cgs Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 I started feeding Percy IAMS adult large breed green bag toward the end of May and his poop definitely improved. I had a 15 lb bag, so it didn't last long. I got a new 30 lb bag and started that in early June. His poop immediately got softer and really runny at times. The bad was really really bad and the good wasn't as good as it had been. And there was a lot more bad than good. And he was gassy. I contacted IAMS and asked if they changed the formula. I had noticed the new bag had multi-shade kibble where the old bag was all the same color. Yes, they changed the formula in 2017. Here's part of the email I got: We are so incredibly sorry to hear about this experience. Our IAMS® PROACTIVE HEALTH™ Adult Large Breed dog food has had no formula changes since 2017. At that time natural (Caramel) color was added to create the dual-colored kibbles. We also added fruits and vegetables such as spinach, beets, peas, carrots, apples and blueberries. She asked for more information about when I bought the food, the best buy date, etc. Unfortunately, the product code number and best buy date are nowhere to be found. Must have been at the top of the bag where I cut it off to open it. I remember when I switched from Kirkland to IAMS and I compared the ingredients. I definitely didn't remember there being blueberries, apples, peas, etc. I distinctly remember noticing that Kirkland seemed "better" because it had that stuff. So I think maybe the fruits and/or veggies are not good. Kirkland has carrots, peas, dried kelp, apples, cranberries. No blueberries, no spinach. He didn't do as well on that, so maybe fruit is a problem. I noticed the ingredients on the mini-chunks didn't have fruit and veggies, so I asked the person if that was up to date and I may try switching to that. But sheesh, I want my money back. I did start adding olewo carrots to Percy's food last night and it's made a vast difference. Even his afternoon poop was excellent today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 I just checked my bag of mini chunks. It has apples, blueberries, carrots, and peas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 Humph. Their website is not up to date. The ingredient lists for the others are updated. So I guess maybe I need a fruit-free food? But he's been much worse on the new Iams than on the Kirkland, but the fruit on the Iams is way down on the ingredient list. It's higher up on the Kirkland. Maybe it's the spinach in the Iams and the kale in the Kirkland? Maybe it's the caramel color? Ugh. Who knows. Neighsayer, your dog is ok on it? How long have you had this bag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Didn’t open it yet. Ingredients also list spinach. I use this to give them a break from my heir usual turkey and venison. My two old ladies, 14 and 12, needed a change every few weeks. Lost the 12 year old in March, and the 14 year old last month, so this is the first bag I’ve bought in two months. Got it on Amazon last week, but have no idea how long it hung around in storage! None of my dogs ever had a problem with it. I always used the mini chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 So it sounds like it could be your first bag on the new formula, but if your dogs change food often with no problem, it'll probably be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 My theory is there are maybe 15 blueberries in a 17 pound bag so it doesn't make much difference. Everything is listed by weight so if the fruit is far down on the list there probably isn't enough of it to cause a blip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 The bag says garnished with fruit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Garnished as in put a sprig of parsley on the plate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGrey2017 Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 We are feeding IAMs green bag currently and interestingly enough, if we feed him the large breed variety, he has a lot of diarrhea. But if we feed him the mini-chunks, he does better. I'm not sure he'll ever do great. I've started adding back the Olewo carrots and I was able to pick up yesterday, which is a vast improvement from the past couple weeks. I just think he has an easier time eating and digesting the smaller pieces. Stinks because Costco carries the large breed version much cheaper than I pay for the mini-chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) It does seem like the small amount of fruit wouldn't matter, but something is making things bad. Maybe it's the spinach--that's higher up. The Kirkland has kelp, and while he was better on that than on this new IAMS, he wasn't great on that. IAMS offered me a voucher for Nutro lamb and rice, which has no fruit and veggies. Percy didn't seem to do as well on lamb as on chicken (the Nutro chicken has fruits and veggies), plus it's a much more expensive food. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The Olewo carrots are really helping, so I may just be stuck with using them all the time. I'd prefer to just dump kibble in a bowl, but the carrots aren't a big burden but do add cost. And he doesn't love them--once the kibble is gone, whatever carrot he's managed to avoid is left in the bowl. He prefers plain kibble. Edited June 14, 2018 by cgs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 The IAMS has tomatoes, which dogs are not supposed to eat. The email didn't say that this was a new ingredient, so maybe it was in the old batch. I wish I had the old bag. Maybe I'll go hunt around the stores to see if I can find an old bag. I had a 15-lb bag, which I'm guessing doesn't sell as much for a large breed dog. Maybe there are some old ones at Petsmart or somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 I remember back when I fed Iams over 10 years ago, their small bag and big bag were not the same recipe. Not sure if that's still the same practise but from what I recall when I asked why, they mentioned something about the actual kibble size (bigger bag usually means bigger individual kibble than what would be in a smaller bag - small bag for small dog etc) Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 There are mini chunks and big chunks. My Greyhounds much preferred the mini chunks but I never compared the ingredients side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Mine all preferred the mini chunks, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGrey2017 Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 We need to lobby Costco to switch to the mini-chunks. I miss the early 70's where we fed our schnauzer Alpo, table scraps and leftover bones. That dog essentially ate garbage and lived until he was 15, happy as a clam. My dad even gave him beer on Fridays and Saturdays. Ignorance really was bliss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Costco kibble is small. I don't know what minichunks look like, but Kirkland adult chicken is pretty small kibble. Not sure how you'd get much smaller than that. I compared big and small bags of IAMS in the store and the ingredients were the same. I was comparing the large breed version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Costco kibble is small. I don't know what minichunks look like, but Kirkland adult chicken is pretty small kibble. Not sure how you'd get much smaller than that. I compared big and small bags of IAMS in the store and the ingredients were the same. I was comparing the large breed version. The ingredients can be the same, but they could be using more of less of each one while still remaining in the same order on the list. Ratios can make the difference, especially beet pulp, which is the binder to help with more solid poops. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 15, 2018 Author Share Posted June 15, 2018 Seems like it would be more trouble and cost to have different formulas for a 15lb bag vs a 30lb bag. I don't see why they would do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) never had any luck with any of the kirkland foods- try purina pro plan focus, you may have better luck . sensitive stomach variety is very good. Edited June 21, 2018 by cleptogrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreytXpctations Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 The IAMS has tomatoes, which dogs are not supposed to eat. The email didn't say that this was a new ingredient, so maybe it was in the old batch. I wish I had the old bag. Maybe I'll go hunt around the stores to see if I can find an old bag. I had a 15-lb bag, which I'm guessing doesn't sell as much for a large breed dog. Maybe there are some old ones at Petsmart or somewhere. I think red tomato is ok for dogs. The plant and leaves are bad and green ones are not good either. The acid and whole seeds can also aggravate some dogs too, but if the food has tomato pomace it should be ok. It is the byproduct from juicing and has high fiber and vitamin C. Like beet pulp is a byproduct of extracting sugars. Does anyone remember when Iams was an independent company with only one type of food, and it looked like kibble life-savers? I may be dating myself here :/ Good luck with the food issues. You and Percy need some easy time for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 I do remember holes in Iams kibble! and yes tomatoes are ok for dogs. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 Percy was whining a lot this morning, so I got up early and let him out and he ran out and ate grass like a starving horse. He did this a couple weeks ago and I saw then that he had eaten some of a houseplant. So I figured he ate it, felt sick, and went out to eat grass. But this morning there's no evidence he ate anything he shouldn't. His stomach is really gurgly and he wanted to go out again--in the rain--and eat more grass. I'm withholding breakfast. My husband often lets the dogs out when he gets up at 4am and he says Percy will often eat some grass then. So I'm wondering if I should just take him off the IAMS. Most days he seems fine, but if he's eating grass sort of regularly and has bad days when his tummy is really upset, maybe I should switch. I was thinking the houseplant made him sick last time, but now I'm wondering if the upset stomach came first and he thought the plant would help like grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddysDad Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 An empty stomach can cause that as well some times. We started giving Paddy a bedtime snack and it calmed things down for him. With everything else going on for him and the Iams food, maybe a change is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) His tummy calmed down by late morning and he has really good poop on his walk. I haven't given him breakfast and he seems to have forgotten about it. He didn't even try to eat lulu's food when it was left out. So I don't *think* it's an empty stomach problem, but I don't know. I think I'll finish this bag of Iams (probably another couple of weeks) and then maybe try Eukanuba. I already have 2 other leftover bags of food and really don't want a third. When I feed him dinner, I'll see how much is left in the bag. I could probably start mixing in a new food in a week or so. Edited June 22, 2018 by cgs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgs Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 He just hurled up an impressive wad of grass--8 hours after eating it. Luckily I saw him starting to heave and it took him a minute to get it up and I was able to get a towel under him for easy cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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