[Susan]

Hi Julia,

start him on the “Natural Balance” LID
https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets
either try the Sweet Potato & Bison or the “Potato & Duck” formula or the Sweet Potato & Fish formula but cause your feeding the HK Zeal it’s fish so maybe try another meat protein source a meat protein he hasn’t really eaten before like Duck or the Bison, the Natural Balance formula’s are all different so make sure you read all the limited ingredients as some formula’s have peas & chickpeas, the Duck, Bison & Fish formulas have the least ingredients & have no peas or chickpeas….. Chewy has all the NB formula’s.
If he’s having gas when eating the Honest Kitchen Zeal then he’s either sensitive to an ingredient in the Zeal or the HK is freeze dried my IBD doesnt do well on freeze dried pet foods he doesn’t digest the freeze dried ingredients, if you look in your boy poo, is there any undigest food in it?? just put your hand in a plastic bag then go thru a fresh sloppy poo, I buy those baby sack/nappy bags in supermarket in baby section & I pick up Patches poos, the bags also smell nice or the digestive enzymes could be causing the gas, sometimes dogs don’t need the digestive enzymes cause their stomach is working properly so they don’t need help digesting their food, when I put Patch on digestive enzymes he was farting & doing sloppy cow paddy poos so I stopped but digestive enzyme do help some dogs do firm poos, you wrote his poos are formed but not soiled & he’s pooing heaps, see what happens if you stop adding the digestive enzymes just for 1-2 days?? see how his poos & gas are, is he better?….
Why he probably got bad diarrhea when eating the Purina HA it could have been from the high Omega oils most vet diet high in omega oils & I’m pretty sure the Purina HA is higher in In-soluble fiber, you or vet have to contact Purina Pro Plan or you can email & they will ring you back, ask can you speak with a Vet Nutrtionist ask them what is the Soluble fiber % the In-soluble Fiber %& the Crude Fiber % in the HA vet diet then this will give you an idea if he needs a kibble with more soluble fiber or less or more Insoluble fiber, my IBD boy does better on kibble that has more soluble fiber & less insoluble fiber….Potato & Sweet Potato has more soluble fiber & less in-soluble this is probably why my dog & other dogs with bowel problems do really well eating potato or sweet potato in a kibble, would have been good if your vet tried your boy on the Hills vet diet Potato & Duck kibble, I’d try the Natural Balance Potato & Duck formula first its simliar to the Hills Potato & Duck formula try the NB formula with the least ingredients just make sure who you buy the Natural balance from Chewy or another pet store they give you a refund or let you try another NB formula until you find the right food for your boy thats if your boy gets dirrahea Ive read Chewy is pretty good I always say my boy wont eat teh food after he had diarrhea cause teh foods are guaranteed for palability I’ve gotten 2 refunds in the last month & finally got a kibble that’s not giving my boy acid reflux… alot of dogs with food sensitivities & stomach/bowel problems do really well on the Natural Balance LTD formula’s….

Another really good kibble is “Canidae Pure” formula’s but the Pure formula’s have peas or “Canidae All Life Stages” formula’s some of the ALL Life Stages formula’s don’t have peas you have written he can’t have peas but are you 100% sure he can’t have peas & done an food elimination diet? for 2 yrs I thought my boy couldn’t eat potato cause he had really bad diarrhea from the Eukanuba FP Fish & Potato Vet Diet even his vet wrote no Potato on his file but then a lady breeder who worked at the Pet Shop told me to boil some potato & start adding 1 spoon of the cooked potato to 1 of his cooked meals a day, Patch ended up doing firmer poos when eating the potato so it must have been something else in the Eukanuba FP he got instant water diarrhea from……
It’s sooo hard when they have sloppy/diarrrhea to know what is causing it, you’re best feeding a kibble that has only 1 novel meat protein he hasnt eaten before & 1 Carb (Potato) then see how he does, if he does well on new kibble then wait 6 months & let his stomach/bowel heal & get back to normal then you start adding 1 new cooked ingredient to his diet & see are his poos sloppy etc, I use to make a small meal for lunch & try the new ingredient with a cook protein, I used Pork or Beef cause Patch could eat pork & beef…It takes time doing a dog elmination diet but its the only real way you will know 100% what he can & cant eat…. Good Luck