Sorry, another puppy food question.....

kcttiger · #1 26th April 2012, 09:52 PM

So, we brought our new little boy home last weekend, Peyton, is ten weeks now. The breeder had him on the cheapest purina puppy chow. She had warned me not to buy the multi-colored puppy chow because it gives the puppies loose stools.
So, i bought the cheapest puupy chow our pet food store had.........fed it to Peyton, over the course of the next few days he develops loose stools. I had in fact bought the multicolored one. Should have went to Walmart. But had intended to switch him to a better quality kibble as soon as possible.
After doing the research, I decided to switch him to Taste of the wild-Prairie- today. Figured.... he had loose stools anyway.
WRONG.....now, my little guy has water consistancy stools, with tons of gas, and i am unsure of where to go with this. Do I continue on the TOTW and have him tough it out? Go buy the cheapest puppy chow at the local Wal-mart, since my pet food store didn't even have it, and get him back on track. OR is it too late for that? OR transition back to the puppy chow i have?
He has been doing so well with potty training and crate training that i am afraid of what the crate and my home will look like tomorrow.
And i afraid he will get dehydrated and sick.
Please help, need suggestions.
Thanks.

joannaryan · #2 27th April 2012, 02:21 AM

I can tell you from experience that puppy chow is by far one of the worse puppy foods you can give your pup. My Toby went through the same loose stool ordeal and it was horrible and non stop. Most all of the members on here will tell you to go with a grain free kibble, but I think that there has been a recall on quite a few of the diamond brand foods TOTW included! I use Professional puppy food for medium breed dogs, it's not grain free, but it has been great for Toby. The loose stools stopped almost immediatley and he loves it, with no stomache issues at all. I think that barley is the only grain in it, but anyways it was recommended by my vet. I hope that you find something that works for you, good luck!

Also it is recommened that you feed your pup a 4 star or higher brand food.

Sansal · #3 27th April 2012, 06:20 AM

TOTW has not been recalled but there have been some reports that dogs haven been getting sick eating it or refusing to eat. It is produced by Diamond and two other brands, produced in the same factory have been recalled (Diamond Lamb and Rice and Chicken Soup - check Dog / Pet food recalls & warnings - Boxer Board for information and updates) Personally I will no longer buy any Diamond products.
I would definitely feed a high quality food. Grain free/high protein content can sometimes be too much for some puppies and might cause loose stools. Check dogfoodananlysis.com for suggestions. You could for example do Wellness just for puppy which has grains in it but is still rated high (5 out of 6 stars)
Has your puppy been to the vet? It is not uncommon for puppies to have worms or parasites that can also cause loose stools. Definitely rule out any medical reasons.
What I would do for now is cook some plain rice and chicken and feed it for a few days, once the stool returns to normal you can start adding in some kibble.
You might even be able to return the TOTW bag at the petstore where you bought it.

pbowles · #4 27th April 2012, 10:19 AM

I started Bo out on Iams puupy food and he had very loose stool, After his vet check and was given a clean bill of health, I started researching dog foods, although my vet felt Iams was a good quality food and I should leave him on it. After my research I decided to go with Blue Buffalo. I weened him off Iams and onto Blue with no problems, and now his stool is firm and easy to pick up. He also had terrible gas on Iams. In the mornings on Iams he was never excited about having his morning feeding either, now with Blue we looks forward to it. This is just my personal choice for my dog. But what I feel what is most important is to research and check out what people are saying on Boxer World, which is a wealth of information. Good Luck...

kcttiger · #5 27th April 2012, 11:41 AM

So, yes he has been to the vet and has received all of his vaccines and a deworming at the first visit. He is due back for 12 week vaccines in 2 weeks.
I am frustrated beacuse I did all of the research on dog fod analysis, and was so pleased with what i had read about TOTW.
I will try the rice and chicken for a day or 2. We were up every hour and half all night, i set my alarm and would wake him and take out to potty. No Accidents though. I guess i will continue to try the TOTW with a side of the rice and chicken, for now and see if it is just the transition that upsetted his tummy so badly.
I hate to feed him the purina puppy chow and buy the garbage, even though it may help the transition. I will hold off on that for now. Unless someone suggests something different.
Thanks so much.

mclovin · #6 30th April 2012, 05:17 PM

You could go with blue wilderness. I was able to transition my puppy fat within a couple days with out any loose stools

whiskers · #7 30th April 2012, 10:11 PM

How much are you feeding him? Overfeeding is probably the main cause of loose stools. And you will need to feed quite a bit less on TOTW than you would on Puppy Chow, because the TOTW is more nutrient-dense. So if you are feeding the same on both foods... then you are likely feeding too much.

I would try adding some 100% pumpkin to his meals too (NOT pie filling). Roughly a teaspoon at each meal.

kcttiger · #8 2nd May 2012, 11:58 AM

So, he is still LOVING his TOTW prairie. Everytime we feed him he gobbles it down like its his first meal EVER.
His stools have firmed up but at times are still runny. I am guessing he is becoming accustomed to the food. The brown rice was great and i even added to food a few days, he loved it. But since i have stopped it and am just doing the kibble, he seems to be doing better.
I would try the pumpkin, what benefits does it have? But would introducing another foreign food to his tiny digestive system be another setback?

Thank you all for your help.