[Meagan T]

Our almost 9 year old yellow lab has IBD. Our vet switched him to prescription Hills z/d when he was diagnosed because it’s a hydrolyzed protein and he has done great on it. He’s been off of all antibiotics for 5 months and off his prednisone for 3 months and he’s still doing fantastic. We’ve been talking with our vet about switching him to a different dry dog food because it’s very expensive to continue Hill’s z/d for a dog his size. Zignature Kangaroo Formula has been discussed as an option because it’s a novel protein (we know he’s had chicken, lamb, fish, and beef before, probably some duck in treats). He’s never had any specific allergy testing done. Any suggestions on a dry dog food? We’d love to lower the cost of his food but we definitely don’t want to have him flare again. He’s also on Fortiflora, Metamucil, and vitamin B12 for the IBD.

[Susan]

Hi, I have a 8yr old boy with IBD diagnosed 4yrs ago thru Endoscope & Biopsies. I changed him from a vet diet to a premium kibble & I have tried a few kibbles over the years & have found he does best on Lamb or Fish kibbles with limited ingredients….You have to introduce new kibble very slowly, in the beginning I started by introducing the new kibble as treats for a few days to see how his poos went, then I would only add under 1/4 of a cup new kibble to 1 cup of the vet diet, I gave under 1/4 cup new kibble for 4 days & if poos were still looking good & he wasn’t doing farts then I started adding 1/3 of a cup new kibble with his vet diet then went to 1/2 new & 1/2 old kibble, this is when you know if the kibble m work, when you get 1/2 way, it took me about 2-3 weeks to introduce a new kibble in the beginning…
While your dog is on the Z/d kibble you should of started to add 1 new ingredient for 6 weeks to see how he does & what foods he might be sensitive too, like adding some boiled sweet potatoes or boiled potatoes, cooked chicken breast when you have cooked chicken for dinner, that’s what I did with Patch while on a vet diet or a premium kibble that agreed with him, plus they love getting a new food……Food sensitivities can take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks to show reaction…. Food elimination diet is the only true way to know what foods your dog can & can’t eat…best to do elimination diet while doing well on a vet diet…
I was finding Patch would do real well when he started a new kibble then around 5-6 weeks his poos went smelly, yellow sloppy & bad farts that was when he ate the Wellness Simple formulas, so he was sensitive to a ingredient in the Wellness Simple formulas…..
Patch does real well eating grain free limited ingredient kibbles with potatoes & sweet potatoes like “Taste Of The Wild” Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, Protein-25% fat-15%, 338Kcals per cup…. “Pro Pac Ultimates” Bayside Select Whitefish, low in Protein at 24% & fat-14%, 360Kcals per cup, I’ve just ordered a bag of Pro Pac Ultimates, Meadow Prime Lamb, Protein-23% Fat-12%, 345Kcals per cup, I prefer kibbles with Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes, Patches poo’s are nice & firm….
there’s also “Canidae” Pure formulas with limited ingredients & there’s Canidae Senior Pure Meadows but I have problems when Patch eats a kibble that’s over 27% in protein & over 15% in fat & high in Kcals per cup, some of Canidae kibbles are higher in Kcals per cup over 400Kcals per cup, so the kibble is more dense, make sure you look at the Kcals per cup as well, the Z/d kibble used to be around 360Kcals per cup, I don’t know what the Kcals per cup are now since their formula was improved, you could email Hills & ask, try & stay around what ever the Hills Z/d Kcals per cup is same with protein & fat % when looking for a new kibble, the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb is only 338Kcals per cup & their Water is purified, so I think that’s why the TOTW kibble worked the best for Patch in the beginning & having less limited ingredients helped.
Your dog might do real well the first kibble you try, it depends on what type of IBD your dog has….
How come your not trying the Venison instead of the Kangaroo? If the Zignature Kangaroo doesn’t work, Kangaroo is a very dark red rich meat & tastes very strong of beef, my Patch didn’t do well on cooked kangaroo it was too rich for him & poo’s were sloppy, also the chickpeas are 3rd ingredient in the Kangaroo formula, the Venison has Pea flour as the 3rd ingredient then chickpeas & Venison formula has a bit more fiber at 5% fiber, I noticed you give Metamucil to add more fiber to diet, so maybe you might need a higher fiber diet?….if a kibble doesn’t work it can be a number of things that are causing sloppy poos, just keep that in mind, it might not be the protein & change kibble brands…. also make sure the kibbles are money back guaranteed, I’ve taken back so many kibbles, that’s why its best to go to a pet shop it’s easier to return the kibble, some online pet shops are good & you don’t have to return & post back the open kibble bag, its all up the Kibble companies.. Good-Luck keep us informed how he’s doing..

[anonymous]

I have heard good things about the Zignature Kangaroo kibble. My neighbor’s dog has a sensitive stomach and is doing well on this product. The dog was on Fromm before and would vomit occasionally. All that seems to have stopped. She’s been on it about 4 months as a base.
Also, it’s grain free, so the Metamucil and such may not be needed. Dogs on grain free kibble tend to have more regular bowel movements. Zignature has no potato which is often used as a filler. Some dogs just don’t digest potato very well. Nutrisca is a similar limited ingredient kibble, I like the Salmon and Chickpea.
Check http://www.chewy.com for prices and delivery.

[Meagan T]

Our dog had been on 2 different Canidae formulas prior to his diagnosis, so we want to stay away from those. We chose the Kangaroo formula over the Venison because we are 100% sure he’s never been exposed to Kangaroo protein before. It’s possible that he’s had venison in treats at some point. We’re not opposed to trying the Venison as an option. He was on the Kangaroo formula after his IBD diagnosis and did very well on it until there was an unintentional dietary indiscretion. He has never found a food that he won’t eat so we’re lucky that he’s not picky.

[Author]

Posts