Best food for very sensitive doodle tummy

[Carla&Leo]

Hi everyone :)
My Leo has a very sensitive tummy and right now he is on prescription i/d. I don't like the science diet brand at all but my vet keeps puching the brand. Leo is doing good with this food but I want to buy another brand similiar to i/d but with better ingredients and no too rich for his tummy ... Wellness didn't work neaither Natural Choice ... Any ideas??
( Leo is not eating his food like before, I think he is getting tired of taste any way)

Carla & Leo :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's very important when we talk about foods to think about the specific formula and not just the brand. There are dozens of different formulas within any brand: formulas with grains, grain free formulas, formulas with multiple protein sources, limited ingredient formulas, etc.

I strongly suggest you join the Food Group and take a look at our Recommended Brands list. 

Natural Choice is made by Nutro, which is not one of our recommended brands.

But Wellness is on our Food Group recommended list, and they make dozens of formulas. When you say "Wellness didn't work", which specific Wellness formulas did you try? 

Dogs with sensitive stomachs need limited ingredient diets, called LID formulas for short. These are formulas which use a single protein, one that typically is not something the dog has eaten regularly in the past, and a single starchy carbohydrate source. They are usually grain-free. We have many on our recommended list. 

If you have not tried the Wellness Simple Solutions line, I strongly urge you to take a look. My guy has a serious GI disease and he does very well with the Simple Solutions Salmon formula. 

Another good option might be Acana's Singles line, either Lamb & Apple or Duck & Pear. 

[Carla&Leo]

He was on Wellness Complete Health for puppy and when we first got Leo I put him in Orijen until he got sick with Gardia, and now his tummy doesn't agree Orijen any more ... I was thinking maybe Wellness Simple or Bufalo Basic could workb, what do you think ?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The medications used to treat giardia can cause problems after you discontinue them, because they destroy the good bacteria in the gut which is necessary for proper digestion and stool formation. Many, many puppies here have had ongoing digestive issues, mostly soft stool, after being treated for giardia. Most likely that was the cause of Leo's problems with Orijen after the giardia was treated, and the food itself had nothing to do with it. You must always use a good probiotic any time a dog is taking antibiotics, especially metronidazole, which is what many vets prescribe for giardia.

Before you try to switch Leo off the Rx food (which is a very good thing to do, it's garbage), order a bottle of Proviable DC probiotic capsules and start him on those. It will help a LOT with the transition to a new food, and with his digestive system in general. 

I'm hesitant to recommend Blue Buffalo at this point in time, as there may be future changes coming that will affect their quality control. No need to change if someone is already feeding it, but I wouldn;t start with it now. (Again, the FG has lots of information on food companies)

Wellness Complete Health is a complicated formula with a lot of starch, and many dogs don;t do well with that particular formula. That doesn't mean that all Wellness formulas would "not work" for Leo. I would start the probiotics and then transition him to the Wellness Simple Solutions line, either the Salmon or the Turkey formula would be your best bet.

[Carla&Leo]

He was on Proviable-dc and yes he was on metronidazol lol you're good :P and made the transition very slow but as soon as change to 50/50 he got diarrhea again so I don't know I'm doing wrong :/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You have to continue the probiotics for several weeks or even months after discontinuing the metronidazole. 

You aren't doing anything wrong. The metronidazole has screwed up many puppies' digestive systems, and the Rx food often makes it even harder to get them back on regular food. It just takes time. 

[Carla&Leo]

Is it ok to use Wellness Simple on Leo ?? He is only 5 1/2 months

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, it's fine. Much better than i/d. And I'm pretty sure the i/d isn't puppy food either, lol. 

[Judi Kilpatrick]

I've been going thru a similar issue with one of my pups, been thru countless poop tests to rule out parasites and other types of issues. During the process we switched foods within the Blue Buffalo line, from reg. puppy food, wilderness grain free to limited ingredient grain free puppy. In the end with no relief we realized the common factor was chicken, can't seem to find a puppy food that doesn't have chicken as the main protein. Oscar is just over 6 months so we switched both guys to Fromm Duck & Sweet potato 2 weeks ago and Oscar is finally having firm poops and no gas, etc. The Rx food is not good and I refused it from my vet., still giving Oscar canned pumpkin and probiotics, will continue this for a couple more weeks but I see huge progress, tremendous relief! Good luck, hopefully you can find the right combination for Leo but it can take weeks to see progress assuming he has no other underlying issues.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Most of the LID formulas we recommend do not contain chicken. 

It's a good point to look at the ingredients also, and not just the brand. If the dog has developed food sensitivities, they are going to be to something he has eaten on a regular basis, and since chicken is the most common animal protein used in dog foods and especially in puppy formulas, it can be the likely culprit. Switching to a protein source which is "novel" to the dog can often be all that is needed.

[Judi Kilpatrick]

Thanks Karen, we had always been Blue Buffalo fans but am glad now to be switching due to the current turmoil surrounding them. Food sensitivity is very hard to pin point, what made the light bulb come on for me was when I started feeding Oscar boiled chicken and rice when his soft stool seemed to be getting worse, this was always a great solution for our previous dogs but it made Oscar much worse. With that I think I was lucky (not poor Oscar!) in that his reaction and a quick trip to our vet. confirmed the chicken sensitivity and not some other, hard to isolate ingredient so now we know.. It's been a tough few months, I was worried sick and will lead the choir on LID formulas, canned pumpkin and probiotics!!

[Diane and Alma]

I also noticed that Alma did not do well with chicken.  We don't feed her any chicken - or duck or turkey.  She's on a grain free salmon food now. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In terms of food sensitivities, there is no reason to avoid duck and turkey if your dog has a problem with chicken. In terms of amino acid structure (which is what triggers a reaction in dogs with sensitivities), they are not at all similar, even though they are all poultry. Even dogs with actual allergies to chicken can eat duck or turkey with no problem whatsoever.