Earthborn Holistic dog food.....
 

I would like some opinions on Earthborn Holistic kibble......It is grain free and has limited ingredients. I have some free samples coming from the company and just wondering if any YT members have fed their yorkies this brand? I am considering switching from Blue Buffalo Freedom due to skin issues. I have tried eliminating all snacks and different shampoos and conditioners, even a medicated shampoo recommended by my vet and Teeka and Tatiana are itching, flaking....Tatiana even has some scabby crud on her ear tips. I am so frustrated and as a last resort, think it is the protein in the BB, that may be causing the problem. Any input is welcome! Thank you, in advance!

I'm not sure but wasn't this one of the recently recalled foods?

Earthborn is made by a good company IMO, Midwestern Pet Foods. I do not believe they have ever had a recall.

Their Grain-Free's are somewhat pea heavy and their Primitive Natural formula is WAY too high in ash for my liking (12%) but otherwise a good cost efficient brand!

I am probably getting the E mixed up with another E brand there have been so many its hard to keep them all straight

I'm so sorry to hear that those skin issues haven't cleared up yet :( Maybe it's from laundry detergent or something? I don't know...I'm sure you've considered something like that by now. It's just odd that they both have the same symptoms. Poor little babies. I hope they get better soon!

Anyway, I fed Earthborn Holistic for a long time. It's one of the only types of kibble that Mr. Finicky will eat plain. We switched to this when Yoshi had a reaction to last year's Acana formula change. I was looking for a food without alot of fluffy ingredients. We ate the Grain-free Primitive Natural & the regular (not grain-free) Small Breed formula. The pups definitely preferred the Primitive Natural. The kibble size is a little larger than BB, and not as thick. The Small Breed kibble is tiny. My pups did really well on this food. I liked it because of the first 5 ingredients, 3 are meat meals. No protein from peas & other "protein fillers". They also coat their kibble with probiotics. I think it has a way above average ingredient list & I was really happy with the food. Yoshi eventually decided that he didn't like it anymore...typical Yoshi. But now that you reminded me of it, I might grab a small bag of the Primitive Natural over the weekend. Good luck with the food! I've seen a lot of $2.99 sample bags in different stores around here. And on the back, there's a coupon for $2 off a bag.

Just a note on the recall thing...last week, there was a recall on Great Life Grain-Free Buffalo. Great Life is right next to the Earthborn Holistic in my food store. When I first heard about the recall, I automatically thought of Earthborn Holistic. Taylor, I don't know how your food store is laid out, but maybe that's why you associated Earthborn Holistic with a recall. There are soooo many recalls now! It's so hard to keep track of them all!

I am going to make a list of limited ingredient foods and try to figure out what to do. Jada eats California Natural Venison formula but it was recalled and I am afraid to stay with it (I did send her kibble that I had opened already before the recall, out to an independent lab for testing. It was negative for any bacteria or salmonella.)
Annamaet sent me samples of their limited ingredient food, but my chow hounds wouldn't even take it as a treat and they don't turn their noses up at much.
I need to look into the Earthborn..but I have to have no grains and no chicken at all.

Earthborn has 3 grain-free formulas without chicken...fish, bison & lamb. I'm not sure if there's anything else that might be an allergy trigger in the ingredient list though. Just in case you don't already have this link of suggested hypoallergenic foods from DogFoodAdvisor...Hypoallergenic Dog Foods. It's so hard to find a regular food for a dog these days...I can imagine how difficult it is when you have to worry about allergies too.

I have tried almost everything to help with their skin issues......use All Free & Clear detergent to wash all of our clothes and bedding, tried many shampoos and conditioners including medicated, give only green beans, apples or banana for treats. The air is not dry here anymore because it has been raining off and on for weeks, so it is not dry, winter air........the only thing left is the food. The reason I think it is the food is Tatiana's skin was fine until I began switching her over to BB Freedom! It only comes in the chicken/potato formula. I am thinking it might be the protein..... I do not want to switch foods, but I am at a loss as what else to do. My vet is calling today to talk and see if we need to do a skin scraping. Any other ideas?

Deb, let us know what the vet says. I hope you can get to the bottom of this.

I'm just curious...what were you feeding prior to BB? Don't you give them chicken mixed in their kibble? I'm wondering if it's chicken, or some other ingredient that BB has in it. Maybe compare the ingredient list between the food you were feeding before & the BB? I know that Yoshi had a reaction to Acana Grasslands. But he isn't allergic to lamb. He eats other brands of lamb-based food & is fine. I was never able to pinpoint the exact ingredient in Acana that caused him trouble. So we just stay away from that brand - all formulas. Did she clear up at all when she was on her chicken & rice diet?

Teeka has been on BB almost 6 months and she was on Royal Caine. Tatiana was on Ekuanubia (sp) I wanted them on a grain free food with more protein. I do not usually feed them chicken. Teeka had it when she was sick but I didn't keep her not it. I have a vet appointment for Tatiana, tomorrow. My vets don't think it is the food and don't want me to switch. They want to do a skin scrapping and try to figure out what is going on. Tati now has crusts on the top side tips of her ears along with the flakes on her back and the itching licking & biting of her legs.

I have a friend that has several babies with skin issues, and she finally went to Earthborn grain-free and she is TOTALLY happy with it! These people have never had a recall and I looked at the food and the company when she started trying to decide if this was what she would try next....I thought it looked good and she is now feeding it for about 2-3 months...she says the doggie smell she was having has disappeared, and they are not scratching anywhere as much as they were. She has since "spread the word" to several people she knows, and she tells me everyone is happy with it...one person has to break the kibble up just a little, but she has a teeny-tiny dog....

Do you know which variety she uses? I want to try this with Jada and looking at them I think the Meadow feast would be the one I can try. It is also sold locally at our Farmers Co-op so I wouldn't have to order online.

I just talked to my vet and Tatiana has an appointment for tomorrow morning. Going to get a full work up and a skin scrapping. It could be almost any thing including a food allergy! I have to bring her bag of food, shampoos and conditioners and a list of treats and supplements. Wish us luck....I hope we can figure this out!

Wow, I love the review on this food! It is nice to know some one has great results and not recalls, either!

She said she uses the one with the fish...and the reason she uses that one particular one is because the kibble is smaller in that one......Also, for what it is worth, she said the head dog food person at the place where she buys her dog food, told her that chicken is an ingredient that a lot of dogs are allregic to....this person told her people automatically "dump" on grains in the formulas, but chicken is a HUGE offender, and it is in EVERYTHING!! So when she tried the Earthborn, she tried the 3 flavors of the grain free and settled on the one with the fish.....hope this helps.....and I can personally offer NO "professional" input on all these ingredients, etc....I dont know what in the world I would do if RC ever goes to hell or my dogs cant tolerate it....Thank God, so far, it is working great for us, after all these years!!

I am wondering if it is the protein that is causing my yorkies skin issues, too!Thank you Yorkiemom1 for that bit of information!

I know Jada can't tolerate grains or chicken at all. Thank goodness our local farmers CO-OP carries this brand. I called them and they can give me samples of the grain free varieties. Looking at ingredients I think the Meadows variety will be our best bet.
I also looked the company up on dog food advisor and the grain free varieties are all 5 star!! The California Natural I currently feed is only 3 stars.

I don't want to scare you, but since there are other threads currently in the sick & injured section about canine vasculitis...just wondering if Tati has this...I hope not! Hope the vet visit will give you answers. Skin scraping/cytology will show what kind of bacteria/ yeast it is by looking under the microscope & it doesn't cost much to do it.

My vet also told me that a lot of his patients are allergic to chicken. He said he's seeing more & more recently. But there's chicken in RC too. So it may not be the protein? It may be one of those ingredients further down on the list...like what happened to Yoshi on the new Acana. But whatever it is, I hope that the girls will be back to normal soon. Good luck with the vet appt. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

I just read a little bit on this and I will bring it up tomorrow at my vets. It sounds scary and she did just have a vaccine done.

I sent an email to Earthborn about their grain free varieties. They responded almost immediately !!! Wow that rarely happens. They are sending samples right out and I can't believe this kibble is readily available in my area and actually two blocks away from work. I'm praying jada will eat it and it doesn't trigger any itching!!

Deb I wish you luck at the vet and hope they can pinpoint what is going on. I know how frustrating it is.

Thank you everyone for the input and I will let you all know the outcome of the appointment!

I had my little 5# yorkie on BB and she had the same problems you are dealing with I took her off BB and put her on Cannie Caviar and within 4 days her itching totally stopped and she has been on CC for 3 months now. I can say I thing this food is wonderful and another good thing about it you can switch over all at once

:thumbup:
:thumbup:

Peanut has been on CC (open sky) for 8 months now and has been doing great! Usually this time in the season he will be red, itchy, hotspots, watery eyes, just plain out miserable. He isn’t! He skin coat looks amazing. I know he has seasonal allergies as well as food, and since he has been on CC I don’t have to give him any Benadryl!!
:thumbup:

Samples of the earthborn holistic came today. I just sent them an email on the 10th. I gave both of mine a couple of pieces as a treat. They didnt spit them out like they did the anamaet sample. Which variety of CC can you feed for allergies to chicken and grains?

I give Dolly Open Sky and she has done great on it,I believe it is duck and potato. You can go to Chewy.com and fine the different various

You can try all 3 of their grain free ALS versions. It comes in venison, duck or fish not sure if buffalo is out yet. I recently switched to Fromm from CC & now mine are all licking their paws & scratching their face & tummy every night! I don't know what possessed me to switch when they were doing so good on CC.:rolleyes: lolll Can't wait to switch back to CC.

CC doesn't use potato, that's why the fur butts don't itch or lick their paws!