I think I gotta ditch the Innova LBP... need some direction please!

[chelle]

So I switched Bailey to Innova LBP when I got him. He'd been on godawful Purina Puppy Chow. The transition was very difficult. Took weeks.

So eventually that seemed to go well, then a bout with coccidia.. which screwed up the works. Then a bacterial infection, which screwed things up... Soooo now he's clear of all of that nonsense, and he's often constipated.

When I add about a tablespoon of pumpkin daily, his poops are good. Nice and firm, but not too much so. When I quit adding it, (because things seemed to be going quite well,) the constipation returned.

I'm tired of this -- he doesn't seem to be tolerating this food well. He's straining to go without the pumpkin.

I don't mind adding the pumpkin, but in my mind, I shouldn't have to do so. In my mind, the food just isn't working right.

I've heard many speak about foods that are just too rich. In my convoluted way of thinking , I'd think that over-rich foods would bring on diahhrea rather than constipation. ?

He eats well. He's at an ideal weight - thin, but not too thin. He's not showing any signs of allergy issues.

What food would you try? I can't stand to see him straining any more. He doesn't cry or indicate pain, but he has to try several or more times to eliminate when he hasn't had the pumpkin. I just can't deal with seeing him go through that anymore.

I'll be honest - I can't afford the Orijen and the really high dollar foods. They're not easily available here, either. I'd like to try something on a similar cost level as the Innova.

And last.. when I do the switch next time, do I need to take as much time as I did when he was a very young pup (11 weeks) going from a super low quality food to the Innova? It took us nearly three weeks. I tried to do it in just under two weeks, he got diahhrea, we had to go to chicken/rice and start all over again...

Thank you for any and all suggestions. The food choices out there boggle my head. Yes, I've purused the dog food comparison websites and I'm still as confused as I was before.

[msvette2u]

Kirkland signature...or diamond naturals! My dogs don't have elimination issues such as you describe.

[BlackGSD]

Might be easier if you told us what foods are available to you and in your price range. (I have nodes how much Innova costs.)

What do the others eat?

[chelle]

Originally Posted by BlackGSD

Might be easier if you told us what foods are available to you and in your price range. (I have nodes how much Innova costs.)

What do the others eat?

The others are on Nutro Grain Free Limited Ingredient.

Easily available and similar cost close by: Nutro & Nutro Max, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, the ****-Van-Patten stuff (?), Eukanuba, Science Diet. (Not interested in the last two.)

[CarrieJ]

I forgot to see how old Bailey is. If he's eight months or so you could just transition him to regular dog food.
Instead of LBP. Innova is good food, so far the buy out from P&G hasn't affected the ingredient list.
Check out that website dog food ratings. California Natural isn't bad neither is Natural Balance.

I don't know what the cost is but at work we have greyhounds stay and they notoriously have terrible stools. Except the three housemates that eat Natures Domain.

My criteria is not processing in China. That's about it.

[Emoore]

Wellness and California Natural are right about the same price point and quality as Innova. There's probably just something going on with the Innova that disagrees with him. I'd try either one of those.

[LaRen616]

I am feeding my 18 week old puppy Wellness Super5 Mix LBP, she's doing great on it.

[crewchief_chick]

have you tried 4Health from TSC? I've had wonderful experiences with it with Kendra and Shake. They were on Purina Pro Plan, but I felt they werent getting the nutrition they needed, and they went through a huge bag very quickly. Since going to the 4Health, coats have improved, stools look great, body tone has improved, they are more active, etc. . .

[mysweetkaos]

We've had good luck with the Wellness, another brand to look at is Castor and Pollux. Both my boys do great on that. Kaos is on weight management and Sherman Tank does the Organix puppy.

[Rott-n-GSDs]

Luna had a tough time when she was a puppy... grain free foods seemed pretty rich for her.

The Wellness Super5mix Large Breed formula (puppy stuff is the same, only more expensive with smaller kibble, so get the adult formula and save yourself some money).

I eventually switched to raw... she just wasn't all that interested in food until I did.