# I haven't been here for awhile, but . . . HELP!!



## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

I'll try to keep the back story as brief as possible before I get to my ??

I have 2 boxers, they are prone to sensitive tummy's and my male is super sensitive, I wanted to switch to raw and came here, did all of my research and then my hubby changed his mind and doesn't want to do it (and I haven't been here for awhile because I've been too embarrassed about it). I tried a lot of different foods for my male and the only one that he had consistant firm stools on was TOTW so they have been on it for awhile, he is almost 2 and recently has gotten far too lean, so after more research I decided to go back to Acana. I love Acana, it smells better and in light of everything that's been going on with recalls I absolutely trust it more. 

I did the switch gradually and the change in both of them has been amazing, Dodger has put on some weight and looks healthier, their coats are glossy and so so soft, they have more energy and it's fantastic. However, both of them have stool issues ranging from just soft to downright runny, and the gas!!!!, they are far more gassy and the stench is unbearable, I've even had to step outside to stop from gagging, yogurt isn't helping and I just don't know what to do. 

So here's my question, it's been 3 days now on just Acana, do I try to wait it out to see if their stools harden up (I really don't think they will, I switched very gradually) and see if they gas gets any better. Do I add some raw meaty bones to see if it helps with their stools and gas, and if so, what bones do I get (I know not to do weight bearing bones)? Do I try out other food brands, and if so what on earth is safe these days? Or, do I feed a variety of different foods like I've seen other people doing?

Please help!! My dogs are my babies and all I want is what's best for them, I'm still working on hubby about switching to raw, but in the meantime I want them as healthy as possible.

Thank you in advance for any advice and suggestions.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Since you've been feeding straight Acana for only three days, I'd say it's too soon to determine if it's not agreeing with them. 

I would stay the course for a bit longer. Possibly feed a little less, as overfeeding (which is easy to do with a rich food like Acana) is a good way to make loose stools.

ETA: I would also NOT add any RMB's at this time. Wait until they are better transitioned to the Acana.


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Since you've been feeding straight Acana for only three days, I'd say it's too soon to determine if it's not agreeing with them.
> 
> I would stay the course for a bit longer. Possibly feed a little less, as overfeeding (which is easy to do with a rich food like Acana) is a good way to make loose stools.
> 
> ETA: I would also NOT add any RMB's at this time. Wait until they are better transitioned to the Acana.




Is it possible that overfeeding would be causing the extremely vile gas issue as well?


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

Glad to see you back!! I personally would not go with anything made by Diamond Naturals. I've found Go! dog foods and am impressed. Have you thought about doing something dehydrated like The Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy's?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I agree that I would give it a bit more time.

What about the Acana Singles line (Duck & Pear and Lamb & Apple)? Very simple, but still great ingredients, and not incredibly low in protein and fat like some other hypoallergenic formulas. Jackson's poop has been the greatest on this lamb & apple formula.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

You didn't say which version of Acana you are feeding. They have quite a few variations and all of them have different ingredients. Some of them didn't agree with some of my dogs.....Rocky couldn't eat the ones with beef or bison without getting very gassy and having the runs, and Chelsy couldn't eat any of them because they all contained salmon or salmon oil which she was horribly allergic to. Most of the Champion foods do have quite a few ingredients and if you have a dog that reacts to one, it can be hard to narrow down which one it is. 

You could try a different variation of theirs and see if that helps. That's what I would try.


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

Sorry about that, I decided to go with their Sport/Agility formula because it has higher calories and I wanted to put some weight on Dodger and because they are incredibly active dogs.

I've also heard good things about Go! and Now!, Daisy came to us from her breeder eating the puppy formula of one of them and those are the brands I was considering trying next. 

It very well could be a case of overfeeding, they absolutely love it and as I was wanting to bulk him up a bit I gave him more when he wanted it. I think I will stick with it for awhile, pay more attention to how much I'm giving them, keep up with the yogurt and see what happens. I hope it works because I really am thrilled with the changes I've seen already with his weight and both of their coats.

I think I'll look into the dehydrated stuff as well to see what I find out. I have heard that's it's grossly expensive but I'll check it out for myself.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

When I kibble fed I loved Petcurean's Now! I was not a fan of any of the TOTW products. All I can recommend at this time is to perhaps add a probiotic with digestive enzymes such as Berte's Digestion Blend (1 lb.) Berte's Digestion Blend - bacterial pancreatic IBD and GI supplement [04016] - $40.95


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I looked at the ingredients for that one and it looked pretty good. The only thing I could think of was that the second ingredient was oats and I have seen some dogs that don't react well to oats. If they continue to have a problem with it, you might want to try another one of their products that doesn't have oats as the second ingredient. That fiber is what could be making them so gassy.


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

I love this forum!!!! I can't believe I stayed away because I was embarrased.

Thank you all so very much!!! DFC ROCKS!!! :becky:


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

I agree with Twoisplenty that you should try some probiotics. 

One of my DDBs had bad diarrhea as a pup (it started out as giardia, then issues with food, and some other health issues were going on)..and it just seemed like a never ending circle where we couldn't get her stools firmed up. She was just a mess!

I came across Eagle Pack's Holistic Solution and this stuff really helped to firm up her stools. We put it over her food ...it worked almost like magic. I have to say that I was really impressed with this stuff (even if it is made by Eagle Pack - which I know some people don't like). 

Eagle Pack Holistic Solutions | PetFoodDirect


Come to think about it..it may have been their Holistic Transitions : 
http://www.petfooddirect.com/Produc...istic-Transition-Supplement-for-Dogs-And-Cats

It's been over 6 years ago since we used it, but the green bottle seems more familiar. But I bet either one would work well for your boy. 

I hope that he adjusts to the Acana. I just bought a bag of the Grasslands formula yesterday to switch to. Hopefully my boy won't have any issues, but he normally has an iron gut.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Absolutely nothing to be embarrassed over :smile:

Unless the diarrhea does not stop soon you should stay the course and feed the Acana formula *only* for a minimum of 8 weeks, preferably 12 weeks. No supplements, no toppers, nothing but the Acana formula. I'll join others here that recommends Go and Now if you decide to ditch Acana. Go and Now are excellent products made not far from me. I believe Dr. Tim's is also made in the same facilities, not 100% sure, correct me if I am wrong.


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

You're lucky though. In Canada there seems to be a lot more pet food companies. I found Smack pet food. They have an all meat formula with berries only added in.


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

SaharaNight Boxers said:


> You're lucky though. In Canada there seems to be a lot more pet food companies. I found Smack pet food. They have an all meat formula with berries only added in.


I would have thought the States would have way more than us, we have such strict FDA guidelines that we can't get a lot of things that you have in the US, I just assumed it would be the same way for dogs.

Edit. P.S. I would so love to see our boys side by side sometime! LOL


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

Yeah lol you have to a stacked picture sometime soon to compare that too haha


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

How much are you feeding? Uno weighs 60 lbs and he eats just under 2 cups a day which seems to work best for him. I would also recommend adding digestive enzymes which helps to break food down more efficiently and resolve any issues that come with transition like gas, diarrhea, etc.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Unosmom said:


> I would also recommend adding digestive enzymes which helps to break food down more efficiently and resolve any issues that come with transition like gas, diarrhea, etc.


If you add enzymes before a transition is done you don't know what you have. Gas and soft stools is nothing to worry about during a transition phase. Diarrhea over a prolonged time is an issue however. So adding enzymes, stool hardeners and various additives isn't doing anyone any favors in a transition period imo. They can be beneficial once on a fixed diet though.


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## Gally (Jan 28, 2012)

If they did well on TOTW I would try the Acana grain free formulas if the current one doesn't agree with them. I found Gally had worse gas on chicken formulas too so maybe a formula with a different protein.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

You've gotten some great advice, and I don't have anything to add to that, other than I'm glad you're back!! I'm sorry you were embarrassed to come back since you're feeding kibble now. Plenty of people go back and forth, or do half and half. It's not a big deal. :biggrin: you're doing so much better than most pet owners ever do, and that speaks volumes.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Enzymes have always helped my dog(and my clients dogs) during transition, I slowly reduce the amount over a course of week and then usually stop when the dogs stomach settles.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I agree that oats or oatmeal as the primary carb source can be very gas producing in some dogs. It you decide to stick with the formula, I highly recommend adding a probiotic with each meal. Otherwise, consider a formula without oats.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

For sure no RMB's until you can stop the gas. You can try the food longer, maybe add in probiotics/enzymes later on. From experience I can say that the gas may not go away. My mastiff got horrible gas from a certain food. I stuck with it and prayed the paint would not peel off the walls as my husband ran into another room every time Dozer farted. I don't want you to give up on this food, just have some back up kibbles if the gas doesn't go away. Perpetual gas is never a good thing. I hope you find something that works. And just because you aren't feeding raw, does not mean we don't still love you 

And anyone who makes you feel otherwise should be ashamed of their self. Not everyone can do raw. We do what we feel is best for our dogs, as long as its not crazy like Ol' Roy or Kibbles n Bits, then no one should be flamed for it.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I agree with what others have said about waiting longer to see how the stools turn out. Also yes be sure to not overfeed. Even 1/4 cup extra can cause digestive upset.


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

wolfsnaps88 said:


> For sure no RMB's until you can stop the gas. You can try the food longer, maybe add in probiotics/enzymes later on. From experience I can say that the gas may not go away. My mastiff got horrible gas from a certain food. *I stuck with it and prayed the paint would not peel off the walls as my husband ran into another room every time Dozer farted.* I don't want you to give up on this food, just have some back up kibbles if the gas doesn't go away. Perpetual gas is never a good thing. I hope you find something that works. And just because you aren't feeding raw, does not mean we don't still love you
> 
> And anyone who makes you feel otherwise should be ashamed of their self. Not everyone can do raw. We do what we feel is best for our dogs, as long as its not crazy like Ol' Roy or Kibbles n Bits, then no one should be flamed for it.




Thank you all for your support, it was silly of me to stay away!!

I had to run to the store earlier and they love car rides so into my suv they went, halfway there one of them farted and it almost killed me!!! Thank goodness for electric windows - LOL

I had been feeding them too much, I was just going with what they ate on TOTW which I realized was way too much after checking the bag, yikes, my bad!!! Hopefully that was the problem and I'll see firmer stools in the next couple of days, my poor babies!! Bad Mama!!

I'll let you know how it goes, I sure hope it works because I love how Acana even smells more like food, and I know I've already mentioned it but their coats look sooooo good!!!


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## DandD (Jan 4, 2012)

I just wanted to update everyone on this food/vile gas issue, I stuck it out as long as I could with Acana, making sure that they were only getting the recommended amount and nothing else at all - all for nought, the vile gas seemed to get even worse; so, I switched again to Go, sensitivity formula and am sooooooo happy!!! All the same benefits of Acana, smells like real food, dogs love it, super soft coats, they look more healthy, more energetic - all of that and NO VILE GAS!!! :biggrin: YAY!! I think the Acana had too much protein, it was something like 34% compared to the 22% of Go, their past food was also a lower protein %, it may have been that, but I don't know, all I know is that I'm thrilled, my babies are happy and healthy and that's all that matters to me :biggrin:


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Glad you found a food to work for you.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

oh yeah, overfeeding is a huge culprit of gas/soft stools. 

sounds like you are on the right track. Give it some time.

Pumpkin is another good additive to calm stomachs down. I'd add a bit to their food--you'll have to check on how much to add according to their size. 

Beautiful Dogs. Just awesome.


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