Chi.Soup/Dog Lovers Soul better than Pro Plan?

I really don't know much about Chicken Soup for the Soul--but, to comment on the 4 poops a day--that is kind of a lot. My dog used to go 4 times a day, too -- I switched her food from Wellness to Natural Balance, and now she goes twice, maybe three times.  I think it was mentioned to me once that 4+ times can mean allergy? I'm not sure.

Ixa loves Chicken Soup, I think she poops 2 x per day.

Raja is on Chicken soup and she loves it. She goes about 2 times a day.
When she was on Pedigree she was pooping like crazy.

I have used CS and had good results with it.  I haven't used PP so I can't make a comparison based on results.  Compare the ingredients and the kcals and see what you think there. 

Geez I didn't think four times a day was alot?  I think once per meal and then later in the evening is about normal.  Depends how many times a day they eat and how many treats they have too doesn't it? 

my guys poop ONCE a day on average.
I'd be horrified if they went four times a day on average.  Recall that dog guts work very differently than human guts-- ingested food sits in the dog's stomach for a prolonged period of time, and then is rapidly transitioned through the gut. What comes out is the stuff that the dog can't digest. If you're getting a lot of poop that means what is going it is mostly undigestible. Unlike humans, dogs don't rely on or need undigestible fiber to get their guts moving. A healthy human poop is large and semi-soft; a healthy dog poop is small and really quite hard and even crumbly.  

Proplan lamb and rice isn't very good. First ingredient, lamb. Not lamb meal, so it's mostly water which is why it's listed first (heavy). Probably not much actual meat in the stuff. Second ingredient, brewer's rice. Poor quality rice. Third ingredient, corn gluten. Corn gluten is an incomplete source of protein that companies add to pretend their food is full of protein. The amino acid profile of corn gluten is incorrect for dogs, so most of that protein is not usable by the dog.


CS has chicken, turkey, chicken meal, and then fish meal as the first four ingredients. It has meat in it in substantial amounts. The primary grain is whole brown rice, a quality ingredient.

There's no comparison at all in quality here. CS wins hands-down.

Oh, I'm with mudpuppy on this one.  Four times a day is way too much, that's what the dogs I walk who eat Science Diet and Old Roy do.  Willow will go once a day and once in a great, great while twice.  But, if it was four times I'd be making a change.  Definately, in my opinion, they shouldn't be going every time they eat unless maybe they are a puppy.
 
I'd also go with Chicken Soup over Pro Plan.  I do prefer simple formulas though, I don't like formulas with multiple meats sources but that's my preference, it doesn't make the food bad.
 
 

ORIGINAL: losinsusan

 Depends how many times a day they eat and how many treats they have too doesn't it? 

 
That's exactly what I was thinking.  Just like with people, a lot depends on what was eaten, when it was eaten and how much.  Max always oops at least twice (and he's been known to go three times) on his morning walk - and that's just an hour. I know he can't possibly be going two or three times in an hour at home or we'd all be up to our knees in it [] but I'm pretty sure he goes again at some point during the day.
 
Joyce

ORIGINAL: fuzzy_dogs_mom

ORIGINAL: losinsusan

Depends how many times a day they eat and how many treats they have too doesn't it? 

That's exactly what I was thinking.  Just like with people, a lot depends on what was eaten, when it was eaten and how much.  Max always oops at least twice (and he's been known to go three times) on his morning walk - and that's just an hour. I know he can't possibly be going two or three times in an hour at home or we'd all be up to our knees in it [] but I'm pretty sure he goes again at some point during the day.  He eats EP Holistic so I know there's no problems with his food.
 
Joyce

Mine are on purina One and home cooked and go twice a day as a rule.  They go a short time after each meal.  I know this is a little different, by my youngest son goes 2-3 times a day and his wife goes once every 2ed to 3rd day.  That has always amazed Randy that she only goes 3 or 4 times a week and he sometimes goes tha many times in a single day.  They eat mostly the same foods, only he eats more. But not enough that he would go so much more often.  Maybe it has to with digestion being slower in her or faster in him, or something.  But, they are both healthy, just poop at different rates.
 
PS  It bugs her that he tells people she is the only person he every knew that only pooped 3 times a week.

But, they are both healthy, just poop at different rates.

Yeah, many people have tried to correlate bowel movements to overall health and it just hasn't panned out. Some things, especially high fiber makes you poop more and it doesn't mean you are unhealthy or not getting all the nutrients you need. With people 2x/day to 2x/week are concidered normal. My vet told me it's a simmilar story with dogs because I was asking her since Otto poops alot less then his brother that my sister has. Now I'm not talking about malabsorbtive diseases which is different, just normal dogs.

Actually, they both graze on their food.  I leave it out all day but the greyhound only ends up eating about 2 cups per day (which the vet said is ok) - she has been grazing for years because greys can get bloat if they eat too much at one setting.  I tried to feed her 2 x a day and she got sick so we went back to grazing.  The Shih Tzu also grazes, but after keeping hers from the greys and measuring hers after grazing...she gets about 1/2 cup in am and 1/2 cup in pm..
Neither one overeats and only gets 2 treats per day...I am convinced after reading all the posts and looking at the ingredients that it is the dog food that is making them go so much...too much fiber in Pro Plan!
 
So I  have decided to gradually switch to Chi.Soup permanently...I will do it slowly as to not upset their systems, but a change needs to be made.
I am so grateful for all of your responses!  This forum is full of a wonderful group of people!!
Sherry

In my experience food can make a difference in how many times a day a dog poops.  When I switched Zoe from science diet to Innova her pooping frequency went from 4x a day to 2x a day.  Quite a difference!

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

Recall that dog guts work very differently than human guts-- ingested food sits in the dog's stomach for a prolonged period of time, and then is rapidly transitioned through the gut. What comes out is the stuff that the dog can't digest. If you're getting a lot of poop that means what is going it is mostly undigestible. Unlike humans, dogs don't rely on or need undigestible fiber to get their guts moving... 

My dog has always gone about 4 times a day no matter WHAT food he's eaten. That includes Eagle Pack Holistic, Timberwolf Organics, and several other super premiums. I think it's just an individual difference in dogs. He only eats about 1/2 a cup of food a day and is a perfect weight.