Question:
I have a question for those who are familiar with Medi-Cal Gastro canine formula dry dog food.

I have two Italian Greyhound pups and they have been on Innova Puppy food since we got them. For some reason, the girl seems great on this food, and the boy seems to have diarrhea/ loose stool quite frequently.

Recently, we came home and found that the boy had some blood in his diarrhea as well, and took him to emergency vet care.

The vet did a fecal test for parasites which came back negative. She then gave him ten days of medication (Flagyl) and a new dog food to try for awhile until his tummy settled down. The food was Medi-Cal Gastro.

For the first time since he came home, boy puppy had solid stool consistently. As we slowly switched back to Innova, as the vet recommended (mixing slowly), the loose stool returned.

So, here's my question. Is it okay to keep him on Medi-Cal Gastro for his whole life? Is it possible he is allergic/ sensitive to something in the Innova? My vet said Innova was the best possible food there was, but it doesn't seem to be agreeing with his tummy... and is it unhealthy for him to go through life with loose stool all the time? Is the nutritional value in Medi-Cal Gastro comparable? I read the ingredients and visited their webpage... and they brag about being a low-fat food, which is probably normally a very good thing. But, for a skinny little Italian Greyhound, this is something that worries me a little. He could stand to have a little more meat on his bones!

Also, has anyone out there ever had two dogs on two different diets? (I can just imagine how difficult it's going to be to keep them from eating each other's food. As it is, they want EVERYTHING the other has, whether that's a toy, a vaccination, or an eyedropper full of Flagyl!! )

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Lisa

PS: Should we go back to the vet for more advice? Can she test him for food allergies?

Answer:
Innova can be too high in protein for some doggies (especially the Evo). The ingredients in Medi-cal foods are not great, but they are balanced for better digestion. What I would do is try a food that is a bit lower in protein (below 26%), with different sources of protein (like fish or bison, other than poultry) and see what happens then. I wouldn't leave them on either the Medi-cal or the Innova for life- I'd find a food that has ingredients I agree with and that both doggies are healthy on.

Answer:
I have heard from a few people about problems their dogs had while on Innova. Some have life long problems, whether it was caused by the food or aggravated by it will never be known. They have spent thousands of dollars on vet bills, medication and now finding a food that their dogs will tolerate. It is a very rich food and while probably excellent for your breed of dog may be too rich for your guy.
When I was switching my dogs I went to a store that turned out to be a distributor for Innova. While chatting with one of the employees who was pushing Innova I asked him if any of his dogs had problems with the food. He admitted that his Great DAne had bloody diarrhea during the switch.
I opted to try Solid Gold, Wolf King on my dogs. It took a few months but my dogs have the most beautiful coats. I am very pleased with this food. I found a man that sells it for reduced costs (he is a distributor) and he told me a Greyhound rescue buys Solid Gold for their dogs. I know it is not the exact same breed but maybe if you tried it on your guy it would help.
As for feeding different dogs different foods, it works out. Last year I was feeding 3 dogs 3 different foods. I labelled each container and scooped the food out before putting it down. Thankfully the kibbles were different and I eventually learned to identify each one.

Answer:
Sam was on gastro food for a week to help with a tummy problem he was having

honestly I dong think a dog would be happy on gastro food for life.

first off its made to be bland, that cant be fun for the dog, and secondly I found sam was constantly hungry when he had the gastro food.

sure it helps tummy problesm and firms up poops, but I really think its a short term fix.

the real fix is finding a high quality food the dog can stomach.

i second all the suggestions others have made.

with sam all it took was switching his food to soemthign with a different proteine souce.

apparently he cant stomach chicken

so now hes on a lamb formula for food


Eleni

Answer:
I opted to try Solid Gold, Wolf King on my dogs. It took a few months but my dogs have the most beautiful coats. I am very pleased with this food.
Me, too. It is supposedly for large breed doggies, but I don't think it makes too much of a difference if your doggy is active (food has more cal/cup so big dogs eat less). They also have "Just a Wee Bit" for little dogs, but it's way more expensive.

My doggies are doing so well on the Solid Gold and I can't imagine switching them back, even if I can barely afford the food (Yey to being a student )

Answer:
Thank you, all. I will definitely begin the search for a food that is easier on Pup's tummy, other than the Gastro formula. Thanks for the recommendations. A good place to start!

~L

Answer:
We have been doing this since March. We have a senior and a puppy, both using Nutro formulas. Maggie, the senior, will eat whatever she`s given, Lola, the pup, favors the senior formula (and cat food!) and gets possessive of whatever dish she`s eating out of. We keep Maggie`s dish put up until she`s ready to eat. As long as she`s eating Lola won`t bother her, but as soon as she steps away Lola is right there finishing what is left. Its kind of a pain, paying attention to which dog is in the house and which dish is out, but is getting better; Lola used to try stealing Maggie`s food *while* she was eating.

I think you`ll have to plan on feeding them separately until you can find a food they will both do well on. Good luck!

Answer:
LOL. Both the pups have "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome and always want to eat out of each other's dishes!!

The girl is on glucosamine for her joints following surgery for luxating patellas. We have to grind the glucosamine into her food to get her to eat it. And, get this! We then put her dish in HIS food tray and his dish in HER food tray. This seems to ensure that each will eat the right food! Reverse psychology in action. This is about to get a whole lot more complicated, perhaps, but we'll keep working at it.

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