# Need help with what to feed my puppy



## New Puppy Owner (Oct 16, 2011)

Hi Everyone!

This is my first time here - hope I'm doing this right. I have an almost 4 month old Labrador/Retriever puppy who is currently on Acana puppy food. Since he's been on it he's had major bad gas most days and runny poop sometimes. Can anyone confirm that this is due to the food??? The huge bag is almost finished and I'm not sure if we should stick with it or try another brand. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

New Puppy Owner said:


> Hi Everyone!
> 
> This is my first time here - hope I'm doing this right. I have an almost 4 month old Labrador/Retriever puppy who is currently on Acana puppy food. Since he's been on it he's had major bad gas most days and runny poop sometimes. Can anyone confirm that this is due to the food??? The huge bag is almost finished and I'm not sure if we should stick with it or try another brand. Any advice would be helpful.
> 
> Thanks!


How often does he have runny poop? If it's often & lots of it I'd say you are over feeding. 

My 5 month old GSP puppy is eating the same food as his 4 yr old uncle: 3 cups of EVO Turkey/Chicken large bites. However, because he was having some very soft movements, we broke it down into two 1 1/2 cup feedings: in the am & pm. No more problems since then.

As it happens, the puppy is eating the same quantity of food as the adult: but he's slowed down a bit lately to the point that there is actually some food left in his bowl (as opposed to it being instantly inhaled). I think he's been going through a major growth spurt; he's about 40-45 lbs and there isn't an ounce of fat on him. He will DEFINITELY be bigger than his uncle who is about 58-60lbs.

Bonne chance,


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

are you feeding the grain free variety? how much? runny poo is usually a sign of overfeeding, try cutting back 1/2 cup.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

maybe a Vet visit is in order. when you go to the
take a stool and urine sample with you.


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## New Puppy Owner (Oct 16, 2011)

We're feeding him 1 1/2 cups twice per day. He inhales it - It's disgusting the way he eats. He is thin but not skinny-thin. He does get a lot of excercise, he's very active. I'm thinking I will bring him to the vet with the samples... thanks for all your replies - I truly appreciate them!


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## New Puppy Owner (Oct 16, 2011)

No, we're not feeding him grain-free. Neither my husband nor I have had dogs in the past, we're new at this. We've asked 12 different people about foods and got 12 different answers... frustrating! Everyone has different opinions which makes sense, but I have no idea what's "the best" for him. We may have to try grain-free.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

New Puppy Owner said:


> We're feeding him 1 1/2 cups twice per day. He inhales it - It's disgusting the way he eats. He is thin but not skinny-thin. He does get a lot of excercise, he's very active. I'm thinking I will bring him to the vet with the samples... thanks for all your replies - I truly appreciate them!


3 cups a day seem alot for a lab puppy. like unos mom said, try cutting back 1/2 cup. Just keep an eye out, because you don't want him getting too skinny. Try out the grainfree acana next bag. Also a great trick to slow your dog down, is to buy a big stainless steel water bowl, and flip it over. Make sure its the one with the center raised and a narrow channel aroun the sides when flipped over. Put the food into the narrow channel. That ought to get him good ahahaha


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

New Puppy Owner said:


> We're feeding him 1 1/2 cups twice per day. He inhales it - It's disgusting the way he eats. He is thin but not skinny-thin. He does get a lot of excercise, he's very active. I'm thinking I will bring him to the vet with the samples... thanks for all your replies - I truly appreciate them!


As I mentioned in my previous post, our 5 month old GSP puppy is getting about that amount in food. Hunting breeds tend to expend a lot of energy, especially if you are exercising them the way they need to be exercised. For example, we run our dogs in nearby Equestrian parks for about 30 minutes every other day. In that time they've literally run at least twice as much as we've walked. And that's not even counting the field work they were involved in this past weekend!

But each dog is different. Maybe your puppy need less "fuel" than ours. 

Changing food may also be a logical option. We used to feed our older GSP a different brand of dog food, and you can really tell the difference in the amount of "output". Plus you feed the dog LESS of a better dog food than the ones that have lower protein levels.

Hope this helped,


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