URGENT!!! Orijen, TOTW or Fromm

[LolasPuppet]

Orijen, TOTW or Fromm - allergy problems

So Lola just developed a nasty "hot spot", caused probably by allergies. Vet said that it's not sure that allergy tests are going to give reliable results (could be weather - summer, food, environmental allergies ...), so I'm trying to improve her nutrition in the meantime.

I'm choosing between:
- Orijen (which one?)
- Taste of the Wild
- Fromm (but can only get "Gold Nutritionals" or "Fromm Classics"! 4-star is not yet available in Europe since it's supposedly waiting EU compliance approval - that's what retailer said)

As for allergies. First we thought it's the chicken, but she's been off chicken for a month, no difference. So basically, the list of things she's allergic to is currently a tabula rasa​ list (= nothing on it, we're clueless).

 

[BruceP]

Pick one! They are all premium foods and its a trial and error thing anyway so no one can tell you which will work for your bully. Just remember to do a very slow transition. If you need advice on that just ask.

 

[bullmama]

I would try either the Orijen or Fromm..... as Bruce said all of them are good but i would try either of these first.

 

[sweetpeasmom2008]

I would try Fromm a lot of people on here swear by it but you mentioned you cant get some of the fromm products so I would choose the best fromm you can get your hands on. Can you get grain free?

 

[Dubbiedog]

Re: Orijen, TOTW or Fromm - allergy problems

Okay, "here's my two cents" for what it is worth. I wanted Dublin off Royal Canin ( not grain free) so I did tons of research and read all I could on this site and then made my choice. It was Fromm. Well, no matter what Flavor I tried ( had to take them all back. How embarrassing ) Dublin would find every piece that I mixed with her Royal Canin and spit it out. I really wished she had liked at least one. Back to the drawing board. I then picked Orijen, Original Red. She absolutely loved it. you can tell right away from the smell that it is super "rich". It does have the highest protein content of all of the foods ( someone correct me if I am wrong) Wouldn't you know as soon as I mentioned it to people I got a negative reaction because of the protein content which got me worried and drove my husband crazy We have a great pet supply store here and I spoke to the owner's son about Orijen and he said that it was really meant for "working dogs" and dogs with high energy and due to the amount of phosphorous in our water here ( Florida) and the phosphorous related to the protein in Orijen that it is not meant for Bullies due to causing Kidney problems. Well that was that. Now I am transitioning her to TOTW. At least she is not "rooting" through the Orijen and spitting it out and it is grain free. It is the Sierra Mountain Canine Formula/Roasted Lamb. So far no tummy issues etc, but if I hadn't had the negative feedback I would have stayed with the Orijen. You can tell it is a wonderful food and as I said Dublin loved it. If you can get Fromm then I would try Lola with that. Good luck

 

[LolasPuppet]

I'm currently giving her the TOTW @Dubbiedog just mentioned (Sierra Mountain - Lamb), since it was the one I could get immediately.

Btw., something else crossed my mind: if she's very allergic to something, how fast would it show up? I'm asking because I actually started giving her TOTW just 2 days before the "hot spot" happened. This is what happened: around 10 days ago, a vet recommended Hill's, to try it out. But because it affected Lola's poop, I decided to search if there's any "6 star food" available, so I switched to TOTW. 2 days later, "hot spot". If anything, I suspect it was either Hill's food, or the recent heat wave, but could it also be TOTW? Could I be wrong in assuming it's not TOTW?
(note that the exact same spot where the "hot spot" happened, is one of the spots she's been scratching for the last 2 months)

 

[GatorRay]

Food is very much trial and error with these guys. Just remember slow transition and stay on a food for at least a month but 6 weeks is better so that you can actually see the effects of that particular food.

They are all good. We have tried TOTW and we didn't care for it but it may work for your bully.

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] needs to take a peek here too. She is our resident food expert

 

[PeterPanAndWendy]

We feed Pan TOTW and he really likes it and we've had no issues.
We switched because he was always itchy and yeasty, and in and out of the vet because of it.
He's 100% better. I know there have been recalls, so be careful.
Our vet said to try it for 2 months and then add one new food every 6 weeks to see how he reacts.
The key is to only give her the new food. No treats or scraps. (That's the hard part for us)
But like everyone said, its hit or miss. Good luck!

 

[kazzy220]

I love Fromm, so on that basis and that basis alone I would recommend trying that. But because I haven't really tried the other two foods then I can't really say that this post is paticularly knowledgeable!!!

I don't know if the hot spot would appear so soon if you have only had her on the food for a couple of days. It can take 4-6 weeks to really see any full effect of a new food.

 

[cowsmom]

Re: Orijen, TOTW or Fromm - allergy problems

Okay, "here's my two cents" for what it is worth. I wanted Dublin off Royal Canin ( not grain free) so I did tons of research and read all I could on this site and then made my choice. It was Fromm. Well, no matter what Flavor I tried ( had to take them all back. How embarrassing ) Dublin would find every piece that I mixed with her Royal Canin and spit it out. I really wished she had liked at least one. Back to the drawing board. I then picked Orijen, Original Red. She absolutely loved it. you can tell right away from the smell that it is super "rich". It does have the highest protein content of all of the foods ( someone correct me if I am wrong) Wouldn't you know as soon as I mentioned it to people I got a negative reaction because of the protein content which got me worried and drove my husband crazy We have a great pet supply store here and I spoke to the owner's son about Orijen and he said that it was really meant for "working dogs" and dogs with high energy and due to the amount of phosphorous in our water here ( Florida) and the phosphorous related to the protein in Orijen that it is not meant for Bullies due to causing Kidney problems. Well that was that. Now I am transitioning her to TOTW. At least she is not "rooting" through the Orijen and spitting it out and it is grain free. It is the Sierra Mountain Canine Formula/Roasted Lamb. So far no tummy issues etc, but if I hadn't had the negative feedback I would have stayed with the Orijen. You can tell it is a wonderful food and as I said Dublin loved it. If you can get Fromm then I would try Lola with that. Good luck

have you tried acana? its the same company just lower protein food. i have a boston on it and hes doing wonderful. just a thought.

 

[cowsmom]

ok well im not sure how quick a hot spot would show up. treat it and see if it goes away or gets worse. or if more show up then you will know its the totw. honestly ive fed totw and it was ok. however with the recent recalls i would not touch it again for nothing but thats just me. diamond pet foods is off my list of manufacturing companies. now to me fromm or acana would be ok. orijen does had high protein and its been argued whether its good or not for non working dogs. i know people have their bullies on it so that or acana or fromm would be my choices. keep us updated.

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

I would choose Fromm (Brutus and Chanel both do great on Beef Frittatta) As far as the allergy test Im confused why the vet says it wont be reliable results? IF she is under 1 years old the test may need to be redone after 1 or 2 years old. I know a couple people who have done the test at 8-9 months and got good results and knew what to avoid. The tests are very informative and will be able to do enviromental and food that she is allergic to.

 

[loveabully]

franklin had a bad reaction from Fromm gold he had the for 6 days no matter what I did pumpkin more of his old food he got bumps all over. an A yeast infection on his tail I changed his food to blue wilderness sensitive an in one day his poo is better 5 days his bumps an yeast is almost gone. So just be careful some can't have chicken or chicken meal.

 

[Twice]

Re: Orijen, TOTW or Fromm - allergy problems

We have a great pet supply store here and I spoke to the owner's son about Orijen and he said that it was really meant for "working dogs" and dogs with high energy and due to the amount of phosphorous in our water here ( Florida) and the phosphorous related to the protein in Orijen that it is not meant for Bullies due to causing Kidney problems.

Protein does not cause kidney damage. Phosphorous does not cause it either. Phosphorous will aggravate an already existent condition but neither will cause healhy kidneys to fail.

 

[Dubbiedog]

Re: Orijen, TOTW or Fromm - allergy problems

Protein does not cause kidney damage. Phosphorous does not cause it either. Phosphorous will aggravate an already existent condition but neither will cause healhy kidneys to fail.

So confused She loves Orijen and I felt really bad when he told me that so of course I want to do the right thing. I felt really good having done all of my research and settling on Orijen. Think I'm gonna cry I just want to do what's best for her.