Hello Everyone,

Very excited to be here, been reading and being educated a lot from everyone here, but this is my first post, hope u guys can help.

I have a 7.5 months old husky who's been having soft stools most of the time i've had him. i've done all the vet tests (all negative) and also changed foods - as a small puppy - earthborn for not very long cuz he didn't like it, then to Orijen LBP - too rich - now to ACANA PACIFICA and still on it. he also gets NUVET PLUS supplements every day (1 each day). My boy is very happy and LOVES TO EAT !

at first as a small puppy he got about 3 cups a day, then i transitioned him to 2 cups a day. of course every time i transitioned him i did it gradually during a week or more, and kept him on the specific food for a while to see how he adjusts.

At first it seemed as if hes poop was ok with the acana, and then it started to get soft and so on.. i kinda lost track of when it's ok but i can definitely say ITS SOFT MOST OF THE TIME !

The ACANA bag says- for a 20kg unactive dog (and it's kinda hard for me to decide whether hes active or not, but let's just say he's not active) the recommended amount is 180gr a day, but that u should double it by 1.25 for a 6-11 months old dog so that's 224gr per day.

At first he got 400gr a day, now he's getting 300gr a day.. He now weights 22KG. THE THING IS - HE's SO HUNGRY ALL THE TIME , and it seems like he's not getting enough food ! he looks fine in terms of figure and size.

What can i do to give him what he needs as a puppy and to also fix hes soft stools ??

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UR HELP !

Huskies usually have sensitive stomachs and not all can take the higher protein content in Orijen or Acana foods. They are from the same company and Acana is about 60% I think protein and Orijen is 80%, that is good and all for dogs, but not for every dog. Some dogs can't handle that level of protein active or not. My husky is fed Acana or Orijen each month with no problem but my neighbors husky of the same activity level never had firm stools so they had to switch his food. I never use any bags suggestion for food amount. I also started at 3cups but I felt it was too much so at 6months old she starting getting 2 cups a day. My husky always seems hungry too but she got over it and does just fine on 2 cups. Huskies are bred to travel far distances carrying a small load and sustained off little amounts of food so yours should do just fine lol.

When we fed kibble, we did a blend of Acana, Orijen, Innova EVO, and Wellness CORE. We found out that the CORE was like the miracle stool firmer, and they would have nice solid stools on CORE. Without CORE mixed in, they would have loose stools. When they eat CORE by itself, they have really solid stool. Now we feed raw, and their stool couldn't be much firmer due to the bone and marrow content. I've tried bone meal and pumpkin added to their food as a supplement to help in solidifying stool when they get diarrhea. Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the info,

I guess it's really tricky with huskies and takes a while sometimes to figure out the right food balance.

i am now trying to take a little off his daily amount and see how that goes.. my only concern is that he'll lose weight. right now every time he finishes his bowl and then comes back to lick it even when it's empty.. so i don't like the fact that he stays hungry.

i've also seen a lot of people here feeding TOTW, but heard bad things about recalls from diamond which manufactures it, also salmonella issue a while ago..

Over feeding can cause loose stools, and switching too fast and too often can also cause an upset tummy which in turn will cause loose stools. Transitioning foods over a week can still be too fast, especially for a young pup. My 6 yr old female takes 3-4 weeks to transition to a new food. So if you have switched foods on your pup more than twice in 2 weeks, it can be too fast. I also do not like to add pumpkin or bone meal to firm up loose stools because it kind of putting a band aid on it and not finding the cause of what is causing loose stools.

What you could do, is a mix of bland diet with the Acana of a 50/50 mix. So if you currently feed 2 cups of Acana once in the morning and once at night, you could feed 1 cup of Acana and mix it with a bland diet of 1 protein source and 1 vegetable source (not rice as it is a grain and huskies are sometimes intolerant to grains) . This will help you determine if the Acana is too rich.

I usually like to do neutral protein source as hard boiled eggs (as some huskies, like my female are intolerant to chicken), and either green peas, no salt canned green beans or chopped blanched carrots. If you do a 50/50 mix, I would do about 2 eggs and 1/2 c of one vegetable mixed in with the 1 cup of Acana.

You should see an improvement within 24-36 hours on a bland diet mix. If your pup firms up, then either the Acana is too rich, or there is one or more ingredients that he does not tolerate well, or the cooking process can also have an effect. My female does not tolerate chicken at all in kibble form, but if chicken is dehydrated, freeze dried or raw, she digests it fine without change in her stool.

I know of one husky that gets bad diarrhea if fed even a quarter size of fish, and I know of another husky that cannot have potato.

It'll be trial and error so this will take patience and time.

Thanks a lot claudia for the expert info, i will try that. although i am currently trying to feed a lower amount of food, due to the different climate here as well - starting from the bag instructiions or maybe less.

Thanks again !

UPDATE (!!!) :

IT APPEARS THAT I OVER FED!

i lowered the amount to 220g a day and all stools have FIRMED UP very nicely.

For all of you husky owners PAY ATTENTION:

You have to read the small writing on the bag below the chart of acana ! (for puppies until 1 year of age)

Acana Pacifica is an all life stage food, so you need to multiply the amount written on the chart for you puppy !

only after seeing that, things started getting good with the stools.

Good luck & Thank You