Food recommendations

[Laurie Muhlberg]

Question regarding my 9 month old doodle.  He was eating blue buffalo and had to switch because it was going right through him.  He's now on Wellness same thing is happening.  Any recommendations on a food choice.  Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How long was he eating the Blue before the issues started? Which BB formula was it? Did you have a fecal test done? Which Wellness formula did you switch to? What else he he getting in the way of treats or chews? 

It sounds like this may be due to giardia or some other health issue and not the food itself. 

[Laurie Muhlberg]

When I took him home he was eating Iams large breed puppy and that's when I switched to blue buffalo because it seemed to be great food.  it wasn't until after that he started having loose stools.  Then I switched to the wellness large breed puppy.  He gets small milk bones. Not many though

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We also have a recommended treat list in TFG. Milk bones aren't on it, lol. 

You really need to have a fecal done, and then if that's negative, I would switch to a grain free food with a different protein source, from our list of recommended foods. Wellness Core might be a good choice, or their Simple Solutions line. 

And unless your puppy is expected to top 80  or 90 lbs as an adult, you don't need a "large breed" formula. Those are intended for the giant breeds who don;t reach full bone growth until well into their second year. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, we have a very large and active group here called The Food Group where we discuss digestive issues, food recommendations and every other issue related to heeding our doodles. Please join us. :) 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

[Laurie Muhlberg]

Thank you!  I will check it out.  He was on the blue for 3 months and has been wellness for the about 1 1/2 months

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's important to think in terms of specific formulas, not just the brands. There are dozens of different lines within each brand, and then several different formulas within each line. There are grain free formulas, limited ingredient formulas, alternate protein sources, etc. If one isn't working, you can try another one without switching brands entirely. But if a dog is eating a food with no problems for awhile and suddenly gets the runs, especially a puppy, that's usually a sign that there is a medical issue, not a food problem. Switching brands isn't going to help even if it is a food problem unless you also switch to a different type of formula; one without grains, perhaps, or one with lamb or duck instead of chicken. Without looking at what isn't working in terms of ingredients, it's hard to figure one what would work, lol. 

[Laurie Muhlberg]

Someone just wrote that doodles have issues with chicken is that true?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not really, it's a misconception. 

In cases where a dog has an intolerance to a food (or much more rarely, a food allergy), it is typically to an animal protein that he has been eating on a regular basis over a period of time. Most puppies are started on a chicken based diet, it is the most commonly used animal protein in commercial pet foods, and the most commonly used animal protein in homemade or raw diets, mostly because it's the cheapest. Since chicken is the animal protein they have been eating regularly from the time they started solid foods, if they are going to develop a sensitivity, it's going to be to chicken; you don't develop an intolerance to something you've never been exposed to. That's why you hear about dogs who can't eat chicken and not dogs who can't eat duck, lol. But if any given dog were fed duck (or lamb, or pork or whatever) and never given chicken, and that dog was prone to food sensitivities, he would develop issues to duck (or lamb, or pork or whatever) and be fine with chicken. Does that make sense?

But I sincerely doubt that chicken is the problem for your dog. If so, it's an easy fix. As I mentioned above, you switch not to a different brand necessarily, but rather to a different protein source. If chicken were really causing the issues, then problem solved. 

Have you had a fecal done? If not, that's really important, to rule out parasites. If he has giardia (very common) or another parasite, no food is going to help that. You have to get rid of the parasites. 

[Laurie Muhlberg]

Very informative thank you! I will have his stool checked this week.

[Pam Thomas]

Jazzy is doing well on Wellness core puppy and a little sweet potato

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Maybe try Iams Naturals? I see this constantly being advertised and am thinking about putting my Orwell on it after he grows out of his puppy stage. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Nothing from Iams is recommended. The bigger the company the more they spend on advertising. (Mc Donalds does a huge amount of advertising, doesn't make it good food, LOL).  It is pure junk. Please check out the recommended list of foods in the Food Group which has been compiled by completely independent people who have analysed not only the composition of the foods but the sources of the ingredients too. If you take the advice from here you will not go wrong, it may take a bit of detective work to get it right but you won't find better information anywhere. Fecal test is number one on your list, you can make no decisions until the results of that.