Hello,
HISTORY: When I first got my puppy, he had very weepy eyes and did quite a bit of scratching. Could have been the long winter or beginnings of allergies. I searched for a food that had few ingredients because if it was allergies forming, I didn't want to help them along. I decided on California Natual. The close runner up was 4 Star Fromm, however this food had more ingredients, and because of the potential allergies, I went for Cali Natural.
CURRENTLY: Well, about 4 mos later (he is 7 mos old), his coat is shiny, he has plenty of energy and his eyes aren't near as bad (sleepers sometimes, but I believe it's a normal amount). Also, he doesn't seem to scratch as much. Again, could have been the winter.
PROBLEM: His bowel movements are often soft. They are formed and hard about 1/3 of the time. They are formed but soft about 1/3 of the time. And they are almost formless and soft the final 1/3 of the time. He also has tremendous gas... frequent and **ridiculously** smelly.
The vet said I might be feeding too much, although I was going exactly by the recommended serving. He said remove anything else that he was eating for treats and cut his food consumption way day and we will work by the process of elimination. Since I have done that, his gas and poop have gotten 90% better, which is excellent.
QUESTION: That leaves me with a problem though, because he now is *always* hungry. His coat still looks fine and he doesn't appear to have lost weight... but this breed is structured to be thick around the middle. Anyway, my question is... should I keep him on Cali Natural, with the reduced amount even though he seems hungry all the time or should I play the field and switch to something like 4 star Fromm, which he may do much better on, however has more ingredients and may be an issue with allergies in the future? Also, is there a potential issue of harming his growth if I am feeding less than I should?
Thanks for your suggestions!!