Too much poo - need advice please.

[whippet-gal]

Hello all,  I'm new to the forum and really need help with my 14 month, healthy whippet pup. I've have whippets for nearly 30 years, so I'm not new to the breed. Most of my boys did well on Burns dry food, but not this one - Pip. He didn't like it.

I'm looking for a good kibble to feed him.

I've tried him on Royal Canin, Burns, Taste of the Wild; he's currently on Wolf of the Wilderness, which he loves, but the amount of poo is ridiculous (compared to what my other dogs used to produce on Burns).

I've also got a small bag of Purizon to try, which he loves, but is high protein.

So, 14 months old male whippet,
gets a good off-lead run & plenty of playing everyday (normal activity for pet dog)
no health issues
weight is 13kg

Does anyone have any advice, please?

[Carra-Pet Foods]

One idea would be to feed a pressed kibble as opposed to an extruded kibble for the simple reason that a pressed kibble is more concentrated and as such you will feed a smaller volume, which in theory should mean you get less coming out the other end.

I would be more than happy to send you a sample of one of our pressed foods to try for a few days and see how you get on.

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I hadn’t heard of Wolf of the Wilderness Dog Food so I looked it up on the Dog Food Directory and the review is here. Looking at the ingredients and fibre content (below average), I can’t fathom why your dog is producing so much food. How much are you giving and are you weighing it? Is it possible that you could be overfeeding?

Purizon Review is here and as you say it is high protein and fat which might be helpful for your dog because you would probably be able to feed a smaller amount and still keep his weight up. Possibly this would be a good option, particularly as he is a very active dog.

Quality wet food would produce less poo but is more expensive. Of the aforementioned cold pressed food, it might be worth a try and there are a good few alternatives available now. The protein/fat is moderate on most brands. We have a thread on these products here. 

[whippet-gal]

Thanks for your replies.

In answer to your question - I'm feeding 200gr per day & weighing it, just to make sure that I'm not overfeeding.

I already find the dog food reviews on here a very useful guide - thank you to all who produce it 

[Dottie]

Forgot to say that if you do give the cold pressed food a try, the RDA is usually set at 1% to 1.2% of ideal body weight so in your dog’s case it would be between 130g and 156g. That is less than you are currently feeding and the amount will look small at first. That takes some getting used to. The ones with brown rice might be suitable for your dog but in view of the history, maybe avoid potato for now. Transition should be gradual, particularly with a dog like yours.

My dogs have cp food and in their case it produces perfect, formed poos, twice a day but as we know, all dogs are different so you just don’t know without trying it. Although not strictly needed, I top up with protein foods just to boost the overall protein level.

[Carra-Pet Foods]

Transition should be gradual, particularly with a dog like yours.

Just to clarify, are you suggesting the transition from extruded to pressed food should be gradual? If so this is something Prins do not agree with. Their opinion is when changing from extruded to pressed food it should be done straight away due to the differences in how the two foods digest in the dogs stomach. If you're changing between two pressed or two extruded foods then yes, do so gradually but we wouldn't advise this when changing between the two.

[Dottie]

Thank you for the clarification on transition to your own products.  It’s a good reminder to check the information on the website and to contact the company for further advice. 
The transition advice is usually as I described for other brands of cold pressed food. All dogs are different, some will be fine with no transition, others will need a longer period of time to get used to a new product. On this website, David’s general advice about changing food is to allow time for the dog to adjust so that is what we usually promote.

[Carra-Pet Foods]

Hi Dottie. Yes, as I mentioned we completely agree that a gradual transition when switching from 1 pressed food to another or 1 extruded food to another but due to the different ways in which pressed and extruded foods are digested it's not advisable to do when switching between the 2. I would definitely question any other pressed food brands that are suggesting a gradual transition.

A very brief explanation to those reading that may not know - pressed kibble will sink to the bottom of the stomach and relatively quickly break-up to a loose sand consistency where as extruded kibble expands and floats at the top of the stomach for sometime before it breaks down. By mixing pressed and extruded food in the same meal (something we're 100% against) or even alternating between pressed and extruded for a few days, your dog is going to experience these constant changes in his/her stomach and is more likely to suffer from stomach issues as a result than if you changed over straight away.

You're 100% right about all dogs being different though. Just like with us humans, some dogs will have cast iron stomachs and will show no reaction at all but then you will have others that have much more delicate digestive systems.