Moving 5 month old puppy to Innova

[Kama]

Hello,

This is my first post here. We have a 5 month old male English Cocker Spaniel. His name is Max.

I have started to move him over to Innova Puppy from the Hill's Science Diet(I know!).

Right now, I am mixing in about a third of Innova Puppy. Today is the second day of this diet.

Firstly, I have noticed that his stools are softer than before. They are not runny, but they are noticeabley softer. Is this normal?

Also, I noticed that the Innova Puppy still has quite a strong smell to it. Not too much different from the Science Diet. I was given to believe that the poor quality brands smelt like that because of the fat that had to sprayed on to make them palatable. So, why a similar smell from Innova Puppy?

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Barb04]

It is very normal for your dog to have runny stool when changing food. Keep mixing in the Innova over the week. Max's stools will become harder once his system is used to the new food which shouldn't take too long. Innova is a great food to be feeding Max. It is made from quality ingredients.

 

[Renee750il]

You can even switch Max cold turkey since you're going to a much higher quality food. If you need to firm things up, give him some canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just plain canned pumpkin).

 

[Fran27]

The smell is normal, it's just from the ingredients that are in it.

Otherwise, my golden had diarrhea for 3 weeks after switching him from a bad food to a better one. It's normal, it just takes a while for their system to get used to it, but it's so much better for them in the end.

 

[Kama]

Otherwise, my golden had diarrhea for 3 weeks after switching him from a bad food to a better one. It's normal, it just takes a while for their system to get used to it, but it's so much better for them in the end.

He hasn't had diarrhea yet(keeping fingers crossed!). I am still moving him over slowly. Gave him one third of the innova and two thirds of Science Diet for three days. Now I have started him on 1/2 of each, will do that for the next 3 days.

But, yes his stools are still a bit soft. I might try adding the little bit of pumpkin trick.

 

[Mordy]

if his stools are still soft after several days, you may be overfeeding. keep in mind that the innova is much more nutrient dense than the science diet food and you can't replace it cup for cup.

as for the smell - all extruded kibble is sprayed with fat, innova is just made from much better quality ingredients, including better quality fat.