Nutro Max

many here don't think much of it. But I have fed Nutro with much success...as to the poop...how much are you feeding? Overfeeding is a common cause of excess doo.

rwbeagles

how much are you feeding? Overfeeding is a common cause of excess doo.

I feed her 1/2 cup in the morning & 1/2 cup at night.  She's a 13lb cockapoo

I'd revisit it about a week and half-2 weeks after you've been feeding solely the Nutro. If the poops are still loose or frequent or not what you consider normal you can know it might be the food...rather than the transition that's causing it. I think a solid week-2 weeks is minimum to judge a foods effect...aside from those immediate projectile vomiting/pooping issues lol.

I don't feed it anymore but at one time Willow really liked getting Nutro Max Beef and Rice kibble.  I had good luck with it too.  As far as your poop issue maybe cut back on the Nutro a little more and mix more of her old food--maybe you are just adding too much of the new stuff too fast.

Rascal didn't do very well on Nutro Max. He had dry skin/fur and pooped a LOT. I've had him on several grain-free or reduced grain foods since then and he has done very well on them (and cost is not an issue, since it costs something like $5/month to feed him the super-mega-ultra-premium brands, lol!). If you don't see any improvements with your dogs' reactions to the Nutro, it wouldn't hurt to try a different kind :) 

Cita

Rascal didn't do very well on Nutro Max. He had dry skin/fur and pooped a LOT. I've had him on several grain-free or reduced grain foods since then and he has done very well on them (and cost is not an issue, since it costs something like $5/month to feed him the super-mega-ultra-premium brands, lol!). If you don't see any improvements with your dogs' reactions to the Nutro, it wouldn't hurt to try a different kind :) 

I've seen some grain free foods, but when she was a puppy was told not to feed her that.  Are there any bad/negative qualities of feeding grain free

 I feed Nutro Ultra. We fed Max but switched a year or so ago. Teddi has only been on Ultra foods, puppy, now adult. The Ultra made their poops MUCH better. It is a better food selection than the Max but we did not have issues with Max.

That being said, my lab Belle has ALWAYS had soft stool. Since switching to Ultra they are more firm. You are still in the transitional stage as you said so give it time. I just wanted to tell you my experience.
 

brandy76

I feed her 1/2 cup in the morning & 1/2 cup at night.  She's a 13lb cockapoo

     I think you may be overfeeding. Try splitting the two meals into 1/3 cup & see of that doesn't help ... I have a 25lb older Beagle that barely gets a full cup of food & a a few who are in the 14-15lb range. The smaller ones get maybe 3/4 cup daily with normal activity levels.

I've heard at my pet food store that Nutro has changed a lot of their ingredients in recent months, so perhaps something doesn't agree? I would try the Solid Gold over Nutro. I've just heard too many stories about it and the company was just sold, I don't trust them.

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Cita

I've seen some grain free foods, but when she was a puppy was told not to feed her that.  Are there any bad/negative qualities of feeding grain free

 Grain free foods in general are not harmful. There is an issue if they have too much calcium for large breed puppies, so those foods (EVO comes to mind) will typically say they are not safe for large-breed puppies.  I know that my dog did not do well with barley, and it took about 7 different foods to figure it out. She's now on grain free and all the yucky vomiting has stopped completely.

Another option would be a real simple food like California Natural. It doesn't have a lot of the additives that cause reactions in some dogs and it's easier on the system.

 I'd let your dog transition slowly for a few more days, and then give it a couple of weeks before deciding. Unless there are really serious issues, it usually takes a few weeks to really see what a food is doing for a dog - especially for things like coat, eyes, energy level, etc.

I think grain free foods get hyped a lot, but I'm not convinced they're all that special. I feed grain-free right now because 1) we can afford it (premium grain free at $5 a month vs. cheapo supermarket food at what, like $4 a month? lol), 2) I like the ingredients, 3) it's readily available in my area, and 4) picky Rascal seems to really like it.

But I wouldn't hesitate to try a food with grains if I thought it looked good. As Danielle said, as long as the calcium levels are okay (this is less a concern with small dogs), there's nothing inherently harmful about grain free foods. It just depends what works well with your dog :)

DanielleNY

I've heard at my pet food store that Nutro has changed a lot of their ingredients in recent months, so perhaps something doesn't agree? I would try the Solid Gold over Nutro. I've just heard too many stories about it and the company was just sold, I don't trust them.

Yeah, like mentioned it was sold to Mars inc, maker of the Mars Bar chocolate bar of course. Personally I didn't like Nutro before, and the ingredients are changing for the worst.. to make production cheaper for the company. Not enough meat and too many filler imho.

I'd definately take the solid gold over it, as well.

nature's variety and solid gold are so superior to nutro- why are you switching?

 I haven't looked at Nutro's stuff in a while and was a bit surprised at some of the changes they've made recently.  Well, really maybe I shouldn't be surprised considering the change in ownership.

Mars makes Pedigree and "The Good Life" a grocery store pseudo-holistic food.