[Dukesdad]

I have been feeding them Natural Choice Lite but on advice here I decided to switch. I found that Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice Recipe looked like a quality food without any corn. I have been transitioning them for about two weeks now and they are still on a 50 - 50 mixture of the old food and the new but they are having loose stools and last night Freckles had bad gas. My guess is they are not digesting this new food properly.
Should I give them more time to adjust or should I try another brand?

 

[jzgrlduff]

John, I just got done transitioning to a new food after 2 weeks. After week
1, they were probably 3/4 new food and 1/4 old food and all 3 had solid (but stnky!) poops. So, I don't know the answer to your question, but wanted to give you my experience.

 

[BauersMom]

We just switched from Natural Choice Lamb and Rice to Pro Plan Lamb and Rice. We did the complete transition in about 1.5 weeks. He did have a couple days of loose poops, but firmed it up with a little pumpkin. He seems fine now, and loves the new food. He has been on 100% new food for about 2 weeks. Is there a big difference in the protein content? It seems like that could cause the problems. The transition might have to be done really, really slowly to get them adjusted.

 

[Dukesdad]

Is there a big difference in the protein content?

Their old food was 17% and the new is 22%. Would that make the transition more difficult?

 

[BauersMom]

It is possible, but I don't know with a 5% change. We switched a dog to a food once that had 10% higher protein, and the vet suggested we do it slower than normal to allow the dog's system to adjust. I know it can cause problems, but 5% doesn't seem like a big change.

 

[Rushpuppy]

I just switched my girls from Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice to ProPlan Lamb & Rice. I did the mixing for almost 3 weeks and noticed not one change in the stool other than with Boo, it became less dry and more of a normal texture. It could be just a tummy upset but I'd watch it close to see if it continues.

 

[Dani]

Why are you changing again? Higher protein means richer food. You'll need to feed less of it.

And I don't transition, I just switch. Never had problems.

 

[Dukesdad]

Why are you changing again? Higher protein means richer food. You'll need to feed less of it.

I am changing from Nutro because of potential problems that are being investigated by the FDA.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia.html

I have not had any personal problems with Natural Balance Lamb and Rice Lite but if there could be a problem why chance it.

I do suspect it's the richness of the new food thats causing their problem and I do plan to reduce the amount they get.

 

[Dani]

That Nutro report turned out to be bogus.

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CVM_Updates/NutroProducts.htm

 

[Dukesdad]

That Nutro report turned out to be bogus.

Thanks for that link. I think I'll just go back to their old food as they were doing fine on it.

 

[Snowflake]

Back in February, I switched Hoppy and Sally to new food. It took almost a month for them to get their tummies straightened out. I thought we were going to have loose stools forever. But finally, they got it all straightened out.

Higher protein means richer food. You'll need to feed less of it.

The food I switched Sally to was higher protein. I thought this also, and had every intention of decreasing the amount once she got her poop straightened out. But she began losing weight, so since she's been on the higher protein food, I've actually had to increase it. Go figure