# Feeding Authority and now having issues...



## MisfitFarm (Dec 27, 2009)

I have an almost 18 week old female puppy. When I brought her home at 9 weeks, the breeder who I'm embarrassed to have bought her from was feeding her Purina Puppy Chow. We changed her over to Nature's Recipe Large Breed puppy. After about two weeks she became quite ill with nasty diarrhea that contained undigested food. She also began eating her feces during this time. No surprise though, due to undigested food. I fed her a mixture of rice, yogurt, and kibble for the next few days, and decided to change feeds. I then put her on Authority Large Pup, mixing half and half for the next ~3 weeks til the Nature's Recipe was out and she was fully weaned over. 

So for the past few weeks she has been fine on Authority. I've been feeding her approx 1 1/2 - 2 cups three times a day which she snarfs. This past week, however, she is not eating in the morning unless left with the food in her crate for about an hour, or I take her out for a while and then put her back in. The other two feedings she does the whole grab a bite, leave it, come back, grab a bite, check out any trash on the floor, come back. The past couple of days she's had accidents in the house, and she beats us to cleaning it up. Her feces have also changed back to looking not fully digested. 

I figure it's getting to the point that she's overeating, but the dog looks gutted. I would post her weight but our scale is broke. About 3 weeks ago she was 30 pounds. If I took photos, would that help? 

What is your opinion of Authority? When I read the ingredients of the bags at Petsmart, it seemed to have the best top 5 ingredients compared to most. I'm open to any suggestions, I'll admit that I'm new to this with a Shepherd and am willing to learn. 

Here is a site listing information: Authority Dog Food - Ingredients and Nutritional Information

Thank you so much for any advice you can spare.


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## georgiapeach717 (Jan 28, 2010)

i am not familiar with it, but isnt it made by the same company as diamond?

Have you considered something more rich like Orijen, TOTW, Innova LBP, Or Eagle Pack Hollistic Select or another higher grade food? Do you have any feed stores locally?

I have been through a ton of food issues with my guy and now have him on Innova LBP kibble with 1/4 can EVO 2 times a day and finally have hit paydirt!

Also give her a tablespoon of unspiced canned punpkin 2 times a day to help her belly.


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## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

I dont like to feed anything with corn, but I know some dogs have no problem with it. For puppies I like Orijen, or Wellness.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

first, have you taken a fecal sample to the vet to see if something else is going on.

almost 6 cups of dog food seem awfully excessive. it would indicate to me either there may be a health issue or for some reason your dog is not absorbing much nutrition from this food.

id say there are quite a few dog foods, even at petco or petsmart, that would be better than authority-examples: innova large breed puppy (maybe those stores dont carry this), wellness super 5 large breed puppy (petco), solid gold wolf cub (petco), Blue Buffalo large breed puppy (petsmart) to name a few. if you wanted to go grain free, the only thing id reccomend is Orijen Puppy Large.

and yes, pictures are always helpful in attempting to assess if your dog is too lean, plump, etc,....preferably pics from right above her looking down and pics from the side in good lighting.


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## MisfitFarm (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. 

As for the 6 cups- It does sound like too much, but she was eating it well, poop looked good, and she was still slender, so I figured at that point her growing matched the need. However, I think now something has shifted and/or slowed down. 

I have not checked out the food offered at Petco. I considered Blue Buffalo, but when looking at opinions on this site, I read that some people had issues with Blue Buffalo being too rich and causing their pups to have digestive issues. I was somewhat leery after my current issues. 

I haven't done a fecal yet. Might be on the list next week if something doesn't give. 

I'll try to take a few photos of her tomorrow and post.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Has she been vet checked at all since you got her? It really sounds as if she is not fully digesting her food for some reason. 

Pumpkin helps as does good quality food. I do not think Authority is that good of food. You can also consider Natural Balance foods sold at Petco. 

I hope she is okay.


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## maquignon (Feb 26, 2010)

Assuming that your dog does not have worms, I think you are feeding way too much, even for a low grade food like Authority. There are many foods at PetSmart better than Authority, Blue Buffalo being the best by far. It is not too rich. People just feed too much. Your dog needs much less of a high quality food and overfeeding causes diarrhea.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I'm with everyone else, as long as she's vet checked ok, sounds like she's just trying to tell you she's full so skips meals.

Just put the bowl down, if she doesn't finish it in about 5 min, pick it up and just give it to her at the next mealtime.


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## MisfitFarm (Dec 27, 2009)

She has been seen by a vet. Not for this exact issue, but puppy shots and the general look over. 

She has been dewormed as well. 

I cut back her food this morning. 

Thanks for the comments, I'll look into a different food.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

> Her feces have also changed back to looking not fully digested.
> 
> I figure it's getting to the point that she's overeating, but the dog looks gutted. I would post her weight but our scale is broke. About 3 weeks ago she was 30 pounds. If I took photos, would that help?


I might be the only one, but if he has been over feeding and the dogs has just now been turning up his nose to it, and he has undigessted food coming out. AND the dog is "looking gutted" .... then it sounds like possibly SIBO or EPI

EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency - EPI
EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency - SIBO

I still would like to see pics of this pup. And When you click on the epi link it shows an example of a dog with EPI and a sample poop to give you an idea. Hopefully its just over feeding.....but I wouldn't rule these out completely.


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## MisfitFarm (Dec 27, 2009)

Hello everyone, just wanted to offer an update on my pup. 

She cleared up with her issue within a day, had solid poop, ravenous appetite, etc. I decreased her food, and since she has been cleaning it up.

This morning, she woke me up with the sound of her vomiting, and basically the exact symptoms from before. Made an appointment with the vet, and by the appointment time Nyx had vomited and defecated herself to the point of nothing left. She drank water though right before the vet, and kept that down. The vet put her on metronidazole, fortiflora, and sent off her fecal for further testing. At this point we're seeing if the above mentioned helps her out and keeps her poop solid. The fecal should tell us something as well. Fingers crossed. He didn't seem concerned about her body condition, so I suppose she is just lean. She's 45lb at 19 weeks. 

Thank you for everyone's advice and opinions.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

if nothing shows up medically, id certainly be looking into some other foods.


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