Guest Profgumby Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Note: I buried this in another thread when I really meant to start a new topic.. Wow.... It is enough to drive you nuts! I have the site bookmarked for Dog food analysis, and I honestly have no problem feeding anything from grade 4 on up..as long as the dogs do well with it! When we got PatC she was being fed Nutro Natural Choice, Large Breed Adult, Lamb Meal and Rice. So when we got Beauty we switched her onto that as well. Both dogs ate the food just fine, seemed happy and healthy and their coats felt fine. Beauty had some dry skin issues though. So I wondered about a better food etc... Recently we were at anniversary celebration at the local pet shop and the Wellness rep (among others)was there. I was impressed by their info and started switching the girls to the Wellness Super 5 Lamb Rice and Salmon mix. I went with the lamb and rice as that was the same blend in Nutro natural we had been feeding. (The rep was going for us to get their Super 5 adult) Well the soft poo brigade showed up as we started transitioning them. Now, we really like wellness and so do the girls. They both eat it all every time! And their coats are really soft and shiny! Beauty no longer has the dandruff/flaking skin issues. I cannot attest much to the shedding as they both went through their fall shed real recently. Anyway, I e mailed wellness as the soft poo was still a nearly full time issue with PatC and occasional with Beauty. We also cut their food from 2 cups - 2x daily to 1 1/2 cups - 2x daily. I suspected the adage we hear, high quality food, less is needed and too much of said food = pudding poo! I also have added a tablespoon of plain yogurt or cottage cheese to their food frequently. They love it and it is supposed to help firm the stool and the pro-biotics help the gut. With so, so results... Wellness recommended their whitefish and sweet potato blend as there was a single source of protein and I also noticed no fruit in the blend. I have read from several dog owners that fruit in the blends was giving their dogs the soft serve #2's, so we gave this food a go. We are about 1/2 way through a 15 pound bag and PatC is having the same issue as bad as ever! Now I have to qualify, we had very little of the lamb and rice food left so the transition was a we bit abrupt. I know this can cause issues so I am content to wait this out a bit. Beauty is having similar issues at the moment, though she is consistently better off when carpet bombing the yard. Neither dog seems to have any problems, pain, difficulty going, accidents inside or gastro-intestinal distress other than dog poo brand yard pudding being the end result! Has anyone had any experience with Wellness causing this issue? I am going to get some canned pumpkin as we all know what that is supposed to do. I have no problem switching food again and realize one may need one food and the other another. I am hesitant to knee jerk react and change food every sodding bag so I am looking to you who have had similar issues or had hounds for many years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 IMO Dog Food Analysis is a pretty poor benchmark as far as rating food quality. It is mostly (entirely) one persons opinion on food based on feeding a list of ingredients into a computer. I will tell you that none of my greys have done well at all on any number of "super premium" foods. By and large it seemed most were just too rich for them. I worked for Blue Buffalo for a while part time and had coupons for about a hundred pounds of free food I could never use no matter how long I tried to transition because I wouln't subject my dogs to the runs. Yogurt and/or pumpkin never really worked for us. Poodle eats Wellness Core Reduced Fat due to his diabetes and pancreattis and has no problems at all, but he's not a grey. My bridge boy Rex and foster Elvis are the ones that really can't handle the very rich foods. As far as fruit in the foods to me that is a laughable issue and I believe they are added in only to make people feel better about spending $40 a bag. Honestly, if blueberries are right before trace minerals on the label how many blueberries are in a 33# bag? 10? How can that possibly make any difference? I'd go back to the Nutro they did fine on and add some grizzly salmon oil or the like if you have dry skin. I quit chasing a better food to try and keep up with the Joneses quite a while ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytchloe Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I am by no means an expert, but ... I tried Wellness and my dogs did not do well on it--runny poo, poor coats, etc. One of my greys is now on Solid Gold Holistique (sp.?), which is their version of senior, and is doing well. The other I've had a much harder time finding any food--premium or not-- that worked well. Always had to add pumpkin, or yogurt for any poo to resemble normal. After seeing on this site that many people had luck with Taste of the Wild, Pacific Stream, I tried that and it is working GREAT. I am not adding anything, and her poo is perfect. I agree it may be too soon to tell, esp. with an abrupt switch, but if it ends up not working you might want to try TOTW. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greytluv Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 All of mine are on Wellness Core and do great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kikibean Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 We tried Wellness and all 4 of ours had what can only be described as huge, foamy piles of poop. It was ugly. The owner of the place we bought it said she's heard other greyhound owners say basically the same thing. My husband, who's generally pretty clueless about what we're feeding, even knows the name Wellness! Quote Wingnut (DC Wingnut), Voo Doo (Voo Doo von Bonz), Barb (Myokie Barb) & Romey (Nose Stradamus)at the bridge Molly (CM Blondie) 9/8/14, Maddy (Reuniting) 10/17/13, Rocky (Ranco Popeye) 1/7/12, Mimi (Flying Ringneck) 8/13/09 and RJ (RJ What For) 5/3/05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Profgumby Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 So here is an update. The local shop has several good foods that are recommended by members on this site. I went and picked up a 6lb bag of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, the Adult large breed formula. Also two of the folks (I know one of them fairly well) recommended this as their dogs are doing great on it. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/chicken-soup-dog-lovers-soul-dry/ I will start blending in and transfer over with tonight's feeding. If this does not work I will then try this - http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/premium-edge-dog-food/ Then if that fails, back to Nutro natural...I'll find a food that works! But at least I have a plan! BTW, the Chicken Soup food is the same price at the local shop as the Purina One at WalMart. So I am jazzin about a 4 star food being basically the same price as sawdust, apple cores, butcher shop floor scrapings, and old Chinese newspapers....er, I mean Purina One at WalMart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Profgumby Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) Okie day... 2 days in in here is the report so far. The first day we were mixing the food. 2/3 wellness and 1/3 Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul. When it was time to go out in the yard...same thing! Pudding...and not a good kind! In fact, PatC was getting worse. Ever squeeze a ketchup bottle that was almost empty? (too graphic? Sorry...) So I just decided to skip the Wellness all together and feed them only the Chicken Soup food. The girls love the food, scarf it right down. But the interesting part here is beauty is even almost chewing the food! Normaly she bolts her food right down and barely chews anything, but with this kibble she chews her food...mostly! I like that. Then, the real test...this morning Beauty had a normal stool! Yay!! PatC is firming right up too! PatC always had a worse reaction to the wellness products than Beauty did, but things are looking up. I will know more tonight and the next day or so. After all we are only 2 days into the new food. And to be fair, I have no issue with Wellness foods as far as quality, ingredients, manufacturing etc....it is just the aftermath where the dogs have a problem. And it is kind of nice to be saving over 20 dollars a month on food for our little princesses! So, I am donating about 10 pounds of the Wellness to the local shelter, if they will take open food that is. Otherwise it will end up in a landfill as I will take it to the dump. Unless a Bear hunter round here wants it... I hate to waste it but it is of no use to me if it messes with my girls... I still have some of the Wellness treat bars for when we kennel them up, I may skip these entirely too and see if things really get better. I have one full box that I may return to the store or donate to the shelter...if the shelter will take treats. I want to be sure the girls get motre or totally "normal" before feeding anymore of the snacks from Wellness. They may also, in some small way, be contributing to the problem. As for right now they are back on the little cheese and peanut butter button treats we used (with no ill effect) when we got them both. And we can give them 3 pieces and be only a fraction of what they got with one bar. Since the girls will kennel up even for a few bits of kibble...why the heck should we spend a ton of money on expensive treats? Edited October 14, 2010 by Profgumby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scale Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 FWIW (and i hardly know what im saying)..... Is this brand an oily food? If there is such a thing.... I read in Cynthias book about greyhounds that oil is sometimes added to meals to shine up the coat and cut down on the flaky skin. She recommends against adding it because while it does do these things it doesnt help things a the other end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 Similar experience with anything Wellness here -- near-instant watery diarrhea, in dogs with normally cast-iron guts. Owner of one of the pet supplies here said many dogs have that reaction. If your shelter won't take the open bag and you have your receipt, take it back to the store where you bought it. They should give you a full refund. If they don't, call the company's 1-800. Glad you have found something that works! The Chicken Soup is a nice food, especially for the $$. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greytluv Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 My four do really well on Wellness Core It's been hit and miss or us, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Profgumby Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 My four do really well on Wellness Core It's been hit and miss or us, though. I did not try the Core foods. And from what I read here, folks using core do not report the issues that folks using the super 5 mix of foods do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 As an aside--yogurt gives my dog diarrhea. I've never heard anyone claim it firmed up poo; lots of people believe it helps with gas, but ... many dogs cannot digest dairy. The only time I'd personally feed yogurt is if a dog is on antibiotics to replace the gut bacteria that the antibiotics kill. Pumpkin firms poo!! As do metamucil wafers (so I hear). I agree with Batmom. If your hounds were doing well on Nutro, but 'em back on it and use salmon oil for the dryness! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Profgumby Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Just to keep an update going... The girls are doing very well on the CSFTDLS Adult Large breed. In one end just fine and out the other just fine. And the paint peeling gas? Well, they still let one rip every now and again, but nothing like the frequency or bouquet while on the Wellness blends. Again, ymmv and I have no issue with Wellness. It just doesn't suit them well. So I am done with the food issue.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cardiffcouple Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 We adopted our two greys in July and have been battling pudding poop ever since. Even a slightly formed poo has us jumping for joy. Had fecal tests, blood tests. Tried pumpkin (plain), sweet potato chicken and well cooked rice, etc. Now adding Forta Flora at dinner. We have been feeding Wellness for some time now and still getting pudding to runny---not to mention MASSIVE poops from our boy. I now carry 6 good sized bags on our walks and a larger bag to put the full bags in. Ick. From the sound of several posts, I think I am going to switch to Nutro Natural and see what happens. Please wish us well. It's not good for the kids to have such crappy poop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilDog Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Roscoe and Sage tried the Wellness Super 5- NEVER AGAIN!!! I've never witnessed such horrific poop in my life. Quote Lisa with Finnegan (Nina's Fire Fly) and Sage (Gil's Selma). Always missing Roscoewww.popdogdesigns.net pop art prints, custom portraits and collars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4dogscrazy Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 We didn't do well on the "premium" high protein diets either. The stench was so bad in the yard I used a bandanna to cover my nose when cleaning up. I ended up with Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream, no add-ins like oils or vitamins, and they look great and have good poopies. All four of mine do really well on that. Tempe is also allergic to dairy, she loses fur and rubs her muzzle like crazy if she gets yogurt. And as for wellness? I had the kitty on that, SAME thing!! Poor thing had the runs really bad from it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/262714-just-cant-seem-to-win-the-food-game/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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