Quick Q: Fromm 4-Star line

[Stacy]

We've always talked about being able to switch flavors between the 4 Star line of foods without transitioning, but some of the flavors are grain free, and some of them are healthy grain. I've only ever fed the healthy grain formulas (not because I'm afraid of DCM, that's just what I've always fed.) But can I, or should I rotate through the grain free formulas too? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've actually found the small boutique stores to be cheaper on many things than the big box stores. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I’ve found that to be true here also. 

[Stacy]

True at my boutique store too. I think it's strange. You would think a company like PetFlow would buy in bulk so you would get better prices, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Well, of course you “pay” for shipping even if it’s free.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd gladly pay Canadian prices for dog food to have the same benefits Canadians have, lol....starting with the universal health care and the low drug prices. I think your paycheck goes a LOT further there. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yes maybe our dollars stretch further.  Probably depends on where you are living but the healthcare situation certainly helps overall. 

[Nancy]

Some of the smaller stores offer an incentive like after your 10th bag, you get one free.  I like that but I also like having it delivered to my house.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Ours does this, every 12th bag is free.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Fromm also has a frequent buyer program, you get a free bag after you buy 12. 

[Stacy]

Small update to this. Chicken Frommage is fine for Katie but it did not agree with Willow at all. Over the course of a couple weeks her stools slowly went from fabulous to grossness. She was already on a probiotic. I was a little afraid I broke her forever. I switched her back to the white fish and gave her some sweet potatoes for a couple day and now she seems to be as good as new. Katie is finishing the chicken frommage by herself. I had to put some ziplock bags of it in the freezer though. 

I don't understand what went wrong, unless it's a self-fulfilling prophecy about my fears of grain free giving them diarrhea. I don't think it's the chicken. She's been on a chicken formula before with no problem. I didn't pick a super high fat formula. Do you think it's the lack of grains? She needed more fiber? (Is there even fiber in grain? Am I thinking of corn or something?) The sweet potato worked great. I didn't pull her off kibble. I just cooked it in the microwave and gave her 1/3 of potato with her food and I saw an almost immediate improvement. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was told by a veterinary internal medicine specialist that the more grains and fillers in a food, the looser the stool and the higher the stool volume. That was definitely the case with JD. So I can't explain why Willow had digestive issues from the new food. Has she never eaten a grain-free formula before?

Whole grain has a ton of fiber, but the grain in kibble is far from whole, lol, and the fiber comes from other ingredients. The fiber content is also generally the same from one formula in a line to another, with maybe a small difference. The fiber content of the Chicken Frommage is 6.5%, which is pretty high for kibble, and is a full percentage over the fiber content of the Chicken a la Veg, at 5.5%. So it's not a lack of fiber, or a lack of grains.

Unless you were overfeeding her, I have no idea what could have caused it. Maybe that particular formula just doesn't agree with her. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Is dairy sensitivity in dogs a thing? Wondering if it's the cheese.  I haven't checked the other Fromm formulas for dairy to compare though, on my tablet right now.  In people at least dairy issues can cause loose stools.