Switching Food question

Hello. This is my first post, but have been reading the forum for the last week or so...wonderful forum.

I have recently acquired a new addition to the family. MacKenzie is a Smooth Coat Collie. She is currently 13 1/2 weeks old. She had been eating puppy chow, and after reading many discussions, have decided to switch her over to a much better food. Before I went to the store, I had narrowed my choices down between Wellness and Solid Gold. I kept going back and forth, back and forth..then decided on Wellness puppy food because it was chicken based, and the puppy chow was....well, sorta chicken based. I figured the transition would be easier, than going to Bison. I also heard that collies have a more sensitive stomach. Well, she loves it. In fact, I use the kibbles for treat. I am at the 1/2 and 1/2 stage. Tonite will be the 3/4 - 1/4. OK, sorry for the ranting, here is my question. Her stool seems to be a little more soft. It was pretty hard when on strickly puppy chow. Is this normal while changing foods? How long should I wait for it to "firm" back up again.

Good Choice!

Most cheap puppy chow food has Stool hardeners in it, which could be why it was harder before. It can take up to 6 months for the body to normalize and get normal hard poops on good quality new food. With out dog it too almost all summer (3 months) and now it's so much better. As long as the poops aren't really soft (watery) you should be ok. Just make sure your dog has access to lots of water, and feed small meals 3-4 times a day, instead of two big meals (while she is a puppy). To make sure she isn't loosing to much water in soft poop, try wetting the food with 1/4 cup water to make it soft and gravy like. dogs LOVE it.

I asked this question to my vet the other day and he said by the end of three weeks of being on the new food it should be fine. In fact he thought most dogs can adjust much quickr than that but 3 weeks if they are more sensitive.

Jemma and Boo took 4 months to adjust and now they're always perfect. It is very hard to adjust to a new food that isn't helping you digest so your stomach has to do all the work all of a sudden... Wellness Puppy is a great food. It has fish in it too, which should give a nice shiny coat on top of making the doggy really healthy.:)

Oh, and they say that if you're feeding too much of a natural food, the stool will be soft, too. I'd wait till you've completely transitioned over to the new food before adjusting the quantity, but keep in mind that without all the corn, more of the Wellness will be absorbed so the puppy will need less.:)

Thanks...hopefully this will help her itching also.

Well just got back from the vet again. Same office but different vet. i asked him about adjustment to new food and this one said 10 weeks. Why do vets never agree with eachother even those who work together? :rolleyes:

It's 1/2 fact, 3/4 personal experience...:D So no, nobody agrees. Every doggy is different, so every dog person sees things differently.