# High Calorie, Grain Free, Salmon based food?



## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

Does anyone know of a food like this? I wish there was a place where all grain free foods were listed, along with calorie content and ingrediants. I tried dogfoodanalysis.com but I noticed that most of the reviews are at least 2 years old. Who knows what ingrediants have changed since then?
I saw Candidae grain free salmon, but there is no company guarantee that they don't use ethoxyquin. Ellie cannot have chicken or beef, so I like to stick to salmon based formulas. Thanks in advance!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

My dogs did well on this:
http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=42
Calorie Content: ME (calculated) = 4257 kcal / kg or 466 kcal per 8 oz (250 ml) cup

I will rotate it again as my next fish based food. 

I am thinking the Acana might be something you would like, also made in Canada, but by Champion foods, with more than salmon though. 

I can't remember if Fromm has a salmon food that is grain free. 

This was updated 2/09: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

What about Rabbit?
Nature's Variety Rabbit Meal

Ingredients
Rabbit Meal, Salmon Meal, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tomato Pomace, Pumpkinseeds, Sun-Cured Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Iodine Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Carotene, Folic Acid), Peas, Brewers Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite), Dried Kelp, Cranberries, Blueberries, Inulin, Freeze Dried Rabbit, Freeze Dried Rabbit Liver, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract, Freeze Dried Rabbit Lung, Freeze Dried Rabbit Hearts, Freeze Dried Ground Rabbit Bone

Calories
482 per cup

http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_dog_kibble_rabbit


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## Renoman (Apr 10, 2009)

You might want to check this one out.

http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=44

Fromm does have a salmon kibble, not sure if it's grain free, but the kibble is tiny.. more appropriate for a small breed dog than a GSD.

My guys did well on the Go! Natural too. Unfortunately, I can't find it locally and local retailers don't have a distributor they can get it from and shipping made it cost prohibitive.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Barb E.What about Rabbit?
> Nature's Variety Rabbit Meal
> 
> Ingredients
> ...


Personally, with the first two ingredients being a meal, the second a filler and the fourth chicken fat, I wouldn't touch that food.

The actual meat is the last items on the list.

But I"m not an expert so I could be wrong.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Actually it's my understaning that named meals are actually better than meats. 
The moisture is removed from the meat creating the meal. So if you have say Chicken Meat vs Chicken Meal your actual content of meat is much lower with the Chicken Meat than with the Chicken Meal. Since they are listed by weight a food with a meat and then carb will have less meat protein than a food with a meal then carb

Unamed meals - bad 
Named meals - good


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Meal is not necessarily a bad thing. Meal simply means the protein has been baked and ground up. It does not include by-products. With meal you actually get more of the protein content because the water has been removed. Some people say that it's better.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

oh...nice to know!! I was told just the opposite! Thanks Barb and Ruth!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Barb and Ruth:










Having a NAMED meat(like Rabbit, salmon ect...) meal is also one thing, If it were a "by product" meal THAT would be another.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

The Go! Natural is not grain free (at least not that formula) and the Nature's Variety contains chicken fat. Since I know she is allergic to chicken I will stay away from that - just in case. The Fromm is not grain free either. I did check out the Dog Food Project website and saw that maybe Orijen 6 Fresh Fish might work.I'm sure it's waayyyy more than we're paying for TOTW right now.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAAN
> 
> 
> I can't remember if Fromm has a salmon food that is grain free.


No they don't. Their Salmon A La Veg has grains. And their grain free kibble "Surf and Turf" has chicken in it.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

I just looked up the Orijen 6 Fresh Fish. $72 for a 29lb bag!!!! My CPA husband will have a stroke!


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Often (not always though) dogs that have a chicken sensativity to chicken are ok with chicken fat.

Finding a food that is not preserved with chicken fat is going to make your choices much more limited


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## GunnersMom (Jan 25, 2008)

Have you looked at the Core Ocean formula?
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_grain_ocean.html

I don't know if it would be considered "high calorie", and it does contain other fish besides salmon. 
But there's no chicken or beef, it's grain free and the company does state that they use only ethoxyquin-free meats. (That's a deal-breaker for me, too.)

Core wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, but I've had good luck with it, with Gunner. It's the only food he does well on.


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## Jacobysma (Jun 17, 2009)

Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish:
Sweet Potatoes, Salmon, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil, Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil (a source of DHA), Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Methionine, Choline Chloride, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

I was thinking of Before Grain Salmon but it has chicken meal. My 3 dogs love the Natural Balance. The price is reasonable also, I buy it from a local store but you can also buy it from Petco. Just another idea. Good luck!


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: GunnersMomHave you looked at the Core Ocean formula?
> http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_grain_ocean.html
> 
> I don't know if it would be considered "high calorie", and it does contain other fish besides salmon.
> But there's no chicken or beef, it's grain free and the company does state that they use only ethoxyquin-free meats. (That's a deal-breaker for me, too.)


Second that. I contacted Wellness directly and neither they nor their suppliers use ethoxyquin.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: JacobysmaNatural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish:
> Sweet Potatoes, Salmon, Salmon Meal, Canola Oil, Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Salmon Oil (a source of DHA), Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Methionine, Choline Chloride, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
> 
> I was thinking of Before Grain Salmon but it has chicken meal. My 3 dogs love the Natural Balance. The price is reasonable also, I buy it from a local store but you can also buy it from Petco. Just another idea. Good luck!


The Natural Balance food is very low protein. 

I fed Chama the Orijen and she did great on it. 

Also, why are you looking for a high carb food?


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

Not necessarily high carb, but high calorie. She needs to gain a little weight as she has been losing lately. Vet said to up her food intake, but she is not a huge eater (and never has been). To get near enough calories into her with the TOTW she needs at least 4 cups/day. She doesn't like to eat that much. I was thinking that instead of adding different things to her food to supplement or trying to feed her more I would look for a more dense food. TOTW is only 375ish calories a cup whereas Orijen is somewhere around 475ish. I could feed her about a cup less of food and still maintain the calorie content. It was just a thought I was having. Add to that the possible use of ethoxyquin in TOTW I was thinking a switch may be in order. I could be worng, though and I'm sure someone will tell me if I am, right?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

The Natural Balance is also NOT "high calorie". It has less than 400 calories a cup.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

It really depends on the individual wether or not they well need more or less of a different food. I was feeding Canidae ALS (the one WITH grain.) It is 468 calories a cup. After Siren turned a year old, I changed to TOTW High Prairie, which is only 370 calories. I figured I would have to feed more, yet all 3 dogs are eating the same amount ot TOTW as they were on the higher calorie food. And they have all maintained their weight very well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT saying you shouldn't change if you want to. Just that depending on the individual dog, she may NOT need less food, just because it has more calories.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I wonder if feeding her some canned meat along with her kibble would help? And I mean canned MEAT, not canned "dog food".

Something like this: (THere are several different brands.)

Before Grain canned salmon.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

Well that would be a bummer if I was spending $72/bag! I guess I'm not sure what else to do. I suppose I could just keep adding stuff into her TOTW to make her want to eat more. She'll eat it all (most of the time) if I put a little cottage cheese in it or something like that, but she seems to get bored of that fairly quickly.


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

Good idea. Someone else suggested canned mackeral (I think it was mackeral) that you can get in the "human" food aisles. They said it was much cheaper. Thoughts on that?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Hopefully someone else will chime in. I know NOTHING about canned "human" fish. (YUCK!!!! Makes me GAG.)

I imagine it would be fine (as long as there are no "additives".) Seems like a lot of folks feed it. Though I wonder how many calories it has?

There are also other "flavors" of canned meat, like Buffalo, Green Tripe, Rabbit, Venison ect... (Not all the same brand, but available.) So that would give her some variety.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I was trying to think of something that might require her to need less kibble. Rather than just a "topper" to get her to eat 4 cups of kibble. (For instance, some of the canned meats are over 500 calories a can.)


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: blordGood idea. Someone else suggested canned mackeral (I think it was mackeral) that you can get in the "human" food aisles. They said it was much cheaper. Thoughts on that?


Watch out for added salt or oil.


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## mkewish (Sep 2, 2008)

We use Acana Pacifica, Jake has horrible food allergies/sensitivities, this one worked great.


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## balakai (Feb 9, 2005)

I have a list that I just created last week--all of the grain-free kibbles that I could find, listing protein/fat/calcium/phosphorus/kcals/ingredients--I will email it to you if you want to PM me your email address.

I will post the list when it's totally finalized (still waiting on some info from a couple of manufacturers) and then I'll ask the mods to make it a sticky.

~Kristin


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## blord (Feb 14, 2009)

I don't know how to pm, but I'd love the list

*Never mind, I got it. PM on it's way.....


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

Have you checked your area to see if you have a feed store or premium pet food store? We buy Orijen at our local feed store and it is MUCH cheaper than you can buy online. Other food/treats are as well. 

I like that we can browse around and read ingredients. Also, keep in mind that many premium food companies have a frequent buyer programs where your 10th (or 12th) bag is free.


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