Which Puppy Food?

[anna114young]

Having such a nightmare with dog food and the mixed advice out there.

My puppy came home on Acana and was doing great, small firm poos, all good. On the advice of two vets we changed her slowly to Hills Science Plan. The reason being that Acana is grain free and if not necessary, grain free diets can lead to a serious cardiac problem in later life (DCM)

On Hills her poos became enormous, sloppy (sorry!) smelled horrendous and she was really gassy. Stuck it out for a while but it became too much so slowly switched to the next vet recommendation - Royal Canin.

Her poos aren't much better. They are yellowy rather than brown and still quite large but generally better than Hills (no gas)

I just think it's still not right so looking to change again. Thinking of Wainwrights Lamb and Rice maybe? Still want to avoid grain free but so stuck about what the right thing to do is!

For context she's a working black lab - 5 months.

Oh and I should note, being a lab she is eating all the different foods quite happily! I have tried removing any treats etc to see if it was any of them causing the issue but the elimination of whimzees/yak chew etc etc didn't change a thing.

Personally i'd ignore the vet and go back to the food that suited her - Acana, or try a similar grain-free one. The vets are not dieticians, and food that suits one dog won't be right for another. Clear the change hasn't worked for your dog. There is an 'all about dog food' website which rates different foods. Could use that to judge what you want to try. But i wouldn't worry about going back to what she started on.

We had some trial and error with our Lab but have settled on a mix of wet and dry Milllie's Woolfheart. She loves it and is thriving.

I am tempted by grain free as clearly she was well on it but I don't want her to get a heart condition down the line.

Our puppy arrived on purina pro plan but we slowly switched to wainwright's lamb and rice (we had so much from free coupons etc and it had good reviews) but my days her poos were massive sloppy and her farts were non stop and we could barely breathe. We moved onto millies wolfheart and her poos are lovely and no farts and she appears to be thriving on it. She's a golden retriever so fairly similar to a lab I think.

We have a 4.5 month yellow lab. She’s on James Wellbeloved puppy Turkey and Rice, switched from Dr John working pup food at around 9 weeks. Waggs as training treats (or just kibble). Yak chews etc totally not recommended - our dog behaviourist says they’re basically MDMA for dogs, they sit in the stomach and provide unnecessary energy. She’s a lab so she doesn’t just eat her food - she also eats random poos/ rotten birds / disgusting stuff she picks up on walks (obviously we get it off her asap but she still always tries)…presumably your pup is the same.

On James Wellbeloved, we have a calm, happy girl whose stomach is controlled and is 90% solid. The times it’s sloppy I just put down to unauthorised snacking. 😆

Our behaviourist also warned against the fad for raw/grain free dog food, it’s apparently like feeding racehorse diet to a Shetland pony and while it results in small firm poos, it also gives them masses of unnecessary wild energy and makes them a mare to train and handle.

Honestly that sounds like bollocks. Dogs do not need grains. Vets know very little about feeding and they’re pushing the stuff they sell in their reception areas as they get reseller fees for it. These companies send sales reps to vet schools and vet practices.

Consider going back to what was working, but before you do look at this independent website All About Dog Food to find out the true nutritional content of any food you’re considering. Hope this helps

Also a myth:

Our behaviourist also warned against the fad for raw/grain free dog food, it’s apparently like feeding racehorse diet to a Shetland pony and while it results in small firm poos, it also gives them masses of unnecessary wild energy and makes them a mare to train and handle.

I don’t think you need to worry, I don’t think you’ll find a lot of wolves snacking on wheat and barley to keep their hearts going strong 😝

I am not a dietician or vet but there are an increasing number of studies connecting grain free diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy. I appreciate that a lot of people will tell us that dogs don't need grains and I fully bought into that too but it is worth looking at the scientific evidence connecting grain free and an increase in DCM.

Not all Acana is grain free, Wild Coasts has oats.

Oh and my lab has grain free food. The studies I read regarding DCM weren't very convincing that grain free was causative so it's not something I worry about. We've had enough trouble getting her to eat the same food consistently. She gets grain in her diet through toast corners and the odd bit of rice and pasta :-)

My puppy, now seven months, came home on Royal Canin. I had the same problem and it turned out he is sensitive to chicken. He's doing beautifully on a food made by Pero, salmon and potato. It's the way chickens are raised, not the way dogs are bred.