[My_Harleigh]

Here is what we have gone through. Please bare with me....

We got Harleigh almost 7 weeks ago. We initially started her on Royal Canin Baby Dog for Large Breed which is from weaning to 5 months. She was gaining weight rapidly which I thought at the time was good. I didn't know then what I know now.

 

[southerngirls]

It all depends what works on for YOUR boxer. Unfortunatley it is a trial and error thing. I went through Nutor Natutral, Nutro Maxx, Blue Buffalo, Canadie, and a few others before finally trying Chicken Soup. It just so happens that this is what so far has worked best. I hope things work out

 

[g00dgirl]

Its okay
It seems that you have gone through 3 or 4 foods in just 7 weeks.  That is kind of a lot, and she just might not have had time to adjust to one of them.
Personally I would stick with trying to switch to Canidae or another 4 or 5 star food vs. RC.  The ingredients in Canidae look better anyway.
How much Canidae did you mix in with the RC?  I would start very slow and just add about 10% Canidae to one of her meals, also pick up some plain fat free yogurt and 100% pure pumpkin to help settle her tummy and firm up the poops for now.  If she does okay with that after about a week (more or less) add a little more Canidae and less RC.
Good luck! I hope you find something that agrees with her.

 

[lentylka1]

It is hard to say what is better or isn't.It depends on individual dog.I recently switched to canidae also,but I am using the ALS.It has chicken,turkey,lamb and fish......so it has more variety of protein and it has also better ratting than Canidae lamb and rice.Good luck with your baby.Hope you find the best one for her soon .

 

[OakleysMom]

First of all, welcome to the board!!  

Secondly, I know how upset you must feel, I went through the exact same thing with my little guy.  It is very obvious how much you love your little one and want to do what's best.

Have you had a fecal run on him to make sure there are no issues going on intestinally with him?  If there is, no food is going to solve that.  

If that's all squared away, try giving him a little canned pumpkin. Make sure it's pure pumpkin though, not the pie filling version. That should help firm him up.  You can also use Pepto Bismal and Immodium, but it is very, very important to give the proper doseage, so make sure to run it over with your vet first.

You might also try a little yogurt, about a tablespoon every day.  The live cultures in that will help with his digestive tract.

And finally, the food itself.  I too wanted to feed Canidae. It is absolutely a wonderful food with excellent ingredients, but it is very rich.  My little guy's tummy just couldn't handle it.  I switched to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.  He has done wonderfully on it.  I do agree with everyone when I say unfortunately it might be trial and error because different dogs just do differently on foods.  

I am SO sorry you're going through such a frustrating time. Hang in there, you will find what works.

 

[lentylka1]

Yes, ditto on the yogurt also!

 

[Diesel-and-Kira]

my dogs do NOT do well on lamb foods. gives them terrible gas (no runs though)
They were on canidae all life stages for over a year, and just yesterday we switched to chicken soup. No particular reason for the switch, but they really seem to love it so far.

 

[Donya]

i have heard good things about the purina sensitive stomaches..i believe it was salmon and rice people have written about and the lady at my pet shop also said it worked well for her dog that had a VERY sensitive stomache and didnt do well on any of the other 5 or more star foods. Some people dont like purina and say it is not good but i think if it works for people and their dogs then that is the important thing. I add the yogurt to Mav's food to help with digestion also.

 

[My_Harleigh]

Thank you so much for your replies. I have been giving yogurt. We started that a week ago. So I will continue that.

She has had a fecal and all is well.

I have read about pumpkin too. Will go pick some up. How much do I give her and for how long?

I did give her more than 10% Canidae at first. So I will try a more gradual approach.

I am glad to hear that there are people who have gone through this horrible trial and error phase. It is enough for someone to pull their hair out. I have another question. How long should I wait to realize something isn't right? I have heard people try a food and it not looking like it settled right with their dogs bellies, but they stuck with it anyway and ended up being fine on it. So how long should I give a food a chance? couple weeks? month?

 

[maplesfolks]

sorry about your troubles
if it were me I'd keep her on the RC for a week or 2 till her tummy settles, and then start a gradual switch, maybe the first few days just give a few Canidae kibble as treats, and then start to mix it in.  that's how I've been doing and haven't had any issues so far....
I hope it gets better and you figure out what works for her

 

[g00dgirl]

Just a spoonful of pumpkin

 

[My_Harleigh]

Just a spoonful of pumpkin

Everyday? Until when? Or is it fine to give her a spoonful like I do yogurt? Sorry if I sound like I am clueless....as I really am. :?

 

[My_Harleigh]

Anya, what are you switching from? When did you start switching to Canidae? And what is the reason behind you switching? Was Maple's stool loose too?

 

[AshleysMom]

Hey Ginger..I'm so sorry Harleigh is going through all of this, and your upset and worried about reactions on top of everything. I know I find each persons veiws on here mostly soothing, and what better of a place to come to to help your furbaby!.
I just wanted you to know, Ashley had really..REALLY bad diahrea when she was switched over also to what I feed her now. I HAD to take her to the vet, as he was quite concerned about dehydration. He told me it was probably the food switch ( I felt awfull too, but there was no turning back..only trying to make her better ). He gave her this tube of medication called Diarsanyl, and a shot of a med called Centrine ( helps sooth the digestive tract quickly till the Diarsanyl kicks in ). She was better in 2 days.
I think the important thing to remeber with a pup as young as Harliegh..Diahrea is rather dangerous if it goes on for too long and she isn't taking fluids in to replace what she is expelling ( sorry..kinda gross). Even though the stool sample was fine, the dehydration factor plays a BIG part in this situation. Please don't heitate to call the vet and ask to have them help you get this under control before that sweetheart loses electrolites, and things get worse. ( really..the shot and meds cost less than 40 dollars, including her visit..and was worth every penny to make her all better)
Ashley and I send healing vibes to poor Harleigh..and a hug to you!

 

[maplesfolks]

well when we brought her home she was on Purina selects and we went to Petco (not knowing much about dog food at that point) and told the lady that was helping us that we wanted to feed her something more wholesome and preferably organic so she sold us on Nutro Ultra so taht' what she's been on.  Couple weeks ago I bought a small bag of Canidae and have been mixing it with the Nutro, but the boogies are still there, so I got a small bag of Wellness, and when Canidae runs out I'm going to let her have just Nutro for a week or so and then try to mix in a bit of Wellness, I'm also looking for a food that will make her poop a bit more firm and less of eye boogies would be great.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

We went through a bunch of different foods before a breeder recommended Pro Plan Selects Salmon and Brown Rice or Pro Plan Selects for a Sensitive stomach.  That is the only food that Kiah had normal stool, no eye boogers, and hardly ever any gas.  She has now been on it for 6 months and for a change we are slowly switching over to Taste of the Wild Ocean.  So far so good on that one but we are only up to 1/2 cup now.

 

[My_Harleigh]

Hey Ginger..I'm so sorry Harleigh is going through all of this, and your upset and worried about reactions on top of everything. I know I find each persons veiws on here mostly soothing, and what better of a place to come to to help your furbaby!.
I just wanted you to know, Ashley had really..REALLY bad diahrea when she was switched over also to what I feed her now. I HAD to take her to the vet, as he was quite concerned about dehydration. He told me it was probably the food switch ( I felt awfull too, but there was no turning back..only trying to make her better ). He gave her this tube of medication called Diarsanyl, and a shot of a med called Centrine ( helps sooth the digestive tract quickly till the Diarsanyl kicks in ). She was better in 2 days.
I think the important thing to remeber with a pup as young as Harliegh..Diahrea is rather dangerous if it goes on for too long and she isn't taking fluids in to replace what she is expelling ( sorry..kinda gross). Even though the stool sample was fine, the dehydration factor plays a BIG part in this situation. Please don't heitate to call the vet and ask to have them help you get this under control before that sweetheart loses electrolites, and things get worse. ( really..the shot and meds cost less than 40 dollars, including her visit..and was worth every penny to make her all better)
Ashley and I send healing vibes to poor Harleigh..and a hug to you!

Well as of right now, Harleigh's intake of water hasn't changed for the worse. She has always been a water hog so right now I am not worried, but I def will be keeping an eye on it because dehydration is not anything I want to risk as you mentioned.

I am glad to hear from you that Ashley had bad diahrea at first but it now fine with that same exact food. It's encouraging to hear that it gets better (contingent on the dog of course).

Thank you for the well wishes everyone. I know I am not the only person that has gone through this, but it has me distraught at the moment. Sounds silly, but I get stressed over things like this easily

 

[g00dgirl]

Just give her a spoonful once a day, or a little bit at every meal.  You can do it as long as you feel is necessary to help firm her stools.

 

[My_Harleigh]

[quote="g00dgirl\";p=\"101436":1itmbzln]Just give her a spoonful once a day, or a little bit at every meal.

 

[msdiamonddawg]

I switched my guy from Natural Choice to Canidae ALS.  He loves it and his stool is not soft anymore.

The gradual switch is important.  We started with a small bag to make sure all went well and once we finished the small one, then we moved up.  So far so good.