[CorgiPaws]

I got my first dog, a Beagle (Max) when i was younger and uneducated on pet nutrition, and unfortunately he got the short end of the stick over it. For the first ten years of his life he was on Pedigree. His vet recommended it. (knowing what I know now, that should have been my first clue) I was in high school, and he between my ignorance and the price agreeing with my then $9/ hour job, I didn't give it much thought. At age four he was diagnosed with epilepsy. :frown:It got worse and worse every year. By age seven, he was on Primidone three times a day to keep his seizures "Under control", but still had about two or three a week.
of course, I never considered my "vet-recommended" food could be the cause, or even a factor.
When Max was ten, I started working with dogs in a doggy daycare/boarding facility and boutique. They only carried premium foods, and that's when I started educating myself and could not BELIEVE that I was feeding my dog what I was.
I tried a few grain-free foods (Evo, Orijin, and Core) and they were too much of a protien overload for him. (though I am a huge fan of grain-free) Long story short, he ended up on California Natural and has been on it for about two years. It agrees with him incredibley well. Solid stools. No more goopey eyes. And even more impressive, he is curently off of his medication entirely. He has not had a single seizire in eighteen months, and in the months prior to that one, they were few and far between. I don't know that I can say his previous food was the sole cause of his epilepsy, but I know it was a catalyst in the onset of seizures.
I'm definately spending more on dog food, but none on medication, and he's much happier and healthier.
Max is thirteen now, and he acts and looks much younger than he did at nine and ten.:biggrin:

 

[Abby's mom]

I have never tried any of the premium foods, but have been looking into dog nutrition, and what you said is very interesting. Glad to hear that it helped Max.

 

[rannmiller]

I have a similar story with my lab/pit Pennywise. I got her as a freshman in high school and my friend told me that Purina was the best food for dogs (she fed it to her malamute and the vet recommended it), so I just went for it, and again, the price boded well for my $7/hr job (plus I lived in rural NV where selection was limited). At first she thrived on it and was great, but at age 4 (why is that when all the problems crop up?) she started getting dandruff really bad and was getting chubby and not losing the weight. I wandered into a dog boutique on a walk with her once and asked them about a shampoo for her dandruff, and they asked what I was feeding her.

Long story short, they gave me a bag full of premium food samples and an article on why I should feed them (I still have it 3 1/2 years later). I switched her to Canidae and the change was minimal. I switched her to Nutro Ultra and she got sick, switched her to Wellness Core and she did the best on that. Now she's on raw and she's absolutely incredible. I love walking/jogging with her because her coat is so shiny in the sunlight it's mesmerizing to watch her move, and she now maintains a lean, healthy weight and has a lot more energy than she did before at 4.

 

[Guest]

On another thread in this Forum I mentioned how one of my previous foster dogs (that is being boarded with me now) was being fed Purina Dog Chow which was what the vet recommended to the adopters, and the adopters listened to the vet and put the dog on that garbage. When that dog was fostered here with me, I had her on Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken and she did very well on it, she was a good weight, bright, active, great coat condition. When she came back here to be boarded after several months of being with her adoptive family and on the lower-quality food, I was shocked at how chubby she had become and how dull her coat looked, obviously it was due to the lower-quality food she was getting.

 

[wags]

My dogs were on SD:frown: YUCK YUCK YUCK and now I have tried alot of the premium foods I have tried california natural, Artemis, BB holistic, and others. Right now they are on EVO and Merrick and Wellness core and wellness superfivemix. Funny how over time and years of bad feeding I finally figuered it out! :biggrin:So simple yet back when I fed my dogs SD I never thought it was bad and they actually did do fine on it! My hubby still questions my reasoning for the foods I choose! I guess he is paying for it :wink:though but I do explain the raito I give now compared to SD's 3 to 4 cups of goop each serving to the 1 to 2 cups a day of high quality cuisine! Actually saves money in the long run!But I agree some are to high in protein I mix at times also!

 

[ImWithThePyr]

When I first got Maxwell, I was ignorant... like many people, I thought Iams was the best food EVER.

Maxwell had loose stools often, though not always. He also smelled TERRIBLE. (allergy testing revealed a wheat and corn allergy)I educated myself on dog nutrition, put him on Innova and all of those problems were solved :smile:

He is now raw fed and he's doing wonderfully!!