Switching food

Please share your experiences with me...

Maisy was 12 wks when I first brought her home. She was feed Orijen. However, to purchase Orijen from my location is not at all convenient for me. Also I had some concerns about the high level of protein in this food so I switched her over to Fromm's no-grain adult line.

I mixed Orijen with the Fromm adult food for several days. Maisy's poops were becoming softer. Once completely on the Fromm adult grain-free line for about a week her poops did not firm up the way they were when she was strictly on Orijen. Plus, I was confused about whether or not she should even be on an adult food so I purchased Fromm Puppy Gold and decided to give Maisy a half and half mixture. Over about a week her poops did not firm up ...still very soft and hard to clean up.

Since she received her last shots our vet really felt that she should be fed the puppy formula only (stating that the mineral levels in an adult food are too high for a puppy) and that perhaps the adult line had something in it that was upsetting her system. So, Maisy has now been strictly on Fromm Puppy Gold for almost two weeks now. Her poops are even softer now so I'm wondering if it is the puppy line that is doing this to her.

So my questions are:

1) Exactly how long is long enough to allow a puppy to adjust to a new food? Am I being hasty thinking about switching her again after 2 weeks with no stool improvement?

2) Should poops be firm and easy to pick up without leaving anything on the grass? Maisy's poop look semi-formed but the are very far from firm and leave a mess even after I've tried to clean them up.

Thanks!

In contrast to your vet I've found a lot of people see better stools on adult food and most breeders do not feel they need a separate food (canids would not get different minerals if fed in the wild, they eat what the adults eat once off milk). Also I thought most PUPPY foods have higher mineral content, not the adult foods? But maybe I am wrong on that!

Some puppies need a very slow transition, not a sudden or fast introduction of a new food -- eg slow substitution over a week or two.

Puppies often have softer stools than adults; Jaspar and Leo did, on and off.

Don't know anything about Fromm. Never found grain free made a jot of difference with any of mine -- most dogs have no issues with grains and many people feed treats like dog biscuits with grains or 'people food' like pasta etc and so the dog gets grains anyway. :lol:

Many companies will ship food if you want to use Orijen but there are many types of food out there you could try of one doesn't seem to agree with your puppy.

PS I note Fromm uses cheese in its foods and egg and chicken -- dairy and egg and chicken are among the more frequent causes of foog allergies and intolerances.

From UC Davis vet school:

The most common proven allergens in the dog are beef, chicken, milk, eggs, corn, wheat, and soy; in the cat, fish and milk products.

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This is a good example of why I think so much that is said about dog foods generally, and grains in particular, is just ridiculous -- people deliberately avoid foods with grains because there's all this talk that grains cause allergies. But grains are no more implicated than dairy and loads of people give yoghurt all the time, and egg, and chicken -- the reality is that allergy and intolerances are not that common anyway.

Yet at the same time a 'grain free' food manufacturer is busy putting in several other ingredients KNOWN to cause allergies! What is the point?? I see their 'surf and turf grain free' food also blends THREE protein sources -- which is also more likely to cause problems; most nutritionists and allergy specialists will say to use single protein foods. I'm not at all saying this isn't a good food (my crew would probably love it! I feed all those ingredients and regularly feed grain-inclusive foods with no issues) but I don't really see the benefits of removing grains if they use three protein sources including chicken, and dairy products plus egg. How are those more beneficial and less risky that grain?

It may be that your dog doesn't have a good tolerance for cheese/dairy products for example. I'd probably look for a food without dairy and a single protein.

I have used Fromm, but the four or five star line (can't remember which) in the stylish looking black & colorful bags, which is approved for all life stages (they don't have a separate puppy formula) and was happy with it. I have been feeding orijen for a while now and always come back to it- and there are two reasons why; their poops are nicely formed and super easy to pick up, and their fur seems to be softest on this food.

Can you get Natura's California Natural? It's a very good food that's easy on the stomach and doesn't have too many ingredients. That's what I fed my pups when they had problems. I would try the lamb and rice, since so many dogs have problems with chicken.