Puppy Food help

[Lauren Armstrong]

Hi,

My doodle buddy is 4.5 months now for the first 4 months of his life he was fed on royal canin large breed puppy food, After some thought i changed his food to waggs as he just wasn't interested in royal canin and would only eat the minimum (I know its not the best quality but its easier to get hold off than royal canin) now hes the same with this dried food, he was ok at first so i put gravy with it and he gulped it down. After speaking t my mum as she had the same problem with her lurcher she said try him on wet food as he must be fussy (obviously a poodle trait!) bought some butchers puppy food and i mix it with the dry stuff he loves it,

now after two week he has terrible diarrhoea, he was fine at first but its been all week. Do you think i need to change the  meat? i don't really want to keep changing brands etc as i know you shouldn't when they are small. Or do you think it could be he treats and dentastix i have been giving him, he only has half a day? we go away on our first holiday next week in wales so i would like him sorted before as i dont want to be struggling to pick up runny poo on a haven site! 

Thanks

[Ginny Nightingale]

First of all, doodles have sensitive stomachs LOTS of times--you need to introduce new foods SLOWLY! Food changes should take a month to accomplish, introducing just a tiny bit of the new food the first day and gradually increasing. When my pups leave me (I am a breeder) I tell the folks to give them only their puppy kibble for the first month--no new treats or food changes.

All the changes you have made already are too much for him--once you get his intestine settled down with something bland like boiled chicken and rice for a few days until his stool is firm again, you should stick to one food and no canned food, dentastix or treats--you have introduced too many things at once. Many dogs can not tolerate a lot of the chewy things they sell. My dogs can not have cow hooves or bully sticks for example, but are fine on their food and the same old treats. 

Some doodles are grazers and are picky eaters---just give him the kibble once you get him back to a normal state and let it sit in his bowl until he feels like eating it or feed him small meals more times a day. After some time, you can get a good quality canned food as a topper and mix it in--but just a teaspoon at first! I like Wellness canned food--95% chicken, lamb or beef are all great.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was going to direct you to our DK Food Group and our list of recommended food brands, but from your post, it appears you are in the UK and so the brands are for the most part going to be unavailable in your area. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with your local brands. I'm thinking that with all the dog forums on the internet, there must be one for your area, and perhaps you can get some advice on brands there.

I second Ginny's advice, and I would add that it might be a good idea to have a fecal done just to be sure that isn't a parasite issue causing the runny stool.

I'd also add that fussiness about food is not necessarily a Poodle trait. My purebred Poodles were nowhere near as picky about food as my labradoodle. :) 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I feed my boys dry kibble - a high quality one, but pretty much nothing else and they are very healthy.  If they get something else to eat - like lots of treats in a day, they will have loose stools. If they seem to have a bit of a tummy upset,  I put plain unflavored yogurt on their food for  a few meals.