Need Advice on Solid Gold with Soft Stools

[Burton'sMa]

My boy just made the switch from Chicken Soup to Solid Gold....I made sure to make the switch slow and drag the process out for a week...during that week he had very firm stools....at the end of the one week change period I put him on Solid Gold 100% and for two weeks now he has had very very soft stools.....what should I do? Should I go back out and get a small bag of Chicken Soup again to continue to make the mixing process longer or should I just take this as a sign that maybe this food will not work for him? What do you guys think? Any advice would be well appreciated.

 

[gmacleod]

Personally, I'd try to firm up his stool with a little canned pumpkin - or even a day or two on boiled chicken/rice - then continue with the Solid Gold. If the stools stay firm, then great. If they revert to being overly soft, then you could probably reasonably conclude that the Solid Gold doesn't suit his system terribly well and either revert to CS or try something else. Sometimes all it takes is a little intervention to firm him back up, after which things are fine - other times the food and dog just aren't ever going to match.

 

[Burton'sMa]

One more question Gmaceleod

Thank you gmacleod.....does it matter what type of canned pumpkin? Do you put the pumpkin in with his food? Again thank you.

 

[apollosdad]

imo, the switch was too fast. you mentioned it only took a week. i switched my dog to solid gold last month and i made sure to take my time with it. i took a whole month. his stools were very firm throughout the whole switch and i probably could have taken less time or even switched him cold turkey. he's never had a sensitive stomach, but i took my time anyway to ensure that i would have the least amount of problems. he is continuing to do well.

 

[apollosdad]

question for gmacleod

i've noticed that you have posted trying canned pumpkin for upset tummies. i know not to feed the canned pumpkin pie mix, but was wondering if the Libby brand was okay? It states it is 100% Pure Pumpkin on the label. It is in the same aisle as the canned pumpkin but not labeled as pumpkin pie filling. is the grocery store a good place to find it, or is a health food store a better choice? apollo doesn't have anything wrong, but i'd like to have some on hand in case my buddy ever gets an upset tummy.

 

[gmacleod]

Burton'sMa: what you're looking for is plain canned pumpkin that is pumpkin and nothing else. The pie filling is spiced (I think sugar added too) which won't help his tummy at all.

Apollosdad: grocery store stuff is fine, no need to go to a health store - see above about just plain pumpkin, not the pie filling since it has spices included. Can't really comment on the Libby brand, since I don't live in the US and have no idea what that is LOL

 

[Jan]

As long as the can says pure pumpkin it will be fine.

Sometimes a dog will have soft stools because they are being fed too much. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Burton'sMa]

Thank you all very much for you comments/advice....it was very helpful. I am very careful how much I feed him, he actually is eating a lot less than he used to.....around 1 1/2 to 2 cups a day.....instead of 3 to 4 cups a day....I think both of you are right....I need to get some canned plain pumpkin and need to get a small bag of his old food and continue to slow mix for a longer time period....b/c like I said the whole week transition with his food went really well till we went to 100%. ....thank you all very much.....though, one more question, is it too late to try to put some of his old food back in to make a slower switch....it's been two weeks without it??

 

[gmacleod]

I don't think adding any of his old food will be helpful at this stage - he's been off it for too long. That would be a bit like introducing a new food into the mix. I'd just look at firming things up via the pumpkin (or again, via a bland boiled chicken/rice diet) then see whether his system settles with the SG.

 

[Julie P.]

Deeg got soft stool when I started switching him from Costco Kirkland Brand of dog food to Solid Gold. Just about the time I almost started to panicked about how long it was taking him to adjust to the change, his stool started hardening...we haven't had any problems with Solid Gold since. I spoke to a Solid Gold Representative in California who said that I should expect a cleansing reaction to happen when switching to Solid Gold from another product. He said the product may cleanse out Deeg’s system and that I may even notice a strong oder to his stool. He also mentioned it might take up to 3 to 4 months for Deeg to adapt to the new change in dog food. It didn't take Deeg this long thank goodness. It took him about 1 1/2 months for his system to adjust to the change.