Dog Community

Posted : 8/31/2007 9:41:20 AM

And I cannot for the life of me figure out what that is.

Maybe it's the levels of omega 3s? I'm feeding grass fed beef, right now, and Emma looks incredible. From what I've read, grass fed meat has higher levels of good fats, like wild caught fish. I still add a ton of fish oil to their food (I use TO's, because it's OMGAWESOME!).

Teenie, on the other hand, has a full blown skin infection. That's because she's stupid, though. I can't keep her from laying in her waste, unless I'm constantly watching her, and she's an obsessive licker. Yuck!

ETA: The reason I say that is that OB is such good quality. I couldn't believe how nice it was, when I had it, here. And fish oil is the fat source. I've not seen another food like that.

DanielleNY

Posted : 8/31/2007 9:42:25 AM

Canidae gave them great shine, but TWO Wild & Natural has also made them super-soft. My 10 yr old boxer has fuzzy hair around his neck like a baby chick. He's much more fun to pet now!

chewbecca

Posted : 8/31/2007 9:51:58 AM

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

And I cannot for the life of me figure out what that is.

Maybe it's the levels of omega 3s? I'm feeding grass fed beef, right now, and Emma looks incredible. From what I've read, grass fed meat has higher levels of good fats, like wild caught fish. I still add a ton of fish oil to their food (I use TO's, because it's OMGAWESOME!).

Teenie, on the other hand, has a full blown skin infection. That's because she's stupid, though. I can't keep her from laying in her waste, unless I'm constantly watching her, and she's an obsessive licker. Yuck!

ETA: The reason I say that is that OB is such good quality. I couldn't believe how nice it was, when I had it, here. And fish oil is the fat source. I've not seen another food like that.

But I was giving her salmon oil on raw, and I was even giving her Olive oil sometimes. I was giving her sea kelp, vitamin E, and all the other required supplements.
Oh! And b-complex.

I'm using T.O.'s salmon oil now and I am SOOOOO impressed. Like, WAY MORE impressed than I was on ANY other brand of oil I've tried on Ella. She freakin' sparkles at NIGHT! Whoa.

And you crack me up how you talk about your dogs. hahahahaha. I'll call Ella a snob or say she's too dainty for a pit bull.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/31/2007 10:25:08 AM

But I was giving her salmon oil on raw, and I was even giving her Olive oil sometimes. I was giving her sea kelp, vitamin E, and all the other required supplements.
Oh! And b-complex.

It's strange that she lost weight and got patchy coat with all that good stuff. I wonder what it was?

Mine have been on raw since just before the beginning of this year. This week, my meat was about to go bad, so I cooked it to make it last longer. This week, they're acting like they're STARVING. Emma is behaving so badly. It's strange, to me. Of course, she's got issues.

tzu_mom

Posted : 8/31/2007 11:15:25 AM

But I was giving her salmon oil on raw, and I was even giving her Olive oil sometimes. I was giving her sea kelp, vitamin E, and all the other required supplements.

Chewbecca---not to hijack this thread, but, my holistic vet believes that supplementing with sea kelp can lead to the intake of too much iodine. Iodine toxicity can lead to adnormal thryroid function, and also a condition known as "kelp acne"---skin lesions/eruptions. Anyway, she does not normally recommend sea kelp or supplements with iodine in them as she believes most diets contain sufficient amounts of iodine.

May or may not have been a source of Ella's issues--just a thought

chewbecca

Posted : 8/31/2007 11:20:55 AM

ORIGINAL: tzu_mom

But I was giving her salmon oil on raw, and I was even giving her Olive oil sometimes. I was giving her sea kelp, vitamin E, and all the other required supplements.

Chewbecca---not to hijack this thread, but, my holistic vet believes that supplementing with sea kelp can lead to the intake of too much iodine. Iodine toxicity can lead to adnormal thryroid function, and also a condition known as "kelp acne"---skin lesions/eruptions. Anyway, she does not normally recommend sea kelp or supplements with iodine in them as she believes most diets contain sufficient amounts of iodine.

May or may not have been a source of Ella's issues--just a thought

Whoa. Really????
That...that could have been her entire ISSUE!
But the thing is, her skin infection came on like all her others.
Except she got a lick granuloma and sores between her paw pads (but that was her allergic reaction to the wheat the vet believes.). But I still think that it could have played a HUGE part.

What could I substitute in place of sea kelp?

iiartisanii

Posted : 8/31/2007 11:26:29 AM

Well what was the sea kelp for?

A lot of breeders don't recommend it for black dogs because they believe it can lead to a ruddy-looking washed out black. I don't know if its been proven, but most people with black dogs will steer clear of the kelp.

Animal Naturals make great supplements for coat, muscle, joints, etc.http://www.healthyplanetrx.com/K9-Show-Stopper-shedding-skin-and-coat-supplement-p/an-show%20stopper.htm

I use K9 Showstopper on my dogs. You can get it at Petco, online or at a dog show.

jessies_mom

Posted : 8/31/2007 2:33:50 PM

Ditto Ocean Blue. People comment on her coat and think she's had a bath recently even though its been over a month. If you look at the ingredient list and see the fat source is fish oil, it's easy to understand why. My dog also sheds less on OB than anything else.

Several years ago I fed Jessie Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and Rice and people would ask if she'd had a bath. I eventually learned a lot of her allergy problems were caused by chicken so I stopped feeding it.

The reason I say that is that OB is such good quality. I couldn't believe how nice it was, when I had it, here. And fish oil is the fat source. I've not seen another food like that.

   Eagle Pack Fish used menaden fish oil as the fat source; [linkhttp://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Fish.html]http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Fish.html[/link]

    My vet copied an article from the June '07 issue of JAVMA for me about fatty acids and one thing worth noting is that dog's coats seemed to benefit from higher amounts of fat, whether it be fish oil or vegetable oil. The best combination for improving coats is high amounts of linoleic acid (omega 6) and zinc, according to one of the studies described in the article. That probably explains why Jessie's coat looked so good on the Nutro. The reason for many dogs having better coats on a raw diet is probably because of the higer fat content than most kibbles, on a dry matter basis.(JMO)

jjsmom06

Posted : 8/31/2007 3:51:29 PM

TWO has produced the best results by far but second best was on Pinnacle.

papillon806

Posted : 8/31/2007 5:30:51 PM

Wolfie's coat has always been very nice, but he's also always received some sort of fish oil/omega 3 supplement since I got him. However, he does itch/scratch alot less on foods that aren't very complex (limited ingredient foods like fish or duck & potato, etc). Falon is still a pup and has always had a great coat even on shelter crap, and I haven't really had her long enough to notice differences, etc.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/31/2007 9:54:34 PM

The reason for many dogs having better coats on a raw diet is probably because of the higer fat content than most kibbles, on a dry matter basis.(JMO)

I'll agree with that. My dogs can handle a good deal more raw fat than processed, and seem to be using it for energy (in the absence of high amounts of carbs).

I didn't know about the Eagle Pack. Em's never been able to eat their foods. I bet it would help a lot of dogs with itchies and dryness, though. It's much less expensive than TO, so I'll have to start pointing to it, when people ask.

tzu_mom

Posted : 9/1/2007 12:22:22 PM

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

Whoa. Really????
That...that could have been her entire ISSUE!
But the thing is, her skin infection came on like all her others.
Except she got a lick granuloma and sores between her paw pads (but that was her allergic reaction to the wheat the vet believes.). But I still think that it could have played a HUGE part.

What could I substitute in place of sea kelp?

Becca-- I should clarify--sea kelp itself is not too high in iodine, it is added to a diet for iodine. My vet believes most diets contain enough iodine, and it is easy to overdo iodine intake using sea kelp. That may lead to abnormal thyroid function, thus causing skin issues. My point was that perhaps you may have been supplementing with too much kelp.

chewbecca

Posted : 9/1/2007 12:39:59 PM

Oh!!!!
I apologize for misunderstanding.
D'oh!

I was dosing her according to the directions on the container and from what was suggested from others by her weight.
Well, I was probably giving her too much.

HoundMusic

Posted : 9/1/2007 2:56:59 PM

For my pack, the food that will produce the best coat, without question is Evolve (NOT Evo). Very thick and glossy, like velvet to touch! Second after that was TWO Black Forest supplemented with fresh meat, either cooked or raw.
At the moment I'm feeding homecooked with the odd bit of raw meat added, and still caots are just not as good as when on the Evolve. This is a pic of the bitch in my avatar when she was on Evolve pup

HoundMusic

Posted : 9/1/2007 2:58:49 PM

Ah! Pic didn;t work! Try again ...

what food produced the best coat for your dog?