Purina pro plan sensitive puppy

[Lu]

This is what my vet has recommended for our pup's runny tummy along with fortiflora.  We have just had our first 24hours with solid poo.  Having read around here, I see Purina are not well liked.  Please could you experienced foodies comment on this ingredients list.

Thank you very much for your help

Lu

PRO PLAN PUPPY SENSITIVE SALMON & RICE

Ingredients

Salmon (23%), rice (22%), dehydrated salmon protein (15%), maize gluten, animal fat (protected by mixed tocopherols), maize, hydrolysed digest, beet pulp, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, minerals.

EC Additive: Tocopherol rich extracts of natural origin.

Vitamin A: 21000 IU/Kg
Vitamin D3: 1600 IU/Kg
Vitamin E: 500 mg/Kg
Vitamin C: 100 mg/Kg

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fresh cooked & pureed pumpkin should have the same effect.
We do recommend the Fromm Gold line, too. Some of our members have just started using it, as it is not as widely available as the Four Star line in many areas. But they are equally good foods, and Fromm is a reliable company.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Hi...sorry I have been MIA. We use Fromm - rotate between the Gold (Peri loves this so far -we just got it) and the 4Star. I honestly don't know if the protein in Gold would upset your pup. It is lamb, chicken and duck and Peri has a tough-as-nails stomach so far.
When my chihuahua was on Fromm, he did VERY well with the salmon one - he always does well with fish vs. any other protein. He has a very very sensitive stomach. Fromm is a pretty great food - maybe give it a try? Do they have samples?

[Julie B.]

I put my 5 year old labradoodle on this when she was a puppy because she had horrible GI issues due to Giardia causing colitis. I know Purina is not the most popular on this website but we had really good results with it. I have since tried to switch her onto a "better" food and they just don't work for her. She gets runny slimy poops almost from day 1. I am now trying TOTW with her. I tried the Venison and she had the same problem so now I have her on the White Fish formula and so far so good. I definitely know she has to have some sort of fish protein because any of the other proteins cause her digestive problems. I also tried Fromms with no luck (even the Salmon Formula).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the thing; food is only food. It isn't medicine. It is made up of ingredients that will be broken down during digestion into their most basic forms to provide fuel for all the cells of the body. So if we look at the particular ingredients that work or don't work for our dog, we can duplicate good or bad results with another food or another method of feeding. There is no commercial dog food that contains something that is unique to that food.
The reason Purina is not popular here is that is part of a huge commercial conglomerate that was responsible for the deaths of thousands of beloved pets, including Lynne's poodle Magic, to whom this group is dedicated. The good results you got with it could have been achieved with any number of other foods, once we look at what is in the Purina food and find a similar product that doesn't also contain imported ingredients from unknown sources and potential carcinogens. We did this with Allyson's chihuahua, who has kidney disease due to those foods that were recalled in 2007, and the latest test results were wonderful, beyond anything we could have hoped for, without using the expensive and potentially dangerous Purina or Hills products the vet recommended. It doesn't do us much good if our dogs have perfect firm poops and develop cancer two years later. If you tell us exactly what formula Purina worked for you, we can find you another food that will do the same.
TOTW is grain-free; that may be one key. Grains are the hardest foods for dogs to digest. Fish is easier to digest than red meat, too. That may be why the TOTW whitefish formula is helping.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, Taquito always does better with fish...
Glad the TOTW fish formula is working. Julie there is also a Fromm grain-free Surf & Turf. Did you try that?
Only reason I ask is that although TOTW is a good food, there have been some concerns raised about preservatives in it.

[Lu]

Ted has now been firm since I last posted. His poo doesn't smell, and he smells a lot lot less and he only poos 2/3 times a day now (still on fortiflora and purina proplan)

We intend to stop with the fortifora when he finishes the course and see how he is just on the food. If his tummy starts playing up I will add a probiotic yoghurt and see if that makes a difference. I if it doesn't settle i will come back for more advice before changing him back to fortiflora.

Should he have a settled tummy off the fortiflora I will then start changing his food to one of the fish foods that you have helped me research here. Or if we decide to return to fortilora, I will then look at changing his food.

Thank you for this very useful group

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Honestly, I would go ahead and switch Ted's food very slowly. You need to do it at some point, and might as well get him used to a high-quality food. You will end up having more poops in the beginning, but it will even out. I swear, when Peri was Ted's age, she pooped 6-8 times per day! Really! At almost one year, she is 3-4 max/day. I thought something was wrong with Peri and was freaking out about her stomach and softer poos, but it just takes quite a while for their digestive systems to settle and mature. And you will find that the cheaper dog foods do, in fact, produce harder poops, but that doesn't mean they are better foods!
Go ahead and start trying to incorporate some new foods slowly. That will give you more time to see what Ted likes and what will ultimately work best for him! Good luck!

[Lu]

I switched Teds food to the Barking Heads one and he is also fortiflora free it has been 10 days to 2 weeks now. Haven't needed to add in yoghurt.

His poos are easy to pick up and he does 3 a day. We have even been able to test him out on a few treats - he seems to tolerate a small piece of cheese and he had a little bit of left over salmon.

I'm hoping that we can keep investigating the food further so that we can find a healthy option for him that doesn't cost us quite so much. This currently costs about £10 a week and will of course go up as he grows.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm very glad to hear that Ted is doing well and eating a much better food, without the need to rely on Fortiflora or any probiotics. I think you proved the point that the products recommended by the vets are not the best or only answer to these common GI issues.
I'm not sure what the dollar equivalent is to 10 pounds, but it can certainly be expensive to feed our dogs well. How does what you are paying now compare to your costs for the Purina food plus the Fortiflora?

[Lu]

Thought I'd just update here. I was sceptical about the pro biotic yoghurt - not sure why.... but since we did that every day we have had absolutely no probs with Ted's tum, except when he ate a sock and another time when he ate a conker.


I have been recommending it to everyone here.


We have been using the barking heads puppy days ater gettting your advice on the ingredients here and he has been brill. Just swapped on to the fusspot variety (cos the petshop had it end of line for a £5) and he took the change with no probs.

One of the other things that seems to have a huge impact on Ted is the amount of food we feed him. At 10 months he weighs about 25Kg and we give him the minimum amount that they suggest for a dog of 15 - 20Kg...
we found the same with the puppy food too. As he is he feels just right according to our vet.... and of course costs us less in food than we thought it might

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am so glad Ted is doing well! Thanks so much for the update!

[Jodi and Stella]

We fed our beloved english lab that food for adulst for most of his life. Come to find out (to late) that it contains the preservative ethoxyquin often used for fish. This is a known carcinagenic and is banned for human consumption. We had to put Rocket down last spring due to cancer.