Puppy or adult

[Southpaw]

So I'm thinking the TOTW has been too rich for Juno, so this weekend I'm gonna grab something else to switch her to and we'll probably revisit TOTW when she's an adult (because other than me not being satisfied with her poop... she's doing fine with it).

But anyway... I'm thinking we're going to try Chicken Soup, but I don't know what kind I should be getting? Are boxers considered large breed? Do I just get regular puppy? Should I skip puppy altogether and just get adult?

Too confusing.. :dunno:

 

[Toller_08]

I think Boxers are considered a medium-large breed, but regardless of that, I don't really believe in puppy foods. Ripley's on adult and doing great. His breeder had them on puppy for a little while, but we switched him off when he came home and her puppy is eating adult now too. Puppy formulas tend to cause dogs to grow too quickly, causing growth issues. Another All Life Stages or an Adult food would be your best option, IMO.

 

[hugapup]

If you are interested in feeding Chicken Soup but aren't sure which formula is best for your pup I would check out the Which Formula section of their website. It list the different formulas and ingredients to help you determine which formula is best suited for your dog.

 

[ihartgonzo]

What do you mean by rich?

Boxers are medium dogs IMHO, especially females. If TOTW isn't working for her, it could be for a number of reasons, other than richness. I highly recommend Acana if it's sold near you, or Orijen. My boys poops improved dramatically on Acana, and it doesn't have super high protein levels, so I would recommend it for puppies. Plus all of the formulas have lots of fish in them and it shows in their coats.

Honestly, I would bypass any puppy food. CSFTDLS isn't my favorite food at all... I know lots of dogs who languish on it, and my dogs got violent gastro upsets from eating a few cans of the wet food... but it could work for her, if you're looking for something lower priced.

 

[Southpaw]

I think she poops more often than she should, and when she does poop, it's loose and there's lots of it. She has nasty gas too, but... that's a bit of a boxer trait so I won't pin that on the food, lol. If her poop was normal I'd have no complaints. And I'm probably way off on my thinking, but I thought maybe lower protein would help.

When we were at our cabin over the 4th of July, I couldn't get her to eat her food at all, but my brother feeds his dogs Eukanuba and she was scarfing that up, and I did notice her poop was looking better in that short amount of time. I'm not going to put her on Eukanuba of course, but that just tells me something about her diet needs to be fixed.

This store doesn't sell Acana or Orijen... and I can't go any more expensive than TOTW, which is $45 for 30lbs. It was like pulling teeth to get my mom to agree to that one.

I'm not dead set on Chicken Soup, it's just one of the few brands I know this store carries that isn't expensive. What do you think about Wellness?

 

[ihartgonzo]

Wellness is a good food. My friend raised her puppy on Wellness (the grain free formula), and she turned out NICE!

I would get a bunch of samples, feed them to her as treats, find one that she really likes and see if her poops/etc improves as you begin mixing it with TOTW. Eukanuba and stuff like that is made to be palatable and to produce solid poops (albeit a lot of them) with artificial flavorings and beet pulp and junk... what formula of TOTW are you feeding? Maybe try switching over to a different meat source, as well. Gonzo always has loose poops on lamb-based kibbles. Some dogs just don't tolerate certain types of meat, without exactly being allergic.

 

[Southpaw]

She's on the Wetlands formula.

I'll have to look at what other brands the store has, but, I would assume Innova wouldn't be more expensive than TOTW, so I think I'll give that a try. And hopefully that works out so I won't have to try out anything else. Haha.

Thanks for your help