# Large breed puppy food - what should we try next, still soft stool...



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

So I don't think that Solid gold hund-n-flocken is working for us. 

I want to find good food that wont be a repeat of the same ingredients? not sure how this works or what is bothering him. Maybe it is just high fat content as our vet suggested? 

He is growing, gaining weight, happy etc etc, but has soft stool. Zeus had a bunch of tests done for parasites etc and all is fine. 

His parents are DNA tested so having pancreas issues is extremely rare as it is linked to genetic and our vet does not think this is an issue, he would of showed other signs. 

I am horrible at comparing food, I think I eat junk myself...

Anyone had a sensitive puppy and any of these popular foods work? Purina EN worked well when he was sick and so did chicken and rice. I switched him slowly and we are back to softer stool, it was always soft even on those foods, but somewhat formed. 

I was considering Honest Kitchen "Love" but it was on back order everywhere I looked and also it last about 2 weeks for the 10lb box . at $95, I don't think I can afford it =/ 
If it lasted a month, I can do it. 

Any feedback would be really great. 

I looked at EVO, Fromm, Orijen, California naturals, and not sure which way to go. 

Thank you!


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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

Heard good reviews about Orijen, haven't used it myself. I use Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice. Good stools good coat


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## EmeryGSD (Mar 8, 2013)

Royal Canin for GSD puppies


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

EmeryGSD said:


> Royal Canin for GSD puppies
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Not sure, but this one looks like it had grain or corn?


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Fromm and Orijen are my two top kibbles I would feed

Both of mine eat Fromm and Delgado did very well on their LBP before being switched at just over a year to their four star line which Jazzy was already on


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

Shade said:


> Fromm and Orijen are my two top kibbles I would feed
> 
> Both of mine eat Fromm and Delgado did very well on their LBP before being switched at just over a year to their four star line which Jazzy was already on


My bothers bulldog had awful stomach his first few months and Fromm worked for them as well. I was always worried about chicken, (because I was told to stay away), but I think it's time to say ok to chicken. If he was allergic to it, i would of already found out from feeding homemade chicken and rice.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

How soft is soft - is it possible you are overfeeding?

What DNA test? I think pancreatic issues usually show up with very light colored stools and hard weight gain.

It is nowhere near a high fat food-not as high as the Purina EN.

Some of my GSDs have not done well on lamb based foods. Others have thrived on it. Since you did well on Purina EN and on chicken and rice how about a food with those as the basis?....ah I see you are reconsidering chicken. 

I loved the Fromm but the duck content / duck fat may be a bit much right now.


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

jocoyn said:


> How soft is soft - is it possible you are overfeeding?
> 
> What DNA test? I think pancreatic issues usually show up with very light colored stools and hard weight gain.
> 
> ...


3 cups a day with a teaspoon of pumpkin and he acts like we don't feed him.

The vet mentioned that pancreatic problems are genetic and him being the only one in the litter and several generations of previous pups, would be a very rare chance, but I guess still could happen. It's just that he was normal before Giardia and all the antibiotics and taking us a while to get back to normal. 

As for how soft, Well if we refer back to that chart, its usually 50. it's not watery, but some formed some goopy. The color is from light to dark brown.


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## GermanShepherdDog (Mar 26, 2012)

Merrick is a good food, especially the grain free formulas. Look into Merrick, it's one of the best.


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

GermanShepherdDog said:


> Merrick is a good food, especially the grain free formulas. Look into Merrick, it's one of the best.


I use a spoon of their canned food "working dog" with each meal as a topper, but have not heard much about kibble from people on the forum.


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

Hey everyone, 

We got Fromm large breed pup and ProZyne + I had probiotic paste left open as well. 
Also 1 spoon of pumpkin. So I started switching him and he is almost fully on Fromm... Just by cutting the Solid gold in half and adding Fromm, He has the firmest stool we have ever seen since we got him!!! Good dark brown color, no more yellow or goopy! I was ready to retest for Giardia and bam!!! normal poop!!! I know it's weird to be excited over poop, but we had our pup for over a month and never seen him go normal until this Saturday! Thank you everyone for all the guidance!!!


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Yay!


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

Which Fromm formula are you having success with? You mentioned large breed- puppy or adult or other?


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

natalie559 said:


> Which Fromm formula are you having success with? You mentioned large breed- puppy or adult or other?


Large breed puppy (baby blue bag, gold letters) + teaspoon of pumpkin + very little bit of ProZyme. So far it's been several days and it has been amazing improvement..... He ate marrow from his bone and I was worried, here we go again, but nope, all fine! this is after an entire month of struggling with pudding stool.


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## PXDesign (Oct 17, 2011)

We've been feeding our now 9 week old Fromm LBP Gold. She's done so well on it that we switched her over to it completely from the breeder's food choice after only 1 week. No issues whatsoever and she scarfs it down.

We've also been supplementing with 1 pump of Grizzly Salmon Oil brand omega-3 oil once per day.


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## Szarek (Jan 18, 2013)

I am going thro similar thing right now. I am no expert at all but i currently have a 16 week old puppy. I i ran into diarriah multiple times because of food. so an advice the breeder gave me and it actually works is that if he got diarreah give him Eukanuba food and it actually helps like magic it turns right away to hard stools. but also be carefull because one time i had giradia and round worms. 

My puppy was weaned on raw and i wanted to give him the best. the breeder told me mix with eukanuba for a good transition the only reason she is saying Eukanuba because it has allot of probiotics in it and it will firm it up but she told me dont feed it all the time. so long story short i switched to Orijien LBP and he would have good stools in the morning and then loose stools as the day goes in and then i was getting really frustrated. I took stole sample to make sure its not any worms or parasites and the test came back negative so it was the food. The food is the best on the market but some times what the vet and the breeder said was the food might be to rich for him.

I am back now on Eukanuba and going to transition him to Earthborn and see how will do on it. don't get me worng i will switch him again on Orijien because i believe its the best but as of now. i have done allot of research about earthborn and barley found anything negative and it is still high quality food but lower protien in it.

I forgot to say i also tried instinct and it was also to rich for him.

As soon as he sitills down i am also gonna try to mix with the earth born the instinct raw. Have you looked into that? I heard also that orijien in the process of coming out with there raw line as well. its a bit pricey but it is absloutley worth it. I would highly recomend researching the instinct Raw which is out now and also the orijien raw when it comes out.

I hope this helps and I will let you know how the earthborn works.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Also look into NutriSource....they have a Grain Free line also.
Good food.....decent price!


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

PXDesign said:


> We've been feeding our now 9 week old Fromm LBP Gold. She's done so well on it that we switched her over to it completely from the breeder's food choice after only 1 week. No issues whatsoever and she scarfs it down.
> 
> We've also been supplementing with 1 pump of Grizzly Salmon Oil brand omega-3 oil once per day.


I did get some oil as well, but will give it sparingly, it is already listed in the ingredients on the bag =)


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

Szarek, yes please let us know.

Zeus could not handle solid gold because of fat %, but Fromm is so much less fat compared to it and it was instant results for us. 

I know some foods are considered awful by many, but it's different for every dogs needs. My husband grew up with a shepherd who was on Iams lamb and rice his entire life. The dog lived super healthy 13 years. He suffered a bad fall from icy deck and went downhill from there with his hip, but the food was just fine for his needs.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I went through a similar thing with one of my dogs when she was younger. 

I did all the EPI and SIBO testing - it was all negative. She had been on Orijen since I got her at 9 weeks old. I ended up switching her to Earthborn. That, and a month of metronidazole (we were desperate), fixed the problem for good. Now almost 3 years later, she is on Fromms and doing great. I just think the Orijen is just too much for some puppies.


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

Neko said:


> Large breed puppy (baby blue bag, gold letters) + teaspoon of pumpkin + very little bit of ProZyme. So far it's been several days and it has been amazing improvement..... He ate marrow from his bone and I was worried, here we go again, but nope, all fine! this is after an entire month of struggling with pudding stool.


Appreciate this post, been having similar issues, don't know if it's the food or the extras he's been getting. Feeding chicken and rice now to settle things then back to kibble. If what he's been eating doesn't work I am going to try Fromm, the forum seems to have had good experiences with it.


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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

I hope your fur baby feels better, this is hard I know =/


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

I am feeding my 12 week old puppy Fromm LBP as well with Langley Chunk of Beef mixed in and her stools are great, all my dogs eat Fromm, it's just as good as Orijen in my opinion and much less, several of my dogs snubbed the expensive Orijen, they all love the Fromm, even dry.


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## Jmcdermit (Apr 15, 2013)

My breeder www.vombuflod.com told us to buy dehydrated carrots to prepare with every meal. We bought a 5.5 pound bag from www.olewousa.com. They said the carrots will stop runny poop in its tracks and one 5.5 pound bag will last one full sized dog a full year. All you do is mix the dehydrated carrot pellets with water in a bowl, and store it in the fridge. Then at feelings mix it with the dogs food. The carrots will also help give the GSD the beautiful orange color. The carrots are super healthy for the dogs, since the only ingredient is......carrots!


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