# Food too rich, symptoms?



## JoeCo

I keep reading on this and other forums about people not able to feed their dogs high protein kibbles because they are too rich.

What exactly are the symptoms of a too rich diet? No-one seems to say. I have been feeding my dogs and cats Orijen kibble and they seem to be doing fantastic on it.

I just want to make sure I am not missing any signs of too rich a diet.

Thanks


----------



## DaneMama

Trust me, the signs are not easily missed! Diarrhea and loose stools are the #1 symptom of the "richness" in the grainfree foods. Sometimes rich foods can cause dogs to vomit, but that is rare. 

Personally I think it just has to do with overfeeding dogs on the rich foods...not with the food itself. Most people give what the bag says (always more than what dogs need, so they eat more and you ultimately buy more, making the companies richer LOL), or the same amount as they fed on a previous, non-rich food. Which is still far more than what they need on a diet that has more protein and fat. 

I would recommend giving half the portion you are used to feeding when making the switch to a high protein diet like that and go from there. Keep an eye on body weight and stools. Adjust portions accordingly.


----------



## SuZQuzie

In the companion pet industry, there are ALOT of things that are arbitrarily bad, but no one really knows why. 

I have no idea what too rich would be. I know for me, it is me not wanting to eat the rich food in the first place and perhaps a stomach ache after the fact. :tongue:


----------



## steve

I believe that the too rich sydrome is a myth that has been perpertrated by the Vet community. I agree also that the biggest problem that i have seen in my store is the fact that people tend to overfeed their dog, whether it be what is usually listed on the bag which is too much as a rule or they feed the same amount with grainless as they did with their previous food that contained grain. Occasional it may be the protein source that seems to be the culprit but not too often.


----------



## malluver1005

danemama08 said:


> Trust me, the signs are not easily missed! Diarrhea and loose stools are the #1 symptom of the "richness" in the grainfree foods. Sometimes rich foods can cause dogs to vomit, but that is rare.
> 
> Personally I think it just has to do with overfeeding dogs on the rich foods...not with the food itself. Most people give what the bag says (always more than what dogs need, so they eat more and you ultimately buy more, making the companies richer LOL), or the same amount as they fed on a previous, non-rich food. Which is still far more than what they need on a diet that has more protein and fat.
> 
> I would recommend giving half the portion you are used to feeding when making the switch to a high protein diet like that and go from there. Keep an eye on body weight and stools. Adjust portions accordingly.


I agree. Don't feed the amount the bag says...unless the dogs are working their butts off 24/7! 

I'm supposed to feed Aspen between 4-6 cups a day and he only get about 2.5-3!!!!!!


----------



## JayJayisme

I never quite understood how any kibble could be more "rich" than raw meat and meaty bones but I can't deny that neither of my dogs did well on any of the high protein kibbles I tried (loose stools, diarrhea, and gas ) yet since I figured out the right ratio of meat to bone, they have both done very well on the prey model raw diet. :biggrin:


----------



## DaneMama

JayJayisme said:


> I never quite understood how any kibble could be more "rich" than raw meat and meaty bones but I can't deny that neither of my dogs did well on any of the high protein kibbles I tried (loose stools, diarrhea, and gas ) yet since I figured out the right ratio of meat to bone, they have both done very well on the prey model raw diet. :biggrin:


Its richer by weight because the meat meals that make up most of the content of the food are more "concentrated" than raw foods. This is because they are cooked down, moisture removed and then made into a powder that is used to make the kibble. So in essence the high protein, grain free food is much more rich by weight. Which explains why dogs should eat less of it than lower protein foods.


----------

