UPDATE - I know Bailey is eating the wrong food...what do you recommend?

[Melissa & Wesley]

I am new to DK and I am really happy to have joined! 

 

Bailey is our new addition to our family.  He is a Goldendoodle and is almost 15 weeks old.  He is currently on Royal Canin DS27 for puppies per our vet recommendation.  To her defense, she said there were other foods out there like Blue Buffalo and Wellness that she recommended as well.  I just wanted to get Bailey off Iams. 

 

Since he has been eating the Royal Canin kibble, the following symptoms have occurred: his eyes have this terrible goopy stuff coming out and they are always weepy.  He rubs his paws over his eyes quite often.  He is constantly digging or rubbing his paws on his ears and he is always "itching" or biting at his fur/skin.  Could he be allergic to the wheat gluten or other fillers in the kibble?  I want to change him to a good quality food that will hopefully get rid of these problems. 

 

He is my baby and I want what is best for him.  I have looked at all the foods that were recommended.  What do you think would be a good food, given his symptoms?  

 

Thank you so much!

Melissa & Bailey Boop

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm not sure, because I don't want to spend your $ unnecessarily. But at the very least, I would watch him very closely and be ready to move if he doesn't seem better soon. If it's bloat or an obstruction, time is of the essence. I don't mean to scare you, but these can be signs of a serious problem. I always err on the side of caution myself, the best money I've ever spent at the vet was money I didn't need to spend just to find out there was nothing wrong. Peace of mind is priceless.

I would also forget about switching foods right now. It's too hard to tell if he isn't eating because he has an obstrcution, or because he just doesn't like the food. Go back to the plain RC and then if he doesn't eat, at least you'll know it isn't the food.

 

[Melissa & Wesley]

Thank you Karen.  We have the emergency vet ready for us if something happens.  We are going to keep a close eye on him and if we notice anything we are heading to the emergency vet.  You are right, the best money spent is knowing that your puppy is okay.  Peace of mind.

 

I will keep you posted.

Melissa & Bailey Boop

[Melissa & Wesley]

I wanted to give you all an update on Bailey.

I think I am the worst doggy mommy ever!!!  I think I know why Bailey is having such stomach problems (even though we are going to change his food)...I DO NOT like Royal Canin at all! In a quest to find my pup the perfect food, I have been trying to find him the perfect treats as well.  So I bought him some Castor & Pollux Treats and I honestly do no even know the name of the other treats, but they were "all natural" treats.  Here are my thoughts:

On Thursday, Bailey ate his breakfast as usual, no problems.  My son and I gave him some treats about an hour after his breakfast.  About an hour after the treat consumption, Bailey started feeling sluggish and did not want to eat his lunch.  He then vomited around 12:30.  He ate later on that day around 8:00pm. 

On Friday, my husband works from home, so Bailey ate all 3 meals, with NO snacks, and did not have any problems with being sluggish or eating. 

On Saturday (yesterday), Bailey ate his breakfast as usual.  Then my son and I gave him treats again about an 1 1/2 after his meal.  We take the kids to swim class and return home.  We go to get Bailey out of his crate and sluggish he is again!  He does not want to eat lunch, as I described in an earlier post yesterday.  Spends most of the afternoon in our foyer, where it is cool.  Around 5:00pm, we are getting ready to go to a friend's house (which Bailey is coming with us) and I decide to fill a container with food in the event he does get hungry.  He hears the food dropping into the container and runs upstairs ready to eat!  Gobbles up his food and is full of energy!  He was full of energy at our friends house and even ate more food when we got home that night!

This morning, ate his breakfast as normal, and had a really nice and substantial poop!  So, I think I am the cause of my poor pup's sluggishness with the different treats I have been introducing to him this past week!!!  I feel like crap right now!!!  My husband and I have decided to give him only his dog food for awhile to see if our theory is correct. 

Of course, I still am not pleased at all with Royal Canin.  I had to clean his eyes this morning because the light red/brown goop was stuck in his fur and actually making like a webbing around his eyes, so it was hard for him to see.  He is digging at his ears quite a bit and is constantly digging at his hind legs and tail. He has been doing this about a week after he started eating the Royal Canin.

So in the next couple weeks, we are going to SLOWLY transition his food.

Thank you all for your advice and help!  We do not know for sure if the treats were/are the culprit, as last week Bailey had an x-ray and it did show some very tiny particles in his intestines. He eats everything!!! So, I will keep you all posted!

This group rocks and I feel very thankful to have found you guys!

With sincere thanks,

Melissa & Bailey Boop

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh I sure hope you're right, and the treats are the culprit!  That would certainly be the easy answer.  Thanks for the update....fingers and paws crossed.  Keep us posted on how the food transition goes.

[Melissa & Wesley]

No sluggishness today so far and breakfast and lunch have gone down smoothly.  Fingers crossed and hoping it was the treats!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

The treats could very well be the culprit. Just so you know, whenever I have tried to "slowy" transition food, it doesn't work so well.  It depends on the dog - Peri eats everything in sight, so she can be transitioned. Taquito, however, will pick out the old food and put it on the ground and ONLY eat the new food.  Then Peri gets the scraps, so it just won't work. 

 

Keep us posted.