# Go!/Now! Opinions



## IronWolf (Aug 23, 2010)

Hey All,
Does anyone use the Go! or Now! foods? Since the acana didn't seem to work for my guy, the only thing I can think of that's causing him to get mucousy diarrhea is either: 1) Salmon, 2) He can't handle the "richer" foods, 3) We are overfeeding him somehow.

Tempted to try the Now! Duck formula, but not sure if it's good for a 4 month old puppy or not (Golden retriever crossed with a standard poodle, but he's getting big fast!). The large breed acana did not work it seems, as he was still getting the mucous diarrhea 4 days in at 2 cups a day (75% medical gastro, 25% acana).

I'm kind of at my wits end on what to try. So many foods out there, but most puppy and other foods contain salmon (if that's even the problem, who knows, but all the issues started around the time we bought some zuke's salmon treats).

Sorry for the small rant, it's been a frustrating couple of weeks researching everything, and just having so much information that it's hard to tell where to even go, and maybe spending too much time worrying about every little number.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Remember that some dogs just don't and won't ever do well on kibble, this was my Bull terrier female with horrible issues with diarreah and many trips to the vet, shi is my 15,000 dog now with everything I've put into her. My only option was to try raw and that worked.


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## IronWolf (Aug 23, 2010)

Is it odd that he's ok on medical gastro (although the food is like cardboard!).

I'm a little scared of raw to be honest, mainly because I don't know anything about it at all. Do you have some good links on it? Is it literally thawing raw food and feeding it?


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

IronWolf said:


> I'm a little scared of raw to be honest, mainly because I don't know anything about it at all. Do you have some good links on it? Is it literally thawing raw food and feeding it?


Yup. You thaw out some meat and feed it. :biggrin:

In the beginning you have to be careful and follow a few guidelines. You don't want to rush and cause digestive upset. 

Come on over to the raw section, ask some questions, read some posts. RawFedDogs has a link in his signature. Read that. Danemama and Jdatwood have a great page for getting started on raw. I am sure she/he can post it for you. :smile:


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## IronWolf (Aug 23, 2010)

Ok cool thanks for the info. I don't know if me and the wife are there yet, but the way it's going, we may end up being there. I still just find it weird, a dog allergic to salmon? But I guess all my problems started with those treats! He was good on innova large breed puppy for 4 weeks (albeit, soft stool, but never diarrhea and still formed)


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

Our goldens rotate through the NOW adult and have done very very well. It was recommended to me by a berner breeder who has used it for several years with great success. She has berners in the 12 year old range, where breed longevity averages 8. It has no rendered products. At first it bothered me that potato flour was the second ingredient, but as I found out it is used as binder. Many grain frees use pea or tapioca for that purpose. NOW adult is 30% carbs, 26% protein, and has very moderate cahos ratio.


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## 3feathers (Oct 29, 2008)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> It was recommended to me by a berner breeder who has used it for several years with great success.


Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the Now! line fairly new? Meaning that it just came out 2 years ago. Maybe 3 at the most. My boy it 2 1/2, and I had him when it was just hitting the shelves.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

I believe that is what she told me also and she's been using it since it came out. She's weaned litters onto it, used it for her adults and her seniors.


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## IronWolf (Aug 23, 2010)

Ok thanks for the replies everyone. Right now, it's between one of the Now! foods, and California Natural Puppy lamb and rice, for our guy. He's going to be a bigger guy...I'm guessing around the 70 pound mark, but the lady at the Bone and Biscuit told me not to worry about the 2.2% calcium level in the Cal. nat, and that it should be fine. I'll take a closer look at the foods when we are there I guess. She said if anything changes with Cal. Nat. as part of the P & G Deal, she will pull the food immediately.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

The Cal Nat chicken puppy formula has a more moderate calcium level. Eliminate Pet Food Allergies – Hypoallergenic Dog Food & Cat Food – California Natural Pet Food That lamb formula is bothersome to me for the high calciumhos levels.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

IronWolf said:


> but the lady at the Bone and Biscuit told me not to worry about the 2.2% calcium level in the Cal. nat, and that it should be fine.


I would!!!  2.2% for calcium is way, way high for a large breed puppy. Orijen LBP has a max of 1.7...and that's as high as I would feel comfortable going.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My Lhasa has a horrible allergy to Salmon, salmon oil and olive oil so a Salmon allergy is not unheard of. It took us quite awhile to figure out that it was the salmon that she was allergic to and it was finally some salmon treats that proved it. She will get horrendous mucousy and then bloody diarrhea with anything that has those ingredients in it. 

Very few kibbles are salmon free. Even some that say 'ocean fish' end up having salmon. I've emailed the companies and they can't guarantee they have no salmon in their food. The only one that she can eat right now is Evo. It has herring instead of salmon. I've also raised my son's 8 week old Chihuahua puppy on it and the vet said it was fine for a chihuahua puppy. 

If you want to try and go completely salmon free to see if that is the cause, there are also quite a few canned foods that have no salmon in them. I supplement her diet with canned food in the morning. You have to learn to really read the labels because salmon OIL is hidden everywhere. She does fine on Herring so we look for that instead. Right now we are slowly transitioning her to raw and she is doing really well with it. 

Good luck.


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## Buster201 (Sep 2, 2010)

IronWolf said:


> Ok thanks for the replies everyone. Right now, it's between one of the Now! foods, and California Natural Puppy lamb and rice, for our guy. He's going to be a bigger guy...I'm guessing around the 70 pound mark, but the lady at the Bone and Biscuit told me not to worry about the 2.2% calcium level in the Cal. nat, and that it should be fine. I'll take a closer look at the foods when we are there I guess. She said if anything changes with Cal. Nat. as part of the P & G Deal, she will pull the food immediately.


I had a litter of collie puppies in April. Their first solid food was California Natural Lamb and Rice Puppy. Their stools were never firm on it. About 2 months ago, I tired Now Puppy and they firmed right up. Because it is so expensive, I tried switching them gradually back to California Natural, Chicken and Rice puppy formula this time. It didn't work either. They started getting diarrhea as soon as I got to 3/4 California Natural 1/4 Now. So they are on Now puppy. That said, some of the other puppies from that litter are still on California Natural and their owners say they are doing really well. Another one, though, has recently started getting diarrhea.

My two adult collies are on Acana and everyone is doing just fine.

I did have two young adult collies (who have now been placed) on California Natural Chicken and Rice (adult food) and they did very well on it.

Unfortunately, what works for one dog may not work for another. This is just my experience and it may not be yours. It's hell, but you just have to try different foods until you find the one that works.


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## Buster201 (Sep 2, 2010)

One other thing - when trying to clear up food related diarrhea, what I've found works is to immediately switch the dogs to Hills Prescription Diet i/d for a couple of days. The diarrhea usually clears up in less than a day. I know the food is not nutritious and it is ridiculously overpriced at the vet, but for some reason it works. The stools firm right up. Starting with firm stools makes it easier to tell if a dog is adjusting well to a new food. I add the new food gradually and reduce the Hills. That's what I did when I switched my puppies from California Natural Lamb and Rice Puppy to Now Puppy.

The other benefit of doing it this way is that if the diarrhea clears up on Hills Diet, you can be pretty sure the cause of the diarrhea is food related and not due to a parasite.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Jackson does really well on Go Endurance! I love the food. I think it's got awesome ingredients and I trust the company behind them. His poops are amazing on this stuff-LOL. He also eats Acana Grasslands with great results so I've been rotating the two foods.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Buster201 said:


> One other thing - when trying to clear up food related diarrhea, what I've found works is to immediately switch the dogs to Hills Prescription Diet i/d for a couple of days.


I'd rather fast the dog for 12-24 hours and then start a bland diet of cooked chicken....or something like that, rather than feed anything Hills!  JMO....:smile:


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## IronWolf (Aug 23, 2010)

Just wanted to report that he's now fully on the Go! Duck and doing great! I'm pretty sure he's allergic to salmon. I don't want to mix his food up too much right now, as he's only 4 months old. I hope the Go! Duck is good for a 4 month old puppy who will end up being 70ish pounds?

I'm pretty sure he has issues with salmon, so it's just a matter of finding salmon free kibble, I'll have to look around and see what seems like it would be the best, but I don't want to mess with it right now, as he's finally good on a food.


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