Dog Community

Natural Balance not working - now what?

Posted : 4/25/2006 1:56:28 PM

Hello all. I'm new to this forum! I have 2 greyhounds named Willy and Jet. I have had them for 4 weeks, so we are going thru the food trials. They came to me eating Purina. I gradually switched them over to Natural Balance, which is what I fed my last greyhound. I was always very happy with NB - good ingredients, firm stool, etc.
Well, the NB gives Jet really bad gas! So I know something is not clicking with his digestive system. Too many veggies in the NB? Chicken not agreeing?? I want to try something else but there are so many choices, I don't know what to try next. I can't get Canidae close by, so that's out. I'm looking for something comparable to NB, that I can get at Petco or the like, that will hopefully eliminate the gas issues, and continue to firm up the stool.

Thanks in advance!

Firestorm

Posted : 4/25/2006 1:58:56 PM

Have you tried giving them some yogurt with it? It seems to help with digestion and gas!

sooner

Posted : 4/25/2006 2:27:31 PM

I think NB is by far the best quality you cen get at Petco/Petsmart. There probably won't be anything else comparable there. Can you get California Natural near you? [linkhttp://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab]http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab[/link] I'd try that next. A lot of people recommend yogurt for gas, just beware... dairy just makes it worse in some dogs. [:'(] A regular digestive enzyme or probiotic may be better.

I went through (still going through) the gas issue with my pup and someone suggested to me to give a food 6-8 weeks before giving up on it to get a truer reaction from the dog. Good luck!

schlep

Posted : 4/25/2006 2:36:48 PM

Sounds like you're feeding NB Ultra Premium. You might want to try a 5 lb bag of NB Potato and Duck to see if that works better for him. If you can find a place that carries Fromm, their Four-Star Duck and Sweet Potato and Four-Star Whitefish and Potato are pretty good for sensitive stomachs and use more meat than NB's formula. I would feed any of the three to my dog.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/25/2006 3:34:23 PM

Sounds like you're feeding NB Ultra Premium. You might want to try a 5 lb bag of NB Potato and Duck to see if that works better for him

I was about to say that[

] NB has several "allergy" formulas, which are complete diets, and fine for any dog. There's Sweet Potato and Fish, Potato and Duck, and Brown Rice and Venison.

audkal

Posted : 4/25/2006 4:38:42 PM

At some Petsmart stores they sell Blue Buffalo: [linkhttp://bluebuff.com/products/dogs.shtml]http://bluebuff.com/products/dogs.shtml[/link] which is supposed to be really good [except for the fact that they use Menadione in their foods, which I heard isn't so great(?)]

Do you have a Pet Supplies Plus? They usually carry brands like Solid Gold, Innova, and Canidae.

Angie Mencer

Posted : 4/25/2006 6:15:07 PM

Thank you all very much for the suggestions. I may give the NB a little longer, or try the switch to the Duck formula.

And yes, I do have a Pet Supplies Plus near by also, so that is an option for some of the other brands.

Karen

Posted : 4/25/2006 6:55:16 PM

The Petco's in my area also sell Solid Gold. I had a similar problem with the Natural Balance not agreeing with out new rescue. The Solid Gold has worked well with him and it is also a very high quality food.