# Switching from 4Health



## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

Hi, I have an almost 6 month old GSD. Slash has been eating 4Health puppy food and we swtiched him a couple of months ago to the adult food of the same brand. The price is right for us and the qulaity reviews are good for the price range. He goes from having runny bowels to normal bowels over the course of the day. He doesn't have runny bowels every day but almost every day. He did fine on the puppy formula after we got the amount down pat. Last night I let him out before bed and he cried for a bit in his crate. I don't know if I was too tired to hear him or what but when my husband got home from work later that night he found that he had had diarrhea in his crate. It was everywhere. He sleeps in his crate in our (large) laundry room which is also where our back door is located. I keep the door shut from the rest of the house cuz he can make a lot of noise in the crate just moving around. So I didn't know he had made the mess. Hubby had to take him outside and hose him off and the crate. He wants to switch his dog food today. I have a feeling he will go to the grocery store and buy something there for now. I need some recommendations for a different food within the same price range. Our other GSD had many digestive issues and we had him put down in August. :wub: So we wanted to start this pup out on a little better food than we had the other on........we didn't know how crappy dog food was at the time. Any suggestions would be helpful. We live in a rural area, so if the food is "odd" we may not be able to get it. Thanks!!!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

It sounds like you just switched cold turkey? Some dogs do ok going from puppy to adult, others not so much. If you switch him cold turkey to yet another food, your hubby is really going to have a mess on his hands when he gets home tonight....

I'd fast for 24 hrs, then cooked rice and cottage cheese for 24 hrs, and if all it well on the poopy front then start mixing in SMALL amounts of the adult food.

Alternative is to fast for 24 hrs and get a small bag of the puppy you were feeding, and mix in the adult food appropriately over the course of the next 10 - 14 days.


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## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes, we did do it cold turkey. But it's been almost 2 months since the switch. Wouldn't this have happened before now? I don't know, I'm just asking.  Yes, I think we will need to get some more of the puppy 4Health but what do you recommend we switch to for an adult food in the same price range? And when I say switch, I mean, gradually this time....mixing with the puppy food.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

doesn't sound like it's an issue then...you said soft stools on puppy, normal stools on adult. Dogs get upset stomachs just like people do, no need to switch the food because of one bad night.


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## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

I just don't think the 4Health Adult formula agrees with him. He did fine on the puppy. But last night was the last straw to make up wake up and find something else. 

So my question is, what do you recommend I switch to? 

Same price range as 4Health, nothing higher priced will fit into our budget. I just read another post about Precise (although I wasn't able to find a price yet) but it's not available in my area. That's going to be an issue we will run into. Maybe changing to a different kind of 4Health. Maybe the chicken is not agreeing with him. I don't know. Open for suggestions. Breeder had him on Blue Seal. That is available in our area if we drive about 30 miles out of our way. Need to check the prices on that I guess. Thinking out loud.


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

You might try the lamb formula in the 4health, I switched to using lamb formula dog foods years ago when i had a lab mix with stomach/diarrhea issues.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

i would try switching the formula instead of switching the brand. he could just have that issue with a particular formula. My dogs are on 4Health. We had the same issue with the performance formula so i switched our boy Riley back to the large breed formula and he's done okay.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Has he seen a vet? Intermittent diarrhea may be a sign of something GI going on such as Giardia. I would rule that out before switching food, otherwise you won't know if a food change is helping or not.


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## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

He was in for a physical a little over a month ago. He was given the okay to be fixed on March 31st. He was also given a couple more shots at that visit. So hopefully he is healthy and it's just the food. After all we went through with our other GSD, I'm praying this is the case.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

If you didn't talk to the vet about it and they didn't run any tests, I wouldn't rule out something GI going on. It actually could be much more simple if there is something GI going on, such as Giardia you do a quick course of metronidazole and its gone rather than spending months on end trying this food and that with nothing helping. My mom did that with her cat, constantly called me saying she thought it was the food. Every time I replied "did you get the giardia and coccidia tests yet?" it took her 6 months, finally did it and the cat had giardia.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

I agree with the suggestion to try the lamb. My puppy didn't do well on any food I tried that was made from chicken (Blue Buffalo LBP and Wellness Super5Mix LBP). She didn't like it...meal time was a chore...and had very soft stools. We switched her to Holistic Select LBP, which is lamb based, and she is eating with gusto AND has very firm stools!


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## A_selders (Jul 19, 2010)

KZoppa said:


> i would try switching the formula instead of switching the brand. he could just have that issue with a particular formula. My dogs are on 4Health. We had the same issue with the performance formula so i switched our boy Riley back to the large breed formula and he's done okay.


I seond Kzoppa all of my girls are on the 4health large breed and have fine poops, unless grandma gives the pup something as a treat, usually some canned food.


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## Kissyperry (Feb 11, 2011)

*I would feed him hamburger and rice for a few days*

until you get solid poops. Then little by little add in the Lamb and Rice adult food. This is exactly what I did with mine when we got him, he was on Purina Puppy Chow. I tried just blending it and easing him onto it but it diidn't work that way- it took the hamburger and rice for a week or so while adding the 4health L/R. I never did the puppy food, went straight to the adult. Every now and then if we feed him a bit too much (He's 40 lbs now at 16 weeks and he only gets 3 cups a day) he will have some runny but 80% of the time he's normal. He's got a NICE shine to his black coat and there are no issues whatsoever. The 4Health L/R is working out really, really well.


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

On a slightly different topic, you can cut a horse stall mat to fit the crate from TSC, it will stop all the noise and prevent rubbing. Just a thought so you didn't have to shut the door.

Hope you get the food issue worked out....it's always so difficult!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I would also suggest you feed ground beef and brown rice for a few days to settle his stomach. My dog doesn't tolerate chicken well so I'd try the lamb or a red meat formula.


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## chrste (Jul 21, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I've been meaning to post an update. My husband ended up getting a bag of 4Health Lamb. We did an immediate switch and everything has been fine ever since. So no more chicken for Slash. Also thanks for th suggestion about the mat from TSC, I'll look into that. THANKS!!!!


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