Food-Guys I need help

Hey Guys,
I've dug up all the old food threads on here...and i've used all the "top" quality brands and the dogs do ok for a while and then they start to lean out. And their poop goes for being hard to soggy. I'm feeding 4 dogs...price isn't an issue until food hit 50.00 or more a bag. The brands i've used are

Innova
Candie
Solid Gold
Bil Jack

They seem to have done better on the cheaper stuff than on the grain free stuff. And all my dogs are under a year old. Any help would be appericated. Just would like to know what works for some of yall.

 

um well how long have u kept the dogs on the new food and how long have they been on the cheap stuff before u started switching

 

yeah, curious, what's "a while".....

Timberwolf, perhaps?

 

They've been on the Innova 3 solid months as of tomorrow....i can't afford the TW it's 62.00 a bag here 50 is about my limit...but my boy i can't keep weight on him and the little one has a real loose stool as do the other 2 now on it..they honestly looked better on the Purina Hi Po with a vit. supplement sprinkled on it every day.

 

Why Dont You Try Black Gold? Its Cheap And Does The Job.up Here In Pa There 17 Bucks For A 50lbs. And I Think Its Better Then Some High Priced One's Out There. Look Into It.

 

I'd say work some overtime and buy TimberWolf. ShadyRidgeKennel reccomended TW to me and I will never look back. Great food and worth the money. All my dogs love it and a whole bag last me 1 month with 3 dogs. The dogs stool is very consistant and there is less of it now and with a 4 m/o and a 6 m/o pup that is a blessing. My dogs coat look and feel great too.

 

honestly TW is probably a good food but my vet reccommed I not feed it due to the ages of my dogs...and as far as working ot i do but i'm not spending 62 on 33 lbs of dog food that's rediclous IMO...I mean i've had plenty of dogs but not until here recently did it start trying the higher end brands...I mean no sense to bash me because I don't want to pay 62 bucks for a bag of food. As for the black gold which formula do you guys feed? and to you supplement anything with it?

 

well are u feeding Innova or Innova EVO, there's a big difference between the 2. I would say use what works for u, if purina works the best for ur dogs just stick with it, no reason to switch if the dogs look good

 

no i don't feed the EVO...it's the puppy food the store i was gettin it from has a pet nutritionst that works in the store he's very knowledgeable...but this food has started to give the dogs the runs and it's nasty.

 

yeah, i agree. then just stick with it, if your results are good. every dog's system will be, and act, different.

 

I agree.
I feed Nutro ( some people here bash it) but it works great for my dogs.
I've tried the "Better Stuff" and it just doesnt work out

 

I used to use Innova and it worked fine for a while and then my dogs poop got very soft and he had some wicked gas, I switched to a full raw diet and havent looked back. I was paying $58 for a bag of Innova and I spend $38 on the real stuff a month and he looks alot better his poop is solid no problems.

 

I was using Purina Hi Pro for about 3 years, even though it isn't the best, nor are the ingredients, it is OK. I recently switched to Diamond Sporting dog formula on Rosco, I figured he needed less protein since he has reached maturity, and was getting fat on the Hi Pro. For a pup, I see no problem with using it if they were doing alright.

As far as Black Gold, the kind that my buddy uses on his dogs is the black bag with gold writing. I didn't know there was any other Black Gold out there. He seem to be happy with Black Gold, and his dogs always look healthy.

My recommendation for supplements, if any, would be flaxseed oil. It brings out the shine in your dog's coat, in my experience. Other than that, supplements aren't really needed with quality foods.

 

Hello there and thank you for concerning yourself with your dogs' nutritional needs. It takes a big person to open up a thread in a sometimes "hostile" environment.

By the limited information provided, i believe your dog's digestive issues relate to several reasons. First, you said dogs are under 1 year of age. At the same time, in their lifespan, they have been fed: Innova, Canidae, Solid Gold, and Bil Jack. In addition, you clarified that you have been feeding Innova for three "solid" months. I sake of simplicity, i will assume pups to be 10 months or so. That would mean that the previous 7 months where full of kibble-switching. In the event you or someone else reading does not know, adult dogs have digestive difficulties changing kibble brands.

In addition, soft stool may be due to excess nutrients. Whenever a digestive system cannot absorb all nutrients, it is included in the excrement. Therefore, one should be mindful of how much kibble is being given. Do not go by how much dogs will eat. If you do, you will end up with obese dogs.

Your concern was pups "leaning out". Well, remember they are growing and may be developing into what their genetics command. In other words, if they come from lean looking ancestors, do not expect them to be fat or bulky. My pup is a great example of this. Despite my efforts, he looks skinny as heck. I have supplemented his diet with raw chicken w/ plenty of fatty skin. The end result was a skinny pup that grew twice its size thanks to it. I now have a very tall and skinny pup.

On another note, looking good does not necessarily equate to a healthy dog. If you want to know how healthy a dog is on a specific feed, go to the vet and ask them to do blood work and urinalysis. Then and only then will you know the healthy of a dog and know where you need to improve.

Regards,


Rocky H. Balboa

 

i mean if people wanna bash me they can...i just need some info and i apppericate all the polite anwsers and i do think Big Boi said it best stick to what works.....yea my dogs are 10 months old...the breeder had them on purina when i bought them and they looked good....i switched em to the candie and then to the innova...and i know my dogs are not supposed to be fat but when one of them drops 10 pounds so rapidly and my vet who happens to be a friend of the family tells me he thinks it's the food i will generally go with what he says...but at the same time he told me to do research on different foods people feed...and the only way to do that is ask.

THANKS A MILLION GUYS & GALS
Chris

 

You've got to be careful switching foods. Switching a food too quickly will cause problems in and of itself. I'd suggest trying Timberwolf, IMO the best out there and its worked great for me. You do have to make sure and not keep an open bag for too long as it WILL go bad if kept long enough in an open bag. The better foods tend to have less in the way of highpowered chemical preservatives.

 

I like Diamond Naturals, chicken & rice.

But ALL dogs react differently to different foods. Some dogs do great on cheap Ol' Roy and some will only do good on the more expensive brands. It all depends on the dog you're feeding so just try a few different brands until you find what's best for your dog. But dont get caught up in the hype of what costs the most, is the best :/.

 

I agree that some dogs will do better on certain foods that other dogs would do terribly on. However, you have mentioned 5 different foods that have been fed to your dogs during their 10 months of life. That is a lot of switching. Your dogs have never been able to settle down on a food long enough to see if they were actually benefiting from it. Give the dogs more time on a good food and don't overfeed. Three months may not have been long enough. Stick it out even if the stools get a little loose. Loose stools are bound to happen when you switch foods. Full blown diarrhea day after day is a different deal but a little bit of loose stools is not going to hurt your dog.

In my opinion, regardless of what anyone says. Purina is crap. Pure and simple. If a dog is doing better on something like Purina or Ol Roy than say...Natures Variety, you can bet that there is a good chance that there are still some premium foods out there that they can eat.
If my dog seemed to be doing better on Purina than Natures Variety, there would still be no way in hell I would feed him Purina. I would move on to other premium foods for at least four months each until I found one that worked with him. JMO

 

well that's what i have been dealing with when i say a loose stool i mean diaherra...i mean i hadn't seen a solid turd in 3 days from any of them.

 

which kind of timberwolf do u feed benn thinkin about gettin some