# Soft stools - Should I change food?



## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

I'd try a raw diet, I saw great results and the bone with firm up those stools, expect soft stools for the first week or two while adjusting


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

Since everything else if fine, if the stools are a 3 on this chart (poop pics, be warned : Foothill Pet Hospital - Santa Barbara Veterinarian) I would leave the food issue alone. My two are fed the same food and one of them score a 2, the other one a 3. I consider both OK.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

Thalie, thanks for the chart. I have never seen anything like it, it is so simple and precise and it is good to know my girls are "normal".

You try cutting down her food a little, maybe 1/2 cup/day and replace it with pumpkin or green beans (unsalted)


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Thalie said:


> Since everything else if fine, if the stools are a 3 on this chart (poop pics, be warned : Foothill Pet Hospital - Santa Barbara Veterinarian) I would leave the food issue alone. My two are fed the same food and one of them score a 2, the other one a 3. I consider both OK.



Fantastic chart! Thank you for posting this.


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## Womn2Blame (Jan 8, 2012)

Millie'sMom said:


> You try cutting down her food a little, maybe 1/2 cup/day and replace it with pumpkin or green beans (unsalted)


She only gets 3/4 to 1 cup twice a day now, and acts hungry ALL the time, so I hate to cut her back even more. I do give her pumpkin and green beans on a regular basis. 

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate them!


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Womn2Blame said:


> She only gets 3/4 to 1 cup twice a day now, and acts hungry ALL the time, so I hate to cut her back even more. I do give her pumpkin and green beans on a regular basis.
> 
> Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate them!


You know, I have an IBD dog and I just cannot give him any people food at all or it causes all sorts of issues, including softer stools. Have you tried eliminating the pumpkin and green beans to see if the stool changes? That would be my first step, and if you don't see improvement, then you know something else may be at play.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

That is usually caused by the food moving to fast through the digestive system. Try a food with beet pulp as the fiber rather than tomato pomace.

There are many out there. Eukanuba Maintenance or Eagle Original would be good and easy to get. It could also be the carbohydrates in Wellness are not processed correctly.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

My Jacks couldn't handle Wellness (Super5mix Healthy Weight) when I checked it out. Similar to your dog, his poop was a little too soft and heapy. 

Switching back to a kibble I know he does well on helped solid things up again, and I somewhat marked that food off as far as ever trying with him again. 

Jacks has several brands of food - easily found at stores - that he does absolutely fine on. And he likes better as well. With the Wellness, we had to laugh about our collie's reaction when he went charging in to check his golden-bro's kibble. He sniffed the kibble and if a dog could wrinkle his nose, he did.  Maybe switch back to what she was eating prior to the switch and feed it to her until her systems rights itself before you switch again.

You could do that or check into probiotics to support her system if you don't plan on switching. See if that helps? 

We always keep flagyl in our house because of our collie, but it's handy with the goldens. Probably case in point is I've been training something new with Jacks and using a lot of cheese. He does not have a cheese allergy, but too much of a good thing is pretty bad. He had a really tough couple of days "pooping his mind out" so to speak. Lol.


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## Womn2Blame (Jan 8, 2012)

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. The "poop meter" pictures are very helpful!  I would say that Nugget scores about a 3, or maybe between a 3 and 4. Definitely "heapy," and almost always leaves a residue on the ground. 

She seems to like the Wellness food. It's almost time to buy more, so I may try a small bag of something different next time, but it's so hard to decide which one. Guess I need to do more research. I'll take all of your suggestions into account, as well. 

Have a great day!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Considering she's doing well otherwise and with 3 or 4 score on that chart, I wouldn't change the kibble but would try leaving out the green beans and/or pumpkin before changing foods.


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## Womn2Blame (Jan 8, 2012)

*Update*

I thought I'd post an update to my original post. I switched Nugget to Wellness Core Grain-Free food, and now her stools are much better - smaller and firmer. 

Whether it's simply because of a change of ingredients or because it's grain-free, the switch did help. 

Cindy


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Thalie said:


> Since everything else if fine, if the stools are a 3 on this chart (poop pics, be warned : Foothill Pet Hospital - Santa Barbara Veterinarian) I would leave the food issue alone. My two are fed the same food and one of them score a 2, the other one a 3. I consider both OK.


All of mine are 3s according to the chart most days.


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

Womn2Blame said:


> I thought I'd post an update to my original post. I switched Nugget to Wellness Core Grain-Free food, and now her stools are much better - smaller and firmer.
> 
> Whether it's simply because of a change of ingredients or because it's grain-free, the switch did help.
> 
> Cindy


That is good to hear! I have wanted to rotate will Wellness CORE, but just haven't yet. I am feeding Fromm grain free. 

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