Nutro, Royal Canin, and Evo not working, what dog food do you use? - Page 2

Interesting
My dogs are both thriving on EVO and I am actually planning on adding some green beans because the stools are almost too firm.
Neither dog has any history of food issues, though.

I've fed Innova EVO for years, and for most of my dogs it has done well. However, the young GSD I have now has always had "goopy poopies". So, we introduced a raw diet (Oma's pride) and his stools have tightened up. We will be swtiching to Oma's pride raw diet.

I might be wrong, but it sounds like you switched the dog immediately to a new food?? Switching foods should take about a week of slowly adding more new in and using less of the old. Dog's who have totally been on kibble do not have the proper flora in the the digestive system to tolerate sudden changes in diet. Raw fed dogs have less of a problem with change because they are getting all the good bacteria that is needed to properly digest food.
THAT may be your biggest problem!
I have feed holistic and grain-free kibble as well as raw for many years now, with very little problems at all.  I have tried most of them and the only one I've had a problem with is Evo.  My dog's stools were never firm on it. All of the others including "The Taste of the Wild" have done well.  My dogs seem to like the "wetlands" variety of "The Taste of the Wild best. But yes, every dog is different in taste as well as some having special needs to keep the stools firm.  You just have to experiment, but remember to do it gradually and only after your dog is settled into the current diet.
I sometimes use chicken with bones in TO firm up stools.
Hope that helps some?!
Debby

Quite frankly, I am a little amazed that no one has picked up on  the fact that the original poster is switching around from one food to the next and is surprised that his dogs have diarrhea. It generally takes a dog about 7-10 days minimum for a dog's digestive system to acclimate to a new food. This is why, even the worst pet food makers, as well as the good ones, all explain to slowly convert from one food to the next. This is accomplished by starting out with mostly the old brand mixed with a small amount of the new brand and gradually increasing the amount of the new brand over a period of 7-10 days or even two weeks.
The rice that the OP is giving his dog is a binder and works well to firm up stool.

It is correct that some dogs will not do well on the ultra-premium brands. Most of these brands (the raw mimickers) have a high protein content which the dog needs to adjust to (they need lots of water to process the high level of dehydrated protein in kibble) and, more importantly, some dogs will not do well on these foods because of the high fat content in them. This is usually where you see the diarrhea coming in. If this is the situation with your dog you may want to investigate a lower fat version of one of these foods if the manufacturer makes one.
You may also have a dog that, while it may not have it, could be close to an EPI candidate. You would never know with a food that has a lower (meaning normal industry standards) fat content, but, the higher fat content in kibble can be very tough for a dog (or a cat) to digest if the pancreas is not functioning fully up to snuff.

Interestingly these problems usually go away with a well planned raw food diet, but, not always.

The other thing that I should point out is that when your dog (or cat, or human) is having a tough time with diarrhea give it a tablespoon of plain yogurt  with each meal and/or a little canned whole pumpkin. The pumpkin also works if the animal (or person) is constipated.

I hate to say it, but I bought a load of Kirkland chicken a month or so ago, running a partial-kennel test.
My dogs on, are doing great on it, no problems, nice coats coming in, firm stool and not too much of it, good dondition and energy levels. Not sure I'd use it for gestating/lactating mothers or puppies. Probably not. but my adults are doing just fine on it thank you.
I do supplement with K9 Power products. I'm going to give it awhile longer before I give it any kind of blessing, but compared to RC, Canidae, Wellness, and a few other "premium" foods I have given serious trials over the last two years, this stuff is holding its own way better than I ever expected. $25./40 lbs.
SS

Exactly... I've been trying to post the slow-switch issue all day... :)
Great post.
-paul

Kirkland and Diamond come from the same plant. 

I'm betting Diamond isn't going to let that disaster happen again. It would spell the end of their company.
I know quite a few breeders/trainers that feed Kirkland. I gave it a chance because their dogs all looked as good as mine when I was spending twice as much and having mushy, smelly stool and lots of it. I do not switch foods quickly.
I suspect the supplements I use help.
SS

I am the origninal poster, and some of you have brought up an interesting point about the timetable in switching the foods.

It makes sense to me that a slow introduction of the food is the way to go(regarding the bacteria in the digestive tract argument).  However, if that is the case (that a new bacteria in the digestive tract is needed) why then if your dog is having the runs can you switch to feeding just plain chicken and cooked rice and the stool will return to normal?  Would they not need the same "new" bacteria in place to digest the chicken and rice?

We have fed Solid Gold with success for a while, until my dog's teeth became too sensitive to chew hard kibble (she'll be 16 yrs in June). We then tried their canned varieties, but she only likes their Green Tripe variety, so we've also been feeding Natural Balance's canned varieties - which she seems to like for the time being..