Food for all

I find it very hard to say no to a difficult dog hence I tend to end up with the ones no one else wants!
Two of my current pack have health problems. I'd really love to have one food I could feed to all four of my dogs as they all tend to move bowls midway just in case the other dog's dinner tastes better!
Jack has really bad eczema and poor old Jill has colitis.
Is there a food that they both could eat that I could feed the other dogs, too?
Be grateful for any suggestions!  Don't mind paying a bit more for the food if I have to as feeding the wrong diet means spending an awful lot more at the vets and having unhappy dogs.
Jean Hamilton, Wirral

Richard Allport, alternative vet, says...
Ah yes, the old ‘musical chairs’ routine with the food bowls, I know it well! This is a difficult question to answer definitively because it really depends on the underlying causes of Jack’s eczema and Jill’s colitis. If either problem is linked to food sensitivity then it may be difficult to find one diet that suits all four. It would certainly seem logical to keep to a wheat free diet, as wheat seems to be the most common cause of dietary sensitivity, and also because dogs have no need for carbohydrates anyway.
Working from logic and experience I would suggest that the following diets (in decending order of health benefits) should be considered:
• The famous and original raw meaty bone diet
• A lightly cooked version of the raw meaty bone diet
• One of the ‘ready prepared’ frozen-in-packs raw food diets – several companies such as Anglian Meat Products and Darling’s Real Dog Food supply these
• A (preferably organic) high quality wheat free or low wheat diet such a Lily’s Kitchen or Orijen
• If none of the above suit and you have to feed an ‘ordinary’ processed diet, try Chappie – for some reason it often suits dogs with colitis
It would be helpful to add some Slippery Elm to Jill’s diet, whichever on you choose – it’s a great help for dogs suffering with colitis. Slippery Elm soothes the intestines and helps digestion. For Jack a Cod Liver Oil and Evening Primrose Oil supplement may help the eczema. But if you can get the diet right, you will already be a long way towards controlling or curing their symptoms.

Fiona Campbell, Nutritionist, Burns Pet Nutrition Ltd, says…
There should be no reason why you can't feed all of your dogs on the same diet. However, you may need to fine-tune the feeding amounts to each individual dog.
When it comes to pet food the term 'holistic' is often misused with many people thinking it means natural. Actually, a holistic diet is one which helps the whole body not just one area or organ. The Burns diets are all holistic and can be used for both skin and digestive problems, however we do suggest a few feeding guidelines.
Firstly I would strongly recommend that you get Jack's anal glands checked as emptying waste from these glands can help a skin condition greatly. Secondly I would try and put them both on an elimination diet for 6-8 weeks which means that after the introductory period you feed just one variety of Burns and cut out other treats and tit-bits. Thirdly, the amount of food is almost as important as what you are feeding. Many owners assume that the only side-effect of overfeeding is weight gain but excess food can exacerbate skin problems and overwork the digestive system. And finally please ring the free Burns
Nutritional helpline (0800 083 66 96). We can advise the correct feeding amount and if the first Burns diet you try does not work we can try another one! Some dogs have food intolerances which cause these problems and that's why we have several varieties!
You should also find that Burns is economical to feed due to the low daily feeding amounts. A 20kg dog fed on Burns would cost approximately 52-59p per day depending on variety.

Henrietta, from Lily’s Kitchen, says…
Yes, it’s great to see your dog tucking into a healthy meal - knowing it’s good for them and that they are really enjoying it!
My dog, Lily, had bad skin issues and I tried every food on the market for her - most of which she refused to eat. I then started to cook for her and her appetite came back and her skin started to clear up, but I knew I wouldn't have the time to always cook for her and was desperate for a meal I could just pull out of the cupboard and feed her. And that's how Lily's Kitchen began a year ago. We now make a range of 13 different recipes and each one is slightly different to suit particular dogs. Everything on the menu is just as good as a home-cooked meal, but with the addition of all the necessary vitamins, minerals as well as a wide variety of beneficial herbs (phytonutrients). Lily is now the picture of health and we have helped literally hundreds of dogs with their skin conditions, itchy ears and also with colitis. Dogs who suffer from colitis do need a very digestible food - ie one that is made with whole ingredients. And because most of our range is certified organic, there are no preservatives or chemicals to digest - again good for dogs who need a hypo-allergenic diet. You can read about each recipe at www.lilyskitchen.com. We had a lady call yesterday who said her Westie's ears have now completely healed and she was so grateful as she had spent £7,000 at the vets in bills the previous year!