I am looking at making my 4th kibble change in 10 weeks. I can not seem to get any solid poops... just lots of mush. So far I have been on Nutro Lamb and Rice, Canidae, and Wellness Super5 Chicken.

I'm wondering how long you generally try out a kibble before making a change?

Thanks

I'd say you're changing way too often. I have a new dog with unsatisfactory poops and I feel the desire to change (and did a bit, at first) but am under instructions from my vet to give the current food 8-12 weeks.

That is a lot of food change in a short period. Unless the current food is making it worse, I'd stick with it for at least a month.

If you don't see any improvements (doesn't have to be perfect, just improved) I'd probably change. Right now though, his system needs to settle, and I'd stay on your current food for at least a month to six weeks.

When searching for the right kibble for Carl, I gave each bag a month, if things didn't firm up after a month I figured it was time to move along (switching gradually to the next on, of course).

Ditto. Daisy has food allergies and I've been told that it can take up to four months for her to show complete improvement after finding a food that works.

Changing foods four times in 10 weeks could in itself cause your dog to have loose stools. If your vet has approved and/or recommended that you change foods at this rate, you should find another vet.

I'd say two full bags of food are a minimum to determine if a food agrees with your dog, unless obvious allergy symptoms appearing or worsening suggest otherwise (and consult w your vet first).

DD

I've switched foods three times in the 12-16 months but only because the manufacturer changed the formula. All of mine were perfectly happy on both CSFPLS and Candiae until they changed it up....the food got more expensive and a lot more "yellow" looking as did the poops. I've had them on Blue Buffalo lamb and rice for about six months now and all is good. I think changing four times in less than three months is probably too much....doesn't seem like enough time for your dog's system to adjust. Give him/her a little more time on one or the other.

I give each 2 large bags worth in time to see if it will work.

Ryan takes quite a bit of time to change over.
Even going from Solid Gold beef to Solid Gold bison threw him for a loop!

What everyone else said; you're probably not giving it long enough.

It took Dexter about 3 and a half weeks to adjust. Araley took about 6. Unless you see clear signs that it's making things worse, I'd give at LEAST 4 weeks per food... up to six if you can handle dealing with mushy poop.

It took me awhile, but I finally found a food that works, Blue Seal Lamb & Rice. I think it is because the other foods are too "rich" for Tucker's tummy.

I see you live in MA, you probably can find it at a Farm feed store.

I agree with others. That's a lot of switching in a short time. With Donovan I gave it a month to see what worked. TC, I gave it two months because he was fed raw when we adopted him and I feed EVO. He did fine after two months.

Well, I'm going to disagree with all the above. For my dogs, what I get in the beginning is what I always get. If they start out bad, they stay bad or get worse, not better. And the three foods you mentioned are three that have produced soft serve to outright liquid poop in every dog I've fed them to. And that at less than 50-50 mixed with foods that were working!

Foods that worked for more than one dog here were ProPlan or Purina ONE salmon ("Sensitive Systems" in the ONE version), Science Diet Adult Lamb & Rice, and Pinnacle Duck and Potato. IAMs Adult MiniChunks worked for our late whippet and Joseph but not for anybody else.

Batmom is right and I would like to add to the list Eagle Pack Natural (not holistic). Haven't tried Pinnacle, but definitely the ProPlan/one and Science diet lamb & rice are great choices. Iams worked somewhat for our IBD girl but her poop was enormous and her second one of the day was pretty runny.

It took Flame almost 4 months. They were soft not pudding poop. I did not give up and he adjusted. Now his poop is good and solid. It took that long for the gas to go away but now he almost never has gas.

It took Flame almost 4 months. They were soft not pudding poop. I did not give up and he adjusted. Now his poop is good and solid. It took that long for the gas to go away but now he almost never has gas.

It took Flame almost 4 months. They were soft not pudding poop. I did not give up and he adjusted. Now his poop is good and solid. It took that long for the gas to go away but now he almost never has gas.

I test out a food for 3-4 weeks. But if two months/two foods later I'm still not seeing an improvement, it's off to the Vet for some fecal & blood tests.

I agree with this too. If there is improvement/no improvement/a problem I genenerally can pick it up within a couple of days. If there is no problem caused by the new food, I'd probably use up a bag before making a decision. Eagle Pack is our food of choice and it has suited all of our greys. There are few others that worked for all of them but either they were more costly or the dogs plainly didn't enjoy them as much.

Sounds like a lot of changes to me, but I also agree with Batmom; if the change is going to help, you should see SOME improvement within about a week. At least that's been my experience.

George had mildly loose stools for over a year, and recently he had a short course of a low dose of steroids--a cat sized dose--and all the sudden his poops are FINALLY normal! Weird, but I'll take it!

I'm using Solid Gold Millenium (beef and barely), FYI. He loves it, and it HAS helped. All the other foods I tried were either chicken or lamb.