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The Honest Kitchen
Does anyone have an experience with The Honest Kitchen? My pups were on Wellness, then Blue, and now they completely refuse to eat any of their Blue food anymore. They've had digestive issues ever since we got them a few months ago and nothing seems to help. The vets are at a loss. They have TERRIBLE gas now that lasts all day and I can tell that just looking at Blue makes their stomach churn.
We've got a little Blue left and I've picked up some boxes of The Honest Kitchen's Keen today and have started transitioning. Does anyone have any experience with The Honest Kitchen being easy on a pup's tummy? I'm honestly at the end of my rope with this 3+ month long food issue and I'm seriously considering Puppy Chow if this doesn't work, which they had the least amount of issues while on.
Re: The Honest Kitchen
Quite frankly high protein, no grain diets aren't good for all dogs. Some dogs do much much better on diets that are considered horrible on these boards. Do what is best for your dog. Digestive issues are not normal and not healthy so don't fret if you find a food that stops those issues and isn't considered "high quality" by this board or some of those websites out there.
Have you tried different protein sources? Have you tried eliminating grain? My pup has had tummy and skin trouble ever since we got him, and it's taken me almost a year of swtiching foods to figure it out. Basically, if he eats chicken, he gets diarrhea and ear infections. If he eats grain, he starts itching like crazy and gets mad dandruff halfway through the bag. I had previously nixed Orijen because when we tried the regular adult formula, it was a disaster (and he also started refusing to eat it) but I've since realized that it has a ton of chicken in it. So I started him on the 6 Fish and he's tolerating that very nicely.
As far as HK, I haven't tried it (too expensive to feed an 85 pound growing puppy) but they have a great reputation. I think your best bet is to look at the foods you've tried and figure out if they have some commonalities. Like, are they all chicken based? Maybe a different protein source would help.
Check out Natural Balance. Available at Petco. They have several varieties that work well for doggies with allergies, things like Duck and Potato. They have limited ingredients so you'll at least have an easier time figuring out what ingredients do and do not work. I switched to this because one of my pups seemed to react poorly to soy.
We've switched foods a lot, OP, so I understand the frustration, but I think there's certainly some common ground between going high-protein, grain-free and going back to Puppy Chow.
(Just looking at the ingredient list for Puppy Chow, I see corn as the first ingredient--which is a very common allergen for dogs--and animal digest. 
Don't read that link about animal digest unless you want to feel sick, BTW.)
Everyone's different, but my dogs seem to do better with some fiber in their diet. We've tried supplementing a grain-free kibble with pumpkin or metamucil, and more recently we've just switched to a moderate protein food that has rice and potato (but no corn or wheat which one of my dogs is VERY allergic to). I'm in the process of switching again, though, due to the Diamond recall, so I can't recommend my current brand. I think we'll be trying California Natural next.
I also agree with the pp that suggested maybe there is an allergy or sensitivity at play. I'd try switching to a food with a different protein source next and see if that helps.
GL!
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
Thank you everyone and I think (HOPE) that we have singled out what's been causing all of our issues. Rawhide bones.
I got to talking with a few people while on a puppy date last night and they wouldn't let their dog eat our rawhides that my pups were chewing on. They explained that there was bleach and all kinds of terrible things in them and they're pretty much not digestible. I've been giving my pups 1 raw hide each a night and when they feel sick I feel sorry for them and give them more which leads to worse sickness. I actually think this is it and I'm so excited I could cry of relief.
Oh yes, eating that much rawhide could definitely lead to upset bellies. That sounds like a great place to start before you consider another food switch.
If your dogs are big chewers, I'd try a stuffed rubber toy like a Kong or a toy that's safe to pass through their system like a nylabone.
If you want a consumable treat, a bully stick or a raw marrow bone might be safer than rawhide, but I'd probably hold off on those for a little bit until you get their tummy issues figured out.
I also like puzzle toys (which exercise their brains but not their mouths) but most of those are safe under supervision only.
GL!
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath