Recommend a food and treats for a sensitive stomach

[Kerie]

We'd been feeding Oscar Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach for most of the past few months. I get the feeling that it has no flavor and his stomach problems are far from solved. He doesn't like to eat anymore. We have also tried Science Diet Sensitive. We sometimes feed him canned, either mixed in or for a whole meal and he loves the canned but his stomach gets upset from it at times. We tried Eagle Pack, and I think Nutro. He had Kibbles and Bits before we learned that it's bad for him. He loved it and that was before his stomach was bad. I'm tempted to mix Kibbles and Bits with a premium food so that he at least likes some of his meal.

And........now that we are training him, we need treats so that we can do the trades that the trainer has us doing to get him out of the resource guarding habit. We need a variety of treats (some yummy and some just so-so). But they should be small! We once had Old Mother Hubbard treats but I have had some trouble finding them lately. The beggin strips are bothering his stomach, I think. Cheese always works but then Oscar gets all my cheese. :rotfl:

[Courtney]

I would try a food with limited ingredients, something like California Natural or Wellness Simple Solutions. Maybe also try a fish & potato formula? Wellness has one. As far as treats I'm not sure! Poor Oscar! Good luck!

[Kerie]

I was just wondering if he would do better on RAW, which is something I never thought I would consider. So, let me finally ask this question--if one goes RAW for their pups, are they supposed to go raw all the way? I've been under the impression that I can't just feed him RAW every once in a while. I guess I thought that they would have to adjust to RAW and should then either stay with just RAW or just commercial. AND--as a resource guarder, would Oscar be very crazy with raw food? And should it matter if he is?

[Courtney]

Well, first I guess the issue is, why do you think he has a sensitive stomach? Perhaps he has a food allergy? that would be my first thought and why I recommended the limited ingredient foods. Now, he may or may not be allergic to the same thing in raw form. Yes, raw could help him, but it is not always a cure-all.

It's recommended to do one or the other (raw or commercial) because switching can cause tummy upset. Plus, it'd be a lot of work to do both, much much simpler to stick with one.

Resource guarding -- I think that is a training issue (as you know!) and if he's going to guard stuff, it won't matter what he has, it will just matter to him that you can't have it. If you go the raw route and feed whole meaty bones, I would either feed him in a crate if that's ok with your trainer or really work with him to make sure he knows that if he has something and you need to take it, you can. I usually have no problems trading my dogs a cookie for what they have if I need to.

[Lisa]

Even if you switch to Raw...there is Raw and there is RAW. I feed nature's variety medallions. Courtney feeds the prey model - big pieces of meat and bone (and then there are tons of choices in between). There is lots of flexibility within the raw world, so for example some nights I can just give them a chicken thigh for a meal as well.

For treats, I use high end kibble, for the low reward treats. I get them for free as sample packs from my local pet store. I think today is Solid Gold. For their high reward treats I use natural balance rolls. They go mental for them and will do anything I want, plus you can really control the size as you cut them up yourself.

Maybe just try one bag of the nature's variety...I think there is still a coupon available so you can get two bags for the price of one. Completely switch him for a couple of weeks and see how he does. Courtney is right, it's not for every dog - I have seen huge improvements with my guys, especially Pogo's tummy. That was the main reason I switched to raw was because he had constant yellow barfies, anal gland issues and really loose stool. He still has anal gland issues (not nearly as bad), but he has not thrown up since we made the switch.

[Jen]

Tasha has had no tummy issues since we switched her from Nutro, first to Wellness Simple Solutions, then to Evo. Both are grain free. I'm now going to stick with Evo one meal a day, but want to switch the second meal to Stella and Chewey's raw medallions. I have a hunch you can find them on Long Island as they're made in NYC. The website is Stella & Chewy (http://www.stellaandchewys.com)

Honestly, try a grain free diet for awhile, either raw or kibble, and see how he does. Evo and Wellness make grain free biscuits, and I also use a lot of just meat treats for Tasha (freeze dried liver, dried chicken, jerky). She used to barf 3-10 times a week, since we stopped all corn and wheat, she's barfed twice (and once was when we gave her a homemade treat that had wheat in it).

[Mama S.]

I made the cold turkey switch to raw - I feed chicken, pork and organ meat so far. Mainly chicken. Our tummy troubles have ended here when we switched. Plus everyone dances for their food now - on kibble it was a fight to get them to eat.
Sandi

[Michelle]

Well, for Heidi and Princess they have made a switch to 50% raw and 50% high end kibble. They eat Solid Gold Hunchen Flocken kibble in the AM and their PM meal is Raw, either Nature's variety medallions, or raw chicken thighs, pig hearts, pig liver, beef liver, pork etc... They also get Solid Gold seameal mixed in with their raw medallions.

They have been doing just wonderful on the 50% 50%, mix, there have been no tummy troubles or upsets, or pukies, or anything at all..

It is possible that Oscar does have a food allergy, possible from the corn, soy or wheat because Pro Plan is from Purina and they have that stuff in their food,

I would agree with the others saying to first cut out all of the grains from the diet first and see if his sensitive stomach is really just an allergy to the corn, soy and wheat.

Heidi and Princess have been on the raw food for a few months now and thankfully for me it has not spoiled their appetite for their morning kibble.

I may eventually go 100% raw, but for right now I am happy with the balance it is working well.

I also use the higher end kibble free sample baggies for the treats, since the Innova EVO is too rich for the girls tummy and gives them loose poopies, I use that for their treats, and just give them little tiny pieces of the kibble.

You can also find dried liver treats also you can buy some freeze dried beef patties from Solid Gold, called Buckaroo Beef, they are easily broken up into little tiny pieces and can be used for training too,,

[jennie_c_d]

Natural Balance Duck and Potato is wonderful. It's grain free, bland, and my dogs love it. They have canned, kibble, and biscuits.

I've never seen anything grain free from Wellness? Can somebody point those out to me?

[Patt]

Just a thought.... Since Oscar had so much trouble with his tummy, I would suggest you ask your vet before changing to new foods. JMO

[LUVMYGUNNER]

AvoDerm has also a good food. It can be bought at Petco.

[Jen]

I've never seen anything grain free from Wellness? Can somebody point those out to me?

Here you go!

Wellness Simple Solutions (http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html)

[jennie_c_d]

Those have rice?

[Kerie]

My local Petco is the worst. Often out of stock and sometimes stocking things way past expiration date! I've been bookmarking all the food company websites you've all given me, so that I can get store information and find an alternative to Petco.
ETA--We just starting mixing the old food with Natural Balance. It smells much better and Oscar is more interested in eating.

[Yolanda]

As for treats, I use 100% pure chicken jerky strips. All of my crew and fosters really like them. I biy them at store like BJ's or Cosco's in a bulk bag.

[LUVMYGUNNER]

Check and see if you can buy food on line. I used to order Lifes Abundance for Gunner and Petunia until I put them on Evo/Natural balance.

[Jen]

Those have rice?

Yes, sorry, not grain free but wheat/corn free. Personally I think that Evo's (http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%271%27%5D)
ingredient list is better than Wellness SS.

[jennie_c_d]

Yes, sorry, not grain free but wheat/corn free. Personally I think that Evo's (http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%271%27%5D)
ingredient list is better than Wellness SS.


Em's allergic to chicken, so Evo's a no go. I want to get some of Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon, for treats. I think they'd like that.... I mostly make their food, but I will buy stuff to use for treats. Kibble is a great size for clicker training, and I don't feel bad about giving them a handful.