[Good dogs]

I used to feed Evo, until they went P/G, then switched to Blue Buffalo Basics (This is all dry kibble) and my question is: I buy canned Nature's Logic, BB, and Merrick's Before Grain canned to mix with it. Since I have added the canned; 3 months ago...their stools have gotten softer. Anyone else mix canned with their kibble?
AND, my dogs actually did WAY better with Evo Turkey kibble....I almost want to go back to it. Anyone know if PG has changed the ingredients? Thanks for any input
Let me re phrase - I don't mix all that canned together - I switch proteins...use Natures Logic for a week, then the Merrick.....

 

[PatchworkRobot]

I mix in some canned food (Merrick, TotW, ZiwiPeak, Blue Wilderness, etc) with my dog's kibble. I don't use it as part of his basic diet but more so to "spice up" his food. I don't think it's had any negative effect on his stools though.

 

[dax0402]

I cannot feed Baron any kind of canned food. Soft stools all the time. My other 3 Dobes had no problem with canned food but Baron does. So I only give him kibble (Acana Pacifica). Sometimes I mixed chicken, vegetables, pumpkin depending what I have to make it a little more interesting. He is a good eater and will just eat the kibble as is.

I used to fee Innova and did notice a change about 3 or 4 months after P&G took them over. His stools started getting a little softer so I switched to Acana Prairie and he did really well. Just switch to Pacifica last summer and he is doing well with this also.

 

[LindaH]

You might look at Natures Variety Instinct formulas. They are an excellent grain free kibble with very high meat content. I believe it is 70% meat and this after processing. Most food compaonies tell you meat content before processing and that changes a lot after moisture is removed from the meat. I do also like the Acana next after NVI. Maybe not add as much canned to the kibble will help out with soft stools.

 

[NOX]

I add some canned food too, Green tripe by Tripett and Merrick's Wingalings to my dogs meal everyday. His stools are a bit softer but not mushy. Warning, I just have to say that green tripe smells horrible feeding it to him and worse coming out his other end :lol:

 

[natdobe]

I mix a little canned food every morning and sometimes at night to but I only use about a table spoon or a little less than that. My dogs stools are fine. Sometimes I just add plain yogurt, sardines, canned salmon, scrambled eggs, or cooked meats just for something different.

 

[brw1982]

I'm with dax0402. Fiona can't have any canned food in any amount or she has horrible diarrhea. She loves it but it's no good for her tummy. Tali can tolerate canned fine, but I swear Tali has guts made of steel - she never has a soft stool.

I mix in mashed up veggies or pumpkin as an extra treat in their food sometimes, otherwise they eat Acana (usually Prairie Harvest but I rotate formulas and also rotate in Orijen) with a scoop of cottage cheese and a little canned chicken.

 

[Herb2relax]

I would question the Blue Buffalo for loose stools. My past dobie, Lexi(rip), and Kyrah had loose stools from Blue Buffalo puppy food.

 

[MeadowCat]

I have not heard of any changes in the EVO formulas (at least, not yet).

Shanoa gets some canned in a food tube for training class, but if I give too much she'll get soft stools, too. I think that's pretty common for dogs.

 

[ZeldaRules]

I feed my dogs Acana kibble. I also buy the small cat sized cans of Instinct and half it to mix in my dogs kibble a couple times a week. I don't over do it and I buy the same brand of canned food so it's consistent, haven't had any stool issues either.

 

[KoaRad]

I would question the Blue Buffalo for loose stools. My past dobie, Lexi(rip), and Kyrah had loose stools from Blue Buffalo puppy food.

Ditto here.

I also ditto the horrid smell of the tripe. GAG.

That said, I do add the canned tripe a few times a week to Koa's food - I try to not give it to him on days where he has also had a bully/bone, etc, though, he has a bit of a sensitive stomach so if I do too many different things in the same day his stools will loosen a bit. I have seen an improvement in his stools since I started a daily probiotic a few months ago.

 

[Good dogs]

I had a chiro give me SF722...which looks like a probiotic - she said to give daily. Do you keep them on probiotics always? Or a couple weeks; off...then on again? I also just bought 2 big bags of Acana Grasslands.....thanks....looks like a good food.

 

[mmctaq]

I had a chiro give me SF722...which looks like a probiotic - she said to give daily. Do you keep them on probiotics always? Or a couple weeks; off...then on again?

This is something with which I am unfamiliar. It is not a probiotic, but a fatty acid supplement designed to promote healthy gut flora.

I never have quite been able to decide what I think about probiotics. I read somewhere that 50% of the weight of feces is dead and live bacteria. I look at the little capsules and wonder how they could aid the bacterial populations which obviously reproduce naturally in an explosive manner. I also read somewhere that there are something like two hundred species of bacteria which populate a normal intestinal tract, and look at the best probiotics with usually sixteen strains of bacteria. It just seems like a body does an awfully good job of growing bugs all by it's own self... 50% of feces, every day, is a LOT of bacteria!

It wouldn't hurt. If there has been an event (illness, antibiotics) which has disrupted what's supposed to be there, perhaps it would be beneficial. I do supplement with probiotics sometimes under some circumstances. I have no clue if doing so has any actual value.

 

[EmilyB]

I'm not sure what your qualifications are, but probiotics are very important when treating with a lot of medications. I probably won't get into all that here, as my experience is with cancer for the most part.

 

[mmctaq]

I also ditto the horrid smell of the tripe. GAG.

That said, I do add the canned tripe a few times a week to Koa's food

I have never smelled canned tripe, but a lot of folks who have smelled both canned and ground tripe say that canned is WAY worse. If you have space in your freezer and a raw food vendor, this might be an alternative... undoubtedly cheaper (less than two bucks a pound), probably more nutritious, smells better to humans, undeniably delicious to dogs! I feed whole meals of tripe a couple of times a week... there's always a big happy dance on Tripe Night!

 

[mmctaq]

I'm not sure what your qualifications are, but probiotics are very important when treating with a lot of medications. I probably won't get into all that here, as my experience is with cancer for the most part.

As I said, I have and do use probiotics under some circumstances (including three years with a dog with lymphoma). Often, probiotic use is/was in combination with many other things. It is sometimes difficult for me, at least, to attribute specific benefit to any one particular inclusion of a supplement program which includes many different items.