Dog Food Recommendations?

I have an 8 month old Jack Russell Chihuahua who has special needs when it comes to food. She was suffering from a bad intestinal illness when I got her and she has since recovered due to the persistent care of us and our vet.


To prevent any further illness, she must be on a high quality diet with no beef, wheat, soy, corn, and things like that. She has had chronic ear infections and itchy skin which may be due to food allergies.


I know I want to give her a holistic food like Wellness, EVO, Canidae, etc, not the crap from the supermarket. I know all about by-products and preservatives and do not want them in the food either. I was going to go with Wellness, but I heard that it can cause horrible diharrea and intestinal upset, but she cant handle that in her condition.


So, I would like recommendations on what brand I should feed her and what brand works best with your dog. Also, if youve had bad experiences with some of these holistic/high quality foods, let me know about that too

Dog Food Recommendations?
http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/dog_welln...


I have been feeding wellness simple and like it,low allergen and easy on the gi tract
Reply:My dog doesn't have any special problems, but he did do well on Evo when we were feeidng kibble. Have you considered a raw diet? I know it has worked really well for some dogs with bowel problems, and you'll definitely be sure of the ingredients going into your dog's food.
Reply:Considering all the restrictions, have you considered a home cooked diet? It sounds like the best solution to me and you can get some good tips on balancing a home cooked meal for dogs via gooling "Dr. Pitcairn".


When all the recalls were going on, I switched my three dogs to home cooked for some months (did not use Pitcairn diet, but a recipe list from a friend that was home cooking for her dogs which had varying special diets before and they thrived on the home cooked!) and when their food was not recalled (no wheat or corn, but there is a wee bit of soy now) I went back to it since they all tolerate it well and my dogs are big. So it was a lot of cooking with limited storage space.


I'd recommend home cooked for a dog with that many sensitivities. When I home cooked I gave them skinless, boneless meat, (occasional raw chicken breast) which was nearly half the meal, the rest was a mixture of something like sweet potato or white rice, minimal amouht of veggie content.


I added Vet approved fish oil caps, sprinkled with brewer's yeast.


You can also give some probiotic yogurt- plain, non-sweetened, a little bit each day. It's great for their digestion.


Just a teaspoon or two. (low fat)


If you like this idea, see what your Vet thinks.


Also, as far as meats went, when home feeding I usually fed my dogs chicken, sometimes other meats. Occasional bits of cubed raw beef heart which is high in taurine- only a small amount, not as the meat source, just in addition to diet.


Treats are important to consider as well, because most commercial dog treats are loaded with the things your Vet said to avoid.


You can't miss with home cooked because you pick out the product and know the quality of what you are buying (if you are a seasoned shopper)