Balancing act

I have three dogs that are fed a good quality food 'Arden Grange' lamb and rice. combined with Nature Diet's chicken and rice stuffed in Kong’s when I leave them.
Although my dogs are in fantastic condition regarding body and coat shape, (they get plenty of exercise and stimulation), I have found that when young (apart from the crossbreed as I got him at 18mths of age) they have all suffered bouts of runny poo frequently. My Labrador who is now three years old was fed on Burns originally, then James Wellbeloved and then Arden Grange chicken and rice. However, as his coat was prone to dandruff, I changed to Arden Grange lamb and rice and since then he has been alright.
My youngest one at 14mths has regularly had bouts of diarrhoea with blood (once every couple of months), which eventually clears up. The vet just gives me tablets and thinks she will grow out of it! She has also frequently (though I think it may be settling down a little bit now) suffered from a really rumbly tummy, usually around 4am, which she finds uncomfortable. Eventually after a couple of hours it subsides but during that time she won't eat.
Today again she has suffered runny poo with a bit of blood in. I will try her with boiled rice and cooked egg but if it continues tomorrow I will take her to the vet again. Do you think I should ask them to check her stool sample?
I was wondering whether it would help them both if I fed them more naturally, but I would prefer to feed a cooked diet rather than raw. I would ideally like to do a combination of this and the Arden Grange kibble as I like my dogs to work for their food by either doing trick training, agility etc and be rewarded for the correct responses. The kibble works out well for rewarding them with and once a day they get fed a portion of their food in a roll a ball, and they love these, so i wouldn’t like to stop this method of feeding them.
Is it possible to create a balanced diet (although I am sure my diet is not totally balanced) by doing this? Is there anybody or any book that will tell me exactly what I should be feeding them? My Labrador weighs about 25kg, the 14mth collie-springer cross about 17kg and the 11yr old crossbreed about 15kg.
Also what treats can I feed for training that are more natural instead of their ordinary kibble? Though they all work really nicely for these, I would like to go as natural as possible. I couldn't feed raw chicken wings to my Labrador because he would swallow them whole.
Kath Charlton


Well, if I had to suggest ten non-organic commercial foods that I thought were the best quality, healthiest and safest to feed, I expect I would put Nature Diet, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and Burns in that top ten, so you have made some good choices so far. I'm not quite sure from your question whether you want to feed a combination of cooked food and kibble or raw food and kibble. Either way, don't worry too much about a balanced diet. As you imply, we don't constantly worry about whether our own diets are balanced. As long as you are feeding a variery of foods, balance will be achieved over a period of time - a diet doesn't have to be balanced every single day to be healthy. I would give as much fresh food and as little kibble as possible. If you don't want to feed raw, just lightly cook whatever you feed, but do give some real meat, offal if possible as well, and your own leftovers too for that matter.
Another choice is to look at organic commercial foods. Although I give my own dogs a mainly raw food diet, I do sometimes give them a terrific organic food called 'Lily's Kitchen' which I think is the best thing since sliced bread as far as dogs are concerned. Their dry food is produced as very small pieces that are ideal to give as training treats - organic and healthy too.
Now, your dog with the rumbly tummy and bouts of diarrhoea. This sounds rather like colitis to me. The symptoms fit, it is intermittent in nature, and there is no obvious cause, just what you find with colitis. It is true she might grow out of it, but if it is colitis (and of course I can't diagnose this at a distance for certain) it could persist or even get worse with time.
I find that most dogs with this kind of syndrome are helped by a daily dose of Slippery Elm - this is a herb that soothes and protects the intestinal lining. Artichoke is another herb that can help, and there are many homeopathic medicines that would be beneficial too. I would certainly advise that if the problem persists you ask your vet to refer you to a holistic vet for treatment with natural medicines.
Richard Allport, alternative vet

Your story raises a great number of issues, all of which should be considered in the round rather than separately.
1) I think you should give priority to the health of your dogs.
2) I believe you can achieve the desired results by correct nutrition but you cannot do it yourself without professional advice. This is what you have trying to do. Even your vet cannot sort it.
3). You ask if there is a book which can tell you precisely how to feed. There is none and there cannot be one; every dog is different and food and feeding amounts have to be adjusted for each individual.
4). This follows from 3). A major disadvantage of home prepared food, whether cooked or raw, is that it will inevitably involve variations which make it harder to get the feeding right. Changes in food from day to day and fluctuating feeding amounts cause confusion if something goes wrong. It also makes it difficult to give advice.
5). Provided you are feeding a fixed formula, commercial prepared food, it is easier to calibrate and to make minor adjustments to achieve the desired result. It is also easier to give advice.
6). The more variety of foods whether main food or treats and rewards, the more likelihood of introducing something to which the dog has an intolerance. A “hypoallergenic” diet has few ingredients in order to reduce the likelihood of introducing something which will cause a bad reaction.

Dandruff is a sign of excess of waste matter in the system. This suggests too much fat and/or protein in the diet. If it happens when Burns is the main food, this is probably due to overfeeding, giving supplementary foods such as treats or feeding one of the Burns high-energy foods.

The colitis/ lower bowel disorder/rumbly tummy are probably due to overfeeding or food intolerance or both.
[I am intrigued when you say he has a rumbly tummy at 4 a.m. which lasts for a couple of hours during which time he won’t eat. I don’t think you should be trying to feed him during the night, and certainly not when he has digestive discomfort.]

So my advice is to keep things simple for a few weeks at least. Hopefully, one of the Burns range of foods should be suitable for all your dogs although that is not guaranteed because of individual variation. .All are highly digestible, low in fat and protein. Initially, the feeding amount should be less than the recommended amount.
As I mentioned earlier, you will need expert guidance and the Burns nutrition team can offer advice on which food and amount to give. For the time being you should avoid treats and supplements.
I also recommend reading my Guide to Natural Health Care which explains the principles I have mentioned here.

John Burns BVMS MRCVS, Burns Pet Nutrition