Puppy poop question...

[Laura & Chewie]

Chewie is 12 weeks today and doing great. He came from the breeder @ 8 weeks eating Purina Pro Plan Puppy and I knew, based on my research, we would be changing to something different. I gave him a week or so to adjust to his new surroundings before switching. I had narrowed down the choices to 1/2 dozen or so, didn't know how to pick from these, so just decided on Wellness for Puppies. I transitioned him slowly...over a 11-12 day period and he has now been eating only the Wellness for about a week. Is it normal that the first stool that comes out is firm, but as he goes a little more, they become looser? Definitely not diarrhea, but ranging anywhere from formed and much softer to barely formed. They are not watery, nor show signs of irritation (mucous, etc.). He was not like this on the Purina. The number of times/day has not increased (3-5) and his appetite is great.
Could he still be adjusting to the new food...even with a transition period and having been on it a week?

TIA for your responses! BTW, I love this site...so much wonderful info.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri experienced the exact same thing while I was switching her to Taste of the Wild. She never ate any of the old puppy food once I added TOTW to it. It took about 2 weeks for all poops to be firm. Our vet suggested we add some Fortiflora powder to the top to help ease the transition (helps add good bacteria to stools). I wouldn't worry about this right now. If it goes on longer, you may want to try a new food.

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

I'm in agreement with Allyson - give it a little more time to transition. You also might want to check to make sure you're not OVERfeeding Chewie, too - sometimes loose stool happens when you're feeding your pup a little too much in terms of portion size. Maybe he needs to be on the low end of serving size, at least in the beginning. It will get better, I promise!

[F, Calla & Luca]

My 2 definitely have firmer stool at the beginning and looser stool at the end of a movement . I think physiologically this makes sense since the first stool has had more time for water to be reabsorbed back into the body.

[Adina P]

For what it's worth...when Rosco was a pup this was pretty much his poop. Granted I had him on a food that now is supposedly not so great (Nutro Natural Choice) but outside of the soft poop at the end he was a healthy pup!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I know a vet that claims that puppies are better on Purina (this is not what we feed); he says that Purina has enzymes in it that are easy on the belly and build up their systems so that they can tolerate foods as they mature. I have relayed this to clients who have had poop issues and they tried it and it fixed their poop.

The vet claims that the protein levels are too high in high end kibble, he claims that dogs need carbs and that when in the wild they get their carbs by eating the stomach contents of dead animals. He says that dog food companies are all basically owned by a hand full of makers and that there is very little end difference in the low end and high end foods.

We prefer raw and do include veggies and carbs in our dog's diet.