Grain Free problems
Submitted by DiMaggio The Bi... on April 20, 2011 - 7:19pmI recently spent the last week and a bit transistioning my 8 month old bully from Acana Lamb and Apples to Acana Pacifica (grain free) in order to help with his tear stains. I followed your typical food changing procedure and his poop turned runny right away, and he started to also get blood in his poop. I tried changing back keeping the majority his old food per serving thinking I changed too quickly and it helped a bit, but I eventually ran out of that food.
Could it be that he is allergic to the fish? or maybe even the potatoes?
I have some samples of the TOTW Sierra Mountain (Lamb) now because I suspect it may be the fish.
If anyone else has any ideas, please share them.
Thanks,
It's possible it could be the food but...
fish is usually the most digestible. We have one of our guys on grain free lamb and he has very firm poops. If you want to carry on with the fish, you could try some pumpkin along with it to help firm up. I also use DiaBac (available online thru entirepets.com and other places) that is for loose stools from food changes, etc. Once he gets used to the new food, his poops should firm up. We usually do it very slowly, less than a quarter cup of new for a few days, then 1/2 cup for a few days, etc.
I followed that exact
I followed that exact pattern, and he still has runny or liquid poop with blood...The change from Lamb and Rice (canidae) to the Acana Lamb and Apples went way smoother with the same pattern.
Thanks for the info.
It may be the protein source..., but more likely....
It is just too rich of a food right now for him. Also, what is the protein level of what you were feeding and the new food? High protein can cause problems with bowels sometimes. I would watch that protein level....and maybe try a different food altogether. Just me, but that is what I would look at first.
Amy and Sophia
Acana Pacifica is 33%
Acana Pacifica is 33% protein....I didn't think it would have that kind of impact, because the Acana Lamb and Apples that he was doing well on was 27% protein.
I guess I will have to wait and see how he does on the TOTW Sierra Mountain which is 25% protein, is anyone one else on that TOTW or have tried it? I haven't been able to find that many reviews on it.
Thanks!
My little Chester is on Sierra Mountain (lamb) and...
He's doing very well on it. good solid poops and a great coat. We had switched them all over to the TOTW salmon and the other two are still on it, but we switched Chester back because he didn't do well on the fish. You just have to find something that works. 25% protein is a good amount, I don't like to go any higher than that.
Just Remember
that Salmon is a very rich and oily protein. 33% is rather high for a bulldog unless it is a very active dog and what works for one isn't going to work for the next. You have to find what works best for you. We all can tell you what we feed, but each dog is an individual so it might not work for you. For instance...Ester pukes up anything that is Salmon Or Chicken. MacKenzie can eat anything without a problem. Kohl is only on Chicken and I haven't experimented with other protein sources with him yet. I feed Natures Variety Raw Patties and Kohl and Kenz get "Now" kibble as well. Ester gets no kibble.
There are a lot of folks that feed TOTW. I had a horrible experience with the Salmon/Fish one and Ester got a terrible staph infection and started losing all her hair after being on that food for 2/3 weeks. Cost me $500+ in vet bills, in the middle of show season as well. It is the only time she has had a staph infection. Thankfully we got it fixed quickly. The other dogs did just fine on it.
Good Luck in your search :)
Is going grain free really worth it???
Makes me wonder if changing to grain free is even worth all this hassel if he was doing fine on the Acana Lamb and Apples. I was just assuming the grain (oats) in the Acana was contributing to his tear stains.
I'd keep him on a food that he
is doing well on. I bet you'll find just as many people that switched foods to get rid of tear stains with no success, as you will people that switched foods to get rid pof tear stains with success.
Mike
My thoughts are...if he was doing fine to begin with...
Leave it be! Grain free really is for those dogs that have allergies. An allergy can manifest in many ways....tear stains, goopy eyes, yeast infections, leg licking or itching. If your dog isn't doing any of those things I would just stick with what is working for you!
Amy and Sophia
Just a suggestion....
When I switched my dogs from their food to Wellness Core, the product specifically stated not for dogs under 1 year of age. Does this food have that stipulation? I worry about babies being on grain free.....
It was for all life stages
Thanks