Dog Food questions.....again?

Question

OK I have another question.......I had my puppy on Nutro and she really didn't like it to much. She ate it but I noticed that she lost weight. So we put her on Purina One and she really eats that up (not sure on if she has gained weight yet) but I am noticing that she is pooping alot more. I don't know if she is pooping more because of the food? Also how much should you feed a puppy that is 32 lbs? I just need some advice on keeping her on Purina One or should I look for something that is a little more healthy? How much pooping is normal?

Thanks

I forgot to mention.....she is 11 months old and she is a mixed breed.

Answer 1

If she is eating the Purina ONE more, then she is going to poop more than she did while she was on the Nutro. It could also be from her body adjusting to the new food. You can look on the back of the bag (or at the company website) to get a rough estimate on how much to feed her. You can switch her to somthing better, just be sure to not do it too quickly or else you will upset her stomach. Purina ONE is not a great food, but it is better than the other "grocery store" brands. Normal pooping for a puppies in once plus however many times a day that they are fed, so if you are feeding her once a day she should poop twice. Also, if she is older (closer to a year) then she may be ready to switch to adult food, which since she is on puppy and does not need that many calories, would cause her to poop more.

Answer 2

Your girl probably lost weight on Nutro because you were not feeding her enough. The amount you feed your 32 lb dog will vary with every different kind of food.
Purina One is a very low-quality food. All of Purina's foods are some of the lowest foods available. I would definitely find something more healthy. I can't recommend a specific kibble brand, because I feed raw only.
The reason for the extra amount of stool is due to the low quality food. The lower quality foods contain more fillers in it. By fillers I mean, stuff the dog will feel "full" on, but will not be able to digest and get any nutrients of value out of. Therefore, it just passes as waste. The higher quality of food, the less stool. More of the food is being digested and absorbed into the body. The highest quality of foods will actually produce white stool. Most of the food was absorbed into the body, meaning more healthy for your dog.
While higher costs come with better foods, the amount to feed daily is lower. You have to look at everything while choosing a kibble for your pup.
When I did buy kibble, I paid $79 per 40 lb bag (some of this was shipping cost) and I felt it was worth every penny!

Answer 3

I would really recommend "Canidae All Life Stages". This food can be used for All Stages in a dog's life, from weaning to senior adult, so you don't have to worry about switching to an adult food, you can just stick to the Canidae. It's a good, high quality food at a surprisingly reasonable price. It has No corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions, fillers, or by products, is human grade, and is naturally preserved. The dog's don't need to eat as much, and still get all the nutrition they need to stay healthy and happy, so the food lasts longer and you end up saving money in the long run. They also poop less. I use it myself! I breed Chihuahuas and I own #8, of all ages. None of them have ever been sick! None of the Canidae Products, including the soft food has been recalled and it is safe. All my dog's love it! It comes in 5lb, 20lb, and 40lb Bags. I buy the 40lb bag. It costs me $35.00 and lasts a long time.You can go to, Canidae All Life Stages and you can get more information about the food there. I hope this helps!

Answer 4

Yeah, you should look for somethine more healthy. I use Innova which is a great food. Other high quality foods to consider are Canidae or Wellness. They are expensive compared to Purina One but the dog eat less and in the long run the dog will be much healthier.

Innova has the exaxt measurments of what to feed your dog based on their weight. It's also great b/c they break the quanity of food down into low/moderate/high activity level so it best suits your dog's needs.

I would definitely recommend gradually switching to one of these foods.

Answer 5

Why feed her inferior food? Our pets need quality pet food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient. California Natural, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByRating?OpenForm

Answer 6

Nutro is a medium quality food. Purina is on the better of the lower end with a lot of fillers, hence more poop.
I like Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold (my pup is on the hundflocken puppy), Candidae, etc. Less food needs to be fed, so you aren't having to push volume to get calories that the dog ends up not getting because the food is getting pushed through so quickly.
Here is a great website that should help:
http://www.naturapet.com/
and people, please stop being so hateful, sheesh.

Answer 7

Pooping more often shouldn't be a problem. Just as long as it's not mushy, diarrhea, or covered in mucus or blood. As for food, when the stool becomes soft and not well-formed, then you may be feeding too much.

Knowing how much to feed is really tricky. If you go by the dog food's feeding recommendations, take off half a cup from their directions. Just like people, dogs' metabolisms are all different and the amount of food they can healthily eat will greatly differ depending on general health, metabolism, and activity level. A dog that does a lot of rigorous exercise is going to be able to eat more and maintain an ideal weight, while a couch potato dog is not going to be able to eat that same amount of food and stay trim.

I personally believe it's a lot of trial and error. I bring my 2 dogs to the vet every 3 weeks for a weigh-in. One dog has a tendency to be pudgy while the other one has a difficult time keeping weight on. I see several pluses to this: (1) they get used to going to the vet and it's not so traumatic when they go in for vaccines and exams, (2) I can easily keep an eye on my dogs' health by watching out for excessive weight loss or weight gain, (3) by being vigilant about their weight I can always modify the amount their eating. Once the weight stays constant at the ideal weight for awhile, I can trust that I am feeding a good amount for each dog. In other words, their diet plans are very individualized.

PS. My vet allows clients to bring their pets in for weigh-ins at no charge, but other vets may not do this.

Answer 8

Purina One is not good food. She is pooping less because it's low quality, and full of stuff she can't digest. Read here: http://www.libertydogtraining.com/Ingredients.html It is full of corn, which dogs can not digest.

I feed the foods at http://www.frrco.com/121668 and I have a dog who only keeps his weight up on this food, and looses on the other foods I have tried.

Personally, I like the Fish and Chips and Lamb Millet Rice formulas best, but he does great on the original kibble as well.

As far as how much to feed your dog, check the back of the bag for feeding instructions. You may have to tweak it a little if she gains to much, or loses weight.

Answer 9

Foods with empty fillers are going to cause more poop, period. You should avoid foods that contain corn, wheat, glutens, or non-specific "by-products"; that being said, two of the first 6 ingredients in Purina One for puppies are corn & corn gluten, and #8 is poultry by-products (this means beaks, feathers, feet - any part not considered fit for human consumption.) Meat listed first is not always a good thing; ingredients are listed by weight and "meat" means it had water content when it was weighed; water evaporates during the kibble-making process, leaving you with less "meat" than you would get in a product containing "meat meal", which has the water removed. Follow? The fish meal within the first 5 ingredients balances this out but I still would shy away from this much corn.
From Purina One website:
Ingredients:
Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, oat meal, fish meal (source of DHA), whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), poultry by-product meal, . . .
I would get her onto Canidae All Life Stages:
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html
You will feed less in order to get superior nutrition into her, and she will, in return, thank you by pooping less.

Answer 10

Hello, changing an animals diet can lead to some diarhea..thing to make sure of is that the foods say 100% nutrionally complete on the bag..if your worried about the recent food recalls, most, if not all, have been removed from the shelves &/or avoid foods with Wheat Gluten listed in the ingredients..Take Care :)