Is the food causing frequent pooping?

[Beth & Piper]

Bailey has been with us for 2 weeks and is now 15 1/2 weeks old. He came from the breeder eating Life's Abundance, but over a 10 day period we transitioned him over to Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken Meal and Rice, which is an all life stage formula. As far as I can tell, Bailey is doing fine, except he poops as much as he pees! He was going up to 7 times a day, once after each of his 3 meals, again about 2-3 hours later, and a couple of days he went when he woke up. The last 2 nights he woke up during the night, went out and pooped. Last night he went a 3 time before bedtime and again at 3:30 and 6:00 this morning; I think he went 10 or 11 times in a 24 hour period!!

This is not diarrhea; his stools are formed, small to normal in size, and have the consistency of play doh. The only think different is last night he did throw up some barely digested food, but I blame that on the grass, dirt, leaves etc.. he decided to eat while playing in the yard. He acted fine and I remember my older doodle throwing up occasionally when nibbling on crap.

I am use to a food not agreeing with a dog causing diarrhea along with the frequent stools. Can a food be a problem if it is just causing normal, frequent stools? Is this just an immature bowel as he is just a puppy?

Eagle Pack Holistic Select is coming out with a new puppy food in the next week that I thought I would try. It is similar to the small and mini breed formula in that the main protein will be Anchovy & Sardine Meal. My older doodle eats the EP Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meals and does great on it. Bailey is a mini goldendoodle so neither of the EP HS puppy formulas fit him, but the new one will.

So is pooping 7-11 times a day abnormal for a puppy? Should I change proteins to see if there is a change? Bailey actually belongs to my daughter who recently graduated for college and is living at home while waiting for a job out of state. She really does not want to buy high in food as she has seen the problems Piper has had over the years; Piper has food allergies as well as bouts of colitis. the vet of course tried to tell my daughter that these foods were not necessary for the dog and that what you get at the chain pet stores was fine. Times have changed and the chains are starting to get some of the better quality foods, but as a whole, I wouldn't feed most of what they sell. My daughter agreed to Eagle Pack and she wants to make sure Bailey eats a food that no matter where she lives or travels that she can always buy a bag nearby.

[Beth & Piper]

I didn't mean to imply that Piper's issues have any thing to do with Bailey; I just mentioned that to illustrate what I have done in the past and are willing to do again if needed. I am not stuck on feeding any particular food, just one that works for each dog and is easy to get. I have already had the go around with the vet about not feeding RX diet to Piper, so he knows my feelings about the food I feed.

The thing about Bailey and his poop is that it is always normal. If it weren't for the frequency, I wouldn't even worry about it. I really wonder if because we take him out so much during housebreaking, that he just likes to empty his bowels along with his bladder! I have never had a smaller dog and Piper was so much larger, that I have no idea how large a normal poop should be; maybe he just makes 1/2 poops each time he goes.

I have been looking over foods again for Bailey; the problem is, I don't know what, it anything is causing the frequency of bowel movements. If I could pinpoint an ingredient it would be so much easier.

[Beth & Piper]

Well, we decide to try California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice. As this is a very simple food, I should have an idea if the chicken is the issue, or maybe an additive. Transition began tonight so it will be a couple of weeks before I really know if this helps.

[Janie]

Karen, juat read what you said about chicken fat being in the first five ingredients. Natures Vareity has chicken fat as the fifth ingredient....so I guess I have to find a different dog food again.... ..sigh. I wish I knew where Blue Wilderness made their food. Sounds like a great food and I can get it without going to far away from home.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Janie, which formula of NV?

[Janie]

Prairie Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Medley

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Email the company and ask them if the ingredients are imported, and if the food is made in the U.S....most companies will respond to you pretty quickly.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's true that smaller dogs do seem to "go" more often than big dogs. My miniature poodle pooped 2-3 times a day, and it seemed like a lot to me because I was used to 1-2 times. I'm sure, though, that when they do go, they empty their bowels completely; I don't think they would have the control or desire to just poop out half of what they could and save the rest for next time, lol. It's pretty much a reflexive action.
But 7-11 times day is way too much, IMO, and I think that too much indigestible plant fiber in the diet could contribute to that.