[snowygirl]

Hi, my girl is about 10 months old. I had had her on Wellness Just for Puppies and recently switched her to Evo Turkey and Chicken. The switch was gradual (over about 10 days) and went great--I noticed her stools became firmer right away and she had them less frequently than while on Wellness. However, after having been on solely Evo for about a week, she had 2 days of diarrhea (fecal test came back negative but vet prescribed antibiotics and dewormer for tapes just in case). For the last week her stools have been better but still REALLY soft. Do you think Evo might just be too rich for her? She's a little thing--chihuahua/dachshund cross, about 20 lbs--and I definitely haven't been overfeeding, as she needs to lose a little weight and so have been feeding 1/4 cup twice a day. Any suggestions? Was thinking about trying Wellness Core or TOTW. Any input would be very much appreciated!

 

[BabyHusky]

there have definitely been a lot of dogs that have trouble with EVO and other protein rich food like Orijen. It can be too rich, it can be certain ingredients, etc. Wellness Core is good. California Natural (since it hasnt been tainted by P & G yet) has been known to be easy on the stomach. Trial by error. =)

 

[CorgiPaws]

EVO is definately a rich food, but very high quality. Generally a super slow transition is best, and I wouldn't consider switching foods for at least a month, giving her system a little more time to adjust to the good food.

I would reduce the amount you're feeding her just a bit, loose stools are sometimes just a sign that there's too much excess so it passes through the system quickly. For a 20 lb dog, it's not going to take much EVO at all to maintain a good body condition.

I also wouldn't bother with the antibiotics personally. If there was nothing found, it's silly to be giving them and they can do more damage than good. I personally can't STAND vets who hand antibiotics out like candy.

 

[kevin bradley]

EVO is very rich food...as the others said...and your dog is very small. Example, 2 of my guys are 55 lbs and they only need about 1 1/3 cups per day to hold weight.

Man, I'd hate to say your little guy needs less than 1/2 cup per day...that isn't much but its all relative. He may actually need a tiny bit less.

 

[Jordan S.]

Go back to Wellness or try Wellness CORE. I've had much better luck with those

Natura has been making me mad lately anyways lol.

 

[snowygirl]

Evo

Natura has been making me mad lately anyways lol.

LOL! Well, now I've got to worry about the whole P&G buyout, so maybe I will eventually try Wellness Core. I guess I can wait out the soft stools a bit and see if her system adjusts, but if she's still having issues 2 weeks from now maybe I'll introduce some Core. Sound reasonable?

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read and respond! I really appreciate it!

 

[sal101011]

i like Cal Nat and Acana for your situation, I prefer Acana over Wellness Core, they are very similar in their guaranteed analysis, but I feel the ingredients in the Acana is slightly higher quality than in Core. I also like the fact that Acana produces their food in their award winning facility in Alberta, Canada and use fresh (never frozen) ingredients.

 

[goujon]

Wellness Just for Puppies has 450 calories per cup. Evo Turkey and Chicken has 537, so if you are feeding anywhere near the same amount of Evo as you did with Wellness, it is too much, especially if the dog is overweight. You should reduce his normal amount by 25% for him to lose weight. The amount to feed on the bag is just a general guideline and is in most cases too much. Dogs have different rates of metabolism. My Bichon eats half as much as the bag says he should and is in perfect health and has maintained his weight for two years. I do not believe any food is too rich. People just feed too much. Loose stools (and not eating all of his food every meal) are a sure sign(s) of overfeeding if the dog is healthy.

 

[snowygirl]

Wellness Just for Puppies has 450 calories per cup. Evo Turkey and Chicken has 537, so if you are feeding anywhere near the same amount of Evo as you did with Wellness, it is too much, especially if the dog is overweight. You should reduce his normal amount by 25% for him to lose weight. The amount to feed on the bag is just a general guideline and is in most cases too much. Dogs have different rates of metabolism. My Bichon eats half as much as the bag says he should and is in perfect health and has maintained his weight for two years. I do not believe any food is too rich. People just feed too much. Loose stools (and not eating all of his food every meal) are a sure sign(s) of overfeeding if the dog is healthy.

As I stated in my original post, my girl is about 20lbs and I am feeding her 1/4 cup twice a day. That is substantially less than the 1 1/4c daily recommendation for a 20lb dog her age, and also less than the 3/4c daily recommendation for a 10lb dog her age. And yes, she is getting less Evo than Wellness. There is no conceivable way I am overfeeding! I have cut out treats also in an attempt to get her to lose some weight on the advice of both my vet and groomer. So I don't think overfeeding is the issue. Her stools have been firming up a bit the last week so maybe her system is getting more used to Evo. You may not believe any food is too rich, possibly because you have not had to deal with this issue, but many people out there disagree!

 

[DaneMama]

Sounds to me like it was just time that was needed to get he system used to the food. If she is already showing improvement, just keep at it. Most likely you will eventually see consistently normal bowel movements.

 

[ziggy29]

You may not believe any food is too rich, possibly because you have not had to deal with this issue, but many people out there disagree!

Some digestive systems will adjust sooner than others, but this "rich" food is much closer to the dog's natural diet. So in reality, it's not so likely that a dog is intolerant of rich, protein-heavy diets as they'd find in the wild, but more likely that a dog may have been fed on lower-protein, more carb-laden foods for a period of time and go through a longer adjustment period than other dogs.

Your saying that the stools seem to be firming up suggests to me that your dog's system is probably finally beginning to get used to the change. Our dog, in contrast, hasn't seemed to have much trouble adjusting to a "better" diet in recent months. The stools have been firm the whole time, and there's less of it now. :smile:

 

[snowygirl]

Some digestive systems will adjust sooner than others, but this "rich" food is much closer to the dog's natural diet. So in reality, it's not so likely that a dog is intolerant of rich, protein-heavy diets as they'd find in the wild, but more likely that a dog may have been fed on lower-protein, more carb-laden foods for a period of time and go through a longer adjustment period than other dogs.

Well put. What I meant was that the new, higher quality food is richer than what she was used to and was therefore causing her gastric issues, not that the food itself was qualitatively too rich. I meant that I thought Evo was too rich for HER, not too rich, period. I posted my newer statement in response to someone's comment that she is having these issues because of overfeeding when that is definitely not the case. So yes, ziggy, thank you for helping me clarify that there is nothing wrong with the food per se, only with an individual dog's (perhaps initial?) reaction to it!

 

[DaneMama]

You're absolutely correct. Every dog is a bit different. Some dogs can eat anything under the sun and be fine while others have a hard time with even the most simple transitions and foods. Just stay consistent and patient with it. I have a feeling your dog is on the mend and will handle to food just fine.