Would you change her diet?

• 01-24-2008 9:45 PM

  kalishea Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 83 Points 0

  Would you change her diet? Reply Contact Indy (about 4 year old min pin) is on Innova adult (green bag). Here are our issues:   1- She has been on it for a couple years. I tried switching to Nutro and then Natural Balance last year and when I did that, she started going #1 and #2 on the carpet and throwing up more. As soon as I switched back to Innova, no problems.  2- Anal glands need to be expressed every 6-12 weeks. Is that problem enough right there to change her food? I have seem some ties with Innova and anal gland problems, but it may just be because I notice the Innova issues more. 3- Indy needs to lose 2-3 pounds. (she's only 10 pounds now, but should be closer to 7 pounds) 4- Indy has some respitatory problems (mostly snoring and sounds congested) and my doctor thinks it may be due to her food? Would that be a symptom of a food allergy? 5- She nevers seems satisfied with her food and begs a lot or will want to eat in the middle of the night.   Would you change her diet? If so, any suggestions based on the issues above?

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• 01-25-2008 1:09 AM

  In reply to kalishea

  stanton Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 530 Points 0

  Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact Probably. Here goes my opinions to your questions.... 1. I'm not sure what would cause this other then something in one of those other diets causing a reaction or just a disagreement with the food in general...you could try a very bland diet; i..e Innova's sister food California Natural, this is very bland with a lot less ingredients then the others you've mentioned. 2. Hard to say, I have a chihuahua & a pom, 2 out of 4 dogs that have anal gland issues; these dogs have eatin a variety of food....Innova, Cal Natural, Merrick, Healthwise, Avoderm, and now TOTW salmon formula, as well as many different homecooked recipes including all kinds of vegetables/meats/and a tiny amount of grains on occasion...they still have to have their buttocks expressed every few weeks. Just rule of thumb for them, I think it's because they are small honestly. 3. Losing of the extra weight can come from slightly decreasing her food intake, or adjusting her food intake based off the treats she's receiving...do NOT put her on a special food for weight loss or less active just cause she's a little stocky..just feed less. 4. The snoring/sounding congested...I've got one dog that does this big time if exposed to Sage, in fact it's actually really scary, because a lot of dry foods are putting sage in the formula...for what reason I don't know. As another victim, my sisters chihuahua had a bad reaction to Cal Natural, don't know why as he's eating Canidae Lamb/rice formulation which contained the same meat source as the Cal Natural....but he started hacking, like he had something caught in his throat..did this for days, then suddenly it dawned on me that it could be the food....bingo! But, aside from that, my 3 little dogs all do great on Cal Natural...I feed them the puppy version of the lamb/rice, as I have a very hard time keeping weight on my chihuahua. Thing is, anyone of these things could be linked to any one of the several ingredients in Innova....could be the barley (VERY hyper-allergenic to a lot of dogs), Chicken/Turkey, cottage cheese, etc. Try a very bland diet...such as Cal Natural, and feed the lamb version to see if she improves..if so, again, could have been any ingredient, but if the improvement is quite drastic, sudden over a few days, then I'd be suspect of the main ingredient causing issue....i.e. chicken/turkey. Again, do NOT feed a formula for less active or senior dogs; feed her the normal adult version, just slightly less then what you have been. Currently owned by: Kuaui (chihuahua/Dat); Dakota (pomeranian); Rivers (NSDTR)

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• 01-25-2008 8:21 AM

  In reply to kalishea

  shamrockmommy Joined on 09-10-2007 Innerspace Posts 1,101 Points 0

  Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact I would try something else. I always have this idea that Innova has such great looking products that I could be completely happy feeding. Every time I try, Gobie (my 12 yr old minpin) has some sort of problem.  Generally the gas starts up, followed by loose stool and then weight gain.  I had a poodle who would have anal gland abscesses frequently when fed Innova. Now I never have dogs with anal gland issues. Innova has a lot of calories per cup, so you could try cutting her serving back a bit.  As for your question 5, well, I think that mostly is just being a minpin.  Mine is ALWAYS asking for food, or sniffing the floor (I have toddlers who drop a lot of goodies!) and when he goes outside on nice days he will catch and EAT moles! Eek!  My minpin does really well on PetGuard Lifespan and most recently, I have been trying him on ProPlan Selects Senior and he's been doing surprisingly well! It's not typically a food that I would feed but I was searching for a senior food with higher protein, glucosamine and lowish calories.  So far so good, nice thick coat, good energy, no gas, nice firm poos (which is great for him because he's had a soft poo issue for years).   Shamrockmommy Furmom to Gobie the minpin terror, Lexi and Darby the bichon girls

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• 01-25-2008 8:40 AM

  In reply to shamrockmommy

  Jewlieee Joined on 03-23-2007 MI Posts 7,308 Points 4,610	Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact I would change her food. You may need to change it veeeerrrrryyy gradually - over the course of a couple of weeks since she's been on the same food for so long
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• 01-25-2008 8:58 AM

  In reply to Jewlieee

  brookcove Joined on 09-10-2007 Semora, North Carolina, USA Posts 5,632 Points 695

  Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact  All of these issues strike me as typical of a dog that's not reacting well to grains in the diet.  Since she's a chi and not (I assume) a big eater, try reducing her kibble gradually and replacing most of it with a very simple grain free canned.  The reason I say canned is that the canned more typically comes in simple, not kitchen sink variety, grain frees.  If she reacts well, keep her on the canned for a bit, then introduce a grain free kibble if you don't wish to continue with the canned. My Chinese crested has always been on grain frees.  She maintains a healthy weight much easier on these foods, and her coat and stools look much nicer.  As a crestie, she's also susceptible to skin problems and very quick tartar buildup, but we have absolutely none as long as we stay away from the grains.  Every dog is different so it might not be the answer to your problems, but it is worth a try. Oh, and be very careful when switching over to the canned and then again to the grain free food.  These foods are very nutrient dense, so figure out how many calories you have been giving her on her current food (weigh the food if you can, and go by kcal/kilogram listed on the bag).  Then do the same thing for the new food.  Otherwise you will be treated to massive amounts of stools and digestive upset - the last thing you want, I'm sure! Good luck!   Becca Shouse: Irena Farm, Semora, NC Cord, Ted, Gus, Zhi, Maggie, Lynn, Lu, Min and Tully - and Sam! Waiting: Bubo & Ben http://irenafarm.blogspot.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/irenafarm?ref=profile

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• 01-25-2008 4:35 PM

  In reply to brookcove

  kalishea Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 83 Points 0

  Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact Thank you all very much for your informative replies.. I can see that Indy and I have a lot of work ahead of us to find the problem and a good solution. It's so hard to think that you are feeding well, but your dog isn't reacting as well as you would like. I would love to find something that can help her with most of the issues I mentioned. I do think the weight issue has crept up a little this winter... in the summer she gets daily walks and it's just be too cold and snowy here in Utah. I am going to look into the information given and see what we can figure out for her. Is it possible she may have developed an allergy in the last year or so? We weren't having issues before (that I knew of) and the only reason I tried switching her food last year was due to the inconvience of traveling to the only place in Utah that sells Innova, but it was worth it if it was working out. Anyway, I will have to start figuring this food thing all out so I have a happy, healthy pup again!

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• 01-25-2008 6:39 PM

  In reply to kalishea

  FussyPoodles Joined on 12-13-2007 Posts 71 Points 0

  Re: Would you change her diet? Reply Contact I agree with all the dietary advice given by the other forum members.  Just some quick input on these 2 points:  kalishea: 2- Anal glands need to be expressed every 6-12 weeks. Is that problem enough right there to change her food?   If you have a look at this thread here: high fiber recommendations for anal gland problems I think you'll find a lot of interesting info and recommendations (I wrote about our experiences there).      4- Indy has some respitatory problems (mostly snoring and sounds congested) and my doctor thinks it may be due to her food? Would that be a symptom of a food allergy? I would look into other issues as well - not just food-related. There are environmental allergies to consider ... then, it could be a purely physical/medical issue such as a heart problem causing congested lungs; or she could have a trachea problem (one of my dogs does and he wheezes at the drop of a hat). IMO this calls for a thorough physical check-up.  5- She nevers seems satisfied with her food and begs a lot or will want to eat in the middle of the night.   I've got one like that ... and to be honest, with small dogs, I take requests for food seriously. Again, there could be any number of reasons for this ... but with my hungry boy it's a case of him having a high need for protein. On a high-protein/low-carb diet, he actually eats less but is much more satisfied and doesn't beg. This also helps control his weight. I'm not saying that this is necessarily the solution in Indy's case - not all dogs can cope with high protein - but it's an angle to consider when choosing another food. From my personal experience, Innova's protein level (24%) is at the lower end of what small dogs with high metabolisms thrive on.  If you want to stay with Innova (or another food with a similar protein percentage), then you may like to consider supplementing her meals with some fresh food - meats, fish, egg etc. Monica Segal has written a nice booklet called "Enhancing Commercial Diets - Combine fresh foods with commercially prepared diets", with step-by-step instructions.  Britta and the fussy toy poodles

  Filed under: Innova, anal glands Post Points: 0