How to add wet food & avoid potty problems..

by Margo
(Lyme, CT USA)

12 week old Beau came home with me 12 days ago and he's an absolute delight! He's my first puppy so were learning together every day. I kept him on the Pro Pac Performance Puppy he started on but he was eating very little which concerned me. Potty training got off to a pretty good start and he had very few accidents and no crate accidents... until... last night.

3 day ago, I started feeding him a heaping Tbs. of Merrick soft Puppy Plate at 6:00, 12:00, 6:00 and he loves it but ignored the hard food. Unfortunately, he had a few more accidents, poopy & pee, and I immediately scooped him up, took him out and said "Potty". His BM has been more frequent, loose & sometimes he strains. Last night, I started to mix the dry (Merrick Classic Puppy) with a Tbs of the wet, keeping the same schedule, and he had a bit of diarrhea in his crate. He sleeps quite a bit but otherwise loves to play and run.

Will his little body adjust to the change (when?) or am I doing something wrong and have reason to be more concerned? Thank you again, Gale, and to everyone in this wonderful community.. Much love to you all!

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Sep 01, 2013
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Wet food
by: Iris

Hi and congrats on your new puppy Beau. When my Tuffy was a puppy he also was not eating the dry food the breeder said to give him.He was picking pieces out of the bowl and putting it on the floor. I switched him to IAMS dry puppy food and he was fine with it.He is still on IAM probiotic blend for small dogs,but I must be careful, his stomach is sensitive even so called puppy treats like peanut butter etc, give him gas and runny poop. Tuffy is 5!/2 years old. I also supplement his food now with Natural Balance Lamb roll, their other varieties gave him diarreah. Also wet canned foods give him wet messy poops so it was a horrible mess to wash off his long hair!. It really is best to cook a chicken with carrots and peas and chop some up add about one tablespoon of the chicken and a very few veggies, and offer it as a treat or put a tiny bit on top of some dry food. It's fresh and healthy and no additives.Be really careful about any jerky or stuff like that, Tuffy has gotten it caught in his throat and also got sick for stuff like that.
Best of luck and keep reading about the Coton, they are marvelous and very special.
blessings and love,
Tuffy and Mom

Aug 31, 2013
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Avoid potty problems
by: Anonymous

My Cotton used to have soft stools so I changed her food to natural balance dry grain free chicken & sweet potato small bites. This helped her digestive system and her poop wasnt loose or soft anymore. The best part of the natural balance dog food is you can give this to a puppy & keep your dog on it as an adult dog you don't have to switch food. Hope this helps good luck

Aug 31, 2013
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by: Tiffany

You need to transition food very slowly to avoid those problems, Merrick is great, but probably richer than your lil baby is used to..My Coton has a very sensitive tummy. Merrick was just too rich for her. She is on Fromm Whiteffish & Potsto kibble & I top with the Fromm Shredded Pork - took time to get to this...Merrick is much soooo much better quality than Purina - so great move. I would suggest starting over & mixing a little old kibble with a SMALL amt of the wet. The ratio is usually 75/25 old to new for a couple of days (depending on his puppy does) then 50/50 for a few days, then 75/25 til puppy is 100 on new food. Good luck and keep moving to high quality foods - remember to transition slowly.

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