# Did NV Instinct have any recent formula changes?



## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

I was feeding my foster dog NV Instinct Salmon with no issues for a month, then a week ago I got a new bag of the exact same food and when I opened the bag the food was a completely different size (twice as big) and the color was lighter. I fed her the same amount as I did on the first bag 1/3 cup twice a day (she was 26lb when I got her, her ideal weight should be around 21 or 22lb). After a couple days on the new bag she started having loose stool and then it turned into shoot out liquid stool (for a day). She's like a puppy right now trying to chew everything in her mouth (dog poop, bark, sticks, leaves, wood door trim, drywall, my oven, shoes, my coffee table etc. LOL) so it's possible she didn't get sick from the food, I'm not sure.

I stopped feeding it when she got the water diarrhea, and went to organic white rice, boiled chicken, and home made chicken broth. Also coconut oil and human probitotics (pearls) which seemed to get her stool solid again fairly quickly, but her stool is still a little mucusy and slightly fowl smelling to me. I'm hoping it's not Giardia (Lola had it couple years ago and it was such a pain to get rid of), she's only pooping once a day with the home cooked food, which is making it difficult to get afresh sample over to the vet to send out in time for the lab. I thought I'd wait another couple days and if the stool still seems off, I'll bring in a sample.

Just in case it might have been the food, I went out and bought some Acana Pacifica to try instead.

I did find one recent review on NV Instinct where someone had a similar experience to mine, but who knows if it really had to do with the food, diarrhea and loose stools can be so common.


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

Well her stool sample came back negative for everything and she is doing better, so it must have been something she got into or the second bag of NV food that was different looking. She's now on half chicken and rice and half Acana, I'm slowly moving her onto Acana. So far I like the Acana better than NV Instinct, but we'll see how she does with it over this next week, her poop seems to be maybe a little too hard right now.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I know giardia is not "shed" everytime they poop, so she could have it. I used to feed BB and bought a bag that had kibble different than the last bag. I don't like how kibble can vary like that. IMO it should look the same every bag if it is the same food. I am suprised you had that from NV, I thought they were a pretty good company. Your observations make me think otherwise. 
Hope her stools stay normal!


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

Yes giardia can be difficult to show up on a stool sample, especially if they just do a fecal float test for it instead of the more expensive one. I'm not sure what test they did because she sees a different vet than mine through the rescue, which pays for her vet bills. Her stool has been solid the last couple of days, much less mucous and doesn't smell as it did before. Giardia can be tricky, so I'm still keeping an eye out for it just in case. 

I was really surprised too, I agree, I thought Nature's Variety was a pretty good company, I've fed their food in the past with good results. I wish I had kept the first bag so I could of compared the expiration dates of both bags. I bought both of them from my vet office about a month a part. I'm buying very small bags because I'm not sure how long I'll have her and my dogs are fed raw. Maybe Nature's Variety isn't as good quality wise as it use to be. I was also surprised that Acana was a couple dollars cheaper than NV Instinct for me.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Roo said:


> Yes giardia can be difficult to show up on a stool sample, especially if they just do a fecal float test for it instead of the more expensive one. I'm not sure what test they did because she sees a different vet than mine through the rescue, which pays for her vet bills. Her stool has been solid the last couple of days, much less mucous and doesn't smell as it did before. Giardia can be tricky, so I'm still keeping an eye out for it just in case.
> 
> I was really surprised too, I agree, I thought Nature's Variety was a pretty good company, I've fed their food in the past with good results. I wish I had kept the first bag so I could of compared the expiration dates of both bags. I bought both of them from my vet office about a month a part. I'm buying very small bags because I'm not sure how long I'll have her and my dogs are fed raw. Maybe Nature's Variety isn't as good quality wise as it use to be. I was also surprised that Acana was a couple dollars cheaper than NV Instinct for me.


Glad her poops are normal and that you know about giardia. Hope she doesn't have it, but at the same time it dissapoints me about NV.
I am considering going raw and this about NV be another reason for me to. I am suprised Acana is cheaper as well.


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

Yeah I have to admit it's been so nice feeding home made raw and not having to think about different dog food brands etc.


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