin/eukanuba mix since that is what she's used to. She is a finicky eater and is more interested in everything but food.
So my questions:
According to both bags, she should be eating nearly 3 cups a day, but she's only eating maybe 1/4 a cup at each meal (3 a day). Should I be worried about her not eating much? How can I get her to eat more? Would ya'll suggest mixing some high-quality canned food with the kibble?
Would you suggest sticking with the royal canin for a while or trying the innova again? I know the royal canin does not have near the ratings or reviews that the innova does.
Should I leave food out for her, since she eats so little at meals, or continue meal feeding?
Okay, that's my list for now, looking forward to advice!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Missi, I don't know about the amounts of food that a growing puppy should have, but in general, the amount recommended on the bag is too high. I use it as a guideline, but adjust up or down according to the puppy's appetite.
I would not add canned food, it is almost a guarantee that she will never like any kibble by itself, lol.
The free-feeding issue is complicated. It is feltby a lot of people that making food available to them all the time contributes to picky eating, and even to behavior problems down the line. I don't know if that's true, but it does make sense to me that once she understands that if she doesn't eat when the food is put down, she will have to wait for her next chance, she may show more interest in eating. Nothing is written in stone, so you can try both leaving it down & not leaving it down, and see what works best.
I would try to get her off the Eukanuba first; if she'll eat the Royal Canin by itself, go to that for awhile. I know this little girl has had a rough time recently, lots of changes, so let's give her time to adjust with as few additional changes as possible right now. It won't kill her to eat a lower-quality food for a little while. Once you get her eating more, and off the eukanuba, you can begin to try other, higher quality foods to see what works best for her. I'm sure the others here will have good advice for you, too.
I am so glad you have your girl back! Hugs to you both from JD & me!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I want to add one caution; I'm not familiar with the ingredients in Royal Canin, but make sure it does not contain menadione (synthetic vitamin K); if it does, switch her now to a high quality food. If the Innova doesn't work, try Orijen, Fromm, Solid Gold, Wellness, Nature's Variety, or any of the other good foods you've read about here. You also want to watch out for ethoxyquin. With Lizzie's history, these toxic ingredients would not be a good idea, even for a short time.

[Missi]

Thank you Karen for your advice! I checked the ingredient list and neither of those are on there, thank goodness. Well I'll keep doing what I am for a while and give her time to adjust. She definitely prefers the eukanuba, but will eat the royal canin. I'm just over-concerned, since not eating was her first symptom of being sick last time. Otherwise, she is doing really well! She's a happy puppy, as I'm sure you can tell by my pictures. Totally different than a month ago! She's napping now, (finally!).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I had forgotten about the not eating & her illness; you have more reason to be concerned about poor appetitie than the average puppy owner, I don't blame you a bit for worrying. Yet, if she is not eating because of not feeling well, you will want to know that. Getting her to eat more than she wants by adding really tempting things might hide it if she was feeling ill. So maybe just proceed as planned, and watch her...which I know you will !!

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

Hi gals, I have a question for all of you. I know you helped me a lot when I first got Molly and she just didn't eat. Well, I have been and still am faced with the same problems. Eats (if I am lucky) maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 cup every few days. Never eats more than once a day if at all. I have tried, Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover, Wellness, Evo, Innova, Blue, Prairie, Instinct, Raw, personal home cooked meals, added canned dog food, cooked chicken and hamburger meat, wet and dry food, to no avail, oh, exclusive I tried a sample. I am about to go to the Woodlands and get some samples of Honest Kitchen. I have added all sorts of goodies to Molly's food like eggs, carrots, chicken, tuna fish, etc. no junk and no table scraps but it has not made a difference. I am concerned since she has not moved from her current 18 lbs for two months now. She is only 6 months old and should still be growing. My Nestle eats anything I put in front of her. My husband (I agree) is upset because I have spent a small fortune in food and thrown a ton away to boot. I have never experienced this before..my dogs have always eaten whatever was put in front of them. I have had her checked for worms, shunt, etc. She seems fine, stools are firm, but she is exhausted today because she has barely eaten in two days. Any thoughts? I tried Merrick but I am glad she didn't really care for it after one meal.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

This is a tough one, my Ginger is still a picky eater, too and my Jack eats anything. Tonight I put Kraft Mac and Cheese on her dinner and she ate it. She is just a picky eater and maybe Molly is, too. If the vet says she's OK maybe pick one thing and let her find her appetite. If she's hungry, she'll eat. Have you tried to free feed, leaving it out all day for grazing. Ginger will pick here and there on the Innova Evo, I leave out all day, sometimes she'll eat all her homecooked dinner, and sometimes not eat it. But she is fine and healthy. The freefeeding is nice because you can get an idea of when she gets hungry.

If she has barely eaten in two days though, you want to get some food into her. Try an egg, a piece of chicken, some hamburger, anything to get some food into her. You don't want her to go too long without eating. I hope this is of some help and maybe others will have other suggestions, keep us posted.