# Question on Orijen and soft stool



## Spectrum (Jan 14, 2016)

Hello everyone, once again

My pup has been on the lighter side of many of the charts posted online, yet he's very vibrant and active. Despite that, I do worry to some extent, and have at least attempted to prevent that initial gap from increasing if possible. 

As many of you can attest to with yours, my pup is always hungry. Once, months ago, me and my partner decided to see if feeding him more would sate that hunger. He went through about 8 cups of food and it left him just as quick. Never again. 

After spending several weeks on this forum searching for resources regarding a GSD's diet and preferred foods, I have been feeding my pup Orijen LBP for something close to 3 months now. 

So after reading the feeding guidelines, we decided that feeding him about 3 cups was correct. But his weight gain was low, at about a pound a week. His stools, however were solid most of the time. After feeding him this amount for about 3 weeks, I decided to up his food by a cup. When he was fed 4 cups a day, his weight gain skyrocketed, but his stool was also very soft, with diarrhea being a very common occurrence. Feeding him this much over a three weeks resulted in a 9-10 pounds weight gain. I can only stress that his energy levels never plummeted, aside from the diarrhea, he was exactly the same. He's been on 3 cups since then and his stool has become solid again. 

My question is this: I'm sure that the diarrhea long term can have negative effects, but what is the better option here? Could it be that my pup just doesn't take to Orijen?

For more information, he's currently 49lbs 10oz (weighed this morning) 24.5 inches at the withers. He turned 5 months old on the 29th of March. 

Thanks for any advice given.


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## Apoolutz (Jan 19, 2013)

If his weight is good why not just keep him at 3 cups? Slow growth is always better anyways. Does he need to gain weight health wise?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

"My question is this: I'm sure that the diarrhea long term can have negative effects, but what is the better option here? Could it be that my pup just doesn't take to Orijen?"

No, a lot of dogs don't take to the smallest amount of Orijen, so your guy is doing good! I always like to see people keep their dog on Orijen if it is not causing gut upset.

How about just increasing 1/4th cup per feeding? 

Or, how adding some raw meat/bones 1 x per day for a treat?

Moms


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## Spectrum (Jan 14, 2016)

^Thanks, the raw meat does sound like a good idea, but I'm not entirely sure as to how to begin feeding that. 

I have been incorporating a kong full of peanut butter to keep him mentally sharp when he isn't out wrestling out my bully female. 



Apoolutz said:


> If his weight is good why not just keep him at 3 cups? Slow growth is always better anyways. Does he need to gain weight health wise?


My issue is that, without that 3 week period of ~10lb gain, he would have likely been about 7 pounds lighter, had I kept him on 3 cups a day. A pup that's about 5.5 months old at 43 lbs (hypothetically) doesn't seem healthy in my, admittedly novice, opinion. 

It only adds to my concerns that he's seemingly standard in height. if he were also a smaller pup, I'd think the ratio was more acceptable. 

Thank you for your replies, I really do appreciate it.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I am ot sure how old your pup is...3 cups does not sound like enough food to me.

I grugingly upped mine from 5 to 6 cups of Fromm gold holistic atmy vet's urging. He was ribby prior to increase and he grew almost 10 lbs right away. 

After that big spurt I have been able to drop him way back, 4.5c + some canned. He is healthy. Maybe not as thin as some keep theirs which I know can be very healthy. But sometimes a growing kid just needs to eat. 

Some higher end foods are too rich for some dogs. Some/none of this may apply to your case, just my exp.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

PS my boy is older than yours & I think was at least 8 mo when we did that 6 cups during his growth spurt.

I did not increase anything too quickly to avoid upset


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Orijen is changing their formulas, have they started doing that yet? Maybe they have and it's different ingredients.


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## Spectrum (Jan 14, 2016)

Based on the label recommendations, 3 cups is the recommended amount for my pup right now. I don't think it's an issue of him being starved, considering that he's gaining weight and has energy, both of which would simply cease as soon as he wasn't getting enough calories. 

I've read that Fromm's overall is a lower calorie kibble, so that could explain the need for more to feed your pup. As of right now though, anything near 6 cups would simply be overkill, because 4 cups seemed to be overkill for our dog.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Spectrum said:


> ^Thanks, the raw meat does sound like a good idea, but I'm not entirely sure as to how to begin feeding that.
> 
> I have been incorporating a kong full of peanut butter to keep him mentally sharp when he isn't out wrestling out my bully female.


Please check your peanut butter label. A lot of companies have started to add Xylitol (sweetener) which is toxic to dogs and can be deadly.

A very simple way to add meat is to purchase some ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken and give him about 1/4th to 1/2 cup once or twice a day (raw). If he likes it, you can get more cost efficient buy purchasing cheaper pieces of roast, cut it up and freeze it in individual baggies. You can put the ground meat in his kong too and freeze it!

Raw Chicken breasts have soft bones if you want to give that a try. Just pull off the skin until you see how his gut reacts to it for several days. Then you can add some skin slowly if no gut upset. Too much skin in the beginning will give some dogs diarrhea. Never give any "cooked" bones to a dog.

Another thing to try is raw chicken or turkey necks. If you are worried about him swallowing the chicken necks whole, take some time, sit on the floor with him, and hold the chicken neck with a piece of paper towel (so it won't slip out of your fingers) and let him slowly chew on it while you are holding it. Eventually, you may feel he is ready to eat it on his own. BTW....If you have other dogs/cats, make sure they aren't in the same room when doing this so there isn't an altercation. 


Moms


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Just to add to much peanut butter- the good peanut butter with out the xylitol can also cause loose stools. We found this out when we were getting our pup used nail dremels and nail trims and used a bit much peanut butter.


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## Spectrum (Jan 14, 2016)

^thanks for the advice. As of right now, he's getting something between a teaspoon to a tablespoon every other day or so. 



Momto2GSDs said:


> Please check your peanut butter label. A lot of companies have started to add Xylitol (sweetener) which is toxic to dogs and can be deadly.
> 
> A very simple way to add meat is to purchase some ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken and give him about 1/4th to 1/2 cup once or twice a day (raw). If he likes it, you can get more cost efficient buy purchasing cheaper pieces of roast, cut it up and freeze it in individual baggies. You can put the ground meat in his kong too and freeze it!
> 
> ...


Thank you for the advice. We've enrolled him into dog training classes, and they spent an entire day talking about the items/chemicals to avoid. Xylitol and nitrates had a spotlight during that time. 

Regarding the raw meat, is there a specified range of temperature? I know you mentioned rationing the portions out, but I was just curious if it's better to be cold than warm, if you know what I mean. I don't feel comfortable feeding him smaller bones, considering that he eats fast, and I wouldn't want to risk any choking. 

Basically, I'm not sure about the process of preparing the meat for him in a way that wouldn't potentially put him at risk of harm. 

Thanks, once again.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Spectrum said:


> ^thanks for the advice. As of right now, he's getting something between a teaspoon to a tablespoon every other day or so.
> 
> Thank you for the advice. We've enrolled him into dog training classes, and they spent an entire day talking about the items/chemicals to avoid. Xylitol and nitrates had a spotlight during that time.
> 
> ...



1/4th to 1/2 cup is such a small amount, just open the package of meat (right out of the fridge) and scoop out what portion you want him to have and hand it to him!  No bowls necessary! Unless you want to, of course!

If you freeze portions, you may want to keep some in the fridge thawing. But if you stuff his kong with it, just give it right from the freezer! It will take him much longer to work on it since it is frozen!

Moms


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