# Trying a new food



## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

So, I have been feeding the boys Royal Canin, which I thougt was supposed to be great...doesn't expensive mean the best? 

The vet told us that Dusty may be prone to yeast ear infections, and Jasper has serious tear staining, so could it be the food? After reading a lot of information on here and following up on suggestions (thanks Debbie) and watching that yeast video (thanks Sylvia) I decided to get rid of the Royal Canin (choke, one and a half bags wasted!) and try something else. We went to a local pet store (put up your pitchforks, they don't sell live animals) where this woman who was so very helpful made several suggestions. We went with the Precise holistic Complete. They have a money back guarantee, so if I don't like it for whatever reason we can try another one. Anyone else feed this?

We also asked about bully sticks, since I had never heard of them before. She was sold out, but suggested we try a cow knuckle! She showed me one and it is the size of their heads! I laughed and told her that probably wouldn't work for my <5 lb dogs. Have any of you ever given one to your dogs? What do you think?

And just so he wouldn't be left out, we got the cat-hole a little toy. She told us the tail was real rabbit skin, and it would 'awaken' something in him. That should have warned me...he's flipping (litterally, his body in the air in circles) all over the place. Just ran in to a chair. Have I ever mentioned that I am stupid?

Cross your fingers for us!


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Laura - I've bought pet food (before I started home cooking) at Petco and they have a moneyback guarantee too. If you buy it, try it and for any reason your dog doesn't like it you just return the unused portion with the receipt (keep those receipts) for a refund. I have a sort of pet health food store near me that will give free samples in a bag of various things to try. Of course, Mr Picky Pants rejected them all but it's the thought that counts. :HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley: Haven't heard of the food you're going to use but I don't think Royal Canin is that good. Good luck and yup sometimes in our zeal we don't think of the consequences and have a CATastrophe on our hands. :brownbag: Who said that?


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## elly (Sep 11, 2006)

Laura maybe you can donate the food to your local shelter. I feed Natural Balance, all 3 love it.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I use Earthborn Holistic , all of mine love it. My vet recommended it because of dry skin on Hardy. I 've never seen cow's knuckles but isaw a Bull's snout! It was kind of gross!


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

I feed Zooey California Natural Grain-free Salmon Meal and Peas. She has been on several foods before this including Orijen, Acana, and Pinnacle. She's not getting as chunky on the Calif. Natural, and she loves it 

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

I spent five hours on the internet researching food (again) on Thursday. I ended up totally confused. My dogs liked the Natural Balance duck and potato, but I feared that potato, being a simple carb could be contributing to Ru's skin condition. I had also been feeding them Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit. It has brown rice and barley, but I think that is better than potato because they are whole grains and complex carbs. Phew. This is hard work. Stella & Chewies seems like it is very good, but from what I saw it is about $30 a pound. I can buy grass fed filet mignon at the butcher for less, so that just seems wrong somehow. I did home cooked for about a year, but I tell you I got sick of it. I spend too much time in the kitchen for my taste.
There should be a compulsory class in high-school on pet nutrition to prepare us for the real world.

I used to buy knuckle bones for Ray from the butcher. He has a bigger head and much bigger tooths than Mimeer though. He loved them. I suppose the ones that you got were pretty much the same...just cleaned up.

Thanks for the (telepathic) video of the cat-hole air dancing.:HistericalSmiley:


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

elly said:


> Laura maybe you can donate the food to your local shelter. I feed Natural Balance, all 3 love it.


Cathy the only bad thing about the Natural Balance with a dog prone to yeast infections is that the yeast feeds off the sugar in the potatoes. 

Laura, i don't give mine bully sticks just can't over the fact of what they really are. I give mine bladder sticks and they really enjoy them. 5 Inch Bladder Bully Stick - 48 Pack | Bully Sticks I feed Kelly "Stella and Chewy's" freeze dried raw and the others raw or "Nutrisca" lamb and chickpea and will try the salmon and chickpea when the store it in, i feed this when i'm lazy and don't feel like washing faces right after they eat. So far they seem to like it except Kelly, that's the reason for the "Stella and Chewy's" for her. 

I'll have to try and find that toy for Luna.


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

Sylie said:


> I spent five hours on the internet researching food (again) on Thursday. I ended up totally confused. My dogs liked the Natural Balance duck and potato, but I feared that potato, being a simple carb could be contributing to Ru's skin condition. I had also been feeding them Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit. It has brown rice and barley, but I think that is better than potato because they are whole grains and complex carbs. Phew. This is hard work. Stella & Chewies seems like it is very good, but from what I saw it is about $30 a pound. I can buy grass fed filet mignon at the butcher for less, so that just seems wrong somehow. I did home cooked for about a year, but I tell you I got sick of it. I spend too much time in the kitchen for my taste.
> There should be a compulsory class in high-school on pet nutrition to prepare us for the real world.
> 
> I used to buy knuckle bones for Ray from the butcher. He has a bigger head and much bigger tooths than Mimeer though. He loved them. I suppose the ones that you got were pretty much the same...just cleaned up.
> ...



Sylvia, i truly know how that is to try and find the right food for your baby's. Once i found out that Kelly may be more prone to yeast infections, i started researching, i found this site that has a list of approved foods for dogs that are prone to yeast infections. Here's the list of foods: Pet Foods Recommended for Yeast, Allergies, OR Pet Skin and Itching Problems | NZYMES.COM
Also here is a link to all of the information: Allergy or Systemic Yeast Infection in Dogs | Allergies Malassezia Fungus Candida | GREATDANELADY.COM


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## munchkn8835 (May 23, 2010)

Ollie eats Natural Balance Potato and Duck. Next is going to be Sweet Potato and Venison. He is allergic to Chicken, Beef and dairy. Sounds like I need to start looking at something else.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

mysugarbears said:


> Sylvia, i truly know how that is to try and find the right food for your baby's. Once i found out that Kelly may be more prone to yeast infections, i started researching, i found this site that has a list of approved foods for dogs that are prone to yeast infections. Here's the list of foods: Pet Foods Recommended for Yeast, Allergies, OR Pet Skin and Itching Problems | NZYMES.COM
> Also here is a link to all of the information: Allergy or Systemic Yeast Infection in Dogs | Allergies Malassezia Fungus Candida | GREATDANELADY.COM


A picture is (truly) worth a thousand words. That photo looks like Ru. I am well into weaning her off the prednisone and have ordered a good brand of probiotics. I have taken her off the food that contains potatoes, to one with brown rice. It seems everything the vet did was more harm than good...just like my experience with human doctors. Ru will get better, thanks to so much experienced advise from the gurus here at SM. Thank you. (I read and bookmarked those sites.)


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

Sylie said:


> I spent five hours on the internet researching food (again) on Thursday. I ended up totally confused. My dogs liked the Natural Balance duck and potato, but I feared that potato, being a simple carb could be contributing to Ru's skin condition. I had also been feeding them Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit. It has brown rice and barley, but I think that is better than potato because they are whole grains and complex carbs. Phew. This is hard work. Stella & Chewies seems like it is very good, but from what I saw it is about $30 a pound. I can buy grass fed filet mignon at the butcher for less, so that just seems wrong somehow. I did home cooked for about a year, but I tell you I got sick of it. I spend too much time in the kitchen for my taste.
> *There should be a compulsory class in high-school on pet nutrition to prepare us for the real world.*
> 
> I used to buy knuckle bones for Ray from the butcher. He has a bigger head and much bigger tooths than Mimeer though. He loved them. I suppose the ones that you got were pretty much the same...just cleaned up.
> ...


For real!!! I know how to take care of the skin kids, but am finding that I have to learn a whole new set of rules for the furry ones!


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

mysugarbears said:


> Cathy the only bad thing about the Natural Balance with a dog prone to yeast infections is that the yeast feeds off the sugar in the potatoes.
> 
> Laura, i don't give mine bully sticks just can't over the fact of *what they really are*. I give mine bladder sticks and they really enjoy them. 5 Inch Bladder Bully Stick - 48 Pack | Bully Sticks I feed Kelly "Stella and Chewy's" freeze dried raw and the others raw or "Nutrisca" lamb and chickpea and will try the salmon and chickpea when the store it in, i feed this when i'm lazy and don't feel like washing faces right after they eat. So far they seem to like it except Kelly, that's the reason for the "Stella and Chewy's" for her.
> 
> I'll have to try and find that toy for Luna.


 
Like I said, I had never heard of these things before until I got on this site, ummmm, what are they? Are they _cow thingies_?


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

mysugarbears said:


> Sylvia, i truly know how that is to try and find the right food for your baby's. Once i found out that Kelly may be more prone to yeast infections, i started researching, i found this site that has a list of approved foods for dogs that are prone to yeast infections. Here's the list of foods: *Pet Foods Recommended for Yeast, Allergies, OR Pet Skin and Itching Problems | NZYMES.COM*
> Also here is a link to all of the information: Allergy or Systemic Yeast Infection in Dogs | Allergies Malassezia Fungus Candida | GREATDANELADY.COM


The food we picked is the first one on this list. You had sent me this list before and I tried to research as many of them as I could. Then when we went to the petstore, it was also the first one that she recommended, so I thought it must be a sign.

Cross your fingers for us. Dustball eats really well, and doesn't seem to care what he gets. Jasper hardly ever eats it seems like. I don't know if he isn't hungry, doesn't like it or is just waiting to see if something better will get put down (or dropped). That's how we originally came up with the Royal Canin-the bag says it stimulates appetite. Not in Japper Head.


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## MoonDog (Jun 6, 2011)

They are bull thingies. They smell bad but Jasper and Dusty will love them. Just don't tell them where they came from...


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

Uhh, yeah, that's right. I guess cows don't have thingies, do they?:blush:

How on earth do you suppose someone figured out that would be a good treat for a dog? I mean really?


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## Bonnie's Mommie (Mar 2, 2006)

LuvMyBoys said:


> *put up your pitchforks, they don't sell live animals*


LMAO!! (But wouldn't it be put DOWN your pitchforks?)

Good luck with food. It can be a real trial and error. While it's true that Stella and Chewy's is on the high end (cough cough), two bags last almost two months for us. She eats better than I do...


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

Bonnie's Mommie said:


> LMAO!! (But wouldn't it be put DOWN your pitchforks?)
> 
> Good luck with food. It can be a real trial and error. While it's true that Stella and Chewy's is on the high end (cough cough), two bags last almost two months for us. She eats better than I do...


You are right! I don' t have much of a way with words for sure - good thing I am an accountant!


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

LuvMyBoys said:


> Like I said, I had never heard of these things before until I got on this site, ummmm, what are they? Are they _cow thingies_?


No, the bladder bully sticks are the bulls bladder and not the other part...i don't give bully sticks because of the other part. :blush: Here's a link: Bully Sticks - Tasty, All-Natural Chews For Dogs


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

Go for frozen raw. It is the best dog food. I use Darwins. It is organic and doesn't have any additives which utilize petroleum extraction methods which is,as you can imagine, toxic for our pups. Have never meet a pup who didn't luv it though sometimes it takes them a couple of days.


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