Hello, I was hoping someone could help me out with some questions I have... Axel turns 5 months next week and weighed 13.5kg when he was weighed two weeks ago. When we got him from the breeder he was on Science Diet large puppy breed dry food, and we were feeding him as per the instructions on the back, and he had firm stools. We wanted him on better quality food though so once the bag was done we transitioned him slowly over a week to Wellness large breed puppy dry food (http://www.petbarn.com.au/dogs/dog-food-dry/dry-food/wellness-large-breed-puppy-food-1.html).

He has been on the Wellness now for 4 weeks, and has had soft stools since. I was hoping this was only because of the transition, but I would think 4 weeks would have been long enough for him to settle? The only thing I'm concerned about is how much we feed him. For his weight/age, the instructions on the bag say he should be eating 3 cups a day. He gets 1.5 cups at around 7am, another cup between 3-4pm and then half a cup between 7-8pm.

Is this too much? We are just following what the bag says, but from what I've read around the forum I feel we're feeding him way too much? Would this be affecting his stools, or does the food just not agree with him? Might sound silly but is the cup sizing different in Australia maybe? lol  

Any help/advice would be much appreciated

bump?

Hi there!

We had the same issues with our Huskies around the same age. We ended up switching them off of Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Wellness Core, and Solid Gold due to the soft stools they were getting. We went through all sorts of different foods because of their tummies! Honestly, I would cut him back to two cups a day. Our guys were getting three cups a day a while back, and I noticed their stool was softer than normal. They are back on two cups a day, Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. I would try cutting him back, at least to two and a half cups to begin with. If he continues to have the soft stool, I would drop it down to two cups. At five months, I would also cut him down to two feedings a day.

Hope this helps!

Hello, thanks for your response. Since my original post we have cut him down to 2.5 cups being fed twice a day now, still soft but will see how we go once he gets down to two cups. It just does my head in that when he was on Science Diet his stools were fine! He's not fussy at all though so that's a good thing. He just always eats like he is starving so my partner is worried about cutting his food down but he should be fine...

If this food still doesn't sit right I did want to actually change him to Taste of the Wild, but they don't have a puppy type. Does it matter if he eats adult food from now, or should we wait until he's 1? Ahhh so many questions lol I just wanna make sure he gets the best

You can find an all life stages food or just switch him to adult. I had a heck of a time finding a food that worked for my puppy. He gets the runs anytime he has chicken. The one that finally worked for him at that age was merrick lamb and rice adult. My only complaint was that his stool was too large, so I switched him over to canidae pure sky which worked really well. My ultimate goal was to be raw feeding, and so I started transitioning to that in September, I was feeding canidae in the morning and raw at night. A couple weeks ago he just started to refuse the kibble, so I stopped offering it. His stool has be SO much better on raw, small, hard, and consistent.

I'd say cut back to 2 cups, over feeding can definitely cause issues. What are the ingredients in the wellness? It could be he's just sensitive to the protein type.

wpskier222 wrote:

What are the ingredients in the wellness? It could be he's just sensitive to the protein type.

Thanks for your reply Jen. The ingredients are:

Deboned Chicken, Whitefish, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Peas, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Salmon Meal (a source of DHA - Docosahexaenoic Acid), Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (a source of DHA - Docosahexaenoic Acid), Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Salt, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products.

Hmm if he doesn't NEED to be on puppy food maybe I'll try a bag of TOTW Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon next... Sounds like you went through quite an ordeal! I just want him to be on a good quality food but also be doing well on it... Hopefully we get there soon!

Just a tip, when you try a new food, just buy a 5 lb bag. That way, if it doesn't work you don't waste too much money.

katty_89 wrote:

Hmm if he doesn't NEED to be on puppy food maybe I'll try a bag of TOTW Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon next...

Im not sure about where you are, but in Canada, Ren's has a Puppy Version of TOTW Pacific Stream. http://www.renspets.com/puppy-pacific-stream.html

Kye had lots of problems until 7 mo and has settled on this well.

Kye wrote:

m not sure about where you are, but in Canada, Ren's has a Puppy Version of TOTW Pacific Stream. http://www.renspets.com/puppy-pacific-stream.html

I haven't even been able to find the adult TOTW in stores in Australia, I'm ordering it online but unfortunately they don't have the puppy one  thanks though!

katty_89 wrote:

Kye wrote:

m not sure about where you are, but in Canada, Ren's has a Puppy Version of TOTW Pacific Stream. http://www.renspets.com/puppy-pacific-stream.html

I haven't even been able to find the adult TOTW in stores in Australia, I'm ordering it online but unfortunately they don't have the puppy one  thanks though!

I wouldn't worry too much about puppy food, the adult food is an 'all life stages' and I plan on skipping the puppy food and giving the adult food to my next pup.

Mobezilla wrote:

I wouldn't worry too much about puppy food, the adult food is an 'all life stages' and I plan on skipping the puppy food and giving the adult food to my next pup.

Oh cool :)Thanks for that! You guys are all so helpful, really glad I found this forum  

Hi Katherine, I found another fantastic food we can get here in Australia - Canidae Pure (I use Paws For Life website since stores don't carry good quality foods here in general). This is what I feed my girl (8 months old), TOTW too for a change. There is an Australian made Black Hawk available for puppies (not grain free though) which I give my younger pup. Black Hawk is made here locally and great quality too. This one I find a lot more locally.

I'm just finishing first year in Vet Nursing... you guys may call it Vet tech.. not 100% sure

we are taught to feed by a calculation called MER (Maintenance Energy Requirement)

Aslong as your pup is getting it's required Kcal per day, it should be fine.

Here is a link to an online calculator, can be quite difficult to calculate yourself.
MER calculator

Also make sure the food is a 'nutritionally complete' one.
I only feed nutritionally complete to my dogs, as Keyto is very fussy and will only eat small amounts,
It's best what she does eat provides everything she needs.

In New Zealand we have dog rolls, which are generally full of crap fillers and only a very small amount of nutritional requirements.

Monika30 wrote:

I found another fantastic food we can get here in Australia - Canidae Pure (I use Paws For Life website since stores don't carry good quality foods here in general).

Hi Monika, thanks for that... I was actually going to order off Paws for Life because that's the only place I've found decent food... I did look at the Canidae, it was slightly more expensive though, so tossing up between that or TOTW. He's almost finished the Wellness now so I should probably order a new bag of something asap. How long does it usually take to get to you?

Depends, best you give them a call, they can check what they have in stock currently and what is ready to leave today. Sometimes it only takes 2 days - they are based in NSW and I'm in VIC. They should have TOTW as I have just ordered a bag and they shipped it yesterday. It's a busy time of the year for deliveries so I wouldn't wait much longer... I also ordered some Ziwipeak treats - they are amazing and very healthy. My dogs love them!

I'll try get on it today then... thank you!

Monika30 wrote:

Depends, best you give them a call, they can check what they have in stock currently and what is ready to leave today. Sometimes it only takes 2 days - they are based in NSW and I'm in VIC. They should have TOTW as I have just ordered a bag and they shipped it yesterday. It's a busy time of the year for deliveries so I wouldn't wait much longer... I also ordered some Ziwipeak treats - they are amazing and very healthy. My dogs love them!

Is Ziwipeak made here in New Zealand?

And if so which treats do your dogs like? Keyto is very fussy and only seems to like chicken and lamb based treats.. wont touch beef at all, and only likes human style cooked pork - won't eat it any other way.

Axel eats any treats lol he's not fussy at all, which I'm glad about! At the moment we're alternating between chicken jerky, kangaroo liver & some beef chews...

Just looked on our ziwipeak site and our options are beef, lamb or venison...
could try the last 2 out.

Although we are a few months away from adding our Husky to the pack. We went through quite a few different foods with our current pup. She's a Labradoodle, and although she has a lab appetite, and takes after her lab side mostly in mannerisms (if anyone is wondering she has a fleecy coat) - she has the poodle bark and stomach. I believe she was on Pedigree from the breeder, which we transitioned her off of - her stools quickly changed to soft and very soft movements, and trips outside were more and more frequent. We went through quite a few brands including Halo, Acana, Orijen - what we think is the protein content in Acana and Orijen was too high for her, and the protein type in Halo didn't agree with her. A few vet visits in between food changes yielded a Royal Canine Gastrointestinal suggestion - which helped, but ultimately this food was not our top choice. She is now on Blue Buffalo Puppy (alternating between Lamb and Chicken) and is doing great - its been months and almost immediately after the change to Blue her stool was normal. She gets 1.25 cups in the morning and 1.25 cups for dinner.

Keeping in mind she's a Labradoodle so a higher protein content may be more suitable to your Sibe. That being said Paige our Labradoodle is high energy. Don't give up and settle on a lower grade food - for us this was a trying time, and we felt bad for her. Luckily a lot of the pet stores (including the smaller ones) have a pretty good food return policy.

In regards to treats, her favourite thing are Yak sticks.. The Himalayan Yak Sticks seem to be the best brand for her - they last the longest, and has never caused stool issues. Another favourite are dehydrated sweet potato chips. Which are quite expensive at the pet shop, however we dehydrate our own for Paige and she loves them. A tip, make small batches at a time. It's a bit more work, but ultimately is better for your pup. You may be able to dehydrate them in your oven if you don't own a dehydrator, a low temperature and longer duration is needed.

I tried the Lamb as well as Venison treats and both my dogs love it. It's a lot healthier than giving them liver treats etc. And yes Ziwipeak is made in New Zealand and they make amazing food. Their dry food is actually air dried raw and contains 90% meat but 5kg cost around $170-$180 here so gets expensive between the 2 dogs....

its $130 - $140 here so I think your guys dollar is stronger then ours, but your not paying too much more

I'm chuckling reading your post. No, not at you. At *me*.

I had the same trouble as my pup was getting older. She seemed to be *starving* every time it was time for food (morning/evening). So I looked to see what I should feed her, the bag was completely unhelpful saying anywhere from 1-3 cups.

I gradually increased it, she still seemed very hungry, so we continued. I noticed she started getting chubby. Well, puppy fat can happen before a growth spurt....but no. This was honest to goodness chubby puppy.

So we've worked our way back down and she's started to take it off. But we're going very slowly to make sure she has enough for growing.

I would tell you how much, but the front end of our scoop was chewed off by our other husky and it has all the markings. If I recall them correctly though, it's around 1 cup/day right now.

tl:dr: If your puppy is getting chubby, it's too much.   

Don't let him fool you by eating as if he is starving. My puppy does the same so I fed him once 400g (around 4 cups) a day and he still ate his last meal like he hasn't eaten in days. (The poop was huge - I couldn't believe my eyes) He is now 4 months old and I'm giving him around 250g (2.5 cups)

Hey all, thanks for your responses. He is now doing much better since being on the TOTW, has had solid stools pretty much since we switched him   yay!