# Changing Puppy Food



## Horker23

My 3 month old lab, has been having a runny stool now for a while, do you think its the type of food im feeding him? and how to i go about the transition if i have to? The stool looks normal, but just runny


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## BROWNDOG

What are you feeding???


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## ac700wildcat

That would be my first ? too, what are you feeding the pup? Also, I would ask how long have you had him and how long is a while???


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## Horker23

Iams and its been like a week and half, sometimes in the morning it comes out solid, but as the day goes on it gets worse


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## ac700wildcat

How long have you had him?


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## Horker23

2 months


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## Jungda99

Well if she has only been on the new food for a week or so I would give it some time. Is the new food made with the same meat as the old food? From what I have been told when you switch a puppies food it takes their stomach a while to adjust to the change. When I switch a dogs food I slowly add some of the new to the old gradually adding more and more new and less and less old to slowly adjust their stomach to the new food. So I would say if you abruptly switched the food that is the problem. but if you slowly changed the food maybe she is allergic to the new food.


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## Burly1

Another consideration might be where the pup is on her shots and worming schedule. Some of the immunizations can affect the digestive tract for a week or so. Just a thought. Some diced apple will settle the stomach and firm the stools a bit. Go conservative on any kind of change you decide to make.
Burl


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## Bobm

some dogs won't eat apples if yours wont white rice works also cook it 
let it cool and feed only the rice for 24 hours. It will settle the digestive tract down.

If the dog wont eat the rice put amall amount of melted butter on it


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## fishless

A little bit of pumpkin will do the trick, never seen a dog that wouldnt eat it.


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## Horker23

thanks guys, i gave the apples a try and he loved them, we will see what happens. his 3rd distemperment in 2 weeks does that make a difference burly?

thanks again Nick


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## Burly1

I certainly think that it's something to consider. I know that my dogs have been, and my children certainly were affected by their "puppy" shots! Don't be terribly concerned about the loose stools, unless the pup goes off his feed, and stops drinking. Frequent diarrhea is something else entirely, and should be addressed by your vet as soon as possible. 
Diarrhea can be defined by two things; inability to control the timing of the movement, and the appearance of water, with no, or very few solids present. At 90 days, I doubt that Parvovirus would be a problem. Parvo immunizations should have been part of pup's first series. But you need to be aware that it can happen. Parvo is an insidious killer, and can rarely be reversed. It is generally contracted from the kennel from which the pup was whelped, but can come from contact with other pups/dogs that carry the virus. Being aware of the pups appearance and habits, and any changes that just don't look right is the key here. When in doubt, head for the vet. I don't mean to scare you, just to make you aware. I saw a good friends pup go down from Parvo a few years ago, and it was heartbreaking. I'll bet your pup is doing just fine. Burl


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## BROWNDOG

I've never been a huge fan of Iams, we fed it for a while and wasn't very impressed with it. Larger stools, runny stools and dull coats with more shedding. IMO there are better food out there for the money.


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## Horker23

yea i know, i was thinking of switching foods. What do you guys recomend for the put?

Thanks again Burly


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## BROWNDOG

I have been feeding Nutro for the past two years and have been very happy.

Small firm stools and a great shinny coat on all three, two labs and a cocker.


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## KEN W

I was told by a number of breeders to give your pup one with the most fat.And feed continously.I give mine Diamond Puppy Chow......high fat content.Since they do most of their growth the first year.


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## tallgrasser

I stopped feeding Iams a while back after my vet told me to change foods, she didn't know what I was feeding, but the condition of my dogs wasn't good. They must have changed their formula over the last few years. Nutro is a good dog food, Pro-plan, Diamond, Canida and Nutri-source to name a few. Try feeding a food that has meat as 3 of the first 6 ingredients. Someone said to continuosly feed. Recent studies have shown that free fed puppies are more prone to hip problems. A thin puppy is much better than a fat chubby puppy. Also maybe your feeding too much. Try cutting back to 3 cups a day. When my dogs eat too much they get the runs.


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## Horker23

i found out from the vet yesterday that he has round worms, he was wormed from the breeder so i think he caught it from my roomates peice of **** dog, its a pup to! and his was never wormed!


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## BIRDSHOOTER

This has nothing to do with wormes but...

Just a heads up on feeding puppies, especially a large breed puppies (55 lbs or greater at adulthood). Feeding large breed puppies a high fat content is not the smartest thing to do. Let me explain. If a large breed puppy is allowed to eat large quantities of high fat food they can easily put on too much weight. Obese puppies, especially large breed puppies that carry too much weight their first 6-8 months, increase the risk of developing joint problems or joint abnormalities down the road. Their bones grow very fast in this period and carrying the extra weight could cause issues.

Now if your puppy is very active for a good portion of the day this may not be such an issue as they will burn allot of calories, but if they are confined a good portion of the day you will need watch this.

You are better off feeding a moderate protein to fat percentage (26/14) or close to this to help. It doesn't necessarily have to be a puppy formula, but one with at least a 1.2% to .9% calcium/phosphorus ratio.

Know matter what you feed it's better to keep puppy on the slightly lean side until after a year old. If you read the guaranteed analysis on the back of any large breed puppy formula you will see the percentages are close to the ones I have laid out.

Here is some interesting reading on feeding puppies : http://www.urbancarnivore.com/uc_online/pages.cfm?ID=38


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## gunther274

i had the same problem with my dog, get the dog the wormer treatment (harmless yogurt like stuff they eat) flushes there insides out from worms. and i also ended up switching to purina puppy chow cus thats what the dog had been eating since day one. switching foods can give the dog really bad runs


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## westie

sounds like gerardia to me, also known as bever fever.easy for vet to detect but kind of hard to get rid of


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## ShineRunner

Here is a site with a bunch of pet foods that have been recalled. I don't know if this will effect your puppy but if may help someone on here.

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/


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## blkbear8

I believe in changing brands with every new bag. I think it stregthens their stomachs. Although I do go with the more expensive brands. Every once in a while I might get some loose stool but it usually only lasts a day. If it lasts longer it is usually some kind of a stomach bug.


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## upland420

blkbear8 said:


> I believe in changing brands with every new bag. I think it stregthens their stomachs.


 Any vet in the world would tell you this is the dumbest thing theyve ever heard. You probably shouldnt own a dog.


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## blkbear8

Yeah Upland I know how it goes the breeder says you should keep them on the brand they've been feeding them, the Vet try's to sell you on another and then the feed store doesn't carry any of those. It's a scam. My dogs get sick of the same kind of food. I've never had more than a half day loose stool if at all. Keep your dogs bored with the same food. They'll eat anything if they are starving. I hope you enjoyed the book you read on puppies Dr. Upland!!! You are an authority on the subject now.


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## upland420

Im just a guy who has owned dogs for 25 years, I never claimed to be an "authority". That seems to be exactly what you think you are though with your claim of 'strengthening' a dogs stomach (which itself says how ridiculous you are) via changing dog foods on a whim. Funny, but that is the exact opposite of what I have heard any vet say or read in any book about dog care. Additionally, you chide the reading of books and gaining of knowledge which makes you an uneducated fool.


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## blkbear8

It is so nice to get attacked personally when expressing ones views. I guess I should have known better. Maybe you could try to help the original poster out. So, I guess I am an abusive dog owner. OOPS!!!! Gonna go kick my dogs now. BRB


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## upland420

Lets not pretend that you didnt attack me after my first post, which could hardly be considered an attack. I read your reply B4 you EDITED it. It was quite a bit more scathing and definately personal (about how I shouldnt have kids, etc). Clearly, you knew that post was not gonna make you look too good so you toned it down and edited it a few minutes later. Now you wanna pretend like youre some kinda innocent victim. Nice try.

By the way, the original poster found out that the pup had worms, so he got his answer. Maybe read a bit more carefully prior to engaging the keyboard? :eyeroll:


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## blkbear8

> Any vet in the world would tell you this is the dumbest thing theyve ever heard. *You probably shouldnt own a dog.[/*quote]
> 
> Don't blame me, you started it right there. And I'm ending it.


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## BIRDSHOOTER

ShineRunner said:


> Here is a site with a bunch of pet foods that have been recalled. I don't know if this will effect your puppy but if may help someone on here.
> 
> http://www.menufoods.com/recall/


WOW!! I jumped into a hornets nest... 

Anyways,

This recall pertains to only wet food, whether canned or in a pouch as with alot of cat foods. It was a cat which prompted this whole thing. Then when the problem was discovered it escalated to dogs. Many of the same ingredients used in wet cat or dog food.

Dry kibble is not part of the recall.


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## CrashinKona

So back to the thread topic.. hows the pup doing? :beer: i hope better..


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## Horker23

the pup is great now, we just got back for a week of snow goose hunting and he was retreiving birds at 5 month, it was a blast to see and be apart of. i kept him on iams puppy chow and he has had no problem with it. Hes at 33 lbs now and looking good, just still trying to figure out how big he truley is gunna get. any one know how big he will get if he is 33lbs at 5 months. i guess only time will tell!


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## ac700wildcat

Don't know if it helps, but my black lab was 30 lbs when he got his second set of shots somewhere between 3-3.5months old. He is now almost 11 months and I'm guessing around 70lbs.


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