For those of you with dogs with sensitive stomaches...

[Lindsey Holt]

Hi all,

For those of you with doodles with sensitive tummies do you ever rotate protein sources in the line that you feed.

I know many that do this, but all of their pups have had no tummy troubles, unlike my Jake who had lots of diarrhea and tummy troubles when we brought him home.

He has done great on Canidae LID duck formula since he was about 1, but he is not a particularly food motivated dog.  He rarely eats much of anything in the morning and does much better in the evening but I had thought maybe a little variety would help.  I just don't want to mess with a good thing if it's going to cause more hard than help.

Thoughts?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I do not recommend rotating proteins for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Besides the whole "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", (don't mess with a good thing, as you put it, which is very valid), there's another problem with rotating proteins for dogs with digestive issues. IF at some point down the road, your dog develops a sensitivity to the current protein, you will have to switch to a food with a single novel protein, i.e. a protein he has never had before. This can be a big problem for those whose dogs have had lots of different protein sources. For some of us with dogs who have serious digestive diseases, it can become close to impossible to find a food that works for them, and then you have nowhere to go except the Rx foods. 

However, if his diet has been limited to only duck and I'm assuming he had chicken as a puppy, and there are lots of proteins he's never had, it might be okay to choose just one other one and rotate between that and the duck. 

[Lindsey Holt]

V

[Lindsey Holt]

My replies aren't taking...

[Lindsey Holt]

He has had that pedigree puppy crap from the breeder then the Canidae puppy chicken formula and now the Skye formula with duck.

I'll probably leave it as is because he had been doing so well for such a long time.

I just wish he ate better in the morning, he barely touches his breakfast and then bolts his dinner...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The food he's eating also has turkey in it.

So here's an idea. Wellness Simple Solutions has an LID formula that's just turkey and potatoes, and since Jake is already getting turkey anyway, it wouldn't do any harm to try  that if you wanted to give him a little more variety. It's extremely easy on the digestive system (it's what Jack eats, except he gets the salmon) so I feel pretty sure it wouldn;t upset Jake's tummy if you want to try it. 

 https://www.chewy.com/wellness-simple-limited-ingredient/dp/37307?u...

Another thought; when Jake has breakfast, is there a lot going on in your house? People getting ready for work or school, lots of activity with people coming and going nearby, etc? It helps to keep all distractions to a minimum, and to take a few minutes to sit down nearby and keep him company while he eats, maybe having coffee or breakfast yourself. Just a thought. 

[Lindsey Holt]

I think I will give wellness a try.

I have tried sitting with him (near) and he picks and sniffs and then goes and lays down... It makes me nuts.

[c zoomer]

Jake's Routine? I don't have much of a routine...but since dogs need one, I'm trying to be better about it. Tried the one Cesar Milan suggests....feeding after exercise. Noticed that Dinah,(10 mo.) ate more after 10 min. mid-morning exercise. (She's not into walking, so I play modified frisbee) I'm feeding 3-4x a day as she had issues with long times between feedings. All in all, this ramps up the amount of work it takes to keep a puppy healthy and happy especially if you have family.

Summer made Dinah overheat when we played, so I waited a bit before feeding. The cooler temps are also helping with appetite--just like people.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's really important to allow at least 30 minutes between exercise and feeding, on both sides. Otherwise, you increase the risk of bloat. 

[Lindsey Holt]

We usually aim for an hour here or Jake will throw up.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's the best thing to do. 

[Lindsey Holt]

Another question now that I've decided to try the wellness simple LID turkey and potato.

How much should I be feeding Jake, he weighs about 48 lbs and according to the wellness bag it says 2.5 to 3.25 cups/day.

He currently eats 2 cups of Canidae LID Skye formula.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Feeding amounts are based on calories; every food is different in how calories per cup it provides. The Canidae Pure Sky formula contains 520 calories per cup, and the Wellness Simple Turkey formula contains 482 calories per cup. If Jake has been doing well with the two cups of Canidae, which would be 1040 calories, then he probably only needs about 2 and a quarter cups of the Wellness, maybe even a little less.