# Feeding golden retriever puppy



## sparkyha (Mar 22, 2012)

We have a four month old golden retriever. Problem with loose stools. Negative fecal test. Currently puppy is on prescription dry food. We started with Taste of Wild Salmon based puppy food. What advice can people provide for transition over to new puppy dry food. What brand is recommended. Should we consider a holistic grain free food? Is it possible that our puppy may have been unable to tolerate a fish based food that he was originally eating or the amount of protein in the food?


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

I'm a little confused by your post.....

Did you start the pup out on TOTW Salmon--and that is when the runny stool started? Or does the prescription dry food make him runny? Which one is he currently eating? I personally find it a little odd that he is on prescription food so young. So I'm assuming this was after the TOTW and the runny stool. 

With that said--It is possible that he cannot tolerate salmon, but at his age, I would wonder if the TOTW was too rich for him--or maybe he was switched over to it too fast. What was he fed when you picked him up from the breeder? Was that TOTW as well? If he was on puppy chow, for instance--and you switched him to TOTW too quick, that could explain the loose stools. 

You're going to get a million opinions on which is best--and not every food works for all dogs. And you may need to try several foods to find the right one for your pup.

I've been trying to (slowly --over the last 2 months) switch my dogs to grain free. (ages 10, 9 and 6) and just decided the day before yesterday to throw in the towel. So I went back to my ole faithful food, which is grain inclusive. But I KNOW my dogs do fantastic on the brand. (Fromm). I personally like the idea of grain free--but for some reason the 3 brands I tried just weren't working for us. So it's not for every dog. 

Hope this helps some.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Wagners Mom said:


> I'm a little confused by your post.....
> 
> Did you start the pup out on TOTW Salmon--and that is when the runny stool started? Or does the prescription dry food make him runny? Which one is he currently eating? I personally find it a little odd that he is on prescription food so young. So I'm assuming this was after the TOTW and the runny stool.
> 
> ...


Good post!

I really think you need to discuss with your vet about another worming and GI medication called metrondiazole/flagyl. A dog can have a negative fecal but still have parasites such as coccidia or giardia as they aren't always shedding them in a given stool sample.

Secondly, I woudl recommend sticking with a brand of food for a while. I guess we need to know:

What food was the puppy eating at the breeder?
How long was he eating TOTW?
When did he start eating the Rx food?
Have you done a s...l...o...w... transition?
Do you use probiotics?

I fed TOTW for a long time, I found that my dog did best on the lamb formula. We're currently feeding Fromm LB Adult which is also grain inclusive. I was thinking about transitioning to the grain free formulas and they're having very soft stool despite being on grain free food previously (aka-- their whole lives.) Sometimes you need to give it more time, and sometimes u need to know when to throw in the towel.


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## LovingBella (Oct 31, 2011)

Giardia is my first thought since my puppy had it. It causes loose stools and can be hard to diagnose. You might want to consider having your vet test specifically for it so you can rule it out before you start changing your puppy's diet. Testing for giardia requires an ELISA test. It doesn't show up in a regular fecal float test.

What is you puppy's name? We LOVE puppy pictures!


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## vjm1639 (Feb 20, 2012)

definitely have it tested for Giardia.....our vet said he has had more positive tests of Giardia this year because of the wetness and warm weather.......


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## lynn0624rj (Mar 27, 2012)

any kind of new food the puppy eats will cause loose stools. Does the puppy get any kind of treats? Do yall have trees that bear fruit? The puppy may eat a fruit and that could cause it. Anything new in his diet will cause loose stools.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

My dane puppy has giardia now just finished his round of Panacur for a week. its not often detected first fecal i was lucky that his was first check. I would think TOTW is too rich for a puppy. I have 4 dogs and tried all the "good" or "better" foods ummm none worked..i was done playing that game and they are all on ProPlan ALS and doing just fine. Oakley even lost weight he didnt need too on the Better foods so i am hoping he will gain it back now that he's on ProPlan


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