Getting used to new food? (allergic, poop, diet, diarrhea)

[DawnMTL]

Hi!

I've got a few questions about getting Artie onto a new food.

I recently slowly transitioned Artie from Iams garbage to the good stuff -- Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. We're now at the stage that he's ONLY getting the Chicken Soup kibble; none of the Iams mixed in.

Note 1: Artie often skips meals, as if to save his appetite for treats. I probably shouldn't give him treats if he hasn't eaten his food, but I want him to eat SOMETHING! (I'm Jewish -- everything centers on food for us.)

Note 2: In the morning, he gets straight kibble. That's the meal that he typically skips. In the evening, I add some protein (chicken or cheese), some veggies (green beans or broccoli), and some brown rice to the kibble. He eats all the protein, veggies, and rice... and if I talk nicely, he'll eat most of his kibble.

OK, here's the issue:

His stools, recently, have been a bit soft and have a slight orange tinge.

• Could that be because he's not fully accustomed to the new food? If so, how long before he'll poop more solid and, uh, brown?
• I know that commercial treats typically cause softer stools (because it's junk food), so could that be the sole reason for his stool changes and it has nothing to do with the food change?

Geez, between his anal sac issues and this problem, you'd think I was obsessed with Artie's poop. Well, I guess I am.

[cleosmom]

Try adding a little bit of warm water to his food. It should bring out the aroma that might tempt him.

[MAK802]

Porkchop started not wanting his kibble, so I take a few treats and mix them into the kibble. He tries to pick them out and eats all the kibble in the process. Maybe that can work for your dog.

As far as the poop, it was about 2 weeks after switching to his new food that the poops became firm. Certain vegetables can give poop an orange tinge. I know when I gave him carrots, I found small chunks of it in his poop the next day and pumpkin makes it look like chocolate-pumpkin swirl (yea, I know TMI). I'm also obsessed with his poop and notice a change as soon as it happens.

[rural lady]

I'm glad you watch whats going on with your dog, alot of people don't. OK, on with the poo subject.
It could be the new food, how many days has he been on the new food now?
Any mucous in the stool? Hmm.... (slimey stuff)
O <- Rusty Brown color? like a terra cotta flower pot?

You have not fed carrots right? I would take away some of the dog food and use just cooked plain white rice, the long grain type, or withold the dogfood for 2 days and just feed some rice and drained gr. beef or gr. turkey, gr. chick, see if the running poos stop. Then start adding the dogfood and taking away some of the rice, if the weird poo comes back its the food. Some dogs cannot handle certain foods, what matters is whats in them, ex: barley does not agree with all dogs and can cause diarrhea. Did your old food have barely, does the new one? Check the web for the ingredients in the new food vs the old, I don't know what problem you had with the Iams or what type, but I think you may find your answers there.

Here are two links one is for Orijen top rated low glycemic for this year.

The other wil show some comparison of ratings of premium foods vs quality ones.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/8
http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

I hope you have a good Poo day tommorrow !

[DawnMTL]

cleosmom -- ok, this is funny; since I wrote that post, he ate yesterday's dinner and this morning's breakfast... without doing anything different. It's as if he knew I was concerned and was doing what he needed to do to ward off a vet's visit or something even worse! LOL! But I'll keep the warm water idea in mind if he doesn't eat his next meal. Thanks!

MAK802 -- is it ever TMI when we're talking about our babies, Porkchop and Artie??? I don't think so! You find bits of carrot in PC's poop, I find grains of rice in Artie's. Oh, you and I are quite the pair! LOL! It's only been a couple of days since he's been on JUST this kibble (in the weeks prior it was mixed with the old Iams), and the orange-ish, soft-ish poop started late in the transition, so maybe it will take time to get "normal." Thanks for the calm-down regarding the time elapse.

rural lady -- it's only been a couple of days since he's been on JUST this kibble (in the weeks prior it was mixed with the old Iams), and the orange-ish, soft-ish poop started late in the transition. There's no mucus, but yeah, if I had a color chart, I'd say it's on the terra cotta color side.

Y'know, I didn't mention carrots because I've been giving him carrots for a very long time (a year? more?) and it's only one baby carrot per day.

Is there a difference between long-grain white rice and the brown rice that I give him? (We eat brown rice, so I always have leftovers for Artie.)

OK, the barley thing is interesting! His old food (Iams) did NOT have barley in the ingredients. His new food (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul) DOES have barley in the ingredients, and it's pretty high up on the list too. Should I assume that the barley is the culpret? Should I not be feeding him this food that contains barley? Or will he get used to it?

Thanks for the good poo day wishes! He pood this morning, but it was too dark out for me to see the color. It wasn't firm, though, I know that.

Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

[DawnMTL]

OK, so we just went for our mid-morning walk and Artie had another poo.

Not firm (but not diarrhea -- he's never had diarrhea).
Definitely with an orange tinge.

Rural Lady -- I'll wait to hear what you have to say about the barley and whether you think I need to switch his food to a non-barley one, or just let him get used to the new ingredient.

Thanks!

[MAK802]

I can just see you going through Artie's poop after he goes, the way I do. My neighbors think I'm crazy, but I like to know if there are any changes.

Would you consider a grain-free food? Most dogs react to the grains and fillers in the food and do considerably well on grainless food. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream is the only grainless food with a low protein content (25%). That's what Porkchop is on until he can handle the higher protein.

If your dog is ok with higher protein, I would highly recommend switching to a brand like Acana (we'll be doing that once he is one or so). It's made by the same company as Orijen, only with protein content in the 30% range and not 40, like Orijen. Other grainless to consider are Canidae (the grainless was not part of the formula change), Wellness Core or another formula of Taste of the Wild.

If you don't want grainless, a food many people swear by and refer to as "doggy crack" is Fromm (the four star line). Fromm makes one grainless food, but the rest is not. They have lots of flavors and I know people that switch flavors with each bag to diversify the protein source. And, as always, you can refer to www.dogfoodanalysis.com to see how your food rates. Good luck finding what works for you and Artie!

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by MAK802

I can just see you going through Artie's poop after he goes, the way I do. My neighbors think I'm crazy, but I like to know if there are any changes.

Would you consider a grain-free food? Most dogs react to the grains and fillers in the food and do considerably well on grainless food. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream is the only grainless food with a low protein content (25%). That's what Porkchop is on until he can handle the higher protein.

If your dog is ok with higher protein, I would highly recommend switching to a brand like Acana (we'll be doing that once he is one or so). It's made by the same company as Orijen, only with protein content in the 30% range and not 40, like Orijen. Other grainless to consider are Canidae (the grainless was not part of the formula change), Wellness Core or another formula of Taste of the Wild.

If you don't want grainless, a food many people swear by and refer to as "doggy crack" is Fromm (the four star line). Fromm makes one grainless food, but the rest is not. They have lots of flavors and I know people that switch flavors with each bag to diversify the protein source. And, as always, you can refer to www.dogfoodanalysis.com to see how your food rates. Good luck finding what works for you and Artie!

LOL!!! I'm like a poop scientist out there, I swear!

I'd have no problem going grainless. The food that Artie's on now (Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul) is also in the four-star line, but I'll definitely look into the others. The trick is finding a place here in CT that carries whatever I choose. Also, I'm happy to spend the extra money for Artie's food, but I don't want (i.e. can't afford) a food that's crazy expensive.

I'm going to look into Fromm and Taste of the Wild (higher protein for this guy) and the others you mentioned, and see what's available close by.

Thank you!!!!!!!!

[Racelady88]

Just some random tidbits that might help.

Some foods have a stool hardener. It may be that the one you just moved away from had one and the new one does not, so you may have softer stool.

Dog poop changes color based on the diet, so if there is a more orange coloring to the new food that may just be the new color.

Foods that are high in nutrition like the one you are using now will help a dog to feel full for longer periods of time. You should notice that your dog eats less because he is getting more out of each meal. My dog will sometimes go for a couple of days without eating, but will always beg for treats.

Other food options you might want to check out include Prairie by Nature's Variety and Solid Gold.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

Just some random tidbits that might help.

Some foods have a stool hardener. It may be that the one you just moved away from had one and the new one does not, so you may have softer stool.

Dog poop changes color based on the diet, so if there is a more orange coloring to the new food that may just be the new color.

Foods that are high in nutrition like the one you are using now will help a dog to feel full for longer periods of time. You should notice that your dog eats less because he is getting more out of each meal. My dog will sometimes go for a couple of days without eating, but will always beg for treats.

Other food options you might want to check out include Prairie by Nature's Variety and Solid Gold.

I really hate the idea of changing his food yet again. If he's not allergic to something in it (such as the barley), I'm kind of thinking that I'd like to stick with this food.

(Note to MAK802: Of the list of foods you'd suggested, only Wellness Core is available anywhere near me. Geez, you'd think I live out on Mars, it's so difficult to find some of the good foods. I'm going to price the Wellness Core, but I'd ideally like to stick to this food if he's not allergic.)

Well! Why didn't I think of the color of the actual food -- it IS lighter in color, more orangey, than his previous food! Thank you!!!

Also, thank you for calming me down about his sometime lack of appetite -- that makes sense that he's fuller from the better quality food. And, just like me, there's always room for treats, no matter how full I am (or he is). That makes perfect sense.

In terms of firming up his stool, his supper is supplemented with an additional protein (cheese or chicken), a veggie (broccoli or green beans), and some brown rice. I imagine the rice should firm up his stool -- maybe I should give him more of that?

Thanks!!!