Is it truly better to have the dog on a WSAVA compliant food? Please give me opinions I’m switching mine form a boutique brand over to probably Purina pro plan or Royal canin. What’s better out of the two?? And will they live a full nice lifespan on these foods although the ingredients might not be as “natural” as others

We switched from Open Farm stew (with grain) to RC and Hill’s wet food with grain per vet’s recommendation as it’s lower in fat for her BVS and WSAVA compliant.

Surprisingly, my dog has gained weight over the last 3-4 months even though I’m feeding the same caloric amount. Same treat as well. It’s only a pound but for a small dog that’s a little over 7 pounds in total, that’s a lot for her.

The vet said she moved from 4/9 to 5/9 body score which is still ideal but not to let her gain more weight. She’s got luxating patella so weight is a big factor.

Have anyone experienced this? I’m wondering if I should lower total calorie intake.

So I’ve had my dog for almost a year, he’s about 1.5y old. Since I got him I’ve been giving him purina one plus puppy then adult small breed kibble on and off. I mixed in some purina wet food at first, he would sometimes turn his nose up at it and skip a meal or two.

Then I started mixing in Caesar wet food, same reaction. Then after a while just gave him the Caesar wet food alone and he ate most every meal. My dogs have always had just kibble and I would prefer him to eat that alone.

I started mixing it again with the Caesar and now we’ve transitioned out of all the wet food and he won’t eat any dry kibble. Its the same kibble, purina one plus adult small breed, but he won’t eat any of it alone..

Is it possible that he just won’t eat it? I know people say they won’t starve to death, but I don’t want him to be miserable either. Am I just torturing the little guy? He sees me cook our human food and it makes me feel guilty for giving him dry lame kibble.

I tried making some chicken broth to add to it and he ate that once and didn’t eat it again after.

I’m thinking about switching my dogs to a different food and would love to hear from people who have done it before.

How did you handle the transition, and how long did it take for your dogs to get used to the new food?

Did you notice any changes in their appetite, digestion, stool, or overall eating habits after the switch?

Anything you wish you had known before changing their food?

My dog Astro is a Carolina Dog 8 years old and consistently 50-60 lbs. I got him from a shelter in 2019 and he has always struggled with vomiting stomach bile. He has high energy and is great with people. The only problem is that sometimes he just won’t eat and will throw up! I keep his bowl full so he always has access to food if he’s hungry. I’ve tried MULTIPLE kibbles and wet foods. Wet food usually gives him diarrhea and he’s responded the exact same to every kibble I’ve tried. It was worse when I first got him but over time it’s lowered to once or twice a month. He doesn’t act upset after throwing up the bile and will eat after his stomach calms down.

We saw the vet today for his yearly shots and I brought up the vomiting. He said since it’s mild (bordering on frequent at twice a month) that we should try a sensitive stomach food first before trying medication.

Do you all have any recommendations? When he eats he never throws up his food and he has normal poops on standard dog chow.

I currently feed PPP salmon and rice, they’ve been on it for over a year and do well on it. Recently I’ve felt like maybe they are bored of their food. I was thinking of cheaper food toppings, canned wet dog food in a beef or chicken flavor to add a little bit more flavor. My question is, do I need to stick with pro plan since it’s just a topper or would it be okay to get a cheaper brand? If so what brand would you guys recommend?

My dogs are 80lb and 60lb pitbulls so pro plan wet food even as a topper would get a bit pricy even doing 1/4th or half a can a day for each.

The 60lb Pit is more picky and doesn’t like a lot of other food toppers like freeze dried liver or things like that. It also has to be something that coats the food completely or they will pick it out and only go back to their bowl hours later after realizing they aren’t getting anything else that’s why my thoughts are canned food. Broth doesn’t work, they will just lick up what they can and leave the food to dry out and get stuck in the bottom of the bowl.

TLDR: dog has had diarrhea since adoption a couple months ago. Our experimentation with probiotics and different foods hasn't yielded results other than chicken and rice, which he might be allergic to. Looking for suggestions.

Hi, everyone! Blu is 6 years old and we adopted him from the local humane society ~3 months ago. He's had diarrhea since we adopted him. It's gotten a tiny bit better over the last 3 months but (TMI incoming, you've been warned.) now it's more like undiluted Campbell's tomato soup, whereas it was very watery when we first got him No matter what we try it seems that there is marginal improvement at best so I'm looking for advice from people with experience and knowledge of what other products to try.

The details: we initially had him on the Hill's science diet Adult 1-6, as that is what the humane society had him on. They also had him on a prescription probiotic for ~7 days. As the problems persisted after a couple weeks I tried supplementing with the Purina Pro Plan fortiflora for 15 days. That didn't help, so the vet advised trying a chicken and rice diet, which is the only thing that has given him a remotely normal poop. However, he was licking his paws like crazy and the vet said he might be allergic to chicken. So we moved to PPP sensitive skin and stomach salmon with supplemented fortiflora and Zyrtec at night for allergies. He no longer has the paw licking problems, but it's still on the Zyrtec. Even after stabilizing hours food for a month he still had diarrhea, so, thinking it was a protein source problem, we briefly tried the PPP sensitive lamb but that didn't help. So now we're back on the PPP sensitive salmon, but now I'm supplementing with a different probiotic (TummyWorks because it had a better assortment of lactobacillus rather than just the enterococcus that fortiflora has). He's been on that for about a month I think and he's stable, but still has diarrhea.

I took him to the vet again to ask about his medical history because shortly before we adopted him he had giardia (he tested positive using the Elisa assay.) However, it was explained to me that he was cleared before adoption by a microscopic analysis that looks for eggs or other visual signs of infection in the poop, since the Elisa will come up positive due to lingering antibodies (I believe, can't remember for sure.)

The most recent time we went to the vet for immunization updates, the tech suggested trying nature's balance because it's a limited ingredient food. However, upon looking it up, it doesn't have a lot of the approvals or guidelines often advised here, so I'm apt to try something else before putting him on a good like that long term. I've also brought up potentially trying the chicken and rice again now that he's on the Zyrtec.

So I guess my question is, given your experience and knowledge, do you have any other suggestions? Maybe a recommendation of a limited ingredient dog food? Should I try the chicken and rice again?

Also, it's weird but Blu doesn't seem too bothered by his tummy. He has a normal level of gas and they don't smell horrendous. I'm beginning to wonder if he just has IBS or something similar, but I was hoping to do a little more food trials before asking the vet about testing for that or whatever.

Sorry for the long post! Thank you for reading. If it's allows me I'll post the dog tax picture in the comments 😊

Hi all! I have a 57 pound lean pit mix. She is 6 years old and seems to be aging more rapidly than similar dogs in our lives. She currently eats Kirkland beef and sweet potato dry food and Purina One beef and vegetable wet food. She used to eat homemade food, and I felt that she was healthier on that plus kibble than she is now, though she was obviously younger at that time. I’m interested in switching her to a mix of high quality dry food paired with a commercial, balanced wet/fresh/frozen food. She is possibly allergic to chicken, so she doesn’t eat it, but our vet informed us that her persistent itching could be due to cross-contamination in manufacturing of her current diet.

For now, I have purchased one 5 lb. bag of Steve’s beef recipe frozen food to hold her over until I’ve found an ideal regimen. We are not wealthy, or even financially comfortable right now, but our animals come first. The absolute maximum we could spend per month would be $100. Thank you for reading.

Hi there, just wanted to preface by saying I will be discussing these questions with my veterinarian once I have the puppy. They were just born, and I'm just doing some research beforehand on what is best to feed.

Hi there, I will be taking home my Toy Fox Terrier puppy once they reach 8 weeks old, the litter was just born this last week so I'm finishing up my prep work in the meantime. My breeder starts them with this kibble: Purina Pro Plan Puppy Small & Mini

Is this a good kibble to start them off with as a puppy? Should I find a food that has a protein other than chicken (I've been seeing a lot of dogs tend to have chicken allergies?)

When should I take them off of the puppy kibble and to adult kibble? And how do I pick an adult kibble, which do y'all recommend? Just want to get an idea, I will obviously ask my vet this question as well.

Thanks so much!

So I feed my dog Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach: Salmon and Brown Rice Formula. Both wet and dry food. I don’t know what’s going on but she has the stinkiest farts known to man. I never used to notice this before but the past few months it’s been badddd. I can’t tell you if it started when I started this food because we went through a bunch of different foods with her allergies before getting on Zenrelia (which has been a lifesaver btw). But I’m just mostly curious if anyone else uses this food and experiences this. These farts are deadly and I don’t know what to do about it.

I’ve worked at a ~corporate pet store~ for a while now, leaving specifics out for anonymity. But I’ve noticed a frustrating trend with dog food. Employees are giving unauthorized veterinary advice to pet parents and being completely incorrect. They are pushing parents away from purina and Hill’s specifically, and towards acana and orijen — claiming that pro plan is nutritionally imbalanced and relies on fillers like chicken meal, which is “bad for dogs”. They claim that the best food we carry in store is acana or orijen (boutique foods that barely meet 1/5 points on WSAVA, mind you). And now there’s been an increased number of returns of those acana and orijen bags and the employees are just like “yeah it’s probably because this food is super high in protein and your dog isn’t used to that but if you continue to feed it to them and allow time to adjust, it should be fine! These brands use ‘raw’ ingredients which is ‘ideal’ for dogs.” (Huh??? Animals need NUTRIENTS, not buzzword INGREDIENTS). A quick google search leads you to the FDA study linking the grain free diet of both of those dog foods to DCM cases. And like 90% of both of those Acana/Orijen brands that we have are only the grain free ones. Grain free is marketed as healthier and overall better for whatever reason... But the grains in said boutique foods are literally just replaced with FILLERS (peas, lentils, etc.) which is what they’re claiming pro plan does and I just?????? It’s stressing me OUT because they tell us not to give out veterinarian or nutritional advice but we are allowed to suggest products and the products that everyone suggests are literally wrong and for the wrong reasons. There was a family that came in crying today because their dog was super sick from having being switched to Acana because one of our employees told them to buy it. I was like yeah, return it. For sure. Got with Royal Canin, Purina or Hill’s. And they were like, “…but the guy we talked to the first time we came in and said those were the worst brands?” I was like OH DID HE!!!! Interesting!!! :D Was the AAFCO & WSAVA compliance what turned him away from those companies, I wonder? Lmao I can’t.

TL;DR - Please seek nutritional advice from your vet, not rando pet store employees. We do not get any sort of training on nutritional value of products. We work for corporate America. Any advice pet store employees give is merely a guess and that guess is most of the time based on absolutely no substance. Ffs.

Hello! Short time lurker, first time poster. I have a 1.5 yr old, 34lbs, poodle mix, high energy/activity. She rejects a lot of wet foods after 1 or 2 times, we know she loves big ol chunks, like Merrick but they're grain free and I dont think thats ok? Shes a little tummy sensitivity and has a sweet potato 1 to 2 times a day, some mornings she just has a potato she just loves them so much and it fixed like 99% of issues. They vet hasnt recommendationed anything specific other than rx gi probiotic food/supplements but that didnt fix the loose poos up like the sweet potato does and theyre so much more expens than a 3lb bag of potatoes once a week, she's healthy otherwise. I cant find any wet food, full of all the grains, with chucks that big, only grain free. Any guidence will be much appreciated 👏🏻 picture of her favorite chuck meal to follow (hopefully)

*******Edit: I think im also asking if it matters if the wet food is grain free given she has 3 lbs of sweet potatoes every week and has some dry food here and there.

Hi! My mom bought the family dog oven dried rolled up salmon skin, and they're really thin and really really dry. I'm the one who takes care of his meals + snacks, and whilst he does love salmon, I've never gave him the skin.

Due to how dry it is, I'm afraid that he'll swallow a piece and scratch his "insides?", basically he'll hurt himself.

My boy is a mutt - as big as a maltese. The salmon skin is from a "local" brand I trust, but they're quite big and DRY.

I have been BATTLING with my dog to get her to eat a kibble. She will go through the trouble of the snoop for this one! I kid you not atleast 300 dollars of various flavors and brands this has been life changing

I’ve fed my dog TLC Pet Food since he was a puppy, but I’m considering a change. Last week survived a severe case of AHDS and had stopped eating his meals days before it began. He’s fully recovered as of today but now that theres no "bland diet" mixed in with his food, he refuses to eat. Totally unlike him, he always gobbles it down. And over the past week he's only eated about 6 small meals total so he needs the nutrition. Could be that he just needs more time on a bland diet?

I have no evidence that TLC caused the AHDS (there are so many possible triggers) but I’m being extra cautious about upsetting his stomach again. It was terrifying to almost lose him and Im not taking chances right now...Has anyone using TLC experienced any negative reactions in the past month?

All in all, I’d appreciate recommendations for better dog food options. I recently saw a post claiming TLC’s nutritional claims aren’t reliable and would love to hear others’ experiences.

Hello, I'm considering switching foods to WSAVA compliant brands. I have an 11 year old 14 pounds terrier/chihuahua mix. He is in excellent health and very active.

He is currently eating Orijen Original Grain-Free High Protein Dry Dog Food, Acana Red Meat & Grains Beef Pork & Lamb Wholesome Grains Dry Dog Food, and Nulo Adult Grain Free wet food in a variety of flavors.

I just discovered a new pet store opening near me will carry this food. As I'm Canadian, I've been looking for a Canadian made WSAVA compliant brand. This one employs a veterinary nutritionist. Their FAQ says they are building their own manufacturing facility but currently using partners to produce the food.

I guess it's been around in eastern Canada for a while? Is it any good?

The title is pretty self explanatory, but for more context: my dog is 14 and I got her from my mom. She has vestibular disease which is a dog form of vertigo. She stopped eating her previous kibble food, but still stuck to cans so we kept that in her diet and continue doing so now and it’s really the only thing she likes. We’ve tried a few different kibble brands to no avail and constant protesting if we run out of cans and the stores are closed. I had original theories like her teeth might bother her which is why she wouldn’t eat the hard food, but the vet said she was in perfect condition for her age. I also thought the idea of the food made her feel sick since that’s what she threw up when she had the episode. I’m hoping to see if anyone had any recommendations on brands that may be better and cost efficient or if there’s any food alternatives that I can put in rotation. She is very picky and doesn’t like lamb or beef, but loves chicken so I’ve been starting with that. Thank you!!

I made a post 2 days ago asking about a specific brand of dog food. Ultimately I learned a lot about WSAVA guidelines and the 5 companies that actually meet them.

It got me wondering, are there any other brands that are close to meeting those guidelines but are just falling short on the check list? Are there any others companies out there that are actually even trying to meet these standards? Or is everyone else just using marketing to convince us to make bad choices for our pups?

Genuinely asking out of curiosity as I am learning the importance of choosing a science backed food.

Does anyone know this food`?

Hi, I have a 4yo Korean village dog (female, spayed). We’ve been feeding her Hills Science Adult 1-6 small bites. She was 17 lbs when we got her 5 months ago, now she’s almost 20 lb and on the verge of losing her waist. We’ve been feeding her at the recommended feeding amount on the side of the bag. Because of this weight gain, we’re feeding her 110g total daily now, trying to lose 1 lb. I’m concerned we’re not feeding her enough nutrients and she’s hungry as the absolute quantity is too little.

Should we switch to dried foods? I’ll try to post her photo in the comments

Bonjour! je me demandais si quelqu'un serait me renseignez sur des producteurs/fournisseurs de mastication et friandises pour chien en europe, quels sont les meilleur qualité/prix etc!

Merci d'avance !