Best Puppy Food For A Sensitive Tummy?

[airlock]

Our Kelpie cross is about 5months old now and has had continuing problems with loose and runny stool. He goes through phases were he is fine for a week or so but then has 3 days or so of pretty loose leavings which doesn't seem to have any pattern that we can spot.

He started of on science diet as we got a bag of it when we adopted him, we then switched him over to dog pro as this came quite highly recommended from a friend who feeds her 5 dogs the same (adult rather then puppy.)

if it was constant then we would obviously just cut out the dog pro and switch, but the fact that its on and off is making me wonder if there might be another issue in his diet.

He gets a few treats a day usually liver biscuits or similar. we add a few spoons of wet food to his kibble to encourage him to eat it, he can be a bit fussy at times.

The only thing i can think is that we used to give him chicken necks and things but stopped around a month ago after a bad episode.

He's off to the vet for his heart worm shot this week anyway so i'll mention it see what happens, but if we do need to change his food what would you recommend for this situation?

*His weight has remained more or less on track and he doesn't seem to have any lack of energy or dehydration.

[BC Crazy]

When you say wet food airlock do you mean canned ? If so I wouldn't bother with it. That will give a pup loose stools quicker than anything IMO.

If you want to "top" a preminium quality dry food why not use some thing raw. Be it chicken,kangaroo,beef. You only need s small amount. Sardines,eggs . I make my own food up using these ingredients as a base.

Raw meaty bones are also great but make sure they are not a load bearing bone. Eg. Shank as they can splinter. Try Brisket.

I also don't like chicken necks as they can be a choking hazzard. I feed wings to pups or small chicken carcasses.

Has your pup been wormed regularly?

Remember any changes to pups diet must be done very gradually as the change alone can upset some tummies.

Edited November 11, 2013 by BC Crazy

[persephone]

...and if you have a dog with problems , a heartworm shot may not be a good idea. Injecting chemicals is just something else for his little body to work on

have you had a faecal sample tested ?

What is he like when just fed raw ?

I agree with a gradual change if you need to change food .

[airlock]

Yes we use canned stuff to mix it in, I'm just a bit worried about using raw meats again as it seemed to cause some pretty bad stomach upsets last time he was fed on it, perhaps a n even slower introduction might work.

We haven't had a fecal test yet but i will bring it up at the vet on thursday, and will discuss wether a shot is a good idea.

He has been wormed regularly since we had him although im not sure about his history while he was at the RSPCA but i assume they would have taken care of the basics.

[BC Crazy]

Yes I would have a talk to your Vet about him & your concerns regarding his tummy. I would be inclined to use a monthly heart worm product till you get his tummy issues under control & he is on a regular diet without any loose stool issues...

[sheena]

Go easy on dried liver treats, they used to give my girl terrible squirty poos when she was young, even if she only had a few at a training session. She's fine now, though I don't often feed them. I mainly use fresh beef liver that has been sliced thinly then baked in the oven & cut into pea size pieces, but I mix them with other home made treats of similar size.

[BC Crazy]

Yes same here with the liver treats. I'd forgotten about the side effects of them as I stopped using them ages ago. My boy loves them but they don't love him.

I use cooked chic or something like that for bait now.

[sheena]

Just wondering why you switched him to a cheap food like DogPro. I couldn't find much on it when I googled it, only that it is very cheap & the only reference I found to it's ingredients are as follows

"

Dog Pro - cereal first ingredient, variable meat sources, Protein 23%, Fat 15%, no artificial preservatives (colours and flavours not stated)"

This is a very old reference & maybe they have changed the ingredients, but I certainly would not be feeding my best friend a food, whose main ingredient is cereals followed by "variable" meat sources Is it possible to tell if the ingredients have changed ???

[BC Crazy]

I have never heard of Dog Pro dry food. May be the first thing I would look at changing going by that ingredients list. Being very "cheap"

I can't imagine them putting very good quality ingredients in it. I would look at changing that asap. as well.

[airlock]

well liver treats have been pretty constant in his diet and i've never thought about them as causing the problem, we'll cut them out and see how he does.

We decided on dog pro as it came pretty well recommended by a friend of ours and a few of the locals, the puppy stuff seemed to have comparable numbers to the other brands we were considering (pedigree ect).

We are looking to change at this point but we are a little stuck on the next choice.

The Vet and the RSPCA recommended the science diet but its a lot more expensive then anything else out there and we could only track it down at the vet or the pet store both of witch seemed to ramp up the prices on just about everything.

We are thinking about trying the pedigree chicken and rice puppy mix.

[airlock]

Ive just checked the bag and its stating 29% protein 13% fat. Cereals and Real meat from various sources, egg...

Im not sure about the various sources for meat now that i look at it.

[persephone]

Many dog foods have cereal/grains as the first ingredient ..and /or second. Dogs , esp pups, need MEAT first .... so, the foods which have most amount of good protein rich meat will cost more.

The thing is.. with a dog food containing easily digested meat , and the vitamins etc ,,there is less wastage, less to pick up in the yard, and , most times, less chance of upset tummies.

If you feed either home made or pre packed RAW food ...then dog gets enzymes, real bone, and food which can be seen as more natural :) It doesn't have the colourings/fillers (wheat/corn, etc ) or flavourings added ....

Feeding a healthy dog a quality diet is MUCH cheaper than trying to treat tummy upsets caused by grain intolerance, or food colouring allergy ... :)

Edited November 11, 2013 by persephone

[persephone]

there are many threads on dry foods :)

click HERE

..best thing may be to feed boiled chicken and rice or sweet potato and see what his tummy thinks ..then GRADUALLY introduce whatever new food you have carefully chosen .....

[airlock]

Sounds like a good plan, let him reset and go from there.

[BC Crazy]

What pers said..... I had a few tummy issues with my boy as a younster. Let his tummy settle for a few days on boiled chic & pumpkin. Then gradually added Earthborn holistic dry food & home made barf. Plus a meaty bone & he thrived . Full of energy. Beautifull shiny coat & yard pick up is firm /minimal.

The thing is with a premium kibble you don't need to feed the same quantity as a cheaper one & you get miles better results. I only feed my boy half a cup per day along with his barf. So a bag lasts me ages. I always measure it out with a cup. I never just guess & I dont go by the feeding guidlines on the pack. Just monitor the way your dog is going. Making sure you can feel his ribs but they aren't visable. Is his coat looking shiny & how is his energy levels.

You may have to try a few different brands to find one that suits him. But IMHO well worth the trouble .

Edited November 11, 2013 by BC Crazy

[airlock]

well it looks like raw might be out. i tried him with a few bits of turkey last night with his kibble, he's had a pretty bad night of it the poor thing . He doesn't seem to want to eat rice this morning so i'll go and get some pumpkin/sweet potato and see if that does the job.

[sheena]

My daughters dog did well on WoofBix too but died suddenly at the age of 4..not saying it had to do with what she was feeding it I have raised my two border collies on Black Hawk & they have done extremely well on it. They are 18 kilo & 22 kilo & get a max of 1 metric cup of BH at night & in the morning they get 1/2 a turkey neck & it is adjusted according to how many training treats they have had. Often they will get a raw egg as well. If you can't afford a decent food for your dog, then look at Bonnie. Our previous BC's were raised on that when it used to be Australian which it no longer is .

[aliwake]

I agree with the others, that a decent quality food is a good investment.

On top of that though, there are plenty of other things that could be causing problems. Make sure you mention it to your vet, and if you can take a fresh faecal sample in with you it might save them some time.

My pup had coccidia when we first got him, then giardia a few weeks later, both of which meant lots of runny poos... even after he'd been treated, things were soft for weeks, until I started feeding him yoghurt, and the occasional extra probiotic - it made an amazing difference and firmed things up beautifully.

Pups need an extra hand to recover from these things some times, and some good bacteria in his tummy will help his recover better from whatever is bothering him.

[airlock]

I was wondering about yoghurt, might give it a go,

[persephone]

It was suggested he get boiled chicken & rice or sweet potato/pumpkin. It tastes/ smells better if you boil the chicken then use that water to boil the rice/ veg :)

Personally I would not wait til Thurs. grab clean faecal sample to be thoroughly tested and ask your vet puppies can go downhill. Rapidly Keep us posted.