# Switching back to Natural Balance duck & potato



## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Every so often I try Ollie on a different food just for the sake of variety & for fear that he'll develop an allergy to the NB and then I'll be stuck (he has mild IBS). The past few months I've had him on California Natural Lamb & rice. Well, his poops haven't been totally solid and I've noticed that his butt is slightly red and looks a little irritated--his anal glands usually never have to be expressed on NB b/c the poops are firm--I've read that good, firm poops keep the anal glands healthy. But his poops haven't been great on the Cali food. He's also tear staining. This has happened EVERY time I try to change his food. I've only tried premium foods and I stick with them for at least several weeks, but I always go back to NB duck and potato.


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

Pam I have started supplimenting Scooby and Koko's diet with some canned Nature's Variety Instinct, the duck and the venison and that seems to really agree with Koko's tummy and he is very touchy about foods with his IBS but this one has ingredients that are probiotic and actually good for him. I can't tell though if it's making his eyes tear any more because his eyes are usually always wet due to the hair in his eyelids.
Scooby has had no problems with his eyes and his poops are much better with the protien variety so I am going to keep getting it. They both seem to enjoy the different flavor it adds to their normal food


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## cloey70 (Jan 6, 2008)

Clifford is on NB duck and potatoe, and I'll always keep him on it. If it isn't broken don't fix it, thats what I believe. It isn't always true to say that if a dog is on the same diet he'll develop allergies, each dog is different. If Clifford does seem to develop some kind of allergy, I'll just switch him to the venison version of NB.


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## bbry (Feb 17, 2007)

I am feeding my two the NB Duck & Potato as well which seems to keep Buttons allergies in check but every time I read one of the dog food reviews I feel like I am not giving him the best quality food since the NB is 4 star at best. However, I too, am scared to switch. If anyone knows of a dog food that is better for out little allergy sufferers than the NB Duck & Potato I would surely like to know of it.


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

I feed mine the NB Sweet Potato and Fish. I just alternate between the flavors Sweet Potato and Venison and Potato and Duck. I also add organic yogurt to their food to help keep the staining at bay.


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## jen_hedz (Mar 5, 2008)

My two are complete opposites, I had them both on NB duck and potato and ellie was staining like crazy and had soft poo on the other hand angelo does great on the NB so I now have ellie on california naturals lamb and rice while angelo is sticking with the NB duck and potato. I had so hoped to be able to have them on the same food. I never used to have to seperate them at feeding time and they would always take a few kibbles out of eachother's bowl just knowing that what the other had was better :biggrin: Now at feeding time they are seperated so that I know neither of them is getting the other's food.


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## Dixie's Mama (Mar 19, 2008)

Is this the Natural Balance dog food made by Dick Van Patten you all are talking about? Is it the dry food for small dogs you use? Dixie LOVES the food rolls. She is now on Blue Buffalo and loved it at first. She'll eat it but waits until she is really hungry & knows she isn't getting any thing better (like treats, fruit or veggies). If I put tiny crumpled up pieces of the dog food rolls in any food, she will eat it. The trainer we used started us using it to train her & she went nuts for it. I didn't want to give it to her as her main food as it isn't rated very well on the dogfoodanalysis site. Any input?


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I discourage people from using multiple novel protein sources (not the traditional chicken, beef, lamb). If your dog does develop a food allergy, you are then stuck with diets like Hill's Z/D as your only option and hope that works. If you want to use one, fine, but pick one and if you want to rotate use a more traditional protein source. 

Just my opinion...

I don't rotate diet...I like to use what works. My dogs get plenty of variety with treats.


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## bbry (Feb 17, 2007)

QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 01:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672853


> Is this the Natural Balance dog food made by Dick Van Patten you all are talking about? Is it the dry food for small dogs you use? Dixie LOVES the food rolls. She is now on Blue Buffalo and loved it at first. She'll eat it but waits until she is really hungry & knows she isn't getting any thing better (like treats, fruit or veggies). If I put tiny crumpled up pieces of the dog food rolls in any food, she will eat it. The trainer we used started us using it to train her & she went nuts for it. I didn't want to give it to her as her main food as it isn't rated very well on the dogfoodanalysis site. Any input?[/B]




Yes, it is the dry NB that I am talking about. It seems to be doing fine & mine both eat it well so guess I'll just stick with it for a while.


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

QUOTE (JMM @ Nov 18 2008, 01:01 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672859


> I discourage people from using multiple novel protein sources (not the traditional chicken, beef, lamb). If your dog does develop a food allergy, you are then stuck with diets like Hill's Z/D as your only option and hope that works. If you want to use one, fine, but pick one and if you want to rotate use a more traditional protein source.
> 
> Just my opinion...
> 
> I don't rotate diet...I like to use what works. My dogs get plenty of variety with treats.[/B]



So your saying just stick with one protein source when feeding and use a variety of protein sources when using treats. When mentioning novel protein source are you referring to Fish, Venison or Duck? I just want to make sure i udnerstand correctly. So if i feed NB Sweet Potato and Fish just continue feeding them that and don't switch, but just change the source of protein in treats?


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## bbry (Feb 17, 2007)

I'm certainly no expert but I would think if they are allergic to a particular protein source, it wouldn't matter if it was in the food or the treats, it might still cause a problem. Hope someone who knows more than me (& that would be 98% of the board) will weigh in on this.


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## Dixie's Mama (Mar 19, 2008)

QUOTE (bbry @ Nov 18 2008, 02:15 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672867


> QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 01:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672853





> Is this the Natural Balance dog food made by Dick Van Patten you all are talking about? Is it the dry food for small dogs you use? Dixie LOVES the food rolls. She is now on Blue Buffalo and loved it at first. She'll eat it but waits until she is really hungry & knows she isn't getting any thing better (like treats, fruit or veggies). If I put tiny crumpled up pieces of the dog food rolls in any food, she will eat it. The trainer we used started us using it to train her & she went nuts for it. I didn't want to give it to her as her main food as it isn't rated very well on the dogfoodanalysis site. Any input?[/B]




Yes, it is the dry NB that I am talking about. It seems to be doing fine & mine both eat it well so guess I'll just stick with it for a while.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks. I just read up on the NB dry. Is it ok if your dog doesn't have an allergy to feed that? If so I think I'll switch to it when this bag of Blue Buf. is gone. I'll put 1 or 2 pieces of the dog food roll in and she'll be in 7th. heaven. Why fight it if she likes it, right? I was trying for a grain free food with 6 stars and was going to go for the Blue Buf. Wilderness. The NB dry has 4 stars & gets a good review. I wouldn't feed the food rolls as anything but a treat or addition to her main food.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

QUOTE (MySugarBears @ Nov 18 2008, 01:23 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672878


> So your saying just stick with one protein source when feeding and use a variety of protein sources when using treats. When mentioning novel protein source are you referring to Fish, Venison or Duck? I just want to make sure i udnerstand correctly. So if i feed NB Sweet Potato and Fish just continue feeding them that and don't switch, but just change the source of protein in treats?[/B]


By saying my dogs get variety in treats - I mean variety in their diet (not just their kibble). I tend to use things like cheese, veggies, organic tofu hot dog, and the occasional dog cookie. Meat protein-laden treats are not common in my house because I have a dog who gets chunky easily - we do low fat ;-). Yes, fish, venison, and duck are considered novel protein sources. My suggestion is you not rotate among multiple novel protein sources. Switch all you want to different dog foods...but save something in case you have an allergy issue one day


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## bbry (Feb 17, 2007)

QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 02:30 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672886


> QUOTE (bbry @ Nov 18 2008, 02:15 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672867





> QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 01:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672853





> Is this the Natural Balance dog food made by Dick Van Patten you all are talking about? Is it the dry food for small dogs you use? Dixie LOVES the food rolls. She is now on Blue Buffalo and loved it at first. She'll eat it but waits until she is really hungry & knows she isn't getting any thing better (like treats, fruit or veggies). If I put tiny crumpled up pieces of the dog food rolls in any food, she will eat it. The trainer we used started us using it to train her & she went nuts for it. I didn't want to give it to her as her main food as it isn't rated very well on the dogfoodanalysis site. Any input?[/B]




Yes, it is the dry NB that I am talking about. It seems to be doing fine & mine both eat it well so guess I'll just stick with it for a while.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks. I just read up on the NB dry. Is it ok if your dog doesn't have an allergy to feed that? If so I think I'll switch to it when this bag of Blue Buf. is gone. I'll put 1 or 2 pieces of the dog food roll in and she'll be in 7th. heaven. Why fight it if she likes it, right? I was trying for a grain free food with 6 stars and was going to go for the Blue Buf. Wilderness. The NB dry has 4 stars & gets a good review. I wouldn't feed the food rolls as anything but a treat or addition to her main food.
[/B][/QUOTE]


I don't really know the answer to your question. I don't think the NB would hurt your dog but if it were not for Buttons' allergies, I probably would not use the NB. You might want to do what JMM suggested & save the allergy formulas to introduce if a problem shows up later. The only treats I have given other than the NB treats are the Biljac liver treats and I have been sort of worried about those causing an allergy flare up. I don't know how prone liver is to cause allergies.

Honestly in your case, if allergies were not an issue, I would probably go for one of the six star foods if available.


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## Dixie's Mama (Mar 19, 2008)

QUOTE (bbry @ Nov 18 2008, 02:44 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672894


> QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 02:30 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672886





> QUOTE (bbry @ Nov 18 2008, 02:15 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672867





> QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Nov 18 2008, 01:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=672853





> Is this the Natural Balance dog food made by Dick Van Patten you all are talking about? Is it the dry food for small dogs you use? Dixie LOVES the food rolls. She is now on Blue Buffalo and loved it at first. She'll eat it but waits until she is really hungry & knows she isn't getting any thing better (like treats, fruit or veggies). If I put tiny crumpled up pieces of the dog food rolls in any food, she will eat it. The trainer we used started us using it to train her & she went nuts for it. I didn't want to give it to her as her main food as it isn't rated very well on the dogfoodanalysis site. Any input?[/B]




Yes, it is the dry NB that I am talking about. It seems to be doing fine & mine both eat it well so guess I'll just stick with it for a while.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks. I just read up on the NB dry. Is it ok if your dog doesn't have an allergy to feed that? If so I think I'll switch to it when this bag of Blue Buf. is gone. I'll put 1 or 2 pieces of the dog food roll in and she'll be in 7th. heaven. Why fight it if she likes it, right? I was trying for a grain free food with 6 stars and was going to go for the Blue Buf. Wilderness. The NB dry has 4 stars & gets a good review. I wouldn't feed the food rolls as anything but a treat or addition to her main food.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Yes, that was my first choice. I'm just giving in to her love of the NB food rolls! OK, I'll stick with my original decision and gut instincts. Thanks.


I don't really know the answer to your question. I don't think the NB would hurt your dog but if it were not for Buttons' allergies, I probably would not use the NB. You might want to do what JMM suggested & save the allergy formulas to introduce if a problem shows up later. The only treats I have given other than the NB treats are the Biljac liver treats and I have been sort of worried about those causing an allergy flare up. I don't know how prone liver is to cause allergies.

Honestly in your case, if allergies were not an issue, I would probably go for one of the six star foods if available.
[/B][/QUOTE]


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