[Brenda M]

Hi there. I have a 4 yr old Cavalier King Charles/Papillon mix. He’s been on California Natural Grain Free Venison for a couple years & was doing great on it. And now California Natural has changed the ingredients on this food. We’ve tried other foods b/c of recalls, etc. I’ve found that my dog is sensitive to certain dog foods, his stool gets soft if the food is too rich, possibly high in protein (Acana, Orjien, Blue Buffalo Wilderness). Soft stool then seems to cause issues with his anal glands not emptying as they should. The new formula for CA Natural is making the stool softer. Anyone have any recommendations? He isn’t a picky eater & while I’ve always gave him grain free, I really have no reason for that…

Thank you!

[InkedMarie]

NutriSource seems to be a good food for sensitive dogs.

[Susan]

Hi Brenda, have you looked at the Wellness Simple its a limited ingredient kibble or wet, Im trying the Simple Duck & Oats, Patch has IBD & Pancreatitis & skin allegies, Ive tried a few different kibbles & have had problems, either the protein is too high or the fat % being to high, or to many ingredients….now Im trying the Wellness Simple & so far Patches poos are good & his red itchy paws are better also his scatching his lower back on my wall has stopped, here’s a link to have a look ..Wellness Simple has NO GMO’s, Meat By-products,wheat,gluten,corn,soy,dairy,eggs,artificial preservatives,colours or flavours.
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/categories.aspx?pet=dogs&cat=3

[DogFoodie]

Hi Brenda,

Just wondering, how does the fiber compare in the new formula to the old? Did you do a slow transition to the new food? What kind of ingredient changes were there? Did they add legumes? Chickpeas and lentils are common culprits. It could very well be an intolerance to whatever the new ingredients are. Not that this helps right now, but this is one of the reasons why it’s a good idea to find several foods your dog does well on and rotate between them. That keeps the pup’s gut healthy and more tolerant of ingredient changes.

It’s also possible that your pup may need a bit more / or possibly less fiber. If he needs more fiber, you can add that to his food with some ground Chia seed or canned pumpkin.

In the meantime, try adding a spoonful of plain, canned pumpkin to his food. Pumpkin regulates intestinal water and adds bulk to the stool. That usually will help the stool firm up pretty quickly while you get a handle on things and possibly look for another food.

[Brenda M]

Thank you so much! I actually did notice they added lentils & looking at the ingredients of the old formula, there were no lentils! I did the canned pumpkin a couple years ago when I was looking for a dog food that worked for him & that helped. I will go back to doing that til I find something that works. Thank you for the suggestions! I’ll look at Wellness & NutriSource!

[DogFoodie]

The pumpkin should help and you could also try adding some digestive enzymes to see if that helps a bit.

One of my dogs does not do well at all on foods with chickpeas and lentils. Lots of gas. Lots! I know I have to avoid foods that use them as binders and it’s get harder because so many brands are now adding them to their foods.

I agree with Marie that NutriSource is generally well tolerated. I made a quick switch once to Adult Chicken & Rice when I needed to get my pup off of something and he did great on it. I also think Wellness foods are great and have had much success with them in the past. I’ll continue to use them in my rotation.

If you plan to look for a different brand, some I find to be high quality from reputable manufacturers that might be close in price to what you were feeding are Victor, Dr. Tim’s, Horizon Legacy and Earthborn Holistics.

[Mom2Cavs]

Hi! I have one sensitive Cavalier, too. The other two can eat pretty much anything within reason. They are all doing great on Wellness Small Breed….I alternate between Simple, Whitefish, Healthy Weight and Senior. I love their SB Senior but it only comes in 4lb bags. I have been topping with a small amount of canned food…Wellness, Weruva and Simply Nourish. I also am using, atm, Ark Naturals Gentle Digest (a pre/probiotic) and a supplement called Firm Up, which is dried pumpkin and apple pectin (a tsp. a day divided between meals). Three days a week they get a coq10 supplement, too. I haven’t had any gland problems since doing this. There are some other foods I like and would use, too, and they’re Annamaet, Victor, Dr. Tim’s and Fromm.

[Author]

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