Started Dog Food Cold Turkey

[Guest AngelPup]

Hi all. We've had our new boy, Brady, since Friday. I had to start him cold turkey on his dog food because the adoption agency doesn't use one particular dog food--they mix several brands together (whatever is donated).

 

I completely expected diarrhea between the dog food switch and nervousness in being in a new home, etc. He may also have worms (did a fecal test at the vet's which came back negative, but I saw one in his stool), which he is being treated for.

 

I'm going to leave everything be until I'm sure he no longer has worms, but if it is indeed the food, how long should I give him to adjust to the new food before trying something else?

[brianamac]

Hmmm.... I'm just going off what we did (for each different food, sheesh!), but I would say give it a little more than a month or so and then switch if it isn't working. Although if the poop even *starts* to look better towards the end of the month, wait a little longer.

[a_daerr]

Four to six weeks, unless it becomes that he has an allergy or severe intolerance.

[Batmom]

We don't wait. If the dog has been wormed 3-4 times at 2-3 week intervals and the food still doesn't agree, we switch. ETA: Unless the dog has a really heavy worm burden, I probably won't even wait until worming is done to switch over. A mild-medium worm burden doesn't often affect poop quality *that* much on a daily basis. If the food suits, you'd more likely see at least formed poop most of the time, with a couple days of unexplained diarrhea at 2-3 week intervals.

 

In my experience, there's no need to give a dog a lengthy period of time to "get used to" a food. It just prolongs the agony (diarrhea, extreme gas, vomiting, whatever). I've never had a dog's digestion of a given food improve with time, although I have had some get worse!

 

I switch over 2-5 days only because it minimizes the chances of even worse digestive effects -- if poop/vomiting/whatever gets worse when the dog is eating only 1/3 new food, then I can stop right there and not suffer through what happens when the dog is eating 100% new food. If the dog is having completely liquid stool or copious vomiting, I don't give it 2-5 days -- I switch 100%, all at once, because things really can't get worse.

 

I do wait 24 hours to make sure what I'm seeing is the result of the new food and not the result of something eaten previously.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Batmom

[Guest JaneandSara]

Have you considered feeding raw?

[Guest AngelPup]

Well, I was going to give it at least a week or two to see if things improved, but they do seem to be getting worse instead of better. Would Panacure dewormer cause diarrhea? That's really the only thing that I've added other than the new food. Well, that and the occasional liver treat and Milkbone.

 

He went from two large mushy poops a day, one after breakfast and one after dinner, to THREE large mushy poops a day yesterday, with one added midday. That's a LOT of poop! I have noticed a lot of white 'flecks' in his stool today, so maybe he's just shedding worms/eggs and it's irritating things?

 

Other than the diarrhea and the occasional bouts of nervous gas (first day with us and at the vet's), he seems to be doing very well. How would I know if he's allergic to it, other than diarrhea?

[a_daerr]

How would I know if he's allergic to it, other than diarrhea?

 

 

Excessive licking, scratching, redness, swelling, itchy paws/bum are all symptoms of an allergy. If he's shedding worms, the problem is most likely related to the worms, not the food. Also, three poops a day is not abnormal, especially on a higher-fiber food like Iams. Trust me, you'll do more harm than good by doing more food switches. I'd worm and de-worm, and possibly give him a probiotic like Forti Flora to help the GI system recover from the worms.

Edited May 15, 2013 by a_daerr

[Batmom]

White flecks: Either a component of his food (you'll have to be the judge there) or tapeworm segments, which are NOT killed by most dewormers. You need a different wormer for tapeworms -- something containing praziquantel, usually Drontal.

[Feisty49]

I wouldn't let my dog have diarrhea for weeks on end. If it were my girl and she still had diarrhea after a week, I'd wean to something else. The foster people in my group don't even bother to wean. They just give their fosters the food provided without an introduction period. I switched Annie from Iams in Green Bag (because she stopped eating it) to TOTW in 3 days with no consequences.

[Burpdog]

I've done cold turkey changes with food and if it's right, they may go a shade soft but straightens up in a day or two. If the food is right, their poop should be fine.

 

Stop the liver treats and go easy on the milk bones

 

If you are seeing worms, they are tape or round and panacur will not take care of tape. If you are unsure of what you are seeing, take another sample to the vet with the white things in it!

 

Try boiled meat/chicken & potatoes for a day or so and see if he straightens up.

[Guest AngelPup]

Have you considered feeding raw?

 

I've read about it, but I don't think I'd be able to stomach it. I would imagine it would be much more expensive than dry kibble. Plus I like the convenience of dry dog food. But thanks for the suggestion!

[Guest AngelPup]

 

 

Excessive licking, scratching, redness, swelling, itchy paws/bum are all symptoms of an allergy. If he's shedding worms, the problem is most likely related to the worms, not the food. Also, three poops a day is not abnormal, especially on a higher-fiber food like Iams. Trust me, you'll do more harm than good by doing more food switches. I'd worm and de-worm, and possibly give him a probiotic like Forti Flora to help the GI system recover from the worms.

 

Well, he licks and scatches every so often, but I wouldn't call it excessive, so I guess it's not allergies. I'm definitely going to wait and see what happens. I really don't want to make things even more complicated by switching food so soon--especially since he really seems to like it and appears not to be allergic to it. I'll check out Forti Flora too. Thanks!

[a_daerr]

As the others said, I'd definitely use Drontal Plus in case the white specks are tapeworms. It's expensive, but it works!

[Guest AngelPup]

I've done cold turkey changes with food and if it's right, they may go a shade soft but straightens up in a day or two. If the food is right, their poop should be fine.

 

Stop the liver treats and go easy on the milk bones

 

If you are seeing worms, they are tape or round and panacur will not take care of tape. If you are unsure of what you are seeing, take another sample to the vet with the white things in it!

 

Try boiled meat/chicken & potatoes for a day or so and see if he straightens up.

 

Yeah, I'm stopping everything, other than the food for now. I've seen tapeworms before in a previous dog (flat/oblong), but the worm I saw didn't look like that. It was more slender and looked like an actual worm instead of orzo pasta. I guess he could have more than one type of worm. I'm definitely going to take a stool sample if I see anything else in it. He has another appointment in three weeks for a Lyme booster, so I'll take another sample and talk to the vet then if he's still suffering from diarrhea.

 

I called the vet's office today to see what they recommend I do and she said to feed a bland diet for a few days and see if his stools firm up. If they do, it's the food and we'll have to find something else and switch slowly. If he still has diarrhea on a bland diet, than it's something else (worms?). I plan on trying this over the weekend if he hasn't straightened out by then.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

As the others said, I'd definitely use Drontal Plus in case the white specks are tapeworms. It's expensive, but it works!

 

 

Ok, I'll bring it up to the vet at our next appointment, if not sooner.

[Guest JaneandSara]

 

"I've read about it, but I don't think I'd be able to stomach it. I would imagine it would be much more expensive than dry kibble. Plus I like the convenience of dry dog food. But thanks for the suggestion!"

 

I totally understand I have really struggled with raw!! We find it cheaper than top quality kibble and changed because one our (10) dogs had pancreatitis - we haven't looked back. It does take time and commitment though, but worth it - so if all else fails - do try it!!