diet change loose beige stool dog

Question
Hi Jana,we adopted an 18 month old Labrador from the shelter 5 days ago.He also got neutered and his shot that day.When we brought him home that day his first bowel movement was normal.At the shelter they fed him a little bit of everything.I went to the store and bought nutro max natural.I give him 2 cups twice a day.He now has loose beige stool.He seems to be a little itchy too,he does not have fleas but like i said he was in the shelter for 4 weeks ,just got neutered and i have to wait at least 1 week before i can bath him.Could this be the drastic food change or maybe food allergies.I would appreciate any help.
Sincerely,
Monica

Answer
Well unfortunately you are feeding him junk food. Most of what is in Nutra Max is wheat, grains, and other filler foods. Most dogs on it do not do well and it costs more to feed because dogs don't get any nutrition out of it.

You will spend more money buying more food to try and fill his energy needs. I call it the "trying to get a pound of steak protein out of a box of Saltine crackers" syndrome.

Loose beige stools are a sign of undigested food. When it becomes coated with a mucousy white covering then we are talking about mal-absorption problems. That means an inability to absorb any food.

I don't think he is there yet but if he continues to eat bad food he may get there.

You need to get him on a more nutritious diet that is energy dense and has a balanced amount of nutrients. One of the best foods on the market is Science Diet Adult Large Breed food. As a lab he is going to be prone to obesity so you need to feed him a food that he doesn't need to eat a ton of to get the nutrition he needs.

When a food doesn't meet a dogs energy needs they eat more and more to get that- and that results in obesity and more cost to you.

Science Diet's nutrient rich blend of ingredients and balanced minerals and vitamins are made for large breeds like labs and help reduce the chance of hip and joint problems for these dogs.

Since this food is so nutrient dense he will eat less of it (after three weeks as it takes that long for the food to start to affect him) and you will buy less as a result. If he is an active dog there is a food just for him also, large breed active.
Because this food is so highly digestible there will be less stool to clean up and he will get his energy needs met.

You should slowly transition him off the Nutro and onto this food over a seven day period. This is a food you can trust Monika. More vets feed it than any other food to their own pets. Hills, who makes Science Diet, has over 50 yrs of veterinary research into their foods.

It is field tested and fed to hundreds of dogs. Nutro is formulated but not fed to dogs to test it. So which would you rather eat if you were a dog?

Give it a try. There is a three bag challenge going on right now where you can get money off for feeding it. And as always, Science Diet is 100% guaranteed or your money back. No other food offers that. I have fed and recommended it for over 28 yrs and I have seen amazing results with this food.
So get a bag and let me know how he does in three weeks.
You should also get him on some Sentinel tabs for heartworm prevention (have him tested first!). That way he will be flea and heartworm free with one pill. Get some Ovitrol spray and spray him down now but get him on the Sentinel and your house and yard will stay flea free.
Here is some information about the flea cycle:
http://www.flea-info.com/cab/en/cat_fleas_lifecycle.shtml

Hope this helps. Let me know.