# Three Months on Ideal Balance



## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

So Echo has been on Ideal Balalnce grain free now for 3 months. It's no longer a pleasure to run my fingers through her lovely brown coat. It's not lovely anymore. It's wiry and brittle. People used to comment on how silky she was. I used to be able to want to pet her all day long. Now, not so much. 

 

It might have a "great" nutrient profile but I am NOT happy with what it did to her coat, not one bit. Her itching has stopped 100% but this is clearly not working well. 

So... now what? Back to fromm to deal with big poops I guess. At least she had beautiful coat on that!


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

Oh wow. Well that's not good. Sorry to hear she isn't doing well on it. You may want to keep an eye out for a new product Nutro is going to be coming out with soon. It's the new Grain Free in our Natural Choice line. I'm not 100% sure when it is going to be coming out but it should be pretty soon.


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

Maybe the fat content is too low, how is the fat on Fromm?

What version of the Hills are you using the adult formula or the puppy one? as many times the puppy versions are higher on fat than the adult formulas


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Maybe adding a "fat" could help with the coat problem, like meat trimmings or fish oil.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to add fish oil to her meals until the rest of this bag is gone. Fat level is 11% I IB. Fromm is usually 16-18 for the gold and four star lines. 

Her tummy sure agrees with IB tho. 

Oh well.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

if i were feeding food that's not working for my dog i wouldn't continue to feed it. i would switch
brands.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah, I think I'm going to return the bag and get Fromm instead. <sigh>


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm still surprised in the US they let you return the bag , here if a dog dislikes the food you are screwed hwell: ............ you loose money and have to give it to someone else dog for free , the stores or the distribuitors won't let you return it


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I got this particular bag at PetValu because it's close to me, but they are WAY, WAY overpriced. They were $10 more than chewy, and chewy sends it right to your door. PetValu said I can have a store credit. I don't really like the foods they carry there. Bleh. 

I just bathed Echo and put a lot of "product" in her hair, and it's helping her feel softer. Some of it is really damaged and dry tho  Oh well.

Isn't it interesting how a food works great for a while and then... doesn't? She also got chubby despite the calories being about 100 less than Fromm.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

umm, not sure if it would be helpful but if your pup does "fair" on both foods why not feed both foods? i generally feed different foods on an almost daily basis so to me going back and forth between the bags (not waiting to finish one then feeding the other, but serving both) makes sense. this way i can see if feeding both will give me the "best of both worlds", good poos and a silky coat.


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## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

Our puppy has been on Fromm since we got him. I know what you mean about a beautiful coat. His hair is really short for the summer but when it is longer he has the most gorgeous hair. Plus he loves his food.


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

Sapphire-Light said:


> I'm still surprised in the US they let you return the bag , here if a dog dislikes the food you are screwed hwell: ............ you loose money and have to give it to someone else dog for free , the stores or the distribuitors won't let you return it


Oh wow. Well that's not good. It definitely makes it much easier when you know you can return it if it doesn't work.


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

Celt said:


> umm, not sure if it would be helpful but if your pup does "fair" on both foods why not feed both foods? i generally feed different foods on an almost daily basis so to me going back and forth between the bags (not waiting to finish one then feeding the other, but serving both) makes sense. this way i can see if feeding both will give me the "best of both worlds", good poos and a silky coat.


Agree, that sounds like a good idea

My dog gets two separate kibbles, but that's because he gets bored fast if he gets only one type of kibble XD



NutroGeoff said:


> Oh wow. Well that's not good. It definitely makes it much easier when you know you can return it if it doesn't work.


Yeah it sucks, mostly when you have a toy dog and even if you get a small bag (around 5 pounds the smallest ones here) for a toy dog means some couple of months of food that he/she hates so its even harder to deside if you buy it :/ 

However the food is imported from outside the country and this means added transport and taxes, so I can see why they don't want them back


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

Oh wow. Yeah I guess that sort of makes sense. But still that's got to be difficult.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

More interesting things are happening with Echo. She is stealing any and everything with a flavor. She's eating dirt and sticks and grass.  I am waiting on my chewy order to arrive but I feel really sorry for what I've put her through on this food. No offense to anyone but this food is really, really not working here. 

Sorry, just a vent!


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

Shamrockmommy said:


> More interesting things are happening with Echo. She is stealing any and everything with a flavor. She's eating dirt and sticks and grass.  I am waiting on my chewy order to arrive but I feel really sorry for what I've put her through on this food. No offense to anyone but this food is really, really not working here.
> 
> Sorry, just a vent!


Wow that's a shame, this means more detective work then  

Defenly some dogs react bad to foods were other dogs do very well

For example the food that Pompadour did the worse was proplan, he got SEVERE reddish tear stains they looked all sticky like silicone glue but in red , people even were asking me if he got bloody cuts in his face 

The vet gave him angel eyes, he got better but they were still red, then when I finished the bag I switched the brand and he haven't got the reddish tint again or the glue like goo texture ... so there's something in the proplan that gave him that reaction


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

My rescue poodle also gets bored with a kibble quickly, so maybe you could divide a bag (even a small one), and freeze it in freezer bags in however many bags you want. This way you can take out small amounts at a time and rotate the kibbles you like to feed. I do this all the time so that the kibble doesn't get stale.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Ugh that sucks. I'm sorry! I hate when you notice little changes that happen gradually with a food you think you like. Frustrating.


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## qwassie (Jul 25, 2014)

You guys, I have a problem. My cat won't eat Nutella anymore. I know it's crazy now... I can't believe it. Now she won't have normal chocolate-loving kittens.  I wish I had a cat... and some ice cream.


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

Shamrockmommy said:


> More interesting things are happening with Echo. She is stealing any and everything with a flavor. She's eating dirt and sticks and grass.  I am waiting on my chewy order to arrive but I feel really sorry for what I've put her through on this food. No offense to anyone but this food is really, really not working here.
> 
> Sorry, just a vent!


Oh wow. Well that's never good. I am very sorry for that.


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