Firm Believer-

[Aimee Santa Monica]

Hello!    I 'd like to switch my 5 mo old doodles puppy kibble (Nutro Puppy)  to a grain free diet (reading about how this is more nutritious and beneficial), i'm even thinking of adding slowly some raw foods. I'm new at all of this.     It took a while for our new pup Ayla to get firmer stools, since the new food change when we first had her, plus gigardia meds, and FortiFlora  to help with her stool. 

I'm interested to know what anyone's dog food diet is and the outcome:  firm or not so firm stools?

Thanks!

[Adina P]

Canidae (has grains) and firm stools.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Aimee, we spent almost a year trying to find a food that worked well for Cubbie.  We got him when he was 5 months old and it took me almost 6 months to figure out that he can NOT tolerate any food or treat that has rice, rice flour, etc and went through all the parasite testing and also had the giardia meds and Fortiflora.  We tried Natural Balance Limited Ingredient initially after I discovered the rice issues, but I didn't want to keep him on that too long because the only 2 ingredients are sweet potato and chicken or duck.  I just feel like he should get at least some other things like fruits and veggies.

We have since switched over to grain free and tried Orijen and Wellness.  Both of those seemed to be too high in protein for him (although many people will tell you that it is impossible for a dog to have too much protein), but he was back to soft stool.  I seriously considered the raw diet, but decided that the cost was a little more than I wanted to spend right now.  I want to feed him the best food that we can comfortably afford, but I just couldn't see spending almost as much on his food as we do on ours!  For the last 3 or 4 months we have been feeding Halo and Cubbie really seems to do well with it.  Stool has been nice and firm which is a welcome change from the "soft serve ice cream" texture he always had before.  His coat is healthy and he has plenty of energy.  Plus the Halo website always has coupons which makes me feel like I am feeding him a good quality food at a price that is also budget friendly.   

If you have any questions let me know.  I totally understand how frustrating choosing the right food can be especially when your pup has tummy issues!

[Aimee Santa Monica]

Thanks Amy, so much for your reply about the dog food!   I will be looking into Halo.  In the meantime, i tried a Tbsp on plain low fat yogurt in Storm & Ayla's food today- just once.   I am hoping to get pups on new food sometime in the next few days.