Problems finding a dog food

[Courtney]

Hey All,

I am new to the group so I am sure this has been discussed many times before...sorry.

I am having trouble finding a dry puppy food that doesn't give my dog the runs. We have had him for about 3 months now and he is 8 months old. The person who had him before gave him Purina which I know is terrible.

We switched him to Blue Buffalo and it gave him diarrhea and horrible gas. Then we switched him to Wellness and it also gives him horrible diarrhea.

I want to give him good food that doesn't make him sick...however, I can't spend a ton of money or special order food.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated =)

Thanks,
Courtney

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

The first thing that comes to mind, is how long you took to transition your pup over to the new foods. Sometimes it can take a couple weeks, slowly adding in just a tablespoon or so of the new food a day. Go too quickly and it can have the results you describe.

[KLN]

Courtney, I'm sure Karen will give better information but a couple things come to mind. First, if you look back through some previous posts, you'll see a comparison that someone did on food costs. While brands like orijen and wellness seem expensive, they are actually cheaper in comparison to a beneful because you have to feed less a day. For instance, with the really high quality foods you are only feeding a cup a day vs four cups (I have a mini doodle so if you have a standard you would feed more but you get the point). Also, mine tend to have loose stool occasionally as well...I put yogurt or pumpkin (about a spoonful) on top of their food and it helps. The vet can also give you Tylan powder of its necessary but id recommend a trip to the vet just to make sure everything is ok. I feed mine orijen and they love it. I purchase if through chewy.com and it's only $41 a bag and it's free shipping over $40. Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When trying to find a food your dog can tolerate, you have to look at the formula, and not just the brand. Each of the brands you mentioned makes dozens and dozens of different formulas: formulas with grains, formulas without grains, chicken based formulas, lamb based formulas, fish based formulas, limited ingredient formulas....you get the idea. Instead of switching brands, if one doesn't work, try another formula within the same brand. If the dog has diarrhea on a food that contains grains, try a grain-free formula. If the dog has problems with chicken, try lamb, turkey, or fish. It's never a brand that causes problems, it's something in the particular formula. 

The first thing I would do is get a fecal test done if you haven't already. If a dog has a parasite or an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut, no food is going to help. 

If the fecal is clear, try giving him two tablespoons of plain unflavored fat-free yogurt with each meal. The probiotics in the yogurt will help. You can also try a couple of tablespoons of canned pure pumpkin. 

When switching foods, make only one change at a time. Don't introduce new treats at the same time you are changing foods. That way, it's easier to tell what works and what doesn't. 

What exact formulas of Wellness and Blue Buffalo have you tried? 

What kinds of treats and chews does he get? Any "people" food? 

[Lisa & Greg]

Our Bootes has the runs too - in fact tonight was the first night either of our doodle puppies pooped in the house since we brought them home in July (peeing is another story!). We're weaning both puppies off of Beneful (the breeder fed them that) to Blue Buffalo puppy formula. They do have awful gas issues too. I think it's mostly Bootes who has the problem. We were giving Bootes an antibiotic for a possible urinary infection, so the vet thinks that could cause her diarrhea and recommended a probiotic powder sprinkled on their food to help. I still have to pick that up from the vet so we'll see if that works.

They're both being treated for parasites too (coccidia and hookworm) so those could be the culprit too.

We just have to keep working at it!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The worms could definitely be the culprit. Parasites are usually the cause of loose stools in puppies.

The probiotic that most vets sell you is Fortiflora, which is a Purina product that we do not recommend; it's got some pretty awful ingredients in it. (It's also overpriced for what you're getting). Some vets will sell you Proviable if you request it and they have it, if not, order it on-line, it's much, much better. Gentle Digest by Ark Naturals, or iFlora by Sedona labs are also good. 

Probiotics should always be given any time a dog (or a person) is on antibiotics. 

[Willow and J]

Did you have your pup fecal tested? He might have giardia which is a common cause for diarrhea.

If that is not the case, read everything others say, and in our case, which might be somewhat unusual, our pup's poo firmed up when we switched to grain-free (Orijen large puppy formula). Often grain-free and/or protein-rich food is considered harder for sensitive stomach, but that was not the case with Willow. And like others said, if you calculate per cup calorie, what seems to be expensive (such as Orijen) turns out to be not more than supermarket brands.

We also started giving dried yams (Sam's Yams) as snack, a couple of pieces a day, and that helped too.

Good luck! 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Grain-free foods with higher protein (and therefore, less fillers) usually do help with loose stool, provided it isn't caused by parasites and/or bacterial imbalances from antibiotics.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver always had the poops, he did not have parasites so when I switched to Grain Free his poops were perfect !!!  He is on Earthbounty ( grain free).  As Karen said transition to a new food a bit at a time.  Ollie has a sensitive stomach so it takes me about 2 wks to transition to the new food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Barbara, I think you mean Earthborn?