Switching Dog Food

Frostbight8 · July 2012

So, tonight after my Shih-Tzu, Pookie had some.. Let's say bathroom issues, we've decided to switch food. I feel this has nothing to do with her health, as she has been to the vet recently and we were told her health was "remarkable". Upon googling it, it appears other people have had problems as well. According to another website, the high protein is to blame. Currently, she is on Innova's Evo. I'm kind of upset, because besides this, it appears to be a great food. So, I guess we're just looking for suggestions. Blue Buffalo is out of the question, as Pookie just won't eat it, this was the reason we switched to Evo. I want something that is geared towards small or low activity dogs, just because Shih-Tzu's can have weight problems. Also, Wellness is a food my mom wants to look into, what do you guys think of that?

Kylie Sommer · July 2012

I feed all of my dogs wellness and none of them seem to have any issue with the food. It is a pretty high end food and is supposed to be extremely good for the dogs. I actually have a wide mix of dogs between a small Yorkie and a large German Shorthaired Pointer and they all eat Wellness. I would suggest trying Wellness if you are looking for premium dog food:)

Troglin · July 2012

I love Evo, but I'm sorry that it's appearing to cause some bathroom issues. Have you looked at Innova's small breed or senior foods? The plain Innova brand has low-protein food. (Only their Evo line has high 40%+ protein content.) <a href="http://www.innovapet.com/products"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">This</a> is their website if you want to take a look at it. I wouldn't recommend Wellness, at least not Wellness Core. It smells horrible and within a month of my lab mix being on it, she lost about 35% of her body weight (15 lbs). Her rib cage and hips were pronounced, her skin was dry/flaky, and she began eating her poo. I also noticed her muscle tone went down significantly. I was really upset with the food because it's marketed as a decent choice, when it affected both of my dogs in a negative way. I would actually recommend Halo -- <a href="http://shop.halopets.com/Small-Breed/Spots-Stew-Dry-Small-Breed-Turkey-Duck-Pheasant-4Lb"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Spot's Stew Small Breed</a>. The protein is 28% vs the ~43% in Evo. The food smells good and it's made with real meat sources (no meat 'meals'). They've got a chicken version too, if your dog isn't into fowl. On a side note, a while back I heard that high protein diets are proven to not be the cause of medical diseases (aside from weight gain when fed in excess). In the past, high protein was something to take into consideration for small dogs, inactive dogs, senior dogs, or dogs with kidney issues. Apparently a four-year study showed that there were no "adverse effects" from a high protein diet, and instead the problem lies within excess phosphorus. <a href="http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/low-protein-dog-foods/"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">This</a> website briefly explains the study/argument for high vs low protein. I personally think it depends upon the dog, breed, activity level, etc., but it's still an interesting page that I figured I'd share. :P

Kylie Sommer · July 2012

Hmm, it is odd that Wellness didn't work for your dog. My dogs have been on it for a little over a year now and they are perfectly fine. All have a healthy weight, beautiful muscle tone, and smooth skin. I have a friend who uses Wellness as well and everything works fine for her. Ana, which food did you feed your lab from Wellness?

Troglin · July 2012

Yeah, I've heard positive reviews for Wellness/Wellness Core so I was willing to give it a go. My old neighbor had his dog on it and his coat was just so gorgeous and soft. The dog has loads of energy and incredible muscle tone. I just don't recommend it based on personal experiences, but again it's all based on the individual dog. My lab has to be on a high protein, no grain diet. The ingredients in Wellness are alright -- not as good as Evo, but far better than Purina, Iams, Science Diet, or other store trash foods. My gripe with it (aside from personal experience) is that the meat sources are meat meals, not real meat, and it also has a lot of unnecessary starch ingredients (i.e., potatoes). To answer your question though, I'm assuming you're asking which Wellness food I used? If not, I apologize, it's just been a long day, haha. We used the Wellness Core grain-free original formula. Now I shall stop straying off in miss Frost's post. XD

Kylie Sommer · July 2012

Sorry, Frost! We kind of stole your post! But I guess you can fish good information from them! I use the Core family with my dogs. The food I choose varies widely due to my wide range of dogs, but all of my dogs do fine with it. I know it has the 'meals' and the starches, but I find it to work better than most of the brands I have tried, and I like the fact that it does not have by-products and it helps keep my dogs fit and full of energy. In my experiance, it is one of the better foods for my dogs, but Ana is right, all dogs have different reactions to foods, just like humans. From my experiance, I would give Wellness a go before anything else for Pookie and see how he reacts to it. If it keeps him fit and beautiful, I would stick with it, if not, I would recommend Halo like Ana said. You can see the different Wellness foods and more about the brand <a href="http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog-wellness.aspx"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">here.</a> The captions below the food tell you about each of them and depending on Pookies age, weight, and everything else about him, you can choose his food from there.

Emster · July 2012

I user noun edge I have 25pound cav and she lives it her coat is so soft even tho she's 2 1/2 and peopl said her coat would turn ruff but it's still soft and she's active she's just good no problems good coat everything and there's puppy adult senior overweight protein all diff kinds of premium edge u should lok into it and it's pretty cheap to well for here:) good luck on food!

Kazuko · July 2012

I fed my dog Blue Buffalo Wilderness (Salmon) for a bit over a year, but now we plan to switch foods (at least flavors) every bag. It's better for the dog's digestion that way. Now we're feeding her Nature's Variety Instinct (Rabbit). It's a pretty good food, and Kira's fur is really full and shiny now.

Silver_Moon_32 · July 2012

Before switching to Raw my boy was on Wellness. Our experience with that stuff wasn't a good one. His once shiny coat dulled down and he started shedding A LOT. He lost weight, energy, and muscle, AND his bathroom habits changed for the worse. It just wasn't a good food for him, and based on personal experiences I wouldn't recommend it either. After I found bugs and worms in the Wellness dry and canned food I stopped buying it and switched completely to Raw. Kujo's been on an all - raw diet for about a month now and he already looks so much better. His coat and teeth are back to gorgeous and he's gained 10 pounds of muscle.

I understand that feeding Raw just isn't an option for some though, in which case I would recommend Artemis, rated an overall 5-6 star dog food that worked great for my dog for years and was recommended by Kujo's vet. It's not exactly a wallet friendly brand though. xD

Frostbight8 · August 2012

Thanks, guys. I'm actually surprised to hear that about Wellness, as well. When we fostered two Pekeingese, the shelter purposely gave us Wellness Core to feed them. It seemed to do good for them, but hearing what it's done to other dogs, I don't think we'll take a chance. Especially if there were bugs/worms in the food! That's just nasty. Raw isn't an option for my girl, though.. I just really don't see it happening. After looking through the small local pet store, switching to regular Innova is looking like a good choice. Solid Gold also caught my eye.. Any experience with that?

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Switching Dog Food

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