[Hermione]

I recently switched (slowly, of course) my border-collie mix of unknown age from Grain-Free Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice to Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural. She definitely enjoys the new food and is eating normally, energy is good, etc. I started the transition on 1/27 so she’s been eating the new food for about two weeks.

My concern is her stool. While she’s going less, when she does have a bowel movement it’s VERY soft. Not liquid, thankfully, but not solid, either. It also REEKS. Is it possible I just need to give her more time to adjust? At what point do I decide that her new food doesn’t agree with her? Any advice?

[theBCnut]

Try probiotics for a couple weeks. And maybe some digestive enzymes. It sounds like she is not digesting all the protein(her body may have to adjust the amount of enzymes it produces), and anarobic bacteria in the gut are having a feast instead. The extra enzymes will help ensure that she gets all of her food and the additional probiotics compete with the bad bacteria and help rebalance the gut.

[Hermione]

Thank you! I’ll try that!

[Susan]

When I asked my vet how long will it take for my boy to ajust to his new food, she said anything from 1week to 3months when trying new foods, but I disagree with that, I notice within 3 days for poos & skin allergies…I’d do what Patty said try a probiotic a good one, there’s alot of crap ones out there, the one I use is kept in fridge {Protexin}..also whats the fibre in this new feed maybe its too high, her old food might have been a bit lower…

[Mom2Cavs]

Hermione….I agree with the probiotics and enzymes. They should help. However, the Blue Buffalo has grains (rice) and most likely has way less protein than the EB Primitive Natural, which is EB’s highest protein variety. I do know that my 3 dogs could not make such a switch easily, but they are older dogs. Anyway, it can be done, but it may take longer for your dog to adjust to the “richness” of the EB Primitive Natural. Have you thought of transitioning to a lesser protein Earthborn food, like Meadow Feast, or first to one of their grain inclusive foods then when the dog is used to that food gradually switching to, say Coastal Catch or Meadow Feast, then finally to Primitive Natural, providing your dog can handle it along the way? It’s been my experience with my dogs that when switching to a new food if the new food has a similar protein/fat and analysis makeup to the old food the switch goes much easier than if the new food is a lot different makeup. Once I’m on the new, similar food for awhile I can then go on and transfer to a higher protein of the same brand. I hope this makes sense lol.

[Shasta220]

I will agree with the above posters. Certainly try some digestive supplements… But it could be that her body isn’t used to such rich food. When my guys switched from a low quality food to a much better one, they had really mushy stools for quite a while.

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