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..

Finally a response from Halo’s!

At this point,I don’t know if I am going to switch her to Blue Buffalo or keep her on Halo’s.It depends on the outcome of the situation w/Halo’s…But the fact they did respond shows that they do care..Maybe not as efficiently but they still responded…Blue Buffalo does have more that she can have while Halo’s only has 2 flavors for dogs…Or maybe a combination with both Blue Buffalo & Halo’s for the primary diet??We’ll see…Thinking of switching mostly to Blue Buffalo either way simply because they have more variety of flavors,ingredients vary from each formula where as Halo’s & easily to get at Whole Food as well as PetCo where Blue Buffalo is being sold,is the same except the chicken or wild salmon.

Lacey will be transitioning from Halo’s to Blue Buffalo for the time being..

Lace will be transitioning from halo’s to blue buffalo wilderness & other blue buffalo lines as it comes in when we go we’ll take it by what petco has and take it from there.With Halo’s,while she did great on it–loved the taste.Very appealing to her…good price…all human grade quality…due to findings that were not food & contacting Halo’s on facebook which they have not responded to,that’s leading me away from Halo’s.Poor customer service & not caring enough to keep their customers happy.

I was looking at Petcurean Pet Foods for Lacey.The NOW!Grain Free in particular.The food is very similar to the way Halo’s was made except that Halo’s had 2 grains while NOW! has no grains period.The ingredients are slightly different but it’s very similiar to Halo’s though I doubt there’s dehydrated bits in it.Unfortunately it is not sold in Hawaii just yet but they are working on bringing their foods to Hawaii.When they do,hopefully in Honolulu,we will be sure to try it out for Lacey.

For now temporarily we’re going to place her on Blue Buffalo Wilderness & other Blue Buffalo formulas..If she eventually favors Blue Buffalo over other brands we might keep her on it permanently.Meanwhile,I am searching out other brands for her.I am looking at all quality levels & will be comparing what we’re looking for..

Although we won’t buy the food we will use other products from Halo’s but not the dry food.The neighbor’s dog is also helping us finish up the bags of Halo’s. Feeding her plus Lacey will help us get rid of the Halo dry food pretty fast.Noting that she eats about a cup & i am guessing her owner feeds about 1 cup.(the neighbor’s dog).Lace eats anywhere from an 1/8-3/8 cups on a daily basis.

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.

Taste of the wild samples

I am asking for samples of these two products for Lacey.It’s made by Diamond but so far none of the people who feed TOTW on dogster seems to have any issues with it so I am willing to give it a shot.Most stores that we look at do not sell it but I did find one place that does but before we do that,I’d like samples first just to see how she likes it..Knowing that she’s so picky.I am pretty sure that SG Just a Wee Bit is causing her soft stools & I’d like to get her off of it if we can find something that will work for her & she will eat it before we do that..switch…The ones I asked for were High Prairie Canine Formula &
Wetlands Canine Formula.
High Prairie Canine Formula
Protein: 32% Fat: 18%
Calories: 3,719 kcal/kg (370 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy
Available in 5lb, 15lb and 30lb bags.

Ingredients
Bison, venison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
Wetlands Canine Formula
Protein: 32% Fat: 18%
Calories: 3,750 kcal/kg (375 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy
Available in 5lb, 15lb and 30lb bags.

Ingredients
Duck, duck meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, roasted quail, roasted duck, smoked turkey, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Let’s see how it would rank us(with Lacey’s needs in mind)
High Canine Formula:1)Bison/Vension/Lamb/Chicken are all familiar proteins to her (meat named followed by meals that’s a plus),egg,sweet potatoes,peas,potatoes,canola oil,roasted bison,roasted vension(will be knew to her but it might be ok)2)tomato pomace(a filler but so far so good) 3)ocean fish meal(not a lot of fish is good),dried chicory root is good(she’s familiar with that),tomatoes,blueberries,raspberries(will be new to her but we might be ok)..all the rest is good.It’s got L.Acid in it(a definite plus)
Wetlands Canine Formula:1)Duck,Duck Meal(definite plus…Just found out Lacey LOVES Duck!..meat,followed by meal,a plus),Chicken meal(she’s familiar with chicken),egg,sweet potatoes,peas,chicken fat(named type of poultry fat is a plus),potatoes,roasted quail(is new to her might be ok),smoked turkey(she’s good with that)2)tomato pomace(a filler but so far so good)3)ocean fish meal(not a lot of fish is good) and the rest is similar to the previous one.
Both are grain free(something I am looking for since as she gets older I was going to eventually switch her to grain free anyways since most times raw is not an option unless more brands come around by that time we can look around again)

As some of you may know we have tried the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul dry food before and Lacey was not that impressed with it.It was one of the very first brands we tried after Solid Gold & before finding Halo’s.Regardless,we are sticking with Halo’s & Earthborn but hoping to drop the Solid Gold Line permanently if we can find something to replace it with.I like to have at least 2-4 different brands to switch up proteins every day.As for can food I believe that has a play in her soft bowels too since most of the time she’s getting dry her tummy is not used to getting can food & it could also upset her tummy.The only time she will get it is if she’s ill/recovering from surgery or there is a family gathering/holiday.Other than that we’ll be sticking with dry food.

Stumped….

I am absolutely stumped with Lacey.You know,she does so well on Halo’s..Her bowels are consistent and firm….there’s dehydrated fruits & veggies that she’ll eat…but when you give her primal(she doesn’t like the vinegar..see previous blogs),stella & chewy beef(doesn’t like the flavor.good bowels…lamb causes soft bowels but loves the flavor)…solid gold may give her soft bowels(currently looking into it by giving halo’s one day,earthborn another,solid gold just a wee bit another..will know more by next weekend),doesn’t really care for the honest kitchen dehydrated raw food…i’d really like to place her on another brand of food even raw but the way she reacts to all of them and the brands available down in hawaii is so limited that we just can’t do it(raw)..again the carobs,amount of fish play factors into the type of food she eats,beet pulp,ingredient list should have good variety(see previous blogs)..so what will we try next?right now,i don’t have a clue..i will look on dogster to see what other brands are a possibility to try…maybe a sample of a different choice of earthborn could be an option?maybe trying barking at the moon from solid gold???for a while i will look into how she does on solid gold just a wee bit if it is giving her soft bowels & look into other brands…

Lacey can tell the difference between junk treats vs good treats

It’s only been a few months since Lacey has been on mostly organic food with no fillers in her food or treats.Tonight we were looking for treats/chew bones for her & the ones we usually get Hartz,Pigskin Oinkies she lost interest in so we got her a “cheap” Purina chew bone.When I got home as always she’s so happy to get a treat or whenever I bring her home something.The chew bone I got her was somewhat healthy but not the best.She took it and ate it for a while(maybe 10-20 minutes) before she lost interest in it altogether.It’s like she can tell the junk from the good..

Tonight my mom was comparing pictures from her Science Diet/IAMS/Beneful Prepared Meal Days & her recent Halo’s pictures(after she started in December)..Placing the two pictures side by side you can see how dull her coat was on Science Diet/IAMS/Beneful Prepared Meals compared to her Halo’s pictures that her fur has more shine to it and it’s much fuller compared to her 4 month old picture.Really what you feed your dog truly makes a difference…Really amazing to see what a difference the food you feed your dog can make in just a very short time…

Side Effects to Ketoconazole:A call to Dr Kaya on Monday Morning

Recently we took Lacey off the Super5Mix Small Breed and she’s been eating Halo’s for the most part.She does get people food,canned food etc but what’s puzzling me is that even though she’s been off the Small Breed for almost 4 days I would think her bowels would get better(Much firmer and not so much soft,loose formed bowels)but although her bowels has gotten better from when she was on the Small Breed it’s not up to regular standards.One thing that did cross my mind was it could be the Ketoconazole she was having side effects to.For right now she does have to take the medicine but I am going to call up VCA just to let them know what’s going on and if they want us to keep her on the Ketoconazole or try something else.It’s really their call but I think it’s better to let them know how she’s doing with the medicine.

Garlic in dog food

So it seems that most dog owners do support that some or a trace of garlic is okay and beneficial for a dog and haven’t had any problems.Likewise,with salt I am not too concerned with that.The beet/beet pulp I won’t back down on that one.Neither with corn or soy.And it must have L.Acid as friendly bacteria.I doubt we’ll find something as good as Halo’s though with no rendered meat,meals etc.Halo should defiantly make more formulas of dry kibble though in the near future.Maybe lamb,vension,duck,buffalo etc..maybe even a frozen raw line would be interesting to see from Halo even Wellness would be interesting..I will recheck the list for dry foods and make some determinations for samples to try from a few companies.Lacey certainly doesn’t seem to be a fan of Merrick’s dry dog food Grammy’s Pot Pie.Certainly not as I thought it would be like Halo’s with dehydrated veggies tossed into the kibble separately from the kibble.

Berry Balance update

I got a response from a owner whose dog had UTI about Berry Balance who suggested that while their dog didn’t have any of these problems(soft bowels) that it could be she’s adjusting to the supplement and to try it out for another week.We’ve already decided to stop the Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit and I have no plans to put her back on it for any reason.It was a good food and she did love it but not as much after Halo’s Spot’s Stew came along…We’ll try it for another week and see how she does.Otherwise if there is still soft bowel movements we’ll stop Berry Balance altogether and for a while keep her on Halo’s while we figure things out.Also when we see Dr Kaya in February we’ll ask him if there is any preventive medicine to help prevent UTI’s from reoccurring..and see what he has to say.I am also not going to mention the change of her food till I figure out what other type of “diet” we’ll try for her.