Best puppy food?
Discussion
Hi all.
My 12 week old pup has soft stools which I thought might clear up after his worming but seems to have persisted.
It isn’t diarrhoea but very mushy/formless and quite frequent poos.
He eats Harrington’s dry puppy food. Has anyone here had better experiences with other food brands, if so I’d be interested to hear.
Thankyou,
Matthew
My 12 week old pup has soft stools which I thought might clear up after his worming but seems to have persisted.
It isn’t diarrhoea but very mushy/formless and quite frequent poos.
He eats Harrington’s dry puppy food. Has anyone here had better experiences with other food brands, if so I’d be interested to hear.
Thankyou,
Matthew
Edited by foxbody-87 on Wednesday 24th October 17:14
We have fed our dog on raw food since we have had her, one of the advantages of raw food is firm dry poo and not as many of them.
Plenty of brands to choose, we use Natural Instinct or Nutriment as both them are based a couple of miles away but they have stockists all over the the uk and the also deliver.
Plenty of brands to choose, we use Natural Instinct or Nutriment as both them are based a couple of miles away but they have stockists all over the the uk and the also deliver.
I'm sure you'll get a wealth of replies here, and it will boil down to what you can accommodate and what suits your puppy. What puppy do you have?
When we got our cocker spaniel at 5 months he was the same, very runny, irregular poo's. He was being fed Butchers wet puppy food. We transitioned him onto Orijen puppy food but that didn't agree with him at all.
So we switched him to McAdams dry food to get him on a chicken based food. This has worked wonders. No more runny poo's, they are solid and perfect. His energy levels have increased and he's just overall much better. its a very good quality dry food, and a bit easier on our pooches stomach compared to Orijen.
Our friends have their dog on raw food, and it does very well. However it doesn't fit our lifestyle, so we go for the best possible dry food we can get our hands on.
I find this website great for comparing different types of food and understanding what's actually used: https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
When we got our cocker spaniel at 5 months he was the same, very runny, irregular poo's. He was being fed Butchers wet puppy food. We transitioned him onto Orijen puppy food but that didn't agree with him at all.
So we switched him to McAdams dry food to get him on a chicken based food. This has worked wonders. No more runny poo's, they are solid and perfect. His energy levels have increased and he's just overall much better. its a very good quality dry food, and a bit easier on our pooches stomach compared to Orijen.
Our friends have their dog on raw food, and it does very well. However it doesn't fit our lifestyle, so we go for the best possible dry food we can get our hands on.
I find this website great for comparing different types of food and understanding what's actually used: https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
Thanks all for your suggestions.
He’s a labradoodle - very cheeky but a lovely little pup.
He had much looser poo when we got him, and upon worming him it became apparent he had quite an infestation. Things have firmed up slightly but I’d like to try another food, perhaps in a week or so maybe try and gradually change it if things don’t improve.
He’s at the vets soon anyway so I’ll make sure to mention it. He’s currently trying to dislodge everything that isn’t nailed down in the living room!
He’s a labradoodle - very cheeky but a lovely little pup.
He had much looser poo when we got him, and upon worming him it became apparent he had quite an infestation. Things have firmed up slightly but I’d like to try another food, perhaps in a week or so maybe try and gradually change it if things don’t improve.
He’s at the vets soon anyway so I’ll make sure to mention it. He’s currently trying to dislodge everything that isn’t nailed down in the living room!
Gaz. said:
Did your dog's energy levels/attitude change at all?
Hard to say really, the breeder had him on raw and on the vet’s advice we put him on a high quality dry food. He was mental before and mental afterwards, but then he was a puppy! He continued having raw food as a small part of his diet for years, though he doesn’t get much these days.otolith said:
Our vet was generally quite positive about raw feeding, but recommended we wait until he was grown on the grounds that if you screw up with a growing dog you can cause permanent skeletal damage.
I am not sure how feeding raw food can cause skeletal damage. That sounds like vet trying to put you off raw food.COLONEL_SMITH said:
otolith said:
Our vet was generally quite positive about raw feeding, but recommended we wait until he was grown on the grounds that if you screw up with a growing dog you can cause permanent skeletal damage.
I am not sure how feeding raw food can cause skeletal damage. That sounds like vet trying to put you off raw food.
Another advocate of raw.. we have two EBT puppies (11 and 6 months old) and the oldest had a few trips to the vets with diarrhea.. We tried different dry foods, but found that it made no difference, and he still went to loo 4 or 5 times a day.. Since switching him to raw, he hasn't had any issues at all, poos only a couple of times a day, they are much smaller and firmer and the biggest benefit...
Much less stinky wind...
Much less stinky wind...
Only ever fed out 3 y/o Pug on Royal Canin dry. About once a fortnight he'll have a boiled egg, or a roast dinner (little bit of chicken meat, potato, carrot, broccoli), but generally just dry kibble. He has little biscuit treats or a Dentachew now and then..
Always had normal / solid stools as a result, rarely ever gets the runs, and barely ever has gas which is something we were told was quite common with Pugs. He has plenty of energy and is fit as a fiddle, proper lean little machine.
Purely anecdotal obviously but still..
Always had normal / solid stools as a result, rarely ever gets the runs, and barely ever has gas which is something we were told was quite common with Pugs. He has plenty of energy and is fit as a fiddle, proper lean little machine.
Purely anecdotal obviously but still..
Both my dogs are feed raw meat and bones. Spaniel has been on it since day one. I do agree with whoevers vet who said you can screw up a puppies food. They need different things than adult dogs so a little bit more on the meaty bone front so you get the calcium and phosphorous balance right.
otolith said:
Gaz. said:
Did your dog's energy levels/attitude change at all?
Hard to say really, the breeder had him on raw and on the vet’s advice we put him on a high quality dry food. He was mental before and mental afterwards, but then he was a puppy! He continued having raw food as a small part of his diet for years, though he doesn’t get much these days.Did you buy food from the vet when you changed to kibble ?
COLONEL_SMITH said:
otolith said:
Our vet was generally quite positive about raw feeding, but recommended we wait until he was grown on the grounds that if you screw up with a growing dog you can cause permanent skeletal damage.
I am not sure how feeding raw food can cause skeletal damage. That sounds like vet trying to put you off raw food.The problem is we see evidence of when puppies (and kittens) have been badly fed raw and can cause serious issues. (ca
ratios fed incorrectly, too much liver fed etc) however there are much better pre packed raw available made to be fed to puppies with the correct nutritional needs for growth these days. Once older they can be a bit more adventurous with foods and save money by home prepping.
And ALWAYS freeze raw first for a couple weeks before using (unless it has already been frozen and defrosted of course!)
So I took him to the vet as he was passing some mucous and blood spots. She indicated it could be inflammation from his worming and he is now on Digestive Support and has been getting Pro Kolin. She also gave me some sample kits for his poo in case it doesn’t improve. He has been doing bigger, firmer less frequent poos and also hasn’t been doing them overnight either which is a good sign. I’ll start weaning him back onto normal food over the next week if things continue to improve, if not I’ll take the samples in for analysis.
Ah yes the good old posts of raw food fixes all ailments. Glad to hear you took him to a vet and got real, useful advice. I see too many puppies (and dogs) fed a raw diet with horrendous gastroenteritis.
It’s hard to know which complete dog food is the best. So much of the info out there is skewed by advertising and blind, misinformed advice. My advice is to feed the best you can afford. Royal canin and hills are very good. I feed my dogs on a dry complete food, brand is usually mid range and often on some sort of offer. Same when they were pups.
In terms of raw food, there have been studies that have found increased amounts of MRSA and ESBLs that are in faeces. A lot of the opinions of, former faeces, better coat and calmer behaviour are often subjective. Ps dogs are not wolves
It’s hard to know which complete dog food is the best. So much of the info out there is skewed by advertising and blind, misinformed advice. My advice is to feed the best you can afford. Royal canin and hills are very good. I feed my dogs on a dry complete food, brand is usually mid range and often on some sort of offer. Same when they were pups.
In terms of raw food, there have been studies that have found increased amounts of MRSA and ESBLs that are in faeces. A lot of the opinions of, former faeces, better coat and calmer behaviour are often subjective. Ps dogs are not wolves
foxbody-87 said:
So I took him to the vet as he was passing some mucous and blood spots. She indicated it could be inflammation from his worming and he is now on Digestive Support and has been getting Pro Kolin. She also gave me some sample kits for his poo in case it doesn’t improve. He has been doing bigger, firmer less frequent poos and also hasn’t been doing them overnight either which is a good sign. I’ll start weaning him back onto normal food over the next week if things continue to improve, if not I’ll take the samples in for analysis.
Get him checked for Campylobacter and Giardia. We have a Golden doodle who was very ill a week or so after picking her up to the point she nearly died. She was tested and positive for both of these.
Vet suggested that she was probably sharing areas with other dogs on fresh meat diet (breeder also did doggy day care!). A course of antibiotics and some royal cannin expensive dog food (funny how this always gets prescribed) and she was ok after a week or so and putting weight on.
Also, being a doodle, they can be prone to allergies. Watch out for red ears and scratching. If so cut out all grain!!!
Added to say your Vet gave you containers for stool samples, which will be for the above.....
Edited by super7 on Monday 29th October 12:19
^^why is it 'funny' that a diet specifically designed to help a dog with a gastro intestinal issue gets prescribed to a dog that has a gastro intestinal issue and so helps with the dogs recovery from its gastro intestinal issue?! (yes I know I have repeated myself, I am attempting to make a point)
We tried a few starting with some expensive organic stuff from Lily's Kitchen which seemed to do him little good.
3 years on he's eating Pets at Homes own Step up to naturals range, adult, meaty grain free and he's crapping like a champ.
With puppies I have found that the lack of firmness can be due to them just going when they first feel the urge rather than baking it for a bit which allows it to firm up.
3 years on he's eating Pets at Homes own Step up to naturals range, adult, meaty grain free and he's crapping like a champ.
With puppies I have found that the lack of firmness can be due to them just going when they first feel the urge rather than baking it for a bit which allows it to firm up.
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