[Peter V]

Hi Everyone,

I apologize if this has already been posted.

I have a 10-month old, 15lb Shih Poo (Half Shitzu/Half Poodle) named Paco. He’s a ton of fun, an has a lot of energy.

It was time for me to switch him from his puppy food to an adult food. The vet perscribed Hills T/D Care, which after doing some research, I found was absolute garbage.

I then discovered this site, and switched him to Acana Small Breed Formula. He loved the food, but the amount of poop that came with it was pretty insane… 4 – 5 poops/day.

I went to the pet store where they convinced my that I should go with CaniSource, Grand Cru Red Meat Formula… it is not grain-free. His poops were dramatically reduced with this food to the point where he was at 2-poops/day, but I got the feeling that he didn’t really like what I was giving him. It would take him almost the entire day to eat 3/4 cup – 1 cup of the food, and often he wouldn’t finish it.

I then switched him to Acana Heritage Grasslands, and again… the multiple poops/day have come back. He’s been on this food for approximately 3-weeks now, and he’s pooping 3-4 times/day.

I’m not trying to transition him onto Fromm 4-Stars Grain-Free Game Bird…

Do you have any suggestions for me as to what I should be giving him? I’m starting to go nuts reading all of the reviews on this site in regards to different foods…

Thanks for all of your help in advance.

[HoundMusic]

I’ve been breeding Beagles for about eleven years now, and never had good results with “holistic” food. Sometimes, there can be simply too many ingredients that have no use for the dog, but are on the label more to make the owner feel like Brand A is so superior to brand B. A great deal of the ingredient bashing came from rival dog food companies, and spread across the internet like wildfire.

Personally, I don’t feel comfortable giving my dogs a food that has zero research & development behind it, with nothing more to recommend it than a fancy ingredient label. Merrick, Wellness, Canidae, Timberwolf Organics (etc. ad infinitum) were disasters on steroids. I caused a plethora of problems with these top dollar, supposedly high end diets, that it’s just unimaginable.

JMHO, but forget grain free altogether. It’s a marketing gimmick if I ever saw one. Some grains, like brown rice and oats, are extremely well tolerated by dogs and have the added benefits of high nutritional value and blood sugar regulation. The potatoes or other starchy foods used in grain free often *increase* the carbohydrate level in a dog food, and many spike the blood sugar, which will inevitably lead to a crash. Enough of that can cause real health problems. I have seen this. Firsthand.

I might also humbly suggest finding a “mid-grade” feed with a more limited ingredient list. You can always supplement a small portion of the diet with fresh meats if you want variety, but a dog food shouldn’t have the kitchen sink thrown in. Those types are VERY rough on the digestive system. And after feeding holistic foods to probably somewhere around 30 adult dogs in just under two decades, I can’t say I was impressed with how any of those dogs did on designer brands.

BTW; you mentioned your pup was doing well on SD. While far from my favorite brand, if he was doing better on that then Acana, then which one, for that dog, was the garbage food?

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by HoundMusic.

[Peter V]

Thanks for the reply!

The Hills T/D Care was prescribed by my vet. When I read the ingredients that were in it I realized that it was mostly filler.

I had success with Canisource Grand Cru, but I felt like he didn’t like it.

[Susan W]

I went from feeding commercial/garbage food to better food to really good food. I’m calling VeRus really good food. I have a big dog and a small dog & feed them both VeRus Opticoat because the little dog is an itchy thing when she isn’t eating this food. Their energy levels are fantastic and we don’t have a lot excess poop.
I found VeRus on a list of 15 dog foods that had never had a recall. I contacted the company thru their contact form on their website and had a very nice email discussion with a live person who turned out to be the company VP (I think). They asked questions about my dogs, explained why they thought each dog would benefit from which formulas, and sent me free samples to try. These were NICE samples, too. I decided on the Opticoat & have had no regrets. I order it from PetFlow & they send it automatically so I don’t run out.
Their website (VeRUS’ website) has a lot of great information. Their food is manufactured and sourced in the US (except their New Zealand Lamb formula). They have been in business for almost 30 years (I think) and have never had a recall. It’s a great food from a great family-run company.

[Susan]

Hi Peter, I have the same problem with my dog Patch that has IBD & food/skin allergies, tooo many big poo’s on certain kibbles…..Look at the Protein % as well, too much protein can also make poos bigger & softer, when my IBD boy eats a kibble with 30% & over in protein, he does 4-5 poos a day & when he eats kibbles with fillers like corn, gluten meal, barley, oats, millet, he gets itchy smelly skin & does big sloppy poos.. when I feed a kibble with under 30% protein around 26% protein & grain free with limited ingredients, my boy does only 2 poos a day…Taste Of The Wild, Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb seems to suit him the best out of all the kibbles I have tried & Canidae Pure Land, he does 1-2 small poos a day. Both these kibbles have limited ingredients…

Just keep rotating different brands of kibble until you work out which brands your pup does the best on, then rotate between them, never just feed the same brand for years & years also start adding some fresh whole foods to his kibble as well…

Finally people are telling these pet food industries, we’ve had enough, we love our pets & we want the best for them & don’t want to feed a kibble with maize, corn gluten meal, beet pulp, tallow, by-product meats, preservatives, food colouring etc…..
Back in the 1940-1980 dogs were feed table scraps & those dogs were much more healthier, they were not feed processed kibbles with maize/corn, gluten meal & by-product meats, they ate what we ate…then in the 90’s Hills & a few other pet food companies started saying, Don’t feed foods we eat, it’s not good for your dog, your dog needs a well balanced diet dry KIBBLE & people followed like sheep & still to this day, there’s still some un educated people who say “Oh no, you can’t feed your dogs & cats foods we eat”…..
50 yrs later finally people like Rodney Habib (someone you should follow on F/B) is saying enough is enough to these pet food companies & educating people to feed fresh meats, fresh fruits, fresh veggies again like our parents did…..Back in the 50’s 60’s & 70’s, dogs didn’t get cancer & have all these food & skin allergies, dogs didn’t have as many health problems as they do today, why??
Watch a video Rodney Habib put together called “Maggies Story the Oldest Dog in the World” Maggie was a kelpie X Cattle dog that lived on a dairy farm, Victoria Australia, she wasn’t over vaccinated, she only had her puppy vaccinations, she wasn’t desexed until she was 14yr old cause a dairy worker brought his dog with him & Maggie fell pregnant, she lived till she was 30yrs old & just passed away in her sleep this year…she wasn’t feed kibble, you have to watch the video to see what she ate & drank…

Your on the right track, you’ve know about ingredients in kibbles, now start looking at healthy foods to add to the kibble, they did a study & found dogs that were feed 1 tablespoon of fresh foods added to kibble just 3 times a week reduced their chances of getting cancer, the post is on Rodney Habib F/B page, there’s lots of excellent info on Rodney F/B page https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib/?pnref=story

Have you tried Ziwi Peak Air dried raw?, I use the Ziwi Peak as treats when I don’t have any fruit like apple, water melon or raw almonds & I have just started my 5 month kitten on the cat Ziwi Peak & then when she loses her teeth I will be giving her a chicken wing once a week to clean her teeth, look after your pups teeth, small breeds are prone to teeth problems, give a raw chicken wing once/twice a week for breakfast, peel off the skin so there’s less fat…also email kibble companies & ask for samples..Ziwi Peak sends out samples http://www.ziwipeak.com Good-Luck

[only1aileen]

Have you tried adding 100% pumpkin? Not the fortified kind at the pet store, but regular 100% canned pumpkin found in the baking aisle at your grocery store? If you haven’t, and she likes the food that is making her run to the corner, try adding a spoonful of pumpkin to her meal (they LOVE pumpkin) and it should help regulate her. I got this advice from my vet, the people I trust at my local pet store, and from other more experienced dog owners. I had similar issues with my Lab when she was a puppy–and that was on Canidae All Life Stages in 2014. I then transitioned her to Canine Caviar’s puppy formula, which was great until I realized that I needed to have her on a large breed puppy food and I discovered Orijen. My go-to’s since then have been Orijen and Acana, she loves both. I will keep her on them as long as the quality continues to be consistent.

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