Food change question

[BrooklynStar]

Hi everyone a quick question about changing dozers food. Over the past month he's been on three different foods; the bland food which is what he was taking when he had pneumonia, then he was on nature's variety instinct, now he's on natural balance limited ingredient diet. He smells really bad and his poo is solid, but he moans a lot during the night and when he squats he moans. I'm not sure if that's food related but I noticed that my food that I have him on now is only rated three stars and I'm just concerned that as a puppy he's not getting the proper nutrition that he should be.

I was wondering if it's possible to change again without causing any problems to his tummy. My parents are fighting me against changing his food again, and I'm trying to tell them that the food they picked isn't rated well on this website. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[cowsmom]

3 food changes in one month is to many for a bully unless the food is having a very negative effect on him. why so many changes? unless the natural balance is really bothering him id leave it alone for a bit. 3 stars or not i think your bully needs a change to breathe with the food changes. now unless this moaning thing continues or something else comes up bad id leave it for a bit. maybe in another month you can try another change or if he gets worse. natural balance is not that bad but there is better for the money. leave him be and do some reasearch so when you change it will be the last food for a bit. good luck :D

 

[BrooklynStar]

Well when he had pneumonia the vet put him on the bland diet and we used that and then he said he recommended nature variety instinct so we bought him that. Then on one of the followup visits I told the vet it was beef and he said that dozer shouldn't be having beef in fear of intestinal issues so we changed it to natural balance and that's where we are at right now.

 

[cowsmom]

id leave it alone for a bit let him settle down. to many changes will upset tummies and such. like i said just do some research so in a month then you can change and make it stick for a while. my dog is on canned food now so its ok. sometimes its a matter of finding the right food for your bully verses feeding a 6 star food. natural balance is fed by a few on here with success. not saying dont change just maybe not right now.

 

[BrooklynStar]

Ok, thank you very much!

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] has got you covered!

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

Looks like [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] gave you the best already...Just wanted to wish you luck with everything and hope it all works out!

 

[Meggs19]

Just wanted to add that we had Tonka on Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Salmon for most of his life so far...he is 8.5 months now and he has been doing well! We knew it wasn't a 5/6 star food but that doesn't always matter...it's still a good food that works for a lot of bullys. Sometimes dogs do better on a 3 star food rather than a 5 or 6! We are just now switching off of it though since Tonka has some bad allergies and we are trying to figure that out. We are switching to Fromm Beef Fritatta veg. I have never heard of beef causing intestinal issues....a lot of dogs do really well on the beef is what I have heard mostly. So far so good for ours!
I think you have been given some great advice and shouldn't switch for a while. It seems like all the switching might be the cause for his upsets. After you see how he does on this food (and has had some time to settle and adjust) it might be worth looking into some other potential options like others have suggested here. I don't know how much weight they carry but I have read about some consumer complaints with Natural Balance lately. Just something to keep an eye on. Tonka has been fine but perhaps some bad batches went out or some owners are attributing their dogs issues to the food without really knowing. Just my two cents...wanted to keep you informed on that! I would still wait a while before switching though....I don't want to tell you that to scare you or anything and have you switch again already because like I said, Tonka and many other bullys are fine on that food. Also, when switching foods I have been told to feed 75% of the old food with 25% of the new for one week, then 50% old and 50% new for another week, followed by 75% new and 25% old for one more week before doing the new one 100%. That way they adjust and don't have their sensitive tummies upset.

 

[BrooklynStar]

Just wanted to add that we had Tonka on Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Salmon for most of his life so far...he is 8.5 months now and he has been doing well! We knew it wasn't a 5/6 star food but that doesn't always matter...it's still a good food that works for a lot of bullys. Sometimes dogs do better on a 3 star food rather than a 5 or 6! We are just now switching off of it though since Tonka has some bad allergies and we are trying to figure that out. We are switching to Fromm Beef Fritatta veg. I have never heard of beef causing intestinal issues....a lot of dogs do really well on the beef is what I have heard mostly. So far so good for ours!
I think you have been given some great advice and shouldn't switch for a while. It seems like all the switching might be the cause for his upsets. After you see how he does on this food (and has had some time to settle and adjust) it might be worth looking into some other potential options like others have suggested here. I don't know how much weight they carry but I have read about some consumer complaints with Natural Balance lately. Just something to keep an eye on. Tonka has been fine but perhaps some bad batches went out or some owners are attributing their dogs issues to the food without really knowing. Just my two cents...wanted to keep you informed on that! I would still wait a while before switching though....I don't want to tell you that to scare you or anything and have you switch again already because like I said, Tonka and many other bullys are fine on that food. Also, when switching foods I have been told to feed 75% of the old food with 25% of the new for one week, then 50% old and 50% new for another week, followed by 75% new and 25% old for one more week before doing the new one 100%. That way they adjust and don't have their sensitive tummies upset.

Thanks for that write up.

Question: At what age did you start Tonka on the Natual Balance food?

 

[Meggs19]

[MENTION=4363]BrooklynStar[/MENTION] We started Tonka on Natural Balance when he was about 3 or 4 months old...and he is now 8.5 months old and he has been doing well on the food. We just need to switch to try to rule out some possible allergies. I hope the transition to the new food is going well for your little guy!