Help! What food should I switch to? Dog develoepd problems

[lippylulu]

I have fed Canidae All Life Stages for 15 years, starting with a dog who couldn't eat corn, wheat or soy. One of my little dogs lived to 17 1/2, and the senstive tummy dog (Shepard mix) made it to 15 1/2 on Canidae. I now have a 4 year old medium 44 pound black lab mix who can eat anything and a 3 year old English Pointer Mix who is having massive digestion problems. He was checked for worms (negative) and was on Flagyl (antibiotic) since all indications pointed to infection. He did OK on the Vet prescribed canned food while also on diarhhea medication but no good when reintroducing him back to his normal kibble. The vet suggested it was possilbe he was intolerant to meat based foods so I bought TOTW grain free Salmon food because I am disabled and cost is a big factor. I feel like he needs more fiber to firm things up a bit though it seems like most foods are in the 3-4% range for fiber. To make it more complicated, the lab can eat anything but her stools are sometimes rock hard whereas right now my Pointer mix's poop can't even be picked up. Is there a moderately priced seafood based food? Candiae's fish based food is SO EXPENSIVE. Also, why is grain free so important? Don't they need healthy grain for fiber?

[frostfell]

Victor has a salmon and sweet potato food that is a bit cheaper

[Barb04]

How long have you been feed TOTW? If you don't transistion slowly, they can get the runs. Try give some plain canned pumpkin (maybe 2 tablespoons). This helps to regulate their system.

Once in awhile my friend's dog needs to have a probiotic added to his food for a week to help.

I feed TOTW salmon. In the morning I add a spoonful of plain yogurt for the good bacteria.

The next food that would that wouldn't cost much would be 4Health salmon; they also make grain free. My friend tried this, but her dogs did much better on TOTW salmon. One of her dogs has digestive issues.

[Saeleofu]

Originally Posted by frostfell

Victor has a salmon and sweet potato food that is a bit cheaper

This is what I use, and I've had wonderful results. It's WAY cheaper than TOTW, and only marginally more expensive than 4Health. My collie has a sensitive stomach and he's never had an issue with this food. My friend's golden also does great on this food despite having loose stool issues in the past.

But if changing foods doesn't work, you may have to dig deeper. My collie had to be on Tylan for 6 months after he contracted a clostridial infection. Other dogs need some B12 injections to get them sorted.

[Beanie]

Victor isn't available everywhere, the closest place to me is across the state line in Indiana. They have a dealer locator on their website:
http://www.victordogfood.com/

Is the TOTW okay price-wise for you? Otherwise you may consider looking into ordering something online or finding out if a specialty store in your area can special order stuff for you.

Generally speaking, fiber is actually not considered an essential ingredient in a dog's diet. As far as grains go, some dogs have problems with grains, some dogs do okay with grains, some dogs do better WITH grains. I prefer to feed grain free if I can (I avoid grains for myself too) but have a dog right now on a grain inclusive food because he was unable to gain weight on grain free.

You can add pumpkin as Barb said to help firm things up, but careful, because too much pumpkin can give them the runs! Green beans are another thing people often add to help firm stools, I have done that myself. I buy a bag of frozen green beans and chuck a handful into the bowl with their kibble. Most dogs like green beans, only one of mine does not!


I agree with Sael as well, if the diarrhea is persistent you might want to keep digging further. The same dog who is on a grain based food now had persistent diarrhea and was treated for clostridium with Tylan powder for I think three months. Does he clear up at all on the Flagyl or is it still persistent even on the antibiotics?

[lippylulu]

Some things got better after the antibiotic and change of food. He was pooping yellow mush and now at least it is brown. Some is soft but formed, some not formed. He has bad gas too. I expect some of the problem is the change in food (it was more sudden than I would have prefered but he had already been eating the vet prescribed canned food for 4 or 5 days). Money is definitely a big factor as I am widowed and disabled and barely getting by these days. I can order food to be delivered if people think Victor's is a better choice than TOTW and it costs the same or less. At the 3 chain pet stores I checked, TOTW seemed to be the best product for the money but I did not see Victor's anywhere (I am in NYC metro/Northwest NJ). He has not had any accidents or urgency and I was glad to see things change from yellow to brown; but I sure would like to be able to clean up after him properly (firmed, formed stool) and the gas worries me. I cannot believe the price of some of these fish based grain free foods and I really don't know if grain is the problem anyway!

[lippylulu]

I don't seem to find Victor's anywhere...even through the home delivery companies. The only other cost effectvie brand I found is Premium Edge Adult Dog Skin & Coat Salmon, Potatoes & Vegetables Formula . I know nothing about this company. Its a little less expensive than TOTW and ingrediants seem right on the petfoodirect website. Feedback?

[Saeleofu]

Do you have any locally-owned feed stores near you? They may be able to order it in. It's not sold in big box stores or online.

[lippylulu]

There is one local place I found (I am new to the area) and can ask about ordering Victor's. Just took dog out and not too happy with what came out of him. I am not sure if he just neds more imte to adjust, if I should go back to Canidae and assume the problem was just an infection, or WHAT to do. He is eatinga nd drinking OK (and lots of peeing) so I am not worried about dehydration...jsut want him to poop like a normal dog and not be gassy so I know he is OK!

[Barb04]

Has your vet suggested maybe irritable bowel syndrome? My cat out of nowhere got this and needed a single protein food (a protein never fed before) and one for sensitive stomachs; this worked. My vet said he's had this happend with dogs before where out of nowhere they get ibs. Just a thought.