Too many choices!

Looking at dog food info makes my head spin! I've been feeding my small standard doxies Merrick GF Buffalo for years and years and years. Lost the oldest last year at age 14. Kooper is 10 1/2, healthy (knock on wood), regular, super high energy, has never grown up, he is our wild child. Have always made a point of having thin doxies, nice trim waists are best for back health. Coat, body weight, overall appearance, small hard stools - never any issues with it. I did try once or twice to switch the dogs to a different brand but never did - it was easily accessible, lacking of a recall history until May of last year - so I stuck with it.

New puppy arriving soon - breeder has them on Purina ProPlan Savor. Until reading all the threads here I had planned on gradually switching over to Merrick Puppy once he was settled in with us.

Reading here though, that shelties should be on a lower protein diet with fillers like peas further down the list. Well Merrick is a higher protein percentage at 38%. Also read higher proteins might be okay if Essential Amino Acids are higher - that is not divulged on bag. I do realize that Purina bought out Merrick.

I see Fromm is recommended here on several threads and the analysis seems to lie within those within the long thread on foods. SCARY to switch brands after so many years, not a fan of something I cannot run out and pick up on a whim. But it does lie within those guidelines listed here of 24-32% protein, the Merrick is higher.

Help!!!! I know no-one can tell me what to feed my dogs, but looking for honest opinions on why I would switch from something I've had years of no issues with.

 

Ah, puppy food - the stress of it all! As an update, I said phooey to all the research and just went with the Merrick Grain Free Puppy. I researched and couldn't find anything I liked better. Brodie preferred the Merrick over the Purina Pro Plan Savor the breeder had him on and picked out all the Merrick. But I still felt bad about feeding grain free with all this news these last few months, then the vet talked to me about the grain free. Nice poops, but slow eating it.

So I started searching again and tried adding in Wellness Puppy. Still nice poops, but he wasn't overly excited about the food. I started reading again and decided to order Merrick Classic Puppy. It remains in the Merrick line which I have used for well over 10 years, no recalls issues. All was well, Brodie LOVES the food, gobbles it up, picks up the Wellness and Grain Free kibble and spits them on the floor - will not touch them.

Big issue - soft stool! Two weeks ago, shortly after the first Lepto shot, was his middle of the night poop fest in his kennel which resulted in his first bath. His poops would be soft, then okay, then super soft, then okay. I do my transitions MAJORLY slow, so I wasn't sure if he was having a rection to the vaccine or it was the food. Gut said food, but I really didn't want to start food shopping again.

Last week, soft stools still coming and going, we had those accidents in the house. I had given him a bit of pumpkin to firm up but would start up again if I stopped. I added in Pro-Pectalin tablets thinking maybe the Lepto and the food change got his innards messed up. Then I started to wonder about parasites although Brodie was the only one with loose stools.

Monday we had our 2nd Lepto, he had zero reactions to it. I had his stool sampled and no bugs. He is not bloated, he is not lethargic. I narrowed down 2 of the 3 issues that could be related to his loose stools and the only one remaining culprit is the Merrick Classic Puppy food.

Tomorrow we have a delivery coming from Fromm. I really wanted a food I could obtain easily through a local store and this I cannot, but I don't want the crap in it, I want the good stuff. Peas seem to be a strong suspect in these heart issues with food - no peas in the Fromm. The Merrick has peas and it was a concern of mine. I got the adult Gold to transition Kooper to as well. I had started him on Wellness as well,wanting to stick to the same line for both dogs - he is biting and itching his paws with a 50/50 recipes. Could be nerves as he does it on and off at odd times of the year.

It does have more fiber than the Merrick Classic so maybe it will tighten up the loose stools. It also has a tad more fat in it than the Merrick so will have to see how daily doses go - I may have to cut back on food.

Of note - I was shocked to see that Merrick Classic recommends 2 to 2 1/3 cups of puppy food per day - I never looked at the bag or site, I just fed what I had been feeding him. Brodie would be bowling ball shaped! I feed him 2/3 cup twice a day right now; a total of 1 1/3 cups per day and that ties in with what Fromm recommends.