Dry dog food recommendations

[ol1100]

@norwegianvikinh Exactly! Came to say that. My girl is allergic to anything you can buy in the pet store. She now has a prescription for Hill's z/d and no longer has issues.

 

[kimmarqy]

@4q2 When my dog began having less interest in food I took him to the vet and found out he was having digestive issues that were making him feel nauseous and not wanting to eat. It is some sort of food sensitivity that I have not figured out yet but switching him to a hydrolyzed food has helped so much. We tried sensitive skin fish for a long time and switched to lamb but the issue kept coming back after a few weeks. Speak with your vet about it to see if it is some sort of food sensitivity. The hydrolyzed food is easier for them to digest and he gained his strong appetite back because he wasn't feeling ill anymore.

 

[kaiti]

@4q2 Hill’s science diet is great

 

[professorab]

@4q2 My girl can't have wheat, sensitivity can happen with any food. If your dog did well on hills go back to that

 

[leighki]

@4q2 It isn’t the grain free that is necessarily the problem with DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy). They still aren’t sure but they’re leaning toward peas and pulses. I’ve followed this closely because 1 of mine is a statistic. She was rushed to the emergency department of a speciality clinic with a stroke and they heard a significant heart murmur. Cardiology was called in and she was diagnosed with DCM. Her diet had recently been changed because I had been reading about DCM and dog food so we had that going for us. Because hers was so significant, she made improvements, but will need meds and follow up care for life. My other 2 had mild murmurs that resolved with diet change within a few months so no further care was necessary and an ultrasound wasn’t deemed medically necessary.

All of that said, stick with a WSAVA compliant food brand and you should be fine. Avoid peas and pulses. You might want to consider a food based allergen/sensitivity. Our DCM girl is also highly allergic to many things and we did HESKA allergy testing for her. You could talk to your vet about that.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@4q2 Raw/homemade is worst, not best.

The food probably has nothing to do with the dog's poor health and digestion. It's likely a genetic disease that needs proper treatment i.e. hydrolyzed food trial, potential treatment with steroids and antacids, etc.

Maybe start with feeding a WSAVA gastrointestinal prescription diet for 6 months and then see what you have.

People start switching foods around like crazy when really it's a red herring.

 

[professorab]

@4q2 My girl couldn't eat wheat without her skin flairing up so she couldn't eat most of the purinas, but she was fine on a wheat free hills.

 

[nkechuks]

@4q2 Hey OP!

I've had the same issue when I rescued my 3 month old Rottie. He was on Nutriscience, we put him on so many foods and only found something that worked at about 8 months of age.

We tried blue Buffalo, blue buffalo wilderness, Purina pro plan, Fromm and Acana. The food I stand by is Bullymax. I live in Canada, so it got pretty expensive to ship, but if you live in the states, the food is affordable and has so many nutrients, with dry and raw food options. Don't be fooled by the name, it's not just for bullies (Even though my other dog, a pittie, adores that food.)

I've found that Open Farms to be quite comparable, with the same affordability, with allergen-friendly options, including dry and raw food options.

With my Rottie, I went with every sensitive and digestive track friendly option I could, so I included the Purina pro plan sensitive stomach wet food mixed with his food.

Thankfully, he's now 3 years old and thriving. The problems have since then gone away. But I feel your stress OP, I remember the countless vet visits, the late nights going to the bathroom with him, and the messes around the house because of how sick he was. Just hang tight!

Let me know what works for you!

 

[annie84]

@4q2 My dog is super picky with a sensitive stomach. We got him on spot and tango (beef flavor) and he’s obsessed with it.