Sorry but...another food related thread

[Goob14]

I currently have Goob on Wellness Core Ocean. He was on Nature's Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Venison for about six months but I took him off of it a little over a month ago. His ears were getting VERY dirty, very quickly. He started scratching at them so much that I thought he was developing a hot spot. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I took a look in his ears. It surprised me because, I had cleaned them THE DAY before and yet they were SUPER dirty! The only thing I could think of was his food.

I put him on a bland diet for a few days and transitioned him over to Wellness Core Ocean so I could see how he reacted to a fish based food. He has been on this food for about a month and he seems to be doing very well. The only thing I am noticing is that his stools aren't as firm as before. He will have a firm stool most of the time but then there are days when it is play dough consistency. He gets fed 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night.

My question is, should I be feeding him LESS of a fish based food? Does it take longer than a month for his stomach to adjust to a food change (yes, it was a quick change bc I wanted him off the Lamb and Venison food ASAP)?

He has no signs of allergies now but to be honest, the only sign of an "allergy" that he had on Instinct was dirty ears and nothing else...no tear stains, no yeasty wrinkles, no itching, no gunky eyes, his paws are nice and "white" colored. BUT his ears are nice and clean now that he has been on Wellness, just a minor issue with his stool at times.

My handsome guy

 

[ddnene]

It's never ending, I know… have you tried other proteins w/him before? Beef and pork seem to work well w/my bullies… I use Fromm's Four Star for Walter and Fromm's Puppy Gold for Willow. I was just curious why you choose the Fish… I have given Wally Lamb and Fish before and I just felt like he was starting to have issues. You can give him pure pumpkin to firm up the stools, sometimes loose stools mean they are getting too much dog food but your amounts sound correct.

Oh I meant to add that a month seems a reasonable amount of time, he should be adjusted by now.

 

[Goob14]

It's never ending, I know… have you tried other proteins w/him before? Beef and pork seem to work well w/my bullies… I use Fromm's Four Star for Walter and Fromm's Puppy Gold for Willow. I was just curious why you choose the Fish… I have given Wally Lamb and Fish before and I just felt like he was starting to have issues. You can give him pure pumpkin to firm up the stools, sometimes loose stools mean they are getting too much dog food but your amounts sound correct.

Oh I meant to add that a month seems a reasonable amount of time, he should be adjusted by now.

I had him on Merrick Buffalo and Sweet Potato and he was doing GREAT on that food. However, when Nestle's Purina took over Merrick, I didn't feel comfortable feeding it to him any longer. I think he might be sensitive to beef and turkey and it was either the lamb or the venison that made his ears a problem.

I chose fish as a protein because he NEVER had it before. I figured that he might do well on it and so far he has...I can't say he is allergic to any protein...it just seems like beef, lamb or venison, and turkey give him yeasty ears but no other symptoms. Maybe I'll get some pure pumpkin puree and add it into his breakfast...Thanks for the reply

 

[ddnene]

I had him on Merrick Buffalo and Sweet Potato and he was doing GREAT on that food. However, when Nestle's Purina took over Merrick, I didn't feel comfortable feeding it to him any longer. I think he might be sensitive to beef and turkey and it was either the lamb or the venison that made his ears a problem.

I chose fish as a protein because he NEVER had it before. I figured that he might do well on it and so far he has...I can't say he is allergic to any protein...it just seems like beef, lamb or venison, and turkey give him yeasty ears but no other symptoms. Maybe I'll get some pure pumpkin puree and add it into his breakfast...Thanks for the reply

Hmm… that stinks about the Merrick, I had actually tried that w/my boxer and she did pretty well on it but I was having trouble finding it in my area. I actually switched her to Earthborne Holistic and she did fantastic on that brand. I'm going to tag some members, because honestly I'm not too sure if yeasty ears would be considered a true allergy to the protein. I hope that you can get this resolved soon…

 

[Marine91]

It is a never ending saga. Beef, Lamb and venison are considered hot meats so some dogs can be more sensitive to those proteins than others. Also, a month is about right for the old food to be out of their system, but with a quick change I would expect to see soft or runny poo for a few days to a week. We are kind of in the same boat but we know Harlea's issues are allergy related. We just had to put he back on Honest Kitchen as he itchies have flared up with a vengeance in the last week or so. Feed wise you can play with the amount a bit to see if there is any change, but if it is working well with the amount you are feeding now I wouldn't do too much playing with it.

 

[brutus77]

I currently have Goob on Wellness Core Ocean. He was on Nature's Instinct Raw Boost Lamb and Venison for about six months but I took him off of it a little over a month ago. His ears were getting VERY dirty, very quickly. He started scratching at them so much that I thought he was developing a hot spot. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I took a look in his ears. It surprised me because, I had cleaned them THE DAY before and yet they were SUPER dirty! The only thing I could think of was his food.

I put him on a bland diet for a few days and transitioned him over to Wellness Core Ocean so I could see how he reacted to a fish based food. He has been on this food for about a month and he seems to be doing very well. The only thing I am noticing is that his stools aren't as firm as before. He will have a firm stool most of the time but then there are days when it is play dough consistency. He gets fed 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night.

My question is, should I be feeding him LESS of a fish based food? Does it take longer than a month for his stomach to adjust to a food change (yes, it was a quick change bc I wanted him off the Lamb and Venison food ASAP)?

He has no signs of allergies now but to be honest, the only sign of an "allergy" that he had on Instinct was dirty ears and nothing else...no tear stains, no yeasty wrinkles, no itching, no gunky eyes, his paws are nice and "white" colored. BUT his ears are nice and clean now that he has been on Wellness, just a minor issue with his stool at times.

View attachment 95125View attachment 95126View attachment 95127View attachment 95128View attachment 95129View attachment 95130 My handsome guy

Brutus had a horrendous reaction to Wellness Ocean Core. He had profuse vomiting. I have had luck with Duck as his protien. My vet said with his severe allergies I have to stick to novel protiens. You can google novel protiens and see the whole list. I have just started switching the boys over to Fromm Grain free Hasen Duckenpfeffen. It is duck and rabbit as the protien. So far so good. I had them on Blue basic Duck grain free but they were licking their paws a lot and shedding more than ususal and then Blue made a statement that thery were not truthful with what their ingredients actually are!! Fromm looks like a winner for us. Maybe you should try that.

 

[2BullyMama]

It is a never ending saga. Beef, Lamb and venison are considered hot meats so some dogs can be more sensitive to those proteins than others. Also, a month is about right for the old food to be out of their system, but with a quick change I would expect to see soft or runny poo for a few days to a week. We are kind of in the same boat but we know Harlea's issues are allergy related. We just had to put he back on Honest Kitchen as he itchies have flared up with a vengeance in the last week or so. Feed wise you can play with the amount a bit to see if there is any change, but if it is working well with the amount you are feeding now I wouldn't do too much playing with it.

 

[Goob14]

[MENTION=8859]Marine91[/MENTION] [MENTION=9370]brutus77[/MENTION]

Thank you both for all the information. I really appreciate it. I have NEVER heard about "hot meats" before. Those seem to be the ones that cause his itchy ears. Its just so strange to me that Goob doesn't show any signs of allergies to these foods except his ears. Maybe its not food related??

So far, Wellness seems to be the working well for him. I think I'll keep him where we are at for now and see how it goes in the next few weeks. I will try a little pumpkin before another food switch since he has no signs of allergies and for the most part, his stool is firm.
[MENTION=9370]brutus77[/MENTION] Thank information you shared about Blue...scary!

Thanks for the support.

 

[Marine91]

@Marine91 @brutus77

Thank you both for all the information. I really appreciate it. I have NEVER heard about "hot meats" before. Those seem to be the ones that cause his itchy ears. Its just so strange to me that Goob doesn't show any signs of allergies to these foods except his ears. Maybe its not food related??

So far, Wellness seems to be the working well for him. I think I'll keep him where we are at for now and see how it goes in the next few weeks. I will try a little pumpkin before another food switch since he has no signs of allergies and for the most part, his stool is firm.
@brutus77 Thank information you shared about Blue...scary!

Thanks for the support.

it could still be food related. Harlea is allergic to Lamb and the only spots that gets yeasty and itchy is her belly. Her ears and paws are fine.

 

[ABEBD]

Hello,

As a breed, many Bulldogs share the same common issues. But each Bulldog can be distinctly different. Yes, there are many top brand dog foods that are highly recommended by people here. It may work for them, but may NOT work for you. If you are switching too often and haven't found a brand that works, I strongly suggest a complete allergy panel. We finally had to do that on one of our dogs. Nothing seemed to be working. Classic symptoms and problems like many others have shared. So spending the $350 for COMPLETE panel revealed every item allergic too. Seems he is allergic to pork and peas (as in green peas for protein and fiber). Along with these food items he is allergic to milk, cockroaches, various weeds and pollen, etc. Along with the report, the lab provided a list of foods that were suitable (ie: did NOT contain pork or green peas). The report alone was valuable since it was based on the manufacture ingredients. We compared the list from the lab with the list of brands here on EBN and found several brands that would work. Within a few months he was amazingly better. He has been on the new food for over a year with not problems at all.

In conclusion, when in doubt, FIND OUT.

Good Day~