Solid Gold WolfCub

[Pokey318]

I have a 14 week old goldendoodle that must have a sensitive stomach. I started her out on Wellness Puppy at 8 weeks. She loved the food (well, actually she loves any food), but usually had large soft stools. Sometimes they were formed and very soft, and other times more like soft serve ice cream. This created a problem with clean up outside-too soft to pick up. While the pup felt well and was growing, I decided to try a switch to Solid Gold WolfCub which is Bison based. Both Wellness and Solid Gold also have salmon as the second ingredient, which I liked. Before I started the change, Piper's stools were becoming very soft. As I started the Solid Gold, her stools turned to diarrhea. I believe she had something going on before I change her; I don't think it was the new food. Well, she continued to have diarrhea so I but her on a bland diet of rice and boiled ground beef. Took a stool sample into the Vet and all was negative. After 5 days on a bland diet, she finally had a normal stool. The next day I started her back on the WolfCub mixed with the rice and ground beef. After a day on the dog food (only a 1/2 cup each meal), she is having loose stools again.

The question is, do I give the WolfCub more time? I was going to drop the ground beef today and only give her WolfCub and rice. I might add pumpkin to her lunch; I don't think she does well with yogurt. This is all a guess, I'm not really sure what bothers her stomach. I would like to leave her on the WolfCub, but if I need to change I will. Canidae would be my next choice. I have heard about the detox factor, but I don't think there should be detox from Wellness to Solid Gold; maybe from rice and ground beef to Solid Gold.

Sorry I was so long winded. I want to do what is best for my pup and could use the advice. BTW, she feels fine-activity level is high.

[Carolk9s]

You could try Canidae but that is exactly what gave all of my dogs soft stools.
I feed my dogs Bil Jac dry, two of them are on a senior diet and the other is on an adult formula. All 3 do quite well on this food.
Just my PERSONAL opinion here, I do not think a super premium diet is necessary for MOST dogs and in some cases is just too rich for their digestive systems to handle.
I feel that a food like Bil Jac, is a middle ground between regular supermarket brands and super premium foods.
I have also heard many people trash Science Diet but my Belgian did very well on it for a number of years plus Science Diet has some very nice prescription diets available for specific issues.

[Aonir]

Is she dewormed? She may have worms, that can cause soft stool.

[schippsmom]

:Dog_run:

Sounds like you are changing her food too quickly. Any sudden changes in your pups diet will give a her diarrhea. Mix the old and new food for the first few days by gradually decreasing the old and increasing the new. The only time Re-Run has problems is when I switch too fast. If your pup was tested for worms than that should be the problem. Hope this helps & good luck.

Paula & Re-Run

[MajiesMom]

What colour is her stools? Is she losing weight?

[Pokey318]

Her stools are normal color, but softer than soft serve ice cream. As she hasn't been on dog food for 5 days, I am using the rice and boiled ground beef as the "old" food. I started her with 1/4 cup of WolfCub and now she is getting 1/2 cup. While her stool is very soft, she is only going 3 times a day-on the Wellness she was going 4 time a day. She doesn't seem to be bothered by the loose stools; I'm the one with an issue. It is very hard to pick up after she goes outside, I am using a shovel to get it up. If the change was too fast for her, is it a problem leaving her on 1/2 cup? Should I drop back to 1/4 cup? I figure she will eat 1 cup 3 times a day when we finish the switch.

She doesn't have worms or any other parasite, at least none showed up in her stool sample that the Vet tested. While she gained a pound this past week, it's not as much as she has been gaining. I'm hoping when she is back on puppy food she will gain back what she missed.

I will leave her on the 1/2 cup of food mixed with the rice and beef for a while. I would drop the beef, but I'm afraid she will be hungry. I did add canned pumpkin to her dinner tonight. I will know tomorrow morning if that helped or not.

Also, should I add a disgestive enzyme to her food? I have Prozyme from the Vet, but I didn't want to give her too much at one time. Solid Gold also make Seameal which is popular. I think it has Prozyme in it.

[DogPaddle]

Solid Gold is a good food. If you like it and your pup likes it maybe give it another go mixing starting at 1/5 Solid Gold, 4/5 old food and moving up slowly from there. Of course also do ensure that your pup's health is fine if things appear off.

[Black GSD]

It could also be that you are feeding her too much. If they are eating more than they need, that too can give them "pudding poop".

[Pokey318]

I don't think 1/2 cup three times a day is too much. I figured she should be getting about 3 cups a day when she is fully changed over. She is very hungry and isn't gaining weight as fast as she was while on Wellness. She was the largest of the girls in her litter and weighing about 2-3 pounds more up until 12 weeks; she is now 5 pounds less than the others.

I just can't decide if I should stay with the WolfCub a little while longer. She is eating a cup of white rice with the 1/2 cup of WolfCub 3 times a day. I am using the rice because she was last on that with the diarrhea. I hate feeding her the rice as she isn't getting a complete diet. Should I stay withthe WolfCub, and if so, how long will it take for her stools to firm up? The other choice is to switch to Canidae. If I switch to Canidae, do I still use the WolfCub as the "old food" or the white rice? I really want her back on a balanced dog food.

[Pokey318]

I am officially tired of diarrhea. I think I am going to tried Piper on Canidae. The WoldCub doesn't seem to agree with her tummy. As she is only on 1/2 of what she should be eating, when I tried the Canidae do I just use that only? If the WolfCub doesn't agree with her stomach, wouldn't it make sense not to give her any more? If I only feed Canidae, how long will it take for her to get use to it-meaning no diarrhea? This is all assuming the Canidae is good for her.

I know if I talk to the Vet he will want her on one of the prescription diets. I believe I can find a better food that she can eat without diarrhea.

[DogPaddle]

I think that just 25% Canidae and 75% of the old stuff should work to start, give it a try, go slow, maybe even 20% Canidae mixed with rice and boiled chicken and work up from there.

[dogsgalore]

Nutro's Natural Choice dog food has a food especially for sensitive stomachs. Maybe that would work? Both our dogs do great on that brand of food and they love it. Good luck. :)

[TDG]

if your dog has a stomach upset already, i wouldn't bother with a long transitioning period from the solid gold. after all you can't avoid something that has already happened. :(

get some canned pumpkin (plain, not the pie filling kind) and switch her to canidae without any further transitioning. a supplement with probiotics and digestive enzymes will help too. i'd also recommend giving a product like pet ag bene pac for a few days to replenish the beneficial bacteria in the gut - after a bout of diarrhea their levels will have dropped drastically too.

keep in mind that the SG wolf cub has 375 kcal per cup and the canidae has 466 kcal per cup. start out with small amounts, equal to the amount of calories per meal your dog consumed during the time you fed both SG and the rice/beef mix. then increase the daily ration slowly until you reach target weight, and from there establish a maintenance ration to maintain weight.

[Pokey318]

TDG-

What you said all makes sense. I was thinking of changing to Canidae cold turkey-great minds think alike :wink: I also give her pumpkin once a day, and tried twice today. She also get yogurt once a day, although I have wondered if the yogurt has bothered her stomach. I was giving her Prozyme when she was on the Wellness, and dropped that when she started having loose stools. I really hate to change her food again. She has an appointment with the Vet on Wednesday, so I think I will wait to change her after the visit. Maybe by then she might have adjusted.

I just took Piper out for her 5 bowel movement today. This could drive a sane person crazy :cry:

[pei obssessed]

I wouldn't give her any yoghurt until her stomach is ok--I know from myself that yoghurt is diuretic :oops:

[TDG]

the yogurt shouldn't bother her, since it barely contains any lactose. for maximum benefit, you should make sure that it does not [i]only[/i] contain lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococus thermophilus bacteria. these do not make it past the stomach alive and thus do not help to recolonize and do not have an influence on the digestive process.

my old vet (old as in grandpa, been in practice for a long time) always recommends a few days on a diet of strictly yogurt and oatmeal (cooked with water) for dogs with intestinal upsets. i've always had good success with it.

[ferky1]

A couple of comments:

First, it is possible for people to give TOO much good advice. Boiled chicken/beef and white rice is a good thing. The foods that you are considering and trying are all good foods. Yogurt, in moderation, is a good thing for doggies' stomachs. BUT, it is possible that you are trying too many remedies, too many changes, where all your dog may need is some time and stability.

For what it's worth, when I got Miles as a puppy, he was on Eukanuba puppy and his stools were hard as rocks. He looked like it hurt to get those suckers out! We changed him to Wellness puppy and he did a 180. Very soft (not diarhea, but much too soft) and much more often that when he was on the Euk. After 5 months on Wellness nothing changed about his poops and we decided to get him on adult food. After he rejected the adult Wellness we brought home, we offered Canidae*. He loved it, still loves it and so do we. We have found the perfect middle-ground with Canidae - not too hard, not too soft, not too often. . . . Keep in mind though, it may take time. Let his system calm down and accept the changes that you are making.


*Side note about Canidae. There is a phenomenon that many who have changed to Canidae have experienced and we are no exception. Miles never paid any attention to his poops when he was eating Euk or Wellness, but once started on Canidae he become a poop eater! We are not the first who have discovered this. A 2 week regiment of Deter did the trick, but I just thought I should warn you that you need to keep a close eye on both the dog and the poop until you know that you can trust the dog not to make a second meal out of it!

[Black GSD]

[quote name='Pokey318']I don't think 1/2 cup three times a day is too much. [/quote]

No offense, but it really doesn't matter what YOU think. That is 1 1/2 cups of food AND the rice. When my pup was her age, he was only eating a total of 2 cups of food a day. (He is a German Shepherd so is also a large breed.)
(My point IS, that to HER system, it could be that she is/was getting too much.)

Chances are this is not the issue, but it is still something to keep in mind. Good luck with your pup. :D

[Pokey318]

I had one other thought and would love an opinion. Both the Wellness Puppy and the Solid Gold WolfCub have salmon as the second ingredient. Is it possible that she is allergic to the salmon? I wouldn't think so, but that was the best I could come up with. I will also have her stool checked again on Wednesday just to make sure. It is not right that this pup has very loose stools or diarrhea for 7 weeks. Her stools almost look like undigested food-it's grainy looking. The advantage to the WolfCub is she doesn't have the horrible gas and doesn't look at her stool after she goes.

[Black GSD]

[quote name='Pokey318']I had one other thought and would love an opinion. Both the Wellness Puppy and the Solid Gold WolfCub have salmon as the second ingredient. Is it possible that she is allergic to the salmon? [/quote]

My guess would be no. But then again, anything is possible. Have you ever had her on a Lamb and Rice kibble. (Sorry but I can't remember if you said.) Lamb and Rice is "usually" the first one that folks try if they have a dog that seems to have allergies that are food related.