Billye,

I don't know anything about Science Diet dog food.... but your comment about the vet saying it might be allergy based made me remember something..

I had a cat that was allergic to fish. It took FOREVER to figure it out because almost all cat food has some sort of fish product in it. We finally figured it out when we went on vacation and the cat stayed at a kennel for a weekend and the food the kennel served had no fish product and the cats hives went away.

Animals can have some strange allergies.... and unfortunately allergy testing on pets is a lot harder than allergy testing on humans.

I understand this completely...completely!

Science Diet that made our cat sick... horrible sores on her.. two useless
different vets, could only offer prednisone.

It was the food. We switched her to IAMs Eukanuba, and her skin is great now...10 yrs LATER as well. Whether it was the corn (first ingredient) or the imbalance of EFAs that did it (corn is omega-6).. the Eukanuba does not cause it. Eukanuba has Omega-3s added.

I understand some Science Diet formulas have been changed. But I will never go back to that food, anyway.

The flax oil arrived. We put the recommended dosage (per weight) on the top of their dry food (holding our breath). Everyone loved it!! They don't want to leave the bowl and lick it as dry as possible. We will try this for awhile and see what happens. It doesn't seem to bother any of them. (tummies)

Billye

I started giving Felix my 7 yr old cat some flax oil about a year ago.He did'nt like it on his food so much...So i have to break open a capsule and put it on his paw...He will run when he hears me open the jar..I'm not even kiddin..LOL
He hates it that bad!!!But it does wonders for his coat and digestive system..

Eukanuba has omega-3s in it already.

But dogs are much easier to fool..they will eat anything, "sometimes" LOL.

Our cats are like yours Kell... don't mess with them, or do anything weird to
their food, OR TREATS.. Each one of ours has a favorite, and there is no
cross over to the others... very very picky.

I hope your pooches, Billye get a nicer skin/coat as a result. Flax oil actually tastes good..We used to make GoodSeason's salad dressings mixes with it, when my son was younger. Now the caps are easier for him, and not an issue.
I am using the Smart Balance peanut butter myself... 1 gram /serving.
Oh, I wish that were available years ago... how hard it was then to get Flax into our family habits. The new peanut butter is just fabulous! (peanut butter is
one of my old comfort foods, and back in college when I was putting myself thru, I had it every day! (no money, no kitchen, etc.--so I had it for breakfast and lunch, with one hot meal per day for 2 yrs!). I just wonder how I could have avoided some adult health issues, then, had the new style been available then! Oh, well.
.

Thanks for the info on the peanut butter. My nightly comfort food before bedtime is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. My pooches love a peanut butter taste too. That's the way we get a pill down them when we have to, they will swallow anything coated in peanut butter. The Smart Balance p-nut butter will be healthier for all of us.

Love,
Billye

I was just watching the Science Channel on cable...and there is a very
interesting show on there sometimes-- It comes from Canada, and shows
how various items we use are made.

Today they did dog/cat kibble! I will share this interesting factoid:
They said cats prefer acidic tasting kibble, and dog's a more grain/sweeter
taste. Cats require higher fat/protein also, and dogs can tolerate more carbs.

I found that very interesting!

.

wild counterparts eat, digest, and who thrives or not. As for what goes on in the 'animal world' that we adopt...well a few examples are MSM, glucosamine and magnets - used on race horses [to keep them going longer than they really should] then other creatures.. all have been adopted and adapted for human use, but it took decades to tailor it all for safe human use. You'd be surprised at how HAPPY animals, who can't really explain their pains are when given any form of relief!

I know folks who work in animal nutrition research, It's an amazing field. But for me, Whoosh! ALL That CHEMISTRY!

Wishing Happy, glossy coated love bugs for all! - j