Puppy takes long to eat and has soft poop after switching food. Is this normal?

Switching foods too quickly can cause digestive upset such as vomiting and diarrhea. It would be best to return to Oli's original food until his stomach settles and then start a gradual change to the new food over a period of 7-9 days, slowly adding in more of the new food over time. This can help minimize stomach upset from the new food as he adjusts.

Poor guy. He may be stressed out from being in a new environment. Offer him som boiled plain chicken and rice to see if you can entice him to eat. Also adding in 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in his food can help firm his stool if it is stress related. Continue to monitor him for the next 24 hrs for any change. It may take him a day or two to get acclimated to you. However, if he goes beyond 24 hrs without eating and seems lethargic or sick, its best to take him to your vet for a wellness check. I hope that Dodger gets acclimated to his new home soon. Best wishes and take care.

The increased stool production can definitely be due to the diet change. It may take him more than 2 days to get used to eating the Orijen only. Be very careful with this food and don't let him eat more than the recommended amount. This food is very high in calories and he may start gaining a lot of weight. Your options are to switch him back to the Wellness since that seemed to agree with him OR give him some more time to adjust to the Orijen only diet (like 7-10 days).

Yes, this sounds perfectly normal. Many dogs only have a bowel movement once a day and some occasionally skip a day between bowel movements. As long as Buddy is eating, drinking and acting normally without straining to have a bowel movement, there is likely no reason for concern. :-)

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! When puppies are being weaned from their mother, you should mix puppy milk (not cow or goats milk) with canned food to get them to eat it. At Brixy's age, he no longer needs milk because he has teeth. After a certain age (usually 2-3 months) puppies cannot digest milk properly. I would transition him to a puppy food (dry food is fine, but you can add puppy canned food if you wish). It is not a problem for him to poop once daily as long as he is eating, drinking, and active and not having vomiting or diarrhea. Good luck and kisses to Brixy!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Congratulations on the new puppy! These signs can definitely be due to nerves or the anxiety of being in a new place. It is hard for puppies to be separated from their littermates or mothers, go in a car they've never been in, and be surrounded by people they've never met. He likely won't take very long to adjust- young puppies tend to feel like part of the family very quickly - it sounds like he is playing already! He should get an appetite and start eating a puppy diet well. There should be a recommended feeding amount on the side of the puppy food bag. His stools should start to firm up - if they remain soft or become liquidy, he may have gastrointestinal parasites/worms that need to be treated - even if wherever you got him from treated him already. I hope this is helpful!

Did anyone feed him anything other than his puppy food? If so he may have an upset stomach. He can also have one if he has intestinal parasites or a virus. If the stool gets softer or he continues to not want to eat then I would recommend bringing him to a veterinarian to get evaluated. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.