[Lacey L]

I have a 7 year old golden retriever, Tucker, who is picky and has acid reflux. He’s always been very sensitive to foods ever since he was a puppy. I tried literally 20 different foods, all of which gave him very loose stools, until he finally did well on Kirklands signature and he has been on that ever since. I tried switching proteins within the brand because I read that is healthier for them but he didn’t like it.

I work at a Pet store and decided to try him on Activa because it is a customizable food I could had probiotics and glucosamine to as well as salmon oil for his coat. It was then I discovered he is Very allergic to salmon. So I put him back on Kirkland. Throughout the years his regurgitating food at night happened pretty frequently at times. Then he started the gulping, freaking out, drinking tons of water, pacing and wanting to eat grass. So I started giving him tums until it wasn’t enough and the vet suggested prilosec which helps 70% of the time but the other 30% it doesn’t help at all. He never gets table scraps and rarely gets treats but when I started him on the prilosec I would give him a tiny bit of peanut butter to put the pill in. My fiancé said the peanut butter might do it so I’ve switched to cheese instead and I’ve switched him to Pepcid AC complete. It’s only his second day on that but it seems to be helping.

His latest bout of acid reflux was pretty severe so I put him on small meals of chicken and rice throughout the day which helped but as soon as I put him back on his kibble he got the acid reflux back so he’s back on the chicken and rice.

I work and can’t cook for him forever and he’s a 90 lb dog (not overweight.. He’s actually thin) so I can’t afford raw or canned so I want to find a dry kibble for him to try that would prevent acid reflux. I’ve researched alot and was excited to try the nature’s Select lamb but I gave him a few kibble but he didn’t like it!! So I’m thinking of trying taste of the wild lamb next and if he won’t eat that then try the chicken flavors. I also read soaking in bone broth is good?

Any other food suggestions in case he doesn’t like the totw? Also as I said I work, so would having him grave all day be a bad thing? He is not an over eater at all. When I feed him breakfast alot of times he’ll just snack on it here or there anyways.

[anonymous]

First, has he had a senor workup, labs? At age seven he is due.

Golden retrievers are vulnerable to a few genetic disorders. Please talk to your vet and go from there.
You may need the expertise of a specialist. The over the counter meds are bandaid stuff. Get the proper diagnostic testing and see what is wrong.

People that work at pet food stores are not veterinary health care professionals,

[Lacey L]

OK…. Never claimed to be a vet that’s why I came on here looking for help.

Can anyone else tell me food recommendations please?

[CockalierMom]

“I discovered he is Very allergic to salmon”
Is he actually allergic to salmon or did it give him acid reflux?
I am not familiar with the ingredients or GA of Kirklands but if the salmon oil made the acid reflux worse, it is probably due to the amount of fat you added to his diet. I would suggest that you try a limited ingredient diet with lower fat than the Kirklands. I found that Natural Balance LID’s are a good starting point when trying to determine food issues since they are lower fat and less ingredients than many of the other LID’s. If I recall correctly, TOTW does have some lower fat formulas but more ingredients.

Also, I would not soak the kibble in anything. Too much moisture can make acid reflux worse. If you want to offer bone broth on the side, wait a few days and see how he is on the new kibble before introducing anything else new.

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