grain free question
Submitted by gracie the queen on January 5, 2012 - 11:25amI just switched Gracie to the adult version of her food. She did good and didn't have any diarrhea or any gastro issues. I did notice that her chin has broken out again - worse than before. Do you think her adult dog food is making her chin break out again? Im not sure this is the best dog food and would really like to switch to a better quality food. I tried switching her before when she was little and she had a horrible reaction. She threw up for days and was so sick and lethargic. I don't want that to happen again which is why Im so afraid to switch brands. I see that a lot of people here feed their dogs grain free food which sounds so good for them. But.....I also read that bulldogs weren't supposed to get too much protein in their diet because of their joints. Is this correct? I just feel like she is not getting the best nutrition possible with this dog food. Should I try grain free? She really does well with anything chicken - everything else she seems to have issues with. I was reading about the natures variety but I noticed that the protein content was 42% which I thought was very high. Her food now is only 21% protein. She is eating Nutro Max Chicken adult dog food. Any input would be a huge help!!! Thanks BDW!!!
The amount of protein is important..
for our guys. Usually the salmon based grain frees are 24 to 25% protein. Our guys are on the Costco nature's domain salmon/sweet potato. We previously fed Taste of the Wild pacific stream (salmon), the costco brand is cheaper. Chester is on TOTW lamb which is also in the 20's for protein. When you get into the chicken or beef is when the protein amount goes up. Do the transition very slowly over a 10 day period. Maybe add som canned pumpkin so she doesn't get loose stools. And give it 6 weeks to make a difference. Also, we use a Britta pitcher for water for them, it helps with tear stains, etc.
the TYPE of protein matters most
it doesn't matter what the overall percentage of protein is, it's how much of that protein is BIOAVAILABLE to a dog?
ALL protein is considered in that number on the bag-wether it comes from plants or animals. Plant protein or any type of by-product protein is not readily available to dogs, so while the percentage may be high your dog is NOT getting all the protein out of it.
Look for food that has meat or meat meal as the #1 ingredient and as few grains as possible-
here are some articles on dogs and protein
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein_myth
http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/dogs-and-protein/
http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/is-it-necessary-to-reduce-protein-in-the-diet/
Cathy and Audrey
Is she a puppy?
It is very common for young dogs to have juvenile acne. It will go away in time. If she is doing well on the food then I would stick with it.
Besure you are feeding in clean stainless dishes, wipe her chin dry after drinking and clean after eating. You can use an astrigent, although many of them have alcohol in them and they sting...so Gracie will not like you very well.
Yes....
I agree with Deb. Keeping the chin dry as possible will help most. You can swipe it with Listerine (brown) and blot dry...it doesn't sting. I've used Stridex pads at groomng--wipe so fast they don't know what happened and it dries quickly. Witch Hazel is commonly used, too.
She's had trouble in the past with changing food and is doing well now--I wouldn't switch for this, especially since these chin zits are often an issue regardless of food.
thanks so much for all your input!
Gracie will be 1 year old on February 4th. She did have the acne and we were very diligent and cleaned it, washed and dried it and it went away. Now this is not just on her chin but on her jowels too. What the heck could it be? It looked a little swollen this morning. It looks like she has big red pimples on her jowels which she didn't have before. We always feed her from a stainless steel dish and also giver her filtered water. I think I might just take her to the vet to be on the safe side. I hate when I don't know what to do - which is why I love this site so much! there are so many informative people that know so much about bulldogs. Thanks again for all the advice!