Lacey will be starting and trying the fish protein starting on Sunday.Both formulas are fairly limited to fish & potatoes.Since there are limited dry food with a limited ingredient we’ve chosen Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish,Earthborn Holistic Ocean Fusion,Solid Gold Barking At The Moon(Beef & fish with herbs) and Taste of The Wild Pacific Ocean.What we’re doing is sticking to the limited grain/grain free diet and seeking which protein reduces her itchings the most or if all proteins are good in results we’ll just switch up[ the protein every few months.Our neighbor’s dog Brownie is finishing up the remaining of Halo’s Wild Salmon,Taste of The Wild High Prairie and Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural.Lacey has been on chicken protein since last July.Chicken is and was mixed in majority of the low and high quality dry food that she ate since then.
Category Archives: Lacey_organic dog food
Grain free dry food for Lacey
Considering that Lacey can’t handle grainy dry food anything more than 3 grains in dry food is too much resulting in uti’s and more licking her vulva,she can only handle 2 grains or less which in most dry foods is pretty grain heavy we have no other option but to place her back on Halo’s putting the issues w/the company aside.She can eat almost any grain free dry food as long as there is no regurgitation.i’m thinking of trying before grain or solid gold barking at the moon or blue buffalo wilderness for her.If we can find more grain free dry food closer in town we won’t have to go to petco for blue wilderness.All the formulas we will be looking at now will be grain free now that i know what works for.the only other time there will be a switch in grains ie 3 grains will be if dr kaya recommends it when she gets older or health issues come up that we’ll HAVE TO switch from a mostly grain free diet.
currently her dry food consists of
halo
taste of the wild high prairie(will consider pacific stream once they don’t use euthoxyquin in june)
earthborn holistic primitive natural
can’t use canidae brand/als grain free or wellness brand/wellness core
Trying to stabalize Lacey’s eatings
So,right now we’re just trying to stabilize Lace on some type of dog food whether it be dry,can,freeze dried…At this point,we’d rather deal with good bowels or soft bowels that could require cleaning vs having malnutrition and more vet bills to pay.For now she seems to be wanting to eat her freeze dried Stella & Chewy as she hasn’t had Halo’s for a week at least(which I believe she’s holding out for) which is fine.I’d rather deal with good bowels or soft bowels over malnutrition.As long as she eats high quality,low quality whatever…as long as she eats…We’re giving her minimal can food(1/8 cup),limiting her table food(she gets some but very little)and limiting her treats at least till she becomes more stable like when and every x amount of days we can predict her eating..So if she goes like about 3-4 days eating x food we CAN allow her to maybe skip a day but as long as she eats x type of food(for dogs)90-95% of the time she can have her treats,table food back to the usual amount.
As for dry food,I am considering on getting 4 brands of dog food & in time keep the recipt or give it to our neighbor’s dog for her to eat then pick out another 4 brands so on so forth to see if she has any interest…..as well as check out a few stores around the island as time goes on..Right now we’ve got Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural,Taste of the Wild High Prarie,Blue Buffalo Chicken & Rice Small Breed and Nature’s Best Lamb & Rice..
Switching to Blue Buffalo
So I have been doing a little thinking on Lacey’s dry food.And I came across the thought that Lacey could not have fishy food so I searched back on her site & found that it was on of one of the WellnessSuper5Mix Dry Food I had given her that caused soft stools.I checked the ingredients in it and did seems to have a “good” amount of fish but I didn’t try her on any other brand for fish.On the Wellness Dry Food she’d always gets soft stools so I am not even going to try her on the Wellness Core or the Simple Solutions.I might try her on another fishy food with a different brand such as TOTW Pacific or something similar to that.
On Blue Buffalo,doing some research I have found that a lot of poodles do good on the Small Breed which most of the Blue Buffalo dog food that does have grains,usually have 3,being which MOST poodles are doing good on.I am going to slowly transition her over to Blue Buffalo and see how she is medically in the upcoming months.Otherwise it’s going to be mostly grain free for her.So far for her diet,we will be using Blue Buffalo as the primary diet(even if it’s only grain free),TOTW & possibly Earthborn.Can Food:Merricks,Party Animal.Raw:Stella & Chewy Freeze Dried Chicken or Duck(alternating)When the NOW!dog food comes to Hawaii we’ll probably stop the Earthborn if not before that and try the NOW! dog food by PetCurean.So far I am pleased with their customer service on facebook & looking forward to try their products for Lacey..Still looking at other options but that’s where we are for now…
Update May 11 2010:It seems that Lacey can’t handle Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw food.She can handle the chicken & beef with good bowels but can not handle the lamb,duck/goose both resulting in soft stools.The beef she doesn’t care for it too much so we will discontinue that…If sometime later a new brand comes out for freeze dried or she will accept ACV in treats if it’s ever used in treats we may get her to eat Primal Frozen but right now it will be the raw treats from Stella & Chewy & Primal for raw treats…
As far as dry food goes Lacey is obviously giving us a very difficult time on transitioning to new food whether it be Blue Buffalo,Earthborn,Taste of the Wild,Nature’s Variety or whatever she’s just not eating…In turn I have cut out most of her treats & table food until she does eat something.I have been giving her an 1/8 cup of Merricks or Party Animal daily(can food) so she’s got something in her tummy.I doubt 1/8 cup of can food will fill her up though.I am waiting for her to eat a few kibble before she gets treats/table food and see what she responds to first..At this point as much as I’d LOVE to feed her high quality dry food I am just trying to get her to eat something whether it’s high quality or cheap.Yes,cheap will cut her years earlier but at least she will be eating.If we try most brands and she won’t respond after sometime I guess we MAY be forced to go back to Halo’s….We will try different brands for the time being ranging from high quality to medium quality to the absolute worst of dry food brands.If she responds to none….back to Halo’s we’ll go..IF ALL ELSE FAILS!
Balancing grains & grain free feedings
Most people know that Lacey has started recently on Blue Buffalo & in the past we’ve had issues with grain heavy food.We’ve looked at Blue Buffalo for certain choices of food that she may be able to eat but when we got to PetCo we didn’t see what we were looking for so we picked up the Blue Buffalo Small Breed.Although I knew it did have some grains I picked one up because we drove all the way to Pearl City so we should pick up something so it’s not a “waste of time/gas”.I was going to do this several different ways with her dry food not to mention we’re trying to get her on mostly very low grains to grain free can food too.
The first way I was going to do this was switch out the brands/flavors every time she ate but I thought if I did it this way we couldn’t focus on the new brands…Later I was going to do exclusively BB & TOTW…But..I was talking to my mom and it seemed she was concerned about the amount of grains in the BB,however energy & bowels are also very good on it…One thing I remembered with grain free is as long as she doesn’t regurgitate the food we’re good with grain free so really it doesn’t matter when or what brand of grain free I introduce we’re good.She started grain free(Earthborn back in December 2009 & we’ve had no issues).The way I decided to go with my mom’s concern in mind was to do the usual amount(1/8-3/8 daily)and make 80-85% of her dry food very low grains & grain free with about 15% being moderate grains.Not to mention she will have can food available at lunch/dinner,also low grains-grain free.Out of 21 meals of dry food times 4 weeks=84 meals/month..more on another post.. a week only 3 would be BB.The other 18 meals would be Halo’s,TOTW,Earthborn…If we do good on this rotation with very little(3 meals per week of BB Small Breed) and no health issues we can choose from many types of BB..Her food would go something like this BB,Halo’s Wild Salmon,Halo’s Wholesome Chicken,TOTW,S&C Freeze Dried Chicken,Earthborn,Merricks then
Halo’s Wild Salmon,Halo’s Wholesome Chicken,TOTW,S&C Freeze Dried Chicken,Earthborn,Blue Buffalo.
AND I couldn’t give the BB Small Breed to the neighbor’s dog because on the BB small breed bag it says for dogs up to 30 pounds so Lacey would have to finish the bag
Lacey accepts Blue Buffalo……
We got Lace Blue Buffalo on Sunday.We were looking for certain ones of the Blue Buffalo but couldn’t find it so we picked up the Blue Buffalo Small Breed.The ingredient list was very similiar to Wellness so I am wondering what her reaction will be on it…She didn’t take it by hand but within two days she took it from the floor & in her bottle.She hasn’t had any can or dry food since Monday night so when she took it from her bottle I took up her other bottles so she can get used to Blue Buffalo…I was very surprised to see her eat it & I gave her tremendous praise for taking just a bite was a big start for her!Later she took some from the floor after I cleared up her Taste of the wild dry food which I replaced with Blue Buffalo..She even ate the Life Source Bits…the ones that are vital to her health!!Now instead of giving her different bottles w/different brands/flavors I am going to measure it out(3/8 cup of one brand/flavor for one bottle)and once she finishes that I will give her another brand/flavor.She doesn’t have to finish it in one day but whenever she’s done she gets another 3/8 cup of another dry food.She will always get treats,can food attempts at lunch & dinner & of course limited amounts of table food.When she’s hungry she’ll eat her dry food.
In her rotation of 3/8 cups of dry food per bottle it will be consisting of these brands(one brand/flavor at a time not all in one 3/8 cup serving mixed together) Blue Buffalo Small Breed Adult,Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon,Taste of the Wild High Prairie,Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural, & Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken
We’ll see how her body reacts to it.Hoping for no regurgitation or soft bowels.Hoping medically will be no problems too but wel’ll see when her annual comes around in July.By then she’ll be on TOTW & Blue Buffalo for 3 months.Providing she does good on BB medically we’ll try another choice of BB when we go to Petco whenever another bag is needed for rotation.
Lacey accepts Canidae!but I don’t plan to keep her on it…
Lace has finally accepted Canidae after I placed it in a bottle for her.To get her to eat Canidae it was like I had to almost beg her and doing it the bottle method without accepting it verbally by hand for Lacey is not good.Usually if she tries a new brand of dry food and she accepts it by hand that is your biggest hint that she’s good with the new food but if she won’t even take it from the hand and you got to do it by the bottle method that’s not a good start.She was the same way with Hill’s Nature’s Best.
The reason for not keeping her on it is 1)she’s not excited about it 2)didn’t take it from the hand 3)she has chicken/salmon just by eating Halo’s/supplements with Stella & Chewy freeze dried raw Chicken 4)All the other Caindae seems to be grain heavy something we don’t want to go through with more issues of UTI’s. 5)Only has one berry.I like to see at least 2:Preferably Blueberries/Cranberries but at least 2 berries.6)List of ingredients are limited.Another issue with Lacey is she can tell if it has a good amout of meat,fruit,veggies…How?I have no clue!
As for elimination diet I was thinking of it won’t be possible with the limited amount of brands of “high quality”dry dog food brands that has good “quality of ingredients” and enough variation with meats/fish.Maybe in the long run if there are more varieties out there..
Same with grain free & feeding her freeze dried raw:If there were more of the brands she’d eat with good variety of meats/fish/fruits/veggies/L.Acid and so on..none with ACV in frozen/freeze dried raw..more meats..I’d switch her exclusivity to one of these but since at the moment there isn’t enough of that type of foods we’re working with what we have including very low grains-1 grain-grain free dry/can food.Right now we’re doing Halo’s,some Earthborn,TOTW & maybe in July starting Blue Buffalo.
Canidae ALS
We got Lace some samples from naturally pet but she didn’t eat it.like w/natural balance dry/can food & any dry/can food w/limited ingredients.i’d switch her over to 100% grain free if she ate it as well as her Halo’s!Her stool is excellent on TOTW even w/can food.Halo’s is low in grains…eats it close to a daily basis..medically it helps a lot…both Halo/s & TOTW has good variety ingredients which she’s faithful to…So far we tried Science Diet,IAMS,Beneful,Chicken Soup for the pet lover’s soul,prarie,instinct,stella & chewy,solid gold just a wee bit,wellness,canidae,halo’s(current),earthborn(current),totw(current),nature’s best(refused after once),natural balance(refuses can/dry),merricks(will eat sometimes,loves the can food),primal raw,thk ..when we are in pearl city i plan on trying a few different flavors from blue buffalo to see if she’ll eat it..
A Lacey update on TOTW dry food
We are going to add TOTW to our rotation but not the Wetlands formula.It gives her soft bowels & possibly even gas.Even though it was just once that told me it all on that one.The High Prairie(Bison) she does great on it so far.She loves both flavors but can’t handle the duck.Now she gets Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wholesome Chicken,Halo’s Spot’s Stew Wild Salmon,Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural(for time being unless she can handle Blue Buffalo better & likes the flavor better) and TOTW High Prairie.Hopefully in the long run her health continues to be good even on TOTW.We’ll see in a few months how she is medically.Halo’s is great.Earthborn is good(She doesn’t show “energy” after she eats it but she does eat it though),TOTW energy is there but medically we’ll have to wait it out…
Looking back at Lacey’s first year:Health and all
Name:Lacey Princess Maltipoo Akamine
Current Weight at one year old:7.11 pounds according to vet records,7.6 according to home weight
Birth Date:March 13 2009
Born:Kailua,HI
Breed:Maltese/Toy Poodle
Mom:Poodle
Dad:Maltese
Adopted:july 17 2009
Age of adoption:16 weeks old
Found on:Kijiji.com
Price:$600
Name of Vet:Dr John Kaya
Vet Hospital:VCA Animal Hospital aka VCA University Hospital
Weight at first vet visit:4.5 pounds
Dog Food:Science Diet & IAMS,Beneful Prepared Meals till December 2009
Puppy Pad Training:9 weeks
Health Issues:Yeast infection in ear,worms,UTI,Spaying(February 2010)
First Heat:November 2009
First Treats:Nutro Dog Biscuits,Pupperoni,The Goodlife Recipe treats
First Walk:November 2009
Shortest Walk:<<<than 5 minutes
Longest Walk:62 minutes on her birthday
First Time Out: December 2009
First Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving 2009:Family Dinner
First Christmas:Christmas 2009:A new top,Waggin Train
Brands of dog food we tried:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Chicken Soup for the Pet lover's Soul,Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed/Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken,Halo's Spot's Stew
Current Dry Food Brands:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Halo's Spot's Stew(Wholesome Chicken & Wild Salmon flavors),Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural
Brands of Can Food we tried:Natural Balance,NV Instinct & Prairie can food,Wellness Can Food then lost interest,Halo's Spot's Stew Can Food,Merricks
Current Brands of Can Food:Merricks
First introduced to Raw(Freeze Dried):January 2010
Started accepting Freeze Dried Raw:Feburary 2010
Brands we tried:Stella & Chewy till APril 2010 then we'll be switching to Nature's variety Freeze Dried
First Freeze Dried Raw Treat:Primal Pet Turkey Liver(A birthday present)
Organic Treats she's tried:Trader Joe's,Waggin' Train,No Grainers
First Boarding Facilities we considered:Di Ventus Dog Hotel & Spa
First Boarding Facilities we looked at:The Ohana Doggie Day Care,Pets in the city
First Starts understanding people conversations:7-8 months old
First Command:SIT
Commands she knows:sit,stay,don't move,time out,sit & stay,shake paw/hand,"eat",hi5,shake your tail,down aka sit,lay down,kiss,learning roll over,"wait",inside,outside,table manners at the table
Uses Common Sense while walking:About 8-9 months old
Checks for cars like a human(right,left,right,left,center,then walk)about 10 months-1 year old
Goes outside for afternoon poop:December 2009-learned by example of aunty's dogs
Vaccinations:Distemper,Parvo,Lepto
First Carrier:casual Canine
First Crate:Pet Mate Kennel Cab
Characteristics:A definite mix of Maltese/Toy Poodle.Brains of the poodle.Looks of a maltese.eyes are poodle.Loves to play.Loves to sample food
Types of food she tried:Mexican,Italian,Japanese,Chinese
Favorite Fast Food:KFC chicken skin
Shops we shop at:Naturally Pet,Halo’s Purely for Pets,The Pet Spot,Kalihi Pet Store
Misc:Also tried Hartz Oinkies
Able to climb steps:10-11 months old
First Shampoo;Sergent’s Puppy Shampoo
Current Shampoo:Halo’s Cloud Nine Herbal Shampoo/Earthbath Shampoo
Grooming:Cardinal Pet Gold Metal Pets Unicoat Professional Spray
