Post Punk Kitchen Forum

UGGGH!!! So the hypo allergenic dog food I have been using for the past few years recently changed their recipe to include soy and now one of the dogs seems to possibly be allergic to it- hives every few days. Sigh. I need dog food recommendations that are free of: Corn, Wheat, beef, pork, and Soy. Help?

I prefer vegetarian (not interested in a debate!!!) but at this point I need to find something that my guys can eat so I may need to be open to other possibilities.

Also, must cost less that $45.00 per 30-35 lb bag.

We use V-Dog:


http://v-dog.com/products/v-dog-kibble

Its pricier than you wanted, but we use it bc our dog had bad ear infections and hot spots (allergy related) on other foods. So I figure it saves us money in vet bills.

Do you know what their shipping rates are? Cus its only a few dollars difference really, but would be a lot more if its $$ to ship it...

They do free shipping in the US and Canada, so its included in the price. And they ship really fast (generally you get it within a few days and always within a week of ordering it)- we do 2 bags at a time and it lasts three to four months for our 70lb pit mix.

Cuddles is 10 and since we switched to V-Dog, our vet keeps remarking how very healthy he is. He has no more hot spots, no ear infections, and a really nice shiny coat (I do add a little extra oil to his food about 1x a week to keep down dandruff).

I am very happy with the food, because when he was on regular dogfood, he had chronic ear infections and 3 different vets said the only solution would be to surgically ablate his ears (seal off the ear canals). As a last ditch effort I moved him to V-Dog and the ear infections cleared up within a week, and he has never had another one since.

Humm thats good to consider....

I have two 65lb dogs. We go through 30lbs of food every 2-3 weeks, so if 2 bags are lasting you 3-4 months, I wonder if 1 bag would last us a whole month. In which case, we would actually be coming out ahead.

My male dog had a LOT of health problems before I switched them over to a vegetarian formula (first it was avoderm veg which they LOVED but it was too expensive after we moved so they have been on Natures recipe veg which they dont love.) Part of his health problems, Im sure had to do with his allergies, but I just really think the dogs do better on the veg foods. They have been vegetation for five years of their seven years of life and I just really think it works out better for them---which is part of why the veg dog debates drive me bonkers (not sure if thats as much a problem on this site was it was on vegweb?)

The one issue I have had with the veg food, is that my male had some bladder crystals/stones. I guess that was from a diet too low in acid (? If I remember correctly) I really need to have them both rechecked for that.

Ive made their food before using Vegedog and their recipe book. That worked out really well and they LOVED it but its surely a LOT to keep up with. Maybe if I could stream-line the process somehow, :thinking

Interesting about the crystals/stones. Cuddles has been on V-Dog since 2008 and we get him checked by our vet regularly, so I'll just be mindful to keep watching for those and making sure he has enough water (when we do trips I've gotten lax about taking enough water for him, because I now have to carry my toddler, water and food for her).

Can Cuddles carry his own water in a doggy backpack? Ive actually looked into having my dogs do that just to help wear them out faster on walks. Hehe. There are safety recommendations though for how much weight to let them carry, Id reduce that even further for a senior dog.

Also, to avoid catheterization, I bring a pie pan with me when I walk the dogs just before a vet visit, slide it under the dog when they pee and then transfer it into one of those cups the vet provides. I know there will be a little bit of contamination doing it that way but oh well. Maybe if I had long sleeved gloves I would venture to try and catch it directly into the cup, but Im not even sure that would work for my little lady...

Cuddles freezes and looks demoralized by anything on his back. Its sadorable. I think I just am going to have to make sure to keep a bunch in the car for when we get back and have him drink then if we haven't found a stream yet.

I have used Natural Balance Vegetarian dry dog food in the past:



It's pretty accessible. You can buy it at both Petsmart and Petco, I believe.

The v-dog food arrived the other day and the dogs love it. Awesome! Hoping it does the trick. At first I was annoyed at all the "waste" of the food being packaged in several small bags, but then I saw they were fully compostable. Yeah! Rock on!!

I am so glad! I hope it works out for your pups!

I really like the company - they seem really committed to being environmentally friendly and doing the best for the doggies. I've spoken to the owner and he is so passionate about dogs and feeding them,that I feel confident that they're doing the very best they can to keep our pups safe and healthy.