I would see if cutting back on feeding amount helps at all. Overfeeding is also something that can result in decreased appetite and softer stool. Also, why the food mixes? If I were trying to figure out what was causing soft stools in my dog's I'd have them on one thing at a time to eliminate the possibilities for what could be causing the problem. Then once you've figured that out and made the necessary changes you could go back to whatever mix you prefer that works for your sibe. Just my two cents.

As Val suggested for feeding, I would do for treats as well. For instance, treat only with Vitality for a couple days and then switch to another for a few days straight until you have "tested" them all.

Sabaka gets loose and gassy when feed beef, even beef rawhide and bully sticks. (But not all dogs are the same, of course.)

Huskyluv wrote:

I would see if cutting back on feeding amount helps at all. Overfeeding is also something that can result in decreased appetite and softer stool. Also, why the food mixes? If I were trying to figure out what was causing soft stools in my dog's I'd have them on one thing at a time to eliminate the possibilities for what could be causing the problem. Then once you've figured that out and made the necessary changes you could go back to whatever mix you prefer that works for your sibe. Just my two cents.

If we were to focus on one kibble and smaller amounts, do you think we should use something with a bit higher protein content than the ND (27% pro, 16% fat, 50% carb)? Or should we be more concerned with achieving regular eating habits and firmer stool?

Here I am answering for Val... but I believe she is only suggesting you focus on one kibble at a time until you rule out that the tummy issues are not caused by that one particular brand or some ingredient in that food.

When you are looking for a food allergy or the cause of a tummy issue, it is best to introduce as few ingredients at a time as possible. Many folks will stop feeding kibble all together for a week or so and feed only single ingredient foods until you pinpoint the cause of the dog's problems. That is usually only necessary for severe digestive problems.

Before I got Malachi, he was on a raw diet. Being completely unfamiliar with it, I didn't feel comfortable continuing it until I did research and learned as much as I could about it.

So I tried kibble for him, one brand, not mixed with anything. The first one I tried was ND, I gave it about a week or so but it really didnt settle with him at all.

Some one reccommended the Blue Buffalo Wildlife formula, they said it is pretty close to "raw" in a kibble... and it ended up working wonderfully for him. It is a little pricey, but it works and he loves it.

I'm still going back and forth on the raw idea.... I was thinking maybe doing half and half, just not sure how to go about it.

SabakaMom wrote:

Here I am answering for Val... but I believe she is only suggesting you focus on one kibble at a time until you rule out that the tummy issues are not caused by that one particular brand or some ingredient in that food.

When you are looking for a food allergy or the cause of a tummy issue, it is best to introduce as few ingredients at a time as possible. Many folks will stop feeding kibble all together for a week or so and feed only single ingredient foods until you pinpoint the cause of the dog's problems. That is usually only necessary for severe digestive problems.

Yes, I think that is our plan going forward. At least until we can discover a kibble that solves the loose stool and inconsistent eating. First up...ND Turkey & Sweet Potato.

Is 2-3 weeks sufficient enough time to thoroughly test out one brand to the next?

I will plan to post our findings as we gain some traction on Brewer's appetite and tummy issues.

Thanks again for the feedback everybody.

Lisa pretty much got what I was saying. And in answer to your other question about protein, I think the protein in ND is perfectly fine on it's own.

I think 2-3 weeks should be okay to test the waters. But I will say that maybe for 2 weeks try just the one food at a maybe 2 to 2.5 cups per day. If things don't improve then try cutting back on the amount a little bit (like maybe if you don't see improvement on 2.5 cups/day drop it down to 2.25 or 2 cups/day) for another 1-2 weeks to rule out overfeeding. I know when I fed my sibe Evo (turkey/chicken formula), he ate 1.75 cups/day and had very firm stool, but he'd have soft stool if he ate 2 cups/day.

Good luck and we look forward to updates on Brewer's progress. By the way, you might want to start a thread of your own dedicated to Brewer's food/tummy issues.

Huskyluv wrote:

Lisa pretty much got what I was saying. And in answer to your other question about protein, I think the protein in ND is perfectly fine on it's own.

I think 2-3 weeks should be okay to test the waters. But I will say that maybe for 2 weeks try just the one food at a maybe 2 to 2.5 cups per day. If things don't improve then try cutting back on the amount a little bit (like maybe if you don't see improvement on 2.5 cups/day drop it down to 2.25 or 2 cups/day) for another 1-2 weeks to rule out overfeeding. I know when I fed my sibe Evo (turkey/chicken formula), he ate 1.75 cups/day and had very firm stool, but he'd have soft stool if he ate 2 cups/day.

Good luck and we look forward to updates on Brewer's progress. By the way, you might want to start a thread of your own dedicated to Brewer's food/tummy issues.

I should have been more clear...by "Is 2-3 weeks sufficient enough time to thoroughly test out one brand to the next?", I was referring to sticking to one brand for 2-3 weeks. By your reply it looks like it should be ample enough time. Sorry for the

As it stands, we are going to try the ND Turkey & Sweet Potato 1 cup 2x per day and see what happens to his appetite, stool, and weight.

Note - I will stop hogging the attention here and start a separate thread for future reports on Brewer's tummy.

Cheers

MicroBrewer wrote:

I should have been more clear...by "Is 2-3 weeks sufficient enough time to thoroughly test out one brand to the next?", I was referring to sticking to one brand for 2-3 weeks. By your reply it looks like it should be ample enough time. Sorry for the

No worries, I understood what you meant and that's what I was referring too also.

MicroBrewer wrote:

As it stands, we are going to try the ND Turkey & Sweet Potato 1 cup 2x per day and see what happens to his appetite, stool, and weight.

I think that's a good plan to start out with.

Recommended 4 to 1 by Siberians over other brands, Taste of the Wild......................... good to the last lick.

lol Mine would so do that if we let them!

Do you Know Almo Nature's line?!? My cocker spaniel eat this line and i think my future puppy too or it's wrong?!?

http://www.almonature.co.uk/en_gb/index.cfm/pet-food/dog/

DanieleRoma wrote:

Do you Know Almo Nature's line?!? My cocker spaniel eat this line and i think my future puppy too or it's wrong?!?

http://www.almonature.co.uk/en_gb/index.cfm/pet-food/dog/

Not knowing what products you have available to you in Rome, I'd say that this food is decent. I know here in the US we have a lot better foods available but I cannot say where Almo Nature would rank amidst your options over there. It certainly is not the best or the worst I've seen, but if that's as good as it gets in Rome then it's certainly not a bad food.

look, the brands of dry food for dogs that I know here in Rome are:

- almo nature
- nature best
- royal canin
- science plain
- purina

I thought that these brands were also there in the usa. what is your brands?!? it's just my curiosity!!! =)

*what are (sorry!!!)

Of that list of foods you have available, I'd stick with the Almo Nature that you've been feeding. Probably the best of the bunch.

Oh gosh, we have so many different foods available over here it's mind boggling and more new products are coming out all the time. It's hard to keep up with! Some of the better and more popular brands over here off the top of my head would include Orijen, Acana, Fromm, Nature's Variety, Innova, Merrick, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, Dogswell, Wellness, Go!, Canidae, and Taste of the Wild. There is so much more out there and that's just talking about kibble, the dehydrated, freeze-dried, and frozen raw opens up so many more options beyond kibble.

Thank's for your clarification! =)

Here4thePics wrote:

Recommended 4 to 1 by Siberians over other brands, Taste of the Wild......................... good to the last lick.

This is hilarious!!!

The breeder I got Nira from was feeding her purina... I got her off of that crap and have been doing 4 health and TOTW mixed as I did not want to switch her fully off of a grain kibble due to loose stools. Shes been doing well and actually the 4 health from tsc is a pretty decent food from what Ive researched.

Complete grain free will probably help with the loose stools. That's what we had to do with Ghost, and she does great on it. You can also give a little pumpkin from time to time, and that helps a lot.

I've been feeding Chloe the Blue Buffalo diet but I am now switching her over to Orijen. Its working very well with her and she looks forward to it at each meal. I love the ingredients because there are no fillers.

Currently Brewer is getting ~1.6 cups of Fromm's Grain Free Game Bird Recipe and a .25 cup (dry) of Sojos Complete Beef, which comes to approximately 750 calories or 14.1 calories per pound. Hmm, I wonder if we could up his intake a bit...

Fenrir gets an offering of 4 cups of TOTW daily, 3/4 bison mix and 1/4 salmon recipe. When I keep it to one, he tends to blow it off, but he's been taking down most of his food since I started mixing it up. He also gets about 2 biscuits of Salmon-recipe Blue Wilderness treats almost daily and one minty Twistex every few days since it supposedly helps their teeth.

Fenrir wrote:

Fenrir gets an offering of 4 cups of TOTW daily, 3/4 bison mix and 1/4 salmon recipe. When I keep it to one, he tends to blow it off, but he's been taking down most of his food since I started mixing it up. He also gets about 2 biscuits of Salmon-recipe Blue Wilderness treats almost daily and one minty Twistex every few days since it supposedly helps their teeth.

Jiminy Cricket! 4 cups?! How big is he? Koda's 60 lbs and barely gets 2 cups a day and he's hedging on being a little overweight right now!

Yeah 4 cups is crazy!

We're sampling Natures Variety Instinct Beef & Lamb with Cheyenne (it was 50% off) and she seems to like it which is a rarity...

Rodeo is now eating Venison/Lamb patties and Acanas new LID Lamb. Seems to be OK...