Questions about what you feed your dog(s)

1.  All of my dogs eat Canidae dry mixed with vegetables.  I use Canidae canned food to stuff their kongs with.
2.  Prior to feeding Canidae, I fed Science Diet.  I had great luck with Science Diet until I got Bevo. 
3.  Bevo hadd constant diarhea on SD so I changed to Canidae & had no problems with stools from then on.  I changed the other dogs to Canidae for convenience.
4.  I have not had any problems with our current feeding stategy.
5.  These are my first "batch" of dogs.  So problems in the past don't apply to my situation.

1. I feed my Dog Natural Balance ( either Venison and Brown Rice or Sweet Potato and Fish ) Kibble. In the morning I mix about 1 tablespoon of NB canned in with the kibble to give it some variety.
2. Prior to Natural Balance I tried Solid Gold, ( she hated it ) Natures Recipe and Innova. 
3. Smokey's digestion is perfect with the NB, her coat shines and no allergy problems.

 

1) Sheila is eating California Natural Lamb and Rice, and Romeo is on Eukaneuba Kangaroo and oats for a diet trial (food allergies)
2) Both of these foods are new. I fed primarily Science Diet in the past, but have also tried Merrick, Nutro, Purina pro plan.
3) None of the foods were any better than the Science Diet, so I left them on it because its easy for me to get being a vet student and all (no, its not free, just easy). When romeos allergies started flaring up (I think because of the advanced protection formula) I ordered him the California Natural, but was never able to try it, so now Sheila eats it because I have 80 lbs of it sitting around.
4) Sheila is actually shedding less on the California natural, I'm very curious to see how she looks come spring when she hits shedding season again. I guess the Advanced Protection just isn't as good as it sounds (they did much better on the lamb and rice formula) and I definately won't be carrying it or recommending it. Romeo has never looked better than he does now, its amazing how much an allergy can affect coat quality.
5) These are my first dogs, and going through a diet trial for romeo was a major step to take. Its worth all the work though to finally have a shiny black dogs instead of a black dog with a dirty brown undercoat.

Thanks!

1) They are eating Chicken Soup Large breed.
 
2) No, They have ate many different foods, Including Science Diet, Kibbles n' Bits (before I knew better, my mom always fed them this) Nutro, and Pedigree and Canidae
 
3)  Science Diet - which the vet recomended, they all had dry, itchy skin, soft poop, red feet from licking and noone liked the food either.
     Kibbles n' Bits  - oh god where to start, itchy, flaky, red skin, ear infections, yeast infections, and shedded like crazy.
     Pedigree - Raja was on this when we rescued her, Itchy skin, dull coat, always had diareah, and her teeth were bad.
    Nutro - my mom always fed this and Kibbles n' Bits to our dogs, itchy skin, shedded, red and flaky skin.
    Canidae - shiny coats, less itching, but noone liked the taste.
  
4)  So far on Chicken Soup everyone is doing good and likes the taste, and everones coats seem good, no more itching but have only been on it for about 2 weeks.
 
5) on Kibbles n' Bits, which my mom fed both our dogs growing up, Scooby and Scrappy, Scooby got Cushing Diseas at about 7, at 9 he got Diabetes, he aslo had liver problems, and was very overweight. He died of liver cancer that had spread, died at age 11.
Scrappy had Seizers from when he was about 4 on up, always on Phenobarbital, later got megaesphegus and died of Congestive Heart Failer, died also at age 11.
Jazz-   also fed Kibbles n' Bits and Science Diet, He also had Epilespy, horrible allergies, horrible yeast infections in ears, extreamly overweight, at age 8 he got Colitis, and had prostate problems. Died at 11 also, from Prostate Cancer, and he was neutered.
Shadow - still alive but is 8, he also has Epilepsy,
  
Is there any connection to dogs that have Epilepsy and what they eat? Because out of 5 dogs, 3 have had epilepsy, could it be poosible that it came on from them eating unhealthy food?
 

Is there any connection to dogs that have Epilepsy and what they eat?

YES! Emma's epilepsy is controlled almost completely with diet. Dogtorj.net is where I started reading about it, then I expanded to reading all sorts of places about the connection between epilepsy and diet. I've even discussed it with a human nutritionist (I work for him[]), and he agrees that epilepsy is strongly related to diet.

1. Currenty on California Natural Lamb and Rice
 
2. Other brands i've fed include:  Natural Balance, Solid Gold Wolf Cub, Chicken Soup Puppy,
                                                   Eagle Pack and Iams.
3. When we first adopted Sam he was fed Iams, he did fine on it but i wanted a better food.
     Natural Balance- I loved it-He loved it.  Changed per vet request for higher protein.
     Solid Gold Wolf Cub - He didnt care for it and had super soft poo on it the entire time.
     Chicken Soup -  Good coat- great price - poop didnt firm up enough and he lost interest.
     Eagle Pack Holistic Lamb - Love it!  Wanted higher protein til he's 1 yr old...then ill go back.
     California Natural Lamb and Rice - Also like this food. Poop firmed up on EP and has
                                                            remained firm on this food.  Maybe a little bland.
4. No problems on our current food
5. No previous dogs

Jennie - Thanks so much for clearing that up for me, I always wondered why so many of our dogs had Epilepsy when is I know Noone else that even has ever had one dog with it.  I asked the vet and he said no that it has nothing to do with nutrition and it does not matter what they are eating, and just keeps putting them on Phenobabital. But, I know that being on Phenobarbital can not be healthy for a dog. 
    I will check out that link right website right now, thanks so much!.
Aslo is Emma on any medication? our dogs have always had the Grandmal Seizures also

1) what do you feed your dog(s)?
Innova regular kibble. Have been adding canned from CS, Canidae, SG
2) have you always fed this brand or did you feed another brand prior to this one?
Russell came to me eating Purina Puppy Chow. I switched him to Science Diet Lamb & Rice, then Chicken Soup, then Canidae, then Solid Gold Beef & Barley, to Innova.
3) if you fed a different brand, what if any problems did your dog(s) have while eating it?
I switched him right away to SD... he pooped many times a day (like 6- and was fairly indifferent about his food. He did not eat Canidae dry at all. Solid Gold canned gave him diarrhea & CS canned also has... still working on that.
4) have your dog(s) had any problems on the current food you're feeding?
Not on the Innova kibble.
5) what did you feed dogs you had in the past, and what kinds of health problems did they have/how did they cross the bridge?
R is my first dog.

1) what do you feed your dog(s)?
Innova Evo
2) have you always fed this brand or did you feed another brand prior to this one?
No, Max ate Nutro Natural Choice for Large Breed Dogs when we first got him, and then Canidae
3) if you fed a different brand, what if any problems did your dog(s) have while eating it? With the Nutro, no real problems so to speak, but he just didn't like it. I was basically begging him to eat. I brought home a sample of the Canidae, and he gobbled it down.That was enough to convince me to switch.
4) have your dog(s) had any problems on the current food you're feeding?
Nope, no problems at all. We didn't even have any problems switch Georgie from whatever the shelter was feeding her (Dog Chow or Puppy Chow I think) and on to the Evo. I was sort of expecting it might be hard on her stomach, so I did give her pumpkin with it for the first few days, and that seemed to take care of it.
5) what did you feed dogs you had in the past, and what kinds of health problems did they have/how did they cross the bridge?
The  first dog ate Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice, and like Max, she wasn't eager to eat it either. We never tried anything else, but maybe she would have been more eager to eat something better. She had no real health problems, and died when she was hit by a car.
Millie first ate the Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice. No real issues with her on that, and we always had to beg her to eat. Then we tried both her and Max on Canidae. I don't remember whether she had diarrhea, vomitting or both. She also had hair loss, which actually was actually unrelated to the food, but at the time we thought it was, so then we switched her to Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice.  She had bouts of diarhea and vomitting at times, which can't necessarily be attributed to the food. She was also on medication, which I think had more to do with it. She leaked urine, but did this before we got her.  She also showed symptoms which looked like and progressed like Wobbler's Syndrome, although testing was never done to confirm or deny this diagnosis, so it can't be said for sure. She was put to sleep.

Aslo is Emma on any medication? our dogs have always had the Grandmal Seizures also

I use herbs, homeopathics, and Rescue Remedy to manage her stress, but no, she's not on any medication. Due to her various other issues, she cannot take any kind of drug on a regular basis (even herbs are iffy). She has several different types of seizures, lasting from a few seconds to 20 minutes in length. She clusters. It was VERY bad at one point, and now she seizures twice or three times a year.

My apologies to the OP. This is seriously OT, and I'll take it over to PMs now[]

1. James Well Beloved White Fish & Rice kibble.  It's a senior light mix with glucosumine & chondroiten added.  I also give my 12 y.o. gluco/chron supplements twice daily.  He's been on this food for about 6 months since moving to the UK.
2.  We lived in the US and there I fed Flint River kibble.
3.  I've been lucky as this dog has always had a great appetite and is not fussy.  I could feed him 'ol Roy' and he would probably gobble it in seconds.
4. No problems so far.
5.  I've had dogs now for over 40-years.  Mostly large dogs - goldens and collies.  I like quality dry foods as I think it keeps their teeth healthy w/o a lot of cleaning.  I've never tried raw meat but think it has merit but don't like all the bother.

1) CANIDAE all stages kibble + suppliment with raw
2) PERFORMATION-continued breeders food (6mon)/Canidae (1yr)/RAW (6mon)/Canidae(2yr)
3) Raw- dandfruff,plaque
4) No
5) I've only had problems with Raw

ORIGINAL: lisa4kids1pup

I decided that I want to do my own little "study" of sorts.  Here are the questions:
1) what do you feed your dog(s)?
2) have you always fed this brand or did you feed another brand prior to this one?
3) if you fed a different brand, what if any problems did your dog(s) have while eating it?
4) have your dog(s) had any problems on the current food you're feeding?
5) what did you feed dogs you had in the past, and what kinds of health problems did they have/how did they cross the bridge?

Thanks!

Bugsy is @17 mos old Great Dane mix (were told with lab but more likely german sh pointer or hound) He has allergies to eggs, chicken and turkey. Haven't tried Duck. However he loves all food and nothing seems to upset his digestive tract

1) He is on Timberwolf Ocean Blue for tha last few weeks and tomorrow we  get more OB and some Bison too!  He also gets  raw beef heart or some fish 2-4 times a week.

2) We've tried a ton - slowly realized the egg allergy and then the poultry allergies.  He has eaten: Blue Buffalo LB (excellent food!), Royal Canin LB puppy (also good), NB venison (lots of poop!), Iams LB puppy, Purina One (good cheap food IMHO), Purina Pro Plan sensitive stomach (when we caught on to egg allergy, needed a quick available food - again decent food), lots of samples from Merrick, Wellness, Hills etc.

3) Most of the problems with the above foods were related to the egg and poultry.  Egg is the most intense he was gettting hives and his throat would narrow.  And extreme, EXTREME gas and the smell was enough to make you vomit (and I'm pretty tough!) He has that reaction to cooked chicken and turkey which is how we discovered that he needed food without those too.  He also had these episodes of bizarre, terrible behavior which would happen after he ate.  This was true from the time we got him.  He was this wonderful sweet dog and then we'd call it bewitching time or devil dog.  These episodes lessened when we removed the egg and are non-existant now without poultry too.  He also had anal sac problems before figuring out what not to feed him.
Outside of allergic reactions biggest problem with any eliminated foods was lots of poop most recent was NB venison which was insane and Iams was pretty bad too.

4) no problems with the TWO - I worried that others reported loose stools but not Bugsy!

5) only previous dog was my childhood dog lab/dalmation mix, 50-60lbs may be, female.  I believe she got a can of alpo a day at night, but hey I don't know I was a kid!  She lived to be 16, no health problems, no allergies, super active with us 4 kids. 

My dogs are currently fed homecooked/raw as per the Volhard diet (Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog). 

In the past I started with ProPlan & Diamond but had coat issues with one dog or the other.  Switched to Canidae - excellent coats but didn't want to eat it.  Eagle Pack is by far my favourite.  Beautiful coats, lots of energy, less eye-boogers, less poop. 
 
I switched to homecooked because I figured it's probably like me - they should have a variety in their diet.  I'm trying it and hopefully it works for me - it's a LOT more work but they really enjoy it.
 
My beagles/bassets growing up were fed the green bag Dog Chow.  They all lived to ripe old ages.  The basset had severe coat issues which were treated with steroids (and I realize now were probably allergies).

1) what do you feed your dog(s)?
 
Axl - Blue Buffalo Fish and Potato, Blue Buffalo canned, and Pet Botanics Rolled Meat.
Ogre- Just BB Fish and Potato Kibble.
Pepito- Modified Raw, home cooked, and a very occasional kibble meal.
Sgt. Butter- 1/2 same as Axl, 1/2 Raw/home cooked.

All except Sgt. Butter get Missing Link Joint Support daily.

2) have you always fed this brand or did you feed another brand prior to this one?
   Canidae, Royal Canin, and Nature's Recipe. Axl and Pepito were fed horrible foods (Kibbles and Chunks or Beneful) for years because I didn't know better. Axl and Ogre both tried raw before being switched to kibble.

3) if you fed a different brand, what if any problems did your dog(s) have while eating it?

Ogre can't handle anything other than moistened kibble. On raw/home cooked he had explosive diarrhea that never went away. For a few days he did well on Kibble with just a small raw meal at night, but after a while that gave him the runs too, so as of now I've eliminated everything but plain ol' kibble from his diet. He was shinier and a bit better looking on raw, but it wasn't worth the horrible diarrhea. He was miserable. Canidae made his coat oily, but otherwise he did alright on it.

Axl actually did alright on his crappy Kibble and Chunks diet. He was overweight, his coat wasn't particularly shiny, he shed a good bit, and he was starting to get stiff joints...but he had no major problems on it. Raw didn't work for him because his formers owners pulled most of his teeth and filed down the rest, so he can't handle RMB's, we discovered he's sensitive to RAW chicken exclusively (cooked/processed doesn't bother him) and he just wasn't looking healthy or happy on it in general. Royal Canin Bulldog, he did okay on. Canidae gave him a weird oily coat just like it did Ogre, and Nature's recipe was okay but he hated the taste and I was happier with the results of Blue Buffalo anyway.

Pepito does terribly on anything but raw. We've always had trouble keeping weight on him, and raw is the only thing he'll eat enough of to look decent. The only kibbles I've ever had success in getting him to eat are fish flavored ones, so he WILL eat a little of the BB Fish and Potato, but only if he's really hungry. For the first two years of his life, he subsisted on Kibbles and Chunks and Beneful. He was always on the verge of starving. The vet just kept telling us "just keep trying, he won't let himself starve." [>:]

Sgt. Butter was weaned at 3 weeks and fed Ol' Roy canned, so he was in bad shape when I got him. He was basically dying from malnutrition- many of his siblings could no longer walk and one in particular wouldn't even lift her head. He's done very well though on a half kibble/half raw diet. He's in pretty good shape now.

4) have your dog(s) had any problems on the current food you're feeding?

About once a week, they'll have one or two loose bowel movements, and it doesn't make Ogre's coat look as good as I know it can, even with an added supplement. But, overally, I'm very happy with it. There's no doggy smell, small poops, no plaque, good coats, lots of energy...and axl no longer has stiffness in his joints. It's also the only kibble Pepito will touch. Out of everything I've tried, it's the only thing I can honestly say I'm happy with.

5) what did you feed dogs you had in the past, and what kinds of health problems did they have/how did they cross the bridge?

Growing up, our dogs were always fed crap. Purina, Ol' Roy, Kibble and Chunks, or Beneful. My mother still feeds her dogs these foods and they're still doing terribly. Her lab/show mix has some kind of allergy- not sure what- and she literally lost ALL of her fur. Her hips were getting so bad that at 7, she could barely walk. I finally talked her into switching her to Nature's Recipe Sensitive Skin formula (the best thing I could cinvince her to buy) and giving her a cheap glucosamine supplement, and she finally looks great. All of her hair has grown back, and she no longer has ANY sign of joint problems.

Her poodle has always done okay on it, except for the fact that her teeth have nearly rotted out of her head. Other than that, no major health problems.

Growing up, our dogs always had huge poops, a bad doggy smell, awful breath, plaque, joint problems....all of the typcial dog problems you hear about. As soon as I put my current dogs on better foods, it all went away, It's amazing how much a simple food switch can affect your pet's health.