# Which Kibble?



## rp17 (Jun 6, 2018)

When we brought Ateles home at almost 9 weeks, his breeder had been feeding him Purina Beneful Puppy. We bought a smaller bag of Wellness Small Breed Puppy and slowly transitioned him to that during the first week. It's now about time to buy another bag and I'm trying to decide what to get next. Do we switch him to an "all stages" or stick with puppy (he's just over 11 weeks now)? I also don't want to upset his tummy too much by switching him, especially since we just started him on antibiotics for the soft stools from his coccidia. I don't want to get in a situation where we're not sure if loose stools are from switching food or if he's still having issues from the coccidia and meds. 

Yesterday I tried adding some steamed shredded carrots to his food to make it more interesting, but he threw up almost his entire dinner shortly after eating. I guess his stomach wasn't used to the carrots? He doesn't seem particularly food motivated, so I was trying to make dinner more interesting. My husband has been mixing some peanut butter into his kibble, and that has been encouraging him to eat more.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Why do you want to change his food again?

He's got soft stool, is dealing with coccidia and potential side effects of the medication to treat his coccidia and I believe in another post you mentioned you will be going away for a short while and leaving him with someone else. If he was thriving on it since you transitioned him over to it, I would continue for now. At least wait till he is cleared from his infection, no longer on medication and you will be home to deal with any problems that can crop up with a change in diet.

As for the throwing up and soft stool I presume this is new - and is related to his coccidia/medication and not a reaction to his Wellness Small Breed Puppy food.

If the Wellness Small Breed Puppy was causing the soft stool and throwing up - then I would recommend going back to what the breeder was feeding him. But this doesn't seem to be the case correct? He was doing well on the new food?


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

Here’s what Mimi (13 week minipoo) gets. It’s still a work in progress.

Kibble etc:
My breeder recommended Now Fresh Grain-Free Puppy by Petcurean.
I’m really happy with it, Mimi likes it and it’s also a great size for use as low value training treats and kibble stuffing.
Sometimes I put a bit of peanut butter on the end of a kong to keep the kibble from falling out, but not too much because peanut butter isn’t very healthy.
Sometimes I jazz up the kibble by adding a few teaspoons of tasty quality canned puppy food and mix it all up with warm water to make kibble & gravy.
Today I gave her a little raw tuna and she loved it, so I’ll be adding it to her diet.
I also give Mimi one or two tablespoons of plain yogurt a day for the probiotic benefit.
If we eat ice cream then she does too, it’s only fair.

Training treats:
She gets freeze dried liver or Kiwi air-dried beef dinner for high value training and highest of the high value training treat are little bits of Bixbi Beef Lung Jerky Treat. She goes nuts for that and will run to me like a maniac for it if I even whisper the word Come, but it’s reserved for teaching only the most important commands so as not to spoil her off her regular food.

Poop:
Her poops have been very good except one time she was a bit constipated, probably from all the goodies she had gotten at puppy kindergarten that day.

Disclaimer:
She eats grass like a goat, but I’ve chosen not to fight that battle since it hasn’t seemed to affect her health or the nice pooping. And grass is better than rocks.


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

Note: Mimi has clear feces test.
If she had something like coccydia I’d be following the vets instructions so please don’t take what I’m feeding her as a recommendation in your situation.


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## rp17 (Jun 6, 2018)

Skylar said:


> Why do you want to change his food again?
> 
> He's got soft stool, is dealing with coccidia and potential side effects of the medication to treat his coccidia and I believe in another post you mentioned you will be going away for a short while and leaving him with someone else. If he was thriving on it since you transitioned him over to it, I would continue for now. At least wait till he is cleared from his infection, no longer on medication and you will be home to deal with any problems that can crop up with a change in diet.
> 
> ...


Hi Skylar, I didn't necessarily mean I wanted to change his food. We just need to buy more before our trip and I wasn't sure if we should stick with this one or try something new. I had read on another post here that you shouldn't use "puppy" food because of the high protein content, so started to wonder if our next bag should be an all stages food instead. I think the thread that said to steer clear of puppy food was more meant for standard poodles, though.

You are correct we are going away next week, but he is not staying with someone else. He will be traveling with us. Your response seems to be indicating where I was already leaning, which is that until everything else normalizes, we should stick with the same food. My other reason for contemplating a change was that he doesn't seem to love his food, but it could be he just doesn't love dry kibble period. He does eat more when my husband adds a little peanut butter to it.



doditwo said:


> Here’s what Mimi (13 week minipoo) gets. It’s still a work in progress.
> 
> Kibble etc:
> My breeder recommended Now Fresh Grain-Free Puppy by Petcurean.
> ...


We've been giving him freeze dried liver and beef treats for training as well and he does enjoy those. What is unhealthy about the peanut butter? Is it the high fat content? He's getting a little bit each day to take his medicine, plus a little in his kibble just to get him to eat it (although I'm thinking we need to try yogurt or chicken broth instead).


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## rp17 (Jun 6, 2018)

Skylar said:


> If the Wellness Small Breed Puppy was causing the soft stool and throwing up - then I would recommend going back to what the breeder was feeding him. But this doesn't seem to be the case correct? He was doing well on the new food?


Sorry, forgot to reply to your last question. I don't believe the Wellness caused any issues, but I can't say for sure since he's had stinky, softer stools since the day we brought him home (which turned out to be the coccidia), so we really don't know what his "normal" is to be able to compare. We actually just thought maybe puppies had softer, stinkier stool and didn't realize this was a symptom of anything, as it wasn't loose or watery.


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

Hi rp17,
Yes, it’s the high fat content in peanut butter. Just like you I don’t have a problem with it in moderation, in fact I just used it a minute ago to plug the top of Mimi’s kong that is full of kibble plus another one with kibble that I plugged with a gob of canned food. She wasn’t eating kibble today because she was finicky again after yesterday’s puppy class were they got tons of good training treats. So I had to trick her ;-)


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

rp17 said:


> Sorry, forgot to reply to your last question. I don't believe the Wellness caused any issues, but I can't say for sure since he's had stinky, softer stools since the day we brought him home (which turned out to be the coccidia), so we really don't know what his "normal" is to be able to compare. We actually just thought maybe puppies had softer, stinkier stool and didn't realize this was a symptom of anything, as it wasn't loose or watery.


That makes it trickier because you don't have a good baseline.

BTW, that peanut butter is adding more fat and protein so be careful to use just a tiny amount. I'm sure you know not to use peanut butter with artificial sweeteners which can kill a dog. My dog is allergic to legumes (peanuts are a legume). She gets a smelly loose stool as well as she throws up bile/blood - however that doesn't mean your dog has those allergies - just if he continues with the loose stool after treatment for coccidia, then consider peanut butter as a possible cause.


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## Dogs4Life (May 27, 2018)

rp17 said:


> My other reason for contemplating a change was that he doesn't seem to love his food, but it could be he just doesn't love dry kibble period. He does eat more when my husband adds a little peanut butter to it.


I know that this is not the best for a dog's teeth (so make sure to start brushing!), but how about adding some water to the food and microwaving it? Or just adding water to the food, which gives the food a different texture. This is what we did for our puppies (I also did this for Miracle when she wasn't eating when I got her), and it made the food more appetizing. This suggestion is on several websites for ideas for what to do when puppies/dogs do not want to eat their food. 

Also, if you use a kong, add water to your puppy's food, put it on a kong, add a little peanut butter to the top and then freeze it....just another idea to make your pup's food more interesting.

I do not know how long your puppy should be on puppy food, but traveling is typically stressful for pets, so you should probably stick with the current food for now. Miracle is used to the 2 hour trip to my parents' house (almost every weekend during my normal work schedule), and she usually will not eat dinner when we arrive...and she loves her food, so that says something.


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

If your long term goal for him is for him to eat dry kibble, then i’d Not top it up with anything. Giving the good stuff like peanut butter to a young puppy, in my experience just makes them picky. In a Kong as a treat, sure but not on kibble. If the puppy food is working, stick to it esp if you will be traveling. You can switch to all stages if you want when you are back home.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

If my dog/puppy had coccidia I would not change foods until he is clear and eating well. Wellness is a decent food so if it in't creating a problem I wouldn't change. I also would not mix peanut butter into his meals and also be sure the peanut butter doesn't contain Xylitol , which is a sugar substitute and toxic to dogs. Found in sugar free versions. If you feel he needs a topper to his kibble just add a teaspoon or les of canned food. But remember when you add canned they need to eat it and you can't free freed as moist food will spoil, and once ou do it, ou will always be adding it. I actually do add moist. When I got my pup he was getting a teaspoon added to his kibble, I just kept doing it. I believe once you find a food that your dog likes and it is convenient to buy stick with it. Just my opinion..


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## rp17 (Jun 6, 2018)

I want to thank everyone who responded to me several weeks ago, and I apologize for not getting back to the last two posters (I never got the email that there were new comments). 

I figured I'd post an update here. Because of the issues with the coccidia, soft stools, etc, we did decide to stick with the same food when the first bag ran out. He had a clear fecal right before we left, and another clear one when we came back, but his stools did remain on the softer side through the entire second bag of the Wellness. After we finished that bag, we did decide to make a change since it had been about a month since the coccidia cleared and we still weren't getting firm stools. We switched to Fromm Puppy Gold and not only has he been finishing his entire bowl of food in one sitting at each meal (something he never did before), but his stools also firmed up almost immediately once he fully transitioned to the new kibble.

Oh yeah, and the peanut butter is now relegated to kongs and heartworm pills only


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