Food advice please!!!!

[Casper]

Jagger has had supper and breakfast on the bland diet. The chicken treats I bought are all natural made in the USA, human food grade treats. He has only had 2. And so far so good. I haven't had to take him out a lot for poop breaks. ( he actually hasn't pooped at all yet which is amazing) Also, he seems to be a lot more energized, last night he literally ran circles round my friends police car in the driveway. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen and the most energetic I have ever seen him

This speaks Volumes Jennye..... This is a tell Tale sign he feels better, and shows his potential to be much better. A Happy pet will always show you how happy they are, body motions, running and playing, barking or being their usual selves, Just like an infant, they can't speak, but communicate through actions and body movements, and sometimes verbal barks, growls, and even whines. Food energizing his body is a great thing!!, He's getting nutritional values from it, something his body has been starving for. Something he's able to hold in, and onto to get something out of. Although it's a start, theres still a ways to go, But you've got so much great advise here in this thread, and the queens of nutrition working on this with you, I'm so happy your seeing the improvement, and the 100% pumpkin is guaranteed to help, so i'm standing with you looking for the next stepping stone to progress, in getting your baby recovered, along with everyone else... Awesome !!

 

[JennyeStear]

Jagger is still doing well!!!! He has only gone to bathroom once today. Which is completely opposite of before the bland diet. At lunch I gave him a little snack of rice, pumpkin and cottage cheese. He seemed very satisfied. Because he was malnourished I had been feeding him 3 times a day. So, instead of another chicken and rice serving I decided to give him more of a snack. He is liking the new menu and is full of energy and attitude. This is what he does when I tell him to get out of the grass and I end up having to carry him in the house. He and my daughter love napping on his dog bed.

 

[JeannieCO]

I've been following poor Jagger and wanted to say that I'm glad to see he's doing a better. When I got Sally she wouldn't eat at all. Had to do the bland diet with her too and then I supplemented her with a high calorie supplement for the first 3 weeks. She took a vege Scooby snack that first weekend so I let her have as many as she wanted, I just wanted her to eat something then. You've gone through a lot with him.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I'm glad he is doing better. Remember...changing from chicken to boiled hamburger won't be hard on him...as long as its the bland diet. I would also cut back on some of the extras..like cottage cheese..applesauce. Remember..with digestive problems...less is more! After he gets back on track..you can reintroduce one thing at a time..and the whole chicken treat thing.. If its jerky..don't give it to him. Even Made in US...doesn't mean the processed chicken didn't come from China. This is what has been happening with the jerkey treats. I would cut out the treats altogether until you see him back on track. I know..I'm mean..but adding is always easier than taking away..

 

[JennyeStear]

Right now Jagger is doing well. His is still soft , but this is only the second time in one day Which is a great improvement. And it's a smaller amount of
So, I will cut out the extras and just give him some rice in the middle of the day.

He is obviously feeling better. His belly is less bloated. I am hoping this keeps working.... I may switch to the hamburger and see if it improves more. I have a feeling that it may be grains and possibly the chicken.

The snacks are not jerky.... I only use the snacks to hide his medicine in. If I don't he will just spit the pills out and give me dirty looks

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Right now Jagger is doing well. His is still soft , but this is only the second time in one day Which is a great improvement. And it's a smaller amount of
So, I will cut out the extras and just give him some rice in the middle of the day.

He is obviously feeling better. His belly is less bloated. I am hoping this keeps working.... I may switch to the hamburger and see if it improves more. I have a feeling that it may be grains and possibly the chicken.

The snacks are not jerky.... I only use the snacks to hide his medicine in. If I don't he will just spit the pills out and give me dirty looks

I'm a nag...I know! And boy do I know about the Dirty Looks!

 

[Becky Zerkel Heft]

My bully is a diaper dog (spina bifida) needless to say, diarrhea is a major problem. Here are some things I've learned. If you are dealing with food allergies try a limited ingredient food. Great Life carries several such as Dr. E's limited ingredient potato free buffalo or duck. It is an all stages food rated with 4 stars by the dog food advisor. One line of thought with food allergies is to feed a food that has never been previously introduced lessening the likelihood of reaction. Good luck and I hope things continue to improve.

 

[JennyeStear]

Last night went great!!!! :D Only one night time pee break and no all night. This is a big deal, he used to go at least 2 times a night. And this morning was the most solid he has ever had since he has been at my house!!! I know this is very odd to be excited about but it a big deal for us..... lol My plan is to keep with the chicken another day or two and for the next week do the hamburger and see if it has a greater impact. That way I can have a better idea of what food to get. I am sure of a no grain food now just trying to decided if we should avoid chicken. But I feel since the diarrhea is gone and he is feeling so much better that chicken may not be a real issue at this point. I never realized how bloated his stomach was until I started the bland diet and now he looks quite trim and does not have that bullfrog belly.

My journey of getting him the proper food is not near over yet but I do feel a little more at ease and that I am getting closer.
Thank you everyone who has given me advice.
Now I just need to decide on a food, which I feel is the biggest challenge.
One, we have PetSmart and Walmart as my only local dog food sources without ordering online
Two, I'm not 100% for sure what exactly I need to be looking for
Three, will Jagger even eat the new food ( He is kind of spoiled and gets his own way )

 

[JennyeStear]

I have one more week planned on the bland food diet.... I'm going to start introducing a new kibble.... My choices of food that are grain free that I can get locally at some of the natural and holistic stores are:

Wellness Core - 6 rating
Blue Wilderness - 6 rating
Nutro Ultra Holistic - 4 rating
Innova - 4 rating

Any suggestion on which would be the best to give Jagger for the fist time??

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Let's see if Sandra can help with specifics. [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION]

 

[JennyeStear]

It's safe to say, Jagger is not allergic to chicken. He is doing very well. Now, I am on the kibble hunt. I def. going grain free. We are going to have an outing tonight to a couple of stores to compare foods. I'm not going to start introducing the kibble until next Friday.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I'm not positive..but I think I remember that your Bully can often eat cooked or raw chicken, and STILL be allergic to chicken in kibble...I know..it's true for raw..just not 100% positive the chicken in bland diet is included.
[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION].. [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION]

 

[JennyeStear]

I'm not positive..but I think I remember that your Bully can often eat cooked or raw chicken, and STILL be allergic to chicken in kibble...I know..it's true for raw..just not 100% positive the chicken in bland diet is included.
[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION].. [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION]

Thank you for that... Yet another thing I am concerned about going into buying his new kibble. One of my concerns was the lamb in the lamb and rice, he had such horrible diarrhea when he ate it. I may just avoid chicken and grain. I've notices in the level 6 and 5 rated foods there are many options for no grain and no chicken foods

 

[cowsmom]

ok so i pick a food out and then i scroll down further and see you are going chicken free also. grrrr. i was going to say perhaps wellness core puppy but it has chicken in it. also didnt you feed bb before and he had diarrhea. which one? forgive me if you already have told me. im also confused are you going with all stages food or puppy food now? perhaps some fish food. castor and Pollux makes a grain free and poultry free food that is not bad and is sold at petsmart. wellness core makes a fish version of their food which is good to. im sorry im just so short of time lately.

 

[JennyeStear]

ok so i pick a food out and then i scroll down further and see you are going chicken free also. grrrr. i was going to say perhaps wellness core puppy but it has chicken in it. also didnt you feed bb before and he had diarrhea. which one? forgive me if you already have told me. im also confused are you going with all stages food or puppy food now? perhaps some fish food. castor and Pollux makes a grain free and poultry free food that is not bad and is sold at petsmart. wellness core makes a fish version of their food which is good to. im sorry im just so short of time lately.

I'm good the last two days I have been food shopping for Jagger. I feel like I have been to 100 different stores. I found Merrick (5 in ratings) that is grain and chicken free and is all stages. I am going use the one that has buffalo in it. This week Jagger will stick to the bland diet and I will start adding kibble Friday. I appreciate all the help and we shall see how adding a little
Kibble at a time goes.