[Suzanne S]

Hi,
I have a large breed 16-week old puppy (Beauceron) who came from the breeder on a low-quality food. I migrated him over to Acana Pork & Sweet Potato, grain-free. He had loose stool for several weeks, despite a slow transition, so I did some research and decided to try Orijen. He’s been on Orijen Puppy for almost two weeks and is still having very loose stool, and he’s recently become quite itchy. I’d like to find a high quality dry food that has some grain and does not contain chicken.

I get that grain-free is nice, but it would be good to have choices, too. There are recent studies that indicate too many legumes and other “fillers” that are taking the place of grains are not necessarily beneficial either. Can’t seem to find a good balance of non-poultry protein, healthy grain, and 4.5 or 5 star quality.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks so much for your input!

[Craig C]

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[Alex D]

Suzanne S: we just brought home a new puppy and she’s been on Pro Pac Ultimates Puppy. I posted a question about possibly switching to grain-free (as I’d done with our dearly departed old girl) and am still waiting on a response.

Though I’m looking to switch, Pro Pac Ultimates Puppy is rated 5 starts, though not Editor’s Choice, and does contain grain in the form of brown rice, white rice, and rice bran. It’s wheat, corn, and soy free though, and appears to be a good quality dog food otherwise. We’ve not had any issues with the food in the few days we’ve had our girl, it’s just not available in any stores locally which gives me pause and I’m also more used to grain-free options given our past experience.

You can order the product on Chewy or Amazon and you may be lucky to have a distributor in your area (I think it’s often sold through Veterinary offices). There are other highly rated non-grain free options as well, I think the basic Wellness and Merrick formulas likewise include rice.

Hope this helps!

[Bazuhi]

Suzanne
I was going to once feed my pups Orijen but I read the reviews from the
people and many people stated it seemed a very rich food and cause many
dogs to have very loose stools.
I do not know if chicken is actually the culprit, I would look at the ingredients in your old food and see what is new in this food and it could be a yeast issue or other ingredient in the new food that was not in the old food. I assume you did a slow transition this food may have more fat/protein content then your other food. My moms dog is on Orijen and does well I never tried it with mine I didn’t want that high of a protein.
Oh and my dogs when younger had an itch issue and I thought it as chicken and it turned out to be gaur gum that was in the new food vs old food

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