[Parachute Adams]

Hello

Owner of 7 week old female chocolate lab. She was weaned onto Purina Puppy Chow by breeder; so, that's what I continued her on upon arrival to her new home. I wanted to feed her a better food; so, I did some research and chose Innova Large Breed Puppy Food. I started mixing on Monday 1/7/13; been under my care since 1/1/13. I've fed her 3/4c purina + 1/4 Innova in morning and evening, and 1/2c purina + 1/8c Innova at noon. I will slowly switch the ratio til purina is "0cups."

The thing is, her poop has been inconsistent in density. Rarely is it truly solid; it has mainly been 'soft serve' but rope-like not runny like diarrhea. She squats and it comes out smoothly, but its soft. Is this normal? Apart of the food transition? Am I feeding too much period? Too much new food?

Any advice or thoughts or feedback is very much appreciated from me and Beila!

Thanks again

 

[Dog Person]

How much does she weigh? What does the Purina bag say to feed and what does the Innova bag say to feed ... for now I would lean toward the Purina and eventually lean toward Innova. But they are starting points and since the Innova is probably higher density food you should probably feed less.

By what you've wrote you are feeding her close to 2 3/4 cups of food a day ... that seems an awful lot of food for such a young pup. My pup is approx 30 lbs and she gets 2 2/3 cups a day of a food similar to Innova.

 

[Parachute Adams]

She weighed 7lbs at the vet 1/2/13. I will cut back to 1/2cup servings 3 times a day: majority purina & a sprinkle of the Innova; slowly decreasing purina and increasing Innova. I will then increase proportions around 12th week. How does that sound?

So I'm guessing the 'looser stool' is from over feeding, moreover than the food change?

Basically 1-1.5 cups per day up to 12 weeks, then increase?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Dog Person]

I went to the Purina website and it says 1 1/2 to 4 3/4 cup of food for your pup. I can see the lower figure but not the upper for such a small baby puppy. Typically puppies don't leave a breeder until 8 weeks old but you have her and removing her from Purina is a great start. As she grows, weigh her and adjust accordingly. I do not know the ingredients of the Innova food but if you read each label you'll see that the Innova will hopefully have meat and meat meal as it's first main ingredients and no by products - much higher level of proteins. As you transition closer to Innova as the main kibble then you actually will feed a little less than with the Purina, the better brand may actually have higher protein percentage. But loose stools can come from both overfeeding and transition. Just remember that the feeding guidelines are just a starting point and you'll need to adjust for your dog.

 

[Parachute Adams]

Your help is most appreciated.

Thank you for your time and input.

Beila says thank you as well

 

[hanksimon]

Agreed. Beila is going through many changes, new home, new water, new schedule and all of those can affect her system. Also, if you're giving her treats or chew toys that she can swallow, that can compound issues.

Her poop should get more solid about a week after she has a consistent food, schedule, exercise. If it gets softer, or if it doesn't get more solid by the time she's 9 - 10 weeks, then you can give her some plain, canned pumpkin (with no spices, sugar or other ingredients). You can buy a can for about $2.50 at the grocery store, near the pie filling. You can give her a heaping teaspoon with each meal. Most dogs love it - not sure why, it's fairly bland. And, it's just vegetable, so it's harmless, and good for them.