Food Friday: Solid Gold SeaMeal Nutritional Supplement

I don't normally use Solid Gold's dog foods because the vast majority of them contain eggs, but I do use their SeaMeal nutritional supplement from time to time. Poor Brisbane is allergic to eggs, as well as chicken, turkey, and duck. Probably pollen, too. SeaMeal is a kelp-based vitamin and mineral supplement with digestive enzymes. It claims to be a good source of chlorophyll and iodine.

This is an interesting dietary supplement that has been around since 1982 and is a favorite of many dog people. I came across it while looking for anything that would help Brisbane grow some hair. Even before the embarrassing shavedown, he had issues with hair loss and taking months to regrow lost fur.

I am skeptical of dietary supplements as I am skeptical of pretty much everything. I like well-constructed studies and trials that show statistically significant effectiveness of things. This is why I don't give my dogs joint supplements like glucosamine, chondroitin, or MSM. Though tons of people swear by them, study after study has failed to show that they actually do anything more than a placebo. The most optimistic studies are usually small and poorly designed.

Studies on kelp as a dietary supplement focus almost exclusively on iodine. Other studies tend to be on the levels of arsenic found in many kelp supplements, and the effects of that arsenic. There have been some case studies on people developing hypothyroidism after ingesting large amounts of iodine via kelp supplements. Basically the thyroid gland shuts itself off for a while if there is too much iodine in the body.

I suspect that Brisbane may have low thyroid function based on his difficulty growing hair and inability to lose weight even on a very low-calorie diet with lots of exercise. Additional iodine in his diet could help with this, make it worse, or have no obvious effect. I've given him SeaMeal for several months at a time in the past with no obvious effect, but we're trying it again as he attempts to regrow his entire coat. I'm also trying to convince Ru to eat it as he is missing all the hair at the front of his neck from wearing a collar. Sisci is apparently getting everything she needs from her current diet, as her coat is so shiny it actually sparkles in the sun.

Solid Gold SeaMeal has a lot of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. I can see it being particularly useful for dogs that eat the same food every day, as it could help address unknown nutritional gaps. My dogs eat tons of different foods, both commercial and fresh, so they are less likely to have that particular issue. It's probably like multivitamins for humans, with no particular effect on anything. Somehow this has not stopped me from purchasing a 1 lb canister of it and sprinkling it on everyone's food.

Allergy Alert! Taste of the Wild Has Changed!

I was discussing dog food with a friend, and mentioned that foster dog Uly was eating Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain kibble because it was egg-free as well as poultry-free. She asked if it contained flaxseed, so I looked up the ingredients on the Taste of the Wild website. I read ingredient labels constantly because poultry and eggs are in pretty much everything, so I was very surprised to find egg listed in the ingredients. All of the Taste of the Wild canned foods have egg in them, so I checked and double-checked that I was looking at the kibble ingredients and not the canned Sierra Mountain label. Finally I went and checked the bag I have here, and there was no mention of egg in the ingredients.

I emailed Taste of the Wild asking if the food had changed. They apparently added egg recently, so I will no longer be able to consider Taste of the Wild in the purple bag to be Briz-safe. Such a disappointment, but I'm glad I caught it now. I have updated my list of Brisbane-safe foods to reflect the change. The Pacific Stream and Pacific Stream Puppy foods are still safe. I do wish that dog food companies would make it a standard practice to inform the public about changes like this.

Qunioa Isn't a Grain?

I am currently working on a dog food project to help narrow down possible foods for dogs with allergies. I only feed my dogs grain-free foods, and so I was surprised to find quinoa on the ingredients list for Solid Gold's Sun Dancer food. I've eaten quinoa, I've even cooked it myself, and I was pretty sure it was in the grain family. Can Solid Gold really claim that this food is grain-free?

My approach to pretty much any question in life is to look it up on the internet and find an answer. According to Wikipedia, quinoa is a pseudocereal crop. True cereals come from plants in the true grass family, and quinoa is actually a chenopod. It is more closely related to beets and tumbleweeds than to wheat. Who knew?

The name "quinoa" is derived from Quechuan, a native South American language. The Quechuan word for it is "kinwa", and I think we should all start using that spelling instead because it would be a lot easier to pronounce. I spent well over a year pronouncing it "kwi-no-ah" before learning the error of my ways.

So is Sun Dancer really grain-free if it contains quinoa, or is Solid Gold cheating? Technically it's a pseudocereal, along with amaranth and buckwheat. It also falls into the "grain crop" category, but so do legumes like beans and peas. Quinoa is actually a seed, but it has a high glycemic value like a lot of real cereal grains. It's also high in protein. Technically Sun Dancer is a grain-free food, but it's a lot closer to having grain than foods that use peas and potatoes.

The Short List: Egg-Free, Poultry-Free, Grain-Free Kibble

Brisbane has some food allergies that we identified via a not-very-precise elimination diet. He is also allergic to fleas, and the vet thinks he has environmental allergies as well. I keep him happy and itch-free by avoiding his food allergens, giving him Zyrtec and Benadryl, keeping him on Comfortis flea preventative, and bathing him at least once a week in baby shampoo.

My half-assed elimination diet involved noticing that he was itchy shortly after consuming certain foods, attempting to cut those out of his diet for a long time, and then feeding him a bunch of said food to see what would happen.

Example: Briz had a huge hot spot. The previous day I was attempting to fry the perfect over-medium egg and slid all the failures into his bowl. We avoided feeding him anything containing eggs for a few months, and then I gave him a few fried eggs with broken yolks again. When he got another hot spot we cut eggs out of his diet entirely.

This entirely unscientific process has led me to believe that Brisbane is allergic to eggs, chicken, turkey, and duck. Since cutting these out of his diet he has been significantly less itchy, and stopped getting yeast infections in his enormous ears. Conveniently, he is not allergic to emu, ostrich, pheasant, quail, or pigeon.

THIS IS A SUFFOCATION HAZARD!
A dog can suffocate in a chip bag in five minutes or less!
Always supervise your garbage hounds!

Finding commercial pet foods and treats that Brisbane can eat is a little tricky, but I love research. I also love hiking and ultralight backpacking, where every ounce counts. I have amassed a list of kibbles that Brisbane can eat, and included the number of calories per cup so I can carry his food most efficiently on the trail. I thought this information would be helpful for anyone looking to put weight on a dog, or help a chunky pup slim down.

All of these grain-free foods are also free of egg, turkey, duck, and chicken, including chicken fat. I excluded some otherwise excellent foods because they used poultry fat as a preservative. I've been told that purified fat is not an allergen and could not possibly cause an allergic reaction, but my vet and I still would prefer to leave it out. Please pay attention to the specific variety of food, as most or all of the manufacturers also make varieties with poultry and eggs, and only certain flavors/recipes are safe. Some of these products are available around the world, others only in specific areas. Most can be purchased online.

I am madly in love with the Dog Food Advisor site, and recently used it to choose a new food for my dogs. Most or all of these foods will be listed there with a fabulous review and nutritional breakdown.

Update: Check out DogFoodWizard.com for custom food selection for any allergens!

The List:

Honest Kitchen Love 514 kcal/cup

Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream 360 kcal/cup
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy360 kcal/cup (Note: Puppy food has the same calories.)
Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain 338 kcal/cup Now contains egg!

Orijen Six Fish 456 kcal/cup

Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Fish 380 kcal/cup

Natural Balace LID Sweet Poato and Venison 360 kcal/cup

Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato and Bison 375 kcal/cup

Natural Balance LID Potato and Rabbit 350 kcal/cup

Wellness Core Ocean Formula 417 kcal/cup

Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato 446 kcal/cup

AvoDerm Salmon and Potato 360 kcal/cup

AvoDerm Trout and Pea 446 kcal/cup

Nature’s Variety Instinct Salmon Meal 448 kcal/cup

Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Lamb 433 kcal/cup

Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Rabbit 449 kcal/cup

Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Salmon 436 kcal/cup

Canidae Pure Sea 496 kcal/cup

Canidae Pure Land 474 kcal/cup

Merrick Grain-Free Pork and Sweet Potato 460 kcal/cup

Merrick Grain-Free Texas Beef 422 kcal/cup

Castor and Pollux Grain-Free Poultry-Free 375 kcal/cup

Acana Pacifica 421 kcal/cup

Acana Ranchlands 422 kcal/cup (What my motley crew is currently eating.)

Acana Lamb and Apple 421 kcal/cup

Innova Nature's Table Grain Free Ranch-Raised Beef & Red Lentils 497 kcal/cup

Innova Nature's Table Grain Free Cold Water Salmon and Wild Herring 483 kcal/cup

California Natural Pork and Sweet Potato 431 kcal/cup

California Natural Salmon and Pea 435 kcal/cup

California Natural Kangaroo and Red Lentil 431 kcal/cup

California Natural Lamb 428 kcal/cup

California Natural Venison and Green Lentil 443 kcal/cup

Canine Caviar Wild Ocean 552 kcal/cup

Canine Caviar Wilderness 595 kcal/cup

Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast 300 kcal/cup

Evanger’s Meat-Lover’s Medley 387 kcal/cup

Great Life Buffalo 431 kcal/cup

Great Life Salmon 442 kcal/cup

Dr. E’s RX Buffalo 429 kcal/cup

Pioneer Naturals Pork 426 kcal/cup

Pioneer Naturals Vension 434 kcal/cup

Pioneer Naturals Whitefish 451 kcal/cup

Pure Vita Grain Free Salmon 454 kcal/cup

Pure Vita Bison 438 kcal/cup

Natural Planet Rabbit and Salmon 448 kcal/cup

American Natural Premium Buffalo Meal 400 kcal/cup

American Natural Premium Ocean Fish and Potato 407 kcal/cup

Annamaet Aqualuk 426 kcal/cup

Annamaet Manitok 422 kcal/cup

Back to Basics Whitefish and Potato 273 kcal/cup

Back to Basics Lamb and Potato 297 kcal/cup

Back to Basics Pork 424 kcal/cup

Back to Basics Open Range 400 kcal/cup

Best Breed Grain-Free Salmon 437 kcal/cup

Nutrience Grain-Free Ocean Fish and Salmon 415 kcal/cup

Redmoon Lamb and Potato 476 kcal/cup

Victor Dog Food Salmon and Sweet Potato 402 kcal/cup

Wholesome Blend Grain-Free 406 kcal/cup

Wholesome Blend Grain-Free Small Breed 450 kcal/cup