Potato in kibble

[Smart Pugs]

I have seen many dry foods that contain 'potato' rather than 'rice' I know potato isn't a grain but it is a carb!
Is there any reason potato is better than rice? Some have large amounts of potato , mmmmm what to feed is always a worry!

(We don't have many grain free foods in the uk)

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Starches like rice, tapioca, potato and sweet potato are unnecessary, the are an inexpensive filler but can provide a small amount of nutrients, especially sweet potatoes which are rich in beta carotene. If they agree with your dog and he does well on them they are okay....however if your dog has issues with yeast, they will feed yeast and make it much harder to get rid of a yeast infection (systemic or local) and easier for it to reoccur.

Truly most dogs do best on a diet with mostly protein and fat. Their short digestive tract does not handle carbs well.

That being said, each dog is different, and a food that one dog thrives on may make another ill, so you have to look at this as a guideline and play with foods until you find what works best for your dog.

Take care,
Lisa

[Wonka & Nilla]

As Lisa said, potato is a filler and starches are not necessary for dog health. In kibble-style food, the starch of potato can also be the "glue" that helps hold the kibble shape together.

The use of potato is one of my only real complaints about Honest Kitchen (a U.S. pet food company). They have great, dehydrated raw food that you mix with warm water to re-hydrate.... but every single recipe/option seems to contain POTATO! Some have white potato, some have sweet potato, but they all have it. Our pugs seem to do ok with potato, but I wish the company offered at least one meal without it because some dogs just can't handle it.

[Smart Pugs]

Thank you both for your great replies. Funny you should mention tapioca, one of our Chihuahuas has 'tummy issues' at the moment he is having B12 jabs
at the vets (once a week for 4 weeks) he was put on a food containing tapioca and since this all started he has started is lick/chew his feet! (but his tummy is getting settled)
I spoke to the vet today and showed her his feet (he went for his B12 jab today) she said maybe 'grain allergy'. Right now we don't want to change his
food again as really want to get his tummy settled and worried a change may make him worse, he is still under weight but no longer losing weight!

There aren't many grian free foods in the UK, We are thinking maybe 'Orijen' for our other dogs and MAYBE change him to senior Orijen in a while?

Smartie has some bald patches of skin (on her chest/tummy) it's not mites as she has had tests for mites, she also 'smells doggy' could this be grain related?

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

I feed two products to my dogs, depending on their needs: Nature's Variety raw and Orijen (I alternate between the 6 fresh fish formula and the regional red meat formula) the NV is 95% meat, the Orijen is 80%. Another food i used to feed, and loved, but finally gave up because it was nearly as expensive as raw, but not quite as good, was Ziwipeak, which is a dehydrated raw, which resembles little pieces of jerky.

Smarties problems are probably not CAUSED by her food, but a better food will make it easier for her body to overcome whatever is causing it. A scraping of the bald patches is in order to ascertain what you are really dealing with, possibly an anti-fungal shampoo like Mala-ket and course of an anti-fungal medication concurrent with a switch to a food which does not support yeast (very low carb) should improve her.

As for the paw licking, it could be yeast brewing, or it may be allergies (food or environmental), or it could be habit/stress. I wouldn't wory a lot about it for now, until the tummy issues are settled unless you begin to notice other symptoms (itching, yeasty odor, hair loss, dry skin, darkening skin, etc.).

I don't advocate "puppy", "senior" or "weight-loss" dog foods, even the great brands. Normally an excellent food is good for all life stages.

I am not familiar with the brands available to you there....I hope you can find fodd(s) that work for your diverse pack!

Take care,
Lisa

Take care,
Lisa

[Smart Pugs]

Thanks Lisa - we are finding it difficult to find a food to suit all our dogs in the UK, you may remember we were keen to feed raw but it didn't work for the chihuahuas. We have been feeding Naturediet to the pugs it contains grain but at least they don't gag on it! We are now considering Orijen for the pugs and possibly Ziwi Peak for the chihuahuas (although it is hugely expensive in the UK and we will soon have eight dogs to feed! However, we would, of course, rather starve ourselves than not give the dogs the best we can -lol). We have an anti-fungal shampoo for Smartie - we are still thinking ..... probably be awake till the early hours tonight discussing dog food - just for a change!!!!

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

LOL...the lengths we go to feed our babies the best possible nutrition...we read labels and research websites and ingredients online.....with Big Macs and sodas on our desks!

Take care,
Lisa

[Smart Pugs]

Lisa, that is so true!!!

Thank goodness we are passionate about our dogs (and big Macs )

[pugtown]

As Lisa said, potato is a filler and starches are not necessary for dog health. In kibble-style food, the starch of potato can also be the "glue" that helps hold the kibble shape together.

The use of potato is one of my only real complaints about Honest Kitchen (a U.S. pet food company). They have great, dehydrated raw food that you mix with warm water to re-hydrate.... but every single recipe/option seems to contain POTATO! Some have white potato, some have sweet potato, but they all have it. Our pugs seem to do ok with potato, but I wish the company offered at least one meal without it because some dogs just can't handle it.

Grandma Lucy's has 3 new potato free formulas. Pureformance line.

[pugtown]

Thank you both for your great replies. Funny you should mention tapioca, one of our Chihuahuas has 'tummy issues' at the moment he is having B12 jabs
at the vets (once a week for 4 weeks) he was put on a food containing tapioca and since this all started he has started is lick/chew his feet! (but his tummy is getting settled)
I spoke to the vet today and showed her his feet (he went for his B12 jab today) she said maybe 'grain allergy'. Right now we don't want to change his
food again as really want to get his tummy settled and worried a change may make him worse, he is still under weight but no longer losing weight!

There aren't many grian free foods in the UK, We are thinking maybe 'Orijen' for our other dogs and MAYBE change him to senior Orijen in a while?

Smartie has some bald patches of skin (on her chest/tummy) it's not mites as she has had tests for mites, she also 'smells doggy' could this be grain related?

"Smells doggy" could possibly be a yeast infection. But without a skin scraping or culture, can't be sure, bald spots can also be ringworm. Here's a video on yeast infections. She gives a recipe for a homemade, non toxic wash to use. Yeast Infection in Dogs - YouTube