Hello & Thank You from non-german shepherd owner

[stealle]

I do not own a German Shepherd, but I do love the breed. Rather, I own two Golden Retrievers (one pup and one senior). I stumbled across this forum while researching dog nutrition. I found a lot of great information. Thank you so much! Hopefully I am welcome here despite not owning a German Shepherd.

One of my discoveries on this forum are the products from Carmspack. My 10+ year old Golden has suffered from skin allergies all her life. Off and on antibiotics, anti-fungals, creams, multiple changes in diet, and so on. The cure for her has been the drug Atopica. It's a powerful immuno-suppressant. Her skin looks amazing and she no longer suffers. However, the drug is expensive and I am concerned about increased risk of cancer and all the other things that can occur with a compromised immune system.

I am in the process of weaning my golden off the atopica, while at the same time I have been giving probiotics (sunday sundae), sh-emp oil, and vitamin E oil (power of 3EA's) to her (both dogs actually). I am also weaning her onto Orijen 6-fish and have been giving her green tripe several days a week. I am hopeful this will work! If it doesn't, I certainly won't consider this a total failure and stop trying to provide better nutrition. However, she is old and if her skin problems return, I will no doubt put her back on Atopica so she can be comfortable for her remaining days/years.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by stealle

I do not own a German Shepherd, but I do love the breed. Rather, I own two Golden Retrievers (one pup and one senior). I stumbled across this forum while researching dog nutrition. I found a lot of great information. Thank you so much! Hopefully I am welcome here despite not owning a German Shepherd.

ALL dog lovers are welcome here. Many of us have breeds other than (or in addition to) German Shepherds.

My 10+ year old Golden has suffered from skin allergies all her life. Off and on antibiotics, anti-fungals, creams, multiple changes in diet, and so on. The cure for her has been the drug Atopica. It's a powerful immuno-suppressant.

Have you looked into raw feeding (or home cooked)? The majority of allergy issues improve when all carbohydrates are removed from a dogs diet (since they do not need them).

One of my previous GSDs was on heavy does of Prednisilone due to Immune Mediated Polyarthropothy. Basically her immune system was destroying the fluid in her joints - making it almost too painful for her to move. I tried all sorts of things before I put her on the Pred - just to give her relief. It was that or euthanize her at only 4 years of age.

While the Pred worked it also was slowly causing other serious problems. On it she would be pain-free put not live long. Without it she was in too much pain.

While doing research I came across the raw diet. I figured I had nothing to lose. Much to my surprise it was like a miracle!!

Within just a couple months I was able to wean her completely off the Pred and she was completely pain free!!

It is not the end-all, be-all cure and not every dog improves - but I definitely think it's worth a shot.

[stealle]

Originally Posted by Lauri & The Gang

ALL dog lovers are welcome here. Many of us have breeds other than (or in addition to) German Shepherds.



Have you looked into raw feeding (or home cooked)? The majority of allergy issues improve when all carbohydrates are removed from a dogs diet (since they do not need them).

Thanks for the warm welcome, Lauri!

Yes, I would love to feed raw. I am currently adding fresh/frozen green tripe on the weekends. I have a good source of raw meats and I am currently trying to learn more. I can get rabbit, muskrat, lamb, beef, chicken and more from mypetcarnivore.com . They have a delivery route that comes to my area once a month.

The problem is convincing my wife. She thinks its gross. I'm trying to educate/convince her, but she thinks I'm just going overboard. Meanwhile, I'm transistioning to Orijen which is among the lowest carb dry kibbles on the market. I know there are Orijen haters out there, but I think it is good as far as kibble goes. If I must feed dry, I'd prefer to feed a freeze dried formula or something like ziwipeak, but the cost is insane... high quality raw would be way cheaper.

So for now, I'm starting to feed raw mixed with kibble 2-3 days a week. If you have any suggestions for a raw/kibble diet I'm all ears. I'm not sure if it is ok to feed 100% raw on the weekends and kibble during the week? For now I have been feeding about half green tripe, half kibble mixed together on the week-ends.

I plan on ordering some other meats and organs. I'm not sure what to get. Get this! I read up about meat allergies. This is just one example: Dog Food Allergies | Frequently Asked Questions It says the most common food allergies include: Beef, Chicken, Lamb, and Fish! I have read from other sources that include Pork and Rabbit to this list of common allergies. WHAT! What else is there??? That covers almost every type of meat available! So confusing

That's why so far all I have given raw is green tripe. While is it technically a beef product, I haven't read anything but positive about green tripe. Often called the "perfect dog food". Some people even feed a 100% green tripe diet. The only negative I have been able to find to feeding 100% green tripe is that is does not have much tyrosine which may cause infertility problems... otherwise not a problem if you have a male or a spayed female.

[Lauri & The Gang]

I wouldn't feed 100% ANYTHING. It's the variety in the proteins that provide the balance in a raw diet.

My husband was not sure about the whole raw diet thing until we brought in a foster dog that I switched to raw. The changes he saw convinced him!

I would ask your wife to give it a try - just for a month or two. That should be long enough to see differences like:

• Less shedding
• Less 'doggy' odor
• Stools smell less and are smaller

If you can afford using the premades then go for it. That's much easier to do. Eventually you will want to add whole bones to their diet - like chicken legs - for teeth cleaning and the dogs enjoyment (they are designed by nature to rip, tear and chew stuff).

Wanted to add - there's a forum here all about raw feeding. Check it out!

[Loneforce]

Welcome Aboard!!

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

Welcome . Would love to see pictures of your Goldens.

[gmcwife1]

We are glad to have you and can't wait to see pictures of your goldens

[MichaelE]

Hello there. Welcome!

[pariahdogs]

Welcome!