No More Merricks Classic Dog Food
 

We have fed Ben and Jerry Merricks since they were born 5 years ago. The product has gotten very greasy since they changed their formula.

What food do you feed your small dogs and why!

Iam's chicken and rice or beef and rice because he loves it, even after eating the same food for 14 years, and it agrees with him.

We think Orijen dog food has the healthiest formula of all dog foods. However Lollipop developed ear infections, and the Vet says it's food allergies. So we're now feeding a duck and sweet potato formula. And surprisingly to us, it actually does eliminate ear infections!

Avoderm
 

I have fostered over 250 dachshunds in the past 8 years. Many have had food allergies and/or skin allergies. I have found that any high quality whitefish and sweet potato or duck and potato foods are best. I usually use Avoderm or Blue Buffalo. One dog came to me looking like a plucked chicken and the owner was giving him allergy shots for 5 years. I switched his dog food and his coat grew back immediately and he stopped scratching. Another dog came to me with mange so bad her skin looked like an elephant's (the breeder had been spraying insecticide on her). After three months of Avoderm food and Avoderm Booster she turned out to be a beautiful brindle. So I have had much luck with the non-beef and chicken dry dog foods.

Our dogs lovethe Nature's Variety Raw medalions and Honest Kitchen Preference which is a dehydrated veggie that I mix with half a medallion for each 11 b. dog twice a day. Nature's Variety has just come out with a kibble that is combined with freeze dried raw and coated with the raw formula so I have the pup on that one. I will be giving the others the dry raw kibble on the way down as it travels best. For the past 15 years or more I have used aa raw diet exclusively and it has proven to be the best one for our crew. The medallions make it easy with no prep necessary on my part and the veggies just need water and a stir.

LW888

Stop in the All About Kids and Pets and ask for a sample of their Nature's Variety Instinct products. They are grain free. They offer Limited Ingredient Turkey (for sensitive tummies), Beef and Lamb. Wonderful product. Not the most inexpensive, but top rated on Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor

Have always fed cats and dogs Meow-Mix.
.................first recommended by our Vet in 1975.

Bare, what brand sweet potato and duck? I've been using Dick Van Patten Natural Balance sweet potato and fish--no wheat, corn, soy, and limited ingredients. Crosby still gets about one ear infection a year if I don't chase him down weekly and clean his ears with solution. (He hates this, and consequently so do I).

I'd try him on the sweet potato and duck if I thought it would make a differrence.

We feed our Henry who is a 15 year old rescue Westie mix Blue Wilderness Senior after our vet told us he needed a low fat senior formula.

Ditto on Orijen............can't get any better. Have used Blue Buffalo, Fromme, Iams, and all. After various recalls over the years most dog food companies have been involved in them one time or the other. Not too many brands can say all their ingredients are solely from the US or Canada and have strict controls over what goes into their dog foods. I'll stick to Orijen............

I have been wanting to switch our dog over to something like you use, lightworker. My problem is I don't know the proper amount to feed.I know it's listed on the package of each of the two foods you use (Nature's Variety and Sojo are what I have looked at) but, for instance, our dog eats much less dry food than is listed on the pkg. It says several cups for an 85-lb dog, but we feed only two cups per day.

I'm afraid of not giving him enough nutrients, or conversely, overfeeding him. He is just at the neutral point of weight for his frame size. we don't want him to gain any weight. I guess I should just buy a bag and take it to our vet and have her figure it out.

We started off using a brand of sweet potato and duck that was only available in Vets' offices in Florida. When we migrated to Canada, that food wasn't available here. We needed to find something that is readily available in both US and Canada. So now we are using Fromms' brand. We were told by the Vet that we could have expensive allergy tests, or just experiment, and try feeding "uncommon" meat sources (like kangaroo, duck or bison), no fish or chicken.

I still think that Orijen is by far the best dogfood, it even has glucosamine added!

CFrance
 

I feed the 11 lb shih tzus half a medaliion and 1/8th c Preference twice a day. It keeps them at a god weight with the defined waist. The package says that for their weight they can get 2-4 medallions a day but that would be way too much for them. They are not overly active and one is 15yrs. old so she sleeps most of the day. I am giving the puppy 1/4 c of NV Raw Boost and a tsp of Preference. She is 6 lbs and it says that she could eat 1 c a day, so yo realy have to go by your dog's appetite. When I have given them just a bit more than usual their stools get loose so I know from the output what to input. I also like the fact that NV is grain free and that has helped with the one with iitchy skin. With all the info re grains that is out now, it really supports a grain free diet for them.

I really believe that dogs will let you know what is working for them, at least that has been my experience over the years having had 14 of various breeds, 2 or 3 at a time. I started on raw at least 15 yrs ago and experimented with the grain free over the past 10 yrs. The 15 yrs old gets some Fromme kibble as a treat at the end of her dinner which has grains but the other one doesn''t dp well with it so she gets NV kibble in her treat toy. When I am through the bag of Fromme I am sticking with the NV
raw boost for them all as the treat of choice.

I would mix the two up so that there is no more than 2 Cups of food if that is what you have been serving. Figure out the ooz. per each patty. I would guess that one patty may equal one C and then maybe 4 scoops of dry with a cup of water may equal the 22 cups of food. I tried Sojo but they didn''t do well on the potato so I went back to Preference. I buy in bulk so I save there and if you go online and register with NV and Honest Kitchen, you will get coupons through the year. I also have a card that is stamped by the store for discounts after so many purchases. Whole Earth may have that. Ours is in Canada. I use whole earth in TV.

Hope this helps

LW888

Barney votes for Blue Buffalo! Favorite canned is Turkey Meatloaf and/or chicken. Also supplement occasionally with Blue Buffalo dry food.

Barney is as cute as a button! Since this is a dog-friendly thread, can I deviate from the subject of food and ask you to post more pictures of Barney?