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changing food/loose stools

Harley & Carley

Well-known member
I am switching over the RC puppy 33, and they seem to love it, but both have loose stools. I know I am supposed to switch over slowly, but they didnt eat their previous food well, and now are just picking out the RC and leaving the other food.
If they wont eat the old food anyway, should I just give them the new food and wait and see if the loose stools get better?
How long should I give them on the new food to know if they will tolerate it? They do seem to like it and are eating it much easier and quicker than the old food.
Thanks
 
word of warning....if your going to change it then keep to it or you may get fussy dog eaters! they may be picking out the rc now and may do again but watch out that they dont hold out for anything else new. obviously you need to know that it agrees with them and im not sure about the time scale of good poos after changing food. but would only change again if you are certain its not just because you changed over too quickly. on your origional question..i would like to know too as i have often wondered when people say "well i couldnt get their normal brand in the shop so they will have to have this one!" so i presume they went and changed over without mixing and wonder what happened myself if you were stuck and had to give something else. :flwr:
 
For me when my usual hunting ground for dog food ran out of the brand I use, I had no choice but to feed it to them (BAD mommy!! I know, plan ahead!! :( )the runs only last a few days. (on day three it was loose, but not diarrhea). I wouldn't recomend it, because it is no fun while it lasts, but once its done its done. Everyone's dog will react differently though...
I gave them some Kay-pectillin and they were fine. I always add pumpkin to their food anyway so maybe that aided with the transition
 
I dont have a problem with a slow mixing of the foods, and I know it would be easier on their stomachs, but they just will not eat the old food and only eat the new food. Yes, they do have really loose stools. I just cant do anything about it. SHould I quit mixing since they arent eating it anyway?
 
I see what you are saying.
Yes it is ideal to change over slowly but it is also ideal to be receiving adequate nutrition and if they are not eating enough as they are picking out the new stuff I see you have no option really but to feed all new ?

Are they as little as in the picture ?

If they are still just puppies you need to make sure that if you do feed all new and they get the runs or upset tummy you keep them very well hydrated as they can dehydrate very quickly and obviously this is life threatening.

I would also wonder if the food was to upset their tummy and they are a little selective with food anyway, would it put them off the new food ?

How many ingredients differ in the new food to the old ? for example is one chicken based and one lamb or fish ?
Maybe even ring your vet and see what they suggest ? To be safe.
 
I weighed them before I started the switch and they were 8 & 10 lbs, and are 7 mos old. Both foods are chicken based. I switched because I didnt think they were growing enough and have been on this food since we got them. They have never been good eaters and usually dont eat the recommended amount of food, hence not much weight gain.
They seem to really like the Royal Canin and these have been the only meals since we got them that they seemed excited to have something to eat.
They just went out again and have pretty loose stools still...
 
It can take a couple of weeks for stools to firm up after a food change. You could try a little pumpkin or something like that to firm stools. I would just shift completely over to RC and not bother mixing foods -- I've never found I need to slowly introduce new foods myself and my dogs get a wide variety of foods regularly. Or just try RC adult 27 (small breed) -- puppies do not really need puppy food -- it has a very high protein level too (33% as opposed to 27% for adult) -- the extra richness may cause the runny stools.
 
You can try adding a little pumpkin, just a tablespoon once a day. Lily is almost 7 mos old and is on the adult mini RC. She was on the puppy RC and I switched her over to adult at 6 mos. Her poohs are always firm and regular.
 
I can sure vouch for the canned pumpkin. When Bentley had loose stools I gave him about a teaspoon or so of 100% pure canned pumpkin (not the pie filling), and it helped firm up his poo pretty much right away. I had troubles with my two dogs not wanting to eat their food too, and I ended up switching them over to a different dog food, I was glad I made the switch because now they eat better. Sometimes I also add a little of the canned dog food to their kibble too (the same brand), I have one dog that is rather thin (my Poodle) and his mouth is so tiny it isn't always easy for him to eat the harder kibble. But, give the pumpkin a try, and if that doesn't help you may want to talk to your vet just to be on the safe side.
 
yes check that you are maybe giving the same flavour ie lamb etc as your other brand if their poo was ok on that then it shouldnt affect them on a differnt brand once they have settled on it. (vets opinion would be good as they know your dog) im no expert but jadan cant have poultry of any brand. i spoke to someone else on this site about changing brands and i was in two minds as jadan had always been so fussy that i wondered if he would go back a stage. when jadan was done he was on lamb and rice james wellbeloved. after the op he was given chicken and rice (home cooked) but that gave him the runs, the vet said that he could go straight onto jwb as it was mainly that anyway, without realising we began giving him turkey and rice which he loved, but he had v loose stools (mainly in build up over night) until talking to the vet revealed that it was the change to turkey! (any poultry is a no no) sorry to go off on one, but basically i remembered that he said that jadan could have gone straight onto the jwb as i said above so when i changed jadans food yesterday morning it was a straight swap. no mixing, just very little of it so his tum could get used to it gradually. 50g in morning and 50g in evening (i think it says 175-200 for his age of 1 year) he has been fine, firm but not as firm as before but not too soft either. i am sure that after a few days it will bulk up.maybe just keep the portions small for a while until they adjust to the new food. (ask vet, as i said its only my opinion) jadan cant get enough of his new food, but even while i am tempted to give him more, one, i dont think his tum could take it and two i think that giving him less is actually making him want it more. ;)
 
I used to feed India and Geordie Royal Canin when they were puppies, but Geordie had soft stools. I think it was the corn and possibly the rice that didn't agree with him. I changed foods several times and finally settled on Evo, which is grain-free.

I have to be careful what treats he gets because of the grains. Wheat and corn seem to be the most problematic.
 
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