Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Teresa on December 22, 2011 at 6:00pm

Baron has been eating Merrick since he was a puppy.  He has no problems with his bowels.  He especially enjoys cowboy cookout with the gravy.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on December 22, 2011 at 6:04pm

Hi D, whenever you change a dog food, change it gradually over the course of 1 week, adjust the ratio with the old / new food, otherwise soft stool is guaranteed. As far as dog food goes, don't be brand loyal, read and re-read the articles in the FAQ, get educated and make your own decision based on your affordability. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Tracy on December 22, 2011 at 6:32pm

How long has she been on the switch?  Also as advised.. definitely start her on it slowly mixing in the old and new food you are switching to.  I generally recommend people feeding a food that's without corn, wheat or soy; as these can pose as "allergens" to Corgis and are in general just a filler that produces more poo.  So in the switch you might notice a little less stool as you go from a "less quality" food to a better "high calorie" food better for your puppy in the long run.  Tons better.  There are several great dog foods out there.  They don't have to neccessarily be advertised as a "puppy food" to be of a great quality for her to grow up on.  Understanding the ingredients that are placed in your pet’s food is half the battle.  We are here to help you better understand what you are buying for your buck, and to increase the energy and well being of your companion.  A dog with a shiny coat, clear eyes and a bright sense of personality is something to greatly appreciate what you are feeding him or her.    Many of the feeds that are placed out on the market contain many types of filler, by-products, and preservatives.   Check your feed labels, on the back and or side of the bag to see if your dog is getting a good source of nutrition or if you are just feeding something that is indigestible, full of chemicals and preservatives that could cause later problems in their life.   Pet food companies are required to list ingredients in the form that they are put into the bag of foods.

Good Source of Nutrition    

Turkey

Chicken

Chicken Meal

Chicken Fat

Eggs

Lamb Meal

Fish Meal

Herring

Rice

Ground Rice

Ground Oats

Barley

Ground Barley

Ground Flaxseeds (Great for coat, skin & heart)

Apples

Carrots

Potatoes

Vitamin E, A, & D Supplements

Vitamin D3 & B12 Supplements

Manganese & Calcium

Folic Acid & Sunflower Oil (Great for coat, skin & heart)

Zink (Great for immune system)

By-Products & Fillers Not Good

Chicken by products (The feet, feathers, beaks, undeveloped eggs, and or organs of chickens.)

Chicken Liver (Contains High Levels of Toxins)

Dried Egg Product (Egg shells)

Beef Tallow (Low grade fat for flavoring, no nutrition)

Pork Fat (Not digestible)

Brewers Rice

Corn Gluten Meal

Corn Meal (Lower grade filler with no nutrition)

Corn Grits (Low grade filler with no nutritional value, cases many skin irritations)

Wheat Flour (No nutrition, common allergen)

Wheat Gluten (The starch from the wheat)

Soy (Common Allergen)

Preserved with BHA/BHT (This is a chemical preservative that has proven to cause many cancers in pets)

There are a lot of feeds out there that are almost made up totally of by-product and toxins.  Those feeds pretty much have NO nutritional value. 

Rely more upon ingredients than advertising and band wagon hype.  This will insure that your pet is getting the most nutritional value for your buck. 

 

There are some labels out there on your pet’s food that say it’s poultry by product (which doesn’t specify what type of meat and is usually not well digestible for your pet.)

A healthy diet for your dog should be primarily meat-based to ensure optimal health.  Dogs need protein and the preferred protein source is a clearly defined meat source.  For example, a product that just lists “Meat and Bone Meal”, while meeting AAFCO standards, gives no indication of what animal is the source.  Pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, or fish are the most commonly used meat proteins in better foods and one of these should be the top ingredient in your dog’s food.

Lamb meal, chicken meal, fish meal, and turkey meal are all excellent sources of protein.  They are basically made from dehydrated chicken, lamb, fish, or turkey that is then ground to a pulp.  This process extracts all of the water weight from these ingredients giving you the most concentrated sources of protein and nutrition.   

While some dogs may suffer from allergic reactions to certain grains, most do very well with a proper mixture of meat and grain ingredients.  While you should take care to avoid any food for your dog with grain as the first ingredient, grains such as rice, oats, and barley can be a good source of nutrition.  Grain should not be relied upon as the primary protein source for a dog but one or two high quality grains in the top five ingredients of a commercial food is acceptable. 

Good quality commercial foods generally contain all the vitamins and minerals your dog needs. 

If you want a healthy dog, feed them something that sounds good enough for you to eat!  Animals are just like humans and they gain a healthier coat and mind with a healthier lifestyle.  Proper exercise and nutritional feed provides a better way to a greater lifestyle. I know this is more information than you need.  Just thought to share.  Hope all goes much better for you and Penny.

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Permalink Reply by steve smith on December 23, 2011 at 7:34am

Good info. I will keep this list in  mind not just for puppies.

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Permalink Reply by Valerie Chan on December 22, 2011 at 10:28pm

When I picked up my pup (1 week ago) the breeder was feeding him Eukanuba food which I heard was a cheap brand, I bought a 30 pound bag of Wellnes Super5mix Just for puppies and am gradually going to change to that! It's a really high quality and good brand

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Permalink Reply by Jackie (Lilu & Loki) on December 23, 2011 at 1:40am

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

Here's a site with a lot of good information. It rates different dog foods and also gives a little break down of of the ingredients and highlights bad or "controversial" items. We feed our dogs Castor and Pollux Organix. Was feeding them the puppy formula and then the adult... and currently switching over to grain free. I agree with others about switching over slowly, and there are lots of great foods out there to pick from. Hope the website helps, but the big idea is just to look at the ingredient list. There are some definite red flags like anything that says "by product" or just watching for a lot of fillers. Grain vs grain free is a whole other conversation, though the reason we're switching is because one of our dog's has some issues with soft stool, and I read that apparently grain can be a factor in that.

At any rate feel free to do some research to see what kind of food you want to feed your puppy, but for now I would start by getting small bags of whatever food you try to see how your puppy takes to it. Don't be afraid to try a couple of different brands until you find the right one, if need be.

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Permalink Reply by Valerie Chan on December 23, 2011 at 6:59am

ehh sorry. I meant to say not very high quality ingredients, Well that's what I read on some sites on the internet .

sorry!

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on December 29, 2011 at 12:26am

I have never had any luck with Wellness. It is supposed to be a premium very high quality food, but Franklin could never tolerate it. It is what his breeder fed and pretty much since day one he had tummy troubles. I switched him to a variety of different foods (each for several months) before I found Taste of the Wild. Taste of the Wild has worked best for him. Just because a food is considered "premium" or high quality or 5 star or whatever, doesn't mean its right for your pup. Purina has a HUGE variation in food quality, so it's not really fair to call the ENTIRE brand as a whole a bad product. They make bad foods like Beneful but they also make some better quality foods. They are one of the leading brands doing research on dog nutrition so just because the current fad in dog food says all of the big names (such as purina, hills, and iams) are poor quality, keep in mind they are some of the only brands that have veterinary nutritionists formulating their foods. A good rule of thumb, if you can buy it at walmart, safeway, or the grocery store then pass on those formulas. They tend to carry the lower quality/cheaper formulas such as pedigree, beneful, or Ol Roy. As Sam said, don't be brand loyal (or biased), there are MANY MANY good foods out there that will keep your dog happy and healthy and won't bankrupt you like some of these "premium" foods do. Also, I have never heard from any of the vets I have worked for (including consults for patients by UC Davis veterinary nutritionists) that you have to supplement dry kibble, no need to add wet food or meat or veggies. Commercial diets are formulated to meet all your dog's nutritional requirements, no need to add extras, in fact oftentimes adding extras will lead to a picky eater and cause problems in the future. Good luck! 

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte on December 29, 2011 at 11:56am

Purina Puppy Chow has quite a bit of corn fillers in it.  And feeding a puppy baby meat sticks (also full of fillers) may be contributing to the issue at hand.  Both of these ingrediants will move through a dogs system pretty quickly, so switching to a higher quality food will benefit her in the long run, but it may take a couple of weeks for her to adjust.  If you switched her over "cold turkey" so to speak, this will cause some gastric issues (overly soft stool, or overly hard).  Gradually switching her over is better.  You will still have some loose or hard stool, but it will be easier on her tummy.  If it should continue longer than a couple of weeks though, you may want to visit the vet. 

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Permalink Reply by Courtney and Webley <3 on December 29, 2011 at 3:02pm

Webley was on Costco wet and Iams dry food when I brought him home from the breeder. I gradually switched him over to Blue Buffalo puppy formula (still used a little of the wet Costco food) and he did great. When he hit the one year mark, I switched him to Blue Buffalo Adult Lamb and Rice formula and took him off the wet completely. I would recommend Blue Buffalo to anyone with a dog; no fillers and only natural, solid ingredients. Webley has been doing great on it. I would give a puppy some wet food though with their kibble as the fat in the wet food is good for the puppy's growing body. But as they get older, they don't necessarily need all that extra fat.

All in all, just always switch foods slowly over a few days and look for foods that contain no corn, wheat, or soy!

Good luck with your baby :)

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Permalink Reply by Allison Dougherty on December 29, 2011 at 6:05pm

Like others have said, make sure you make the change slowly, incorporating the old food with the new. This change is probably the reason her stool has become soft. I have heard that dog food brands that appeal more to the buyers visually by having the different colors and shapes of kibble (like Beneful or Kibbles and Bits) are usually not as good for dogs. I feed my Corgi and Australian Shepherd Nutro puppy, and it seems like a good brand. It's good for their coat and I feel like it's less fattening than some brands can be. They also offer a small breed formula that would be perfect for corgis! Also, I don't want to offend anyone who may feed their dogs Beneful or Kibbles and Bits, but that is the information I have learned.

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Lincoln on December 29, 2011 at 9:52pm

The breeder I got my puppy from was also using Eukanuba and I've kept her on it so far.  Her coat is very shiny and she has no problems on it.  In fact, my german shepherd (5 yrs. old) has had severe allergies since he was little so I decided to switch him to Eukanuba for Sensitive Skin and I see a dramatic improvement in his skin and coat too!  It's so hard to find a dogfood that seems to have a "perfect" review.  For now, I am sticking with Eukanuba. 

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