@kaleandcoffee I used to feed another fresh food brand called Just Food For Dogs, my dog did great on it for a few months, but out of nowhere he started having diarrhea, and when I took him to the vet I found out he gained 2lbs. He’s a 7lbs pom, and he was close to 10lbs at that time, my vet said he shouldn’t keep gaining weight. I stopped feeding him JFFD and put him on Hill’s and now he’s back to his normal weight and no stomach problems.
@hopefulinchristname I had our Lab on JFFD and he did gain weight from the Turkey formula but then he was switched to the cod and sweet potato and did great. They have so many recipes to choose from and he never had any gas, never inconsistent poo’s and no vomiting for years. I’m sure a lot of different factors goes into what can make a dog sick. My new pup was started on Purina Pro Plan Puppy chicken and itched terrible, switched to their fish recipe which helped the itching but has more runny poo than not. I am introducing JFFD Cod recipe to him now and he is doing much better he is a Aussiedoodle so different breed . I might go with half and half this time, the price is killing me.
@kaleandcoffee I did a quick look at the WSAVA page and it doesn’t have recommended brands… I understand why… is there a list on here somewhere of brands that meet the WSAVA diet recommendations?
@dhen Yes! They don’t recommend, evaluate or list any brands, but the brands that meet the highest standards in the areas laid out by WSAVA guidelines globally are Purina, Hills, and Royal Canin. Outside of Europe, Iams and Eukanuba do as well.
@katherinej Thanks for posting. I got a deal on a single box last year and I'm now especially glad I parceled it out over about 6 months as occasional "special" food.
@katherinej I want to occasionally make my dogs (mostly my picky old man) some topper type foods and the idea came from Farmer’s Dog type foods. But I cannot afford to buy the store food. I’m going to do some digging, but did the vet say what in the food was a factor in causing pancreatitis?
@caelesto It was the high fat content. Too much high fat food can and does cause pancreatitis in dogs and Farmers dog has 39% protein and 27% fat which is higher than most dog foods, wet or dried. Most vets recommend a ratio of 20% protein and 12% fat.
@katherinej Ok. Thank you. I’ll look into ways to make food with less fat content. My little old man has had pancreatitis before. I can slow cook and sous vide healthier stuff to top his foods and hopefully keep some fats out.
@imagebeastmarkbeast The high fat content in some diets and snacks (like human foods like table scraps, bacon, sausage, etc) can exacerbate pancreatitis and cause flare-ups in dogs which are already prone to it. It can cause pancreatitis at extremely high levels, through causing gall stones and other conditions that trigger pancreatitis.
OPs dog was likely prone to it, and the diet exacerbated it. However, on a normal diet, the dog would likely have gone much longer without the issue or have never had a flare-up.
For severe cases, the dogs go on low-fat diets to prevent it coming back.
@katherinej What breed and what weight is your dog? I have a chihuahua mix and my bf recently started buying her farmers dog which she LOVES but now I’m worried I do make him mix her science diet kibble with it so maybe that helps lower her daily fat intake but she gets a ton of treats from the whole family as well
@johns381 We have a sheltie, but one of our other dogs is a chihuahua mix and we’ve taken all our dogs off of this. The vet said it’s the high fat in Farmers Dog, Farmers dog has 39% protein and 27% fat which is higher than most dog foods, wet or dried. Most vets recommend a ratio of 20% protein and 12% fat.
I do make him mix her science diet kibble with it so maybe that helps lower her daily fat intake but she gets a ton of treats from the whole family as well