Switched from wellness to fromm. how long does it take?

[Anna]

Well - so after having a lot of dirrahea with the Wellness puppy.  I switched Buck to Fromm puppy gold.  the very first thing I noticed was his feeding behavior.  When other owners talk about how their pups inhale their food and beg for more.  I've never seen this behavior with Buck.  He usually don't show much enthusiasm for food.  He would eat a few bites and then go play or lay down or chew on a toy.  then he would go back for a couple more bites.  But as soon as I swtiched over to Fromm - he INHALED the food and kept going back to the bag and giving me his pitiful look.

(so for the first few days,  he would scarf his food down... but since yesterday,, he seems not as excited about it)

 

Well - so it's been a week so far and his poop is very similiar to what he had with wellness.  Its odd - I can't really understand it.   Usually his first bowel movement is pretty firm.   Then he usually has another one a minute later - and that one is really soft, gooey mess.

So with fromm - he seems to be continuing with this weird poop method.

 

And his farts !!!    he had bad gas with Wellness - but its TERRIBLE now.  I literally can't stand to be in the same room.

 

And he seems to be itchy,  he's scratching himself a lot more.

 

We don't give him any treats bc he seems to have a sensitive stomach so i haven't figured out what he can safely eat yet (we only give zuke mini chicken treats - for when he goes potty)

 

So my question is

Is his poop thing - weird?  why is it firm and then its liquidy?

And also - how long do I wait - to see if Fromm is better for him?

Do you think the farts and the itching is bad (or is that part of the transition?)

  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know how long it's been since you made the switch, but the itching is unrelated, I promise you. It just hasn't been long enough for something in the new food to be causing some kind of allergic reaction.

It takes some puppies a LONG time for their digestive systems to settled down. Months. The gas may be part of that.

How old is Buck now, and how many times a day are you feeding him? How much food does he get at each meal?

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

not an expert here, but Lilly has been on Canidae All stage with grain since she was weaned.. All the breeder's dogs are on this. no farts/ firm poops.. I order hers on line since we ive out in the country when we are in Nebraska.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing is, every dog is different, and what works for one may not work for another. canidae is on our recommended list, but there's no reason to believe that Buck would do any better on it than he's done on Wellness or Fromm. There are so many variables...the main protein source, the presence or absence of grain, the percentages of each, etc.

Lots of FG dogs eat Fromms and have no issues. So I don't think the brand is the problem.

Anna, what formula of Fromm's are you using? And which Wellness formula were you using?

[F, Calla & Luca]

As feces passes through the colon more water is removed. Sometimes the initial feces is firm, since it's been in the colon longer but the end of the movement is softer, if transit time is rapid. I see this sometimes in my dogs and it's no big deal. Overall, my doodles are settled on Acana and have no poop problem.

[Anna]

that's very interesting.   So if his poop is firm in the beginning.  then its OK if he has really soft poop towards the end.?

And that is what is so confusing with Buck.  I told the vet about this.  and he asked if he as dirrahea all the time.  I told him that in the morning his poop is pretty firm - but later in the day - its goo.  i think if Buck had dirrahea all day long - then its cause for concern - but I'm concerned now - bc I really HATE picking up smelly goo off of my lawn. 

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I wouldn't worry too much. You could try grain free. That really helps, at least for my two. It is a mess to pick up soft poop : )

[Anna]

karen

Buck is 4 1/2  months old.  he has been eating the wellness puppy since we got him at 9 weeks.

he gets a cup of food three times a day

he is approx 25 pounds

i switched him to fromm puppy gold

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Part of the problem may be that it looks like you're overfeeding him. Three cups per day is too much for a dog of his age and breed-mix, according to the Fromm website:

http://www.frommfamily.com/products-g-d-puppy.php

[F, Calla & Luca]

That is a lot of food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And if Anna is doing what I used to do, filling a standard measuring cup to the brim without paying attention to where the 1 cup line is, it's actually even more than that.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree - probably too much food for Buck right now.

 

I will add that Peri had icky poos the first few months she was home (probably until she was 4-5 months old).  I was transitioning food, she was in a new place, etc....  It just took time!

[Anna]

i didn't realize that i was feeding too much.  I'll cut back.

But even if I was feeding him more than the recommended amt.

Would giving him too much food - cause the dirrahea/ gooey poop?