# can't find the right puppy food... Will it ever end?



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Skylie is very young, my best guess is that it's not the food at all! Even if she has a negative fecal exam, the chances of her having a touch of giardia and/or coccidia are pretty high. 
I'd talk to the vet about it. A lot of vets will just go ahead and treat for giardia and see if that helps, it's so common in puppies.
Because she's a growing puppy, I'd get her off the chicken and rice REAL fast. It doesn't supply the nutrients that she needs for proper growth.
A visit to the vet is for sure in order!


----------



## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

Try Purina Pro Plan puppy!!!!! Make sure she is getting good hydration during this time of loose stool.


----------



## skylielover (Sep 27, 2008)

TheHooch said:


> Try Purina Pro Plan puppy!!!!! Make sure she is getting good hydration during this time of loose stool.


I was thinking about the Pro Plan, but aren't these ingredients not great to be listed so high on the list? 
brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal. 

However chicken is the first ingredient so that is good.. 

I've spent hours and hours reading about dog food, and I thought Blue buffalo was a great one. HOwever, my dad made the comment that just because it's good doesn't mean it's good for their system..


----------



## blacktri99 (Sep 5, 2008)

Tex is now on Nutro Ultra, and doing very well, I have tried a couple other foods for him, but they just were not the right ones, I know everyone is on the whats the best foods but you know Dogs have been eating Dog Chow for 40 + years and lived good healthy lives, I know my first Lab grew up on puppy chow and Dog chow and never was sick, and lived a healthy life until the age of 15, try the Pro Plan as Hooch suggest or the Nutro or Eukanuba, I tried S/D but Tex did not do well on it (loose Stools) You may find that the BB, Innova, and other high end foods are just too much for him.

Jim


----------



## americangolden (Aug 11, 2008)

We switched our pup to Purina Pro Plan Puppy and we are currently mixing her food half and half doing it rather slow so she doesn't get a upset tummy . She is doing great with the switching over process and we should have her eating only pro plan puppy soon.


----------



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

skylielover said:


> I was thinking about the Pro Plan, but aren't these ingredients not great to be listed so high on the list?
> brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal.
> 
> However chicken is the first ingredient so that is good..
> ...


I'm not into corn gluten meal either but results is what matters and Pro-Plan works for a lot of high-performance dog people.

I like the Eukanuba/Iams brand too...no corn glutin there........

It seems that a food too high in protien and too low in carbonhydrates doesn't work for some dogs.


----------



## keyk (Apr 19, 2008)

Oh, I went through this with my Darby dog. And yes..it will end  We went though sloowwww food transitions, many fecal samples, etc etc. The only thing that got her on track was Wellness Simple Solutions and a digestive enzyme (powder that I bought from the same place I got the Simple Solutions). I put her on Wellness for a few months then was able to transition her to the food she is on now. It is quite expensive, but the results were fantastic. The Simple Solutions fixed everything and she is good to go now-a-days at almost 7 months old!


----------



## beargroomer (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree with hotel4dogs. Definitely have her checked for Giardia and Coccidia. Giardia is very common in young puppies, and since it doesn't shed in every poop, it is very hard to diagnose, but most vets will start you on Flagyl if the symptoms are present.


----------



## rradovitch (Mar 15, 2008)

I would start out with a simple solution food such as Wellness fish and sweet potato. I had similar problems when Zoe was young and that worked well. Wellness also makes some other foods that are great foods without a bunch of ingredients. You may also try adding a little yogurt to her diet.


----------



## rradovitch (Mar 15, 2008)

keyk said:


> Oh, I went through this with my Darby dog. And yes..it will end  We went though sloowwww food transitions, many fecal samples, etc etc. The only thing that got her on track was Wellness Simple Solutions and a digestive enzyme (powder that I bought from the same place I got the Simple Solutions). I put her on Wellness for a few months then was able to transition her to the food she is on now. It is quite expensive, but the results were fantastic. The Simple Solutions fixed everything and she is good to go now-a-days at almost 7 months old!



I guess I should have read through ALL the responses. I agree with everything you said and the same things worked for me as well. The only difference is we did yogurt for the good bacteria instead of the enzymatic powder.


----------



## Ruger (May 12, 2008)

I took advice from what I read on a thread posted on here some time ago... the general consensus was that Canidae All Life Stages was a great food. It has been really good to Rue. There is the Lamb and Rice formula which is what we feed him (for sensitive stomachs/systems)... and its good for all life stages as the bag says lol... good luck!!!


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I was going to suggest you try a food with a meat base that is not chicken, but others have already suggested that!


----------



## skylielover (Sep 27, 2008)

Skylie went to the vet today for a checkup & shots. He did take a stool sample, looked at it but didn't do any tests anything.. He said it's probably just the food since she had normal stool when I only fed her a pure chicken & rice diet. Her checkup was good including her weight..


----------



## KonasRents (Jul 15, 2008)

Our puppy Kona had very, very soft stool (kind of diarrhea-ish) until about 3 weeks ago (she's now 5 months). We had been giving her Metronidizole for weeks, which would help, but as soon as it was gone, the soft stool was back. The vet had said she had colitis, which is why we started on the the metro. in the beginning. We switched her to Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice and she's fine now and SHE LOVES it! Much more than the Science Diet Puppy she was on before. I don't know if it was the food or if she just outgrew it or what. Best of luck.


----------



## bizzy (Mar 30, 2007)

One factor to consider that even though a brand of food is a "good brand" it might not work for you puppies system. It may simply be to rich. Or have to much/ or to little of somthing. Also remember that any change should take a min of two weeks to make the transtion and then wait at least a week or two after the full change before making a final decesion about a food. (barring a dramatic reaction) Some dogs can eat anything anytime anyware and it dosen't affect them and other can only eat certain stuff or they get sick. Being that you are dealing with a puppy I second the vet visit as you need to rule out non food stuff. Just a general observation having observed several "food" discussions. It seems that many of the "better" foods cause loose stools. I just hear alot of I had to try x,y,x,a,b,c food before I found one that worked. Not saying anything bad about them or what you are feeding it just seems that they may be more individual and needs more expirmintation.Just an opservation.

I have feed Nutro to my current dog her and she is doing great. My golden growing up ate dog chow and similar grocery stuff and lived to 13+. So don't let the food thing stress you out to much.


----------



## skylielover (Sep 27, 2008)

I decided to give Pro Plan a try. I figured her stool is already loose, so why not try it. I am starting to think she can not handle such rich foods such as Blue Buffalo (even though I love the ingredients!). If she does bad on Pro Plan as well, I will have to start all over seeking out yet another food... 

I'll let ya'll know how it goes *Cross your fingers*


----------



## OurShen (Aug 30, 2008)

We feed Shen Innova. So far he's thriving on it and always nice poops! Shen is 6 months old.


----------

