[GunnersMom]

Yep, another food question!
I've been reading through the latest food threads, but I wanted to ask for more specific opinions on Solid Gold, in particular.

I'd been wanting to get Gunner off the Nutro for a while now anyway, and all the recent talk has only made me more convinced that it's a good idea.
Problem is, the selection of food around here is pathetic. As far as "quality foods" go, I'm pretty much limited to Wellness, Solid Gold or Eagle Pack. (Canidae is available, as well, but Gunner refuses to eat it, so that's out.)
I tried switching him to Wellness once before, when we switched Riley to it, but it didn't agree with Gunner at all. I decided to give Solid Gold a try this time and wondered what everyone thinks of it? Is it as good as it sounds?

Also, I started the switch over gradually, like I've always heard that you're supposed to. He'd gone through three meals with no problems, but had a real loose stool this morning. How long do you think I should give it before I push the "this isn't working" button?

 

[chruby]

Exacatly how long did you take to switch over and what amounts?? If you have tried to make the complete switch in 3 meals, you are going way too fast. I have 2 GSD's on Solid Gold Wolfking and two on the grain free Barking at the Moon and they are all doing fine.

 

[big_dog7777]

I fed Solid gold Wolf King prior to going raw about a year and a half ago and liked it as far as kibbles go. Personally, if I were to feed kibble now I would try to go grain free, but that's me.

 

[chruby]

Originally Posted By: ZeusGSDI fed Solid gold Wolf King prior to going raw about a year and a half ago and liked it as far as kibbles go. Personally, if I were to feed kibble now I would try to go grain free, but that's me.

My EPI girl is on the Wolfking and my old guy on it also. But, the two others, including my youngest I put on the Barking at the Moon as I do prefer the grain free aspect of it.

 

[grmnshpd21]

I have Molly on Solid Gold Wolfking and she does very well on it. When I switched her over I took it very slow because Molly has stomach issues. I would say it took me a little over a month to completely switch her over to Solid Gold.

 

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted By: chrubyExacatly how long did you take to switch over and what amounts?? If you have tried to make the complete switch in 3 meals, you are going way too fast. I have 2 GSD's on Solid Gold Wolfking and two on the grain free Barking at the Moon and they are all doing fine.

I just started the switch this past Saturday evening, with his dinner. I kept the mix at about 3/4 old food to 1/4 new food. Did about the same for his breakfast and dinner yesterday. This morning, I went to about 1/2 old food, 1/2 new food. Am I going too quickly?

Incidentally, it's the Solid Gold "Hund-N-Flocken" (lamb & rice) that I'm switching to. He's always seemed to do pretty well on the lamb, so I was hesitant to go away from that.

 

[TRITON]

I've fed MMillennia and the Hund n Flocken to my dogs over the last several years...totally pleased with it

 

[chruby]

IMHO - I would do 1/4 new, 3/4 old for a week, then 1/2 and 1/2 for another week, then 1/4 and 3/4 for another week. You could even keep it in two week incriments before you switch. I would kind of play it by ear depending on how he does.

 

[ldpeterson]

I never had any luck with it. However, that's only to say that my dog didn't do well on it. There are 1000's of dogs doing great on it I'm sure!!!

I usually give a food 6 weeks. If after that there are still pudding poops or gas, then it's time to switch to something else.

 

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted By: chrubyIMHO - I would do 1/4 new, 3/4 old for a week, then 1/2 and 1/2 for another week, then 1/4 and 3/4 for another week. You could even keep it in two week incriments before you switch. I would kind of play it by ear depending on how he does.

Okay. Compared to that, then, I'm going way too fast. I'll slow it down and see what happens.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[grmnshpd21]

I switched Molly over the same way chruby explained it. I wanted to be extra careful with Molly sensitive stomach. Worked like a charm for her. Good luck with the switch

 

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted By: mollysmomI switched Molly over the same way chruby explained it. I wanted to be extra careful with Molly sensitive stomach. Worked like a charm for her. Good luck with the switch

I think that may be the case with Gunner, too - that he has a more sensitive stomach. We've really only switched his food once, and that was right after we brought him home, when he was pup. He had no problem with it then. After that, he went to adult food, from puppy, but it was the same brand so the transition was probably easier for him.
When we tried to switch him to Wellness, it didn't seem to agree with him, but now I'm wondering if I just went too quickly with that, too, and it really didn't have anything to do with the food, itself.

Thanks for the input! I want to get him off the Nutro, so I'd really like this to work!

 

[GSDgirlAL]

Cooper and Ava did very well on this food and they both loved it. I changed them to Natural Balance b/c of a skin issue that Cooper had on his back, not sure if that was related to the diet in SG.

Oh, I had mine on the WolfKing. That was the only one I ever tried.

 

[ChancetheGSD]

My GSD had bad gas on MMillennia (Anything with beef does it to him) and so I just took him off of Solid Gold.

However, I've got 2 Chihuahuas and a Pekingese/Pomeranian mix who have done fantastic on Just a Wee Bit formula. They have great coats, energy, clear eyes, little to no "eye goo", ect. Best part is that their poops are white within a day and completely gone before the weeks over with. Yay less poop pick up! xD The JaWB formula and the Wolf King formula for larger dogs are the same (I believe 2 of the ingredients are swaped around is the only thing) only Wolf King has larger bites. I've been debating on trying it with my GSD but I'm leaning a little more towards the grain free Barking at the Moon even though it's got beef in it because with a more digestible food (Since it doesn't have grains), he might not have gas as bad. (At least thats what I'm hoping. Lol!)

I just threw it in my dogs bowl without a switch. I was ready to get them off the crap my mom had them on! (50lb bag of kibble for $15. Ol' Roy would be considered higher quality than that crap.) I thankfully didn't have any tummy upsets. :x

 

[mikaK9]

My dog has a very sensitive stomach and he did great on the Solid Gold Barking at the Moon. He was doing so poorly on the 6 kibbles prior to it that when I started at 1/4 new and saw improvement in 24 hrs, I did a fairly fast switch. But otherwise I'd go very slow too. Especially considering the change in levels of ingredients.

 

[GunnersMom]

I don't know if this is going too well.

I went back to the 1/4 new - 3/4 old ratio Monday night, with his supper. I stayed with that ratio yesterday and with his breakfast this morning... and his stool is still real loose.
Is that normal, or should I be seeing some improvement by now?

I don't want to pull the plug on the Solid Gold too quickly, but I don't want to keep giving it to him if it's upsetting his stomach, either.

 

[Jrenkie]

Originally Posted By: GunnersMom... and his stool is still real loose.
Is that normal, or should I be seeing some improvement by now?

You may or may not know that one of the most common reasons for a loose stool is overfeeding. Try cutting back on the amount of food you give per meal and see if you notice any improvement. Sometimes a 1/4 cup less is all it takes.

Good luck,

 

[GunnersMom]

Originally Posted By: jrenk

Originally Posted By: GunnersMom... and his stool is still real loose.
Is that normal, or should I be seeing some improvement by now?

You may or may not know that one of the most common reasons for a loose stool is overfeeding. Try cutting back on the amount of food you give per meal and see if you notice any improvement. Sometimes a 1/4 cup less is all it takes.

Good luck,

I didn't know that. He's been getting 4 cups a day, split into 2 meals, morning and evening. He's a pretty active guy, so I didn't think that was overdoing it. Is it?

Thing is, I'm actually trying to get a few pounds on him. He's lost weight over the past year and I think he could stand to put some of it back on. He's a small boy - 26 inches at the shoulder, and the best way I can describe him is to say that he has a delicate bone structure. But he only weighs 74 pounds now, so I don't think a few pounds would hurt him.

If overfeeding could be an issue here, how would I balance keeping his portions down while trying to put weight on him at the same time?
Sorry for being such a pain and asking so many questions! I've never had such an issue with food and weight before, so I'm pretty much in uncharted territory here!

 

[chruby]

Was his stool normal before you switched him to Solid Gold? I would give it some more time as long as he isn't really gassy or seemingly not feeling well.

 

[GunnersMom]

It was normal, yes.
I just started increasing the amount of his food a little over a week ago, after his vet visit (when I found out he'd lost weight.) And it was normal until I started mixing in the Solid Gold. I thought maybe, if overfeeding was an issue, it was something that wouldn't immediately affect him - something that might take a few days to catch up with him.

And no, he's not acting like he doesn't feel well. He's acting like his usual, spring-loaded, ready-to-go self. His appetite is great, his energy level is through the roof.

I know I probably fret too much. lol. But when I'm dealing with something new to me, I'm always afraid that I'm going to do exactly the wrong thing and make it worse.