[Lou A]

Joined this site and switched from Purina ProPlan to a grain free diet, Merrick Duck and Sweet Potato. Introduced slowly over the course of a month.

Her poops are HUGE and she poops 6 Times a day and threw up undogested food this morning from yesterday. I began feeding her significantly less than recommended and nothing is changing. Is her problem the Merrick brand or the grain free itself? and if so do I now have to go back to a low quality dog food?

She is a one year old Jack Russell.

[Jane E]

I don’t think it’s that simple (the price of the food). I think that going from Purina to Merrick that you have changed absolutely everything about her diet,proteins,carbs,KCAL etc… You didn’t mention how long it’s been . Was this the first day on 100% Merrick? Did you see none of this at all during the transition? At the very least I would rest her gut and skip a feeding altogether and then begin back at 1/2 the feeding amount for 2-3 days and if during that time if there is any vomitting I would discontinue the Merrick. The large pooping amount can be transitional and I would tolerate that for a while to see if it changes. I am a little more than curious about her reaction being to the protein rather than the formula (grain free) itself. Is she self feeds I would consider feeding her twice a day during the transition so you can have more control. Is there a reason you chose the duck over the same protein that was in the Pro Plan she’d been eating all along?

[Lou A]

Thanks for getting back to me!

She’s been on 100percent Merrick for about 5 days now but this poop increase has been happening throughout the transition, which took a month, slowly. And when I say she poops a lot it’s like she poops more than she even eats. It’s really a drastic amount.

She only vomited today, so I’m not so concerned with that. Especially since she managed to grab a couple raisins that I accidentally dropped last night.

I do feed her twice a day. As for switching to duck, I did that because I wanted to move her to Turkey and there is a lot of turkey protein in the duck formula according to this site.

[John L]

You’ve selected a good food and an increase in all production is common when switching from lower quality foods. I would give it a month unless she shows other issues that indicate she doesn’t like the did or that is not agreeing with her. Revising to eat, vomiting and loose stools would be some of what I’d look for. One instance of vomiting though I agree, probably nothing to worry about there. I wouldn’t decrease the food amount to much, but I’d recommend measuring the good in Fran’s with a kitchen scale as its much more consistent than trying to go by cups.

[John L]

I wish there was an edit button here.

– Stool not all
– food not did
– refusing not revising
– food not good
– grams not Fran’s

Sorry about all that!

[zcRiley]

You dog is still a puppy so any ailments is a cause for concern. Food transitions take a week maximum, not a month. Purina bought Merrick in 2015, so by now per reviews, it isn’t the same quality anymore. Excessive poop means zero digestion, she’s not getting any nutrients from the food. She shouldn’t be vomiting at all, and if the raisins aren’t in the vomit, stop the kibble immediately & take her to the vet. Both causes severe dehydration. Run fecal tests if you can. Feed Zignature Zssentials until you know what’s going on with her GI tract.

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

If Merrick is too rich for your dog, but you still want to stay with the Purina companies, I would try Whole Earth Farms. Made in Merrick’s facility and is a little lower protein. If you aren’t married to that idea, I would suggest Under the Sun Whitefish. It’s very easy on the stomach during transitioning.

[Jane E]

Another really nice food with little if any tansitional issues is Pure Vita and specifically the turkey and sweet potato

[Lou A]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I’ve taken her down to half ProPlan and half Merrick and frankly am frozen at this point. The Vet liked the idea of Merrick but agreed with you all that she’s not digesting it. I’m going to put some of your suggestions into action and will report back.

[Dave & Linda M]

Gee whiz, good to read this forum; we are new to dogadvisor and after reading up, we switched from a Purina One SmartBlend (which our 40 lb 3 yr old but wonderful mutt) didnt seem to like…to a Merrick Turkey/sweet potato dry food, supplemented with Evangers beef & bacon. Holy moly – big poops is right. A case of vomiting (one). Sounds familiar. Switched to cooked ground turkey with generous pumpkin added, and that seems to have stabilized things. Smaller (much!) poops, But now what? More than half a big bag of Merricks left. Try to introduce it again slowly …or try…what?

[Jane E]

Gosh I am hearing more and more about Merrick and that issue. Seems that Merrick was bought out a few years back and their formulations must have changed. I would try Pure Vita turkey and sweet potato if I were you. Also Nature’s Logic has a nice turkey formula.

[Dave & Linda M]

Thanks, Jane! Yesterday we decided to try reintroducing the Merrick, very little (~1/3 cup total all day). Well, the poor thing had terrible gas all night, and gushed her poop early this morning. So, we’ll be trying something else. Thanks for the suggestions. We are worried that she is not getting a balanced complete diet on the ground turkey and canned pumpkin diet (with a pinch of slippery elm powder). She has lost a lot of weight (nearly 25%). Vet did a fecal test but no trouble found. Says it is a diet issue.

[Jane E]

well that’s downright unnerving…a 25% weight loss. Any blood in her stool?

[Dave & Linda M]

No obvious blood, but if it were there I would think that the fecal test would have shown it. I made another vet appt for next Tuesday. I am hoping the vet will look at a list of ingredients of the Merrick formula and guess what might be the culprit to avoid in the next kibble selection (such as the two you recommended)…

Meanwhile we are back on the ground turkey and pumpkin diet…which, happily enough, she gobbles down.

[Karen K]

I would love to know your quantities and anything else you add to your ground turkey mix. My dog needs to lose a little weight and if that did it, I’ll give it a try. I add a little pumpkin to my dog’s food, regardless of brand. Great source of fiber.

[Dave & Linda M]

Well,since my last post, a lot happened. It turns out that Carly had two issues – a clostridium infection (Metronizadole for 10 gays fixed that)…and also our dear dog was diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency…which caused the severe weight loss. With this illness the dog eats ravenously and has big big poops but that’s because the food is not being absorbed. Google EPI and you will find an excellent forum on the topic.
While we were trying to stabilize her we fed only ground turkey and pure pumpkin. Now we are back to Merrick and pumpkin and Evangers Beef/Bacon and she has started to gain weight back. To deal with EPI we hafta add powdered enzymes to her food and let it sit for 20-30 mins so the food is ‘broken down’ before she consumes it; the rest of digestion happens in her stomach and intestines. Hope this helps others!

[Melissa K]

I have two senior dogs (12 and 16) that I started on Merrick about three months ago after trying a few other brands in search of a high quality dry food that was appropriate for seniors. Their poops have gotten significantly larger (at first I thought a big dog was jumping the fence to poop in our yard lol). Anyway, I was afraid it wasn’t a good thing, and this thread has confirmed it. I haven’t noticed any other issues, but I’d love to get them on a high quality senior dog food that they can actually absorb. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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