Dog Health

L

longhornbell

100+ Posts
Hearing a lot about supplementing dogs diet with Omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids. Anyone have experience with this and can offer suggestions?
We use Purina Pro Plan which seems to be a good brand but not sure if they are getting all the fatty acids they need.
Thanks
 
First and foremost, consult your vet. If you don't trust your vet, find one you do. A great place to start in finding a top notch vet is the diploma on their wall that says Texas A & M Vet School. This is the obvious answer.

Purina and other "store" brands may have a top of the line product available now but even then I highly doubt it compares to premium foods you find at pet food stores, not grocery stores. It does not mean you don't care about your dog if you give them cheap or inferior food but you could do better in the long run. Again, speak to a vet about it and I could be wrong about Purina reacting to far superior foods and making something close to them in quality. This would be reactive, not proactive.

Much like a humans diet you should be able to get your nutrients without supplements in your food consumption. It does not always work out that way and sometimes supplements are needed, especially with certain health issues that can develop. Many supplements become fads. A vet can help sort them out.

I feed my dog Precise which is made in good ol Texas and is a premium brand. They have recently lowered their price and brought back their program to give you a free bag of food after you buy ten and save the upc codes.

If you live near Bark n Purr in Austin you may want to stop by there. They have the analysis for various foods. Also, hit up the intergoogles for breed specific chat rooms and forums for your breed. While it is mostly individual opinions it is by lovers of the breed who may have run across issues you will someday. Also it is awesome to see their pics of their doggy.

Hope some of this helped. Oh, and consult your vet.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. My vet suggested the Purina Pro Plan. It is sold only at the pet stores. I tried to change them to Nutro, (suggestion of friend who works with a Vet in Houston), but ended up at the doggie ER with serious gastrointestinal problem. I will speak with our Vet about this just curious to see what other dog owners might have to offer. Thanks
 
My understanding is that Nutro is currently in law proceedings for a couple of things of the not so good variety. I have noticed them slipping recently and going on reputation of the past.

I tried the brand, Solid Gold, which is very much a premium brand when I switched my dog off Nutro a couple of years ago. It is a fantastic food but too rich for her tummy which is shocking because it is pretty much cast iron. Not all foods, just because they are good will work for all dogs.

I hope you get the answers you want in regards to the supp's and please share your results on what you find with us doggy lovers here.
 
This is a good thread and I agree that not all premium dog food is necessarily good unfortunately.

I have a ten yr old Rhodesian Ridgeback that I fed Eukanuba the first 8 yrs. Finally, I learned this isn't the greatest food and switched her to Canidae which was great until last fall.

Apparently, they changed ingredients or outsourced manufacturing or something. So my dog got diarhea and was feeling sick. Finally after a couple of weeks of this and vet visits I google canidae and found out it was the problem. A 95+ lb dog with diarhea is no fun.

Next I tried Innova, Precise, Eagle Pack and they all seem to give her terrible gas and occasional diarhea eventually

I just recently switched back to Eukanuba and no problems.
I'd like to feed her something better but I wonder if she just developed her body on Eukanuba type food and that a better brand is too much.
 
Eukanuba is far from a premium brand. I would consult your vet or d a self comparison of the ingredients those foods have in common. They may be too rich for yer pup. Pup may have an allergy or reaction to a certain ingredient or nutrient. But if the euk works, use that as a base.

I forget if it is Eukanuba or Iams but one promotes high levels of cancer in dogs.
 
The Omega 3 stuff will help keep coats shiny, but will not reduce shedding. Purina Pro or any store bought brands are trash. I feed my lab Innova. You have to go to someplace like Tomlinson's, Bark & Purr, etc. to buy good dog food, and you will pay a premium.
 
pulque, as I mentioned in my post, many of the premium brands have had reductions in price lately. I know Precise has. Ask the B n P people if that is where you go. Hopefully Innova (great dog food, btw) is doing the same. Given you get your 11th bag free helps as well.

If you have a good quality food Omega should not be needed for a shiny coat. Mine does not need it.

For shedding, the Furminator is something I think we all agree on.
 
Ol' Roy!

Actually, our vet suggested Flint River - we pick it up at Bark n' Purr. A bit pricey 38$/20 lbs, but the dogs like it. We alternate flavors.
 
Loop, that was the point of my post - I think my dog can't handle the premium brands since she has developed most of her life with the lesser Eukanuba (I hope there isn't something else causing her not to be able to handle the premium but so far no sign)

The way I see it is that a 10 yr old 95+ lb dog only has a few years left, if the lesser Eukanuba works fine then thats better than messing with stuff she can't handle. I wish this wasn't the case and she could handle the better stuff but it doesn't appear that way.

I appreciate all ideas
 
taco, gotcha.

My sister's Beagle has so many food allergies it has to eat a special diet of food that is Venison based. There are only two foods made that he can handle and if he gets ahold of something on a walk he profuse vomits and shats. It is horrible but poor fella, he cannot help it.

They keep venison in the freezer just in case they need it. Imagine that, venison in your freezer but it is not for you to eat. He's lucky he is so cute and loving.
 
l00p...For $5 at Tomlinson's you get a discount card that makes it $10 a bag less than B&P. It is a better deal than B&P's every 13th free...How would life be without a Furminator?
 
little concerned with the nutro stuff i found after reading this thread. anyone else have any problems? i found a lot of ppl talking about yellow/bile type foam vomiting. i've seen this in my dogs a couple times. one of them is allergic to corn gluten meal.

guess it's time to try something else.
 
I think that is a good idea and avoid corn gluten meal. It is sad that Nutro has gone so downhill so quickly. I am glad I made the switch about 3 years ago.
 
Those of you w/ doggy tummy issues-- Go to Bark and Purr. They'll let you bring the bag back if you have issues.

The only dog food we've had trouble w/ was the Merrick puppy food. It made both of our dogs sick, (we were feeding it to our older dog as well as the pup b/c the older dog had lost weight from playing so much.) Don't know if it was the food or this, but we figured out the bag was out of date. I bought it at Tomlinson's, so that was about the end of me shopping there.

Bark and Purr has a much better selection too. We want to buy Texas brands, so we buy the Before Grain Buffalo. (BG is made by Merrick)
 
Oh, and my Vet says there's nothing wrong w/ Purina. He says they might not have as shiney of a coat and that they'll poop more, but they'll be perfectly healthy.

My vet told us, (when we ask-- he didn't advertise the info) that Iams contains preservatives that have been shown to cause cancer. I though Eukanuba was made by the same company-- but I'm not sure.
 
To answer the OP, I feed my lab a liquid supplement called Excel skin and coat supplement from Petco. This in combination with the Costco/Kirkland brand food has virtually stopped her shedding (she's a lab!). The Costco foods are great. They have no corn gluten meal and are as inexpensive as the grocery store bands. We joined Costco specifically for their dog food. With this food, I don't think you will need to use a supplement unless you are trying to control excessive shedding, itching, etc.
 
Worse, all these vets are going to Continuing Education classes that tell them how to maximize their revenue. They tell patients owners that you should buy the premium dog food from them, stuff only sold to vets. It is very good food, but very pricey, and the vets get a cut. Some vets are making lots of money selling dog food now.
 
We switched from Nutro to Blue Buffalo a few months ago, and my dog Sammy is doing great on it. He's almost 8 years old and has a thyroid problem, but he is bouncy and full of energy and acts like a young dog - people are shocked at his age when they hear it. Someone once posted a great link of dog food reviews on here - I think this might be it:The Link
I was pleased with the Blue Buffalo ratings, and happy I could get it at Petco now. And Sammy loves it. We tried Wellness a long time ago and he was a gassy mess!
 
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