# Merrick Puppy Food (Dry) causing diarrhea...need different food option please!!



## momto2labs (Feb 19, 2016)

We have an almost 12 week old chocolate lab puppy (female).

She's been on Merrick dry puppy food since we brought her home at 8 weeks. About 1.75 weeks after bringing her home she started having diarrhea and loose stools. Vet ruled out parasites or illness. He put her on a prescription bland diet and medicine. That helped her stomach issues and she started having regular stools again. On day 7, per vet instructions, I started her back on the Merrick puppy food by slowing mixing it in with her prescription food 3x per day. I started a little at a time and then last night, I fed her dinner (1/2 cup) using only Merrick. She once again is having loose stools. I think it is the food. 

What is a different food I can try for her?

Thanks.


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## cuddles (Jan 6, 2016)

There's many options.

You may want to try a different protein and ensure the new food doesn't contain many of the same ingredients as the Merrick product since your puppy may have an issue with one or more of the ingredients. You can try this pet food finder. Select dog for species, 0 years for the age, then click on advanced mode and exclude the current protein source of the Merrick product (and anything else you think she may have issues with) to get a few options.

Some great brands that I can think of at the top of my head would be Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Fromm, Addiction, and Solid Gold. Whatever you decide to feed, its important to transition very slowly especially with a puppy that is having these problems.

In addition to changing the puppies food, try giving some canned pumpkin (make sure its just 100% pure pumpkin) which has always worked wonders for my dogs when they have loose stool.

Best of luck!


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## Lioness (Feb 25, 2016)

The best dry food I every found is Eukanuba! I feel like no one's heard of it but it's an all time favorite of mine.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Lioness said:


> The best dry food I every found is Eukanuba! I feel like no one's heard of it but it's an all time favorite of mine.


Everyone has heard of it, but I don't think any kibble feeders here feed it because it isn't a good food. It's veterinary pushed, in the same class as Purina and Hills. There are plenty of much higher quality foods out there.


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## Foodie (Apr 25, 2010)

What was your breeder feeding? Try that or ask them what their dogs do well on.


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## ArthursDad (10 mo ago)

momto2labs said:


> We have an almost 12 week old chocolate lab puppy (female).
> 
> She's been on Merrick dry puppy food since we brought her home at 8 weeks. About 1.75 weeks after bringing her home she started having diarrhea and loose stools. Vet ruled out parasites or illness. He put her on a prescription bland diet and medicine. That helped her stomach issues and she started having regular stools again. On day 7, per vet instructions, I started her back on the Merrick puppy food by slowing mixing it in with her prescription food 3x per day. I started a little at a time and then last night, I fed her dinner (1/2 cup) using only Merrick. She once again is having loose stools. I think it is the food.
> 
> ...


If you don't mind me restarting an old thread what did you end up doing? I have a 4 month old chocolate lab which I started on Merrick puppy food because that's what I gave my previous yellow lab but he seems to be on the constant cycle of diahrrhea. I've tried gradually eliminating things. No more dog park at my building, no more treats (been using kibble or boiled chicken for training) tried a different protein type (he was on the merrick puppy beef now the merrick puppy chicken) but every week I spend two or three days on chicken and rice getting his stomach okay and then another two working the other food back in. The only other thing I can think of is overfeeding from training and/or a different food. I have also taken a stool sample to the vet and verified no parasites.


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