I have a 12 month old dog Cavalier who is currently on Eukanewba Lamb & Rice as recommended by our dog trainer as he has a sensitive stomach and is prone to diarrheoa (I know I've spelt it wrong). We have just got an 8-week old bitch Cavalier who is on Purina Beta (via the breeder).  I was given a supply which ran out and my local pet shop did not supply it so I gave her some of Oscar's lamb & rice as it was for puppy/juniors so thought it might be OK in the meantime.  Unfortunately not and obviously the loose poos came.  I have now got the Purina Beta but in the meantime the very nice man in another pet store suggested boiled chicken and rice which would help her digestion.  Her poo is coming out bright yellow and even softer.  Since last night she is back on softened Purina.  Eventually I would obviously like them to be on the same food.  Myself personally, I am into natural, organic foods and would like to feed my dogs the same.  Has anyone any suggestions?  The "very nice man in another pet store" recommended Nutro by a US company as it is completely natural.  Should I buy shop bought food or do something myself, bearing in mind I don't want them to miss out on any vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc that they need.  Many thanks.

I have Bcs and now feed them Burns.  It is a holistic food and contains everything that the dog needs.  The best thing you can do is to investigate those foods that you are interested in.  I did try Nutro but my dogs turned their noses up at it although they will eat the biscuits.  If you want to check our Burns their webside address is www.burnspetnutrition.co.uk  It is a very informative site and worth checking out. 

Claire

Pick one food and stick to it, at least for a month or two. Changing foods will only result in a gippy tummy as you have found. Usually the breeder supplies a little food with the puppy and I use this, adding a little of the food I want to feed to it so that when this original sample is gone my puppy is converted to the food I want to feed.

At 8 weeks old the chances are that it does not have a sensitive stomach, just the results of change of diet and just as important, change of water.

Maybe I've just got a jaundiced view of human nature but I always wonder if these "Very nice men" in pet shops really have my dog's interest at heart or are they recommending the food which pays the highest mark up?

Regards, John

If you are into organic and natural foods you can obviously feed your dog the raw diet and use only organic meats and vegetables; dead easy to do.

If you are looking for an organic commercial food I would suggest that Burns is the best as, unlike Eukanuba or Purina, they do not add unecessary fillers, experiment on animals or use BHA/BHT as preservatives etc.

If you would prefer a moist diet then Naturediet or Natures Menu would be at the top of the list there.  All these products cut out the fillers, preservatives, humectants, emulsifiers etc etc common in most commercial foods.

HTH

There is a holistic dog food called all-in-one, sold by the natural dog food company, it actually has organic raw materials. If you google search, the natural dog food company you will bring up their site. Let me know if you have any problems I will find the number for you.

[link]http://www.naturaldogfoodcompany.com/[[/link]

Both the above company and Burns call themselves a "holistic" food; (not quite sure what that means as that is not my definition of holistic) :D

Unfortunately nowhere on this site does it describe the exact contents of the food and FWIW it contains a great many grains rather than just rice as Burns do.

Each to his own.

I think you will find that Burns also contains oats, a grain.

Yep, absolutely correct. Burns contain rice; some varieties have oats and some have linseed.