Does less poo = more nutrients?

Sparkle · 12-26-2012, 09:57 AM

I keep reading that less poo means that our dogs are absorbing more of the nutrients in their food, which equals a good thing. Is this true? I'm trying to figure out what to switch Kallie to. Right now I'm switching her from Wellness Super5Mix puppy food to the adult version. She has very frequent runny poos. I've been switching her slowly, but it's getting worse than better. And she doesn't seem to like it. Should I stay with Wellness, just a different type? Or switch to another brand? In my research, I keep seeing Orijen and Acana, but have seen several reviews stating they have caused runny poos. Definitely don't want this to get any worse! Need some expert advise here! And this forum is who I always turn to.

davetgabby · 12-26-2012, 10:06 AM

what's good for one dog is not good for another. Remember when switching foods to give it eight weeks to know. The "best rated" foods eg from dog food analysis are not necessarily the best , nor are they meant for every dog. I usually recommend Sabine if you continually have problems. Try something else ,but give it time.

Sparkle · 12-26-2012, 10:13 AM

Thanks, Dave. I know switching slowly works best, but she really doesn't seem to like this food. It's definitely a struggle getting her to eat.

davetgabby · 12-26-2012, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkle

Thanks, Dave. I know switching slowly works best, but she really doesn't seem to like this food. It's definitely a struggle getting her to eat.

that is quite likely the case. Even Sabine agrees that it is important to find something they like. We are not always spoiling them by looking for something more appealing. Try something else. I would use the top ten list lol as a guide only, its somewhat accurate but nothing more than that.

sprorchid · 12-26-2012, 02:05 PM

Hey Pat -
So it is possible that some of the ingredients in the kibble you selected, don't agree with your dog. time will tell. I will say, don't keep switching brands. lots of issues, but most importantly your dog will be a picky eater.

My first pet, the family cat, our family didn't know any better, and we'd buy what was on sale for the cat. she definitely had a preference of two name brands and would boycott the others. We'd catch her, face all the way in a 40lb bag of cat food, and she'd stuff her face full of kibble, then spit it all out and eat it one by one. no joke.

So for my dogs, they've only had one brand of kibble as adults (ollie had a special puppy kibble). at times I've mixed in a bit of another brand to spice it up for them, like ziwipeak (raw food, air dried and expensive). Honestly they are happier not knowing what they are missing.

I'm sure you'll sort it all out soon enough.

krandall · 12-26-2012, 03:46 PM

I would never switch brands JUST because the dog is being picky about it... that can be a slipper slope. But in this case, your girl is having consistently loose stools, and that's not right. So I would definitely consider a switch if my dog's tummy didn't agree with a specific food. (after slow, careful introduction)

Sparkle · 12-26-2012, 04:30 PM

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I've also got a call in to our vet (she was out today) to see what she recommends doing. I know she said previously that the loose stools were probably a food thing, and she was hoping we could keep her on Wellness. But there are so many varieties of Wellness, maybe we just need to change to another variety. I should hear from her tomorrow. Til then, I'll just wait.

atsilvers27 · 12-26-2012, 08:39 PM

Just to restate what everyone else said, each dog is an individual and not every dog will take to certain foods. Because of my time constraints I feed my dog a high quality kibble, but it took a while to find the right kind for her sensitive stomach and she is a fussy eater. She had constant soft/runny stools on other high quality food such as Wellness and Orijen, but went normal as soon as I switched her to Blue Buffalo Basics, limited ingredients. She is now on the Freedom grain free version. Normally I would transition over 1 1/2 weeks or so, but she would pick out the BB so she kind of did a hard switch of her own. So right away I noticed nice normal stools instead of the kind that sticks to the grass. That's just what worked for me, so you'll just have to experiment to see what works for you and your dog. For home cooked meals, my experience is that it is similar to home schooled kids, it is either done extremely well, or very poorly. Fortunately for pets on the forum, home cooked meals are meticulously thought out and planned.

Suzi · 12-27-2012, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkle

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I've also got a call in to our vet (she was out today) to see what she recommends doing. I know she said previously that the loose stools were probably a food thing, and she was hoping we could keep her on Wellness. But there are so many varieties of Wellness, maybe we just need to change to another variety. I should hear from her tomorrow. Til then, I'll just wait.

Did you know that there has been a lot of recalls with wellness. My sister gave me a bag because she had to change her dogs diet. Mine were acting sick and had loose stools. When I went to the natures pet store they had stopped carrying it because of all the recalls. Wellness is manufactured by Dimond. The manager of the store was very knowledgeable and sold me Earthborn because it has a similar recipe as wellness. I had been feeding Acanna but Zoey stomach couldn't handle the richer food. The sisters haven't had to have any but baths on Earthborn and are pooping about twice a day. I got the Lamb one. And they like it.

Sparkle · 12-27-2012, 05:56 PM

Wow, Suzi, thanks. I'll check into the recalls. I hadn't even thought of something like that!