Food transistion underway!

[Cami]

Been feeding Raine TOTW since I made the original transition from the breeders food (Nutrisource).
Never have liked the consistency of her stools but it wasn't terrible to the point that I felt the need to change. I did add Fortiflora at one point and thought it made a difference but looking back I think it was more wishful thinking.
Now with the recent recalls from Diamond I decided this was the perfect time to change.
I still have about 15 pounds of the TOTW Wetlands and a case of the canned food (combination of High Prairie and Wetlands). It will take quite a while to get through the case since I only add a tablespoon of canned food to her dinner each evening.
I want to eventually have her on Orijen (chicken formula) so yesterday I picked up a bag of that as well as Nature's Variety Instinct (also chicken) and made up a batch of the transition for the first week.
I pour her food into a glass container and keep it in a kitchen cabinet for easy access and fill up the container about every 5 days or so.
I got out a huge bowl and mixed up 4 cups of her original food, 2 cups of the Instinct and 1 cup of the Orijen.
Instinct and Orijen both call for feeding less than TOTW so I backed off her meal last night a little less than an 1/8 of a cup.
Dinner went well as Raine doesn't savor her food at all but devours it. I have no idea if she even noticed the change in flavor! Breakfast this morning was a repeat performance.
I swear her poo this morning was a bit firmer. Again, this may be wishful thinking since both new foods have less fiber than TOTW (4%) and Orijen @ (3%) and Instinct @ (3.2%). I don't think the lesser amount of food fed was enough to garnish a change in her stool consistency and I don't think I was over feeding her anyhow.

I don't recall reading any previous threads about an actual transition so thought it would interesting to share one. Hopefully it can help someone in the future. I'll post updates as we go through this.

[Cami]

Starting the second week of the transition. First week went well in that I didn't notice any changes in Raine's stool. Good that it didn't get softer but I was secretly hoping that it would firm up!
Since the unopened 5lb bag of TOTW has been recalled I have to speed things up this week. Adding more of the new food tonight for dinner than previously planned. She will be officially out of her original food by weeks end (if not sooner).

[DiverDiva]

I am a huge fan of Orijen for my dogs. They did not do well on the NV Instinct. They had more and larger stools when eating Instinct, and when I cut back their portions they both lost weight. I tried 3 of the 4 Instinct varieties with the same results. No more Instinct for my two, but Orijen 6 Fish is part of their regular rotation. As an added bonus, they like it so much that I can use the kibble for training rewards.

[Noey]

Originally Posted by Cami

Starting the second week of the transition. First week went well in that I didn't notice any changes in Raine's stool. Good that it didn't get softer but I was secretly hoping that it would firm up!
Since the unopened 5lb bag of TOTW has been recalled I have to speed things up this week. Adding more of the new food tonight for dinner than previously planned. She will be officially out of her original food by weeks end (if not sooner).

Cami - I have been trying to go through your 4,000+ posts over the last few days.
I live in Hilliard, Ohio. I am curious about what you feed, if you rotate, if you take the dogs to a DP (if so, which ones?), and if you know dog friendly businesses in Columbus?

I sometimes wonder if I see you at the DP when I am out with Rox.

[Cami]

Cami - I have been trying to go through your 4,000+ posts over the last few days.
I live in Hilliard, Ohio. I am curious about what you feed, if you rotate, if you take the dogs to a DP (if so, which ones?), and if you know dog friendly businesses in Columbus?

I have taken Raine to the Bark Park in Westerville but I don't make a habit of it. I would love to meet up with you and Rox! I usually do a drive-by to check it out and see who is there and how many dogs. I prefer a very small number of dogs and I try to avoid certain known trouble makers.
I was feeding Taste of the Wild but am starting the 2nd week of a transition to Nature's Variety Instinct and Orijen.
There are quite a few dog friendly businesses in Westerville, I don't get to Hilliard pretty much ever.
Home Depot allows dogs, a couple of bike shops in Westerville, Half Price Books, my massage therapists office and chiro too! But owners of both are friends and clients of mine. We also have numerous pet stores and a lot of places in uptown that have outdoor seating that you can bring your dog to their patio area (Max & Erma's).
I know there are more places but I can't think of any more off the top of my head.

[Noey]

Originally Posted by Cami

I have taken Raine to the Bark Park in Westerville but I don't make a habit of it. I would love to meet up with you and Rox! I usually do a drive-by to check it out and see who is there and how many dogs. I prefer a very small number of dogs and I try to avoid certain known trouble makers.
I was feeding Taste of the Wild but am starting the 2nd week of a transition to Nature's Variety Instinct and Orijen.
There are quite a few dog friendly businesses in Westerville, I don't get to Hilliard pretty much ever.
Home Depot allows dogs, a couple of bike shops in Westerville, Half Price Books, my massage therapists office and chiro too! But owners of both are friends and clients of mine. We also have numerous pet stores and a lot of places in uptown that have outdoor seating that you can bring your dog to their patio area (Max & Erma's).
I know there are more places but I can't think of any more off the top of my head.

We like Scioto Audubon Park, but Alum Creek (near Polaris) is relatively huge and has a water feature. I've never been to the bark park, but we are looking forward to getting Rox back out to socialize (she has been isolated for a few weeks). I would really like to expose her to other dogs (and people) who have a better understanding of what dogs need and such.

[Noey]

Cami-

I decided to give Orijen a try. Do you order from Amazon, or find it locally?
I can hit PetPeople on the way home to check it out.

How slowly did you transition?

[chrystel]

Cool thread Cami!

We are currently transitioning from a Taste of the Wild lamb diet to an Earthborn Holisitc Grain free great plains (bison)/RAW diet.

It is all going well.

Their poop are smaller.. Oxy's are fine but Snatch's a little less firm. Hmmmm. Not cool....

Good luck to all transitioner!

[Cami]

I can hit PetPeople on the way home to check it out.

I get mine at PetPeople.
We are in the 2nd week of transition. Had plans to make it take at least a month plus but due to the recall it will happen sooner. I am trying to make her old food last longer but will be out the start of the third week (or next Monday). So her transition will have taken a total of two full weeks.

I've not gone to the Alum dog park. Don't know why as it is fairly close but the one in Westerville is less than 2 minutes from my home. I've heard the Gahanna park is also very nice but have never been.

[Cami]

UPDATE

Today marks the start of the third week of the transition.
Yesterday at dinner I had to change the amounts of each food fed since I was running out of TOTW sooner than anticipated due to the recall.

We have fallen backwards. Raine ended up with diarrhea during the middle of the night. Going potty #2 during the night isn't out of the ordinary for her so she doesn't have a sense of urgency but what is coming out isn't good.

The pudding consistency (sorry for the visual) has continued throughout the day. I don't know which of the new foods is the culprit. The mixture is 2 cups of TOTW, 2 cups of Nature's Variety Instinct and 1 cup of Orijen.

I've taken out 1/2 the amount fed of TOTW and doubled the other two foods from the previous 2 weeks so it could be either one or both.

She continues to eat her yogurt after dinner as always.

Haven't decided if I am going to give this 2-3 days to see if any changes for the better occur or if I make up a new batch of TOTW and just one of the other foods.

On a positive note she doesn't seem to be bothered by the stool issue but obviously something isn't agreeing with her and I want to correct it sooner rather than later.

I hate RECALLS.

[Cami]

Newest issue.....Raine is really interested in her bum! Not sure if she is on "clean-up" duty or if her anal glands might be bothering her. I don't SEE anything wrong there and of course she can't tell me.

I am not going to be able to go for a few days to see if the massively loose stools clear up as she gets used to the new diet.

The TOTW comes it at 4% fiber. Her stools were the best on this food but never perfect. Nature's Variety Instinct is at 3.2% and Orijen is at 3%.
I just don't think either is enough so I am heading to the pet store today and will be picking up Acana. Their Grasslands (lamb) and Wild Prairie (chicken) versions come in at 3.5%. That is plan A for the time being.

I may also pick up a bag of frozen green beans and add about a 1/4 cup to hear meals just to give her an added boost of fiber. Also considered peas thinking they might produce less gas? Raine already passes plenty of gas however most often void of odor (good thing)!!

I have tried pumpkin in the past with no luck. Also considered adding The Missing Link supplement as it claims to be high in fiber but can't locate any specific percentages and only find "grams".

Another option would be to get a diet food since they seem to be higher in fiber but it will be hard to figure out how much of that type of food to add to regular food and yet keep enough calories in her. Plus.....finding a grain free version might be difficult since it appears to me (with little research) that diet foods are higher in carbs to help keep that "full feeling".

So many decisions to make just to feed one obnoxious puppy!

[Gatorblu]

You might try adding psyllium to gain some fiber. You can find in some stores with the laxitives. I just buy from the Vitamin Shoppe. It worked for Thor when he had issues. Hope Raine's system straightens out soon!

It was suggested a tsp with each meal but 1/2 tsp worked for Thor.