nutrition

Question
i have my boxers on chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul and  3 days after i started her on the food she had vomiting and bloody stools and when i took her to the vet she had no parvo and was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and the only environmental change was her food and she continues to have loose stools and i would like to know if there is an organic dog food that is reasonably priced (up to 35 per bag as close to 40 lbs as i can get). i am at my wits end and i dont know where to turn anymore and i am worried that if i start to feed her anything else that she will get worse and i want to find something that i as well as they can be comfortable with. thank you

Answer
Hi Mikka,

Actually, CS is one of the better foods.  To answer your question, you're going to be hard pressed to find an 'organic' food for the price you want to spend.  Most organic foods run $1.50 to $2.00 a pound.  They can also be difficult to find unless you have a specialty store in your area.

What you may be running into is Boxer colitis.  Blood in the stool is one of the symptoms.  Unless you want to have a battery of tests run on her, it's really a matter of trial and error.

Remember, it can take 2 to 4 weeks for a dog's system to adjust to a new food.  If the blood has gone away and the vomitting stopped, give the CS at least this long.  If it already HAS been 4 weeks on the CS, you may want to try a food like California Natural.  It's about $1.00 a pound and has only a handful of ingredients...it's recommended for dogs with food allergies (which is different than colitis).  However, if something in the CS is disrupting her system, chances are it isn't in the Cal. Nat.  

If you can't find the Cal. Nat. in your area you may want to try Solid Gold or Canidae.

I have 2 littermates that were raised outside basically eating whatever they found (along with scraps from their human).  When I put them on a regular diet they had colitis.  It eventually cleared up but did take quite a while.  Human food will still give them flair ups.  They're 2 years old now.  

My friend's Boxer can't tolerate anything with corn or wheat.  First bowl of anything 'cheap' and he's got bloody stool.  

While it can be controlled, it's something you'll always have to keep an eye on.  (Assuming it's colitis).

Good luck!  If you need help finding food in your area, let me know.