found this to be a useful site and a great way to find the right dog food for my best friend Diesel who is a Akita male who is coming up to 5 years old this October and for the last 8 months been diagnosed with a skin condition called sebacious adentis which at present there’s no cure and can only be managed through bathing and correct diet and this is how i found this site looking for a suitable complete dog food advice from vets is to choose one with fish and oils in so if anyone as some advice on this would be a big help thanks at present he is on beta purina salmon complete dog food
Obviously, I’m no expert but two foods I can recommend are Connollys Red Mills Engage Salmon and Rice, and Symply salmon.
The Symply I only used briefly, as an emergency when my food didn’t arrive, but given the sudden transition, my sensitive dog coped really well with it.
The Connollys I can’t fault in terms of healthy skin and tummy, easy to pick up poos and no wind. However, it did work out quite expensive to feed.
I’m not familiar with your dogs condition, so I can’t offer any input on whether or not grain free should be your first choice, but it’s definitely worth considering. Sympy is, but the Connollys isn’t. Also, I feed my dogs cod liver oil and evening primrose oil capsules which work out very cheap to feed and have really improved my dogs’ coats and hopefully will help keep their joints in good condition.
I hope you find a food you are happy with, and good luck managing your dogs condition.
thanks for the reply i will give your suggestions a look thanks a supplement he gets at the minute advised by my vet is yumega plus which seems to help with is itching
Hello dieseldog. Have you thought about changing your dog’s food? I haven’t read the review of the Beta Purina on the AADF website but having just looked at the ingredients there are things in there which are not really very good:
- The first (heaviest) ingredient is cereal (24% of it ). I don’t know what ‘wholegrain’ it but there is 20% of it and only 4% of rice. They may be able to use some of the cereal but dogs are not evolved to utilise these products so they are mostly just fillers which are there to reduce the cost and to form the kibble - a bit like us eating cellulose.
- The meat should be first on the list and of a single source. This one contains meat and meat derivatives - see here. You really don’t know what your dog is getting, not a good thing with a sensitive one such as Diesel.
- The amount of salmon is tiny - just 4% and it is described as fish and fish derivatives so how much of that is good quality salmon (probaby very little) is a mystery.
- Beet pulp - there is some controversy about this - see here.
In view of your dog’s condition it may be worth considering a change of food. If you feel that this is an option then have a look at the AADF website and/or post back and maybe we can help you find something that will suit.
hi dottie i am looking for another food for him as you probably know its not as easy as it sounds to get the right one but this website as helped a lot as you say about his current one is a big concern and the rating and info is pretty poor with advice from my vet who has been really open about what he would recommend but is more trial and error as theres no cure as for the food i am looking at fish based complete foods and the one that caught my eye is the ancestral brand
I am sorry to hear about Diesel’s skin condition. I haven’t come across it so I just did a hasty search and it does sound horrible. I have had a couple of dogs with skin problems. Two shampoos that I have used with some success are Selene and Sebocalm. The latter is very gentle and soapless. Regarding the food, if you particularly want fish, there is Fish4Dogs in a few varieties. These are grain free. However, I am wondering if perhaps a cold pressed food might help. I’ve recently been using Gentle and it is a smashing food with fish and omega oils added. Might be worth checking that one out. There are so many different types of food though so it is good that you are checking them out. My lot have just gone onto raw and it seems that there are a few new members on here that are also feeding this way using Nutriment. This product has salmon oil added to all the varieties so should help your dog if you are minded to try it. There is also a salmon variety.
Good luck with whatever you try and I hope that you can get Diesel’s condition stabilised.
Hi Dieseldog,
If you’re looking for a kibble with a high fish content and added fish oil, one I’ve fed with success in the past is Acana Pacifica. It’s a highly rated food made by a company with a good reputation, and my dogs loved it and did well on it.
If you want to take a look at it on the main site, go to Acana Regionals then select ‘Pacifica’ from the 4 options near the top of the page.
Orijen Adult 6 Fish might be another option, but my dogs always found Orijen too rich. Sadly, I don’t know of a cold pressed food with a high fish contenet.
If you’re happy to feed raw, I’ll second Dottie’s suggestion of Nutriment Salmon. That would be my personal first choice.
thanks for the advise and i have taken it on board 