Hi, I was looking for some advice. I have been advised that my cocker spaniel has narrow tubes from her throat to bowel so because she is a hungry dog and doesnt chew dry food well, it makes her vomit as her tubes are too narrow… This does have a correct medical term but i cant remember what it is called.
I was advised to give her wet chappie. My dog is very energetic, and is also very skinny, i just had her weighed again last week, before she got spayed and she is down to 9kg. I dont know if its the chappie but she has bowel movements about 5 or 6 times a day.
I’m looking for a good wet food, thats not too expensive, but will help her put on weight also, and something that is healthy for her. I have been having a look, so complicated trying to figure what is best for her.
Thank you for any advice
Hello and welcome to the forum. Luckily, there has been a lot of new, high quality dog foods introduced onto the market in recent years so you have lots of choice. Unfortunately, it can be more expensive to feed a dog using wet food than it is for dry.
Using the Dog Food Directory filters, I did a search and it returned five pages of products. I cannot save the search for you but here are the filters that I used:
Type of food - wet completes
Food properties - natural and clearly labelled
Rating - set slider at 3.5 to 5 stars
Avoid ingredients - all red
On those five pages there are some excellent products so it would be best for you to look down the list and see which ones suit your budget. Some are available in shops - Evolution, Fishmongers and Wainwright’s are Pets at Home own products. Naturediet, Natures Menu are also fairly easy to obtain. Forthglade and a new one to the market, Harringtons are both sold in large supermarkets. Some of the others may be available in store too so just click on the Store Finder button if you are interested. Some Asda and Tesco branches have started selling a new fresh food product called Freshpet but we haven’t had any reviews on the forum and I haven’t seen it myself.
Once you have established your dog on a suitable product that suits his digestion, you might be able to find it cheaper by buying larger quantities online.
Regarding your dog’s poo it will be the Chappie that is making him go so frequently. When I have used quality wet food on my dogs I always find that their poo is small in quantity and very firm indeed. They usually only go twice a day. The products that came up on the Dog Food Directory are high in protein and fat so your dog will hopefully gain weight on them. Chappie is low in fat so this could be why he has lost weight.
Please can you let us know if you need any further help and also how you get on? We would be interested to hear of your dog’s progress and it might be helpful to others.
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I can’t add much to what Dottie said but just wanted to say Hello and welcome to the forum. I hope you find a suitable food for your cocker spaniel.
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Welcome to the forum covebearette!
A calorie dense food will increase your dog’s weight by feeding her a lower volume of food, than feeding her the same volume of a lower-in-calories food. So it might be worth thinking about feeding her a wet food diet that is high(er) in calories. You may also want to consider the consistency of the food, as a wet food of pâté like consistency may be easier for her to manage.
Other types of food to consider may be Air-Dried (type of) foods which are classed as dry foods though are in fact reconstituted by your adding water; and after approximately 15 minutes the food ‘resembles’ it’s original form which is raw meat, fruits and vegetables. However air-dried is not like a dry kibble, it begins as a muesli type food, and after adding water it becomes a porridge-like consistency. Though it might be prudent to ask for a sample from a manufacturer to check for yourself how much the food swells when you add water.
Other suggestions I can think of is to raise your dog’s bowl to assist movement of her food; and try to get her to rest for a while after eating to help reduce vomitting.
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Thank you very much for your replies. I will look at the directory, and try some of them, see whats best for her. The vet wasnt really much help at all, when i said i didnt think Chappie was good for her, couldnt advise me on anthying else.
I will let yous know how i get on
Thanks again 
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