Switching from Nutro to Canidae

[cindy4928]

I switched from Nutro Natural to Canadae, I did it gradually and it seems the more Sadie gets of the Canadae the looser her stool has become. This morning she was given only Canadae and within 2 hours of eating 1 cup her stool was all liquid, now I am totally confused should I just go back to the Nutro Natural. Any suggestions will be appreciated.....Thanks

 

[gmacleod]

Well, it's always advisable not to increase the amount of the new food until the runny stool firms back up You could try giving her a little canned pumpkin (plain, not pie filling) to help her along.

How long has she been on the Canidae? It could just be the switch of foods, or it could be that the Canidae doesn't agree with her. No matter how good a food is, it isn't going to agree with every single dog. Without knowing how long she's been on it, it's rather difficult to say what the cause is.

 

[cindy4928]

thanks gmacleod for answering my post, I wasn't sure if I posted this in the right forum or should I have started my own?

I had switched her over to Nutro several weeks ago and that switch went fine, since then I read that Nutro was not a very good food either so I switched her again starting 1 week ago and have been gradually adding more Canadae every couple of day's. I was wondering if I should just go back to the Nutro and get her tummy setteled down some then maybe later try again, a little slower this time, or just maybe switch to wellness (another of my choices). I did read this morning about adding some pumkin to her to her food maybe 1 tablespoon a day. I am just not sure which approach I should take at this point. By the way if it is important she will be 18 weeks on monday....thankyou again. I have read so much that you write and I feel any advise that you give me will be helpful, just trying to learn and be a good boxer momma, and not make toooo many mistakes along the way...Cindy

 

[gmacleod]

Better that it is in a thread of it's own - and I'll split it shortly.

Nutro isn't the greatest food out there, indeed. There is a 'Nutro Natural Choice Ultra' formula that recently made the Whole Dog Journal's list of quality foods - and the ingredient list on that one looks substantially better than the other Nutros.

As for going to Wellness, yes, it could be a good idea. If she's transitioned completely onto the Canidae now, I don't think it would make a great deal of difference - from a switching point of view - whether you're switching her back to Nutro or switching her to Wellness. Hopefully it will agree better with her tummy than the Canidae

I would certainly give her some pumpkin to try to firm those stools up in the meantime. If that doesn't work, you could feed her boiled chicken and rice - a nice bland diet like that should solve any problems. From there, I'd do the gradual thing with introducing Wellness - but if there are any runny stool problems, wait for them to firm up first before increasing the amount of Wellness in the food.

 

[cindy4928]

Thanks again gmacleod, hopefully this will work for the poor girl.....Cindy

 

[gmacleod]

You're welcome

Just as a last thought though, since she's 18 weeks old... diarrhoea in young puppies is quite often the result of parasites (worms). They're pretty much always born with a few. She's probably already been dewormed, of course, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

 

[cindy4928]

I had a stool sample done on Sadie on the 10th of January so she could start puppy kindergarten and it came back negative, she also has had all she shots as well. I am wondering if she could have caught something since I have been taking her out and about more (puppy socializing and all). How long should I keep up with the chicken and rice diet??? I did notice this morning it was looking a little better (still very soft).

 

[gmacleod]

Good

Technically it's possible that she could pick something up out socialising, but not that likely unless she ate someone esle's poop. The joys of dogs, hmmm? LOL Anyway, I don't think it's likely that that's the cause of her diarrhoea, just had to throw it in there just in case she hadn't been checked over. Since she has been, I wouldn't spend time worrying about it

As for the chicken and rice diet, just until the stools firm up to reasonably normal levels is all. A couple of days or so is usually sufficient. Then you can start her out on normal food again Good luck!

 

[cindy4928]

Just to let you know Sadie is doing great, her tummy has settled down and her stools are back to normal so I think tomarrow I will start her back on the kibble (taking it slow of course) thanks again gmacleod for resonding so quickly to all of my question I truly appreciate it (and Sadie too).

 

[sashamom]

I also just switched to Canidae and my kids had a bit of the runs for the first day or so but were better shortly after. Canidae is high in calories and a bit on the rich side ....my dogs have done pretty well on it! Just monitor and hopefully things will be better soon!!