Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Food Forum => Food Discussion & Information => : romphill July 29, 2008, 05:09:27 PM
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Just adopted a nearly 3 year old Great Pyrenees. Old owners were feeding Old Roy, and I'm wondering how to go about swapping out dog foods. Tried to a few weeks ago (to same Lamb and Rice type Purina, recommended by local vet?) and his stools quickly changed to a green tint and much more runny.
The process I used last time was over about 5 days, first day just a handful of Purina sprinkled over the Old Roy, and gradually put more Purina in and less Old Roy.
Assuming the stool change wasn't because of the quality of the new food (Purina), I am blaming it on the process that I went about doing it. In that case does anyone have any recommendation s for a better transition?
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The standard is to switch gradually over 10 days, with a 10% change per day. So the first day, you would feed 90% old 10% new, the second 80% old 20% new, and so on until you get to 100% new. So you had the right idea, but you need to do it over a slightly longer period of time.
I think that the quality of food involved is more the issue than your method of transition. You'll read a lot on BPO about quality foods. Purina really isn't a great food, so if you're open to a more high quality food I would reccomend it and we can deffinately help you find a better one that is still within your budget.
But purina is actually a better food than ol roy, which is probably the worst dog food on the market. Ol roy is almost all filler that passes right through undigested, so his stomach probably needs time adjusting to actually having things to digest. There's a product by eagle pack called holistic transitions that is supposed to help aid with food transitions that you could try (I've never tried it myself).
Ideally I think the best thing you could do would be to switch more slowly to a higher quality food, and I probably wouldn't use a lamb formula unless he has shown an intollerance to beef and chicken formulas.
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I agree with Heather (shangrila). That method has worked well for my dogs, too. Also, I think that I saw you post a question on another thread asking about cost? I certainly understand the concern, we have 3 dogs and it all adds up. What I would suggest is to read through the food forum here for info on brands that you might want to consider, then go to your local feed store and see which are available in your area. Also, you can often find a list of local stores that carry these foods on the dog food manufacturers web sites. ;)
One thing that you will like a lot is how little the dogs actually eat of this higher quality food. My Sammy for example only eats 2 3/4 to 3 cups a day of Wellness. Any more than that and he ends up getting too heavy. Since I think that you said that your pyr will be living in an apartment, eating less means pooping less and that makes the potty breaks easier on everyone. For us the higher cost of the food is offset by how little they eat and how much healthier they stay. ;) :)
Again, it's wonderful that you adopted him and that he has a loving home now! He's one of the lucky ones. ;) :-* ;D
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I am sure you can find a quality food that isn't going to be to expensive. I am sure you won't be spending the amount I spend a month on food. 300 USD for 3 dogs.
I really lean towards the food and not the method on this one. I have never had a dog do good on Purina unless it was Purina One. Still every dog is different.
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Off to the vet today so hopefully he'll start a new food program within a week or so. I really don't have that much to comment on, except that I guess my sister just adopted a 20 or so week old golden/lab (at least looks like that) mix. Seeing all 130-140 pounds of Harley next to something I can hold in the palm of my hand is a pretty funny site.
She's also making him neurotic with all the yipping and high pitched barking. Harley's way too kind to be aggressive, but when they're in the same room he'll just stare at her and growl while she's bouncing around wanting to play.