Chicken free , grain free puppy food ?
Can anyone with some better knowledge of good food ingredients tell me if burns puppy food lamb or James wellbeloved lamb are any good ? Vet has suspected a food intolerance and the two foods he's been trying ( very gradual transition) both contain chicken as the main meat source .
Comments
As often intolerances and allergies do not necessarily result from one of the main ingredients, but rather one or several of the "million" additives in dry dog food (even inadvertently introduced "ingredients" such as molds or traces of other substances/ bugs etc. can cause intolerances or upset stomachs), it is just easier to avoid those or perform an exclusion diet when using just a handful of freshly prepared ingredients to feed the dog.
Variety is key here and there are some important things to yield (e.g. calcium - phosphorous ratio, minerals etc.) and others to avoid. But overall, its not rocket science to feed fresh AND healthy.
I am about to share some more great information on dog nutrition in my blog. But I am loaded with work right now, so sadly these posts will still have to wait another while.
If the dog's digestion tolerates it and the dog also does not react allergic to it, chicken is not a bad ingredient at all. However, there are a lot of EBT's known to not tolerate poultry products very well and also some just don't like poultry too much.
In dry food, that's basically the only concern with chicken, at least as far as I know.
Lamb is also an ingredient that some dogs tend to refuse.
Looking at the products you've mentioned:
James Wellbeloved Puppy Lamb & Rice
Burns Puppy Lamb & Rice Dry
Both look acceptable overall.
Bottom line:
I would not consider both of them very high quality foods, but ok.
I would probably prefer James Wellbeloved Puppy Lamb & Rice, if I only had those two to choose from, because of the higher protein content (but that also depends, for some health conditions lots of protein are contraindicated) and because this one seems to contain more meat sourced protein.
Sadly, looking at the list of ingredients this part is always a game of guessing with dry food, because no actual amounts are given, also ingredients are "split" up and spread through the list, depicting several different sources of animal and plant protein and carbs.
Only the order in which ingredients are listed can be taken as a small reference.
If had more choices, I would keep looking around for something better and take none of the two.
But that's just me. And that does also not say anything about how your dog will tolerate these foods or so. It's just an evaluation if the list of ingredients I see and their order.
Your vet should be able to tell you more about the proper composition in order to avoid what is suspected to cause the upset stomach and at the same time include all of the necessary nutrients your dog needs.
This is something that can hardly be done remotely over the internet, because we do not know the exact story of your dog as your vet knows it.
Switching between dry foods in such a case will always include a variety of ingredients that can still hurt the sensitive gut flora and will possibly produce unclear results with regard to identifying the exact triggers.
No matter which route you decide to go eventually - unless immediate negative results are kicking in, requiring an immediate change of nutrition - you will have to perform every trial for at least 2 weeks, ideally longer, because otherwise these switches may not produce clear results.
I would strongly suggest to talk to your vet about a fresh exclusion diet for now - IF you want to try and identify the culprit by diet changes - and also ask him about necessary ingredients and add-ons.
Like I said, this way you will have MUCH better control over the ingredients your dog is eating.
Once you have identified the trigger/s, you can go ahead and look for the right kibble that does not contain any of them, if you don't want to stick to the fresh diet.
He is one of the very responsible breeders doing health testing on their dogs. So, naturally he has quite extensive knowledge of health testing and as I think also allergy testing and a lot of other things.
As I know there are different tests and methods to test for allergies. But I don't know, for example, if a skin Prick test would be reliable to test for food allergies in a dog. Or if blood work would be the better way to go. A Prick test would require anesthesia, I think. These are all factors to consider.
Some tests are known to be more reliable than others. But these all are questions for someone with a deeper knowledge. Also your vet SHOULD be able to tell you more about these things.
I've never had such tests performed on any of my dogs. So my knowledge about that entire testing area is only the result of reading and very incomplete.
Sorry, in that case I can't be of more help, because I don't want to tell you things that may lead you into wrong directions or experimenting.
A) "We really need to devote ourselves to finding out how we can get these dogs the most nutritious, damage free nourishment that we can possibly afford. Without pushing us into the danger of bankruptcy, but just keeping us comfortable and letting the public understand that we truly have the welfare of their beloved pets at heart."
OR
Well, if you believe A) then continue on your path of voting for Hillary!