[squeezy]

i’m currently feeding my dog beneful dry food..after reading the reviews in your website i was shocked to find out what garbage i was feeding my poor dog..now, i’m in a hurry of switching food..there’s a lot of 5 stars, and the two’s that are on my mind are orejin and acana..i have a 16lb jack russell (4years old)..which brand is better?is there other brand i should consider?

[pugmomsandy]

How long has he been eating it? Some will say just do a cold turkey switch (that’s what my fosters get), and some will say to do a transition period. It all depends on your dog’s gut health. Things that might help with transition tummy troubles: canned pure pumpkin puree, ground psyllium, probiotics, digestive enzymes.

Also, one suggestion is to go from Beneful to a quality grain-inclusive food before transitioning to a mod-high protein grain free food. I like only gluten free grain foods like Nature’s Logic. Solid Gold Sundancer is like that also. Not sure which manufacturer makes Sundancer though.

I will say that my fosters eat Nutrisource grain free Lamb, Nutrisource Heartland Select, sometimes Nutrisource small/med breed puppy (has rice), Brothers Complete Beef and Turkey, and Nutrisca Lamb. It’s all mixed up together in varying amounts and they get probiotics and psyllium.

Frankly, I wouldn’t go from Beneful to Orijen. But that’s me.

[squeezy]

he’s been on this food for a couple of years.. before that I don’t remember but it was the same quality food…. he has a pretty tough stomach.. I’m not very worry about the transition.. why do you suggest to try other foods before the orenji/acana?..

[pugmomsandy]

If you look at the ingredient lists, they are at the FAR OPPOSITE ends of the spectrum. It’s almost like for someone who hasn’t eaten meat in a long time, and then they eat a big bowl of chili or a big steak. Not saying that Beneful doesn’t have meat, but it’s not anything like the meats and organs and fish in Orijen and now it has a bunch of legumes. A dog has gut flora that adjusts to eating certain foods. Right now, he has the ones most adapted to Beneful. So it might be quite a shock to go to Orijen. Also Orijen has quite a bit more fat. I would put it in the high fat category. This also might possibly cause some digestive upset. But I’m just being cautious! You won’t know how your dog will do until you try it. And also try several foods. A rotational diet is (IMO) best. Find a couple kibbles, some canned foods, some raw foods, etc. Back a few years ago, I weaned mine off Beneful with regular Merrick (the old recipe with gravy) and Blue Wilderness mixed together.

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• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[Akari_32]

It took several months to get my jack russell mix off the Puppy Chow he came on. We went from Puppy Chow to Innova Puppy. He can now go between foods no problem. Go slow, and, as said above, maybe try a mid grade food first to work your guy up to a better food.

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