# Dog Food - Sensitive stomach



## caligirlinpa

I have a maltese who is turning 1 on Tuesday. She weighs about 8 pounds and she has a senitive stomach. Her droppings are wet with a glaze and smooshy. I feed her Iams toy breed adult right now. Is there something else I should try switching her to. Please keep in mind I am on a tight budget and can't afford the expensive stuff. I want to stay around the same price as Iams. Any suggestions?


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## LJSquishy

I'm sorry your little one isn't feeling well. Hopefully a diet change will really help her.

I looked up the Iams Small/Toy Breed food you are currently feeding, to familiarize myself with the ingredients. Basically the only ingredients in it are chicken and corn, which are both very common allergens for dogs. You may want to see if you can afford a food that is grain-free (no wheat, corn, rice, oat, etc) and that perhaps has an animal protein other than chicken, such as lamb, duck, venison, or salmon/fish.

To be completely honest, Iams is one of the lowest quality dog foods available so your baby is probably not getting enough nutrients from it. Feeding a diet like this to dogs is similar to us eating nothing but McDonalds every day. I know you are on a budget, but if you can spend a few extra dollars on her food per month, you will see a huge change.

Stores like Walmart and other grocery stores do not sell any quality dog food, but Petsmart and Petco do carry a few high quality foods. The cost of feeding a low quality dog food compared to a high quality dry food is not that big of a difference actually. On a higher quality kibble, you will feed less of it because the dog is getting more nutrients. If you have a Petco, you can try Natural Balance in one of several flavors...there is a Sweet Potato & Venison, Potato & Duck, and Sweet Potato & Fish. They are good foods but still in the lower price range (for a quality food). At either Petco or Petsmart there is Wellness that is a good brand, but you will want to find one of the grain-free varieties. They will be a bit more expensive but as I said, you feed less of it. At Petsmart there is also Blue Buffalo which is a decent brand (their Wilderness one is the best of their line I believe).

I would be happy to give you more help if you'd like, hopefully you find some of this information helpful to you. 

Edited to Add: I wanted to add that I am feeding Acana Pacifica & Acana Grasslands dry kibble, which can only be found at specialty pet boutiques and online, but wanted to let you know that it only costs $10 per dog per month to feed such a high quality food. It is among the top foods you can feed, and for only $10 per month for one dog, that is so affordable! Both of my dogs are 7.5lbs and eat 1/2 cup dry kibble total per day. London is on a special canned diet for now, but usually eats the Acana.


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## caligirlinpa

This is wonderful advice. Thank you very much. I just bough dog food yesterday so I am going to hold off until later this month and buy this Natural Balance and mix it in at first. One more thing.... do I need to get a small dog or is it for all dogs? This gets confusing sometimes. I don't want to be giving her something I shouldn't be and not everything states small or large dogs. I am taking her to Pet-Smart tomorrow for her first birthday - getting her nails done


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## LJSquishy

caligirlinpa said:


> This is wonderful advice. Thank you very much. I just bough dog food yesterday so I am going to hold off until later this month and buy this Natural Balance and mix it in at first. One more thing.... do I need to get a small dog or is it for all dogs? This gets confusing sometimes. I don't want to be giving her something I shouldn't be and not everything states small or large dogs. I am taking her to Pet-Smart tomorrow for her first birthday - getting her nails done


The Natural Balance food is for all dogs. If you buy the Potato & Duck version (which also happens to be the least expensive from the 3 varieties I mentioned), it does come in Small Bites so the kibble pieces will be smaller. When I first got London, I fed the Sweet Potato & Venison to her and she was able to crunch the large pieces just fine, same with any other food.  Just to be clear, Natural Balance can only be found at Petco...not at Petsmart, in case you weren't sure.

Getting her nails done sounds like fun! I hope she has lots of fun on her special birthday trip.  I bet if she is really good, Mommy will let her pick out a new toy!


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## aprilb

I agree with Lisa. The Natural Balance L.I.D(limited ingredient diet) would be a good choice for your baby. It is not that expensive. A four pound bag of the dry would last you a long time. Good luck!


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## Snowbody

Welcome!! A good dog food is a good investment. You might spend a little more on food but probably end up with less vet bills and a much healthier dog later on. I used to feed Tyler Wellness and he did very well on it. Look for sales in Sunday circulars and on-line to try to save money. Also some pet supply stores will give you samples. I know there are Acana sample bags. 
Here's a link to Acana retailers in Pennsylvania: Champion Petfoods | ACANA | Locator
Stores like Petco will refund your money if your pet doesn't like it even if you opened the package. But when you transition please remember to do it slowly, a little at a time until your Malt adjusts. Let us know.


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## poochie2

IMO, it is not always a good idea to start off with Acana and especially Origen to a malt with a sensitive stomach. Too much protein could put stress on their kidneys. There are quite a few threads here on SM that discuss this.
A moderate protein diet whether you choose to go grain-free or less carbs is ideal.
Natural Balance, Now, California Natural, Fromm are just to name a few.


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## jeannief

My fluff also has a sensitive stomach. He even could not tolerate Natural Balance Limited Ingredients. He has been on Blue Basics Turkey and Potato and doing well. I hope you find what works for your little one.


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## caligirlinpa

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. I think I am going to start feeding her the Natural Balance LID once I am closer to the end of this bag that I just bough of her old food. I give her Zuke's natural treats and they seem to be ok with her. Thanks again for your suggestions. This is very much appreciated!


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## wooflife

Maybe hold off on the Zukes for a bit and see if it helps. They don't have the best ingredients and can cause runny poo in some dogs.


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## edelweiss

wooflife said:


> Maybe hold off on the Zukes for a bit and see if it helps. They don't have the best ingredients and can cause runny poo in some dogs.


I bought them in the US & Kitzel COULD NOT eat them---he has an iron stomach too. I had heard about them on SM ---think they were the tiny peanut butter kind. If I remember correctly he vomited after he had them---but he wanted another one! :HistericalSmiley:


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## poochie2

edelweiss said:


> I bought them in the US & Kitzel COULD NOT eat them---he has an iron stomach too. I had heard about them on SM ---think they were the tiny peanut butter kind. If I remember correctly he vomited after he had them---but he wanted another one! :HistericalSmiley:


I do not know why Zukes in not tolerated well. My malt vommitted as well with the peanut butter Zukes and also the Salmon flavour too. She's fine with all other treats but Zukes for some reason makes her ill.


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