More about food and stools

[Allison and Wilson R. K.]

For those of you that don't know, we have a 12 week old Australian Labradoodle who seems to have a sensitive tummy.

 

What I want to know is this:

 

As you introduce a new food, is it normal to have loose stools right away? Should I keep trying to slowly introduce the new food even though it seems to have affected him negatively?

 

He's on ID now and when it's straight ID, he's got regular and good stool. I'm transitioning him to Taste of the Wild Duck.

 

Additionally, has anyone had negative experiences with milk bones? I bought some of the little ones at Whole Foods (bulk) and give him one or two a day. Could that be causing it?

 

Any and all experiences and advice so welcome!

[Diana Erhart]

You  may want to consider what is in the milk bones.  I know after alot of trial and error with my Charlie, I finally figured out that ANYTHING with chicken in it will give him loose stools, including treats.  You will have some loose stools with transitioning, but know the ingredients in everything you are giving and try to keep them as simple as possible until you figure it out.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Twelve weeks is very young to be going through major food changes. Go slow with the transitioning; when his digestive system has matured and he's accustomed to getting a lot of variety in his diet, you can switch back and forth with no problem. But for now, he's been through enough changes.

Hopefully you read the discussion about why you should never allow your dog to be put on Rx food like ID. It will take a while for his digestive system to regulate itself back after being on that stuff. Try giving him a tablespoon of plain, lowfat unflavored yogurt (NOT Greek, NOT Activia, NOT vanilla) twice a day, that may help.

I agree with Diana, don't feed anything, even a treat, if you don't know the source or the ingredients. I would eliminate all treats until his stomach settles down. Try cooking some plain white meat chicken and giving him very small pieces of that if you need to treat him.

Keep us posted.

[Diane and Alma]

Alma has a sensitive stomach too.  She is on Orijen and her stools are firm.  I have to closely watch the treats that she gets.  Usually I just give her bits of cooked chicken for training and rewards.  I also switched her off of TOTW because the preservative they use for fish is controversial. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

TOTW no longer uses fish meal preserved with ethoxyquin. It's fine now.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I think it is pretty normal for a 12 week puppy to have loose stools, and its totally normal for a dog to have loose stools while transitioning foods. 

 

I would cut out the milk bones, and stick to grain free duck treats as thats what your feeding (not dehydrated duck strips as that comes from china and is irradiated)

 

A dog with a sensitive stomach can take a while to adjust to a new food, so be prepared for it to take a while.

 

I personally stay away from the yogurt though a lot of people do recommended it, as most dogs are lactose intolerant (dairy intolerant). I would try canned pumpkin (a teas spoon with each meal) or get a pro biotic to add to the food for a while

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's funny; I know that some of dogs are lactose intolerant, ( I wouldn't say most of them are, most dogs eat cheese with no problems) but for some reason, yogurt does seem to agree with most dogs.

You can buy duck and chicken jerky that are not from China, and are simply dehydrated strips. But I'd go easy on anyn kind of treats for now.

 

It's really not normal for a 12 week old puppy to have consistently loose stools. It seems to be more the case with doodle puppies, for some reason. And we hear more about it here, because people who aren't having problems don't post about it. But a healthy 12 week old puppy should have fairly well-formed stools.

[Adina P]

It's thought that the bacteria in yogurt helps to digest some of the lactose.  And cheese has a less lactose than fluid milk.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

THANK YOU! I've been wondering about that!

[BG and Gavin]

I would steer clear of the Milk Bones.  I thing they are like junk food for dogs.  Tastey, but not very good for them :)

Maybe try a biscuit like "Mother Hubbards."

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I have horror stories of food transitioning...too many to write about. Suffice to say, it took a long time and a lot of trial and error. I am now ecstatic because we finally have her on Orijen and her stools are firm and her belly is happy.

You are lucky you have DK to go to for help, I did not discover DK until well after that mess. Only had the Vet (with him even Science Diet was in the mix - OMD).

Hang in there and listen to these ladies, they know of which they speak (write - ha ha).