[Lance B]

Hello,

I have a nearly 13-week-old Great Dane puppy who is on Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy Food (Chicken & Rice). It’s ingredients can be found here:

Large Breed Puppy

Is there an ingredient in here that is known for causing diarrhea?

For what it’s worth, my puppy is worm-free, giardia-free, and vaccinated, but the diarrhea has been on-going. His stool has solidified when I’ve fasted him a couple of times to try and give his tummy a break from digestion. However, when he begins eating again, diarrhea starts. His energy level and everything is great. He’s shown no negative signs or symptoms of anything. Therefore, I was wondering if perhaps there’s an ingredient in the food that is commonly linked to diarrhea? I assume not, but I figured I’d ask as I begin looking for another food.

I’m rather bummed because Nutrisource has a great dietary breakdown for giant breeds, is rated a 4-star food on DFA, and is relatively inexpensive compared to other brands of comparable quality.

Thanks in advance!

[theBCnut]

What a bummer! NutriSource is usually very easily tolerated, but there must be something in it that your dog doesn’t do well on. I have no idea what it could be. As long as you are seeing no other symptoms, you might want to look at The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form. It’s a supplement that helps calm intestines and firm up stools.

Have you seen Hound Dog Mom’s list of foods that have an appropriate calcium level for large and giant breed puppies?

[Lance B]

Yeah, I have seen HDM’s list and used it when making my decision on NutriSource. The optimum dietary matrix for giant-breed dogs, according to research, is 26% fat, 14% protein, 0.8% Calcium, and 0.67% Phosphorus. Nutrisource is 26% fat, 14% protein, 1.0% Calcium, and 0.8% Phosphorus, which is obviously incredibly close.

In comparison to all the others on the list, it was the “best” in terms of the above criteria. Moreover, its price is great, ESPECIALLY in comparison to the rest of HDM’s list.

I was unsure if it was the food or the vaccinations/dewormer, but it looks like it’s the food. Then again, I don’t recall diarrhea the first week we had him (which preceded his shots; and, for what it’s worth, he was weaned onto the Nutrisource food). His stool was good today, though.

Perhaps he was having osmotic diarrhea from excess water consumption? I had been adding water to his food to make sure he was consuming enough.

I didn’t add water to his food today, though, and his stool was normal. I think I’m going to go through the weekend and see if he can consistently produce regular stool. If it continues being loose, I’ll switch to something else.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Lance B.

[Lance B]

Well, his stool returned to diarrhea throughout the rest of today, so I decided to make the switch.

I opted for “Great Life Rx Grain- Free: Buffalo”. Even better quality and comparable price. Depending on the kibble size, it may actually last longer than the Nutrisource given that Nutrisource requires about twice the amount of cups.

[Esther B]

I am having trouble finding a five star grain free dry kibble for my puppy without rosemary. I would advise you make sure the food and treats do not have rosemary in them. I don’t know a lot about it but there does seem to be a problem with diarrhea and even some yellow frothy vomit. I’ve taken my pup off treats with rosemary but am having trouble finding a dry puppy kibble without it. My vet says my pup is doing good and just having growth spurts although she weighed 20lb at 10 weeks and the same at 11 weeks. I would also like advise and recommendations of kibble. Thanks

[Bobby dog]

Esther B:
What breed is your puppy?

When I look at the ingredient panels for some five star kibbles they are very long and often contain ingredients like rosemary. You may find some simpler formulas to consider by expanding your search to include 4 and 5 star kibbles. Maybe take a look at Annamaet. I am not positive, but I don’t think they include rosemary in their kibble. Good luck!

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