Swapping Cocoas food again

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

She came to me on Nutro and I bought a HUGE bag of it.... she had runny stool and being treated for possible Giardia so the vet talked me into canned RX food.

 

After this I swapped her out to Blue Buffalo puppy (chicken and rice)

 

She still had runny poo.... treating her more for Giarida- vet put her on RX food for 2 weeks to help calm her tummy issues down.

 

Tomorrow we do one last stool sample to test for Giardia again.  My honest opinon is we are dealing with a food issue not Giardia.  Stool was a lot better on the new food but the last couple days its gone down hill fast.  Stool was never 100% what I would call normal but most days pickupable.

 

Been having issues working with breeder but finally talked to her again (breeder is also a vet tech).  Breeder said her gut feeling is also food issues and told me a couple puppys from past litters familys have contacted her letting her know that they are chicken intolerant and they have delt with the runny stool issues for month like me.  She said they all swapped out to Taste Of The Wild -Samon and had success.

 

So I am going to drop off her stool sample tomorrow just to be sure but on my way home I am going to buy Taste of The Wild Salmon and give it a try.

 

How long on the new food do you give it a try before you know this is working or not?

Do I even bother to transition her at this point?  (I would have to buy more RX food to mix it if I did the recomended 10-14 days.....but I have 4 more days left and was just going to start mixing it in tomorrow).

 

 

*note to self SAVE reciept because I have large bag of Nutro & small bag of Blue with only a couple cups out of each that is going to waste :(

 

[Diana Erhart]

My Charlie is intolerant of chicken.  It took me many months to figure this out.  Personally I would just switch the food outright.  I believe it took Charlie only a couple of days until his poo firmed up.  If this works for Cocoa, remember to look for chicken as an ingredient in any treat that you may give her too.  I keep Charlie away from all chicken, which can somewhat limit options but it is worth it.  Good luck!

[BG and Gavin]

Sorry you are having this problem.  Drop off any food that you are not using to your local shelter.  They will thank you for it.

[Penny & Wrigley]

Hi Lindsey,
I've had similar issues though it was roundworm at first with lots of loose poops. My vet also recommended switching away from chicken and turkey based since I was feeding him chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul and we didn't know what was causing the problem after the worms cleared up. He also ate Rx food for a week and a half which helped a lot. I was nervous to switch since it was so nice to not have that problem anymore. I started transitioning him to TOTW pacific stream. He did well until we got to 50/50 mix and had one relapse of loose stool. I had just about run out of Rx food anyway and Karen (who is on the boards a lot) said switch cold turkey and so from that day on I stopped mixing and just gave him the new food. I also put a spoon of plain pumpkin and fat free plain yogurt with every meal and he has done great. Normal poops and sleeps through the night! He loves the food and I only give him kibble as treats right now.

Good luck! I know all dogs are different but the food worked for me. I feel ya on wasted money. I've got a 30 lb bag of food I don't know what to do with. It's open so I doubt anyone like a shelter would trust its safe :-(

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Thanks I think I will just swap her over this weekend.  2 weeks on the RX food was enough.  I just don't know if I should wait for the stool sample results first or not? But If I do that I will have to buy a couple days or RX food.

Sleeping through the night is not a problem for her, I stopped getting up last week (14 weeks old) and she has done great. She goes to bed about 9:00pm and my husband lets her out at 5:00am and then I get up at 8ish and let her out and feed her.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Stay with any new food for at least a month before giving up on it. Also, what kinds of treats are you giving? 

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Thanks Karen.

We have never given her treats. When we got her she was only 8 weeks and I wanted to wait a couple weeks to give her treats and then with all this runny stool problems I never have because we don't want to upset her tummy anymore.  I do how ever have a un open bag and CHICKEN is in listed so I wonder if Petsmart will take it back since its not open?

Now I would have no clue what treats to even buy once she is allowed to have them.

I have been so lucky that she is potty training, knows sit & shake with out the use of treats.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They should take it back. They may not give you a refund without a receipt, but at least you should get a store credit.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Thanks.... never done any toppers with her.

But sounds like chicken is a great place for me to start.  I am thinking about getting yogurt though for the probionic factor.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lindsey, I wouldn't make any changes in her diet right now as far as various toppers go. You need to try one thing at a time so you will know what's causing problems.

A spoonful of plain, unflavored nonfat yogurt with each meal would be fine for the probiotics, but I wouldn't add anything else.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

How is she doing now?  You need to stay with a good food longer than a few days (try to get off the Rx stuff when you can, maybe get her stable first). 

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

She is doing as good as she was on the RX food and its not even been a week yet.  She will have some really great poops then a lose one in the mix but nothing as bad as it was before.  I think this food could be the trick but it has not even been a week so we shall see.

I have not done any toppers or treats.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We are keeping fingers and paws crossed for continued success!