dogs diet

Question
QUESTION: I have a 6 month old shih tzu named Marley. I had her on Science Diet till she was about 4 months old. After being told repeatedly online and by petcare employees, I switched her to Wellness. I tried this along with her old science diet food for 2 weeks. She kept having loose stools, almost diarrhea. I then put her on Evo small meat bites, mixing it also with Science Diet. She continues to have extremely loose stools with mucous and more frequent. She use to have one solid bowel movement a day. She now has 3-4 loose stools, but very small. Is the Evo too rich in protein?

ANSWER: Much of the advice on dog food is based on lining somebody's pocket.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with Science diet.  Everything you have been told about it is a bunch of emotional based marketing hype.  Many of the premium foods such as Wellness are distributed by small reps.  They have flooded the net with their unfounded allegations.  I have seen case after case like yours where a dog was doing well on a common brand including Science diet and changed to a better brand and had trouble.  Some people will say anything to promote their product.  Others will pick up and parrot things that fit with their world view that science is a big lie and large companies are evil and greedy.  They don't care that there are no controlled studies backing their claims.  Remember, whatever you find on the net is what somebody finds it worth while to pay to have there.  You seldom find articles from reliable sources such as the JAVMA.   

I also see the large service dog schools having very good results feeding Science Diet and other poorly rated foods.  I have literally seen thousands of healthy dogs thriving on Pro Plan.  

It is like Aristotle and Galileo. Aristotle though about it, and declared heavier objects fall faster then light ones. For most of the next 2000 years, educated people knew that. Then at the dawn of modern science, Galileo lugged the large and small balls up the the tower of Pisa, and dropped them off. They hadn't read Aristotle, and both hit the ground at the same time. I am afraid the dog world is full of thinkers. they think the premium brands are better.  


What I would do is go back to the Science Diet.  If she doesn't firm up in a week or 2, you may have to go to a bland diet and then slowly introduce the Science Diet.  

If a dog is having trouble keeping anything down or continuing diarrhea try this out of the manual I have from a large, knowledgeable dog guide school.

Bland recovery diet for dogs.

3 parts cooked rice, one part boiled hamburger or chicken, or cottage cheese. I think you can substitute boiled potatoes for the rice. Once in an emergency, we bought a plain baked potato from Wendy's.

This is meant for short time settling a dog's digestive tract. It is not the complete and balanced diet they need long term. I have seen it work.

It is possible, starting out with a calm digestive tract, the Wellness or EVO might work.  If so, the dog won't be any better off.  It will give you more room in your wallet and bragging right at Starbucks.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I really would still like for her to be on the evo, because it does have more protein that Science Diet. Would it be ok to just maybe mix the two for awhile till she is a little older? I have read that some dogs will not tolerate the high potein diets. Why is this, and should she be at least a year before I do the high protein diet?Thank you so much!

Answer
There is a limit to how much protein a dog can use.  The excess of any amino acid beyond what a dog needs is burned as energy or excreted.  All you can do is choose a food with a margin above the requirements for each essential amino acid.  How do you determine that?  I don't have a clue where a dog owner could come by that information.  Certainly not on the websites that speculate about dog food ingredients.  I do know of a large, professionally managed dog guide school that has very good results feeding Science Diet.  

As I mentioned, you might be able to transition to the EVO from the bland diet, or to a mixture.  

I now have my 21'st dog as an adult.  Not a single one of them had problems on the common brands of food I have fed.  I don't know why I see so many reports of dogs having trouble on the premium foods.