changing my dogs food. a question

[Eleni]

i have a bichon/poodle cross,

the person i purchased him from mentioned that he had been scratching a bit and that she suspected the food he was eating was the cause,

right now hes still eating that food nutrience junior its called, I have half a bag of it, but I went and bought a bag of eukanuba puppy for medium breed dogs,


here is my question I want to change his food but i want to do it gently, I dont want to make him ill or any thing, so do i jsut mix the 2 foods together?

and waht portions half and half? or 1/4 the new stuff with the remainder the old stuff??

and how long would i need to be cautious before i can switch him totaly to the eukanuba?


thanks

Eleni

[Trinitie]

Eukanuba is nothing more than glorified Iams. It's garbage food.
I feed it to my dog, and the amount of poop increased!

If you want to switch to a GOOD quality food, switch to Wellness, Nutro, or SolidGold. Don't use Pet Chow, Iams, Ekanuba, Alpo or any other grocery store brand. It does nothing for your dog and only makes them eat more because they're pooping it all out - which you have to clean up!

[Prin]

Eukanuba is not garbage food, it's just not right for this case... It's in the upper middle range of foods, not in the same category as Iams and Dog chow as Eukanuba has no by-products in it, but it just has a bit of corn in it which won't resolve your doggy allergies. To resolve allergy issues, you have to switch to a food that has all ingredients your dog has never had. Puppy food is hard to find without corn somewhere in there. It will be very expensive so it is better to be sure that that is the problem.

How old is this dog? Have you checked for fleas or other parasites? Is the itching really bad or could it be dry skin from winter?

For switching you gradually remove a bit of old food and replace it with new over the course of a week to two weeks depending on how sensitive your dog's stomach is.
By the way-- I switched from Eukanuba to Solid Gold Wolf King due to allergies and the stool tripled in size and smells TERRIBLE. It's a doggy specific thing.

[SnowDancer]

We have an 11 month old Eskimo has a sensitive stomach - but has decided to let us worry about it. If you can believe what is written, Bichons, Poms, Eskimos, Maltese, etc. all originated from the same breeding stock way back when. I discovered that Eskimos can often, but not always, have a problem with corn and wheat based foods - with corn being the worst offender. Many, many dog foods are corn based. I am currently feeding our dog human grade Fromms - Chicken and/or Salmon A La Veg and it has helped a lot. His cookies are wheat free. When we switched our pup from puppy food to adult food, we did it 1/3 adult to 2/3 puppy for a week. I would have your dog checked for allergic skin conditions as these breeds are "sensitive". Also how old is your dog?

[coppperbelle]

My dogs eat Solid Gold, Wolf King and their poops are nice and not smelly however I was warned by someone that feeds this to her goldens that they may be so I guess it depends on the dog.

I just read the ingredients on "Chicken Soup for the puppy lovers soul" and I don't thing there is any corn. I would doubt that Solid Gold would put it in their food but I am not certain.

If your pup is showing signs of allergies then I would avoid foods with corn, wheat and soy. Did you check the ingredients on Eukanuba? If there are any offending ingredient maybe the store would take it back if it is unopened.

[mona_b]

Eukanuba is part of Iams...Iams makes it.

Eukanuba's first 4 ingredients are:

Chicken,Chicken By Products,Corn,Ground Grain.

Rule of thumb.The first 4-5 ingredients should NOT contain corn.

I suggest you take the bag back and get your money back.If they ask you what was wrong,just tell them that you got some new info about the food and that you don't want to feed your pup a food that has Corn in the first 4-5 ingredients.And again,if they ask why not,then you can tell them that the corn is an allergin.They of all people should know this.

Here are a few very good premium foods.

Wellness
Innove
Canidea
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul
Eagle Pack Holistic.

Or what you can do is just read the ingredients on the foods.

As for switching the foods,what ever the amount he is eating now,take some out,put in just a bit of the new food.After about 3-4 days,add more of the new and less of the old,again,after a few more days,same thing.I would do this for about a week and a half.By the last couple of days,he should be eating just the new.

[coppperbelle]

If those are indeed the ingredients on the Eukanuba and your dog is showing signs of allergies then it is not the food for him/her.
As was mentioned the dog food store employees should know to avoid corn to dogs with suspected allergies.
I went into a large dog food supply chain store here in Quebec and asked why they didn't carry foods like Solid Gold, Wellness, Eaglepack etc. Both employees I asked told me they weren't allowed. Go figure.
My point is, is that when you bought the food did they sell other brands like Solid Gold and WEllness or just the "popular" brands? IF it was just the "popular" brands then the Eukanuba was maybe the best they had in the store.

[matt]

I agree with Mona, Eukanuba is horrible food and it is not even close to a mid range food. The foods mentioned , Wellness, Wolfking, Solid Gold are all top notch! If you want something cheaper I feel Nutro is fine also. Corn is a cheap soure of protein but there is a reason most top foods DO NOT include it. It can cause allergies and there are better quality(although more expensive) sources of protein out there. ANY food with Chicken by products should be avoided. You would not want to know what this is! And you would not want to feed it to your dog. In terms of $$ , most of the top end foods you feed MUCH less of anyways so when you analyze the cost it really is a wash in many cases.
I just started feeding my dogs Innova EVO and they love it! Coats look great, stools are the smallest , and I feed my female 2 cups a day, and my male 2.5-3 cups.

[Eleni]

I diddnt see any of the brands you suggested there, I think next trip out ill got to a different store and see if they carry something other then eukanuba.


I did Have sam to the vet yesturday he mentioned that sams skin did look a bit red, and to keep an eye on it and bring him back if it gets worse, but that the stress of coming to his new home may have irritated him some

Eleni

[Trinitie]

You'll usually find the better quality foods (like the ones we've mentioned) in the pet stores, and not the grocery stores. Sometimes it takes a little shopping around to find the best price, but in the end, if you end up paying more for a good quality dog food, it's worth it isn't it?

A good quality food will produce a nicer coat, less poop, more energy, a generally healthier dog. I'd rather pay $10 more a bag for the wellbeing of my pet.

[Prin]

Sorry, I wasn't clear-- Eukanuba Lamb and Rice formulas don't have by-products, but they do have corn. I never look at the chicken foods as my big guy gets violently ill from it. Now that I have seen the chicken ones-- wow they are crap...

Also, to find the foods mentioned above, you are better to go to their websites and see where they sell closest to you. I know my Solid Gold Wolf King is HARD to find here in Qc. I have to call a week ahead just to make sure the one store (a 1/2 hr away) will have my food in stock. It's not really petstores so much as Dog specialty stores that carry it. THe chain pet stores don't carry the not-so-advertised foods.

I checked and NONE of the solid gold dry dog foods have any corn at all in them, there is only one puppy food however and it's quite expensive. Their website says $44 US for 33lbs. The adult is $41US and that translates to $71 CDN. Here are the ingredients of their "Wolf Cub Puppy" food just so you can compare with the Eukanuba and the other food you have:

Bison | Salmon Meal | Brown Rice | Millet | Cracked Pearled Barley | Rice Bran | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Garlic | Amaranth | Blueberries | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Taurine | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Manganese Proteinate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Selenomethionine | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |

Here are the ratios for it:
Protein, Min 26%
Fat, Min 12%
Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calcium, Max 1.5%
Phosphorus, Max 1.2%
Calories per cup, 375

If you compare ingredients, you'll see that none of the major ingredients are the same in your foods and in this one. Therefore, your doggy is less likely to show allergies to this one if he is allergic to the ones you have.

You can go to solid gold's website: http://solidgoldhealth.com/products/
I'm sorry to all those who hear me talk about solid gold all the time, but I have had doggies all my life and my doggies on this food are the healthiest, shiniest doggies I have ever had. I thought they were doing well on Eukanuba lamb and rice before but now there is just no comparison. (and the ear infections are gone)
I mean look how shiny Jemma is: