New food question

[Suni Brown]

I hope someone can help me. I have a 10 week old black lab. I was feeding her Science Diet (sorry, I know) and she liked it. We switched to Innova (due to this forum and my new "ingredients education"). She isn't eating like she should (and I am mizxing the two) She has also had the runs for the last 24 hours. Will this last? If it does, how long should I let it continue before seeing a vet? She goes in for her shots on Tuesday. Do you think it will last that long?? :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Rebekah Hartman]

Make sure you aren't feeding too much of the Innova - it's a lot more calorie dense than SD. It has something like 500 calories per cup. You can go to http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=profil e-wiz&animal=Puppy and enter his current and projected weight and it will give you how much you should be feeding. Then you'll have to feed like 25% of that amount plus 75% of the regular amount of Science Diet (or whatever ratio you're currently at). It's kind of a pain, but might help if you're having problems with the runs. Is it true diarrhea (watery, squirty, hard to "hold"), or just loose/runny stools? Make sure you switch very slowly, too - maybe try 10% increments (90/10, 80/20, etc).

Which product are you feeding? Puppy? For some reason, larger breeds sometimes have a harder time on puppy varieties, although with Innova, their puppy and adult products aren't too different. You might want to try one of the "simpler" products Natura offers such as California Natural and see if he does better on that. That's the next one we're probably going to try because Samson has perpetual loose stools (and has been on several different foods, too).

I'll check back later once you have a chance to respond.

[Jennifer Carr]

Hi - What type of Innova? Is it their Evo? Reason I'm asking is that I thought you shouldn't feed Evo to puppies b/c of the high protein.

[Suni Brown]

It seems to be getting better! She is eating better and the runs have lessened. I am feeding her the Innova Puppy dry. I will give it another few days and check back with you guys. Thanks for the help. Oh, one question. How many meals should go by before I lessen the amount of S.D and add more Innova?

[Grace Erick]

Suni,

Natura is the company name for the Innova food and Evo food. Evo is a grainless food and is very high in protein, about 42%.

Maybe someone here knows the answer, but I'm not sure if there is a protein issue involved with what you feed your puppy but a rather a calcium/phosphate issue. Maybe someone here knows better than me.

I think Rebekah may have answered your question about adding more of the new food which I took to mean you would be lowering the amount of the old food by that same amount until you end up feeding your dog all Innova after 10 days. Am I right Rebekah????

Bye, Grace

[Rebekah Hartman]

Usually if you feed a given amount of food and everything looks good on the other end (e.g., no runny stools), it's fine to go ahead and add more of the new food the following day. 10% increases each day should be just fine - if things look a little runny, stay at that amount for an extra day and then move on when everything looks good again.

See above for note on how much to feed as well. Glad it's working out! Innova is a good food, so it would be nice if it works out. If not, they'll refund what you paid for it and you can donate what's left to a shelter or whatever you want to do.

[Grace Erick]

I meant to say you have to check the calcium/phosphorus levels to make sure they are not too high in large breed puppies and I think I have seen people concerned that Innnova may be too high in that respect. I hate to throw out uncertain info, but I'm going out now and can't research it.

There is a site you can join called:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Nutrition/

You can ask them about Innova and calcium/phosphorus levels there. They are very knowledeable and not a group that chats randomly.

Bye, Grace

[Maria Juliano]

It seems to be getting better! She is eating better and the runs have lessened. I am feeding her the Innova Puppy dry. I will give it another few days and check back with you guys. Thanks for the help. Oh, one question. How many meals should go by before I lessen the amount of S.D and add more Innova?

Suni,

Innova has introduced a LARGE BREED puppy, adult and senior food. If you are feeding the regular INNOVA puppy you may want to switch to the LARGE BREED puppy food since it will be a more balance formula for a Lab puppy.

The key to switching the food safely is to do it gradually: 1st day, 90% old food, 10% new, 2nd day, 80% old, 20% new till you reach the last day: 100% new food.

Best wishes,

[Kendall Aliza]

I thought the large breed actually had less cals than the regular. Or am I confusing this with another food?

[Maria Juliano]

I thought the large breed actually had less cals than the regular. Or am I confusing this with another food?

Innova Large Breed Puppy Dry Food has less calories: 366K cals/cup than Innova regular puppy food: 500k cals/cup.

[Suni Brown]

Thank you all for the advice. I will check into the large breed Innova. The store I went to did not have that. Just regular Puppy. I have also noticed that she seems to be a lot more calm than she has been. I think she was having a bad reaction to Science Diet that made her crazy! She is easier to play with, sleeps better, and is learning quicker than on S.D. Is this possible? Could she have had a bad reaction to S.D??

[Maria Juliano]

Thank you all for the advice. I will check into the large breed Innova. The store I went to did not have that. Just regular Puppy. I have also noticed that she seems to be a lot more calm than she has been. I think she was having a bad reaction to Science Diet that made her crazy! She is easier to play with, sleeps better, and is learning quicker than on S.D. Is this possible? Could she have had a bad reaction to S.D??



Science Diet Puppy Original has:

1- Corn Meal ( this is a highly an allergenic ingredient)
2- Chicken byproduct ( not the best source of protein )
3- Soybean Meal ( poor quality protein filler )
4- Animal Fat
5-Dried beat pulp
6-Brewer's rice
7-Chicken Liver Flavor
8-Vegetable Oil
9-Salt

I think the SD is such a poor food that any of the ingredients ( especially the Corn Meal ) could be the culprit.

I would find and give the INNOVA Large Breed Puppy food.

Best wishes,

[Suni Brown]

Another question for you Maria.....I had Gwen on S.D Puppy, than switched her to S.D large Breed puppy, have now am in the process of switching her to Innova puppy. Is it going to be really bad for her to switch her again so soon?? This has all been in a 3.5 week period......I guess I am very "new mommy" concious....

[Maria Juliano]

Another question for you Maria.....I had Gwen on S.D Puppy, than switched her to S.D large Breed puppy, have now am in the process of switching her to Innova puppy. Is it going to be really bad for her to switch her again so soon?? This has all been in a 3.5 week period......I guess I am very "new mommy" concious....

Suni,

I think it's not going to be a problem as long as you switch the food over a 7-10 day period. 1st day: 90% old food, 10% new, 2nd day: 80 % old, 20 % new until you reach the last day: 100 % of the new food.

As I said on my previous post, I would locate a distributor who sells INNOVA LARGE BREED PUPPY FOOD. Perhaps, you can ask the distributor, where you got the regular INNOVA puppy, to see if they can order the LARGE PUPPY FOOD for you.

Go easy on the treats... actually, you can give the regular Innova puppy as treats and feed her the Large Breed INNOVA as her main food when you complete the switch.

You are doing a great job as a first time mommy.:D I too researched the food and found out how important it is to feed our beloved companions the best quality food. You have chosen wisely.

Keep us posted.

Best wishes,

[Suni Brown]

Kind of too much information but Gwen is back to solid waste! I think she is finally adjusted. I am mixing very little S.D to her Innova and she is doing excellent! We went to the vet for her second set of shots and she got car sick though. She threw up not once, not twice, but three times in my car!!!! Any advice on car travel would be appriciated! Especially now. We have lots of vet visits to get her new puupy vaccinations.

[Maria Juliano]

Great news! So happy she's making solid poops!

As for the car sickness, I would try not to take her right after she eats. See if you can take her on little trips around the neighborhood, so that she gets used to riding in the car.

Best wishes,

[Luciann]

do you drive with your windows open? you might try that so that she has fresh air on the ride, i know with one dog i had if she was inside a vehicle then she got car sick. If i tied her in the back of the truck and she could put her face in the wind she was fine.. and happy..