You are right, I didn't know. . .I just found this site about 2 months ago when we were doggie school drop outs because of frustration. I was web-surfing because I knew she was smart and we just couldn't keep up with the expectations(I had also just gotten her and we needed to bond). I have worked through groundschool and about halfway through the Basic Obedience. I am currently waiting for my electic collar DVD. I beleive that this is the way that I want to raise my dog. We have made great progress and I want to do the best for her (however, I am not a good cook and have a heavy workload, so want to work into the feeding. She is 45 pounds and just started eating the Purina One for adult dogs. Thanks for helping me with this.

How are you doing with Basic Ob? Have you started marker training? This is THE way to build/enhance your bond, IMHO. You might want to start another thread about that. (We don't want to hijack your own topic.)

Back to food: Raw diets require no cooking -- never mind "good" cooking.

1. Which Purina One for Adults? Here are the top few ingredients in Lamb and Rice, as an example: Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, oat meal....

That's a pretty bad list, with 4 grains (including two of corn) out of 6 ingredients.

2. 45 pounds would be 4.5 grams (4500 mg.) of fish oil and a 200 IU or 400 IU vitamin E gelcap.

I'd go with liquid fish oil. Caps are very expensive when you give 4 or 5 a day.

Health food stores have both, and Leerburg has them too, with good prices and shipping (as you already know ).
http://leerburg.com/47.htm

http://leerburg.com/53.htm

We have started marker training and I have also started watching the DVD on building drive. . .when I first got her, she was soooooo distracted, but I got some of the Simon and Huey Peanut butter treats and she really concentrates to get them. They sent some of the Zukes Chicken treats as a sample and she went NUTS . . .over the top!!! It has been so much fun watching her learn and grow, but I like the videos because it shows Ed's dogs as real dogs and not little robots, which grounds me and reminds me that Amie will make mistakes and I will make mistakes and that's ok.

Anyway, back to her food. . .I don't have the bag, but believe that I got the Chicken and rice. After reading about the other kinds of food, I believe that she needs something with more meat and less filler. By the way, not only am I a bad cook, I am a worse shopper, and eater. . .maybe I should get with the program too. . .actually, I think that I am nervous about the whole raw thing and that maybe ibe if these foods, supplimented with raw may be the best for me. . .I like the idea of freezing the hamburger meat and letting her gnaw on it.

I'll check out the fish oil and vitamin E. I have a health food store that a friend owns right behind where I work, so I can see what they have for the time being.

So, whaddaythink about the food?

enova evo is as near raw as you can get without an actual raw diet

Can't say enough good things about Orijen, used it on my 3 Rots for a year now.
Raw is best, you can't win that argument.

My Roty bitch chews the pads on her feet, literally to the bone.

A blood test established she has a massive allergy to mites found in dry kibble. There are millions particualary in the dust, they are also in our cornflakes, you can't stop them.

You can do a brief test by feeding wet food for 6 weeks (wet food is not wet kibble but a complete canned food) or raw.

Our dog is on permanent anti-histamines (piriton)prescribed by the vet. She is 8 now and had it for 6 years. And yes we changed everything in our house you could imagine but its her own immune system thats the problem.

Best of luck

Mark

 Quote: Mark Horne

My Roty bitch chews the pads on her feet, literally to the bone.

A blood test established she has a massive allergy to mites found in dry kibble.

Oh no. That's a terrible allergy when it's severe. Terrible to control.

Just want to add that the RAST and ELISA (blood) tests are nowhere near as accurate as intradermal (skin) tests. Also, none of the tests can accurately pinpoint food allergies. Strict elimination diets are the ONLY accurate way to identify food allergens.

Mites aren't food, of course, but I wanted to make sure to clarify the RAST/ELISA/intradermal/elimination thing.

Unfortunately, many vets do blood tests for food allergies, apparently unaware of the lack of usefulness. Blood tests are done for inhalant/environmental despite the lower level of accuracy, often because a derm vet does the intradermal tests or because the owner doesn't want to shave the dog's side for the intradermal.

I hope that the dog is having relief. Allergies are so frustrating and so hard to watch happen to our dogs, with their histamine receptors in their skin.

 Quote: Suzanne Wantland

I got some of the Simon and Huey Peanut butter treats and she really concentrates to get them. They sent some of the Zukes Chicken treats as a sample and she went NUTS . . .over the top!!!

Our dogs must be related. Danke adores her Simon and Huey PB& Molasses treats.
I got several of those Zukes samples with my last Leerburg order too.
Now Danke is demanding that I place an order for them. Threatening to go on strike... something about forming a Working Dog's Union.
I guess I'll have to order some, and make a trail mix of the two.


I used to feed Timberwolf Organics, but haven't since I left kibble altogether for raw.
Danke did very well on Timberwolf, but I've heard the price is getting ready to increase in the near future.

A couple of free samples in little plastic bags of the little Zuke's chicken treats came in my last order, too, and the dogs were eagerly gathered around me before the baggies were opened.

I made a mix of the Zukes, Simon and Huey's and cubed white cheddar cheese and WOW did the drive increase! It was awesome!

Hey Connie, I got some fish oil and vitamin E today and will start giving it with Amie tonight.

sniff sniff I wish I could post my little bundle of joy as my signature, but I don't have a web-page and don't know how to do it. . .sniff, sniff)

You can upload your photos to a free Photobucket.com account and link us to the photo(s).

GOOD JOB to have bought the fish oil and E.