[suztzu]

I am looking to add more moisture to my dogs diet he’s been eating Natures Variety Prarie Dry he does not do well on grain free foods. I want to add canned to his diet or a premade raw for variety and a little more protein without all the extra fat. I cannot decipher these canned labels ( I try but am not very successful) I would like to have something in the mid-fat range hes a shih tzu and gains weight very easily. The canned food reviews Ive been looking at are 20% and higher do I need to worry about the fat levels if it is not his main diet ? Even the 4 star foods are really high in fat. Am I missing something, I would feed him canned all the time if I could figure out how not to turn him into a blimp in doing so I know canned/raw is a healthier option for him. Any advice to alleviate my confusion would be helpful Thanks

[theBCnut]

Does your dog have a problem that makes you limit fat other than gaining weight easily? As long as the fat % is no more than about 1/2 the protein % I wouldn’t consider the food to be high fat. Whether you need to take the fat level into account depends on how much of it you are feeding and if your dog has any health problems that limit the amount of fat he should get.

You say he does not do well on grain free foods. Some dogs that have been on the same food long term have trouble switching because their body has acclimated to the food that it has always had and they actually have to grow the normal gut bacteria back or in different proportions than what the old food would support. Many dogs need a little extra support during transition in the form of probiotics and digestive enzymes.

[suztzu]

Thanks for the advice I will look for good ingredients and not worry so much about the fat and try to transition him over to a grain free food and try some probiotics and enzymes

[theBCnut]

When I decided to go grain free with my dogs I chose a food that was similar to what I was feeding but slightly better and switched to that then found another food that was slightly better and switched to that and then switched to the food that I really wanted. Sometimes a big jump in quality is hard for them to handle too.

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