Smaller Poops

 I had the same experience with Canidae. With that much poop going on there's no way that the dog us using all of that food going in.

I've had MUCH better experience with Innova Evo (seriously small poops) but it can be too rich for a lot of dogs. Plus it costs twice as much.

Taste of the Wild was good too, it just didn't keep the weight on Neiko so that is why we switched to EVO.
 

 Canidae does have a good bit of grain in it.  It's a nice food but some dogs have trouble with it - just as some dogs have trouble with grain frees because they need the grain (or rather somethign the grain provides).  It's also a "kitchen sink" food.  Lots of ingredients.  Try some options that are different from Canidae - for different reasons (lol):

• Grain frees - meat based like Evo, Core, TOTW, or Nature's Variety Instinct (or Orijen if you can get it).
• Grain frees that are more focused on being hypoallergenic, like Natural Balance
• Simple foods like Wellness or California Natural
• Foods that have done well with your breed.  I've heard great things about Pinnacle, and believe it or not, Bil-Jac, from Lab people.  Bil-Jac also goes in the "simple food" category - it's basically nothing but chicken and ground corn.

Good luck!

 

My Dad had our first Lab (lived 13 wonderful years) on Bil-Jac formula. I never even thought of it, maybe he will do OK with that. He has no (known) allergies, just poops a lot! Haha!

BlackLabbie

Apollo is on Canidae All Life Stages, regular formula. He poops, literally, like an elephant...ew...and I always clean up after him, I'm getting sick of using 2-3 baggies. So, is there any good, dry kibble, dog food out there that will make his poop smaller? He eats 4 and a 1/2 cups per day, and is 102lbs.

     We had the same experience with Canidae when I fed the "All Life Stage" forumla a few years back. It wasn't just the volume of poop - that alone I could have dealt with! There was something about the way it smelled LOL, yeah I know, it smelled like dog carp, lol. But seriously, it had a very pungent smell worse than normal, and this stuff seemed to attract flies from miles away. I have never seen so many flies on the property, and I only had 5 dogs back when I fed Canidae. We also noticed that dogs who had poor coats before came into good coat on it, but it completely ruined the coats of the ones who'd looked great before we fed it. And my Shepherd REFUSED to eat it. I think we fed it for 5 months before I had enough wih Canidae.

     The only thing I can suggest is to just try and find a diet that focuses on digestability and the vitamin premix. When a kibble is easily absorbed, it naturally leaves very little "output" regardless of the size of the dog. My 65lb mutt eats approx 2 cups daily, and his poos look like they're from a dog half his size.

When we switched our dogs to Nutro Ultra (holistic line) their poops decreased by more than 50%. I was amazed. Much healthier looking too (both the dogs and the poops) 

I fed Canidae for over a year.. same thing large stool even (not that often but still seemed huge to me) for small dogs.. We switched to timberwolf and it's much better.... this is hardley the only reason for the switch but is a GREAT sideffect

We've been on Canidae for a few months now and I was just commenting to DH that I think it's time for a different food.  Poops are HUGE and soft from 4 of the 5.  It stinks b/c the Canidae was very convenient and the right price but I don't think it's doing the best it could be for them.  Everyone's coat looks nice and Blaze has way more energy.  I might use it in rotation, I'm not sure, but right now the search is on (again) for a different food. (and a place that sells it).  I think I'm gonna look at Blue Buffalo again since if I can swing the price I can rotate those flavors and it's having it at Petsmart is super convenient.

I'm like "dog food challenged"..lol..I never know what type of food to get. He's 5-7 years old, active, 100+lbs...any ideas?

I just would like smaller, not so soft, poops! Is that too much to ask?! Smaller, tighter, poops!!

I feed Casey the BB, and I have to say even for a small dog - his poops are pretty little!  Some do say that the BB gives their dogs softer stool - so it's not for everyone! Not a problem for Casey, and I rotate the flavors so he gets a nice variety.

My pups are on Orijen, and they seem to be doing really well on it. Poops are a bit darker than before, but not really all that big for little puppies.

Seniors often need higher protein, they're saying, now... I'd look for something in the moderate protein range, with a few less grains. Maybe even a lower protein grain free, like Wellness Core or TOTW. 

Cal.Nat. Lamb

 Some things to consider - figure out how many calories he's on now if his weight is stable.  As you change foods some are much higher or lower in kcal.  If he isn't absorbing well he may need to reduce kcal once he gets on a different food.  Check out Blue Buffalo Lge breed it is pretty high in kcal so you can feed less which right off the bat will give you less poop.  Good food, a little $$

I am using Solid Gold Barking at the Moon for my big guy and he has pretty small, firm poops  - I wouldn't want less as they need to 'work' their anal glands to keep them clean.  It is a kcal dense, no-grain food that generally is not recommended for large, non-working dogs as their metabolisms generally aren't fast enough (this is what their rep told me) to ensure a lack of weight gain.  As he is a bit older I wouldn't think it would be a great option right now.  You might try their Wolfking which is large breed specific.

Look for about 25% or more protein and lower fat as leaner and more muscle is will keep him active as he gets older.  I may get flack for this but the PurinaOne Senior is a great food.  Our neighbor has a huge Golden that is about 6.5 and she switched him over to this last year and he looks sooooo much better.  Leaner, better muscle tone and more active.  ProPlan has a good senior lge breed formula

It's hard to think it but these big guys are 'seniors' while pretty young 

kpwlee

It's hard to think it but these big guys are 'seniors' while pretty young 

I know! I never want to admit he's a senior, even though I know he is. It just makes me sad because I got him last year and his previous owner didn't know how old he was so he guessed 3 years old...my vet said he's at least between 5-7 years and probably closer to 7 years. :Sigh: I just wish I could've owned Apollo since he was a puppy, just to have more time with him. But, I enjoy every day we have together now!!

We ended up getting a bag of Blue Buffalo this morning, the large breed chicken & brown rice formula. After talking to the BB sales women (she was there with a whole table of BB) she recommended it because it has glucosamine and chondroitin in it. So, we're going to slowly make the switch from Canidae to BB. Tonight, I gave him a small handful of the BB food and he loved it.