Roo Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I've read as many of the other poo posts as I could find, but I'm still not sold on what type of food to try. I've been feeding Nutro Sensitive Stomach (the mint green bag?) for the almost 3 months I've had him. I did a cold switch when I adopted him and he adjusted pretty well. Some soft-serve for a couple weeks, then he seemed to "even out" and had pretty good poos for a few weeks (never bouncy and solid, but they had an actual poo shape to them). But in the past couple of days, I've noticed a return the yellowish squish poo. We just started a new bag, so I was wondering if it could be a slight difference in the formula throwing him off, but... I don't know. A friend suggested I try Kirkland (no formula suggestions, just said "Try Kirkland") and told me that Iams is a horrible food. But from everything I've read in the other threads, the Iams seems to work wonders (and is easy on the wallet to boot) and many Greys also have problems with Kirkland. I'm more than willing to try both if need be, but which would you go for first? Or should I just wait it out and see if the poo gets better? We also started new treats at the same time we started this new bag of food - should I stop giving him these and see if the poos improve? They're small heart-shaped biscuits (apple and...I want to say lamb? treats) and he gets two a day right before bed. These are a new brand from what I was giving him before. Quote Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty. Wrote a book about shelter dogs! I sell things on Etsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busderpuddle Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Ruby is on the Kirkland lamb and rice and her poo is bouncy perfect. Good luck ! Quote Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoundHeavenAZ Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I've been using 50/50 Kirkland Lamb and Rice and the Iams green mini chunks kibbles and having the best results. I also do home cooking to mix in - this week was fresh pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, brown rice, broccoli, eggs, chicken breasts & hearts. Next week I'll make a new vat of goodies to freeze - whatever is on sale or ready in the gardens. For snacks I give hard boiled eggs, beef bones, frozen chicken necks,feet or backs, frozen turkey necks or kirkland cookies. I have been very happy with the "results" My guys used to be on just Kirkland kibble but I can't always get to Costco so I started mixing with the Iams. They seem very happy to eat it and I'm pleased at how easy it is to clean up the yard. Quote Jody, Leah & JimmieYou left us much, much too soon Lima & Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) I use half and half: Nutro Venison and a garbage food, usually Purina something. This is the combo that Annie Bella will eat and, with a couple of tablespoons of beet pulp in each meal, her poos are pretty good. Not perfect but better than not. Some people think that making too many changes at once can cause a negative reaction. Some think otherwise. I have no idea because I don't make changes in Annie's treats. There's no reason and I don't like to take chances. Edited August 10, 2012 by Feisty49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 I've give Kirkland a shot first, since I hear good things about Costco's return policy. I asked the vet today (we were there for a mysterious rash on Eli's chest - turns out it's nothing serious, other than itchy) and he said he feeds his greys the higher end Pro Plan or Purina (he recommended both, but only feeds one - I just can't remember which!). Quote Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty. Wrote a book about shelter dogs! I sell things on Etsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest giantsfan Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 We tried a couple of the kirkland varieties, including one that was grain free I believe, and neither of our dogs did well on them. We switched several years ago to Pro Plan sensitive stomach and skin and have had much better luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jenniferk Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 When we adopted nearly 3 months ago, our boy was on the Iams green bag mini-chunks and had runny poos for a month straight. A friend told me she'd heard that lamb is easier to digest, so I switched to Blue Buffalo lamb & rice. That did make his poos firmer, but it gave him bad gas, and I started suspecting he has allergies. So I switched to Blue Buffalo grain-free chicken & rice. Bad gas went away, and his poos are even firmer. However, I am still suspecting allergies, so next I'm going to try Blue Buffalo wilderness grain-free salmon...but the first 2 Blue Buffalo I tried did make his poos firmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest miasmom Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I don't know about kirkland's but we have been switching our new girl over to Before Grain chicken formula. Her poops have firmed up. She came to us on the iams green bag but our other 2 eat the Before Grain and I didn't want to try and feed separate foods. Whatever you go with, good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 When we adopted nearly 3 months ago, our boy was on the Iams green bag mini-chunks and had runny poos for a month straight. A friend told me she'd heard that lamb is easier to digest, so I switched to Blue Buffalo lamb & rice. That did make his poos firmer, but it gave him bad gas, and I started suspecting he has allergies. So I switched to Blue Buffalo grain-free chicken & rice. Bad gas went away, and his poos are even firmer. However, I am still suspecting allergies, so next I'm going to try Blue Buffalo wilderness grain-free salmon...but the first 2 Blue Buffalo I tried did make his poos firmer. Lamb is actually pretty fatty, in general. Lamb used to be considered a "novel" protein (many years ago!) but is so commonplace in dog food now there is nothing special about it at all. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 ...but the first 2 Blue Buffalo I tried did make his poos firmer. I had the exact opposite happen. None of mine, including Poodle and Kenny the shepherd mix, could eat Blue. Roo, your vet was referring to Purina One and Purina Pro Plan. My guys are currently eating Purina One weight management. Buddy still needs to lose a couple of pounds and I like that it is low enough fat that it works for Poodle so everyone eats the same. Purina has a new food out called Beyond which has very good ingredients for a "supermarket" food, but it has so many calories a cup Buddy would get a big handful twice a day. Lots of people here that thought green and red bag ought Iams were horrible foods (including me) have changed their tune after seeing how well it worked on their dogs. No, the ingredients aren't ideal, but as has been said, our dogs don't read the labels. Everyone's ideas on food are different. I'm fine with green and red bag Iams but won't feed the weight management because the first ingredient is not meat. That's which is why we are on the Purina now with turkey as the first ingredient. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but after having my Harry for 5 months we have finally achieved normal, dare I say, bouncy poo! I started him out on Blue and then Nutro Natural Choice (both were chicken & rice) both ended up with milkshake poo. He loved the Blue, completely ignored the Nutro. Thru trial and error realized he hates anything that ever had wings( chicken turkey duck), runs from anything that had fins (fish, salmon) and thumbs his nose at lamb. Now add in the fact that he does better on grain free and the options were getting kind of slim and I was about to need medication (for myself). He would eat for a few days and then stop. Bye bye Iams, Fromm, Blue Seal & Merrick. I grabbed a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Venison & Potato Formula Grain Free Limited Ingredient kibble. They changed the formulas and I found a new bag. He still refuses 1 meal /week (I can deal w/that) but he's eating it. I top it w/ 2 tbsp of wet food ( as long as its venison, buffalo, beef, rabbit brand doesn't matter, and a little water. I am crossing my fingers that this will continue to work, but I am really pleased so far. Buy the smallest bags you can find, and keep at it. PS) pumpkin didn't help, he loves yogurt but that didn't help much either. I add Nutrivet Probiotic/Prebiotic powder to each meal and I think that's helped as well as the beet pulp in the Nutro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sirsmom Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 ...but the first 2 Blue Buffalo I tried did make his poos firmer. I had the exact opposite happen. None of mine, including Poodle and Kenny the shepherd mix, could eat Blue. Roo, your vet was referring to Purina One and Purina Pro Plan. My guys are currently eating Purina One weight management. Buddy still needs to lose a couple of pounds and I like that it is low enough fat that it works for Poodle so everyone eats the same. Purina has a new food out called Beyond which has very good ingredients for a "supermarket" food, but it has so many calories a cup Buddy would get a big handful twice a day. Lots of people here that thought green and red bag ought Iams were horrible foods (including me) have changed their tune after seeing how well it worked on their dogs. No, the ingredients aren't ideal, but as has been said, our dogs don't read the labels. Everyone's ideas on food are different. I'm fine with green and red bag Iams but won't feed the weight management because the first ingredient is not meat. That's which is why we are on the Purina now with turkey as the first ingredient. Good luck. Hey Pam, How much do you feed of the weight management? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jenniferk Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I think I found the culprit of runny & soft poos, and it turns out it wasn't the type of kibble at all. From the beginning I'd been mixing plain yogurt into his kibble in the evenings--advice from Retired Racing Greys for Dummies. When I ran out of yogurt a few days ago, I noticed his poos start to firm up even more. I think he must be lactose intolerant because his poos have been super solid & easy to pick up the whole time he hasn't been eating dairy. So no more dairy for him! He's doing great on Blue otherwise, so I'm sticking with Blue. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OPointyDog Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 I was hoping it was the yogurt causing pudding poo with Zoe, and we tried the same thing - I discontinued the yogurt and started adding fortiflora to Zoe's food. In her case it didn't help - too bad it doesn't seem to be that simple, but glad it worked for you! Based on a few comments here and a recommendation from a friend, we're now in the process of switching to Nutro Natural Choice Venison & Potato. Cross your fingers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Even with the Proactive Green Bag of Iams there can sometimes be problems if Peggy eats too much fatty material (lamb scraps or gets the gravy on plates from people who just will not listen). A day of boiled rice and chicken thighs - deboned and deskinned - puts her right and once back on Iams the poops come back OK. I can do it with our local Country Choice chicken and rice kibble for working dogs, but it needs like an extra day of chicken and rice. Grease and fat are really critical for some dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 Thanks for all the feedback and experiences! I think I've decided to try Iams, even though everyone I tell says "Are you sure? Iams isn't good food!" I keep having to explain my reasoning to people, but if it works, I'll be thrilled. We're getting low on Nutro, so I'm going to pick up a small green bag of Iams mini chunks and start mixing it in. How gradual should this be? He's on two cups of Nutro per meal (based off his weight and the chart on the back of the bag - though he's put on a few pounds since retirement and I think he's at almost a perfect weight). Quote Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty. Wrote a book about shelter dogs! I sell things on Etsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Hey Pam,How much do you feed of the weight management? Sorry, just saw this. Buddy gets 4 cups of the weight management. He was 95# last time I weighed him (down from 105) he is losing on the 4 cups. With Rex he was showing such impovement two days into transition I sped it up. Seem to remember he was on all Iams on day four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 For the 1st time in the 5 months I've had him Harry FINISHED a bag of dog food!! The Notro Natural Choice Venison & Potato is the first kibble he has stayed with that hasn't gone right thru him. I know Nutro isn't the best & there has been problems in the past which worries me but the high end foods hated him and he only ate the Iams for a few days. Crossing my fingers and hoping my garage will no longer look like a Dog Food Depot warehouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OPointyDog Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 FreeholdHound, that's awesome! So glad you found something that works! It gives me hope that there's a food out there that will work for us. at the Dog Food Depot! I looked around our mud room last night, and could see 4 kinds of dog food in various states of use. I have started asking around our local adoption group and finding out what other people's dogs eat and then giving them leftover bags. We briefly started adding a little Nutro Natural Choice to Zoe's food, but the diarrhea got so much worse that I stopped and she's back on full Iams. I'm not convinced it was the food that caused the flare-up, so may try again in a few days. She seems to like the Iams, but we still get a lot of pudding poo. But at least it's not all the time.... Still searching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrentsMom Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 It took me forever but I found something that works....FROMM adult classic formula (purple bag). I tried everything, even Iams.... Finally, no tooting AND pick-up-able... Cute little terds!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I had tried the Nutro before and he wouldnt even smell it but that was before I caught on that he won't touch anything that ever had wings or fins lol. He likes the venison NEW formula . But just to spite me posting here he refused to eat this morning (grrr) but he does that every Friday (????) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwnedBySummer Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) Summer hardly ever farts... and her poop is pretty good... but she is very clear about what kibbles she likes to eat. So my decisions are based totally on will she eat it, not what the reaction is (since she never has a reaction to foods). I have tried just about everything out there and the more expensive it is, the less likely she is to eat it. She'll eat Royal Canin but I don't like that it has wheat, corn gluten and citric acid. So... I am an Iams green bag of mini-chunks convert! There's no wheat or citric acid and I wish "chicken" wasn't the first ingredient as I'd prefer "chicken meal" to be first, HOWEVER, she poos LESS than on the high-end kibbles and they are "nicer" poos. She eats with relish and delight now -- and I like that. No add-ins to coax her, just warm water. Hubcitypam, I thank you for talking it up! Watching her joy at breakfast time is wonderful! It's so hard to find the right kibble with these dogs, isn't it. Edited August 31, 2012 by OwnedBySummer Quote Lisa B. My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FreeholdHound Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I wish Harry would eat the IAMS - I work in a store that sells it so I can easily pick it up on sale AND get a discount, but of course THAT would be way too easy and simple!! Picked up another bag of the Nutro today - that's usually means he'll stop eating it- crossing my fingers my luck will continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Alrighty, I picked up a bag of Iams mini chunks today and am going to start switching him over. How many cups should I feed him per day? He's on two at breakfast and two at dinner for the Nutro and he's putting some weight on (twas necessary, but now he's at a good weight). Should I just do the same amount for the Iams, or...? He weighs about 65 lbs now. Quote Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty. Wrote a book about shelter dogs! I sell things on Etsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I'm pleased to report that we had three log-shaped poos today instead of a bunch of pudding drops - yay! And that's only on half and half. Anyone know how many cups of Iams green bag mini chunks I should feed to my 65 lb Eli? Quote Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty. Wrote a book about shelter dogs! I sell things on Etsy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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