[Popeye D]

Hi. My 11yo black lab recently switched from Purina-HA (rx) to Acana Singles duck & pear. He tapered onto it and he’s been solid on it for a month+. His shits are healthy but huge AND frequent. 2-3 shits a day. It used to be once a day, pretty average quantity. The dog is above average active for his age.

Whats bizarre is I went from Purina 3-4 cups a day, to Acana 2-2.5. This is top shelf food. The adjustment period of 2 months is over and this seems unusual. Any insights?

[Susan]

Hi,

Acana is full of “Legumes” & is higher in fiber then Purina HA is.
Vet diets have ingredients to make poo smaller..

Acana Duck & Pear Ingredients
Deboned duck, duck meal, “whole lentils”, “whole peas” duck liver, duck fat, “lentil fiber” pears, pollock oil, “pea starch” natural duck flavor, duck cartilage, pumpkin, salt,

My boy does 2-3 small poos a day when eating “Canidae Pure Wild” “Nutra Gold Turkey or “Wellness Core” Large Breed..
When he was on a vet diet (IBD) he only did 1 maybe 2 small poos a day…

I wouldn’t be feeding a high legume diet, they are doing research at the moment, Legumes seems to be blocking the dog from absorbing Taurine & causing heart problems DCM.. Golden Retrievers & other large breed dogs seem to be affected…
Here’s the F/B group..look in “Files” click on “2018-10-05 COPY of Diet and Taurine TABLE”…. look at the Brands (Acana Duck & Pear) mark in light Orange that are Diet related for blocking Taurine.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1952593284998859/

How’s he doing eating a high fat diet now? the Acana Duck & Pear is 17% min – Fat, so max fat can be around 19-20% -fat.
Purina HA is 8%max – Fat, he’s a senior I wouldn’t go over 14-15%max for fat.

[anonymous]

Maybe it’s too rich for him. He is a senior and they don’t always do well with diet changes.

I would go back to what you were using before if he was doing well on it.

I have an active terrier that does well on Fromm Adult Classic as a base, we add a little water and a bit of boiled chicken neat or scrambled egg. Keep it simple.

https://www.gofromm.com/fromm-family-classic-adult-dog-food

[joanne l]

Hi I think the same too rich for him plus too much fiber from the legumes. And from what the FDA is warning about “grain free” I would give him what he was on before.

[Popeye D]

The shits are “healthy” — meaning solid. They’re just much bigger than usual. And, he’ll go 2-3 times a day now. I might mention that despite being 11yo, he runs ~20 miles weekly with me. The Purina-HA rx food had been fine, but I just figured that real meat kibble would be better for longevity and staying active as he ages? Acana claims that the bag of food is 60% duck, while the HA protein is like soy isolate or something.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Popeye D.

[anonymous]

“The Purina-HA rx food had been fine, but I just figured that real meat kibble would be better for longevity and staying active as he ages?”

Not necessarily. The food you have chosen is high in fiber, therefore the bowl movements will be more voluminous.
Have you considered Purina Pro Plan Focus for sensitive skin and stomach?

More Nonsense from Holistic Vets about Commercial Therapeutic Diets

[I love Dogs 2]

ANON101

Are you feeding your senior dog Purina Pro Plan Focus Senstive Skin and Stomach??

Explain to me HOW can 1 food fix a dog skin problem & at the same time fix a dog stomach problems??

another Skeptvet Blog where’s your proof/research science????

[pitlove]

Katie-

It isn’t very challenging for a company with a veterinary nutritionist and multiple veterinarians on staff to be able to formulate a food that is appropriate for both sensitive skin and sensitive stomach. Salmon tends to be a good protein for dogs with skin allergies (the main protein in Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach is salmon) and the right types of fiber and % of fiber can help dogs with sensitive stomachs. Plus limiting the amount of ingredients in the food, adding probiotics to the food and having ingredients that are easy on the GI system.

As someone with a dog with both skin allergies and a very sensitive GI system, I can attest to the fact that Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach was a miracle for my dog. We only switched when we found a cheaper food of similar quality that came in a larger bag.

[Popeye D]

If bigger/more frequent poops are to be expected w/ Acana being so high fiber, does that mean it’s ok?

I feel like the dog poops more out than he eats in since starting Acana.

[Susan]

Hi,
If you dont like the bigger poos then change the food, look for something that has healthy ingredients again but doesn’t have Lentils in the first 7 ingredients & look for fiber % around 3-4%…
…. it wont hurt your dog doing bigger poos as long as the poos are firm, but if poos go sloppy & yuk then he mighten be absorbing all the nutrients..
My boy poos are real big when he eats a grain dry food, 1 food he was doing 4-5 BIG poos a day, it was too much so I changed the food…

Purina HA is 4%-fiber & very low in Protein- 18% & low fat 8%… maybe look for something 25-30%-Protein, 4%-fiber & around 13%-fat cause he’s a senior, as a dog ages their digestion slows down.

[Author]

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