Food for dog with lots of intolerances

[KatrinH]

Oh the salmon and potatoe is also a wet food frm wainwrights, sorry if that wasn't clear.

But that makes sense. Thank you so much for all your help! I'll probably try the wainwrights turkey and rice for a start and then see how things go.

[Dottie]

I think it is good when there is more than one variety within a range because then you can vary the diet a little without too much risk of upsetting the dog.  In your case I reckon it would be best to stick with the turkey and rice just for now and if all goes well, introduce the salmon and potato when you are satisfied that your dog is OK.  It looks like a good food and hopefully he will do well on it.  Please let us know how you get on with it, especially as we haven't had anyone review this product on the forum itself. 

[KatrinH]

Will do. I am going to go buy some tomorrow probably. Fingers crossed he tolerates it, because I am so sick of trying to figure out what to feed 

[COASTER]

The mixer consideration comments by Dottie ironically might bring my suggestion of mixer (I currently use) with Wainrights trays back into consideration 

I haven't posted a full review on it before as I am Neebie, but no issues here on Wainwrights duck & rice. No reactons, dog likes it, coat good, plenty of energy (2hr off lead walks a non issue for the Pug on this).

I acccept Pug & BC are miles apart but I consider the food is hard to beat when composition & price considered against other wet complete foods.

[Dottie]

I had not looked at the Wainwright's wet with brown rice. I can't really understand why they include 'brown rice, minimum 5%.' It doesn't really tell you how much carbohydrate it actually has, with the result that the dry weight dial gives a reading of zero carbs. I've seen this before in wet food - Natures Menu pouches being one.  If anyone can find an explanation for this I would like to hear it.

There's a lot of anti carb sentiment these days but each dog is different and carbs in the form of  a small amount of good quality mixer may be of use to an active dog that doesn't gain weight easily. They can also sate appetite in the same way as for us when we eat a meal inclusive of some starch such as potatoes/rice.

[chrishordley]

If you used cold pressed in Germany you can buy online from Zooplus and it is very well priced. I am not absolutely convinced of the science recommending it over any other commercial product but you can mix with raw and mine do well on it as part of a wide diet. The book K9 Kitchen by Monica Segal makes authoritative reading as she started her personal research from owning a dog with extreme allergy/intolerance issues. She dismisses the bandwagons and myths but her recommendations are quite technical but are based on thorough science. I am starting research on nutrigenomics, hadn't heard of it, which is microbiology and trying to understand the role of our gut bacteria.  Overwhelmingly these scientists are finding that good bacteria are being reduced by over processed food, antibiotic overuse, including in rearing of meat animals and that prebiotics can encourage the good guys in humans. Dogs are of course less omnivore but kefir or other fermented milk in size appropriate dose may help reduce reaction and increase uptake of nutrients and should not have lactose intolerance problems. I have IBS hence my interest.
I agree with Dottie about keeping it simple, really simple as unless you see the ingredients you can't be absolutely sure. The gluten free products mean not produced in the same factory ! I can buy grass reared ox heart etc but know that many folk can't, and cook or not cook is not terribly important. Forthglade wet feeds are produced in Devon and probably( I can check) take from the abbatoirs in Southwest which would mean better reared meat. I wonder where Wainwright etc source theirs. Grain fed stock kept indoors have lower Omega 3 levels than outdoor grass reared and O3 helps reduce inflammation.

[KatrinH]

Thanks for your input Chris. Unfortunately my dog does not tolerate raw at all We've tried I do one day want to do homecooked as I see its benefits (especially knowing where you get things from and knowing exactly what's in the food you make), it is just not an option at the moment.

I did buy the wainwrights turkey today. It is the cheapeast wet food available that looks decent and contains only things he should tolerate. He had his first of it tonight, will see what his tummy says and if I have to get up in the middle of the night 

On a positive note: I am relatively certain it is food and not something else now as I put him on rice, egg and salmon (cooked) the last 1.5 days and diarrhea was gone immediately. Definitely NOT going to feed that dry food again...

[KatrinH]

Update so far: He has been on Wainwrights since Monday night and so far so good. He loves it (first times I fed him, he would gobble it down, then sit there and whine about it being gone already..). Interestingly his poops have become very very small in volume and rock hard and super dry (so completely the opposite from his watery diarrhea). I added some water to the wet food tonight to see if that helps (he did not drink too much yesterday). Hopefully that will help his constipation. Wonder what is in this food that may cause it if it is not the water intake?

[Dottie]

It is normal for the stool composition to change markedly when high meat content food like this is given.  Lots of people, particularly the raw feeders believe this to be a positive outcome of giving a product that has less  carbohydrate or 'filler'.  Personally, I don't see it as such - in fact if a human being was passing stools like this they'd be high tailing it to the chemist for some laxatives!   The stool might improve once the dog's digestion has adjusted to the new product.  If you are concerned about it then you need to add something to help bulk up the stool.  IIRC the food has brown rice in it so the logical thing would be to top that up with some more, well cooked.  Alternatively you could try well cooked oatmeal or sweet potato.  Have a look at the chart here.  It is suggested that three to four indicates good digestive health.

[Dottie]

I've just received some advice about management of constipation in dogs.  Apparently cooked pumpkin (not the sort you get in tins for pie filling), can be very helpful in alleviating this.  At this time of year you certainly shouldn't have any problem getting hold of this product.  It might be worth a try if your dog can tolerate it.  The other piece of advice was that small dry stools can be a sign of underfeeding but in your case this is unlikely as I assume you will be going with the recommended daily allowance.  Hopefully things will settle down with your dog - it is early days and you have not been able to transition from the old food gradually as one would normally do. 

[COASTER]

Assuming your dog has plenty of fresh water available I might be trying to encourage a littlle more of same, (which I appreciate can be near impossible with a reluctant drinker). You can add some to the feed if you wish.

I am looking at this very simply & on basis the food is okay for the dog and the dog is healthy on this food....obciously it is important to consider these factors too.

[Dottie]

Katrinh - it is quite normal for dogs to drink less when on wet or raw food.  If you look at the moisture content of your chosen food, you will see that it is quite high. 

[KatrinH]

Thanks everyone. I will give him some more time to adjust for now as really he has only been on it for less than a week.

[KatrinH]

Stools are still really hard and dry, even though I added some brown rice and blended green beans (fibre) to his diet. I bought some Wainwright's salmon and potatoe today and will try that, just to see what happens.

I mean, I rather have harder stools than constant diarrhea, but he does seem a bit uncomfortable pooping, so will just experiment further.

[Dottie]

It's a shame that this has not improved with the addition of extra fibre.  Is it the salmon and potato wet that you are adding?  Hope that it helps.  If not, perhaps a small amount of Wainwright's dry salmon and potato might help.