So the little guy had pudding poops and the vet suggested a bland diet of white rice and boiled shredded chicken for a spell. After 4-5 meals things began to firm up. After 5 days I began introducing his kibble back into his diet and viola the pudding returned. Think it's the kibble brand I'm using? I think so.
ARe you feeding the brand the breeder sent home with you? It's generally advised to stick to the breeder's brand for at least a whole big bag in order to keep at least one thing constant with a new puppy. If it is the breeder's brand, is it a new bag? Sometimes things can change in a bag from lot to lot. Did you tell the breeder your problems? What brand are you feeding? Tell me it's not Blue Buffalo. I've heard of so many people having loose poops on it. That's a nice Vet you've got. Lots would seize the opportunity to sell you an expensive Vet food. In my experience the Vet food has worked but so does the usually cheaper home made food.
The breeders gallon bag of kibble is gone. Purina Pro. Not considered a quality product. After a couple of days I began the slow transition to my new recommended brand, Fromm's Gold Puppy for Large Breed. Pet store will take it back but not sure yet what to exchange it for. Vet gave me a recommend list that included Fromms. Here's the blurb on Fromm dog food: "Fromm Adult Gold Holistic Large Breed Formula Dry Dog Food is naturally formulated with fresh Wisconsin duck, fresh chicken, fresh lamb, fish, whole eggs & real cheese. In addition, we enhance this recipe with probiotics to aid digestion and salmon oil for a healthy coat. This product contains no corn and no wheat. Fromm Four Star Nutritionals uses fresh, select, boneless, human-grade meat and seafood as the main source of protein." Sounds good but I'm now sure it's not in agreement with Ajax.
I'd be pointing the finger at the kibble too, or something in it. Dogs are most likely to have problems with one of the protein sources in the food. So maybe try something different with, ideally, only one meat protein source so you can see if it's ok. If he was ok with the cooked chicken maybe try chicken or some other kind of bird like turkey or duck. Start with a small bag.
Really sounds like it's kibble related. As Oberon said maybe try to use kibble which main protein source is chicken. You might even be able to find something like chicken and rice kibble(i think skinners has chicken and rice kibble for example). And i'd try to find a brand with not to many different things in it to minimise the chance of intolerances. Sounds like there is a whole farm involved in your recent brand(chicken, lamb,fish, eggs......)
thats fine unless chicken is the problem as it was with my pup. There are lots of really good foods out there now so you should find something that is great for your pup. It may take time though.
If he was fine with kibble from the breeder I would go back to that rather than start experimenting with what might suit him. It may not be regarded as a "quality" food but for me what is more important is that a puppy has no tummy problems, eats happily and grows and thrives.
I agree with MaccieD, if you trusted the breeder to produce a puppy worthy of becoming a family member in your household, presumably a puppy with parents fed the same food, you have to wonder how bad the food your breeder endorses is. A food that does not agree with puppy's tummy is certainly not a good food for your puppy. Many breeders feed Purina Pro. There's a site on dog food I like. It teaches you about ingredients and how to read labels. AAFCO labels so applies to me in Canada as well but not sure if that part would be relevant to those in other countries. It's more work than reading at a site that ranks food because you have to research and make your own ranking. You might give it a try. For one thing, you'll learn that fresh meat products at the beginning of a list are not necessarily a good thing. Once the moisture is removed from those fresh meats they will fall lower in the list. And the word "holistic" as it applies to dog food has no legal meaning. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/
For a time I fed Fromm Gold and was fairly happy with it, supplier moved away, so I stopped and now have Burgess Sensitive which was recommended by vet nurse and it suits my dogs well. I have two friends who still feed Fromm Gold and their 6 dogs look very well.
Many breeders do use Purina because it's inexpensive, they buy in bulk, and they get discounts, i.e. kickbacks. And what they feed the parents is not what they feed the puppies. dogfoodadvisor.com gives the line low ratings, which is good enough for me. Until I see the vet again on Monday the pup is on the boiled chicken, rice, plain yogurt, and some good looking, but bland, meat loaf. Poops were well formed this morning so still pointing the finger at Fromm. Maybe the duck? Thanks for the link to dogfoodproject. Some good stuff there. Notice how their protein comparison page highlights Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Evo, etal. No mention of Purina that I can find.
Just because a line of food has a low rating does not mean it is not a good food for your dog or that an expensive food is better; it's what suits your dog, and your finances, best. My families first dogs were fed on tinned dog food with a mixer biscuit and they all thrived and had shiny coats.I would far rather feed my dog on a cheap food and have good poops with no digestion problems than something more expensive that doesn't suit a puppy's tummy
I noticed that you're quoting from the Fromm Adult Gold Large Breed, is there any reason why you are not feeding a puppy food? That could be part of the digestive problems
Hi there, I'm also keen to find a good quality food for my pup but it seems a lot of the better quality, more expensive foods are vey rich. In the long term this is probably good but my girl cannot stomach them- really tried with Orejin but more than 4 or 5 prices a day and her poos are very soft. After a week of trying to slowly change We made the decision to give up and go back to her usual food (skinners)- she was fine again almost immediately. It's frustrating as I know it's not the best food but its better she has a less quality food where her tummy can absorb the nutrients (as it doesn't go straight through her) than a great quality food where she doesn't absorb the goodness and it causes discomfort. I'd go back to the original kibble and try to find something to very slowly move onto. Let me know if you find something suitable. I'm still lookng. Good luck.
MaccieD, you so smart and correct. I bought the Gold Large Breed 4 Pups. Here's the description. In terms of cost it's premium priced but not outrageous IMO. "Fromm The Gold Nutritionals Large Breed Puppy Dry Food features fresh Wisconsin duck, fresh chicken, fresh lamb, fish, whole eggs & real cheese and contains no wheat and no corn. It makes use of salmon oil for a healthy coat and probiotics to aid digestion. Features Fresh Low-Ash Lamb Prebiotics & Probiotics to Aid Digestion Fresh Wisconsin Duck Fresh hand-trimmed USDA chicken Chicken Cartilage Rich in Natural Glucosamine Optimum omega fatty acids ratio No corn and no wheat Contains real Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Chicken Cartilage that rich in Natural Glucosamine." Again, this seems like a very good product --a meal I'd enjoy--but clearly there is a component(s) not agreeing with Ajax.
Perhaps it's just that there's too many ingredients and too rich for a young digestive system or that Ajax has an intolerance to one or more of the ingredients.. I tend to compare puppies with human babies in that they all have to learn toilet control, they all have problems teething, often cry at night (or during the day), stomachs that don't appreciate fancy food and need lots of love and affection. The one benefit is that puppies reach adolescence sooner
I messed around for ages trying to sort out Charlie's tummy - turns out he is intolerant of chicken. No matter how good 'quality' the kibble, if it has chicken in it, it makes him sick. He does really well now on a single protein (duck) based kibble. He is also intolerant of new protein sources introduced too quickly (but I can manage to introduce most things - apart from chicken - if I take it very slowly). So, very much agree it's all about what suits your individual pup. I'm a big fan of single protein foods while you figure out what might be causing the problem. Makes the process a great deal easier.
I had the ame problem with chicken but sorted it out and found a food which did not cause Rory any problems. As long as I avoid chicken he's ok.
