Thanks for the advice. At what age can marrow bones be started? I seem to remember diarrhoea when my last dog had one though. Do they make the bowels loose?

With all our guide dog pups we started them on bones as soon as they wanted to gnaw. I have heard some say that one shouldn't give bone to dogs as their teeth can break - i can't believe that more likely as they are losing puppy teeth they shed them. I have never heard of any problems feeding dogs a good sized knuckle bone - if they had an allergy to marrow one could just scrap the majority out. As a dog gnaws on a bone a little is bitten off and swallowed and comes out white in #2... usually makes them a little too hard which helps the anal glands. Ideally one doesn't give them a bone for much longer than an hour and it is necessary to check that they are not getting over enthusiastic.

With a knuckle bone they should start on the cartiledge which is softer and once chewed off the knuckle is a rough surface which is what is used to clean the plaque off teeth.

Try a bone again scrapping out the marrow in the end.

Thanks for the advice. Will pop to butcher to see if he can sort me something soon.

Also a big thanks to whoever recommended PERO. He loves it. I tried mixing it in with his other food which he would only eat a bit of and then I had to soak it. When I gave him Pero in the mix he ate all the pero, left the pets at home puppy food and looked round for more pero. His bowels were a little loose this morning, no doubt due to the changeover, but nothing major, not runny really. Hope he will firm up soon because its nice to see him eat it all up and enjoy it. The kibbles are just the right size for him too. I was surprised that the first ingredient was extruded cereal though, and not meat, I didnt remember this from the website.

hi

dry food is not really good, because in the past with cats it caused kidney, the best is wet food, i.e pet mince plus wholemeal mixer adult dogs 1lb a day, some butchers do pet mince which has a mixture of offal and other bits, you then pop it in the microwave 14mins as raw can cause worms

Is there any evidence it causes kidney problems in dogs? Its so widely used that surely it shouldnt?

Can anyone give me a few names of good dry foods for dogs with a sensitive stomach?

One of my dogs seems to have lose stools a few times a week so the vet has suggested changing his food to a sensitive one before I start shelling out for expensive tests and such (Does insurance cover these?).

He's currently on Arden Grange puppy food. I have spoken to the fantastically helpfull nutrutional adviser at Arden Grange who recommends their seisitive range, but to be honest at almost £50 a bag, I can't really afford it. I am lothed to change him from AG, but I obviously need to do whats best for my dog.

So if someone could give me a few names of dry foods with decent sensitive ranges I'd be greatly appreciative.

P.S. He's already been on JWB and switched to AG because I couldn't stand the wind any longer. So obviously don't want him back on JWB.

would love to help but ive never experienced sensitive stomachs, id dismiss the claims about dry food and detriment to dogs heath - just to say

edit:
this has been recommended in antoher thread
Burgess Supadog Lamb & Rice for sensitive stomachs.

its maize, wheat and gluten free, has a decent amount of lamb in and is 20% protein which is just on average

I used the puppy food from Fish4Dogs and it was fantastic, it gave Jasper an incredible coat, plenty of vitality and compared to many other 'natural' foods by better known makers, its not actually that expensive (£30-£35 for 12kg). When you also take into account that you need to feed less of a higher quality food it becomes even cheaper, works out to less than a £1 per day for me.

He has had a brief spell on JWB Junior but that did not seem to agree with him so he is going back onto the fish, but the adult version this time. The best thing about this stuff is that it doesn't take me 10 minutes to read through the ingredients list, and the two most important things make up 80% of the food. In both the salmon and cod versions the ingredients are - Fresh Fish 30.5%, Potato 30.5%, Herring Meal 21.4%, Salmon Oil 7.6%, Beet Fibre 6.4%, Brewers Yeast 2.1%, Minerals 0.8%, Vitamins 0.7%.

Now that seems to be about the simplest and most straightforward commercial food I have been able to find.

Unless anyone knows any different?

Most manufacturers do a sensitive diet. I'd say look at some of the smaller manufacturers - Skinners, Chudley, CSJ, Whites there's loads of them.

There are a few good 'sensitive' diets, but I did notice that Whites Premium have a new one out (Light and Sensitive) which is based on Salmon and Rice and looks to fit the bill. (check it out on www.pet-pantry.co.uk)

The main thing if you have an episode of digestive upset is not to suddenly switch foods. It's best to just feed a little chicken and cooked rice (or fish) for a few days to give the system a rest, and then gradually introduce the pet food back into the diet.