# Kibble Issues



## ClicketySnap (Jun 18, 2012)

I just can't win in the kibble department. 
Jax has tried 8 different kinds of kibble now (everything from Iams to Orijen), and I am currently supplementing his kibble diet with raw once a week and home-made dog food when he has a busy day. He definitely prefers kibble to raw diet. He regularly eats carrots, apples, and bananas, and has never been allowed to have rawhide. Currently he is on a Royal Canin special diet because I got a free bag from a dog food representative and he likes it better than the kibble I had been getting for him. 

The vet I take him to sells Royal Canin veterinary diet but doesn't usually push it. I am not a huge fan of the ingredients, but I am stunned that his little tummy seems to prefer this stuff over higher quality kibble like Nutro or Orijen. He was having horrible soft stool that sometimes bordered diarrhea that happened gradually over the past five months that I have been feeding him President's Choice kibble, so I switched him cold turkey to this sample bag of Royal Canin. Not good for his system, I know, but I wanted to see what it did to his already upset tummy. The result is like night and day. Went from runny poop one day on President's Choice and normal almost hard stool the next day on Royal Canin. 

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the ingredients, but I am wondering if maybe I should continue feeding the Royal Canin special diet anyway. Any feedback or suggestions? I know a lot of people on here really push a RAW diet and I have tried it. Jax is naturally high-energy all the time and the raw diet seemed to make it way worse. Like, demon doggie from hell kind of worse. He likes crunchy food more than soft meat anyway, so a kibble diet works better for us right now.


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## Felix (Oct 9, 2012)

I would do what works. I had diarrhea/vomiting issues with my dog for 4 years. For the last 1.5 years I have finally found what wasn't working for him and can now feed him a good quality food without having to clean up diarrhea every day! It's a godsend! There's nothing I wouldn't pay for my dog not to be having diarrhea and vomiting on a daily basis. Luckily I still have what I would consider quality food options and also feed him raw and canned as well to give him a variety. He loves the way I'm feeding him now and doesn't get bored like he used to.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I agree with feeding what works. If it was Alpo, I wouldn't say that.


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## Ziggy (Mar 25, 2013)

May I ask what formula Royal Canin. I was prescribed a bag of GI low fat formula and it did not seem to be working however I mixed it in with the Fromm's that Ziggy and Allie were being transitioned to - it did not seem to help; I went to a new vet and she put Allie on metroniazole - Allie was starting to get better and then last night I have her 3/4 Fromm's and 1/4 Royal Canin and now she has very soft stool again.


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## brindle (Mar 14, 2013)

ClicketySnap said:


> I just can't win in the kibble department.
> Jax has tried 8 different kinds of kibble now (everything from Iams to Orijen), and I am currently supplementing his kibble diet with raw once a week and home-made dog food when he has a busy day. He definitely prefers kibble to raw diet. He regularly eats carrots, apples, and bananas, and has never been allowed to have rawhide. Currently he is on a Royal Canin special diet because I got a free bag from a dog food representative and he likes it better than the kibble I had been getting for him.
> 
> The vet I take him to sells Royal Canin veterinary diet but doesn't usually push it. I am not a huge fan of the ingredients, but I am stunned that his little tummy seems to prefer this stuff over higher quality kibble like Nutro or Orijen. He was having horrible soft stool that sometimes bordered diarrhea that happened gradually over the past five months that I have been feeding him President's Choice kibble, so I switched him cold turkey to this sample bag of Royal Canin. Not good for his system, I know, but I wanted to see what it did to his already upset tummy. The result is like night and day. Went from runny poop one day on President's Choice and normal almost hard stool the next day on Royal Canin.
> ...


I actually really like a lot of Royal Canin's formulas. Which formula is he on?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Royal Canin is a great brand with a great reputation; lots of research behind them. I wouldn't hesitate to feed it if it was all my dog did well on. I wish some of their formulas had different ingredients (a non-chicken-based formula would be nice) personally, but some of their RX foods are great. If I had to feed RX, I'd definitely choose it over Purina or SD.


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## ClicketySnap (Jun 18, 2012)

Mass reply to everyone since I was busy today and forgot to check this. 

He's currently eating the Royal Canin Mini Special formula. 
Ingredients: chicken meal, brewer's rice, chicken fat, corn gluten meal, brewer's rice flour, dried beet pulp, natural flavors, wheat gluten, brewer's dried yeast, fish oil, sodium silico aluminate, vegetable oil, potassium chloride, L-lysine, fructooligosaccharides, sodium tripolyphosphate, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride, zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, L-carnitine, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min) 28.0%, Crude Fat (min) 20.0%, Crude Fiber (max) 3.3%, Moisture (max) 10.0%

I agree that if I had to give Jax a Rx diet I would be more ok with Royal Canin over Sience Diet, Purina, or Iams. I do really wish that there were other flavor options available, but since I already supplement with home-made meals I can include beef or turkey on my own.


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## Jace (Oct 3, 2012)

I would definitely feed what works for two reason. Besides the fact that diarrhea itself is no fun, you are setting yourself up for possible IBD later. The more inflamed the gut, and the longer the time, it can make it difficult to find a solution. Sometimes looking past the ingredients is important (provided the company has a good reputation etc).


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

have you tried any premium limited ingredient foods like instinct LID?


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## StellaLucyDesi (Oct 29, 2008)

I am definitely in the camp of those who say feed what works. Around Dec. of last year I was feeding Merrick (had been feeding it for around 3 months until then) and was a happy pet mom, until I had some inconsistencies with some of their kibble pieces. I stopped feeding it and transitioned the dogs over to Acana Duck. I fed that for two months until my older mixed breed started having some issues like vomiting, loose stool and really bad eye stains. The other two were just okay with it, as well. I began searching for another kibble to use. Transitioned them to Wellness Small Breed. Over a month's time I switched between Small Breed Core, regular Small Breed and Small Breed Healthy Weight. All dogs seemed to like the food (I think Wellness is a good brand) but Laverne (who has mild allergies) wasn't handling the Wellness very "well" lol. Now to digress......I used to feed and recommend Natural Balance for allergy prone dogs and loved the food. It did what it was designed for and with fairly decent formulas/ingredients. When the Diamond recall occurred last year, I boycotted NB and haven't fed it or recommended it since. Well......I needed to do something. Lucy was gonna be boarded soon and I needed a kibble she would eat to send with her. I admit that after all my food searching of late that I finally decided to go back and use their limited ingredient kibble. I chose the Sweet Pot. & Fish small breed to start. The dogs have been eating it now for a month and no one has had any issue whatsoever! I mean I don't even have to add probiotics/enzymes to their food! Laverne has no anal gland issues or eye stains. Lucy has no throwing up, eye stains are gone, stool is perfect, Hazel's stool is perfect, too. I do top their food with various canned foods using various flavors, like Merrick, NB LIDs, Wellness Stews, Blue Stews. I just bought some 4Health grain free cans and they are still doing great with those added. Very, very pleased! I do know that NB still uses Diamond, and I'm not too happy about that, however, I will be vigilant. This is just working and so that is what I'm gonna stay with (until it doesn't lol).


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## ClicketySnap (Jun 18, 2012)

Unosmom said:


> have you tried any premium limited ingredient foods like instinct LID?


I have tried Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredients, and I did feed raw and home-made food for a while. Other than that I haven't tried any other "premium" kibble for a while. I will have to check what brands are available in my city. There's a specialty pet store that opened just last year and they sell a lot of high-end dog food that no other pet store here carries. I've only been there twice so I don't remember what all is available.


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## SuperPug (Mar 5, 2013)

How about PetsMart's Simply Nourish LID? My pug did decently well on it.


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## Jace (Oct 3, 2012)

If the Blue Buffalo LID worked, then that may be your answer, to choose a food with a novel protein like Duck, Venison, Salmon etc, and one (or two carbs that have a limited exposure like tapioca, millet etc.. I am sorry I though you said that you have tried all of those foods, I assumed you had meant some "hypo-allergenic" ones :sorry::


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## Ziggy (Mar 25, 2013)

Allie is not getting better; Natural Balance limited ingredient food was recommended; I call NB and the food distributed in Nevada, California - I guess all of the West Coast - is not made in the South Carolina Diamond Plant. I am getting desperate - the dog nutritionist - doubt if she is a real nutritionist - recommended duck and potato Natural Balance - any opinions on trying a not chicken based limited ingredient - and what that ingredient should be. Allie actually gained one pound; had blood work done today - will get results Friday. In my opinion, the vet she is seeing is good re medical conditions but clueless re food - at least she does not suggest food the vet clinic sells.
Thank you all so much again.


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## SuperPug (Mar 5, 2013)

In my opinion, Natural Balance is over priced mid-grade kibble. Have you also tried Bil-Jac Sensitive Solutions or Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach? I really don't like either of those kibbles, but I've heard customers having excellent results from them. I, personally, would try Pro Plan 1st.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

another brand to consider is zignature, I'm not 100% happy with the ingredients, but for some reason it works really well for dogs with stomach issues, we have a hard time keeping it in stock.


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## Jace (Oct 3, 2012)

Choosing a LID with proteins that your dog has NOT been exposed to before is the most important thing. As well you would want to rule out "typical" proteins such as beef, chicken, lamb etc, and choose one or two carbs which are newly introduced (not used in the past). Duck and Potato is usually an option, Fish and Tapioca, Salmon and Millet, just as examples. If you are getting frustrated you can go onto a prescription "hypo" diet, which gives time for the gut to heal, and you to do the research as to what food might work. Prescription "Hypo" diets are about the only thing that is almost impossible for the dog to be allergic to, as the meat protein structure is different.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Feed what works. Save your worry and spend the energy on Love instead  Royal Canin is far from the worst food in the world. Maybe once things get settled down for awhile, you can try some different foods in small doses to see if they work.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> Feed what works. Save your worry and spend the energy on Love instead  Royal Canin is far from the worst food in the world. Maybe once things get settled down for awhile, you can try some different foods in small doses to see if they work.


Agree. Sometimes you simply need to move past ingredient labels and feed what is actually working for your dog.

Did the Natural Balance work? If so, you really could be doing much worse and I wouldn't worry about that or the Royal Canin.


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