Switched to "better food" now having GI problems! Help! Hello all I'm hoping that i can yet again depend on this forum for some help/advice. Bentley is 7 months old when we got him at 14 weeks he had been eating nutro puppy bites.. As he reached 6 months he decided to start boycotting his food and refusing to eat. After researching nutro on this site and others I read alot of stories about health problems so decided to switch to blue buffalo. We Spent 2 weeks slowly mixing in blue buffalo ( although he loved it so much he'd pick out the new food then eat old food later) we didn't have any problems for the 2 weeks we switched. Now he's been eating blue buffalo for 2 weeks and it has been horrible! He has had very runny horrible smelling diarrhea and horrid gas. He is bell trained and rarely poops inside but at times he's Been running full speed to an area of tile to have episodes of nearly liquid diarrhea. I'm so confused! I'm not sure if I should switch brands again, supplement something for the diarrhea (with my old austrialian shepard we were told rice) or what to do. He has no signs of parasites although I may have a stool check done by the vet to be safe. Has anyone else experienced this with blue buffalo or any other brands?? Any help I truly appreciate, thank you!! Bentley will thank you too he looks so miserable running tail tucked running to poop anywhere but the carpet :( |
Izzy went through the same thing. We tried all kids of different food including Blue, it did not settle with her well at all. (she's VERY picky).. At that point we went to Natural balance L.I.D..(one protien food and grain free) They had all sorts to chose from... She liked the bison & sweet potato and she also like the Venison & sweet potato... We gave her dry kibble and wet.. She loose stools went away :D... Then she turned her nose up to it :( Would NOT even touch it... I finally decided to try Raw food... She loved it!!! She now eats Primal raw... she also get orijin dry kibble too... it's great food... I would first take him to a vet to make sure everything is ok... Then switch him to a the L.I.D food :) His tummy must be really sensitive... Good luck and keep us posted on how he's doing... |
we had the same problem with the blue buffalo. ended up on chicken rice and pumpkin for almost two weeks until we finally had hard poos again. now we're on taste of the wild salmon flavor and they're doing great on it, even miss picky pants Sophia. |
I've never had that problem with Blue Buffalo. My Lilly has been on Blue Buffalo since I got her. She came home from the breeder on Eukanuba and after some research, I switched her to BB. She'll be a year old in a week and a half, and she's still doing great on it. Maybe some dogs just take longer to adjust. Better be safe than sorry, though. Always go to your vet if you're not sure. |
Thanks for the info! I figured he was just sensitive - I have heard alot about taste of the wild we may try that again. I feel terrible for him I'm going to try the vet today and see if they can check his stool and suggest anything to help him. He's Been sitting by his bowl whining in the afternoon or if were late on dinner so i know he is hungry probably not getting anything out of the blue buffalo. Good to hear other people did ok on bb though. |
I can also sympathize with you when coming to food drama. Taycie is also on Blue Buffalo. I started her on Blue Buffalo the minute I got her and honestly IT seems to be the food we ALWAYS go back too. For some UNKNOWN reason this food works! I know you are having issues with it... but here is my story. I like to to read..ALOT.. and for some unknown reason I like to read books on dog nutrition and google dog food reviews. This all started when Taycie joined my life. Then I joined YorkieTalk and I find everyone here has so many mixed reviews on what to feed. Some like Raw some like high protein.. some like homecooked... I suddenly became so confused because I like many want the best for my baby, (and if there was a dog nutritionist where I live, I am sure we would have sought her advice as well.) So long story short after trying The honest kitchen, Wellness, Acana, we are now back on Blue Buffalo. I finally have come to the conclusion what works for some just doesn't work for others. I understand your frustration when it comes to food and wanting what is best for your little one. This is a subject I totally get sucked in. I know some have horrible problems with BB and I also know I like the "makeup" of some other foods better but it works so for now that what we eat! Trying something simple like boiled chicken/rice may help. Its very bland so it will give the gut a rest and give you a break of the diaherra. Then In 24 hrs try slowly introducing dog food back, with the chicken and rice. For Taycie fish formulas seem to help. I have her on the Longevity line of BB and she does wonderful on it. Fish seems to be easier on the stomach. I would also try a limited ingredient diet as well. And GI upsets take awhile to get back to normal. For Taycie I knew things were getting better but It would take sometimes over a week before things were back on track! I hope this helps and you are able to find something that works for your little one! |
thanks so much for all your great info and responses!! with this info and talking to my vet we decided it really was the rich puppy food making bentley sick. Hes 8 months, neutered and has started gaining some weight (up to 8lbs :) ) so we are sowly switching him to Iams mixing with teh cottage cheese mix he was on for a solid week. The day before thanksgiving he's having his double canines removed so the vet will look at him then but he's doing much better and finally no more gas and solid poops! yay! |
I'm very glad Bentley is feeling better. :) I'm just surprised you picked Iams... there are a lot of higher quality foods that are available that are either less in protein, different protein sources, grain-free, grain-inclusive, etc. There are sooo many options. I will just link this site for an example of one reason not to feed Iams, IamsCruelty.com and http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/iams.html but obviously let you decide what works best for you and your dog :) Because I understand every dog is different and requires different things but there are so many options out there these days besides Iams. I would even recommend Purina over Iams and I never recommend Purina in general, lol. Iams has been recalled MANY times. Just a suggestion, I hope you don't take it the wrong way! I am no vet or any expert but have done a ton of "studying" and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that every dog is different and what works for one won't work for the other. But nowadays even some of the 'lower end' kibbles beat out Iams any day and are good for sensitive tummies. |
well actually i have found a negative website for every brand of food on the market. We also have a 14 year old austrialan shepard/mix and shes been on iams since we brought her home and shes very healthy and never had any problems. My vet says unless the toy breed is growing or not neutered they dont need the fancy brand of food it will just cause weight gain. I can't bring myself to spend 40 bucks on food then it make him sick and he never use it. I appreciate your input though :) Iams is what's worked for our family in the past and mr Bentley loves it. |
Of course there are going to be negative reviews on every food, that's inevitable. But a lot of companies have never had recalls or been involved in animal cruelty which I won't support. The way I see it, it's just like with people... you have those who perfectly balance their organic, chemical-free meals; those who live off pre-prepared dinners and those who live off food from 'the dollar menu' at the drive-thru. People who eat horribly, smoke heavily, etc. can live perfectly normal lives. Just because a person CAN live off fatty foods and TV dinners, doesn't necessarily mean you're the healthiest you can be... or that you should eat fast food every day. Just like the person who exercises, eats excellent and "does everything right" can drop dead at age 30 from a random heart attack. That's just life. You gotta do for your dogs what you personally decide is right. In the end nobody can place blame and say 'this dog didn't live as long as this one because it ate better food.' There's too many other factors out there. People need to just do their research, and feed what you feel works best for your dog. Not what someone else says its best for your dog. I give Jackson a milkbone treat every now and then, or Cesar wet food, but it's all in moderation... just like with people, you treat yourself once or a few times a week. I'm glad to hear Iams has worked great for you.. but I do like to put out there, since this is a public forum for others to learn from, etc, that Iams is not really a quality food or what most people would recommend. Alot of newbies can log on to YorkieTalk and read this thread and think "Oh Iams is great!!" so I always just want to play 'devils advocate' and put both sides out there for people to think about. |
yea I appreciate what you're saying I'm just putting out some positives because I feel like alot of times people push that only the "better foods" are good for dogs which I don't agree with. BUt you're right everyone hast o make decisions for their dogs and i really appreciate all the input from this forum :) |
I totally admit-- when I first joined this forum... I was totally of the idea "it doesn't matter! dogs are dogs! all dog food is the same!" I thought people were way too in depth about their dogs food. Well, fast forward 2 years and my thoughts have changed a lot, mainly because I've seen my own eyes what good food as done for dogs around me, such as my dad's dogs who ate crappy food their whole life and how they began to get better energy, lose weight, firm stools, shinier coats, etc, from eating better food. Now, because of financial hard times, my stepmom bought Iams again for the last two bags. They do nothing but sleep, they're itchy, they've been puking more, had runny stools, etc, etc. And I've seen it time and time again with other dogs (I'm a dogsitter so I'm around dogs and can compare the ones fed good food vs. "bad food"). I just can look at Iams ingredient list full of corn, by-product, dried beet bulp, and all those ingredients nobody can pronounce or even know what they are... and compare it to Acana/Orijen, for example, which is filled with real chicken, lamb meal, fresh bison and boar, and the things dogs bodies are designed to eat. They are taxonomically the same species as wolves, and physiologically and anatomically the same and actually share 99.8percent of the same DNA. Size and appearance are in the less than .2percent differences. And a wolf would not be eating corn and by products and whatever other chemicals are thrown into a food. Also, with better quality foods you are feeding less... as there is more calories. So Jackson, for example may have to eat 1 cups or more per day to feel full on Iams, but on Acana he eats 1/2 cup per day and he is 15lbs and very active. So a huge cause of stomach issues is usually caused by over-feeding. People feel they are not getting enough food when they truly are. |
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When it all comes down to it, it is all personal choice. I sleep well at night knowing that my dogs are fed the highest quality kibble out there :) |
[QUOTE=Britster;3331361]I totally admit-- when I first joined this forum... I was totally of the idea "it doesn't matter! dogs are dogs! all dog food is the same!" I thought people were way too in depth about their dogs food. Well, fast forward 2 years and my thoughts have changed a lot, mainly because I've seen my own eyes what good food as done for dogs around me, such as my dad's dogs who ate crappy food their whole life and how they began to get better energy, lose weight, firm stools, shinier coats, etc, from eating better food. Now, because of financial hard times, my stepmom bought Iams again for the last two bags. They do nothing but sleep, they're itchy, they've been puking more, had runny stools, etc, etc. And I've seen it time and time again with other dogs (I'm a dogsitter so I'm around dogs and can compare the ones fed good food vs. "bad food"). I just can look at Iams ingredient list full of corn, by-product, dried beet bulp, and all those ingredients nobody can pronounce or even know what they are... and compare it to Acana/Orijen, for example, which is filled with real chicken, lamb meal, fresh bison and boar, and the things dogs bodies are designed to eat. They are taxonomically the same species as wolves, and physiologically and anatomically the same and actually share 99.8percent of the same DNA. Size and appearance are in the less than .2percent differences. And a wolf would not be eating corn and by products and whatever other chemicals are thrown into a food. Also, with better quality foods you are feeding less... as there is more calories. So Jackson, for example may have to eat 1 cups or more per day to feel full on Iams, but on Acana he eats 1/2 cup per day and he is 15lbs and very active. So a huge cause of stomach issues is usually caused by over-feeding. People feel they are not getting enough food when they truly are.[/QUOTE I completly agree. I work as a nanny full time and Taycie goes to work with me. The family I work for has a large purebred boarder collie who is also fed Iams. Until I got Taycie, I had no Idea about dog food. I thought food is food and honestly before I even looked into nutrition my thought was to feed Science Diet because I thought that was the best. My relationship with their dog has been frustrating. I feel for the poor guy but the guy poops 24/7 on this food. He constantly has loose poop or diaherra, which gets really frustrating constantly cleaning carpets, not to mention his poop is GIANT! He is constantly in and out of the vet with ear infections and scratches and itches like crazy, His teeth are a mess and he needs a dental done badly. They also have a cat who was also fed Iams. Now at 2 she is now a diabetic. I will admit I know NOTHING about diabeties in felines or prevention/herditery issues, but the thought did cross my mind if maybe the food couldn't help but influence this? I know many pets are on high quality foods and still develop these health problems, but it still makes me wonder. I understand frusting issues with food, Taycie has ONE TOUCHY tummy, But I know after watching this dog go through this day and day out, I can see the side effects of a poor quality food, its sad. I don't want to hurt anyone's feeling because this is such a touchy subject, and I am no expert, or nutritionist. I just feel better knowing what is in my dog's food before she eats it |
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Couldn't agree more. I have seen some of the videos pertaining to the animal cruelty Iams is involved with and it is heartbreaking. |
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