Orijen and loose stools

[Barrie]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to firm up stools that do not involve dairy?

My 4 month old's stools are nasty , but would rather not add yogurt to it (son has allergies and puppy is a "licker and a halfer"). The guy at the pet store could only suggest yogurt and my vet was too busy pushing his own brand to offer any good suggestions.

I switched both my Bichon and my the rottie puppy to Orijen for the same reason, and the Bichon is doing great on it, but the puppy is having really loose stools. I checked quantities to make sure I'm not overfeeding (also keeping a close eye on weight gain to make sure I'm not underfeeding).

I'm just looking to add something that is wheat/dairy free to the food that might firm up the poops and make them "pick-upable"

Any thoughts?

[brunie's mom]

Loose stools are most often caused by overfeeding.
You say your checked quantity? On the back of the bag? Most often this is too much food.
How much are you feeding puppy? I suggest you cut back by 1/4 cup at each feeding and see what happens. A 4 month old puppy would need about 1 1/2 -2 cups in total per day.

Are you feeding the Large Breed Puppy? Do not feed the Adult Orijen....calcium/phosphorus ratio is too high for a puppy.

Gina

[shybird]

I have never heard that yogurt "firms" poop. Pumpkin most often does. I would try a bit less in the feeding as Gina suggests first.

[Terri Lambert]

First off you may want to check with the company to make sure Orajen is okay for a growing puppy as if I recall correctly that the Evo company does not recommend Evo to a growing puppy since it is a grainless food. Also what I would do is fast your puppy for 12 hours and then feed a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice and slowly add his regular food back in of couse check with your vet. Also the vet where I work we have to products that work really well one is Forti-flora by Purina and the other is Proviable from Nutramax both wonderful products that are natural cultures which cure the diarrhea. But first I woud check with the company and make sure it is okay to feed to a growing puppy.

[Barrie]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

You say your checked quantity? On the back of the bag? Most often this is too much food.
How much are you feeding puppy? I suggest you cut back by 1/4 cup at each feeding and see what happens. A 4 month old puppy would need about 1 1/2 -2 cups in total per day.

Are you feeding the Large Breed Puppy? Do not feed the Adult Orijen....calcium/phosphorus ratio is too high for a puppy.

Gina

I am feeding large breed puppy, not adult. But are you sure 1 1/2 to 2 cups is enough?

I was going by what the bag was recommending (minus 1/2 a cup because I thought it was too much). Bear is 45 pounds and a "hoover"! He's eating 3 1/2 cups and is still starving and looks like a toothpick.

Based on his expected adult weight (father was 130 pounds) he's supposed to eat between 4-5 cups a day right now.

How did you come up with your amount?

[Paulos]

11/2 cups is good for the weight and age of your pup...and over feeding can cause loose stools. If that does not help...consult a vet...maybe your pup has medical issues. BTW, check the feeding guide on the side of the bag. Orijen Pet Foods: Products:

Good luck

[Urska]

What is important at Orijen is that you switch gradually as many dogs will have problems if you switch from their previous feed too quickly. Whoever had the same problems and went back to switching (started with half/half and progressed to only Orijen in 7-10 days) didn't have a problem anymore.

To quickly stop loose stools try using Ekolostrum or some similar powdered colostrum product. It Works in a day.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by Barrie

I am feeding large breed puppy, not adult. But are you sure 1 1/2 to 2 cups is enough?

I was going by what the bag was recommending (minus 1/2 a cup because I thought it was too much). Bear is 45 pounds and a "hoover"! He's eating 3 1/2 cups and is still starving and looks like a toothpick.

Based on his expected adult weight (father was 130 pounds) he's supposed to eat between 4-5 cups a day right now.

How did you come up with your amount?

Way too much food. Forget the projected weight business...how do you know that your puppy will not take after the female and be on the smaller side and only weigh 90 lbs?? It happens often.

Orijen Large Breed Puppy is 483 calories per cup...at 45 lbs...he does not need that much food. Try feeding him 1 cup per meal, so a total of 3 cups..that's 1,500 calories. What else are you feeding him? What treats, cookies, chewies,etc.?

All Rottweiler puppies are starving, and will eat till they burst...this breed loves their food. A puppy should be on the slim side...much better for them.

This subject comes up often...and for some reason with Orijen when it is overfed...does cause loose stools. It could be because it is 70% meat?

Try the simple solution first...if he continues with loose stools then off to the vet.

Gina

[blisscodisco]

I own a 10 yo male that has been very sensative and easily gets loose stool his whole life. Pumpkin (unsweetened) does help but should only be used to "get him back on track". I switched both my dogs to Orijen about 10 mos ago and they are doing amazing. My boy has firm stools for the first time in his life. One thing I do notice is if I give him any treats with grains in them he gets loose again. Even if it is ONE small cookie. He is that sensative. It is hard but you eventually find what he is sensative to. It took me a couple of years but grain free has been my biggest success. Good luck and I hope you find what works.

[Nishasmom]

It does seem weird to me that the feeding guide goes by projected adult weight. Why does it not go by current weight? I mean...everyone thought my female would be close 100 lbs when she reached adulthood, now at 1 1/2 yrs she is a very lean 70 lbs.

[mamamia1]

The feeding instructions for Orijen Puppy are very unclear. I have been switching over the Orijen over the past few weeks, slowly mixing it in with her old food [Canidae]. Now she is getting almost 100% Orijen. She is 6-1/2 months, weighs 55lbs and is getting 3 cups per day plus maybe another 1/2 cup for training throughout the day. IMO she is at a perfect weight.

I agree that 3-1/2 cups for you pup sounds like too much. I would suggest a max of 3 cups.

[Barrie]

To Brunie's Mom:

First of all thanks for offering your obviously vast knowledge in general. As for what other treats we give Bear, we used to give him chicken strips (really trying to do the wheat free thing), but I removed them this past week to see if they were the culprit; turns out they somewhat are. His stools are firmer but not yet optimal.

I will cut back as you said to 3 cups, and hopefully that will do the trick. But like I said, he already looks like a toothpick (his ribs are visible); the last time the vet saw him like that he said he's going to be a big boy and will need more food than the normal pup.

By the way, his mom was about 95 pounds, but Bear was twice the size of the siblings that remained in the litter.

Thanks again to all for and wish me luck. Or at least wish me firmness.

By the way, does anyone have any thoughts as to when I should be considering cutting back to two meals a day?

I was thinking around 6 months....

[Nishasmom]

has he been tested for parasites?

[Barrie]

Actually he has been tested for parasites. It was an early concern of mine, as the breeder mentioned that he had to switch him from Kirkland (eek) to Pedigree (double eek!) because he was the only one getting loose poops on Kirkland.

His poops were ok with Pedigree, but I wasn't ok feeding him that crap. So I VERY SLOWLY switched him to Orijen (took about two and half weeks before he was fully switched).

Vet checked back then, and at the time he was firming up so there was no further concern, but then he told me he looked too skinny and that I should feed him more (but only increased by 1/4 cup a day every two weeks until he arrived at this quantity)

At his four month check up he weighed 39 pounds, and the vet said was "borderline satisfactory weight".

[Rudgeman]

I also have a 4 month old, we are currently feeding the Orijen LBP suggested amount, very close to 4 cups per day. My pup was looking very skinny in the rear when I increased his food amount by 1/2 cup to 4 cups. Sometimes his stool is a little loose also. I leave it for a day and then pick it up, it dries right out. Personally I would rather have his poop a little loose than him not getting the nutrition he needs. They are growing so damn fast at this age, let them eat!, the food can always be cut back as they get older. I am a firm beleiver in making sure my dogs are not overweight. I have spoken to my vet and she agrees with this also. Does anyone have any information that feeding a puppy well causes any harm? I really am interested as I want the best for my pup as well. And Stinky? wow! The orijen is pretty bad I must say.