# Need food recommendations



## unicorn1098 (Oct 3, 2017)

Hi all!

So I’m in need of some advice. About 8 weeks ago I joined the hysteria and switched Dolly from her Stella & Chewy/Fromm combo to ProPlan. I’m the first to admit that I didn’t do a ton of research, just quickly switched at the advice of my sister and with the worry of the heart issues. I’ve told many of you how I lost my beloved Cavalier at age 6 to a congenital heart defect, so any worry with hearts just sends me into a panic. 

Anyway, made the switch even though Dolly did wonderfully on Fromm/Stella & Chewy. Flash forward to 8 weeks... the tear stains. 😭 She went from having a beautiful clear face to being basically pink all over face. Vet thinks it’s very possibly from the food change since nothing else has changed.

So... is there a way to safely switch her back to her old diet (maybe with the addition of a supplement?) or maybe another food that is safe you all recommend? Ideally she wouldn’t be on kibble at all, but unfortunately this year has thrown some medical curveballs for my family and due to frequent travel, realistically I just need to keep her on an easy on-the-go feeding plan. 

I did some quick reading around but it’s so much to take in. I love and trust you guys so any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

I think the hysteria over food at the moment is not well founded/documented. I was worried in the beginning too, but I did not change (I did look around). I recently had both of our pups tested to see what kind of allergies & aversions they had & I am continuing w/the same companies you used but w/more limited proteins---in line w/the results we got on the testing. 

You will see that Fromm has taurine in their kibble if you look at ingredients. I did try supplementing sardine & Kitzi had a huge allergic reaction & had to be rushed to the vet. He could hardly breathe. So be careful & if you try something do it during vet hours. We almost did not make it time wise. 

I can't advise you on what kind of food to use---only speak for myself. There is a lot of hype out there---check out Dr. Dodds (Hemopet) on line---she is very balanced.


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## unicorn1098 (Oct 3, 2017)

edelweiss said:


> I think the hysteria over food at the moment is not well founded/documented. I was worried in the beginning too, but I did not change (I did look around). I recently had both of our pups tested to see what kind of allergies & aversions they had & I am continuing w/the same companies you used but w/more limited proteins---in line w/the results we got on the testing.
> 
> You will see that Fromm has taurine in their kibble if you look at ingredients. I did try supplementing sardine & Kitzi had a huge allergic reaction & had to be rushed to the vet. He could hardly breathe. So be careful & if you try something do it during vet hours. We almost did not make it time wise.
> 
> I can't advise you on what kind of food to use---only speak for myself. There is a lot of hype out there---check out Dr. Dodds (Hemopet) on line---she is very balanced.


Thanks so much! It’s just so frustrating because Dolly was doing so well on the Fromm/S&C diet. I’m kicking myself for changing her now. Our vet told me that she felt it was a lot of hype too and that I could try Wellness brand... but she saw no problem in going back to Fromm, and recommended that I add some probiotics along with it.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

You could try Answers goats milk as a supplement---either buy at local shop or on-line---it is full of probiotics---I use it now sparingly.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

There are a couple of good articles around about not freaking out about the whole taurine issue. This was one from Dr Dodds https://www.hemopet.org/fda-updates-dcm-heart-disease-dogs/ I have home cooked for Tyler so it isn't an issue; none of the dog food recalls have affected us.  But as a foster mom I'm not home cooking for them as the adoptive parents likely will not nor should they need to. I have mine of Fresh Pet, not the grain free one and they seem to do fine. Some of the fosters come in too heavy or with a high liver number and that's helped with both of those. I try to look for foods that don't have more than one legume within the first four ingredients like peas and beans. I just can't imagine that Purina food is better for our dogs...they make the wretched Beneful. I used to feed wellness years ago and Tyler had a lot of staining from it. Look at a lot of the the ingredient lists.


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## unicorn1098 (Oct 3, 2017)

Snowbody said:


> There are a couple of good articles around about not freaking out about the whole taurine issue. This was one from Dr Dodds https://www.hemopet.org/fda-updates-dcm-heart-disease-dogs/ I have home cooked for Tyler so it isn't an issue; none of the dog food recalls have affected us. <img src="http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" class="inlineimg" /> But as a foster mom I'm not home cooking for them as the adoptive parents likely will not nor should they need to. I have mine of Fresh Pet, not the grain free one and they seem to do fine. Some of the fosters come in too heavy or with a high liver number and that's helped with both of those. I try to look for foods that don't have more than one legume within the first four ingredients like peas and beans. I just can't imagine that Purina food is better for our dogs...they make the wretched Beneful. I used to feed wellness years ago and Tyler had a lot of staining from it. Look at a lot of the the ingredient lists.


This is great to know! Thank you!


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## Jeep's Mommy (Apr 7, 2019)

www.pawdiet.com has an interesting article on Purina Pro Plan in regards to the ingredients that Purina states on the bag and the actual Analysis of what was found in the dog food.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

There are so many issues with the so-called research (which isn’t) that I wouldn’t change from something that works. If she did well on the previous food combo, and you see the vet every six months for a well pet check up, you should be ok switching back.


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Go to dogfoodadvisor.com. This site gives you all kinds of information about the food--all the ingredients, the good & the bad, and how they rate the foods. I always check with them before I change food, and I change periodically. I have fed Blue Buffalo, Canidae, Solid Gold, Newman's Own, Evanger's, Chicken Soup. All those foods are chicken based and are canned.


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## NONNY (May 21, 2006)

I just posted a topic on Little Miss Bunny and Chipper eating Fromm Lamb and Lentil. It's in the garbage.


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