Still having issues with Orijen

[Katie]

I'm really getting frustrated with my food issues.

My vet is beginning to give me a hard time about changing foods.  She says "although she is gaining weight nicely, I'm not too concerned but I can still feel her ribs and back.  I would like to see her filling out more"  She says the puppy food is too rich and she probably needs some healthy grains. She the first one to say shes not familiar with Orijen as there are too many on the market and she cant keep up with them all. 

Her poo has never seemed good and firm but they are tootsie rollish from time to time.  Mostly, she has poo that looks like pudding.  She is still only going 3-4 times a day so not a lot of frequency.  

I watch what she eats all day so no treats or people food and nothing outside. 

I do allow her beef trachea to chew on.

I'm watching the amount we feed her as maybe I am over feeding. She was getting about 1 1/2 cup a day.  once in the morning and once in the evening. I'll back that down to about a cup a day.  The vet will have a fit as she says thats not even thought I'm following the recomendations.  

Luna is 24 lbs and other wise a normal crazy doodle. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Pooping 3-4 times a day???? Enzo is on Orijen and we're lucky if she goes twice a day! The usual, for her, is once a day.

[Laura and Angus]

Our pup is on Earthborn Holistic (grain-free) and he goes 3-4 times a day. I think he thinks that whenever we walk he need to go or something...he's a weirdo.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Katie, it's only been 18 days since you posted a similar discussion, and Luna has gained 3.5 lbs since then. I honestly think that maybe you should switch vets. How much more "filling out" would she like to see, when the puppy has gained more than 15% of her total body weight in 2 and a half weeks?

Please re-read my advice to you in your last discussion:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/still-h...

Your vet is also the one who prescribed Hill's i/d, if I'm not mistaken. And you've tried a high quality food with grains, the Fromm Puppy formula, and that wasn't a good choice for her either. So I really think you should ignore your vet's advice about food, as strange as that may seem. I do wonder what she thinks grain has to do with it, though. Typically, poop is frimer on grain-free foods, as they have more digestible ingredients and less fillers. 

I'd give it another couple of weeks, and be really strcit about her diet. If you are still giving the enzymes you had mentioned previously, I'd stop those. I'd order some Proviable DC probiotics. I really think she just needs to build up some good intestinal flora. I'm assuming you've stopped the pig ears. I'd use only pure protein treats like Purebites. 

I really have nothing to add to that. What the vet is saying clearly makes no sense. Have you been giving her the probiotics? Stopped the enzymes? 

I would not cut back to 1 cup a day, that's not enough. 

[Katie]

Karen, are you still thinking I should simply give it more time?  I just don't understand why her poop is so soft - it not right.  It seems very sticky and tarry.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think she needs the probiotics. I cannot overemphasize the difference they make. 

[Katie]

I ordered the probiotics that you suggested  last night.  

Is thins something she will take daily for the rest of her life?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not for the rest of her life, but for a good month or so, and any time she is ever on any kind of antibiotics. After that, it would probably be a good idea to give her some plain unflavored nonfat yogurt daily, perhaps with her meals. 

[linda giorgi]

Morgan had the same problem with dog food. I cooked her food sinces she was 9 weeks old. Every time I tried to switch her over to dog food she would start the loose stools. Sometimes actually shooting out with a lot of force. This was doing a slow switch. I was told tby Karen from the dog food group to try Acana duck and bartlett pear singles formula dry dog food. I have been adding a little at a time with her home cooked food and has a hard poopie still. I also starting using Nutramax Proviable KP for dogs. Its a paste you give 2 times a day. I think this is what really helped Morgan. She had parasites and was on Antibiotics for  a while so this helped put back the good bacteria in her gut. Hope you can solve your dogs food problem.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle usually poops first thing in the morning. Sometimes that is it. Once in awhile she might go in the evening when we are out playing with her but not always. She is on Orijen and I rotate the regular with the six fish, her poops are perfect. Is your vet just trying to get you on Hills? That would be a red flag for me and would look for a new vet if she didn't stop it.

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

I also think that sounds like a lot of pottying?  Both my girls are on Fromm but they've never pooped more than 2x per day (except a few episodes when there have been tummy issues).  Many days now, Beasley goes once and Eloise is starting to do the same.

Although mine haven't had issues adjusting to a food - knock on wood - the probiotics do work wonders.  I buy the Proviable capsules from chewy.com.  Before I found this site, Eloise had been on antibiotics with a hot spot, and her poo was messed up for weeks on end - always soft, sometimes heading towards soupy.  Beasley had a series of UTIs and was on antibiotics off and on for a few months; the probiotics made all the difference.  Hers stayed normal the whole time.  I usually open the capsule up and sprinkle the powder on their food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, the antibiotics, especially metronidazole, are usually the cause of ongoing stool issues in puppies. The Proviable really helps with that.

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

And much gratitude to you, Karen, for all the wisdom you share here!  My vet never said a word about probiotics when Eloise was first prescribed cephalexin.  (I like my vet, but have many of the same frustrations that you and others here express...I figure all is well as long as I can supplement their veterinary care with DK wisdom ;) ) 

I also would've never known about the metronidazole issues.  Thankfully I'd found DK by the time she suggested it for Eloise's unexplained brief tummy upset, so I knew to decline it without a diagnosis and all was well.  I felt glad that neither girl ever had metro...until I was out of town last month, and Beasley started with diarrhea at the dogsitter's.  Long story short, it was bad enough, she ended up taking her to the vet and she came home on metro.  I was crestfallen!  Thankfully she's fine now and the probiotics made the round of metro (seemingly) okay.

So, long story longer, thank you for all you do here to help us as doodle owners!  You and your knowledge are priceless!  :)