CoffeeK8 wrote:

I'm a huge fan of Rescue Remedy. That has worked WONDERS for my cat, who pretty much freaked out the day we brought Nikolai home. We've also given a little bit of it to Nikolai (mixed it with some yogurt/peanut butter and treats in his Kong for when we were having house guests, or when our schedule would be changing a bit - he's never had a problem.

Is there anyone who has tried both? Or is this one of those "up to the individual chemistry of the animal" moments?

Definitely missed the calming aids and food brand! Sorry! It's been a lot of info, but I should have just gone back and checked

friesianet wrote:

Is there anyone who has tried both? Or is this one of those "up to the individual chemistry of the animal" moments?

I'm gonna guess it's probably more of an "up to the individual chemistry of the animal" sort of product. Feliway, which is also supposed to help calm my cat, did nothing. It was expensive, the plug-in heater/diffuser thing sort of singed/burned it... not a fantastic product, IMHO. But the Rescue Remedy dropped onto his canned food, has worked great.

Cool. I can order Rescue Remedy when I get my next SmartPak order for my horse.

So tell me about Orijen 6 fish--would it produce less waste? I think it looks like a GREAT food, but my concern is availability and (of course) cost vs return. I ordered a sample bag but there's no availability right now due to them changing the product to 80/20.

I'm about to make her "final switch" to adult dog food in the next couple weeks. I'm osculating between Nutro Lamb and Rice adult formula (less expensive, easily available) and Orijen 6 fish (more expensive and supply problems during fish shortages, plus I have to get it shipped to me vs being able to walk in and buy it). But, she didn't do well with the Wellness Puppy which is also a high protein food--she had soft stools and diarrhea. And lastly, I'd like something that produced less stool.

Thoughts?

Is there a petsmart by you? Petsmart has started actually selling some quality food. They have a Blue Wilderness brand (i've tried the salmon) it's a 30lb bag for around $50. They are always having some sort of sale...

Orijen is a great food don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's worth the price they put on it, IMO.

arooroomom wrote:

Is there a petsmart by you? Petsmart has started actually selling some quality food. They have a Blue Wilderness brand (i've tried the salmon) it's a 30lb bag for around $50. They are always having some sort of sale...

Orijen is a great food don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's worth the price they put on it, IMO.

Thanks--yes, we have a couple Petsmarts and Petcos and Pet Valus, so stores aplenty :-)

Claudia feeds a little bit of the Orijen 6-Fish with Ginger's The Honest Kitchen. I'm sure she can give you some better, experienced, advice with that.

We feed Nikolai Wellness Core and have found that it's pretty easy to find and we get coupons for it frequently. I tried samples of Taste of the Wild, Orijen Regional Red, and ZiwiPeak Venison... he'll eat them OK, but not with any sort of gusto. *shrug* I guess it just sort of depends on the dog. Personally, I think a little variety of food and proteins is good for dogs, so if Nut can handle it, maybe switch from Lamb being the primary protein, to Fish, then to Beef or Chicken, then back to Lamb, etc. Just like people, dogs like a little variety and they can benefit from the slight nutritional differences, too. Ideally, you'd switch gradually and maybe only once every 6 months or so.

The Whole Dog Journal had a great article and review of foods in their February issue - might be worth checking out. Also, Dog Food Analysis is a great source of info and resource for checking the nutritional values of foods. My vet recommends choosing a food that's 5 or 6 stars and feeding about 80% of the bag's "guideline" as he thinks they tend to recommend a bit too much.

Koda didn't do well with the high protein found in Innova Evo (before the P&G switch), so I hear ya.

We're happy with Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, but it's made by Diamond brand dog foods and that's not the most reliable company.

I second the Petsmart idea. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon was a great food and both the dogs did great on it (we used it in a pinch emergency). We finished out the bag. We've talked about switching to it, but the protein count in that is high as well (TOTW is 25%, while Blue Buffalo is 35%). It really varies by dog.

CoffeeK8 wrote:

Claudia feeds a little bit of the Orijen 6-Fish with Ginger's The Honest Kitchen. I'm sure she can give you some better, experienced, advice with that.

The Whole Dog Journal had a great article and review of foods in their February issue - might be worth checking out. Also, Dog Food Analysis is a great source of info and resource for checking the nutritional values of foods. My vet recommends choosing a food that's 5 or 6 stars and feeding about 80% of the bag's "guideline" as he thinks they tend to recommend a bit too much.

WOW! That is a GREAT resource! Thanks! On the Blue Wilderness, my interest was piqued, but I read about a recent recall and problems some dogs had with it with Vitamin D levels. There's problems with every food I'm sure, but these were BIG problems. Fatal problems. That makes me a bit leery. It's one thing if your dog has been on it for a while, but it's intimidating when you're looking to switch and you don't know how your dog's system will react. She already had some major intolerance to Wellness Puppy. And we feed Wellness Core for our other animals! I'd love to hear some more feedback. Especially about stool production.

I wanted to say THANKS! After a lot of reading and thought, I stopped at Petsmart and pulled up the dog food analysis site on my phone and picked up a small bag of Blue Wilderness Salmon. We have 1/3 bag left of the Nutro Puppy and will start transitioning her to the blue wilderness salmon adult food. Hopefully it agrees with her system

friesianet wrote:

I'm about to transition her to an adult dog food and was CONSIDERING Orijen 6 fish as her "final food" for life.

Just wondering what you mean by final food for life. It concerned me a bit since rotation is highly important for a well balanced diet and healthy pet. There never really is a "final" food that you stick with for the rest of their life, at best you might settle with several different foods that you rotate between. Food rotation is very important.

friesianet wrote:

Does anyone know if Orijen 6 fish tends to be better at producing less waste?

Yes, Orijen will produce less waste than something like Nutro for most dogs. More meat, less carbs and fillers = smaller portions, higher digestibility = smaller stool.

friesianet wrote:

Is there anyone who has tried both? Or is this one of those "up to the individual chemistry of the animal" moments?

I haven't tried either personally but I've talked with people who have and I hear more success stories from Rescue Remedy users than DAP users. I'd recommend the Rescue Remedy personally.

friesianet wrote:

But, she didn't do well with the Wellness Puppy which is also a high protein food--she had soft stools and diarrhea.

Wellness Puppy is not what I would consider high protein. In fact even the grain free Wellness Core is not that high protein and it's higher up there. Wellness products are also now being made by less than reliable manufacturers as well (Diamond, ANI, and Menu Foods). And just because your dog didn't do well on one high protein food, that does not automatically mean that it's the high protein that doesn't agree with him. My husky did amazing on Innova Evo (before the buyout) which is very high protein, but did not do that well on Wellness Core or Blue Buffalo Wilderness. All three were higher protein and all three had very similar ingredient lists yet my sibe only really did well on one of them. Another thing to consider too is that on high protein foods you don't feed as much so overfeeding can lead to stomach upsets and diarrhea. I know my sibe did perfect on Evo at 1.5 cups, but if he had 1.75 cups he would get diarrhea. It takes time to find the right balance and trial and error to find something your dog does well on. Another thing I'd like to point out, my chi Faith did excellent on Wellness Core before they switched manufacturers. After they switched manufacturers she got stomach upsets and diarrhea on the new batches coming out. The label may not have changed but the product was definitely different after the switch.

friesianet wrote:

On the Blue Wilderness, my interest was piqued, but I read about a recent recall and problems some dogs had with it with Vitamin D levels. There's problems with every food I'm sure, but these were BIG problems. Fatal problems. That makes me a bit leery.

I'm surprised you've not expressed concern over Nutro's history. Nutro has a long history of problems with their food, many fatal. I think Nutro has had more problems than Blue Buffalo. Honestly, between Nutro and Blue Buffalo I think BB is the safer choice of the two.

We are feeding wellness core grain free reduced cal food for sierra mixed with the natures doman (from costco) and she does great on it. If it was not for the weight issue I would have kept her on TOTW, we cycle on 3 flavors for jack in the brand. Please take a look at our what are u feeding posts to get some ideas.

Huskyluv wrote:

friesianet wrote:

I'm about to transition her to an adult dog food and was CONSIDERING Orijen 6 fish as her "final food" for life.

Just wondering what you mean by final food for life. It concerned me a bit since rotation is highly important for a well balanced diet and healthy pet. There never really is a "final" food that you stick with for the rest of their life, at best you might settle with several different foods that you rotate between. Food rotation is very important.

No worries. I was referring to manufacturer versus protein source. When I like a brand, I stick to it. Our horses have been eating the same thing for years. Same with the ferrets until recently. Our cats are on Wellness Core and have been for many years and I swear by it. I did a ton of reading on cat nutrition at the time and found this was the best for them. They BLOOMED on it. I supplement with some Fancy Feast cans for variety.

Huskyluv wrote:

Yes, Orijen will produce less waste than something like Nutro for most dogs. More meat, less carbs and fillers = smaller portions, higher digestibility = smaller stool.

GOOD! That makes sense and that's what I'm hoping for.

Huskyluv wrote:

I hear more success stories from Rescue Remedy users than DAP users. I'd recommend the Rescue Remedy personally.

Thanks! I'm definitely going to add it to my old man's SmartPak order next round.

friesianet wrote:

But, she didn't do well with the Wellness Puppy which is also a high protein food--she had soft stools and diarrhea.

Huskyluv wrote:

I'm surprised you've not expressed concern over Nutro's history. Nutro has a long history of problems with their food, many fatal. I think Nutro has had more problems than Blue Buffalo. Honestly, between Nutro and Blue Buffalo I think BB is the safer choice of the two.

That's what I meant by I did some more reading. When I was switching from Wellness Puppy, her stools were so diahrretic that I needed something available and FAST to switch to. I went with my friend's recommendation, it's what she feeds her dog. On further reading, thanks to you guys (and yes, I've been looking in the nutrition forum too--thanks!!) I felt I needed to move her off the Nutro and on to something else. I know it may take some experimenting to find which food she does best on. I love Wellness, but you're right about the changes with them recently.

Oh, and don't worry--when she was on Wellness it was only 2 cups a day. The Nutro, even though the vet said to feed up to 4 cups, the dog has been self regulating and on a good day she eats 3 on her own, even if we offer her 4. Today it was more like 1.5 cups. Once she's completely on the Blue Wilderness I plan to only do 2 about 2 cups, if that, after reading the bag and factoring in the 80% of the MF feeding recommendation as suggested. I'm learning dog nutrition on the fly here, but I have, over the years, become an expert on cat and horse nutrition and supplementation. This is just a new knowledge-set I need to learn. Thanks for everyone's help!!!!

BTW--you all knew I meant that I was feeding 4 cups a day total, right? Not 4 cups per feeding? On wellness puppy I was feeding 1 cup 2x a day. The vet said to up it, so I did 1 cup of wellness and a 1/2 cup of science diet canned puppy (since she hated kibble and a friend gave me a case for free). So, 3 cups a day total. She did great on this for a while, but then started having severe diahhrea due to whipworms and/or giardia. The treatment took 6 weeks to fully finish and she was still very, very underweight. She started with the loose stools again 2 weeks after end of treatment and I really felt it was an intolerance to her food. I took out the science diet, still loose. That's when I changed her over to Nutro--her stools firmed right up, but due to her weight the vet said to up to 4 cups a day. She's picked up her weight, so we'll be moving back down to 3 and then 2 cups a day.

I also talked to my boss yesterday and will be changing our hours at work (my husband and I are computer engineers at the same place on the same team, so there was a coverage issue for late afternoon). So hopefully the food change, a schedule change, limiting her morning food and adding in some Rescue Remedy will be the cure to the dog's issues. I've been really sick recently and having to stay home and in bed while Joe goes to work and the dog doesn't know I'm home--I have to say even this morning when Joe left and I was still home in bed the dog is very quiet and just napping in her crate. It seems the SA doesn't kick in until later in the afternoon, so maybe fooling her internal clock a little by getting home earlier in the day will help. Her crate is under a bay window where she watches the birds. I've seen her notice the sun position before to sort of tell time.Maybe getting home before the sun is at a certain place in the sky will help her anxiety.

I doubt it has to do with her internal clock being tricked and more with the fact that she has to have a BM around that time. That combined with SA would do the trick

It sounds like you have a lot of changes that could help, so you're likely okay. Just be careful not to overdo it. TOO many changes can be just as harmful as keeping things the way they are, so be careful

Figured I'd give an update after a week.....so far, I've made her food 1/2 Nutro Lamb and Rice and 1/2 Blue Wilderness to transition her. Might as well use the rest of the Nutro bag <shrugs>. Plus it stretches the Blue Wilderness. She LOVES LOVES LOVES the Blue Wilderness. She normally has turned her nose up at a new food by the fourth time it's presented in front of her, and we're about 9 days in from introducing Blue Wilderness and I think she'd knaw my hand off just to get to some.....I've never seen her so excited about being fed, and she gobbles it up within minutes vs sitting there ALLLLLLLLLLLLL day and ALLLLLLLLLL night on a hunger strike. I sprinkle the Nutro supplement on top and it's like I made it candy for her. I've slowly reduced her down to 2cups a day total feeding. Her stools look the best they ever have!! She's starting to lose a little weight already, though, so I may have to up her back up to ~ two and a half cups a day or so. I'm going to give it some time.

As for the crate issue, the results are in: Mixed. Out of 6 weekday work mornings so far, most of them having gone in a little earlier to work, she poo'd twice. Both times seemed like they have JUST happened when we walked in the door. That's still a marked improvement. I went from giving her 1/2 cup food in the morning to just a few kibbles so she doesn't feel deprived--now that she actually LIKES her food!!! And, since she eats it all immediately thanks to the suggestion to add Blue Wilderness, we can control exactly when she eats, and (more importantly) for how LONG she has food in front of her. No more having to leave kibble in her crate hoping she'll eat at least a few of them sometime during the day. I think that threw her poo schedule off. Lastly, the addition of Blue Wilderness really tightened up and improved her stools. Firmer, darker, better.

I also managed to take her for a long walk yesterday, and she's coming out to the barn with us in the AM while we're feeding horses. It's a new part to her routine as of yesterday and she just gets tied in the wash stall, but still......it's more interaction in the AM. Activity-wise, there were no changes last week, but she seemed much, much more settled. This past weekend she spent daytime out of the crate and just snoozing away on her pillow bed or in the foyer. Very settled and happy. Very hungry and looking forward to her next meal.

This is a fantastic update! I'm so glad to hear things are going so well!

It sounds like you've narrowed down the problem, so I would just keep it up and hopefully you'll continue to see improvement.

VERY excited about the BBWilderness and her BM improvement. Huskies tend to thrive on grain-free diets, so it's not surprising to hear it. The most important thing is that she enjoys her food though. That's wonderful news

Keep us posted!

Koda wrote:

This is a fantastic update! I'm so glad to hear things are going so well!
Huskies tend to thrive on grain-free diets, so it's not surprising to hear it.

I started with grain free Wellness Puppy. We feed our ferrets and cats grain free too. <shrugs shoulders>. Guess for Nut it had to be grain free SALMON.

Eh, whatever. Strange pup. Our old huskies would eat ANYTHING and never reacted badly to any food. Guess we were lucky before. I'm just SOOOO thrilled she loves her food now. Thanks so much for the great suggestions with Nupro and BBW. She's the happiest dog in the world at mealtime now, which makes me very happy.

I started measuring out little daily baggies that have her 1/2 and 1/2, her fish oil capsule, and the Nupro already put together to make feeding easier. I fed her a little in the AM and then lazily put the rest of the baggie on the foot of the fireplace mantle next to her raised bowls. She loves her food so much that she was nosing the baggie and wanting to break in well before dinnertime.

I think you were definitely lucky! In my experience, and just by reading this board, you'll see how often huskies have sensitive stomachs and picky taste! Mine love fish formulas the best as well

We're actually looking in to mixing with BBW Chicken as part of a rotation diet and our two LOVED the salmon when we had to feed it in a pinch over the holidays I'm very pleased with the ingredients and results

Great news! Glad to hear

friesianet wrote:

I'm just SOOOO thrilled she loves her food now. Thanks so much for the great suggestions with Nupro and BBW. She's the happiest dog in the world at mealtime now, which makes me very happy.

As the Momma of another picky eater, this totally made my day. YAY NUT!!!! Woohoo!!