What should I do?

[bradybunch]

Spike has been on chicken and potatoes now since Friday. We went to the vet on Sat. and he got a few injections and pills to settle his tummy. We have had no runny poo or throwing up since the vet visit. Last night I started to mix a little kibble in with the chicken and potatoes. This morning his stool was mushy not runny but really soft and not formed like it had been. Could I be overfeeding him? I used about 3/4 cup of kibble and around 1 cup of potatoe and chicken (1/2 cup each). Or should I stop feeding the kibble Solid Gold Mm (beef based) and try something else? I don't know what to do, anyone have any suggestions or opinions?

 

[Jpep]

it sounds about right if anything I would say it was a 1/4 on high side but that depends on size and weight of your dog (I was judging by your gallery pic) you might also want to start with a lesser amount of kibble mixed in like 1 1/4 of chicken/potato and 1/4 - 1/3 kibble. some dogs need a very slow change from one food to another like 1/4 cup change every 2 days until food is switched completely over. Also the mushy poo could be because of exercise if he was running around right before he went.

 

[dharmadoodle]

If I were introducing the kibble back into the diet after a bad tum, then I would do it very slowly.

See how it goes over the next couple of days - It maybe a case that chicken would be best for your furbaby.

 

[bradybunch]

Thanks for your input! I will cut back on the kibble tonight and see if that makes any difference. Spike is almost 7 months old and weighs 36.5 lbs. he is really small (we've had problems with food from the start) We didn't do anything different with our exercise routine yesterday, it was Monday and it was all I could do to get in the usually game of fetch and our 15 minute walk. I would love to keep him on the potatoes and boiled chicken, he seem to just love it - he has never gotten excited about eating until now. He sat and guarded the stove while the chicken was boiling!

 

[Jpep]

well there is still some decent quality dry foods still available that may be an option to try next. Solid gold makes plenty of grainless foods, plus there are many dry foods that contain potatos and fish, chicken, duck and other stuff. Good luck

 

[dalefuller]

I hope Spike is doing better. He's a perfect picture of my 9 yo girl that I lost to CA last August.

I'd be careful with grainless foods. Most of them are too high in protein for puppies under 14-18 months old. There are some good alternatives to beef based foods like the SG you're currently feeding. Natural Balance, Innova, and Solid Gold all make lamb or fish based foods that may be easier on his tummy.

Alternatively, if he's doing well with your cooking, why not just keep going in that direction? There are many good, healthy recipes available ere and from other online sources that can help you put together a healthy, all-natural diet for Spike. The main things to focus on with home prepared foods are to buy organic veggies and free-range meats (to avoid hormones, antibiotics, preservatives), and stick to the ingredients that are safe for dogs instead of getting too "creative" in the kitchen.

Best wishes to you and Spike...

 

[bradybunch]

I would love to keep Spike on the home cooked food, but with a 4 year old son, a fulltime job, and trying to complete my accounting degree I run short on time. I reduced his kibble to 1/4 cup last night and this morning. His stool has returned to normal, so I think that I will try this amount for a few days and then increase a little every couple of days. We did have to break out the gas masks last night, so I added a tablespoon of yogart this morning. I was thinking more on the lines of Timberwolf than EVO, I had read not to use the EVO until he was at least 18 months.

 

[dalefuller]

If Spike has been eating Mmilennia and done OK on it previously, I'd just go real slow reintroducing it. We usually take between one and two weeks to make a switch or to add something new.

Actually, I think that Timerwolf is the company that has a lower protein grainless kibble. We were talking about this earlier today in this forum but in a different thread. I know that one of the companies that Whole Dog Journal likes has a kibble with lower protein, but IIRC, it's still in the 30% range. Puppies should be in the 24% - 28% range, I think... gmacleod has some excellent posts re: puppy nutrition. You can search her posts or just "puppy food" to find them.

Another alternative for you might be one of the frozen premixes. That's basically a premixed BARF-type food and there are several brands that WDJ has listed as one of their top foods. In most cases, all you do is warm it with water. Some people microwave it but I don't nuke anything that I feed my dogs. I've never used this so I can't make any recommendations regarding feeding it to a puppy, but if the protein levels are within the acceptable range for puppies, I don't see why it wouldn't be a good food for Spike to try.

If you like the brand, Solid Gold has other foods that WDJ rates pretty high besides the Mmilennia. I'm feeding Hund N Flocken now to our Lab/GSD mix and he's done well on it. He needed to drop a few pounds and it has helped him do that. I know two Labs that do well on their Holistique Blenz (sp?). Both of those are too low in protein for puppies, though.

Finding the right food(s) for our dogs can be frustrating. What's good for one may not be well tolerated by another. Fortunately, there are quite a few more good choices now than there used to be.

 

[bradybunch]

It is really frustrating trying to find a great food that agrees with him. My DH says Spike's nutrition has become my new "hobby" . I tell him at least it is a useful hobby! Spike started out on CS (3months old when we got him) and after 3 bags we started our rotation and went to beef. This is his second bag of the SG and since we started to feed it he has gain over 10lbs! I would like to think that he will be okay on it, but if not I will continue to search. I think we will rotate to fish after one more bag (3 bags then rotate), not sure if we do Wellness or TW Ocean Blue. Thanks for all of your advice I am learning so much from BW it's GREAT!

 

[dalefuller]

SG Caution...

Bradybunch...

I revisited the SG web site after my last post and noticed that both their Mmilennia and their Hund N Flocken are very low protein foods, around 22%. The fish may be even lower. That could be a concern for a 7 month old puppy.

IIRC, 24% - 28% is a better range. I would really search gmacleod's postings for this or try searching on "puppy protein" to get a better picture of just how much Spike needs at his age. He doesn't need a puppy food or a large breed food, he just may need more protein in his regular feeding. SG can be supplemented with a meat source, of course. That's actually what they suggest, like Timberwolf products. They're meant to be supplemented.

You just want to make sure that Spike gets enough protein to grow without getting overweight... that's the biggest concern for puppies.

Also, I know that what I'm about to say is sacreligious on this board, but... some dogs don't do well rotating their foods. Spike may be of that "persuasion". Once you find that food that fits his niche, you may want to stay with it until he tells you it's time to change.

BTW, if it's any help to you, we're raising our 8 month old Dobe on Innova's regular adult food with Prozyme and Missing Link added. We mix her kibble and canned Innova and add the supplements. She's fine at 8 months... 26" tall and nearly 70 lbs. That's the same thing we feed our 4 year old Boxer boy, except that he gets less of it. They all eat 3X a day and everybody's weight is easy to manage that way.