# information and opinions on some foods?



## 3 dog mom (Jun 25, 2011)

Hi, I'm new to the community and looking for some information and opinions on some brands. first let me tell you about my girls and their problems/needs.

There is Emmi a 6 year old black lab rescue with allergies and hypothyroidism. When I first got her she had problems with chronic skin and ear infections and itching, licking and chewing. She also is allergic to ant and bee stings. I began eliminating ingredients and trying different foods. I eliminated chicken, byproducts, wheat, corn, soy, and preservatives with marked improvement. I've used Wellness Core ocean, Blue Buffalo basics both the turkey and the salmon based, and Dick Van Pattens Natural Balance Limited ingredient diets (I've stopped this brand because I've read that they use ethoxyquin which scared me.) 

There is Ella a 7 year old golden retriever/lab mix who is healthy and can eat just about anything, so I feed her the same diet as my lab to keep it simple. I don't have a lot of extra storage space to keep too many varieties around.

And there is Indiana, a 9-10 year old Australian cattle dog mix that was also a rescue. Last year I tried to transition all 3 over to Orijen or Acana ( I transitioned over a month because it was such a big change). After a couple of months of being on this diet Indiana developed severe pancreatitis and was in the hospital for several days. My vet told me it was due to the high protein/fat diet she was on and that from here on I needed to feed her a senior diet that was low in fat and lower in protein. So she has been on Innova senior and blue buffalo senior alternating ever since. I worry that she doesn't get enough protein on these foods, but I can't find one that is higher in protein and lower in fat. I also worry about Innova now that P&G own them. I would be too scared to try her on orijen or acana again but would like her to get a little more protein.

I have to drive over an hour to get to some quality brands. Here are a few I would like more info/opinions on: Merrick, TOTW, Acana, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, and any others you would recommend. 

I know this is a long post so I appreciate you taking the time to read it and offer any feedback. Thanks


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

I really don't like senior formulas. Alot of filler and more expensive. Were you feeding too much of acana/orijen? It's a common mistake for people to over feed this food. You really can't compare this food to others by calories. It is contains higher amounts of animal product, making it more digestible. Overfeeding it will most likely cause pancreatitis. You want to feed the least amount that will maintain a healthy body weight. You should easily be able to feel ribs and see waist. All the foods you mentionef are good. Make sure your not over feeding and you shouldn't have any problems. If you go back to orijen, keep adjusting the feeding amount until you have no digestive issues, correct body weight and optimal output ;0) no need to ever use specific foods like senior our overweight, just adjust food intake. The only exceptions is limited ingredient diets and large breed puppy formulas


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## 3 dog mom (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks. I don't like the idea of senior food either, but I am scared about causing another case of pancreatitis. I'm not getting much help from my vet with options other than him recommending a senior food (and of course he recommends commercial vet brands that I won't use). I wasn't overfeeding, she was getting a much smaller amount of orijen than her previous food. She was at a great weight, could feel ribs, etc. She never had any GI symptoms until one morning she began vomiting and having bloody diarrhea. And her labs at the vet confirmed pancreatitis. Do you have any thoughts on other higher protein/lower fat options for her?


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

She even had problems on acana, or were you feeding orijen and acana? Acana has lower protein. If you really don't want to use the 30 protein/ 18 fat foods like acana, core, totw you could goto 25/16 foods. I wouldn't go lower than that, because too many carbs will cause other problems down the line.


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## 3 dog mom (Jun 25, 2011)

I can't remember exactly which one it was because I had both and was planning on trying each one out so I could use them in rotation. Again thanks for replying. Do you know anything about merrick? I haven't tried that brand but someone at the pet food store suggested it.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I know a lot of dogs can handle the Acana Wild Prairie with protein 33% / fat 17% who can't handle Orijen. But if you feel you've tried that and want to stick with grain-free with moderate protein and lower fat; then take a look at California Natural Grain Free Chicken Meal with 34% protein and 12% fat. Eliminate Pet Food Allergies – Hypoallergenic Dog Food & Cat Food – California Natural Pet Food It also has a very simple ingredient list.

Not all dogs do well with that low of fat, but it may work for your dog. Another mid-range option is the Wellness Core at 34% protein and 16% fat.


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## 3 dog mom (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks, I will look into some of those.


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## dmgmn (Apr 24, 2011)

Are they very active? Being older dogs, they may not need a hi-protein super food like Acana or Orijen
Pacific Stream or Sierra Mountain might be a good starting point as far as TOTW, BB Wilderness is good as well.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

cast71 said:


> I really don't like senior formulas. Alot of filler and more expensive. Were you feeding too much of acana/orijen? It's a common mistake for people to over feed this food. You really can't compare this food to others by calories. It is contains higher amounts of animal product, making it more digestible. Overfeeding it will most likely cause pancreatitis. You want to feed the least amount that will maintain a healthy body weight. You should easily be able to feel ribs and see waist. All the foods you mentionef are good. Make sure your not over feeding and you shouldn't have any problems. If you go back to orijen, keep adjusting the feeding amount until you have no digestive issues, correct body weight and optimal output ;0) no need to ever use specific foods like senior our overweight, just adjust food intake. The only exceptions is limited ingredient diets and large breed puppy formulas


Yep....just could have been too much Orijen!!


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## 3 dog mom (Jun 25, 2011)

Nupe,
As I said before , she was not overfed orijen and was on a reduced amount compared to her previous diet. She was at a very healthy weight and you could feel ribs. She has never been overweight or overfed. She was a rescue at an estimated age of 7, she is now about 10. I suspect she had always been fed a poor diet prior to coming to me. I do think there is a possibility that since she is an older dog and likely spent the majority of her life not eating quality food, that she just can't handle the higher protein/fat foods now and just needs a high quality moderate protein diet. So I was looking for info/opinions on those foods for her. My other two can tolerate a higher protein diet.

dmgmn,
Thanks for the feedback, I will look at those foods. My dogs are still active, they go on walks and the 2 retrievers play hard with chasing frisbees and balls too. The cattle dog plays a good bit still by herding/chasing the other two. They aren't crazy active with going on long runs or doing agility training or anything though. So I do wonder if they do need such a high protein food as well, and was looking for feedback on various brands some higher protein and some just moderate protein but of really good quality. I also have to take into account my black labs allergies when looking at these as alot of these brands use a mix of proteins.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

3Dog,

With all due respect to those offerring help on your Dogs issues, I'd recommend seeking out a good Dog Nutritionist. Indiana has some special needs and while everyone here might have the best of intentions.... 

The lady who wrote the Dog Food Project is a pretty well regarded Dog Nutritionist. She hangs out over at ourdogsonline.com... you can also do a search on Dog Food Project--I think you'll find her prettty quickly. 

Good luck.


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