Switching puppy food after bland diet

[Paul Schumacher]

We got our wonderful pup a few days ago and she had upset stomach and loose stool, so vet put her on bland diet. Her stools are firming up and she feels fine. When we switch back to kibble, is it ok to switch to a new brand or should we go back to what the breeder fed her?

I know the transition between foods needs to be gradual, but dont know if this bland diet might be good opportunity to switch or if it's even more reason not to switch right now and introduce another variable.

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Did the vet do a fecal test to rule out giardia or other parasites? 

It's critical that you not change anything about her diet for at least two weeks after she comes home. That means you keep her on the food and treats the breeder is feeding, even if they aren't so great.

Do not introduce any new treats or chews either. Keep her diet exactly the same as it was at the breeder's. 

Many, many doodle puppies come home with giardia and other parasites. Giardia has a 10-14 day incubation period, so it won;t show up in a fecal test right away. The excitement and stress of leaving the mother, the litter, and the only home the puppy has ever known can contribute to tummy troubles, too. And an 8 week old puppy has only been eating solid food of any kind for about 4 weeks, so the digestive system is very immature.

We have even had members whose brand new puppies had serious health issues resulting in digestive symptoms.

If you change the food before the dog has had a chance to settle in, and before any parasite issues have time to show up in a fecal test, and the dog has diarrhea, you will not know if it's caused by the food change, stress, parasites, or a digestive illness, and the breeder will blame it on the food change. Thus begins a journey of frustration trying to figure it out and an endless round of food changes. You also don;t want to do anything to upset that delicate digestive system, as diarrhea can cause a young puppy to dehydrate very quickly, and is going to make housebreaking a whole lot tougher.

So you wait. If you leave the dog's diet exactly as is, and diarrhea develops, you have just eliminated any connection to food as the cause, and saved yourself a lot of aggravation. And of course, if the puppy comes home with diarrhea that doesn't resolve in a day, you know your breeder sent you a puppy with an intestinal parasite and you can probably recoup the cost of the fecal testing and the treatment, lol. (I personally would have fecal done on any new puppy I got, along with a general once-over at the vet's office, but parasites may not show up right away.)

So wait at least two weeks. If, after two weeks, the stool is firm and regular and everything seems fine with the pup's digestion, you can start changing her over. Make only one change at a time. 

Please join The DK Food Group. Rx foods from the vet are garbage, contain no medicine or therapeutic ingredients of any kind, and are not recommended ever, for many reasons. It's very easy to make your own "bland diet" with plain old cooked chicken and rice, and it's also cheaper and much healthier than the corn and by-products in the Rx food.

I would not introduce another food yet. Go back to the breeder's food until you are sure that everything is fine with her digestive system.

[K and Racey]

Great advice Karen!

[Paul Schumacher]

Thank you for this quick and detailed response, Karen! She is doing ok with her bland diet now. Tummy seems to be settling, vet took fecal sample for testing, which we should fine results from today or tomorrow.