…so, I want what is best for them! I’ve found numerous GRAIN FREE dry dog food brands; I even participated in the belief that they were better for my babies. WRONG. A lot of grain free dog food is also substituted with STARCHES (such as potatoes/sweet potatoes. I noticed that, but assumed that potatoes are a cost effective and abundant ingredient, so I thought little of it). Also, Mr. Whiskey liked to steal raw potatoes whenever he sniffed them lying around…
Mr. Whiskey was consistently, sometimes violently, scratching his skin. Each time I asked a vet about it, they would prescribe him “a pill.” While HUD and I lived in England for 3 months in 2014; the babies were being cared for by their Grammy (my Mommy). One morning, I logged into “Facebook” and saw an ad asking if your dog could possibly be allergic to peanuts. After reading the symptoms of a dog’s allergy to peanuts; I called Mom as soon as it was a decent time in the states, and I told her to please stop giving Whiskey anything with peanuts in it, and explained the article I had just read and also sent the link to her.
Whiskey and Coco’s food, and treats both had peanuts as a top ingredient listed; as much as Whiskey loves it, I asked Mom to check the kibble label and to stop feeding him peanut butter as a treat (like most dogs, Whiskey LOVES peanut butter. It is also fun to watch him eat it…he and Coco get it on the roof of their little mouths, and they look silly trying to lick it off. It is too cute).
Limiting his peanut intake worked for Whiskey’s consistent scratching his skin.
He was eating too much peanut butter, according to my research. I decided to give him peanut butter once a month when I give him his flea/heartworm medication. Now, HUD and I are back in the states, and our son (Whiskey) has been “eating his feet” for several months now. I assumed it was because Whiskey was in need of a nail trim each time…WRONG, again.
I have taken him to the vet for check-ups/booster shots, and mentioned this each time. Not one vet has ever mentioned that he could have allergies (a Vet tech suggested I give him a half of a Children’s Chewable Benadryl when he began “eating his foot,” and that actually works for an incredibly short time. I could not get any help on how to stop it, but only remedies that would work for a short time period).
I hated “doping him up” on OTC medications, and since I was not getting any help from folks educated in that area, I took to doing my own research. I don’t even take prescription medicines, much less, OTC medicines unless I absolutely have to do so, so the fact that I was voluntarily giving medication to my pup, really made me feel like a despicable person.
I did some research, and found that the reason Whiskey is CONSTANTLY “eating his feet” is due to yet another allergy he has developed! Again, I decided to do research on the Internet about why Mr. Whiskey was chewing on his paws so often, because asking a Vet hasnt done any good.
They simply “give him a pill.” And even if the Ver tech’s tip proved useful, I did not like giving Whiskey “a pill” when I knew there must be something else that I could do! It did not take very many searches for me to find that our son is not the only pup to experience this. Many people were confused because they were feeding their dogs a “grain free” diet also.
Our baby boy has developed an allergy to starchy vegetables that are added to the food he ingests. Now, this is all decided by me, and not a “trained veterinary technician.” I respect the work of all medical practitioners; but nowadays, they are prescribing things before they even try to decipher what the problem truly is.
This is not their fault; it is the way in which they were trained. The pharmaceutical companies are to blame! Overprescribing medications, the mighty dollar and companies buying their way into the public’s mind as a cure; albeit temporary, are to blame!
I have determined that the reason for our son “eating his feet” is due to an allergy to potatoes. Whiskey also loves potatoes; he will eat them raw if he gets the chance. Naturally, I thought that giving him foods with sweet potatoes as a main ingredient was good, because he and his sister could get some sort of yummy, sweet, thing in their diet (on another note: it saddens me that they cannot have chocolate…FYI chocolate given in excessive amounts [and it is a lot less than a human considers to be “excessive”] is poisonous and potentially fatal).
I was actually considering quite seriously preparing the food for them to eat! If you add some store bought vitamins/nutrients; you are able to prepare healthy raw/cooked food for your furry companion.
Upon mentioning this to their Grammy/my Mommy, she told me to do more research before committing to doing that. I informed her that I had planned on it; upon further research, I was finding horror stories of people’s animals becoming sick.
I also found that cat food is different than dog food. I knew I should let others know…I mean, it is only sensible. I assumed that manufacturers did not really care…but, animals need different vitamins/minerals and cat/dog foods are supposed to be tailored to the species needs.
I was picking up a few things from Publix the other day, and decided to see if they had something to feed the babies sans potatoes. After much deliberation, I decided on a small bag of ‘Nutrisca’ because it it is grain free and potato free. When I arrived home that same day; prior to putting it into their bowls, I looked up grain free and potato free dry dog food. I was extremely pleased when one of the first foods that the search engine brought up a photo of, was ‘Nutrisca!’99.9% of the comments about his food, are all praising’ Nutrisca.
I understand that when any new food added to a dog’s diet, or switching the food; it should be introduced gradually. The babies have not had time to give me their yum test of approval…stay tuned.
Below is the food I purchased for Princess Coco and Mr. Whiskey.
Nutrisca is a high protein, natural dog food with added vitamins and minerals. It’s formulated without grains, potatoes or tapioca starch to align with a dog’s natural diet. Made with antioxidant-rich ingredients such as blueberries, carrots, cranberries and apricots, this recipe has all of the good stuff and none of the bad stuff. Give your dog something to look forward to at meal time!
Key Benefits
•Free of grains, potatoes and gluten
•Great for digestion and skin and coat health
•High in protein from cage-free chicken
•Chickpeas and peas as sources of protein, fiber and folic acid
On my mind (again?) 