How soon is 'too soon' to switch to a new food for sensitive tummy doodles????

[Heather & Jake]

For all of us out there with doodles who have sensitive stomachs and are on the search for a food that works... Beware this is long, I'm sorry but I needed to put in the details.

How soon is it okay to switch to a new food if the one your testing doesn't seem to work???  I know it is supposed to take a few weeks, but after reading stories of those out there with doods with the same symptoms/issues as Jake, when they find a food that works, it is evident within a few days it seems. 

Jake was originally on Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy for months with rice, yogurt, and pumpkin mixed in.  This didn't work so the vet suggested I try Hills' w/d.  This seemed to work alright but still not right by any means and I wasn't keen on the idea of prescription food.  We next switched to Solid Gold WolfCub with the w/d as the medium to try a different protein source.  After reading posts on here, I transitioned him off of the w/d (as horrible as it sounds it's the only thing that ever made his poop firm, but still it wasn't right, looking like he didn't even digest anything. It was bright yellow and so dense it crumbled apart like a handful of grain).  For 3 weeks we switched from the w/d to the Solid Gold it just got worse the less w/d the more SolidGold he had, and the very worst when the w/d was finally gone.  During this time, I added some of the Honest Kitchen supplement Perfect Form and it seemed to work for a few days, and then as he got more Solid Gold, less w/d, it seemed to not work at all. 

After talkign to Karen and since Jake had never been on a grain free food, I decided to try Orijen 6 fishes and began mixing that in 50/50 with the Solid Gold since his stool was already so bad.  I was hoping the grain free might make a difference.... well it made a difference all right.  He's gone from bad to worse!  He's been on the Orijen since 6/17 and now he's at 80/20 with the Solid Gold so I haven't done a full change yet. I'm still adding in the Perfect Form as well.  This morning I added in green beans and yogurt to his food to see if that will help.

Since we've been switching over to Orijen, Jake's stool has gotten darker in color, it was always bright yellow before, but it is now just dark colored soup, I wouldn't even call it pudding.  Also since day 1 that he came home, he has pooped at the same times, every day.  Now is he all messed up and we take him out about every hour because we never know when he needs to go.  When we need to run out for a little bit, he has for the first time ever not been able to control it inside the house and has been having accidents. Even during house training he never once pooped in the house!! 

Today Jake had not pooped since 8pm last night, and finally went at 1pm today.... it had a little bit of form so better than it has been the last few days (which was explosive and he needed a few butt baths) but when I picked it up, it immediately went to mush.  It also didn't take him as long to go.  I can't see how the this could be a positive effect that the yogurt and greens beans at breakfast helped because it's only been a few hours. Could it be that he might be adjusting to the grian free Orijen finally?  He has always been the type the longer he held it in the more form it had (more formed in the mornings, loose throughout the day), so I wonder if this one poop is just from that.

I feel so bad and don't want to mess him up by switching too quickly but since it seems to be getting much worse not better, I don't know what to do.  For the last 2 months my plan has been to try the Honest Kitchen, and after reading on here of other's success, I would like to try sooner than later.  To reiterate, it just seems that most who find a food that works it seems to start within a few days, not weeks.  Should I stick with Orijen a little longer? Or try home cooking first to see if I can get him a little better? Or just go switch to the Honest Kitchen?

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think you need to keep him on Orijen longer.  Also, maybe lay off the green beans and other additives for a while?  I know when I used to add stuff to my chihuahua's food, he had messed up poos.  And what is the Perfect Form?  Sorry I missed that earlier.  His tummy is just getting adjusted. I say if Orijen is not working out after fully switching and adding nothing else for 2 weeks, then you can transition to Honest Kitchen.  Too much transition in such a short time is just so hard on their digestive systems.

[Heather & Jake]

Sorry I didn't put in what it is!  Copied from the website, Perfect Form is "a supplement to support the normal healthy functioning of your pet’s digestive tract. This pet nutrition supplement combats gas, facilitates regularity, firms up loose stools, soothes and protects the GI Tract. Perfect Form is ideal for pets with Irritable Bowel (IBS), Colitis or occasional digestive upset." I was thinking about going 2 more weeks on Orijen and I could try no additives but I can't see how the Perfect Form or green beans and yogurt would make it any worse than it is now since those are supposed to be good for dogs with upset stomachs?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Something is making the food pass through his system faster than it should, without having a chance for the stool to become formed. My guess is it's the green beans, but the combination of a food with grains, a food without grains, insoluble plant fiber (green beans), the yogurt, and the Perfect Form are maybe just too much for him, and it's hard to tell which one is the culprit. We need to make things simpler, if only for "diagnostic" purposes. For sure leave out the green beans for now. Yogurt could also be a problem for dogs who are lactose intolerant. Some dogs just can't handle dairy products.

Perfect Form is a good product in itself, but we need to see if Jake's system can form normal stools without any help.

 

[Heather & Jake]

Wait faster than normal even though he went 18 hours between his last 2 poops?  He only just had the green beans once this morning.  And ok, no yogurt now :) Still the issue with no pumpkin to be found I'll call around maybe or can I cook/mash sweet potatoes?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When wastes (undigested food, etc) are passed through the system before the stool can form, that's diarrhea. The 18 hours between poops was not the norm for him, right? And it could have been the green beans that caused him to finally "go", even though the stool wasn't formed well.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think one problem with the switch to Orijen is that you mixed it with the Solid Gold. Since the SG contains grains, the benefits of being on a grain-free food still have yet to be seen. The switch should have been done cold-turkey, or at least over a period of not more than 5 days.

I would start giving him nothing but the Orijen, with maybe a spoonful of pumpkin and/or plainn, non-fat yogurt (NOT vanilla) with every meal, and nothing else. If his poop isn't firmed up in 4 days, we can look at other options.

Also, what other foods is Jake getting in the way of treats? That could also be causing the problems.

[Heather & Jake]

That could be it, I thought with the less grains with the switch you might notice it working more than the other, he only gets 1/4c as opposed to 2 and 1/4c of Orijen.  I'll knock that out tonight and try it all Orijen from here on out, as well as no Perfect Form.

As mentioned, I just picked up the plain yogurt and started that this morning, I'll keep up with that.  As for the pumpkin, I looked at 5 different grocery stores around me and everywhere is out!!!  So I grabbed the green beans instead, should I not add those at all as an alternative?

He does not get any treats what so ever other than a whole antler he chews on.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, so lactose intolerance is not the problem, if that just started today. Neither are treats.

How often is he being fed?

 

[Heather & Jake]

Yes the yogurt and green beans were just today.  He is fed twice a day at 7am and 5pm.

Same amounts both times.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Heather, I'd do just the Orijen and yogurt for now. No green beans or other vegetables if you can't get pumpkin.

 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is exactly what I would do. Plainer, the better.

[Heather & Jake]

Will do.  And yes the 18 hours is not normal for him at all!! He usually goes about 5 times a day, but then agian that's not really normal either.  And I just checked the green beans did have sodium in them, tossing now...