# Dog food



## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that when you put your dogs on the "high grade" dog food the stools are soft? I have tried several usually for at least 3 months at a time and the stools are always soft.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

What do you consider High Grade?


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Foods listed as premium with 4-6 stars at http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Most recent for me has been solid gold.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

I'm sure there are more expensive foods and probably some that are better. We feed Nutro and have had excellant results with it. I'm feeding 42 dogs. It seems to be palatable, we don't have problems with coats, dry skin and allergies like I hear so much about. The dogs seem to do well on it. The energy levels are what they should be. With the exception of a couple of my older dogs, they all tolerate it well. I've been feeding the same stuff for over 10 years and just really see no reason to change.

DFrost


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Which Nutro food do you use? Do you get solid stools?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Chris Jones said:


> Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that when you put your dogs on the "high grade" dog food the stools are soft? I have tried several usually for at least 3 months at a time and the stools are always soft.


If you are changing a dog who has been on grain-heavy food for a while to a lower-grain food (and lower in grain does mean higher in better ingredients like meat), there are likely to be soft stools at first unless you do it gradually.

Introduce it as 1/4 of the meal, then 1/3, and so on. If there is looseness at 1/4, stay there or back up until there are solid stools.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Sometimes this happens because you switch from the old food to the new too quickly, and/or are still feeding the same amount of the 'high grade' food as you were of the 'low grade' food. Too much of _any_ food will cause soft stools. Generally, you don't need to feed quite as much of a high quality food as you do a low quality food, so try cutting back on the amounts a little and you should notice an improvement.

Edited to say that there was only one response when I clicked reply! :lol:


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Also, it might be a sensitivity to the main protein source in a new food. If you have switched to a couple of higher-quality foods that happen to have the same protein source, that might be something to look at.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Kristen Cabe said:


> ..... still feeding the same amount of the 'high grade' food as you were of the 'low grade' food. Too much of _any_ food will cause soft stools.


Oh, good catch. This is actually the number 1 reason for persistent soft stools in a food switch.... too much food.

It's also common in switching from kibble to raw. The owner will think that because the dog needed three cups of kibble, he needs three cups of raw meat. 

There's a lot of unused stuff in lower-grade kibbles v. meat .... witness the much smaller poops of dogs on RMBs v. dogs on kibble. So yes, overfeeding is a very possible cause.


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Soft stools are really hard to pick up!!! :x

I gradually switched the food my mixing half and half for a week or so. Maybe this wasn't gradual enough?


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## Daniel Cox (Apr 17, 2006)

Chris Jones said:


> Soft stools are really hard to pick up!!! :x
> 
> I gradually switched the food my mixing half and half for a week or so. Maybe this wasn't gradual enough?


I have also found that when you switch to a grain free dog food that you do not need to feed as much. I would not do half and half. I would cut the amount you are feeding. I bet the new food is much richer and that is causing the soft stool. I have two new puppies and switched them to a grain free food and their stools were very soft in the beginning. I noticed some were soft and some where normal. I cut back on the amount and they stool is now nice and firm and easy to pickup with the pooperscooper.


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

So, what do you refer to as far as feeding quantity guidelines? The dog food bag instructions?


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

That's a start, but I've always fed less than the 'recommended' amount on the back of the bag. I pretty much go by look and feel of my dogs. If they start plumping up, I cut back a little, and if they start looking thin I feed a little more.


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Thanks guys I'll try altering the amount of food given. I understand slowly switching the food over but you'd think that after 4 months of being switched that should not matter any longer.

Signed,
Tired of scooping diarrhea :smile:


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

We use the Max, and yes. No complaints of watery or loose stools. Dogs we retire are generally between 10 and 13 years old. It has served us well, in my opinion.

DFrost


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

If you're on a grain free diet like Evo, Wellness Core, Nature's Variety Instinct, etc, some dogs, especially if they've been on it most of their life, don't do as well. Several folks I know "dilute" their Evo with Canidae, California Natural, Chicken Soup, etc and had good results. Having a little bit of grain is certainly not the end of the world and wolves definitely eat small grain eaters like mice and voles whole, so they would get a little bit of grain that way naturally. You just don't want it first, second, AND third, etc on your ingredients list, for instance.


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## Sharon Adams (Nov 6, 2007)

I would cut back on the amount a little and add a tablespoon or so of plain, unsweetened, unflavored yogurt to the kibble.


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

Keep in mind that many of the "grain-free" dog kibbles are not "carb free" and use some other form of carb, usually potatoes as the carb ingredient. Many dogs have problems digesting potato starch. It migh be a good choice ifyour dog has allergies to the higher protein grains but is not a good choice for others.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I have spent a good bit of money trying expensive dog foods but usually wind up coming back to the "cheap stuff" - Nutro and/or Purina Pro Plan because they seem to work the best. 

Well, My last GSD, Linus, lived to be 15+, My ESS, Rainbow (kids named her) lived to 14 but had CHF* due to earlier undiagnosed HW, Toby is 11+.and starting to get a bit stiff in the mornings (but so am I) ..........so I am not sure the kibble is really all that bad for them. 

Cyra (5) who developed HD had been raised on a carefully planned raw diet until after the HD was diagnosed -- so you can't say a kibble diet contributed to her bad hips. About then, Toby started developing allergies to chicken and I was adding a third dog (Grim) and my grandkids were at the rugrat stage...........so back to kibble.

I will say that Diamond Brands Foods did not set well with my dogs and have to wonder since they make several of the *high end* foods under different label.

Just another opinion ---- I know 3 dogs who did best on, yes, Beneful - [which you could not pay me to feed] 

*Fortunately her demise was rapid so she was not infirm for long.


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## Chris Jones (Jan 26, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies.


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