I have to switch Sandstorm's food, cardiologist strongly recommends

[KarenCurtis]

Karen, I seem to have offended you in my comments and 100% did not intend to. I read the article posted - I agree with it. I, too, fed grain free with my doxies for years (Merrick GF Buffalo) and went through a stressful food search both before and after I got Brodie because Shelties require a lower protein diet and GF is def not low protein. I am no longer feeding grain free, I do not support it any longer not so much as it wasn't a GREAT food for my doxies, but because it will not be a great food for my sheltie. However I am not feeding the Purina or RC that my vet recommends. Every vet I've known in my 50+ years has always suggested Purina, Hills and in the recent 20 years RC has been added to the list. I love my vet, she is awesome in every way, but most folks trained with animal care are simply NOT trained in animal nutrition.

I don't know which BB kibble you are feeding, nor do I know which RC kibble was suggested and I don't need to know either. I only say to educate yourself. Your cardiologist most likely isn't a trained animal nutritionist even if she is an absolutely wonderful cardiologist. So educate, read labels, compare what you have and what is being suggested, look at the problem products with heart issues, look for beneficial supplements for heart issues. Why did she recommend RC? Is there any rhyme or reason behind her thinking or was it the rote recommendation that you often find with folks in the animal care as noted in that article. If it is a matter of supplements missing in BB, are there those you can add in without changing a food he that is working well for him?

In the end - pay attention to Sandstorm and do what you feel is best. He is your dog, and those here, vet, cardiologist, no one knows him better than you.

Sandy, you did not offend me, I don't offend that easily. Its just that my original question was how much to feed when and if I switch foods. I did my research long ago and that's why I decided on BB. The puppy is on Pro Plan puppy, I don't know if her breeder feeds her adults that or not, but I will ask only because now I'm curious. If she does, and has, for 40 years or more, and her dogs are as healthy as they should be, then great. Some of the Pro Plan foods have a 3 star rating, it's not a bad food.

 

[KarenCurtis]

One last thing on the food issue. I've been reading and it seems that cardiologists are wary of the "exotic" brands of food, and lump them in with the grain free, even though Pro Plan HAS a grain free food. These vets seem to trust the Purina company, and I have not researched the Blue Buffalo company in any depth. I have no urgent need to switch Sandstorm's food, there is nothing in BB that is bad for his heart so far that I have found, if I do I will switch but not now. Thanks everyone for trying to help, I know this food brand issue can get a bit opinionated and emotional.

 

[Caro]

One last thing on the food issue. I've been reading and it seems that cardiologists are wary of the "exotic" brands of food, and lump them in with the grain free, even though Pro Plan HAS a grain free food. These vets seem to trust the Purina company, and I have not researched the Blue Buffalo company in any depth. I have no urgent need to switch Sandstorm's food, there is nothing in BB that is bad for his heart so far that I have found, if I do I will switch but not now. Thanks everyone for trying to help, I know this food brand issue can get a bit opinionated and emotional.

Actually saw Tully's internal medicine specialist today to discuss diet. As I mentioned, Tully's been quite gassy on RC Gastro so I wanted to know if I should switch her food (the answer was no). The IMS is pretty blunt but there were a couple of interesting things he said. He does not refer to boutique brands for several reasons, one being that they can change the recipe or pull the product from the market and when you have a dog with health issues you need a stable diet. In addition, we don't always know the long term impact of the latest trends in dog nutrition, like grain free, so a product that has a longer history will be much safer. And while Hills did just have a major recall, many smaller brands just quietly pull things without telling people, or they don't find out because they don't have the large numbers of users (which is what happened when I used the latest 'fad' here, Prime100). After all, the Hills external supplier would have been supplying other food brands - but did you hear of any other recalls?

He also said to stop relying on internet 'hearsay' for info (that annoyed me a little because I was formally a senior public health official). Specialists do also have forums and discussions and share information with other specialists - far better info than the general public (and, as the IMS said, my general vet), and it's their job. I am sure your Cardiologist does know what she's talking about because she spends up to 60 hours a week seeing dogs with heart problems and she knows what dogs do better on what food. Plus she'll have been part of broader discussions with brilliant specialists on diets, esp after the grain free debacle.

With what I'm going through with Tully, I intend following exactly what the IMS recommends - I want her to live longer!

 

[KarenCurtis]

Actually saw Tully's internal medicine specialist today to discuss diet. As I mentioned, Tully's been quite gassy on RC Gastro so I wanted to know if I should switch her food (the answer was no). The IMS is pretty blunt but there were a couple of interesting things he said. He does not refer to boutique brands for several reasons, one being that they can change the recipe or pull the product from the market and when you have a dog with health issues you need a stable diet. In addition, we don't always know the long term impact of the latest trends in dog nutrition, like grain free, so a product that has a longer history will be much safer. And while Hills did just have a major recall, many smaller brands just quietly pull things without telling people, or they don't find out because they don't have the large numbers of users (which is what happened when I used the latest 'fad' here, Prime100). After all, the Hills external supplier would have been supplying other food brands - but did you hear of any other recalls?

He also said to stop relying on internet 'hearsay' for info (that annoyed me a little because I was formally a senior public health official). Specialists do also have forums and discussions and share information with other specialists - far better info than the general public (and, as the IMS said, my general vet), and it's their job. I am sure your Cardiologist does know what she's talking about because she spends up to 60 hours a week seeing dogs with heart problems and she knows what dogs do better on what food. Plus she'll have been part of broader discussions with brilliant specialists on diets, esp after the grain free debacle.

With what I'm going through with Tully, I intend following exactly what the IMS recommends - I want her to live longer!

I just may switch Caro, you're right. The cardiologist wants basic ingredients, and I've been reading several articles on heart health and "exotic" dog foods. The puppy is also on Pro Plan, and no one can convince me that dogs eating Pro Plan live shorter lives than dogs who eat other foods. I've gone back and forth on this, driving my husband crazy. I may just switch foods, thanks for this post!

 

[KarenCurtis]

Now that I've decided to switch to Pro Plan due to the cardiologists recommendation, I've been researching their food. Pro Plan has some sensitive skin and tummy dry foods with better ingredients and they are more pricey- they're corn free. They also have a couple of foods with no corn or wheat, oatmeal instead. So I'm going to just rotate those-the corn may not bother Sandstorm, so once in a while I can add the beef one, they don't make a beef food without corn. I feel a bit better about it now.