Dry DOG Food ???

[dave1949]

We have a Great Pyranees and a miniature Daschound . We've been feeding 4 health salmon and sweet potato from TSC. They both seem to like it, but the GP has all kind of skin problems. We switched from the grain feeds to try and combat this, and I guess it has helped, but he still digs himself raw. We've tried giving him the wild Alaska fish oil caps, and fed him canned fish, but nothing seems to help. I'm sure it's food allergies, but can't seem to find the right combination. He seems happy with the present food, but doesn't seem to have much energy, but then I don't think most GPs do. I'm open to all suggestions.

Has your vet done a skin scraping to check for mange, or tested for other skin ailments? It is not always easy to detect the mange critters, multiple tries may be needed.

Other than ruling those types of things out, you could try to isolate the food allergen by feeding one ingredient for a week, like beef, chicken, pork, etc. We used to have a dog that could not tolerate beef, but it caused stomach and intestinal irritation, not skin.

 

[KubotainNH]

I buy the Beef and Rice mix from a local feed store. The "pro" formula is only a buck or two more - but my dogs don't like it as much.

Hard to tell how it rates then. The main reason we switched was because of dog flatulence. Seems the lower grade stuff does that because of the junk they put in it. Now our dogs only stink when they eat something they shouldn't be eating.

BTW, I really like your avatar. I've looked at it multiple times but just now realized what it is a picture of.

 

[mjonesnh]

Was in local Ace Hardware this morning and saw Taste of the Wild 30 lb bags for 42.99. Local Tractor Supply sells it for 47.99 unless they have sell going on. Kinda surprised Ace was 5.00 cheaper than TSC on same size bag. Changed my mixed breed to the bison and venison flavor recently and he loves it.

 

[RKJeepXJ]

I've tried blue, taste of the wild, etc and they all give my lab loose stool. Went back to cheap mini chunk TSC retriever brand and it clears up and he does pretty well on it.

 

[JBourquin]

Was in local Ace Hardware this morning and saw Taste of the Wild 30 lb bags for 42.99. Local Tractor Supply sells it for 47.99 unless they have sell going on. Kinda surprised Ace was 5.00 cheaper than TSC on same size bag. Changed my mixed breed to the bison and venison flavor recently and he loves it.

I wish our Ace carried it here. I could get it @ 15% off..

 

[Jstpssng]

Crash,
Cooked bones are definitely not good to feed dogs. The bones become brittle and will splinter when cooked. Then those bones are more like razor blades.
Where as raw bones remain a pliable piece the dog can readily handle internally.

Once a bone hangs around a day or two, say a large soup bone, I make it disappear. After a bone dries out they become just like cooked. Dangerous for a dog.

I often would buy my previous Lab marrow bones; but she chewed so hard she ended up breaking her teeth. I stopped after an emergency vet visit to have an abscessed tooth removed. (2) 190 mile round trips... one to drop her off, then return the next day to pick her up. WHY do things always come up on Friday afternoon?

Then there's some known foods we eat that should not be fed to dogs period (not counting the heavy salt of your gravy stuff! lol)
Foods That Are Hazardous to Dogs | ASPCA

Great Link! I've often wondered about some of the things; i.e.; oranges; which I share with my dog. Ironically, not so long ago they used to recommend using garlic in homemade dog treats.
The grape/raisin connection is also a recent discovery. Perhaps the fox in the old fable about the sour grapes wasn't so lazy after all.

 

[whistlepig]

Raw bones, chicken and pork, are OK for dogs. Dogs are designed to eat raw bones. Cooked bones are hard and brittle. Dogs are not designed to eat cooked bones. Cooked bones are brittle and splinter. These become lodged in a dog's throat. I know I have dug a few cooked bones out of a dogs throat. A cooked bone can easily kill a dog.