Hello everybody! I'm back but with a new username...used to be hjcmon2 just wanted you all to know who is asking the question.

I changed my guys diet about three months ago..they were on the Kirkland brand lamb and rice kibble. They all still get a little kibble each day but I mainly give them boiled chicken, rice, cooked carrots, green beans with no sugar and no salt added. I also will cut up an apple and put it in their food.

The question is this...Chad, my male chocolate's coat is changing colors in spots. Actually, a stripe down his back is changing to a reddish color and around his shoulders is turning a yellow. This is something that is very very noticable not just a slight change. Can this be from the food that I am feeding? We do have a salt water pool, but I have ruled that out since he hasn't been swimming since probably the first part of Oct or so.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions you all have.

Ann

How old is your chocolate lab? Do you have a black lab also? If so, any color change in the black lab?

Sometimes a Vitamin issue. Some dogs don't absorb zinc well . Make sure to feed a food with proteinated minerals(Chelated) , as they will be utilized better.
Isn't Kirkland a Diamond Food ? They have had a predominance of quality issues the past few years. Do a Google search on Diamond.

I have a female chocolate and a male yellow...no discoloration in either.
All three of my labs are 6 yrs old.

Yes, Kirkland is a Diamond product. From all I have heard, their food is good quality. I will do a search and learn more on it. When I was feeding just Kirkland, his coat was fine.

Perhaps the homecooking did not have enough Vitamins an or minerals... never have tried doing that but I would bet a Zinc deficiency. It shows up on darker colored dogs and gives a red tint.
I have issues with Diamond.. It may very well be a good food. I just don't like the way they do business. And their quality is not up to the standards other companies practice. IMHO
The proof is in all their recalls.

I asked because dogs with black coats can be affected by dietary tyrosine. Enriching the diet of black dogs with tyrosine can prevent reddening of the coat.

Is your dog shedding?

Perhaps the homecooking did not have enough Vitamins an or minerals...

It's not advised to feed an unbalanced diet to a dog for more than 2 months.

No, Chad isn't really shedding right now.
The reason I was thinking it could be his diet is it started maybe a few weeks after I started with the home cooked meals. He's never had this discoloration before.
So if it could be a vitamin that he is not getting enough of, what would be the recommendation?

So if it could be a vitamin that he is not getting enough of, what would be the recommendation?

Go back to dog food.

This is probably a vitamin deficiency that is coming about from soley home cooked meals. Unless you are cooking the food based on a specific recipe, you might be doing your dog more harm than good.

That said, my mom fed our childhood dachshund what we ate for dinner for it's 16 years, but we wouldn't have known a coat issue from anything else back then either.

Do some research to see if they offer doggy multivitamins, but there are enough good kibbles that you should be able to fine something you like that the dog does well on. What was the reason you stopped feeding dog food?

call me naive, but i do trust that a high quality kibble will provide a more balanced nutrition than home cooked. we mean well, but there are a lot vitamins that you would be hard pressed to provide. i would go back to kibble. and even that i suppliment with fish oils.

The main reason for adding the home cooked meals was that my female is a very picky eater. There is no problems with her that makes her not want to eat or able to eat. She has been that way since she was a pup and her vet is aware.
They all had a bout of vomitting a few months back and we made them the blander diet and it was kept for the fact that Hannah was actually eating. I have been thru many different kibbles with her...trying to find something she would eat. Always the same results...not interested but ate out of necessity.
I will research the food that I am feeding them and see if there is something I should change with their diet if I keep feeding them the home made food, or a vitamin supplement.
I just wonder if their diet is what is affecting Chads coat?

Have you had a thyroid level done on him recently?? That would be worth looking into. Annie's first noticeable symptom of thyroid disease was weird textures and colors in her coat. At first she wasn't even really losing hair...some spots just turned a lot lighter and had an odd texture compared to the rest of her body. I have pictures if you are interested.

If his thyroid checks out okay, I would also suspect the food either having an imbalance of vitamins and minerals or perhaps lacking. Even though the other dogs don't show these symptoms, that could still be the case. Some dogs are more sensitive to changes in diet...just like people. If that's the case, maybe do 50% kibble and 50% home cooked? If you wanted to stick with home cooked as a sole source of food, you need to be adding in some vitamins and minerals that they aren't getting from their food. That's where the research comes in... :)

Simply put, homecooking isn't that simple. For long term a home prepared diet takes lots of research. If you are wanting to do a homecooked meal I would suggest reading all you can on canine diets.

That said, I do think there are some AWESOME premium kibble brands available these days. If you don't want to do all the leg work I'd find one that works for my dogs. You can still supplement with the home cooked version you have- just make it a lower percentage of the diet. Chicken, rice and canned veggies really isn't all that "balanced."

For my picky boy, he actually likes his kibbles if we mix in Wellness 95% Chicken canned. My DH fed him hot dogs for years to get him to eat his kibble until we found this dog food that he actually likes. He won't eat regular canned dog food.

I do on occaison make a stew, probably similar to what you do for your home made, but I only put about a tablespoon in with a cup of kibbles.

I would go back to feeding kibble. I agree that they are not getting all of what they need from the current homecooked diet. Feeding raw or homecooked is not as easy as it all sounds.
As for Kirkland, I've been feeding it for years and am very happy with it as well as the Diamond Company as a whole. I've emailed and pestered those people to death and they always get right back to me right down to the bag id number, etc. Recalls = the corn recall; other than that; they have not had any more than any other dog food company. Just wanted to say I have received nothing but excellent service from them. :)

Ann, my guys can be picky eaters too. Yes, I do give them some cooked foods, and canned or frozen veggies, but I add it to mostly kibble.

They are now eating Canidae, but used to be on Nutro. Sometimes I split one can of Nutro (they love the lamb and rice in gravy) between the three of them, added to their kibble.

Do any of you have any suggestions on the types of vitamins that I should be adding?

I am adding in more of their kibble...I never took it all away. I really want to see if I can balance out their diet with kibble, homecooked and vitamins.

There are sooo many sites on the internet with so many different suggestions on vitamins and meals. I am totally confused as to what vitamin sources to add on a daily basis with them. I want them to have exactly what they need to be good and healthy.

http://www.natureslogic.com/products/fortifier.html

All Natural



http://www.natureslogic.com/SiteImages/fortifier.jpg

Nutritious and healthy way to augment your pet’s diet a complete spectrum of all natural vitamins, minerals, essential fats, enzymes, and other trace elements from 100% all natural food sources

Available in 12 oz. and 22 oz sizesNutrientActual Analysis
Units Dry Matter Basis Crude Protein40.00 % Arginine2.62 % Histidine0.94 % Isoleucine1.2 % Leucine2.76 % Lysine2.03 % Methionine-cystine1.43 % Phenylalanine-tyrosine2.31 % Threonine1.49 % Trytophan0.31 % Valine1.36 % Crude Fat15.00 % Linoleic acid - Omega 64.63 % Minerals Calcium2.0 % Phosphorus1.0 % Potassium0.26% Sodium0.33 % Chloride0.36 % Magnesium0.16 % Iron450 mg/kg Copper16 mg/kg Manganese30 mg/kg Zinc75 mg/kg Iodine5.30 % Selenium0.42 % Vitamins & Other Vitamin A23,000 IU/kg Vitamin D175 IU/kg Vitamin E25 IU/kg Thiamine47 mg/kg Riboflavin9 mg/kg Pantothenic Acid19 mg/kg Niacin93 mg/kg Pyridoxine3.498 mg/kg Folic acid1.804 mg/kg Vitamin B120.06 mg/kg Choline1280 mg/kg Taurine0.10 % Omega 6 Fatty Acids* (minimum)4.05 % Omega 3 Fatty Acids* (minimum)0.99 % Calories:< 10 kcal/teaspoon
INGREDIENTS: Spray Dried Chicken, Whey, Spray Dried Chicken Liver, Flaxseed, Montmorillonite, Porcine Plasma, Brewer's Yeast, Dried Egg Product, Egg Shell Meal, Cottage Cheese, Kelp, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Almonds, White Fish Meal, Avocado, Tomato Powder, Chicory Root, Apples, Blueberry, Apricots, Carrots, Pumpkin, Cranberry, Spinach, Broccoli, Parsley, Artichoke, Rosemary, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Bifidium Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Pineapple Extract, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Trichoderma Longibrachtium Fermentation Extract, Mixed Tocopherols.

Thank you very much Uplander:)

Do any of you have any suggestions on the types of vitamins that I should be adding?

I am adding in more of their kibble...I never took it all away. I really want to see if I can balance out their diet with kibble, homecooked and vitamins.

There are sooo many sites on the internet with so many different suggestions on vitamins and meals. I am totally confused as to what vitamin sources to add on a daily basis with them. I want them to have exactly what they need to be good and healthy.

Exactly how much kibble a day are you feeding, and how much homecooked?

I would buy some books, and join some homecooked yahoo groups to get your answers with the necessary calcium/vitamins and minerals that are needed..Homecooking is alot different than feeding a RAW diet for instance. You have to add calcium in some form, to balance off the phosphorus, not doing so can cause some major damage to your dog.

Personally I would go back to the kibble, and just add a bit of homecooked to replace can food for instance (as an added treat so to speak). Then pick up some more knowledge about what is necessary to add, when homecooking.

The vitamins that uplander posted, are just that, they should not be mistaken for a supplement that IS for those that homecook..

Jen

I would bet that as long as you use a product like the Nature's Logic some home cooking will not hurt your dog. It's a learning process. Not that I would try it, I am a terrible cook.
PS. I have tried the product I mentioned on my Lab and she liked the taste. It looks very similar to what the dry foods at Natures Logic get as a Vit. package after the kibble is extruded.

I would bet that as long as you use a product like the Nature's Logic some home cooking will not hurt your dog. It's a learning process.


There is more to a strictly homecooked diet than just adding Nature's Logic, so yes overtime it would hurt the dog. If she wanted to do kibble, and add a bit of homecooked, then that is fine..

Jen

Ann I know your dogs had problems with Kirkland L&R and often dogs don't like what's not good for them. I'm not saying that this food isn't right for some dogs but it certainly didn't work for yours. After looking at the ingredient list for the Kirkland L&R I see a lot of ingredients that could have caused problems in your dogs: rice flour, egg product, cracked pearled barley, beet pulp, flaxseed, millet or brewers dried yeast. In addition to that this is not a diet based solely on lamb, it has chicken fat and fish meal also. There appears to be a lot of carbohydrates in this diet which could make the pH of your dogs on the alkaline side which in turn sets up an environment for yeast.

Any ONE of the ingredients in the Kirkland L&R could be responsible for your issues. When you look at vitamin/mineral supplementation you have a whole new list of ingredients that can possibly cause inflammation. For example, Pet Tabs are mixed with wheat and the above recommendation contains flax and many other ingredients that could be problematic for you. There are preservatives and sometimes coloring in supplements that can also cause problems.

I'm suggesting that you try feeding a simple, minimal ingredient food with a good protein content for a few weeks (California Naturals). This might help calm their inflammation down and your picky eater may get a better appetite. I'm afraid that the longer that they have problems and aren't eating a balanced diet the greater the chance for bigger problems in the future.