Issues with Fromm's? - Page 2

Some of the no grain formulas are in the 30%++ range of proteins and that to me is too high for some seniors; of course depending on the dog and activity level.. Also the tea tree oil has fantastic disinfecting properties as well as "comfort properties" and does mix well with the gel Vetericyn alternating and tea tree oil helps to dry out hotspots, gel Vetericyn heals but can keep the area a bit moist. Alternating would be great. Hope she heals soon. Nan

I have got her back on her supplements now finally, I was out of them for awhile and so was the distributor I use (refuse to use EliteK9 for anything ever again), and have also finally convinced her that coconut oil is tasty again, so hoping that helps. And adding an egg. Going to try giving her an oatmeal bath at the end of the week, hopefully she'll be almost done shedding by then.

Jewel and Yapper both got hotspots their last few years, they are not a hard thing to treat, just annoying. Sucks to see your buddy miserable. :(

She doesn't act or look like a 9 year old.

I was just wondering if Fromm's had given anyone issues like this in the past since I've never had any issues with her like this ever. On the variety of foods shes been on.

Trust me, I wish I had the money to put her on raw, but it's just not feasible right now. :(

Thanks for your input everyone.

She was totally fine before that one bag of food. She hasn't suddenly changed her entire systemic health status. I like Fromm. I use it sometimes, but I have had several people tell me their dogs got super itchy and had goopy eyes on it to dismiss the claims. She has been on the best of the best in terms of kibble, and really, had the best diet her entire life.

I read that Orijen Tundra is still being made in Canada and available in the US- it will be the only formula available to the USA that is manufactured in Canada, unfortunately.

Hotspots can be caused by all sorts of things- vaccine reactions, environmental changes, shampoos (especially if you use human shampoo on a dog- pH differences), foods, etc. Very hard to pinpoint exactly, but since this dog has been totally rock-solid healthy her entire life and after one bag of a certain food has her first hotspot...well...I'd go back to something closer to what she was eating, and I'd add probiotics and enzymes- kibble is devoid of these essential things which occur in a natural raw diet. I would also consider THK and some raw- anyone can afford a bag of leg quarters from WalMart every week or so...put them in individual baggies and freeze them. Some raw is better than none, but I think enzymes and probiotics are a good idea for ANY dog, especially kibble-fed dogs.

The freeze-dried formulas from Orijen are also still made in Canada, from what I read. So, you could maybe use them as a topper for a different food. I would try the Farmina because of the European ingredients- very different farming/cultivation.

Yeah, I started adding in Probiotics once I found the hotspot yesterday. So breakfast now consists of kibble, tripe (makes the rest of it appetizing), coconut oil, salmon oil, a raw egg, Vertex, probiotics, and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Orijen Tundra looks great.... but $125 a bag is insane. I need to go look at my distributor again and see how their THK looks, price-wise. Maybe that and chicken quarters would be the best way to go now.

As hotspots go, it is nowhere near as bad as the ones Yapper and Jewel ever got. So that is good. Her skin is so dry all the way around it that I almost wonder if it started as just her skin cracking - my fingers do that when the air gets dry in winter - and then just was irritating her. She has a lovely bald spot hiding under that long top coat now. Ugh. Hope we can resolve it quickly.

I recently started on Nordic Naturals oil for my guys as I thought their coats looked a bit dry also. They were a bit itchy however not too bad. A friend mentioned she used the Anchovy/sardine formula capsules but in order to get it into their systems fairly quickly I am trying the bottled oil with anchovy/sardine. So far so good, coats do look better in just a few weeks. Might be an option for you also but I would get the capsules, oil is kind of a mess to add. My guys started problems with the salmon oil so I just dropped it, coconut oil also, so be aware of that also.

Don't know if you read the diet options mentioned by Dr. Karen Becker but she of course talks about probiotics and enzymes but talks about changing their kibble diets about every 3 to 4 months feels with a protein change 3 or 4 months time does not give your dog time to develop allergies to different proteins. Have tried to do that also. So far so good, however, this past change to venison has made my guys a bit itchy.. Probably will use up what I have and go back to turkey "GO" food (Petcurean formulas). I also use some ground turkey that I do cook rare as "Hot Rod" can't take raw. So about every 5 days I cook 5 lbs of ground turkey and that goes on their kibble at PM feeding. So far so good. Just food for thought. I'll look at the formula Orijen Tundra; looked at Fromm (game bird formula) mostly duck which might be a bit rich. Only used duck one time on a dog that would not eat anything else. He did great on it for quite a while. Good luck Nan

Wasn't she in heat not long ago? Hormones on top of other things can be "the straw that broke the camel's back" at times.

You'll figure it out. :)

It was before we came to visit, so it's been 2-3 mos.

Well, the 8 weeks after a heat cycle are pretty intense...basically akin to a false pregnancy if not bred, in a way. Could be part of the equation.

I do not feed Fromm, however some people with my puppies have and they have not done well on it. One was itchy, and the others had to eat so much food to keep their weight on that they couldn't possibly fit all that food into their stomachs. I received a young female (7 months or so) back, she was being offered 9 cups of Fromm a day, wouldn't finish all the food, and was not keeping weight on. She switched to the Kirkland grain free food and eats 3 cups a day and maintains a good weight.

9 cups... holy crap!