Sensitive stomach? or other possible health issue?

When I got Bauer in september of this year he was on Purina Dog Chow, and i suspect he was on that since he was a puppy. I changed him to Acana Large breed and he likes it much more, his shedding has decreased, coat is amazing, his tummy doesnt seem to be troubled but he could just not being showing it, although he is much less food crazy as past labs have been, food drops he just looks at it, isn't crazy about treats either, likes them will say them, but not insane. also his mouth/breath, and passing gas/ hind area is weirdly smelly (in my opinion) He's also weirdly calm, and always sleeping (he's only 2) but outside he's and when playing he's the usual happy excitable energetic young lab he is
I'm going to be switching him to the Acana grass fed lamb limited ingredient (good for diet sensitive dogs) to see if it makes a difference. Maybe switching around to and give other brands a try.
He wasn't on the purina with me for long enough for me to remember if he was the same with the smelliness and such.

So my question is has anyone has any experience with this? If so what caused it and what helped if you found something that made it better.
or if anyone has any recommendations for me to try out.

If he's not eating enthusiastically and his mouth and breath don't smell good, I'd get his teeth checked to make sure there are no cracked or broken teeth. One of mine in the last year had the worst breath- horrid. He turned out to have a slab fracture of one of his upper pre-molars that had probably been there for a while (that's a whole 'nother story though) and a second upper molar that was chipped but not open to the pulp. The one with the slab fracture had to be pulled and the dentist was able to bond the chipped one. That and a round of antibiotics and his breath smelled so much better. His appetite was never affected and he'd chew on bones, treats, and rawhide without apparent difficulty- the breath was the tip off. Since you haven't had Bauer since he was little, you have less of an idea what he's been chewing. If his teeth and mouth all turn out to be fine, maybe he's the unusual lab who isn't a chowhound. My dogs seem smellier on lamb based foods , or that may be my imagination.

The smell at his back end could be a number of things also. Snowshoe's boy Oban had some smell going on at the back end that wasn't anal glands, it was more on his back near the base of his tail (?) but I don't recall the problem. I'll attach an article that just goes over some of the sources of possible skin infections that can be smelly. bacterialskin

Hope you figure it out. Let us know if you do!

Lamb USED to be the go to food for sensitivities. Not so much anymore. It's fairly common in every kibble and dog cookie.

And a calm lab isn't a bad thing. Our girl Tickle is 18 months and in the house she's so calm and quiet. We LOVE it.

I agree checking the teeth. I would say change BRANDS of food if you think food is the culprit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by smartrock

If he's not eating enthusiastically and his mouth and breath don't smell good, I'd get his teeth checked to make sure there are no cracked or broken teeth. One of mine in the last year had the worst breath- horrid. He turned out to have a slab fracture of one of his upper pre-molars that had probably been there for a while (that's a whole 'nother story though) and a second upper molar that was chipped but not open to the pulp. The one with the slab fracture had to be pulled and the dentist was able to bond the chipped one. That and a round of antibiotics and his breath smelled so much better. His appetite was never affected and he'd chew on bones, treats, and rawhide without apparent difficulty- the breath was the tip off. Since you haven't had Bauer since he was little, you have less of an idea what he's been chewing. If his teeth and mouth all turn out to be fine, maybe he's the unusual lab who isn't a chowhound. My dogs seem smellier on lamb based foods , or that may be my imagination.

The smell at his back end could be a number of things also. Snowshoe's boy Oban had some smell going on at the back end that wasn't anal glands, it was more on his back near the base of his tail (?) but I don't recall the problem. I'll attach an article that just goes over some of the sources of possible skin infections that can be smelly. bacterialskin

Hope you figure it out. Let us know if you do!

---

Thank you for the ideas! I checked his teeth, they seem fine to me and he hasn't had any difficulty chewing anything from what i can see, i'm going have a vet look at them soon also since i dont know exactly what to be looking for.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JenC

Lamb USED to be the go to food for sensitivities. Not so much anymore. It's fairly common in every kibble and dog cookie.

And a calm lab isn't a bad thing. Our girl Tickle is 18 months and in the house she's so calm and quiet. We LOVE it.

I agree checking the teeth. I would say change BRANDS of food if you think food is the culprit.

---

Is there a reason lamb isn't used as much? I was thinking about it not because it was lamb really but since it was limited ingredient incase there was too much protein or meat sources or such going on that he isn't used too, I will change brands if needed, i was just going to try the different ranges to see if anything got better etc.. From research i have done, nutritionist opinions and such it is a very high quality kibble, but obviously if it just does not do well with him i will be changing it.

I agree there is nothing wrong with ebbing calm and quiet in the house, i love it, I mentioned it because i haven't had him for long or since he was a pup so i can't determine if it is normal for him or because there is something bothering him. so i thought i'd mention it.

Thank you for your opinions/ideas :)

It's not that it's not used for allergies, it's that it's a COMMON food now, just as common as chicken. If you want to feed a limited ingredient food with a unique protein, pick a unique protein. Acana has Duck, I would use that. Chances the dog has gotten duck anywhere is probably impossible.

We had to take Libby off chicken food. It just wasn't working for her digestive system. She is now on Taste of the Wild Seafood Puppy and it totally agrees with her. It cleared up all of the problems she was having.