# EVO and soft stool or how much should we feed him?



## scottv (Jul 18, 2011)

We recently adopted a Lab mix, Jake. who is now 15 weeks old and weigh 24 pounds. We have been feeding him about 1.5 cups a day but he still has loose stool. We also supplement with BilJac training treats. Are we feeding him too much? What is the correct amount to feed this puppy?

I read and post on dogforums.com and some people have said a puppy shouldn't eat EVO due to high levels of protein and calcium.

I would love to hear other opinions and recommendations for the amount to feed or if we should switch to a puppy formula for now.

Thank you,
Scott


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

EVO has 2.55% calcium listed in its nutrient analysis. That is higher than some people even feel comfortable feeding adult dogs. EVO has the highest amount of calcium of any dog formula that I'm aware of. Puppies before the age of around 7 months have little ability to excrete excess calcium. So, IMO, I would start transitioning to a new food sooner rather than later.

If you want to feed a grain free food with more moderate protein(33%) and calcium(1.3)% percentages, take a look at Acana Wild Prairie (an all life stages) Champion Petfoods | ACANA | Products - Puppy Small Breed There are lots of other appropriate dog foods too. Canine Caviar Chicken and Pearl Millet Puppy with 31% protein and 1.3% calcium is worth looking at: Chicken And Pearl Millet Puppy

While you are transitioning I would not feed the Biljac treats. Simply uses pieces of kibble for training until you see how your dog is doing on the new food.

And congratulations on adopting Jake.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

What was the rescue/breeder feeding? Unless it's Doggy Bag, I'd continue with that for a few large bags, until he's settled.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

scottv said:


> We recently adopted a Lab mix, Jake. who is now 15 weeks old and weigh 24 pounds. We have been feeding him about 1.5 cups a day but he still has loose stool. We also supplement with BilJac training treats. Are we feeding him too much? What is the correct amount to feed this puppy?
> 
> I read and post on dogforums.com and some people have said a puppy shouldn't eat EVO due to high levels of protein and calcium.
> 
> ...



While it's true that EVO is quite high in protein, unless you have a large breed like a Great Dane, that is not an issue. 

As for calcium, it appears that the EVO does not exceed the maximum allowable calcium amount for puppies.

A couple of questions:

- How long have you been feeding the dog EVO? It may take a while to transition from another dog food to the EVO. 

- How much are you feeding? EVO is a very calorie dense food; you don't need to feed as much of it as you would other brands. Keep in mind that the guidelines on the side of the bag are just that:_ guidelines_. You dog may require more or less than the specified amount depending on his energy level. 

We will be picking up our GSP puppy at the end of July & we already dropped off a bag of EVO Chicken/Turkey for him to transition to from whatever the breeder is feeding. That way both our GSPs will be on the same food when he comes home with us.

As for the Bil-Jac treats... since I'm unable to find any nutritional analysis online for them, that makes me very wary.


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## baggie (Jun 2, 2010)

The only advice I can give is that my pup eats a good bit less on EVO than she does on other foods. I always like to cut back on portions to see if that remedies the situation. Dr. Tim gives a nice piece of advice in the Orijen thread.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

so evo' not good for large breeds????


SubMariner said:


> While it's true that EVO is quite high in protein, unless you have a large breed like a Great Dane, that is not an issue.
> 
> As for calcium, it appears that the EVO does not exceed the maximum allowable calcium amount for puppies.
> 
> ...


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

i thought evo was alright for large breeds also


SubMariner said:


> While it's true that EVO is quite high in protein, unless you have a large breed like a Great Dane, that is not an issue.
> 
> As for calcium, it appears that the EVO does not exceed the maximum allowable calcium amount for puppies.
> 
> ...


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> so evo' not good for large breeds????


EVO is fine for large, and even giant breed dogs... but Giant Breed puppies grow very rapidly, and you have to watch the Calcium levels in their diets. For this reason, Evo is generally not recommended for GIANT breed puppies. 
I know of a few labs that were raised on EVO from 8 weeks on (3 to be exact) and all were just fine. The only dogs I'd hesitate to feed evo are Giant breed dogs under a year old.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

thanks..that's what i thought. just wanted to make sure. i'd assume once they are done growing the extra calcium in evo si good for giant breeds since they are prone to bone issues


PuppyPaws said:


> EVO is fine for large, and even giant breed dogs... but Giant Breed puppies grow very rapidly, and you have to watch the Calcium levels in their diets. For this reason, Evo is generally not recommended for GIANT breed puppies.
> I know of a few labs that were raised on EVO from 8 weeks on (3 to be exact) and all were just fine. The only dogs I'd hesitate to feed evo are Giant breed dogs under a year old.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> thanks..that's what i thought. just wanted to make sure. i'd assume once they are done growing the extra calcium in evo si good for giant breeds since they are prone to bone issues


It doesn't have so much to do with growing as it does with matuirty. Giant breed pups don't always excreet excess calcium as well as they do when they mature so the excess calcium is floating around in their body and being absorbed by bones. As they mature, their bodies learn how to eliminate this excess and all is fine.


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