2 days now Zen has finally started to finish a bowl of food that he seems to enjoy

Orijen Puppy mixed with a tablespoon of Wellness 95% Beef wet food buried on the bottom

his poops are decent, but not super firm but I hope that comes around, and he continues to like this food combo
I am going to see if he goes 2 weeks on it and go from there

That's great. Hope your pup finally found the right food.

Orijen is a great company. Our dogs have done very well on it in their grain-free rotation. You might try putting a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin in with the meal to help with transition.

yeah I was going to put some pumkin in today to firm up the stools
I am just happy he is finishing his food now!

yeah I was going to put some pumkin in today to firm up the stools
I am just happy he is finishing his food now!
Does pumpkin firm up stools? I was under the impression that it helped to calm the tummy with a food transition. My vet told us that it loosens stools and when we were having a runny poop issue to NOT give them pumpkin.

it actually does both...weird I know. It can firm up poop but also works when a pup is constipated at least that is what I have heard. We have so far only used it when Sophie has diarrhea works wonders

yeah it firms up zens stool too
although for some reason last night he kind of ate around the pumkin

I froze some in his kong to see how he like it tonight

he is still eating it the orijen puppy with a little wellness 95% beef buried on the bottom

he will eat about 85% in one sitting and then pick at th rest when he come in from the back yard

the only issue is his poops are soft again
I know its a rich food so I hope he adjusts

We are going to get another small bag, and give it another week and see how he does
I will see how the pumpkin works

well its almost a week in
he is still eating it, but needs a little coaxing to finish. he eats about 1/2 of it at one sitting then goes back and picks. Maybe this is just the way he eats? Just seems odd for a lab
I just want to see him chow down till its all gone when he gets his meals, I want to know he nejoys it

His poops are less then stellar (hight volume & soft)
I assume this is from the higher protein?

He ate some pumpkin last night so I will see how that reacts.

we bought another small bag to give it another week and see how he progresses
I will take it a week at a time I guess

My daughter has a puppy, Dash who is 8 mos old. He is a lab/hound mix but looks like a lab. Actually he looks almost exactly like Zen. Anyway, he is a picky eater. He would eat half the bowl, then go back later & eat the rest. Kathleen tried picking up his food after 15-20 mins, but Dash didn't care. The only thing that works is if she sprinkles some parmasen cheese on top of the food. Then he gobbles it up. :) Kathy

His poops are less then stellar (hight volume & soft)
I assume this is from the higher protein?

He ate some pumpkin last night so I will see how that reacts.

High amounts of protein should not cause large soft stools. Is there any chance you are overfeeding? How much are you giving him at each meal? Has he had a fecal exam recently?

I wouldn't want to add pumpkin on a regular basis due to the very high vitamin A content, but if it helps him through the transition, that's a good thing. :)

he was was at the vet last monday
everything checked out ok.

I dont want to include pumkin in his food all the time, but I gave him some to see if it firmed up his stools

I am giving him 3cups a day, split into 2 meals (plus a table spoon of the canned food mixed in)

I was under the impression that since orijen was such a rich food, it may take a week for him to balance out his stool

please advise if you have any ideas or can share any knowledge

He's about 4 months old, right? Are you feeding the regular puppy or the large breed? No other treats at all during the day?

The Orijen puppy formula is listed at 523 calories per cup (the large breed at 483 kcal), so three cups plus a bit of canned may just be more than his young body needs.

yes he is about 4 months
he gets very small amounts of treats that we break up into small pieces that we use for training (he doesnt get excited for the kibble when training)

he is on the thin side, so I didnt really want to cut his food intake down

I havent been thrilled with our vet anyway, so I may research another in the area, and go talk to them (our vet just said he may be a picky eater and to let him nibble all day)

wow the last 3 meals he has chowed down on

we reduced the food from 3 cups to 2.5 cups per day (split into 2 meals)
stool has gotten a little better, but still softer then I hope they get to.

he also seems to have his main poop, which is getting better, then about 10 mins later, he goes out again, and this time is pretty runny, and just a little bit. the last 2 days especially

I am going to bring him in for another testing for giardia, just for peace of mind if nothing else.

I am just happy he is excited now when I put food down

High amounts of protein should not cause large soft stools. Is there any chance you are overfeeding? How much are you giving him at each meal? Has he had a fecal exam recently?

I wouldn't want to add pumpkin on a regular basis due to the very high vitamin A content, but if it helps him through the transition, that's a good thing. :)

I agree completely. I did have one Lab I had to endure his ribs showing a little, but that was one out of 16 1/2. See http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx Next time you are in, have the vet confirm your judgment.

labman, I refer to that link oftner in determining if he is getting the right amount of food

now that he is eating consistant, I should be able to monitor better

You're such a good daddy!

I just want to add - we started Brady on Orijen Puppy Large and now he's on Orijen Adult. His poops were soft (although he has always had on/off soft poops) for the first month, but they're much firmer now that he's been on it for a bit. It's also a rich food so I'm not really so convinced that poop consistency is the best indicator of whether a foods working or not. Brady's (knock on wood!) doing the best he's ever been right now.