Go!/Now! Opinions

[luvMyBRT]

but the lady at the Bone and Biscuit told me not to worry about the 2.2% calcium level in the Cal. nat, and that it should be fine.

I would!!! 2.2% for calcium is way, way high for a large breed puppy. Orijen LBP has a max of 1.7...and that's as high as I would feel comfortable going.

[chowder]

My Lhasa has a horrible allergy to Salmon, salmon oil and olive oil so a Salmon allergy is not unheard of. It took us quite awhile to figure out that it was the salmon that she was allergic to and it was finally some salmon treats that proved it. She will get horrendous mucousy and then bloody diarrhea with anything that has those ingredients in it.

Very few kibbles are salmon free. Even some that say 'ocean fish' end up having salmon. I've emailed the companies and they can't guarantee they have no salmon in their food. The only one that she can eat right now is Evo. It has herring instead of salmon. I've also raised my son's 8 week old Chihuahua puppy on it and the vet said it was fine for a chihuahua puppy.

If you want to try and go completely salmon free to see if that is the cause, there are also quite a few canned foods that have no salmon in them. I supplement her diet with canned food in the morning. You have to learn to really read the labels because salmon OIL is hidden everywhere. She does fine on Herring so we look for that instead. Right now we are slowly transitioning her to raw and she is doing really well with it.

Good luck.

[Buster201]

Ok thanks for the replies everyone. Right now, it's between one of the Now! foods, and California Natural Puppy lamb and rice, for our guy. He's going to be a bigger guy...I'm guessing around the 70 pound mark, but the lady at the Bone and Biscuit told me not to worry about the 2.2% calcium level in the Cal. nat, and that it should be fine. I'll take a closer look at the foods when we are there I guess. She said if anything changes with Cal. Nat. as part of the P & G Deal, she will pull the food immediately.

I had a litter of collie puppies in April. Their first solid food was California Natural Lamb and Rice Puppy. Their stools were never firm on it. About 2 months ago, I tired Now Puppy and they firmed right up. Because it is so expensive, I tried switching them gradually back to California Natural, Chicken and Rice puppy formula this time. It didn't work either. They started getting diarrhea as soon as I got to 3/4 California Natural 1/4 Now. So they are on Now puppy. That said, some of the other puppies from that litter are still on California Natural and their owners say they are doing really well. Another one, though, has recently started getting diarrhea.

My two adult collies are on Acana and everyone is doing just fine.

I did have two young adult collies (who have now been placed) on California Natural Chicken and Rice (adult food) and they did very well on it.

Unfortunately, what works for one dog may not work for another. This is just my experience and it may not be yours. It's hell, but you just have to try different foods until you find the one that works.

[Buster201]

One other thing - when trying to clear up food related diarrhea, what I've found works is to immediately switch the dogs to Hills Prescription Diet i/d for a couple of days. The diarrhea usually clears up in less than a day. I know the food is not nutritious and it is ridiculously overpriced at the vet, but for some reason it works. The stools firm right up. Starting with firm stools makes it easier to tell if a dog is adjusting well to a new food. I add the new food gradually and reduce the Hills. That's what I did when I switched my puppies from California Natural Lamb and Rice Puppy to Now Puppy.

The other benefit of doing it this way is that if the diarrhea clears up on Hills Diet, you can be pretty sure the cause of the diarrhea is food related and not due to a parasite.

[Jacksons Mom]

Jackson does really well on Go Endurance! I love the food. I think it's got awesome ingredients and I trust the company behind them. His poops are amazing on this stuff-LOL. He also eats Acana Grasslands with great results so I've been rotating the two foods. :)

[luvMyBRT]

One other thing - when trying to clear up food related diarrhea, what I've found works is to immediately switch the dogs to Hills Prescription Diet i/d for a couple of days.

I'd rather fast the dog for 12-24 hours and then start a bland diet of cooked chicken....or something like that, rather than feed anything Hills! JMO....

[IronWolf]

Just wanted to report that he's now fully on the Go! Duck and doing great! I'm pretty sure he's allergic to salmon. I don't want to mix his food up too much right now, as he's only 4 months old. I hope the Go! Duck is good for a 4 month old puppy who will end up being 70ish pounds?

I'm pretty sure he has issues with salmon, so it's just a matter of finding salmon free kibble, I'll have to look around and see what seems like it would be the best, but I don't want to mess with it right now, as he's finally good on a food.