[CockalierMom]

Matt,

Natural Balance limited ingredient foods are lower in protein, and with the very limited ingredients they work out well for determining food issues and giving the GI tract time to settle down. If it does solve her symptoms, then after 3 or 4 months, I would try slowly adding another brand of grain free food with higher protein and more ingredients to see how she reacts. If at all possible, you do not want to be locked into just one brand of food. All of the brands, including Natural Balance, are apt to change or discontinue formulas without notice, and you need to have other foods to feed when this happens.

Also, when you start transitioning to the Natural Balance, do it very slowly over at least a two week period. Natural Balance does not add probiotics to their food and it will take longer to do food transitions with it.

[Jan D]

Hello everyone. My puppy had Giardia at 9 weeks old, and I think it has really messed up his gut. He was treated with 10 days of Metronidazole and Panacur. He’s had several fecals run since, and they have all come back negative for it. He is 6 months old now and we are still dealing with loose stools off and on.

We have been to the vet several times to try and resolve this, and it usually results in them just doing another round of Panacur. I can’t imagine he has any parasites at this point with all the dewormer he has gotten. My new vet currently has him on 2 weeks of Metronidazole at the recommendation of an internist, who thinks there may be some type of bacterial infection. He is also taking a pancreatic type enzyme to help him digest his food along with FortiFlora probiotics.

He used to eat raw food (first NW Naturals, and then Vital Essentials Freeze Dried), but the two vets I have seen didn’t want him on raw, and said it might be too rich for his system at this point. My current vet wanted to put him on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Kibble. I refuse to feed this food because I think the ingredients are junk. I thought there must be another food with better ingredients that I could try. I decided to try him on TOTW Sierra Mountain Kibble. He has only been on it for a week now (still transitioning over). His stools are now huge in size, very frequent (6 times yesterday!), and are formed, but very soft. He would usually only go 3 times a day on the raw and they were very small and firm.

I am so confused at this point. I am not sure if I should stick with the TOTW, or switch to another food? After doing some reading, I have read several posts from people stating that TOTW made their dogs have large frequent stools as well. Do you think I should just give him a few months on it hoping that his stools will get better? I am just worried that 6 bowel movements a day is a sign that it isn’t agreeing with him and that he isn’t absorbing nutrients. The fiber content is only 4%, so I am not sure why his stools are so large. He is underweight, so one of my main concerns is getting some weight on him.

Has anyone had a dog with Giardia and found a food that is easy to digest and produces good stools?

[Jason C]

Hoping for a little help…..I’m the proud owner of a 10 month old Bernese Mountain Dog that lives up to his nickname of Meathead. He is currently about 105lbs, but based off vet recommendation and finances he has been fed with Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy formula. He hasn’t had any problems with the food, but I’ve heard a lot of people questioning Hills. I feed my other dog (60lb mix) a homemade diet (for wt control and because she’s picky) and think I may start transitioning Rufus to the same. The current recipe has pork, beef, chicken, oats, rice, veggies, and egg shells. Does anyone out there have a good recipe for a larger breed? Preferably something that isn’t going to result in me being homeless. Thanks for the help!

[C C]

After the devastation of the loss of our beloved Sheltie and the toxic bag of Kentucky produced food, we now have another Sheltie puppy to love. Can I prove the “food” is what killed her, no, and I only wish I would have saved the product and packaging to be analyzed. But I can tell you the vet at the specialist hospital we ended up taking her to said to be sure to totally change from this “food” with our next pet to avoid all we went through. We are transitioning our new puppy from what she has been on slowly over to Honest Kitchen. This is literally human grade and I would recommend it to anyone who has seriously investigated the pathetic quality of today’s dog food. I contacted Champion to tell them Katie died and they were even more insensitive than when I expressed all the issues we were having. I got absolutely NO response from them about her death. This speaks volumes to me about this company. I thank everyone for their feedback and offers of sympathy. It truly means a lot to me and to my husband.

[Linda C]

To follow up on my dog peeing in the house after being on RC gastrointestinal low-fat: I took him off it and immediately he stopped peeing in the house. I have slowly transitioned him back onto it, and sure enough after being on strictly this food for two weeks he has started peeing in the house again (it was exactly 2 weeks last time also). That seems to me to be more than a coincidence. I’ve just switched to a new vet and I’ll take him in for full tests. PS : The other dog just started transitioning onto it, as well… She’s about half old food and half RC. I believe she Peed in the house today 🙁

[Allie P]

I believe my instinct is telling me that something isn’t quite right, I’m looking for some outside opinions to help sway me.

My dog has been on Sojos freeze dried raw for over 4 months. In that time, her poops have gone from twice a day, to four times per day. She also had a case of vasculitis, cause unknown. Other than those two things (with the vasculitis potentially not even food related), she looks healthy. Eyes, ears, skin, coat, energy, all good.

What’s been nagging at me though is that Sojos is primarily plant based, although meat is the first ingredient, there is clearly more plant matter than meat in the bag. Years ago, she was getting The Honest Kitchen, which also seems mostly plant based, and on both foods she dropped weight to the point where it worried me. She doesn’t seem to have lost muscle mass, but her tuck up and ribs have become a lot more pronounced. That could just be me doing a bad job with portioning her meals though – after all its not as simple as just scooping a cup of kibble with this stuff.

I’ve been thinking about transitioning to Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Frozen, which seems to be mostly meat content. For some reason though something is holding me back and I’m in a weird in between state of worrying that her current food is not meeting her needs but also that switching foods might for some reason be the wrong thing to do. At this moment, I’m resolving to find a canine nutritionist to help me. My dog is going to be ten years old in a couple of months, and keeping her healthy and thriving is on my mind to the point of obsession.

If you people want to weigh in your opinions on plant content vs. meat content, or anything else you think might be helpful, I would so appreciate it.

[nancy m]

I sincerely appreciate all the time you took to provide me with so much detail. i did buy different dog food and today is day 3 on 25% proformatrin ultra limited / 75% royal canin. The Proformatrin is 21%protein/10%fat; the royal canin is 19%protein/ 17%fat. I have held off on the prednisone. Her poops have firmed up a bit but the little looser ones could have been from stress and transitioning to a new home. I like the idea of rinsing off her feet in case her allergy is environmental. I read about using providone iodine at a ratio of 1 to 10 parts water. It too kills bacteria, doesn’t sting and is not harmful to dogs if swallowed. I’m thinking of trying that today providing that i find it doesn’t stain. A neighbor also recommended epsom salt but i read it could cause diarrhea if swallowed. She was born without one pad on her rear right paw. She’s walking ok but snapped when i brushed it to put a sock on it before her walk just now. It is red this morning. I think i will try the iodine.

[Jenn H]

There’s a new food available in the US that is designed, researched, developed by vets in Italy. They have 2 formulas right now. One is for skin and one is for digestion (Legend).
It’s supposed to be so highly digestible that no transitioning is required. (Like i/d I guess.)

I’m seriously considering trying it for my IBD girl. She has been on i/d off & on for almost 2 yrs. Her vet would like to try her on Ultamino, but it’s insanely expensive.

Has anyone tried this with a dog that has GI issues?

[Leslie P]

Hello, our boykin spaniel puppy came to us on Hill’s Science dry puppy food. After having researched this dog food we decided to upgrade his food to a higher quality product. We have now attempted to transition him FIVE times. Each and every time results with bad diarrhea that just won’t stop and this is only giving him a very small amount. So far we have tried Orijen, Fromm’s, Victor Grain Free, Taste of the Wild and Acana.

Does anyone have any suggestions? We think he may be allergic to chicken and we really prefer a grain-free diet for his breed.

[Christy L]

We recently transitioned our lab from a homemade stew like recipe that included boneless skinless chicken thighs, chicken livers, green beans, peas, carrots and apples and to dry kibble. The kibble brand is Pinnacle grain free turkey & potato. Since the transition our dog is peeing four times as often, and the volume and frequency of his stool has also increased four times. Thoughts on why? He’s urinated inside the house recently, and he’s NEVER done that. #helpmeunderstand #concernedlabowner

[Max R]

I had a similar situation when my dog (half lab mutt) was a puppy and I switched him from a less protein rich food to Orijen Large Puppy. He loved the food but had loose poop.

Then I switched from Orijen Large Puppy to Acana Wild Prairie. That’s was made by the same company (Champion). Now that they have changed their formulas and relocated production to Kentucky, I believe the equivalent food is Acana Meadowlands.

Honestly, I think he preferred the Orijen to any other food, but he just wasn’t tolerating it well. The Acana fixed the problem and he liked it fine.

Once he matured (I know that’s an iffy word with any lab lab/based dog), I wanted to see if I could ramp up the protein again. After going through a series of other brands (Merrick and Evo before both were bought out), I ended up with Orijen Adult which he was now able to tolerate very well.

Maybe not completely relevant, but the new version of “Adult” is Orijen “Original.”
It has less fiber and it was just not enough for my dog. So now I’m transitioning him to Wellness Core Wild Game (another poultry based food) and he seems to be doing well.
I like Champion Foods – especially Orijen – but it looks out of the picture for me now.

The company did suggest Acana Meadowlands as an alternative to Orijen Original. It’s the Acana chicken based food. Haven’t tried it. They’re mailing me samples.

[C C]

We have had a terrible, terrible experience when the Acana Pacifica that our Sheltie was on for years stopped being produced. In its place was the new US version vs former Canada produced. My dog got sick almost immediately, even though we were very slowly transitioning her over with only about 10 kibbles or less. In a short time we noticed an awful puddle of greasy “goo” at the bottom of the bad as well as in the smaller container we had put some in. It was awful, probably rancid or soon to be, and we returned it to the pet store. They took it back immediately but then suggested we try another, this time the mackerel. Our dog continued to be sick and 3 visits later to the emergency clinic now over a month later, she refuses to eat ANY kibble at all. They put her on a temporary prescription canned formula for easy digestion which she ate for awhile, but now again, not eating it. Now I am having to make rice and boiled chicken for her and she only eats less than 1/4 cup of anything and has lost 3#. Many tests and x-rays reveal no other problem other than the “hit to her liver” that bad dog food did. I have contacted the company, Champion, who refuses any accountability whatsoever other than to admit that early batches of food “appeared wet” and “the problem is being fixed”. We are really upset about what she has had to go through and want to avoid other dogs and pet parents suffering, so contacted Dog Food Advisor for suggestions. They suggested this blog and also included helpful links to other resources we can contact. Has anyone else experienced this? Granted we do have a senior dog (10) with an autoimmune disease that could make her more sensitive, but we have never had a problem like this before she had absolutely no problem and thrived on the original Canadian produced Acana Pacifica. Thank you.

[k c]

tim d. – same problem with the acana atlantic cat food… just opened new bag yesterday to begin transitioning from canadian formula to kentucky one, food looked WET there was so much oil & inside of bag was globbed & almost running with oil😝 i had just opened a fresh bag of old recipe acana which always excites my cats due to the freshness & as they all began munching i sprinkled a very small amount of the new acana on top & they all stopped eating, sniffed a moment at the new bits & walked away in apparent disgust! wouldnt touch it, wouldnt even pick around it for the original stuff in the bowl… cant say i blame them, just a small amount left my hand greasy as if i had just put on suntan oil, not happy with all the other ingredient changes either 😕 immediately removed the food, wont be feeding them acana anymore… will be getting a refund for this inferior product & have to find a better food again, very unhappy with the company & recent changes 😡

[Dana D]

Does anyone know when (or if) Dog Food Advisor will be reviewing the new Orijen formula now made in the US??

I am in the process of transitioning my 3.5 year old black Lab from Orijen’s Canadian Adult formula to the new Orijen Original formula out of Kentucky. She’s now eating 50/50–old and new–and here’s what I see happening.

My Lab has always had allergies but it looks like she may be scratching and licking a little more than usual. I have increased her Zyrtec to twice a day (AM & PM) so we’ll see how that goes.

The one big thing I’ve noticed is that her stool is much firmer. She’s always eaten Orijen kibble and her stool has always been a little on the loose side–sometimes more than a little. Not with this US formula, though. Her stool is a lot firmer–completely normal actually–so I can definitely see how a dog that has had normal stools could now be somewhat constipated.

Orijen Customer Service [877-939-0006 if you want to call them] told me before I ordered the new formula that the only difference in the two is that there’s been an increase in the % of protein and also in the % of raw ingredients vs. dehydrated. Now that I can compare the two bags, as others have mentioned, it doesn’t look like that’s exactly true.

I have two 25-lb. bags of the US formula and 3/4 of a bag of the Canadian formula. I’m going to finish the transition and see how she does on the new formula alone. If the scratching get any worse or if she becomes constipated, we’re definitely leaving Orijen. Between their recent big price increase, now another smaller increase (when you calculate the cost /oz. for the smaller bag) and a new and possibly inferior formula, they may no longer be worth it.

[crazy4cats]

You’re welcome. I also use Forti Flora once every week or two and Perfect Form if they get a bad belly or when transitioning to a new kibble. I’ve also used Gastriplex, Vetri Pro BD, Phytomucil, and Fruitables Digestive Supplement with pretty good success. Luckily, they’ve improved and I don’t have to use them much anymore.

Dogaware.com has some good info on this as well.

I hope you have success as well! 🐶

[Theodore L]

I wrote to ZiwiPeaks about their food since we have a dog with IBD. The following is their email to me: Hi Theodore:
Thank you for your inquiry. We are thrilled that you are looking into feeding ZiwiPeak. We are passionate about pets, and strive to produce the best foods available for our furry friends! Many pet parents with dogs (and cats) suffering from IBS / IBD have found ZiwiPeak to be the perfect diet for their fur babies, due to the lack of fillers, preservatives, grains and other ingredients completely unsuitable to a carnivore’s digestive system. One of the ingredients that is included in ALL ZiwiPeak recipes is cold-washed green tripe. Green tripe is a powerhouse of nutrients, is extremely digestible and palatable and contains probiotics/prebiotics and digestive enzymes which help establish a healthy gut. I will be asking our Office Assistant to mail you a sample packet, and I’ve attached a guide for transitioning your dog. Please refer to the feeding calculator on our website’s homepage for the recommended daily serving. http://www.ziwipeak.com

Here’s some basic information about ZiwiPeak:

All ZiwiPeak recipes and formulas are complete and balanced as a daily diet for ALL breeds, and for ALL life stages. To determine your pet’s recommended feeding amount, please use the feeding calculator on our website’s homepage: http://www.ziwipeak.com

ZiwiPeak gives your pet the equivalent of a raw, wild prey diet and is made from over 95% raw meat and organs, including natural fat and bone. Our food contains no rendered meats or meat by-products. We add no artificial colors or flavors, no carrageenan, no chemical preservatives, no grains or potatoes, and no added salts, sugars, gelatin or glycerines or cheap filler ingredients. These ingredients cannot be efficiently utilized by a carnivore’s digestive system and can contribute to various health issues, including skin & coat problems, itchy skin and ears, yeast infections, allergies, obesity, kidney disease, IBD/IBS and diabetes. ZiwiPeak cuisine is over 95% digestible and extremely palatable to even the most finicky dogs and cats.

ZiwiPeak uses free-range, grass-fed meat raised on traceable, approved New Zealand farms, and seafood caught using ecologically-sustainable practices under New Zealand’s stringent, government-controlled, fish-management system. All meat and seafood we use must be free from added hormones, antibiotics, growth promotants and GMOs. Our added vitamins and minerals are sourced from reputable, traceable suppliers in the USA, Europe and New Zealand and Japan. We do not source any ingredients from China.

We add New Zealand Green-Lipped Mussel to all ZiwiPeak formulas to provide high levels of natural glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids, and cold-washed green tripe, which provides important vitamins & minerals, digestive enzymes and probiotics needed for healthy digestion. We are relentless in our commitment to quality and care, operating under the most stringent health and safety standards. Every batch of ZiwiPeak must meet both our own in-house specifications and the highest international benchmarks. All ZiwiPeak products meet or exceed industry standards.

Please let me know if I can be of additional assistance,
Regards,
I did not write her name since I don’t have her permission. I have been transitioning one healthy guy to this food. I am not ready to do the IBD guy yet since he just had a setback and the Vet (Internist does not want any changes). I received a very fast response – I liked it!

[Alecka S]

I’ve got a papillion/chihuahua mix named Coco Bean that is 18 years old (yes, 18 years old), &I was wondering if there is a good food out there for extremely senior pets like mine? It’s got to be something soft, her teeth are bad now and she can’t crunch up hard kibble anymore.

Right now I have her on FreshPet rolls and cans of Solid Gold (I normally feed her FreshPet but have been transitioning her to Solid Gold to see if she likes it). She’s eating fine any is somewhat active, I don’t have any issues with the food I’ve been giving her but I still wanted to ask and see if there were any brands of dog food that would be better for her since she is as old as she is..

*NOTE:* Please don’t start to tell me about how hard food is much better for her because it helps clean her teeth etc, etc. I know that, but her teeth are really bad and it wouldn’t be safe to put her under at this point in life to attempt to clean her teeth.

[Chris S]

@Susan W I hadn’t heard of them, but I’ll look them up and get some more info, thanks for the recommendation.

@pitluv OK thanks for the clarification.

Any other recommendations?

Right now she’s on Blue Buffalo Wilderness but she doesn’t seem to care for it, she’ll nibble it but for her to really eat it I have to mix it with wet. I have also seen others say they’d never feed their dog Blue but didn’t see any reasons given.

I have heard they have had some calcium/phosphorus ratio issues in the past, but this was from our 1st visit to a new vet, who was trying to push purina, that she sells, on me. Have read that this is mainly due to the kickbacks they get not cause it’s quality food.

I had only bought a small bag so would like to start transitioning once its about done.

Thanks.

[Jo C]

Susan- thank you so much!! I have been feeding 1 cup of kibble (Just 6 Rachael Ray) and 1/4 of Fresh Pet wet food. I will be transitioning her to the kibble I have mentioned above which I doubt will be any problem as mu baby girl is no picky what so ever especially if real food is involved lol. So I should do 1/2 cup of dry(kibble) and 1/4 of homemade and see how that goes. I feel like even the amount I do now she seems always hungry but then again she loves food so if I would feed her all day she would eat lol

[Lacey F]

Hi! I know this forum doesn’t get a ton of traffic, but I’m hoping you guys can advise me. Thanks in advance!

I’ve got two very opposite dogs, a 16 year old chihuahua and a 13 week old giant mutt. The old guy is currently eating Purina and the young one is eating garbage kibble and bits (it came home with him)
Of course I want to get the pup onto something better. This weekend I’m going to start transitioning them both to diamond naturals. I know it’s not the best, but I can afford it.

What I’d love to do is have a few recipes I can mix up in a big batch, make meatballs or patties, and freeze them. Then feed both that along with the kibble. I feel like they’d like some variety. I’m happy to cook (as long as it’s not super involved) or do raw as long as it’s stuff I can get at a regular grocery store.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[Tim S]

We have been feeding our latest puppy the Farmina Natural & Delicious Chicken Grain-Free Large Breed Puppy Formula Dry Dog Food for about ten months after transitioning from another highly rated food (Orijen). We are quite happy with the results, the puppy loves the food and the kibble size is relatively large (works well as a training treat).

I am not familiar with Farmina’s marketing strategy in the U.S. although I would guess that their market penetration efforts are regional in scope … beyond the existing nationwide Chewy.com distribution channel.

[Nora L]

There’s not likely to be an answer that would pass your criteria (“scientific”) because these days scientists are not studying important, practical dilemmas, they are too busy developing new drugs. And back when science was an objective search for truth, there was no such thing as kibble.
The reason why kibble should not be combined with raw food has nothing to do with bacteria, but the speed with which various foods are digested does play a part. Kibble, being a complex mixture of different types of foods, some digestible and some not, and being mis-combined in such a way as to render some of the constituents indigestible for that reason alone, digests very slowly. Anything that is manufactured with the intent that it will be sitting on a shelf for a few months is necessarily going to be difficult to digest. Raw meat has no such properties so it decomposes AND digests much quicker, particularly when consumed by an animal biologically adapted to its consumption, like a dog. I think there are grey areas in the rule that they should not be fed together, and that’s what allows some people to get away with it. I have had many occasions where the combination caused a great deal of digestive upset to the dog, and to account for the difference I think you have to look at the types of food, what may have already been in the gut, the age and condition of the dog, etc. When people are transitioning their dogs, I highly recommend a full day of fasting between the last kibble meal and the first raw meal, because this practically eliminates the possibility of digestive issues. Raw meat sitting on top of kibble will decompose if it’s not digested and the process of putrefaction produces toxic by products that the body will attempt to eject. If the encounter happens in the stomach, vomiting may be the result and if it happens further down in the intestine, it will be diarrhea. Since it’s always iffy to combine the two I have a pretty strict policy of never mixing them for the dogs that I feed. I don’t think there’s any situation where feeding kibble is necessary, because when raw feeding is done properly it is no more expensive or inconvenient than kibble, particularly when preventable vet bills are factored in. There is more info about raw feeding and various related topics on my website http://www.NoMoreVetBills.com.

[Haley H]

Hi all! I’m considering blending Annamaet’s Aqualuk with Taste of the Wild’s High Prairie (or alt. The Wetlands) dry kibble. Besides the price tag on Annamaet, is it really worth its salt in terms of quality, or am I better off just getting TOTW and focusing more on transitioning to raw once my puppy is about a year? (He will be coming home at 8 weeks this july, a pure alaskan malamute). I considered the sojos freezedried, but it’s super expensive, I think it would be easier to just feed raw! But I don’t want to risk the malnutrition that could happen feeding a young puppy only raw. I guess some input would be greatly appreciated! Right now I’m debating about kibble, but decided on combining it at probably 25/75 kibble/raw, using green tripe and raw lamb/turkey. I’m also considering exploring my options dehydrating my own meats for when I’m backpacking and camping. Not keen on carrying around a leg of lamb in bear country 😂

[Marionne H]

Hi texasniteowl,

I am no expert, but here’s what I know so far. The manufacturing of Acana for US markets is transitioning/has transitioned to Kentucky. The primary reason stated by the company for this move is increasing shipping costs and the expansion of the popularity of the foods in the US market. Champion is being very open about the move to Kentucky, and is proud of their new facility which has been constructed. Lots of data on the new kitchens is available on the acana.com website. The manufacturing of Orijen for US markets will also be moving to Kentucky.

They have changed their formulas. Given the new location and their focus on local sourcing of ingredients, some of the changes will be driven by the fact that they will be sourcing from Kentucky farms and surrounding areas. For some formulas (like the regional formulas), they are increasing the amount of meat in comparison with the old formulas, with more fresh and raw inclusions. This will explain changes in the ingredient list like deboned lamb now being the first ingredient instead of lamb meal in the formula you mentioned. In order to keep protein levels high with more fresh meat ingredients, we may see a higher level and different mix of legumes, so this may explain some of the other changes in the ingredient list. Not sure about the other ingredient changes like more produce, seeds, botanicals, etc…but it seems to be following the current trend to include a broader spectrum of ingredients.
It does seem that Champion is committed to making a good line of foods in Kentucky, using local sourcing and addressing the US market. After much pondering myself, I decided that it sounds like Acana is continuing to head in the right direction, and that time will tell as with any change (we’ll just have to watch vigilantly). So, I bought a bag, deciding that Acana will be in my dog’s rotation.
She didn’t like it. The kibbles were too big and she didn’t seem to care for the taste. So much for all that research!

[Jenn H]

Wow your story & life is so parallel to mine. My husband is a firefighter. And my pup is also an inutero rescue. Seems desperate animals & people always find their way to fire stations.
My friend adopted a very young GSD and was told she wasn’t pregnant. We ended up basically hand raising the pups as mom had no interest in anything other than playing. She had absolutely zero maternal instinct. And was very jealous of the babies getting so much attention.
Anyway, Crazy4cats advice is exactly what I would suggest. First make sure there is nothing wrong health wise. Then try a probiotics. Either what she suggested or Wysong Pet Innoculant.
It has been my experience that dogs weaned too soon tend to have very sensitive bellies. Transitioning to new foods (and even situations) can cause upset easily. When trying a new food go even slower than the usual 2 wks. Sometimes it can take a month or more for them to adjust.
While doing so try adding:
*pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
*white rice, including the water it’s boiled in
*letting kibble soak in warmish water for a few minutes
*adding digestive enzymes-preferably animal sourced w/ pancreatin otherwise plant based w/ protase, amylase, lipase, cellulose
If possible feed 1-2 hrs after meals.
A limited ingredient food may also help him.
I haven’t looked up the protein amts for all the foods you’ve tried but I can tell you I recently tried switching my pup to a food with higher protein (Orijen from Solid Gold) and it did not go well. I chose another (Acana) with less and it’s much easier on him. Eventually we’ll try Orijen again. It was just too much if a leap at the time.
As you can see there is much you can do to help your guy. Most importantly be very patient and take things very slowly with him.

[crazy4cats]

Yes, it sounds like he’s been through a lot! Transitioning puppies almost always causes some stress and loose stools let alone when they have other issues as well.

Have a great time in Maui. I love Hawaii!!! I’m sure your boarders will take good care of your pup. Congrats!

[crazy4cats]

Hi Garry D-
Sorry to hear about your dog’s condition, but glad it is something that can heal over time. There are lots of great canned dog foods on the review side of this site. I’m not sure which would be best for a dog with your pup’s situation. I’d probably stick with the vet food until his throat is healed before transitioning to a new one.
I stick to budget friendly canned foods to use as toppers for my lab/retriever dogs. Mostly Costco’s Nature’s Domain canned, Tractor Supply’s 4 Health canned and Walmart’s Pure Balance canned food. Occasionally, I will buy the Variety Stew canned foods that are at Target and/or Walmart or others if on a good sale.
Fingers crossed for a fast recovery!! 🙂

[Jenn H]

I have a LBP and fed him this until 6 months. By that age he was so big he need a lot. It was getting too expensive and causing loose stool. Plus he just wasn’t satisfied after eating.
The reason I chose it was because the calcium amount was right. If you search for Hounddogmom she has a list posted that has 4-5 star brands that are safe for LBP.
My guy is 9 months now and I’m in the process of transitioning him to Orijen from Solid Gold Wolf Cub. I didn’t want to have get something so expensive, but after doing the math I think it’ll end up being about the same price per cup if not a little less.
The reason for switching was because he hasn’t been gaining weigt. In order to get him to where he should be I have to feed him 6-7 cups. That’s just too much kibble.
With that comes a lot of cleaning up.
With Orijen he won’t need more than 3 cups and I expect he won’t poop out as much given it’s nutrient rich. It’s just a more dense food.

There’s quite a few good choices for LBPs. Just do your research and be prepared to pay more up front for the quality stuff. It doesn’t end up being more expensive when they aren’t getting rid of the extras and you have to feed less.
I also contact the foods before switching to ask what the max calcium is in their food. They’re always just putting min. It makes me crazy. (Orijen does list min & max. Practically like it for that reason alone.)

[melissa p]

Yes it’s very difficult where I live very little options so have tried reaching out to friends to maybe see if anybody knew of a vet that’s very knowledgeable with all brands of dog foods. I will be moving to a bigger city end of summer so that’s a little encouraging but doesn’t help now.

I did however cave into what the vet sais about feeding just the canned food. I felt bad not feeding him much from fear of upsetting his tummy more. He did have normal bowl movements from my feeding him his normal food and adding a tablespoon of the canned until I figured oh its helping so gave him full meals of it and boom. Explosive diarreah. Pfft I knew in my gut “this isn’t right: not transitioning him to the canned. Went back to small amount and feeding his regular food and back to normal except I’m still lost his poop is like green:S.. I honestly give up with the bet though only because I’ve went multiple timea for the same thing and they tell me always to give him the Hills D/D. I’m going to wing it on my own for a week and see if he goes back to normal also its very very very stressful taking him so I prefer not to unless I have to. He doesn’t do well always has to be muzzled and growls cowering in the corner the whole time won’t even let the vet touch him. I usually have to take his temp and such for them he will not let anybody there near him . Thanks for the insight though I will have to keep trying and find a different vet I hope with my slim pickings available

[Jenn H]

Thanks Pitlove.
I had to get him something today since he was all out of the Wolf Cub I figured if I get a small bag of that and small bag of something else I can begin transitioning right away.
I ended up settling on Orijen Puppy. They didn’t have the 5# bag of Orijen Puppy Large though. But Orijen being so good they have the min AND max calcium listed!
It is 1.6% max which is still in the safe margin. Not as low as I would like, but at least we can start getting used to the richer, denser food and see how it goes.
I will certainly keep your suggestions handy. Just in case this doesn’t work out or as additions to his rotation. I keep my pups on puppy food until about 18 months.
It’s a pain because so many of the really good foods I’d have to order online. Like Dr Tim’s.
We’ll see how this goes…

[Em R]

Hi all!

My much loved 3 year old mini schnauzer had a bad seizure about 2 months ago. Blood tests etc came back normal, but he has since had two more seizures within the past 2 weeks.

Of course we will look to get him on the medication recommended for epilepsy, but we also want to improve his diet dramatically, as it seems very coincidental that his seizures started within a week or two of putting him on Royal Canin dry food.

Transitioning to a raw diet seems very overwhelming, and I don’t want to accidentally deprive him of any ingredients or overfeed him either (he is maybe a kilo or two overweight). I see petstock have the vets all natural complete mix which is to be mixed with cooked/raw meat… Does anyone know what this is like? I was thinking this with maybe one or two raw bones per week.

Sorry about the long post!

[Jenn H]

To finally finish answering your question from yesterday…
When my pup had continued soft stool/diarrhea the probios, pumpkin helped a lot. I was also giving him about 4 oz of goat milk/day. Raw or Meyenburg. Whatever I had.
Sometimes he got soft stool from excitement. If he had a particularly busy or fun day. Sometimes he got too many treats. If he ate someone else’s food he would really get it.
Once he checked out clean I began transitioning his food. No problems since!

I would first try either a digestive enzyme or grain free food.

If neither works consider a food with a little less protein or fat. Puppies need these nutrients so try not to take them down too much. Continue with the enzyme/probio until transitioned. Then see what happens when you cut back on those supplements.

Cooked WHITE rice that can also be helpful. Save the water it was cooked in and add to food or water as well.

Some people like bone broth. I haven’t tried that. I think The Honest Kitchen also has that.

[Jenn H]

I don’t know a whole lot about that particular problem. I do know there is a couple of drugs that can be helpful. It seems like you have are managing it well. Maybe ask your vet to give you an anti-vomiting med (maropitant is one) just to have on hand in case you ever need it.
You just want to keep that bile down otherwise it may cause pain. Sounds like something more akin to bile reflux ( some drs don’t know about that or believe it exists, but it does).
1 of my girls has been dealing w/ the general diagnosis of inflammed bowel for more than a yr off & on. I am just now transitioning her off the i/d cans. It’s been 3 months since her last problem. After 1 wk I have only worked up to 1/2 can of the new food. That’s how slow I’m going w/ her.
She also has a limited ingredient kibble. She gets very little of that though. I think the canned has been better for her. (More expensive, but I’d rather spend it on food than vets.)

The torsion with my dogs happened 1st to a 2 y/o pup during the night. I was a teenager, but it has always been a huge worry for me.
My other guy was very anxious and he was pacing right after eating. I had fallen asleep due to pain meds I just took for a tooth infection. I will always feel guilty about losing him. I did get him to a vet in time for surgery. But it’s a long story.
Anyway I will not let my dogs move anymore after they eat. And they get little sips of water after exercise.
I also have horses so these rules always applied to them. I guess I wasn’t too worried when it came to dogs until that first one.

[Duane P]

This is something that I’ve been contemplating for about year now. I’m slowly transitioning into a vegetarian then a vegan diet/lifestyle. It would be nice if my dogs do the same thing. However, I fully understand that dogs and cats are carnivores. It’s instinctive for them to eat meat for survival. I’m definitely inspired by that Vegan dog who had a long life. If it’s possible then the rest of our dogs can learn from this story.

[Chloe G]

The topper didn’t change when he started avoiding his food. And it didn’t matter which topper was presented, he still only ate a little or licked the egg off a little. He even left pieces of bacon I mixed in in an attempt to encourage his appetite!

I’m thinking I’ll just start transitioning to a mid-tier food like nutro puppy food to see if it’s just now palatable and take it from there…

[El]

Hi Ana A

“Fresh” to me is whole foods either fed raw or lightly cooked. The 2 below are complete diets for Adult Dogs, and because they DON’T contain bone they can be lightly cooked.

/dog-food-reviews/freshpet-vital-raw-patties/
/dog-food-reviews/freshpet-vital-raw-rolled/

For transitioning from Kibble or canned to raw, I would lightly cook the raw to eliminate some of the possible bacteria, and to slowly accustom your dog’s digestive system to the new diet. I would also transition very slowly. Start with 10% of lightly cooked raw and go up by 10% every third day. Repeat when transitioning from lightly cooked to fully raw. It’s slow, but it’s worth it. A high potency multi-strain probiotic along with a prebiotic will help in these transitions.

Once you are feeding fully raw for a couple of months with no problems, you can start looking at ALL raw foods, including those with bones. The transition periods from one raw food to another can usually be done in a couple of days, and some are able to switch raw foods with no transition at all.

If you would like to learn more about raw feeding along with recipes for preparing food at home, I recommend this book;

Good Luck, and feel free to ask away 😉

[Greg F]

We have an 8 y/o Havanese with IBD for the past 5 years. Throughout this time she has been on low dose predizone to keep her albumen numbers in the normal range. We were keeping her on a low fat HK Zeal with success until reasently when hears numbers dropped, lost weight and started passing her food through without much digestion. We started transitioning her to GL Valor fish with higher fat and calories to gain weight and she started having more stool volume and less digestion. The vet had us increase the predizone to settle the inflammation.
We went out looking for a new food and are considering Primal Venison raw complete food, however have some concerns with her IBD and sensitive bowel.
Has anyone had success with a diet and able to virtually eliminate drugs?

[crazy4cats]

Hi AK-

Sorry about the issues you are having with your pup. I had the same issues with mine and it was stressful. First of all, have you had a few fecal tests done, specifically for both Giardia and Coccidia. They are both common parasites/worms that can cause intermittent loose stools in dogs, especially puppies. That was the issue for us to begin with. Here is a link that was helpful to me to get my puppies tummies healthy again after ridding of those pesky parasites: http://dogaware.com/health/digestive.html This site has a whole host of information on all kinds of dog issues!

My dogs do best on a lower fat with higher fiber food. I’ve had good luck with Victor, Whole Earth Farms and Taste of the Wild so far. I still occasionally add Perfect Form supplement made by The Honest Kitchen when I am transitioning to a different brand. I also add green tripe three days a week to their kibble. It is very stinky but contains natural enzymes and probiotics to their meals. Here is a link with some of the benefits: http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-stink-on-tripe/ I buy K9 Natural either freeze dried or frozen green lamb tripe. Again, SO STINKY, but they love it and it’s good for them.

I do also add frozen raw medallions or nuggets to some of their meals as well. I use either Nature’s Variety, Primal or Northwest Naturals, whichever one is having the best deal! I have had no issue adding raw to kibble.

Also, maybe try cutting back on how much you are feeding her. Sometimes overfeeding can lead to loose stools. My dogs have improved a lot, but still sometimes have issues when they are over excited.

Hope some of this can help. Good luck to you!

[Jenn H]

As with most things follow their lead. Waiting until 6 months was just the advice I had been given by vets, my dog food merchant, other people more experienced than me. Figured it can’t hurt. He was being fed a much better food than he was weened onto and it was agreeing with him. “If it ain’t broke…”
However, if the food suddenly seems to be less agreeable then by all means find something else.
Even when my dogs are puppies I give them tiny amounts of other things that they’ be given throughout their lives. Pumpkin, goat milk (which he was supplemented with as a puppy anyway), green beans, carrots, bananas, chicken liver, etc.
Diarrhea loves puppies so I always have the right probiotics on hand.

After 30+ years of having GSDs I have learned to take in all the advice & info from those I trust and ultimately go with MY gut. No 2 dogs are exactly the same. Even if they are littermates and raised similarly.

When transitioning I take forever. Usually at least 2 wks. Every single day all the dogs get pumpkin. Since adding that I haven’t had any case of diarrhea. Not from the pup or my dog that has Lyme which has reeked havoc on her body and the antibiotics for it had caused a lot of GI issues.

To sum up this ridiculously long post…
Follow your dog’s lead.
Always have probiotics and pumpkin at the ready.
Transition slowly.

[Jeff A]

Hello,

I’m looking for opinions on how to proceed. Sorry for the long post!

History :

For a couple years my Great Danes have been on a diet of Blue Buffalo Wilderness kibble. They get fed twice a day with each meal consisting of two cups of dry kibble and about 1/4 can of Blue Buffalo basics canned food mixed in. I’ve had zero issues with them on this food. Recently, I decided to transition them over to Fromm. I bought a bag of Fromm Gold kibble, and a case of Fromm gold chicken and duck pate soft food.

I’ve been mixing kibble for quite awhile, and they went through a case of the Fromm soft food with no issues.

Then..

1/4 – Ella went in for a dental at the vet. Pretty groggy from anesthesia.
1/5 – Ella getting back to normal. Received new case of Fromm soft food. Ella and Sydnee have food from new case in evening.
1/6 – Ella back to hungry self. For breakfast they have food from second can in the new case for breakfast. All appears normal. 3 pm in the afternoon my wife comes home to a house full of vomit. Ella wants no food, but Sydnee eats dinner. We assume Ella still isn’t feeling right from anesthesia. 6 pm Sydnee vomits all her dinner.

The next six days are spent dealing with pretty sick girls. They were lethargic, occasional vomiting, bloody diarrhea. Both visited the vet twice over that period of time. Fecal test was negative, blood test showed normal, and temperatures were in the normal (101-103) range. They were both put on antibiotics. After doing some reading this sounds a lot like hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. It usually hits small dogs and requires IV fluids, but I think because my girls are so large (140lb each) they didn’t become overly dehydrated.

I’ve been feeding them boiled hamburger and rice for a few days now, but I’m getting to the point where I need to think about transitioning them back to normal food. I’m very worried at this point.

I will not feed them the remaining cans of the Fromm soft food. I’ve also thrown out all the open bags of dry kibble. I have no idea what caused the issue, but two dogs sick in the exact same manner at the exact same time leads me to believe the the new case of food was a trigger. I called Mr Chewy who contacted Fromm and there have been no reports of issues with the food.

My gut tells me to transition them from the hamburger and rice back to Blue Buffalo and leave well enough alone. Thoughts?

[Rox B]

I feed PMRD 80/10/5/5 and believe organs are essential for making the diet complete. I still feel organs should not be fed during the transitioning from kibble to raw until the dog’s gut has had time to develop a more acidic PH level (after 3 different proteins and no diarrhea). When dogs just start out eating raw the PH in their guts are still too alkaline from kibble. They can have trouble digesting the rich nutrients and fats in organ meat. A dog’s gut needs time to develop the acidic PH levels capable of digesting organs (and raw bones). Especially, in small breeds like the OP’s dog.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by Rox B.

[Rox B]

I realize this post is old, but I wanted to comment anyway for those who see it and become fearful of feeding raw. There is a lot of information missing here to determine why this dog got sick. I have seen this happen before with other people, and the problem is not with the raw diet. Here are some reasons for failure…People are feeding kibble and raw food together which can cause illness. Pancreatitis is from eating too much fat and is rare in dogs, it can be caused by underlying issues or a high fatty meal. Many commercial pre-packaged meals contain organs. Organs should not be fed when transitioning from kibble to raw. ONE PROTEIN should have been introduced first. Too bad this person did not have a holistic vet to help teach her how to feed raw properly. Completes have organs which are a fatty and a no, no when starting raw. I prepare my own raw food and follow PMRD guidelines 80/10/5/5. This way I know how much my GSD is eating in the way of raw meat, raw bone, raw liver and raw secreting organ. As far as salmonella poisoning I am going to say I don’t believe it. This dear person told their non-supportive, non-raw friendly, conventional vet, that she was feeding raw and so he assumed the dog had salmonella poisoning. I’ve heard this many times before.

[Sunny-Saje]

I am in a very different situation with ToW. Where I am living overseas now it is, when I can get it, the best dog food based on DFA reviews. I have an unusual breed not seen much in the US. He is a Blue Picardy Spaniel. The other choice of dog food, sold here without prescription is, Hills Science Diet Active Adult. My dog is 3 years old. I supplement his dog food with vegetables and prepare a stew from a book a friend gave me, The Whole Pet Diet (Andi Brown).

My concerns about US dog foods sold here, is are they the same formula as that sold in the States. I have not yet written to ToW, because until yesterday, I hadn’t seen their product for months. I bought 3 30lb. bags (Wetlands, Sierra, Pacific-only one bag of each was all that was available.) I wanted to check here first about that issue and also, a combining issue.

I try as much as possible to not radically switch between dog food brands, gradually introducing the new one in increasing proportions. I have two huge containers to store the food in so it doesn’t become infested with bugs or any effects from exposure to air. So now, I am wondering, to ease in storage, is there any reason why I can’t mix all three varieties of ToW as I begin transitioning away from HSD? The ingredient lists after the flavoring differences, are basically the same.

Finally, regarding the food I use to supplement, vegies and the chicken stew, are there other ingredients or other recipes I should add in to balance the ToW?

Thanks for any input!

[Jenn H]

I have 2 dogs that were diagnosed w/ acute pancreatitis the day after the Super Bowl. The Lab got into dog food and just gorged. The GSD didn’t eat nearly as much yet had more severe symptoms that didn’t completely resolve after treatment. Her Lyme came back really high so they chalked it up to that.
10 months later and she still isn’t completely 100%. In fact we were just at the emergency vet a couple wks ago.
This yr she has been treated for Lyme twice w/ 2 different antibiotics. Both aggregated her stomach.
A couple of times her labs showed some high #s with her liver and kidney. Not alarmingly high and they did go back to normal.
X-rays have shown lots of gas to the point where her intestines were pushed over.

We’re now working with a specialist. He did an ultrasound to look at everything. Her pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidneys…all looked good the day after the emergency visit.
For now he’s given her the general diagnosis of IBD/IBS. Once she’s completely off i/d and meds and back to her normal diet we’ll see if she regresses again.
The only meds I’ve given her right now is Pepcid w/ meals. I’m very slowly decreasing that and very slowly transitioning her back to Wysong.
She also gets 2 tbsp pure pumpkin in the morning.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. While she was initially diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis is a potential next diagnosis.
She is a very very very active dog and keeping her weight up has always been a challenge as a result. Low fat diet is not satisfying or even reasonable. My hope is that transitioning her diet even slower than usual and she won’t need any meds for other problems we’ll finally stop this upset stomach nonsense once & for all. If she has to remain on Pepcid for life I’m fine with that if it means she can go back to her completely normal life and eating habits.

I hope you have better luck with figuring out what’s going on. But know that pancreatitis and IBD are manageable diseases. And for that I am grateful.

[Helen G]

Thank you. I went to my local dog store and asked about NutriSource. They didn’t have it in stock and I had just enough Fromm’s to begin transitioning him to something else. The owner recommended Nature’s Variety limited ingredient diet and he seems to be doing well with it…so far (still in the transition stages).
With regard to overfeeding, I followed the guidelines on the LBP Fromm’s bag and reduced it a bit because I supplement kibble with about an ounce of ground beef and an ounce of turkey for dinner. Vet thinks he looks healthy. We believe he might have had a grandparent that had some mastiff which might (if we’re right) explain his size. Is there another way to determine the proper amount of food?
I really appreciated your reply!
Thank you for your help.

[Coonhound Mama]

Hi all,

I’d be curious to hear more input regarding what the original poster Ella S included about feeding a tablespoon each of plain nonfat Greek yogurt and canned pumpkin per day. Are there any risks involved in this? I have a 60 lb dog so I don’t think a tablespoon would make much of a difference, but I am concerned that this might be a bit too much Vitamin A in the long run. She’s currently transitioning to raw and suffers from slightly mushy poo, so I add it in to aid in digestion and to help keep bowel movements regular. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Coonhound Mama]

Hello all!

I’m a new raw feeder and although I’ve done loads of research on here, in books and around the wide web, I’m still at a loss for how to keep my girl at a proper weight. When we adopted her she was 62 pounds and has swiftly gone down to 57 despite calorie counting and a medium-level fat diet. She is very active (1-2 hours of vigorous cardio per day) and we have a hard time keeping weight on her despite plenty of healthy fats and a partial kibble diet (she’s a 5 year old rescue new to us as of 3 months ago, so we are transitioning slowly).

If anyone has similar experience with large breed athletic dogs and keeping weight on them healthily, please feel free to respond as I am looking for some advice.

[Diane W]

I do have a concern, and I’ll have to follow some of the links for transitioning dry food addicts to canned, for Skeeter. Dougal, my Burmese, can’t consume very much canned food or he vomits. I’m talking a baby spoon-and-a-half, or he’ll vomit. Right now it’s not an issue as far as me being able to feed him small amounts throughout the day, but in about a year I’m hoping to be working again. So I’ll just give him small amounts throughout the day for now and slowly increase the amount of the feedings over time to see if he can handle it. I don’t know if it’s because he eats too fast or if it’s “rich” or a combination. I think because at this point it’s more of a treat is the reason, so he eats it too fast and then goes to see if Skeeter left anything in her bowl and eats that too quickly.

I’m not upset with my vet for putting them on the Royal Canin dry; after all, he’s not a nutritionist and he can’t be an expert in every subject. Ultimately it’s my responsibility as the meowmee to research and learn how to care for my furry babies.

I appreciate your posts and response and help!

Thanks!
D.

[crazy4cats]

Good luck to you Jan! I hope your pup gets better and stays better! I’ve used prescription food for one of my cats after a medical emergency that gave him a 50/50 chance of surviving with medical intervention. He survived and I fed it for 5 months and then started transitioning him off of it. For a healthy cat, the ingredients looked awful, but for a sick cat, they were apparently perfect! I still give him some meds, but feed non Rx food now. He’s doing great! That was a year ago. Best wishes!

[zcRiley]

It’s your pups’ intolerance to certain ingredients, not because it’s grain free. Mine got such a bad chronic case of loose stools that I stopped cold turkey on a certain food before they died of dehydration. Finishing a bag or slow transitioning is not for what’s not working. I immediately switched to Zignature Zssentials. Read the ingredients & what it DOES NOT contain. And stop driving, Chewy.com delivers super fast.