Thanks Patty, this is very helpful advice. I’ve been doing a lot of research on dog food brands and somehow I missed all the complaints people are making about Blue until you alerted me. Yikes! My dog does not have IBD; in fact, the blood test revealed that all his levels couldn’t be more normal even during a “flare-up”. So, although he is now doing well, we still have no idea what caused the stomach upset to begin with, which is frustrating. He’s almost two years old, and has had periods like this since he was a puppy. My diagnosis is simply “sensitive stomach”, at least for now. Our favorite “quick fix” when he has trouble is to give him 5 mg. of famotidine (the active ingredient in Pepcid). Seems to relieve his trouble right away!
I looked at NutriSource and I like that it contains probiotics and glucosamine chondroitin. A lot of their products also have rice in them (which I know is a common dog food ingredient) but I have read that rice often contains arsenic. I still eat rice but only occassionally, so I wonder if the arsenic levels would build up to dangerous levels in a small dog who eats a little bit of arsenic in every meal. Do you have any thoughts on this?
I will try your suggestion of keeping him on ID for a little longer while I test his tolerance for different proteins and carbohydrates. I know he does well with chicken. I plan to try beef, turkey, lamb, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal. Any other suggestions to try? Lastly, how long do I add in one of these ingredients, two or three days? Also, how much should I add, maybe a 1/4 cup to each meal? Thanks so much for your help 🙂
