Changing dogfood....again

[Ritz459]

Chloe is still having loose poop. I'm just about sick of it. She'll have firm stool in the morning, loose in the afternoon, runny in the afternoon, and then loose in the evening.

It's almost time for me to buy more dog food, so I want to buy a new brand and see if that helps. I'm also getting sick of paying $20 for a fifteen pound bag, whereas I can buy a 30lb bag of Chicken Soup for $30.
Chloe has a sensitive stomach, I know that much. Now that I have gotten more apt in my driving skills (lol), I don't worry about pulling into Buckles and then having to back out onto a busy street. This opens up my choice of food majorly. Buckles sells Innova, Timber Wolf Organics, and other top notch brands. They've even started selling pre made raw diets.
However, with her sensitive stomach and loose stool issues, I don't want to get something that is going to be too "rich" for her system. Even eating strange food throws her off. She ate some Iams puppy chow once and she bloated up like a balloon.

I just thought I'd ask what you guys would advise. I'm going to buy another good brand, and if she is still having problems, I'm going to try the Pro Plan brand. That was what she had as a little puppy and she did fine on it. Maybe something that is a little less "rich" will make her stool return to normal.

Right now she is eating the Blue Buffalo adult Chicken and Rice formula. I'm happy with the results (skin condition, coat condition, weight, activity level, etc.), I'm just hoping that a different food will help solidify her stool a bit more.

[BoxMeIn21]

Sometimes getting their diet right is so frustrating!!! I feel you - before I switched to raw, I was about to pull my hair out with Rowdy.
Pro-plan? *gives stinky face*. Although Pro-plan did just come out with a Selects line - it still has corn in it, but the ingredients seem to be less crappy than the original formulas.

With my experience with Rowdy i've found that it wasn't he actual richness of the food but the quality of ingredients and his ability to digest them that was the problem. The two I found brands that he did well on was Timberwolf (all formulas) and Natural Balance Fish and Sweet potato.
I hope you are able find something soon. Good luck!!!

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by BoxMeIn21

Sometimes getting their diet right is so frustrating!!! I feel you - before I switched to raw, I was about to pull my hair out with Rowdy.
Pro-plan? *gives stinky face*. Although Pro-plan did just come out with a Selects line - it still has corn in it, but the ingredients seem to be less crappy than the original formulas.

With my experience with Rowdy i've found that it wasn't he actual richness of the food but the quality of ingredients and his ability to digest them that was the problem. The two I found brands that he did well on was Timberwolf (all formulas) and Natural Balance Fish and Sweet potato.
I hope you are able find something soon. Good luck!!!

Oh, I know it. lol Pro-plan isn't the best, but that was what Sadie ate while we had her and she did fine on that (although her coat was a bit dry).

I'm going to try and head over to Buckles after school tomorrow and take a look at what food they have and compare them. I might just switch her over to the Chicken Soup brand (that is what Blackie and Rose is eating), but I'm going to compare prices and ingredients first.
I'll check into the Timberwolf food.

After reading some comments on the Blue Buffalo food, it seems like about a third of the dogs on it had loose stool problems. At least I know Chloe's not unique.

[SpringerLover]

You can check out Innova and specifically their HealthWise formula. It's their 'lowest' food but a friend whose dog has lost stool issues does great on it.

[Kuchi]

Kuchi had the same problems, I couldn't find the best food for him. He did pretty well on Timberwolf ocean blue, but the best on Canidae Lamb and Rice. I finally don't have to wash his bum daily.

[Rivsky]

I'm not sure if this will help Chloe but thought I'd mention it anyway.

I need to also bulk up River's stools so he's more likely to express his own glands (which for whatever reason he hasn't been able to do himself). I've been recommended to try adding the following to his diet to see if it helps:

1. Unprocessed bran
2. More bones (probably not an option with Chloe's sensitive stomach though)
3. Shredded veges and crushed fruit

I can't comment on how successful it's been as yet as we're only a day or so into it but if feeding a lower protein food doesn't help her maybe you could use something to help her.

[calgal]

I feed strictly home cooked meals to my dogs, always have, always will and swear by it. You know exactly what they are eating and how to manage what they can and can't tolerate. Ann N. Martins book PROTECT YOUR PET More Shocking Facts, Dangers of Commercial Pet Foods, Raw Meat Diet Controversy, Excessive Vaccinations, Increased Cancer in Pets, Healthy Recipes and Resources is a must read for those of you who want to do the right thing for your pets.

[Ritz459]

I decided to purchase the Chicken Soup adult brand, because everything else was so costly. I did some reading yesterday about people with similar problems and they said that when they switched to the CS food, it cleared up.

If, however, the CS doesn't do the trick, I'm going to try some of the Timberwolf food, as that is what seems many people have had success with.

I've been recommended to try adding the following to his diet to see if it helps:

1. Unprocessed bran
2. More bones (probably not an option with Chloe's sensitive stomach though)
3. Shredded veges and crushed fruit

What kind of veggies and/or fruit would I add? I've heard that adding canned pumpkin would help.

[Rivsky]

Yep pumpkin is good - just not too much.

At the moment River has a mixture of carrots, celery, brocolli and pumpkin. The fruit he's getting at the moment is a bit of apple and a few cranberries. You can pretty much use anything you've got - providing it's not on the not to feed list.

I hope the new food helps.

[mmizuno94]

We just switched our food to Timberwolf and our dogs love it!

[Beryl]

I do raw and home cooking but when I want the firmest stools, I stick to raw. Raw chicken wings in the AM (lots of bone there) and Nature's Variety raw medallions in the PM. The latter is pricey but the results are consistent.

I just moved an my Latte is going through housebreaking all over again. Firm poops are are easier to clean up.

[mom2cocoa]

I think the Chicken Soup foods are kind of rich for animals with sensitive stomachs. Have you tried California Natural? It's a great food and very simple.

[Ritz459]

Originally Posted by mom2cocoa

I think the Chicken Soup foods are kind of rich for animals with sensitive stomachs. Have you tried California Natural? It's a great food and very simple.

Chloe seems to be doing well on the Chicken Soup food. Her stool is consistantly more firmer (still has some loose boughts, though), but she is pooping so much less now! I was excited. Before she'd poop around four BIG poops a day, and now she is only pooping three small times a day.
However, she's only been eating mostly Chicken Soup for about two days, so we'll see what happens.

[Kuchi]

That's good, you found a food that she works very well on. You can always add flax seed oil or salmon oil to her meal if her skin gets dry. But I wouldn't switch for awhile or ever again for that matter.

[dogs4life]

I'm glad you found a better food for Chloe, all the dogs will have different reactions to kibble brands and formulations. Trial and error seems to be the way we figure out poop issues too.