Can someone suggest a food for me?...

How about Natural balance Potato and Duck or Sweet Potato and Fish;  [linkhttp://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html]http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html[/link]

Neither formula has been recalled.

I would suggest Innova Evo, but that has 42% protein I believe. Probably more than you want.
 
Here's a website for you to take a look at and compare foods. It lists the ingrediants:
 
[linkhttp://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/]http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/[/link]

Have you tried a brand that uses potato?  Natural Balance has a Potato and Duck formula and a sweet potato and fish formula.

To tell you the truth I'm not all that confident in Natural Balance at the moment. I also seem to remember their still listing Vit. K as well as Wellness and isn't that bad for dogs?
 
I just don't know what to do. I'm trying to find something that my boys can eat because to be honest home cooking scares the -ell out of me, and okay, I'm lazy.
 
 

How about Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue?
 
Ingredients:
Low ash white fish meal, salmon, potatoes, sardine/mackerel/anchovy/tuna oils, kelp, alfalfa leaf, potassium chloride, amaranth, carrot, watercress, spinach, celery, parsley, fennel seed, blueberries, cranberries, pears, figs, thyme, anise seed, ground cinnamon bark, fenugreek, garlic pieces, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, apples, taurine, spirulina, choline chloride, lecithin, probiotics: (lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, lactobacillus lactis, bacillus bifidum, streptococcus diacetilactis, bacillus subtillus), taurine, mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E), lysine, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, thiamine, methionine, carnitine, niacin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, iodine proteinate, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, folic acid, pyridoxine (a source of vitamin B6), copper proteinate, selenium proteinate, cobalt proteinate, papain, yucca schidigera extract

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein: 26%
Fat: 16%
Fiber: 3%
Moisture: 9%

Pinnacle also has a fish/potato formula.

I wouldn't be afraid to go with a low ash grain-free formula. Protein of up to 35% would be ok for a senior dog in my opinion. Its not the protein that is the problem, its the associated minerals, and senior dogs need more protein to maintain lean muscle mass. I would write the companies and ask if their mineral contents meet your vets specifications.

Thanks, this looks like it has potential!
 
I will check into their website and hopefully they will list their minerals and carbohydrate totals.
 
Do you know if any of the fish they listed as well as the tuna oil contain high levels of mercury?...sorry to be such a pain.
 
Thanks so much for listing the ingredients and the analysis. Much appreciated~
 

I checked out the food online, the calcium level is 1.5, that's a bit too high, I'm suppose to stay 1.0 or under.
 
It's amazing how many dog foods are out there on the market but when you start really filtering through them to find what's best for your dogs individual needs, and the recalls and the availability to purchase, the list gets very small.
 
Thanks for your help.

I checked their site and I'm not sure about all the oat stuff in there, not sure my Oliver can handle it. It makes him poop a lot. BUT the number/minerals were right on.
 
Also don't know much at all about trout. Where their source is from or if it contains high levels of mercury.
 
 
Thank you for helping.

You think I could go as high as 35% huh? Okay, I'll look into it. Right now Charlie *B* is on Eagle Pack holistic chicken and rice...[size=1]
386 calories per cup
protein  24
fat       15
fiber     4.0
Calcium 1.10
Phosphorus 0.80
 
Thanks~[/size]

[font=verdana]I have an 11 yr. old whom my vet told me because he's a senior now to stay low on protein and make sure the calcium/phosphorus and a couple of minerals (can't remember right now) to stay under 1%?

[/font]
Always find out about your vet's nutrition training.  Some vets have received very little training on canine nutrition.  Others have not kept up with the field.

It is now believed that highly digestible proteins are what are important for senior dogs.
 
See [linkhttp://b-naturals.com/Apr2003.php][font="times new roman"]http://b-naturals.com/Apr2003.php[/link][/font]   (read the whole article)
 
"There seems to be a lot of confusion on the topic of protein amounts for dogs and the effects it has on kidney function. Several years ago, the common rule of thumb was to reduce the amount of protein in senior dogs and dogs with any symptoms of kidney problems.

These ideas are now considered myths, as protein is very important to the dog's health.  ...
 
More recent studies show today that it is probably more harmful than it is good to restrict protein in senior dogs, and the high quality proteins are needed for our older pets. ...

These would include animal proteins that haven't suffered high degradation (high heats, over processing).   ...

Earl Wolfe's web site on dog food comparison and information on ingredients is a great place to start for this: [linkhttp://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html][font="times new roman"]www.doberdogs.com/menu.html[/link]   [I updated this link.][/font]

For information on the highest digestible foods (pre-made raw) go here: [linkhttp://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#frozenraw][font="times new roman"]www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#frozenraw[/link][/font]. This site also offers more links on commercial diets as well as cooked diets.    ... 

Also please remember, changes in the amount of protein given in the diet are unnecessary until the dog's blood panels reach the levels of BUN and creatinine listed above [see the full article]. Reducing protein before this time has been shown to actually do more harm than good. Removing the building blocks of maintaining good organ integrity can actually starve the body of what it needs for continued good health."

ORIGINAL:  Misskiwi67
 
I wouldn't be afraid to go with a low ash grain-free formula. Protein of up to 35% would be ok for a senior dog in my opinion.

How does the idea of "high digestibility" correlate with "low ash"?  Does a high mineral content make a protein less "digestible"?

FirstMate Ultra Premium Fish and Potato is grain free with only 23% protein. They source all their ingredients from the Northwest and manufacture in their own plant.
 
[linkhttp://www.firstmate.com/platinum/fishpotatonew.htm]http://www.firstmate.com/platinum/fishpotatonew.htm[/link]