# Throwing up after new food?



## california_boy_miles (Jan 20, 2009)

Hey everybody -

I decided to ween Miles off of his Iams puppy food because of the all the by-products and nasties that are in it. He always seemed to be itching a lot, and biting his paws, and every now and then, his stools would go soft. I always noticed that his first stool would be firm, but the subsequent stools would get runnier and runnier (he always went potty about 3 times on our walks). So - that being said - I decided to try a different food and ended up choosing California Natural Chicken & Rice.

I started mixing 1/4 new food, 3/4 old food for about a day or 2, then I went half & half (new & old). Last night he threw up his entire dinner (he didn't even eat it all), and his stools have been runny ever since day one of trying the food.

Do you all think this is just because his body is getting used to the new food? Or am I mixing in the new food too fast? Or should I stop using this new food and try another one... I guess I want to know how long should I continue trying to mix in this new food? At what point does it become obvious this new food isn't working?

The other food I considered is Orijen Large Breed puppy...

Thanks for reading!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

The food change could be causing the problem. It sounds like you are going about it the right way. Sometimes the higher protein of the better dog foods actually don't agree with some dogs. I tried feeding my dogs Nutro but had to switch to a lower protein food because of soft stools.


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## martinrt (Jun 24, 2008)

I've definitely had experiences where the "better food" had negative results. I've also been told that you shouldn't give up on a new food until you've tried it for about 2 weeks, giving the dog a chance to adjust to the food. However, if the dog doesn't adjust in that 2 weeks, by that time the stools are so soft and runny and the GI tract is probably gone through quite a beating and it's hard to get things back to normal. I would suggest trying the 1/4 new 3/4 old for a longer period of time, maybe 5 or so days, and see if you see any improvement. If you do, great, just make the transition slower. If you don't, I'd think about looking into a different food. This can be a tough one to get to the bottom of, there are so many factors and it's hard to tell what's making things better or worse.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

If your puppy has watery stools before the change, I think you should rule out parasites first. Did you just get him?


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

One thing we do when changing food is to use half a can of the new brand's canned food as a topper. It seems to ease the transition. It was a good tip from Tally's breeder, and really works. Once the digestive track get aggravated, it's frustrating bc self-perpetuating. Eagle Pack Hollistic is a food that immediately helps my dogs tummies, I am not sure why(?).


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## SF Golden (Dec 10, 2008)

Hi California Boy Miles- good luck with the food transition! I'm actually checking in to see if you're still experiencing issues with Miles and the walking/laying down situation. We still do occasionally (the vet reconfirmed he shows no signs of hip issues), so I was just curious if you have an update.

Thanks!


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## california_boy_miles (Jan 20, 2009)

Hi there - Well the throwing up stopped and now his stools are firm! We have firm poop, everybody. Just in case you were wondering  I had to scale back on the amount of new food I was mixing in, and I guess I'll just have to go slower.

SF Golden - Thanks for checking in! Ever since we stopped using the Easy Walk Harness, I noticed that he doesn't lay down on our walks very much. This morning he did once, but I am pretty sure he is playing a game and being stubborn. He'll lay in the grass and look at me, and won't move. So I'll drop the leash and pretend I'm walking away, and he IMMEDIATELY jumps up and runs to me. The trainer I am working with also said pretty much all dogs will do this, and that they see it as some sort of game, so... Good to know!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Yea for firm poops!!!


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