Another Puppy Food Question

[Daze Off]

When we got our lab he was 6 wks old and was eating Eucanuba Small Breed Puppy food...we tried to transition him to Nutro brand but it gave him very loose stools so we went back to his original food and everything was fine...then we tried to transition to Diamond Lamb & Rice Lg Breed Puppy and it was going fine but now that the transition is almost complete the stools are loosening up again...we went VERY slowly (changing by 1/4 cup/week).

Have read some things about Diamond that I am not liking and did a bit of research and saw that something called Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover is rated better than most well-known commercial foods. Should we stablize the dog again by going back to Eucanuba for a while and then try switching again or just move to the Chicken Soup version?

Anyone else use this Chicken Soup food? Should I be looking at something else instead for a lab? This dog is supposed to end up around 90 lbs...he is 14 weeks and around 32 lbs now...

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[fishattacker]

Did you mean you were feeding your dog Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food? My wife is a vet tech and when I got a German Wirehair puppy we fed Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. It worked very well and his stool was good and there was not a lot of it.

I have not heard of the chicken soup food.

[jparrucci]

I recently moved my 6 year old Brittany to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, and he seems to like it just fine. No problems with stool at all. He had surgery a little over a week ago for bladder stones, so I might end up having to switch again, since the protein content is too high. He was on Purina One and Pro Plan, and those foods likely caused at least in part the bladder stones. He also is itching a lot, so I am pretty sure he is allergic to the chicken, so I am pretty sure I am going to move to a lamb or beef based food. My brothers dogs both moved to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, and his dogs are ALOT more playfull now (they are little king charles spaniels) Both of them have had many health problems, and he said the food switch has made both of them much more energetic.

[Daze Off]

No - the breeder used small breed because the kibble was smaller....

[kentuck_ike]

I think Chicken Soup is made by Diamond (I am not positive), you might want to research that before trying to switch.

[kentuck_ike]

If you look to a lamb or beef base remember lamb is consider the easiest food to digest, and beef is one of the hardest.

[pureinsanity]

He might have lose stools but once he gets use to it they will go away. When changing food, mix the two together, and slowly mix less and less of the brand you are trying to ween off.

[fishattacker]

Using small breed puppy food for a large breed dog is not good. The large breed puppy food is what they need to develop properly. The bigger kibble also makes them chew their food so they can't just swallow.

[CJH]

And what is the motivation to switching in the first place?

Eukenuba is a solid food. That's what we have given my 6 year old lab since a puppy and he is in perfect shape. He loves it, the vet is happy with it, he has a beautiful coat, doesn't go around eating stuff he shouldn't be (other than the scraps our 3 year old drops from the table). I have zero reason to change or be unhappy with it. Plus he's a beast in the field during pheasant season, so his food isn't affecting that.

[pureinsanity]

Every dog I have gotten from a breeder has run diamond. in the last 20 years, all my dogs have been and still are on diamond brand. I use to have to go to Mankato just to get a bag! now it seems to be everywhere and cheaper than back then.