# quality food for sensitive stomach?



## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

my shiloh shepherd has a pretty sensitive stomach, right now he is on prescription diet i/d food until hes all clear, but i wanted to get a head start on a food to change to. what do you recommend? there are a ton of choices, like Acana, Castor and Pollux, Fromm, etc...

cost isnt a problem, i just want quality food that isnt going to cause too much stomach upset!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

You might start with Nature's Balance limited ingredients line if you know what he's sensitive to. Mine eats TOTW with good results.


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

My GSD did well on Nat Bal LID, but we switched after the recalls. His stomach was fine on TOTW, but he did drop quite a bit of weight. He now eats Fromm (we rotate varieties) with no problems. 

My Pit mix eats Acana and does well (but she's not sensitive to anything).

EDIT: Aiden's food wasn't effected by the recall, but the company itself made me nervous while it was going through that. My dog was completely fine.


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

is there any other higher quality foods that is good for sensitive stomachs? what about EVO dog food? or Back to Basics?


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

hvtopiwala said:


> is there any other higher quality foods that is good for sensitive stomachs? what about EVO dog food?


My dog had explosive diarrhea after feeding EVO. Why not just try the Natural Balance, Acana, or Fromm?


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

We found that if Molly eats one meal a day of a raw type food, like Nature's Variety or the dehydrated Honest Kitchen, it keeps her stomach well. For dry, she's done OK, but not perfect on Royal Canin GSD formula, Innova large breed, Nutro grain free large breed. She also did not like TOTW or Orijen, maybe too rich for her. The Honest Kitchen food has worked out the best for intestinal health, although the taste is not too appealing for Molly, I usually have to add some boiled chicken or other protein to encourage her to eat.

The kibble she's done poorly on is Science Diet i/d, Natural Balance LID (too much sweet potato) and she hated the taste of Life's Abundance - came from her breeder.


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

yeah i am willing to give Acanna and Fromm a try, i saw the Acanna Regionals are grain-free, would htat be better for sensitive stomachs?...is there specific types of proteins that do better for sensitive stomachs? such as fish or turkey?


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Stosh said:


> You might start with Nature's Balance limited ingredients line if you know what he's sensitive to. Mine eats TOTW with good results.


I had a pup with a TERRIBLY sensitive stomach and switch her to Natural Balance Bison and Sweet Potato.. she did amazing on it and I didn't have much more problems with her digestive system.


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## gaia_bear (May 24, 2012)

I was having a lot of problems with my puppy and we narrowed it down to chicken causing the upsets, loose stool etc we've since switched to Acana Pacifica and she is doing great on it.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

California Natural is good limited ingredient formula for dogs with stomach or allergy issues. Might want to give that a shot.


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

which of the Acanna's would you recommend? isee they offer 


Acana Pacifica
Acana Grasslands
Acana Wild Prairie
Acana Ranchlands
alot of choice lol


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Acana Grasslands and Ranchlands are both too high in calcium for a large breed puppy. Pacifica and Wild Prairie would be much better choices. 

I also agree with giving the California Naturals LID line a look. Lots of people have had great success with them. The only knock I can think of about California Naturals is that the company who makes them, Natura Pet Products, was bought out by Proctor & Gamble a while back. As far as I know though, Natura still maintains its own manufacturing facility where all their food is made and P&G has, thus far, not made any negative changes to any of Natura's products.


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## JPF (Feb 5, 2011)

Natural Balance LID is what we went with after trying other foods. It is the only one that completely solved his problems. He was having very soft stools and the Natural balance cleared it up. We switch from the different ones (bison, venison, etc) with no problems. I would definitely give it a try


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

yeah i am willing to give nature balance a try, but i think i want to try Fromm first,

How do you rate this Fromm:
Grain-Free Salmon Tunalini dog food - Fromm Family Foods

Or i will choose Acana Pacifica, which do you recommend out of those 2?


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

You really can't go wrong with either of those foods ... as long as your dog does well on a fish protein based food. They are both excellent foods made by great companies.


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

never tried fish diet yet so i figured might as well give it a try! is there any pros/cons of fish vs meat?


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

hvtopiwala said:


> never tried fish diet yet so i figured might as well give it a try! is there any pros/cons of fish vs meat?


I think I pretty much always get a better coat quality with fish based food.


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

then fish it is!

so both would be good for an 11 week old pup right? he is still a bit underweight so is it ok to feed him a little extra?


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Lucy Dog said:


> California Natural is good limited ingredient formula for dogs with stomach or allergy issues. Might want to give that a shot.


I second this! My dogs do FANTASTIC on CN. When they were puppies, Rosa especially had a weak tummy from all the parasites she had. CN was the only food that she could tolerate when she was young.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

hvtopiwala said:


> then fish it is!
> 
> so both would be good for an 11 week old pup right? he is still a bit underweight so is it ok to feed him a little extra?


For a pup that is only 11 weeks I would probably choose the Fromm Salmon Tunalini. The Acana Pacifica has a calcium level of 1.5% minimum, with no maximum amount given. Even if it is like the majority of the rest of Champion's foods and the max is 0.2% higher than the min, then you are looking at 1.7% max which is quite high for such a young puppy. The Fromm Salmon Tunalini is 1.27% calcium, as fed, with an almost 1:1 ratio of calcium and phosphorus. It also has a very low ash content ... another unknown for the Acana formulas (they list ash for all of the Orijen formulas, but not for Acana for some reason).

They are both great foods, but for an 11 week old, I would go with the Fromm.

For an ALS formula, you generally want to take the amount listed for the puppies weight and feed 1.5 times that amount for a puppy 6 months or younger, and 1.25 times the amount listed for the pups weight for a puppy from 6-12 months old. Of course, this is just a place to start as far as amount to feed goes. You will need to adjust it for your individual dog based on their nutritional needs.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Don't feed a growing pup the Natural Balance Fish & SP -- definitely go with Fromm. The NB is very low in fat. It was a terrific tummy-tamer for a grown GSD who didn't do well with other protein, and it worked beautifully as she aged. It doesn't have adequate fat for a growing pup, though, IMHO. Fromm's Salmon-based food is a better option (I've fed it to a way-too-skinny foster pup, and she gained weight nicely on it).


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

Called al the local stores and they only have Fromm gold puppy. Is that ok for now?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

You could try The Honest Kitchen "Love or Embark" which is made from human grade ingredients and has helped many sensitive dogs/pups. You can purchase on line or at a doggie boutique. In the mean time, you could mix equal parts of BONELESS/skinless boiled chicken breast with non-seasoned pumpkin from the can. Example: 1 cup + 1 cup. You could also add some "Slippery Elm" powder to sooth his/her stomach. This is purchased at a health food store.
Good Luck with your baby!


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## hvtopiwala (Jul 18, 2012)

So don't try Fromm gold star puppy?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

hvtopiwala said:


> So don't try Fromm gold star puppy?


It's really a personal choice. I would read the info from each company you are considering and then decide. I've seen this food work wonders for different breeds and different ailments. I like it because it is all human grade ingredients. You can read about it at All Natural Dog Food | Dehydrated Raw Dog Food | Like Homemade Pet Food


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