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NFT: Help- Good Grain free dry food for my mini Dachshund

GMAN4LIFE : 1/12/2017 9:12 am
Looking for a good grain free dry food for my mini dachshund. He has some skin issues from time to time so looking for one thats good for the skin. He is also 9 years old fyi.
We feed our dogs Acana.  
drkenneth : 1/12/2017 9:15 am : link
Good stuff. Expensive, but not so much for a small dog.
Wellness Simple  
JohnG in Albany : 1/12/2017 9:25 am : link
We've used this for a similar dog.
We use Fromm  
pjcas18 : 1/12/2017 9:28 am : link
I don't use the grain free, though they do make a highly rated grain free.

I don't know how expensive it is compared to others since this came highly recommended to use by a breeder and after trying Blue Buffalo with bad results we had great results with Fromm.

Only problem is the food quality is so high the dog like to eat her crap. which I've heard is not uncommon, but more likely with higher quality food.
I been using Fromms grain free food and it's worked well for my  
Joe in CT : 1/12/2017 9:28 am : link
Pit/lab mix, a little pricey though.
Costco  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 1/12/2017 9:48 am : link
Grain free food is excellent. Very comparable to the Blue Buffalo Wilderness, and you get enough to last a few months for $30
Also  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 1/12/2017 9:50 am : link
my 2 boxers get yeast infections and dandruff from the grain. It's exactly why I went to grain free.

Blue Buffalo Wilderness is the best you can buy, but its supper pricey. I did a ton of research that led me to the Costco grain free brand and you can have it delivered to your door via Jett if you need to.
Wellness Core  
clatterbuck : 1/12/2017 10:25 am : link
Small Breed.
We use Orijen  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/12/2017 10:35 am : link
Expensive yes. Partly mitigated because you feed your dog less since it's higher in calories per cup -- more energy and nutrient dense. 85% of the ingredients by weight are animal based.
agree with Orijen  
penkap75 : 1/12/2017 10:39 am : link
I have Shiba Inu with multiple allergies, and hair was falling out on regular dog food.

On Orijen, his coat is now the envy of other dog owners whenever I walk him.
RE: agree with Orijen  
GMAN4LIFE : 1/12/2017 10:44 am : link
In comment 13322504 penkap75 said:
Quote:
I have Shiba Inu with multiple allergies, and hair was falling out on regular dog food.

On Orijen, his coat is now the envy of other dog owners whenever I walk him.


cant find it on amazon for small breed.
Did you ask your vet?  
Jim in Tampa : 1/12/2017 10:51 am : link
I'd take his/her recommendation over the advice of all the well-intentioned people on BBI.
I've got a  
jv : 1/12/2017 10:55 am : link
Bernese Mountain Dog some some allergies to grain and chicken. We've gotten great results off of Wellness Core - Ocean Formula. Our next step was going to be Fromm but this stuff has been terrific. I've gotta also highly recommend the website chewy.com. Fast free shipping and great prices on foods.
My American Bulldog is allergic to everything  
aimrocky : 1/12/2017 11:04 am : link
he's 5 years old and we must have gone through 25 different formulas in his lifetime. Here is the most recent one that our new vet just recommended. It's working very well, although it was recently discontinued on chewy.com (not sure if that means it's discontinued everywhere).
Iams Veterinary Formula Skin & Coat Plus Response KO Dry Dog Food - ( New Window )
Second Wellness simple.  
TheManUpstairs : 1/12/2017 11:52 am : link
My Westie's 11, and healthy as heck on that.
Grains rarely cause skin or coat issues in pets. If your dog does have  
Lopes1984 : 1/12/2017 11:56 am : link
An issue with allergies, it is most likely an environmental allergy, or possibly a protein allergy. Speak with a veterinarian about how you can try to identify what the actual source of the allergy is, they can temporarily give you a hypoallergenic food which will help to identify whether it actually is a food allergy or not.

If you don't want to go the veterinarian route, I know Eukanuba and Royal Canin both make Dachshund specific foods so I would go with one of those. Just ignore the whole grain free thing, that's nothing more than marketing.
Orijen, Annamaet, Wellness  
moespree : 1/12/2017 12:40 pm : link
In that order for me. Annamaet is an expensive but underrated brand. Though the grain free option may fit better for a dog with pancreatitis issues as it is also low fat.
I feed my English Bulldog Orijen  
David in LA : 1/12/2017 1:35 pm : link
no skin problems, and no weight issues with my pup.
I also on occasion give my dog a cracked egg  
David in LA : 1/12/2017 1:36 pm : link
I've heard it's good for the coat.
RE: I also on occasion give my dog a cracked egg  
pjcas18 : 1/12/2017 1:56 pm : link
In comment 13322896 David in LA said:
Quote:
I've heard it's good for the coat.


raw? I give my dog cooked eggs every now and then, I'll make extra scrambled eggs and put some in her bowl, she loves it.

I've heard mixed advice on dogs and raw eggs. cooking removes the nutrients from the egg whites, but uncooked egg whites in dogs may cause issues.

even seen some conflicting info. What have your results been like?
RE: Did you ask your vet?  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/12/2017 2:04 pm : link
In comment 13322522 Jim in Tampa said:
Quote:
I'd take his/her recommendation over the advice of all the well-intentioned people on BBI.

Many vets are in bed with a food company -- they sell a particular brand thru their office and get paid handsomely for it.

Here's a site that reviews dog foods:
Dog Food Advisor - ( New Window )
RE: RE: agree with Orijen  
Jim in Fairfax : 1/12/2017 2:10 pm : link
In comment 13322510 GMAN4LIFE said:
Quote:

cant find it on amazon for small breed.

Orijen Original has a small kibble size and is appropriate for small breeds.

Amazon itself does not sell Orijen. Any Orijen you see on Amazon is from third party sellers at very inflated prices.

If you want to buy it online, try Chewy.com.
RE: RE: I also on occasion give my dog a cracked egg  
David in LA : 1/12/2017 2:12 pm : link
In comment 13322921 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
In comment 13322896 David in LA said:


Quote:


I've heard it's good for the coat.



raw? I give my dog cooked eggs every now and then, I'll make extra scrambled eggs and put some in her bowl, she loves it.

I've heard mixed advice on dogs and raw eggs. cooking removes the nutrients from the egg whites, but uncooked egg whites in dogs may cause issues.

even seen some conflicting info. What have your results been like?


Yes, I give my dog a raw egg. Only on rare occasion though. The only side effect I've seen was runny stool.
One of my best friends is a vet  
pjcas18 : 1/12/2017 2:13 pm : link
who recently graduated vet school from Tufts. three years ago maybe.

he's not just a dog vet, not sure if any vets are just a dog vet, he works at an animal hospital where most of his animals are in fact dogs and cats, but he treats cows, horses, chickens, birds, squirrels, etc.

he doesn't ever have specific recommendations on a particular dog food brand. He does get samples (huge bags) of major brands and always offers them to me, but he says it's hard for vets to stay aware of all the dog food brands, where they're manufactured, what the ingredients are etc.

most he'll do is say "you're dog is overweight" change the food to something with more protein, less fillers.

or your dog is showing allergies try a new food.

or in some cases he will recommend a raw diet for dogs.

but he hesitates to recommend specific brands.

Sites like Jim posted are probably as good or better than you'll get from a vet, at least in my friend's opinion.
My Westie had skin allergies  
pganut : 1/12/2017 2:56 pm : link
And early on, our vet prescribed Iams Response FP [Skin & Coat Plus Response]; this is a dry food specifically for dogs with skin allergies. He stayed on that for the duration of his life (12 years).
Orijen and acana  
Colossus of Rhodes : 1/12/2017 6:09 pm : link
Very good suggestions. We are currently using Victor grain free fish diet because they discontinued Acana pacifica. The other Acana fish diet seemed to aggravate our border collies ibs.
We use Blue Buffalo Basics adult Dog  
RDJR : 1/12/2017 8:32 pm : link
Turkey and Potato Recipe, Grain free. 24lb bag is 48 bucks on Amazon. We have two adult labs. Our chocolate was having bad coat and skin issues. Went to the grain free food and it all went away.
RE: RE: Did you ask your vet?  
moespree : 1/12/2017 10:56 pm : link
In comment 13322934 Jim in Fairfax said:
Quote:
In comment 13322522 Jim in Tampa said:


Quote:


I'd take his/her recommendation over the advice of all the well-intentioned people on BBI.


Many vets are in bed with a food company -- they sell a particular brand thru their office and get paid handsomely for it.

Here's a site that reviews dog foods: Dog Food Advisor - ( New Window )


This is very true and important to remember. They'll push Hills, Royal Canin and a new one in recent years by a company called Veterinarian Recommended Solutions. You'll find corn, brewers rice, yeast and even soybean oil before you find anything remotely resembling meat in the list of ingredients. Hills in particular I wouldn't feed to a rat.
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