# Anyone feeding grain free?



## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

The last month I have switched Chester and Murphy to the new California Natural grain free chicken. They were eating Innova and Science Diet...Murphy was eating more of the S/D because he was having soft poop (the vet said I should feed him this..not my first choice but the poop was better). After Chester's 2nd ear infection I thought I would try the grain free route, Murphy's never had infection but his ears seemed dirty all the time. Anyway my questions....both dogs ears are looking great so I wanted to stay on grain free....but Chester's poop as become soft, what could I add to his diet to help? Pumpkin doesn't seem to be doing the trick...how much pumpkin might help? (in the past I would have add rice to his diet) Second question, Murphy's poop is fine but he is under weight what can I add to his diet to add a few pounds. Murphy can't eat pumpkin it is to much fiber and makes his poop soft. Any ideas out there? Thanks.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

I feed fromm surf and turf, to my three dogs, kooper and brodee, will be 8 next year, and spirit will be 4 months old.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Add some shredded wheat if you need to help him firm-up his poop for a few days. You could also sprinkle some Metamucil on his food, too, since wheat is a grain.


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## 2golddogs (Oct 19, 2009)

Both Kosmo and Jackson are on grain free and their stools are good and firm. I do find though if I feed them more than their normal amount the stool is soft.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Fromm is coming out with a new grain-free variety, too! They currently have Surf & Turf but they'll be coming out with a beef one soon.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Those who make grain free foods suggest having your dog on the food for at least 8 weeks before you can make an assessment of whether or not the food will be good for your dog. Grain free, especially since grain free varieties are often very rich, will tend to give looser stools until the dog's body is used to it. Cosmo is on grain free (Orijen 6 Fish) and his stools have been solid sometimes and runny other times, so I too am struggling with the same issue as you. Can never tell if something else is causing the runny poop either, like foraging, which I think is usually the culprit.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

Can someone who knows more than I do on the subject of grain free please help me in my understanding of grain-free and appropriate age to start doing this? I read somewhere that ideally the best age to begin feeding grain-free solely is 18 months. I know Fromm and other companies make a grain-free for ALS, however I am still wrestling with what I read and just want to make sure I'm doing the best for Maggie.
Thanks in advance


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

jackie_hubert said:


> Those who make grain free foods suggest having your dog on the food for at least 8 weeks before you can make an assessment of whether or not the food will be good for your dog. Grain free, especially since grain free varieties are often very rich, will tend to give looser stools until the dog's body is used to it. Cosmo is on grain free (Orijen 6 Fish) and his stools have been solid sometimes and runny other times, so I too am struggling with the same issue as you. Can never tell if something else is causing the runny poop either, like foraging, which I think is usually the culprit.


This is what I am mostly thinking that we need to give it more time. I made the switch very slowly and they have only done grain free alone for a short while. I think the corn was the main problem from the S/D but I won't know unless I add things like rice or wheat later and find no problems. 
The other problem being that Murphy is to thin, the boys ribs stick out so I need to add something to his diet to add a little weight. The vet said potato's but unless I add butter and sourcream (just kidding)  I don't think it going to help much.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Blondie said:


> Can someone who knows more than I do on the subject of grain free please help me in my understanding of grain-free and appropriate age to start doing this? I read somewhere that ideally the best age to begin feeding grain-free solely is 18 months. I know Fromm and other companies make a grain-free for ALS, however I am still wrestling with what I read and just want to make sure I'm doing the best for Maggie.
> Thanks in advance


If your dog doesn't have a specific problem with a specific grain, switching to grain free can cause more problems than it solves. If you search across the forum, you'll find just as many threads with dogs on grain-free who aren't tolerating it as you will dogs on grains who aren't tolerating it.

If your dog is healthy now, don't fix what ain't broke.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

On grain free - my senior border collies get Evo. They're at a good weight, have firm stools and they're both extremely healthy. Billy literally has not been sick one day in his entier 8 years - that may seem unbelievable but he has not had one single day of illness. Only time he has been to the vet has been for regular checkups.
Dru is almost 12 (Feb) and he's only had one urinary tract infection. All other issues (degloved toe, broken top canine, cracked ribs) have been working accidents.

I swear by grain free. My first few posts on this board were regarding food, and I felt a little uncomfortable because it turned into an intense discussion. I've learned to do what I've learned is right for my guys and to not argue since other people have their own opinions on the subject. 

To the person who asked about the age - my guys have gone grain free at 18 months. It is very rich and I take a very long time getting them used to it. I start very gradually inserting tablespoons of it at a time from the time they turn 12. I may be a bit exagerating here, but it's worked for all of them. By the time they're 18 months they're completely switched over and none have had any issues.

By the time, I recently tried Orijen Senior since I have two senior dogs and Evo doesn't make a senior formula, but it didn't agree with my guys. Their coats look terrible. And Dru was always constipated.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

The breeder i got spirit from, put the puppies on grain free, when we got spirit, she is a good breeder, been doing it for years, they were on totw grain free, i slowly put him on the fromm grain free, after a feww weeks of having him.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Be VERY careful feeding young dogs rich foods. Too many calories and too much calcium and phosphorus can cause or worsen growth-related bone and joint issues. Even if they're ALS approved by the AAFCO (which they aren't always) they may not be ideal for fast growing dogs like GRs.


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

I never had any luck with grain free, I guess I just got tired of the soft blobs that smeared everywhere.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

IF , grain free, is not good, for my pup, spirit, please post info., telling me why? A lso, where , and who, says so, and what are the correct percent a pup should have?


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## OrdinaryEllen (Jun 20, 2010)

*Joining the discussion*

Piper was eating Beneful Puppy until he was twelve months old. He really liked it but I wish I had known more about puppy food choices when I started him on it.:doh:

I first tried a few others. He did not like Science Diet and was less than enthusiastic about Iams.

At twelve months I switched him to grain free. I chose Earthborn Holistic Pimitive Natural Grain-free. We spent about 11 or 12 days making the transition and only one episode of loose stools that I wouldn't really classify as diarrhea. 

He seems very happy with his food. He gets two cups around 6 a.m. and then one cup around 5 p.m. I am enjoying this thread and hope to get some feedback on what Piper and I are doing regarding grain-free choices.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

IF there is REAL evidence, in feeding grain-free, to pups, please let me know. I would be interesed, to hear fro the breeders on here, thanks.


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## z&mom (Oct 7, 2006)

We feed grain-free. 

They were on TOTW before we switched them to Orijen 6 Fish (maybe too rich?!), one did great but the other had soft stool hence we switched to Acana Lamb (with healthy grains - rolled oats). One developed dirty gunky ears, I had to clean her ears at least 2x weekly. Then finally we switched them back to grain-free, rotating between Acana Grassland and Acana Pacifica, now both are doing very well, smaller firmer stools and cleaner ears. 

Here's a white paper produced by Orijen, it may be bias, so read with an open mind and as a reference....http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/ORIJEN_White_Paper.pdf


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## HudsensMama9 (Dec 17, 2009)

Janine, you could try adding some peanut butter to Murphy's food. It's high in calories and fat which may help with weight gain. Also, Hudsen LOVES when I put some on his food.. he gobbles up the whole bowl in seconds. He is a skinny guy too, so I give him a PB stuffed kong every morning. His poops are firm. He also gets a puppy kong with mashed bananas and a little bit of nonfat yogurt. Bananas help humans to have firm stools, so I wonder if it works the same for dogs?  The yogurt has probiotics which also helps with tummy issues. Good luck!


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## golden_daisy (Aug 10, 2010)

> He also gets a puppy kong with mashed bananas and a little bit of nonfat yogurt. Bananas help humans to have firm stools, so I wonder if it works the same for dogs?  The yogurt has probiotics which also helps with tummy issues.


Daisy -- who is now 4 months old, eats Blue LBP, but was raw fed from birth to 8 weeks, had loose, runny stools until her tummy adjusted to eating the Blue kibble. I am pretty sure Blue LBP is grain free (correct if wrong please). We tried kongs stuffed with mashed bananas and yougurt -- she loved them, but her tummy did not and she actually had looser stools than before! We have yet to find a kong recipe that agrees with her. :/ But, when she eats her kibble and we don't give too many treats or pig/cow ears, then her poops are perfect!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

golden_daisy said:


> Daisy -- who is now 4 months old, eats Blue LBP, but was raw fed from birth to 8 weeks, had loose, runny stools until her tummy adjusted to eating the Blue kibble. I am pretty sure Blue LBP is grain free (correct if wrong please). We tried kongs stuffed with mashed bananas and yougurt -- she loved them, but her tummy did not and she actually had looser stools than before! We have yet to find a kong recipe that agrees with her. :/ But, when she eats her kibble and we don't give too many treats or pig/cow ears, then her poops are perfect!


I think most of the Blue LBP foods have rice. I haven't checked through their site exhaustively, though.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

goldensrbest said:


> IF there is REAL evidence, in feeding grain-free, to pups, please let me know. I would be interesed, to hear fro the breeders on here, thanks.


I think the main evidence is that all the grain-free blends from the major manufacturers aren't approved for puppies, and most of them carry a disclaimer on their sites that the foods shouldn't be fed to pups.


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

Though I like the Innova EVO I found the protien level to high for some of my goldens which causes loose stools. I have all different ages to feed. I wanted a grain free diet that would be an excellent choice for everyone. EVO is not recommended for large breed puppies due to the rations of calcium (2.55) and phosphorous (1.57). To much can cause them to grow to fast or possible joint problems. They recommend Innova Puppy vs. their EVO. So I went back to wellness puppy that perticular mama was raised on. Never a huge wellness fan and went back the drawing board. I found Canidae ALS Grain Free (calcium 1.07, Phosphorus .82) and without sounding like an advertising I love it. Everyone here looks great with firm poo. Our last litter that were Canidae babies were a healthy size with beautiful coats. The mama did fantastic nursing them. Not that the previous pups had problems but their was definately a difference. Was it the diet....I don't know but I tend to think so. We have been using it for a couple of years and at this point I am very pleased.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

MGMF said:


> I found Canidae ALS Grain Free (calcium 1.07, Phosphorus .82) and without sounding like an advertising I love it. Everyone here looks great with firm poo.


It sounds like a good food if it makes your dogs healthy. People should be aware, though, that a "grain free" food like this has a significant amount of potato in order to provide bulk and calories but keep the problem nutrients lower.

If you're trying to avoid grains, it seems like a good choice, but I'm not sure potato is nutritionally superior to corn or wheat.


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## GINGIOLA (Oct 14, 2010)

I feed Ginger with Orijen 6 fish, i switched of gradually about 3 months ago and I'm satisfied for the results:

fur is more soft
no more dermatits or malassezia
no dirty ear
more powerful
compact excrement
no eye lacrimation

then i think to alternate 6 fish with Senior

Federico


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

My girls are on Blue Wilderness Salmon and Blue Wilderness Duck. They're doing great with nice, firm stools.


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