I recently adopted Popo and wanted to transition his food from Kirkland Chicken & Rice. His stool was pretty good on that, but I'm not a Costco member and don't really want to join. Popo has been on California Natural for a week and his stool is pudding. I can't even pick it up when we go walking. How much longer should I wait before trying something else? It doesn't seem like this is going to work. There has not been even the slightest improvement since day 1 of the 100% new food day.

There is a nice non-chain pet store/groomer near my home that sells a lot of different higher-end foods. Another food I have thought of trying is Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul, and my store should have it, but I haven't checked the price. I've used Innova before, but it's so expensive.

Also, my vet recommended I start Popo on glucosamine/chondroitin already. He turns 7 on Dec. 8, but he had a broken hock sometime in the past. Does anyone else start this young? I had planned to start at age 8 as a general rule unless there were signs of trouble before then. He's more active than my last dog and races up and down the stairs.

You could also try Diamond Naturals--I believe they are made by the same company as Kirkland and Chicken soup and are similar to Kirkland--someone help me with the facts, here. My hounds have always done well on Diamond Naturals, and it is more affordable than most foods, but still good quality.

Is there any particular reason you don't want to join Costco? Just seems to me that if Popo was doing well on Kirkland C&R, the savings on that over other foods would pay for the Costco membership. Plus you can get some nice dog beds there, too!

Of course, the decision is up to you in the end (obviously! ), but from what I've heard & read, the Kirkland is decent food for the $. I feed it to my own dogs (lamb & rice).

I agree. Just the savings on the food, beds and treats is well worth the membership.

I couldn't live without mine

I don't want to offend anyone, and I know Kirkland is really popular, but I was hoping to get a little better food. They actually opened a new Costco that's a little more convenient to me, so it's not out of the question, but I'd like to try one more food first.

Ditto. We used to feed Canidae. With two hounds, it was just too costly. Kirkland Senior has worked really well for us.

I did try the feline formula for the cats. It was a no go. I have gone back to Nutro Max because of the hairballs.

I feed Kirkland to my 5 and all have great poos on it. From what I've read in other threads on this forum the Kirkland brand has a very high rating as far as dog food goes. I also couldn't live without my Costco membership, was just there yesterday and they had greyt beds for $19.99!!

If somthing is working well, why switch?

I don't have a Costco anywhere near me so have no opinion on Kirkland or, for that matter, the other foods mentioned here, but as of the past week or so I am another convert (there are plenty here) to the "'better' food can produce worse poop for many dogs" belief. I tried several premium foods when I got Beth and have had more or less loose poops the whole time. Just finished switching to Pro Plan Selects salmon and brown rice (not bad but nothing the food snobs would approve of) and things are finally formed, although still not yet as hard as I might wish. I use some canned pumpkin mixed into her kibble, as many here will suggest along with other measures, so you might try that. But it did little to fix the problems I was having with high-end food.

One problem I have with Kirkland is chicken being the 1st ingredient. The water has to be removed from that chicken, so it just seems like there is less chicken than other food may have. The 2nd ingredient is chicken meal, so that helps, but there is also concern about Ethoxyquin being in the food.

The Kirkland food has no corn and no wheat. It is the only food that gave our Riley firm poops. Every other food gave him 'pudding' poops. Costco gets rated very well. A food does not have to cost a lot of money to be what your dog needs. It is certainly not the best choice for every dog, but if you pup is happy and healthy and has good poops on it, I would leave well enough alone.

I'm going to give him a little more time with California Natural. It hasn't been that long. That said, if I decided to go back to Kirkland, does it come in bags smaller than 40lb? I know Costco is a price club, but I wonder if 40 pounds is too much at once. It would be in a sealed container after the bag is opened, but still, is 6-8 weeks (not sure how long it would really be) too long to have the food? Popo eats 4 cups per day.

Four cups of the Kirkland Chicken and Rice weighs just over a pound. (I just went and weighed it!!) So you would go through a 40 pound bag in about 39 days. There would be no problem at all keeping that long in a sealed container.
Carol Ann

Ah, thanks for doing that. Good to know!

We're Kirkland Lamb feeders here and love it. The "more expensive" alternative that we fed is the Technical Lamb Meal and Rice, but I don't know if that's available in the US . It used to be called Sensible Choice here?

As for the glucosamine, with a broken hock dog, it's never too early to start! Atlas has been on Glucosamine since he was 5 years old. It helps him tremendously.

We have only had our guy for 2 1/2 months.
He was on Purina Pro Plan when we got him, he was off track only about 9 days.
It just was not working. I did so much research on dog food. Being a first time dog owner I had no idea what to do. I was luckly told about Kirkland from another grey owner. I really thougth it was the with a try after dealing with pudding poo. What a difference it made. I bought the membership, not that I wanted to and have been very happy since and the dog beds are amazing, I just broke down and bought them today, at 19.99 for a round fluffy 42 inch bed, it was a steal. (he climbed on - with out nesting- and promptly feel asleep.)
I am happy when he is happy.
I would add a pic, but I just can't seem to figure that part out yet. Hoping my teen will have time this wknd. (a hired photographer at 15 and yet no hound on greytalk - not good)

I've had a few fosters who I've tried on Cali natural and had the same pudding poop problem. You could certainly try other brands. Did you do a slow change over, mixing the foods gradually, or a hard one? That could be part of the problem too. but, not all foods work for all dogs.

My three are on Kirkland lamb and Rice. It IS a very good quality food- and you recoup the membership fee in just two bags. I empty mine into a tupperware like giant container when I first bring it home ( $10.00, target) and one bag lasts 3.5 weeks in my house. It also contains Glucosamine and Chondroiton, so no need to give extra supplements unless the vet recommends more. (the amounts are listed on the label above)

not being a costco member but considering joining after hearing the good things about kirkland - can someone tell me if they have a fish formula? lamb is too rich for my male, chicken makes him itch, so we're on purina pro plan sensitive stomach (salmon based) which we love but wondering if kirkland has something similar? what are the formulas they offer?

It was a 4-day transition. I had intended to do better, but I didn't gauge it right and just ran out of the old food too soon, with no good way to get more. We're nearing the end of this bag and I think I'm going to get 1 more bag and give it some time.

As for glucosamine, I will give it to him as the vet suggested, but Popo seems to get around just fine right now. I'm thankful for that. He FLIES up the stairs! I don't think any food generally has enough glucosamine to constitute a full dose. It's a marketing ploy if you ask me.

I too switched to Kirkland food, and my dogs all did better than they did on Evo. (I had a hard time believing they would but it's true) I store mine in the xxxl hefty ziplock bags, which believe it or not will hold an entire 40lb bag of dog food. I buy both the lamb and the chicken, and leave bowls of each available at all times. They have a preference, and thankfully, each seems to choose the one they do best on. I do give table food in addition to the kibble, they like it, and I've done it for all the years I've owned dogs, and they've always done well with it.

Good luck to you and Popo

I don't think that I've ever seen anything besides chicken or lamb.. but I'll check next time I go!

Thanks!

It sounds like yogurt can help with gas, as at least as a temporary solution, maybe? Right now I'm worried about hosting Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law (who tolerates but doesn't really like dogs) and parents will be here and I don't want Popo stinking up the living room. Don't get me wrong, his health is the most important thing, but he's eating great and doesn't seem bothered, so I'm giving the food some more time. But I don't want my living room to reek on Turkey day. I guess I can gate him in the kitchen so long as the counters are clear. While we're preparing the food, I will have to keep him on the opposite side of the gate, and just hope he doesn't stink too much with whoever is hanging out in there.

Greyhound gas will go over, under, around and through brick walls! Hopefully the smells of Thanksgiving dinner will win out.

Yogurt helps my Evie, but I know for some greys it makes no difference or makes the problem worse. As for the food, if you're not going to stick with Cal. Natural, give the Diamond Naturals a try. Someone else mentioned it in an earlier post. I was looking for a new food for Evie a while back, and everyone kept mentioning Kirkland. I didn't want to join Costco just for dog food, so I tried the Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice since it's made by the same company and has comparable ingredients. Inexpensive, a decent quality food, sold close to home, and best of all, Evie does really well on it.

i'm really really sorry - i just realized my earlier post regarding kirkland varieties for my dog was a hijack of your thread - i can't believe i did that and didn't even think about it. sorry!!

you know what helps with farts though, keeping a candle in the room. never unattended but if you can light a scented candle somewhere where it's not going to get in the way and be unsafe the flame helps keep the gas smell under control and if you get a lightly scented candle then the candle smell isn't too obnoxious (i generally don't like scented candles). just an idea for thanksgiving dinner - i have a new girl who's still adjusting (and eats too fast so she gets super gasy) plus my old farty boy, sometimes it gets pretty unbearable....

I looked up Diamond Naturals and there is a big difference between Diamond and Diamond Naturals! The un-natural one looks yucky. Anyway, I'm going to buy 1 more bag of California Natural (and try some yogurt) but in the meantime I will see if I can find DN around here.


That's OK.

Thanks for the tip -- I will light a candle while we have guests!