[hdgirly]

I recently rescued a pitbull age 5 when she came to me she had severe yeast infections in both ears and a pretty severe cysts on her paw that required vet care. She refused to eat for the first week until I boiled ground meat and rice for her recommended by my vet. After all the medications and vet care she has come around quite a bit and I just want to know what would be the best food to feed this wonderful girl to get her back in her game. She doesn't know how to play or walk on the leash she's pretty shy and sumissive almost seems as though she's been abused and neglected. I want to give her a chance to have a loving home and any advice would help. She's a heartbreaker. I have done some research but there are so many brands I thought maybe a breeder or someone with Pits could help. Thank you to anyone who can help!

[Aurora_Bell]

Aww hugs to you for rescuing this lucky little girl! I have always been a fan of holistic foods. Bully breeds tend to be more prone to skin allergies, and commercial foods are usually filled with fillers and by products. Lots of dogs have allergies to wheat and no one can digest corn, and most times when you look at the ingredients in commercial foods, those are among the top listed.

I have a pure bred Am Staff and a Boxer Staffy mix, who are both rescues, and both have terrible B.O and allergy issues. As soon as I switched them to a raw/holistic diet, they made a total turn around.

It's hard to recommend a specific brand with out knowing where you live. Here in Canada we have different brands then in the States or U.K if you don't mind providing your state or Province, I would be more then happy to look into some brands for you.

[Lucky098]

I feed my pittie Innova.

I fed her Taste of the Wild for the longest time. It appears to be high in fat, she got porky on me! But for a skinny dog that needs some extra groceries, maybe that food will work for you.

Wellness is a good food. It can be purchased at either Petsmart or Petco. Natural Balance is also a good food, however I did have problems with my pit on that food (she got extra gassy).

I'm not a fan of the raw diets. Unless you are a nutritionist, the raw diets are typically incomplete and major expensive!

Another good food I fed my pit when she was younger was EVO. It is made by the same company as Innova, except that it is a higher quality (its equivalent to the raw diet, except in kibble form). It put nice muscle on her and bulked her up. Innova, EVO and Taste of the Wild are specialty foods and will only be found in a specialty store. Commercial stores, such as petsmart and petco, will not carry these foods. They are also a higher quality food, so you will be buying a smaller bag, but you will also be feeding less. The brands of food I mentioned are also grain free. There is really not much I can say bad about those foods!

Good luck! And thanks for saving a bull! :)

[Aurora_Bell]

I am not a fan of Innova or Evo, seen and heard too many horror stories of dogs internal organs failing due to this food. I also try to stay away from pet foods bought at commercial pet stores. I go straight to the manufactures, and luckily feeding holistically makes that very easy. Also I am no a nutritionist, but I am VERY confident in my ability to feed my dogs on a raw diet. After all, natural is best.

[Lucky098]

I have never heard of Evo or Innova causing internal organ failure... Ever... But I'm sure ALL food has the ability to work against the body.

Not saying you didn't do your research, many people don't. Props to you for actually doing the work for it. I just don't recommend Raw or BARF for people who want to feed a good food. I have heard many horror stories with RAW and BARF as well, such as chicken bones slicing the throat from the opening of the mouth to the gut and ripping apart the intestine. My moms friends dog had to be put to sleep because of the BARF diet... and she was a very attentive owner. She has since put her dogs on Wellness... :)

I think that we are all taking a chance when it comes to feeding our dogs. Because they don't get to eat what nature intended for them, there is always that chance the dog is going to have a allergic reaction to the ingredients or chocking on a bone. I guess nature is taking its course, we humans prevent that from happening...

[Aurora_Bell]

Yea, that's why I would never feed my dogs raw chicken bones. The only raw bones Lady and Max get are beef bones. Like you said anything ca be a risk if not done properly, of course I researched my stuff. I would never feed a food I hadn't researched. I think if the OP has the time and patience to feed a BARF diet, all the better for her and her dogs, In my opinion. Holistic being the second.

I am not trying to sound argumentative, but I can see how it sounds lol. I'm just pro natural foods.