Still Having Problems with Vegas

[KMARINO]

As you all know a month ago we started Vegas on a better diet. He was on Iams Probiotics and was red, itchy and SMELLY. We switched him gradually over to a grain free Nature's Variety Salmon and in 3 weeks made great progress. At the store the sales-guy told me as long as I stuck with the same brand "Instinct" we could switch flavors, so this week I bought him Chicken. I have noticed a little redness coming back and his stools are looser and his movements are HUGE piles. He has no odor still . and he is not itching. My question is...Is it true you can switch flavors? As you all know the food is not cheap. I have a lot of the Chicken left. What about changing to another grain free brand to try again, would that bother him? Would I have to do a gradual change since it is grain free? His treats remain the same fruits, veggies, and some yogert twice a day. Is all this fresh treats making him poop more and looser stools? It use to be two little tootsie rolls on the Iams. Now it is a HUGE mushy pile about 3 times a day. Sorry for all the questions and Thank you for the advice in advance

 

[gatorfan85]

I ran into the same issue with Mr.Beefy but with lamb. It could be that he has a sensitivity to the chicken. I hate to say that but it could be VERY likely. How many stools and what consistency were they before the chicken? I have found with Mr.Beefy(not true for all bullies) that he ilamb sensitive and if I only give him 1/4 cup of veggie he is ok. Now i do give him more brocolli but thats because the fiber is good for his stool(firmer stool).

 

[cali~jenn]

If you do decide to change to grain free, I am assuming what you feed now isnt grain free right? Then I would do a transition but probably not a huge one if it is the same brand. To me a big one lasts forever cuz I am paranoid so a week or less for a quick one would be fine I would think but there are many around here who know more than me.

 

[KMARINO]

I ran into the same issue with Mr.Beefy but with lamb. It could be that he has a sensitivity to the chicken. I hate to say that but it could be VERY likely. How many stools and what consistency were they before the chicken? I have found with Mr.Beefy(not true for all bullies) that he ilamb sensitive and if I only give him 1/4 cup of veggie he is ok. Now i do give him more brocolli but thats because the fiber is good for his stool(firmer stool).

His stools changed when I started him on his new diet, like I said on Iams it was tootsie roll type twice a day, with the Nauture's variety it moved to 3 big piles mushy type a day. I thought it was just the diet change so I didn't worry to much about it. But now it is 3 HUGE piles 3 times a day. I have to take both hands in the poop bag to scoop it up. Maybe I am giving him to much? and how much fruits and veggies are right? I give him half of a peeled chopped up apple a day, some baby carrots and yogert twice a day for snacks. As far as the food he gets a cup in the morning a cup when I get off work 4:30ish then a cup about 7 then a snack before bed. Do you think this is too much? Maybe that is why the bigger looser piles??

 

[bullmama]

I am having a problem as well with the rabbit formula on two of my bullies. Not itchy, but they (Jesse and tidus) got tear stains when I gave them solely to rabbit formula and jesse's eyes started to swell. Now molly, mandy and yuna are loving it. So now I am switching tidus and jesse to natures logic duck and salmon formula and they look better in just two days, even tho they are still getting half of the rabbit formula too.

Interchangeable means more of this: you can get 2-3 diff dry formulas, some canned, some raw, and give them a different meal each time. The idea is that sticking with one protein can cause allergies to a specific protein. Vegas may have a problem with chicken, but if he is not having chicken at every meal, the allergy reaction would be less since it is not his main source of protein everyday. Does this make sense?

 

[laurentourville]

I have found that Horse does best on the Nature's Logic Lamb. We tried the beef, chicked and the duck and salmon. The chicken and beef he did poorly on, itchy, red, loose and frequent stools. The duck and salmon was better, but lots of gas! I also feel like when I give him fruit and veggies every day, he poops more. So, we do about 1.5C of food twice a day, salmon oil once a day, a spoon of yogurt or cottage cheese every other day, and occasional fruit and veggies as a special snack. Also, you should be able to return the unused portion of the food to the store for a full refund!

 

[KMARINO]

I don't have the receipt I bought it last Friday, wonder if they will still take it back and exchange it for the Salmon he was doing a little better on. From the sounds of what I have been reading I am overfeeding him. He gets a total of about 3 1/2 cups a day, 2 Tablespoons of yogurt morning and eve. and baby carrots or half a small apple a day. Maybe this explains the large amounts of poop. Does this sound like to much to you? He is almost 16 months old, weighs 63 lbs. and pretty active in the house and outside walks, but I don't think he is a bit fat and neither does our vet.

 

[gatorfan85]

His stools changed when I started him on his new diet, like I said on Iams it was tootsie roll type twice a day, with the Nauture's variety it moved to 3 big piles mushy type a day. I thought it was just the diet change so I didn't worry to much about it. But now it is 3 HUGE piles 3 times a day. I have to take both hands in the poop bag to scoop it up. Maybe I am giving him to much? and how much fruits and veggies are right? I give him half of a peeled chopped up apple a day, some baby carrots and yogert twice a day for snacks. As far as the food he gets a cup in the morning a cup when I get off work 4:30ish then a cup about 7 then a snack before bed. Do you think this is too much? Maybe that is why the bigger looser piles??

A few questions..Is it grain free? I know iams is not so if it is maybe he does need the grain(some dogs do) Also what formula of iams was he on? were they different main ingrediants?The main ingrediant is usually the meat product or meat meal they use. If he is average weight between 40-70 2 cups should be ok. Just give one in the morning and one at night./ with the treats were you doing apples before? WIth the yogurt 1 teaspoon or if you freeze it one icecube a day should be good. I'd only give him 1/4 cup of the veggies since in the wild dogs are more carnivorous and eat mainly meat only getting grain and berries and vegitation from the animals they consume. For veggies i'd put some brocolli in it for fiber: You may want to try a bland diet until you can do some compare and contrast to see what food will work for him thats what i'm doing with Beefy now and his poopy is getting firming and now we only have two poops I'm not doing any veggies right now and just cottage cheese for snack. All foods don't work for all dogs. You have to find the one that works for him( no dogs are the same) ..it may not be natures variety or you may just need a different formula than the chicken. HOPE THIS HELPS!! If you have Fb add me if u want st8eclipse@yahoo.com

 

[cali~jenn]

Yes I would only do 1 tbsp of yogurt a day and as far as fruits go my boys eat handouts throughout the day as snacks but never measured out to be so much I am sure. Too much of anything isnt a good thing and fruits can cause loose stools if you give too much. Before you switch the foods maybe try less on the fruits and yogurts and see if you can tell a diff in the poop?

 

[KMARINO]

Yes I would only do 1 tbsp of yogurt a day and as far as fruits go my boys eat handouts throughout the day as snacks but never measured out to be so much I am sure. Too much of anything isnt a good thing and fruits can cause loose stools if you give too much. Before you switch the foods maybe try less on the fruits and yogurts and see if you can tell a diff in the poop?

@ cali~jenn, Thank You, that is what I am thinking, I am going back to the Salmon grain/gluten free Nature's Variety instead of the chicken, I think he did better, and yes, I am guilty of loading him up on lots of fruit and veggies right now, half an apple peeled and diced, lots of baby carrots and to much yogurt, as I am reading. Along with to much food, I am a sucker when I give him his food and he inhales it and wants more I always give him like a half cut, well all that is adding up to huge loose piles of minimum 3 times a day now.

 

[bullmama]

I was just thinking of that, but Cali~jenn beat me to it. First, try just 2 cups a day, and omit any other snacks. (I know that's hard!). But this will tell you if it the food. If the poo firms up in a day or two, then slowly start adding in snacks one type at a time. No need to switch just yet if you are unsure that it is the food.

 

[KMARINO]

I was just thinking of that, but Cali~jenn beat me to it. First, try just 2 cups a day, and omit any other snacks. (I know that's hard!). But this will tell you if it the food. If the poo firms up in a day or two, then slowly start adding in snacks one type at a time. No need to switch just yet if you are unsure that it is the food.

@desertskybulldogs, Really do you think 2 cups of food a day for a fairly active 15 1/2 month old, weighing 63? I have a phobia he will be starving. I am the BIGGEST sucker to give him more. And no treats at all? Oh my, I am going to have a hard weekend!! BUT I will do my personal best to follow through. My program is obviously not working, looser stools, more often. Thank You all for your advice!!

 

[cali~jenn]

Does he by chance like ice? My boys think ice is a snack so you could give him a pile of crushed ice maybe here and there and he wont know he is hungry maybe. Just a thought. Yes I think 2 cups a day would be good for him also. Too many carrots also can give a loose stool. I give my boys a handful of baby carrots a day and that works out for them just fine but when my friend comes and stays with them when we leave out of town, he gets loose stools cuz she gives more carrots than we normally do. If nothing else and he doesnt like ice then maybe the 2 cups and just a little bit of carrots throughout the day. (cooked will absorb into his body rather than pass thru also) If you cut it back at least that much then you will be able to see a diff I am sure and then will be able to figure out what you need to do from there.

 

[laurentourville]

I would def try to return the food for the salmon too, eventhough you don't have the receipt. It's always worth a try, if the store won't do it, contact the food company. You'd be amazed and what stores and companies will do to keep their customers!

 

[Ann Farley Hamilton]

I think 3 cups and all those treats are too many. Mack is 4 now he eats Nature's Variety Instinct grain-free which is what I think you are feeding Vegas. He only gets 1/2 cup in the AM with canned the same food and 1/2 cup PM with canned and that is plenty of food. He weighs 62 lbs and the vet says he's at a perfect weight and his coat everything else is great. What the store meant is if you stay in that food the instinct grain-free you can switch between rabbit, duck & turkey and the salmon which in the instinct brand they have dry, canned, raw and they make treats in all the same. I feed Mack that why so he doesn't get bored or develop allergies to anything, I started feeding this food just for that reason and no potato. He started getting tear stains on the Calif. Natural lamb and Rice I think from the chicken and being on it to long. I know where I buy my food you can return it for any reason with or without the slip there POS keeps track for them, plus the Co. itself on the bag says they'll take it back. He if eats to fast and you feel bad because you think he's still hungry slow him down by putting 1/2 in the bowl then wait 15 mins and put the other in that should help. You start by getting rid of the 3rd feeding little by little, first day take away 1/4 and then lose another 1/4 in 2 or 3 days till it's gone. I have done that with rescues I have had or fostered because some came eating 2 cups AM and 2 cups PM which was way to much for an 8 year old bully that wasn't very active. When we were finished he was on 3/4 cup AM and PM with 1/4 cup canned and he was fine and a lot healthier.