Dry Puppy Food Help!

[Jen and Piper]

My Goldendoodle is 12 weeks old and I'd like to transition her from Life's Abundance that the breeder started her on to a dry food that is grain free. She's doing fine on her current food but doesn't eat very enthusiastically (she comes back to it several times over a 1/2 hr - maybe this is fine?) and again, I'd like to go grain free. I was interested in Orijean till I read too many stories about diarrhea. Same with Blue Buffalo. Should I reconsider those two? What about EVO, Wellness, Acana, TOTW, Fromm?!? So many choices, I'm overwhelmed. Help!

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

I fed Parker the blue buffalo large breed puppy and he had digestion issues and gas but he is now on the blue buffalo wilderness grain free puppy and he is perfect! No gas, no diarrhea...just good poops! lol! And I had tried a few other foods that were recommended on here before going back to the blue buffalo but trying the grain free puppy as opposed to the regular one and he has done best on the wilderness grain free (even after trying a few other brands of grain free as well). So whatever your decision, I don't think you should completely take the blue buffalo off the list. I also even add some vitamins on top of Parker's kibble "Whole Dog Daily" by green dog naturals and they have probiotics that can also improve digestion issues! Hope this helps! Some of the recommended foods were just far too expensive and I think that Blue Buffalo is a quality brand but a much more reasonable price!

[Becka]

Sadie is also on Blue Buffalo wilderness and does well--and she had diarrhea with other foods (mostly Royal Canin). And she is also much more likely to eat it all in one or two sittings rather than grazing. Katie, how much do you give Parker? I find the chart on the bag to be sort of confusingly broad.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know where all these ideas about Orijen causing diarrhea are coming from, but it simply isn't true. Every dog reacts to different foods in a different manner, but the majority of us who have tried Orijen have had great success with it. In fact, some people's dogs actually have stools that are too firm on Orijen. I personally use it, and wouldn't feed anything else, Jack does so well with it. But even he had a few days of diarrhea when we first switched, and he is an adult dog with a mature digestive system.

I am also not aware of any problem with Blue Buffalo causing diarrhea in most puppies. Any food can cause diarrhea in any given puppy, and it can take a long time for a puppy's digestive system to adjust to a food change. This is true of anything you might choose to try. Also, there are many different formulas. If one doesn't work well, another one within the same line might be just fine. It's not the brand that causes a problem, it;s the individual ingredients in a specific formula.

There is no way for anyone to predict what particular food will work best for your puppy.The first step would be to see what is available in your area, and to decide if price is a consideration for you. Then, if the current food is working well for your pup, I would look for a formula that is similar. I believe that Life's Abundance is chicken based and contains grains, so you may want to stay with a food that contains similar grains if that's working well for your pup. A different protein source might appeal more to her. I do think it's a good idea to switch from LA, as it's basically a rip-off due to being part of an MLM pyramid program, and you are paying too much for all those commissions. Plus, there is no variety; they only make one or two formulas.

Many FG puppies seem to do very well with both Acana and Fromm's, and those both have formulas that contain grains as well as grain-free formulas. You can refer to our Recommended Brands list to see what formulas are available, and then check the manufacturer's websites to locate stores in your area.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

[Jen and Piper]

Karen, I did internet searches for each of the brands I'm considering and came up with many reviews on how Orijean and Blue Buffalo caused their dogs to have diarrhea.  I'm glad to hear that hasn't been the case here on the Doodle Kisses boards because I really didn't want to discount either of them, especially Orijean.  I live in a pretty big city and so I can probably get most any brand (I think?) and while I decided that raw food was too expensive, I'm pretty sure most dry foods will be in my price range. So I'm back to many, many choices! I'm guess I'm wondering if there are so many great brands and its all really trial and error to see what works well for your dog and what they like to eat, how to you decide where to start? And you think I should consider products that contain grain?  Thanks everyone for the help.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem with some of those reviews that are personal and not official impartial review sites is that anyone can post there, including people who are selling dog food, lol. I am sure that if you did a search for any food, you would find the same things.

I just think that if your dog is doing well with a particular formula, and you want to change it, you should try to stick with a food that has a similar nutrient compostion to the one you're using; i.e., simialr protein fat and carb percentages. If your dog is doing well with grains, it would be an easier adjustment to stick with a food that contains grains. That doesn't mean you can't switch to a grain free if you want to. But when you're asking where to start, that would be one way to do it. 

I switched to orijen because Jack's specialist wanted him on Orijen, so it was easy for me. But prior to that, I switched him from a food that he was doing very well with, but the company wasn't good. The food contained rice and lamb, so i looked for a new food that contained rice and lamb. I settled on one of the Wellness Super Five Mix formulas with lamb and rice. When that didn't work well, I tried another brand that had a rice and lamb formula, Nature's Variety. Jack didn't like that one, but the same company made a salmon formula, and I knew he loved fresh salmon, so I tried that one. It was okay, but I started to hear bad things about the company. Then I found Fromm, and they had a salmon and rice formula, so I tried that, and Bingo! I would have stayed with it if his specialist hadn't wanted him switched to Orijen.

The point of this story is that you use common sense, you use the list we have provided for you, and then it's just trial and error. With a young puppy, you have to give a new food a chance and not keep switching every few weeks. It can take a while to find something that works for you and your dog.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

Funny- I am in a similar situation. a 12 week GD who I wanted to provide better food. Chester wasn't loving his kibble. We were using Iams Puppy for large breeds (It was what the breeder recommended.) The Vet didn't really like that brand..kind of muttered something about fat content. hmm..

Also He is growing fast and I had been reading a lot on this forum about different food options. When I did some research I decided on Orijean. It sounds wonderful- lots of high ratings and made in Canada. (Chester and I are Canadian.) We were able to buy a smaller trial size and Chester seems to really like it. So we are in the process of switching him over..mixing the 2 foods. I Feel really good about the switch like we are giving Chester something healthy. I also like supporting the smaller businesses who carry this food versus Dept store.

I am hoping the switch won't have any negative effects on his digestion.

I too would be interested in how Piper does too.

 

[Jen and Piper]

Hazel, how long have you been transitioning him? And no digestive issues so far? I think I may go for it too...

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

We just start on Tuesday of this week..so far no digestive issues. We are doing 1/2 old food 1/2 Orijean.. His poop quantity has increased but we think this is because he is eating more. He seems to like the new food he is emptying his bowl quicker.He wasn't finishing what we put out of Iams. The poop consistency seems better- not too loose or firm.

He also seems to be a little less interested in grazing on grass- I am thinking it might be related to some of the ingredients in the food.

good luck.

[Anna]

I had the same problem.  My pup was on Wellness puppy but had dirrahea and gas.  I got some advise from the food group and I switched him to Fromm puppy gold.  Initially he devoured his food and seems to love it.  But the dirrahea continued and the gas was worse than before.

So of course I asked the lovely ladies here and they told me that perhaps I was feeling him to much.  I did cut his food to the right amt.   And i think that with the combination of less food and Buck getting used to the new food.  he seems to be doing a little better.   his poop isn't really firm - but it also isn't gooey like before.  and the gas got a little better.   I'm keeping my fingers crossed - and hope that the food agrees with his digestive sys.  and he keeps getting better and better.

So - just from my experience - i would take the wise advise of the food gurus here and make sure that you are giving the pup the right amount of food.  and also to give it some time - before you can really see the results.  I have to admit after 2 days of continued dirrahea and the awful gas - I thought I had to search for another brand of food.  So I'm gonna stick it out with the fromm and see how it is - til the bag is done.