A lil insight please?

[lipshipsattitude]

So some of you know that Rory has a pretty sensitive tummy and I've had her on Nutro Natural Balance for sensitive stomachs. She is 18 months so she is right in her maturity progression and for the past couple of moths it has been making her waste soft and light colored. Not runny but super soft. I also think the oatmeal in it was making her skiny dry and itchy but her hair felt nice since I started adding raw egg to her diet. So two weeks ago I bought a small bag of Nutro adult food that had most of the same ingredients except the oatmeal. It has made a huge improvement in her waste. The color and consistency is awesome BUT now her coat is shedding which is not regualr for her, however once every 4 months or so she goes through a small shedding cycle if that makes sense. Anyhoo my question is how long should I keep her on the regualr adult formula to see if the shedding subsides? I hear its not good to change their food unless its neccessary. She loves the new food.
Previously when we switched from puppy food to adult food we had tried a few. Blue Buffalo was WAY to rich for her.
california Gold gave her the worst gas EVER but its evident that she needs a high end type of food, the lil priss!
So whats up with the Eagle Pack or Royal Canin?

[mnp13]

Ruby's best food was Royal Canin Natural Select Lamb and Rice. It is decent food, not good, just decent.

She may be shedding due to an allergy to something in the food, that is what I think Riggs is shedding from and I have switched him to raw.

[Marinepits]

Dogs between the ages of 9 months to about 2 years will often shed a lot due to the fact that they're getting rid of their "puppy" coat and growing their "adult" coat. It varies per breed, but that's the average age.

Also, it's been extraordinarily warm lately so that may have something to do with her shedding.

[lipshipsattitude]

Yeah we had a heat wave, I didnt even think of that. I hear a lot of good things about Royal Canin, I think its ratings are even hiogher then the Nutro she has now, hte only reason I had picked it was because it was for sensitive stomachs. I'm not worried about price as much as trying to find a happy balance between her tummy and coat. I have probably a weeks worth left in this bag (i never thought I'd be so happy about a dogs poop) and its starting to cool down so I guess I'll see how the rest of the bag works out. I was just recently able to add raw egg to her diet, it seems as if her tummy is getting stronger as she gets older, I sure hope so. It has actually been a blessing in disguise becuase for as much as I spoil her she gets NO human food. I gave her a french fry ONE time and she pooped from here to China and forget about going in one place she's a walking pooper!
Oh and how is the lamb on their tummies? Not to rich?

[Magnolia618]

Nutro isnt a high quality food. Better than anything you can get at the grocery store? I think so, but I've seen dogs not do very well on it.

Royal Canin is definitely a step up. You should look up something like Canidae, Timberwolf, Wysong, Merrick, Nature's Variety (Is that the one? I always get all the nature/natural foods mixed up ), something like that. Look up each company's website and they should have a store locater.

[Maryellen]

lamb is very rich for some dogs. the easiest should be the canidae. http://www.canidae.com and look at their store locater, you can also find a store that sells it online to.

[KaylasMomJenn]

Do you people mean to tell me that shedding is not normal? Marshmallow shed's like a husky losing its winter coat!
She also sometimes has flakes (hard to see because she's white, but you can tell when the fall on you).
We were feeding Purina One (don't chew me out! this was before I was semi-pit bull savy) and then Canidae, and now Royal Canine. None of made her shedding any less. We don't brush her, could that be another problem?
Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was unaware that shedding could be a sign of an allergy.

[lipshipsattitude]

No its not a bad sign I dont think. I was just comapring Rory to her usual amount of shedding which is super super slim. Since this new food she has started to shed enough for some hair to come off on my fingers when I pet her which isnt normal for her. I think it varies from dog to dog and the climate you live in. It rarely reaches 80 here, we just had a small heat wave that touched 85 but that was a breaking record since 1954. Our general temp is from the 50's to mid 70's but I notuce when we go to Utah or Nevada she sheds more

[Marinepits]

Do you people mean to tell me that shedding is not normal? Marshmallow shed's like a husky losing its winter coat!
She also sometimes has flakes (hard to see because she's white, but you can tell when the fall on you).
We were feeding Purina One (don't chew me out! this was before I was semi-pit bull savy) and then Canidae, and now Royal Canine. None of made her shedding any less. We don't brush her, could that be another problem?
Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was unaware that shedding could be a sign of an allergy.

SHEDDING IS COMPLETELY NORMAL FOR MOST DOGS.

Shedding can also be ONE symptom of an allergy.

I have a twelve year old white pit that sheds enough to make a whole litter of puppies and she is completely fine and healthy.

[Marinepits]

Lipship, in my post above I wrote about dogs shedding their puppy coats as they age to two years old. My point is that you MAY NOT have to change her food to stop the shedding -- give it a couple of months to see if the shedding lessens on its own.

If she's doing well on the food she's eating now, then there's no reason to change.

[Magnolia618]

Maggie's reaaaaaaaaally decreased after switching her to raw. She barely sheds at all.

[Malli]

Oscar now has seasonal shedding. If I brush him real well with his rubber "curry" type brush its much better.

Oscar has a very sensitive stomach, not as sensitive as your girl's but its pretty bad.

Since I can only manage his allergies (they're not so bad as to need shots) and we can't avoid. I've chosen Royal Canin Skin Support Its designed to give the dog foods (omega 3 acids) that help him regenerate his skin, and its been working really well.

All in all it boils down to whatever works best for that particular dog. It took me about 5 brands of food trials before I found something that at least somewhat worked for us.

Malli

[lipshipsattitude]

Awesome, thanks everyone. I'm gonan stick with what she has for a littel while longer and then look into the Royal Canin

[SisMorphine]

Salmon oil (or other fishy Omega 3's) can help with skin and fur issues, and can also help reduce shedding.

With the crazy heat the kennel dogs have been shedding enough for me to make one whole dog a day out of the fur. It's gross.

[lipshipsattitude]

I saw some of those supplements at the pet store, maybe I'll grab some today!

[Vanessa]

I switched Ozzy to Royal Canin a few months ago and he is doing really well on it. He used to throw up ALOT and he hasn't thrown up at all since he switched. He still sheds alot (like whole dogs could be made from his fur ) and when we vaccum we still get 2 bags full of hair but his coat seems shinier and healthier. I'm going to look into Merrick and Canidae too but Royal Canin is working well for us

[rockermom]

Shedding like crazy here. Glad to know they shed puppy fur did not know that. But then again Rocky was like almost bald when we got him at 4 months, so what puppy fur could be left to shed.

[katiek0417]

Awesome, thanks everyone. I'm gonan stick with what she has for a littel while longer and then look into the Royal Canin

Sacha has both sensitive tummy issues, and skin allergy issues (to grain)...the best food for her has been Timberwolf: Wilderness Elk and Salmon...

[Marinepits]

Shedding like crazy here. Glad to know they shed puppy fur did not know that. But then again Rocky was like almost bald when we got him at 4 months, so what puppy fur could be left to shed.

As his hair grew back in, it was still puppy fur when he was young, unless he didn't grow his hair back until he was around 18 months.