Canidae, baked knuckle bones and probiotics.

Question
Hello Catherine, I read your past posts and I like what you have to say.

I am currently feeding my golden retriever, Tucker, Canidae ALS. He has been on this food for 2 months now. 1&1/2 cups dry and 2 TBSP's yogurt in the morning and 1&1/2 cups with 1/4 can Canidae in the evening.

Lately (last few weeks) his B.M.'s have been soft. Not runny just not as hard as they were. I was wondering if you think a probiotic would help this or should I get him off this food. I do not want to homefeed as I want to make sure his food is balanced and would be to worried I may not get it right. The only other food I would go to is Wellness because I can't get the others you list by me and my husband doesn't want to order online. I trust what you say and was wondering your take on Canidae?

Also I read in a past post you recommend Udo's Choice. I looked it up and it's listed as a pet essential for dogs. Now is this a probiotic or not. If not is there a probiotic that you recommend that you can buy at either Pet Co. or Pet Smart? I know you have to be careful with these as they are not regulated, and that's why I'd like a recommendation.

One last thing, I was wondering about your take on the baked knuckle bones you can buy at the pet stores. Are these safe? I tried a knuckle bone from the meat counter at the grocery store but it was too rich for Tucker and he threw it up. What's my best bet here as he loves to chew. Sometimes we have T-bone steaks for dinner can he have the leftover bone? This wouldn't be the every week solution as we don't have T-bones very often but was wondering if they are safe?

Thank you for your time. It's very generous of you to help people with your expertise.

Sincerely, Kellie

Answer
Hi Kellie,

Thank you for the kind words! I had this answer almost done  twice yesterday and my computer crashed both times! I've had ongoing problems all week - so my apologies for the delayed reply.

Let's look at these questions one at a time. :)

1) Canidae ALS: This was a food I used and recommended for years.
A while ago  they changed the formula and it has caused a lot of issues since then. Here's a little information:

http://www.dogfoodclassaction.com/index.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html

Because I am having massive pc problems my answer will be quick - you can always email me at home for more information (catlane@thepossiblecanine.com)
I would personally switch gradually over to the Wellness. That's the short answer. We can talk more at a later date, I dont want to lose this answer a third time!

2) Udo's Animal Essentials is not the product I'm recomending, it's Udo's Adult Probiotic, but there are other good  products out there as well that may cost less, and some dogs do best with straight acidophilus. As a general rule I prefer to use human grade products for dogs.

3) COoked T-bones are very Unsafe as they will splinter easily and can cause serious damage. I prefer a raw knuckle bone but some dogs don't do well with marrow and you may want to consider something like a Bullystick ( dried bull penis - sounds unpelasant but they're relatively safe and dogs love them). There are good tendon products available now too, but I shoot for the raw bones wherever possible. If a product caused vomiting your dog should not have it again.
Please consider joining my yahoogroup too, where you can ask questions all the time and many knowledgable members can help as well.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePossibleCanine-Nutrition

I am so sorry for the delay! Feel free to contact me at home, too.

All the best, Catherine