Hey guys, looking for a little advice. I have read really nice things about Purina ProPlan and decided to try it with Missy. I have been through many foods trying to find something she enjoys eating, that is good for her. Wellness, Taste of the Wild, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, and I am now on Solid Gold. Solid Gold is the only one she would eat consistently, but she doesn't enjoy it, and doesn't always finish it / I feel she needs to eat a bit more, but won't. When I picked her up she was being fed Puppy Chow which she L O V E S and I still have a bag of it and while I hate the food I give it as a treat (training, or out of her puzzles). She just loves that stuff. So I wanted to try ProPlan. During all of those switches Missy handled transitions well, but I always started with a 3/4 original to 1/4 new however I could do it pretty quickly over 2-3 days and her stool was just fine. Maybe all that history wasn't needed, but anyway! I had fiance pick up a bag of the large breed puppy (focus) this evening. I am usually the one to feed / micro manage nutrition but I was in the middle of cooking with raw meat on my hands and fiance offered to do it. I said "yeah, 3/4 to 1/4, mix them!", not realizing he might not understand to start slow with the PP. He did the opposite, and gave 3/4 PP to 1/4 SG. About 7 hours later, after a huge zoomie session we took Missy out to use the bathroom and it was very watery stool I asked about the food and he told me he "mixed it like I said" and told me what he did I am sure it was the food, and she is fine otherwise. This was the first time she's pood since switching, so I am not sure what we're in for the next 24 hours. She didn't alert me to go out like she had to go, or was desperate like true diarrhea. I don't know that she'll have another messed up poo... I know pumpkin can help, but I've ran out and it's 2 AM. So, I can't get it tonight. I also never feed her this late, so I wasn't sure I even should. I was thinking of giving her some rice, but wondering if I should just not bother and feed her at breakfast. If so, should I add ANY ProPlan? Or go back to 100% solid gold and try again properly when the stool is firmer?
By making so many food switches, unfortunately, you may have set up a sensitivity to switching and have difficulty with any new food. Was it really hot and humid where you are yesterday? The weather coupled with all the zoomies might have induced the watery stool. Make sure she drinks. REally, just one watery stool, personally I would not rush to medicate or add anything. I would call my Vet if it continues though. When I did that one time my Vet did say I could give Kaopectate, the adult human dose, after every trip outside to poop. My 9 month old Lab did alert me. You wouldn't think there would be much funny about this but it was winter, Christmas time (we think guests fed her too much rich new food) and the snow banks were miles high. Well they seemed miles high at 2:00 in the morning. So I started just opening the door and letting out by herself. Well, she started asking to go out more often, not less. The Kaopectate was strawberry flavoured. Don't get the strawberry flavour, if your Vet approves of using it at all. Good luck.
I am not sure myself if switching food a lot causes "sensitivity". Like a lot of puppies we changed Lilly's food a few times before settling on one we were to continue with. The reasons were various. I think they just don't cope well with change in food no matter what and take a few weeks to settle. Although change generally is enough to upset puppies - the move from breeder to home. I agree with Snowshoe that an episode of the zoomies can cause looseness. And over-feeding can cause looseness. As well as using proprietary treats. So could be multi-factorial. If it were me, I would slowly do a transition over 7-10 days and see where you were then - is the poop "kickable"? - does the puppy like it? - is it in budget?
Happy to report poo was normal this morning! I'm going to continue switching but at 1/4 proper ratio. I got up through the night and made her go out just incase but she would never poo. Yes, it was pretty hot and yuck the past few days with thunderstorms in the area. She usually has zombies every night, although she did have an "extra zoomie" mid-day also. I didn't know switching foods could cause sensitivity but I'm not sure what else I could do! She simply hated the foods and would not eat them. I would pick the bowls up and give it back later and she would run to it obviously starving then would take a kibble and spit it out. I didn't make a big deal of it or offer her treats / people food to make up for it.
