[Cavalierluvr]

Hi, I was wondering if you decided to use this food and if so how is it working out? I have heard Nutrisource is. Good company. The pup I just adopted 3 weeks ago is on Natures a Recipe GF puppy formula. He seems to be doing ok, but his food has the controversial Vitamin K in it. I was debating between Fromm Gold and Nutrisource Small/Med breed puppy. Dog Food Advisor rates it well.

[Cavalierluvr]

Unfortunately my budget does not allow me to feed raw. I’m not opposed to rotating. I have a 9 year old Cavalier and I do rotate brands with him. I switched him to grain free when he was around 2 years old. He was on Fromm Gold and had developed a yeast infection…that’s when I switched to grain free. I’ve only had my pup for 3 1/2 weeks. I didn’t want to start rotating foods until he is and adult. I have several stores I can shop at and many carry quality brands. It just seems there are so few puppy formulas. I really do not want all life stages. It sure can be overwhelming. With the food he is on, he can both firm stools and soft stools. Since I have a probiotic for my older dog (Nusentia Probiotic Miracle) Ive been giving it to the puppy too.

[Cavalierluvr]

I too have had problems with my dog having too much yeast in his system. I also highly recommend Mercola’s Complete Probiotic. I have had great success with it. However, it is pricey. I will switch between Mercola and Nusentia Probiotic Miracle. It is the same price, however, with Probiotic Miracle, the amount given is smaller and will last for 3 months versus just over 1 month with Mercola. Unfortunately, both must be purchased off the internet, they are not sold in retail stores.

[Cavalierluvr]

Jasper has been doing very well on the Mercola Probiotic and hasn’t had an episode since Spring! However, it is pricey and I was hoping to find something similar for him. I don’t feel comfortable going the human probiotic route…at least for now. The Mercola lasts around one and a half months. I decided to look into the Probiotic Miracle and even though the cost appears to be the same for a smaller container, the container should last around 4 months for his weight category. The reviews were also very good for it. I just ordered a container and will see how he does and will report back later.

[Cavalierluvr]

My cavalier was having a lot of digestive issues. The vet discovered a lot of yeast in his stool and gave me FortiFlora. However, FortiFlora wasn’t helping him and I too was wondering if a change in food was also needed. But a few on the forum recommended the Mercola Complete Probiotic. I went ahead and ordered it. It is pricey though. I started him on the thearaputic dose, which is twice a day, and saw immediate relief. He is now on once a day and is doing great!

[Cavalierluvr]

Thanks HDM for your sound advice!!

[Cavalierluvr]

What type of issue is you dog having? I originally thought my 4 year old Cavalier was allergic to Chicken and/or dairy products. He would get an upset stomach and would always want to go out and eat grass so that he could vomit, not his food, but mostly bile. I would switch brands (I was using Fromm Gold) to Canidae Lamb and Rice. It would make a difference for a while and then it would start all over again. Switching a recipe would help occasionally until this past Spring and nothing I did seemed to help. The vet checked him out and found that he had quite a bit of yeast in his stool. Grain-Free foods didn’t really seem to help him, so the Vet recommended a probiotic. He had Purina Forti-Flora in stock, but after 2 weeks it wasn’t making a difference. I went on a forum here and someone recommended Mercola Complete Probiotic for Pets. What a difference this product has made! I saw immediate relief. It’s hard enough trying to get your pet to switch to a new dog food if his original recipe has already been changed. I would highly recommend giving the probiotic a try! Good Luck!

[Cavalierluvr]

Have any of you heard of a product called Platinum Performance? In “The Dog Bible” by Tracie Hotchner she highly recommends this product. She claims it worked better than any Glucosamine product marketed to pets and really saw a difference in her own dogs.

[Cavalierluvr]

I have been using the Mercola on Jasper for about a month now. I started out at the Theraputic dose…twice a day. I saw immediate improvement. He no longer had the upset tummy and no longer had the need to go out and eat grass so he could vomit! After 2 weeks, I changed to just giving once a day in the morning. He is still doing well! I am so relieved. I do like that it is a powder and I just mix with a little plain yogurt. I am thrilled with this product, but it really is pricey. I see that Mom2Cavs recommends Herbsmith, which I found that a local natural pet food store sells, and that InkedMarie recommended Swanson’s. I didn’t realize that the Dr. Langer’s by Swansons was for humans. If I switch to Swansons, do you break open the pill and pour it over the food? And if so, how would I figure the correct dose? Jasper is a larger Cavalier and weighs about 27lbs.

[Cavalierluvr]

Ok All, I purchased the Mercola Probitotic but haven’t started it yet because I wanted to continue with the Forti Flora and see if there was any change in his stool with the yeast amount. There was not. I told my vet about the Mercola product and he took the info and said he wanted to check into it to see if it was a good product. I just spoke with him and he said he called Mercola and they were very vague, he asked if any studies have been done on the product because he wants to make sure the bacteria are actually live, like they claim etc. He said he was put on hold for 11 minutes and they never picked him back up. This makes me a little nervous. Has anyone really used this for any length of time and seen good results? He said the only other probiotic he would recommend is Pro-Viable. I have not done research on that as of yet.

[Cavalierluvr]

Thank you all! I just watched the video at Mercola and was quite impressed. I decided to order the 3 pack of the probiotic…and I googled for coupon codes and was able to get a $10 off coupon! Really hoping this will help his digestive issues.

[Cavalierluvr]

I thought TOTW was part of the last recall. And yes, my retailer also has that offer…although at the rate I’m going it will take me forever to get there! I occasionally see coupons for Earthborn too, so that always helps! Thanks for the great info!!

[Cavalierluvr]

Wow…thank you both. I have been thinking of trying either Earthborn Holistic or Taste of the Wild as they are a little more in my budget range. I do a slow transition (usually close to 10 days) whenever I’ve tried a new food….and the transition has always gone well. Jasper is almost 4 and had mostly been on a Chicken based diet. He was on Fromm Gold for a while and Canidae Chicken when it got to the point he was eating grass and throwing up almost daily. I have used pumpkin on him but he’s not a big fan of it, unless I offer only a really small amount. I have tried InClover OptaGest Digestive Aid but that didn’t seem to make much of a difference over time. He is currently on the Lamb formula and seems to be doing ok, but he still seems to scratch his ears or shake his head, not constantly, but enough that I wonder if it is the grain in his food. I do think you may be right HoundDogMom that not all grain-free foods will be the same for him. And once the weather breaks I’ll have to try the new food where I can really monitor him to make sure stools are fine. Maybe it was just a fluke the abscess happened. He only goes to a groomer 3-4 times a year and I did ask her to pay close attention to that. My sister has a Maltipoo and his glands always seem to be swollen…I would not say that is the case with Jasper. He’s a larger Cavalier and I would really not consider him a toy dog!

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