# Food and poop



## Jessica (Apr 10, 2018)

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been reading some interesting things here in “Diet and Eating.”

Here’s a pic of my six month old V. Let me start by saying that he’s always been super ribby since we transitioned him from the breeder free feeding and to my 1 1/2 - 2 cups a day diet. We started him on Purina pro plan and then a couple months later transitioned to Costco’s chicken and pea. On pro plan he was fine in terms of poop. We noticed that he was so skinny that my vet even said he wasn’t getting enough. We changed to Costco, AND I KNOW, I’ve done a lot of research since then on protein percentage, etc, but yes we had him on chicken and pea and my husband started running him a couple of miles a day so he increased his amount of consumption to 5 cups a day and this is what he now looks like. 

My worry is his poops. I’m sure he poops more because the quality of the food is not top notch, but they’ve turned runny. He’ll poop normally the first couple of poops in the day and then it gets runny after that.

So we started transitioning him to Diamond Naturals Athlete (chicken and rice, our first time adding grain to his diet) to see if that helps. I’ve been telling my husband that he’s feeding him too much but he looks great. He doesn’t look over weight at all to me. Anyone have any experience on whether or not grain free or added grain has seemed to help or hurt your dog’s stools? Or if feeding too much could cause runny poop? I would think the quality of the food or an allergy might cause the runniness not the amount of consumption but maybe I’m wrong? Please share.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I take some heat when I talk about food, b/c no matter how I phrase it, it comes across as opinionated (but not intolerant), which I freely admit it is. Food is the essential ingredient in developing and maintaining a healthy Vizsla, and it is probably the one thing (in addition to exercise) that you can do as a human companion to ensure that. And, all foods are not alike and the learning curve can be pretty steep.

First, dogfoodadvisor.com is your friend b/c it gives the ingredients and a brief description of them and their purpose and effects. Based on that, you can make a more informed choice.

At 6 months, she should be getting either a dedicated puppy formula (I like Annamaet Encore 25%), or a formula for "All life stages" as it has the proportion of fats/protein/carbs, etc that puppies especially need, but also benefit adults (I like any of the Nature's Variety "Instinct" kibble). 

Store brand foods simply are inadequate for the high performance needs of a developing Vizsla, and the ingredients in Pro Plan (Or any Purina product) are inferior as well, read and compare. The food you've selected is specifically an adult formula, which is not ideal. 

So, my dime store advice is to switch to a Five Star, meat based formula of your choice...see that some identifiable "meat meal" is first (and preferably second and third) down the list. Transition slowly, adding a bit at each feeding (2x/day @6 mos) to reduce stomach upset and loose poops.

There's some controversy of grain free V. grained, I'm a GF feeder and have been for 25 years w/o probs...my issue is that grains typically do little for them nutritionally and rice in particular is a known arsenic (=cancer) risk.

If the poops remain loose, consider checking for worms.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Is your husband running too, or just letting the pup run unleashed on a natural surface?


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

agree with the comment that they need quality food. also that maybe there is too much running/not at the right time causing the runny stool.
nevertheless changing diet too many times MAY lead to long term diseases, so be careful how often you change.
probiotics and raw goat milk from special pet store can help absorbing food and clean pup stool.


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## Jessica (Apr 10, 2018)

Thank you all for the responses. 

Texas, my husband runs him about 2-3 miles mostly on grass about 5x a week.

Gingerling, yes, I didn’t realize that the diamond naturals food we got was not for puppies when we purchased it. I have done research on foods but thank you for the website. My husband and I will be looking at making some adjustments.


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## Jessica (Apr 10, 2018)

Btw, Gingerling, the puppy food you suggested, Annamaet Encore 25%, that I looked up online has rice in it... which one do you recommend that’s grain/rice free for V pups?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If your husband is running/jogging , the puppy is way to young for that type of repetitive exercise. You risk damaging the joints.


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## 2Gingers (Jan 25, 2018)

texasred said:


> If your husband is running/jogging , the puppy is way to young for that type of repetitive exercise. You risk damaging the joints.


Texasred is right. There are several posts in this forum about running with your dog. My dog is currently 10 months old, but I posted this just 2 months ago:

I just asked my vet about jogging with my V recently. He contacted Dr. Evelyn Orenbuch (DVM, DACVSMR, CAVCA) at Georgia Veterinary Rehabilitation, Fitness, and Pain Management for her recommendation, and her response is as follows:

"We generally say no consistent jogging longer than 1 mile until they are at least 1 year old. The growth plates are not closed until 15-18 months, so if they want to be safe, I would recommend waiting until then. They can do walk/jog where they only jog for 5 min. at a time when they are younger. It is the sustained repetition on the young joints that is the issue."


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

2Gingers said:


> Texasred is right. There are several posts in this forum about running with your dog. My dog is currently 10 months old, but I posted this just 2 months ago:
> 
> I just asked my vet about jogging with my V recently. He contacted Dr. Evelyn Orenbuch (DVM, DACVSMR, CAVCA) at Georgia Veterinary Rehabilitation, Fitness, and Pain Management for her recommendation, and her response is as follows:
> 
> "We generally say no consistent jogging longer than 1 mile until they are at least 1 year old. The growth plates are not closed until 15-18 months, so if they want to be safe, I would recommend waiting until then. They can do walk/jog where they only jog for 5 min. at a time when they are younger. It is the sustained repetition on the young joints that is the issue."


Just add to this.
Its on natural surfaces only. 
As in dirt, or grass, not on pavement, or concrete.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Jessica said:


> Btw, Gingerling, the puppy food you suggested, Annamaet Encore 25%, that I looked up online has rice in it... which one do you recommend that’s grain/rice free for V pups?


I know the Annamaet has rice, I spoke with the president of the company who claims it's from Cali where the arsenic levels are low. Rice typically is grown in the South on old cotton fields, where arsenic was used as a pesticide against the Boll weevil. Annamaet is a small company known for it's high stds. I rec it for puppies until age one., when I switch them over to Instinct.

If yours was much younger, I'd suggest it w/o hesitation. At 6 mos, I'd suggest Nature's Variety Instinct Original..start with the Chicken b/c that's what he's used to, and rotate among the others so he gets a balanced source of proteins. 

AJ has been on this for a while and looks phenomenal. It is one of the truly meat based kibbles out there.

With regard to the running, recall that exercise facilitates elimination, so the loose poops could be the result of too much, especially if he's on lead and cannot stop.


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## fosterlisa (Jun 30, 2016)

We use Fromm, started with puppy gold & now are on adult gold. I waited until Lucy was 1 year before we started running regularly together (hard to wait but new I had to). We would run/play in grass though after about 8 months. Lucy would get 1 cup 3 times/day.


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## spiz (Jul 24, 2017)

Hi Jessica,

If his stool becomes runny during his run or exercise it is more than likely because of his exitement.
Some Dogs tend to do this as is the case with my Viszla also. I have talked to the Vet and they said the same thing. 
With my Viz if he is at home his stools are normal but when we go on walks and he starts running around getting more excited he stool starts off normal and gets softer with every poop untill it is runny sometimes or phantom poops.
I feed him raw bones mostly during day and also cooked meals ie chicken with vegies and a little rice in evenings about half hour to hour after walks depending how much excersise he has had.
Your pup looks healthy and fit just let him dictate how much running he wants to do. As said in other posts he needs to develop so dont push him or make the pace for him. Dogs need the excersie to develop also.

If you have concerns ask your vet for some advice as we are speaking from our own experiences.

Regards
Jim

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