Puppy Food Making Gonzo...well...

Gonzo was started on Purina by his owner, and I bought a huge bag. His stool is now...rather soft, not quite diarrhea, but not looking normal. The vet gave me a sample bag of Science Diet I might start mixing in. I gave my Yorkshire Terrier Science Diet her whole life and she never had problems, but yet I hear they changed the recipe and it's not nearly worth the money as it used to be. Purina seems like a cheap brand--should I switch to something better? He's about 10 weeks old.

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on October 27, 2008 at 9:44am

Yep, Purina's cheap and poor quality. How long have you had Gonzo? Had the vet de-wormed him? Or he may just have a sensitive stomach. Vets often give I/D when a dog has a stomach issue. There are plenty of good foods. And our Clan has softer stools, but not runny. And they're not supposed to be rocks. Try the Science Diet and see what you think. Just remember changing foods can give your Gonzo a bit of an upset stomach, too. Be patient. As long as he checks out okay at the vet, just feed him good stuff (http://dogfoodanalysis.com). Also, be sure your house is puppy-proof and he's not getting into something he shouldn't.

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Permalink Reply by Tenley on October 27, 2008 at 11:17am

I've had him three weeks, he had worms bad when I first got him, but gave him a couple pills the breeder gave me, last week I too him to the vet for a check-up and he said he was now parasite-free, except for earmites that he treated Gonzo for, I have another checkup in about two weeks.

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Permalink Reply by Suzanne on October 27, 2008 at 4:30pm

Also, I'd like to add that the better quality diets has help my dogs loose stools a lot. We've switched to Innovo/evo and once they got used to it everything was better... I agree that science diet is junk food! Our vet though we were insane when we refused to feed it to our cats/dogs.

Aloha must have her list as a copy paste ;-} she posts it so often to us neophytes. I followed her advice for foods, and Henry hasn't been to the vet to have his anal glands expressed in at least 4 months. I used to have to take him every 4 to 6 weeks!

If you have problems finding what you want in your area, try http://www.k9cuisine.com/ they have free shipping on orders over $50. They are a little slow, but they're cheaper than our local stores...

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Permalink Reply by Sam on October 27, 2008 at 8:11pm

I am not a fan of the Science Diet. Just look at the ingredients. Purina makes a higher end food called Pro Plan which is a decent food. I prefer the many of the brands that are available at the natural pet food stores. The first thing I look at is that there is not corn in the first five ingredients.

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Permalink Reply by Jamie and Tim on October 31, 2008 at 4:20pm

We feed our puppy Halo which is a holistic brand that you can get at Petco. It's very good for them and he LOVES it. There is a website all about it. The #1 thing you want to remember when checking out food is the first thing listed on the ingrediant list. If it says anything about "meal" or if there is any corn or corn products in it - THAT IS FILLERS!