[sblab]

I started switching Ellie (21 weeks) from Nutro to Innova LB Puppy food last Friday. I started with 1/3 of the new food for the first 3 days, and have been doing 1/2 and 1/2 since Monday. With the exception of the first few weeks we brought her home, Ellie is never too excited about meal time. The first few weeks she was so excited to get her food would follow me running and not looking where she was going . Then one day she just sniffed her food and walked away. Ever since then she'll eat a little and then go back ever few minutes or so. At one point I tried taking her food up after 15 minutes thing, but she still doesn't seem that interested over the next few days. She usually eats it all within the first 1/2 hr to hour. Today is the 3rd day using 1/2 Innova and 1/2 Nutro and she didn't touch the food for about an hour. Her stools are softer than usual, sometimes bordering on runny. Should they firm up soon? I'm afraid to give her 100% of the Innova at this point because of her soft stools. I'm hoping her she doesn't have an upset stomach. Just wondering how long you give the new food before deciding its working? Thanks!

 

[EMA]

I generally switch outright - have never had a problem. When I switch I do give the food a few days. Is the formula different (for instance was the Iams main ingredient chicken and innova turkey or something like that?) because that could cause loose stools.

I also only give 15 minutes for my dogs to eat - but if just starting - I'll let them have it available for 30 min. Even with dogs that have been free fed all their life - on the 3rd or 4th day they start eating (and in my time frame). Can you put her in a crate when she eats? - that way she can't get distracted from the task at hand. When my dogs loose interest in food - I start restricting time again (they usually snarf it down within 2 minutes) and putting them in crates to eat - no cookies or anything in between feeding times - it takes a few days, but they start snarfing the food down again!

 

[gerst001]

go slower - I switch over 2 weeks, starting with about 10% of the new food. I am not at 50% until 5-6 days. then once 100%, give the food another 3-4 weeks to see any difference, but stools should not be runny at any point. If they get that way, step back 2 days. At 21 weeks, there stomachs can still be very fragile.

 

[sblab]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, the main ingredients are different. Nutro is lamb and Innova is turkey & chicken. I'll try slowing down a bit, and may start the 15-30 minute dish removal. I have not tried feeding her in the crate, but can give that a try too.

 

[amazongold]

I do the 1/3 - 2/3, 1/2 - 1/2, and 2/3 - 1/3 for three days each, total of nine days before we are 100% on new food. Buddy has been 100% on this food for almost two weeks and still occasionally has pretty soft stools. Since he has only been here three weeks, and had very soft to runny stool when we got him, I am giving the new food a couple more weeks. Bud's adapting to a new home, obedience training, and new food, so he's under a lot of stress.

 

[gerst001]

I do
10%
20%
30%
30%
40%
50%
50%
60%
60%
75%
75%
90%
90%
100%

Or something like that - ha!!!