# My dog has runny stools with Orijen.



## OzzieTheRotti (Dec 2, 2010)

I took my rottweiler puppy mix now (12 weeks old )off Science diet and started him on a 15lb bag of Orijen large breed puppy food. His stool was runny the whole time on Orijen. I do admit i didn't mix it in slowly. That could have been the cause, but after 15lb's I would think his stool would harden up. He wasn't crazy over the food but he did eat it. Do you guys think the high protein is affecting his digestive system? His coat now is super shiny and he looks to be in very good health. I really would like to keep him on Orijen but I don't want him to have diarrhea all the time. I recently purchased a 4lb bag of Solid gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy (Lamb). His stools have hardened up. The protein level in Solid gold is much lower then Orijen. I read a some good things about Solid gold, so I decided to try it. So far so good he's eating it just fine. I really would like him to have the best Dry dog food he can have. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on what I should do? Or things I can do differently....


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## buddy97 (Mar 29, 2010)

it is possible you were overfeeding the orijen, which can be a common cause of loose stools. it is a more nutrient dense food than science diet and would likely require less quantity.

it is also possible that orijen just doesnt work for your dog. its a great food, but it cant work for every dog.

solid gold is a decent food. the Solid Gold Wolf Cub has lower Ca levels, which would be more well designed for a larger breed pup than the Hundchen Flocken Puppy.

there arent many grain free choices suitable for larger breed pups (orijen is one of the few). if SG works for your pup, just feed it for a year then you can look at all the grain free choices out there.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

When you feed a high protein food, you feed much less than a low protein food. You probably need to feed about 3/4 as much Orijen as Science Diet. Maybe even a little less. Feeding too much will cause soft stools or even diarrhea.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I 3rd those opinions! LOL! If you didn't transition slowly, then the digestive system was probably already a little irritated. Couple that with over feeding and you end up with a mess!
If you can see a difference in the coat already, I might just try another small bag and as Buddy and RFD said you really need to cut back on the amount. It really is amazing how little of that food you need to feed compared to other types. If after that you don't see better stools then it probably isn't the food for him.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Yes, cut back the amount your feeding. :smile:

When I got my BRT pup I started him out on the Orijen LBP as well. I noticed that he would have soft almost diarrhea stools if I fed him even a little too much. He would also sometimes have a solid poop followed by a little bit of diarrhea...this is also a sign of feeding too much.


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## OzzieTheRotti (Dec 2, 2010)

ill try feeding him less. Its kinda hard when he's crying for more. Its like denying a fat kid food :frown:


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

OzzieTheRotti said:


> ill try feeding him less. Its kinda hard when he's crying for more. Its like denying a fat kid food :frown:


It's in a dog's instinct to eat as much as humanly possible so no matter how much you give him, he'll still beg for more. My dog generally gets about 3/4th of a pound of food a day. I was boarding him with a friend and she fed him 3lbs. in one sitting because she said he was still hungry and called to ask me if it was ok to give him a 4th pound. So after consuming 4 times the normal amount of food, he was still "hungry".

I don't how much you're feeding now but a young puppy should get around 3% of his anticipated adult weight which is hard to tell since he's a mix breed. So just play it by ear and see what amount is good by keeping an eye on his poop. Try a little bit of probiotics and digestive enzymes too along with a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

OzzieTheRotti said:


> ill try feeding him less. Its kinda hard when he's crying for more. Its like denying a fat kid food :frown:


But what's hurting the fat kid more? Allowing him the satisfaction of eating that extra food, or the diabetes, heart problems, liver failure, etc., that comes later? It's the same with dogs.


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## Cliffdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Try less food, but don't be totally stuck on Orijen- if it doesn't work for your dog, be willing to change! I would recommend WolfCub by SG rather than Hundchen Flocken, but if your dog is doing well on HF, that's fine.

Orijen has a good name but it doesn't work for all dogs. Bonnie will never eat Orijen because Dobermans are notoriously bad on richer foods. That doesn't mean it's a bad food, but no commercial dog food is good for every dog.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Orijen is high protein. you may want a lower protein food. maybe acana to stay in the champion food line. Too much high protein will give the dogs the runs! And many can handle it fine. Just have to see what works best for your pup! There is a lot of foods out there though! You can try different brands!:smile:


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## OzzieTheRotti (Dec 2, 2010)

Ill try the wolf cub next he's almost done with this batch of food. Thx for all your reply's. They've been very helpful.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

I would try out acana. Pacifica and praire are fine for LBP's;0)


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