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Permalink Reply by Tori on April 24, 2011 at 8:42pm

When we first got Winston, we were given a bag of Purina Puppy Chow. We didn't want to feed him that and the vet gave us a starter kit of Science Diet. After doing some research, I decided I didn't like either of those brands because of all the junk in them. I looked around and we started giving him Nutra / Natural Choice with Chicken and Rice for Puppies (Small Bites I believe). It was working but his coat was kind of dull? After we ran out of that bag (a 50lb bag!), we switched to Solid Gold's Hunchen Flocken (German for puppy flakes haha). Well, it was a totally organic food and seemed really healthy. But I think it must have been too much or too rich for Winston as he kept having loose poop.

 

Last time I went to the pet store, I talked to a girl who I thought was a regular employee and she then told me to try Blue Buffalo. I got that and well, it's the same price give or take a few dollars... And lo and behold, his fur is softer, shinier, and even more important, his poop is normal again. I think, barring any further implications, we'll stick with Blue Buffalo.

 

And there's the long and probably boring tale of how my dog eats way healthier than I do. O_O

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Permalink Reply by LG on April 24, 2011 at 8:48pm

Actually that's good to know. The 'richness' that you brought up makes me wonder about Avoderm. There's avocado in it which is fatty, so I wonder if that's what's doing it. I was considering switching her to Blue Buffalo before... might be worth a shot. What the heck do you do with food that's good but you're not using? I had transferred the Avoderm to a storage container.

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Permalink Reply by Tori on April 24, 2011 at 8:55pm

We have one of those air-tight lock containers from PetSmart. If you have a lot of it left over, maybe you could give it to someone who has a dog? Or the local shelter if they'll take it?

 

Yeah we really like Blue Buffalo. (It comes with trading cards, made me laugh so hard!) The organic food had avocado in it too. Maybe it was that? I don't know but Winston loved it (it was food, after all...) but he just couldn't adjust. So I felt like it was time to try something new. So far, so good.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen and Picadilly on April 25, 2011 at 11:12am

I feed my girl Blue Buffalo as well. She enjoys it a lot and we switched from one of the Purina ones.

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Permalink Reply by DR, Nala & Simon on April 25, 2011 at 11:18am

Blue Buffalo for Nala and Cosmo too!  They love it, and they look great!

 

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on April 25, 2011 at 7:53am

Hi Lisa, whenever you switch brands / flavour, you need to do a 1-2 weeks transition, mixing the new with the old and gradually increase the ratio. It is normal to have diarrhea if you switch that quickly, not everything is food allergies, every dog is different, some food is just too rich. Here's an old thread with 197 replies and a poll on what the members feed their corgis.

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Permalink Reply by LG on April 27, 2011 at 4:03pm

Thanks! I always seem to forget about searching the forums first.

 

I think we'll be trying a grain-free food next. She has dry/flaky, itchy skin (she's constantly itching), and that has been going on since we adopted her. Everything she's eaten has had grains. Bathing her doesn't give her any relief. :(

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Permalink Reply by Jane on April 27, 2011 at 5:44pm

Bathing her frequently may be making it worse, I wouldn't bathe her more than once a month personally.

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Permalink Reply by LG on April 27, 2011 at 7:30pm

We've bathed her 3-4 times in a about 4.5 wks. It's been so wet and gross here :( I bought some hypoallergenic baby wipes to cut down on the need for baths.

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Permalink Reply by Ollie & Prie Misra on April 27, 2011 at 8:46pm

Ollie is on Wellness Core Ocean after having been on Wellness Puppy Kibble and I couldn't be happier with the softness and shine in his coat! He absolutely loves his kibble and will snub his nose at human food to get to his kibble... everyoen I know who had switched as loved it and I like that it's grain free and very balanced... other perks include that it's easily available (I order on amazon and just have it shipped directly to my front door for free and no tax) and if you call their customer service #, they will send you coupons :) My vet & godmom who's a breeder/shows dogs prefer the brand...

 

here's a helpful website; http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ there are others similar to it as well :) good luck with your cutie!

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