Ok, dogs are allergic to corn. You know what else are common food allergens? Chicken and beef. Which is why many prescription limited-ingredient diets do not contain corn, chicken, or beef.
Right now I’m on my computer, but later today I may get into the office network and find some articles related to food allergens and dog food.
Gas and diarrhea are signs of intolerance, not allergy. Any protein source - grain or meat - can be an allergen. Only about 10% of allergies are caused by food in dogs…no time to look for cite as I’m off to work…the following isn’t the most authoritative because I’m in a hurry, but it looks pretty much right on.
http://pethealth.petwellbeing.com/wiki/Dog_Food_Allergies
Allergy symptoms are intense pruritis, skin rashes,hot spots, ear infections, red and itchy feet.
To answer the OP - I feed raw (meat and bones) almost exclusively to muultiple dogs for over 11 years. Once in a while the dogs get some kibble, as I keep it on hand for foster dogs.
Our dog, Hoover, had the same problem with wet food. The vet told Mum it was because of the preservatives in supermarket-quality dog foods and advised her to feed a home-cooked casserole of chicken, pasta, garlic and veggies (not onions). My mother dutifully cooked this up in batches once or twice a week for the dog for the rest of his life, supplimenting with name-brand kibble.
We buy toilet paper in packs of 12.
The toilet door opens up off the laundry.
The laundry opens straight to the back yard.
The laundry door is left open so Hudson can get in out of the weather if it’s really nasty wet, or really hot.
There has been the occasional instance where one or the other of us has forgotten to close the toilet door properly.
Hudson can eat/shred/distribute a dozen rolls of toilet paper over the back yard in half the time it takes to say “GOD DAMN IT DOG”
No, but I have dogs who are equally partnered. Our simple dog is not quite as dumb, but she does need a smarter helper dog to make sure she doesn’t get lost. This includes potty trips in the backyard. She makes up for the dumb by being sweet and eager to please.
Corn is the most common allergen for dogs? Yes. Another widely used deceptive statement. Corn is no worse than a lot of other stuff and not as bad as some others. The only reason so many dogs are allergic to it or chicken for the matter is how common it is. Feed a food without it and the dog may be even more likely to develop allergies, just to something else.
Feathers? From the AAFCO definitions of dog food ingredients,
Chicken By-Product Meal - consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.
Thus accusing cheaper foods of having feathers in them has just enough truth truth to avoid being a total lie, but should destroy the credibility of anybody bringing it up.
Additionally, SciFiSam: our park-obsessed protagonist is a little bit closer to the kind of mindset we’re dealing with our own Simple Dog.
Nah, dogs have lots of things to look forward to during the day. It’s one of the wonderful things about them, how excited they get about the little things. It’s like permanently living with a sweet-tempered 3 year old.
My dogs’ typical day:
You’re up! Yay!
You got out of the shower! Yay!
It’s time to go outside and release the chickens! Yay!
You dropped a bread crust! Yay!
You’re gone and I can nap on the Forbidden Human Bed! Yay!
We get to wrestle! Yay!
The kitty’s running and pouncing and I can chase her! Yay!
You’re home! OMG, OMG, OMG, I may die from excitement!
It’s dinner time! Yay! I love kibble!
The chickens are on the patio and will scatter when I run at them! Yay!
It’s time to put the chickens up! Yay!
You’re watching tv and I can sit on your feet and be petted! Yay!
It’s time to go sleep on my bed! Yay!
My dog doesn’t love the dry food, so I make it more palatable by putting a teaspoon of wet in and smearing it all over. But I’ve been told that the wet food is higher in calories and she is overweight, so that is all she gets of it.
Wow. Thanks for the responses guys. I don’t feel so guilty any more. I’ll try switching to kibble and see how that works.
My dog only gets kibble. Trust me, he’s very excited when it’s time for dinner. I feed Wellness.
We have raised half-a-dozen healthy and contented dogs solely on “dry” dog food.
As long as the food is nutritionally sound and there is adequate access to water, there is no need for “wet” food, except maybe as an unnecessary guilt reducer for dog owners.
“Oh boy! Dog food again!!!”
I never feed my dog wet food. It’s Authority kibble only for him, and he’s a pretty happy guy.
A lot of that around. I refuse to buy in. Was out of town last evening and picked up two 35 pound bags of Pro Plan where it is cheap. I hate trying to pick out the plain old adult chicken and rice from the growth, formula, large breed, all life stages (note the adult says suitable for all life stages on it?), senior, weight reduction, and whatever else their marketing department thinks they can get an extra nickel for.
I rescued a little Chihuahua mix that was very skinny and would not eat the
food that came with him. I got about 20 different kinds of dry kibble samples and through trial and error he will only eat Orijen which is a 6 on that scale uptread. It costs about $3 per pound. :smack:
Anything for Lucky Louie. No wet dog food but we do cook chicken for him on occasion.
The only time they get wet food is when we need to give them medication, although now we stick it in hot dogs instead of messy canned mush.
I find peanut butter great for pills.
Add me (and Stella) to the list of those feeding only dry food. She is currently getting Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice, but I may switch her soon.
I’ve never regularly fed wet food to any of my pets, including the cats.
I’ve liked Dogswell’s, Happy Hips food for my 11-year old Weim. She isn’t fussy about eating kibble, but a lot of kibbles cause itching, gas, and runny stools. Happy Hips doesn’t. It’s too bad it’s no longer in either PetCo or PetSmart, damnit.
My dog has never eaten anything but Pedigree and she’s the picture of health and tail-wagging happiness.
