# Change food cause diarrhea



## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

Oh, the Science Diet controversy. 

So its not totally uncommon for puppies to get diarrhea when you switch their food, even if you do it slowly. The new food changes the bacteria in the gut, and they also just have to adjust to new calorie/carb/protein/fat/fiber ratios. So if you want to stick with Science Diet, I would give it a bit more time before ruling it out as something that doesn't agree with your puppy. Do you still have the old brand you were using? You could go back to 50/50 if he's not having watery diarrhea, and just switch back even more slowly. 

There are probably a lot of opinions here about Science Diet. Its commonly used, and vet clinics often stock it. Part of this is because Science Diet, Purina, and Royal Canin are the three brands that make prescription diets, and they are also the three companies that provide the majority of education to vets when it comes to dog foods. Purina Pro Plan is an equivalent to SD that many people here use. 

I personally am not a fan of SD. The primary meat in SD formula comes from chicken meal (ground up parts of chicken, including bones, fat, ligaments, not necessarily meat), and the grains are things like corn and barley and brewers rice, which can be allergenic and less nutritious. I like the website Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor because of how they rate foods based on what is actually in the dog food. I personally use Fromm brand dog food. But thats just me. I have heard that dogs are more likely to have pudding poops with Blue Buffalo. 

My s/o is a vet, and he feeds his Pharaoh Hounds Purina Pro Plan, and would say there is nothing wrong with SD and that its a high quality dog food. He does think that Blue Buffalo is a bit of a racket, and that its an average dog food that just has awesome marketing practices. He likes dogfoodadvisor also, but just doesn't necessarily see the need for paying the extra cost for some of the "ultra premium" dog foods when purina is working for him. He does recommend some of those brands though when it seems like a dog has more of a sensitive stomach. 

But 9.2 pounds at 13 weeks old seems a bit skinny to me. Has your dog been eating normally? Does your vet think your pup is normal weight for size? If the diarrhea persists, or he seems underweight (if you can see his ribs, or his spine), it might be worth taking him into the vet and have his stools checked for parasites.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

A lot of these pet stores get push back on foods they "suggest". Ours was pushing HARD for Nutro. Now, it is a good food, but I found out they get a percentage back and free bags for ALL employees. Dory is a sensitive girl to grain and chicken so she does TOTW puppy salmon formula. If the issue continues, he may not tolerate the food- or maybe some other external source. I agree with the above. Lots here use Purina Pro with great success. We tried lots of food for our picky girl and she is doing best on TOTW. It is a matter of finding what works for your pup as they're all individuals.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Not a fan of SD unless you have a dog with a medical issue that needs a certain food. I think it is grocery store food charging outrageous prices. Chloe is on the purina pro plan salmon.


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## Riopan (Aug 29, 2016)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> Oh, the Science Diet controversy.
> 
> So its not totally uncommon for puppies to get diarrhea when you switch their food, even if you do it slowly. The new food changes the bacteria in the gut, and they also just have to adjust to new calorie/carb/protein/fat/fiber ratios. So if you want to stick with Science Diet, I would give it a bit more time before ruling it out as something that doesn't agree with your puppy. Do you still have the old brand you were using? You could go back to 50/50 if he's not having watery diarrhea, and just switch back even more slowly.
> 
> ...


He eats a lot from the first day I got him. The breeder apparently didn't feed him well. We took him to the vet 2 days ago, the vet said we should increase his food to 3 cups a day. Purine One is super cheap compares to Purina Pro Plan. I saw some post from this Forum suggesting Fromn or Taste of wild. Which one should I choose?


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

Riopan said:


> He eats a lot from the first day I got him. The breeder apparently didn't feed him well. We took him to the vet 2 days ago, the vet said we should increase his food to 3 cups a day. Purine One is super cheap compares to Purina Pro Plan. I saw some post from this Forum suggesting Fromn or Taste of wild. Which one should I choose?


They are both great food options. I don't think you can go wrong with either. I spent wayyyyy too much time deciding on puppy food. Ultimately, I use Fromm Surf and Turf, because its grain free and has a calcium ratio equivalent to large breed puppy foods, and has a five star rating from dogfoodadvisor (it was one of the cheaper 5-star rated foods). I don't think grain free is necessary though, and I'm not sure its really worth the extra $$$ unless you have a dog with a sensitive stomach. I liked that it had salmon in it, because its anti-inflammatory. TOTW also makes a salmon puppy food. Mostly I chose Fromm because its easier for me to get where I live, I've used it before, they had never had a recall when I first got it (they did just recently have on on a random wet dog food but I don't use it) Also, my parents have Piper's half brother and he gets Fromm large breed and it worked for him, so I figured it would be a good food to start. It worked, so I haven't looked back. 

I know a lot of people who Fromm, and people who use TOTW and haven't heard negative feedback for either. If Fromm ever stopped working, Taste of the Wild is actually where I would go next, its just harder to find in my area. I've thought about switching to pro plan just for convenience (so we don't have to buy two separate kinds of dog food), but I figure since Fromm is working for Piper right now I'm going to keep her on it...don't want to wreck a good thing. 

I'll probably keep her on what I have her on now, and re-evaluate after I get her spayed at a year or so, since her metabolic needs will change then anyway.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> I know a lot of people who Fromm, and people who use TOTW and haven't heard negative feedback for either. If Fromm ever stopped working, Taste of the Wild is actually where I would go next, its just harder to find in my area. I've thought about switching to pro plan just for convenience (so we don't have to buy two separate kinds of dog food), but I figure since Fromm is working for Piper right now I'm going to keep her on it...don't want to wreck a good thing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

my girl came to us as an eukanuba food puppy. her stools were never hard while she was on it, and i switched to wellness large breed as the bag was finishing. Stools firmed up, but i felt like it was making her rather itchy. She was on it for 3 large 30lbs bags, before i decided to make the switch to fromm 4 star nutritionals (it has grain),whitefish and potato. 

changes i've noticed: 
she hasn't been on it for even a month yet,but As of now, her poops have been reduced to twice a day, both firm! (she used to occasionally have 2-3 poops on wellness, 1 out of 3 would be SOFT).

she doesn't have thick eye dirt anymore in the morning.

she still itches but i think lesser?? 

As of now i do really like fromm. The price difference between their grain free and grain line, is a deterrent though, but i might consider GF in future or a limited ingredient diet like wellness simple to see if it solves her occasional itch.


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## Riopan (Aug 29, 2016)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> Riopan said:
> 
> 
> > He eats a lot from the first day I got him. The breeder apparently didn't feed him well. We took him to the vet 2 days ago, the vet said we should increase his food to 3 cups a day. Purine One is super cheap compares to Purina Pro Plan. I saw some post from this Forum suggesting Fromn or Taste of wild. Which one should I choose?
> ...


So in my case, should I get him grain free one? How's grain free actually help puppy?


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## -ALBUS- (May 5, 2016)

We feed Albus the Science Diet on the recommendation of our vet. Albus had some stomach issues (2 or 3 bouts of diarrhea that would last a few days each by the time he was like 4.5 months), so the vet wanted us to get off of Eukanuba that the breeder sent him home on. 

We switched over to SD pretty slowly (about 2 weeks) using chicken and rice as the base. Also at this time we implemented a daily dose of Purina FortaFlora probiotics and a scoop of pumpkin in the morning and another at night. Since we made the switch (about 5-6 weeks ago) Albus' stools have been consistently firm (with only one random loose poop last week for some reason). 

I know a lot of people don't have great things to say about Hill's SD, and I was skeptical myself after doing some research online, but I decided to at least try it because it was recommended by our vet. (Mind you, we didn't purchase the food from the vet and she didn't recommend we purchase from her, so she had no financial incentive to recommend it.) Also, she owns Goldens and claims she fed them SD as pups.

So far, so good. I have no complaints. I'm sure the probiotics and pumpkin are helping, but I can't argue with good results so far...


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

Riopan said:


> So in my case, should I get him grain free one? How's grain free actually help puppy?


Honestly, only if its something you feel passionately about, or unless there's a reason your dog ends up needing it. I don't think its necessarily worth the extra cost just to have it unless your dog needs it. It costs more, and that adds up over time. There definitely is no data out there that says that grain free is a "better" dog food. In fact, for some dogs, grain free varieties can be too rich. Some people are just opposed to using grains, maybe because dogs wouldn't eat them in the wild, but many people end up going grain free because their dogs are sensitive to grains (allergies, itching, diarrhea etc). 

The main reason I went with the grain free Fromm Surf and Turf was more because it was salmon based and had appropriate calcium content than because it was grain free, and because my last dog had LOTS of sensitivities, including certain grains, so I was just being overly cautious when I chose a dog food for my new puppy. I was just biased (or probably jaded) by my previous experiences. 

Whether you stick with the SD, or pick another brand, all the brands you are considering are good dog foods. For many people its about finding one that works and then sticking with it, so you don't mess up a good thing. 

Regardless, I do find that adding a few tablespoons of canned pumpkin (you want the non-spiced kind, not pumpkin pie mix), can help with the transition and with the pudding poops.


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## Riopan (Aug 29, 2016)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> Riopan said:
> 
> 
> > So in my case, should I get him grain free one? How's grain free actually help puppy?
> ...


Thank you so much for you advice. Just picked up a bag of Surf and Turf last night. My local pet store carry it and offer 10% off all the time. (It's actually cheaper then buying online).Just feed my puppy a little bit this morning. Can't tell if he likes it or not, because he was hungry and would eat everything. I will see how things goes or maybe change flavors sometimes. I think you can switch around the flavors without causing any problems.


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