No – he was not scratching, biting, or chewing at all when on the chicken-based foods. There was no sign that anything was wrong, other than his stool. His stool back then was the same as it is now – starts out formed and then goes runny. Oh and he does it in 2 squats almost every time – first he pushes out the formed stool and then he walks around for about 10 seconds and squats again to push out the runny stuff…
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
kms.
Yes, mix the PF into a paste and add it to the food with the pumpkin, probiotics, and enzymes. I don’t have any personal experience with parasites but I know it can take awhile for dogs GI tracts to recover from damage. It’s possible you just haven’t found the right food yet. Do you think he’s allergic to chicken? Was he scratching/biting/chewing when he was on the chicken-based foods? That’s good that he’s not doing it now.
RescueDaneMom, Hershy and PattyVaughn –
Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I’ll get a stool sample to the vet asap. The last time he was tested and clear of parasites was 10/22 (that was after we had completed 2 doses Strongid and 3 rounds anti-biotics for roundworms and Clostridium). At that time (10/22), they tested for worms, Coccidia, and Guiardia and he was good. But it’s possible he picked something up since then (although I watch him like a hawk and he is always on leash in yard).
Also, I’ll start the Perfect Form today. Just to verify, I am going to make a paste out of the PF and mix the paste into his meals along with the pumpkin and Probiotics and Dig Enz’s, right?
What is you gut on this? Does it seem like he may have parasites again – or is it starting to look like a problem with his lrg intestine – or just not the right food yet? or does it sound like an issue with chicken/chicken fat? He has not been scratching, biting, chewing and is eating/drinking normal.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by kms.
I would start the Perfect Form and get a really freash stool to the vet to be sent to the lab for analysis. A lab can find things that are difficult for the vet to find.
Hi, kms,
I have been away for awhile, so am not up to date on all the discussion, but have you considered there could be a parasite present? That is, since you have tried many options with the diet? Coccidia is common and will cause a similar stool. Here is a link about it. The occurrence of this is most common in young puppies, but can show up in any dog.
This link has more information about it –
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_multi_coccidiosis#.UpoFpeC6_8s
Whipworms is another possibility- a link about that is- http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_multi_trichuriasis#.UpoIG-C6_8s
As I said, this may be old news to you, but wanted to offer in case it isn’t.
Take care, and hope you are able to solve his problem soon.
kms- Thanks for the update. I was wondering how it was going. The Perfect Form is perfectly safe and I would suggest starting it ASAP. It is not sold in some states because of the herbs that it contains. Some states are weird about what they will allow in. For example, many of the Acana varieties of dog food can’t be sold or shipped to the US because of the “botanicals” they contain. I’m not sure why it is such a concern. I don’t know if they have an issue with them being non-native or what.
If I were you, I would try the Perfect Form and give it two weeks to see if there will be any improvement. I would keep up the double doses of probiotics. If things haven’t changed in two weeks then I would consider changing to a different food.
Just wanted to update. I’m starting to get more worried. We made the last transition step yesterday and are now at 100% NVI Rabbit. It was a 9 day transition. Still doing digestive enzymes and 1 heaping tblsp pumpkin at each meal – plus a double dose of Probiotics at each meal. Meals are twice per day (1 1/4 c NVI Rabbit per meal) – plus I use 1 c for treats throughout the day – so that’s a total of 3.5 c per day (he’s a 35 lb, 6 mo Weim). Other than the improvement in the quantity/frequency of stool and less fishy smell (which is probably due to the dig enz’s, not the food), it’s the same. The first part comes out nice and formed – and second part comes out like pudding. It has only been 2 days now that he has been on it @ 100%, but shouldn’t I have seen gradual improvement the whole time we were transitioning? or am I not being patient enough? It just seems like most people see a improvement right away. I’m getting worried that it may not be the food. He has now been on 4 foods (Eukanuba Puppy Growth, Chicken & Rice bland diet, Orijen LBP, NVI Rabbit) and all 4 resulted in the same thing. The first 3 were chcken based and the last is rabbit based (although it does use chicken fat as a preservative). His last antibiotic and negative fecal were 40 days ago – so the antibiotics are long gone from his system – and he has been on a double dose of Probiotics for 2 weeks. The really weird thing is…. in all this mess, he HAS had some days with great stools. He had 3 days in a row at one point while on the chicken/rice bland diet – and then he had about 3-4 days in a row when on Orijen – but there was no pattern that I could see.
Should I start looking for another food or give this food more time?
Could the 1 c I’m giving as training treats be messing him up because they aren’t being given with dig enz’s and prob’s?
Is 1 1/4 c (sometimes 1 1/2 c) too much to feed in a meal (ie. should I feed him 3 times/day instead of 2 times/day) I moved to twice per day feedings about 1 month ago at the suggestion of the breeder – she said it would give his GI tract more time to rest.
Should I stay on a double dose of the probiotics?
Do you think I need to see the vet?
I got the Perfect Form – should I try adding that now? I got concerned when I saw that it’s not allowed to be sold in some states. Can you shed some light on that?
I know that’s a lot of questions and I really appreciate any and all advice.
Thank you so much for your input and suggestions RescueDaneMom & Pattyvaughn!
I managed to find a bag of the NutriSource LBPuppy to mix in with the Hills. I had to buy a 4kg bag as they were out of the larger one, so we will transition slowly, but if she seems to be tolerating the switch well, we might move things along a bit.
It was exciting to see that the rescue group changed her status straight from Available to Has Found Her Forever Home! Now it seems that much more real!
I am sure you will see me here more often. I will add a picture of her when we get back.
Thanks again.
D
PS – Happy American Thanksgiving!
Hi Blue Eyed Girl
RDM gave you some great advice. Any treat that is just meat will be low in calcium, but just make sure you keep treats to under 20% of the diet, then you don’t have to worry. Rotation of foods helps to keep the intestines healthy and support a wider range of probiotics. If you have agreed to keep her on the SD for 2 months, I would still go ahead and get the next food and after she is settled in your house start adding in 25% of the new food. That way you can start getting some of the better quality in to her and she can have a really long transition to the new food, just in case she does have a sensitive stomach. BTW, rotational feeding cured my sensitive stomach girl. I can feed her any thing, any time I want now with no upsets.
Hi BlueEyedGirl-
First, if you want to upload a picture as your avatar you need to go to gravatar.com. You can also add a picture to a post using photobucket. Copy and paste the image link into your post and it should show up.
Now onto the food…Wellness Core Puppy is a great food, but it is a BIG step up from Hill’s. To play it safe, you might want to gradually step up the quality food. You could start with Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy. Nutrisource has a reputation of being an easy food to switch to. Then you could transition to Wellness Core. 3-4 foods in a rotation is good. That would be my minimum. If your dog doesn’t have intolerances or allergies then you could find many foods to keep switching through.
Because you don’t know if she is a large breed or not, I would play it safe and feed large breed puppy appropriate food. Feeding lower calcium won’t hurt a small/medium breed dog. In my opinion, it’d be better to err on the side of caution.
I think that the amount of calcium that they get from treats is pretty negligible. However, if you are very concerned, I think dehydrated/freeze-dried tripe would be a good choice. Tripe has balanced Ca/P and I believe it is lower in calcium than some other treats. Freeze-dried liver may also be good.
There are more knowledgeable members on here that can give you more feedback and correct me if I’m wrong. I hope this was helpful to you. Have fun getting ready for your pup. It’s so exciting getting ready to bring a new dog home. 🙂
Hello –
Thank you all for the wonderfully intelligent conversations and to HDM for curating the list of LB Puppy Dry Foods. I have tried to read as much as I could, but with over 50 pages, it is quite overwhelming. I apologize in advance if my questions are redundant.
We are hoping to adopt a Boxer/ Great Dane (?) (Maybe Catahoula Cross?) mix from a local rescue this weekend. (I was hoping to be able to add her picture to my profile to show off her blue eyes, but I can’t seem to figure it out right now).
The food she is currently on is Hills Healthy Advantage Large Breed which appears to be borderline for Calcium, but it rates quite low for quality (Two Stars. oh – the irony that it is considered a vet exclusive product).
She was placed on this food as she had as her foster mom says “a wicked case of diarrea” when she came into her foster home. According to her foster mom, she seems to be doing quite well on this food and she has requested we keep her on it for the next couple of months.
After reading all of the information here, I am wanting to transition her to a higher quality food for the remainder of her puppyhood. (She is currently 38.3 pounds and leggy with pretty marled markings at just four months, thus I am leaning to the Great Dane mix).
I have a few questions –
1) I am considering the Wellness Core Puppy as the beginning food to transition her to. Although we transitioned our previous dogs with foods for interest, is there another medical reason to switch out the foods? Is a 3-4 food rotation sufficient?
2) If it turns out that she is NOT a large breed mix (maybe Catahoula), is there any danger or adverse results from feeding a medium calcium food?
3) Are there any training treats that are recommended for large breeds that follow suit with the calcium content?
Thank you so much for your help. There is so much to collect in time for her arrival on Saturday! I want to be prepared. Any advice you can offer is appreciated!
D
I have 2 gsds and feed nutri source grain free large breed. My smaller shepherd has begun to gain reasonable wieght and has energy to spare. He was having digestic issues, bowel issues, until we switched food.
I recommend the food.
Wow – I didn’t know about the dark stool meaning high protein. That’s a huge relief – I was starting to worry that he had blood in it again. Couldn’t find any other explanation on the web.
He has had 2 more stools since this morning. 1 was rock solid (there was MUCH celebrating in the yard). But the second one was semi-formed – followed by 1/2 cup soft/runny (Arghhh!!). But still, it’s continuing to get better. I’ll bump up to 75%/25% tomorrow. Would never have gotton this far without this forum. Thank you.
High protein stools should be dark, almost black. Don’t be surprised if he starts going less often and when they finally form up they should be much smaller too. It sounds to me like you are getting some good results. I think there might be something in the Orijen that doesn’t agree with him. I would continue just like you are, 75% tomorrow. Woo Hoo!!
By the time the Perfect Form gets there you may only need a small dose for a while. Keep it aroung for any future transitions, just in case.
RescueDaneMom and Pattyvaughn –
Thanks! I did some reading last night and ordered some from Amazon.
As far as the transition, the stools the first 3 days (75%Orijen LBP/25% NVI Rabbit) were basically half formed followed by half runny. Then I moved to 50%/50% and the first day was exactly the same. But the second day (yesterday) was slightly different : his first 2 stools were very formed – almost dry – and he seemed like he was straining to push them out. The third stool was large, formed and greasy/shiny – followed by 1/2 cup runny. The fourth one was was soft (no runny stuff, but no formed stuff either). So far today (day 3 of the 50/50 mix), he had one stool and it was formed followed by 1/4 c soft. I’m not sure if I see a pattern yet or not, but it’s definitely not getting worse. Yesterday, I was starting to get worried that he was constipated (even though I’m still giving him pumpkin – 1 tsp/10 lbs), but then it kinda changed back to where it has been all along. What do you think? If I keep going, tomorrow would be the next step in the transition (75% NVI Rabbit/25% Orijen).
One other thing I was curious about…his stool are always dark – even when I was back on 100% Orijen. The dark stool seemed to start when I started giving him pumpkin. Does this make sense?
Thank you again for all your help.
YES (those on this list are definite options)
California Natural Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy
California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy
*Canidae Life Stages All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis All Life Stages
Dr. Tim’s Pursuit Active
Eagle Pack Puppy (yellow bag)
Eagle Pack Pork Meal and Chicken Meal (large and small bites)
Eagle Pack Power
Earthborn Puppy Vantage
Earthborn Small Breed
Earthborn Costal Catch
Earthborn Great Plains Feast
Earthborn Primitive Natural
Fromm Gold Small Breed Adult
Fromm Gold Puppy
Holist Select Radiant Adult Health Lamb Meal
Horizon Pulsar Grain Free Fish
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Adult
Merrick Classic Real Lamb, Brown Rice and Apple Adult
*Merrick Classic Puppy Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Apple
Merrick Classic Real Chicken, Brown Rice and Pea Large Breed
Healthwise Chicken Meal and Oatmeal
Nature’s Variety Prairie Kibble Chicken and Brown Rice
Nature’s Variety Prairie Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Puppy
**Nutrisource Performance
**Nutrisource Super Performance
Nutrisource Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Small and Medium Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Grain Free Heartland Select w/ Bison
Nutrisource Grain Free Seafood Select w/ Salmon
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken
**Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb
**Nutrisource Grain Free Chicken Large Breed
Nutrisource Grain Free Lamb Large Breed
Precise Endurance Formula
Precise Natural Grain Free Chicken
Vets Choice Health Extension Little Bites
Vets Choice Health Extension Original
MAYBE (foods on this list are more for sale watches or when I have a bit more money to spend)
By Nature—Pork
Castor and Pollux Beef and Barley
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Large Breed Puppy
Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul—Puppy
Eagle Pack Original Lamb Meal
Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Adult
Earth Born Vantage Adult
Earthborn Ocean Fusion
Earthborn Meadow Feast
Fromm Gold Adult
Holistic Select Radiant Adult Chicken Meal and Rice
Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Adult
Merrick Whole Earth Farms Puppy
Merrick Classics Beef, Whole Barley and Carrot Adult
Natural Balance Ultra
Nutricource Adult Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Chicken and Rice
Nutrisource Large Breed Adult Lamb and Rice
Precise Sensicare Lamb Meal and Rice
Precise Chicken Meal and Rice Foundation
Premium Edge Weight Reduction
Wellness Complete Health Chicken
Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato
NEED MORE INFO (these need more digging to find calorie counts)
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Fish Meal and Potato
Nature’s Recipe Large Breed
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest Chicken Meal, Rice, and Barley
Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison Meal and Rice
PetGuard LifeSpan
* Just over 4 cups for Dweezle
** Less than 4 cups for Dweezle
I would lean toward the Perfect Form for the same reason as Patty. I think there is probably enough slippery elm in it to help but maybe one of the other components will help too. Plus it has been formulated to help with digestion and intestinal health. I think it’d be worth a try.
Puppies get roundworms from their mother, so he likely had them pretty much since birth. There should be no conflict with slippery elm and enzymes and probiotics. I can’t tell you whether using just slippery elm or Perfect Form would be better. I know that Perfect Form has several different beneficial ingredients, but I don’t know if that means better or just different. I really think that I would lean toward Perfect Form for your situation, but that might be because you have already tried so many things that I feel like maybe a little of several different things may be more likely to have one or two that actually help. But that may be just a feeling, not reality.
How is the transition coming along?
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
theBCnut.
Caroline –
Thank you for the info on slippery elm and Perfect Form. I’ll read up on it. Would Perfect Form have enough slippery elm in it to suffice? or would using slippery elm only (like the slippery soup) be better? Also, he takes Mercola dig enzymes and Mercola probiotics (thanks to this forum), so I just want to make sure there are no conflicts with the elm – this is all new to me.
Pattyvaughn –
We got him at 9 wks old and I took him for his wellness exam the following week. That’s when they found the worms. One thing I should have mentioned is he had a “little” blood (the vets words) in his stool, so the worms had progressed enough to cause that to happen. The last time he had been wormed prior to that was at 6 weeks.
Hi kms
Yes, I think he might need more time for his intestines to heal. The worms attach to the intestinal wall and do it real damage, the more worms there were, the more damage, and you wouldn’t have seen all of the worms.
Caroline provided some good info and Perfect Form is a great supplement, if you are interested in trying it.
kms-
Here is an article on GI issues: http://www.holvet.net/slippery_soup.html
It has info on slippery elm bark and how you use it.
The Honest Kitchen makes a supplement to help with digestion and intestinal health that has slippery elm in it called Perfect Form.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/supplements/perfect-form
I hope this helps. 🙂
-Caroline
ok – started the 50/50 today. I don’t think he had a large dose of parasites. They were roundworms and we treated with Strongid (2 treatments 10 days apart). I only saw worms in 1 stool after his 1st treatment. I have tested him for worms twice since then and both were good. But with his “dirt-eating” fetish, I guess he could have them again. I’ve been diligent about “leave it” and keeping him out of trouble, but he still gets a mouthful once in a while.
I have never heard of slippery elm. What does it do and what kind would you recommend?
What do you think is wrong with his large intestine? Does it just need more healing time or do you think he may have some type of medical issue? Thanks again – very much.
Cherikeeusa, right now I’m feeding Nature’s Logic kibble to my F1 Goldendoodle but I’m getting ready to switch him to a raw diet. I’ve been doing a LOT of research and raw greatly reduces the risk of bloat. Pork and chicken are both fine for dogs. I’m looking at Tucker’s Bones as my raw diet and it is pork-based.
I will be getting my large-breed puppy in about a month. My pup is a Goldendoodle, a Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle mix; they are well known to have a propensity toward grain allergies. I would like to provide a rotational diet for him, adding homemade meals (Sojo balanced) as well as grain-free, white potato-free dry foods topped with canned foods, sardines, etc. Can anybody help me with what sort of time-table for changing up his meals should be? Also, I’ve seen someplace that pork is a definite no-no, and chicken has a fairly high risk of allergy. True? Or…? In addition, any suggestions you might have for which brands I should start with would be very helpful. A full dietary plan would rock since I know next to nothing! LOL! I know…newbies suck right?!
If his stool has not gotten worse then I would consider soft to be normal for him for now. If it gets worse, then slow down the transition. I would leave him on the double dose for at least 2 weeks, especially since you are in a transition. How it starts out formed and turns to pudding is telling me that his large intestine is still not happy. Did he have a large dose of parasites when you first got him? I’m wondering if some slippery elm might help soothe his intestinal tract. I hope the montmorillite clay in the NVI will also help.
I just wanted to post an Augie update and ask for more help (sorry – someday I hope I can be the one helping). He has been on Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes for 6 days now (and still on canned pumpkin also). The changes I have noticed are: he has less gas, his gas doesn’t smell as bad as before, his breath smells less fishy and his stools are a tiny bit smaller (but still soft). 3 days ago, I began the transition from Orijen LBP to NVI grain-free Rabbit Meal (started at 75% Orijen/25% NVI). I was planning on moving to 50%/50% on day #4 (which would be tomorrow), BUT his stool is still soft (it starts out formed, but then turns to pudding). I read that you shouldn’t move to the next step until the stool is normal. Should I continue at 75/25 for another day or two – or should I move on to 50/50? or is it looking like the rabbit is not going to work for him?
Also, he has been on the “therapeutic” dose (double dose) of Mercola probiotics for 6 days. Is it time to back it down to a “maintenance” dose (single dose)? Thanks for any help!!!
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by kms.
The issue with peanut butter is that since it is grown in the ground, it can carry aflatoxin. As an occasional treat it won’t matter, so rotate kong filling with some plain yogurt, canned food, etc. then freeze. A small amount of things that are not balanced for calcium don’t matter.
Hello everyone! I have an 11 week old lab puppy I’ve had for two weeks. After reading all the great information on here, I decided to feed him the Annamaet Salcha. So far everything is great.
My question now is regarding peanut butter. Is it safe to give puppies, and if so, what kind and how much. I’m having a lot of issues with him barking in his crate when I leave for work and would like to give him a kong toy with frozen peanut butter hoping it will keep him busy during the first moments that I leave, that way he won’t be so anxious.
First I want to know if it’s safe for puppies, and then if giving him a small amount (to fill the kong) daily would off-set any of the calcium / phosophorus %. It would then defeat the purpose of all the research done with the food.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He barks forever and I want to find something that will calm him during my absence. Can’t be toys (other than kongs) as he already chewed one up and swollowed a little piece the other day! Almost had a heart attack – and he hasn’t even starting teething yet! I’m in SO much trouble!!! LOL!!
I have a Great Dane and my mom is taking care of my brother’s rottie. We used to have both of them on Dasuquin with MSM for large breed dogs made by Nutramax. http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/dog/dog-joint-bone-health/dasuquin-for-dogs It worked very well but was very pricey. Last time I bought it on Amazon it was $80 for the 150ct bottle. They come in beef flavored chewable tablets which makes it easy to give. The rottie ate them like treats but my Dane was picky and I had to crush them up in his food. Now, I buy the same components (glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, and ASU) from swansonsvitamins.com and give them to my dog crushed in his food. It costs me about $25/month now instead of $64 (I was giving 4 tabs per day so the 150ct lasted about 5 weeks).
PS- She eats NVI rabbit kibble.
Does anyone have recommendations on glucosamine for large breed puppies? I have a 10 month old rottie who has seemed a little stiff lately/her gait is off. I have taken her to the vet and she seems to have no obvious injuries. A friend recommended glucosamine, but I am unfamiliar with its use for dogs. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks
Since I posted to the list the other day about Merrick I thought I would share what they provided regarding Calcium. Obviously this food will not go on HDM’s list for large breeds.
Dry Dog Food
Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult -2.50
Beef, Whole Barley & Carrots-Adult 2.50
Lamb, Brown Rice & Apple- Adult 2.50
Large Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.36
Small Breed-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas-Adult 2.50
Puppy-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.28
Senior-Chicken, Brown Rice & Green Peas 2.20
Grain-Free Chicken 2.50
Grain-Free Buffalo 2.50
Grain-Free Duck 2.50
Grain-Free Pork 2.32
NVIs raw rabbit is sourced from China, but the kibble is not. I can’t remember if it was sourced from Italy or France, but it was one of those two.
Pattyvaughn –
OK. Thanks! Is anyone concerned that the rabbit in NVI grain-free Rabbit Meal is sourced from China? I thought I remembered reading a discussion on that subject earlier in this thread – but I can’t remember what the consensus was and now I can’t find it.
Also, I don’t see any info on the NV website as to whether their meat is hormone-free, anti-biotic-free – and also if their vegetables are certified organic. I will contact them, but just wondered if you have any info on that? Thanks again.
LOL!! One of mine is intolerant to the tomato in the NVI Rabbit, but he still had great stools. Have you tried any other rabbit foods? Just wondering if it was the rabbit or something else that caused the loose stools. Mine get rabbit raw and it is one of the raw meats that they do best on.
kms, I forgot to mention that as long as he is gaining weight, I wouldn’t try to rush it. That alone can cause diarrhea.
Dammit patty. -.- as soon as I started to mix in some nutri source with the rabbit his stools got better. This makes me super sad as duke other than the loose stools did amazing on nv rabbit.
Mine have great stools on rabbit, so it is definitely an individual dog thing. I’m not sure I would wait to transition just because you don’t know that the poor stools aren’t because of a food intolerance, just transition slowly, unless you see that his stools start getting better just from the change, in that case you may want to speed up the transition.
yeah i rotate wellness core puppy. In my rotation is Dr Tim’s Grain Inclusive, Wellness Core Puppy, Earthborn Costal Catch and my final food that i was rotatin was the nv rabbit but i need to change it out for another food since duke didnt do well on it. But every dog is different so maybe your dog will do much better than duke. Also the Wellness core is turkey and chicken.
Duke the Boxer –
I guess it’s also possible that I just need to wait longer for the Probiotics and Digestive Enzymes to do their jobs – maybe that alone would get the stool in order (ie. maybe it has nothing to do with chicken…) But I do need to change his food to one with a lower calcium level. So confusing.
Duke The Boxer –
I like the Wellness Core puppy and was going to use it in the rotation, but it’s chicken based and Augie has been on chicken since he started eating solid food. Breeder had him on Eukanuba Puppy Growth and then I switched him to Orijen LBP. So this time, I was looking for a non-chicken to help balance the nutrition (and also just in case it’s the chicken that’s causing the problem). Others I was thinking about are: Annamaet Aqualuk (salmon, 30% protein), Earthborn Coastal Catch (herring meal, 32% protein), and NVI LID Turkey meal (turkey based, 29% protein).
Do you feed Duke Wellness Core Puppy? Do you rotate – and what other kibble do you use?
oh and kms i had a 30 lb bag or 26 or whatever nv is of the rabbit and duke never firmed up and i finished the whole bag
kms i dont mean to discourage you but my dog never had firm stools on the nv rabbit. I talked to many vets and people and they all said that only 1 time they saw a case where the dog did well on rabbit as the protein and he was a wolfdog so yeah. Now that duke is on chicken and turkey his stools are perfect. I would recommend Wellness core puppy
Pattyvaughn (and anyone else)-
Augie has been on Probiotics and Dig Enzymes for 4 days now. No change in stool so far – he seems to go back and forth between formed, pudding, soft, diarrhea, etc…. But like you said, it may take a few weeks for his gut to heal. Do you think it would be ok to start transitioning him from Orijen LBP to NVI rabbit meal – or should I wait until his stool has stabilized? I’m worried about all that calcium, but also don’t want to overload his system with change.
Another thing…. he’s finally starting to gain a little weight (about 1 lb every 8 days), but he’s still underweight. He’s now 5.5 months old and 34.5 lbs (should be around 43 lbs) – can see some rib and hip bone. I’m already feeding him 3.5 c/day and the Orijen bag says 2.5-2.75 c/day. Should I increase his kibble? or how about adding some coconut oil instead? (or would the coconut oil complicate things further in his GI tract)?
Again, thank you so much – and thanks to everyone who adds to this forum.
Bentley-
So glad your pup is doing better! In my opinion, it sounds like he is at the perfect weight. You want him to be on the lean side. Especially with his breed being prone to joint problems, it is better to keep him lean so he never has excess weight on his joints. As long as he is in good body condition, which it sounds like he is, then his nutritional needs are being met just fine. If he was so skinny that his ribs were showing and he looked malnourished, then I would worry.
I have a 7.5 year old Great Dane that was recently diagnosed with arthritis. I made a switch to Honest Kitchen (dehydrated food) and raw. He has lost a significant amount of weight (somewhere between 8-10 lbs) and I can just barely see the outline of his ribs. My vet told me that he was perfect and having the excess weight off would help his joints.
I think the worst thing you can do for large dogs is let them get overweight, even if it’s a little bit. Though, to me, it sounds like your boy is perfect. I would keep doing what you’re doing. I hope his problem stays cleared up. 🙂
My browsing trip was overwhelming, to say the least. I will skip Merrick until the dog is much older. And you’re right, its Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch.
Imnordrum:
Merrick’s food (grain free and grain inclusive) are too high in calcium. Both are over 2%. Also, the Earthborn you’d want to go for is Coastal Catch, not Ocean Fusion
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
gsdmommy89.
The calcium listed on the bag is a minimum, not the actual amount.
lmnordrum-
Do you mean Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch? Starting off with a small bag is smart because, as I’m sure you’ve read, some times it takes a few foods before you find the right one.
Merrick grain free is rated 5 stars. My guess as to why it didn’t make the list is: (1) the calcium is too high to be appropriate for large breed puppy growth or (2) Merrick didn’t respond to HDM’s inquiry about calcium levels in their food.
edit- Personally, I haven’t looked into the calcium levels in Merrick. I have fed the grain free to adult dogs with good results.
Armed with HDM’s list I ventured into the independent pet store today to browse their inventory. They do have Earthborn Ocean Fusion, which is what I’m learning towards feeding my new puppy (I’ll start off with a small bag) but this shop advocates Merrick Grain Free dog food.
Many foods have the calcium content on the bag, but Merrick does not. I searched their web site and nothing on there either. Sent them an email about this but it will probably be a couple of days until I hear from someone. Has anyone here researched Merrick Grain Free food yet?
Hi Lily,
Dozer is about 13 weeks now. He was part of an unplanned litter of 15. When I picked him up it was from a little house in suburbia and he was in a childs cot with about 8 other pups. Not the greatest start for my little boy. If I could have I would have scooped up all the pups and taken them with me!
I don’t know what he was being fed but I’m sure it was of a poor quality. His little belly was so swollen when I got him and I think it must have been malnutrition that caused it. My partner went to the pet store and was told Purina Supercoat would be fine, but from what I can tell it is a pretty sub-par dry food. My vet was good enough to recognise that it was a nutrition based problem and did not push to have xrays done. But the Royal Canin she then sold me seemed to increase the problem. So I scoured the net to find the solution.
Hope you can work out the right food for your pup too.
4 months ago
