My Dog Got Sick on Natural Balance: Should You Be Worried About It?
Okay, so, I've been feeding my two labs, Max and Luna, Natural Balance dog food for a while now, thinking I was doing the right thing. You know, it's marketed as this premium, limited-ingredient stuff. I even splurged on the fancy sweet potato and venison formula, figuering it was gentle on the digestive.
Well, about a month ago, things started to go downhill. First, Max, my older guy, started getting really gassy. Like, clear-the-room level gassy. I figured he'd maybe gotten into something outside, so I didn't think too much of it.
Then Luna, who usually inhales her food, started picking at her bowl. She'd eat a little, then walk away, then come back later and maybe eat a bit more. That's not like her. At all.
A few days later, the real trouble started. Max woke me up in the middle of the night, whining and pacing. I took him outside, and he had the worst diarrhea I've ever seen. Poor guy. I cleaned him up and brought him back in, but it happened again a couple of hours later.
- Increased gas (especially in Max)
- Loss of appetite (Luna)
- Diarrhea (both dogs)
- Vomiting (started later with Max)
Next morning same thing with Luna, except I noticed, Luna also had started to throw up and It was awful, watery, and she was clearly miserable.
I immediately stopped feeding them the Natural Balance and switched them to plain boiled chicken and rice. Within a day, they both started to improve. The diarrhea slowed down, Luna's appetite came back, and the vomiting stopped.
It took a good week for them to get completely back to normal, but the difference was night and day. I'm still kicking myself for not realizing sooner that it was the food. I felt so guilty that I'd been making them sick without even knowing it.
My conclusion.
So, yeah, that's my Natural Balance horror story. I'm not saying it's bad food for every dog, but it definitely made my dogs sick. I've switched them to a different brand (after doing a lot more research), and they're doing great. Lesson learned: Always pay close attention to your dog's eating habits and, uh, output. If something seems off, it probably is.
