Golden retriever with sensitive stomach / digestion

[Laurauk]

Hi all 

I have a 20 month old big (40kg) male golden retriever who is happy, active & healthy, apart from the fact that he occasionally has episodes of diarrhoea or vomiting. Never both at the same time, and fairly random. He's been checked over by the vet again today, who thinks he just has a sensitive tummy. He's currently on Wainwrights Large Breed adult dry food, with a spoonful of Pedigree Chum mixed in. So I am now thinking I should try him on something more specific to dogs with sensitivity issues. I do know that high fat foods like some chews etc make him have loose stools, so we cut those out ages ago.

I want to keep him on dry food, something which is good quality but doesn't cost the earth and also that is not difficult to source - I'm happy to buy either in store or online.
Alfie and I thank you in advance for any advice!

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Have a look at this thread on cold pressed food. Very few are obtainable in store but are easily purchased online. They contain specific ingredients to aid digestion and are quite digestible - link.  There are detailed instructions about transition on the Guru Pet Food website - the same goes for all cold pressed foods. A transition period of up to two weeks may be appropriate for a dog with a sensitive digestion. This food must be weighed accurately - it is easy to overfeed.

[Laurauk]

Thanks for that info, Dottie  I have had a look and am very interested in the MM stuff!

[Laurauk]

Update - I have ordered some MM NaturNah from Zooplus, based on the reviews on this site, both by the site itself and by owners. So finger crossed!

[Dottie]

Thank you for getting back to us. This product does review well on Zooplus. There is very little information in English on the packet so here is some general advice:
* Please take your time on transitioning. There are clear instructions on the Guru Pet Food website and they recommend up to two weeks but acknowledge that some dogs will not need this.
* Always weigh the food accurately - do not use a cup, mug or any other receptacle. This is very important because it is heavy, hence the quantity looks small. Overfeeding can lead to problems.
* Feed 1% to 1.2% of the ideal body weight of the dog. There is a slider on the Guru website to assist you if needed.
* The food can be softened with tepid water - never boiling.
* Storage - keep the food in the paper bag, in dry conditions. Fold the top over and secure with a clip. Do not decant into an airtight container because the food needs to breathe.
* Shelf life is comparatively short - 6-9 months so only buy what you need.

Please would you let us know how you get on?

[Tinyplanets]

Good luck. I hope you find it suits. I fed it for a while and had no issues at all. My dog generally became less smelly as both her wind and greasy coat reduced greatly.

It would be great if you can share your experiences with this when you have been feeding it for a while. The portion does look small but it seemed to fill my dog up. She had also been vomiting small amounts of liquid close to dinner time occasionally , probably from hunger and all that stopped too.

[loublou]

Quick reply as your question jumped out at me - I had a golden with same trouble for most of her life, particularly in the early years. Too late for my girl but I discovered cold pressed 18 months ago which I now feed to my wire haired vizslas along with Natural Instinct raw.
It's called Gentle and available online and in some good pet shops. I often think if only Maisy could have had this! It's excellent and I would have no problem feeding it exclusively to my dogs and that's what I do now for holidays etc.