# TOTW vs Merricks vs? 11 yo dog with dry skin



## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Hello,
I have an 11 yo Shepherd husky mix who is currently in great shape, other than his coat has been extremely dry, flaky and he's shedding more than normal I think. He went to the vet for an exam and vaccines last week, and the vet said his coat doesn't look bad, maybe a little dry. This is the first time he has seen him though as we recently moved. 
Anyways, I switched Midnight from Innova adult because of the proctor and gamble buyout. We tried a few different foods and settled on Merricks dry for the last 5 months, rotating between the various flavors. Once the initial change was done, he seemed to do well for a while, but his coat seems really dry and flaky. Being a black dog that is really noticable. He has also had on and off loose stools on this food as well. I have him on a glucosamine chondoitin supplement, ester c, omega fish oil and vit e. This is more a preventative and a slw down to the inevitable arthritis that will occur as he ages. I say that it is working as he still jumps and runs and acts like a dog half his age. Even the vet was amazed and said to keep it up as it isn't hurting. 
Back to the food, I am thinking that the Merricks might be too grainy. I would love to do grain free but am worried that that might be harsh on my older dog's system. I saw the TOTW percentages and they don't look too high for a grain free. I've looked at others too like natures variety prairie, Fromms, blue buffalo ect. Currently I buy a 15# bag for around 30-32 dollars and that lasts a month or so. He gets a half a can of wet food at night as well. I would like to stay in this price range for food, maybe go up to 35 or 40 dollars if it has lots of benefits. I might consider acana but I believe orijen is out of the price range and is way too high in protein for a dog not used to it. Any suggestions would be appreciated as we are going to buy some more food later this week.

Thanks, 
Becky


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

Was he doing well on Innova?


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## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Actually on the last bag of innova he wasn't doing as well. Seemed he was having really soft stools which he hadn't before.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Becky,

What does he weigh and exactly how much were you feeding him when you saw the wet stools?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I would go with totw since it has more meat which means more omega 3's, and better for skin (either wetlands or high prarie ones are best choices), you may also want to consider adding fish oil. I like salmon oil since its easy to use and dogs love the taste, I get this one:
Costco - Best Pet Health Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil


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## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Midnight is between 57-60 pounds usually. On the innova he was getting a cup in the am and 1/2 a cup in the pm with a half can of wet. This is the same with the Merricks, although he is getting gassy and having more stools on the merricks which isn't the norm. I have started adding fish oil to the diet but it is too soon to tell if it is working.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

might be a hair too much though it doesn't sound like it. 

I've got 2 guys right in the same weight range and they hold their weight on about 1.5 cups a day of most grain free foods. No wet food though. 

Many times, wet stools are from overfeeding. But like I said, I'm not sure thats it here... you're certainly not way over, if at all.


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Having the same mix.... go to Acana grain free or Orijen. A lot of husky people have very good luck with the dehydrated food The Honest Kitchen too.

Honestly I gave up and went raw.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Sounds like you could afford some Orijen, I feed TOTW in the AM and Orijen at night and Tony is awesome soft. I must admit Tony gets added meat to his diet as his treats.

http://3toestony.shutterfly.com/


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## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Thanks everyone,
I have thought about going with orijen as well. I am just afraid of going from a grain in food like merricks to a grain free higher protein food as he is getting older. He is in great health though and has no liver or kidney issues as of his last blood test a few months ago. I have to check on the protein level of orijen. Honestly, he probably could use to lose a pound or two and I was going to cut his food down to a half cup in the am and a half plus a half can at night. He really loves his canned food and looks forward to it. Also if we do go the grain free route, will he gain weight? I don't want him to, but I do think he needs the higher fat in his diet. Could even be the grain in the food causing the coat issue. I brushed him out really well today and got lots of undercoat but his skin is really flaking up too. At this rate he will need a bath by next week.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Midnight351 said:


> Thanks everyone,
> I have thought about going with orijen as well. I am just afraid of going from a grain in food like merricks to a grain free higher protein food as he is getting older. He is in great health though and has no liver or kidney issues as of his last blood test a few months ago. I have to check on the protein level of orijen. Honestly, he probably could use to lose a pound or two and I was going to cut his food down to a half cup in the am and a half plus a half can at night. He really loves his canned food and looks forward to it. Also if we do go the grain free route, will he gain weight? I don't want him to, but I do think he needs the higher fat in his diet. Could even be the grain in the food causing the coat issue. I brushed him out really well today and got lots of undercoat but his skin is really flaking up too. At this rate he will need a bath by next week.


It always bugs me when people talk as if High protein is bad, IT IS GOOD FOR DOGS as long as it comes from a meat source. The old school way of thinking was it was bad and thats because most dog foods back in the days protein came from "non meat" sources. Orijen Senior is what you should be looking at. Senior
Here is a great article on protein The Dog Food Project - Is too much protein harmful?


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Yes the grain is probably causing the coat issues. There's a lot less shedding and much better coats if you get the dog off the grains.


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## Midnight351 (Sep 10, 2010)

Well we decided on Acana wild Prairie as that is what my local petstore had. They also have orijen but no TOTW. They were out of a few varieties of Acana and orijen due to a temporary shortage. If he does well will rotate through the other varieties. He does well with rotation in a brand but I am going to have to do a slow transition from the Merricks to Acana so there are no disasters. Apparently the complaints I have with the Merricks Dry are common from other people. Anyways, the only thing i am slightly worried about now is weight gain. midnight has gained about 3 pounds over about 3-4 years that are hard to lose. being an older dog and not fat but not overly thin, I don't want him to gain more and would prefer that he lose those 3-4 pounds. Apparently the Merricks has 375 calories per cup and the acana has 425. I used to feed 1 and 1/2 cups dry plus a half can of wet a day. I think I will drop the dry to 1 cup and keep the half as he enjoys it. That does seem kinda low on calories though but it is a rich food. The canned that i use are Merricks canned, EVO, Instinct, Evangers, Blue Buffalo ect. Higher quality and grain free when I can. I could go a third of a can and keep the 1/2 cup of dry just not sure. Being 11 yo he is slowing down, but not too badly. He plays with the cat and runs around the house at times and we go for a 40 minute to hour walk every day weather permitting lately. Once better weather comes the walks will be better. Anyways I really hope the grain free is the way to go for his coat, but I hope he wont balloon up on the food either.


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