# Light colored stool



## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Ever since i got Cooper (about 2 months ago) he has had intermittent loose stool problems and bad gas. It seems like any environmental change will trigger this (car ride, visiting parents, etc), and it will last for days sometimes.

I've started feeding his a spoonful of pumpkin with each meal, and it seems to have firmed up his stool some (although it's still a little mushier than i think is normal). However, now it's almost always a really light tan color. I don't know if it's the pumpkin that could be causing this, or another issue.

He is on California Natural chicken and rice, fed 2 cups, twice a day (4 cups total). He is almost 9 months old. I plan on switching him to the CN fish recipe next bag to see if helps with his stomach problems and itchy ears (just got over an infection, but still has shakey-head).

Any input would be appreciated.

TIA


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## yvettelovesgoldens (Mar 30, 2009)

I am no expert, and Im sure people with tips will chime in soon. Do you think maybe the dog is having issues with the food?? Maybe an intolerance? I was told that sometimes grains in the dog food cause ear problems.
What does your vet say?
Thats aweful when you have to deal with these issues, poor pup. I hope things get better really soon
Yvette


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## seoguy (Aug 11, 2009)

Yuck!! I feel for you and the dog.

I had a labradoodle that got diarreah when he was stressed (which was often because we were in the process of moving). He got it so bad that he would bleed. Not a pretty picture.

The way we dealt with it was we were loving, kept the stress low and mixed in some oatmeal to firm things up. Ultimately, though, we ended up giving him away to a friend of ours who had 4 boys and 3 acres and was stable. He recovered within a week.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

We had Tucker on CN for a very short time this past winter, maybe for about 3 months. He had the same problem with loose stools and lots of gas. He could literally clear a room while he was on that food. The CN ingredients were just way too rich for him, so we took him off it. It's a good food for some dogs, but it's also too rich for a lot of others. We didn't have good luck with it at all.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

Noah had food issues Science diet ZD worked wonders...just based on my own experience it might be worth a try.


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## Dreammom (Jan 14, 2009)

Chicken and rice based foods will produce a lighter colored stool... I know from experience LOL. YUCK!

I hope you can figure something out soon.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

The CN produced lighter-colored stools for my dog too. It's just from the ingredients and means nothing about the digestion of the food.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Did you find something that helped clear up his problems?



jwemt81 said:


> We had Tucker on CN for a very short time this past winter, maybe for about 3 months. He had the same problem with loose stools and lots of gas. He could literally clear a room while he was on that food. The CN ingredients were just way too rich for him, so we took him off it. It's a good food for some dogs, but it's also too rich for a lot of others. We didn't have good luck with it at all.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

Andythom said:


> Did you find something that helped clear up his problems?


Iams large breed is actually the only food that Tucker has done really, really well on. We tried everything from Pro Plan, CN, Nutro, Eagle Pack, and Canidae. He had loose stools and problems with his left ear on all of them. All of that cleared up once we started him on Iams about 4 months ago.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Hmm..maybe i will have a talk with the feed store. I hate switching him around on food (had him on Wellness lamb first, now CN chicken), but i guess that's the only way to figure out what works best for him. I was really hoping that CN would clear things up since everyone seems to like it. 



jwemt81 said:


> Iams large breed is actually the only food that Tucker has done really, really well on. We tried everything from Pro Plan, CN, Nutro, Eagle Pack, and Canidae. He had loose stools and problems with his left ear on all of them. All of that cleared up once we started him on Iams about 4 months ago.


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## Kirby'sMom (Feb 26, 2007)

jwemt81 said:


> Iams large breed is actually the only food that Tucker has done really, really well on. We tried everything from Pro Plan, CN, Nutro, Eagle Pack, and Canidae. He had loose stools and problems with his left ear on all of them. All of that cleared up once we started him on Iams about 4 months ago.


 It's funny how food reacts differently with dogs. Kirby got a yucky ear with Iams. We fed him Iams puppy food and switched to Canidae ALS at a year old. No more yucky ear.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

Andythom said:


> Hmm..maybe i will have a talk with the feed store. I hate switching him around on food (had him on Wellness lamb first, now CN chicken), but i guess that's the only way to figure out what works best for him. I was really hoping that CN would clear things up since everyone seems to like it.


We were hoping for the same thing with Tucker, but the CN just made his stools a lot worse. They were about the consistency of pudding on that food. We finally decided to switch him to Iams since it's a food that has been around forever and he stools firmed right up his first day on it. He also hasn't had a single yeast infection in his ear since starting on the Iams. We couldn't be happier. Sometimes, the more expensive foods just don't agree with some dogs.


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