# Anybody tried Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 for Dogs?



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Lamb Meal and Brown Rice Formula Rachael Ray NutrishÂ® just 6Â® doesn't contain any corn, wheat or soy. 

I bought some for Sammi today because even with giving her Benadryl twice a day, 2 fish oil capsules, and Iams ProActive Health Dry Dog Food, chicken & Rice, she still bites and scratches. 

I wondered if anyone else had tried it. I let her taste it and she ate it right up. I am going to mix it with the Iams I have left. I boil chicken thighs for her and put that over the top of her kibble. We get 12 oz frozen pkgs from the dollar store. One pkg with the broth will last about 3 days.


----------



## carolinagirl (Jun 27, 2011)

Here's a good link for you. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/rachael-ray-nutrish-just-6/

Dog Food advisor rates it as an average quality food. I think 4-health from Tractor Supply is a better foor for less money. It got a higher rating too.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

My son in law is going to pick me a bag of the 4-health from Tractor Supply when he goes there in the next couple of weeks. It is not close to where I live.
I was getting her a bag of something else to tide her over til then. This Rachel Ray food was the only one I could find in Publix with no corn, soy or wheat.

I see the vitamin K has been linked to allergies. I only bought a 10 bag. 
A 35 lb bag from Tractor Supply will last us 3 months. We feed her 2 cups a day along with the boiled chicken and broth.


----------



## carolinagirl (Jun 27, 2011)

It's good that you are avoiding grain. That stuff isn't good for dogs. Do you have a Costco close by? If so....Kirkland's food is excellent.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

No. We do not have a Costco. I was going to get my son who lives where there is one to get us a bag of the Kirklands but I found out about the food from Tractor Supply. It is made by Blue Buffalo. Kirklands is made by Diamond.

My son works for a company who tests packaging for Pedigree and I could get all it that I needed when he runs trials but I sure don't want the vet bills again. We were feeding her Pedigree when we first got her and she developed a lick Granuloma. She was scratching, licking and itching all the time. That is when we found out that she was allergic to the stuff in the food.


----------



## carolinagirl (Jun 27, 2011)

4-health is made by Diamond too. And so is Taste of The Wild.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I don't know where I read that it was made by Blue Buffalo.


That is even better. Diamond is supposed to be very good. Thanks so much for the link.


----------



## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

The Rachael Pay is all my parents dogs eat. Is it helping the little dog who itches and chews herself? Not that I can tell. Of course, they are convienced she is just bored and you can't tell them otherwise. Poor thing almost chews her paws off. Also can't get them to change her vet, as the one they use dislikes small show type dogs. He's an bully with her.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Pamda, I do think the Benadryl helps. If she is a small dog, you can get the children's strength liquid or the generic.
My 45 lb dog's dosage is 1 25mg twice a day. I also put Zymox or Desitin ointment around her tail or her paws if she is scratching or licking them. Then we go outside for a while to get her mind off her itches. I use the Apple cider vinegar on her too. She hates the smell but I like to think it helps with the itching.


----------



## Caitedid (Jun 2, 2004)

GAPeach- I feed Kent Native, which the website dogfoodadvisor.com lists as a 4 star food. Our local feed store carries it, just a thought.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Caitedid, I will check that out. We have a feed store right downtown. Tks!


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Check the sodium on the chciken you are adding to the food.

If the sodium is listed over 100 mg per 4 ounce serving the chciken is enhanced. Even people that feed raw and still having skin and or ear issue with their pet it is almost certainly never the chciken it is either that it is enhanced or they are adding things like fruits or root based veg tables to the dogs food. Fruits and root based vegetables are high in sugar. Sugar converts to yeast. Yeast causes ear and skin problems.

Rachel rays food, here are the ingredients:
lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Dried Beet Pulp, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid. 

Although this is not horrible, Dogs have no nutritional need for rice. Beet pulp is for horses not carnivores and also can be an allergen.

If you get to the point that you want to feed raw pm me and I will send you enough food for 1 month [no charge]. I have no doubt that you will see improvements in your dogs skin once all the inappropriate ingredients are gone form the diet. A raw diet does not have to be hard. It can be done cheaper then the "premium dog foods"
I have been raw feeding 13 years now. We have a raw pet food business for over 12 years. I have thousands of costumers that have seen 100% improvements when they switch to raw feeding. I am willing to put my money where my mouth is so to speak so what do you have to loose?


----------



## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

gapeach said:


> Pamda, I do think the Benadryl helps. If she is a small dog, you can get the children's strength liquid or the generic.
> My 45 lb dog's dosage is 1 25mg twice a day. I also put Zymox or Desitin ointment around her tail or her paws if she is scratching or licking them. Then we go outside for a while to get her mind off her itches. I use the Apple cider vinegar on her too. She hates the smell but I like to think it helps with the itching.


Thank you for the info. I am going to buy the Benadryl and take it to them. Poor girl is so meserable somedays


----------



## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Tracy said:


> Check the sodium on the chciken you are adding to the food.
> 
> If the sodium is listed over 100 mg per 4 ounce serving the chciken is enhanced. Even people that feed raw and still having skin and or ear issue with their pet it is almost certainly never the chciken it is either that it is enhanced or they are adding things like fruits or root based veg tables to the dogs food. Fruits and root based vegetables are high in sugar. Sugar converts to yeast. Yeast causes ear and skin problems.
> 
> ...


I'd love to hear more about your raw pet food business. I'd feed RAW if it were more convenient.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

BarbadosSheep said:


> I'd love to hear more about your raw pet food business. I'd feed RAW if it were more convenient.


My website is https://www.hare-today.com/

I am not here to solicit sales and do not want to violate forum rules.
I am willing to help people that are truly having issues. Our dogs and cats can not speak for themselves. Every single customer testimonial on my website is from real costumers. I do not edit any of them and all reviews are posted. 
If BackfortyBecky still posts she can chime in. I sent her food to get her dogs started on as she was having the same type of issues. I believe she is still feeding raw. I told her how to source locally and that she could do this cheaper then buying everything from me. Maybe not the best business policy but I am not in this to get rich. We never will. I do know however that we have helped thousands of pets live longer healthier lives.

My oldest Dane lived to 14 years of age. Normal life span of a Dane is 7 so I guess we are doing something right.

Tracy


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I never knew that about the sodium in chicken. I just looked at the pkg and it is 790mg for 12 oz. Thanks a lot,Tracy. Here I was thinking I was doing great on feeding her but will admit to not knowing much about dog food.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

gapeach said:


> I never knew that about the sodium in chicken. I just looked at the pkg and it is 790mg for 12 oz. Thanks a lot,Tracy. Here I was thinking I was doing great on feeding her but will admit to not knowing much about dog food.


That is at least part of the problem. If I had $1.00 for every person that has told me their dog is allergic to poultry I would be retired right now laying on the beach somewhere warm 

It is not poultry that is the problem it is that most poultry and also pork are enhanced. The enhanced solution is sugar, sodium, msg and other garbage.
I don't want this in MY food not do I want it in my dogs food. It is a major allergen. You can feed chicken. Just make sure what you are buying is natural and not enhanced. The sodium level is always the key. Some manufactures are putting "all natural" on the labels but still adding sodium. Since salt is a natural product they can get away with this :grump:


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Take Tracy up on the free food! I've been feeding raw for ten years.


----------



## Caitedid (Jun 2, 2004)

There is also petfoodratings.net, for those of us with cats. 

Tracy- How do those of us in small apartments feed raw? My ENTIRE place is carpeted, and my Aussie tends to take food from his bowl to eat elsewhere.


----------



## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Used to be before dog food was invented, dogs ate people food and did fine or they were fed raw meat.


----------



## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Caitedid said:


> How do those of us in small apartments feed raw? My ENTIRE place is carpeted, and my Aussie tends to take food from his bowl to eat elsewhere.


Right now I have a dog with severe mange and the weather is too cold to leave him outside with his raw meaty bone. I just put him in a crate with a tray bottom and no bedding. He runs right in there when it's dinner time. I no longer even lock the door, he knows this is his dining room.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

I agree with Maura a crate is good. If you don't have a crate most bathrooms are not carpeted which could be an option.
This is also a training issue. Dogs can be taught to eat in one specific area. People either put a large towel down and the dog is taught to eat there or some people will use a plastic tablecloth. If there is a will there is a way.
If the dog tries to take the food of the desired area then it is put back. If it is done again the food is removed till next feeding. They will learn real quick where they are allowed to eat. IMO eating issues is a learned behavior taught by us humans.


----------



## heavyrebel (Oct 6, 2010)

Also, try to use a benadryl without dye...people and dogs can be allergic to this.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I had not thought about dye in Benadry. I recently changed her to Zyrtec generic, Cetirizine. Maybe it is the time of year with all of the pollen but she seems to be doing worse with the scratching and biting on herself.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Yesterday afternoon and last night Sammi was scratching and scratching. I got her to lie down and her stomach and both back legs looked like she had the measles. There were red bumps all over. I sprayed her with AC vinegar with a few drops of tea tree oil. She hates this but let me do it. I rubbed it in real good and massaged her back. A little later I chased her down and my husband and I rubbed the whole area with Desitin. About ten o'clock last night I looked at her stomach and the bumps were gone. I put Desitin on her this morning because she was scratching but her stomach and legs still look good.
I am wondering if it is the pollen outside. Everything is covered with yellow powder from the trees.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

Benadryl, Desitin and all other topical treatments might help the symptoms but this is a bandage. You have to get to the source of the allergens.
Could it be environmental? Maybe. BUT a healthy dog with a strong immune system should be able to deal with environmental issues.

This certainly could also be detox from all the sodium in the chicken and other garbage that is in the Iams you were feeding before. Iams is a horrible food.

The way to determine allergies is to do an elimination diet. You feed only one protein for 2 months. The only way to do a true elimination diet is to raw feed so the dog is not only getting the nutrients form the meat but also the nutrients from organs and calcium and phosphorus form the raw bones.
Any dog food you buy will have more then one ingredient in it.

Once on an elimination diet you should start seeing improvements with in 2-3 weeks. The body has to detox the other crap out of its system. 
After that time period you add 1 new protein at a time every couple weeks and this way you can pinpoint if the allergen is meat. I will tell you this is so rare though.

If after that time you see no improvement then you have to look at other sources for allergens but I am still betting the dogs immune system is compromised and once you feed it how it was meant to eat the immune system will be able to deal with other issues.

If you want help pm me.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I had some cans of salmon that I was not sure of the expiration date. I have been mixing it with the Rachel Ray food. I even wondered if it was the salmon but today, the bumps are gone but she is itching. She is Shar-pei with the horse coat. She is mixed with something else, maybe black Lab, the vet says but I think she is mostly Shar-pei. I know that some of them have terrible skin problems. 
I do think her immune system is compromised because when we first got her she had a lick granuloma and took anti-biotics for about 3 wks plus synotic with some kind of horse medicine topically on the granuloma. It did get rid of the granuloma. That was 2 1/2 months ago. She has been scratching since the first day we brought her home. If it continues we will try the protein food and I will get in touch with you. Thanks. I liked your site on Facebook.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

gapeach said:


> I had some cans of salmon that I was not sure of the expiration date. I have been mixing it with the Rachel Ray food. I even wondered if it was the salmon but today, the bumps are gone but she is itching. She is Shar-pei with the horse coat. She is mixed with something else, maybe black Lab, the vet says but I think she is mostly Shar-pei. I know that some of them have terrible skin problems.
> I do think her immune system is compromised because when we first got her she had a lick granuloma and took anti-biotics for about 3 wks plus synotic with some kind of horse medicine topically on the granuloma. It did get rid of the granuloma. That was 2 1/2 months ago. She has been scratching since the first day we brought her home. If it continues we will try the protein food and I will get in touch with you. Thanks. I liked your site on Facebook.


Canned salmon is loaded with sodium. The bumps are gone because you treated it topically but it is internal and will come back. This dogs symptoms is food related. It is not a protein diet. Meat is actually lower then protein the some commercial dog foods. A dog is a carnivore they have a DNA which is 99.8% identical to a gray wolf. Feed your dog like a wolf. This does NOT have to be rocket science.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

I have some Zymox Otic HC1.0% drops. I wonder if I should put some in her ears. I read on a Shar Pei forum that a lot of times the itching is coming from the ears, maybe a fungus.


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

They told me at the rehab center/shelter where we got her that she had no prior skin problems and she had been there most of her life. They fed her Science Diet.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

gapeach said:


> I have some Zymox Otic HC1.0% drops. I wonder if I should put some in her ears. I read on a Shar Pei forum that a lot of times the itching is coming from the ears, maybe a fungus.


Without taking her to the vet and swabbing the ears you do not know if it is fungus or yeast. Typically it is yeast which is also caused from inappropriate food. Again drop woud be another bandage it is not fixing this.


----------



## Tracy (May 2, 2002)

gapeach said:


> They told me at the rehab center/shelter where we got her that she had no prior skin problems and she had been there most of her life. They fed her Science Diet.


I give up. I feel like everything I have told you is going in one ear and out the other. :bash:
Science diet changes formulas. Just because she may have not had a reaction in the past does not mean the formula has not changed and something is causing this now. I would bet $100.00 it is the food!!!
I also would not believe what a rescue told me as far as no issues either. Some rescues are great some not so great. I dont know aboput your specific recue and it really does not matter at this point.

When you get to the point that you have tried everything else and nothing works then maybe you will start educating yourself more about the garbage we are feeding to our pets and what this causes. I have tried to help and feel like I have said all I can.


----------



## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

I find RR annoying. Why does she have to have her hand in just about everything including, now dog food?...I refuse.


----------



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

pheasantplucker said:


> I find RR annoying. Why does she have to have her hand in just about everything including, now dog food?...I refuse.


I agree. :cowboy:


----------



## Rock (Jan 5, 2009)

I feed all my dogs Diamond from tractor supply.
My sister asked me to look at that food, I didn't think much of it.


----------



## Goldie (Feb 18, 2009)

I feed Taste of the Wild from Tractor Supply. I believe it is the high prairie choice, which has more meat in the formula. Then I add some fresh meat each day. Also, I buy a product called Dinovite, which is a vitamin supplement, and it has helped in many ways. I also add yellow flax meal for the joints. My dog is a large house dog, and this has helped so much....no scratching, little shedding, no bad ears, and her coat is slick and shiny. www.dinovite.com


----------



## gapeach (Dec 23, 2011)

Thank you, the Dinovite sounds like a great product.


----------

