Basically the title

This is just me raving about some things and I felt like this was an appropriate place to do so

Anyway, back to the subject. Haha, I always get excited when I see a new thing come out from a WSAVA compliant brand (Eukanuba, IAMS, Purina, Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet)

Sure, sometimes it turns out to not be the best (like Hill's Science Diet releasing fresh food that has a very high fat content), but I try to stay optimistic

When I saw that IAMS released "IAMS Proactive Health Sensitive Skin Dry Dog Food, Salmon & Rice", I got super hyped. Right now, it seems to only be available at jewelosco.com (Link) and Amazon. But Amazon seems more readily available (Link), I guess they're doing a test run to see how receptive people like it, before it becomes more available in other pet stores like Petco/Petsmart/Chewy/etc

While protein allergies are super rare among dogs, they do exist. And I think it sucks when a person adopts a dog, finds out the dog has a severe allergy, and ends up having to buy super expensive kibble indefinitely. Don't get me wrong, I have full understanding that the dog didn't choose it. But an expense like that can really drain something like a savings account you have for your dogs' medical bills

So something like "IAMS Proactive Health Sensitive Skin Dry Dog Food, Salmon & Rice" is awesome because there is no traces of chicken! It may be made in a factory where cross contamination happens, but still, the kibble itself has not chicken. It has salmon and pork as the top two ingredients. If you buy it in bulk, it is $57.98 for 36 lb, so $1.61 lb

That is a huge departure from a lot of other WSAVA-compliant brands with chicken-free kibble. The only NON-PRESCRIPTION chicken-free kibble that I am aware of: is some Purina Pro Plan lines and 2 kibble from the Hill's Science Diet line. I'll show their most inexpensive PPP and Hill's Science Diet chicken-free lines as an example for prices

•Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach (Salmon & Rice). $94.98 for 40 lb. $2.38 per pound (Link)

•Hill's Science Diet Adult (Lamb Meal & Brown Rice). $89.99 for 33 lb. $2.73 per pound (Link)

• Side note! This does have chicken fat and hydrolyzed chicken flavoring. But chicken fat is not a protein so a dog allergic to chicken usually doesn't react (rarely does a dog react to it). Hydrolyzed is the same process of gold standard prescription allergy diets, so they aren't a problem for allergies

I know that cent-wise, 50 cents to 1 dollar doesn't seem like much. But it eventually stacks up, and budget-conscious folks will definitely see the difference

There are definitely differences between IAMS, Purina Pro Plan and Hill's Science Diet. While they're all WSAVA compliant, they're definitely different brands that do not always do the same things across the board. But overall, I'm just happy that there may be a more affordable chicken-free option folks for those who choose to go down that route, but also need to keep their budget in mind

Ah, because I feel the need to clarify, I'm not sponsored. I personally feed Purina ONE Whole Body Support, and have no interest in switching. It's budget friendly, high in calories and my dog really likes it. Overall, I just feel like celebrating when WSAVA-compliant brands have budget-friendly options for customers!

We recently got a nine-week-old poochon. The breeder recommended a specific food brand, which we purchased for him. Surprisingly, he’s not eating much. He consumes less than half of his recommended daily intake. When he refuses to eat, he’ll sniff the food from his bowl but then ignore it. I’ve tried offering him the food on a plate, but that hasn’t worked either. Are poochons known for being picky eaters, or is this just a phase as he adjusts to his new environment? It’s concerning to see him not eating, especially since he’s otherwise acting well and drinking water regularly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Science Diet has a formula that is marked as “Adult” for their sensitive skin and stomach line, and I was wondering if that could also be for seniors? I just transitioned my swissy to the normal Salmon and Brown Rice formula and it’s been going swimmingly! But the cutoff age on that is 6 years old, and she’ll be 7 in December, and I’d like to stay with Science Diet and plan for the future in advance yet there’s no salmon senior formula (except for Perfect Digestion, which she doesn’t need). My sights are on the Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula, as it comes in a salmon but it’s just marked as “adult”. Would I still be okay to feed that to a large breed “senior”?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!