Questions regarding grainfree.

[Laura & Chewie]

Chewie has been eating Fromm's since he was about 4 months old...he's now 14 months.  Initially he did wonderful...very firm poops.  A few months ago he picked up Coccidia.  Ever since then his poop, while formed, is much softer.  He also has a tendency toward getting an overgrowth of bacteria which causes some temporary diarrhea.  He is taking probiotics daily and has also been getting a maintenance dose of something called Tylan to help with the overgrowth issues until his digestive system matures more.

 

At our last trip to the vet, she suggested grainfree might benefit him as I mentioned he has also always been a very itchy dog (since we got him ast 8 weeks).  So, I have been considering making a switch.  With this being said, he also acts ravenous all the time, yet his weight is perfect.  You would think we were starving him the way he reacts to food.  At times, I think it results in less than ideal behavior.  My question is...would grainless being a highter protein food, fill him up more in addition to whatever other benefits it may provide?  Fromm's is only 24% protein compared to Orijen which is 40%. 

 

I also just read Joanne's post about Spud doing so well on Arcana.  I researched and see that it is 34% protein.  Would a gradual increase be better?  Any suggestions on best varieties within either of these two brands to start with?

 

Thanks as always for opinions, advice, suggestions...

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

When my doodle has some stool issues (too soft) I use this product from Honest Kitchen. It is all natural and I can't even begin to tell you how much it helps. Some premium stores carry it or you can order online.
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/perfect-form/

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Laura, I would just start the switch and see what happens. Protein does fill dogs up more - that is why you feed less of it. For Peri grains work because she gets to eat more - she is a food hound and I know she would never stop eating Orijen or something similar.

I would still give a new food a try. Start by adding 1/4 of the Acana to the Fromm and gradually increase it thoughout the course of a week or so until you get to 100%. Don't worry about the higher protein - all grain frees will be like that. It may take some transitioning, but after a few weeks, you should be able to see if grain-free works for Chewie.

Acana is good, Orijen, and I think there is a Petcurean Go! Natural grain free food that members are also using. Also Wilderness (by Blue Buffalo) has a grain-free option. Why don't you look at some of those and see which proteins you think would work. I know you have been rotating with Fromm, right?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is my experience with my 4 dogs (2 doodles).
1) For my dogs, poop is very firm on EVO and pretty good with other grainless. EVO was just bought by Proctor and Gamble and they will probably change it for the worse so you may not want to experiment with that one.
2) The portion a dog eats with grain-free is LESS because it doesn't have fillers. Dogs who are food obsessed will think they didn't get enough to eat. We feed even less than the recommended amount because ours are couch potatoes and not that active.
3) My dogs itch and/or lick their legs even on grain-free and with Evening Primrose Capsules for their skin. Our Springer really has dry skin that the EPO capsules really do help.
4) If Acana was in my area I would give it a try.
5) It takes a month at least when switching to grain-free for the dogs to settle in and get gas-free. You need to be patient. Mine did not become gas-free on Solid Gold Barking at the moon even after a couple of months but they have on EVO.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

#2 is exactly why I cannot switch to grain-free.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good advice here.
In this particular case, if you switch to a grain-free food, do it cold-turkey. Going from foods that contain grains to grain-frees, it just works better to get rid of the grain all at once. Expect about 4 days of loose stools, and then you should see a big improvement. If you switch gradually, the transition time will be longer. This is not carved in stone, but it seems to work best.
Dogs who always seem to be hungry are not always the best candidates for grain-free foods, because as others have mentioned, they get less food overall. Even though protein foods are eventually more filling, it takes time for that to register with the body, and a chow-hound type may very well wolf down his new smaller-than-normal portions is going to be looking for more food. If you give him just a little extra, or just a little more, (and let's face it, who among us has the will-power to deny that poor hungry doodle face staring at his empty bowl & then at you), he can gain too much weight too fast. Some of the grain-frees are very calorie dense.
Is Chewie getting evening primrose oil or fish oil for the itching? Essential fatty acids help a lot. Switching to grain-free food will probably not stop the itching, because it probably has nothing to do with food. It's possible, but very unlikely, especially if he's been itchy since he was 8 weeks old. I am pretty sure that it would be impossible for a dog to have already developed food allergies at 8 weeks of age, since puppies don't even start eating solid foods until they are about a month old, and it takes a minimum of several months exposure for a food allergy to develop. A 500 mg. evening primrose oil capsule, or a little fish oil daily should help.
That said, many of our dogs who had digestive issues did improve greatly on grain-free foods. The higher protein levels can also be also helpful for dry or itchy skin.
If you do decide to switch, choose a formula that has the same (or similar) proteins as the current food. So if you're using a chicken or fowl based formula, choose a grain-free with fowl as the first ingredient. If Chewie's been eating a rotation diet, with several different proteins rotated, which is common with Fromm feeders, than it won't matter much. Maybe start with the proteins in the last formula you used before making the switch.
All of this is general, and there really are no hard & fast rules (don't I wish!) in finding what works best for your dog. Hope this helps.

[Laura & Chewie]

Thanks for all the responses. I was just checking out websites for Arcana and Orijen...didn't realize they are made by the same company. Interestingly, the feeding guides for each food indicate a larger daily amount than Chewie currently gets from Fromm's. He is now fed 1-1/2 cups divided between two meals. The Orijen guide indicated for his weight 1-1/4 - 2-1/4 cups daily and the Arcana 2-1/4 - 3-1/4 cups daily. I was really surprised by the Arcana amount. When the vet had suggested it, she said she feeds her dog EVO (and actually homecooks for another dog) and said she would like to see a transition over a two week period.

Any opinion between Arcana and Orijen. It seems the main difference is the protein levels. So, do I take a big leap or a more gradual one?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It won't hurt if you want to transition rather than switch cold turkey, but I think 2 weeks is too long, particularly if you've already been rotating formulas. You won't know how the new food agrees with her until that's all she's getting.