Grain Free Diet. Who has switched? Results Please.
 , threw it out and got my money back.
I really trusted Foster & Smith, organic and no by-products, and I am in no way knocking them here. Since then I have been doing alot of research and I have been finding that all of those grains are just fillers, and that dogs are primarily carnivores, of course they don't eat rice or corn in the wild. Last week I went to my local "Doggy Boutique" and spoke with someone about switching Skye over to a grain free diet. Not one of the foods they carry have been recalled  . One of my concerns is that Skye has been licking the tops of her front legs to the point of the hair getting shorter and shorter. She is not licking it bald, but its like she is giving herself a haircut in those ares  . She also has an anal gland problem. The woman at the store spoke to me for a long time, answered all of my questions. She had the same problems with her dog, licking obsessively and impacted anal glands. She said that once she swithed to a grain free diet, raw in her case, all of the problems ceased. I bought Solid Gold-Barking At The Moon and Skye devoured it, I have never seen her go for a dry food like that, and I am thinking about rotating it with the raw nuggets by Nature's Variety.
It has only been a week and I have noticed her fur is getting longer on her legs which must mean she is not licking as much. Her energy is a little higher as well. I did heard about levels in the liver becoming too high from no grain diets, but I have also heard that is a result from giving it to puppies and old dogs who have never been on it. Well sorry to drag on, but I would love to hear from others who have gone this route and what results were seen. And if you add any supplements when using grain free. |
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| I tried to switch my dogs to grain free and they both really seemed to like it but Chummie ended up with elevated liver values and Maggie developed high ph in her urine -- so I switched them back to a more balanced diet. I don't for sure if the grain free diet caused it. I am taking them both in for a follow up appointment and will know if the conditions are still there or went away. |
| I went to a food that is high in protein and low on carbs and grain free for my puppy. he was about four months old at the time and I made the switch because he was having alot of issues on his then food, which was Purina Pro. This was before the recalls. Purina Pro was not recalled but every time I fed it to him, the same symptoms would appear.
I switched to a food called Orijen Puppy, grain free. We ahve had absolutely no problems with licking, have nice formed stools on a regular basis and he is doing quite well. Every dog is different but for me going grain free, or at least wheat and corn free, it has worked out. |
| When we were having problems with Dixie last year we eliminated all grains from her diet....to see if it was allergies. Not sure if it was, but we had her on a potatoe and fish kibble for months and it really pulled her through. Her itching stopped, skin came back nice and now she is an energizer-bunny.
We were extremely careful about not letting her have anything with anything else....Even her doggie biscuits were veggie with no grain. Once she seemed to be in the clear we very slowly re-introduced stuff and now she can have anything. |
| I am feeding Canidae to my Standard Poodle. She seems to be doing fine but I haven't tried it on an OES. My puppy will be here next week and he will be on Purina Pro Plan lg breed puppy for a while. That is what the breeder feeds. I don't want to change his food until 1 yr. but I would like to try Canidae on him. Unfortunately we found out too late about the food recall. I am sure that is what killed my 4 1/2 yr old OES. I can't see why dogs would need much grains anyway. |
| Wendy,
Just curious...why wait until the puppy is one year to change the food? I know to change food you ahve to go slowly...over a period of about ten days or so. But I never heard to wait unil the puppy is a year old and just wondering? I changed my pups food at four months...hope I didn't do anything terribly wrong. Thanks, Diane |
| Diane,
I just thought they needed to be on puppy food for a year. Canidae doesn't make a puppy food, just an all life stages food. I wasn't sure how that would be for a puppy. I know to wean them off slowly so there is no tummy trouble. |
| Chewie was on Canidae for most of his 1st year. He did perfectly on it. Our Rat terrier Riley was also fed it exclusively as a pup with no trouble.
Now I have started rotating between 3 foods, one of which is still Canidae. Sorry to hijack your no grain thread, just wanted to reply.  |
| Hey, no problem. I love to hear that the OES does well on Canidae. After losing one to the poison food I have been through H%$L trying to find the right food. I settled on this because there are NO glutens, and no Vitamin K Menadione supplements. I may be overreacting, but I heard bad things about that supplement. May not even be true...but I don't want to take any chances with the new baby. |
Wendy, I totally understand. If that had happened to me, I would be just as cautious and paranoid (meant in a good way) as you.  |
| Thanks for feed back, hope to hear more. I was worried about the affect on the liver, but I was informed that you only need to worry about that with puppies and senior dogs who were not used to the high protein. From what I understand no puppy should be on the high protein diet, you must wait till they are adults.
Well I am off to purchase the 33lb bag of grain free today, Skye devours it more than any other food she has tried. I will get some ph strips to see if it is normal. It is just so unfortunate that we have to worry about what our babies are eating. Even with the so-called "best for your dog" foods that you find at the vet, well they are full of harmful and unecessary ingredients. Most of these foods were on the recall list, I have even found that most vets have no clue as to what our canine friends should be eating. Kibble has only been around for 80 years, before that dogs were fed meat and vege's. And they did not eat cooked meat, it was raw. Cooking the meat is only sucking out all that is good. They have not had enough time to evolve from that carnivore diet for it to be o.k. for their systems to digest corn, rice and gluten. Not to mention the dyes, and all of the hormones. It's getting harder and harder for us humans to eat natural, everything is tainted with hormones and ingredients we cannot pronounce! Thats it! I need to buy a farm and and only have organically fed animals for me and my family to thrive on. If it were only that simple. |
| hello all. I am wanting to change our sheepie girls from Purina One (Sensitive formula) to an organic, wheat and corn free food. I noticed on Saturday that Paul Newman makes an organic, "all ingredients made in America" dry food. Has anyone tried that?
Some of the posts mentioned checking the urine after taking them off of grain products due to the added protein. Is this mainly for puppies and seniors? I am open to any suggestions on good organic foods. Both of our girls have had bouts of diarrhea for about six months. We have done extensive testing and removed most causes. It stops and then comes back in a few weeks. No changes in diet or environment, and we have even stopped all treats (much to Tillie's dismay). Very frustrating. |
| one of the girls at work switched her fila to solid gold's barking at the moon... which i would be pretty nervous to do considering the 41% protein!! The dog developed all kinds of problems and was in constant pain. She took her off the food and the dog slowly returned to normal. The vet agreed it was probably the high protein level.
I've tried several foods that I've liked a lot, Nature's Variety Instinct (used to be called raw instinct) which comes in several flavors, and Merrick. Roo is a typical sheepie with his sensitive tummy so everything is changed a few pieces of kibble at a time. Right now all my dogs eat Natural Balance Potato and Duck mixed with Merrick Wilderness Blend. |
| Thanks. I am looking into the Quote: Natural Balance Potato and Duck mixed with Merrick Wilderness Blend foods.
The Newman brand looks interesting also. |
| Skye has been doing fine on Barking At The Moon, she has been on it for 13 days now. I tested her urine with PH strips and it is neutral (7). I have also added pure pumpkin and she loves it! Time will tell, if she tests to high on the PH chart then I will change it once again. I have to say that she has stopped licking her front legs completely, so I tend to think that there was a correlation between the grains and her constant licking. Her fur is finally growing again, she did not lick it bald but it was a good inch shorter than the rest of her body.
I tried the Natures Variety raw food last week, she didn't go gagga over it. She picked up a piece and spit it onto the floor, than she ate the rest. But she eats up the Solid Gold like theres no tomorrow. She is also young at almost three, high protein is not recommened for puppies or seniors (not good for seniors if they are not already accustomed to the high protein, o.k. if they have been on it all of their lives, and puppies need lots of carbs.) Maybe that is why she is doing well on the diet. |
TotallyRoofus wrote: one of the girls at work switched her fila to solid gold's barking at the moon... which i would be pretty nervous to do considering the 41% protein!! The dog developed all kinds of problems and was in constant pain. She took her off the food and the dog slowly returned to normal. The vet agreed it was probably the high protein level.
I've tried several foods that I've liked a lot, Nature's Variety Instinct (used to be called raw instinct) which comes in several flavors, and Merrick. Roo is a typical sheepie with his sensitive tummy so everything is changed a few pieces of kibble at a time. Right now all my dogs eat Natural Balance Potato and Duck mixed with Merrick Wilderness Blend. Do you know how old your co-workers dog was when she switched to the high protein? Thanks |
| Susan!!!
Nice to see you!!! |
| i tryed derby on the potato and duck want a bag he would not eat it .. now have him on bill jack seems to work with is runs and tummy |
| Wendy,
I have a trainer at my school who raised her entire litter on the Candaie life stages..my Vet also. they seem to recommend it - although it does have grains. I was afraid to use it because of that but am wondering now if its not so much the grain as the quality of the grain...Grains like corn are not as easily digested as oatmeal, etc. I've been researching months and months on foods, etc. The analysis of each food is not as important as where the proteins, etc come from. Some sources are more digestible than others. Some have more usuable protein than others. It can become very confusing. The label is not always the best source of information either as you need to know how to read one. And its confusing
I would imagine that pet foods are safer than ever at this point after all this recall stuff. Do some research in the search engines and read up on reading a label, etc. There's alot of information out there - but it does get confusing. Diane |
| Daine,
The grains I was concerned with were wheat, corn, and soy...and actually, it is the glutens that I have the most fear of. None of those are in Canidae, and I have fed it to my Std Poodle since I lost my OES due to this problem. Oatmeal doesn't seem to cause any problems as far as I know. I was concerned that the protein level is pretty high, and I have heard too much protein for large breed pups could cause problems. The breeder uses Pro Plan and is happy with it. I will use it for at least 4 months...after that...not sure yet. I would like to use Canidae for both, we will just have to see how things go. The corn is ok for a pup I guess as they seems to need more carbs. We have one more day to go, then we get to pick up Nigel on Wed. I really miss the sheepie nose bumps and nudges. Thanks for the info Diane. |
| Could part of the 'rumbly-tumbly ' problems with these high protein feeds be from the way dogs are being fed ??
For millions of years dogs hunted in packs and ate raw very dead and often stinky meat maybe once a week -or less !- . They were thin , rangy and short-lived aggressors . Sitting in your living-room deciding which piece of kibble to select is a rather different role for your pooch to endure. You just might be overfeeding . If your woofer doesnt empty the bowl til it rattles EVERY time you put food out then you probably are overfeeding . If you have a dog that is unruly, disobedient, wont eat or just plain scatty it may stem from how you are feeding it !! Back when the dogpack killed and ate ...who ate first ?? The Alpha male , after which the rest of the pack ate in descending order of prominence . YOUR dog STILL thinks that way although you may not think so . You have taken on the role of the 'dominant one' (whether you are male or female ) by becoming the provider of food to your pack (of one , or two ) . Try keeping your dog hungry -NOT starving to death , just simply hungry -(feed every other day for a while ) and see if some of your feeding problems dont go away . It can be quite amazing how a dogs attitude will change when YOU take charge instead of pandering to it .Believe me you are doing your dog a BIG favour -they WANT to run in a pack and they WANT you to lead because so far in their narrow little lives YOU have always provided food . They get lazy when you indulge them 
Try it . Woofy will be better off a little hungry than a lot overweight . Bill Proud |
3bigdogs wrote: Could part of the 'rumbly-tumbly ' problems with these high protein feeds be from the way dogs are being fed ??
For millions of years dogs hunted in packs and ate raw very dead and often stinky meat maybe once a week -or less !- . They were thin , rangy and short-lived aggressors . Sitting in your living-room deciding which piece of kibble to select is a rather different role for your pooch to endure. You just might be overfeeding . If your woofer doesnt empty the bowl til it rattles EVERY time you put food out then you probably are overfeeding . If you have a dog that is unruly, disobedient, wont eat or just plain scatty it may stem from how you are feeding it !! Back when the dogpack killed and ate ...who ate first ?? The Alpha male , after which the rest of the pack ate in descending order of prominence . YOUR dog STILL thinks that way although you may not think so . You have taken on the role of the 'dominant one' (whether you are male or female ) by becoming the provider of food to your pack (of one , or two ) . Try keeping your dog hungry -NOT starving to death , just simply hungry -(feed every other day for a while ) and see if some of your feeding problems dont go away . It can be quite amazing how a dogs attitude will change when YOU take charge instead of pandering to it .Believe me you are doing your dog a BIG favour -they WANT to run in a pack and they WANT you to lead because so far in their narrow little lives YOU have always provided food . They get lazy when you indulge them Try it . Woofy will be better off a little hungry than a lot overweight . Bill Proud My pooch has never eaten up food the way she has the high protein diet. She keeps licking at the bowl after it is empty, and her compulsive licking has stopped. I am just trying to see if anyone has seen changes, good or bad, from switching to high protein low carb. I hear people on the forum going on about high levels in the liver, but my dogs PH has been just fine. It just doesn't make sense to me to be giving her food full of grains when that is not what dogs have been eating for thousands of years. Mass produced kibble has only been around for 80 yrs. People will then say that wild dogs get grains from eating the stomaches of their victims, but dogs in the wild do not eat the stomaches, they leave that part alone. Anyhow, Skye has been doing fine on the diet, and she devours the food. |
| Sorry I missed this topic! I am in the process of switching Wilson's food due to uncontrollable licking of his front legs and paws. He's been on Nutro large breed puppy Lamb & Rice (no wheat, no corn) for about 3 weeks now and is doing great! He was eating Purina large breed Puppy Chow but thanks to the recommendations of the folks here, I am trying a new food. The vet said it should take about 8 weeks to see results but I think he's doing better already. While the licking hasn't completely subsided, it has decreased considerably. He would lick aggressively a few times a day now he's down to once or twice a week. I feel a victory approaching!! |
| That is great news! I hope things continue to improve. |
Hey, Mr. Wilson! wrote: Sorry I missed this topic! I am in the process of switching Wilson's food due to uncontrollable licking of his front legs and paws. He's been on Nutro large breed puppy Lamb & Rice (no wheat, no corn) for about 3 weeks now and is doing great! He was eating Purina large breed Puppy Chow but thanks to the recommendations of the folks here, I am trying a new food. The vet said it should take about 8 weeks to see results but I think he's doing better already. While the licking hasn't completely subsided, it has decreased considerably. He would lick aggressively a few times a day now he's down to once or twice a week. I feel a victory approaching!!
I think its is a Sheepie thing, they love to lick those front legs. Skye's fur is finally growing in, she did not lick it bald but it was well on its way. |
| I was not happy with the Purina Pro plan. even though my breeder recommned it and I know lots do. I wonder though why? there are so many better foods. Perhaps in some parts of the country other foods are not as easily found.
canidae is an excellant choice. My vet raised his dogs on that food from the times they were puppies. I believe they haev an all life stage food. I wouldn't worry about the hype about too much protein. Proteins from the "junk" like corn and soy and by-products, etc are not as digestible as whole grains like oatmeal and barley, etc. Many food companies, like Purina, list the protein percentage and much of it comes from the "junk" fillers. try to pick a food with two of the first three ingredients as meat - not by-products. canadae is a good choice. |
| Hi. I have 3 dogs. Two dachshunds and a Basset hound puppy. I raised my dachshunds on Natural Balance for all life stages and they did great. When I first got my Basset puppy the breeder brought me the food she used. When I read the ingredients one of the top ingredients was corn! This pup wasn't doing good on this food at all so I slowly switched her to Natural Balance also. She didn't do as good as the other two dogs did. I started doing research and found this site: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog-food-index-a.html
This site not only tells you what's in the food, but also what it means and if they recommend it or not. I was shocked at some of the stuff I read and I learned alot! Some of the most expensive foods out there are garbage, even some your vet may sell. Do your self a favor and read up on the foods you feed your dog. They don't need grains, especially things like corn! They can't digest it, just like we can't. My Basset is now on Wellness Super 5 Mix for large breed puppies and she's doing great. Make sure you know what your feeding your dog though. Too high of a protein or calcium is not good for large breed pups at all and can cause Bloat, which can kill your dog. I have now learned alot and feel confident each time I feed my girls that they are getting the best I can give them. They are my kids and I want them to be around for a long time. |
| I have been using Dick Van Pattens brand of grain free dog food. My Pet Schnauzzer is alot better from scratching. i was looking in store bought brands but don't see any cheaper. Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance. cost like 13.99 on up for a bag of 5lb. So as of now i will stick with what is working. |
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