How do you tell if your dog is doing well?

oliwa

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but I have read a lot of posts lately, read several web sites, and talked to people and there is a lot of controversy over ingredients. The only consistent advice I can find is "if your dog is doing well leave things alone".

So that leads me to wonder what criteria do you use to know if your dog is doing well on their food or if a switch is necessary?

My Basset likes her Orijen, but her stool is on the soft side and is really stinky...but her itching has decreased, her coat is shiny, and mood is very consistent.

So far, I've read that people look at the following:

1. Coat shine (shiny is better)
2. Scratching (less is better)
3. Stool consistency (not sure which is better)
4. Stool size (smaller is better)
5. Stool frequency (less is better)
6. Body odor
7. No more hot spots
8. No more skin abnormalities
9. Reduced shedding
10. Decrease in preexisting medical conditions

If you can add any others of if you disagree please let me know.

Criosphynx

I agree with all those. The only thing thats a pet peeve of mine is people judging health ONLY by coat sheen. I have seen lots of animals fed garbage food that were very shiny. So people use that as justification.

Brittany

I have been wondering this myself. We are feeding Blue Buffalo and my husband wants to switch because both Kimber Kelsey go to the bathroom 1-3 times per day. But Blue Buffalo is one of the best I found near us.
Oliwa you said less frequency is better so does that mean I should I consider switching?

I don't think they have Orijen anywhere near me. I know they have Taste of the Wild about 30 minutes from me.

Good thread BTW.

Gone2Dogs

This is one of those things my mother used to say..."if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck....let it be a duck" Her way of saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I used to know a bullmastiff breeder whos dogs looked, performed and reproduced GREAT on crappy dog food. I figured I would rather get a dog from her than a line that is only able to do well on some "hot stuff" food.

I got a BC years ago from a top sheep dog trial man....fed all his dogs Dads- top dogs on the east coast and the sire to my pup fathered the litter at 16yrs old....the pup is 11yrs now. And years ago we fed all the dogs mill runs and odds and ends....essentially pure grain crap. Yet they all did fine and lived to an old age.

All that said....if you start feeding top notch, novel protein foods to your young dogs.....what novel proteins are you going to go to when they develope allergies to what they are getting? Allergies tend to kick on at two to five years old.

A comment on the soft stools....how long have they been on the rich food? It can take months to adapt. If you feel it has been long enough you may want to tweak to something similar but different.

Bad gas and a Bassett is almost an oxymoron.....many bassetts smell no matter what and it could be a never ending search to find something that Snickers isn't gassy on. Can you ask her breeder what they feed?

Mikey

I agree with all the things you posted Oliwa.

Poop is major-we always check it. It should be consistent and not too mushy and not too hard-but also watch your dog when they are going. They shouldn't be straining-or doing the circle-squat-circle-squat dance (Constipation).

They shouldn't throw up often or at all, and what we've noticed with Mikey is his nails grow insanely. That's a good indicator of health-we have to dremel them every 3 weeks! (Mind you we are pretty crazy with grooming, other's may leave them a bit longer).

Oh and when you feed a high meat content food-farts and poop STINK. It's actually a good thing-all meat eaters poop stinks and the more meat the more stink

oliwa

I would say going poop 1 to 3 times is normal. Snickers pees a lot more than poops, but she does poop 1 to 3 per day and I never had a concern. I've read other posts of dogs going 4 or 5 times a day and leaving piles the size of softballs...that doesn't sound right to me.

I agree, but how do you know if something needs fixing if you don't know if something is wrong?

I'm trying to assemble a generalized list of things that anyone can use to determine if their dog is doing well or a change is needed. I understand every breed is different, and every individual dog is different, but there are some generalities we can use.

But to answer your questions, she has been on Orijen for about 1 1/2 months. I don't mind the gas or stinky stool, I am more curious if the slightly soft stool is due to too much protein and switching to a lower protein food will clear that up. But I am more concerned about her gaining wait from eating a food with carbs (like Wellness) because a heavy Basset is a very bad thing. Her weight is ideal...she weighs 36 lbs and her body is lean and gorgeous.

oliwa

When I say soft, I mean like thick tomato paste. I classify her poop as a tomato (you can kick it and your shoe would be clean), tomato paste (formed, but slightly soft), and ketchup (runny). She hasn't had ketchup poop for several weeks.

Criosphynx

interesting. Chilis nails grow so fast, I was wondering if there was som'thing wrong with him. When he was a puppy we had to trim him WEEKLY. LOL

Gone2Dogs

I find it a bit troubling that you are comparing poop and tomatoes....suddenly thinking NOT having spaghetti tonight.

My vet has always remarked that if a dogs nail beds are icky (and not ran through tomatoes icky but oozy, skin slough sort of icky) it is a good indicator that they have food sensitivitys.

Mikey

bahahahahah

Ketchup poop I'd worry about I don't think poop should come out petrified either=-that's a sign of not enough fibre, especially if the stools are large, they can be hard to pass. Formed but slightly mush is good-formed is key