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Changing food for fluff with MVD?

6K views 40 replies 14 participants last post by  pammy4501 
#1 ·
I'm planning on switching my girls to Orijen. I'm worried about Libby though, with the MVD. Right now, she's on NB ultra and she doesn't have any trouble with it. I had her on another NB food and she threw up atleast once a day.:huh:

I feel that both have seasonal allerigies. Ear scratching, honking and runny noses. Libby was on allergy meds for a short time. It worked well but I don't want to keep the girls on meds long term. I'd like to start with their diet, to see if that helps.

Would the Orijen be too rich for Libby?

Thank you in advance for any help!
 
#5 ·
Thank you Cosy! I'd love to find a good grain free dry food that isn't too high in protein. After reading here about Orijen, that may not be a good choice for Libby.

I will surely ask the vet before we switch:thumbsup:
If she is doing well on it, why are you changing? What did you read about it that is making you switch?

If your Malt has a medical condition that could be adversly affected by the food she eats, I would def. get advice from your vet.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Thank you all for your help!

I want to switch to grain free, because of the allergies. To me this is worth a try before one/both have to go on meds.

Here's my wish list:

Fish as the main source of protien
Grain free
Dye free
Nothing artificial
Low carb
Organic would be really nice too

Is there such a product out there LOL?:blink:

I checked out Acana and that looks promising. I like how Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of the ingredients.
 
#12 ·
Thank you all for your imput!

Most likely the allergies are something in the environment. :blink:

Overall, I want the best food possible for my fluffs. I really would like to get Effie off of the Royal Canin.

Even though Libby's ok on the NB I feel there are better products out there, that she would tolerate as well.
 
#13 ·
Sometimes simple things can trigger environmental allergies like carpet powders as Sher mentioned. Another culprit can be the dyes and perfumes in the laundry detergents and dryer sheets you wash their bedding in. Dogs can be allergic to mold and dust mites just like we are.

Lady and I both have allergies. Using perfume free detergents and air purifiers in the house really helps. Adding fatty acids can also help with allergies.

Allergy and Atopy Treatment in Dogs
 
#14 ·
Thanks Ladiesmom! My son and I have really bad allergies too. Grass, dust mites, molds and a ton more. It's such a battle.

We have carpeting in our living-room and I want it pulled up badly! Hubby doesn't want it to go. Someday, he may come home from work to find the carpet at the curb LOL:HistericalSmiley:
 
#15 ·
My main two foods right now are "Acana Pacifica" and "Grandma Lucy's". I' been using Acana for a long time now and my malt's blood work was all in the normal range. I reccommend it.......but my local pet food store does NOT. He refuses to sell Origen or Acana to anyone who has a small breed dog. He says it is too rich for them and knows of too many small breeds whose kidney values were up...... The only way I can buy Acana at his store is if he is not in :w00t:
 
#16 ·
My main two foods right now are "Acana Pacifica" and "Grandma Lucy's". I' been using Acana for a long time now and my malt's blood work was all in the normal range. I reccommend it.......but my local pet food store does NOT. He refuses to sell Origen or Acana to anyone who has a small breed dog. He says it is too rich for them and knows of too many small breeds whose kidney values were up...... The only way I can buy Acana at his store is if he is not in :w00t:
So, if the expert at the pet store does not recommend it, based on real-life experience, I'm curious why you insist on using it. Your Malt is still very young. And JMM (a long-time vet tech) had a negative experience with it, too:
http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/60-...vice-best-nutritional-dry-food-my-jasper.html
Post #18
 
#17 ·
I've been feeding Preston Orijen 5 fish (or whatever its called) for a few months. He's starting to hate it so I'm looking for something else. He scratches and honks as well but I don't believe it's the food. Most likely the old carpet that we'll change once he's better with wee pads. I'm trying Nutri Source Pure Vita right now and he prefers that. It has grains but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. His allergies don't seem any worse.

Nutri Source also makes a organic version of this food that I would buy but right now I'm just givig him a free sample to see if he likes it and it agrees with him.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I have fed my dogs Fromm's Surf and Turf for years. I've recently added a little Acana Grasslands for variety,but the Fromms is their main kibble. It is mainly fish based(it may also contain some duck) and it is grain free. It gets high marks from dogfood analysis. It is also a tiny (and I mean tiny) kibble which my little Havanese prefers. I also think the protein is slightly lower than Acana- maybe 26 to 28 percent. I have 2 great dog food stores in my area that freely give me samples to try. I have placed 10 different samples of all different high end dog foods on 10 different plates in the past and my dogs sniff each one and ALWAYS pick the Fromms Surf and Turf. Their blood work has always been perfect. I will also add some Tiki canned dog food which is phenomenal!!! It is all human grade and looks like something we would eat. Some of the fish based cans are salmon, tuna, and sardines. My dogs LOVE this food more than anything else and their poops stay firm even though I am adding the soft food to their kibble.
 
#28 ·
I have a friend who breeds Havanese who had her dogs on Canidae and several of them developed crystals. The vet suspected Canidae and told her to start feeding a lower protein kibble. The vet had several dogs that had all been on that same food develop crystals and that was the only common link. The breeder changed their kibble and the dogs all got better. I try to be careful not to feed too high of a protein kibble for that reason.
 
#30 ·
Back in March of this year , my malt developed struvite crystals and UTI while on Acana .......but it was NOT the food that caused it ....she was not drinking enough water so I started increasing her water intake by giving her tablespoons of yougourt mixed with water in between her meals. 2 weeks later and NO struvite crystals and no uti.
 
#32 ·
This is very informative! Thank you all for participating.:aktion033:

There is so much to digest with all this information. I'm going to take my time, check out all choices and talk with our vet. Hopefully, we can come up with great diets for both.

I also feel bad that there is no variety at all. Same old kibble every day.

I don't care for wet food because I worry about their teeth.

I'm also thinking that Effie needs a bigger kibble as she never chews, only swallows. That's no good for her teeth.:w00t:



Th
 
#33 · (Edited)
FYI my dogs eat soft food (home cooked) every day. Nikki has done so for almost 2.5 years. Her teeth are fine and she hasn't yet needed a dental done and she is going to be 3 in November.

I give them beef tendons to chew on. (I also have been using LEBA 3 since this past June.)

I am very skeptical of the claim that kibble keeps their teeth clean. I think I need to see actual proof, like results of studies done.

Much of these rumors and claims regarding certain dog foods are started by the manufacturers who want to sell products.
 
#34 ·
When I got Libby last year the vet wanted her off the wet right away. libby was on dry with just a little wet at night. Our vet went into how small dogs are prone to denal decay and that dry was the best choice for us. Their office pushes a large kibble that cleans the teeth. Because it's bigger, it takes them longer to chew. I bought some as treats and they do help with bad breath.

Maybe there could be a poll thread here. We could do our own study about wet/dry and dental decay:aktion033:
 
#35 ·
Casanova (2 YO) has eaten mostly home-cooked food and has no dental decay or tartar whatsoever.

My cat (4-6 YO) only eats wet food and has no decay or tartar whatsoever.

On the other hand, Bijou (1 YO) was mostly on kibble due to the necessity of free-feeding a 2 pound puppy and she has significant tartar in her back teeth. Now that she is 3.3 pounds, I no longer free feed. (I do serve them a hot entree every 6 hours on the dot. :HistericalSmiley:) She is getting spayed in a couple weeks, and she will get a dental also.

I think her tartar is probably mostly genetic-- (as she is quite young and we use Leba III everyday)? But I do wonder if some of the carb binders in the kibble actually contribute to tartar and decay, as opposed to helping to scrape tartar off. Because she has eaten more kibble than anyone in this house and she is the only one with tartar.
 
#36 ·
Here are a couple studies that debunk the myth that dry kibble cleans teeth. Pretty technical stuff, though.

"Although consumption of soft foods may promote plaque accumulation, the general belief that dry foods provide significant oral cleansing should be regarded with skepticism. A moist food may perform similarly to a typical dry food in affecting plaque, stain and calculus accumulation...Typical dry dog and cat foods contribute little dental cleansing. As a tooth penetrates a kibble or treat the initial contact causes the food to shatter and crumble with contact only at the coronal tip of the tooth surface...The kibble crumbles...providing little or no mechanical cleansing...." Logan, et al., Dental Disease, in: Hand et al., eds., Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, Fourth Edition. Topeka, KS: Mark Morris Institute, 2000, p. 487.

"...When comparing dry food only and non-dry food only fed dogs...there is no pattern to the trends (some teeth show an apparent protective effect from feeding dry food only, and others show the opposite -- for calculus index, the trend is protective for all five teeth in dogs feed dry food only, whereas for gingival index it is the opposite, and it is mixed for attachment loss). All maxillary teeth are significantly less likely to be mobile in the dry food only group, yet the mandibular first molar tooth showed the opposite effect." Harvey et al., Correlation of diet, other chewing activities and periodontal disease in North American client-owned dogs. J Vet Dent. 1996 Sept;13(3):101-105

I was concerned about Lady's teeth when I switched her from kibble to homecooked, but my vet told me just to give her a dental chew a few times a week.
 
#37 ·
I've read over and over in various books, articles from WDJ and Animal Wellness, ect that it's a myth that kibble helps to clean teeth. However wet food can stick to the teeth and get under gums, so it's probably even more important to brush if you feed wet.
Perri had good teeth until he was in his third year, after he had been on cooked food about a year. Whether it's from being on a wet food that stuck to his teeth and I didn't brush (only used spray), or just from getting older I don't know. But they did seem to go downhill pretty quickly with the tarter buildup in the back. He had his first dental less than a year ago, and he'll probably need another soon even though I use either dental wipes or brush now that I found one that he tolerates.
 
#38 ·
Tarter and plaque is caused by bacteria. Overall health and a good immune system affect tarter/plaque bacteria buildup.

Products like Leba 3, Petzlife, probiotics, and coconut oil-which is anti microbial and antibacterial, plus a low carb (low sugar) food, plus brushing, is effective in controlling/eliminating bacteria, at least for us.
 
#39 ·
Here is a letter by Dr. Karen Becker, who is a highly respected holistic vet. I think this letter is about a year old. It talks specifically about kidney problems associated with not enough water when feeding strictly a high protein kibble diet. Basically, if feeding a high protein kibble, be sure to soak the kibble in warm water to make a 'gravy' to help with this problem.

Sorry for the quality. The copy I got was scanned and sent to me in a PDF file. So I had to scan this as well into JPEG format so I could post it. If you click on it once, and then once again, it gets big enough to read.
 

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#40 ·
Yes try the Acana they have trial packages and they are only about 3 dollars. I switched Max over and he really likes it since he has tummy and now allergy issues. Orijen is really high in protein and I find it makes there poop really hard...or is it just my dog...lol
 
#41 ·
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