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Old August 5th, 2004, 11:28 AM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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Dog food options

Ok.. I've been feeding a food from Costco called Nutra Nuggets Lamb and rice. The ingredients look good (lamb meal is actually the first inged - rice the second) Now Rose (8 yr old 75 lbs Rotti) has been doing great on this food - good weight, not acting hungry, coat 'looks' healthy and shiny, but she's sheads a horrible amount - I swear she should be bald

Rose has joint problems and is on a Glucosamine/ chondroitin/ MSM pill, which I will keep her on.

So my question is, should i change her food to help the sheading,and if so, what do you suggest and why, or should I add something to her current diet - I heard that oil and/or eggs will help, but I'm just looking for an opinion here, as I know many here are much more knowledgable on this than I.

Oh - right now she is fed twice a day, a little over 1 cup at each meal.

Thanks
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Old August 8th, 2004, 08:19 PM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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Hey guys any help here? I've been reading up on the different natural brands (nutro, eagle pack and such) but I'm wondering if it's just better to add oil or something to her current feed as she seems to be doing so well on it except for the sheading.
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Old August 8th, 2004, 09:54 PM
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Cactus Flower Cactus Flower is offline
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LavendarRott made a suggestion to me that worked wonders. Salmon oil. You can buy it at Walmart in the over-the-counter herbal remedy section (it's for people, but it works for dogs as well). I give my Dane 2000 units per day (gelcaps), and her shedding is now less than half what it was.
I don't know what kind of dog you have, what size, etc. So I don't know what dosage would be proper. Maybe LavendarRott can tell you. All I can tell is that it works!
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Old August 8th, 2004, 09:59 PM
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Fish oil, omega fatty acids and vitamin e will work wonders on a dogs coat and skin. You can see an improvement within a week for sure.
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  #5  
Old August 9th, 2004, 12:32 AM
heavenlyminded heavenlyminded is offline
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I have a 122 lb female Rottie. Understand they have a very very thick coat of hair. We usually go through 2 sheddings a year so I feel your pain. My dog stays indoors so everything is coated in black. It calls for alot of vaccum time. This is a natural part of life, it is normal. Yes a better quality food can make them shiney and pretty but the hair is still going to shed. I ask my groomer if there was anything I can do to help stop or speed up the process, she said use a shedder blad on her. This is the same thing I use on my horses to help rid of the winter hair.
We also use Eagle Pack food, and the hair still comes out. Each time we go through this it takes around a month. ( But I can still get hair out of her, and its always on my floor) Gotta Love her !!!!!!!!!
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Old August 9th, 2004, 12:35 AM
heavenlyminded heavenlyminded is offline
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Almost forgot, I to give her a egg a day during shedding time. Dont know if it is helping but I feel like Im trying. haha And more important she loves it.
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Old August 9th, 2004, 10:14 AM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heavenlyminded
I have a 122 lb female Rottie. Understand they have a very very thick coat of hair. We usually go through 2 sheddings a year so I feel your pain. My dog stays indoors so everything is coated in black. It calls for alot of vaccum time. This is a natural part of life, it is normal. Yes a better quality food can make them shiney and pretty but the hair is still going to shed. I ask my groomer if there was anything I can do to help stop or speed up the process, she said use a shedder blad on her. This is the same thing I use on my horses to help rid of the winter hair.
We also use Eagle Pack food, and the hair still comes out. Each time we go through this it takes around a month. ( But I can still get hair out of her, and its always on my floor) Gotta Love her !!!!!!!!!

LOL... oh don't worry I haven't disillusioned myself to think a different food will stop her shedding - but Rosie's is a little out of control... shedding season??? You mean it's supposed to ever stop LOL

I do curry her with a rubber horse curry - it helps (and she LUVs it), but I still have a solid layer of hair on everything Approx 2 double handfuls per day - or atleast every second day - It's crazy - I don't know why she isn't bald The strange thing is that she looks great... Super shiny coat, very healthy looking, no dry skin or dandruff... just mass amounts of hair off her.

She's always been a heavy shedder, but it seems to have gotten worse as she gets older. I'll try the fish oils and vitiamin E that Luba and cactus flower suggested - I still haven't decided on whether to add it to her current food or try something new... I think I may look for a food with all that in it and try it for a month or 2 and decide where to go from there.

Thanks everyone
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  #8  
Old August 9th, 2004, 10:17 AM
Goldenmom Goldenmom is offline
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Hi! I feed my 3 Golden Girls Nutro Large Breed. I have had them on Nutro since puppyhood and love it. Nutro is to help ear infections, as well as skin problems. We don't have any of those problems with the girls. I also put 1 tsp. of Flax Seed oil on their food per day, to help with their shiny coat and shedding.

Heather
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  #9  
Old August 9th, 2004, 11:07 AM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldenmom
Hi! I feed my 3 Golden Girls Nutro Large Breed. I have had them on Nutro since puppyhood and love it. Nutro is to help ear infections, as well as skin problems. We don't have any of those problems with the girls. I also put 1 tsp. of Flax Seed oil on their food per day, to help with their shiny coat and shedding.

Heather
Thanks Heather,

That was the brand I was leaning toward - Probably the Senior Formula, Rosie's 8 this year.
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  #10  
Old August 9th, 2004, 11:18 AM
Goldenmom Goldenmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MBRA518
Thanks Heather,

That was the brand I was leaning toward - Probably the Senior Formula, Rosie's 8 this year.
I have my newest adopted girl (7) on the senior Nutro, as she is a little "pleasantly plump" All is going well

Heather and her 3 Golden Girls
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  #11  
Old August 10th, 2004, 06:18 PM
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goldenblaze goldenblaze is offline
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Hi Everyone,

I also use Nutro Natural Choice, mine is large breed puppy! I do agree Nutro is a great food they make treats too! I also listen to Luba when she wrote me about Fish oil, vitamin e for my Golden Blaze. I give a nice treat called " Old Mother Hubbard " natural, oven baked dog treats. Made with oatmeal real chicken eggs apples and carrots, my kids love them.
Have a nice day
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Old August 10th, 2004, 06:32 PM
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goldenblaze goldenblaze is offline
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Flax seed oil

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldenmom
Hi! I feed my 3 Golden Girls Nutro Large Breed. I have had them on Nutro since puppyhood and love it. Nutro is to help ear infections, as well as skin problems. We don't have any of those problems with the girls. I also put 1 tsp. of Flax Seed oil on their food per day, to help with their shiny coat and shedding.

Heather
I read more about people giving Flax seed oil and to be honest I am not sure what it is for.
Is this oil used for other reasons than shedding and shine, sorry if that is a silly question I just like to ask when I am not sure. I think this is great getting so much help and advice from people who really do have the pets best intrest at heart. I do realize that anything I read does never take the place of Dr Judy our vet.

Could you please tell me more about Flax oil.
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  #13  
Old August 10th, 2004, 06:40 PM
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glasslass glasslass is offline
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Flax seed and flax seed oil are good for joints also. Flax Seed Bread is really good. My mom grinds the seeds coarsely in a small electric coffee grinder which she only uses for this purpose. She puts it in meatloaf, bread, oatmeal, you name it! I even sprinkle whole seeds on my bagel and cream cheese.
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Old August 10th, 2004, 06:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glasslass
Flax seed and flax seed oil are good for joints also. Flax Seed Bread is really good. My mom grinds the seeds coarsely in a small electric coffee grinder which she only uses for this purpose. She puts it in meatloaf, bread, oatmeal, you name it! I even sprinkle whole seeds on my bagel and cream cheese.

I guess it would not hurt to add some to my boys food in the morning. Both boys are good, no bone or joint problem but anything to help them as they grow up is nice too!
Thanks
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Old August 11th, 2004, 08:15 AM
Goldenmom Goldenmom is offline
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I don't give the flax seed oil for joint problems, as they are still young. I give it for the other benefits like shiny soft coat and less shedding. This is from a vet site.

Hexane is a chemical solvent used by many manufacturers to extract the oil from the seed, and can be extremely allergic for dogs and cats. The health benefits of supplementation with flax seed oil for pets are numerous. Flax seed oil is rich in Omega 3 and 6 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) which are protective against degenerative disease and illness, including bone and joint problems, cancer, and cardiovascular, kidney and auto immune disease. Flax seed oil is excellent for improving skin conditions such as dandruff or allergic irritation. It also improves the silkiness and sheen of the coat and helps to heal dry, cracked paws. The essential fatty acids found in flax oil are components of nerve cells and cell membranes. Flax oil is also one of the best known sources of lignans, which are compounds that are thought to have powerful anti cancer, antifungal and antiviral properties.
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Old August 11th, 2004, 04:48 PM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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OK... I need more help!

I went out to get the Nutro Large Breed Senior today... then I started reading the Ingredients... Here's the first 5: Rice Flour, Chicken Meal, Rice Bran, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal.

That just doesn't sound good to me - Shouldn't the first ingred be a protein source? And isn't corn not supposed to be in the top 5?

So I started looking around (I was at Pet Smart)... everything had some sort Corn product in the first 5 Ingredients.... Until i found "Nature's Recipe". In the same price range as the "high quality" brands.... here's the first 5 ingredients.... Chicken meal, ground rice, cracked pearled barley, animal fat, natural flavor.

So is that a better food? I barley good?

I'm just driving myself nuts with this I know... But if I'm going to spend more for a better food I want to make sure it "is" a better food.

I was looking around and one of the foods that looked best to me is Performatrin Ultra (no corn, no by-products, no preservatives...etc)... BUT it is only sold through Pet Valu... and they sell pets (now that I know where the pets come from I'd rather not support them). Oh I'm trying to be politically correct here, but maybe I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and just buy that stuff.
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Old August 12th, 2004, 08:33 AM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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There is lots of food out there with no corn or soya. Canidae, Natural Balance, California Natural, Solid Gold Hundenflunken, Wellness, Wysong, Fromm, and many others. Flax and salmon oil are really good for skin and coat but also a lot of the highter quality foods have glucosamine and condriton in them as well as flax oil. I was wondering in the first post you said that you feed your rottie a little over a cup at each feeding that seems like not enough for an 80 pound dog my dog is 150 and gets 6-8 cups a day and he does not have any fat on him and he is quite lazy. Also when feeding good quality food you dont have to feed as much since it is not a bunch of filler.
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Old August 12th, 2004, 09:37 AM
MBRA518 MBRA518 is offline
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Well the scoop that I use for her food is by no means accurate - but I'd guess it holds about 1-2 cups - but certainly not over 2 cups. The food she is on is a pretty good food - so It's not like I'm having to feed a lot because the food is just filler, she does also get dog appropriate table scraps too - so maybe that's why she does so good on that amount of dogfood.

I have to exercise her quite a bit to keep her from getting too plump. She has always been plump and lazy... unless you take her for a walk on leash or I take her to the barn with me - she just basically lies around... she has lots of energy when we do something exciting though - but playing in the back yard - or running around the house just doesn't amuse her anymore (old age I guess). The vet is always after me to get a little weight off her because of her hip problems (she's never been obese but maybe 5 or so lbs over weight and just generally on the "fluffy" side) - and slowly decreasing the amount of food she was getting finally got us to where we are, and now that she has been coming to the barn nearly every night and coming with me on a ride for about and hour she's finally got a "waist" again

It's really only the shedding that makes me worry about the food she is on now - she looks great, acts happy and healthy - just too much hair coming off her - something has to be missing.

I haven't been able to find any of the food you mentioned at any of the stores around here other than Pet Valu (I think they sell a couple of those brands) And they all sell pets. All the other stores around only have the more heard of brands - nutro, Iams, Eukenuba... etc. all of which have corn. I think I'll just go to Pet Valu and buy the Performatrin Ultra.

She is due for her check up at the end of the month anyway - so I'll just mention my concerns to the vet too when I'm there, see what he says.
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Old August 21st, 2004, 06:35 PM
Lady_D Lady_D is offline
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( I’m so happy someone made this post because I have the same question! )

I was feeding my Rott pup Natural Choice after hearing several recommendations. Then I asked my vet and he told me he’d give me a sample of “Hill’s Prescription Diet – Canine p/d Large Breed” to try out and that he recommends that over anything…. Now the thing is, the Vet sells this food in his office – AND the first ingredient is corn meal, then chicken by product meal….

Should I stick with it or go back to Natural Choice? Or even go on to Canidae?

Oh and I dissolve 1 capsule of Vit E and Vit D in Zeus’s water bowl once a week for his skin and coat.
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Old August 21st, 2004, 09:52 PM
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Vets sell science diet because they make money. Every vet I've talked to "swears by" the food they sell in their offices since they make money off of it from the producers. Stick with a holistic brand that ALWAYS puts meat as the first ingredient. Holistic is better than most other foods and is usually cheaper. Hill's makes Science Diet and the prescription diet stuff. It's all crap.

I swear by raw food and I've never been happier with the results. If you don't want raw, stick with holistic like Solid Gold, Innova, or Royal Canin. I've never heard of natural choice so I can't give much input on it. Hope that helps!
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  #21  
Old August 22nd, 2004, 11:01 AM
Lady_D Lady_D is offline
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No more vet food.... Thanks for the advice!!!
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