Hi All,

New husky puppy owner (have had him since Dec 2012) TOTALLY in love with him. The WHOLE family is however we're going through some rough times with his food and diarrhea. Here is what we have tried and what the outcome was

Dec - Got Jax and was given ProPAC lamb and rice since that is what he ate from the breeder. He was literally pooping pudding and water puddles everywhere. Poop training you can imagine was HELLISH!

so we weaned him off of ProPAC with DogsWell Nutrisca which was AMAZING he loved loved loved eating it grain free and poop was semi soft however, getting the food was expensive and only two co-op (Trader Joe type of store) had it due to PRICE and getting the food decided to switch with suggestion from the vet.

Mid/end of Dec - We went with Blue Buffalo large puppy breed and again weened him with proportional 25 (new) 75 (old); 50 (new) 50 (old); etc.... did this for two weeks and he did not do so well with it. Stool was liquid. So went back to the VET and doc said go with Royal Canine; forget it 1 week in to it loose stool and we all were basically wearing gas masks and my poor little kid had his stomach gargling. Vet basically said to stick with it and we did for 3 weeks

Jan mid - with suggestions with VET and PETSMART associates it was way to much to see Jaxy pooping pudding. The vet finally told me to switch him to chicken and rice (bland) and his stool was still mushy. We ended up going with Simply Nourish (PETSMART brand) Puppy. He seemed to do well on it. We even added a small amount of pumpkin (not the pie filler). Until last week and this past Monday he was neutered and Jaxy ended up having diarrhea at the Vet office. They did some test and put him on Metronidazole 500 MG half pill twice a day. I have not seen his stool get any better, might still be early.

However today I decided to go to another PETSMART near work and since I go to Banfield deiced to get a second opinion. The nurse was really awesome and said she had breeded husky's in the past and it might due to chicken since all of his food has had chicken except for the proPAC (lamb). She gave me Nutro Venison and brown rice. I am pray this helps him. He still on Metronidazole.

He does not seem stressed out, I take him out for at least 1.5 - 2 miles in the am and pm, dog park during the weekend either sat or sun for at least 1 hr and then a 2 mile walk. VET said next thing would be to prescribe prescription food. UGH so im' deciding to turn to EVERYONE here. PLEASE HELP

Cheers,

Romy

Have you tried a grain-free food? Some dogs have issues with grain.

Hi Erica... the Dogswell Nutrisca was grain free and that is the only one that seemed to have helped him yet it still was mushy and finding the food was crazy and expensive.

When I went to PETSMART today i was going to pick up BB grainfree puppy however that is when I decided to ask the nurse and she then suggested the Nutro Venison.

Have you considered a raw diet you can do some research on it. There are several topics on it here and several feed huskies a raw diet.

I would stay about from chicken on the raw or in any food you get for your pup.

I know some are very expensive. you can also look online for several sources that you can purchase dog food and save more than at Petsmart or Petco.

AVOID PETSMART for FOOD!!!!! Mom and pop pet stores carry much better brands of food, look for natural pet stores, they will have free samples most of the time. Stick with GRAIN FREE foods, but maybe not chicken, try a fish based food. has his stools been tested to rule out worms or other "bugs" that could be causing the issue? where do you live that may help us direct you to brands and stores in your area. costco also carries a grain free salmon food called nature domain, have you looked at TOTW, Wellness or Earthborn Holistic? BB seems to be to rich for most of our huskies.

https://www.itsahuskything.com/t174-what-are-you-feeding-your-husky
look through this as well for food ideas

I don't feed nutro. It's a mars brand and I have my own reservations about it. I also wouldn't trust anyone from Petsmart - they all get kick backs. But, that i just my opinion.

I would try Acana. I liek their Pacifica.

Try a little bone meal powder added to the food. It will firm the poop up. I do that for my raw fed dogs.

Hi, yes stool has been checked two times and no worm, parasites, bugs, etc... I wanted to try RAW diet but at this time I want to stick to DRY puppy food. I am about 15 mins west of Philadelphia. I have not tried any of the brands you have mentioned. I just bought a bag of the NUTRO Venison per the VET nurse.

Do you think I should try one of the above?

I would return the Nutro. now. I really do not trust that company. You can return any food at any time.
where are you located?

I am 15 mins out of Philadelphia.

Welcome, im a former bucks county gal and we have plenty of PA members that can direct you to some food places, i would return the nutro food. Vets/nurses dont get taught about food in school so unless they study up on it their own they also only sell food that vendors come in and tell them to sell. the brands megan and I mention seem to be on the top of the list for what is feed here other then RAW. there are so many brands out there, find a local store see if they return foods and just try some samples, if you are near a costco that is your best bet for price per lb. for a good food. its not 6stars but its 5 and i have been feeding it over a yr now and my 2 do great on it.

Thank you for the warm Welcome 0(|:-) like I mentioned I am a newbie to the husky world so all this information is overloading but awesome info. Only places I know are Petco; PETSMART, We Love Pets. WHICH is all franchise type of shops. If anyone know's of a good local store that would be great.

found this one

http://www.pawsandclawspetstore.com/

and found this spot as well

http://petsuppliesplus.com/WESTCHESTER9059/&longitude=-75d2654063&latitude=39d9573936&cityStateZip=19082

The Paws and Claws store looks decent enough. Their website shows that they sell several of the brands that have been mentioned:

Quote :

We also carry select foods from Orijen, Merrick, Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance & Taste of the Wild on a regular basis and are happy to special order a particular type of food from any one of these lines, Evangers, and certain other select foods.

The other one doesn't go into details as to what they offer for food other than "Natural" foods.

Oh yeah, Welcome! I'm originally from the east coast as well.

this food thing is stressing :-\ wish it was easy as pick one and it works.
When you say sample what do you mean? buy the small bags and give it a shot with 10% transition?

Pet supplies plus has taste of the wild.


Honestly, in this case I wouldn't transition. Your dog already has liquid poops

think i found one that might be closest to me: http://www.braxtons.com/what-we-carry/dogs/dog-foods/

will be stopping over there tonight. returning NUTRO and first try TOTW

Annamaet
Blue Buffalo Life Protection
Blue Buffalo Wilderness

By Nature Organics

Canidae
Taste of the Wild
Holistic Select
Eagle Pack
Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals
Honest Kitchen
Merrick 5-Star
Natural Balance Alpha
Natural Balance LID
Natural Balance Synergy
Newman’s Own Organics
Innova
Evo
California Natural
California Natural Grain-Free
Karma
Nature’s Variety Instinct
Nature’s Variety Instinct LID
Nature’s Variety Prairie
Wellness Core
Wellness Super5Mix
Orijen
Acana
Solid Gold
Verus
Wysong
Iams ProActive Health
Eukanuba
Nutro Natural Choice
Pro Plan
Science Diet

so which one do you guy's suggest i should go with first?

Acana Pacifica or TOTW <-- and which one?

how often are you feeding him? i had an issue simular to this with blu (constant liquid pudding poo for months) vet gave me the same meds you got and it didn't go away. through trial and error i started feeding him half meals but more often through out the day (instead of 1 cup of food 3 times a day i did half a cup 6 times a day... it evens out to the same amount but this way he is eatting less in one sitting and has time to digest) it has worked for me thus far.

I think i would try that for a week or two before attempting to switch his food and see how it works.

I feed him 2.5 cups 2x a day however he's just grazes at the food meaning does not eat it all in one sitting goes at it through out the day.

I think you should try BBW puppy.. Not the blue buffalo large puppy breed.. Husky is not large breed and the wilderness is a grain free of BB so BBW migjt be what ur looking for.. Thats what i feed my pup

If I'm following this, you switched foods on him 5 times in 3 months? For some dogs, that is a LOT and no wonder your pup has soft stools because his stomach doesn't have a chance to settle, and switching food so often could be causing stress on his tummy.

My female takes a minimum of 3 weeks to completely transition her to a new food.

Your pup may also be sensitive to an ingredient(s) in the foods you have tried.

So you threw 5 different brands of foods and may have caused tummy upset. He may also be sensitive to chicken.

If I were you, at this point, I would reset his tummy on a bland diet with a neutral protein and one fiber source (no grain as grains could also be causing your pup a tummy upset).

I typically like to recommend eggs as a neutral protein source. You can scramble it in a dry pan, but I find that hard to prevent sticking, so hard boiled eggs are better as you only need water to cook them. As far as the fiber source (this is so your pup has a bowel movement at least once a day) can either be no salt canned green beans (or if it isn't salt free, make sure you rinse them), frozen green peas (thawed), or boiled chopped carrots. Keep it to ONE fiber source. This should be easy on the tummy and this should reset his tummy. You should see improvement within 24-36 hours.

Once you start to see improvement, you will want to keep him on the bland diet for AT LEAST THREE days (at this point, I would recommend you go for 5 days). This is so you give his tummy time to settle. Yes, that's a lot of eggs and veggies, but you have already upset his tummy and eggs and veggies are cheap.

If he is 5 months, you will want to make sure he gets enough food/nutrients, so I would go with 3-4 eggs and 1 cup of veggies 3x a day...yup. The veggies are low calories and you want to create bulk to help him feel satisfied and to help him produce a bowel movement at least once a day. Don't worry about the yolk and cholesterol, because it won't be a forever diet, and the yolk is where a lot of the vitamins and proteins are.

Once he has firm stools and you have him on the bland diet for several days, you can then add 25% kibble you want to try. If he goes soft, back off the new food and go back to where you were and STAY there until he is having firm poops again for another 3-4 days before you try a different food.

If you added 25% of new food to 75% of bland diet, and he is still doing well, stay at this ratio for 3-4 days before going 50/50 mix.

Get where I'm going....?

This will help you figure out what works, what he is sensitive to, and this will be easy on his tummy.

Good suggest Claudia.. hope the OP tries your suggestions.

i think that Braxton’s Animal Works store looks great and you should go check it out and see what they have. follow caludias advice on the food but when your ready go with a new grain free food thats not chicken. when i say samples, most (small) stores have little 1-2 serving bags of food to hand out to get people to try the food. they will also give you a 100% satisfaction and let you return food that does not work.

HI All,

wanted to update everyone and say THANK YOU!!! oh so kindly.
so after the feedback. I went to Braxton's that night. I was ready to purchase some of the suggested food and start off what caludias mentioned. stopped at the grocery store before hand and picked up veggies, eggs, and all. The employee at Braxton's however suggested Natural Balance Dry Dog Food, Grain Free Limited Ingredient Diet Fish and Sweet Potato Recipe. Honestly what a new puppy I have. His coat is shiny, he loves to crunch on his food, (has stinky gas but not like what it used to be). Jax has been on this for a while now and his stool is solidified.

So my new question goes out to everyone, are there allergy tests that can be done to see what my puppy is allergic to? the reason behind it is, at this point I am avoiding all chicken and grain ingredient food, treats and bones. I am so scared to give him anything that will upset his stomach. I ended up buying NB treats as well same flavor as his food which he seems to enjoy.

Also gave him some roti (Indian wheat bread) as well Vitakraft Yogurt Drops (new treat) and noticed he was bloated a few nights ago and again had loose stool but went back to normal the next morning.

So you can see my fear and agony. however have come a long way from what I dealt with for 2-3 months (thanks to everyone's suggestions)

Pretty sure vets can do allergy tests. We had a similar problem with our red siberian we adopted in January. Raunchy gas, runny poo. Some of it was probably the stress of a new home and brother, but they both eat Blue Buffalo Wilderness Large Breed, which is grain free and contains glucosamine and chondroitin for their joints. Halligan (red) is 15 months old and Kane is 2 and a half. They occasionally get gas or loose stools, but that's probably more related to the treats the neighbors give them and the other stuff they nibble on in the yard (grass, poo, etc.).

Vet today told monique to avoid taste of the wild and suggested some other brands of purina and "total nutrition", i mean, it really depends on who you talk to. Everyone has an opinion on what to feed including people on this forum. As for the random, AVOID PETSMART, post, i dont see how petsmart carrying dog food brands of varying types has anything to do with the brand you choose to buy, i do think there are many options petsmart doesn't carry, but they doesn't mean some they do are bad.

Just do your due diligence and choose the brand and type your sibe likes and thrives on.