[Miasan]

I'm at a complete lost. So any advise is much appreciated.

I have an 8 month old mix (36 lbs of Pitbull mix). Vet recommended that I switch him slowly to adult food now, since he's looking like he might be too 'healthy' on the puppy formula (Merrick's Puppy Plate). To note is that he has not been able to produce a solid stool with Merrick and he has bad gas attacks at night (sometimes). I've tried Castor and Pollux, Blue Longetivity and Innova. No worries, I've always transitioned slowly. He's been so dang picky... I've never had a pup so picky before. My last one ate everything I put down. Vet recommended Innova but I'm a little unsure about their P&G buy out this past June.

I'm looking at Honest Kitchen Embark or Orijen. Or mix? I just want the best for this guy so any suggestions would be greatly thanked!

Thanks everyone and anyone! :smile:

 

[Ania's Mommy]

Hi and welcome! I'd love to see some pics of your puppy!

The soft stools are an indicator of overfeeding. And it sounds like your vet agrees that he may be a little "too healthy". I think that may be your problem.

I think that HK and or Orijen sound great! Both are quality foods, so I would include both in your rotation. Both are richer foods than what you have been feeding. Most people making the switch from what you were feeding to Orijen or HK would need to feed less. But you may have been overfeeding to begin with, so it may be quite a bit less than you are used to.

You will know how much to feed by your dog's figure. If he starts gaining weight, cut back on food. If he starts looking emaciated, add some food.

Good luck!
Richelle

 

[Huskyluv]

I'm looking at Honest Kitchen Embark or Orijen. Or mix? I just want the best for this guy so any suggestions would be greatly thanked!

As far as kibbles go I highly recommend Orijen and Acana, great foods made by a great company.

The Honest Kitchen is great too and is something I highly recommend and prefer over kibbles. Dehydrated and freeze dried foods are generally very good and can easily be mixed with either kibble or raw. Doing a mix of Orijen and Honest Kitchen is great too.

I personally feed The Honest Kitchen and my dogs do so much better on it than ANY kibble I have ever tried in the past, but that's just my personal experience. I don't think super picky dogs are more likely to take to a dehydrated diet than a kibble but that really depends on the dog. You could always contact The Honest Kitchen and ask them to send you some samples for you to try so you can see if your picky eater will even eat it before spending money on the product. Of course they do have a satisfaction guarantee so you could return the food if you bought it and your dog doesn't like or do well on it.

As mentioned already, overfeeding can lead to diarrhea and soft stools too. I know with my husky he would get diarrhea if I fed 2 cups of Evo but would be just fine on 1.75 cups of Evo. Just an example.

 

[kevin bradley]

doesn't get much better than Orijen/Acana. BUT, they are very ingredient rich foods so they don't always seem to agree w/ all Dogs.

Remember, a 30 lb Dog could easily only need around a cup/day of a premium food like Orijen. As stated, overfeeding can lead to soft stools...base your analysis more on his appearance(feel ribs but don't SEE ribs) than anything else. It will FEEL like you are starving him but don't worry about how you FEEL. Worry about real analysis.