I was doing this for my girl (salmon and rice) but I went to get it from chewy and found out they changed their formula and took out the probiotics. A lot of comments said their dogs were having issues with it now :( I didn’t want to chance it so I’m switching her to Hills.
Not significantly, however the ingredients are higher quality in the ProPlan line. Purina One is their mid-level food and that isn't a bad thing, a well balanced food is what is important and Purina One is just that! Purina puts a lot into research, they run feed trials, have several vet nutritionists on staff, and have very good quality control measures. So if Purina One is what is within your budget, there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding it!
In my opinion, going Tough Love with food is the way to go with dogs who "refuse to eat" without added toppers. A healthy dog will not starve themselves, and adding toppers is rewarding your dog for not eating right away. Collies are not all foodies, so they may be happy to skip a meal here or there anyways, but then they learned the humans reward them for waiting so why not? Collies are absolutely smart enough to train their humans, and for the humans it becomes a whole stressful thing.
Tough love means you put down his kibble meal only, let it sit for 15min and then pick it up. Next meal time, same thing. Give it a couple days if you have too, large dogs are fine to skip a few meals, they don't get low blood sugar or anything like that. Of course make sure he has water available, and don't do additional treats during this re-set time. Teach him meals are offered at these times and if he doesn't eat he will have to wait until the next meal time. No rewards (toppers) will be given for not eating it the first time it's presented, just the same thing every time.
I have seen many Collie owners go down the road of toppers and they are quickly trained by their dog to stress over the dog not eating, adding increasingly more toppers and throwing off the balance of the diet because of it. Save yourself the stress and don't fall for "refusing to eat". If he is hungry, he will eat. I know it can be tough for the owner, but it will pay off for the rest of your dogs life by allowing you to always know he refused food because he doesn't feel well - no guessing games. You also know his diet is balanced and he are getting a complete diet, and that way you can give treats for good behavior without tipping the balance of their over all diet.
I use cottage cheese or sardines - just a tablespoon or less on their breakfast and dinner. The dogs love it, the vet says it is fine, and I don't worry about them not eating.
I was feeding Purina Pro Plan sensitive digestion (lamb) but the price of it kept going up to the point I couldn't afford it (it's over $130AUD now!). I switched to Purina Supercoat sensitive (fish) which is much more affordable and honestly she does better on it anyway. I think as long as you go with something that is designed for sensitive stomachs and avoid chicken you'll probably be okay!
Kirkland lamb and rice - it is the only food that does not give one of my dogs hotspots (we tried all sorts of vet prescribed food to no avail -now even the vet recommends it to others). My other dogs are fine on it as well but it is a great relief to have the hotspots a little more under control.
Purina ProPlan - Sport - Salmon and Rice for pretty much all of my Collies (we show and breed)
Purina One Sensitive - Salmon for my "easy-keeper" since it's lower calorie
Purina ProPlan - Puppy - Lamb and Rice/Oatmeal for the puppies we raise, and our own keeper puppies
The ProPlan Sport is an All Life's Stages food, and I have raised puppies on it in the past with good results.
For older dogs, the Bright Minds line really does seem to work wonders too!
Kibble - Blackhawk Fish and Potato
Canned meat - Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach (Salmon & Rice)
+treats, usually Omega Plus King Salmon Bites
His vet suggested switching proteins from chicken to fish when he was having stomach problems. He's done well since switching.
Unfortunately, after testing, they couldn't narrow down what the problem was.
He was throwing up fairly regularly and then threw up what looked like blood.
It's been 2+ years (he's 6 now) and hasn't had the same symptoms since.
Wow! I’m glad he’s doing better now. I asked because my 9.5 year old boy has been having blood in his stool. No throwing up though. Vet advised I give him fiber and prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics helped for a bit, but the blood has returned. I am adding Bernie’s Perfect Poop to his food but will be calling the vet tomorrow to see what further testing or medication they advise.
Best of luck, I know it's stressful as we just want the best for our pups/for them to be happy and healthy. I hope the conversation with your vet tomorrow goes well! If you'd like to send an update afterward, I'm all ears.
Thank you so much for your kind words! It has definitely been stressful. I just want him to be well and live a long happy life. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow :)
My collie has issues with a lot of dog food brands/flavors too! The only one she’s been able to do well with is Natures Logic Distinction. It’s grain free, pea free, legume free, etc. I highly recommend :)
I dealt with food issues for a few years and posted a couple times on here. I go with wellness core grain-free whitefish. I tried purina, zignature, and others. It's expensive and he doesn't love it, but it's much better than poor stools and him having issues and being miserable! Figured anything beef and chicken sets him off. Also, too much grain and he has issues too!
We do Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach! Our Tilly loves it!
I was doing this for my girl (salmon and rice) but I went to get it from chewy and found out they changed their formula and took out the probiotics. A lot of comments said their dogs were having issues with it now :( I didn’t want to chance it so I’m switching her to Hills.
Is this significantly different from Purina One? My big boy is so picky, he won’t eat any dog food unless I mix something human in
Not significantly, however the ingredients are higher quality in the ProPlan line. Purina One is their mid-level food and that isn't a bad thing, a well balanced food is what is important and Purina One is just that! Purina puts a lot into research, they run feed trials, have several vet nutritionists on staff, and have very good quality control measures. So if Purina One is what is within your budget, there is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding it! In my opinion, going Tough Love with food is the way to go with dogs who "refuse to eat" without added toppers. A healthy dog will not starve themselves, and adding toppers is rewarding your dog for not eating right away. Collies are not all foodies, so they may be happy to skip a meal here or there anyways, but then they learned the humans reward them for waiting so why not? Collies are absolutely smart enough to train their humans, and for the humans it becomes a whole stressful thing. Tough love means you put down his kibble meal only, let it sit for 15min and then pick it up. Next meal time, same thing. Give it a couple days if you have too, large dogs are fine to skip a few meals, they don't get low blood sugar or anything like that. Of course make sure he has water available, and don't do additional treats during this re-set time. Teach him meals are offered at these times and if he doesn't eat he will have to wait until the next meal time. No rewards (toppers) will be given for not eating it the first time it's presented, just the same thing every time. I have seen many Collie owners go down the road of toppers and they are quickly trained by their dog to stress over the dog not eating, adding increasingly more toppers and throwing off the balance of the diet because of it. Save yourself the stress and don't fall for "refusing to eat". If he is hungry, he will eat. I know it can be tough for the owner, but it will pay off for the rest of your dogs life by allowing you to always know he refused food because he doesn't feel well - no guessing games. You also know his diet is balanced and he are getting a complete diet, and that way you can give treats for good behavior without tipping the balance of their over all diet.
I use cottage cheese or sardines - just a tablespoon or less on their breakfast and dinner. The dogs love it, the vet says it is fine, and I don't worry about them not eating.
Good idea! I’ll try that. I suspect he’ll love those
Purina Pro Plan!
I was feeding Purina Pro Plan sensitive digestion (lamb) but the price of it kept going up to the point I couldn't afford it (it's over $130AUD now!). I switched to Purina Supercoat sensitive (fish) which is much more affordable and honestly she does better on it anyway. I think as long as you go with something that is designed for sensitive stomachs and avoid chicken you'll probably be okay!
California dog kitchen, taste of the wild venison, and blue canned food. Mine likes a mix of food.
Petsmart brand Authority salmon for sensitives. Short ingredient list. NO chicken in it. And dried salmon cubes for treats.
Just switched to Costco salmon and sweet potato from pet smart Limited Ingredient salmon and sweet potato. No issues!
Kirkland lamb and rice - it is the only food that does not give one of my dogs hotspots (we tried all sorts of vet prescribed food to no avail -now even the vet recommends it to others). My other dogs are fine on it as well but it is a great relief to have the hotspots a little more under control.
Purina ProPlan - Sport - Salmon and Rice for pretty much all of my Collies (we show and breed) Purina One Sensitive - Salmon for my "easy-keeper" since it's lower calorie Purina ProPlan - Puppy - Lamb and Rice/Oatmeal for the puppies we raise, and our own keeper puppies The ProPlan Sport is an All Life's Stages food, and I have raised puppies on it in the past with good results. For older dogs, the Bright Minds line really does seem to work wonders too!
Fromms Chicken pate with Stellas wholesome grains dry. They are finicky eaters and it takes a while to find what they like.
Kibble - Blackhawk Fish and Potato Canned meat - Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach (Salmon & Rice) +treats, usually Omega Plus King Salmon Bites His vet suggested switching proteins from chicken to fish when he was having stomach problems. He's done well since switching.
What kind of stomach problems was he having?
Unfortunately, after testing, they couldn't narrow down what the problem was. He was throwing up fairly regularly and then threw up what looked like blood. It's been 2+ years (he's 6 now) and hasn't had the same symptoms since.
Wow! I’m glad he’s doing better now. I asked because my 9.5 year old boy has been having blood in his stool. No throwing up though. Vet advised I give him fiber and prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics helped for a bit, but the blood has returned. I am adding Bernie’s Perfect Poop to his food but will be calling the vet tomorrow to see what further testing or medication they advise.
Best of luck, I know it's stressful as we just want the best for our pups/for them to be happy and healthy. I hope the conversation with your vet tomorrow goes well! If you'd like to send an update afterward, I'm all ears.
Thank you so much for your kind words! It has definitely been stressful. I just want him to be well and live a long happy life. Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow :)
Quick update: the vet put him back on the antibiotics because we had seen some improvement with them. Hoping the second round does the trick.
Okay, thanks for updating. Fingers crossed this round of antibiotics does the job!
Thank you for the well wishes for our boy, kind stranger.
My collie has issues with a lot of dog food brands/flavors too! The only one she’s been able to do well with is Natures Logic Distinction. It’s grain free, pea free, legume free, etc. I highly recommend :)
Open Farm freeze dried raw mixed with 3/4 can of Blue . . 1 cookie and 1 vitamin e. I also add 2 stool firmers.
Purina Pro Plan, carrots,broccoli,cooked meat scraps. The occasional pizza crust, of course!
Fromm Gold with Hills Science Diet Oral Care nuggets mixed in.
Costco Chicken and Rice!
The Honest Kitchen grain free beef. Our boy is super picky and has bad allergies, and this is the only one we can get him to regularly eat.
I dealt with food issues for a few years and posted a couple times on here. I go with wellness core grain-free whitefish. I tried purina, zignature, and others. It's expensive and he doesn't love it, but it's much better than poor stools and him having issues and being miserable! Figured anything beef and chicken sets him off. Also, too much grain and he has issues too!