# Transitioned to Dr. Tim's GF



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

And so far so good. 

Tux was on Acana Regionals Wild Prairie. He did pretty good on it, minus having soft stools after a lot of activities/running hard. After day care, he would have soft/runny poo, after playing catch at the park, after long walks/playing in between with dogs, etc.. So sometimes he would poo right after the activities and since he's always running around and doing stuff, he would go poo 4-5x a day. Rainy days meant less poo/firm, since he couldn't go outside and go nuts. I did some research and lots of people consider this normal and caused by excitement/stress/activity. Does anyone here have any thoughts on this? 

He also had a constant itch. He would scratch once or twice every hour. The itching started around the time we transitioned from Natural Balance Alpha to Acana. 

We started the transition last week and did a 20/40/60/80/100% mix. It's been 4 days since he's had Dr. Tim's 100% and the switch went smooth. His stools are firm, still has lots of energy and gobbles it down. He doesn't go poo after being active anymore. Which is kind of throwing me off lol.. Since I'll bring him inside the house and watch him like a hawk. 

Sunday he had a full day of activity and only went poo 3x, small and firm each time. Yesterday we were outside for 2.5 hours, walking around the neighborhood, chatting with neighbors; he got to play with other dogs as well. I tried bringing him inside after an hour, but he was full of energy and was running around. So that's when we went back outside. I figured he would have to go poo before bed after all this walking, playing and whatnot. But guess not, he went early this morning. Only thing throwing me off is, he used to poo before going to bed every single time. So this week I've been taking him out potty and waiting around for him to poo and nothing. Now he'll go in the morning, mid day and evening. 

As for the itching, think it's too soon to determine if Acana was causing it. But it seems to have decreased, since starting the switch. I'll update after a few weeks have gone by. 

Sucks that our local pet shop doesn't carry Dr. Tim's. So we'll have to order from Chewy.com. Tux liked going to the pet store! 

Tux waiting for his food


----------



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Good to hear! Abbie is on the grain inclusive Kinesis and doing amazing. I might try her on Annamaet Encore simply because I can get it at cost, but I am rather attached to Dr. Tim's now lol...


----------



## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Good to hear. Tim makes a good food and he's a really great person.

I hope his food continues to do well.


----------



## CrazyZane (Apr 14, 2013)

Glad to hear it's working. 

I tried Kinesis (grain) w/ Zane last month and he never could get firm stools. They weren't loose piles but were very soft formed and not easy to pick up. Dr. Tim agreed something didn't sit well with Zane. I'm now feeding Zane Annamaet Ultra. I started feeding it last night.


----------



## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Glad it's going well!


----------



## NewfieAussie (Feb 19, 2013)

That's great when you find a food that works. I feed Dr Tim's Pursuit, my dogs like it, have energy and clean up is easy.


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

He is just SO cute. I love me some Westie's. 

That's really good to hear! I had started a thread (that got closed, lol) on the issue of pooping while on long walks, etc. http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/19276-looser-stool-walks-more-exercise.html

I still haven't solved the issue. I thought I had -- because we have been feeding NOW Adult GF and we went on a 4 mile hike in a new park/trails and I was *amazed* that he only pooped once (solid) and no runny poos throughout the walk. So I thought we had found a food that helped it, but we've been on some long walks since then and it's still basically the same. If we do 3 miles, he usually poops 3x -- the first one solid and normal, second one a bit softer, and the third just a bit runny. We're not doing bully sticks anymore, or much extra, so I know it's not that. At this point, I've pretty much just chalked it up to Jackson being Jackson BUT certainly not opposed to trying the Tim's. I have a sample but it's probably only a day's worth of food so I'm waiting until I can get the 5lb bag from Chewy (it's been sold out for a few weeks  )


----------



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Jacksons Mom said:


> He is just SO cute. I love me some Westie's.
> 
> That's really good to hear! I had started a thread (that got closed, lol) on the issue of pooping while on long walks, etc. http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/19276-looser-stool-walks-more-exercise.html


Thanks for the link, was an interesting read. So far we haven't had any issues with just feeding him Dr. Tim's. Even on active days, his stool is small and only goes 3x a day. Except yesterday. Since he seemed to be doing well on Dr. Tim's, we decided to try finishing his last can of Fromm 4Star Shredded Chicken. We put in a teaspoon and he went poo an hour later, diarrhea. Then we went for a walk an hour and half later, he went poo again, only it was firm. He didn't go poo again until early this morning after sleeping. This was the first time, since starting Dr. Tim's, where he went multiple times within couple hours. Although he never had diarrhea when we mixed it with Acana. So we're going to hold back on the wet food and try again later on, starting with maybe half a teaspoon. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out.


----------



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

jaber6 said:


> Thanks for the link, was an interesting read. So far we haven't had any issues with just feeding him Dr. Tim's. Even on active days, his stool is small and only goes 3x a day. Except yesterday. Since he seemed to be doing well on Dr. Tim's, we decided to try finishing his last can of Fromm 4Star Shredded Chicken. We put in a teaspoon and he went poo an hour later, diarrhea. Then we went for a walk an hour and half later, he went poo again, only it was firm. He didn't go poo again until early this morning after sleeping. This was the first time, since starting Dr. Tim's, where he went multiple times within couple hours. Although he never had diarrhea when we mixed it with Acana. So we're going to hold back on the wet food and try again later on, starting with maybe half a teaspoon. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out.


Hmmm, interesting. Well keep me posted if you don't mind, if he continues to not have soft stool during hard exercise, I think buying a 5lb bag of Tim's GF will be worth a shot for us. If I could get the nasty poos to stop on walks, it'd be nice. It's kind of embarrassing because sometimes the last poo isn't really "pick-up-able" so I don't want ppl to think I'm just NOT picking up poo. And I don't want people in the dog park to think my dog is sick or something LOL. 

Fromm always gave Jackson a bit softer stools. Nothing alarming, but softer. Don't know, maybe too many ingredients or something.


----------



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Jacksons Mom said:


> Hmmm, interesting. Well keep me posted if you don't mind, if he continues to not have soft stool during hard exercise, I think buying a 5lb bag of Tim's GF will be worth a shot for us. If I could get the nasty poos to stop on walks, it'd be nice. It's kind of embarrassing because sometimes the last poo isn't really "pick-up-able" so I don't want ppl to think I'm just NOT picking up poo. And I don't want people in the dog park to think my dog is sick or something LOL.
> 
> Fromm always gave Jackson a bit softer stools. Nothing alarming, but softer. Don't know, maybe too many ingredients or something.


Sure, wouldn't mind posting an update every so often  Noticed his poo doesn't smell (as bad) as before. Before you could smell it and to be honest, smell hints of chicken... lol. Now, not so much. It just sucks when he poos on tall(er) grass and I'm trying to pick it up in one grab. Doesn't end up working out lol... I got the 15lb bag for $15 off, I just talked to their online rep and told'em I really wanted to try this food next, but didn't want to pay for 15lb just yet.


----------



## Jace (Oct 3, 2012)

> still haven't solved the issue. I thought I had -- because we have been feeding NOW Adult GF and we went on a 4 mile hike in a new park/trails and I was *amazed* that he only pooped once (solid) and no runny poos throughout the walk. So I thought we had found a food that helped it, but we've been on some long walks since then and it's still basically the same. If we do 3 miles, he usually poops 3x -- the first one solid and normal, second one a bit softer, and the third just a bit runny


Approximately 23 hours are required for the complete digestion of a large meal in a dog. Dogs fed less than 23 hours before an exercise event may have fecal matter in the colon which can compromise performance by adding extra weight to the dog. Some researchers and dog enthusiasts theorize that feces in the colon can also cause cecal slap. Cecal slap is a condition during which the residual feces “slaps” against the colon causing irritation of the surrounding epithelium and perhaps inducing diarrhea during and after exercise.

Performace Dog Feeding
Arleigh Reynolds, DVM, PhD, DACVN
Jill Cline, PhD


----------



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Update:

Tux is still on Dr. Tim's GF. He's been doing great on it. It's pretty much his permanent food now. He loves breakfast/dinner. His stools are small and barely smell, very consistent. Only goes 2x a day, morning and evening. For past month he's been going to doggy daycare for full days (7AM-5PM) and he's up the entire time, playing, running, watching other dogs, etc. Once he gets home, he knocks out and is ready for more the following day. People are amazed of his energy level. 

Just thought I'd provide an update  So far no problems ordering 15lb bags from chewy.com. Speaking of, my next order will arrive today.


----------



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I'll join in - I'm feeding the GF to my girls, too, and they are doing great! In fact, I am expecting a litter in December, and actually plan to wean the puppies onto Dr. Tim's Kinesis (Grain Inclusive Variety for the pups). It might be a slight inconvenience for puppy owners to have to order the food, but I really have seen such great results and like the ingredients enough that I think it's worth the trade off.


----------



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Just providing another update. 

Tux just had his yearly checkup, including bloodwork. His physical went great; teeth, weight (15.6lbs), skin, ears, eyes, all were "great" according to the vet. We hardly brush his teeth, he usually chews on his antlers (supervised) and has a bunch of toys to chew. When they appear unclean, we give'em a quick brush. His bloodwork results came back today and speaking briefly with the vet, they came back "excellent". They'll be e-mailing my wife the result sheet later today. 

He's still on Dr. Tim's GF formula and he gets boiled or dehydrated chicken for treats. We just started giving him Fromm's baked treats (GF). 

He started on Dr. Tim's in May 2013. Tux is now a year and 3 months old.


----------

