Natural Balance Experience?

[hadassahbride]

One of my dogs is allergic to chicken so I switched him and my older pup to Natural Balance, Salmon and sweet potato L.I.D. Both dogs have been on this food for about a year and were playing who had gastric issues every month. My older dog has never had a single stomach issue until the switch and the vet thinks my younger one has chronic colitis.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience? It’s just hard to find a chicken free dog food but if I have to go out of town for a new one I will.

 

[chrisheaven]

@hadassahbride I have one allergic to everything and had horrible gastric issues. Within the last year or so I've taken to making my dog's food. Obviously chicken won't work for you, but I use chicken, chicken hearts and beef liver as the proteins and add veggies, usually green beans and carrots because they can handle a cook pretty well and instead of rice, barley supplemented with Diamond Natural kibble. He's a big old guy and it is calorie specific, but we also add pumpkin (10# can from Gordons) sweet potatos or spinach and now his flatulence and distention of his stomach are well behind us.

My vet basically told me that most kibble is akin to fast food and I decided I could do better for my guys. It's a total pain in the ass, but making it in bulk and freezing it after throwing it all in to the food processer is the way to go. Good luck to you and your pup!

 

[xavier363]

@chrisheaven If my vet ever gave that advice, I would be finding a new one immediately. Your vet gave advice contrary to virtually every expert (and existing research).

 

[chrisheaven]

@xavier363 "Most" was an important word. Purina is garbage. Diamond Naturals, not so much.

 

[xavier363]

@chrisheaven Nobody said "most". Purina is one of the most well-researched foods on the market, and Diamond is one of the least reliable manufacturers. I'm not sure where you're getting your advice, but you should probably get it elsewhere.

That being said, I'm far more worried about your homemade "diet" than I am about whatever dry food you're feeding.

 

[chrisheaven]

@xavier363 Cool.

 

[sunrayseer]

@xavier363 I would never feed my dog Purina. Only if I had very low funds available.

 

[xavier363]

@sunrayseer It's unfortunate that you aren't willing to feed scientifically supported food, it's also unfortunate that you decided to imply that it's a poor person's dog food.

 

[wjoe91]

@hadassahbride There are so many chicken free foods out there, it's more about what is available locally.

I am not a fan of limited ingredient diets, I prefer a diversity of proteins and carbs. Natural Balance has focused on 2 ingredient diets for a long time now, which is great in some situations, but it's not a panacea.

Also, there is a difference between chicken protein and chicken fat.

 

[jaylinlefthandbull]

@hadassahbride 11 year old pitty and he had issues with normal kibble (diarrhea etc..) but when switched to the salmon sweet potato food from natural balance he’s been fine. That was at around 6 so 5 solid years.