I have two grown female pitbulls who are constantly cleaning and chewing at their paws. I was told this is a sign of an unhealthy diet. Are some foods better than others? I do not let my pets have any table scraps and as treats on occassion they do get apples or carrots.

Yes many foods are much much much better then others.

Many grocery store and wal-mart brands have been recently recalled due to making dogs sick and maybe even causing them to die.

If you type in "dog food" in the search you will be able to find many topics on it. It's a very popular disscussion topic.

I wouldn't say it's necessarily an unhealthy diet causing the paw licking, but more likely an allergy to something in the food. Many dogs have a problem with corn. Even chicken can cause trouble. If it's just the paws (not the skin in general), could it be fertilizer in the lawn? Carpet cleaners?

If your food contains corn I would try switching that first. If there are still problems I would see the vet!

Angeleeta is right, it could very well be an allergy. As she has already stated, corn and chicken are usually the most commen allergens when it comes to dog food. But it could be something else as well, I've known some dogs to be allergic to wheat.

Most people I know who have dogs with food allergies have their dog on a lamb and rice formula and they do well with that. I have one frined though who has a dog with such bad allergies that he is on a special food from Eagle pac that is based off of salmon and potatoe (I believe it's potatoe).

I would first go for switching to a lamb and rice based dog food and see how that goes and if that doesn't work, visit a vet.

You may also want to evaluate what cleaners and products you use in your home. Angeleeta has already touched on a few possibilites.

A few other things that it could be....Fleas. Flease are itchy and a dog that has a flea infestation will be constantly scratching, gnawing at themselves and licking. We once had a bad flea infestation that we were having trouble getting under control and Angie had gnawed at her rump so much that the hair was getting worn down and turned brown (she is black). So make sure you have a good flea product. Give your dogs a flea bath and start using a product like Frontline (only thing that works for us) if you aren't already.

Another possibility is boredom. When dogs don't have anything to do and get bored, they will find ways to entertain themselves. Some dogs dig, some bark, some destroy things, others get into bad habits and unhealthy obsessions like pacing, spinning and licking their paws or otherwise over grooming themselves. So make sure your dogs get plenty of exercise every day, some training for mental stimulation, and be sure to provude them with things that are good for them to chew on like nylabones and kongs. They may enjoy something like a buster cube as well.

quote:

Originally posted by angeeleeta:
Yes many foods are much much much better then others.

Many grocery store and wal-mart brands have been recently recalled due to making dogs sick and maybe even causing them to die.

If you type in "dog food" in the search you will be able to find many topics on it. It's a very popular disscussion topic.

recalled?! i never heard that! hmmm....poor dogs.

quote:

Originally posted by animaldude1094:

quote:

Originally posted by angeeleeta:
Yes many foods are much much much better then others.

Many grocery store and wal-mart brands have been recently recalled due to making dogs sick and maybe even causing them to die.

If you type in "dog food" in the search you will be able to find many topics on it. It's a very popular disscussion topic.

recalled?! i never heard that! hmmm....poor dogs.

Here is a link to a post I did on the recall. The full list of recalled food is there to
Recalled Food

Definitely look into the food allergies.

It may be grass allergies to. My dog developed allergies to grass out of nowhere and he is always at his paws

some of those foods aren't bad though but there are rating systems out there to tell you what your dog food rates. Nutro has a b which is pretty good.

I'll post it in the dog section if you want to see what your food grades.

quote:

Originally posted by badkittyamy:
some of those foods aren't bad though but there are rating systems out there to tell you what your dog food rates. Nutro has a b which is pretty good.

I'll post it in the dog section if you want to see what your food grades.

Actually, all those foods are pretty bad. I used to feed Nutro and be a strong believer in it's quality, but that has changed. I now only consider it a medium food, still better then Ol'Roy, but for the same amount of money you can get a much better quality food.

anything they sell at petsmart? All the rotty breeders and handlers recommended Nutro large breed if i was looking to buy from pet stores.

Not anything they serve at Petsmart is bad. Nutro canned food was on the recalled list though.

If you compare the top five ingredients in Nutro Large Breed to 3 other top dog foods, you'll see a big difference. Here they are:

Nutro Max Large Breed:
Beef Meal
Ground Rice
Rice Flour
Corn Gluten Meal
Wheat Flour

Nurtro Natural Choice Large Breed Adult:
Chicken Meal
Ground Rice
Rice Flour
Corn Gluten Meal
Rice Bran

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul Large Breed:
Chicken
turkey
chicken meal
cracked pearled barley
whole grain brown rice

Canidae All Life Stages:
Chicken Meal
Turkey Meal
Brown Rice
White Rice
Lamb Meal

Innova Large Breed Adult:
Turkey
Chicken
Chicken Meal
Ground Barley
Ground Brown Rice


The break down I use for choosing a dog food mostly focuses what is in the first 5 ingredients.

*3-4 of the first 5 should be a whole protien source, NEVER a by-product.

*There should never be any corn listed as an ingredient in any of the food ingredient list, especially not near the top. If it is listed, it is most likey a very poor quality dog food.

*Stay away from wheat, many dogs are allergic to it.

*Be careful feeding chicken, some dogs are allergic to this too, but it is in many foods.

*When a grain is listed in the food, the first and best grain to be listed is a whole grain rice.

Hope this helps you.

i don't think my petsmart carries either of those others though. I know nutro isn't top stuff buts it's the best in my price range that they offer. Back home in the bahamas all we get is pedigree and similar brands so back home that's the best we get.

quote:

Originally posted by badkittyamy:
i don't think my petsmart carries either of those others though. I know nutro isn't top stuff buts it's the best in my price range that they offer. Back home in the bahamas all we get is pedigree and similar brands so back home that's the best we get.

Actually, Petsmart should carry all of those, and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul is only about $5 more a bag then Nutro.

Petigree is AWFUL for your dog, Nutro would be 100% times better then that. I'm sorry to hear that in the Bahamas they only offer bad foods for pets.

I feed Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul and they do NOT sell it at Petsmart (at least not the one I go to). I wish they did! I pay $30.00 for a 37.5# bag. It is the best food (for the money) I could find.

Here is a link on the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul that will show dealers in your area.

http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/dealer_locator/

Thanks for the link. I actually have three places near me that sell it. I don't know if there are Pet Supplies Plus stores all over, but in Michigan they're a fairly large chain. They carry it as do a couple specialty stores in my area.

went to petsmart today and they didn't sell any of the one's you listed they had nutro and everything else was pedigree science diet iams, purina etc.

The Petsmart website lists there as dog foods they offer:

I added my two cents after each one, and you're right, they dont' have a lot of great food at petsmart.

* Active Care (bad food said to be specificaly made for joint care)
* Authority (okay food)
* Avoderm Natural (bad food)
* Beneful (awful food)
* Bil-jac (okay food)
* Blue Buffalo (maybe okay food)
* By Nature (no ingredients listed, avoid it)
* Cesar (bad food)
* Eukanuba (bad food)
* Fit 'n Trim (by purina, awful food)
* Iams (bad food)
* Natural Choice (okay food)
* Nature's Best (by science diet, no ingredients listed, avoid it)
* Nature's Recipe (not sure, very few ingredients listed)
* Nutro Max (okay food)
* Nutro Natural (okay food)
* One (by purina, awful food)
* Pedigree (awful food)
* Pedigree Little Champions (awful food)
* Pet Ag (liqued meal replacement)
* Pro Plan (no ingredients listed)
* Pro Plan Puppy (no ingredients listed)
* Purina (awful food)
* Royal Canin (good food)
* Science Diet (bad dog food)

If you spend more then $50 on the www.petsmart.com website you also get free shipping. They offer a few higher end dog foods.

Actually, I bought a bag of Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul Large Breed for my golden, and I was surprised that the only place that it was sold was at a pet store called Little Pals in a mall 5 minutes away from me. Is it bad that I bought something from a petstore, 'cause I'd be supporting it or something...

I'm glad to see Royal Canin listed as good! I bought some of the Babydog formula for when I start weaning my puppies, and my nursing dog absolutely loves it! I went and bought some of the Chihuahua formula so that I won't go through it so quickly, so hopefully my Chihuahuas like this just as much!

quote:

Originally posted by hobbitcutie:
I'm glad to see Royal Canin listed as good! I bought some of the Babydog formula for when I start weaning my puppies, and my nursing dog absolutely loves it! I went and bought some of the Chihuahua formula so that I won't go through it so quickly, so hopefully my Chihuahuas like this just as much!

Royal Canin is the best dog food they carry actually. IMO it ranks on the higher end of dog foods.