[cindy q]

I started my standard poodle puppy out on Blue Buffalo wilderness she loved the food but it gave her very loose stools and horrible gas. I switched her over to Merrick buffalo and sweet potato, I did it slowly. It seemed like her stools were firming up a little (still very bad gas) but now we are on the 3rd bag and she never has firm stools, sometimes even runny. She dosen’t seem as crazy about the food as she first was she used to eat it and lick the bowl clean, now she leaves a few pieces in her bowl. She is not sick, she plays and seems fine. Is there another food I should try? She will be 7 mos in a few days.

• This topic was modified 3 years ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[crazy4cats]

Hi Cindy q-

First of all, have you had a fecal test at the vets yet? Sometimes parasites and worms can be the cause of loose stools. So, please rule that out first. Also try cutting back on the food a little. Maybe her growth has slowed down and does not need quite as much food any longer. Then… Have you tried adding any type of supplement to help? If neither one of the two first recommendations work, you could try to add supplements. I’ve used Perfect Form made by The Honest Kitchen, Gastriplex made by Thorne, Vetri-Pro BD made by Vetri Science, Fruitables Pumpkin Digestive Supplement and other digestive enzymes and probiotics that have helped. A website that was helpful to me when I was having these issues is dogaware.com. I wish you luck!

[cindy q]

Yes she has had fecal test done at the vets and everything tested ok. I just today bought pure canned pumpkin but I haven’t tried it yet Thanks for your reply!

[TJ]

Hey Cindy, I’m also transitioning from SD to Merrick Grain Free right now on week 2 and noticing the same problems.. We have a one yr old puppy and 3 yr old. Both are having pretty bad gas and 1 yr old has loose stools but has always been that way. I’ve tried canned pumpkin which works some of the time but isnt a permanent solution

[LexiDog]

TJ – is “SD” Science Diet? Just want to clarify.

As crazy4cats said make sure to check with your vet to see if there are any parasites that are causing the problem first.

Personally, I think that it could have to do with the level of protein and fat in the Merrick GF especially if you are transitioning from Science Diet. The protein and fat amounts are dramatically different. Also, dogs have individual needs, so what may be good for one dog may not be good for another. Science Diet averages around 25% protein and Merrick GF has almost 43% (dry matter) protein with a few exceptions that go as slow as 33.7%. But either way Merrick is a much richer food than Science Diet that their system is not used to.

If the pumpkin is not helping than I suggest you try a moderate protein food between 32% to 35%. Such as Fromm Four Star Grain Free, ACANA Regional’s, Annamaet GF or Born Free. Merrick does have a Lamb & Sweet Potato GF formula that has a moderate protein amount but the other GF’s just go up from there. After feeding the moderate protein food for a while, try again switching to the higher protein levels.

[TJ]

Yes we are transitioning from Science Diet. Would the Merrick Classic dog food recipe be a good in-between food to use before moving to the grain free? It looked like it had 30% protein compared to SD 25% and Merrick Grain Free of 41%

[pugmomsandy]

Nutrisource grain free Heartland Select and Seafood Select are 25% and the grain free Large Breed foods are 23%, and the remaining two grain free formulas are 28%. My fosters seem to transition well to these and I don’t know what they were eating before. Canidae Pure Land is 25%, the rest are 32%. I had a bout of loose/mucousy to bloody stools with half my dogs this past winter when I added Merrick grain free to their mixture! I backed down on the Merrick and they went back to normal. Basically, I try to keep the protein level at around 25-30 for the fosters and they won’t have too many poop issues. The dogs that have been here a couple weeks are able to eat a higher protein level after a while with a 5 star canned food topper. I also give them probiotics. My 14 yr old eats anything, even some raw food without problems. He’s been here over a year. My foster forever.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by pugmomsandy.

[LexiDog]

Yeah, I think the Merrick Classics would be a good place to start! I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but remember to do the transition slowly over a period of several days. Fruitables makes “Switch” to help transition that is just pumpkin. I used their Pumpkin & Ginger digestive supplement because it has other ingredients like ginger to help calm upset stomachs.

Good luck! Let us know how it turn out!

[Author]

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