Another food question.

[Jazzy]

I know there are a ton of discussions on food (and I apologize for yet one more); and 6pak gave me a link to a very informative website; which I have looked at...

but my head is spinning and my eyes are bleeding. I'm hoping come of you guys will take pity on me and give me some recommendations.

I am anticipating (with hopeful yearning) that some October Veronica's allergy woes will disappear for the winter, just like they did last year. I want to get her off the Hill's z/d and onto a kibble with no preservatives in it. I am thinking of sticking with a limited ingredient allergy kibble...because...well...it couldn't hurt; despite the fact that I am not strictly adhering to an allergy diet. I am avoiding the foods that her blood test was positive for...even though test results related to food are questionable. Supposedly she is allergic to:
1. white potatos
2. carrots
3. barley
4. beef
5. corn
6.milk
7. eggs

She is fairly finicky, so if she doesn't like it...she won't eat it.

I have gotten sample bags of Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance sweet potato & venison, fish and sweet potato, lamb & brown rice.

I just emailed Wellness and asked for samples of their Simple Solutions formulas.

I'm thinking of not going back to Canidae because she made so much poop on it...

Any other decent quality kibbles that I could/should try?

My plan is to obtain samples of acceptable kibbles and lay them all out on labeled paper plates along side a plate of z/d and try to gauge her preferences.

Please note, any comments about "too much time on my hands" or about my mental state in general...will fall on deaf ears.

[Jazzy]

please overlook the typos.

[Amie]

I know you don't want to do raw, but are you committed to kibble (vs wet)?

Just want to know you'll accept from the suggestions department.


(I have this image of V licking her lips in glee at the smorgasbord she's convinced you to prepare. Sure, she had to fake some symptoms, but she will FEAST!)

[MaggielSelah]

(I have this image of V licking her lips in glee at the smorgasbord she's convinced you to prepare. Sure, she had to fake some symptoms, but she will FEAST!)

[Jazzy]

I know you don't want to do raw, but are you committed to kibble (vs wet)?

Just want to know you'll accept from the suggestions department.


(I have this image of V licking her lips in glee at the smorgasbord she's convinced you to prepare. Sure, she had to fake some symptoms, but she will FEAST!)

yeah, she's smart when she wants to be.

I have always fed a combo of wet and dry; mainly because she would never eat plain kibble. Of course she'll eat the z/d plain, she looves that.

If she likes another kibble well enough to eat it plain, I would go that route...because honestly (as you know) she gets a lot of other stuff throughout the day (under the guise of "training treats") that more than satisfies the average dog's yearnings for variety.

The only food she has ever eaten (both dry and wet) with gusto is the z/d. I am actually thinking that unless another "kibble crack" comes down from heaven...I will have to supplement whatever dry I use with some z/d wet (which I don't mind so much, because it at least doesn't have the preservatives in it).

That does however raise the whole complementary taste issue. I mean can you really serve a chicken based wet with a fish/sweet potato dry? I mean, does it go together or would it be yucky? If she sort of liked the kibble, would she eat enough that I could serve the z/d wet "on the side"? Yes, I really think about these things.

I am of course open to trying a complementary kibble...

it is just so...complicated; trying to find something that she likes, that is good for her, that will agree with her (i.e. normal amounts of firm poop).

[artemiss]

I dunno about the "complementary" kibble/wet thing..for one dogs think cat poo straight from the litter box is crunchy-goodness with a creamy filling..

That said, Kira loves vanilla yogurt on her fishy kibble..

It's worth a try, right now, kira thinks she needs parmesan cheese on her crunchies. We sprinkle denta-treat, which is like parmesan cheese on the hound's food, so she thought the hound was getting something special..and turned up her nose until she got "sprinkles" too. *shakes head at bratty dog*

[Amie]

That said, Kira loves vanilla yogurt on her fishy kibble..

Broccoli/Tuna/Vanilla is one of our very favorite yogurt flavors around here!

[Jazzy]

That said, Kira loves vanilla yogurt on her fishy kibble..

Broccoli/Tuna/Vanilla is one of our very favorite yogurt flavors around here!

soooo....you guys are saying I'm over-thinking this??

Granted...that is a definite possibility

[Amie]

You're not over-thinking it, you're people-thinking it.

She's not picking a complementary wine based on bouquet and vintage.



Flavor combinations aren't a big concern in canine meals.

[Hammer 4]

Might give Taste Of The Wild a shot. I mix in 1 table spoon of plain yogurt and a teaspoon of sweet potato every feeding..so far he's lovin it.

Here's their url http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

[mtlu]

I was going to suggest TOTW since my dog does really well on the Pacific Stream formula but that one contains potato (sweet potato and potato) and the other formulas contain egg product and those are on Veronica's allergy list

Good luck with the kibble search and keep us updated on V's progress.

[MurphyDog]

I dunno about the "complementary" kibble/wet thing..for one dogs think cat poo straight from the litter box is crunchy-goodness with a creamy filling..

I'm more of a lurker then a poster but I had to comment and say that is one of the funniest things that I have read on this forum.

Sorry I have nothing to add in regards to the OP

[jlphilli]

I would definitely wait and see how she does on the Natural Balance (probably Fish & Sweet Potato would be the best to try first). I don't think you'll be disappointed!

And as an aside I wouldn't bother with the Wellness Simple solutions. The ingredients/guaranteed analysis aren't exactly something to drool over, and the food looks and smells like cardboard anyways

[Jazzy]

Thanks guys.

I checked TOTW...all the formulas have white potatos and 2 have egg products; so...no go.

I already have the sample bags of Natural Balance...but I have time to aquire other samples as I'm not going to try to change her food until the fall comes round and allergy season is over.

And speaking of crunchy goodness with creamy filling; Veronica did once eat a piece of goose poop...back when I provided the opportunity never thinking that my dog would eat that. (I mean just this morning I tried to push pieces of nectarine and banana into her mouth to get her to try them and she clamped her mouth shut and made the "ooh gross" eyes at me!)

[chewbecca]

I feed Wellness Core Ocean.

I'll have to look at the ingredients, but I don't know that it has potato.
It probably does, but it might not.

I'd try Natural Balance fish and sweet potato like has already been suggested.

IMO, NO allergy formula should contain barley OR wheat.
They're common allergens for dogs, I think.