The Big 'D'

It's pretty common for a dog's intestinal system to be a little out of whack after a change of home or a change in food, or sometimes just because they get excited. We had a few days to transition John Lee to the food that we had been feeding (Benchmark, available at Costco), but even after a few weeks he was still...squishy.

I'd heard about a new line from Iams called Sensitive Naturals. I'm cautious about feeding something like Iams because I have the perception that since it's sold in supermarkets it's designed to hit a certain price point rather than be an ideal diet. That's not to say I think dog food must be expensive to be good. The primary reason I bought a Costco membership was because it carries quality dog food that's also reasonably priced.

I'd been eying a food Costco recently started carrying - Nature's Domain Salmon Meal & Sweet Potato. It was pricier than the Benchmark I'd been buying; that was pricier than the Kirkland Signature that originally provided the impetus to buy a Costco membership (somehow, Costco keeps getting more of my money!). If a food is working for all dogs in the house, I have been through enough of an ordeal with their diets that I leave well enough alone. With three dogs in the house - not to mention two teenagers - cost is necessarily a factor. But if a food isn't working, something has to give. Even before John Lee came to stay with us I'd thought about trying the Nature's Domain, though - the dogs go crazy over anything fishy, and it is grain-free (a plus, because I recently found out the hard way that wheat does not agree with Grayson).

One day about a week and a half ago when I began running low on food and it was late (plus Costco was 20 miles away) I thought I'd try the Iams Sensitive Naturals while I had enough of the Benchmark left to make a transition. The bottom line is that the dogs all love it, and John Lee's intestinal system has finally calmed down. But the downside is that it's actually not supermarket food, nor is it all that inexpensive. I had to buy it at Petsmart, and it was more expensive (~$28 for 25 lbs) than the Nature's Domain I kept passing on due to cost. Some Walmarts carry it, and I would guess that their pricing would be better. But none of the locations near me had it.

Due to the cost and inconvenience of buying Iams Sensitive Naturals, the Nature's Domain now seems like a better option. We'll start transitioning over to that in a few days, and hopefully it'll agree with everyone's intestinal tracts. Lord knows I don't need three dogs with The Big 'D'.