Curious.. How long before you give up on a new food

[whackichic]

Biz was on Royal Canin GSD food. I am finally thru with the huge bag I bought and have switched him over to Innova. He still has pudding poo every other movement. I am wondering how long I should give this food before giving up. I have been adding pumpkin to each feeding and that apparently hasn't helped. He has been on just Innova for maybe 3 days. Prior to this I was throwing a handful of Innova to the RC.
He was getting 4 cups of the RC and the website says he should get 3 3/4 cup which I have been giving. His energy is fine, he;s drinking so I know he is not sick.
Should I give this at least a week, 2 weeks? If he can't tolerate Innova I think I'll try Canidae next. The other dog is just fine on it. It was 4 big bags ago so I don't even remember how long it took to switch.
Thanks for any opinions.

 

[~Jessie~]

My chihuahuas didn't do well on Innova... we tried it for 3'ish weeks, and then switched to a different food. They had horrible diarrhea, gas, etc...

I have heard that Canidae is easier to handle, although I've never tried it with my dogs. We use Timberwolf Organics. I would give the Innova a few more days to a week, and then try the Canidae.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Did you switch gradually or just directly from one food to another?

Also, give it more than 3 days, I'm trying Innova right now and it's doing that well (as far as gas is concerned).

So, here is what I suggest to you- make sure you are feeding no more than what your dogs need. And use a probiotic to see if that helps.

Good luck.

 

[Herschel]

In addition, you should probably feed much less of the Innova. Email Natura (http://www.naturapet.com) and ask them how much you should be feeding. An overfed dog will rarely have a solid stool!

I should note that we switched Herschel from Canidae to Innova to give him some variety. At first he liked the Innova, but after it ruined his stool (loose or constipated/gassy), dulled his coat, and made him tired, he turned his nose up at it and walked away from the bowl. We went through an entire 6.6lb bag.

We switched back to Canidae and he is in great shape again.

 

[whackichic]

I did a gradual switch by throwing a handful of Innova into his food w/the RC. I went to the Natura site and it said to feed 3 3/4 daily. He is 72# and gets plenty of exercse. This mornings poo was fine, a tad soft but nicely formed. (That sounds funny) where last night looked like a cow patty. He doesn't have gas that I noticed. Gabbi who has been on the Innova always lets some go when I am getting there food. I've never smelled it but It sounds like air out of a baloon. Makes her look to. I digress.. I hate switching food because it seems so stressful on their stomach. I don't want to feed them 2 different foods but I guess I'll have to consider it.
Thanks everyone

 

[sam]

I'd say you're over feeding and that certainly might explain the pudding poo.
I feed a 55 lb dog 2 cups/day of high end kibble when I feed kibble and they get a minimum off 90 minutes of running a day lus dog sports at night. I know 60 pound aussies who eat 3/4 c Evo twice a day and are plenty chubby. You can check out the kcal/cup on the two bags and compare. Cheaper foods have more fillers too so sometimes just going to a higher quality more meaty food will cause problems temporarily.
My dogs did beautifully on Innova adult, one dog can't do Evo or Evo RF and I've never figured out why. I thought it was "too rich" as you hear poeple say but that's not it since they eat a raw diet with more protein and fat and do great.

 

[whackichic]

I'd say you're over feeding and that certainly might explain the pudding poo.
I feed a 55 lb dog 2 cups/day of high end kibble when I feed kibble and they get a minimum off 90 minutes of running a day lus dog sports at night. I know 60 pound aussies who eat 3/4 c Evo twice a day and are plenty chubby. You can check out the kcal/cup on the two bags and compare. Cheaper foods have more fillers too so sometimes just going to a higher quality more meaty food will cause problems temporarily.
My dogs did beautifully on Innova adult, one dog can't do Evo or Evo RF and I've never figured out why. I thought it was "too rich" as you hear poeple say but that's not it since they eat a raw diet with more protein and fat and do great.

Really?
Gabbi who is taller and leaner gets 3 cups a day and she weighs 65#. Biz is shorter, but more muscular and weighs 72#. He is a perfect weight, in no way chubby. Some here said he looked a bit on the thin side.
If I shouldn't go by the website or the bag, how do you calculate the calories, I'm a math moron.

 

[Zoom]

I wouldn't worry so much about the math side of it as just start playing with the amounts by a 1/4 cup or so...decrease by that and see what he and his stools are like.

I feed Innova Adult to both dogs right now (Virgo is having a bad reaction this particular bag of Canidae for some reason) and they're doing fabulous. I also add in a spoonful or two of plain yogurt to help with Virgo's digestion.

 

[whackichic]

I wouldn't worry so much about the math side of it as just start playing with the amounts by a 1/4 cup or so...decrease by that and see what he and his stools are like.

I feed Innova Adult to both dogs right now (Virgo is having a bad reaction this particular bag of Canidae for some reason) and they're doing fabulous. I also add in a spoonful or two of plain yogurt to help with Virgo's digestion.

I'm happy to report his evening poo was nice. Granted it's dark wet and dreary out, but it wasn't a blob o'poo. Now I'm afraid I'm not feeding him enough, but I am worrier by nature. I am going to add some tripett in a week or so and hopefully we'll be done for life. I'll still give some pumpkin, my juicer pulp, the occasional yogurt, but hopefully no more switching kibble.
Thanks again everyone

 

[showpug]

Feed your dog based on calories, not volume. There is a big chance that you are over feeding the Innova.

Royal Canin German Sheperd =321 calories per cup
Innova Adult = 557 calories per cup
Innova Large Breed Adult = 350 calories per cup.

If you are feeding the regular Innova, you will need to feed quite a bit less than you did of the Royal Canin. If you are feeding the Innova Large Breed Adult then you should feed close to the same amount as you did with the Royal Canin.

 

[Saje]

If there isn't any major problem with the food I'd give it a couple months before you switch again. A week or two isn't enough time to really know for sure.

 

[fillyone]

Make sure your pup doesn't have Giardia with a Giardia Antigen test (not the regular Giardia fecal, the Antigen).
I went through months and months of cowpie to soft-but-pickupable poops before Dante was finally diagnosed with Giardia. (2 regulars came back negative)
When the Giardia was gone he was at soft-but-pickupable until I moved him back to 3 feedings a day. Now he's always firm unless he gets into something he shouldn't (like the time I gave him some canned cat food as a treat

What was I thinking?

Soft poop is sometimes a sign of over feeding and as I found with Dante that doesn't always mean the day's total but the amount at each feeding.
He's now doing stellar on Canidae....1 cup morning, 1 1/2 cup afternoon, 1 cup night.

 

[whackichic]

Make sure your pup doesn't have Giardia with a Giardia Antigen test (not the regular Giardia fecal, the Antigen).
I went through months and months of cowpie to soft-but-pickupable poops before Dante was finally diagnosed with Giardia. (2 regulars came back negative)
When the Giardia was gone he was at soft-but-pickupable until I moved him back to 3 feedings a day. Now he's always firm unless he gets into something he shouldn't (like the time I gave him some canned cat food as a treat

What was I thinking?

Soft poop is sometimes a sign of over feeding and as I found with Dante that doesn't always mean the day's total but the amount at each feeding.
He's now doing stellar on Canidae....1 cup morning, 1 1/2 cup afternoon, 1 cup night.

I don't think he has Giardia. The poo's are getting firmer and firmer. Of course last night somehow my bedroom turned into a sports ring and they managed to get on the top of my tall dresser and pull down the ba ba q''s 1 lbs bag of lamb lungs. I'm waiting for the poo to see who ate the bulk. I think it was Gabbi, Biz's poo was ok this am.
I'm feeding him 1 1/2 (heaping 1/2) am and 1 3/4 in the evening. I'll increase a bit next week if he seems hungrier. Somehow that just doesn't seem enough. We'll see. Thanks!!

 

[xyourlocaldjx]

my dog is 32 pounds and it says to feed 2 cups a day. i was feeding 1 3/4th and she was losing a LOT of weight. So i bumped her up to 2 cups. She's got soft stool again. After this bag i'm switching to regular innova, i'm sick of trying.

 

[Saje]

Did you try adding plain canned pumpkin to the food for the transition?

Either way though if your dog is doing well on one brand I wouldn't worry about it

 

[whackichic]

Did you try adding plain canned pumpkin to the food for the transition?

Either way though if your dog is doing well on one brand I wouldn't worry about it

Yes I did. They actually got cut up sweet potatoes (trader joe microwave bag) instead of pumpkin today for variety.
When I bought the 7 cans of pumpkin the checkout guy asked if I was making pies and I said no I'm trying to firm up my dog's stool. The look on his face. I told him it helps them when they have the runs. Maybe you had to be there, but it was funny to me.

 

[Red_ACD_for_me]

Definately, if the diaherria continues take in a stool sample and have him checked for giardia. I'm going through a similar problem right now, my guy was eating innova reg., evo, and regular natural balance and something didn't agree with him. I think it was the chicken. I then started feeding him Natural balance venison and brown rice and his stool firmed right up. He has been eating it for a couple of months and I started adding some other stuff to and giving him some raw veggies and low and behold more diaherria only this time is was bloody which is normal if they poop alot. I called my vet and now he is eating a bland diet of boiled hamburg and brown rice for the next 4 or 5 days. I just ordered him some Innova evo red meat and am hoping he can tolerate it. I will still add some hamburg and brown rice to it though. The evo red meat is beef, venison, lamb, and buffalo and he seems to be able to handle the beef best so hopefully it will work out. Good luck and keep in mind that maybe he may have a certain sensitivity to some of the more common meats usually found in kibble. I would also put your boy on a bland diet for a few days (hamburg and rice) and then gradually ween him back on kibble. Give his system some time to fix itself .