kibble help

how do you guys feel about the safteyness (is tha a word?)
of kibble dog foods during this recall? I think that it is safest to go grain free during this recall.
i am getting discouraged at home cooked/raw. i know i am probably not being patient enough but i am seeing no results other than massive hairloss due to diet change.

i am thinking of going back to a kibble. i know all of the good name brands out there, but i can only offord certin ones, and have access to them. also, the vet and i think that Ruckus is allergic to chicken.

if someone can find me a short list of foods that are free of chicken, with a higher protein and fat content i would love it.
i cant find any! i have looked at eagle pack, canidea, royal canin, and a couple of others.
TWO is too pricey BTW

There's EVO RM (red meat formula)
Thats the only one that I can think of that doesnt have chicken, maybe someone else will know of any others...

oh yeah, i forgot to look at that one!
thanks for reminding me.

ya know, grain free would be the safest right now with this recall stuff going on. but i am not sure its the healthiest? from what i read dogs are omnivores and NEED grains and veggies.
however i know that 80% of you guys will disagree. is there any evidence out there supporting rather they need grains or not?

ps. agg, i just seen the price on innova evo RM
omg!!! i wish i could spend that much on dog food
waaaaay to expensive

Dogs are NOT omnivores- they are opportunistic carnivores. They thrive on a high protein diet, but will eat foods from other sources if necessary. They do not need grain. The pet food industry wants you to believe they need grain, because most grain is used as cheap fillers (which means more money for these big companies such as Iams, Pedigree, Purina, etc).

This is from Orijen's website, but is a good explanation of why grain free is best:

http://championpetfoods.com/orijen/documents/ORIJEN_White_paper.pdf

Solid Gold has a grainfree formula called "Barking at the Moon" which is made with beef.

Also, Timberwolf Organics has a variety of foods without chicken (only 2 of their formulas contain chicken).

Orijen is coming out with a grainfree fish formula this summer as well.

jessie most of those foods just are not in my budget right now. seems like i should stick with homecooked/raw diet.
i am getting by for about 15 bucks a month on that.
barking at the moon isnt too bad

You mentioned hairloss. What are you feeding Ruckus for his raw diet?

Beef only diet.
ground beef, beef liver, beef stew meat, rump roast
i go by "the natural diet" it was developed by Wendy Volhard
its 30% grain also. for the grain he gets brown rice, or oatmeal.

Basically Ruckus is shedding non stop. i can brush him daily and get handfulls of hair out!
maybe thats just how much shelties shed?

Beef is one of the most common allergens in dogs... do you think that he could possibly be allergic to it? If he is losing fur, it sounds like that could be a likely suspect in his diet.

Do you have access to venison or another protein source such as duck or lamb?

Here is an article on food allergie, if it helps at all:

http://www.puplife.com/dogcaretips/allergies.html

if he is allergic to both chicken AND beef then i dont know what i will do.
i have never seen anything else in the stores as far as meat goes. and i am sure that it would be more expensive!!!
i dont know what to do, unless its going back to natural balance and getting duck and potato

he was doing PERFECT on the venison and brown rice but it just HAD to go and get recalled

Wellness makes a venison and brown rice formula... I know that many people will say that they do not like Wellness... but Rylie was on that formula for a good 6 months and did great on it.

Nature's Variety also makes a venison and millet kibble:

http://naturesvariety.com/content.l...n=naturesvariety:45A181550c8cf334C3tQi23EA0B4

oh! did i mention he has lost over 2lbs since starting the diet! i havent been doing this that long, and i have been giving him almost one and a half times the amount of food the book calls for!

Is Ruckus at his ideal weight? I know that since we switched Rylie to grainfree, she has lost a little weight and is at her perfect ideal weight.

He may just be burning through the protein (also, high protein diets are actually good for weight loss).

However, the fur loss worries me. Especially since beef is a common allergen in dogs.

nope, the vet told me that he was too underweight.
I admit, seeing him with a wet coat makes me feel bad. he is too thin. but i am feeding him plenty

you may have heard me mention, but if i dont bath him monthly his rear end stinks. however the vet gave him a clean bill of health the last time we were there and i voiced all of my concerns

How much are you feeding him ??

10 oz of muscle meat
2 oz organ meat
3 oz grain

How long has he been on the raw diet for? How are his stools?

If he's eating that much, and not gaining weight (losing, rather than gaining as well) and losing fur, I would really consider switching the food (even if it means going to a formula that isn't completely grain free). The Nature's Variety isn't grain free, but it is a good food and you said he was doing well with venison.

If you have access to another protein, I would continue with the raw diet. Do you know any hunters who you could snag a buck from?

i might know someone who i can get some deer from.

i forgot to mention, i fed Ruckus raw pork one time and he got sick! so no pork, beef, or chicken!!! whoa!
Ruckus's stools are fine. Ruckus has been on raw since day one of the NB recall. i dont remember the date.

thanks for all of the help! i am trying to figure out what i want to do as of tonight

When Rylie was a puppy, she had what appeared to be allergies to chicken. We tried chicken again when she was a year and a half old (Orijen), and she has been doing great with it.

You're completely sure that Ruckus is allergic to chicken?

I know how frustrating it is to deal with allergies. There are a good bit of options out there, so don't get disappointed. I'm sure that you will figure something out that will work best for you and Ruckus. Like I said before, even if it isn't grainfree, there are still some good options out there for foods with different protein sources.

The problem is, most grainfree formulas contain chicken. It's hard to find a food that uses something other than chicken, beef, or fish as a protein source.

i ran out of beef liver last week, so i bought chicken liver. he started itching constanly and rubbed the fur off around his eyes in just two days. so i do definally think he is allergic to chicken.