Critique This Food Please

[fuzzybunny]

I was thinking of switching Jazz to a higher calorie food so that I can feed him less. He is currently on Purina Pro Plan for Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I was thinking about switching him to Nature's Harvest Big Red formula. I've listed the ingredients below. I phoned one of the local stores that carry it and the employee told me it's 550 kcal/cup which is exactly the range I'm looking for.

My concern is that I might be rocking the boat. Jazz had a lot of digestive issues his first year and suffered from chronic diarrhea as well as being underweight. A year ago I put him on the Pro Plan and treated him with Tylan powder for a month because he tested positive for SIBO. We've had no issues for a year now. We tried many foods during that first year and the Pro Plan is the only one that worked. I don't know if his issues were from the food or chronic SIBO which wasn't being treated with medication long enough. Thoughts?

Nature's Harvest Ingredients
Lamb meal, fresh salmon, potato meal, pork meal, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E), beet pulp, dehydrated whole eggs, dried tomato pomace, alfalfa, natural chicken liver flavour, salmon oil (a source of DHA), lecithin, whole flax seeds (a source of omega-3 fatty acids), choline chloride, calcium propionate, yucca schidigera extracts, ferrous sulfate, dried carrots, dried apples, garlic powder, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, zinc oxide, Dl-alph-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), dried spinach, anise seed, juniper, milk thistle, cinnamon, thyme, chicory root, devil’s claw extracts, dried kelp, probiotics (dehydrated lactobacillus acidophillus fermentation products, dehydrated lactobacillus casei fermentation products, dehydrated bifidobacterium bifidium fermentation products, dehydrated streptococcus faecium fermentation products, dehydrated aspergillus oryzae fermentation products), proteinates (copper, zinc, manganese), sodium selenite, thiamin mononitrate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, manganous oxide, nicotinic acid, calcium d-pantothenate, retinyl acetate (vitamin A), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), folic acid, riboflavin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (a source of vitamin K3 activity), biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, cobalt carbonate.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein ................... 31% (min.)
Crude Fat ......................... 18% (min.)
Moisture ...........................10% (max.)
Crude Fibre ........................4% (max.)

[msvette2u]

I'm not an expert but if you're concerned about possible allergies, you'd be better off with Natural Balance as this has at least 3 sources of proteins.
Our vet told me with SIBO we needed to use a diet food and/or Natural Balance because it's only got one source of protein so if there's a reaction you'll know immediately what's causing it instead of having to guess between 2-4 protein sources.

[BlackGSD]

That food has menadione in it. (Which is a controversial ingredient.) Might want to do some research and decide for yourself if you are comfortable feeding a food that contains it.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

I'm not an expert but if you're concerned about possible allergies, you'd be better off with Natural Balance as this has at least 3 sources of proteins.
Our vet told me with SIBO we needed to use a diet food and/or Natural Balance because it's only got one source of protein so if there's a reaction you'll know immediately what's causing it instead of having to guess between 2-4 protein sources.

He was on Natural Balance before the Pro Plan and he did horribly on it. We tried a different protein source with the NB and it didn't help. He became 15 pounds underweight and had chronic diarrhea.

Can SIBO occur with a food change?

Since he's doing great now, it would be a shame to change something and then have problems return, but I've had little things occur that lead me to believe he might do well with a food change. For example, he ate half my husband's medium pizza a couple of months ago and had no negative side effects. I had a talk with hubby about leaving food out on the counter and then falling asleep on the couch. Another time, we had friends doggy-sitting and despite verbally telling and writing down which dog gets which kibble, they made a mistake and fed Bunny's kibble to Jazz. He was fine and her kibble is completely different.

It would be great to be able to save a little money by feeding a higher calorie kibble, but I guess I'm just scared because he's fine now and when you've dealt with a dog with digestive issues you don't ever forget.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

That food has menadione in it. (Which is a controversial ingredient.) Might want to do some research and decide for yourself if you are comfortable feeding a food that contains it.

Yes, his current food has it as well. I didn't notice it on the Nature's Harvest at first read so thank you for pointing that out. If I were to switch his kibble, I would prefer it not be present.

[CelticGlory]

Have you tried the limited ingredient kibbles?

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by CelticGlory

Have you tried the limited ingredient kibbles?

Yes, a few with no success. The Pro Plan is the only one we found to work. I'm thinking at this point I shouldn't fix what isn't broken. He's doing great on it and I should just leave well enough alone. If I switched him and all his problems came back I would be devastated.