Help Needed! Dog Food Dilemma

[Einstein the Great]

I feel like we've been through a lot of different kinds of dog food lately. Long story...Einstein was originally on Canidae which he did fine on until he started throwing up so we switched to Taste of the Wild. He did well on that, but then it got recalled so we decided to switch. We switched to Earthborne Hollistic which he did pretty well on. He seemed to be a little more pink than usual, so I decided to try Fromm (Beef Frittata) because I had heard such good things about it and he loved it! Well our pet store was out of Fromm so my husband got Earthborne (meadows feast) again and mixed with the last of the Fromm and Einstein wouldn't even touch it. If he did eventually eat it he would throw up shortly after. So my husband took that back and got a different flavor, coastal catch. So we mixed that with his Fromm and he still wouldn't eat it. So we ordered more Fromm and he's been on just Fromm but last week he threw up 3 times, and this week he's barely eating it. Is he just being picky? Do you think it's the food that's making him sick? We've been giving his some pumpkin to try to settle his stomach. I can't think of anything else that has changed. Not sure what to do or if we do decide to change again I have no clue what kind to try. Also this is over a span of about 3 years. He's been on Fromm/Earthborne for at least a year.

P.S. my mother in law suggested Iam's because the commercial has a bulldog on it....hahahahaha!!!

 

[anatess]

I feel like we've been through a lot of different kinds of dog food lately. Long story...Einstein was originally on Canidae which he did fine on until he started throwing up so we switched to Taste of the Wild. He did well on that, but then it got recalled so we decided to switch. We switched to Earthborne Hollistic which he did pretty well on. He seemed to be a little more pink than usual, so I decided to try Fromm (Beef Frittata) because I had heard such good things about it and he loved it! Well our pet store was out of Fromm so my husband got Earthborne (meadows feast) again and mixed with the last of the Fromm and Einstein wouldn't even touch it. If he did eventually eat it he would throw up shortly after. So my husband took that back and got a different flavor, coastal catch. So we mixed that with his Fromm and he still wouldn't eat it. So we ordered more Fromm and he's been on just Fromm but last week he threw up 3 times, and this week he's barely eating it. Is he just being picky? Do you think it's the food that's making him sick? We've been giving his some pumpkin to try to settle his stomach. I can't think of anything else that has changed. Not sure what to do or if we do decide to change again I have no clue what kind to try. Also this is over a span of about 3 years. He's been on Fromm/Earthborne for at least a year.

P.S. my mother in law suggested Iam's because the commercial has a bulldog on it....hahahahaha!!!

A food switch a lot of times unsettles a bulldog's stomach. That's why I always recommend a 3-4 week process to switch over to new food (even food he's had before).

In my opinion, I don't think your bulldog is just being picky. I think the food switch unsettled his stomach and he's still trying to recover. I suggest to stick with the food that works and prepare extra food in advance. The way I do things, I always have an extra bag of dog food (well, I have more than one extra bag because it's also part of my emergency preparedness system, like if a hurricane hits and the stores are closed for weeks). So, I buy new dog food when I'm about to use the extra bag. This works well if you use Petflow (somewhere on this site is a code for free shipping) because you can order your new food once you open the last bag of dog food so you'll have a good cushion of when your new bag gets to you in the mail and when the old bag is used up.

In the meantime, I suggest to give your dog a 24-hour no food, not even treats, fasting period to settle his stomach. Then slowly introduce his food again starting with half his normal serving for the first day then working your way up to his full meal the succeeding 2 days. If this doesn't work, you might have to go to a bland diet to get your bulldog's tummy to settle down. There are several "homemade recipes" for a bland diet on this site somewhere.

Hope this helps.

 

[Davidh]

Finding the right food can be a pain. We went through this with our Beagle, she would do great on a food for awhile then start throwing up. We would switch and the same thing would happen. We went through all kinds of food, trying to stay with all the top rated brands and finally through trial and error the only food she can eat without throwing up and she has been on it for about 8 years now is Purina One. I know it's not the best but it's the only one she will not get sick on. I'm not saying try that one with your bully, because it's not that good, but hey it works for her.

Buddy on the other hand is a very picky eater, and it's hard finding one he will eat all the time. he does kind of like FROMM Game Bird, but we still have to either put a little Feta Cheese in it or a little Bil-Jac. Bil-Jac's not that great but a little won't hurt. So good luck ftying to find the right one that agrees with him. You might looks at some of the ingredients in the ones that make him sick and try to start ruling certain ingredients out.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

OYYYYYYYYYY!!! I wonder if he could have a chicken or fowl issue. But that wouldn't explain his tummy with Fromm Beef. Honestly..sometimes I just believe there is JUST good enough. I would do the bland diet for a week and slowly reintroduce the food he did the best on. I would stay away from any chicken/fowl...Jake can't have salmon either so I stay away from fish altogether. It limits us greatly but he does ok. I am sure he is a little pink sometimes and itchy sometimes..but he eats his food and keeps it down. I started on Fromm Surf n Turf..chicken..a NO NO. Then went to Beef Fritatta..did just ok..so I tried NVI limited ingredient Salmon.. worst reaction ever! Back to fromm beef to stabilize him. Then tried Earthborne Great Plains..Bison..and that is where he is now. I think he could do better but I am afraid to mess with him. I have decided I will probably try what every one of his littermates are on. They all do very well on it. It is NOT a highly rated food..but I think..if it works..don't mess with it. They are on Natural Balance..the limited ingredients..and do just fine. sighhhhhh.. Good Luck to you and Einstein..

 

[Sherry]

Picky eaters usually like wet food added to the kibble, you can fool some with just warm water.
I make homemade beef/rice/veg mix and add to the kibble. I'm feeding Nutrisca for the last 3 or 4 months, it's grain and potato free. I order from Pet Flow

 

[Einstein the Great]

Thank you everyone. I took everyone's advice and did the bland diet and then started to add the Fromm back in. He still is acting kind of picky about eating his Fromm but he hasn't gotten sick since! And he started his doggie classes this week! Hope we don't flunk

 

[Einstein the Great]

Has anybody tried Nature's Logic?

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Has anybody tried Nature's Logic?

Why are you switching? Too many changes is not good for him. Is he still having trouble?

 

[Einstein the Great]

Well he's on Fromm right now. We did the bland diet for a week but he started getting sick after being back on his regular diet after about another week. My husband is convinced its the food although I'm not really sure about that. He also won't hardly touch the Fromm. Eventually he'll eat some but nothing like he used to.