Hi, as some of you may know we have a 1 and 1 month old Siberian Husky who we are feeding on Bakers Complete ( I know some of you are not keen on this but will explain why we feed it). Ever since we got him at a pup at 12 weeks old he hasn't been able to stomach much at all without getting diarreah (sp). We thought maybe he would grow out of this as he got older and more suseptable to other foods but this does not seem to be the case. If we give him any other food than Bakers Complete (we have tried most) or a treat of any sort we can guarantee he will get diarreah, believe me we have tried other foods. We have taken him to the vets three times (2 x to the same vet and another for a second oopinion) about this and they say there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him, we have had blood tests, stool tests etc which came back clear. We just can't work out why he is like this. Whilst it is no problem just to feed him his normal food we would love to be able to give him treats as my o/h family dogs regularly gets them and Dre is often with him so is probably feeling left out although we do try to keep him away so he doesn't know. Sorry its long but really want to know what your opinions are.

Thanks in anticipation.
Sam

I find it incredible that a dog that can tolerate Bakers Complete which is full of colourings, salt and sugars would be made ill if fed something which was additive free such as Naturediet or Burns etc.

Remember changes of food may result in temporary diarrhoea which has nothing to do with illness but changing gut flora; hence why most people get ill on holiday.

I would recommend Naturediet or Burns with the addition of live yoghurt every day. 

Hiya, huskies have a very delicate digestive system and can suffer from douts of diarrhea at any time as they can suffer from irritable bowl syndrome.
All my huskeis have had bad diarrhea at one point, been vets had tests,  until i put them on a complete dry food that had 13% protein and over 9% oil.  Try and find a food that has these percentages as huskies need a high protein and oil diet. Fish based food is great for this. I get mine from a pet stockist called SUBRIDGE, its their own brand and only £6.50 for 15kg. I also suppliment it occassionaly with raw chicken. My dogs love the food as it keeps them in top condition. As for treats, i can never give them to my huskeis as they start getting diarrhea again.

I must admit to being surprised to learn that Husky's (like, apparently so many other breeds) have delicate stomachs.  I would have though they would be fairly robust and imagine them eating seal meat, fish etc when they are working with little problems - perhaps it is the more refined diets that are causing some of the problems?

Thats the whole problem, as they are relitively new to these parts of the world and environment, their digestive system hasn't evolved to adapt to the man made food. Thats why they need a very high protein and oil diet. Feeding them pure chicken and fish is great for them to an extent as they can easily digest this,  but its not a balanced diet :(.

Husky mad
you say you feed a diet that is 13% protien...and then say they need a high protien diet? Is it a typing error? Very confusing
Archer

Hi Archer, most dry dog food has a protien percentage of 6% oils about 4%, its one of the 'higher protein foods' i use, i also suppliment it with raw chicken and fish, but you need a complete food so they are getting other vital nutrients. Anyway, its working for my babies, and has stopped the diarrhea.

hi my sibe puppy had the runs when we brought her home this was either down to her being weaned onto and adult food by breeder or just the change of surroundings etc but we have had her on Beta puppy since then and she has been great and she has had her 1st chicken wings and has loved them all with no problems :-D although i may switch her onto another brand later,she is pooing normally now and im quite happy with her progress :-D, as for treats here is a great site that i was recommended by a sibe person wo was handing them out round sibe shows and they went down a storm and they sent me free samples and i have never seen my dogs park their bums so quick :-D :-D lol here is their site details http://www.animalangells.co.uk/
made from natural products im placing  my 1st order with them they went down a treat anyway hope that helps

Michelle

Hi Huskymad,i feed a dry food with 26% protein,now that is high,i also dont understand how you can consider 13% as "high".????
Or am i misunderstanding?

christine :)

It is important to understand that at the moment there is no way that you can accurately evaluate the amount of protein in a commercial diet under current labelling laws.

The label only reflects CRUDE protein which is the total amount of all protein contained in the food.  However it does not inform you of two vital factors:

a) the bio-availability of the protein, in other words how much of this protein can actually be assimilated by the dog.  If the bulk of the protein is from hide, hair, feathers the protein content is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard!

b) what percentage of the overall protein content is complete and what incomplete eg does it contain all the essential amino acids.

Also calculating protein content related to dry matter therefore comparing the protein content stated on wet food with that on dry food is not comparing apples with apples!

If you want to fully understand what the label means you need to get in touch with the company nutritionist and ask them specifically what percentage of the crude protein is bio-available to the dog and what percentage is complete/incomplete.

Otherwise, quite frankly the crude protein percentage on the label means diddly squat.

Hi all, all i was saying is that i most commercial food have a protein intake of around 6%. It was very hard to find one higher than that. I was suggesting that a higher protein food ALONG with chicken will stop the runny poos. What is the name of the food that is 26% and how much is it and weight. thanks

The 26% protein is called "eaglepack" ,the other brand i feed is called"innova" and that has 24%,I live in Australia so our prices will be different,the eaglepack website is www.postalpets.co.uk,you will also find a brand named fromm on the site which is also an excellent food.i'm not sure what you mean about "weight" but the bags come in the most common sizes.

christine

I have found that eaglepack is quite popular with some sibie owners, as it has a good protein and oil content. Not sure on the pricers but think it is £30+ for a 15KG sack. I feed Janska my husky on Pro-plan which is 27% protein and 17% fat content, for a 15Kg sack of this is around £30 too, but im lucky enough to get it cheaper through batleys. ;-)Janska is duing extremly well on it as it is high in protein and fat which is what she needs along with tuna or sardines in sunflower oil. It is also Chicken and Rice which is light on her stomach. Wouldn't change it for the world.  With these feeds you also don't have to give as much as it is much more filling than other brands, but i always like to give Janska a full bowl.

Jenna

Hi all thanks for the replies. What we don't understand is that he is fine if we just feed him Bakers, no problems at all his excrement is absolutely fine its just as soon as we give him anything else? I will look into the other high protein foods as suggested though.

Thanks Sam

Don't think I've ever seen a dry food with as low as 13% protein.Lowest I've seen is 18...highest 30+.Have beed feeding Autarky till recently and that has 22%....
Archer.

Wouldn't let me edit above post...
pascoes=21%
trophy budget =20%
trophy premium=25%
wafcol=20%
berties=20%
JWB=20%
judges choice=25%
These are all for adult 'maintenance' foods....did a quick search and they are the only ones I found
Archer

The "itidorod"(sp?)huskies are fed on eaglepack,these dogs would have to be the most athletic and fit dogs i have ever seen,so this says something about the quality of eagle.

christine

I had the same problem with my 7 month old Husky, Dylan. He is fed on James Wellbeloved, but kept getting recurring diarrhoea, I now give him a Dessert spoon of low fat live yoghurt (which he loves). Since then he's had no problems with diarrhoea.

Have to say that we have fed many of our dogs on foods that it seems many of you think are terrible on here, though as most of them have lived to the ripe old age of 16 and the youngest has died at the age of 12 I don't think we've done too bad at all.  I would say that I could count on 1 hand how many times they had to go to a vet too.

I wdn't feed Baker's myself to my dogs but if your dog is well on this then I wd. feed it.  As others have said you need to change over to a new food slowly never change straight from one food to another.