# Food Suggestion



## dan668 (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi, new to the forum.

I own a border collie. He is 6 months. His first food, which came along with him from the states was Royal Canin Maxi. Never had problems. Alot of friends told me too switch off as the food wasnt that great for the price you pay. So i bought Acana Junior and Puppy. His stools were fine until he was fully weaned off Royal Canin. Now with Acana, his stools are ok in the morning. As the day progresses they become really soft. He usually goes 3 times a day. I was feeding him off the bag for a week, when i researched, it was too much. The past week ive been giving him a cup and a half, still no change. He seems sluggish at times, tired, not alot of energy which is surprising because its a border. The vet checked him and everything is ok. He did have to have his anal gland expressed, but im guessing that was because he was getting too much food. But like i said earlier, its been a week since he had that done/cut down on food, and not much has changed.

Considering switching to a different food, not sure what to pick. Higher/lower protein, chicken or fish.. Kirkland is an option, but all of diamonds recalls scare me. The royal canin that he had before isnt available at my local pet store. 

Any recommendations?

Thanks


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Maybe fromms or canine caviar, those are probably the top sellers at the store I work at.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

dan668 said:


> Hi, new to the forum.
> 
> I own a border collie. He is 6 months. His first food, which came along with him from the states was Royal Canin Maxi. Never had problems. Alot of friends told me too switch off as the food wasnt that great for the price you pay. So i bought Acana Junior and Puppy. His stools were fine until he was fully weaned off Royal Canin. Now with Acana, his stools are ok in the morning. As the day progresses they become really soft. He usually goes 3 times a day. I was feeding him off the bag for a week, when i researched, it was too much. The past week ive been giving him a cup and a half, still no change. He seems sluggish at times, tired, not alot of energy which is surprising because its a border. The vet checked him and everything is ok. He did have to have his anal gland expressed, but im guessing that was because he was getting too much food. But like i said earlier, its been a week since he had that done/cut down on food, and not much has changed.
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome to the forum Dan.
Many newer super premium foods can be a hit or a miss. Super stops being so super if it's digested poorly :smile:

What brands are available at your local pet store?
Some foods you could look for; Annamaet Extra, Dr Tim's Kinesis, Fromm Puppy Gold, Horizon Legacy Puppy, Go Refresh+Renew, Precise Puppy, ProPac, EaglePack.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

It is probably a fiber problem. Use something with beet pulp. Where do you live.


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## dr tim (Mar 27, 2011)

With an active/athletic dog one of the first things you will see when a food is not made for that style of dog is that the stools get soft as the day progresses. More activity, the food transit times picks up and it doesn't allow for the colon to work as effectively as it could. The colon is meant to remove water from the left over digesta that reaches the large intestine. How to allow for the colon to function better is to have the correct fiber mix in the food for this type of dog(active.) 

The other reason this happens is that the food the dog is on has too much uncooked starch in it and that reaches the colon and will pull water with it allowing for a soft stool to occur. How to combat this is to cook the food slower which allows for full starch conversion to something they can actually digest.

Lastly, if you want to eliminate the possibility that this is due to overfeeding is to cut the overall amount fed in half for three days and see if the stools solidify. If they do, overfeeding might be the cause of soft stool. If they do not firm up, the food isn't right for that dog.


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## dan668 (Nov 21, 2012)

From Toronto, so i can pretty much get any food without difficulty.

Ok, so its been more than 3 days. Ive been giving a cup and a half, to two cups. And still the stools go soft as the day progresses. What kind of food should i be looking for Tim? Acana seems well balanced so im not sure where i should be looking.

Thanks


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

dan668 said:


> From Toronto, so i can pretty much get any food without difficulty.



In that case, for your active breed, I'd find the nearest Global Petfoods and ask for Nutram Puppy/Adult or Nutram Active/Performance. I own a very active dog as well and have had absolutely best results with good quality classic type foods that use beet pulp. The only grain free formula that worked ok for us was Horizon Legacy. I have tested Nutram's new grain free line but they did not work out as good for us as their classic line. Global carries Annamaet and Precise too so that could be a cpl of options.


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## dr tim (Mar 27, 2011)

Annamaet would be a good choice for you in the Toronto area. Use the one meant for an active dog.


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## dan668 (Nov 21, 2012)

Bringing the thread back, So the dog was first on Royal Canin, did well. Acana puppy junior loose stools, store recommended Canine Caviar chicken and millet.. no problems, firm stool. So we tried another food with grain and chicken (Go) and back to loose stools. Noticed the dog itches quite often now. The only difference in foods that i can see is the egg and potato. Is it possible that he doesnt like one of those ingredients?


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

If Canine Caviar worked, why did you switch? Your dog is probably sensitive to either the particular grain in Go, or chicken, or both. Not all grains are the same. Which food had the egg and potato? Sorry, I'm confused. I'd go back to the Canine Caviar, since it worked.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

you may have to switch food a few times before you find one
that works for your dog or a food your dog likes. keep in
mind you can add things to his food (fresh meat, fish, various
oils, human grade), fruit, canned fish (in water, no salt added),
some raw, etc.


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## dan668 (Nov 21, 2012)

Will keep that in mind. Any input on horizon legacy? A local pet store recommended it to me. Only reason i want to switch off of canine caviar is because the few local stores only carry the tiny bag. Id prefer to buy a big bag. Cheaper and applies to deals when a certain quantity is bought, the next bag free..


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

dan668 said:


> Will keep that in mind. Any input on horizon legacy? A local pet store recommended it to me. Only reason i want to switch off of canine caviar is because the few local stores only carry the tiny bag. Id prefer to buy a big bag. Cheaper and applies to deals when a certain quantity is bought, the next bag free..


I would use a traditional formula for a border collie. You had good luck with Royal Canin, you could use RC Medium Special. Or you could use any number of chicken and rice foods. Annamaet, Nutram, Pro Plan, Eukanuba, etc.

Just use a food with beet pulp as a fiber source.


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