Have a done the right thing?

[maddy74]

As you are probably aware after my thousands of posting during the summer or last year, Willow had colitis (so the vet said) and after sloppy and mucussy poops for a while and shedding quite a bit of weight we put her on the royal canin sensitivity control dry kibble. She seemed to get on okay with this, gained weight and poops firmer (sometimes to the point of being a little too hard imo) downsides to the food are, ive had advise to say its not the best ingredients in the food, it seems to have discoloured Willows teeth despite daily teeth brushing and then there is the price.

During her the time of her being on this food i purchased a bag of the puppy days barking heads as the kibble size was small and the ingredients looked good. She loves this and I use this as treats when out and then wet it to put it in her kong as variety for her. she sometimes has this mixed with her royal canin, she has been fine having this.

Never did work out what was causing the upset as have re introduced the nat yog, biscuits (containing wheat) and raw hide chews (although in moderation) and on the whole she hasnt had an upset tum since late september. Could it be something she has now grown out of at just over a year old?

She was on JWB food prior to the RC and was weaned on beta purina. Both of these did not agree with her. I dont want to keep her on the RC long term and yesterday got a small bag of the barking heads fuss pot to try her on.  Gave her a bit mixed in with the RC and she seemed to love it, no ill affects as yet  (sloppy poops) Question is have I done the right thing in changing or over or should I have stayed with the RC? Do you think ive picked the right food for her sensitive tum?

Sorry for long post thanks in advance, Maddy 

[seaangler]

I would report this matter to Royal cannin (as to the teeth) ...I most serteny would....

Like your self we had are gemma on the Royal Cannin for weeks until the vets found out from test that are gemma had a rare kinda Ecolie in her gut....The tin meat is very thick and sticky to say the lease..But like you say it did work and Gemma stools harden up With  the tin food....

I would ring up Royal cannin P.R and say as to your findings ...I would....

[bluegirl]

Ok I can't profess to know anything these days about what constitutes a good convenience dog food as I feed a raw diet, but maybe you are right and this was a single but significant episode of tummy upsets that has now settled down, so since you wish to change her and have already started the process without ill effects so far I'd carry on. I think if the food she's on doesn't give her symptoms of colitis then its fine for her and as long as she continued to look fit and healthy without weight loss then I'd stick at it because it works for her.

[stuffster]

I think she may have had a prolonged tummy bug, or poss an allergy she has grown out of now?

If you introduce a new food gradually, and she is not having any ill effects from it, then you may as well keep her on it.

I know there have been several threads about puppies getting sloppy poo with JWB, and mine certainly did, so I would maybe avoid that one. Purdey seems to get upset tums quite often but since Ive put her on Arden Grange, we havent had any problems.

[Archie bean]

I know there have been several threads about puppies getting sloppy poo with JWB, and mine certainly did, so I would maybe avoid that one. Purdey seems to get upset tums quite often but since Ive put her on Arden Grange, we havent had any problems.

This is interesting. Archie is pretty loose since I changed to JWB from Royal Canin because I also thought it seemed a better food. Now I'm in the process of changing back to RC as he had perfect poos on it - (now there's a phrase I never thought I'd be typing in a public arena!) - and see if that firms him up. If yes then I will look to moving him to one of the better kibbles when he shifts over to adult food. Don't want to try something completely new just yet, in case the culprit is more serious than just the JWB.

Maddy, since there have been no ill effects so far I would wean her onto the barking heads and see how she goes. If she's fine and you are happier with it then that's great. I guess you could always go back tho the RC if things don't work out.

[Jessie_Pup]

You could try her on the Barking Heads Salmon & Potato if she has a sensitive tum.  Now she is over 12 months she can go onto the adult food. Do the change over slowly if she is prone to upset tums.


Erica.

[Choc-Chip]

I would say you're doing the right thing Maddy. I too know what it's like having a pup that's had sloppy poops since you've had them and the cost of the best food you've had to use to settle their tum.

I also think it gets better as they grow up though. Chip and Woody both had quite sloppy poops for up to a couplomit months after first bringing them home but after Hill's Science Plan for sensitive tums they were almost instantly having solid poops.

I've gradually weaned them off this as it was about £45 a bag and now they are on Harringtons which they seem to be doing great on (although Woody's bowels do seem to be quite loose when he's excited and running around in water!)

I personally think if you need to change their food and do so gradually over a set period of time they should be fine. Mine all seem to have much stronger tums now they're not pups.

Emma x

[waggytails]

My old dog Millie suffered with colitis, to be honest anything could set her tummy off, eg chicken that had been in the fridge being one off them.  She was eventually put on Chappie tinned dog food, it was recommended by the vet, it's a cheap food but she did well of it for many years until after another illness she did not want it anymore and we then put her on Jwb with a wet pouch of food added.

[maddy74]

Thank you for the advice. Today weve taken her to Kenilworth, her fave place ever at the min and she was a little loose a few poops in, she already had two firm poops (sorry to be graphic) though and she does get sloppier stool when she is excited. We are giving her a third barking heads and 2 thirds Rc at the min and see from there.

Yes the vets we were at were price matching and a big bag cost around the £60 mark however they are not price matching now and when I called to order more they want £75 for the bag.   Also with the staining of her teeth only since she had this food i think its time to make a change, just hope ive gone for the right food, cant go through what we did in the summer when she was constantly ill....  

[Eve]

I use Barking Heads as it has no fillers or additives and am more than happy with it.

Eve

[Evadee]

reading all this makes me wonder if it is something young cockers are prone to.....

Our Tia was sloppy on JWB puppy, even worse on the junior so we changed her over to Barking Heads puppy with great results. At about 10 months we changed her onto Barking Heads tender loving care and she has thrived on this ever since (she's now 17 months)

Now Jake (4 months) has always been on Barking Heads puppy since we got him at 7.5 weeks and slowly changed him over from Purina.  His stools start off lovely and firm but go looser as the day progresses (by evening we usually need the hose on jet to clear his poop  )

One of our trainers says it's a spaniel thing, I am hoping Jake will get better as he gets older like Tia and moves on to BH TLC.

Glad Willow is doing well and hope the new diet carries on going well.

[maddy74]

Thanks evadee.

I know my vet said some time ago that Spaniels get "adrenalin" poops lol. I spoke a lot with Helen and she advised that Jarvis was the same but sometimes Willows stools would be mucussy and at there worst would then be like water and contain blood and the weight would drop off her, she is still skinnier than i would like as she doesnt have any reserve if it were to happen again!!!

[bluegirl]

You can get slippery elm powder which is good for funny tummies and firms up poops quickly a teaspoon could be sprinkled over her food if you think she's getting a bit loose to try to firm it up quickly. You could even use a teaspoon on both meals if you like or just use it on an use as and when basis. Can be bought fairly cheaply from any health food store.

[maddy74]

oh thank you bluegirl must say ive never heard of that..... Is is a human thing? is it cheap. i buy the dogs pro kolin in bulk now  not cheap though 

[Helen]

Jarvis started tolerating food a lot better as an adult - to this day he adrenaline poo's but as long as his first couple are firm I don't worry, nor does the vet (his working cocker does the same).

if he has mucous there's something not right, but that very rarely happens.  Jarv is on half fusspot and half raw and it suits him well.

The ingredients in BH are great - I don't think you should stick to RC just because it's meant to be good - different kibbles suit different dogs and if BH suits Maddy better I wouldn't beat yourself up about it!