Problems with dog food...

[frawri]

Ok more questions… I have been feeding my baby’s California Natural. I give them dry kibble, and tried them on wet food too. But after I started them on that, the next day their poo and pee started to reeked real bad. I took them off the wet food, and it went back to normal. I also tried them on the lamb meal and rice, I tried them on the Chicken and rice. But I got the same reaction out of them. Their poo and pee just smelled real bad. So once I switched them to lamb they are doing great, even their coats are doing much better. (Pippen had a problem with dry skin.) I had this same reaction when I tried them on Missing Link. It is a product that is meant to be good for their skin and coat. Also for their bones too. But they didn’t like it, nor did my cats. I have also tried them on other wet foods, and they react the same. Has any one run across this sort of problem, and found out what it was? Let me know, thanks. Or even if you have a clue as to what it might be. I think they are allergic to protien. Thats all I can think it might be. God bless

[Karen]

You need to stop switching the food around so much! Stay with one - the lamb is one they do well on, it seems - stick with that, they do not need variety, and that may be upsetting their tummies!

[JenBKR]

I agree, don't switch quite so much. Doesn't sound like it's doing well for them to switch so often. They may have allergies to certain kinds...I had Roscoe on the Chicken formula and bought the lamb and rice once, and had a similar problem. My vet said he probably has some allergy to lamb. Maybe yours have allergies to chicken :)

[frawri]

Ok I just re-read what I had posted, and I can see why you might have thought I was changing them around too much. But that wasn’t the case at all. I have always eased my animals into the new food. As for not liking variety, I was told that a dog and cat can’t get enough vitamins out of it’s diet if it eats the same thing all the time. Hence the reason why I was also giving them wet food. I also have heard that you shouldn’t give Chihuahuas any dry kibbles, because it expands too much in their tiny belly’s. But I have always fed them dry kibble, and have had no problem there. There is so much info out there saying you should or you shouldn’t feed them dry or wet or raw diets. I don’t know half the time what is right… LOL Now I have had them on California Natural for the past 7 months. Of those 7 months I had them on the Chicken and Rice for about 3 of those months. Because it did take time to transfer them over to this new food. And because I wanted to make certain it wasn’t anything else they had eaten that was causing the bad smell. Plus it takes time to wean them onto the new food. After I had transferred them fully onto the Lamb and Rice, I noticed a big change. After a couple of months, I tried them on wet food with their dried food. The smell came back with in a few days. So I stopped using it, and it went away. Missing Link is a powder you put on their food. You start out slow with that too, so it wont over whelm them. It has all the vitamins and minerals that a dog or cat needs. But for what ever reason, the cats and dogs didn’t care for it. So I stopped using that too. I think that they either don’t care for too much fiber, or protein. Whatever the case is, I can’t feed them anything that has those kinds of things in them. Or rather those that have an over abundance of that stuff in them. I think I am going to take my Chi’s back in and get some allergy test done on them. Just to see if that is what is the problem. They had a vet take a look at them, I was told they couldn’t see any problems with their kidneys or anything like that. So I would assume it has something to do with them being allergic to it. But then how is it that even my cats didn’t care for the Missing Link. I didn’t have a problem with them eating the chicken and rice diet, so I have left them on that.

[dragondawg]

Find a high quality dog food they like, which keeps them in good health. Feed the dog that brand for the rest of their life, unless some metabolic problem occurs at a later age.


I was told that a dog and cat can’t get enough vitamins out of it’s diet if it eats the same thing all the time.

That's a myth at least for dogs. Unless the manufacturer has gone out of their way to not include Vitamins, 99% of the commercial dog foods are complete. The only thing you will accomplish by switching, adding/substracting wet food is that you will cause transient shifts in the intestinal flora population. This could explain the differences in smell. More important than smell is to avoid diarrhea, and other digestive problems.


I also have heard that you shouldn’t give Chihuahuas any dry kibbles, because it expands too much in their tiny belly’s.

Another myth. A dog's stomach is proportional to its size. Dry food will expand in any stomach. But as long as the dog doesn't gorge itself full, there is no problem. As a matter of course I've always encouraged my dogs not to engage in strenuous rolling type play after eating, in order to avoid stomach inversions. They do well on their dry food.

Depending on age, don't assume dry skin is an allergy. Chihuahuas are prone to Demodex, which can flair up later in life. Also if not done already, have the thyroid hormone levels checked. If that checks out ok, you could try supplementing the diet with a little fish oil.

[MajesticCollies]

If you think your food isn't giving your pet enough nutrients you can also add a suppliment to thier food such as Nupro Gold Suppliment or Solid Gold Seameal. (I use the Seameal). This will ensure thier vitamins and trace minerals they need daily. It also has everything they need for proper digestion.

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/catalogue/catDog.pdf pg15

http://www.petvetdirect.com/home.asp?display=full&cid=0&itemid=NUPRGD005&itemname=Nupro+Supplement+%2D+5+lbs%2E