Pup "poop a lot" - change food?

[Macy'sMom]

Our new guy, Henry, is eating Wellness Complete Health Chicken and Oatmeal. I've had great luck with Wellness with both my last dog (lab/hound mix) and our current lab, Macy, who is on Core grain free. Keeping weight off Macy works with the Core, she gets 2/3 cup twice a day. She's about 65 lbs.

By contrast, Henry eats quite bit, 1-3/4 cup twice a day. He's 43 lbs. He poops a lot! At least 4-5 times a day. It's all normal and solid so I'm not concerned there, but I am wondering about the frequency and because of how much he needs to eat to keep weight on. Macy and my last guy only went twice a day on average.

I had him tested and he's half boxer, the other half lab/hound. He's very high energy, very tall and thin. The vet would like a couple more pounds on him.

Thoughts on grain free or other options? Is there a type (fish vs chicken or similar) where you can feed less but its sticks and doesn't go through so quickly?

Or is it just his metabolism and another type wouldn't matter.

[Rosy]

In your case you need to change his diet to help his digestion system back to normal. Always monitor him.
Rosy is healthy and she poop normally since I found this food that help her to digest normally.

[Snowshoe]

I don't know about the number of poops but grain free is something of a marketing ploy. If the food doesn't have grain in it it's going to have potato or peas or something else. However, who knows? Something else might stay with him longer but grainfree is not inherently better. A higher kcal per cup food might put some pounds on. But if your food is otherwise working maybe 4-5 poops is just your dog, there could certainly be worse problems than that. I bet some others will come on and say that's what their dog does. How is Henry on the rib test?

[smartrock]

I'm no nutrition expert and I'm sure others on here will have suggestions. With his current diet he's getting about 434 calories pr cup, which seems like plenty, but I notice the protein content at 24% and fat content at 12% seem on the low side. I agree with Snowshoe that not all dogs need grain free foods, so maybe for Henry, he's just not utilizing the food or calories he's eating. Plus, folks on here have mentioned using prebiotics/probiotics and/or digestive enzymes. Maybe something along those lines would help him digest the food more completely. I don't have a brand to suggest, sorry, but maybe someone else will.

I'd probably see if I could find a food with higher percentages of fat and protein and maybe not grain-free with at least the same number of calories per cup as he's currently getting to see if that makes a difference. I'm cutting/pasting a passage from a book on canine nutrition by Linda Case as the basis for my suggestion:

"Fat As we have seen, exercising dogs are efficient “fat burners.” The best way to provide the extra energy needed by a canine athlete is to increase dietary fat and feed a food that is energy dense and highly digestible. Remember from Chapter 4 that fat is the most concentrated energy source in the diet—it provides 2.25 times more energy per gram than either carbohydrate or protein. Therefore, feeding a food that has an increased fat content is the best way to meet the increased energy needs of canine athletes. This is important not only because dogs efficiently (and preferentially) burn fat for energy but because of what it means to the volume of food that is fed (pay attention if you find that you regularly battle diarrhea problems with your exercising dog). If the energy content of the food is too low, the volume (cups) of food that must be consumed by a dog to meet his increased calorie needs may tax the physical capacity of the dog’s stomach and intestinal tract (consider how uncomfortable you feel after eating too along more rapidly than normal), which leads to a decrease in nutrient digestibility and the production of increased volume and decreased quality of stools (soft stools, frequent defecation, sometimes even diarrhea). Conversely, feeding a food that is energy dense (increased fat, high digestibility) allows you to feed a lower volume (fewer cups per day) for the same number of calories, will not tax your dog’s gastrointestinal system, and will support nutrient digestibility—a win-win all around!

Protein Hard-working dogs have higher dietary protein requirements because exercise increases the body’s need for protein to build muscle, support increased blood volume and repair tissues. In addition, while it is best to not use protein as an energy source, certain amino acids are used for energy or to produce glucose during work and must be replaced through the diet. Most of the additional protein that working dogs need is supplied by their increased consumption of food as energy needs rise. However, performance foods that are energy dense must also include a higher proportion of protein (percentage) because energy dense foods must also be more nutrient dense to ensure that all essential nutrient needs are met. A nice rule of thumb is to choose a performance food that contains between 28 and 32 % protein and between 18 and 22 % fat, as reported on the label (i.e., dry food, weight basis, not caloric basis)."


Case, Linda (2014-02-01). Dog Food Logic - Making Smart Decisions For Your Dog In An Age Of Too Many Choices (Kindle Locations 2455-2465). Dogwise Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[JenC]

I would aim for a 26/16 food at least.
24% protein means the other 76% is something else, probably fiber, which is why he's pooping SO MUCH.
Most dogs don't need grain free. And unless you are seeing allergies, I wouldn't even bother with it.

I would put the dog on a variety of Pro Plan. I've always had success with it. If you to stick to "natural" look at their Turkey and Barley.

[Labradorks]

I agree with the others, more protein and fat for a young, large, active dog.

Grain free is not required for all dogs, so I wouldn't start there, personally. ProPlan could work for your dog. My dogs did fine on it ProPlan Performance 30/20) as puppies, but both had mild sensitivities either to grains or chicken so once they hit a year or so I changed food. If you want a food with more quality ingredients and less fillers and additives, brands like Fromm have both regular and grain free diets. Grain free foods seem to help with weight loss, even though they have potatoes and peas, which are starchy veggies/carbs. But nothing beats corn for weight gain!

[LabMunsterBracco]

I would try Abady's granular foods. You feed less, much less, and it has very little fiber and almost no plant ingredients except for white rice. Foods with high fiber have high motility which means the nutrients don't have the same absorption rate and of course they make a lot of poop.

You should be able to get it easily in New Hampshire.

You could try every kibble on the market and basically they are the same except for the marketing. Don't be fooled. Don't be fooled by Fromm in particular. It is like feeding cookies to your dog, cookies made from peas. It is junk.

If you want to stay with kibble try Dr. Tim's.

[silverfz]

We went from wellness to purina and gig pooping is coming under control.