Lots of dogs find orjen too rich.
I’ve had good luck with taste of the wild bison and venison.
2 suggestions (Caveat, my experience with food sensitive animals is limited to cat and horse.)
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My cat with many, many allergies did extremely well on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet. (There’s a thread going about trying to find him a food that works for his urinary health and the food sensitivities.) A lot of animals are sensitive to chicken and chicken by products, worth keeping in mind.
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I know you had a fecal done, but often times Giardia doesn’t show up on fecals because of how it sheds. A clue for this would be if his bowel movements are particularly foul smelling (like abnormally so). Symptoms of Girardiasis can be intermittent. Worth asking the vet–I think some will do multiple fecal samples over a period of time and some will just treat based on symptoms.
Good luck!!
I had one with a very sensitive tummy, and one that was midly tempermental. Canidae chicken and rice worked for both of them. We tried Orijen, Acana, MedCal, Taste of the Wild, etc. I think it was just too rich for them.
As others have noted, it is important to try to figure out if it is a response to the higher quality food (e.g. too ‘rich’) or an actual sensitivity/allergy. Because that may change your approach to what other foods you try.
One of my dogs has food allergies, so I have both of them on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet, which is grain-free. I switch between the flavors to give them some variety.
Whenever you switch foods it’s important to make sure the change is gradual, as it can sometimes cause some intestinal upset that might seem like it’s a bad reaction to the new food.
I agree that giardia could be an issue.
I don’t know that there is any perfect food out there; all dogs are different. I would not be against trying a meat/rice food if the main issue is soft stool; it might be just what he needs. I feed Eukanuba Lamb & Rice and the one time I tried to switch to a “better” feed both my dogs had soft stools for over a month and I decided to switch back…problem solved.
My JRTs sensitive stomach seems to stem from food allergies. He is currently doing really well on the SolidGold Lamb, brown rice and pearled barley or the Lamb, sweet potato and pea. He prefers the first over the other gluten/grain free variety.
