# Food change and soft stools



## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

I wanted to change up Cleo's food so that I'd be able to feed her some variety. She's been eating Pro Plan Focus puppy lamb and rice, and I was going to alternate/mix in Annamaet puppy chicken. I started adding the Annamaet a little at a time, but i noticed she's having soft stools. I realize that can happen with a food change and might regulate once the switch has been completed, but I wasn't planning to have her only eat Annamaet, so any idea what that will mean? Will it mean her digestion constantly adjusting from one back to the other? Her stools have been totally normal on the PP, so i don't want to have problems. The reason I'm adding something new is that a) she seems bored with her food, and b) I like the ingredients in Annamaet (i also considered Nature's Logic, but they don't make puppy food, only all life stages, which we're not supposed to feed yet). I am starting to think i shouldn't mess with what seems to be working. I just wish i liked the PPP ingredients better. 
Anyone who has their dog on a variety of foods have this problem?


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

You might find this article about not judging a food by ingredient list helpful.

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016...dEURDcSNPvo5zYI62EHHEjRGN5YtCRdXK-PYrF_-WI1DQ

Also, I will attach another article written by a veterinarian about transitioning to other foods. I could not cut and paste a link to the article so I did a screen shot of it.

I will also add that I fed Purina foods, with great results, for nearly 50 years. Healthy dogs who lived long lives, no cancer, no allergies, no tummy upsets, no major diseases.

I strayed away to grain free foods and now I am back with Purina Pro Plan. Poppy loves it and does very well on it so I have no plans to change.

I hope this info helps....I wish you well.


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

I feed Purina Pro Plan, too. I was feeding Wellness Core. The two big dogs had really soft stools on Wellness Core. The two little dogs seem to be able to eat anything without digestive problems.


The Pro Plan has improved the stools, but they are still pretty soft - a real pain to pick up!


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## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

Thank you both for the reassurance and additional information! I had tried Wellness (not the grain-free variety) and had a similar problem with loose stools, which was what led me to put Cleo on Pro Plan puppy in the first place. She has done well on it. (She can't tolerate any legumes, so i've never tried anything grain-free, since they all have legumes.)

I'm curious to know whether either of you add anything to the PP as a topping or if you add water to it? I mostly feed it dry but in the evening she gets a probiotic recommended by the vet (after the earlier stomach problems it helped), and when i add that, because it's a powder i also add water to make a gravy, and she likes it that way. I wonder if she'd eat more of her food if i always add water.

Regarding the transition to a new food, out of caution, i normally go very slowly, so i started at less than 25% new and slowly increased, but as soon as we hit 25%, she reacted. Both foods contain grains, so i thought it would be easy to switch back and forth, but there are different grains in the Annamaet and i wonder if that could be a problem.

Anyway, i will stick with the PP, and instead of adding a different food, i'll add a different flavor of the same food. I have been a little concerned that she eats mostly the lamb and rice--i thought i read that too much lamb in the diet could be problematic.


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## Zesti_V (Aug 7, 2019)

I also agree that foods like Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, or Science Diet are absolutely fine. Whatever works best for your pup. A lot of people don't like the big brands for various reasons, but I'll take decades of healthy dogs eating their food any day.


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## Zesti_V (Aug 7, 2019)

Forgot to add that I feed Jessie Science Diet dry + Science Diet wet + just a splash of water at each meal all mixed together. She won't eat dry kibble by itself unless I hand feed her, which I don't want to do in case I'm not there to feed her one day!

I just calculated her total calories for the day and divide up the wet/dry mix so I get through the entire can of science diet wet food in 5 days and get her the calories she needs without feeding too much.


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Hi - my Asta was on a grain free recipe so when I saw grain free to be problematic, I was on the search for new food. I tried the ProPlan (a couple of different formulations) and Asta had bad constipation on the PP. I changed to Science Diet (I know it is not as high ranking on dogfoodadvisor) but Asta is doing well on it. Good poops with no problems. As a bonus Asta really loves this food and has been eating more which is a good thing for my skinny boy.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

MustLoveDogs said:


> Thank you both for the reassurance and additional information! I had tried Wellness (not the grain-free variety) and had a similar problem with loose stools, which was what led me to put Cleo on Pro Plan puppy in the first place. She has done well on it. (She can't tolerate any legumes, so i've never tried anything grain-free, since they all have legumes.)
> 
> I'm curious to know whether either of you add anything to the PP as a topping or if you add water to it? I mostly feed it dry but in the evening she gets a probiotic recommended by the vet (after the earlier stomach problems it helped), and when i add that, because it's a powder i also add water to make a gravy, and she likes it that way. I wonder if she'd eat more of her food if i always add water.
> 
> ...


Hi,
I tried a couple of other foods when I first got Poppy. Neither worked for her, she was gassy and had soft poo and was not thrilled with those foods. When I changed her to the Pro Plan I tried doing a slow change but Poppy had other ideas. She would take a mouthful, spit it out and pick out only the Pro Plan, leaving the other food on the floor. A couple of days of that and I just. Gave her a bowl of Pro Plan. She did well, LOVED the food and we are both happy. Poppy doesn' t get any toppers on her food and not water added to it either. She happily crunches away on it, dry. I do sometimes give her special bits of human food as treats and she loves some veggies so she also gets those as reats, but never as toppers on her food. She has always been a good, but messy, drinker so I don't worry about her fluid intake. I always have free fed my poodles so she always just nibbles off and on through the day and eats the majority of her food after 8 PM and often eats sometime during the night while I am sleeping. My previous girl, Iris ate just the same way. Poppy still loves her Pro Plan and every time Chewy delivers her food she tries to break into the box and into the bag! She NEVER did that with her previous foods, EVO, Orijen and Victor.
One of the reasons I am happy with Purina is that I know that they do extensive testing on all of their formulas to make sure that not only are they healthy to feed but that the foods are also palatable as well. They have been making animal feeds for 85 years and have lots of experience in doing things the right way. After switching Poppy to the Pro Plan I did discover that my breeder, Betty Brown of Donnchada Poodles also feeds the exact same formula to her poodles. Betty has been breeding, raising and showing top quality poodles for decades and if she feeds Pro Plan that is good enough for me.


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

Yes, Betty feeds Pro Plan - and lots of other professional handlers do, too. My dogs are all doing better on it than on the "premium" foods.


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## MustLoveDogs (Apr 20, 2019)

Thank you, this is all good to know! Certainly Cleo seems to tolerate Pro Plan better than anything, other than plain lean beef or chicken. 

I had heard it was better for their teeth if they ate the food dry rather than wet at least part of the time--is there is any truth to that?


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