Switching off of Wellness

[Kristin & Hudson]

Hudson has been on Wellness Puppy for about a month now and I am just not happy with his stool since we switched.  It is never firm enough, they are somewhat formed but loose.  And since we switched he has now pooped either 2 or 3 times each time he goes potty.  The first poop is somewhat formed, then the 2nd and sometimes 3rd poop is softer and loose.  Two nights ago my DH had to take him out at 1AM because he had to go (he's never done this before).  He said he shot a rocket of poop out!!  It literally flew out of him.  So I really need to switch the poor guys food.  The past two weeks I've added a Tbsp of pumpkin to his food.  Haven't really noticed a difference with this.  When I transitioned him to the Wellness I was adding yogurt and I think he might have done a little bit better with that but it still wasn't good enough.  The breeder had him on Go Natural chicken and he did great on it.  I couldn't get it locally so I decided to switch him to the Wellness (which is also cheaper). I am now regretting the switch.  SO what food should I go to now?  I've been researching all the recommended foods here.  I thought of just going back to the Go Natural since he did great on it but thought if I can find another food at a local store a bit cheaper I would do that.  Of course if nothing works I will definitely go back to the Go Natural since we know that agrees with his system.  I can get the Fromm gold large breed puppy food (he's expected to be 60-65 lbs at maturity) and am thinking of trying that.  It's priced about the same as the Wellness.  Right now I am thinking of keeping him on a healthy grains diet but should I consider going grain free?  Since he did well originally on a healthy grain diet I thought he would be ok to continue with it.  Oh, for treats he gets Castor & Pollux organix chicken treats in his kong 2x a day.  He also gets Zukes minis when we have training class twice a week.  Occasionally he will get either PB in kong, yogurt, some bananas, or carrots. Sorry for the long post but I want to make sure we do this correctly.  I need some food group encouragement :)

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Parker was having the exact same problems...his first poop of the day was OK and then as the day went on, they got softer and softer. I switched him the the blue buffalo wilderness puppy (grain free) and that is the ONLY THING that has made his poops healthy and solid and formed...he just does better with a grain free diet I guess. I haven't tried the Fromm and the Orijen that everyone suggests was kind of expensive when I saw it at Pet Goods in paramus but the Blue Buffalo is priced like the wellness as well and it is a grain free specifically for puppies which I liked. Worth a shot? Let me know how Hudson does! We still need to make a plan to get him and Parker together for a swim!

[Kristin & Hudson]

So glad that Parker is doing well with the Blue Buffalo, that's good to know.  I've considered this food as well.  And yes we still need to get them together!!  This weekend probably won't work, we have a few things going on.  But possibly next weekend?  Hope your mom is doing ok too!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm quite impressed that your breeder was feeding Go! Natural, obviously a breeder who cares  more about the helath of her dogs than she does about trying to save money on food.

If you can find it in your area, or don't mind ordering your food on-line, that would be my choice if she previously did well on it.

If not, Fromm is also an excellent brand, and you don't need the large-breed formula, but it's fine if you want to use it.

 

 

[Kristin & Hudson]

Thanks Karen!!  I was impressed that she had them on Go Natural too.  I switched because it is more expensive than other foods and I couldn't get it in a local store.  I did order a few bags online when he first came home and am certainly not opposed to ordering online if I have to. My breeder suggested Solid Gold if we couldn't find the Go Natural.  I did just call a local pet store and they said they could get it for me if I wanted.  So it's an option.

I wasn't sure if I needed to go with the regular Fromm puppy or large breed so thanks for that advice.  I am liking the Fromm because it is cheaper and I can get it locally and online.  Decision, decisions....

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Both of my boys have had soft or runny poos eating the Orijen - I started adding a small amount of raw - I buy the frozen Primal - and it has firmed it right up.  Rooney gets a 1 oz nugget per 1/2 cup kibble and Stuart is getting 2 - 1 oz nuggets per 1 1/2 cups of kibble.  Worked like a charm. 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have to admit, sometimes Peri has perfect poops, sometimes they are not!  She loves her food and is completely happy with the varying proteins (we switch to a new formula within the Fromm 4-Star brand every new bag).

I do think when we give her peanut butter, it softens her poos. 

Fromm is a great food and you could defiitely give that a go.  And I agree that it is affordable.

[Kristin & Hudson]

So I did the math and it turns out that the Fromm food is only .20 cents cheaper per serving than the Go Natural.  So it's a no brainer, I'm switching back to the Go Natural.  Just ordered it online!!!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree!!!!!!!!! Keep us posted.

[Anna]

I'm switching from wellness right now too.

Buck has been on the the wellness puppy food and his poop has always been on the soft side.  Its weird cuz its pretty firm in the morning and afternoon and then at night - he'll have really soft pasty ones.  And he didn't eat anything else inbetween meals.  I told my vet this - and he said he would be concerned if the poop was soft/pasty all the time.  but bc it is firm sometimes - he doesnt think its the food.   He has a sensitive stomach and everytime - he has something besides food - like peanut butter or any kind of treat (except zuke) he has dirrahea.   I would love to give him some type of treat or chews or bones - but it seems like everything gives him dirrahea.  poor thing. 

 

I was talking with a lady from his training class - who sells fromm.   She thinks we should put him on the fromm gold - large-breed puppy.   I'm thinking about it - cuz I heard from some people here that blue buffalo - gives a lot of pups gas.  And Buck is so stinky as it is - I can't risk more gas.   Its enough to paralyze you.   

 

Karen - the lady said that the large breed is better for Buck - so that he doesn't grow too fast - which is bad for larger breeds.   can you help me understand this?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The concerns about large breed puppies growing too fast really only apply to dogs who are expected to reach 80+ lbs or more as adults; the giant breeds like St. Bernards, Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds, who can take more than 18 mos. to complete their skeletal growth. There's not a whole lot of difference between the Fromm Gold Puppy Formula and the Lg. Breed Puppy Formula. The Large Breed formula has one percent less protein (26% as opposed to 27%) and four percent less fat (14% as opposed to 18%). The amount of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids is slightly less in the Lg. formula, but the 6:3 ratio is just about the same. The Large Breed formula contains 30 fewer calories per cup than the regular puppy formula, but the feeding guidelines are the same, which means that the caloric intake is less for dogs on the Large breed formula than on the regular formula, assuming you follow the guidelines and feed the same amount of food per day. The idea here is that the dog will gain weight more slowly, not really that they will grow more slowly.

There is very little risk of a doodle puppy growing too fast on a regular puppy formula, or on an ALS formula, which many DK puppies eat, as long as you don't overfeed them. Calories are calories, and that's the main difference between the two foods. It won't hurt to feed the large breed formulas, but you really don't need to. And I personally feel that the more protein a growing dog gets, the better...within reason, of course.

I personally like Fromm as a brand better than Blue Buffalo. Hope this helps.

[Anna]

thanks Karen. 

seriously - its scary - how much stuff you know.

I bet your brain is HUGE

 

I was looking at a website - heartypup.com   and they seem to have a lot of treats that seem really healthy.

I'm having trouble deciding between all the different protein choices.  (i.e. beef, chicken, duck, salmon...)

Do you know if certain meats are better for dogs like Buck with his sensitive stomach? 

 

Do you think Go natural is better than Fromm?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I cannot find any heartypup.com website.

Unless a dog has a sensitivity or allergy to a specific animal protein, (and the only way you could know that would be to do a three month food elimination trial), there is no certain protein that's "better" for a dog than another. It has more to do with the from it's in, i.e. is it baked, mashed, pureed, chopped, fresh home-cooked, raw, dried, etc.

You cannot say that one high-quality brand (Go Natural) is "better" than another one (Fromm). I can say that Go Natural is a better brand than Ol' Roy, and that the foods are higher quality, because of the company that makes it. But to compare two foods, you have to look at the specific formula, NOT just the brand. You have to compare apples to apples, i.e. compare Go Natural Salmon formula to Fromm Salmon a la Veg formula. And even then, we can look and see that one may have more protein or less o something else, but we still cannot say which one is "better" in terms of how it works for your particular dog. Both are excellent companies, but one formula of Go Natural might work better for your dog than another formula of the same brand, or better than a comparable food from Fromm. It's trial and error.

My brain isn't any bigger than anyone else's, lol. It's just a matter of reading.