Dog Food Suggestions Needed for Sweet Smelling Pup

[Gingergirlsmom]

First, a little background. Bernie will be 4 years old next week (yaay). When he was 9 months old (before I had ever met him) he was run over by a car. This resulted in multiple surgeries and months of recuperation.

Today, he runs a little slower than other yorkies, and has a really skinny butt, but other than that you'd never know he'd been through such an ordeal...that is, as long as he is getting the right food.

Bernie has some neurological issues as a result of his run-in with the car which include some bowel incontinence. He has improved over time and I've been able to manage it over the past three years with the right food. However, they must've changed the food I've been feeding him, because he's begun to have some problems. (Note, this is not a training problem, it is an incontinence problem...I will not get into how I know because it is not pleasant, but I am certain)

The only way to find the right food is to experiment. I've ordered new diapers (he's grown a lot since we first had big problems, and only has one that fits), stocked up on disposable washcloths, and am preparing to try some new food. (which will be added slowly to his current food)

So, here is where you come in....What foods produce the smallest/firmest stools? Also, ummm, are there foods that are less likely to produce gas? It seems if he's gassy it is combined with flying poo, (sorry)so what foods keep your angels smelling sweet?

I've read all the merits of raw, but my baby needs a consistent never changing diet...we have problems if he gets ahold of a single treat, so kibble seems the easiest and safest bet (and wet food is a nightmare).

Thanks in advance for any input!

[Britster]

I'm not going to be much help I'm sure, but I figured I'd just let you know what I know about the foods I feed Jackson.

He ate/eats Nature's Variety Instinct since the first week of September and did wonderful on it. It's grain-free and his poops were generally firm and small. A bit smelly, but not TOO bad. I mean, it IS poop, right? We decided to rotate between the NV and now Fromm Surf n' Turf (both grain-free) so he's been eating Fromm since the first week of December. His poops actually seem LESS smelly on Fromm than on NV and the poops are always hard (but not too hard) and firm. He literally has no gas that I ever remember on either of these foods. He typically poops 2x a day - morning and after dinner but occasionally will poop mid-day solely depending on what he eats though.

I have fed Wellness in the past (both Super5Mix and CORE) and even though Jackson liked the taste... I wasn't big on the eye boogers he got on it. I don't know 100% if it was the food but once he switched off Wellness, the eye boogers virtually disappeared. His poops were a bit more runny and he seemed to poop more often on it.

I find that the grain-free foods seem to work best for Jackson. I keep his treats fairly consistent too and always use the same training rewards.

[Gingergirlsmom]

Originally Posted by Britster

I'm not going to be much help I'm sure, but I figured I'd just let you know what I know about the foods I feed Jackson.

He ate/eats Nature's Variety Instinct since the first week of September and did wonderful on it. It's grain-free and his poops were generally firm and small. A bit smelly, but not TOO bad. I mean, it IS poop, right? We decided to rotate between the NV and now Fromm Surf n' Turf (both grain-free) so he's been eating Fromm since the first week of December. His poops actually seem LESS smelly on Fromm than on NV and the poops are always hard (but not too hard) and firm. He literally has no gas that I ever remember on either of these foods. He typically poops 2x a day - morning and after dinner but occasionally will poop mid-day solely depending on what he eats though.

I have fed Wellness in the past (both Super5Mix and CORE) and even though Jackson liked the taste... I wasn't big on the eye boogers he got on it. I don't know 100% if it was the food but once he switched off Wellness, the eye boogers virtually disappeared. His poops were a bit more runny and he seemed to poop more often on it.

I find that the grain-free foods seem to work best for Jackson. I keep his treats fairly consistent too and always use the same training rewards.

Great! I'll look into the Fromm...less smelly poop is a great starting point!

I'm pretty excited, I just found something at Babies R Us that I can use to "diaper" him while I'm waiting for FED EX. He's not happy...but my walls and furniture are.

[BonBon]

What food have you been feeding Bernie that was working up until now?

I feed NV Instinct and find my pups have smaller, firmer stools and little to no gas on it. I have to apologize for being so little help on food suggestions - I'm limited on what I can feed because of a chicken allergy.

I'll keep you and Bernie in my prayers for you to find something that works well for him. He sounds like such a sweetie.

[Gingergirlsmom]

Originally Posted by bonbon

What food have you been feeding Bernie that was working up until now?

I feed NV Instinct and find my pups have smaller, firmer stools and little to no gas on it. I have to apologize for being so little help on food suggestions - I'm limited on what I can feed because of a chicken allergy.

I'll keep you and Bernie in my prayers for you to find something that works well for him. He sounds like such a sweetie.

Thanks! Well, Ginger (my other yorkie) has so many food allergies, that I was feeding her Pinnacle Trout. She did really well on it, but when I tried it with Bernie D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R...So, I had tried the Canidae Senior food (my vet thought a senior formula might be more easily digestable) that I was giving my senior guy at the time.. It worked well until they changed the formula. (the littlest change plays havoc with his system) At that time, a friend had given me a bag of solid gold Holistique Blendz to try (not sure why...) Miracle of miracles, it worked for both Ginger and Bernie! Hallelujah! Well....until recently. She's still doing well, but Bernie's system is not liking it anymore. (Since we don't give him anything else, we know its the food).

I appreciate everyone's input...I'm placing these low smell, firm stool foods that you all are mentioning on my short list.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Gingergirlsmom

Thanks! Well, Ginger (my other yorkie) has so many food allergies, that I was feeding her Pinnacle Trout. She did really well on it, but when I tried it with Bernie D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R...So, I had tried the Canidae Senior food (my vet thought a senior formula might be more easily digestable) that I was giving my senior guy at the time.. It worked well until they changed the formula. (the littlest change plays havoc with his system) At that time, a friend had given me a bag of solid gold Holistique Blendz to try (not sure why...) Miracle of miracles, it worked for both Ginger and Bernie! Hallelujah! Well....until recently. She's still doing well, but Bernie's system is not liking it anymore. (Since we don't give him anything else, we know its the food).

I appreciate everyone's input...I'm placing these low smell, firm stool foods that you all are mentioning on my short list.

If neither of yours has to have grain free, you should look at the NV Prairie line, too. My oldest just does much better on grain free, so I haven't tried the Prairie yet, but I've seen where many members really like it and there's more variety to choose from than the Instinct line.

Brit's other suggestion is a good one. I haven't tried Fromm's yet, but I plan to...it's another great quality food.

[viviansnickers]

I want to recommend 2 kibble brands to you made by the same manufacturer and are by far my favorite. The brands are:
Orijen-42% protein & grainfree
Acana-33% protein and grainfree

Both these kibbles are made by Champion Pet Foods and Orijen was actually named dog food of the year in 2009!

My Snickers is on a raw/kibble rotation diet and he has been eating Acana for the past month or 2 and I have never seen him eat kibble like this. He eats every night without fail and he LOVES it. Acana comes in 3 grainfree varieties which include Grasslands (lamb based,) Prairie (poultry based) and Pacifica (fish based.) He poops 1-2 times a day and also small, firm, and compact.

I wish you luck with Bernie....a few other companies I 100% trust include:
-Innova
-Evo
-Fromm
-Nature's Logic

Good Luck
Snick & Viv

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by viviansnickers

I want to recommend 2 kibble brands to you made by the same manufacturer and are by far my favorite. The brands are:
Orijen-42% protein & grainfree
Acana-33% protein and grainfree

Both these kibbles are made by Champion Pet Foods and Orijen was actually named dog food of the year in 2009!

My Snickers is on a raw/kibble rotation diet and he has been eating Acana for the past month or 2 and I have never seen him eat kibble like this. He eats every night without fail and he LOVES it. Acana comes in 3 grainfree varieties which include Grasslands (lamb based,) Prairie (poultry based) and Pacifica (fish based.) He poops 1-2 times a day and also small, firm, and compact.

I wish you luck with Bernie....a few other companies I 100% trust include:
-Innova
-Evo
-Fromm
-Nature's Logic

Good Luck
Snick & Viv

I agree with this post. My dogs are on Acana too and they are doing great, I switched them about a month ago and even during the switch (my tucker man ate around his old food, so he pretty much went cold turkey ) they had no trouble at all. Small poops,(the poo is pretty dark though, not sure if that matters) 2 times a day,not to smelly, and no gas. They love the taste. I have also looked into fromm's and they have a pretty decent grain free food also. Good luck with your hunt, I hope you find him the perfect food!!

[kjc]

I feed Nature's Recipe. They claim their food is easy to digest and have a variety to choose from. They even make a vegetarian formula. Might be worth looking into for Bernie. Bless you for caring for a pet with special needs.

[Ashley V]

Originally Posted by kjc

I feed Nature's Recipe. They claim their food is easy to digest and have a variety to choose from. They even make a vegetarian formula. Might be worth looking into for Bernie. Bless you for caring for a pet with special needs.

I feed Nature's Recipe also. I actually use the Easy to Digest one and both of mine have small, firm, not too smelly poops about 97% of the time but mine also have weak stomachs. Right now I'm feeding the chicken flavored one, but I was feeding the fish flavored one and they did a little better with the fish than the chicken.