Orijen and loose stools

[BoxerDevotee]

I switched my boy, who is 14 months old, to this kibble very gradually over ten days, and he is thriving on it. Until this change of diet, he had had mild colitis for several months. Thanks to Orijen Adult, this condition cleared up in less than a fortnight. No more loose stools.

I think the problem may be that you didn't transition your pups gradually enough. Also, over-feeding is often the cause of runny stools, so it is important to feed less rather than more, keep an eye on their weight and, if necessary, very slowly increase the daily amount of kibble over a week or so. I usually build up the quantity in half ounce steps.

I agree with H L Hendrix: given the high protein content of Orijen food, 3/4 of a cup three times a day seems a lot. My own boy, who weighs 50lbs - and is very busy! - is currently fed just over 12oz (two mugs) a day, divided into two meals, and this seems about right.

Have your tried giving your pups half a tablespoon of plain yogurt about ten minutes before each meal? It helps to build up their stomach flora and make their stools firmer.

[kayboxer]

The fast switch and higher protein is likely the culprit. It can take a dog a month to get adjusted to a new food. As for the large breed formula, boxers are not a "large breed" dog, they are a medium breed. Large breed dog food is mainly a gimmic for pet food companies. Just another way to sell more food. Orijen is a very good food and I wouldn't stop feeding it, but don't be fooled by gimmics.

[Nika]

I agree with kayboxer that the poop issues are due to a fast switch and a higher protein content. However, I also believe it could be too much is being fed to your pups or maybe it's just the wrong formula for them. In the end, I pick answer D:All of the above.
Orijen is a wonderful food and I have had my girl, on it for the past 2 1/2 years. I started her on the 'Adult' formula but found out she's allergic to chicken then switched over to the '6 Fish' formula and she thrived on it. Recently, I switched her over to Orijen's new 'Regional Red' formula just to give her some variety (who wants to eat the same thing for two more years!) and did it in a day with zero issues.
I do find that when Nika's kibble intake and exercise ratio is off, she has loose poop. Which makes sense, if the body isn't using up what is being consumed, it get expelled in a gooey mess.

[BoxerDevotee]

>>I do find that when Nika's kibble intake and exercise ratio is off, she has loose poop. Which makes sense, if the body isn't using up what is being consumed, it get expelled in a gooey mess. <<

A very good point - particularly as Boxers are such high-energy dogs - and one we are inclined to forget.

[sriley]

Originally Posted by HL Hendrix

I had the same issues with my pup when I tried him on orijen puppy. I used the large breed when I was still ignorant to the fact that boxers are medium sized dogs and really should not be fed large breed food due to that.

I also see that your vet told you to do the switch over a day?? A switch should be done over a minimum of 1 week, and even that is really fast.

Furthermore, 3/4 3 times a day with a food of that calibre seems like a lot. Please read the feeding guide on the back of the bag as this food company would know best.

Please remember that with no offence to your vet, they are not trained at dog nutritionalists.

As stated above, had I of known my pups would have had issues with loose stools, I certainly would have done a more gradual change and I'm sure my vet never would have recommended the quick switch if she thought I would encounter problems. I trust my vet's advice as she, too, is a Boxer owner who feeds her boy Orijen, and I thought I was only doing what was best for the pups.

According to my vet, the logic behind prescribing a large breed forumula has to do with weight. Because Boxers are typically 50+ pounds, a large breed formula is appropriate. I understand that there are many schools of thought on this topic and your vet may tell you something different.

As for over-feeding, the bag of Orijen actually suggests feeding them quite a bit more than what they're currently getting. I appreciate the suggestion, but that doesn't appear to be the problem.

Lastly, unless the weather is absolutely horrible, my boys get out for a long, brisk walk, or an off-leash run in the park several times a day, so I don't believe that lack of exercise is to blame.

Thanks for all of your replies. Just a quick update: The switch to Orijen was made well over a month ago and while their stools are sometimes firm (usually first thing in the morning), other times they're still a thick, gooey mess. In time, I'm hoping the problem will resolve itself. I'm not the least big interested in switching back to a lower quality food just for the sake of firmer stools. My boys are gaining weight and are healthy, so I must be doing something right. Thanks again for the tips and advice.

[deucenrox]

Originally Posted by jboboxer

It's my understanding that the large breed kibble has ingredients in there to help try and prevent hip dysplasia, which seems to be somewhat common in boxers, but it's more common in larger dogs.
I've noticed that the large breed kibble from orijen is also pretty large in size and I was reading in bark magazine that there's been studies that deep chested dogs are more likely to get bloat when eating smaller kibble than larger kibble. I'm not sure if that's the reason the kibbles are larger, but I've read that the larger kibble takes the dog longer to digest, which there's belief that faster eating dogs tend to get bloat faster.
I believe it was the The Purdue veterinary research team that indicated that you should not raise a dogs food dish and prevent your dog from reading it's food too fast, which they believe large kibbles will do that if I'm not mistaken.

The second leading cause of deaths in Boxers is bloat, so if there's little advice like don't exercise your dog before and after eating, don't raise their food and split up the feeding time, instead of feeding them all at once and feed them a large kibble. I think these things are pretty easy to do to be honest.

The funny thing about boxers is that if you read about dogs that are most susceptible to bloat, it will tell you it's normally dogs that weigh over 100 pounds and have a deep chest. The weight seems to also be a problem with HD, yet it's not common for boxers to weigh that much. So I think a lot of people won't classify boxers as large dogs, which I consider boxers medium size dog. But maybe the large breed food is better for boxers than many people tend to believe.

Thanks for the information on the bloat issues and the feeding tips. We have a medium size female (66lbs) and a very large male (116lbs solid muscle with a massive chest). My female picks at her food and takes her time but my male doesn't lift his head from the bowl until it is completely gone, no crumbs! Our vet advised us to feed them from bowls that are raised off the floor and closer to their faces to help with digestion and prevent bloat. What do you mean by 'reading its food to fast'?

We have been on a gradual transition for our male from Blue Buffalo to California Natural lamb and rice low fat, it has been two weeks and we are still doing half and half because his stools have been soft also. Our doc has told us because of his size, if we do not watch what we feed him he could become overweight very easily. He eats 5 cups of food a day (split between two feedings) and stays very active chasing the female around. She also wants us to add more fiber to his diet but I am holding off until he starts having normal bm's.

[argosrocks]

here's my suggestion,it may work,it may not, it does work for us,,,we love orijen,horizon legacy,wellness core,and any other premium ,high protein kibble,and what we do is add a teaspoon-tablespoon of pure pumpkin(not filling) to their meal for added fiber,it seems to firm their stools right up,not too much though or they will get constipated.you may want to give it a try,one can of pumpkin lasts us about 1 week or 2 ,so its very economical as well.

[sriley]

Thank you for the helpful tip, argosrocks. Where can I purchase pure pumpkin? Is it available in grocery stores?

[Boxerrr]

Just to add: we had the exact same issue. We gradually brought Bella onto the Orijen food, and her stool was very loose. We kept her on it for a while hoping her system would "firm it up", but it never did. We spoke to our vet who pointed to the high protein content. We changed her cold turkey to Framm Puppy Gold (still a "4 star" food from dogfoodanalysis.com) and her stool firmed up within a day.


We've kept her on it, and shes been thriving, very active, firm stools, very shiny coat.

[sriley]

Thanks so much, Boxrrr. It's nice to know that someone else has had the same issues with Orijen -- even after a slow, gradual change. I've never heard of Framm Puppy Gold, but I will definitely look into it. Provided the transition is done slowly, maybe switching foods is the solution. My boys have had plenty of time to adjust to Orijen and I'm still patiently waiting for firmer stools. I'm beginning to think that I'm waiting for something that just isn't going to happen with this particular food.