Ms. Chelsey Kostick

by Chelsey Kostick
(Lake Almanor CA 96137)

Hi my name is Chelsey Kostick and I am a blind young independent college student. I would have become a vet if I was not blind. I love animals and love to be albe to help the animals that were mistreated by humans. Anyway I am contacting you to ask a couple of questions about dog food. I have a Guide dog named Brogan and of course I want to feed him the very best. Right Now I am feeding him PRO PLAN senative stomace. What kind of food could I feed him that would be good for his senative stomace and also keep the weight off him? He is a lab and his weight tends to gain five pounds and then loss five pounds. I would like his wight to remain ath the wonderful 63 pound when I got him for Guide Dogs for the BLind inc. Right now his weight is 67.2 pounds. Can you please pint Brogan and I in the right direction. There are som any dog foods out there I am not sure what should even be in them. I have been told that he should eat no grains and the protain should be low in the food. What else can I do? Can certain products in dog food cause a dog to get yeast infections in his ears?
Thanks for all you wonderful information.
Please e-mail me back at: (Removed by Schonbeck)
my spelling might not be the greates so I hope you do not have any trouble reading and understanding my e-mail.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Chelsey and Brogan kostick

My Comment:

Hi Chelsey.

Thank you so much for your mail.

Labradors is very hungry and like food a lot. In order to meet this it could be a good idea to try to raise the protein ratio in his food.

More protein will make him more satisfied and less hungry.

Royal Canin do have a special Labrador food containing more protein, but not as much as i like. So i like to recommend another.

Brogan is on sensitive stomach food from Pro Plan. Is he diagnosed having some king of a stomach or intestinal problem?

If he has some kind of stomach problem you should be aware about changing food slowly.

Yes - i like as well dog food having less grain and more "meat". Looking at the ingredients from Pro Plan i see it contain lot of "brewers rice", corn and wheat.

The fat source is listed as "animal fat" and is (in my opinion) not a sign of quality. This is a mix from different sources and therefor more cheaper to use in dog food.

My practical knowledge of Pro Plan is very limited - none to be exactly. But by reading the list of ingredients give me some idea about the food. It is possible to find better quality dog food.

I admit, Orijen dog food is my favorite at present. This one is only containing top quality ingredients and the list of ingredients is very detailed. Both a sign of quality.

But does it work in Brogan and does he like it?

This you have to test. So - try it and see if hes stomach can handle it.

Sometimes, i have seen that a change in dog food can make ear irritations better. Labradors do have a very strong tendency to develop ear inflammations and irritations.

I am not sure if Orijen can do anything about this - try it and see.

Good chances that Brogan gets less hungry as many of my dog patients show signs of being less hungry.

But you need to give it the real life test and try it. I am looking forward to hear from you again.

All the best

DVM Per Schonbeck