[JackShepherd]

I have decided to go with Wellness brand, now I am trying to figure out which type I should go with, my dog Jack is about 6.5 months and he did have some trouble when we first got him (about 7 weeks) with IBD so he has been on science diet I/D for the past few months but now that he is a little older we would like to try transitioning him to regular food (assuming he will tolerate it). Suggestions?

 

[Lucy Dog]

Just don't go with any of their Core formulas... they have too much calcium for a growing puppy.

 

[onyx'girl]

What was the trouble?
I would put him on the super5mix LBP for a few months while he grows structurally, and transition him to the Core~there are different proteins you can rotate.

 

[JackShepherd]

What was the trouble?
I would put him on the super5mix LBP for a few months while he grows structurally, and transition him to the Core~there are different proteins you can rotate.

He basically had horrible diarrhea from the first week we got him until we put him on the i/d, the vet initially suggested that we add Metamucil to his food which helped somewhat but then it got bad again so the vet recommended we try i/d and once he got a little older try transitioning him off of it. We started with feeding blue buffalo large breed puppy and I know there were some blue buffalo recalls around that time so that could have been part of the problem as well. We are still giving him the Metamucil and I also like to mix in a small amount of pumpkin and plain yogurt with his dinner (about 1/8 of a cup of each). We gradually started giving him bully sticks about 6 weeks ago and he seems to tolerate them as well, so I am hopeful that his digestive system has matured and he is ready for the switch

 

[JackShepherd]

so would you recommend the large breed puppy formula until he is about a year? I thought I read that any adult formula is fine for a large breed puppy.

 

[onyx'girl]

yes, I would keep him on that...some lines mature faster structurally, but best to just keep him on LBP for a few bags, Panosteitis may hit otherwise.
If you see a problem with the food, add in a probiotic/digestive enzyme instead of the metamucil. I use Naturvet when needed. You can get it at most pet stores:
http://www.1800petmeds.com/NaturVet+Enzymes+++Probiotics-prod10803.html

 

[JackShepherd]

Can Metamucil be bad over time? I do give him the yogurt which has live active cultures, but he only gets about 1/8-1/4 of a cup a day so that may not be enough probiotics.

 

[onyx'girl]

Not sure what all is in metamucil, maybe do a google search about dogs/that and see what pops up. I just would be concerned the dogs system relying on it to process food properly. The reason for adding it would concern me as well.