Gluten Free Diet and Raw-Feeding/Home-Prepared Diet

[Lori, Oliver & Isabel]

Our doodle puppy, Oliver was recently placed on a grain free diet by our vet after dealing with loose stool and digestive problems for a little more than a month. The food recommended by our vet is Royal Canin HP (I think). It seems to have helped, but it is extremely expensive. I have tried to research grain free foods online to find something comparable that would cost a little less, but I also don't want anything that will create digestive problems for him again. Does anybody have any recommendations either on grain/gluten free foods OR what types of food to feed him if I switch him to a raw-feeding/home-prepared diet?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

Thanks!

Lori and Ollie

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

You should check out the food group Lori! I don't know a lot about RC, but I know there are wonderful grain free foods out there like Orijen. Join the food group! You'll get lots of help there!! :-)

[Lee Seidman]

I have heard that Great Life is an extremely high quality food as well.................is anyone feeding this?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have a discussion about Great Life in The Food Group. It's an okay food, but not great...nowhere near as good as Orijen, Acana, or some of the other premium grain-free foods. You are hearing about it because it is being marketed very aggressively, and the company has an "affiliate" program which offers store owners & distributors a financial incentive to promote the food in glowing terms.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lori, please join the Food Group. We have discussions on all of your questions and much more. Also, the DK Cookbook Group has recipes for our members who home-cook their dogs' food.
We are a group who have researched dog foods, canine nutrition, digestive problems, various feeding methods, and we can help you with Oliver's issues.
The Royal Canin you are feeding is an Rx food, and you are paying too much for what you are getting. The company pays the vets a commission for prescribing it, much like Hill's Science Diet. The ingredients in the food are not high quality, but you're paying high quality prices. There are many excellent quality grain-free foods on the market. In addition, there are lots of simple ways to home cook for Oliver.
Come join us in TFG; post a discussion with the exact formula of Royal Canin you are feeding and we can give you lots of alternatives.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Restating the above...join the Food Group....you will find the answers you need! Orijen, Fromm's offers a grain-free, Taste of the Wild, etc...there are many that will be in line with the Royal Canin but be much better nutritionally and some will be in line price-wise.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Because Guinness had giardia and was having very loose stools, in addition to the medication the vet also put him on a grain free diet. We've been using BG (Before Grain), and it is working out very well. It is a five star premium food.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I have recently gone thru the Rx diets, although not for sensitive stomachs, and now I homecook. The changes in my dog from homecooking are substantial. Her hair is really soft and shiny, allergy symptoms are gone, eyes bright, she loves her food. My vet also said a raw diet would also be good for her. I researched and found I was not willing to do the raw thing at this point and tried homecooking. I will not go back. The longer you do it, the easier it gets. Read up on The Food Group for ideas and recommendations. Karen can probably help with choosing a quality kibble if you go that direction.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Join the food group. If you are like me, I don't do the research, but make use of dk members who do all the work. I use EVO which is grain-free. It is expensive though. I am thinking of reading up on the discussions of raw and home-cooking and perhaps mixing the EVO meals with home-cooked meals. We do a lot of traveling so I have to pay attention to availability of the food and the reality of not wanting to cook all of the time.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"Expensive" is a relative term. This may make you premium kibble feeders feel really good about your choices. Here is a price comparison of the EVO food that Nancy is feeding, which is a top quality premium food containing real named meat proteins, and the Royal Canin HP prescription diet, which is composed mainly of cheap soy protein:

EVO:
6.6 lb bag $14.79
13.2 lb bag $25.98

RC HP:
6 lb. bag $22.31
16.5 lb bag $51.99

How's that for an eye-opener? Can you spell "rip-off", boys and girls?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And here are the ingredients in order, with the first 5 being most important:
EVO Ingredients:
Beef, Beef Meal, Lamb Meal, Potatoes, Egg, Sunflower Oil, Buffalo, Lamb, Venison, Beef Cartilage, Natural Flavors, Herring Oil, Apples, Carrots, Garlic, Tomatoes, Vitamins/Minerals, Cottage Cheese, Dried Chicory Root, Ascorbic Acid, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract

Royal Canin HP Ingredients:
Ingredients:
Rice, soy protein isolate hydrolysate, chicken fat, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), natural flavors, monocalcium phosphate, sodium silico aluminate, soya oil, calcium carbonate, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), fructo-oligosaccharides, potassium chloride, salt, taurine, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], choline chloride, L-tyrosine, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Expense IS relative! We pay $57.00 for 28.6 pounds. That is only about $2.00 per pound and that is not really much. Because we are feeding 3 dogs and 2 of them are relatively large. It seems like we are always buying those bags of food. RC HP is $3.00 per pound! That is a rip-off, Karen, you are so correct. I have been meaning to do a cost comparison of the top-quality dog foods in my area. I haven't done it because I would have to go to several stores, but, now that I have finally done the math at least for EVO, it is a great food and actually not that pricey. Once my dogs were used to it, their stools are so firm - almost too dry sometimes.

[BetteB]

As many others have said, the Food Group is a great resource. We feed Orijen and could not be happier. I love that you know where the ingredients come from and every ingredient is high quality.