bullyface

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Hodor is almost done with his current bag of food and I'm wondering what we should do next. Here's the story, I'll try to keep it brief:

We picked up Hodor from the breeder mid January when he was 11 weeks old. Breeder had him on Iams puppy food so we kept him on this when we brought him home. He did surprisingly well on it - coat was good, no tear stains, good stool, etc.

A day or two after bringing him home, Hodor broke out in hives. We still have no idea what caused it, but I think it had something to do with the stress of the move. The hives never returned, but our vet recommended putting him on Eukaneuba puppy formula, and not knowing anything about dog food, we did.

Hodor also did great on the Eukaneuba food, but the breeder had told us that we should switch him to adult food between 3.5 - 4 months of age. She said that puppy food has a high protein content to promote growth and we should switch him to adult food with less protein to avoid bone/joint problems while he grows. Having finally done some research, we switched him to Fromm Salmon a la Veg.

Hodor did ok on Fromm Salmon & Veg. His coat was noticeably better, stool was still good, but his tear production increased a lot and his eyes were a little red - not to mention he didn't really love eating it. Every morning I would wake up to gunky crud in his folds which was not there before Fromm. His tear stains had gotten progressively worse since we brought him home (he had no stains whatsoever at breeder's the two times we visited), but Fromm Salmon seemed to make them much worse.

We then switched Hodor to Fromm Pork & Applesauce, which is what he's currently finishing up. He's been on it for about 3 weeks now. Tear stains have gotten a bit better, coat is still great, but his stool is not good. It's light brown and very soft.

He's about done with the Pork & Applesauce and I'm wondering what to do next. I'm not sure if he's having digestive problems because we've changed his food so many times or because something in the Pork & Applesauce doesn't agree with him. My wife and I are hesitant to put him on grain free food right now because the grain free food has a high protein content - around the same as his puppy food which the breeder recommended we switch him off of. We also don't want to create a grain intolerance if he doesn't even have grain allergies.

Any suggestions? We're thinking of trying Fromm Duck formula next as it's one of the few non-grain-free foods in the Fromm line we haven't tried. I'm also wondering if it's worth keeping him on Pork & Applesauce a bit longer to let him adjust...or maybe we should try a different brand...

Probably worth noting that we give him some greek yogurt with breakfast and dinner and he's also on NuVet (started both of these after we put him on Pork & Apples).

Sorry, that wasn't brief!
 

Miss Lola

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I would give the Fromm Pork & Applesauce some more time. That seems like a lot of food changes in a short time period and could be the cause of the soft stool. We have also struggled with food due to Allergies with one HUU with the other and our breeder also dose not recommend puppy food because of the high protein and their growth. I have done so much research on food for them and even tried home cooking to meet all of their needs. We just settled them on the Pork & Applesauce. Good luck with your pup.
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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I would give the Fromm Pork & Applesauce some more time. That seems like a lot of food changes in a short time period and could be the cause of the soft stool.

Thanks for the advice!

It was a lot of food changes in a short period of time, but I keep reading that you don't have to transition between different recipes in Fromm's four star line, which to me indicates that the stool issue is actually due to the Pork & Applesauce recipe and not the food changes.

If the four star recipes are interchangeable, then we've switched Hodor from Iams -> Euk -> Fromm rather than Iams -> Euk -> Fromm Salmon -> Fromm Pork.

I really have no idea though, just basing this off of what I've heard / read.
 

Miss Lola

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Maybe too much of the yogurt if your giving it at both breakfast and dinner. I think most people add a tbsp to just one meal a day.
 

2BullyMama

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grain free is fine for puppy but at this young of an age i would keep him on Fromm Puppy gold till about 8 months the switch to adult. Since you already have him on the adult -- stay with it and lessen the yogurt to once a day.

also, keep in mind that the tear stains can be from teething as well... my guy is almost 5 months now and I am trying to ignore the tears stains till his teething is done, then I'll deal with them --
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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Yea, we have cut back on the yogurt the past day or two. He still seems to be having digestion issues. I'll give it a bit more time, but the issues began after his first or second meal on pork and applesauce and have not gotten better at all over the past 3 or 4 weeks. He only has a day or two of food left in the bag. I'm leaning towards trying another fromm recipe rather than getting another bag of pork and applesauce, but I'm still undecided.

My biggest concern right now is the food not agreeing with him. Clearing up the tear stains would be nice, but i know they can be caused by teething and other things that aren't food related. I just do my best keeping his folds dry and also try to ignore them for the time being.
 

2BullyMama

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Yea, we have cut back on the yogurt the past day or two. He still seems to be having digestion issues. I'll give it a bit more time, but the issues began after his first or second meal on pork and applesauce and have not gotten better at all over the past 3 or 4 weeks. He only has a day or two of food left in the bag. I'm leaning towards trying another fromm recipe rather than getting another bag of pork and applesauce, but I'm still undecided.

My biggest concern right now is the food not agreeing with him. Clearing up the tear stains would be nice, but i know they can be caused by teething and other things that aren't food related. I just do my best keeping his folds dry and also try to ignore them for the time being.

OK - if you think it is the Pork/Applesauce -- why not try the Fromm Puppy Gold (Pink bag). Lambeau is on it and doing very well
 

bullmama

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Yea, we have cut back on the yogurt the past day or two. He still seems to be having digestion issues. I'll give it a bit more time, but the issues began after his first or second meal on pork and applesauce and have not gotten better at all over the past 3 or 4 weeks. He only has a day or two of food left in the bag. I'm leaning towards trying another fromm recipe rather than getting another bag of pork and applesauce, but I'm still undecided.

My biggest concern right now is the food not agreeing with him. Clearing up the tear stains would be nice, but i know they can be caused by teething and other things that aren't food related. I just do my best keeping his folds dry and also try to ignore them for the time being.


Have you tried beef Fritatta? I have tried them all, and this one still gives us the best results. We now feed the beef Fritatta for breakfast and lamb & lentil for dinner and this combo seems to be great, and I like that they are getting several protein sources. I homecook too using beef & lentils with some veggies with great success, so I'm happy with this kibble combo especially since I haven't been able to do much home cooking for a while.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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Thanks for the advice!

Well, we are still trying to follow the breeder's recommendations if possible. She had suggested putting him on adult food by 4 months of age because adult food has a lower protein content - this makes me hesitant to put him back on puppy food or grain free food like beef frittata because of the higher protein content in both of those.

I feel like it would probably be fine switching back to puppy or trying a grain free recipe. Might be worth an email or call to the breeder for peace of mind.

Should I not be as concerned as I am about the amount of protein in his food? The breeder really drove this point home and I don't know enough to tell whether or not she was just being overly cautious.
 
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I went through several Fromm's products before I got Ace on Fromm's Lamb and Lentil. His tears have reduced and his shedding has reduced drastically! Beef frittata gave him more tear stains. I have yet to try the salmon. The only thing right now is seems that he is getting bored with his food, but I need more time to decide that. You might want to try Lamb and Lentil, it is limited ingredient :)
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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So, it has been about 2 weeks and Hodor hasn't gotten any better.

We consulted the vet and 3 days ago we started Hodor on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice. Things have improved, but still aren't great. Vet also did a fecal screen which came back negative for parasites.

Hodor is almost 5 months old and I imagine he's missing out on some key nutrients by eating a bland diet. How long can we leave him on this diet? What's the next course of action if things don't improve and it's no longer healthy for him to be on a bland diet?
 

nycbullymama

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To see the results of any food, you should keep him on it for a full 30 days. Anything less is misleading.
Also, changing too often will definitely lead to everything you're describing.

He's young and healthy, so why is the breeder so adamant about a lower protein food?
For a bulldog puppy, I'd be more worried about the amount of calories/fat they're getting. You don't want them growing too fast as this can
lead to joint issues, which contribute to the all too common hip and knee problems with this breed.
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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To see the results of any food, you should keep him on it for a full 30 days. Anything less is misleading.
Also, changing too often will definitely lead to everything you're describing.

We've mostly switched him to different recipes within the Fromm 4 Star line. I know some people feed their dogs a different Fromm recipe at each meal, so I'm confused as to why switching every 3-4 weeks would lead to digestion issues. Is this just because he's a puppy? Also, are you saying that we should leave him on boiled chicken and rice for 30 days? Is it safe to feed a puppy an unbalanced diet like that for a month?

He's young and healthy, so why is the breeder so adamant about a lower protein food?
For a bulldog puppy, I'd be more worried about the amount of calories/fat they're getting. You don't want them growing too fast as this can
lead to joint issues, which contribute to the all too common hip and knee problems with this breed.

From what I've read/heard from the breeder, high protein in puppy food is to support the puppy's rapid growth. High protein puppy food might allow the puppy to grow too quickly.
 

nycbullymama

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We've mostly switched him to different recipes within the Fromm 4 Star line. I know some people feed their dogs a different Fromm recipe at each meal, so I'm confused as to why switching every 3-4 weeks would lead to digestion issues. Is this just because he's a puppy? Also, are you saying that we should leave him on boiled chicken and rice for 30 days? Is it safe to feed a puppy an unbalanced diet like that for a month?



From what I've read/heard from the breeder, high protein in puppy food is to support the puppy's rapid growth. High protein puppy food might allow the puppy to grow too quickly.

I'm saying, "I" think when switching- it's best to keep them on the same food. After the switch is complete, you can play around with different kibble from that line. But they all have different protein sources, so one may agree, another may not. It's impossible to tell what works though when you're switching that often.

No, I'm not saying keep him on boiled chicken.

From what I understand, it's more about overfeeding (too many calories) that leads to rapid growth, not so much the protein content. Because of that, I went with Fromms large breed puppy formula but switched to the all stage line when Blue was 6 months.
But hey, we can agree to disagree.
 
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bullyface

bullyface

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I'm saying, "I" think when switching- it's best to keep them on the same food. After the switch is complete, you can play around with different kibble from that line. But they all have different protein sources, so one may agree, another may not. It's impossible to tell what works though when you're switching that often.

No, I'm not saying keep him on boiled chicken.

From what I understand, it's more about overfeeding (too many calories) that leads to rapid growth, not so much the protein content. Because of that, I went with Fromms large breed puppy formula but switched to the all stage line when Blue was 6 months.
But hey, we can agree to disagree.

Thanks for the advice and clarification!

I don't necessarily disagree - problem is I don't really know anything! I'm sure everyone goes through this with their first puppy, but it's difficult figuring out what to do with so many different opinions.

Also, a lot of recommendations are based on personal experience. For example, a breeder decides to start switching his puppies over to adult food at 4 months and notices they are less prone to bone/joint problems. Who knows what else has changed - maybe he also reduced calories, maybe those puppies came from a healthier line, maybe he started giving the puppies vitamins where he previously didn't, etc.
 

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