New member in need of some advice please!!!!!!

Dear all,

Thank you for taking the time to read this any advice would be very welcome.

We have a beautiful 5 year old pedigree Staffordshire, we've had him from a pup but always had trouble with his food.  We started him on James well beloved but it gave him chronic gas and very loose stools which made it difficult to pick up in the park/garden etc. So we switched to wainwrights then Pero (all avoid the use of wheat,cereals,soy and other ingredients known to cause allergies or poor digestion). They seemed to help with the gas and stools but he didn't seem keen on them often leaving his food untouched for hours before eating it.  So we switched again, this time to tinned wet food called butchers tripe mix.  According to the information on their web site it was all 100% natural. After two weeks (1 can morning and 1 can in the evening) the gas problem had improved dramatically and for the first time his stools were solid! Furthermore, he would clear his bowl immediately.

So problem solved.......? Not quite. When I introduced a mixer to give him something to crunch on the gas
problems returned. I've tried to find a mixer that doesn't  contain the usual wheat/cereal fillers but had no luck. pet's at home have stopped selling the mixer from butchers.

My question is - does he need a mixer/biscuits for his teeth or could I just stick with the tinned wet food which he really likes? I know the gas thing is considered normal for this breed but this was excessive.

Sorry if that was a bit long winded,once again thank you for reading this.

How long was he on each of the foods? A short period or did you persist for a while before giving up? Sometimes it can take their digestive systems a while to adjust to a new diet - just like humans.

www.whichdogfood.co.uk can help you find one. Just remember to take the reviews with a pinch of salt - everyone has their own opinion of whats best to feed your dog.

Harringtons is supposed to be good for doggies with a dodgy tummy and its usually reasonably priced if you're on a budget (if not, then there are far far far more options - and probably better ones too!).

You can also get blood tests done to see if they are allergic to certain foods. Not sure how much this costs but perhaps your vet could advise and if its not too expensive for you, it might be worthwhile considering so you know if there are any foods you definitely need to avoid? Or perhaps your insurance may cover the cost.

Also, is the bowl down all day or do you only put it down at a certain time and take it away if he doesnt eat it?

hi, thank you for that reply.........we tried him on the different foods for a while then gradually introduced and swapped over to the new food each time. His bowl is left down all the time exept when it's being cleaned. Since moving to Butchers trip mix (wet tinned) he has cleared the bowl in one go.....just thought he should have some crunch/mixer/biscuites for his teeth, he has a daily denti stix bar to clean his teeth also. Will look into your suggestion - maybe they do a mixer. Thanks again

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Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

Tinned wet food isn't very good for a dogs teeth, please have a chat to your vet about this.

Have I got this right, you leave a bowl of wet food down for many hours before he decides to eat it ? We have a list of recommended foods as in the list below, I could recommend Barking Heads (they also do a grain free version):

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/dry_food

Hiya from me and Vinnie, not much help sorry but I use charcoal biscuits which does help with gas   

i wouldn't give him butchers it's junk food

Hi and welcome from me and daisy, if your just going to feed wet food, how about giving a raw bone once a week to keep his teeth clean (I would brush them also)

Hi from me and Nico, yep the winds can be fatal, lol! My last staffy wasn't  keen on kibble or dried food of any kind, however there are a range of more textured wet foods ( less wet if that makes sense) that you could try, tyra loved the purina range ( it's not the best by far) as everyone has said though be sure and supplement with good quality natural treats. I used to mix her purina with rice and chicken.

Hi from me and Alfie. He has Barking Heads and although the wind has lessened a bit its still a killer!

hia from me and sasha   

Hi and welcome from the girls and me

Thank you all for those replies.

Hi and welcome

Hi there, my little staffy pup had terrible wind since I had him, I've tried James well beloved, nature diet & eukanuba....none helped...until I read about a top quality raw food called Nutriment. Him & my cocker have been on it now for a week & they LOVE it, their poops are small & solid, & absolutely NO farting from him at all....it's supplemented with a raw chicken carcass chopped up that nutriment also do (cheap) & when his adult teeth are through they will have raw beef bones every few weeks as a teeth cleaner.....NOTHING cleaned my old staffs teeth quite like a raw beef bone!  There's a program on Channel 5 this thursday about what goes into your dogs food....worth a watch for sure!   

Hiya welcome from us

Hi and welcome from me and my two