Big Paws Only Dog Forums

I have a Basset and a G. Dane.  The GD can eat just about anything & be fine.  However, when we got Holi (Basset), she was about 5 weeks old.  The 'breeder' (I use that term very loosely) already had the entire litter weaned & on a canned food with chunks of beef in it.  Holi was the runt & had soft stools, ate them, & vomitted regularly.  We took her to the vet several times, he scoped her, sent us to an internal spacialist & he did ultrasound, scope, & stomach biopsy.  After all that, the only conclusive resluts were: slow digestion & stomach doesn't shrink after emptying.  During this time, I tried several foods (including a fish based from the vet).  We would think things were going well & she would start vomitting again after about a month (if not sooner).  I never tried Solid Gold because of the very high cost.  It was very puzzling to all involved.  We eventually put her on "Best In Show" dog food and didn't have the diahrea and vomitting but they went out of business.  I finally settled on making her food myself.
     She is now about 6 years old.  I buy Soujorner Farms (www.sojos.com) as the base & purchase a lot of veggies every month for chopping in the food processor.  The meat we mainly use is turkey & pork, substituted with a can of sardines a few times/month.  Twice a week everyone gets a raw pasturized egg.  Yogurt is served every morning and purchased enzymes go in every night.  When I started her on this, I did it instantly because I didn't want her on the harmful food any longer.  I have had great luck with this for a couple years now.  Regretfully, the poop-eating is a habit now.  We have tried many, many different things and cannot get her to 'leave it'.
     I just found the Performatrin Ultra at Pet Valu yesterday.  I am in northern MD & it costs $35 for 30 lbs.  I am going to try it and see what happens.  I'm sticking with the lamb because I heard the top 3 food allergens for dogs are: beef, wheat, & chicken.
     In comparing many dog foods, I narrowed my list to Perf. Ultra, Performatrin Natural, Nutro Natural for sensitive stomachs (chicken, rice, oatmeal), and Nutro Ultra.  Besides price, the main difference I found: because of all the good things Performatrin Ultra puts in their food, I will not need to add yogurt, raw egg, or separate enzymes; Nutro Ultra has all the same ingredients except the added enzymes and biotics; Performatrin Natural has many of the same ingredients but without the added biotics and enzymes but they do add glucosamin and chondroitin; Nutro Natural sensitive is chicken & I try to stay away from that when possible but I would feed it to a dog with general digestive upset.

I do not think you made a mistake in instantly switching foods because your pup was already having drastic issues.  Although, I might have fed basic oatmeal/rice/turkey for a week between the 2 foods to help clear the bad food out of his tract.
     I wouldn't worry about adding yogurt to the Perf. Ultra because they already put that benificial bact. in the food.  I would definitely give it a month or 2 to see how things progress.
     I have found one of the best thing to help skin problems on dogs is a raw egg; start with several times a week then back off after there is improvement.  Personally, I spend the extra money for the in-shell pasturized eggs.  Can't be too careful, right     Also, you can do oatmeal baths between the medicated ones (a handful of oatmeal in a stocking placed in hot water; add pooch when water has cooled enough).  I know from personal experience that it helps.
     You can also try a product marketed under the name "Eqyss".  I recently came across someone recommending it for problem skin on horses.  It is very safe for dog, cat & human use.  They have shampoo, conditioner, & a spray for more frequent application.  Since I keep the animal shampoo in the shower, I have used it several times on my very sensitive skin without any rash or other reaction.  And it smells good, too   

For anyone that doesn't have a Pet Valu in their area, the new Nutro Ultra is very similar.  I would just add enzymes/biotics [they can be purchased in health food stores or online, like at sojos.com].  Besides that, the biggest draw back to Nutro Ultra is the high protein content (26%) but that can easily be cut by adding soaked oatmeal.

I hope this information will help and reassure you that things will get better.
Best Wishes