Frequency of Bowel Movements in a 9 week old puppy

[Miss Ellie]

Is it normal for a nine week old puppy to be having about 6-7 bowel movements/day?  They are very normal, picture perfect poops, not loose or too soft...just right.

[Adina P]

I don't know the number that is 'normal' but Rosco, as a 9 week old, seemed to poop A LOT more than he does now.  What food is he on?

[Ginny Nightingale]

Coud be the food--waiting for your answer to Adina. Some foods with a lot of filler (wheat and corn) will cause the pup to produce more waste, but it will probably lessen on it's own as the puppy gains more bowel control--some pups seems to go all the time! But they do change rapidly. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yup!  Exactly the same thing I was going to say.

[Miss Ellie]

Hi Adina,

We have gradually been switching her over to Orijen Large Breed Puppy grain-free.  We started with 75% breeder food & 25% Orijen.  We are now at 50-50.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That may be part of the problem. You feed way way less Orijen than almost any other kibble, especially the cheaper ones. If you've replaced half her old food with an equal amount of Orijen, you're overfeeding her. Can you give me her weight, age, and the exact formula she was previously eating? 

[Hua]

I think it depends on how often you feed him.  When my Charlie was 9 weeks old, he poop about 3-4 times a day.  He's 3 1/2 months now, and it's 3 times a day and always at around the same time (6-ish am, noon and 6-ish pm).  Do you have a fixed feeding schedule?  Once he get used to it, it'll be easier to predict when and how often he has to go.

[Miss Ellie]

Hi Karen...she is getting 1 cup/day.  She weighs just over 6lbs and she is nine weeks old.  Her old food is a brand from Costco...Kirkland Puppy

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So you are feeding a half cup of Orijen and a half cup of Kirkland total for the day? Is that the name of the Kirkland formula, just "Kirkland Puppy"? I'm having trouble finding the feeding guidelines for the Costco foods. And the Orijen Large breed puppy formula doesn't even go as low as 6 lbs, because it's intended for bigger dogs; you don't need a "large breed" formula unless your pup is expected to go over 90 lbs at maturity. So I've having trouble trying to calculate feeding amounts. How did you arrive at the amount you're feeding? 

I always recommend that you not change a puppy's food for at least two weeks after they come home; unfortunately, we don't have a baseline of what is normal for her stool wise, since the food change started the first week. 

[sf1]

The breeder also had Milo on Kirkland brand puppy food. He was pooping 6 - 7 times a day....way to many. We talked to the vet and slowly turned him over to another food and he starting pooping 2 - 3 times a day....much better when training. It's been hard finding Milo the correct food, he does have some tummy issues to some foods - several grain free foods made him worst. At the end we went with a sweet potato based food that works well.

[Miss Ellie]

Thank you sf1...it is nice to hear you had the same issues and that once you switched over the frequency of BM's became normal again.

[Miss Ellie]

Hi Karen,

Yes it is just Kirkland Signature Puppy(Chicken, Vegetable & Rice Formula).  The feeding guidelines for her weight 5-11lbs, suggest 11/4 - 2 cups/day.  but our breeder & our vet recommended 3/4 - 1 cup/day. So I am feeding a cup/day.  As far as the Orijen...I spoke with them on the phone and they recommended the Large Breed Puppy Formulas for our type of dog.  She said that the problem with just a normal puppy formula is that the fat content is too high and it causes their joints to grow to quickly which can result in problems later in life. 

I appreciate your help and comments!

Thanks,

Michelle

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I disagree with that advice about large breed formulas for dogs who are not giant breeds, but it won't hurt. Higher fat content cannot cause joints or bones to grow any faster than lower fat content. Growth is not dependent on fat content. With giant breeds, i.e. dogs who are going to take 18-24 months to reach full bone growth, you want to prevent them from gaining weight too rapidly as puppies. Higher fat content usually equals higher calories, and higher calories can equal too much weight gain if you are not careful.  The large breed formula contains fewer calories per cup than the regular formula. The customer service rep probably doesn't really understand these concepts and was speaking generally about the purpose of using a "large breed" formula.