Dog food (yet again) -- Solid Gold not that great?
 

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Okay, so I found Solid Gold here in Korea and Casey has been eating on it, but his itching has increased, not lessened. I'm now guessing that his allergy is to chicken, as that is the main ingredient and has also been present one of the treats I give him for training. (as of today, no longer!)

Since cooking for my dog is not an option (unless I want to get divorced a month after the wedding ;) ), and the best dog foods I can find contain chicken, I've now resorted to Purina ONE Growth and Development. The main ingredients are lamb and rice, although I'm pretty sure there's some corn in there too, unfortunately, and I'm not convinced on the quality of the lamb meat.

Any further thoughts on what to do (keeping in mind that my husband is Korean and while he doesn't agree with dog-eating, he has grown up with relatives who keep dogs on chains ALL THEIR LIVES outside all alone, and until he met me honestly didn't know this was cruel... Having a dog in the house is a new concept for him, and one that he has warmed to immensely, but I don't want to push things too much!!!)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Thanks Dinah, but my choices are quite limited here in Korea! Sounds rather delicious though!!![/COLOR]

Hi, I also just started my puppy on solid gold and she is itching quite a bit.
Could she also be allergic to chicken like your dog?

[COLOR=DarkGreen]It's possible, or another ingredient... Also, Casey pooped a lot while on Solid Gold -- i didn't realize until now, as it has reduced a lot (not the amount, but the frequency).[/COLOR]

I noticed the exact same thing. We had her on Nutrience and she poop once when we get home from work and maybe just before bed. Now she poops 3-4 times before bed. And they are not small ones either.

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Okay, that's weird -- I thought Solid Gold was supposed to be one of the best? Strange that our dogs were/are having similar problems on it -- anyone else??? Is Solid Gold not that great, or just not that great for our two little ones?[/COLOR]

I think you should get an allergy test for your dog it would help to you figure out what to feed him. Also when you switch foods it takes about a month for the changes to really take effect. You might want to add a flax or fish oil supplement for his coat he could have dry skin as well. I do know a lot of people who use solid gold and swear by it, I was using it but my guy was not thrilled with it the nuggets were to small and it is really pricey buying 3 bags of food a month it was over a $165 a month. Just watch because lamb is a little fattier than chicken. The duck and sweet potato from Fromm is a great food for dogs with allergies. Go to there website and contact them and maybe they could tell you who sells it or if you can buy it online.

[COLOR=DarkGreen]I think lots of people swear by Solid Gold, which is why I was so thrilled to find it and now rather disappointed with it. My puppy has cost my husband and I WAY more than we anticipated with an early somewhat serious illness (he's fully recovered now! :D ) and he's getting neutered on Tuesday. No way I can talk my husband into expensive allergy testing right now (maybe in a month or two) and I don't think it's available here anyway, but I will inquire. Supplements aren't that easy to find here either, but I do believe I saw some sort of fish oil thing and I will look into that if his current food doesn't help him out. I really don't want him to be uncomfortable, but I don't have the money to bend all the way over backwards for him, unfortunately, although if absolutely necessary I will of course, scrape together the necessary dough![/COLOR]

The supplement that you can use that are cheaper are the one that you would buy for human consumption I have found that when they package them for animals the price seems to be higher. I buy my guys glucosamine at Costco or Walmart it is half the price of the same stuff in the pet stores.

[QUOTE=moontamara][COLOR=DarkGreen]I think lots of people swear by Solid Gold, which is why I was so thrilled to find it and now rather disappointed with it. My puppy has cost my husband and I WAY more than we anticipated with an early somewhat serious illness (he's fully recovered now! :D ) and he's getting neutered on Tuesday. No way I can talk my husband into expensive allergy testing right now (maybe in a month or two) and I don't think it's available here anyway, but I will inquire. Supplements aren't that easy to find here either, but I do believe I saw some sort of fish oil thing and I will look into that if his current food doesn't help him out. I really don't want him to be uncomfortable, but I don't have the money to bend all the way over backwards for him, unfortunately, although if absolutely necessary I will of course, scrape together the necessary dough![/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Could it be that the food is expired... propably not a really high demand for it in Korea.. I may have gone bad. I can see the same thing happening in NS too.. not as many people as the Toronto area so things may be staying on the shelf longer than they should be... just a thought.

And a great thought it might well be expired and that might happen with a lot of the natural and holistic brands since they do not have nearly as long a shelf life.

My dog sid great on solid gold,his itching stopped,poops were solid,and fur was soft as good be..There is no corn in solid gold

[COLOR=DarkGreen]oh, yeah maybe it expired -- wish I still had the package to check![/COLOR]