Maintenance vs growth diet for puppies

*blackrose

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#1
So, I went ahead and bought a small bag of 4Health Salmon and Potato after Abrams had diarrhea all over his crate two nights ago, just to see.

That is all he had to eat yesterday and this morning, mostly solid stools! Whoot!

I'm going to give it a few more days to make sure...but I'm hoping the problem may have been solved.

Now my problem? The 4Health Salmon and Potato is only labeled for use as a maintenance diet, not a diet for growth. But I don't think they have a puppy formula in this flavor.

If he does do well on it, is there a similar food I can put him on that is labeled for growth? Or is it okay for him to be on a maintenance diet? He's only 14 weeks old.

I was thinking maybe TOTW would be comparable and still not too ungodly expensive until I can get him on an adult diet...
 

Emily

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#2
TOTW is ALS and was the first thing popped into my head when you asked for something comparable. The Pacific Stream formula, specifically.

Sorry if you've been over this elsewhere, but have you also tried canned pumpkin (or sweet potato baby food) and a probiotic daily? It might be worth a shot. I think puppies sometimes have loose pups because they just don't have all their gut flora worked out.
 

Barb04

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#3
I was also going to say that TOTW is all life stages.

Yes, give some plain canned pumpkin to help the tummy.


Question, did you switch all at once? It's easier on the digestive system to switch a little at a time starting with maybe 1/4 new food 3/4 old food, and keep adding more new and less old each day.
 

Emily

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#4
Question, did you switch all at once? It's easier on the digestive system to switch a little at a time starting with maybe 1/4 new food 3/4 old food, and keep adding more new and less old each day.
I think she may have gone cold turkey in this case because the dog already had pretty bad diarrhea from his old food.

Personally, my dogs go cold turkey from raw to kibble and back, and all different brands of grain-free kibble, but I know people usually recommend a gradual change.
 

*blackrose

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#5
I think she may have gone cold turkey in this case because the dog already had pretty bad diarrhea from his old food.

Personally, my dogs go cold turkey from raw to kibble and back, and all different brands of grain-free kibble, but I know people usually recommend a gradual change.
Yes, I went cold turkey as his stool couldn't have gotten much worse. Lol If the food was causing the issue, it would only have improved.

He's been on probiotics for two to three weeks now. I wasn't seeing much of a change in stool quality. :/ Thus, the food change!
 

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