More Dog Food Guilt- vent

From some one that cooks for my dogs I feel your pain. I just recently added meat back into my dogs diet. So I changed from a veggie diet and added ground turkey to their regular home cooked veggie meal. My dog Buck had terrible stomach issues with many other meats. After 2 months of adding the turkey his stomach was still good so I supplement their diet with one meal home cooked and one blue buffalo turkey and rice formula. It worked and now I only have to cook for 1 meal a day which is a real relief and if I dont have time I can use the blue. I only cook once every 10 days now. I guess the key is finding a food that does not have a negative impact on their health. Maybe with the one that has issues you could just add quinoa or sweet potatoes to the meat for a while and see if the limited diet works.

 If this woman told you that the only way for your kids to grow up healthy and strong would be to feed a diet consisting solely of green fruits grown only on the most remote mountaintop, you'd laugh at her.   She deserves to be equally dismissed for her opinions on dog food.

There are ample diets available for dogs. Not every diet will work for every dog. Wishing it to be so does not make it happen. Feed what your dogs do well on. 

 I honestly cannot imagine putting myself through that much turmoil over ANY food..mine OR my dog's. 

 I think partly it has to do with my sensitivity to what other people think and my general anxiety that plagues me.  It does seem to manifest in the issue of what to feed dogs though and it's both really funny and completely ridiculous LOL.

I will feed them high quality kibble, raw, etc.  They'll be fine.  Gobie ate all kinds of stuff in his 14 years and was beautifully coated with nice teeth right up to the end. 

I promise not to freak out anymore LOL

I take people's opinions into consideration, but ultimately make my decision based upon what is best for my dog and what I can realistically handle. I THOUGHT I was going to just home cook for Ari. Then, when I looked at it honestly, I knew it wasn't going to work. I can SUPPLEMENT with home cooking now and then, but not as her main diet source. I feed a good quality kibble and lately been playing around with various types, b/c of discovered food sensitivities/allergies which it seems we've narrowed it down to just being grains. Also, cost is a factor. I couldn't see spending 60+ on a bag of dog food. Then again, maybe we would if it turned out that that food worked the best (besides that's not that much more than we pay now at around 40ish a bag). Both the SO and I are on the same page, in regards to spending more to get better quality food to HOPEFULLY prevent some reoccurring health issues in Ari which inevitably lands us up at the Vets which equals big bucks spent to them.

There are fanatics for just about everything. Unrelated, it's one of the reasons I stopped participating in Weight Watcher meetings. I met too many zealots who freaked out when they heard I prefer to eat REAL butter, and not some reduced fat nonsense. People who are like that and preachy. I generally cannot tolerate lol and chose not to be around and usually any advice (even if it happens to be sound) falls on deaf ears because they can't imagine someone else thinking differently.

You obviously care very much about doing your absolute best for your furry ones and that's to be commended. Cut yourself some slack though and try to let go a little of that caring what other people think. As someone who's very much like you in caring what other people think and having anxiety issues with it, I understand how difficult it is - it's really nice though when you can, very freeing!!!

Emphasis added by me:

the_gopher

There are fanatics for just about everything.

I generally cannot tolerate lol and chose not to be around and usually any advice (even if it happens to be sound) falls on deaf ears because they can't imagine someone else thinking differently.

 

This^ is so true (for me). If someone pushes and forces and shoves their opinion down my throat there is no way in hell I'll ever even take it into consideration.

 

Thanks Sharon and Steph. Isn't it a pain tto deal with the "what will other people think" anxiety issue?  Ugh.

The older I get the more reasonable I think I become. I've learned a lot of lessons on this forum (love you guys!!)  Humility, patience, common sense, doing what's right for you and not worrying about what others think- that's my latest one, a tough one for me but a good one.

DH said to just try something for a while, if it doesn't work I can always switch, just like always.  Decisions seem  to feel so 'permanent' to me, even though they can easily be changed.

I am waiting on a bag of PetGuard for the bichons to arrive, have a bag of Acana pacifica to start Echo on shortly plus some halshan chicken/veg ,turkey/veg and beef/veg as toppers, in the freezer are RMBs for the occasional chew/teeth brushing and going to use up that ground organ meat too for them.  Nom nom.

I don't think they'll be complaining. I use the acana currently to stuff kongs.  They all practically do backflips to get a piece of the stuff.

 

I buy the sample sized bags for treats. It's great in the cookie jar, or for training, and mine HAVE A FIT for the fish flavor.

 

MIne all eat a base diet plus meat and RMBs, and some fresh veggies for the antioxidants. They look awesome, and feel good, and it's easy enough that I am able to keep it up for three dogs.

I haven't read one response here...but will come back later when I have more time. I have a feeling when I read what people wrote I will either feel bad OR get angry.

That said...I want to share you my experiences.    If you remember I have been writing about Gibby since I got him.  I fed him Eagle Pack to start with....and always cooked meats and veggies to add on top. He has always had problems.   I switched him to one food to another.....nothing changed.  I home cooked for him for a couple of months......that was NOT easy for a Great Dane and I don't care what anyone says.  I would spend the whole day standing in the kitchen.....and then when I started packing it up I realized I had only enough food for a few days.      Worse part..he was loosing weight.     I kept all my info about about home cooking thinking I will try again one day.

You see I hate kibble...never did like it,,,it doesn't seem like food.   However................having this "problem child" I see now how he works best.

A friend told me that she ran into a old x-Dane breeder and told him of my problems...he said Danes can't eat all that stuff....that I should go buy one of the cheapest foods I can get and feed him.  NOT!     Funny...my DH kept saying " you listen to all the crap on those dog boards and you keep wasting money and making our dog sick!"    MAYBE!

After trying several good foods... Eagle, Blue, Califonria Natural, Taste of the Wild NO GRAIN, home cooked...... I finally went to PSP one day and picked up a bag of Nutro for Sensitive Skin and Stomach........YES...the DREADED NUTRO......one the the companies we love to hate..... and I did. However Gibby doesnt' hate it......he is doing better than ever before.   Amost NO problems with his tummy....for the first time.    How can I fight city hall?  How can I go against the facts?   Believe me....after all the trouble he has had I would feed him any food that worked.  He is finally not the skinniest dane you have ever seen....and is happy and well.

Thats my plight.  Bottom line...Gibby is doing great and I for once am not worrying to death about him.

Dyan, I would like to say I'm glad that Gibby is doing great.

Sham....you have to what is best for you and your dog. The end. At one point I was feeding Kord Purina One SSS, it worked at the time and I do not regret my choice.

We all try to garner approval from those around us, both actively and without knowing it at some point. The trick is to listen, and then make your own mind up. You have to do what is right for you and you only.

Overly opiated people rub me the wrong way. Ultimately you have to decide which is more important, your own decisions that impact your life or the the opinions of others that have no meaning in your life. A good thing to say is " I value your opinion but I must make the decision that best works for me and my situation, all I ask is that you respect my decision, if you can not do that, please keep your trap shut and deal with it". Works for me every time

Good luck.

 

Dian, I am also glad Gibby is doing great on Nutro.  I remember you writing about his tummy issues and I am sure it is no fun for them to go through the tummy aches either.

I put Echo on Acana Pacifica.  It is WORKING, wonderfully.  It solves my too-tiny fridge issue, her coat is gleaming and thick already it seems (the neighbor commented on it yesterday how beautiful she looks) and she was having large, frequent poos on raw and THK.    Which are now just 2 smallish poos per day, very low odor.  

She is happy and loves it.  And the bichon girls' tear stains are just about gone again (back on PetGuard) and everyone is thriving. 

You are too right Truley, we all have to do the right thing for our dogs and ourselves and that is the bottom line.

:)

Thank you Tiffany and Truely! Gibby thanks you....he loves feeling much better. 

.................................................and I sure hope I don't jinx him by saying it!

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread. My vet suggested I switch one of my dogs to Science Diet ZD because of her allergies. I had the hardest time wrapping my brain around feeding one dog a different food than the other dogs, I kept switching dog foods trying to find a "one size fits all" solution and I also felt like Science Diet was a scam of a food. I bought a very small bag, will try her on it and see if it clears her up. The vet also explained to me that just because my other dog has allergies, its not necessarily to the same ingredients. Why didn't I think of that? Are you allergic to the same things that I am? Of course not! But because they are all dogs I thought the food allergies would be the same among all of them.
I really balk at the price of the Science Diet, but that dog is 10 years old now, if I can get her to have less allergy symptoms for the remainder of her years, I'll suck it up and leave her on it. Her allergies developed over the past few years, it wasn't all her life. It was comforting to know that not all dogs need to be on that food. I'll continue my search for an agreeable food for the other allergy dog. .
Anyhow I enjoyed reading other's responses regarding making decisions for our dogs. My brother's dog was on Kibbles & Bits its entire life and I admit I was snobbish about it when I heard that. "Garbage!" entered my mind all those years, yet it lived to a ripe old age and was happy. Regardless of finances, I wont feed mine the Kibbles & Bits but who am I to judge others and their decisions? I realize now we have to make our own decisions and feel good about them. If I find a "magic" food that works well for my other allergy dog I'll feed it. For now I'm reading and reading about dog food to at least have a good basis to make that decision on.
This forum is so great.

Willows has been on a combo of canned science diet turkey for seniors and z/d canned with some toppings for over 2 years now.  I don't know for sure what about this combo works but I'm sticking with it. 

  Dyan,  I'm really glad you found a food for Gibby; I've been thinking of him lately. Jessie's on the Nutro Venison and Rice; it may be the same food Gibby's on? Because of her pancreatitis, I can't go higher than 10% fat, and she also has a lot of food allergies, so our choices are very limited. I already told you in another thread about trying California Natural Low Fat Rice and Lamb. Her coat was so dry, but that didn't matter as long as she did well on the food otherwise, but it didn't agree with her stomach. She frequently had gas and her stomach would make awful noises. After having her on this food for several months, I tried the Nutro and the gas and stomach noises are gone, and her coat is soft and shiny. Before she had pancreatitis, I tried many of the same brands you have because her coat was dry and she had dandruff in spite of adding fish oil to her diet. The only foods that helped her were Nutro Lamb and Rice, and a prescription food by Royal Canin that was made for dogs with skin problems. I cooked a balanced diet for her last summer but she grew tired of it; for some reason she has always preferred kibble to cooked or canned food. She gets cooked food added to the Nutro and is doing great.

  First of all; I can see you're fairly new, so welcome to the forum.   Have you had your dog tested for environmental allergies? Your vet should offer that service. He would take some blood from your dog and send it to a company like Heska or Bio-Medical, and they could determine if your dog has environmental allergies and how serious they are. Jessie has both environmental and food allergies. I used Hill's z/d for an elimination diet a few years ago. She was fed only the z/d for eight weeks, and then I added different foods to it, one at a time, to determine what her food allergies were. For example, I added a few ounces of chicken a day to see if she would react to it. Signs of a reaction were; chewing her feet, rubbing her face on the carpet, chewing under her tail, or scratching her ears.  My veterinary dermatologist said to try each food for two weeks. It took varying amounts of time for her to react to foods; about two weeks for chicken, but only four days for salmon, etc. The process took about nine months but has been very helpful in the long run.

 If you decide to feed the z/d long term, I would suggest you add a few ounces of cooked meat daily for protein. Jessie actually lost muscle while on z/d because it's only 14% protein. Good luck; I really hope you find the answer for your dog.